Song: See What I've Become by Zack Hemsey

Daenerys

For a city that was her own to rule, nobody ever told Daenerys how truly lonely it was. Being a ruler, that is.

She was stood at the balcony, looking out upon the beautiful sight before her. Meereen was a breathtaking city to behold, to be sure. But she still felt like a stranger here. Horribly detached and not belonging.

"Everyone looks quite happy from up here, I suppose," she commented to Ser Barristan, who she knew was a few feet behind her. He surprised her by letting out a low chuckle.

"What?" She questioned, turning to look at him with a curious smirk.

"I was thinking about all the times your brother made me go with him from the Red Keep down to the streets of Kings Landing," he told her, watching in amusement as her brows rose in surprise.

"Why would he do that?"

"He liked to walk among the people," he admitted, "he liked to sing to them."

"He sang to them?" She asked, her lips lifting up into a grin as she began to trail back inside.

"Yes! He would pick a spot on the street, and he would sing."

"And what did you do while he sang?"

Hearing about her estranged brother always made her heart flutter. All she had ever been told by Viserys was the stories of Rhaegar's gallantry and sword skills. Never anything about his personality. She found from her discussions with Ser Barristan, that he was becoming a man she looked up to. Finally, a relative that wasn't driven mad with a hunger for power.

"I made sure no one killed him!" He replied comically, causing her to laugh. "And I collected the money."

"He was good enough to get money?"

"Oh very good!" His tone turned from amused to a little more wistful as he continued. "A trait he got from his mother I reckon."

"Did she sing too?" Her voice lowered and her eyes widened, full of wonder. She always felt childlike when they discussed her mother. The enigmatic image she had of her in her head was comparable to that of a Goddess.

"Oh all the time, especially to Rhaegar and Viserys when they were babes," he smiled warmly at Daenerys, "however horrible your father was, your Grace, your mother was in equal parts angelic."

"I can't imagine what it was like for her to be wed to him," Daenerys murmured sadly.

"You have no idea," he raised his eyebrows knowingly, which Daenerys didn't miss.

"What?" She pressed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're probably old enough to know now," he sighed, preparing himself for the coming conversation. "Rhaella was particularly unhappy with your father to begin with, even before he lost his mind."

Before she could ask why, he continued anyway, "she loved another."

"What?" She inhaled sharply, that was one of the last things she expected to hear from him.

"It's true," Barristan smiled in resignation, "she fell for a knight from the Stormlands before she even wed your father. I'd never seen two who were so in love before those two."

"And she was forced into marrying my father..." Daenerys confirmed, her expression noticeably saddened by the news. "What was he like? This knight that she fell for?"

"I've mentioned him to you before, like I said then, you would have liked him."

Daenerys' brows furrowed as she tried to think back, unable to remember a mention of his name.

"The grandfather of Fianna Bua," Barristan answered her thoughts, "Ser Bonifer Hasty,"

Fianna

Many would see the Dreadfort having a river at its back as a disadvantage. But Fianna Stark considered otherwise.

To her, this meant they had nowhere to run.

In a move that was almost becoming signature to her, the grapples they would use to scale the Dreadfort were once again coated in wolfsbane.

As it was still daylight and the element of surprise would be eliminated, Fianna knew they would need a distraction for the sentry guards who were surely standing on the wall.

The Glovers held the largest number of men in their party, so it was decided that the Glover men would wield their banners and approach at a calm pace to the main gate, under the rouse that Robbett Glover had come to pledge fealty to the Bolton's.

This would cause suspicion of course, the letter addressed to every Northern family specifically said to come to Winterfell. So the guards would be on stand by. None the less, they would be distracted. Allowing Fianna and the rest of the vanguard to split between the line of trees to the east and west of the compound, and eventually attack from all three sides.

They waited quietly in the trees, their horses having been left miles behind to lessen their visibility. The only ones on horseback were Glover's forces.

Fianna watched patiently, dirt splattering her cheeks as she lay flat on her stomach in the tree line, watching as the other sentries were curious about the approaching command.

As directed, Robett led his men slowly and with their banners raised high. When finally having reached the gate, a guard, standing atop the wall next to the contraption that would allow them inside, spoke out.

"Who goes there!"

"Lord Robett, of House Glover!" He called back, "we have come to pledge fealty to the new Warden of the North!"

"Lord Bolton is in Winterfell, you were directed to go there and quite some time ago, I believe!"

"Well better late than never," he sarcastically shouted back, earning a few low chuckles from those behind him, "are you gonna let us in or not then, boy? My men have travelled miles and we will require some rest! Surely, the new Warden of the North would not turn away his subjects?"

The guard paused for a moment, wondering what he should do. Lord Glover had taken about 600 men along with him, there wouldn't be enough provisions for them all, if they were allowed to stay at all.

"Wait one moment!" He called back, before deciding to turn to the man in charge. Looking down at the ground below his post, he muttered down to another guard, "fetch him!"

"Now's the time," Fianna whispered to the archer beside her, who then repeated it to the one aside him until it passed down the whole line. Luckily for them, the sentry guards posted on the west facing side were all half-hanging over the wall to get a better look at the commotion. Making them an easy target.

Fianna held her fist in the air, and without delay they all nocked an arrow against their bow. She waited for a second until everyone was ready, before pointing with her finger for the archers to let loose.

Each had been instructed to pair up and aim for one guard at a time, as the number of archers far outweighed the number of guards. The risk that one arrow would miss and a guard lived to sound the alarm was too great.

Arrows flew through the air, and every one that missed, was followed by another behind it that hit its designated target.

Without wasting time, Fianna then led a single line forward to the wall, where they each dispersed out once they reached it to toss their grapples up to hook on. For them to leave the tree line as a group would have caught the attention of those stationed at the front.

Making sure their gloves were on so as not to be affected by the wolfsbane, they began to scale up the wall. Fianna only hoped that the army on the east side had remembered their signal and were currently doing the same.

The second she topped the wall, with the others following, they were rushing forward to the hallway, half-running and looking for the next guard.

It was painfully easy for them. Which made Fianna wonder if it was a trap or if the Bolton's had really been that idiotic to leave the Dreadfort unmanned like so.

"Remember your orders," Fianna shouted as they cut through the hallway, "kill every guard that isn't willing to bend the knee, and spare all the servants."

"Yes, your grace," they replied in a chorus, hastily.

Ike

"What is it?" Ike asked the guard that had approached him, telling him he was needed at the front gate.

"Lord Glover has arrived to pledge fealty to Lord Bolton," he informed him quickly, a line that made Ike stop and tense up immediately.

"He wasn't supposed to come here," Ike denied, looking around with suspicion and thinking deeply for a moment.

"Sir?" The guard pressed, wondering what Ike's hesitance was for.

Before he could answer, they were interrupted by the sounds of shouting erupting from down the hallway. Ike immediately unsheathed his sword and shouted to alert everyone.

"We're under attack!"

Before he could have any more time to prepare a plan of action, the perpetrators came into view and were hurtling directly towards him.

He was confident in his fighting abilities, but not against a horde of people, by himself.

Reacting quickly, he turned and headed for the staircase, whipping around the corner and taking two steps at a time. He met an enemy on the stairs, and wasted no time in batting off their sword with his own and throwing his foot out to kick the other down the stairs.

When Ike reached the bottom and finally was able to get a good look at the man, he noted the symbol on his breast plate, which would tell him who their infiltrators were, and potentially, how many there were.

His breath caught in his throat at the paw print expertly indented into the metal.

The Buas.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stone steps threw him off, and he was forced to move again before he would be caught. He forced his feet forward, unable to deny the panic and confusion sweeping his body.

They must have found out Ike lived here and was being housed by the Bolton's, and now the remainder of House Bua had come to avenge their Lady, who he had subsequently killed.

Ike was now caught between a rock and a hard place, he would have to decide between staying and defending the family that took him in and saved his life - or running to save his own once again. The panic caused his chest to constrict, disrupting his breathing and causing him to hyperventilate.

His decision became even harder to make when he burst out of the door to the outside, only to find chaos had spread there too. Bodies of Bolton guards were strewn across the ground as a mass of people rode on horseback and ran on foot past him, the front gates had been opened to allow the Glovers in, presumedly by someone on the inside.

They were massively outnumbered, and were all likely to die within the hour.

The sounds of screams caught his attention, the lone kitchen maid that had caught him in his room weeks before was being dragged across the yard by her forearm. She was being hauled towards a group consisting of others who helped around the castle, clearly whoever was in command was sparing non-guards.

He pushed forward, ignoring his anxious state and drove his blade through the back of an enemy guard he didn't recognise. Ike tugged his sword back out and swung it again, slitting the throat of another.

Before he could make his decision on whether to stay and keep fighting or not however, it was made for him in the form of a sword handle coming and hitting him on the back of the head, effectively knocking him out.

Fianna

The battle was over before it began, Fianna had brought the majority of her forces against a small garrison manning a castle, the odds were always in her favour. It was comparable to the Greyjoy siege of Baelfort, except this time the Bolton's wouldn't get a chance to take it back, because she was going to burn it to the ground.

It might not even make much of a difference to the Bolton's, after all it was clear they had a new home in Winterfell. But the insult of losing their ancestral home which hadn't fallen in the centuries that the Bolton's had possessed it, would be enough. It would also prove to them and the rest of the seven kingdoms that Fianna had the majority of the Northern houses support at her back, and would take action if she needed to.

While the rest of the remaining rooms were being cleared out, the survivors were assembled in the courtyard. The servants were grouped to the side, unharmed, where she would soon address them accordingly. The Bolton guards were lined up in the centre, all bound and being carefully watched.

Fianna gave the line up a quick glance, she would handle them afterward.

Approaching the group of servants, she tried to do so as non-intimidatingly as possible.

"Hello," Fianna greeted kindly, "do you know who I am?"

Instead of anyone choosing to give a verbal response, they all shook their heads, absolutely shaken with fear and horror.

"My name is Fianna Stark, I am the Lady to House Bua and the Queen in the North."

"Impossible," an ageing man finally spoke out, shaking his head his time in confusion, "Fianna Stark perished with The Young Wolf at the Red Wedding."

"No," she denied in a soft tone, "I was lucky enough to escape. Myself and my unborn children." When their eyes widened skeptically, she continued. "I was pregnant with twin children, my son is the heir to the North. And I have been hailed Queen Regent."

"I'm sure you are all frightened and angry, I'm sure you are all distrustful of me at the moment. However you must know, this was not a senseless act. Roose Bolton betrayed the North and killed my husband. This is vengeance in its rawest form.

"The people you see lined up, I am aware that they are probably connected to you. Your family, your friends, your lovers. Maybe just the people who protect you. I will not kill anyone on unjust causes, I can promise you that. They will be given the option to either bend the knee to me or live in exile overseas. If they decide their loyalty to the Bolton's is more important, they will pay for that decision with their lives.

"I am aware I have taken your homes and your work, but as retribution for this, I give you your freedom and an opportunity. You can all either leave here today and choose your own destiny, or you can come back to Baelfort with me. Those of you that wish to continue your line of work will be given a job and quarters to live in. Those of you that want more in life, be you man or woman, will be trained accordingly and will fight for the Northern cause. Ultimately, the decision is yours. If you want to leave, do so now."

Fianna took a few steps back to allow the group to decide amongst themselves without fear or pressure. They all wore equal looks of disbelief and paranoia, refusing to make a move for fear of being struck down. But Fianna was willing to wait patiently.

Finally, the man who spoke out earlier made a move. He stepped away from the group in the direction of the gates, slowly at first but then when he realised there would be no consequences, he ran in a sprint straight for the gates and out of sight.

Showing the rest that Fianna was sincere about allowing them to go free, more and more followed, choosing a life of freedom instead of working for a traitor to the crown. Fianna couldn't and wouldn't blame them for it.

When there was no more movement, she was surprised to see that about half of the original crowd had remained, deciding to join the rebellion and serve Fianna. Her heart swelled with hope despite the dire conditions, and she sent them a nod of thanks.

As she turned and began to approach the line of surviving guards, she was disrupted by the sudden disturbance of of a figure bursting up from amongst the dead bodies, obviously having been presumed dead before and placed there. She could only see the figure from behind as he took off sprinting towards the entrance. Immediately, her own guards drew their bow and arrow to shoot him before he could escape, but Fianna stopped them.

"Stop!" She commanded, causing them all to look at her in confusion, but her eyes were fixed on the figure. Perhaps it was the conversation with the servants, or the fact that the man had the exact same shade of hair as her children that encouraged her to let him live. None the less, she was going to. "Let him go."

"Your grace?" One asked to make sure of her decision.

"One man won't change the world," she said cryptically, shrugging. When the man was out of sight, she finally tore her eyes away, but was silent for a few minutes. Her body tingling with a sensation she knew not of.

Finally, she approached the remaining Bolton guards, still shook up for apparently no reason. Clearing her throat and composing herself, Fianna began to speak.

"You all know your choices. You can live and protect Baelfort for me and fight back against the traitorous bastard you serve, live in exile overseas or you can die. Here and now. Step forward if you wish to serve, step back if you wish to be placed on a boat. Stay where you are if your loyalty to a Lord who cares nothing for you is more important than your life."

The men were split equally, around a third stepped forward, and a third stepped back. She didn't kid herself into thinking those who chose to serve did so out of wanting the North back, but she accepted it anyway.

The guards unshackled those who stepped forward one by one, giving them a chance to bend the knee, which they did. Swearing an oath on their lives to House Bua and House Stark.

Those who stepped back were dragged away, to be placed in boats on the river that would lead to docks by the sea, were they would be sent to one of the free cities.

Those who remained, were dealt with swiftly.

"No! Eric, please just give in!" A woman from the remaining crowd of servants rushed forward and screamed, she was quickly held back by her fellow servants.

The man in question, the first in line to be executed, was tossed to the ground. Fianna's sword gleamed in her hands. She didn't believe in letting an executioner do her work for her. She had given the man a death sentence, she wouldn't allow someone else to bear the burden of taking a life.

Fianna looked back at the women, sadness coursing through her as her inconsolable state was one Fianna herself had been in. The difference is that if she had to choose between bending the knee to Roose Bolton and living with Robb or dying (thus permanently separated), she'd be on the ground begging to be spared.

With that, she lifted her sword high in the air and swiftly brought it down until it sliced through his neck with a sickening crunch.

The executions got too much for Fianna after the sixth, the blood coating her clothes and dusting her cheeks turned her stomach and her eyes were full from tears she refused to shed. She was forced to give in to pride and allow her guards to continue on themselves.

After almost an hour, it was finished. And it was a far more traumatising event that Fianna could have imagined. To kill a man in battle or defence was one thing, but to kill one that wasn't moving never mind fighting back, was quite another. She doubted herself at that minute and her decision, particularly where the bout of madness that allowed her to do that came from.

She stood in a silent daze when it finished, refusing to watch the last few and never lifting her eyes on the ground. Her thoughts drifted to her children, and whether or not their safety would be risked because of this.

"Your grace?" Lord Dustin asked lowly, watching her carefully. "What are we doing with the castle?"

Fianna snapped out of her stare off with the ground to look at the vast stronghold behind her that was probably quieter than it had ever been. Fire would be hard to burn through stone, but the wooden beams and roof wouldn't be.

"Burn it all."

By the end of the night, the Dreadfort was consumed in fire, along with the bodies that had once inhabited it.

I know what you're thinking... "seriously?"

It's not time for Fianna and Robb to reunite. But I swear that they will, and you will see why when the next few chapters come out. Everything happens for a reason, as I always said. Everything from Tiernan saving Rickon to the conversation between Barristan and Daenerys at the start of this chapter.

To recap, Bonifer Hasty and Rhaella Targaryen were in love and together before she was forced to marry Aerys. That's actually said in a Song of Ice and Fire. In this book I did reveal earlier that Bonifer was Fianna's grandfather, and in a conversation with Robb she told him how her grandfather left Westeros with a broken heart only to return later with a babe he had with a woman he married abroad, a woman who died on the boat to Westeros.

There's more to come, but don't lose faith in me yet. Robb and Fianna will reunite. It's just not their time.

Also, apologies for how late this is. So much has been going on, if I wrote the chapter before now it would be half-assed and I wanted to give it my all as it's the first real action packed one for a while.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed as always!

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 - Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this one! 3

starevolution1273 - They didn't meet BUT on the bright side she did destroy the Dreadfort and officially entered the game of thrones! I hope you enjoyed this and I look forward to reading your reactions!

Shannan - See how close I was to revealing that and you had to go and guess it already! Unfortunately they didn't meet, just narrowly passing each other once again. Not to worry though, there's something to happen Robb before he will meet Fianna again. And when they do meet, it'll be explosive. I look forward to your reaction, hopefully it's positive! Thanks for reviewing as always x.