The voices of Lannister soldiers echoed in the distance as they waited at the edge of a forest, surrounded in shadows. She shushed Frost as he began to stomp the round impatiently waiting to gallop into battle.
The rain masked the sounds of their hooves but it also made it slightly difficult to see the distant silhouettes of their enemy.
The rain soaked her hair and ran down her face making her fell fresh and alert which was exactly what they all needed to be if they were going to make this attack another victory.
"Greywind, Eirra. Go" she whispered down the direwolves that stood in between her and Robb.
They wolves immediately set off through the trees. Greywind as fast as lightening as he sped off through the rain, a great grey blur. But Nieva could barely see Eirra under the cover of darkness and shadows.
Before long they could hear the snarls of their wolves as they devoured their prey whose screaming alerted the other soldiers to their presence.
Nieva waited until Robb began to move before she kicked Frost into a gallop.
"The King in the North" sounded from all around her as they began their attack upon the unexpected enemy.
By the time morning came the rain had cleared allowing the smell of rotting corpses to fill the air. Screams of pain and suffering pierced the early morning silence. Nieva stepped over bodies as she made her way back to the base they'd set up at the edge of the battle field where Great Jon and Lord Glover were already waiting.
"My Lady, where is the King?" Lord Glover asked.
"You mean he's not here already?" Nieva asked with a frown as Lord Umber shook his head. "Imagine not showing up to a meeting you planned. Can we carry on the meeting without him?"
"Not really my lady, we need to know what to do with these prisoners, only the King can decide that" Glover replied.
"Alright" she sighed before she whistled for Frost who trotted over to stand beside her. She climbed up on him. "I'll find our King and bring him here"
She kicked frost into a gallop and headed back for the battle field.
It didn't take her long to find him. He was speaking with a rather beautiful woman who was covered in blood and mud, she was obviously a foreign healer.
"Cousin" Nieva heard Robb audibly groaned as he heard the beat of horses hooves that accompanied the shout. He turned towards her to see her cantering towards him upon Frost.
"What is is Nieva?" Robb asked slightly irritated that she'd interrupted his conversation with his new friend.
"I'm terribly sorry if I've intruded but you are needed, that meeting you called for it's already started and you're late" Nieva smirked glancing between her cousin and the unknown woman he'd been talking with.
"Oh no need to apologize, the king with just questioning me on my birth" the woman smiled.
"Now Robb, you know better than to ask a lady her heritage" Nieva smirked as he strode towards them.
She removed her foot from the stirrup to allow him to put his in before she leaned down to grab his arm and pull him up onto the horse behind her.
"I shall hopefully see you soon Lady Talisa?" Robb questioned smiling down at the woman who loaded her supplies onto the back of a wagon.
"I should hope not your grace" the woman smiled in reply before she turned and began to walk away from the cousins.
"Enough" Robb hit Nieva on the back as she sniggered at the woman's feisty reply.
"She's pretty" Nieva smiled watching the woman walk away.
"She's beautiful" Robb smiled a look in his eyes that suddenly made Nieva very worried.
"And you're spoken for!" Nieva warned as she clicked Frost into a canter, allowing him to get used to the extra weight of Robb before clicking him into a gallop.
Nieva was more than relieved to hear that her Aunt had returned safely. She had almost ran from her tent into her aunts. However when she got there she could see her aunt sitting across from Robb, both of them looking very somber.
Robb was the first to notice her and alerted his mother with a clearing of his throat.
"Well did my Uncle Renly agree?" Nieva asked when her aunt turned towards her. Catelyn got to her feet and walked towards her niece.
"Nieva, come here child. Robb leave us" Catelyn said leading her into her tent and guiding her towards a chair. The King nodded and made his leave quickly causing Nieva to become more concerned.
"What is it?" she asked in confusion as her aunt sat her down.
"I'm so sorry my dear, but your uncle Renly is dead" a gasp escaped the young girl as tears welled in her eyes.
She had only met her uncle in person a handful of times but they wrote to each other often, he would also send the Starks money for dresses and such for her. He was her mothers favourite brother. He'd been the one to come up with the idea to get her out of Kings Landing, he'd saved her from suffering the same fate as her Uncle Eddard, or worse.
"How?" She sniffed feeling the tears upon her cheeks.
"I do not know, a shadow came in the night and stabbed him in the back" Catelyn said stroking her hair softly.
"A shadow?" Nieva frowned.
"It came out of nowhere and disappeared the same way" Catelyn said.
"I should write to my Uncle Stannis, let him know" Nieva sniffed going to reach for pen and paper but Catelyn stopped her before she could.
"He already knows, ravens were sent out before we left" Catelyn said with a soft smile.
"What's happening about Storms End?" Nieva questioned.
"Well I think your Uncle Stannis will want it for now, but as his daughter will likely be unable to produce an heir, when he dies it will be yours" Catelyn replied brushing one of Nieva's raven strands of hair from her face.
"First Uncle Robert, then Uncle Benjen, then Uncle Ned and now Uncle Renly, what is wrong with me? Am I cursed?" Nieva sobbed.
"Darling there is nothing wrong with you" Catelyn said wrapping her arms around her niece and kissing her hair softly. "This is what happens during war".
Nieva glanced up as she heard the clinking of armour echoing around the small tent her eyes widened when she looked up as a rather large woman walked into her tent.
"Hello...erm who is this?" Nieva asked looking towards her aunt.
"Nieva this is Brienne of Tarth. She was the head of your uncle Renly's kings guard" Catelyn smiled.
"Oh" Nieva said a wave of sadness suddenly washed over her.
"My lady your Uncle made it clear to me that should anything happen to him, I must protect the one thing most precious to him" Brienne smiled looking down at Nieva.
It took the younger female a few seconds before she realized what the older woman meant. "You're here to protect me?"
"Lady Brienne will now serve as your protector" Catelyn confirmed with a smile.
"I do not mean any offence Lady Brienne but I can assure you that I do not need protecting" Nieva smiled before another idea came into her head. "But you can serve me in other ways"
"Tell me my lady" Brienne said eager to please her new commander.
"My aunt is very important to me, protect her with your life and you'll protect me" Nieva smiled.
Nieva was writing to her Uncle Stannis to ask about what arrangements were being made about her Uncles Renly's funeral when Robb walked and threw himself down onto Nieva's bed with a long sigh causing Nieva to chuckle softly. He was out of his heavy armour.
"Is it me or does everything seem to be growing stranger by the day?" Robb questioned as he stared up at the roof of her tent.
"Tell me about it, in one day I managed to inherit a large piece of land and a guard" Nieva sighed throwing herself down onto the cot beside her cousin.
"A guard?" Robb asked turning round onto his side to face his cousin
"The large woman who arrived with your mother. Her name is Brienne of Tarth, she served in my Uncle Renly's kings guard. And not that he's dead, she serves me" Nieva smiled.
"Like you need a guard" Robb laughed.
"I know" Nieva smirked. "That's why I gave her the duty of protecting your mother"
"Really?" Robb asked in slight amazement.
"Yes, you're mother is a proper lady, she's never wielded a sword in her life. Ser Roderick is at Winterfell so when both of us go off to fight she'll need some protection" Nieva smiled glancing up at her cousin.
Robb's eyes suddenly filled with empathy. "I'm sorry about your Uncle Renly. I know you were close with him.
"I was, I just wish I could have been there" Nieva thought before tears welled in her eyes.
"Hey come here" Robb said sitting up and pulling her into a sitting position, he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"How many more people am I going to have to lose before I feel nothing?" Nieva sniffed into Robbs shoulder.
"You've lost more than your fair share, I have no idea how you've managed to remain strong" Robb spoke softly back. "But know this, you're not losing me any time soon. I said I'll be here to protect you, and I will" He kissed her hair gently.
Neither teen heard when Roose Bolton barged into Nieva's tent until he spoke up.
"Your grace"
Both teens jumped and turned to face the stern Lord who had a look in his eyes that worried Nieva.
"Yes, Lord Bolton?" Nieva questioned as she wiped her eyes dry of the tears.
"You both need to come with me now to the North tent" Roose Bolton said, his tone sending a chill down Nieva's spine. "There's something you both need to hear"
They followed behind the lord with confused and worried looks until they entered the tent to see Catelyn already there looking extremly worried.
"Mother what has happened?" Robb asked walking into the tent.
"You may want to sit down your grace, you too my lady" Roose Bolton spoke.
"No thank you I'll stand" Nieva said as Robb took to the Lords chair
"Theon Greyjoy has taken over Winterfell" Roose announced causing Nieva to freeze in fear.
"This cannot be true" Robb spoke out in shcok.
"We've had ravens from White harbour and the Dreadfort, I'm afraid it is true" Roose Bolton replied.
"Why? Why would Theon do this?" Robb asked.
"Because the Greyjoys are treasonous whores" Roose Bolton snarled.
"You can say that again" Nieva growled before her face fell in panic. "Bran and Rickon?" she asked fear in her stomach.
"We've heard nothing of them" Roose said. "They killed Ser Roderick Cassell"
"I told you never trust a Greyjoy!" Catelyn snapped
"The fucking prick!" Nieva cursed loudly. "Well we must go back, we must reclaim it"
"You and me will go North at once" Robb said directly towards Nieva as he stood from his chair.
"There's still a war to win your grace. We can't back out of this now, if we do the Lannisters win" Roose hissed.
Nieva stared at her older cousins bannerman as if he had grown an extra head. "Are you being serious? You mean we are to do nothing! Winterfell is our home, our brothers are there!"
"How can I call myself King if I cannot hold my own castle!" Robb screamed. "How can I ask men to follow me if I can't..."
"You are a King" Roose Bolton snapped cutting Robbs rant short. "And that means you don't have to do everything yourself"
"At least let Nieva go and talk to Theon" Catelyn spoke up.
"I won't talk to him, I'll fucking kill him!" Nieva growled.
"He will die for this" Robb snarled back.
"Theon holds the castle with a small crew, let me send word to my Bastard at the Dreadfort, he can raise a few hundred men and retake Winterfell before the new moon" Roose spoke out.
"Ramsey is a good fighter" Nieva nodded remembering the first time she'd met Roose Boltons bastard, and although he scared her half to death, he was good in the training yard.
"We have the Lannisters on the run. If you march all the way back now you'll lose what you've gained" Roose Bolton said.
"He's right Robb, we still need to keep fighting for the girls. If Ramsey Snow clears the Ironborn out of Winterfell they can help secure it from any other Greyjoy attacks" Nieva backed up Roose Boltons words.
"My boy would be honoured to bring you prince Theons head" Roose Bolton smirked.
"Tell your son Bran and Rickons safety is paramount, and Theon I want him brought to me alive, I want to look him in the eye and ask him why. Then I'll take his head myself" Robb growled looking more wolf like than Nieva had ever seen.