Castle Hayford didn't look like a place that would be written into the Westerosi history books. It didn't look like a place that would have songs written about it, celebrating the victory of the battle of Hayford.

"Five lords against five hundred of the king's men," the bards would sing. "The poor lords were locked in the wolf's den."

But the wolf had not arrived yet. Only the stag was there, about to walk into the jaws of the beast.

Positioned high on a hilltop, the castle blended into the landscape below. If you didn't know there was a castle up there, you could easily mistake it as part of the greenery. With walls made of timber taken from the forests below and towers adorned with moss roofs, it became one with the surroundings long ago. Being so close to King's Landing, the reigning lords of House Hayford had never had much power. They served whatever house ruled the kingdom, in exchange for their protection, and the castle often functioned as a scouting outpost, alerting the capital of approaching enemy forces.

But these days, there was no Lord Hayford. There was a Lady Hayford, but Lady Ermesande was not yet of age and whisked away far away. At only three, her story was already an unusual one: having been married to a teenage boy before she was old enough to walk, being freed from that marriage before she was out of diapers, and finally becoming a ward to her former husband and his new wife, who in the process also became the wardens of Castle Hayford.

This was the reason Gendry was here: to meet the current warden of Castle Hayford. The lord didn't reside in these parts of the kingdom but had suggested the inconspicuous castle as their meeting spot upon receiving Gendry's letter, asking for his support.

The castle appeared to be manned by not more than a dozen men. The draw bridge creaked like the chains were unaccustomed to being lowered once Gendry had stated his errand to the lone man--or rather boy as he looked no more than twelve--guarding the bridge. House Hayford was not a secure castle but hopefully, that very fact made it safe in this instance. The king would never guess that the leaders of the rebellion against him would meet right under his nose, where the top of the Red Keep could be discerned in the distance. And whatever seer powers the king claimed to possess appeared to be rendered moot by the very rebellion he wanted to stop.

Dust and cobwebs lined Gendry's path toward the Main Hall. The signs of abandonment didn't bother the Stormlord. He was used to sleeping among rats and bugs in the depths of Fleabottom, back when he was no one and had no explanation for the turmoil brewing in his veins. In fact, the damp smell and cold draft made him feel oddly at home. His humble beginnings were still more familiar than his hopefully glorious future.

"Lord Baratheon is here," the guard boy announced into the darkness of the Main Hall. No one had bothered to light the candles on the walls of the abandoned castle.

The warden of the castle rose from his position by one of the long tables. A thumping sound and a light limp revealed a leg injury that would never heal. Blond curls lit up the dim hall. A charming smile welcomed the newcomer. "Gendry," Tyrek Lannister greeted him. "I worried something may have happened to you on the way. The king's men are close, after all."

"Luckily, I'm good at blending in as a commoner," Gendry replied dryly, remembering the soldiers on the road toward Hayford Castle who hadn't even deemed him worthy of attention. It appeared his posture and way of speaking immediately revealed his born position in life. But not all men continued life in the same standing as they were born. "How have you been Lord Lannister?"

He looked down at Tyrek's left leg. The last time he saw the young man, still not even twenty years of age, that leg had been noticeably missing.

"I manage," Tyrek surmised, bending down to knock lightly on the previously missing leg. "A leg of wood isn't the same as one of flesh but it's allowing me to walk. Running is still beyond my grasp though. And I'm afraid I'm not much of a fighter anymore."

"I don't need you to fight for me, Lord Lannister," Gendry assured the other lord. "I just need your support."

Tyrek Lannister happened to be the key to Gendry accumulating the necessary forces for his rebellion. Because Tyrek, even though he had given up the position of Lord Paramount to live a quiet life with his wife's family at Horn Hill, was trusted by all the lords of whom Gendry was hoping to garner support: Lord Addam Marbrand of the Westerlands, who was Tyrek's uncle and had been appointed by him to take care of the Lannister lands; Lord Hobber Redwyne of the Reach, who was married to Tyrek's cousin Janei Lannister; and of course, Lord Arryn, who had not long ago stood trial for his supposed affections for Lord Lannister. An internal Redwyne rebellion, where Hobber had taken power from his twin brother Horas, had stopped the trial from happening but that hadn't stopped the whispers about the two married men's feelings for each other.

Gendry didn't care what Lord Lannister and Lord Arryn felt for each other. He only cared about his family, and an alliance with houses Lannister, Marbrand, Redwyne, and Arryn could help him save them. That's what he was here for. He'd left his men in the capable hands of Davos Seaworth by the border between the Stormlands and Crownlands to travel alone to the unassuming castle, where, hopefully, a fruitful alliance could be made.

"That, you have," Tyrek noted, putting his hand on Gendry's shoulder. "I have no allegiances to the king. He left me to fend for myself against an army many times my own. I was lucky to walk away losing only a limb, and not my life. But you have shown me nothing but kindness, letting me leave Storm's End without retaliation."

"And the others?" Gendry asked, impatient to know whether he could count on the gathered men of the Westerlands, The Vale, and Highgarden. Even then, his army would be outnumbered by the king's forces but they would perhaps stand a chance if they were cunning and skilled.

"They will come," Tyrek promised. "My uncle, Lord Marbrand, is already here, resting after his journey, and Robin... I mean, Lord Arryn, should arrive soon together with Lord Redwyne."

"Can we trust him?" Gendry asked, having never met the newly appointed Lord Hobber Redwyne.

Tyrek nodded. "He saved me and Robin," he simply said, probably not wanting to dwell on the recent events of Highgarden.

Creaking from the drawbridge, announcing the arrival of more guests, prevented Gendry from asking any more questions. Soon the no-longer-innocent blue eyes of Robin Arryn peered at them from the dark corridor. By his side was a tall man with hair as red as wine.

"Lord Arryn," Gendry greeted the first lord, whom he was previously acquainted with, and reached his hand out for a friendly greeting. Lord Arryn's hand felt odd in his grip and he soon realized the young man was missing his little finger. Perhaps a consequence of the events at Highgarden? "And you must be Lord Redwyne." Gendry turned toward the other man, his smile not letting his doubts about the lord shine through.

"Lord Baratheon, I presume," Lord Redwyne replied, taking Gendry's hand in a firm greeting. "I've heard a lot about you. And I do believe you're the only hope for this kingdom. The king took my father from me and the fallout from that cost my brother his mind. I'm willing to do what is needed to protect the rest of my family, including my expecting wife, and I'm assured by my sister and brother-in-law"--he nodded toward Lord Arryn--"that supporting you is the way to achieve that."

"Thank you for coming, both of you." Gendry looked from Lord Redwyne toward Lord Arryn, who seemed to no longer take notice of his presence. All he was able to see was Lord Lannister. Lost in longing for each other, the castle, kingdom, and whole world disappeared from their view.

"Tyrek..." Robin mumbled.

"Robin," Tyrek replied before they fell into each other's arms.

***

That night a warhorn blared, echoing between the hills outside Castle Hayford and waking all the lords that had gathered within its confines.

The sound found Gendry in his dreams. He was with Meera back on the balcony of the castle in King's Landing, where they shared their first kiss. Then the noise erupted and she was gone.

He came back to reality and Meera remained gone, whisked away in the night by an evil force. The knowledge always hurt the most in the morning, when he'd momentarily forgotten that she wasn't beside him. But the noise was still present. Loud, unrelenting, and fearsome.

Quickly, he pulled on his pants and threw on a shirt. The buttons were still unclosed, since that was a task difficult to accomplish without a working right arm, when he made his way out in the hallway. The few servants and guards of the castle ran around in a flurry, trying to figure out what was happening.

Among the ruckus, Gendry spotted Lord Arryn. He also seemed newly awoken, with messy hair and his shirt put on the wrong way.

"Robin, what's going on?" he asked.

Robin shook his head in confusion. "I don't know," he mumbled. "We just woke up."

Gendry didn't ask who "we" were. But he got his answer as Lord Lannister walked out from the same door Lord Arryn had come from. The more pressing question he currently wanted an answer to though was what the hell was going on outside.

He received an answer to that pressing question within moments. "It's the king's army," a booming voice declared from the stairs that lead to the guard tower. Gendry turned to face Lord Addam Marbrand, wide as a barn door and war-hardened as few. Tyrek's maternal uncle had served as a knight under Tywin Lannister for many years, standing on the front line of every battle.

It couldn't be. The king's men couldn't be here. The king couldn't know Gendry was here.

They would not be able to defend themselves. Having not wanted to bring any attention to their meeting spot, none of the lords had brought their armies with them, instead choosing to travel inconspicuously, which had seemed like a wise, albeit risky, choice at the time.

But now, they stood there, five lords, plus the few Hayford men manning the castle, against probably at least five hundred men outside.

This was not a battle they could win. They were locked in the wolf's den.

Author's Note: I won't make any promises but I'm feeling more motivated than I have been in a long time to finally finish this story. While I mainly focus on my original stories these days, this story was the first story I ever started writing and it has a special place in my heart. I feel like I owe it to myself, the characters, and you readers to finish this. So I will try to do that.

I apologize if there are details that don't make sense, as I'm realizing that I don't quite remember every twist and turn anymore. Like where did I put that dragon? (I think he... flew back somewhere? Anyway, Jon is gonna have to deal with Drogon eventually)

In this chapter, and perhaps other chapters as well, there are also references to what happened to Robin and Tyrek in Highgarden. These events were actually featured in a story I wrote about them, The Lion and The Falcon, but that story has since been unpublished as I wasn't quite happy with it. But the events still happened and I will try to explain them when necessary, without dwelling on them too much (because this isn't their story, this is Gendry and Meera's story).

To anyone still reading this, thank you for bearing with me this far! My aim is to give you a more satisfying ending than the show did and I hope I won't let you down.