Road to Robb

The six of them rode for hours on end, through dense forest and rugged terrain, getting scratched by sharp limbs and feeling their muscles ache from riding in the same position for so long. Their horses fared no better, galloping at a pace that they would not be able to sustain forever. Despite the discomfort they all were feeling, they knew they needed to put as much distance between them and the raided camp they fled. Eventually however, the horses were pushed to their limit and couldn't take the pace anymore. And so, they had to slow down to a trot and later to a walk. As they slowed, the rhythmic motion of the walk lulled both Bran and Arya to sleep after a while and even Gendry had trouble to keep his eyes open.

The riders didn't slack off however, running on the adrenalin fear had pumped into their systems and knowing that the distance they managed to create this night was beyond critical, it was essential to their survival. Their escape would not go unanswered. There was no doubt in Alynna's mind that the minute the scuffle at the camp ended ravens would be sent out to all noblemen loyal to the Lannisters to search for and find the bastard and those who helped him escape. And so, she knew the farther they got that night, the less Lannister loyalists there would be trying to find them, for no one would be stupid enough to march North on their own with the Northern lords breathing down their neck. The closer they got to the frontline, the safer they would be.

They avoided the road and kept strictly to the woods in order to make it exceedingly difficult for anyone to track them or report a sighting of them. If people could not see them, then they would have nothing to tell the spider or the Queen. The group managed to keep going until a few hours after dawn, but as fatigue set in and was too much to bear, they were finally forced to stop. Midnight might have been able to walk for two more hours, but the two other horses were in danger of perishing from sheer exhaustion if they were pushed any further. They could not afford that as there would be no opportunity to switch out horses along their path. They just couldn't take the risk of procuring new ones in a town or at a farm along the way as there was no way to tell who was friend or foe just yet. And so, they had to let the horses rest.

Under the cover of a canopy of thick oak trees, the six fugitives, three horses and three direwolves finally laid themselves down after what was probably more than 10 hours of riding. As usual the three Starks curled up with the three wolves surrounding them, but this time even Tala's presence could not help Alynna to sleep.

Every time she so much as closed her eyes, she saw the deaths of Jory, Yoren and her father flashing behind her eyelids. The images were seared in her brain and try as she may, she could not shake them off. She saw the knife that killed Jory and the swords that killed her father and Yoren slice through them again, and again, and again. The sheer grief and guilt ate and clawed at her insides until she could do nothing but stare ahead unseeingly and trying her damndest not to think about anything. Unfortunately shutting of her thoughts had never been one of her strengths and so by the time the others woke again she felt like her stomach was replaced by a lead ball and her throat seemed squeezed firmly shut.

It weakened her mind and soon she could feel herself drifting near the connection to her twin's mind. The link between the twins had been growing stronger for days, undoubtedly by Robb's attempts to assess whether she was safe or not. Her grieving mind had not been able to resist him and so the distance became a smaller obstacle to cross every day. The practice, if you could call it that, also strengthened her ties with her other siblings and their presence in Alynna's mind grew stronger every day. She had always been the most sensitive to the mind-link in their family, but now her abilities started to frighten even her. Their collective grief at their father's death certainly didn't help her overcome her own.

Tala seemed acutely aware of her turmoil and tried to comfort her by standing on her hind legs and putting her front paws on Alynna's shoulders. They were very lucky that the latter happened to be standing right in front of a tree for they would have tumbled to the ground otherwise. The wolves had grown so much that they now reached Alynna's ribs and Tala's weight was too much for her mistress to support. Normally the near accident would have made said mistress laugh but today she just stroked her wolves head affectionately and then turned to the two Braavosi's.

One would normally assume that due to Syrio's impressive experience and skill, the First Sword would shoulder the leader's position in the group, if only to spare the eldest Stark child present the extra burden after losing so many of her dear ones. One would be wrong however. Starks were born, bred and raised to lead, and to endure. Their aura carried so much weight and authority in it that they would automatically be expected to assume such a role even if they were surrounded with people who had much more extensive experience and knowledge.

The responsibility of bringing their group safely to her twin's camp weighed on Alynna's already troubled mind, but it did not occur to her to protest. This was the way she knew, the way it had always been. In Winterfell she led the men to battle from the age of sixteen, men who had spent their entire lives on the battlefield. The Northern people were the most loyal people in the whole of Westeros, and so the men did not complain. Save for a few individuals who were easily and firmly subdued, Alynna took her leading position without much fuss. In fact, the biggest complaint against it had not stemmed from her inexperience, for her twin had been forced to do the same without complaints. The main concern had been her gender, but any who questioned her skill were easily put in their place.

In King's Landing she had been in charge of the day to day running of the Tower as well, which gave her a great opportunity to learn how to run a household, something her mother had always insisted she learn. After Jory's death, she even took over the command of the reduced guard and as such she was effectively placed immediately after her father in the chain of command, though that only lasted for a few days.

And so now the two Braavosi's were expectantly waiting on her to devise a plan to get them to safety and see it executed. The problem was that although they were sure they had been riding north, they did not know in which exact direction, as they could no longer see the King's Road, or any road for that matter. They could be riding to the Westerlands for all Alynna knew.

Unfortunately they did not have a compass with them and none of them had ever learned how to estimate the right direction by using the position of the sun. That left them with only one instrument to use, if a slightly unusual one. Alynna turned to Tala and took her massive head in her hands to look into her eyes. She knew that if her mind could contact Robb's from such a great distance, Tala would be able to contact her litter mates from a much farther one. The senses of animals were always much sharper than those of humans and this was no different.

"Find Grey Wind for me girl, find Robb." Alynna urged stroking Tala's fur gently. Her wolf understood her words and immediately took off in a direction that was indeed far different from the one they had been going in last night, wagging her tail as she went and followed instantly by Summer. She stopped after about 10 yards and turned around with an expression that seemed to say 'Well? Are you coming or not?'

Alynna wasted no more time and so the group mounted their horses and took off under the skeptical looks of the Braavosi's and Gendry. They didn't articulate their skepticism though, and besides, they didn't have any better options. As for Alynna's younger siblings, they wouldn't soon doubt such a thing possible, and so the group simply followed the wolves.

Again they rode for hours until the horses were utterly exhausted; again they avoided the road and again they did not eat the entire time. Only the horses and the wolves filled their bellies, as there was plenty of grass and deer to find in the woods. That evening the two Braavosi's set out to try and hunt something for supper but their catch was very small and nowhere near enough to still their hunger.

This carried on for three more days and their situation seemed grimmer every day. The horses and humans alike were growing hungrier and weaker and as they were avoiding any and all civilization. They did not know how long they could continue like this. But even with the situation getting dire, Alynna knew their small group had made good time and that they could not be much farther off from their destination.

Finally after one night and four days of riding, little sleep and even less food, they emerged from the woods and gazed at a massive congregation that stretched over the grasslands between two forests and a river from side to side. Countless tents, pastures and banners were situated in the fields on all sides.

The banners were too far away to make out whether they were friend or foe however, so Narbo volunteered to go and find out. He returned with a smile that was even greater than the one he usually wore.

"They're Stark banners alright and many others as well." He proclaimed and was welcomed with thankful faces and a collective sigh of relief. The news even made Alynna nearly smile but not quite yet. Instead she just steered her horse towards one of the largest corridors in the camp.

As they approached they were eventually noticed by some of the soldiers and stopped. The men considered their group carefully. They did not look like farmers as they were too heavily armed, but they were not soldiers either. Especially the Braavosi's were regarded with caution. Alynna noticed that none of them were Winterfell men and she sighed for surely it would take much longer for them to reach Robb now.

"What do you want?" One of them shouted at them after a few moments. There was only one response to give to that and so Alynna took a deep breath, straightened her back and held her head high.

"I am Alynna of the house Stark, daughter to Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell and Lady Catelyn Stark née Tully, descendant of the King's of Winter and the First Men. I want to see my brother Robb Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North." She said in a commanding tone, displaying all the dignity that came with her lineage.


Author's note: This one is rather short but I decided to group all the meetings in the next chapter instead of spreading them. I hope you like it! Please let me know!