Part 2
her eyes were sparkling, like the snow that fell in his home. she was dangerous, lethal, yet so irresistible.
"I say we are making good time," Lexa mused when they stopped to make camp that night, the last couple of weeks had not been an easy trip on them but they were slowly making their way to Robb's camp. It certainly wasn't an easy trip on Vitoria, who was entering some troublesome weeks of her pregnancy and they were hopeful that they would reach the Northern army camp before she gave birth.
Rena helped her sit down, she was pleased that they had made it so far away from Winterfell. They had been traveling non-stop since they had left the castle behind and they had been lucky enough not to run into anyone, especially bandits that might be on the road.
They had very little with them and Emmett had done his best to make sure they had enough to travel with; there had been little time to prepare and they were avoiding major settlements not wishing to attract any attention. Vitoria was Queen in the North and people would likely whisper if they saw her traveling; it would attract attention that they didn't need right now. She'd be rather easy to recognize, considering her features were not common so far North.
Everyone was distracted by the war that was going on and she knew they were all thankful for that. It meant that no one was really looking for them instead they were focused on the fighting that was going on. Vitoria looked over at Alia who was already sleeping, between Artos and Leila. She was relieved that her children were with her. Looking at Rickon, who was in Rena's arms as she hummed him a lullaby, she only regretted not pushing for them to wait for Bran, so he could come with them.
"You've been quiet recently," Talisa murmured walking alongside Robb, she had travelled along with him to the Crag to collect supplies to relax those that she had already used. It had been hard keeping away from Robb while he grieved for his wife but Talisa knew that it was for the best, he wasn't in a good place and she didn't blame him for being so upset about all of this. Their night together had been a one-off, he had been in his cups and sought comfort in the arms of a woman. She knew he blamed himself for it, for betraying Vitoria's memory before she was deep in the ground and she was understanding of it.
Things had not been easy since the news of the attack on Winterfell arrived and they had gotten worse with Walder Frey attempting to convince Robb to marry one of his daughters in exchange for his continued help in the war. The Lord of the Crossing wanted to see one of his daughters become Queen in the North and that could only happen if Robb agreed to marry one of them. Privately, she did think he would need to remarry before the war ended. His four children — born and unborn —and his brothers had been killed, no one knew where his youngest sister was and that left him and his sister who was a Lannister hostage as the only way to carry on the Stark line.
"There is a lot on my mind," Robb replied not saying much, he had so much going on and he wished that there was some way that he could speak with Vitoria. He had never thought that this was how their marriage would work out and it hurt Robb that he hadn't been there to protect her from Theon but he hadn't been and now he had to deal with that.
Talisa nodded her head, she could see that Robb had loved his wife very much and she was a little jealous that he'd never feel like that for her.
"Your wife must have been a great woman," Talisa mused not knowing much about the late Queen, she was an outsider in camp and she only continued to travel with the Northern army because of Robb. He had been so kind to her since they had first met and Talisa had become fond of him; she would have even considered seeking more from him but she did not wish to insult the memory of his late wife. There was no denying that Robb still grieved for her, he must have loved her greatly.
"She was… she was kind, very loving… just the Queen that the North needed in this war," Robb said smiling, thinking about Vitoria and he could think of nothing bad about her in the moment. She was everything that he had ever wanted in a wife, everything he had needed. It was the reason that he refused to even consider marrying one of Frey's many daughters, he would not dishonour Vitoria in such away when she had barely been dead a month. "Vi was her father's daughter through and through. She was sharp-witted, clever, beautiful. I loved her…and I think I never told her enough."
His focus was on making the people responsible for everything that had happened to his family pay for it; he would make sure that Theon suffered for ending the lives of his wife and unborn child. Talisa swallowed thickly, it was hard for her to listen to him talk about Vitoria in such a way but it did make her decision not to act on her feelings even stronger. She had to get them under control before she did something she would regret later on.
Before she could say anything a rider approached the two while they were walking, she blinked trying to hide her disappointment that they had been interrupted; she ducked her head knowing that it was wrong for her to think such thoughts.
"What is it?" Robb asked staring at the rider, he was surprised that they had been interrupted; they weren't along with guards around them but he liked the peace and quiet. The rider shifted nervously.
"Jaime Lannister has escaped," he revealed, making Robb stare at him, this could not have come at a worse time and he knew that his men would not react well to the news that their hostage had escaped and lost them their advantage.
"What do you think Robb is doing, now?" whispered Rickon, sitting in Vitoria's, lap as she rocked him softly. Vitoria ran gentle fingers through his curls, shifting so he could lean against her side and not her belly. He felt her rest her head against his.
"I don't know," she replied, at last. "Maybe he's fighting or the camp is moving. What do you think he's doing?"
"Fighting," decided Rickon, nodding. "I wish I could fight with him."
Vitoria's warm arms wound around him and pulled him close into a hug. "I know, Rickon, I know," she replied. "When you're older."
Wriggling in her embrace, Rickon turned to face her, found her face wet with tears. Thoughtlessly he reached up to touch them, watched a salty bead run down his finger. "Don't cry, Vi."
She smiled, sadly, and nodded, resting her brow against his own. "My brave boy," he whispered. "My own sweet one. You know, your Papa would be proud of you, so proud."
Rickon felt a wave of seriousness wash over him, his heart felt larger and warmer. "You think so?"
Vitoria nodded. "I know so. He would be very proud."
"Is he looking down from Valhalla, Vitoria? He'd know what to do, wouldn't he? He'd know."
Vitoria tilted her head, brushed affectionate fingers through his hair. "He is," she responded, nodding. Her amber eyes were sure, despite the tears that she had so recently shed. "I think he's waiting for us, even now. And when we die, if we're very good, we'll see him again in the halls of the gods."
Rickon leaned against her, resting his head on her shoulder. "I miss him."
"Tell me this isn't true," Robb said staring at his mother, he didn't want to believe for a moment that she was the reason that Jaime Lannister had escaped; it ruined everything and his men were far from happy.
"Why?" Robb asked wanting answers when Catelyn stopped what she was doing, she didn't look at him and he was so angry with her right now. It had changed everything and Robb could only imagine what was going to happen now, things were changing and not in a good way; his men were furious and were calling his mother a traitor for her actions.
"For the girls," Catelyn said quietly thinking back to her talk with Petyr, he had promised her that if she released Jaime Lannister then he would ensure that Sansa and Arya would be returned to her. Catelyn wanted nothing more than to have her children back, she hated that things had become so difficult and she just wanted to ensure that she was able to protect them better. Her young boys were already lost to her. She would never be able to brush her granddaughter's hair again or see Artos achieve something new either. She would do anything to have her daughters back.
"You betrayed me," Robb stated with a shake of his head, he could not believe this and he had never thought that his own mother would do such a thing behind his back. This war was not just about getting his sisters back and with her actions, Catelyn had weakened their position; this was the last thing that Robb needed right now.
Robb wished his mother would think things through carefully, this wasn't the first time that she had acted and that it had backfired on her; she had captured Tyrion Lannister months ago and it had resulted in his father being attacked.
"Robb..." Catelyn pleaded wanting him to listen to her, she had done what she thought was best and she wasn't going to change her mind. It pained her that she'd been forced to do this without his knowledge but he would have never agreed and he was blinded by the fact that he had lost his wife several weeks ago.
"Bran and Rickon are dead in Winterfell. Sansa and Arya are captives in King's Landing. I have five children, and only one of them is free," Catelyn pleaded wanting Robb to see her side of things, she had done this for his sisters who they were still fighting to get back. Sansa was a prisoner of the Queen. While there had been no word of Arya, Petyr had reassured her when he had returned Ned's body that she was safe as well.
"I lost one son fighting by your son's side. I lost another to the Kingslayer, strangled with a chain. You committed a treason, because your daughters are prisoners? I know the pain of losing a child my lady. Two sons dead fighting made sure of it. But you…" Karstark shook his head. "You had five children and three are alive. I would carve out my heart and offer it to the Father, if he would let my sons wake from their graves and step into a prison cell," he spat.
"I grieve for your sons, My Lord..." Catelyn started knowing that if they were to see her side of things then maybe they would understand why she had acted when she had; there had been no way that Jaime Lannister would have survived the night here. The men had been angry and drunk, something that had left Jaime in a very dangerous position and Catelyn knew that everything would have been lost of Jaime was killed during the night.
"I don't want your grief. I want my vengeance. And you stole it from me!" Rickard snarled furiously, nothing would take away what he had lost and he knew that Catelyn had crossed a line with her actions. It had been hard enough to catch the Lannister and hold him hostage for months on end without the Lannister army breaking him free; everything had been for nothing now and Catelyn was to blame for that now that she had lost them Jaime Lannister.
"Killing Jaime Lannister would not buy life to your children. But returning him to King's Landing may buy life for mine," Catelyn explained gravely.
The war was dragging on and Catelyn feared that if she had left things like it was that it could be years before she saw Sansa or Arya again; she wanted them safe and that could only happen by what she had done.
"Jaime Lannister has played you for a fool. You have weakened our position; you brought discord into our camp; and you did all behind my back," Robb stated firmly, he couldn't believe that his mother thought that her plan would work in anyway. Catelyn stared at him, her heart breaking at the fact that he thought that she had messed everything up; she had done what she thought was right and she stood by her decision.
"Make sure she's guarded day and night!" Robb ordered turning away and storming out of the tent, he didn't have time for this and they needed to find Jaime Lannister before things got completely out of hand.