Upon hearing Catelyn's plan, Maester Luwin immediately understood her intent.
"If I may speak frankly, my Lady, if you truly wish for Jon Snow to marry Ygritte, it is not impossible. It is even possible to cancel this trial by combat, but you will need the help of one person," Maester Luwin advised.
"Who?" Catelyn asked.
"Queen Cersei."
"What do you mean?" Catelyn asked.
"If the two of you step forward together to resolve this trial, King Robert will acquiesce for your sake, and Lord Eddard will acquiesce for Cersei's sake. Out of courtesy to his brother's wife, they will be forced to let it go."
"Lord Eddard, am I correct?"
Eddard Stark nodded. He might get angry at Catelyn, but he couldn't get angry at Cersei—that was his brother's wife.
King Robert was the same; he would absolutely never direct his anger at Catelyn.
"It seems I need to meet with our Queen again," Catelyn thought to herself.
The next day, Catelyn once again invited Cersei to join her for prayers at the sept.
Many people attended this time, including Ygritte.
A lot of people were puzzled as to how she had gotten out of the dungeon. However, since Ygritte was constantly surrounded by Arya, Sansa, and Myrcella, who protected her well, no one had a chance to ask.
After the hymns were sung, Catelyn Tully dismissed the others, remaining alone in the sept with Cersei.
"Your Grace, although Ygritte has become my foster daughter, her crisis has not yet passed."
"Please, for the sake of the Mother, save her!"
Catelyn Tully put on a facade of deep worry, which secretly delighted Cersei.
House Stark really is in turmoil because of this Ygritte issue, she thought.
"My dear Lady Stark, what can I do to help alleviate your sorrows?" Cersei asked.
"We must stand united. We will announce to everyone together that Ygritte's participation in the trial is annulled. Let her live."
"Furthermore, Ser Lancelot should also withdraw from the Trial of Seven. He is still young and should not take such a risk."
Catelyn's words struck a chord with Cersei.
Trials by combat were dangerous. Famous knights and nobles often died in them. Even royalty of House Targaryen had perished in such trials.
"Lancelot... he is young. Indeed, he should not participate," Cersei agreed.
---
And so, at yet another feast in Winterfell, Catelyn and Cersei jointly proposed to Robert and Eddard Stark that Ygritte and Lancelot be removed from the trial by combat.
Eddard Stark had been briefed by Catelyn beforehand, so he remained silent, signaling his tacit approval.
Robert was about to explode at Cersei, but then he saw Catelyn standing in front of her. He couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh to his brother's wife.
Thus, the Trial of Seven became a Trial of Six.
The wildlings' injuries were healing day by day. However, watching them recover only made Ygritte more anxious. She wanted to save her people—or at the very least, save Mance Rayder.
So, she came up with a plan: sneak in at night when the jailers weren't paying attention and break them out.
The simple, unpretentious wildling mind was just that clear and direct.
Ygritte made her move on a dark and windy night.
First, she knocked out the guard at the entrance, took the keys from his belt, and entered the dungeon.
Winterfell's dungeon held not only the wildlings but also other criminals destined for the Night's Watch at the Wall.
Ygritte decided to give them a chance.
"If you want to live, listen to my commands. Do you understand?" Ygritte said to several prisoners, twirling the key ring on her finger.
"You're just a wildling who got lucky enough to be taken in by Lady Stark. What are you showing off for?"
A rapist sneered. His eyes lewdly scanned Ygritte's body.
"If you can show me a good time, maybe I wouldn't mind going beyond the Wall with you. How about it? Open the door, come in, and let's have some fun!"
"Hahaha, little beauty, let big brother take care of you! Open the door!"
The rapist pressed himself against the bars like a pervert, reaching out with both hands, trying to grab Ygritte. But his arms weren't long enough.
Ygritte walked silently to the rapist's cell, selected a key, unlocked the door, and went in. Moments later, screams that sounded like a pig being slaughtered echoed through the dungeon.
The prisoners in the adjacent cells whispered in fear.
"Looks like a wildling is still a wildling at heart. We'd better not provoke her."
When Ygritte emerged, her face bore a ruthless expression.
She didn't close that cell door; she left it wide open. But the man inside would never walk out.
He wasn't dead, but he was completely crippled. The kind of crippled even Maester Luwin couldn't fix.
Next, she unlocked the cells for her wildling companions.
"Let's go, quickly! Ygritte," Agoda said.
Despite his young age, Agoda was already a leader of a wildling tribe—the young chief of the Tangut clan.
"No, we need to release the others too. They'll distract the Winterfell guards," Mance Rayder said with seasoned experience.
He intended to let the other criminals cause chaos in Winterfell so the guards wouldn't immediately pursue them.
"As expected of Mance!" Rattleshirt said.
Mance took the keys from Ygritte and tossed them to a prisoner.
"You can't escape alone. Find some partners! A prisoner's companions are fellow prisoners."
With that, he immediately led the other wildlings out of the dungeon.
Ygritte had already memorized the layout of Winterfell during her stay. She led Mance and the others to the stables.
Mance and the group each selected a horse and mounted up.
When they reached the city gate, Ygritte ran up to the guards first.
"Help! Help! The prisoners have escaped from the dungeon! There are murderers and rapists loose! You have to catch them!"
"I even saw a rapist running toward the Princess's chambers!"
When the guards heard this, they panicked. This was a disaster. They immediately ran off to catch the escaped convicts.
Once the guards were far enough away, Ygritte signaled Mance Rayder and the others. Together, they pushed open the gates and fled into the distance.
---
Once they felt they were safe, they finally stopped.
Mance Rayder looked at Ygritte.
"We owe this to you. But what will you choose? Will you stay in Winterfell, or return to the lands beyond the Wall? If you wish to stay, we won't blame you."
Ygritte was torn. Beyond the Wall, she had her tribe, the Kissed by Fire, but her parents and siblings were all dead. She had no close blood relatives left.
Staying in Winterfell might offer temporary safety, but she had seen the horror of the White Walkers. She knew what they were capable of. Staying in Winterfell would only be running away.
Ygritte was a brave free folk warrior, a spearwife, not a highborn lady meant for needlework.
"I choose to return beyond the Wall. I will face the danger with my people," Ygritte declared.
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