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Roman's move caught everyone off guard. Even Fili rushed over to check if he was hurt.
Robb stood frozen. He'd only been running his mouth like any hot-blooded young lord, hoping to knock Roman down a peg. He never expected Roman to apologize so formally and swear a binding oath in front of the old gods and the new.
Eddard's face went hard. He snapped at his son. "Get over there and stay quiet!"
Then he joined the others fussing over Roman.
Roman waved them all off with a tired smile. "I'm fine, Lord Stark. The gods know my heart. They won't harm . The feast is barely started."
He talked them down until everyone finally returned to the tables.
The northern spread was plain. Harrenhal's cooks would have been ashad to serve it. Roman sent Fili to fetch sothing better.
The girl still looked worried. She kept trying to examine him until he cupped her cheeks in both hands and leaned in.
"Idiot. Did you forget what I am?"
Fili blinked, then grinned as realization hit. Dragon. White fla was his power. He just didn't show it off.
She laughed and ran off.
A few minutes later servants wheeled in carts loaded with glass jars of canned tropical fruit. Harrenhal's top product, originally ant for long marches, but Roman had realized northerners would pay a fortune for sweet southern fruit in the dead of winter.
The clear jars and bright fruit in sugar syrup stunned the hall all over again.
One guest dug out a peach slice, tasted it, and praised the old gods on the spot.
That set off a rush. Everyone opened their jars at once, carefully guarding the glass. The bottles alone were worth more than most northern lords saw in a month.
While the guests feasted, Eddard and Winterfell's maester exchanged grim looks.
The maester had already confird the jars were sealed with real sterilization and airtight glasswork.
"My lord, Harrenhal is far more than it appears."
Eddard knew exactly what the man ant. One jar held glassmaking, food preservation, and sealing technology. It was power in a bottle.
He felt a cold sweat break out despite the warm hall. He was suddenly very glad Roman wanted friendship instead of war.
Roman, unaware of Eddard's thoughts, watched the empty plates and wondered how to smooth things over with Robb and the younger Starks.
Before he could think of anything, Sansa appeared at his side.
"Lord Roman, would you dance with ?"
The music had already shifted. Couples filled the floor.
"I'm out of practice. My dancing might make you laugh. Please forgive if I step on your toes."
Sansa smiled, pleased by his courtesy. She pulled him onto the floor and kept him there for three full dances until Catelyn finally dragged her away.
Arya watched from the side with Robb and Jon Snow, who had slipped in from the crowd.
"Look at those muscles. I bet five Robbs couldn't take him."
Robb, still smarting from his earlier mistake, only muttered, "I'll beat him one day."
Jon said nothing. He just stared at Roman and quietly sipped his soup.
After Sansa left, Fili bounced over, eager to dance. Neither of them knew the steps. They made a complete ss of it and sent the whole hall into laughter.
At the high table Catelyn watched Roman with quiet intensity. Eddard noticed.
"What is it? Sothing about the boy?"
Catelyn sighed. "Ned, that clever little bastard has you right where he wants you."
Her husband still looked confused, so she spelled it out. "He swore to help us once, in his own na. Now you're bound to him by honor."
Eddard frowned. "Robb started it. House Whent owes us nothing. One oath witnessed by the gods is serious enough. People will say we're the ones pushing too hard."
Catelyn stared at her husband, half exasperated, half fond. His honor was his greatest strength and his greatest weakness.
Eddard was a true knight. Once an oath left Roman's lips, Eddard would treat it as sacred. He would never let his son's rudeness force extra debt onto their guest.
So the oath stood.
Catelyn closed her eyes. As long as that promise remained unfulfilled, Eddard would stay close to Roman. Once it was fulfilled, he would treat Roman and all of House Whent as family.
And that was the dangerous part.
Harrenhal was rising fast. The eastern Riverlands royalists were gathering again. Roman's army had just shown its teeth. What did a defeated house want with that kind of power?
Word of tonight would spread. People would wonder what the Starks were doing. The Iron Throne would wonder.
A Stark standing shoulder to shoulder with old royalists and a rising new power?
Catelyn tried to speak again, but Eddard cut her off.
"Whatever happens, I will not move against Roman while his oath stands. The old gods would never forgive such betrayal."
Roman was still chatting with the Stark children and Fili about Riverlands gossip. If he'd known Eddard's thoughts he would have smiled until his face hurt.
That was Eddard Stark in full. Honor, loyalty to friends, and duty to family. Three things that made him the man he was.
And three things that would one day get him killed by Cersei and Littlefinger.
Roman felt a twinge of guilt. He was using Eddard's honor, sa as everyone else. He just didn't want the man to die.
Catelyn let out a long breath. Her husband was already gone on this path. No pulling him back.
She thought of her father's letter from a year ago, the one that described Roman as a shy, quiet boy.
One year later and he sat at their table like a rising star.
Growth? Catelyn didn't think so. She suspected Roman had simply stopped hiding.
That night every mber of House Stark carried away a different feeling because of him.
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