I honestly didn't mean to have another two weeks without uploading especially considering this chapter has been ready all that time, but I've been struck by illness. I'm ok, but it has left me struggling to write future chapters over the last couple of weeks. Hopefully I'm back on the mend and can keep going until the end which is so close now, but with me who knows!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I obviously own nothing but the OC's, everyone and everything else belongs to George R R Martin and HBO.

It had been a sleepless night for Loren. The fires still burned a bright green within Harrenhal and while attempts to combat it had been made, there was still no way of trying to salvage the dead from the ruins. The true scale of the murder from Cersei however had been discovered. Myrcella and Trystane were both gone, along with multiple Lords and Ladies from nearly every kingdom in attendance. Dozens of dead that included Loren's maternal grandfather and all but one of his Mother's Brother's with Lyle the only survivor of his House. It was a disaster, one that firmly solidified Loren's will to see his aunt dead.

As dawn rose and the sunlight filtered through the leaves of the tree that Loren had used as his shelter for the night, he rose to his feet and slowly walked over to the gathering of people who were helping ferry sand towards the castle. Tyrion was leading the efforts, a cold angry look in his mismatched eyes as well. Wanting to help, Loren went to join the line but he was stopped by his Uncle Jaime.

"My Lord." Jaime said, his voice sounding broken. "You have been asked to attend to a meeting with Daenerys Targaryen and the other Lords Paramount."

Loren just groaned. "She took her time." He muttered sarcastically, but he sighed and nodded. "Where is she?"

Jaime turned and pointed over to a black tent close to the Gods Eye. "She's not killing me just yet, which I don't know whether to be happy at or not." The Kingsguard knight looked over at the green smoke, sighing.

Loren didn't respond to that, he just didn't have the energy, and he begrudgingly dragged his feet towards the black tent. There were two Unsullied soldiers stood in the entrance, but they didn't move a muscle as Loren passed them and entered.

Inside he recognised basically everybody. Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow were talking about moving troops while peering over a map. He saw Olyvar Frey stood listening, nodding profusely. Yohn Royce in his capacity as both the Lord Protector of the Vale and the most experienced Lord in the room was having his input in some of the plans, while Loras Tyrell and Edric Dayne were quiet.

"Lord Lannister." Olyvar noticed him first, and very quickly all twelve eyes were upon him.

Loren bowed his head in recognition. "You summoned me." He said towards Daenerys.

"I requested your presence." Daenerys corrected. "You are not my subject, I cannot order you." That brought more pain to Loren's heart as the smile of Myrcella came to mind. "I wished to quickly decide our next actions. Many of us wish to march on King's Landing now…"

"It is the wisest thing." Loras Tyrell said firmly. "She is a murderer, who knows what damage she can do if left unchecked."

"Not as much as the Night King." Jon Snow replied, equally as firmly.

There was nothing that Loren wanted more than to agree with Loras, but his strategic mind knew that Jon was right. "We must look Northwards. Cersei will find no allies any longer, too many have died at her whim." He told them all.

"Quite right." Yohn Royce nodded, though Loren wanted to slap that judgemental look off of his face.

Daenerys then started moving figures. "How long will it take for your forces to reach the North?" She asked everyone.

"The Dornish army is still in Casterly Rock." Loren said, looking at Edric Dayne. "As is the Redwyne Fleet."

Loras had a thought. "We can use the fleet to ferry men up to Seagard, separate the large number of men in the West so both can move quicker."

"Take the Dornish." Loren said. "I will move with my men through to Riverrun and pick up the Riverlanders closest to my borders and on the Western coast on the way." That meant having to cross the Twins again of course, but Loren would cross that problem when he got there.

"Meanwhile my men will move here to Harrenhal, and we shall march up the Kingsroad with your forces." Loras told Daenerys.

"Half of the Vale will travel by sea to White Harbour, the other shall join you on the Kingsroad." Lord Royce explained. "They are already gathered, I need only send word."

Daenerys nodded. "Do so, My Lord." She looked around at the room. "I know some of you did not see me nor want me as your Queen and I certainly didn't want anything like this to happen. We will mourn the dead properly, all the dead, but right now as death marches upon us I want to know if I can count on your fealty and your loyalty. Lady Shireen has already reaffirmed her pledge from her sick bed as she recovers, and if you are with me in fighting the White Walkers and then moving on to end Cersei's reign of tyranny then I would like to hear the same from all of you now."

She looked around the room. Jon, Yohn and Loras immediately got to one knee. Edric Dayne sighed, nodded, and did the same thing. "I cannot truly speak for all of Dorne's fealty with Prince Doran so far away, but for the coming wars you have Dawn and the spears of Dorne."

"Thank you, Lord Edric." Daenerys said kindly before she looked at Loren. "Lord Lannister?"

The Lannister felt put on the spot. "My Queen was Myrcella." He said softly. "And she was killed by a craven. Family or not, she is dead to me and I shall have her head mounted in Lannisport until the crows grow bored with her." He was now spitting venomously so he took a breath and tried to calm down. "You have the Westerlands, Your Grace." He got down on one knee. "Let me have my vengeance, and you have my loyalty."

Daenerys nodded. "Once we have beaten the dead, My Lord, we shall rip her limb from limb. This I swear." She then turned to Olyvar. "The Riverlands are a different matter it seems."

"You shall have the loyalty of Harrenhal and Riverrun now I am certain." Olyvar looked over at Loren. "But Ryman…"

"He follows Cersei." Yohn Royce said bluntly. "I saw him and his retinue leaving late last night with a number of younger children. The hostages from Lord Lannister's last war in the Riverlands."

That made Loren's task all the more difficult. "We shall take the Twins on our route Northwards." Loren stated angrily.

Daenerys looked frustrated too. "I shall help you, as formidable as your force seems to have been over the years a dragon is all the more persuasive."

"We shall aim to meet here." Jon pointed to a spot just south of Moat Cailin. Loren made sure he managed to get a good look at the map. "From there we will know if it is better to march to the Wall or to Winterfell."

"Time is of the essence." Daenerys told them all. "Leave Harrenhal as soon as you are able and muster your men." She then turned to Olyvar. "Lady Shireen could do with staying here however."

"The Kingspyre Tower is well enough away from the flames." Olyvar explained. "Our Maester is also housed there, my wife will ensure that Lady Shireen will be well looked after."

Daenerys smiled. "Excellent. Then I shall bid you all farewell. Please try and make your way to the North quickly. We do not know how much time we have left…"

Loren bowed his head before departing the tent swiftly, the scope of what he had just done settling in his mind. He took a deep breath before he walked over towards his surviving Lords to explain and then plan, hoping that this was the right decision for his people.

Cerenna watched from the doorway as Maester Creylen gathered the last of his documents, listening to his final warnings and instructions. "… and I shall want to see you weekly, just to be cautious."

"Of course, Maester." Cerenna rolled her eyes.

The elderly man gave her a warning glare, before a smile broke his façade. "And My Lady… congratulations. I am sure Lord Loren will be delighted."

Cerenna nodded, her hand dropping to her belly. "He will be a bit distracted I am sure, best to wait until he is here to tell him, Maester."

"As you say My Lady." Creylen bowed.

Cerenna gave him one final smile before she walked back to her chambers humming Bessa the Barmaid. As she neared her chambers however she could hear raised voices coming from inside the door. Swinging it open she noticed her twin Myrielle, back in the Rock again as her husband Ser Dickon Tarly was with the Reach forces, and Ser Kevan Lannister having an argument. "What is the meaning of this?"

"My Lady…" Kevan began politely, but Cerenna's twin had no time for manners.

"He demanded to know where you were!" Myrielle cried, outraged. "I explained that it was none of his business of course and that you would find him when you were free…"

Kevan was growing red with anger. "The disrespect!" He cried back. "My Lady, I have an urgent letter from Harrenhal."

Cerenna smiled. "Ah, Loren. I presume our Queen has been decided." She took the parchment, opening the lion seal. "Honestly you two, such drama over a letter…" She trailed off as she read the first words, telling her exactly what had happened. Cerenna felt her legs about to collapse and threw herself on her bed, her spare hand trembling as it came up to cover her mouth. "Gods…"

Kevan took a deep breath. "I have received a similar letter with orders to marshal our men and march to Riverrun." He said, having calmed now. "By your leave."

Cerenna just nodded, tears leaking down her face. Myrielle looked confused and took the letter that was now limp in the Lady of Casterly Rock's hands. "Oh no…" She whispered horrified as Myrielle read the words. "That… that bitch."

"Myrcella… she was so sweet." Cerenna cried, sniffling. "She did not deserve any of this."

Myrielle wrapped her hands around Cerenna. "We need to let the castle know… the West…"

Cerenna nodded, wiping her eyes and trying to compose herself. "I will see to it." She said solemnly. "Poor Loren… he's almost lost everyone in one go…"

"Not you." Myrielle insisted. "And, was I right?" She asked hopefully. Cerenna nodded and her hand fell to her stomach again although her celebratory mood had quickly dissipated. "Then after we mourn our losses there is a little one to come that will bring us joy in the future."

Nodding, Cerenna took one last sniff and a deep breath to fully compose herself. She stood back upright and took a few steps to the full-size mirror in the corner, wiping her face with a wet cloth from nearby. "I must change to black." Thankfully her sister wasted no time and rushed to her wardrobe, picking out a respectable gown and helping her change to become the bearer of awful news.

Whereas the first time Daenerys Targaryen had seen the Godswood of Winterfell she had been in awe, the Godswood of Harrenhal, though the walled off area was over eight times the size of Winterfell's, the woodland area was immeasurably haunting. Even the Weirwood tree looked pained, it's face twisted in rage. She found Jon kneeling before the tree, deep in prayer. She waited as silently as she could but the wind rustling her clothes gave her away before long.

"How is Shireen?" Jon asked, knowing that she had just been to see the Lady of Storm's End.

"Her face is now even more scarred." Daenerys sighed sadly. "The poor girl. Thankfully she has loyal banners at her side, and a formidable guard."

Jon rose to his feet, but he didn't turn away from the Weirwood tree. "Everything about this castle seems cursed."

Daenerys agreed, and she moved forwards to stand at Jon's side. "Its history is tied to our own." She told him. "The Conquest, the Dance. Harrenhal has seen our family rise and fall."

"When we were younger, Robb and I, we used to play a lot." Jon began. "One day we would be Aemon the Dragonknight and Daeron the Young, the next we would be Torrhen Stark and Brandon Snow. I remember one day we skipped our history lesson and we fought as Daemon the Rogue Prince and Aemond One-Eye." He chuckled. "Robb was Aemond that day and he fought one handed, covering his eye with his spare." Sighing sadly at his lost brother, he continued. "We were dragged back inside by Maester Luwin and he taught us all about the battle between those two, and how Daemon Targaryen carved knife marks into a tree to count down the days until Aemond met him." He held a hand out and stroked a line that was carved in the Weirwood tree, which Dany saw was one of many. "I didn't realise it was this one. Now two more Targaryen's stand before the Harrenhal Weirwood."

"And more history will be made." Dany said softly. Jon turned to her in confusion. "The men of the West and the Dornish have departed, as has Lord Royce. All have agreed that no official crowning will take place until we hold the Iron Throne." Jon stayed silent at that news. "Though, Lord Royce reminded me that were I to fall in battle, then that would lead to many problems in the future."

"You won't fall." Jon said firmly.

"I could." Dany countered. "And that is why I must publicly name an heir."

Jon nodded, seeing the logic behind it. "Very wise. Who are you…" He trailed off. "No."

"It has to be you." Dany insisted, moving one step closer to her kinsman. "Jon, we are the last two Targaryen's…"

"I have never wanted this." Jon insisted, waving his hands in despair. "You know that! When I knelt before you I thought this matter was dealt with."

"There is no one I would trust more to continue my legacy!" Dany countered again. "We connect, you and I, in a way that I do not understand. We have the same goals, the same drives, the same blood…"

She was stopped in her tracks as Jon planted his lips onto hers and the Targaryen Queen was frozen in shock. When Jon noticed that she wasn't reciprocating he pulled away. "I'm sorry…" He said. "But I feel it too, this connection…"

"We can't ever be." Dany whispered. "That's not… Jon, I can't have children."

Jon stared at her in painful shock. "I don't care."

"But I do!" Dany said, waving her hands up in frustration. "Didn't you listen? We are the last two Targaryen's left in the world and I can't birth more. If we are to create a lasting dynasty then that can never happen again." She turned away, closing her eyes to try and forget that happened. "You must marry someone that can give you children, Aegon, because when I die it will fall to you and your line to carry on our legacy." She sighed once more and turned back to face Jon, her heart aching at the puppy like look he was giving her. "Aegon Targaryen, I name you the Prince of Dragonstone and the heir to the Seven Kingdoms. Once I take my Throne we shall tell the world the truth about your birth and you shall have your place at court. I give you leave to search out a noble wife that will give you both children and happiness." She placed a hand on his chest. "Please, Jon. We need to survive beyond our lives."

Jon took a deep breath, but he nodded. "Forgive me for my forwardness, My Queen. If you will excuse me." He bowed his head.

Dany smiled sadly at his retreating back. "Of course you are forgiven." She whispered.

Unbeknownst to the pair of them, they had not been alone.

Cersei Lannister had arrived back inside the Red Keep with a big smile on her face feeling like a conqueror. She had seen the green smoke rise above Harrenhal for three days of their journey back to King's Landing and her thoughts had been filled with the image of the Targaryen whore's charred corpse. The plan had gone off exactly as she had predicted. She knew that the fools and lickspittles would ensue that she lost first, so as she left she sent Osfryd to ensure that after they had left the wildfire in the carts exploded next to the Targaryen loyalists. Of course that meant she had had to bed the man for his efforts that night, but it was a small price to pay for victory.

She returned to her chambers and had her maid run her a bath, and the Lannister Queen sank into the steaming water contently. Now all she needed to do was get Myrcella to back down, but that wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Her peace and quiet was interrupted by a commotion outside her door. Frustrated, Cersei rose out of the water and placed a robe around her body, opening the door to see the old fool Pycelle struggling with her Kingsguard. "What is the meaning of this." She demanded to know.

"Your Grace." Pycelle said with a bow. "A letter from Casterly Rock."

Cersei grinned. "Finally." It was their surrender and she would have her castle back. Breaking the seal she began to read the words of the whore that sat in Cersei's Mother's rightful role and her joy turned to despair.

The Targaryen whore had lived, Myrcella had died. Cersei scowled, scrunching the parchment up in a fist. Those damned pyromancers had given her faulty wildfire and it had gone off too early. "Fetch me every single pyromancer in the city." She snarled. "I want all of their heads on the Traitor's Path!" She was screaming and spitting at this point, shaking with anger and fury. Slamming her door behind her as she stepped back into her rooms she was panting heavily. She noticed a wine goblet on a table within reach and so she picked it up and threw it before throwing more objects that she could reach, screaming and shouting as she did so.

The last time Loren had been inside the walls of Riverrun he had been scolded by his Great Aunt. Stopping his horse on the same hill as he had called for the charge against Stevron Frey before he stared down at the castle in the distance and remembered that time. It was fresh off of his Grandfather's death, and now he was here again in the shadow of Myrcella's.

"Stop thinking." Lambert Turnberry said from beside him. The rest of his noble party had ridden on ahead leaving the two friends sat atop their horses in the cold wind. "It won't help."

"I'm getting used to this feeling." Loren said bitterly. "Family killing family… I've never been an overly zealous follower of the Seven but they must be punishing us for something. For Castamere? For the Drumm's? For me marrying Cerenna against everyone's wishes…"

Lambert moved his horse so that he was facing Loren. "Don't think that Lor. Listen, what's done is done. All we can do now is deal with the shit that we've been left with. You have a beautiful daughter and wife. You have the loyalty of all of us in the West united against your cunt of an Aunt."

Loren sighed, nodding. "It shouldn't be like this though." He gestured to nothing in particular. "Myrcella shouldn't have been murdered by her own Mother…" He said the last two words through gritted teeth, clenching his gloved fist. He sighed again, calming down. "I should be at the Rock with my girls, you should be in Redramble seeing to your newborn twins…" That had been a new development before they left, a rider from Lambert's castle saying that Loren's cousin had birthed a boy and a girl, Enred and Celia Turnberry.

Lambert smiled. "I will see them soon enough, as you will see Jeyne." He reached over and clasped Loren's shoulder. "Come, our scouts have already been spotted. We will have a few nights at Riverrun and then we can lose our thoughts to those of fighting demons from bedtime stories." Lambert grinned, though the amusement didn't reach his eyes.

Laughing half-heartedly, Loren nodded and spurred his horse to join the line of Western nobility that had been in Harrenhal. He almost walked through the usual introductions with Emmon and Genna before settling down to some food. The next three days followed the same sort of pattern. Loren would wake up, he would train, he would eat, and then he would take a walk around a different part of the castle keeping to himself.

The fourth day however, he stumbled across something as he was walking down through the dungeons. He noticed his Father's cousin Cleos Frey's voice behind a door.

"This is your fault, Ty! We had one job to do, give her a child and we had legitimacy to Riverrun whomever sat upon the Iron Throne!" Cleos was hissing. "Her trail can't have gone cold, she's a girl with a young child!"

"I looked everywhere!" Tywin Frey's voice sounded, although there was a slight difference. "There were no tracks, no signs… I don't know where she went."

"Winterfell!" Cleos cried. "She would have gone to her family, obviously!" Loren heard a thump and a yelp. "You are her husband, Tywin. Get her back."

"How?" Tywin whined. "The Stark's won't give her to me now… not after…"

Loren opened the door then, and the two Frey's jumped at the new entrant to the room. "Carry on, cousin." He said coldly. "You were explaining how you lost Arya Stark, I believe…" He trailed off as he noticed the room.

The bed had shackles on for all four limbs, most of them loose as if there had been struggle, and there was a cot in the corner. Cleos looked angrily at Loren. "You shouldn't be here, Loren…"

"Lord." Loren snapped. "You will address me properly, cousin." He took a deep breath, but all the anger and frustration of the last few days was bubbling up to the surface. "Please, please tell me that this room isn't what I think it is. Please tell me you didn't tie down a CHILD AND RAPE HER HERE!" He was roaring at this point. Tywin Frey looked like he was about to shit himself, and only now did Loren see that his nose had been broken.

"My Lord…" Tywin begged, but Loren was having none of it.

"Fucking Frey's." He snarled. "All of you, as bad as each other. What happened?"

"We had a girl, My Lord." Tywin said, tears forming. "Then we came to help you against the Company, and when we got back she was gone."

"She has a name!" Loren exclaimed. "Arya. Stark. The only reason the Riverlanders put up with the decision to give you the castle!" He put his hand up to massage his temple. "If they found out how badly you mistreated her, Hoster Tully's Granddaughter…"

Cleos scoffed. "The little bitch mistreated? She fought and she broke Tywin's nose!"

Loren swung his fist, and the crunch that followed indicated that another nose was broken. "She was a little girl!" Loren roared, leaning over the now prone Frey heir. "A little girl who's family had been murdered! Who was dragged here to marry into a family that was the cause of the murder!" If he had a sword on him, Loren was sure he would have committed a kinslaying. He knew that he was probably acting irrationally, but whenever he thought of Arya Stark in that bed with her limbs tied having his snivelling cousin forcing himself inside her, her face warped to Myrcella's cold corpse before he it changed again, and he saw his own baby girl crying and being assaulted. Shaking his head, Loren didn't say another word. He stormed out of that room and marched over to his own given chambers, packing his things into a satchel and swinging it over his shoulder before making to storm his way out of the castle. As he was about to leave the room, he was accosted by the last person he wanted to see.

"I'm sure Cleos deserved it." Genna said calmly. "But we cannot have infighting at a time like this, Loren."

Loren scoffed. "I thought you of all people would have had sympathy." He spat. "A little girl, forcibly wed to a Frey. Sound familiar?"

"Ah." Genna realised. "I protested…"

"Horse shit." Loren swore. "Nothing gets done with this branch of this cursed family without you knowing and you could have easily stopped it…"

"I did. Once she was pregnant." Genna snapped back. "Getting a child on the Stark girl was more important than her home comforts. It was cruel yes, but the ends justified the means…"

Loren screamed into his gloved fists, masking the noise. "I do not want to hear about your evil mistreatment of the Stark girl!" He cried out, pointing a finger accusingly. "I always thought better of you, Aunt Genna, but you're no better than my Father or Grandfather. Everybody in this castle is lucky that I need every man alive, or I swear by all the Gods I would raze this place to the ground with all of you in it." He spat on the floor before shaking his head at Genna Lannister. "She was a child." He shoved past her and went to storm away before stopping. "Consider our alliance over. From now on, any internal squabbles you have with the Riverlanders or anybody else, Casterly Rock will not come to your aid."

"Loren…" Genna began, but Loren didn't want to hear it.

"My armies will be here by sundown. Have your men ready to march by then or they will be left behind." Loren said firmly. He then walked away at pace, eager to set up a camp outside of the castle walls to get as far away from the Frey's as he possibly could.

The aftermath of the Great Council… Loren really didn't want to bend to Daenerys, but he has no choice if he wants to kill Cersei. There was a reminder on the Vale situation as well as the new Lord Paramount of Dorne.

Some reviewers were asking exactly who died in the Wildfire explosion. While I haven't gone fully into detail and there may be some minor characters that I add to the casualty list later on, this is what I have in my plan:

Myrcella, Trystane, Roland Crakehall, Tybolt Crakehall, Merlon Crakehall, Mathis Rowan, Arys Oakheart, Baelor Hightower, Clement Piper, Karyl Vance, Melwyn Sarsfield, Lord Hunter, Lord Belmore, Lord Wyl, Lord Selmy, Lord Estermont.

Loren may seem to be overreacting in some people's eyes, but please remember he has just seen who he considers the best of the Lannisters die horribly and he is also thinking of his daughter. Everything is building up on top of him, and that will only compile as he enters hostile territory filled with people that hate him.

Cersei's true plan was revealed here too, she didn't mean to kill Myrcella, it just never occurred to her that the plan wouldn't pick and choose who to kill.

Arya's ordeal is revealed… She's a fighter, and so the only way for the Frey's to get what they want is to lock her up and force themselves on her. This is the world of an initial total Lannister victory, and thankfully she escaped.

Finally, who do you think overheard Dany and Jon in the Godswood?

Thank you all for reading. I hope you all enjoyed it!

Next time: Loren makes his way northwards and has a fiery return to the Twins…

Reviews:

Chapter 49:

DogofWar: The author certainly hasn't forgotten that, but it seems like the reader has forgotten that given at the time of the North falling back under the crown and House Bolton all Stark males were thought dead, and so Winterfell was granted to Tyland through Sansa. As to your other point, there is no way whatsoever that Sansa would kill her own child.

Chapter 52:

DarylDixon'sLover: Cersei just couldn't take her inevitable defeat with dignity and so she wanted Daenerys dead. She didn't even think about Myrcella being collateral damage.

McMysterio: I agree with all three points you made! The Vale are allies of Daenerys. I realise I mentioned this in a response on Ao3 and not here but basically I didn't include it as it is literally the same scenario as the Conquest. Dany flew up to the Eyrie with Tyrion before she met Jon and Sansa, got the alliance at dragon point and then encouraged Lysa and Robin to move down to the Gates of the Moon.

Mister LaGuardia: Her children's parentage doesn't matter anymore! It's also not a tough decision for Loren, he hates Cersei far more than he hates Daenerys.

Zyruss Villarreal: This is one of my Game of Thrones stories… nobody is safe!

Supremus85: Cersei was solely thinking about Daenerys. Myrcella being caught in the blaze didn't even come into her thinking at all.

BlackWatcher1234: Tyrion plotted with Davos to help her escape the Lannister's clutches on her wedding night and then after a tense first meeting, the backing from Shireen and Davos gave Tyrion some leeway with the Stormlords and now they are loyal allies of Daenerys. There is no will for it to be annulled from either party. Arya will certainly want revenge, but she isn't the assassin from the show and has a daughter to think about before rushing off into battle. There are also some Frey's loyal to both sides, so no matter who wins a full extermination is unlikely. They won't be used as cannon fodder because they're so well trained, but they will be a large part of the War for the Dawn.

ALPHAomega239: The important characters are listed above.

Jimbo: She's certainly burnt all her bridges now.

iiv: If that's how you feel! You still don't know the ending yet after all.

Jason Kreuger Myers: You'll see what happens with the Twins faction of Frey's next chapter… It was Loren basically who gave Olyvar Harrenhal despite the official order coming from King's Landing and Olyvar is loyal to Loren, so long as that happens and Loren stays alive then his seat will be safe. The Riverrun Frey's are bound by blood, but as you can see they're now on their own…