"Look at this," Oberyn tutted when they walked through the halls of Casterly Rock with Robb's host and his merchant-spearmen. They were in the Gilded Gallery, where the walls and ornaments were all made of gold, glittering gold of all shades, not only yellow, but also black and rose. "The Lannisters live in the heights of luxury when the rest of Westeros is starving..."

Brynden Tully harrumphed. "I won't blame anyone if they chipped the gold off these halls to scrounge for a bit of bread in the winter," he said.

"It doesn't work that way, Uncle Brynden," Talisa sighed. "Using this much gold now will only drive the price of food up and they'll need more gold to pay for a bit of bread that ever."

Her words made Oberyn laugh and Robb slightly stunned. "King Robb, you should make your Queen one of your advisors. Her knowledge in economics is what you'll need in the future," he said. In truth, Robb was the husband of an amazingly wise woman but he had not seen it yet. Most men never knew the worth of their beloved until it is too late. Although there was no doubt that Robb loved Talisa, he would have to learn to understand that she has more to the eye to being a beautiful sight as well as a stubborn healer, if the rumors were true.

"Aye, I should," Robb replied, holding his wife now by her waist. "It is such a waste though, all this gold, but only an empty show for all to see."

"What do we do now?" Catelyn asked. "Now that we've taken Casterly Rock from the Lannisters, will they come and take it back or will they dig their heels deeper into King's Landing?"

It was a difficult decision to make, no doubt one that Robb would need time to think about, however limited time they have. The Rock was theirs now, and no doubt they would have incited the anger of the Lannisters. However, they did need a base of operations. They did require a place where they could house not only their own soldiers but also their prisoners and camp-followers. They needed a makeshift home and they needed food.

"We will stay here," Robb declared. "But first, I want every hole on this Rock flushed out and brought to light. I want to know every strength and weakness, so no one can take us by surprise when the Lannisters figure that they might want it back."

"I will have it done, Your Grace," Nymeria offered and sped off to work immediately.

"She will not disappoint you," Oberyn offered, and Robb nodded in acknowledgment. After he had seen how well Obara could lead the Dornish spearmen, he would have no doubts in Nymeria's talents. "Your direwolf was very impressive also."

Grey Wind was not only fierce in battle, it was also able to heed Robb's commands. It was clever and protective of its master. Oberyn could have sworn that he saw it rip the throats off Lannister soldiers before mauling dozens more. "It is no wonder they call you the Young Wolf," he told Robb.

"Grey Wind has stuck with me ever since he was a little pup," Robb replied. "He's as close to family as he can be." With those words, he dismissed his bannermen, leaving only himself, Oberyn and his mother and wife. When he made sure that they were truly alone, he asked, "Did she get the letter?"

"She must have," Oberyn said. "The Tyrells might not want any dealings with our ventures, but they will deliver a message or two. They know in which direction the winds blow." The Tyrells should not have taken the rose as their sigil. They, more than every house in Westeros, should have been snakes. But, like the plants that they took proud of in the Reach, they would wait and see which way would bring them to safety and survival. He would not begrudge them to this end.

Catelyn sighed. "I hope that Sansa receives no ill-treatment from them when they get wind of this... venture," she said. A mother's sense was more than often the most accurate mode of foresight. "Every moment she spends there would surely lead to a greater nightmare."

Oberyn said nothing. He had no heart to tell her that the Tyrells had sent word in return, that Sansa was whipped with a cat o' nine tails the very moment Joffrey found out about their victory. "Do not worry, Lady Catelyn, once things settle down here, I will make for King's Landing to claim Dorne's seat upon the Small Council as promised to us. I will make sure that your daughter returns to you unharmed."

"You'd best make sure that no harm comes to her from you as well," Robb reminded him. He had not only embraced Oberyn as a brother before all their men, but the contract between Houses Stark and Martell had already been drawn. Dorne and the North would acknowledge one another as independent kingdoms and aid to see Daenerys Targaryen upon the Iron Throne when she crosses the Narrow Sea. Sansa would marry Oberyn to seal the alliance, and in return, Dorne would provide Robb's armies with whatever aid they can. It seemed to good to be true.

Trying to look offended, Oberyn allayed his fears. "King Robb, please believe me when I say that will never treat those closest to me with ill will," he said. "Your sister will only know a marriage of love and passion unlike any other." Catelyn wrinkled her face at Oberyn's last sentence and Robb just grimaced through it. Northern prudishness was a fun thing to watch and provoke, Oberyn told himself. He wondered if his future bride would be anything like them. "Well, if there is nothing that you need of me for now, I think it is best that I retire," he said. "I will see Your Grace and Lady Stark again tomorrow."

"Wouldn't you want a room here with your daughters, Prince Oberyn?" Catelyn asked him.

Oberyn politely refused with a slightly... deviant smirk that Robb immediately knew its meaning. "No, Lady Catelyn... I've made some other arrangements."

He left the gallery before Catelyn could come to any conclusions, and before Robb decided to investigate further.

He had his daughters house Ellaria in one of the more... discreet but higher-end brothel in the town of Lannisport right below Casterly Rock the very moment victory was sounded. It would not do for a strange, beautiful woman to have suddenly appeared in the middle of the taken fortress. Although both he and Ellaria freely pursued others, men and women alike, sometimes separately and sometimes between them, he worried more for the poor minds of the Northmen than for Ellaria's safety. These men were honor-bound to a fault to the point he felt that they would rather starve and gnaw on bones than forsake doing what they thought was right.

Thankfully, Ellaria was understanding and accommodating of their new situation. At least she understood that if they were to take Sansa home with them, safely and with the blessing of her family, he could not be known to have her as his paramour until the situation had somewhat calmed. His future in-laws would have uncontrollable fits if she just appeared before them without warning.

"How were your future in-laws today?" Ellaria asked him as they soaked in the large, two-person tub together.

"Ecstatic, as always," Oberyn replied. "I might think that our dear Young Wolf would be a tougher challenge than we actually thought, and don't even "

Ellaria almost pouted. "Let me think... the boy acts like he has a rake up his arse?" she asked.

"If the boy really had one up there..." All Oberyn received from Ellaria was a chiding splash of water to his face. "Nevertheless, the Starks love their family. They would do everything to get Sansa back."

"Sounds like there are a great many similarities between their family and yours," Ellaria added. "Things... would be easier, no?"

Oberyn did not deny that such similarities. He had not realized it until Ellaria had pointed it out for him. Both their families had their seats in places of extreme weather. The Starks lived where it was harshly cold while the Martells made their home in a desert. They thrived where others could not, and they had the love of their people because they thrived with them.

"Have you ever wondered what your future wife would be like, lover?"

"Lady Olenna Tyrell has told me that she is a girl that hides in the mask of a naive child caught in war, answering for her brother's transgressions against King Joffrey," he answered. "She actually is a wolf on the prowl, waiting for the perfect chance to attack." Part of him didn't want to believe the Queen of Thornes, but he knew that with so much uncertainty in the Seven Kingdoms, when the balance of power being so unstable, she dared not to burn all her bridges. She would placate any major player possible, in hopes that they would aid her to be closer to her goals, whatever they were.

Ellaria sighed. "Poor girl," she commented. "We must remove her from the wretched place as soon as we can."

There was no need for Oberyn to disagree. "I cannot allow another innocent girl to be tormented at the hands of the Lannisters again," he said, leaning in to give Ellaria a long kiss, one of promise. "If I had failed Elia, I will not fail Princess Sansa Stark."

"Oberyn..." she cooed, kissing his temple in hopes that he would stop going back to the memories of his grief. "You will go into the capital, and you will save her. You will marry her and you will return her to her family if needs be." They had gone through the notions before. If it was what they needed to do to bring the Lannisters down, suffering another woman in Oberyn's life would be what Ellaria was willing to suffer. Besides, she herself loved beautiful women and she had heard too many tales of Sansa Stark's beauty, what with her famed Northern grace and Tully coloring.

She took his either side of his head and pulled him closer so she could kiss him, coaxing out of the shell of despair that he would fall into from time to time. She kissed him until he fought for dominance, seizing her in his arms and lowering her slightly into the water, causing her to yelp slightly.

"I love you..." he growled. "But soon, we will have to learn to love another."

"Not if she falls for me first," Ellaria counted. "A girl whose hair is kissed by fire... have you had any redheads, my love?"

Oberyn chuckled. "Not at all," he replied. "However, I have heard that Littlefinger once boasted that he has had both the Tully girls when we were younger."

"Both of them?" Ellaria asked, impersonating the raised voices of highborn women when they received the latest gossip. "But... Lady Catelyn..."

"It's all a boast by Littlefinger, my love," Oberyn explained. "Lady Catelyn might have been a Tully, but she's a true Northern lady now. Honor is the main commodity there. It's a strange place, the North. It's a wonder that they don't all huddle together for warmth up there when it snows even in the summer."

"I'm sure that you will remedy that," Ellaria replied. Of course, there was no real sincerity in those words. If Oberyn was needed to move to the North after his marriage with Sansa, she and her daughters would not be able to follow him. But those days were still far, far from them. Nothing would be certain... yet.

"Do you know what they say about the Red Viper?" Robb asked Talisa while they were preparing for bed. "They say that he's bedded half of Westeros, men and women alike, and it's been confirmed that he has six more bastard daughters other than Obara and Nymeria."

Talisa raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bad thing in Westeros?" she asked. Before she had met Robb at the Battle of Oxcross, she had just finished her medical training and settled in a strange, war-torn land. She did not have the time to learn of its customs, more so of its politics. While being the Queen in the North now meant that her hold of the latter was improving, she felt that she was still lacking in the former. "Where I came from, it is very common for a man to take many wives, and a woman to take many lovers..."

"But this isn't Essos," Robb complained. "This isn't even Dorne!" He wasn't stupid. He knew that the Dornishmen were not all Andals like the rest of Westeros, nor were they descended from the First Men like the Starks and many Northern Houses were. The Dornish were descended from the Rhoynar, free with their love and free in their ways. They cared little for what outsiders thought of them. "My sister grew up with stories of valiant princess and damsels in distress... I just don't want her to be disappointed."

Talisa chuckled. "I married a King who made his name in a war for vengeance, and I love him," she soothed Robb, holding him to her bosom. "Perhaps your sister will find joy in Prince Oberyn... she is a princess in distress, isn't she?"

Only Talisa could speak such words and not incite any rage on his part. "I know... it's just that... I'm just... frustrated that I can't be the one to march to King's Landing and demand my sister back. We all know how well that went the last time," Robb replied, rubbing his temples, nursing an impending headache. His uncle and grandfather had gone to King's Landing to demand his aunt Lyanna back from Rhaegar Targaryen. King Aerys had started Robert's Rebellion for killing them. His grandfather was bound in chains and suspended from the rafters in the throne room in his armor, burned by wildfire, the "champion" of House Targaryen while his uncle was bound by a Tyroshi strangulation device, a longsword placed just out of his reach. His grandfather was cooked alive in his armor while his brother strangled himself trying to save his father. No one would ever allow him to enter King's Landing just to save Sansa, particularly when King Joffrey was said to be as mad as Aerys, if not worse.

"Oh, my love," Talisa whispered. "Sometimes we must have enough trust in ourselves to place that same trust in others." That was her Young Wolf. It wasn't that he was stubborn and unwilling to listen. He was idealistic. He, probably like his father, believed in the good in people, the good amidst whatever evil times they were in. He carried the world in his shoulders, in that way of thinking. He would fall to the ground before he would take the throne if he continued being like that, she feared.

"I should like to trust him," Robb continued. "He's a great warrior, he knows his poisons, he even has an eye for strategy... but..."

"Robb, that's you being the jealous older brother talking," Talisa chided her husband gently. "You're lucky that I don't have any, or you would have met an equally gruesome fate." Chuckling as her husband engulfed her in a somewhat heated kiss, she flipped him beneath her and had her way with him. It was the first time Robb had made love in a room gilded with gold and jewels. The experience was heightened by the fact that he had an exotic woman from Essos with him. A woman that he knew was fit to be Queen more than any Frey girl would be.

When they collapsed on the bed after their pleasure, Talisa rested her head on Robb's sculpted chest, content. "You know... I've heard that he's bedded men too..."

Talisa took the nearest pillow in her hand and gave her husband a good whack in the head.

The next day, Robb had the citizens of Casterly Rock and Lannisport gather in the fortress. Messages had been sent since they had taken the Rock, that he would speak with the noblemen, the merchants and the smallfolk about the changes that were going to take place there. However, thanks to Talisa, they were doing things differently.

The smallfolk were positioned right in front of Robb and his men, so that they could hear his voice the clearest. The noblemen were positioned behind him. There was a square in the fortress that was built so that whoever stood in the center could be heard clearly by anyone in the surrounding area. It was there where Robb had invited them all to listen to him. As a sign of goodwill and good faith, everyone had to place their arms outside the square, even Robb himself chained Grey Wind at a post near where the weapons were stored.

"You do not need to fear me," Robb told them. "I am not a conquerer. I am not here to strip you of your lands or your livelihoods. I am a son, seeking out his dead father's bones. I am a brother, looking for his sister's safety. Winter is coming, and I know that all of you will want your families close to you and your safety assured. This does not need to end in bloodshed, nor should it end in quarrels. If you do not want us here, we will leave in peace."

There were roars of agreement from unknown members of the crowds, but the citizens of Casterly Rock did not seem convinced. They were too used to Lannister tyranny. They still could not find the ability to believe in Robb's words. They feared that they might be too good to be true.

"Gregor Clegane scorched the Riverlands under Tywin Lannister's orders. They can't plant anything anymore. But look at the farmlands of the Westerlands. They are still fertile. There's some months yet from winter and I daresay that there'll be a good harvest if we all manage it together. I promise you, your food is yours. My men and I will pay for what we require and we won't take more than we need. If we do find ourselves needing more food, we'll have to plant them ourselves."

Applause rang through, and half the people were now cheering. Food and shelter, that was what all people needed. The smallfolk wouldn't care which lords they served or who they were. They cared for their own survival, which was increasingly hard to do in those dark times. As time passed, more and more started to cheer and clap their hands, and by the time Robb turned towards the noblemen, mostly Lannister offshoots and noble houses bound to House Lannister, they were very mildly impressed.

"So, my lords, what is your decision?" he asked them, looking at every one of them in the eye.

"You have the love of the smallfolk, Your Grace," said Lord Payne. His nephew was Ser Ilyn Payne, the King's Justice that beheaded Eddard Stark, not that the Young Wolf needed to know that if he didn't already. "Even if we disagreed with you, they would have ripped us all apart. You've heard what they've done at King's Landing, haven't you?"

Another lord quipped, "Your Grace, our situation has neither improved nor worsened since you took Casterly Rock from the Lannisters. They took our men, our resources and you will take our men and our resources. So long as you do not take anything more, we couldn't care less, really."

Neutrality. No, not neutrality. Nonchalance. They really couldn't care less.

"My men will take ten Lannister heads for every one you've lost for them, my lords," Robb promised. "You no longer need to suffer under their tyranny. Your lands are yours, so are your men. But hear me out when I say that if I find that after this day, if any one of you harms what is mine, I will pay the price back tenfold. The Lannisters aren't the only ones that pay their debts around here."

The lords all fell silent. They watched on as the smallfolk continued to cheer Robb on. "King Robb!" they shouted. "Long live the King!"

"So be it," said a third lord. "We shall have to suffer your stay here at Casterly Rock, if you promise to return to whence you came after this bloody war is over."

Robb betrayed no emotion. "I never intended to stay for long in the first place, my lord," he replied.

With that, the lords of the Westerlands were dismissed, and Robb Stark had officially gained control of Casterly Rock, albeit for as long as he could hold it.

"Eloquent speech, Your Grace," Roose Bolton said. "Now, what do we do?"

"Get every man we have shovels, rakes and watering cans, Bolton," Robb said, clapping Roose's shoulder. "We've got a lot of work to do, and we at least need to be seen doing it." Robb knew that Roose Bolton would not agree to this, but he had no choice. Robb was King and the King said that they would plant their own food, even if it was just for show.

Oberyn Martell was so impressed that he clapped his hands when he walked past him. "You're on your way to becoming a very charismatic and forceful speaker, Your Grace," he said. "It's a good start to finally becoming a politician."

"Oh, spare me the theatrics," Robb rolled his eyes. "How soon can you get to King's Landing?"

"Three weeks ride if I set out tomorrow," Oberyn replied. "Maybe two and a half..."

"I need you to get there as soon as possible and get my sister out of there," Robb said. "The Lannisters will only..." He was interrupted by Oberyn, showing him an invitation letter.

"Nymeria went through the Lannisters' letter-box and found this," Oberyn explained. "It's a wedding invitation to all the lords of the Realm. King Joffrey of House Baratheon is going to marry Lady Margery of House Tyrell. I will enter King's Landing to attend the wedding in my brother's name and take his seat upon the Small Council. That is when I will see to your sister's safety."

There was no need for empty threats between them now. They were already on the same boat. Without saying anything further, Robb gave Oberyn a brotherly embrace and left to see his mother and wife.

He hoped that he trusted the right person for this.

HAN: I had so much fun with this chapter because we get to see the... eh... tension between Oberyn and Robb. I won't think that it's THAT kind of tension, mind you. Oberyn would be too bored by Robb to even want to look at him that way.

Nevertheless, I do apologize if you were looking for any smut in this chapter. I really wanted to focus on how Ellaria and Talisa would counsel their men and how those two would react to their advice. At least, Oberyn's come out with a rather sound plan, no?

Enjoy!