"A letter has arrived, my Lord."
Robb looked up from his evening meal as his squire approached him. He had spent the past week holed up in the castle of Winterfell, refusing to leave for fresh air. He couldn't look at anyone around him. He felt as though he had failed them. He'd heard the whispers. The maids were hardly quiet. He had kept quiet as he moved through the castle, often bumping into his mother.
Men had been sent to find Bran and Rickon. Sansa was still a captive of the queen, and Cassandra had fled. All that Catelyn wanted was for her children to be back home with her. She had lost her husband. Was that not enough?
Robb took the letter from the squire, noticing the scrawl on the front of it. Catelyn looked up from the meat she had been cutting, whilst Arya said nothing, swirling her water in her goblet for entertainment.
"Who is it from?" Catelyn asked as Robb broke the seal and saw her name at the bottom.
"Cassandra," he spoke. He read through it as Catelyn sat on the edge of her seat, willing for good news to come her way. "She has fled to Pyke. Euron Greyjoy has claimed his seat on the Iron Islands. Theon has been welcomed...so long as he sides with his family. They say that Cassandra is welcome to stay. I have to renounce any claim I want to the Iron Throne. She wants for us to support the Targaryen claim. Daenerys travels to Westeros, intent on taking back her birthright."
"And if we don't agree?" Catelyn wondered from her son, a gulp escaping her as she did so. Robb shook his head solemnly.
"Euron Greyjoy shall sell her to Stevron Frey."
"Then we have no choice," Catelyn quickly spoke. "There is nothing more for us to do, Robb. The Iron Throne has never interested us. We do not want it. We have no power...but...the Targaryen girl...well, you know what they say."
"They flip a coin whenever a Targaryen is born," Robb nodded. "To see if they are mad or not."
"What rubbish," Arya rolled her eyes. "I've heard of Daenerys. She has dragons. Besides, anyone is better than the Lannisters, and we need to keep Cass safe, don't we?"
Robb listened to his little sister. He had never considered Arya to be the voice of reason before. Robb looked back to his mother, shrugging at her as she nodded to him.
"You know what we need to do," Catelyn reasoned. "We have nothing here, Robb. We're hostages in our own castle."
"And do you think anything will come from Euron Greyjoy and his plot? The Targaryen girl resides in the Free Cities. When is she supposed to come here to us? How do we know we can trust her?"
"What other choice do we have?" Catelyn asked her son. "We have nothing more to lose, Robb."
"Sansa?"
"I have no fear that she is well protected in the Capital. She has to be...if the Targaryen girl strikes then Sansa shall declare her innocence as a Stark."
"I don't know," Robb admitted. "I know that we cannot do anything here. I know that I am unable to stop the Lannisters...Daenerys is the only one who can at this moment in time."
Robb bowed his head, taking a moment to think as Catelyn stared back to her son. She had no idea how difficult these times would be.
...
"Theon-"
"-Sh," he snapped before she could say anymore.
Cassandra smiled for the first time in a while as Theon continued to press his ear against her stomach, determined to hear some noise from his son. Cassandra laughed as she watched him, her body shaking as she did so. She moved a hand to rest in Theon's hair, running her fingers through the fine strands as he placed a hand on her stomach besides his cheek.
"I think I can hear it," Theon told her.
She looked dotingly down on him, her eyes doe wide as he lifted himself up. He crawled over to her again, lacing their fingers together as he rested next to her on the bed. She took a moment to look around the dark, damp room. She didn't know how Theon could stand living here. All she could smell was damp and the sea.
"You're a fool," she informed him.
"Come now, Cass," Theon whispered, a crooked smile escaping him. "You know as well as I that I am no fool."
Cassandra looked to the ceiling, mock thought on her face as she did so.
"Hmm." She mused. "Perhaps you're not a fool all the time."
Theon rolled his eyes, bending his head lower to kiss her swiftly. He flopped onto the pillows, draping his arm around her shoulders as she looked above her to the ceiling, her mind wondering to Robb.
"I saw how my uncle looked at you earlier," Theon whispered. "I saw how he couldn't take his eyes from you."
"Don't be silly," Cassandra urged him, turning to look at him again. It was Theon's turn to stare at the ceiling, looking at it as if it offered him answers to the problems he encountered. "Your uncle is far too old, Theon. Besides, I carry your child. I love you."
"My uncle will fail to care about that." Theon assured her. "My father hated him. He was sent from the Iron Islands for raping my Uncle Victarion's salt wife. My uncle...he killed her for what had happened...punched her over and over again until she no longer breathed. He took her body down to the rocks and let the crabs take her."
Cassandra gulped loudly as she listened to Theon's story, not sure what she made of it. Theon ran his hand up and down her back, trying to be soothing as he felt her shudder against his body. He glanced back down to her, kissing her on the forehead as she nestled tightly against him.
"My father exiled Euron after that. He would be a kinslayer for any possible reason. He's cunning, Cass."
"But you will be here," Cassandra whispered, longing for affirmation. "You'll be with me. Besides, I'm hardly attractive now, Theon. I am sure he won't care for me."
"That was what Uncle Victarion thought," Theon replied. "But no, I won't let him do anything to you, Cass. I promise."
"I believe you," Cassandra said.
"And you are attractive," Theon promised her. "Pregnancy seems to only have enhanced it."
"Theon," Cassandra groaned. "Must you always flirt with me?"
"I have not flirted with you in too long," Theon told her. "Tomorrow I shall take you around Pyke. You can come and see the views from the island."
"I should like that."
"My Lord."
Theon grumbled softly as he slid himself free of Cassandra. He slowly walked over to the door, opening it wide to reveal a maid stood there. She looked at Theon with hesitance before she spoke again.
"Lord Greyjoy requests your presence for the evening meal. He insists Lady Stark accompany him."
"As he wishes," Theon nodded, closing the door again.
Cassandra slid from the bed, standing tall and looking to Theon. He took hold of Cassandra's hand, kissing the back of it in a reassuring manner. She smiled wanly at him and followed him down to Euron's quarters. The King of the Iron Islands was not present and so Theon pulled a chair out for Cassandra. She sat down as he sat beside her, waiting for his uncle to come.
"I'm sorry I'm late," he called out, making his presence known.
Theon stood and Cassandra copied his movements, curtseying as Theon bowed his head.
"Honestly, you two are polite. Take a seat," he urged them.
"I did not think we would be dining with you this evening, uncle," Theon drawled out.
"I did not think so either," said Euron. "Anyway, Lord Stark replied to his sister's raven from yesterday. He informs me that he shall not stand in my way. He wants nothing to do with the Iron Throne."
"May I see the letter?" Cassandra boldly wondered.
Euron arched a brow and adjusted the patch on his eye. He nodded at her, handing her the letter he had deposited in his pocket. His fingers brushed against hers as she took it from his hands. She unfolded it quickly, reading with haste as it informed her of Robb's decision.
"So we do not have a problem here," Euron clapped once, taking a slice of meat from a plate and chewing it hastily. "So, my nephew, do you intend to make your Lady Stark a salt wife?"
"No," Theon said. "Cassandra deserves more than that."
"You cannot wed her when she is married to another," Euron said. "Of course, Ser Stevron looks ready to die any moment in time."
"We can only hope," Theon drawled, picking at the sausage on the platter in front of him.
"It is a shame," Euron said, glancing to Cassandra, a dark look in his eye. He hadn't had a girl from the main land in a long time. "She's carrying a bastard in her stomach. Perhaps that can change in the future before the baby is born."
"Hopefully," Theon said. "The child shall be no bastard to us. We will love it as much as possible."
"I did not think I would hear the son of Balon Greyjoy speak like this. Tell me, girl, have you made him soft?"
Cassandra looked up to Euron, doing her best not to crumble under his gaze. She placed the letter on the table next to her plate, glancing back across to Euron as she shrugged.
"Theon has not always been so soft," she said. "I believe time has made him mellow."
"A good pair of tits has made him mellow," Euron challenged her. "I can see why he fell for you, Lady Stark. You certainly have the look of the Tullys."
"Many have said so," Cassandra said, ignoring his crude comment before looking to Theon, the discomfort evident in her eyes. Theon reached under the table for her hand, taking it into his with haste. He squeezed it before speaking;
"You're looking pale, my love," Theon lightly spoke. "Why not go up and rest?"
"I think I may," Cassandra agreed. She stood, releasing Theon's hand as she curtseyed in front of Euron again. "Excuse me, my Lords."
"As you wish, my Lady Stark," Euron nodded, watching as she rushed from the hall before turning his gaze back to Theon. "She's a fine one."
"Aye, she is," Theon agreed.
"She's made you weak," Euron spoke. "She's turned you into a Northerner. You're Ironborn, nephew. Do you need to be shown that?"
"I know who I am," snapped Theon. "Cassandra has not turned me soft."
"One thrust into her tight fit and you were putty," Euron challenged him. "You refuse to take her as a salt wife. You refuse to be Ironborn, Theon."
"Is it so wrong that her love her enough to respect her?" Theon wondered, his voice curt. "Did my father not love my mother?"
"Yes," Euron retorted. "Be careful, Theon. There are always those who are willing to make you change...in the bluntest way possible."
...
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read so far and reviewed. I hope you'll let me know what you think
