For thousands of years, House Forrester have been loyal bannermen to House Stark. In darkest reaches of the Wolfswood, they harvested the rare Ironwood trees, now the North has been ripped apart by war and rival houses to seek to claim Forrester Ironwood for themselves. And the fate of House Forrester hangs in balance.

Near the castle of Twins in Riverlands, the Starks and the Forresters, their loyal were outside camping and celebrating the wedding of Robb Stark and Talissa Tully as people were chanting.

Gared Tuttle, loyal squire of Lord Gregor Forrester, Head of the House, was listening to his tale about Jaime Lannister's defeat. With his friend Bowen, they were serving loyally to their masters as Gared poured some wine to his master.

Gregor raised the tankard. "To Robb Stark! The King in the North!"

"The King in the North!" His men chanted.

"Tomorrow we march on Casterly Rock and House Forrester has been given the greatest honor. To lead the Young Wolf's army and rise as the vanguard!" Gregor declared.

"The gods have favored us!"

"Onward to Casterly Rock!"

"Death to the Lannisters!"

"Iron from ice!" Gared said the Forresters' motto.

"The North remembers!" Bowen added.

"Gared."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around as he followed Lord Gregor. "Yes, m'lord?"

"I need you to keep an eye out for Rodrik." Gregor said, referring to his eldest son. "As his father, I could not be more proud of the man he has become. On a night like this, men find false courage at the bottom of their cups. I'd rather he were here." He turned to Gared in pride.

"Yes, m'lord." Gared nodded.

"There's also the question of what's to be done with you." Gregor said as Gared looked at him in surprise. He had been a loyal squire since he was a young boy, diligent and dutiful, rarely letting him down, yet Gregor never felt any disappointment with the young lag as Gared wondered what did Gregor mean. "It's been on my mind for a while now."

"With me, m'lord?" Gared asked.

"You've served House Forrester well for several years now. But I can't expect you to squire forever. How shall I reward your loyalty? What can I offer you?" Gregor turned to him with a warm smile.

Gared considered. He had always been to him as much as of a son as Gregor's other four sons and he had always been a brother to Gregor's daughter Talia due to Gared's uncle Duncan being their castellan. And if he was a son of House Forrester in Gregor's eyes, there was one reward he could ask for. "Let me fight for you, m'lord."

"You've more than proven your ability on the battlefield. No man would question that." Gregor assured. "There were those who had their doubts when your uncle put forth your name as my squire but you've erased those doubts entirely." He placed his hand on Gared's shoulder. "It would be an honor to see you riding by Rodrik's side in the vanguard tomorrow. Not as a squire, but as the equal of any man who serves House Forrester."

Gared nodded, smiling gratefully. "Thank you, m'lord. I promise—I won't let you down."

"That I don't doubt. But for now, keep this between us. We're celebrating tonight and I wouldn't want the other squires to feel discouraged."

"Yes, m'lord."

Gregor then pointed to the camp. "Now go. And find Rodrik if you can."

"I will, m'lord. Thank you." Gared walked off before he found Bowen in trouble regarding helping one of Gregor's men, Norren and decided to help him get some wine.

"Fetch more wine… scrub my armor… clean my boots…" Bowen muttered under his breath. "Just my luck to end up with Norren while you serve the lord. Let him fetch his own wine for once. He's a drunk, liar an arrogant prick."

Gared chuckled. "You better watch your tongue, Bowen. It could be much worse."

"What the fuck do you know about it?" Bowen scoffed. "Nothing is worse than Norren." He looked at Gared in jealousy. "See, that's where you're lucky. Low expectations. If I'd grown up covered in pig shit shoveling slop, well, maybe I'd think saddling his horse is the greatest honor in the Seven Kingdoms. I suppose this beats pig farming. But not by much."

Gared took note as Bowen was referring to Gared's father being a pig farmer, therefore Gared was used to these menial tasks. "Don't get angry with me. We're no different, you and I."

"Aye but I'm not the son of a pig farmer. My father had dignity." Bowen said. "All I'm saying is… at this rate, we'll never be more than this, which is nothing. The lowest of the low. For all I know, we could be squires for life. Handling wine around a fucking wedding. What a waste of fucking time."

"Give it time, you'll get there." Gared assured.

"Easy for you to say. Maybe if my uncle were Castellan at House Forrester, I'd feel different." Bowen snorted.

Gared glared. "Who my uncle is has nothing to do with it."

"How much further…" Bowen sighed before they let some wine at the tents of Walder Frey's men.

But suddenly, Gared spotted something off. Weapons everywhere, Walder's men armed to the teeth at the wedding.

"Don't expect me to carry it for you, Ser Gared." Gared came to as he turned to Bowen, who noticed the look on his face. "What? What's wrong?" Gared looked as Frey's men were entering the Twins, as if they were laying siege as he shivered. "You're acting rather odd. You've had too much wine-"

"We need to get back. Now." Gared said.

"They're fine. They can wait." Bowen assured.

"No, you don't understand. We need to GO." Gared said.

"What's the hurry?" One of the Freys smirked. "Something the matter?"

"You go if you're in such a rush." Bowen snapped as Gared saw the Freys with their swords ready as Gared grabbed him by his arm and dragged him away. "What is that about? Slow down, what's the rush?"

"RUN!" Gared shouted and as Bowen turned around, he saw the Freys armed to the teeth, following the as he realized what was going on before he and Gared ran off, while the Freys were slaughtering the Forrester men and Starks.

"We need to get back to camp!" Bowen said. Gared dodged and avoided the Freys as he found Rodrik fighting the Freys. "Gared! We have to get back!"

"Death to the king!"

Next thing Gared knew, one of the Freys knocked him down and was about to stab him but Gared picked a nearby shield and knocked him away as he got up and ran off, seeing the Freys execute his comrades. They saw Gared and fired crossbow bolts at him but no arrow would easily pierce the ironwood.

Gared tried to help Rodrik as he saw him in trouble but there were too many Freys to fight through before he saw Rodrik fall down. "Rodrik!"

Knowing there was nothing he could do, he decided to help Gregor as he neared his lord.

Gregor had finished off one of the Freys as he turned to his squire. "Gared, did you find Rodrik?"

"He…" Gared could barely breathe. "He's gone, m'lord. There was nothing I could do."

Gregor's face shattered before gaining composure as more Frey's men neared them. "Find a weapon. Quickly."

Gared was knocked down before he grabbed a sword, while Gregor cut down one of the Freys and helped Gared get up.

"Go, m'lord. While there's still time!" Norren ordered as Gared and Gregor ran into the woods. But after a while, Gregor fell down, his injuries too severe.

"M'lord…" Gared knelt towards Gregor as he heard shouting, the Freys chasing them.

Gregor handed Gared his greatsword. "Guard this with your life. Return it to Ironrath, where it belongs." Gared hesitated before nodding as he picked it. "I'll be damned before I'll let it fall into the hands of the traitors! You have to go!"

"I won't leave you, m'lord!" Gared protested.

"You can and you will."

"M'lord-"

"By the Gods, you WILL obey me!" Gregor snapped as he turned around and heard voices getting louder, the Freys onto them before he grabbed Gared by his wrist. "Tell your uncle…" Gared neared his face. "Tell him… that 'the North Grove must never be lost'. Tell no one but him. Do you understand? Tell only your uncle Duncan. The future of the House may depend on it."

Gared had no idea what Gregor meant but if it was his last wish, he would honor it. "I swear that I will, m'lord." He nodded.

"Hey! It's those Forresters!"

Gregor got up as the Freys were nearing them. "Go. On your honor, you must do this for our House. GO!"

Gared nodded as he ran off, while Gregor was making his last stand against the Freys. He didn't turn around but heard a loud scream, realizing that the man, who had been like a second father to him, had fallen. He had to return home to Ironrath. Warn his uncle and Gregor's wife, Lady Elissa. With the Starks gone, the future of the House Forrester would take a dark turn soon enough.