The music faded, the guests departed. The day after the feast, peace returned to Horn Hill.
A long procession moved slowly along the road from Horn Hill to Rose Road. Flags bearing golden roses on green fluttered in the breeze, flanked by knights in shining armor—clear signs of the wealth and might of House Tyrell.
Margaery Tyrell rode in a royal wheelhouse, surrounded by her handmaidens. Several supply wagons trailed behind, making the caravan's pace slow. Even though they had departed before sunrise, they would have to spend a night on the road before reaching Highgarden the next day.
By mid-morning, the caravan was moving steadily. Ser Garlan rode beside the wheelhouse, close enough to chat through the open windows with Margaery and her companions.
Suddenly, a gallop of hooves sounded from the rear.
"Ser Garlan! Ser William Harroway requests an audience!" a scout called out.
Margaery leaned out the window with curiosity. "What's going on?" she asked her brother.
"Let him through," Garlan ordered, then turned to answer his sister. "He's just joining us for the road. We agreed to travel together."
"Travel together?" Margaery raised a brow. "Highgarden is north of Horn Hill. Oldtown is south."
She blinked at him innocently.
"We're only traveling together until Rose Road," Garlan said.
"That adds a full day's ride round trip! What a convenient detour." The girls inside burst into laughter.
William arrived to the sound of their laughter, pulling up alongside the wheelhouse. "Hey, Garlan!" he greeted casually, then spurred his horse forward to squeeze into the narrow space between Garlan and the wheelhouse.
He was so close he could smell the faint perfume wafting from within.
Flashing his most charming smile and striking his most dashing pose, he bowed gallantly to the ladies inside. "Good morning, Lady Margaery. My ladies."
Garlan reined his horse aside to give him room, while the girls offered polite curtsies in return.
"I'm sure you two gentlemen have plenty to talk about," Margaery said sweetly, smiling at William before retreating back into the wheelhouse. One of her handmaidens promptly shut the window, leaving William speechless with all his prepared lines stuck in his throat.
Garlan shrugged. That was as much help as he could give.
Despite being shut down, William could feel something different in Margaery's demeanor compared to last night. At the feast, she had been polite but distant. Today, though less courteous, there was a strange… spark in her expression. Was it just my imagination? No—it had to be… right?
Shaking off the thought, William rode up beside Garlan, their horses now side by side.
"You said last night we'd ride out together," Garlan said. "I half-expected you to bail."
"I had to say goodbye to Sam. That chubby fellow sleeps like the dead."
"Sam's a good lad. Life would be easier for him if he weren't a Tarly."
"I'm not so sure about that," William replied. "If he weren't a Tarly, how could he have ended up with Lord Randyll as his father?"
"What do you mean?"
"They're the same. Stubborn to the bitter end. Just… heading in opposite directions."
Garlan thought about it for a moment, then nodded with a sigh. "Perhaps the Seven had a purpose for it."
Huh, William mused. Now that I think about it, if Sam were born into any other family, he wouldn't have been sent to the Wall. Maybe this is part of the gods' plan… Damn, that's deep.
As they chatted, William took the chance to study the caravan. Garlan, he noticed, wasn't giving out any commands.
"You're not managing the convoy?"
"Ser Osmund's in charge of logistics," Garlan said. "No need for me to meddle."
Smart man, William thought, smiling. "By the way—when's the wedding with Leonie?"
A rare softness crossed Garlan's face. "Earliest would be early next year."
"So, a few months apart. Will there be a tourney?"
"Most likely. Highgarden hasn't hosted one in years. Father won't miss the opportunity."
"Perfect! I've been waiting for a rematch."
Garlan laughed. "If my grandmother hears that, she'd say, 'Are you daft, boy?' I'll be the groom. I can't compete."
"Lady Olenna—the Queen of Thorns. Gods, I'm glad she's not my grandmother." William gave Garlan a look of deep sympathy.
To him, Garlan was the ideal knight—skilled, disciplined, brilliant, and kind. A five-star general in any game. Yet to Olenna, he was just another "fool." Anyone else would've cracked under her sharp tongue. The fact the Tyrell siblings turned out so well is a miracle.
"Well, bad news for me," William said, "but at least there's a silver lining."
"Oh?"
"With you out of the way, I might have a real shot at the championship! If I have to go through another eleven-round slugfest…"
He shuddered theatrically.
"Don't get cocky, William. My brother Loras will definitely be there. And when it comes to spearwork… I'm not sure I can match him."
The Knight of Flowers? Heh. William gave a faint, unreadable smile and changed the subject.
The conversation drifted easily after that. Garlan had always had a sixth sense about people—he could often see through their nature with a glance. And he had sensed from early on that William's admiration for him was genuine.
At first, he assumed it was the bond forged between two evenly matched warriors after their epic duel. That mutual respect had led him to treat William as a friend.
Now, both men rode with their guards down, joking and debating about martial arts, tactics, and everyday matters. They chatted all the way until the sun dipped low and the distant silhouette of a small castle came into view.
It was called Riverside Keep. From its walls, one could see Rose Road to the east, and the Mander River to the west.
The Reach had invested heavily in building outposts along its western coastline to prevent large fleets from landing unnoticed. But those defenses did little against the true desperados—raiders who charged upriver in just a few longships to plunder deep into Reach lands.
The Mander's western stretch, near Highgarden, was a favorite entry point for such small bands. Despite the Reach's vast army of over 100,000, it struggled to effectively counter these fast-moving threats.
Riverside Keep was built to guard the narrowest gap between Rose Road and the Mander, preventing raiders from striking into the heart of the Reach unchallenged. The castle was small, manned by fewer than a hundred men. If they could repel the enemy, they would. If not, they'd light the beacon fire.
It was less than a day's travel from Highgarden by wheelhouse—too close for most merchants to stop, yet too far to reach Highgarden before dark. As such, no settlement had ever formed nearby. Just a broad, flat stretch of land outside its walls.
Garlan pointed at it. "We'll camp here tonight."
"No beds in the keep? Shouldn't Lady Margaery rest inside?"
"This place is nowhere near as comfortable as her wheelhouse. We camped here last time too."
William and Garlan watched from horseback as the servants expertly unloaded pieces from the wagons and quickly assembled tents around the wheelhouse. As the sky darkened, the camp came alive with crackling fires and the smells of soup and roasting meat.
William had hoped dinner might offer a chance to speak with Margaery. But she and her companions dined inside the wheelhouse, away from the men.
Resigned, he joined Garlan and several other knights for a night of laughter, drink, and tall tales.
By morning, they sat around a fire, sharing breakfast. As they finished, William looked around the campsite and smiled.
"This feels familiar," he said. "Like a scene from a show. Allow me to sing something as a farewell gift."
Cheers erupted as he launched into The Golden Hand, a hauntingly beautiful song with a catchy melody. After a few rounds, even the knights began to hum along, and nearby servants and soldiers paused to listen.
Garlan clapped in genuine appreciation. "Seven hells, William. I didn't know you could sing like that."
As the camp filled with music and laughter, one of Margaery's handmaidens suddenly approached. She curtsied, then addressed William.
"Ser William, Lady Margaery was quite taken with that song. She says she's never heard it before… Might she invite you over to ask about it in person?"