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Chapter 26
As they waited in Riverrun's Great Hall for the prisoner to be brought before them, she saw Robb push back his crown so it rested upon the thick auburn mop of his hair; moments later, he moved it forward again; later he gave it a quarter turn, as if that might make it sit more easily on his brow. It is no easy thing to wear a crown, Selene thought as she sat beside him. She had been wearing coronets her entire life but her new one, her winter crown, sat heavier than her silver one ever had.
When the guards brought in the captive, Robb called for his sword. His squire offered it up hilt first, and he drew the blade and laid it bare across his knees, a threat plain for all to see. Selene did the same with Stormsbane. Women typically never laid swords bare on their knees, but she could see the looks of pride from the northern lords. Their queen had to be as hard as them.
"Your Graces, here is the man you asked for," announced Ser Robin Ryger, captain of the Tully household guard.
"Kneel before the king and queen, Lannister!" Theon Greyjoy shouted. Ser Robin forced the prisoner to his knees.
Selene looked more like a Lannister than her distant cousin. Ser Cleos Frey was a son of Lady Genna, Lord Tywin's sister, but he had none of the Lannister beauty, the fair hair or the green eyes. Instead, he had inherited the stringy brown locks, weak chin, and thin face of his sire Ser Emmon Frey, old Lord Walder's second son. His eyes were pale and watery as he looked up at Robb and Selene.
"Rise, Ser Cleos." Robb's voice was icy, and he did not sound like a boy of fifteen. War had made a man of him before his time. Morning light glimmered faintly against the edge of the steel across his knees. Selene's own black blade glinted dangerously.
Yet it was not their swords that made Ser Cleos Frey anxious; it was their beasts. Grey Wind was as large as an elkhound, lean and smoke-dark, with eyes like molten gold. Eleni was larger, and her amber eyes gleamed as bright as her pale gold coat. When the beasts padded forward and sniffed at the captive knight, every man in that hall could smell the scent of fear. Ser Cleos had been taken during the battle in the Whispering Wood, where Grey Wind had ripped out the throats of at least half a dozen men.
The knight scrambled up, edging away with such speed that some of the watchers laughed aloud. "Thank you, my lord."
"Your Grace," barked Lord Umber, the Greatjon, ever the loudest of Robb's northern bannerman….and the truest and fiercest as well, or so he insisted. He had been the first to proclaim Robb King in the North, and the first to declare Selene queen. Umber would allow no slight to the honor of his new-made sovereigns.
"Your Grace," Ser Cleos corrected himself hastily, "Pardons."
He is a coward, this one, Selene thought. More Frey than Lannister. Jaime would have been a much different matter. They would have never gotten that honor through her uncle's perfect teeth.
"We brought you from your cell to carry a message to Cersei Lannister in King's Landing," Selene said to the Frey, "You'll travel under a peace banner, with thirty of our best men to escort you."
Ser Cleos was visibly relieved. "Then I should be most glad to bring Your Grace's message to the queen, cousin."
Selene clenched her teeth at his familiarity.
"Understand," Robb said, "that we are not giving you your freedom. Your grandfather Lord Walder pledged his support and that of House Frey." Robb failed to mention that the Freys had abandoned their host the moment Selene was chosen over one of their girls, "Many of your cousins and uncles rode with us in the Whispering Wood, but you chose to fight beneath the lion banner. That makes you a Lannister, not a Frey. I want your pledge, on your honor as a knight, that after you deliver the message you'll return with the queen's reply, and resume your captivity."
Ser Cleos answered at once, "I do so vow."
"Every man in this hall has heard you," warned Ser Edmure Tully, who spoke for Riverrun and the lords of the Trident in the place of Hoster. "If you do not return, the whole realm will know you forsworn."
"I will do as I pledged," Ser Cleos replied stiffly, "What is the message?"
"An offer of peace," Robb stood, longsword in hand. Grey Wind moved to his side. The hall grew hushed. "Tell the Queen Regent that if she meets my terms, I will sheath the sword, and make an end to the war between us."
In the back of the hall, Selene glimpsed the tall, gaunt figure of Lord Rickard Karstark shove through a rank of guards and out the door. No one else moved. Robb paid the disruption no mind. His squire handed him a rolled parchment.
Robb unrolled it, "First, the queen must release my sisters and provide them with transport by sea from King's Landing to White Harbor. It is to be understood that Sansa's betrothal to Joffrey Baratheon is at an end. When I receive word from my castellan that my sisters have returned unharmed to Winterfell, I will release the queen's cousins, the squire Willem Lannister and your brother Tion Frey, and give them safe escort to Casterly Rock or wheresoever she desires them delivered."
"Secondly," Selene started, having no need of the parchment to remember what was written, "Lord Eddard Stark's bones will be returned north, so he may rest beside his brother and sister in the crypts beneath Winterfell, as he would have wished. The remains of the men of his household guard who died in his service at King's Landing must also be returned."
"Third, my father's greatsword Ice will be delivered to my hand, here at Riverrun." Robb said. "Fourth, the Queen Regent will command her father Lord Tywin to release those knights and lords bannermen of ours that he took captive in the battle on the Green Fork of the Trident. Once he does so, I shall release my own captives taken in the Whispering Wood and the Battle of the Camps, save Jaime Lannister alone, who will remain our hostage for his father's good behavior."
"Lastly," Selene stood beside Robb, Eleni at her side, "For her crimes, Cersei Lannister must leave Westeros and go into exile, taking her bastards with her. Tywin Lannister will be allowed to return to Casterly Rock once he swears fealty to me and my husband."
"THE QUEEN IN THE NORTH!" boomed Greatjon Umber, a ham-sized fist hammering at the air as he shouted. "Stark! Stark! The King in the North!"
Robb rolled up the parchment again. "Lord Tywin must withdraw to Casterly Rock and cease his raiding, burning, and pillaging of the riverlands. Cersei Lannister and her children shall depart from King's Landing to Essos at once. Additionally, the Lannisters shall deliver ten highborn hostages, to be mutually agreed upon, as a pledge of peace. These I will treat as honored guests, according to their station. So long as the terms of this pact are abided with faithfully, I shall release two hostages every year, and return them safely to their families." Robb tossed the rolled parchment at the knight's feet. "There are the terms. If she meets them, we'll give her peace. If not" – he whistled, and Grey Wind moved forward snarling – "I'll give her another Whispering Wood."
"Stark!" the Greatjon roared again, and now other voices took up the cry. "Stark, Stark, King in the North!" The direwolf threw back his head and howled. The lioness lifted her chin and roared.
Ser Cleos had gone the color of curdled milk. "The queen shall hear your message, my – Your Grace."
"Good," Robb said, "Ser Robin, see that he has a good meal and clean clothing. He's to ride at first light."
"As you command, Your Grace," Ser Robin Ryger replied.
"Then we are done." The assemble knights and lords bannermen bent their knees as Robb and Selene turned to leave, Grey Wind and Eleni at their heels. Robb's squire scrambled ahead to open the door. Lady Catelyn followed them out, her brother at her side.
"You did well," Catelyn told Robb in the gallery that led from the rear of the hall, "though that business with the beasts was japery more befitting children than royalty."
Robb scratched Grey Wind behind the ear, while Eleni nuzzled Selene's hand. "Did you see the look on his face, Mother?" Robb asked, smiling.
"What I saw was Lord Karstark, walking out."
"As did I." Robb lifted off his crown with both hands. Selene did the same and handed them to his squire, a small boy from a lesser northern house. "Take these things back to our bedchambers." Robb ordered.
"At once, Your Grace." The squire hurried off.
"I'll wager there were others who felt the same as Lord Karstark," Lord Edmure declared. "How can we talk of peace while the Lannisters spread like a pestilence over my father's domains, stealing his crops and slaughtering his people? I say again, we ought to be marching on Harrenhal."
"We lack the strength." Selene reminded him. For now.
Edmure persisted, "Do we grow stronger sitting here? Our host dwindles every day."
"And whose doing is that?" Catelyn snapped at her brother. It had been Edmure's insistence that Robb give the river lords leave to depart after the wedding, each to defend his own lands. Ser Marq Piper and Lord Karyl Vance had been the first to go. Lord Jonos Bracken had followed, vowing to reclaim the burnt shell of his castle and bury his dead.
"You cannot ask my river lords to remain idle when their fields are being pillaged and their people put to the sword," Ser Edmure said, "but Lord Karstark is a northman. It would be an ill thing if he were to leave us."
"I'll speak with him," said Robb. "He lost two sons in the Whispering Wood. Who can blame him if he does not want to make peace with their killers…with my father's killers…"
"More bloodshed will not bring your father back to us, or Lord Rickard's sons," Catelyn said, "An offer had to be made—though wiser rulers might have offered sweeter terms."
"Any sweeter and I would have gagged," Selene said. Robb nodded beside her.
"Cersei Lannister will never consent to trade your sisters for a pair of cousins. It's her brother she'll want, as you both know full well." Catelyn had told them as much before, but Selene could see Catelyn struggling with the fact that kings do not listen half so attentively as sons.
"I can't release the Kingslayer, not even if I wanted to." Robb said, "My lords will never abide by it."
"If your crown is the price we must pay to have Arya and Sansa returned safe, we should pay it willingly. Half your lords would like to murder Lannister in his cell. If he should die while he's your prisoner, men will say—"
"—that he well deserved it," Robb finished.
"And your sisters?" Catelyn asked sharply. "Will they deserve their deaths as well? I promise you, if any harm comes to her brother, Cersei will pay it back blood for blood—"
"Jaime won't die." Selene assured her, "No one so much as speaks to him without Robb's warrant. He has food, water, clean straw, more comfort than he has any right to."
"I won't free him," Robb insisted, "not even for Arya and Sansa."
Catelyn's face reddened with anger, "Are you afraid to have Jaime Lannister in the field again, is that the truth of it?"
Grey Wind growled, as if he sensed Robb's temper, and Edmure put a brotherly hand on Catelyn's shoulder, "Cat, don't. The boy has the right of this."
"Don't call me the boy," Robb said, rounding on his uncle, his anger spilling out all at once on poor Edmure, who had only meant to support him, "I'm almost a man grown, and a king – your king, ser. And I don't fear Jaime Lannister. I defeated him once, I'll defeat him again if I must, only…" He pushed hair out of his eyes and shook his head. "I might have been able to trade the Kingslayer for Father, but…"
"…but not for the girls?" Catelyn's voice was pure ice, "Girls are not important enough, are they?"
Robb glanced at Selene, but made no answer. There was hurt in his eyes. Selene saw that Catelyn regretted what she said as soon as she said it.
"I'll do all I can for my sisters," Robb said. "If Cersei has any sense, she'll accept my terms. If not, I'll make her rue the day she refused me." Plainly, he'd had enough of the subject. "Mother, are you certain you will not consent to go back to Winterfell? You would be farther from the fighting and you could be with Bran and Rickon. They need you."
He wants her gone, Selene thought. Kings are not supposed to have mothers, it would seem, and she tells him things he does not want to hear. "My lord father has little enough time remaining to him. So long as your grandfather lives, my place is at Riverrun with him."
"I could command you to go. As king, I could. You could go with Theon to Seaguard, and when he boards a ship for the Iron Islands, you could board one heading north."
Catelyn ignored his threat, "I'll say it again, I would rather you send someone else to Pyke, and kept Theon close to you."
Selene had said as much to Robb earlier once he had divulged his plan. Theon was to head to the Iron Islands to enlist Balon Greyjoy's navy to help attack the Westerlands by sea. Selene had reminded Robb that Balon lost two sons in his last rebellion, and both their fathers had led the winning side. But Robb trusted Theon and considered him a brother. He did not want to listen to her counsel, and it appeared he did not want to listen to Catelyn's either.
"Who better to treat with Balon Greyjoy than his son?" Robb asked simply.
"Jason Mallister," offered Catelyn, "Tytos Blackwood. Anyone…but not Theon."
Robb squatted beside Grey Wind, ruffling the wolf's fur and incidentally avoiding his mother's eyes. "Theon's fought bravely for us. I told you how he saved Bran from those wildlings in the wolfswood. If the Lannisters won't make peace, I'll have need of Lord Greyjoy's longships."
"You'll have them sooner if you keep his son a hostage." Catelyn said.
"He's been a hostage half his life."
"For good reason," Selene said, remembering all the stories her father told her of Greyjoy's rebellion. "Balon Greyjoy is not a man to be trusted, Robb. He wore a crown himself, remember, if only for a season. He may aspire to wear one again."
Robb stood, "I will not grudge him that. If I'm King in the North, let him be King of the Iron Islands, if that's his desire. I'll give him a crown gladly, so long as he helps us bring down the Lannisters."
"The men of the Iron Islands don't accept gifts-" Selene started.
"I'm sending Theon. Good day, wife, mother. Grey Wind, come." Robb walked off briskly, the direwolf padding beside him.
Selene could only watch him go. Her husband and her king. How strange that felt. His dismissal had tasted sour.
"I'm going to visit Father," Catelyn announced abruptly, "Come with me, Edmure."
"I need to have a word with those new bowmen Ser Desmond is training. I'll visit him later."
"If he still lives," Catelyn mumbled to herself as Edmure walked away, "Would you join me, Your Grace?"
Selene was taken aback. "I would be honored, my lady."
"My brother would sooner face battle than the sickroom." Lady Catelyn said as she led Selene to the central keep.
Hoster Tully, Lord of Riverrun, lay abed in his solar, with its commanding view to the east where the rivers Tumblestone and Red Fork met beyond the walls of his castle. He was sleeping when they walked in, his hair and beard as white as his featherbed, his frame small and frail by the death that grew within him.
Beside Lord Hoster's bed, dressed in mail and a travel-stained cloak, sat his brother the Blackfish. The skin beneath his eyes was heavy and purple.
"News from the battlefield?" Selene asked.
"Aye, Your Grace." Brynden Tully said, "I need to speak with the king."
Selene crossed her arms, "And what of the queen?"
The Blackfish looked taken aback, "Your Grace—"
"I am not my husband's consort," Selene interrupted, "We rule together. I need to hear this news as much as him."
The Blackfish nodded, "Apologies, Your Grace. The riverlands are awash in blood and flame. The fighting has spread south to the Blackwater and north across the Trident, almost to the Twins. Marq Piper and Karyl Vance have won some small victories, and this southern lordling Beric Dondarrion has been raiding the raiders, falling upon Lord Tywin's foraging parties and vanishing back into the woods."
Even though it felt like a thousand years had passed since then, Selene remembered that day in the Great Hall when Ned Stark sat the Iron Throne and commanded Lord Beric, a young knight with red-gold har, to bring the King's Justice to Gregor Clegane. That was when her father was still alive.
"Some of Ned's guards from King's Landing are with this Lord Beric," Catelyn said, "May the gods preserve them."
"Dondarrion and this red priest who rides with him are clever enough to preserve themselves, if the tales be true," the Blackfish said, "but the river lords make for a sadder tale. Robb should never have let them go. They've scattered like quail, each man trying to protect his own, and its folly. Jonos Bracken was wounded in the fighting amidst the ruins of his castle, and his nephew Hendry slain. Tytos Blackwood swept the Lannisters off of his land, but they took every cow and pig and speck of grain and left him nothing to defend but Raventree Hall and a scorched desert. Darry men recaptured their lord's keep but held it less than a fortnight before Gregor Clegane descended on them and put the whole garrison to the sword, even their lord."
Selene was horrorstruck, "Darry was only a child."
"Aye, and the last of his line as well. The boy would have brought a fine ransom, but what does gold mean to a frothing dog like Gregor Clegane? That beast's head would make a noble gift for all the people of the realm."
Catelyn's face was pale, "Don't speak to me of heads, Uncle. Cersei has mounted Ned's on a spike above the walls of the Red Keep, and left it for the crows and flies."
Selene spoke up, "Clegane is no more than Lord Tywin's mad dog." It was her grandfather Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West, who was the one giving Selene sleepless nights.
"True enough," Ser Brynden admitted, "And Tywin Lannister is no man's fool. He sits safe behind the walls of Harrenhal, feeding his host on our harvest and burning what he does not take. Gregor is not the only dog he's loosed. Ser Amory Lorch is in the field as well, and some sellsword out of Qohor who'd sooner maim a man than kill him. I've seen what they leave behind them. Whole villages put to the torch, women raped and mutilated, butchered children left unburied to draw wolves….it would sicken even the dead."
"When Edmure hears about this, he will rage." Catelyn said gravely.
"And that will be just as Lord Tywin desires," Selene said, "Even terror has its purpose. My grandfather wants to provoke us into battle."
"Robb is like to give him that wish," Catelyn said, fretful, "He is restless sitting here, and Edmure and the Greatjon and the others will urge him on."
Selene knew Catelyn had the right of it. Her husband had won two great victories before she married him, smashing Jaime Lannister in the Whispering Wood and overwhelming his leaderless host outside the walls of Riverrun in the Battle of the Camps, but from the way some of his bannermen spoke of him, he might have been Aegon the Conqueror reborn.
"And I have not said the worst of it," the Blackfish said, "The men I sent west have brought back word that a new host is gathering at Casterly Rock.
Another Lannister army, Selene thought with a shiver. "Who will command it?"
"Ser Stafford Lannister, it's said," He turned to gaze out over the rivers, his red and blue cloak stirring in the breeze.
"Another nephew?" Catelyn asked disbelievingly. The realm could say what they wished about the Lannisters, but there was no denying her mother's house was damnably large and fertile.
"Cousin," Selene corrected, "Brother to my late grandmother Joanna. An old man and a bit slow, but his son Ser Daven is more formidable."
"Then let us hope it is the father and not the son who takes this army into the field," Catelyn said.
The Blackfish looked from his niece to his queen, "What do you think we should do, Your Grace?"
Selene furrowed her brows, trying all at once to remember everything she had ever read about strategy from the Red Keep's library, "We should never give the enemy what they wish. Lord Tywin wants us to march on Harrenhal, so we shouldn't."
Ser Brynden nodded, "And…"
Selene took a deep breath, "This new army is most likely made of green boys and sellswords from the stews of Lannisport….they must be trained. We should stop them from completing their training before they become a larger problem."
Ser Brynden wore a ghost of a smile, "Good, but what of Tywin?"
"He won't stir from Harrenhal unless he must, to face a greater threat." Once the idea struck, the words came pouring out, "This war means nothing if Cersei and Joffrey fall." A smile spread over Selene's face. "Lord Tywin would have no choice but to take the field if say, perhaps, a great southern host besieged King's Landing?"
Catelyn's eyes widened, and Ser Brynden smiled wide, "Ah, yes. But where to find one?"
###
Robb stormed into their chambers.
"Have you heard the news?"
"I have." Selene answered simply, looking up from the letter she was writing to her uncle Renly.
"Well? What do you think?"
"You wish to hear my counsel?" Selene asked quietly.
"Always." Robb said, as if it was obvious.
"Not earlier," Selene reminded him, "Not about Theon."
Robb sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, Selene."
"You didn't care about my advice. I thought we would rule together. As equals."
He knelt beside her seat, looking up at her.
"I know, I know." He said, "But which king and queen agreed with each other on every matter? After we listen to each other's counsel and can't find common ground, what do we do?"
"I don't know."
"One asks the other for trust." Robb answered, "I'm asking you to trust my judgement. To trust me. Even if you don't agree with me fully. There will come a time when I will need to trust you."
"And why isn't that time now?" Selene challenged, "Why, now, must I be the one to yield?"
"Because I know Theon better," Robb said, "He is like a brother to me. If you don't trust him because of his father's rebellion, I can't fault you for that. But trust me."
Selene knew he was right.
They were disturbed by a knock.
Robb's squire came in holding a stack of letters.
"Forgive me, Your Graces, for my interruption, but the Maester keeps receiving strange letters and has asked me to bring them to you."
Robb frowned, but Selene bolted from her chair, startling the young squire.
"Let me see," Selene said hurriedly. Shaking, the squire held out the letters. They were addressed to the Maiden and signed by the Smith. A grin broke on Selene's face. "Thank you. Please send all letters of this kind to me in the future." The squire nodded and left.
Selene ran back to the desk and placed the letters on the table. Robb looked over her shoulder and frowned.
"To the Maiden?"
"That's me." Selene said without thinking as she grabbed a copy of the Seven Pointed Star, the holy text of the Faith, and the most common book in the Seven Kingdoms.
She could feel Robb's proud grin, "You are no maid." He kissed her temple.
She couldn't stop her blush. The past few nights, Selene and Robb had been practicing beneath the sheets, and more often than not, her cries were not of pain, but of pleasure. "Perhaps not," She admitted. The parchments were all the same jumble of numbers. Tyrion must have sent several duplicates, hoping that one would make it to her. Selene quickly got to work matching the first column of numbers with pages, the second column of numbers with lines, and the third column with words. Robb was quiet as Selene decoded Tyrion's message.
I am Hand. Your mother has sent Gold Cloaks after your half-siblings. I am beginning to serve justice, starting with Lord Spear, who will soon be keeping the Bear company. I hear you've caught yourself a wolf. Mother is furious. King has named you a traitor. But it's my father you should truly fear, my sweet. I will keep the she-wolf safe. I await your word. Long live the Queen.
Selene smiled as she read and re-read her uncle's letter. So Tyrion ruled in King's Landing as Hand. Cersei was sending the Gold Cloaks after Robert's bastards. The "Lord Spear" part took a moment, but Selene realized Tyrion had meant Janos Slynt, the Lord Commander of the City Watch who had betrayed Ned Stark. Tyrion had sent him to the Wall. Joffrey has named her a traitor, which was hardly a surprise, and her uncle would do all he could for Sansa Stark. Robb's frown deepened.
"Caught yourself a wolf?" He repeated, "What is this?"
Selene stood and held Robb's hand. "Robb, you need to swear to me that you won't tell this to anyone. Not even your mother."
"I promise."
She shook her head, "Swear it."
"I swear it, by the old gods." Robb assured her, "Who is the Smith?"
Selene smiled, "My dear uncle Tyrion."
"The one my mother captured?"
"The very same. He plays a dutiful Lannister, but I promise you Robb he is my man through and through. And he is the Hand of the King. He can help us."
"Are you sure we can trust him?"
"I'm asking you to trust my judgement," Selene said, repeating to Robb the words he had told her only moments ago, "If you can't trust him because of his family, I can't fault you for that, but trust me."
Robb held up his hands in submission, a knowing smile on his face, "Alright, alright. I yield."
"So soon?" she asked with a smirk, pushing Robb down on the bed and climbing on top of him.
###
After Ser Brynden told the high lords around the war table the plan, they all seemed to agree. As Tywin sat in Harrenhal, Robb's host would go west, smashing Ser Stafford's fledgling army before it could form, and conquering the westerlands. Selene would write to Renly and Stannis and ask them to besiege King's Landing.
Renly had written that Stannis had taken his ships from Dragonstone to Storm's End and was being denied entry into the castle by Renly's castellan, Ser Courtnay Penrose. Tensions were running high in the stormlands, and Selene needed to go see her uncles.
But there was something she had to do first.
"I'll go treat with my uncles personally," Selene told the war council, "after I fight one battle beside you."
Robb was speechless. Selene continued, "One battle, and then I will travel south to the stormlands and my uncles."
It was Lord Bolton who spoke, "My queen, there is no need to endanger yourself."
Ser Brynden nodded, "You are the queen, not a soldier. We need you alive."
Selene turned to the Blackfish, "Will King Robb be leading the host? Is it not also important to keep him alive?" No one argued with her.
She turned to the Greatjon, "Lord Umber, what did I swear to do when you proclaimed me Queen in the North?"
Lord Umber held her gaze, a small smile on his face, "To bleed beside us on the battlefield, Your Grace."
Selene nodded. "What kind of queen would I be if I did not keep that vow? If, at the first chance of battle, I fled south? Right now, my claim to the Iron Throne rests solely on my birth. My northern crown rests solely on my marriage. Let me prove myself now with deeds, so no man can deny me. Let me prove to the realm, to the armies of the north and south, that I deserve the crowns they have given me."
"The Queen in the North," Lady Mormont said softly in admiration. A few other lords echoed her sentiment. All eyes turned to Robb, wondering if he would agree to have his wife ride beside him into battle.
Robb's eyes scanned Selene's face. She met his eyes with steel.
"I see no point saying no," Robb said finally, amusement in his eyes, "You would only defy me."
Selene beamed at her husband and glanced around the room, "It seems marriage has made a wise man out of the Young Wolf."