Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire. Any similarities in storyline or dialogue originated with the show or books.
Summary: Every woman envied her, and all men wanted her, but she only ever had eyes for one. Robb/OC
The Promise
"Get your hands off me," Cassana seethed as she ripped herself from the northern knight's grasp. "I am a princess."
The young man rolled his eyes and gave her shoulder a tiny shove, forcing her to step forward. She pushed her curly hair over her shoulder and straightened her back while the same knight laid her elegantly crafted bow and arrows down on the table in front of the man who had come to be known as the King of the North. Cassana sighed quietly as Robb Stark leaned forward to look at her weapon. He glanced at the men who were with him in the large tent before looking at the Baratheon princess.
"Princesses do not tend to carry weapons like this," the northern king gestured, "or lead assassination missions."
"You would already be dead if this was an assassination mission," the archer smirked. "My cousin sent me here for a different reason."
"Lord Stannis, you mean?" The man sitting beside Robb quipped.
"King Stannis," Cassana glared, "as he is the only rightful heir to the Iron Throne."
"We do not fight his claim to the throne. It is only his claim to the North that we contest," Robb said, his eyes still locked onto the girl's.
He had heard of Cassana Baratheon before; the orphaned cousin of the king who had been shuffled between her royal family members since her youth. He had only been fed rumors of her beauty and her fiery temper, but now she was standing before him, living up to the expectations he had set in his mind. She was undoubtedly beautiful with an oval face, light olive skin, almond-shaped brown eyes and long dark brown hair which were worn in an array of braids. She was dressed in a light blue dress that seemed to thin for the region, but she showed no sign of feeling the cold. He would not admit it aloud at that moment, but he was sure that Cassana Baratheon was the one of the most elegantly beautiful girls he had ever seen.
"The person who sits on the Iron Throne is meant to rule the North as much as he is meant to rule the Stormlands or the Westerlands," the Baratheon argued, her anger bubbling up to the surface.
Robb could not hold back the small smile that crept onto his lips. The girl standing before him could not be older than 17 yet she had the temper of a grown man. She seemed to personify her house's words. "I do not believe that we will reach an agreement on that matter so I suggest we move on or we will be arguing about this until the sun comes up. If you did not come here to kill me or my men then why did you come?"
"To broker a deal," Cassana responded as she stepped towards the table. The knight who led her inside moved to grab her again, but Robb stopped him by holding up his hand shortly. The younger girl smirked at the knight before turning back to the King of the North. She began to walk around the table, her movements deliberate and calculated. Every man's gaze followed her until she reached their king. Cassana gave Robb a surveying glance before she sat on the edge of the table beside him. She saw the men sitting beside him lay their hands on their swords out of the corner of her eye, but she knew they would not act unless their king gave the word, and she trusted that he could see that she did not mean to harm him.
"We have already chosen not to ally with Lord Stannis," one of the lords reminded the princess. "And nothing you say will change King Robb's mind."
"Well, I certainly hope that is not the truth," Cassana said. She pursed her lips together in a thin line when Robb looked at her.
He cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat slightly. "And why is that?"
"Because if we do not reach an agreement before the end of tomorrow then you will be murdered by Stannis' red priestess Melisandre," Cassana answered curtly.
"Is that a threat?" One of the lords huffed.
"No," she looked at the man, "that is a promise. My cousin had already decided to give the order to have you killed, but I convinced him to delay the final preparations."
"Why?" Robb raised an eyebrow.
"Because I met your sister at King's Landing. I saw her faint when your father lost his head for telling the truth," Cassana explained quietly. She watched Robb's expression closely as he shifted in his seat again, the anger altering his handsome features slightly. "I know what it is like to lose your family and I do not wish for her to experience the same fate."
"My sister—is she—" Robb started, his expression softening. "Is she okay?"
"Everyone thinks she has traitor's blood and she is constantly surrounded by people who would pay to see her dead," she paused, "but she has proven that she is stronger than she looks. She is definitely wolf-blooded."
Robb watched the girl for a moment, debating on whether or not he should believe her. "What is the offer?"
"My cousin will give you full control over this region and name you the Prince of the North, but you must swear that if anyone ever rises up against him, you will fight for his side and recognize Stannis as your rightful king," Cassana explains. "You must also agree to give up any claim you think you have to the Iron Throne."
"That is an absurd deal to make," Lord Umber declared as he stood from his seat and placed his fists on the table with a thump. "Robb is the rightful King of the North and we will fight for the right to call him that."
Robb turned from his trusted lord to the Baratheon princess, searching for her reaction. From what he could see, the girl was not angry or annoyed. She was amused. Her eyes lingered on Lord Umber for a moment before returning to Robb. "I am not here to force you into making a deal you will not honor. I am here in an attempt to save your life."
"Why should I trust that Stannis will honor his side of this deal?" Robb questioned.
"You have my word he will," Cassana replied without hesitation, her eyes full of confidence. "Besides, if I knew he was not going to act honorable there would have been no use for this peaceful visit."
"Are you aware that we outnumber you and your small group greatly? We could eliminate you in a matter of minutes," one of Robb's lords said confidently. Cassana scoffed quietly as she stood up. She flashed another beautiful smile before walking towards the front of the tent
"I will give you the night to think about the offer," Cassana responded, ignoring the last question. Robb barely gave her permission to pick up her weapon that was still lying on the table. "I hope you know that I was not lying earlier. Death is coming for all of you if we cannot reach an agreement," she said as she pulled her sheath of arrows over her shoulder and lowered her bow to her side. "Good night, My Lord."
The King of the North watched as the girl, who was third in line for the Iron Throne, walked out of the tent like she had just won the debate. He swallowed hard as he leaned back in his seat. His loyal lords quickly erupted into tiny arguments amongst themselves about what had just occurred. Robb could hear the objections to the fact that Stannis had just sent a girl to broker the deal and that she had brought a weapon with her. A few thought that they should take Cassana's promises as a declaration of war.
We are already at war, Robb thought to himself.
"We should take her prisoner and force Stannis to give us the North," one of his men suggested triumphantly. The idea had already crossed Robb's mind, but he discarded it quickly. He believed that Stannis would never give in to those types of threats. Kidnapping his cousin would only persuade him to try to destroy the Northern army only that much sooner. Robb did not even want to begin to think about the idea that Stannis' red priestess could kill him before the next day was done, but he was forced to after hearing the Baratheon princess' warning.
"Leave me," Robb ordered suddenly as he stood from his seat. The lords looked to him for a moment before they all bowed and shuffled outside into the cold night.
A part of him wanted to seek counsel from his mother, but he was still angered by her actions of setting Jaime Lannister free. Lady Stark wanted blood, and in her growing need for vengeance she was beginning to see enemies everywhere. Robb was sure she would want him to take the Baratheon girl captive, but in his heart knew it would be the wrong decision. He dropped back into his seat with a sigh. He wanted to do what was best for his people, but if there was one thing he had learned, it was that the Baratheons never accepted defeat.
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