So a lot of things contributed to this chapter not getting done. I actually had the idea for the chapter in my head for a while. When I went to actually put it to words it became a nightmare and I kept changing it. Then classes became a problem so that instantly became more important. So this chapter might not be the best and it might have a "few" mistakes. If it is really bad let me know. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or non constructive if you just want to be negative. I really don't care. Just to answer some of the questions. Somethings in the story might just need to be chalked up to its fan fiction so that's what happened. Other's like what happen to Winterfell if Theon didn't take it over will eventually be answered when...or if the characters get to the north. But to the question regarding Robb marring Talisa. In the show Robb kind of marries Talisa really just because he's in love with her. He's not doing it because he can't handle what happened to his brothers. As far as the willingness to work with the Ironborn. I agree Robb can never come to a formal alliance with Balon because of what the Ironborn did to Bran and Rickon but since Balon is dead and Robb has a chance to put someone he views as a brother in power it would make literally no sense to go to war with them anyways. Obviously if he could find the specific person responsible for his brother's deaths he would want that person killed but it would be nonsense to refuse an alliance with all of the Ironborn because of it. The point of going to the Iron Islands and killing every man would be a last resort to prevent future attacks but if they're already on your side why would you waste resources to do it. If you look at it from Balon's perspective Robb was asking the same of him. The greenlanders killed Ironborn and raped their women and in Balon's mind really killed all of his sons. But we or at least most people don't look at Balon's reaction to Robb's proposal as rational. Looking at Robb's character from the show he's willing to put vengeance aside for Northern independence. As much as he hates Joffrey for killing his father he's willing to let it go for his sisters released and the North free.
Chapter Seven: The Pack Survives
Arya tugged at the dress she wore. It was incredibly uncomfortable and she cursed herself for agreeing to Theon's stupid bet. She looked across the table and saw Theon smirking at her. She stuck her tongue out at him and instantly felt a sharp pain on her shoulder as her mother pinched her. She noticed Theon hold back a chuckle at her misfortune.
"Arya. I must say you look a lot different in dress. It suites you well." Talisa said to her goodsister.
Arya could see her brother eyeing her and expecting her to respond. She forced an uncomfortable grin onto her face. "That is kind of you to say." Arya went on to eat her food as her brother and his queen continued to talk. The enjoyment at being certain of getting 3 meals a day had warn off fast. While at first she had been overjoyed to be with her family soon the burdens and constraints of being a princess had made Arya long for the freedom she once had. Of course she was grateful to be free from the Lannisters and the Brotherhood but she could not help and think fondly of her time on the road with Gendry and Hot pie. In her small group times had been hard but Arya had been a leader, a warrior, and a friend. She had just been Arya but now she was a princess and felt more alone than ever. At Riverrun she had food, shelter, and even servants but she had no sense of purpose, no excitement, and no friends. Robb was the one fighting this war. This dinner had been the most time she had spent with her brother at one sitting since they were both at Winterfell. Every minute of every hour it seemed another lord or maester or commander would seek his council. She had been reduced to nothing more than a bargaining chip for a marriage alliance. And out of all of this what bothered her the most was that Robb had begun too view all of her stories as the tall tales of a child that had gone crazy. He had believed that she escaped King's Landing with Yoren and been captured by the Hound. Everything in between had been disregarded as nonsense. Of course Robb had not told her this but she could see it in his face. A mix of sadness and dismissal every time she would try and recount one of her adventures.
When she had finished her food she had wanted to leave but knew her mother would never allow it. It would not be courteous to leave. So she had looked on at the rest of the people sitting at the table laughing and enjoying themselves. Robb set at the head of the table as the king. Her uncle Edmure sat at the opposite end as the lord of the castle. To Robb's right sat his wife, then her, and finally her mother who seemed to be enjoying herself as much as Arya was. On Robb's left sat Theon, then Robb's goodfather Malachi, and their great uncle Brynden. Theon looked as if he had drunk too much and had been recounting, almost inaudibly, the battle of the Whispering Woods. Malachi seemed to be talking to her uncle Brynden about the Vale or something boring like that. Her uncle seemed to respond as little as possible to him without seeming annoyed. Her uncle Edmure visited with her mother politely. Lastly was her good sister the Queen in the North. She reminded her a lot of Sansa. She knew all the same courtesies, spoke pretty words, and even if Arya didn't want to admit it bothered her, she was by far the most beautiful women in the room. Sansa will love her… if she ever comes back. Arya thought sadly. Sansa and been watching her talk to Robb without really listing to the conversation. They had been talking when she saw Talisa do something very impolite. She punched Robb on the shoulder and then burst out into the most unladylike laughter.
"Striking your king is an act of treason." Her brother mocked.
"When your king accuses you of treason what other option is there?" She replied with false offense. Talisa turned to her good sister. "Your brother seems to be worried that I have been some kind of Lannister spy that maneuvered my why into royalty. You spent nearly a month as Lord Tywin's cupbearer, did he ever mention me?" Talisa said in a friendly and slightly drunk manner.
The joyful table quickly turned somber as Robb's smile faded.
"No he didn't say anything like that." Arya said as she stared at her empty plate not wanting to face Robb. She knew her brother and mother didn't believe in her recount of events and she didn't want them looking at her as if she was crazy. "He didn't really seem to hold his spies' information in high regard at all." Arya added as an afterthought. She didn't know why she needed to add something but she did. She knew she was not crazy and she would not hold her tongue just because Robb and her mother didn't believe her.
"Arya we talked about this. You were out there for a long time. You are confused." Catelyn said sympathetically.
Arya was going to just let it go until Theon spoke.
"Come on Lady Stark. They are such good tails." Theon said slurring his words. "I like the one about the man who changes his face." Theon said unable to hold back a laugh. He continued to laugh until he made eye contact with Robb. The joyful smile that had been their only a few seconds ago was now gone. Arya could have sworn she felt colder just looking at the gaze her brother gave Theon. Theon's laugh quickly died down. "I might have too much wine." He said right before excusing himself.
Robb softened his expression and looked at Arya. "Now I don't want to here anymore about this faceless man" Robb said returning to his plate.
"Robb the faceless men are more than just tall tales." Talisa said as she placed a comforting hand onto Robb's shoulder. "The skill and reputation of the faceless men are known across all the free cities. When Volantis sought to conqueror the other free cities after the doom and Braavos sided against us. Many of our leaders were believed to have been killed by faceless men hired by the Braavosi."
"I have proof" Arya said as she took the coin Jaqen had given her out of her shoe. When she had arrived at Riverrun she had been unable to leave her chambers without the coin. The coin seemed to represent a different path she could take, one that didn't involve dresses and courtesies. When she had lost her bet to Theon her shoe was the only place that she could keep it on her person. Arya took out the coin and pushed it in front of Robb's face.
Robb took the old and rusted coin and examined it.
"The faceless man who saved us from Harrenhal said that if I needed him all I had to do was gave that coin to any man from Bravos and say-
"Valar morghulis" Talisa said interrupting Arya.
"Yea? How did you know that?" Arya asked her goodsister confused.
"While those coins are very rare it is well known what it means to have those words said to you from a person with that coin. Even if given from a child it is accepted as if the request came directly from the faceless men. For all we know the child might be a faceless man himself." Talisa said.
Robb continued to examine the coin until he noticed how somber the dinner table had become. Even his uncle Edmure was silent as he stared down at the food he was eating. Robb handed Arya back the coin. "We'll discuss this later."
Arya highly doubted they would ever discuss this again but was content with having said her piece. Arya took back her coin and was surprised to see the speed at which her brother's expression changed. Before she had even put the coin back in her shoe he was smiling again.
"Talisa what was it you were telling me about?" Robb said happily.
Talisa returned to the cheerful attitude that she had at the beginning of the dinner. "The long bridge is one of the most beautiful monuments in the known world. A person can find almost anything amongst the hundreds of shops that adorn it. Maybe after this war we can go to Volantis and see it."
Arya noticed that while her goodsister seemed hopeful of what she said there was a strong presence of doubt in her voice, almost like she was making a plea.
"I fear my daughter has developed her own idea of what the long bridge in her head. She forgets to mention that the bridge has become a haven for cutthroats and thieves." Malachi interrupted.
"Father you're exaggerating. It isn't nearly as bad as you make it out to be." Talisa argued.
"Talisa how would you know? You've never crossed the length of the bridge." Her father replied.
"You and mother took me across it on my 12th nameday when we went to buy a new harpe." Talisa argued.
A small chuckle broke out from Malachi. "Talisa we took you no farther than a quarter of the way down. The west side of the bridge is very different from the east. They hang hands of thieves in the center of the bridge. Do you thing I would take my family to see such things."
"But we spent half the day walking down the bridge?" Talisa asked truly confused.
"That was because you and your mother wanted to see what every shop had to sell." Her father said with a laugh.
Talisa turned to her husband and noticed a sly grin on his face. "What?"
"You use to play the harpe?" Robb asked doing his best not to laugh. "I would love to her you play."
"No you wouldn't." Talisa said as she began to remember her dreadful lessons as a child. "I was horrible at the harpe." She said laughing together with her husband.
"Catelyn didn't you play the harpe when you were a child?" Her uncle Brynden asked.
Before she could answer her brother started laughing. "That's right you did. I remember our father had to bribe her with sweets to continue your lessons." Edmure yelling to the table.
As much as she wanted to, Lady Catelyn could not hold back a smile. "When I was 10 father had said I had gotten too fat and ordered the Septa to watch what I ate. After a year I was finally able to have sweets again because I told him I wouldn't finish my lessons otherwise." Catelyn said smiling at the memory.
It was at this point that all but Arya where laughing at the table. Even Arya's mother, who she had not seen smile since the day she had been reunited with her, was in joyful spirits. Arya felt jealous. Why couldn't she feel happy? She had food, shelter, and was among family but even with all that she felt only anger and sadness. She felt this even after the laughter had died down, her family members had finished eating, and everyone had retired for the night. She laid in her bed staring at her coin. Maybe I can still go to Braavos. Learn the ways of the faceless men. Her train of thought was cut off by a knock on the door. She quickly hid the coin under the sheets. She was about to lay down and pretend to be asleep, not wanting to deal with another lecture from her mother, when Robb opened the door.
"I thought we ought to talk." He said with a somber expression on his face.
"About what?" Arya said not wanting to give the satisfaction of knowing she cared so much about what he thought about her account of events.
Robb pulled up the chair at the desk and sat across from her. "We could start with that coin you're playing with under the sheets." Robb said as he pointed at her hand.
Arya was caught off guard but her reply came without much thought. "I'm not crazy!"
"I didn't say you were." Robb defended.
"But you thought it!" Arya replied.
Robb held his head down in frustration. He had thought that and admitting that he thought his sister was crazy was not how he wanted this conversation to go. He finally raised his head and looked into the dark brown eyes that reminded him of their father. "I've had men come back from battles claiming a lot of wild things. They've claimed to have seen ghosts of fallen enemies, men the size of giants, the gods themselves. Battle does something to the mind. When you told me your story of men changing faces and people returning from the dead I just rationalized that the same had happened to you…that wasn't fair of me to do. So if you wish we can talk about what you saw after King's Landing."
Arya looked into his eyes and noticed that he wasn't looking at her as if she was crazy. She wasn't sure if he truly believed her but at least he wasn't going to instantly dismiss her accounts anymore. "I don't know if I want to talk about it right now." She replied
"That's fine. We can talk when you're ready." He got up and turned around but didn't leave for the door. After a few moments he turned back around moved closer to her. "I didn't say this before because I was too ashamed. As if leaving it unsaid made it better somehow. But I'm sorry for what you endured. I wanted nothing more than to get you and Sansa back. I should have done more to get you to back. I failed you and your sister and for that I'm sorry."
Arya looked on at her brother and felt the guilt and sadness he was holding on to. It that moment he looked as if he had aged another 10 years. She went to hug him. "I know you did everything you could."
It took several moments for Robb to finally let go. He got up and picked the chair he had moved and went to put it back. He was almost finished when he heard Arya's voice once more.
"I don't want to get married" She cried.
Robb put the chair back in front of the bed and sat down. "Arya I know we speak poorly of the Freys but they're not all bad. I had a Frey squire for several month before I married Talisa. His name was Oliver and he was a great person. Saved my life during Oxcross. There's no reason why your betrothed can't be like Oliver."
"Robb it's not about him being a Frey. I don't want to marry. Sansa was the one that everyone loved. She was the pretty daughter that was good at courtesies and singing. I was Arya horse face." She said holding back tears. "I can't spend the rest of my life doing needle work and wearing dresses. I fought with Yoren when the Lannister's attacked. I could fight in the war." Arya said.
Robb noticed the desire in her eyes as she spoke of fighting in the war…which made it all the more difficult. "Arya, women don't fight in wars."
"That's a lie!" She replied angrily. "The Mormont women do!"
"The Mormont women aren't princess!" Robb said in a raised voice. Robb quickly realized how harshly he had said that and calmed himself. "I know this isn't fair. I'm the one who broke the betrothal and you're the one paying for my mistake, but we need Walder Frey's 4,000 men. I lost sight of that when I married Talisa and for that I have no excuse." Robb could see that Arya was about to respond so he cut her off. "But I promise you I will do everything in my power so that you can find happiness. You spoke of training with sword in King's Landing."
Arya perked up at the mention of it. "I was taught by Syrio Forel the first sword of Braavos." She said beaming with pride.
"If you wish I will find another sword from Braavos to finish your training. I'll have one of my own men train you in archery. I won't make you wear a dress outside of a wedding, I will promise to you that you will never have to work on needle work ever again and if being part of this war is something you truly want I will find a way for you to be a part of it. Arya hugged her brother and for the first time since King's Landing she felt a purpose other than survival.
Arya was awaken the next with clothes being thrown at her. "Time to wake up." Robb said in a more pleasant tone then he was used to.
"What's this?" Arya asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"Clothes." Robb replied.
"What do I need these for?" She asked as she looked at the dull grey pants and shirt.
"You wouldn't want blood to get on nice clothes would you? Talisa helps tend to the wounded and I was hoping you would assist her today. I was going to have Theon give you an archery lesson before he left for Seaguard but as of right now he still asleep and I doubt he'll be in any condition to do much more then ride a horse when he awakes." Robb said rolling his eyes. "So I'll find someone to take care of your training later today."
As soon as Robb left the room she changed into the clothes he gave her. As she walked out she failed to realize in her bed lay the rusty Iron coin Jaqen had given her.
