Robb stood over his battle maps and ran his hand through his hair agitated. They had been at war over a month, the north had won 4 battles so far but he did not know how much longer they could hold out or when this madness would end. They needed reinforcements and they were slow coming. He had made all the deals there were to be made and could not marry off any more brothers and sisters. His father was dead, his sisters were missing, Jon had taken the black and joined the Night's Watch. "The fucking night's watch!" He muttered to himself angrily. He knew it was his mother's fault that Jon was at Castle Black and he needed his brother in battle with him to avenge their father's death and kill all the Lannisters! Well maybe they'd let the Imp live, maybe. He wanted the heads of the rest on pikes in King's Landing! He was holding Jamie Lannister 'The King Slayer" prisoner, but really had no plans on how to use him to get his sisters back. He had sent a raven with a message to The Wall over two weeks ago asking Joer Marmont to let Jon and Uncle BenJen come to battle for the realm. Robb knew his uncle BenJen was probably north of the wall for the next year but at least his brother would be able to avenge their father's murder by the hands of that monstrous child king and his treasonous mother! Angrily he swept the maps and battle figurines off the table!
Just then a squire popped his head in Robb's tent. "Sir we have a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"The scouts have spotted men, bannermen on the horizon."
Robb grabbed for his battle sword. "Lannister men?"
"Dornish men sir, thousands of them."
Robb was confused, the Dornes and especially House Martell kept to themselves and only battled when it favored them to do so there was a lot wrong with this. "Find Theon we will meet our guests."
Theon and Robb rode toward the oncoming horde. "Are you sure he said Dornish men?" Theon asked.
"That's what the squire told me."
"I hope he was right, and I hope they brought Dornish women. Their brothels are said to be the best in all of Westeros."
"We're at battle for the good of the realm Theon, not trying to find more women for you to fuck." Robb chastised him.
"Yes Lord Stark, King of the North."
They came upon the Dornish horde and stopped their horses. "Halt men. Who is in charge of this army?" Robb commanded.
"I am." A female voice called from within the crowd.
"Show yourself then."
A young woman rode out from within the rows of men, she was about Robb's age with long blonde hair in a southern style and stormy blue eyes, like the sea of Dorne. She was not dressed like women of the north. She was wearing riding leggings and boots, with a corseted jacket under her cloak. "Aliandra of House Martell. I bring you this from my father." She reached into her satchel and handed Robb a scroll sealed with her house seal. "Along with carts full of jugs of Dornish wine, wheels of cheese, salt cured meats and fuits from the coast cities of the kingdom of Dorne, along with woven tapestries, rugs and the finest dyed silks."
"It says here that your father, Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne is pledging 25,000 bannermen and knights to The North. Dorne doesn't fight in wars, especially against their own families. He also wishes sanctuary for you and your youngest brother. Why is battle a safer place than your own castle?"
"Dorne was attacked and sacked by Lannister men. They may be our family by marriage but I can assure you that is as far as the allegiance goes. My uncle Robert married Cersei Lannister that is it."
"Why did they attack Dorne? Dorne is always neutral in these matters, unless you have something to gain." Theon asked.
"Oh dear Greyjoy boy everybody has something to gain in this war. Tywin Lannister has the most to gain, he was upset that my father did not pledge men to him, since my mother was the late king's sister. The bastard king Jeoffery had my father branded a traitor to the crown and wants him dead. He thought somehow our allegiance to my uncle the late King Robert extended to them as well. They were wrong. We don't recognize ill tempered child kings or their traitorous mothers. We are a free state."
"I take it Dorne faired well in the invasion."
"They attacked in the night and surprised us, but we prevailed. Unlike the king's guard we don't just train our men to take orders, make formations and swing swords, Dornish men are trained killers they use anything they can find as a weapon. I saw a knight beat a man to death with a goat, the goat did not fare well either." Theon and Robb fought the urge to be sickened. "He received his men's sword hands back in boxes. We sent the heads to King's Landing and we kept the horses and steel for ourselves. Unfortunately two of my brothers were leaving a tavern late and were killed in the melee."
"I am sorry for your loss My Lady."
"As am I."
"Thank you both my Lords, my father thanks you as well."
"But I don't understand if Dorne is at risk from Lannister attack why is your father pledging his men to the North? Shouldn't he be keeping them?"
"You think these are all my father's men? This is not even half of my father's army. We still have more than enough men and ships to guard Dorne back at the capital."
"What does Doran Martell hope to gain from all of this?" Theon asked suspiciously.
"Theon have you no manners?" Robb chided his friend. At times he wondered if his friend really was not raised by wolves.
"He's right to ask Lord Stark. My father wants the Lannisters dead. Well maybe not Tyrian but he wants the heads of the rest to decorate pikes in the capital. He will not bend a knee to my cousin Jeoffery no matter what my aunt Cersei says. We are a free land and we will remain a free land. But he will recognize a king in the North as an ally. As long as you recognize him as king of the South."
"What else?" Robb asked.
"We have word of trouble from across the sea. Daenerys Targaryen is leading a Khallazar toward the Dothraki sea. If she lands at our shores she will start another war for the throne. My family lost Dorne to the Targaryen's once, which led to the fall of the realm and the reign of the Mad King. I will not let it happen again and the Dothraki are bloody savages. Ravers and rapers all of them they will not land at my shores and live."
"You have my word My Princess, if Daenerys Targaryen and her Horse Lords land on your shores you will have men of the North to meet them with swords and arrows."
"Thank you Lord Stark." They shook on the agreement. "She turned to one of the men. Get word to my father. It is done. Be discreet, we don't want the Lannisters knowing."
"You may call me Robb My Lady."
"And you May call me Aliandra, Robb." They smiled at each other easily.
They rode back to camp in silence. Robb knew Theon was having inappropriate thoughts about the Maretll girl but he didn't want to talk about it. He had just gotten 25,000 men that he was in desperate need of plus provisions from Doran Martell. The supplies would be of great help to feed all these men as well.
Later in the evening Aliandra had changed out of her traveling clothes, her hand maidens had bathed her in tangerine and lime scented oils from Dorne and taken her hair down and braided it. She was wearing a blue velvet dress with a tight bodice. She hated bodices and petticoats, but they were the style of the North and she was a guest of the North. She was summoned to Robb Stark's tent to meet with him and his war council. Many of the men in council had heard word of and obviously seen evidence of the extra forces, they were less sure of the rumors of Daron Martell's children being in camp. The rumors were confirmed when Aliandra Martell walked into the tent.
"Good evening gentlemen, Lady Stark. Thank you for asking me to join you."
"Aliandra child." Catelyn walked up to the young girl and hugged her tightly. "I am so sorry for your loss. Is your father well?"
"As well as he can be. If mother were still alive he would be better. We were sorry to hear of your loss as well. Lord Eddard was a good man, and we hope you get the girls back soon."
"Gods be good we will."
They joined the men at the war table.
"We've been in the Westland's for over a month now Stark, how much longer until we march on to King's Landing and murder those Lannisters!" One of the men spoke, Aliandra forgot his name but he was annoying her.
"First we kill the men in the field, then we march to the capital and kill the rest." Robb corrected him. "The more we can get rid of out here the less we have to battle in king's landing."
There was grumbling among the men at the table.
Aliandra spoke up. "At the risk of speaking out of place Lord Stark is correct. I have spent more time in King's landing than anyone in this room. None of you know the streets, and passages. None of you know the castle, there are secret passages and secret rooms and stairwells. Do you really want to send your men to the throne room and let Jeoffery set them all on fire like the Mad King did? They have the advantage there. You have the advantage here. The North is your land. They left long ago when Cersei married my uncle. Also, looking at this map, while we are all in the Westlands Winterfell is completely vulnerable. You may want to send some men back north just in case. "
"She has a point," Theon agreed.
"And what would a Dornish woman know of battle and war?" Another man at the table spoke up.
"We do things differently in the South. My father raised all of his children to be warriors. I was taught from the age of five to command men on horseback and men on ships. I didn't spend my days doing needle point with my Septa, I learned to shoot flaming arrows at men on horseback and I do not miss. I've killed pirates at sea for trying to come ashore in my harbors. The things you've heard of the Martell children are all true I can assure you."
"Including that your brothers were killed coming out of a Dornish whore house?" He kept challenging her.
Aliandra grabbed the dagger she kept tucked in her belt and plunged it into the table infront of her. "Sir the next time you speak of my brothers or any of my house will be the last time you have a tongue."
Before anyone could speak another word one of Aliandra's hand maiden's came in with a crying child. "I'm sorry my princess. But he woke up crying for you. He says he had a bad dream about the war." She had a boy about 4 years old with her, he had aliandra's hair and olive coloring but stormy grey eyes.
"That's fine. Give him here." Aliandra took the crying child in her arms, he clung to her for life. "Lady Stark, Robb is it alright with you both if my little brother joins us?"
Catelyn smiled softly at her. "Of course my dear. Is this Martayn?"
"'Tis My Lady."
"I can hold him if you wish." Catelyn was yearning to hold a small child close again, even if it was not her own. She could pretend he was.
"Thank you, but he will scream if I put him down. He'll be quiet as long as I have him. I have been both sister and mother to him since he was born and our mother died."
The men nodded their heads in respect for her late mother, then they went back to planning their battle. Aliandra stayed out of respect, she had hoped Robb would have sent her out of the tent when her brother arrived but no such luck. She was pretty sure they forgot she and Catelyn were there. After a few hours she was getting tired and her brother stirred on her shoulder. "Ali the Snow man wants to come home. He has to! They won't let him!"
Robb's ears perked up at the word 'Snow.'
"Shhh Martyn go back to sleep. Don't be rude. The men are working."
"But he has to come home. He's too far north. The others will get him. Go get the Snow man Ali! He has to fight in the war!"
"Shh your Septa has been telling you stories again. There are no such things as snow people and others in the north." She stood to leave. "I'm sorry, he must be weary from our journey. I do not wish to disturb your work. I will put him to bed. Please go on without me."
"Ali can I sleep in your bed tonight?" Martayn asked sleepily.
"Don't you always?" She mumbled and rolled her eyes as she walked away.
Theon nudged Robb, nodded after Aliandra and whispered, "I'd like to sleep in her bed sometime."
Robb shook his head at his friend's impudence, he really had better things to do than hear about all the women Theon wanted to sleep with.
Catelyn had heard Theon's remark and sent a thin lipped glare his way.
Robb couldn't concentrate on maps and battle plans anymore for the evening. He had to go talk to Aliandra about what her brother saw in his dream. He dismissed the group for the evening and went to find Aliandra at her tent. When Robb walked in Aliandra was tucking Martayn into bed, stroking his blonde curls and murmuring words of comfort to him to help him sleep. The scene reminded him of mother and Bran.
"I know you're there. What do you want?" She asked without turning around.
"How did you know?"
She turned to face him and walked over to where he was standing. "I told you. All Martells are warriors. Do you think I don't know who is in my tent?"
Robb smiled, this reminded him of being back at Winterfell. "I suppose not."
"So what do you want? I have a brother to care for."
"Does your brother dream often?"
"Every night I suppose."
"You know what I mean. I've heard stories of people with a gift, people from the south. Seers. Is he one?"
She wrestled with herself for a moment before telling him the truth. "My mother was a seer, she foresaw her own death before Martayn was born she told me of it. We just didn't know which child inherited her gift. How did you figure it out?"
"My brother is at the Wall."
"Your brother?"
He looked at his feet before speaking. "Jon…Jon Snow"
She smiled. "The Snow man. Your father had a bastard and now he's at The Wall guarding the realm from things that go bump in the night. Do you know what we call bastards in Dorne?"
"No what?"
"Son and daughter. We don't treat them as outcasts it's not their fault. We treat them as our own, because they are. And we certainly don't send them to a cold, dark wall to die for a realm that doesn't acknowledge their existence from things that do not exist."
Robb became defensive. "Well he's my brother and I want him here fighting in war with me."
"And after the war?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what happens after the war? Do you send him back to the wall or do you accept him into your household, even if he is a bastard. After all you will be the king of the North if this all goes right. You will make the rules you decide who becomes a lord and who dies on the wall."
Robb stepped closer to Aliandra, challenging her. "That's between my brother and I and I would be happy for you to not get involved. I sent a raven there two weeks ago and have heard nothing back. I have a bad feeling about this. I want my brother home fighting in war, not at the wall fighting Grubkins."
"The people you want him to fight with don't respect the fact that he exists, he could just as soon die and they would not care. Why should he come back? Why should I let my men ride North to get him for you?"
"Because he's my brother and I love him and respect him just as much as the rest of my siblings and when I march into King's Landing and cut King Jeoffery's head off I want my brother by my side and no one else. And because I am King of The North and as long as you are here under my protection you will do as I command!"
'Good' she thought to herself, 'Now he's acting like a King.' "I can help. I'll set out tomorrow for the wall."
"What can you do at the wall? They don't allow women within 10 miles of the wall."
"I'll be taking 100 men with me and I will probably need your permission to make some sort of deal to get your brother from the wall for you. Good night King Stark of The North." She smiled as he left her tent confused.