Unexpected Betrayal

Over the next few days Alynna spent her days helping Lady Talisa in the infirmary quarters and her evenings with her uncle and Robb. The twins used those evenings to try and get to know their uncle better. Of course Alynna had always known she still had some extended family south of the Neck, but due to the distance and the differences in culture neither the Starks nor the Tully's had ever made the journey.

As it turned out, Edmure was quite a lively and charming character who helped the twins forget their troubles, if only for a little while with his amusing banter and stories. Evidently the twins weren't the only ones taken by his appealing nature, for he had quite the reputation as well amongst the ladies apparently. It seemed he was a more attractive version of Theon. Unfortunately after three very entertaining nights, Edmure returned to Riverrun.

Regrettably there wasn't a whole lot left to do on the fourth day after the battle. Most of the soldiers had already recovered from their wounds and those few that hadn't were being treated by Maester Joseph himself. He refused any help from both Talisa and Alynna. Alynna thought his behavior to be childish, but could hardly comment as those few skills she had learned from Talisa in the last three days were clearly insufficient to aid the cases that remained. Talisa herself didn't seem to mind and went to busy herself with more personal matters as soon as Maester Joseph dismissed her.

Those matters consisted mostly of writing letters and spending time chatting with some of the men. She was very well respected throughout the camp as she had saved the lives of at least half of them. Very few men even tried to harass her, as men often do when in the sight of a beautiful woman, out of that respect. And those few that did bother her were quickly put in their place by the others. Nevertheless Alynna thought the healer was very brave to mingle amongst them as she did. The Stark girl knew how to handle soldiers as she had been raised as one of them, or more precisely their leader. Even if a man chose to disrespect her, she had the skills to put him in his place again. The Volanti girl however didn't seem to possess the nature to cultivate such skills, as hers was much too nurturing. Granted she did have her sharp tongue and her wit could probably talk herself out of any sticky situation.

Having nothing better to do for the moment and not wanting to be alone with her thoughts, Alynna stuck to her new friend and mentor's side whenever her brother was going about his Kingly business, which apparently consisted of walking around and being seen by his men for most of the time. This is how she found herself watching Talisa write yet another letter on the fifth day after the battle. She could see her brother approach from a few yards away as he greeted the men on either side of the corridor.

Alynna could not deny that her brother was very popular with his bannermen. He greeted each and every one of them as if they were his friends, which some of them actually were. He instinctively knew that greeting them, knowing their names, where they were from was important in keeping up the morale of his men. It made them feel important, special, like what they were fighting for was right. His interest in this glad-handing of the men vanished though as soon as he caught sight of the Volanti healer though. He immediately walked towards her, but as she sat with her back to him, she didn't see his approach. The twins briefly made eye contact before the King announced his presence.

"Lady Talisa." Robb greeted the foreign beauty who looked up from her letter.

"Your Grace." The healer replied with a small smile. "I'm not sure I'm a lady. Westerosi customs are still a bit foreign to me." Alynna stood up as her brother replied; sure that Talisa would not notice her departure now. Although Robb had profusely apologized for his behavior after the battle of Oxcross and there was no more discord between them, Alynna wasn't about to risk another argument if the girl her brother was enamored with displayed her sharp tongue again. Instead she decided to remove herself from temptation altogether.

As she made her own rounds in the camp, she noticed a remarkable difference between the greetings she received and those given to her royal brother. The men didn't treat her as if she were one of them, with exception of those originated from Winterfell. They naturally showed her the respect she deserved as the King's sister but also as a healer though she could barely call herself that. Alynna didn't mind though, it was nice to be recognized for something other than her fighting abilities.

Alynna ambled along with Tala by her side, no specific plan in mind other than to give her brother the space he needed to charm the lovely Volanti. It wasn't often that Robb put forth an effort to truly pursue a lady. He was of course more than capable to be charming and courteous when he was ordered to or when the situation called for it but this was far different. He had very little experience with actually courting someone and so Alynna decided that her twin could probably do without an audience that would only make him nervous.

She hadn't been walking for more than fifteen minutes when she was suddenly approached by one of Lord Bolton's men.

"My Lady, his lordship requests your presence in his Grace's tent. Apparently there is news from Winterfell." The man explained before he led the way. Alynna followed after him cautiously and with worry as she busily tried to figure out what could possibly have happened.

As they approached Robb's tent, she noticed a burly looking, blond guard standing at the entrance, one she'd never seen before. For the moment she didn't pay the new guard much mind though as she entered the tension filled tent. Apparently those assembled had been waiting for her arrival before commencing. Lord Bolton and Alynna's twin were there as well as Lady Catelyn. Alynna's mother's lips thinned as she saw her oldest daughter step closer.

"Mother." Alynna greeted her nonetheless as it certainly wouldn't do to display any unseemly behavior in front of one of the lords supporting their cause. "I trust your journey was swift and your negotiations successful?"

"Unfortunately not, as Lord Renly died before my eyes. I doubt that is the cause for Lord Bolton's concern though." Her mother retorted in a haughty tone. The news of the young Baratheon's death raised many eyebrows and pained Alynna though she refused to show it. She'd had quite a few pleasant evenings and afternoons in his company and was sorry to see such a charming man removed from the playground that was the game of thrones.

"Indeed my lady." The pale lord affirmed as he held up a raven message before he proceeded to hand it to his King. His female family members went to stand behind him to look over his shoulder and read the message as well. Alynna's heart turned to ice when she read the missive and it took several moments before she felt it beating again. When it did it drummed so loud she was barely able to hear her own thoughts, let alone anything else. It was Robb's forced out voice that brought her hearing back.

"This cannot be true." Robb said shaking his head.

"We've had ravens from White Harbor, Barrowtown and the Dreadfort. I'm afraid it is true." Lord Bolton replied in an apologetic tone.

"Why? Why would Theon…" Robb asked astounded, not wanting to believe that his best friend would betray him like this.

"Because the Greyjoy's are treasonous whores." Lord Bolton spat a tad impatient. Finally the ice in Alynna's chest seemed to melt at those words, replaced by her fury which burned steadily brighter until she wished she could storm out of the tent and strangle the squid with her bare hands right now.

"My siblings?" The King asked almost fearfully.

"We've heard nothing of them." Lord Bolton informed curtly before he added, "But Rodrick Cassel is dead." At that Robb looked down, trying not to show his guilt at the news.

"I told you never trust a Greyjoy!" Catelyn yelled all of a sudden, enraged and undoubtedly scared. She received an intense glare from her eldest daughter for her trouble. It was one thing to be furious and scared, they all were, but that did not give her the right to belittle the King like this, in front of his men.

"I must go North at once." The King said after a moment of tense silence, standing up and walking to the entrance of the tent as if to leave right this second.

"There's still a war to win Your Grace." Lord Bolton protested, stepping into his path. Alynna detested the notion but knew he was right. There was too much at stake. They couldn't possibly march away from the war with the Lannisters now. Not without dire consequences.

"How can I call myself King if I can't hold my own castle? How can I ask men to follow me if I can't…?" Robb shouted at Lord Bolton who interrupted him before his rant escalated even further.

"You are a King and that means you don't have to do everything yourself." The lord said meaningfully, raising his voice as well.

"Let me go and talk to Theon." Lady Catelyn proposed to try and calm the situation down.

"There will be no talk. He will die for this!" Robb said, denying her request. Alynna agreed wholeheartedly. The squid could not be allowed to get away with betraying the King he had sworn himself to in addition to terrorizing their hometown and killing their Master-at-Arms.

"I will go." Alynna spoke up with fierce determination that had sprung forth from her fury; to hell with grieving and mental stability. If someone messed with her family she would mess with them, kill them to be more accurate. She hadn't yet been able to exact revenge upon the Lannisters for the death of her father, but she damn well could defend her younger siblings. Theon Greyjoy was about to learn what it truly meant to provoke a Stark's anger and he had better not be in the vicinity of Winterfell when she arrived because if he was, it wouldn't be pretty.

"I will drag him out of there and bring you his head. He will learn what it means to betray us." She promised her brother while she looked at him with a grim expression.

"Are you sure?" Her brother asked her hesitantly no doubt referring to her earlier reluctance to fight. He needn't have worried however as her blazing fury had melted her trepidation in the split second after reading the missive.

"Aye I am." One loaded look passed between the twins but it was enough for Robb to come to a decision and he nodded his assent. They were interrupted by Lord Bolton.

"Would it not be better to have troops that are already situated in the North deal with this?" He asked speculatively. "They would be much faster in arriving at the castle walls. Theon holds the castle with a skeleton 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."

"No." Alynna said shaking her head. "Theon made this personal and I would much rather deal with this myself. Furthermore the longer we wait, the more our siblings will be at risk. If it is true that he is holding the castle with but a few men than it should be rather easy to uproot them. I know Winterfell like the back of my hand. I know it's weaknesses and I know it's strengths. If you give me around a hundred Winterfell men I can lead a few of them to one of its tunnels while the others storm the gates. We could retake Winterfell at a faster pace and with less damage. By the time the Ironborn knows what's happening it would be too late." All this she said while addressing her brother but now she turned to Lord Bolton hoping she had not offended him.

"Of course I could use all the help available. So if your son is willing, he could join me though I doubt he'll arrive before we retake the castle. It would deter the Greyjoy's from trying to free any prisoners we might take. Together we could drive the squids off the Northern shores and flush them in the sea."

Apparently she had not offended the pale lord at all as he granted her with one of his disturbing little smiles. "A solid plan." He agreed. "We might have Prince Theon's head on a spike within the fortnight."

"No." The King interrupted "I want him brought to me alive. I want to look him in the eye and ask him why, and then I'll take his head myself." He added growling. Alynna hadn't expected anything else from her brother. The youngest generation of Starks was raised in both the Old way and the New but both the twins leaned more to the former one. Robb would have to prove that he was a worthy leader of the Northmen and his father's son.

Author's note: I hope you liked this! Please let me know! We're about to diverge from the story in a major way so I really hope you liked it so far :)