The Kingmaker

Robb Stark woke up both in a bed and with a woman that he didn't know.

It took Robb several moments to remember where he was. The girl was Lady Wynafryd, Ser Wylis Manderly's daughter, who had offered him comfort in his grief he remembered. He had offered her comfort in her grief as well, as her father had died just as his had..

Wynafryd was a bit small, but she had high cheekbones, a small nose and full lips with long brown hair. She was beautiful, he supposed, if in her own sort of way.

She was the eldest daughter of Ser Wylis, the heir to White Harbor, who lacked any sons. She was to be the Lady of White Harbor one day.

And he had taken her maidenhead.

"My… My lord?" She said as she stirred.

Robb looked into her sea-green eyes. "My lady… I'm… I'm sorry," he managed to say.

It took her a few moments to register what he said. "For what my lord?"

"For… For…" The words would not come to him, no matter how hard he tried.

"This?" She asked. "I serve at your pleasure my lord. If you would have me again my lord, you only need to say the word," she offered.

Robb shook his head. "Your grandfather will not be pleased," he insisted. His mind was filled by thoughts of Rhaenys, who his father had ordered Theon wed after he had been caught abed with her, and of Daemon, who he had forced to marry Lady Rhea Royce too.

"I doubt it. If anything he'll be glad to know that I gave my maidenhead to the Young Wolf. He tried to marry me to you once." Wyanfryd told him.

"Are you betrothed?" Robb asked. He knew she wasn't wed, but if she had been betrothed, the idea filled him with guilt.

She shook her head though, which gave Robb some relief, but not much.

Before Robb could say anything more, she spoke up. "Allow me…" She said, moving his hands to her hips, and moving herself onto him. Robb couldn't bring himself to stop her as she guided him into her, and then started to rock her hips.

She did all the work, until finally Robb had spilled his seed within her. When he did, she rolled off of him, and lay naked next to him.

"I'm sorry my lady… This is not proper of me…"

"How is it not?" She asked him.

"I am wed. And your… Your honor…" Robb started to say, before she was interrupted by her giggling.

"My honor…" Wynafryd said, as though she were considering the word. "Your wife isn't here, is she?"

"No…" Robb admitted. "My lady, you are the heir-"

"To nothing unless my grandfather names me it. I know that he would rather my uncle and cousin follow him, not me," she said.

"I am the Lord of Winterfell. I'll see to it that no one challenges you," Robb promised. It was the least he could do, he supposed, what he owed her.

"But you of all people must challenge me, my lord," she said. "Unless you aren't the true Lord of Winterfell?"

Robb was confused by that. "What do you mean?" He started to ask before he remembered what father had taught him of Lady Serena Stark, and her sons, who had tried to claim Winterfell instead of Lord Donner Stark who had been a boy at the time. They might have been successful too, though in the end with aid from Ser Duncan the Tall and the eventual Aegon V, the North had been rallied against the Ironborn.

Both of Lady Serena's sons had not wed or had children, but the daughters… They had wed and had children of their own he remembered, though not to which house.

"That was before either of us were born," Robb said. "It doesn't matter now."

Wynafryd shook her head. "It does," she insisted, though she didn't say anything more, as though she were dropping the matter.

"I'm sorry my lady," he said again after some time. "I think it is best that we leave."

She seemed to have a little disappointment on her face, but she didn't object, instead getting out of the bed, and beginning to put her clothes on. When she had finished, she exited, and seemed to take a care to ensure nobody knew that she had been with him, leaving Robb alone in his bedchamber.

Just the thought of her began to fill him with shame. I should not have allowed her in my bed, he scolded himself, as he began to get up, and dress himself.

After he had finished, he sat in his chambers for some time, wallowing in his shame and guilt, until he forced himself to leave. He had things he needed to attend to and it wouldn't serve to wait on them.

When he went to gather breakfast in the Great Hall, he wasn't sure what to expect. Several dragon banners now hung from the Wall, that Robb guessed had been made by servants during the night, while Aegon was sitting at the High Table, talking with a blacksmith. He supposed they were discussing what his crown would look like.

Men hadn't cheered as he entered like they did before, and he wondered how much of it was because Aegon was now the King, and how much was because they knew.

At one point, he caught a glimpse of Wynafryd eating, and he averted his eyes, eating alone in silence. His breakfast didn't taste as good as he would've liked, and Robb might have thrown it up if he were still a boy at Winterfell, but he forced himself to keep it down.

After he had finished, Robb sat quietly. Several men came to him to offer their condolences, but no one stayed until Aegon came to him.

Today Aegon wore a black tunic that had a red dragon sewn into the chest, along with the Sun and Spear of house Martell.

"Your grace," Robb said to Aegon when he approached.

"My lord," Aegon greeted. "Can we speak alone?"

Robb nodded. He and Aegon left the main hall, and began to walk. It became clear quickly where Aegon was taking him when he realized they were going to the Godswood.

Today the sun was shining bright, and it filled the Godswood with light. The Godswood looked more beautiful than the one at Winterfell ever had, but Robb tried not to think about that as they walked into the forested area.

"What is it you wanted to speak to me for?" He asked after a little bit. They didn't walk to the Weirwood Heart Tree, but remained near the edge of it instead.

"Is it too much to want the company of a friend?" Aegon asked. "You and your lords made me a king, so now I need to be one."

Robb understood what Aegon meant. Now that Aegon was their king, he was the one who would make most of their decisions now. "What news is there?"

"Your uncle tracked down where Ser Forley Prester was gathering the remnants of the Kingslayer's host. They're gathering near the Stony Sept, and doubtless will march back west when they have gathered enough men," Aegon told him.

He wants to know what I would do, Robb realized suddenly. "We should strike then. We will outnumber Ser Forley, and his host is in disarray. The sooner we attack, the less men he will have gathered and the less strength we will need or lose. Even his full strength will not be enough to challenge us, but if we let him gather it, he'll retreat west."

Winning another battle couldn't hurt them, he decided, and a battle at the Stony Sept would be the perfect opportunity.

"I need you Robb," Aegon said.

"What do you need me for?" Robb asked.

"To serve me… To serve me as my Hand as your father served King Robert."

Robb didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't thought of who Aegon would make his Hand now that he was King, and certainly hadn't imagined Aegon would ask him.

"Surely there is someone else you could choose," Robb managed to say. "One of the lords here or… When you come into the throne…"

Aegon shook his head. "I want you Robb. You're a friend. Neither Daemon or Theon were made to be Hand, and I need someone like you."

Why me though? He wanted to go home to Winterfell, but now their war wouldn't be won until after Aegon sat atop the throne. "I will need to think on it," Robb finally said.

"Do what you must… Pray on it, write to your wife, whatever you would do."

"My wife…" Robb started to say. Myrcella couldn't be a Princess now that Aegon was king. "Father… He… He…"

"What about your father?" Aegon asked.

Robb didn't want to say the words, but Aegon was his King. "Father had given Jeyne a letter after she left King's Landing. Myrcella… She and her siblings aren't truly of the King's body. They're the Kingslayer's children," he managed to say.

Aegon seemed confused. "Could they have been so mad?"

He nodded.

"Is that why you took Lady Wynafryd to bed? If you mean to set Myrcella aside, I can write to Sunspear. Daenerys is a Princess now-"

"-No," Robb said, cutting off Aegon. The thought of Daenerys filled him with shame too, remembering how he had soiled her at Winterfell. "Wynafryd… She comforted me, as I comforted her… But Myrcella is my wife, bastard or not."

"You're going to remain wed to her?"

Robb wasn't sure if Aegon disapproved or not, but it didn't matter. "Aye," he said.

"What about your sisters and mother in King's Landing?" Aegon asked. "What should we do about them?"

He had talked about them with Jeyne he remembered, how they needed to get them back. "We'll need to offer an exchange for them," Robb said. "We have one of Lord Tywin's nephews that we could trade for the girls."

"There's three of them," Aegon said, a little confused.

"Aye, but I don't mean to give the Lannisters back Ser Cleos and Tion," Robb said. Ser Cleos was Ty's father, and Tion his uncle. He didn't want to have to face them again as enemies, knowing that it would only sow more mistrust towards Ty.

"As you will."

"Sansa… Perhaps you should wed her your grace," Robb suggested, unsure what madness had overtaken him. He couldn't marry Daenerys, but it would be good to join their houses together, as King Robert had wished with father.

"Make her my queen? Is that the price I must pay to have you as my hand?" Aegon said.

Robb nodded. He supposed it would be best, to quell rumors that he may have to deal with some day that he would mean to crown Myrcella or their children.

"Done."

Is this what you would have done father? Robb wondered, as they parted ways in the Godswood. Aegon left the area entirely, while Robb went to the Heart Tree to pray again.

He remembered how in love with Prince Joffrey Sansa had been at Winterfell, and he hoped that his sister would appreciate marrying Aegon instead. She would still be a queen at least.

The same couldn't be said for Myrcella though. He prayed that his father was wrong, but he knew there was only one way to learn the truth.

Robb walked from the Godswood to the Tower Cell that the Kingslayer was being kept in. He wasn't sure how he knew the way there, but he did.

For a moment he had considered getting Greywind before he confronted the Kingslayer, but he decided against it, making for the tower completely alone. Thankfully, no one tried to stop him or speak with him as he did.

His cell was at the top of the tower, with guards standing on either side of the tower, but they allowed Robb to pass without any questions. The room was dark, and a little small, but it seemed comfortable enough. There were chains too he saw, keeping the prisoner from going too far from the wall.

The Kingslayer seemed to be starting to grow a beard, and he was a little dirty, but despite that he remained a handsome man, perhaps the most handsome man that Robb had ever met. When Robb looked at him, all he could see was that they had the same emerald green eyes. How could he not be her father?

"Lord Stark," the Kingslayer greeted him. "I suppose you mean to have my head now."

If only. "You are not to be executed," he said. They couldn't kill him since his sisters and mother were in King's Landing, and it would mean their heads too.

"Your father is dead, at my nephew's hand, and you crowned a boy whose grandfather I killed," the Kingslayer said.

"Your nephew, or your son?" Robb asked bluntly. He didn't care to exchange more words than he had to here.

The Kingslayer only gave Robb a confused look for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"The Queen's children… They are yours, not King Robert's," Robb said back.

"Did Stannis…" The Kingslayer started to say before his voice trailed off and he shook his head. "Your father found out and told you, is that it?"

"It doesn't matter," he responded. Robb didn't want to tell where he had learned it, hoping to keep it as much a secret as he could.

"I take it that you're not pleased to know your wife is a bastard?" The Kingslayer said, with a mocking grin on his face.

Yes. Robb wouldn't dignify the Kingslayer's words with an answer. He wanted to punch the man hard enough to knock out his teeth, but he managed to restrain himself. It's your fault that my father is dead, and that we have to be at war.

"I confess that I never cared for your father much. He was the one who named me Kingslayer, for slaying the grandfather of your king… I suppose you know Aegon more than you know Aerys, but if you had know what he did… They didn't call him the Mad King for nothing."

"I know what the Mad King did well enough," Robb said. "And I know what you did too."

"What will you do then?" The Kingslayer asked. "Take my head to avenge Aerys, or your father? I am your goodfather now, perhaps they'll call you the Kinslayer then."

Robb only shook his head. "You'll remain here Kingslayer. You're more of use alive than dead."

He decided his audience with the Kingslayer was at its end, and he turned away from the Kingslayer, and left the cell. The guards remained silent as he walked out, and Robb began to walk to the bottom of the tower.

When he finally left, he found that he didn't know where to go. They would be marching in a few days' time, but Robb felt alone almost in this castle.

Robb didn't know if it was better or worse to have heard the truth from the Kingslayer's mouth. The Queen he had known to have little love for King Robert, and was fond of her twin, but to imagine her having done so monstrous felt wrong to him.

His mind was quickly taken away from that though when he saw Jeyne approach him. She was wearing black today, in mourning for their father, and had a letter in hand.

"What is it Jeyne?" Robb asked.

"There was a letter from Winterfell Robb," she told him, giving it to him.

He felt certain he knew what was in the letter, but the thought of it filled him with equal parts joy and dread, as he broke the seal and began to read.

Author Notes:

So there's not a ton of stuff to go off of with Wynafryd in canon, which is why she may be a bit OOC. She's only been in one whole scene where she was specifically putting on an act.

I guess I imagine her to have some bit of Arianne in her, feeling anxious about being a female heir, especially since at this point it's her pappy who is dead, rather than her uncle, and Wendel actually does have a son, and she has heard her grandfather and father talk about marrying her to Warren before.

But yeah… Robb has been a very naughty boy, hasn't he? Thank you guys for reading. And our next chapter will be back in the Vale.