Catelyn Stark

For the first time in a long time, Catelyn Stark had a good night sleep. She shared a room with Arya, Bran and Rickon. She felt that her children were safe now. Their direwolves were in the same room with them. She had a big smile on her face as she slept.

The next morning, she awoke and found her children were still sleeping. She crept out of bed and walked out as quickly and quietly as she could. She closed the door very quietly and walked down the hall. She was greeted by Lord Gregor of House Forrester.

"Greetings, my Lady. Shall I walk you down to the Great Hall?"

"Thank you, Lord Forrester."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. For the first time in a very long time."

"How are your children doing?"

"They're well. Thank you for asking. Do you have any children, Lord Gregor?"

"My pleasure, my Lady. I have six children. My three youngest children are back home in Ironrath with my wife. My oldest son is fighting the war at my side and my oldest daughter is at King's Landing. And my second oldest…."

"What is it?"

"My second oldest son is on Essos."

"Why is he there?"

"We had him exiled there."

"What for?"

"Well you see, my Lady, like your House, my family has that one House that you've been fighting with for generations. In this case, that family is House Whitehill. We've been enemies with them for as long as I can remember. And my son Asher, fell in love with Lord Whitehill's daughter. When he found out, he gave me a choice: Either I go to war with him or I exile my son. Reluctantly, I chose the latter. And not a day goes by where I don't feel regret. I miss him and want him to come home."

"Maybe when the war is over, we can do something about that."

"Would you really?"

"Certainly. I'll see to it that you and your family are reunited."

"Thank you, my Lady. You're too kind."

Catelyn reached the hall and saw Robb, Talisa, Lord Umber, Lady Mormont, her brother Edmure, her uncle Brynden, Lord Glover and several other lords and knights. They were all talking around a square table, looking a map. When Edmure saw his sister, he was very happy to see her.

"I thought you were dead."

"Roslin didn't know anything about her father's plan. She's innocent in all of this."

"Where were you, Edmure? Why weren't fighting alongside me?"

"Once we got into the bed chamber, they locked us from the outside. I banged on the door while Roslin sat on the bed, not knowing what was going on. I managed to get the door open but there were men standing there, spears at the ready if I tried to leave. They shut the door and I sat on the bed next to Roslin and held her. Later on, I heard snarling coming from outside. And then there was screaming. I told Roslin to get behind me while I opened the door. I saw a pair of wolves killing the guards. Once they were dead, they left us and ran out. I told her to stay put while I go see what was going on. I charged out and saw our men getting killed by the Freys. I grabbed a sword and started to hack my way through Frey soldiers. And then I heard that Robb had won. I went back to the bed chamber and found Roslin safe and sound and was being protected by a pair of wolves. I stayed with her until I was confident it was safe for her to come out."

"Well at least you didn't miss out on all of the excitement."

"Indeed I didn't. But what's to be done with Roslin?"

"Since she's Walder Frey's daughter, I should have her executed along with her brothers. But you say that she knew nothing of her father's plan. And besides, she's now a Tully by her marriage to you. No harm shall come to her. You have my word."

"Thank you, your Grace."

"Now let's get to business. What news is there on the men?"

Lord Umber spoke and said:

"It's not looking good, your Grace. We lost half our men when the Karstarks left. We had 9,000 men. And now we have 5,500."

"Great. So now we're back to half of our man power once again. What about the horses?"

"We were able to save most of them. The rest were killed by the Boltons in an attempt to stop anyone from escaping."

"And the wolves?"

"Fortunately all of the direwolves are accounted for. As for the regular wolves, we lost four of them."

"So we have over 5,5000 men and as many horses and a pack of wolves. We don't have the man power to take Casterly Rock by force now. It would be suicide to attack them now."

"That's not the only problem, your Grace. Casterly Rock has natural defenses as well man made defenses. It's at the very top a cliff and at the bottom of the cliffs is the Sunset Sea. Even if we had ships, we'd never be able to make the climb over the cliffs without being spotted."

Gared Tuttle, a knight for Lord Forrester said:

"Your Grace, what about the forests? Couldn't we lead them there?"

"I've thought of that. But the problem is that even if we managed to lure some of them out, Tywin would never leave his castle if he knew he couldn't win. And besides, he's too smart to fall for that."

"He maybe too smart, your Grace. But what about the guards?"

"Fair point. But still we need more men to lure them. Or a really big distraction."

"What if we set the forest on fire?"

"Then we'd lose our advantage in the woods."

Everyone stayed silent for a while. And then Robb said:

"What about Roose Bolton? Were you able to get anything out of him, Lord Glover?"

"We were, your Grace. From what he told us, his bastard son, Ramsay, has stationed himself at the Dreadfort. Theon Greyjoy is being held there as his prisoner. He also said that he intended to make Winterfell his new home once he killed you."

"So Roose Bolton thought he could take over my home once he got rid of me? Well he is sadly mistaken. And Theon. I'll deal with him later. But first things first. The North needs to fall back into Stark hands. We're going to take the Dreadfort from the Boltons and then we need to take back Winterfell."

"What do you mean? Your place is here, your Grace. We need you."

"I know. But right now, we don't have the man power to march on Casterly Rock. So in the meantime, we make sure that Boltons won't be a problem anymore and we can take back Winterfell. Once we've done that, we can lay low for a while. At least until we've rested and we've managed to get enough men."

"And do you have any idea where we can find more men?"

"I think I do. Most of my father's bannermen answered my call, almost all of the Lords came personally. There's one House that answered the call but never came."

"And what House is that, your Grace?"

"House Reed."

"The Mud men?"

"Yes. Them."

"Why them, your Grace?"

"Because they can give us the extra man power we need to win this war. They are the reasons the Lannisters haven't been able to invade the North and most importantly, they're skilled warriors in guerilla warfare. And if we were to attack the enemy ahead on, we would lose all of our lives. So right now, we need to have the element of surprise more than we ever have before."

"Fair point, your Grace but how do you propose to reach them if we are to remain silent for so long?"

"Once we've taken the North back the traitors, I'll head there myself."

"What? Forgiving me for asking your Grace, but isn't that too dangerous for you? Not many men who venture into the Marshlands come back alive."

"If the King in the North won't come personally, then they won't believe us. Not unless they see that their King is still alive."

"With all due respect, your Grace. We should head for Greywater Watch first. It's the first place we'll pass on our way back the North."

Robb thought about it and said:

"Agreed. Make it happen."

"As you wish, your Grace. So where do you want us to attack first?"

"Well at the time, we don't have the forces necessary take back Winterfell, but I think I may have a plan to take the Dreadfort from the Boltons. Send a raven there saying that "Roose Bolton" succeeded in killing Robb Stark and that he'll be coming home to celebrate his new power as Warden in the North. Also tell his bastard that he will be expecting Theon Greyjoy to be alive and well so that he can negotiate with House Greyjoy."

"It will be done, your Grace. What's to be done with Roose Bolton himself?"

"I will have him executed for all to see what happens to traitors."

"But won't his bastard be expecting his father?"

"Yes. He will be. And that's why I want him to be off his guard when we take the Dreadfort."

"Clever planning, your Grace. And Walder Frey?"

"He will share the same fate."

"What of his children?"

"His daughter Roslin will be spared. And any who had no idea of their father's plan. As for those who partook in the attempt on my family's life, I'll kill them myself."

"Are sure that is wise, your Grace? If Roslin is now a Tully by marriage, then should there be anyone to take over the Freys? Shouldn't we have at least one son live so he can be an ally?"

"I won't tolerate traitors. And after the attempt on my family's life, I would sooner trust Tyrion Lannister to rule Winterfell than allow one of the Freys to take back their home."

"What if it's a son that didn't know anything about their father's plan?"

"I'll consider it. But I make no promises."

Catelyn spoke and said:

"There's something I still don't understand. How is it that Arya is here? Petyr assured me that she and Sansa were safe in King's Landing."

There was a voice that wasn't from any of the Lords in the meeting.

"That was a lie. I left King's Landing after Father was beheaded by Joffrey."

Arya, Sandor, Rickon, Bran and the others entered the room. Bran was riding on top of Hodor.

"What?"

Arya spoke again and said:

"I was there when father was beheaded. Sansa was there too. Only I was watching from the crowd while Sansa had to watch while standing next Joffrey. After the execution, a man named Yoren of the Night's Watch took me, cut my hair and planned on taking me to the Wall. Unfortunately, we were captured by Lannister men and taken to Harrenhal. And it was there I had to serve the bastard. I escaped with a few of my friends and we found sanctuary with the Brotherhood without Banners. I was then taken by the Hound and ended up here."

"And what of your sister?"

"I don't know, mother. The last I saw her, she fainted after father was executed."

Sandor spoke this time:

"I can answer that for you, my Lady. Your daughter has been humiliated and beaten on a daily basis by the little fuck."

"What?"

"Yes. And he did because he thought it was fun. After Lord Stark was executed, he placed his head on a pike and made your daughter look at his head. When she didn't give him the satisfaction he was looking for, he had Meryn Trant beat her."

"And what did you do for my daughter? Did you do nothing for her?"

"I defended her. I cleaned her wounds. I gave her my cloak when she was stripped near naked. I even asked her to come with me so that she could be safe and away from the bastard."

"And why didn't she go with you?"

"She thought that she would be safer once Stannis Baratheon took King's Landing. Unfortunately, Stannis's forces were destroyed at the Battle of Blackwater. And Sansa remained a prisoner of the Lannisters."

"So all this time, Petyr lied to me?"

"It wouldn't have been the first time. That little prick has little birds in almost every man's ears. More so than Varys."

Robb spoke:

"Well for once we may have the advantage over our enemies."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Don't you see? It's perfect. If the world thinks that I'm dead, then they won't waste their time and resources trying to learn about our forces."

Sandor spoke:

"That's a clever plan, Lord Stark."

"He is the King in the North! And you will address him as "Your Grace"! Remember that in the future, dog!"

"That's all right, Lord Umber."

"As you wish, your Grace."

"What will you do, Clegane?"

"I don't know. I've had enough of Westeros. Maybe I'll head out to Essos. See what it's like over there."

"I wish you would join us in our fight. We could use a man of your talents for our cause."

"But, your Grace, this man served the Lannisters! The very people that had your father put to death!"

"I'm well aware of that, Lord Glover. But this man protected my sister Sansa and delivered Arya back to her family. And for that he has my thanks. Is there any way I can reward you for your service?"

"Just get me a ship out of Westeros and we'll be even."

"As you wish. Good luck to you, Sandor Clegane."

"Good luck to you as well, your Grace. Save that sister of yours will you?"

"Of course I will."

He was about to leave when he heard Arya calling him:

"Wait!"

He turned around and found Arya hugging him.

"Thank you. For bringing me to my family."

"Glad I could help. Now you stay strong and never let anyone hurt you again."

And with that Sandor Clegane left.

Notes from the author

Hey guys. Sorry this one took longer than my last one but I had to do a bit of research to make sure I knew where to send Robb and his army next. And besides, I'm trying to find another job and that gives me less time to write my story.

So would anyone like to see The Hound return or find service for Daenerys? Or should he just be his own man? Does anyone have any suggestions on what they want to see happen?

Don't forget I have two other stories. Both of which are from Assassin's Creed.

Thanks guys and I'll update as soon as possible.