In reply to Tim's review (don't know who you are), yes I realize that Grey Wind is able to kill hundreds of men very effectively, but I think that it would be bad for the story line if this guy died. I needed Robb kidnapped for further plot line details. Besides, Grey Wind will be able to kill people later.
Right now is a bad time, if you get what I mean.
Disclaimer: I don't own Song of Ice and Fire. It's too good for me.
ROBB POV
He was running through the woods, a horse and rider at his side, several more trailing behind him, and a woman in a black cloak rode in front of them. She had grey hands, like rotten flesh, and smelled like the dead, but he trusted her.
The rider to his left looked down at him and stopped his horse. Everyone else stopped and trotted forward slowly and quietly.
He stalked forward quietly, and peered over the ridge in the woods. The Twins stood half hidden in morning mist, and the smell of the river hung thick in the air. The morning fog clung in rivulets to his shaggy fur, uncut for weeks. He shook his fur and out and narrowed his eyes. Riding for over a day and night, he had kept pace with the horses for miles upon miles. His breath came in a light mist, clouding around his muzzle.
Then, the gates had opened…
"Get up you lazy ass king!" someone shouted, kicking his side. His chest screamed in pain, and his tender back burned silently.
He curled around his bruising side. He opened one eyes slightly and looked around.
Everything was slightly blurry, but he could make out the shape of a man pulling out chains and shackling them to his wrists and ankles.
"Get up, your royal carriage his here." The man smirked and laughed.
Chaining his hands together and his ankles, he stumbled outside, barely standing and tripping with every shove from behind as the Frey behind him laughed.
The sun hadn't risen yet, but the sky was cast in a soft purple grey. His eyes were blinded after hours in darkness, and he blinked stars from his eyes.
Another shove and he fell face-first in the dirt.
Laughter echoed around and Robb struggled to get to his feet, a foot planted squarely between his shoulders.
"Come on king; show us how strong you are." He barked, and more laughter echoed in his ears.
Robb rolled over, his back in the dirt and heaved in air. His breath rattled in his chest, and he felt something warm soaking his chest.
"Leave him be. Lord Walder wants him able to stand for his execution in King's Landing." Someone shouted from behind him. Robb pushed himself to his feet and teetered precariously. A hand shot out and steadied him, gripping his shoulder firmly.
"You alright?" someone asked. Robb nodded and sucked in another breath of air.
Someone slapped his shoulder and the chains around his ankles released.
"You'll be riding the slowest, most placid horse you've ever seen in your life. Try to escape, well, the king won't mind if you're missing a few fingers. Or a hand."
More laughter and someone helped Robb mount the dusty brown horse that stood short and thick like a barrel.
Four men surrounded him, all on tall black horses and with swords sheathed at their sides. A tall Frey with a rather long pointed nose and long hair tied at the nape of his neck was saddled to his left, and offered him a nod. Robb didn't nod back. He glared at the man, who shrugged and faced the gate ahead of them.
Slowly, the wood groaned and creaked the chains. The gate rose higher, until it was high enough to let even the tall reedy Frey through, who stood at least six feet.
The leader spurred his horse, and the rope tied around the reins tugged. The horse trailed along dutifully, and the other riders around him started off. As soon as they left the Twins, a cool breeze ruffled his hair and cooling his face, flushed with the fever that still hadn't left his body. His wounds were painfully sore, and he couldn't twist around to see if there was even a rider behind him. His eyes were sliding closed, but he forced them open. He would not appear weak.
The sun rose over the hills, the river sparkling like a massive silver snake carving a path through the grasses. The Twins vanished over a hill, and the brilliant sky was clear of crowds.
Until they approached the first body.
Half submerged in the river, their skin was white and bloated, puffy and decayed. Flies buzzed around his head, and a couple of crows took flight when they stepped closer. The rancid smell hung heavy in the air, along with the mist. He wore the coat of arms of north men, a massive giant.
An Umber.
He didn't know the man personally. Never met him previously either. But the north man lying dead in the river, far from home and left to be eaten by crows, made his stomach twist and bile stain the back of his throat.
A Frey man dismounted and kicked his arm, which made a sickening squelching noise.
"Look at the size of this monster. His mother must have been a giant." He said. Some chuckled, but the Frey to his left said "Leave it. We have only two weeks to get south. We can't waste time."
The Frey gave one final kick, nearly tearing his arm off and mounted his horse again.
"Alright then Edwyn. But on the way home, I'm stopping and kicking every north man I see." The Frey swore, and they set off again.
After the first corpse, more sprouted like mushrooms after a rain. They littered the river lands, many wearing north colors that Robb could name, and he was gratified to see some Frey soldiers in the mix, many without limbs and their blood staining the stones and grasses where they lay.
He felt a half smirk spread across his face. The lead Frey, the one who kicked the body of the first north man, looked back and narrowed his eyes at him.
"Think it's funny, don't you. You bloody bastard. No wait, the bastards on the Wall, freezing his cock off with those other brothers of his. No, you're the traitor. Like your brother, and your headless father, and your sweet mother, with her eyes getting eaten by the fishes."
He laughed, his voice carrying over the silence, like they were the only ones left alive in Westeros.
Robb clenched shaking fists and forced back the retorts on his tongue. They would get him nothing more than more bruises and scars. Wait for the right moment, then he could stab him right through his dirty Frey mouth, maybe even make an eunuch of him.
But the time wasn't now.
Not yet.
RUGOR POV
They watched the collection of horses leaving, riding south to King's Landing, where the headsman waited, along with the vile boy king.
Grey Wind growled, hackles raised in anger. The Lady Stoneheart placed a greying hand in his fur, forcing him down. The woman turned her cold eyes on him and hissed something.
"What is your plan captain?" The red man, Thoros of Myr, he called himself. Everyone turned to him and Rugor considered the ground below.
"We can't take them now. If one man escapes, he can ride back to the Twins and mount an army that would kill us all before we even reach half way back to Riverrun. We wait, and stalk our prey."
The yellow cloaked man grinned and the arrow man cracked his knuckles.
"I'll enjoy finding out if Freys still twitch in death, even if they aren't hanged." One brother said. Rugor turned his horse and said "we stick to the woods for as long as possible. The River lands are flat, and we'd be visible miles before we came close enough to catch them.
Wheeling his horse around, he galloped, not ahead of the group. The three men, yellow cloak, red cloak and arrow man rode ahead of the brothers. He was in the middle, riding alongside Lady Stoneheart.
She made no conversation. She rode alongside him silently, Grey Wind running between them, silent as his name. He was forced into silence, unable to say a word, or make any noise in front of the cold, accusing eyes of the dead lady.
They stopped at noon, and the yellow cloak man pulled some bread from his saddle bags, made of re-sewn cloaks. He recognized the faded Frey towers on the patch corner.
The yellow cloak man spotted him looking and said "stole it off a dead Frey couple weeks back. He had no need for it anymore."
He gave him a grin, and three teeth were missing from his mouth. Rugor nodded and turned back to his seat as far from Lady Stoneheart as possible. Grey Wind returned to his side, sitting at attention and scanning the woods around them.
The massive wolf stood with his head brushing his shoulders. He was far from the horses, which neighed and shook their manes in fear. Their eyes rolled around, trying to watch Grey Wind and one of the Brotherhood was trying to calm them.
As soon as the bread was eaten, they set off again, and soon they reached the end of the small forest. The Kingsroad stretched ahead of them, and he spotted several horsemen a couple miles ahead of them.
Rugor pointed and said "that might be them. We can catch them now, or wait till night fall and sneak into their camp."
The Lady Stoneheart hissed, hand clutching where the cold blade had sawed muscle and skin, leaving pale white bone underneath. Her voice was ragged and hissing, like a dead snake speaking through the mouth of a human.
"The lady commands for nightfall. We track them until, and wait for the right moment." The red man, Thoros of Myr said.
Rugor nodded and watched the group vanish over a hill.
"It might not be them. Maybe some soldiers from the siege camp in Riverrun. We should check to be sure."
The yellow cloak man spit on the ground and said "we can check after we slit their throats. Even if they are from the siege camp, their Lannister of Freys, and I'll kill the whole bloody lot of them."
The Lady Stoneheart hissed almost in agreement and her horse shuddered beneath her.
Rugor nodded and said "If they're just simple farmers fleeing from the war, we will send them on their way. No senseless killing."
Arrow man and Red cloak man nodded and the yellow cloaked man agreed, though reluctantly.
Spurring their horses, they trotted after the horses in the hot afternoon sun.
Sorry if this is short, school is not a time to be writing. This was sort of a filler chapter of sorts.
Will the Brotherhood rescue Robb from the Freys, or will they escape with their lives and the king?
Tune in to find out.