Chapter 7
The northern army were a few days march from the Riverlands and had set up camp in a valley surrounded by the mountains, Eshan walked in to the kings tent to find him looking over the maps, "what is it?" he asked looking up
"we need to talk" Eshan said sounding serious
"about what?" the king asked sitting down
"about Talisa" Eshan said remaining standing
"what about her?"
"I'm going to ask her to return to Volantis" Eshan said looking for a reaction
"and why would you do that?"
"she is a distraction, you need to marry the Frey girl"
"what if I don't want to marry the Frey girl?" the king asked anger growing in his voice
"I doesn't matter what you want you need to do this otherwise you won't have the men you need to win"
"the Frey's are Tully bannermen they will follow me or I will destroy them"
"they will not follow you if you break your vow to marry on of their daughters" Eshan was growing frustrated with the kings lack of reason
"you will not send Talisa anywhere and besides I doubt she would want to stay in Volantis"
"I cannot win you a war if you keep making the wrong choice an advisor ca…"
"you sound just like my mother telling me I need to marry the Frey girl I want to follow through with my promise but I just can't bring myself to do it"
"then send Talisa away, my family will welcome her and one of my brothers can escort her to Yi Ti, last I heard it was on the edge of civil war she can help the injured there"
"no she is needed here and there is not grantee that the war will still be going on when she gets there"
"your grace you hav…"
"leave" Robb said as he rubbed his forehead
"yes your grace" Eshan bowed slightly before he turned and left the tent
As Eshan walked from the tent he ran in to Talisa, "you were talking to the king" she said
"yes"
"about me?"
"yes I tried to convince him to let me send you to Yi Ti but he wouldn't have it, I would stay away from him for now"
"that will be a bit difficult since he requested my presence" she said before walking past him and walking in to the tent
"you can still win this war Eshan" he spoke to himself before he headed back to his tent
Eshan sat on his horse as the army marched towards the Riverlands, he rode forwards to ride next to Robb, "we are about a day's march from the Riverlands"
"yes if we're lucky we can get there without incident" the king seemed distracted as he said it
"we are lucky that Tywin and the Tyrells decided to go to defend Kings landing instead of marching to meet us" Eshan was silent for a moment before he built up the courage, "we need to continue our conversation from a few days ago, I will not ask Talisa to leave for Yi Ti but we should leave her in a town she can hea…."
"I think in need to apologize to you" the king interrupted
"and why is that your grace?" Eshan asked
"I don't regret my decision but I ignored your advice"
"what did you do?"
"I am unable to marry the Frey girl"
"and why is that?"
"because I have already married Talisa" the king admitted not looking at the Volantene
Eshan took a deep breath before he responded, "with Renly dead and Stannis decimated at the Blackwater the independence of the North was guaranteed but you may have just thrown it away" Eshan rode ahead to let the king think on his words
The army had just marched in to the Riverlands and the king sat in his tent thinking on what Eshan had told him, as he sat there Talisa entered the tent and walked up behind him, "devising another battle strategy?" she asked as she rested her head on his shoulder
"no just wondering" Robb said still deep in thought, "you knew Eshan as a child how reliable a source is he?"
"well from what his brothers and sister tell me even from a young age he could predict what they would do most of the time , his father would sometimes use him negotiations and I heard he could make grown men cry"
"so he is right most of the time?"
"nearly always, he once told his father to buy up all the wine and saffron in Yi Ti then a month later Qarth raised the toll it puts on ships passing on their way to Yi Ti doubling the price of saffron"
"how could he know that would happen?" Robb asked impressed
"his father asked him and he said that he heard that Qarth was exporting less goods and that when he looked in to it he knew they would increase their tolls on ships to make up for it and in the process making any Yi Tish products more expensive"
"so he can basically see the future"
"that's what it seems like why are you asking?" Talisa sat opposite the king worried
"when I told him that we had married he told me it was a mistake"
"it may seem like he can see the future but he admitted himself that he couldn't just because he says it doesn't make it true"
"he thinks it's a mistake, my mother thinks it's a mistake and all my bannermen think it is a mistake what if it is" Robb wondered out loud putting his head in his hands
"listen to me" Talisa lifted his head up making him look her in the eyes, "you spoke the words it doesn't matter if it was a mistake or not you choose to say the vow and I know that no matter what happens because of it we can face it together"
Robb looked at her for a moment before he pulled her in for a kiss, as the lovers were in their tent Eshan was walking around the camp when he ran in to Lord Bolton, "Lord Bolton" he said bowing slightly
"Eshan" the Lord replied nodding
"where are you going so late" Eshan asked
"I was just on a little walk"
"out of all the northern lords I admire you the most"
"why is that?"
"most of the other lords can barely see past the next battle but you look to the end of this war, you remind me of an older version of myself"
"so then what do you see at the end of this war?"
"hopefully a belly full of food, a cup full of wine and a woman but that is a long way off and I fear some of us will not make it"
"you are a dangerous man much more dangerous than the king or the other lords realise"
"and I realise how dangerous you are lord Bolton, I'll be keeping an eye on you" Eshan walked away and as he did Lord Bolton said
"and I'll keep an eye on you as well"
End of chapter 7
