Moat Cailin. The Young Wolf had decided to do what no man has ever accomplished, take Moat Cailin from the south. Once the wedding is over, the army will immediately set out north to Moat Cailin. Howland Reed will march his crannogmen through the swamps of the Neck and attack the ironborn at the same time as him. Robb knew what an extremely dangerous task it was, all it will take is one arrow to Robb's heart to kill him. If he dies, his kingdom of the North and the Trident will die with him as Robb had no successor. Despite their efforts, Jeyne was still not pregnant as of yet and his brothers… It won't do for the king to cry like a child. He has no choice but to remain strong, for his mother, for Jeyne, for The North, for every soul who had put his faith in him. But what comes after?
Jon! His dilemma solved, he began to write a royal decree when he heard footsteps. He looked behind to an unusual sight. Greywind was walking with Jeyne. His consort and Queen had always been afraid of his wolf but now…
"What is it?" Robb wanted to sound more loving with his wife. He had to love her, he had broken an important alliance to marry her.
"Robb, I … I am with your child".
Robb immediately stood up, "Are you certain?"
"Your mother confirmed the symptoms." Jeyne smiled, "she had taken over my diet from my mother, and … whatever it was, it worked."
Ever since that fat oaf, the King had come north and tore his family apart, only bad news upon bad news had piled upon Robb. But now for the first time, genuine happiness had spread across his face.
"Eddard if it is a boy and Lyanna if it is a girl." Jeyne said with confidence. He glances back on the paper he was writing and decided Jon will his heir's regent until he or she comes of age. Maege Mormont and Galbart Glover can take the decree up north after the wedding.
"Robb there is something else I wish to request you."
"Anything!"
"I wish to come with you up north." Robb's father had left his mother at Riverrun before he went south to the battle.
"Out of question, Jeyne! You must remain here and be taken care of in your state." Even his mother would concur with him on this.
"I am the Queen in the North. My place is by your side. I am done being seen as some timid queen." Jeyne said with such resolve and vigor Robb had never seen her possess.
"You do not understand. Even before Moat Cailin, The Twins are not safe either." Robb informed her, "They will take great offence at your presence, the army itself will be on alert until Guest Right has been secured."
"Then I will not enter until Guest Right has been secured, this I swear to you."
Robb considered her words, it will certainly boost the Northmen's morale to see their pregnant queen who has blood of the First Men beside them and he also got the feeling Greywind is not going to leave Jeyne behind as long as she carried his child, "And you will obey my command to leave whenever and wherever I give it?"
Jeyne took a moment but answered "yes" all the same. She moved forward and took Robb's palm. Their fingers intertwined, "I know you do not love me, but when the child arrives, maybe…" Love will come she wanted to say, but Robb knew it for certainty. Everything will be alright once the child is born.
Robb woke with a gasp. He had taken a break from the riding to give Greywind rest. They had been moving at an incredibly fast pace and had just crossed the Last River. It had stopped snowing but he knew there was already a lot of it caught in his auburn curls. Robb walked to a stream and washed his face and quenched his thirst. He again considered riding to the Last Hearth but his heart kept pointing him towards Castle Black. Greywind was looking at the moon and immediately padded forward to Robb once he saw that he was awake and nudged him. Robb doubted Greywind would even carry him to the Last Hearth, the direwolf seemed to be in a rush to reach Castle Black. He wants to meet Ghost just as I want to meet Jon.
He mounted the great direwolf, as he took off. This is the closest I could ever come to flying. The main stronghold of the Night's Watch loomed before him. And before that was an army marching straight towards it. With a Giant.
At the moment he saw the giant, the ancient face of Old Nan floated in his mind. She had told him and his siblings about a dozen about the giants. They lived beyond the wall. The army that surrounds the giant can only be that of wildlings.
But how in the seven hells did so many of them get south of the wall?!
He commanded Greywind to stop, so that he may not be spotted. But the direwolf sped ahead in all haste cutting right through the middle of the wildling army.
Once they reached the head of the army, Greywind stopped so abruptly that he threw Robb off to the ground in front of everyone. He then gave a long howl. The howl was returned with another howl, coming from inside the castle. Ghost? I've never heard Ghost make a sound. He must be indoors as his howl was muffled and … mournful?
"Another southerner." came a voice from behind, "Kill him!"
Robb spun around, ready to unsheathe his sword as a command stopped them, "Wait."
Robb looked at the speaker. His hair was red a bit brighter than Robb's. He was a muscular man with a broad chest and even broader beard. He was looking at Greywind. "I thought King Crow's was the only direwolf down the wall", he had said to another who wore black like Yoren, the recruiter at Night's Watch did. Deserter or a traitor?
"Lord commander's kin are the only other ones who have direwolves but most of them are already dead."
When did Mormonts get direwolves?
"So he stole this smoke furred beast?"
"No friend" Robb said, "I did not steal him, I found him in the forest, didn't even know that's a direwolf, I just rode him because I didn't have a horse." He gestures at his sword, "I am just a lowly sellsword, you see and I heard an army of wil- freefolk was moving towards Castle Black and I thought-"
"He is lying but we do not have time for him" the man in black interrupted him, "You say you are a sellsword, then get back and fight for us, take whatever you want off the corpses you make."
"Thank you, friend", Robb got back and stood beside him and saw the giant stride forward and ram the door.
"Keep an eye on the … Smokefur." Robb was unsure whether the wildling leader was talking of him or Greywind.
These are too many people for the Night's Watch to defend the castle from. The moment I enter I will search for Jon and start defending and maybe the two of us will be able to escape this.
The giant finally broke through the wooden door, and Robb and the army entered the castle. The moon had hidden behind the clouds and the torches were the only sources of light. The soldiers of the Night's Watch stood with their weapons unsheathed but were hesitating to engage. One man mustered the will to attack but was immediately cut down by the wildling leader. The others backed off.
"Fight you cowards", someone shouted but the only person who responded his call was a crossbowman who foolishly fired on the giant's shoulder. The giant responded by uprooting him from the balcony and smashing his body onto the wall before throwing the corpse away.
The others were quick to drop their weapons. The two leaders and their men closed onto the one had shouted to urge the men to keep fighting. Where is Lord Commander Mormont? Where are Jon and Ghost?
"You fucking traitor", he said but it was the response that shocked Robb more.
"The only traitors here are the ones who shoved their knives into their Lord Commander's heart." Gods be good, there has been a mutiny against Jeor Mormont. This man wasn't the traitor, instead he brought help to punish the mutineers. Wildling help?
"For thousands of years, the Night's Watch has held Castle Black against the wildlings until you and your Lord Commander Snow betrayed the Night's Watch brought them right through!" What has been happening here?!
A boy age of Bran ran forward to slash at the wildling leader but he was tackled and captured with ease
Enough of this! These people hadn't denied to the accusation of mutiny. Time to end this farce.
"Who is the Lord Commander here?" asked the apparent sellsword with a loud enough voice that everyone hears him.
"There is nothing for you! Out of here!". The man who had brought help, said irritably.
Robb rushed towards him, drawing out his blade and pressing it onto his throat from behind, warning everybody to stay away. A blue glow emitting from the engravings.
"Lord Commander Snow", Robb repeated, "WHICH. SNOW?!" he said such ferocity that even some of the freefolk were impressed.
"Jon Snow!"
"Maybe I'll even become the Lord Commander one day." Jon said.
"Then whenever I visit the Wall, I will have to sit in your solar." Robb replied with a smile.
"Aye, as I will sit in yours when I visit Winterfell to talk about important matters." Jon chuckled, "The dream it will be. With the two of us guarding it, the North will never know any danger."
Children we had been then. But a growing feeling of dread suddenly started to creep in. What had this man been saying before…
Robb heard running footsteps behind him. He shoved his captive away and spun around to block the incoming attack. But he didn't need to, for the wildling was tackled to the ground. Not by a smoke colored direwolf, but a snow colored one, about the same size as Greywind. The silent albino direwolf left his captive and looked at him with mournful red eyes and started to slowly move towards him. Robb strode to him and cradled his head without the need to kneel down.
"What are these men saying, Ghost?" There were murmurings around but Robb paid them no mind. "Where is Jon?"
Ghost conveyed nothing but only moved forward and pressed his forehead to Robb's. He wants to share grief…
No, No, NO.
His body felt numb. I am too late. NO. I am too useless. To save anybody. Father, Mother, Jon, Jeyne, his very own child that was never born…
Robb had died at that fateful day at the Twins, but yet he lived. Was Jon's life the price I paid for that? I do not want this second chance, Father. Please! Take it back!
"Who did he tell himself as?", came some thick accented voice from somewhere.
"He said he was a sellsword."
"Auburn hair, Blue eyes, Armor marked with the direwolf of Stark, A great grey direwolf at his side, … and recognized by Ghost." The accented speak took a sharp breath, "This is no sellsword my friend. This is Robb Stark, Jon Snow's elder brother and … The King in the North."
The air was filled with whispers, most were murmuring his name, some his title, and few of him being the brother of The Lord Commander. Failure of a brother, Robb wanted to correct them.
A cruel laughter cut through, "I should have known, Lord Snow's kin is full of people like him. Traitors and Usurpers", Robb heard him spitting on the ground.
"Throw them into the cells where they belong."
The man should have considered himself immensely lucky that Robb and Ghost were busy sharing grief and were hearing all this instead of listening.
Robb finally let go of Ghost's head.
"Your Grace-", he heard the man who had recognized him, start.
"Take me to him." The man nodded and started walking with Robb and Greywind following him. Ghost cut ahead of them and went back into a room. Room where my brother lies…
Robb's steps were slow but the man understood and kept his pace slow. When they were standing right outside of the room, the man muttered something but Robb couldn't make out his words.
He went away. Robb took a deep breath and entered the room with his eyes downcast. He walked slowly towards the table keeping his eyes on the ground. When he reached it, he shut his eyes tight and looked where he sensed his brother had been lying.
He opened his eyes and saw only for a fraction of second before wildly turning around. But that had been more than enough to count as one of the worst mistakes Robb had ever made. He immediately forced the image out his head and stumbled towards the wall and slid down it, sitting on the ground with hot tears on his cheeks already.
He did not know how much time had passed when the man who was once kind enough to leave him alone, had come back to plague him.
"I thought you were dead."
When Robb didn't reply, "Your Grace-"
"I was and now I am not! Now is there anything else you need!"
"You came back." His voice was barely more than a whisper.
"I warn you ser-"
"Don't you see! People come back! Maybe your brother can too."
Robb immediately stood up. "There is this woman here who can perform … miracles, I have seen it with my own eyes."
Just then the woman in question entered. "My lady, can you…".
Robb didn't finish his sentence. This red woman was already staring at him queerly. Her eyes were narrowed in … confusion?
The man behind broke her out of her stupor, "My Lady?"
"I do not know, but I can try."
Robb nodded and backed off. Then he decided to face the wall instead as he silently sent prayers to the Old Gods. Greywind was beside him as always.
Robb heard some footsteps behind him entering the room. But then they stopped and only the red woman walked.
She started to mutter words of a language Robb didn't knew. After a moment, something inside Robb started to feel uneasy. Not just the words, but the very room itself. The air that filled it, the flames that lit it. Everything, started to make Robb nauseous. The urge to exit this room was strong but his resolve remained even stronger. I will not leave my brother. But it was getting harder with every second, and soon the whispers started, whispers that clouded his mind and took his focus while the woman kept muttering in the background. The whispers just kept getting louder and louder until they were deafening. Robb's head had started to pound. STOP!
"Please" he heard her say as the whispers stopped abruptly and he felt normal again. No one spoke for a while. Then someone walked away. The woman was next. Robb knew because he had felt her staring at his back before she left. The third went away and then the fourth and Robb alone remained in the room.
Alone. Robb's heart clenched. Greywind's presence didn't feel different from his own. And Ghost…
Robb had died and had come back. So why couldn't Jon?
He heard a whine. Robb turned and kept his eyes on Ghost. All the time, Robb had seen him, he had never made a sound. He looked miserable and was thinking that he has nothing left to live for.
This is what Greywind had felt. That day, the moments between our deaths were so painful to him that he had felt his butchering mercy.
Robb could bear no longer. He started to move towards the door. Father! Help me!
And that was when he heard the gasp for breath.
This was supposed to be a different POV but I had some problems with the timing of events, so I had to continue Robb's POV. I ended this chapter here because I do not want to show any Stark reunion through Robb's perspective. The reason should hopefully become clearer with the coming chapters.
As much as I hated what the show did to the Northmen in Season 6, continuing GRRM's storylines will be way too complicated for me. So I will try to keep things to fit this story and make sense at the same time.
Lastly, I wanted to clarify that I am not rewriting Jon's story and naming him Robb. Jon is still the apparent Prince That Was Promised (atleast to Melisandre) and a major character on his own. Robb is a completely new piece on the board that the Lord of Light had never expected.