6) Phase One: First we take Riverrun

Jeyne Westerling looked out of the window from her room in Riverrun. With one hand she tenderly caressed her stomach as she wiped her tears with the other one. Robb, Robb, my husband, my King, the father of my child. Dead. Murdered by his own bannermen. Betrayed by his allies. And now she was also their prisoner, along with all the people at Riverrun. Robb had left her safe and sound fearing an attack could be possible. Unfortunately, he was right. She wondered how her good-mother had fared. She was aware of Robb's plan to send her to Seagard before the wedding. Hopefully she had not perished at that accursed wedding.

She kept looking out the window, nothing else to do, nowhere to go … it was a beautiful landscape: the rivers which stretched endlessly, winding and strong, like a silver ribbon on the green grass disappearing off into the horizon; a vast expanse of green lands where she imagined farmers tending to their cattle (well, whoever was left, as most of them had perished in the war, their houses pillaged, their lands burned and their families taken away), and a thick, heavy forest splayed out just below the morning sun. The forest, it was moving. It was getting closer. It was chanting. She could hear a faint chant off into the distance. She couldn't make out the words, but the beat was definitely a battle cry. That was not the forest, it was an army! Too far away to see the banners. She prayed to all the Gods, Her Seven and her husband's Old Gods, that the banners those soldiers were carrying were Stark or Tully banners. She had almost lost hope when the Freys came and took Riverrun and told her about Robb, but she could always pray.

The host kept getting closer and she could make out some of the banners: a grey direwolf in a field of white, a white falcon with a crescent moon in a field of blue, a white leaping trout in a field of red and blue. She didn't recognize many of the others, but she did realize something very important: there were no golden lions, identical towers or flayed men. Hope was not lost. She had to help them, and she knew just how.

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Just as arranged, all the soldiers had gathered by the Whispering Woods. It was an impressive host consisting of a large party of men from the Vale, other families from the Eyrie and the Riverlands, a few Northern Lords and men from Seagard. They set up tents not far from Riverrun and decided to approach the following day. Lady Catelyn and her two daughters would remain in the camp with Jason Mallister and a small guard.

As they approached Riverrun, Lord Brynden Tully was enraged to see the Frey banners flying from the towers. With an authoritative voice which gave more force to an already impressive host he called "Remove the Frey banners from my castle. Surrender and you will not be harmed." The answer he received was a shower of arrows landing just short of their location.

"Lord Tully" one of his soldiers called him. "We caught this young man sneaking into our camp. He claims he knows you and wants to speak to you" he said and dragged a young man with bound hands.

"Millan" the Blackfish recognized the young man who had been working at the stables in Riverrun since he could walk. "What are you doing here? Where do you come from?" he asked as he untied the stable boy's hands.

"I escaped through the broken sewage by the South Wall. Lady Jeyne sent me with a message" he said and gave him a parchment.

My Dear Good Uncle,

Life has not been kind to us in Riverrun since we heard of the massacre at the wedding. I cannot console myself thinking of my poor husband. I was glad to hear you had escaped. Not long after we received the news of the betrayal by the Freys, they came and took the castle. The men have been imprisoned and the women have been locked in the main building. All the servants are being closely watched, but the castle is not heavily armed. Knowing most of our soldiers had gone to the wedding at the Twins, they did not bother to bring many soldiers when they came here. They are waiting for a Lannister host to fortify their position, but their army has not arrived yet. There is not much we can do from the inside, but we can find you a way in. If you agree, we'll leave the broken sewage by the South Wall open and you and your men can sneak inside and attack them from within.

Awaiting your reply,

Lady Jeyne Stark.

"Very well" said the Blackfish. "Tell Lady Jeyne we will follow her plan under the cover of dark tonight. Well done, Millan"

"Thank you, my lord. I'll tell the Lady" he said and turned to the stream that led back to the South Wall.

The invading army spent the rest of the day exchanging taunts and verbal threats with their counterpart from behind the walls of Riverrun. They pretended to be preparing for a siege, making camp and putting up empty tents. By nightfall, the only thing the Freys in Riverrun could see was an army setting up for the long term on the outskirts of the castle. They had no idea this army was actually preparing a stealth sneak attack from within the very walls of the castle.

Led by Brynden Tully himself, a small host of men who knew the inside layout of Riverrun started trickling towards the South Wall one by one and in small groups. They crouched behind the trees and then crawled down the stream under the cover of darkness. They entered through the broken pipe and then quickly made it into the yard. As quietly as they could, they started attacking the unaware soldiers. By the time the alarm was sounded many Freys lay dead or incapacitated and the portcullis had been opened. The rest of the soldiers stormed the castle walls and made it inside for an all-out attack. The battle was over not long after it had begun. The Frey soldiers who hadn't perished in the attack were taken to the dungeons to occupy the cells left vacant by the freed Tully men.

Even though everybody was cheering and celebrating in the yard after their victory over the Freys, the mood was not all festive. Yes, they had reclaimed the castle and their casualties had been minimal, but nobody could forget what had led to this in the first place. The King and most of his men were dead and no victory could ever bring them back.

Later that night, Brynden Tully, Lady Catelyn, Lady Jeyne and Jason Mallister sat together in the study.

"Difficult to say who should sit in the chair" noted the Blackfish pointing at the empty chair behind the desk. "This is my family House, but that chair was my brother's, not mine. When my brother passed away, it was my nephew Edmure who inherited it, but Edmure is not here. Then it should be our King's, the King in the North, but he's not here either. Should his mother, who is also a Tully by name and heir to Riverrun as well, sit in the chair? Or should the King's wife, Queen Jeyne?"

Upon tacit agreement the chair was left vacant and they all sat around the table. Phase one of their plan had been achieved, Riverrun had been reclaimed. Now onto the next phase: attack the Twins and liberate their men.

TBC