Northern Sun | Robb Stark

Chapter 3

Bran was enjoying himself.

Robb hadn't yet told him the news. He and Theon took him out for a ride while Eidalya watched Rickon, who complained about wanting a horse. She told him a story about a little boy who raised a lion cub until it was so large, he could ride it to the moon and back.

When they returned, they revealed a group of wildlings had attacked Bran. Robb and Theon had had to kill the men, and had taken one wildling woman captive. Her name was Osha, and she would become a servant of the house in exchange for keeping her life.

She and her friends had come south of the Wall in search of safety. They spoke of the White Walkers returning, having been dormant but out for blood once more. The Long Night could and would come again. But only the wildlings seemed to believe it. Only they were afraid.

Everyone else had other things to worry about.

"What do you think of it all?" asked Robb as Eidalya sat across from him for dinner.

"My grandfather will be furious," she murmured. "He calculates every move. My Uncle Jamie did not consider what would happen when he attacked your father, he simply did it." She smiled weakly, "'Lannisters don't act like fools. They think first, act second. A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the sheep.' At any rate, they'll have to act with what they have. There's no choice but to prepare for a battle. If the Tullys are already being threatened for what your mother did, my grandfather will follow fully through until my uncle is returned. He will not leave something half-done. And even if he would let up once my Uncle Tyrion is returned, I suspect by then it'll be too late to let bygones be bygones. He will preserve our family above all things. Which means the Lannisters now have even more reason to hate the Starks and all the North."

"I thought your grandfather hated your Uncle Tyrion."

"He blames him for the death of my grandmother but in the end, blood matters to him. It would make him look weak if he didn't seek justice for his son. If he allowed it to simply be, if he weren't to act, the Lannister name would no longer be associated with loyalty, with family, with strength. He has no choice but to retaliate. Unfortunately, my Uncle Jaime's actions have kept it from happening in the way he'd like it to but one thing is certain... the Lannisters will come for your father, Robb. For the Tullys, for anyone who supports you. It was one thing for them to hear accusations about what happened to Bran. Another thing to take a Lannister captive. We're too far gone now."

He was quiet. "Then what should we do?"

"Prepare your brothers, prepare the castle," she said. "It won't be long before you have to call the banners. Send a raven to your grandfather, Lord Hoster Tully. Put your uncle, The Blackfish, in charge of their forces. Be ready to do what you must to get your family back. Be ready to think of the impossible to make sure my Uncle Tyrion is taken out of your mother's hands and sent to Casterly Rock. It won't be easy to negotiate, it'll be even harder to convince everyone of the things that have to be done. You're a man from today onward, Robb Stark. You have to be. You have to swear off all the things that might make you let your guard down, you have to swear you will be patient, firm, and careful until there is peace again. You're going to be leading an army soon. Best get used to it."

"I will leave you here with Bran and Rickon when I go," said Robb. "I will write to your grandfather, I will swear to him that you are not a hostage and that you may be sent to King's Landing alongside your uncle as soon as my father and sisters are allowed back."

She shook her head. "He won't accept it. I cannot stay here. I don't want to. You will need a bargaining chip. That'll be me. I do not intend to sit and wait for the war to be over. I know my grandfather, I know my uncles, I know my mother, I know my brother, I even know more about my father than you. I inherited my grandfather's brains. I was nourished by Jon Arryn. I've listened to Lannisters all my life. If you want to outsmart them, you need me. If worst comes to worst... I need to be on the same side as the person who will allow my siblings and I to be free and happy. If your mother is right, if my family was responsible for what happened to Bran, if anything happens to your sisters because of Joffrey or my grandfather... I won't want anything to do with the Lannisters."