Northern Sun | Robb Stark

Chapter 6

King Renly was dead.

Lady Catelyn had returned, accompanied by Lady Brienne of Tarth, member of King Renly's Kingsguard and now Lady Stark's sworn protector. A group of men had come up with them and were already taking Ned Stark's body, recovered by Lord Petyr Baelish, to Winterfell where he'd be buried in the crypts with the rest of his family.

"How did this happen?" asked Eidalya urgently when Lady Catelyn revealed the terrible news.

She shook her head, still struggling to believe it herself. "King Renly was going to give Robb dominion of the entire North, reaching from the Wall to Moat Cailin. I beckoned him to negotiate a peace with Stannis, united we would all fare better. And then, out of nowhere... a gust of wind. A dark shadow in the shape of a man. Lady Brienne swears it bore the face of Stannis. We had to run, we had no choice. It was so sudden. It was black magic."

"And because of it, we've lost the Reach," said Eidalya. "Any hope we might've had of starving the people in King's Landing to encourage them to rise in revolt against Joffrey will be gone. Both major sides of this war will have good crops to depend on. If the Baratheons hadn't gone skipping off to join Stannis, if the Tyrells weren't such cowards, I could have offered to marry Ser Loras. I could have kept them close."

"No one could have predicted this," said Robb. "We'll make up for it. Why are you so sure that the Tyrells will keep the Crown from starving?"

"They're marked as traitors to the Crown right now. They can run to Joffrey with their tail between their legs and because he's an idiot and he's already been attacked in the streets for starving his people, he will accept their help. The Tyrells will be forgiven easily because of all the food and the men they have to offer. It's exactly what I'd counsel them to do. Lady Olenna Tyrell is a clever woman, and I've heard her granddaughter Queen Margaery is nearly as smart. We need a new strategy."

She swept past them, looking down at the map open over the war table. "Stannis's army is going to be even more powerful. He already had superiority over the seas, and now the land will be his too with all the Baratheons who will be flocking to him. We must keep our army together at all costs. You are a likable King, Robb, you've managed many victories and even earned the nickname of 'The Young Wolf.' Your reputation is just where we need it to be. But we need more men."

She rubbed her face, sighing several times. "It will take time for the prisoners we sent North to gather the harvest. But at least they will get started on it. They can send grain to us and we can distribute it through our camps and into the Riverlands to feed our strongest allies as well. More of their men need to join us. The Blackfish should be here with a host of men. Perhaps Edmure as well, though I know Lord Hoster needs him at Riverrun now more than ever." She closed her eyes. "We need more men. We need more men. With your permission, my King, I may send word to my sister in Dorne once she arrives. If I were to offer to marry Quentyn Martell immediately–"

"No," said Robb. "No, you'll be forced to go to Dorne or wherever that boy is paying off his family's debt. We'll manage without the Dornish. They won't join the Lannisters or the Baratheons. We're not at risk of losing them to anyone. We will wait and find a better ally."

Eidalya wasn't able to rest knowing this new information. Renly being dead was one of the worst things that could've happened. Right as they were about to gain an extreme advantage, it was ripped away.

She didn't doubt what Lady Brienne had seen. Stannis did stand to gain the most from Renly's death. He had his men now, and even if the Tyrells had actually run to the Capital, Stannis still had the upper hand.

Which meant they had to be his allies without being his allies.

"This letter was sent to House Dormund," said Eidalya, offering it to Robb at the next war council. "It bears my grandfather's stamp. There's no way of knowing why we have this letter, whether it was an accident or intentional as part of a trick. At any rate, my grandfather will need to work quickly to change his plans and prevent us from using this advantage. I say we send scouts out to see if the Lannister infantry is, in fact, making the movements outlined in this letter. If all looks normal, we may be able to attack. We have had the Lannisters scrambling around since we kidnapped the Kingslayer. They are having to deal with both you and Stannis now, Your Grace. As long as we keep them occupied on this front... one of us will secure the victory. We can negotiate with Stannis in the future. We may be able to negotiate a marriage between Bran or Rickon with Stannis's daughter Shireen. Provided we give the Lannisters no rest and follow every lead to continue crushing them in the battlefield... we will continue making headway despite the loss of King Renly's alliance."