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Chapter Eighty-two: Something Else
Jon
When Robb had decided to give up the title of King in the North, Jon hadn't minded. He had never wanted the title. When Robb found him before his audience with the bannermen and told him that he wanted to remain Lord of Winterfell, for the time being, Jon hadn't minded. Even as a child, when Lady Catelyn had done so well at making him feel other, separate from the Stark children he had never dreamed of one day being the Lord of Winterfell.
He had never truly even dreamed of being legitimized.
It was enough for him that Robb had legitimized him. That he was a Stark now. That he was Robb's heir until a time when Lenora could have some of her own.
He finally belonged.
When Robb asked the bannermen to declare Lenora Queen in the North and follow her to King's Landing, Jon hadn't minded. He had happily thrown his voice into the cheer, yelling out his consent and his acceptance of her as his Queen.
As far as he was concerned, it was a role she was born to play. One she had trained for her entire life, even if she hadn't known it at the time. It was a role he had offered her, before Robb returned to the keep, he had asked her to remain at Winterfell, to be the Lady of the keep and Queen in the North, helping him rule.
She had turned it down then, it was a title and a role she only wanted if Robb stood beside her. The moment Jon recognized Robb in the field between Wintertown and Winterfell he had known that Robb would return claim his title, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. He had known that Lenora would be his lady.
What he had not imagined, what he could never imagine was that less than a fortnight later, Robb would be asking all the Northern bannermen to name Lenora Queen in the North and to follow her as she waged war on her mother.
The men surprised him the most. After the War of the Five Kings, after the Red Wedding, after they had all ignored his and Lenora's plea for help defeating Ramsay, it surprised him that they were so quick to agree to follow her south again. Though, he suspected that her speech about loyalty and how little they all had had gone quite a ways to make the men want to prove themselves to both Robb and the woman, the Queen they had abandoned not that long ago.
Robb and Lenora had moved quickly after that. The bannermen sent ravens to their keeps, calling up their men, many giving strict instructions that no more than a quarter of their men should remain in the North to protect their keeps. No one wanted to be the craven.
Within a fortnight most of their men had arrived. A week later their provisions were packed.
A few days after that and Jon was preparing for the final feast.
They would leave Winterfell in the morning.
They were waiting for him outside the main hall - Robb and Lenora, Sansa and Arya. The rest of the bannermen were already in the hall. Her uncles and the members of the Queensguard were waiting inside the door. But Lenora had made a point of waiting outside until all the Starks were ready to enter together.
As a family.
She was adjusting Arya's hair when he approached, laughing as the young girl playfully swatted her hands away. "Do you remember my first feast at Winterfell?" she asked, no one in particular and everyone at the same time. She bent low, tying a leather cord around the braid she had just finished, "You had to leave early after throwing food at Sansa," she whispered.
Arya laughed loudly before glancing at Sansa, her explosive laughter softening into a smile, "She was always more patient with me than I deserved."
Sansa shook her head, "I had to be," she admitted rolling her eyes. "It was not as though Father was ever going to punish you. He enjoyed your spirit too much."
Robb shook his head, "You speak as though you were punished so often, Sansa," he told her as the auburn haired girl moved toward him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Father was always so gentle with his girls."
They were a beautiful picture, Jon could admit it. The three true-born Starks and their Baratheon wife and sister. He could see why Lenora had wanted them to enter together, to present themselves as a united front, even as they were preparing to leave the two girls behind when they marched south the next morning.
He was still unsure of how they expected to leave Arya behind, he had already caught her packing her trunk twice after Sansa had made her unpack it. He had no doubt when they rode out the next morning, Arya would be following close behind.
He cleared his throat, quietly announcing his presence. Lenora glanced up at him and smiled, her eyes sparkling as she moved toward him. "Jon," she greeted him as she looped her arm through his and stood on her tiptoes so that she could press a kiss against his cheek. "We've been waiting for you."
Jon shook his head, "You could have gone in," he told her honestly. "It would have been alright." And it was the truth, he felt lucky to even be invited to the feast, he had not been invited to Lenora's first feast at Winterfell, after all. It was too much for him to hope that he would be able to enter with the rest of them.
But here was Lenora, steering him toward the front of the group, insisting that he be the one to escort her into the hall. "You are the future Lord of Winterfell, after all," she promised him with a soft smile.
...
It was not until after the feast that Jon came to the realization that Sansa and Arya would not be the only ones to remain at Winterfell.
Robb found him in his chambers packing his armor. For a moment, his auburn-haired brother looked confused, but the confusion softened to sympathy. "Jon," he said, low and slow, in the same tone he had used with Arya when he had first realized that Arya meant to travel south with them. "You can't come with us."
Jon glanced up, at once defensive, "I'm as good a swordsman as you are," he told Robb. "Perhaps even better."
Robb did not deny it. He nodded as he moved further into the chamber, "Lenora has told me," he assured Jon quietly. "She said that she had never seen anything like you when the two of you fought Ramsay. You would be a great asset when we travel south, but you must remain here. Can't you see that?"
Jon shook his head, "To watch the girls?" he asked. "Arya does not need a protector. And Sansa could run this keep better than anyone. They do not need me. You need me. Nora needs me. We fought together, side-by-side. We survived together. We won together. I will be more use in the south than I ever will up here."
Robb nodded, watching him almost sadly, "Of that, I have no doubt," he assured Jon quietly. "I am sure there will come a time, not too far off, where I will remember this conversation and wish that it had gone differently, that I had demanded that you travel south with us. But I will be wrong then. You must stay at Winterfell."
"Why?" Jon asked, turning to stare at his brother. When they were growing up he had always had to listen to Robb. Jon might have been the elder of the two boys, but Robb was the trueborn son, and Jon had always had to follow.
Now he was legitimate. They were both Starks, but Robb was still the leader, Jon still needed to follow. But he would know why before he did.
"Why must I stay at Winterfell?"
Robb moved further into the chamber and dropped his hand on Jon's shoulder. "There must always be a Stark at Winterfell," he told Jon quietly.
He said it so matter-of-factly that Jon did not hear him. He heard the words, but did not grasp the meaning. He shook his head, stepping out from underneath Robb's hand, "Sansa -" he started.
"Can run the keep," Robb interrupted with a nod, as if he had expected this argument. "But she cannot defend it."
He had the right of it, Jon would not argue with that. "Arya -" he tried.
Robb chuckled and shook his head, "You were always more intelligent than that, Jon," he told him. "Do you truly think that she will ever listen to us, no matter how much we tell her no? She will not remain here, not with Gendry traveling south. Not with Lenora leading the army. Arya will not allow herself to be left behind, not now that she knows that women can take part in a war."
"You accept that Arya will ignore your orders, but you expect me to follow them?" Jon argued, turning to face his brother. He shook his head, "I am not a bastard anymore, Robb," her told him. "You cannot order me about and not expect me to think for myself. You can ask me to remain at Winterfell, but you cannot order me to." And then because it felt important to say one more time, "I am not a bastard anymore."
Robb nodded, the right corner of his lips tugging up into a smile, "No," he agreed, "you are not. You are a Stark. A Stark as much as any of us true borns." He paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he watched Jon pointedly, "And there must always be a Stark at Winterfell."
He said it slowly, carefully. And this time Jon understood.
He would not be left behind because they did not want him.
He would not be left behind because he was a bastard.
He would be left behind because Robb had to follow Lenora. Wherever she went, Robb would be with her. And while Sansa could run the keep on her own, it needed a lord. And Robb could not think of a better Lord of Winterfell, than his heir.
He did not want to leave Jon behind.
He needed to.
His throat was tight when he met Robb's eye and nodded. "I will stay," he agreed.
Robb moved toward him, standing in front of him for a moment before he placed both of his hands on Jon's shoulders and pulled him in, wrapping his arms around him in a hug as they had done on his first morning back at Winterfell. For a moment they stood there, two brothers hugging each other.
And then Robb nodded. "I won't make the same mistake I made the first time," he promised Jon. "We will not lose the girls. We will not lose our home. If you have need of me, I will return."
Jon chuckled and nodded, "Not until you kick that bitch off of Lenora's throne," he told Robb, half jesting. "Once I get used to being Lord of Winterfell I will not take kindly to you and your wife trying to take it back."
Robb chuckled, "It's yours," he promised Jon. "As it always should have been."
...
Lenora had tears in her eyes when she approached him in the chaos of the courtyard the next morning. He had just said his goodbye to Arya, the girl was no longer trying to hide that she intended to travel south with their brother and his wife. She had her trunk loaded on the cart with Robb and Lenora's and was now saddling her horse with Gendry's help.
Lenora walked right by them and instead of stopping and sending Arya back into the keep she had dropped a hand onto the younger girl's shoulder and given it a gentle squeeze - a silent show of approval before she continued toward Jon.
"I know that you're angry," she whispered once she was standing in front of him.
Jon shook his head, he had been the night before. But when he had finally understood why Robb had wanted him to remain at Winterfell it was impossible to be angry. "How can I be angry, Nora?" he asked her, his tone light and teasing. "I am the acting Lord of Winterfell, I've risen quite far from being a bastard."
She forced a smile onto her lips but it did not meet her eyes. "I wish that you could be in two places at once," she admitted to him. "Winterfell needs you, but so does he." She turned slightly, her grey eyes searching out Robb in the courtyard. He and Jaime were standing together beside her horse. She turned back to him, her lips tugging up at the corners, "So do I," she admitted.
Jon smiled at her and reached out, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and sending her crashing into his chest. "You know where to find me, Nora," he promised her. "In the home you helped me win back." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "I never thanked you for that."
"You never needed to," Lenora assured him as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him in return. "It is my home too."
"Then why are you in such a hurry to leave it?" he asked.
She pulled away from him, her gaze drifting over the courtyard around them again. He had the distinct feeling that she was not seeing any of it though. She was somewhere else, somewhere far away. Perhaps in King's Landing. "There is nothing I would rather do than stay here," she told him. "To remain here at Winterfell for the rest of my days, helping Robb rule over the North. It was what I was born to do, what I expected from the day I was old enough to understand what our betrothal meant."
She shook her head and turned back toward Jon, "But I cannot stay here, hiding in the North while my mother rules over the rest of Westeros. She is not fit to be queen. She will set the entire Seven Kingdoms ablaze if we let her. I cannot let her." She took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled, "My father never told me that a decision like this would be so difficult to make."
Jon wanted to pull her back into his arms, to hug her again, but it was clear to him as she blinked her tears away that she was preparing to be Queen in the North, and as much as Lenora might welcome his comfort, Queen Lenora did not need it.
"Take care of yourself," he told her quietly. He nodded over her shoulder toward Jaime, "And take care of that blonde bastard of an uncle of yours."
She smiled, "I knew you two would get along," she teased. "You're too much alike not to. Noble, strong, brave." She glanced toward Jaime and forced a smile onto her lips, "I suppose now that he is one handed I might actually stand a chance against him," she joked. "A level playing field."
Jon smiled, "Take care of him," he told her - his final command.
She did not need to ask who he meant.
"I will," she promised. She turned back to him and stood on her tip toes so that she could press a kiss against his cheek. "Take care of yourself," she commanded. "And Sansa too, not matter how much she fights you on it?"
Jon nodded, a smile slipping onto his lips, "If my queen commands."
She smiled and laughed as she pulled away from him, "Your sister commands," she corrected him.
It struck him as a completely Stark trait, that Lenora counted a command from a sister as more important than a command from a queen.
No matter what she was, no matter how many men followed her, no matter where she led them. She was not made for this.
She was made to be a Stark.
-.-.-.-.-
Jaime
She was dangerous. He could see it in the way she moved. He could feel it in the air around her and hear it crackling like thunder in her voice. It was in her bones and flowing through her blood. It was under her skin, just below the surface.
Always there.
He wondered if the Stark boy could sense it. Or if he had been away from her for too long.
Perhaps only Jaime could see it, he had raised the girl after all. He knew her better than anyone.
And he knew that she was dangerous.
He watched her as they traveled. She still smiled and laughed. She still jested with Tyrion and her men. She trained with him and Arya and shared stories with the Baratheon bastard at night. She still clearly loved the Stark boy who never let her get too far away from him. On the surface everything was as it had always been.
But there was something about her that felt other. For all her promises that Ramsay had only physically hurt her Jaime could see them for the lies that they were. Perhaps it had not been the Bolton bastard, perhaps it had been seeing her husband murdered by his own men before her very eyes. Perhaps it was the betrayal she had felt when she realized that her grandfather had been behind it all.
And perhaps it was something else entirely.
When she was growing up everyone who saw her commented on how much like Robert she was. She had his coloring. She was loud and sure of herself and intelligent. It was simple to see how much like the King she was.
No one ever commented on how much like Cersei she was. But it had always been there. Her intelligence had the ability to turn to cunning. Her bravado - a shield. Her smiles were as much a weapon as her sword. Those high cheekbones were not the only thing she had inherited from her mother. And now, at war, after she had lost so much - it seemed as if she was growing more like Cersei every day.
Jaime thought that he had been the only one to notice it. But the Stark boy was not as blind or stupid as Jaime often made him out to be. He saw it too.
He approached Jaime after they had reached White Harbor. Many of the Northmen would be staying here for the time being. Lenora and Robb would only be taking her Queensguard and a small contingent of soldiers that could fit on a single ship for now.
Jaime had warned her against it, but Lenora had not heeded his warning. He told her that Walder Frey would never let her cross his bridge unless he felt threatened. The small amount of men that Lenora planned to travel to the Twins with would not be enough to frighten the old man. She had listened to him. She had listened to her Northern bannermen. And then she had smiled and told them that while she appreciated their advice, and trusted their counsel, she had a plan in place for Walder Frey that did not involve threatening him for the use of his bridge.
They had implored her, begging her to tell them her plans.
But she would not.
A wink and a tease would be all they got from her, "It would not do to ruin the surprise," she told them. "And there are other ways to control a man than through fear."
And so a few of her bannermen, her Queensguard, and her small number of soldiers had boarded her ship at White Harbor and set sail across the bay, headed toward the Riverlands.
It was then, on the ship that Robb approached him, the two of them watching Lenora across the deck. She was sitting at the bow of the ship with Arya, quietly discussing something. Jaime had no doubt that they had chosen their spot on purpose, they could not be overheard with the crashing waves and the sailors shouting orders at each other. Whatever their conversation, it was safe.
Robb moved upon him so quietly that Jaime did not hear him. He did not notice when the wolf was standing beside him until he spoke. It took everything in him not to jump at the sound of the boy's voice, so close to him that Jaime was ashamed to admit that he hadn't heard him approach.
"She has changed," Robb murmured quietly, his blue eyes locked on the two brunette women at the front of the ship.
"Aye," Jaime nodded in agreement, "war will do that to anyone."
Robb shook his head, "Lenora had seen war before," he argued. "We have spent the majority of our marriage at war. She never changed that much. This is new. She has these plans, these secrets," he shook his head. "She never had those before. At least not from me. Even when she wanted to hate me, she never kept secrets."
Jaime nodded, it was the same for him and Lenora. She had never been one for secrets before. At least not from him. "And now she has plenty," he answered softly. "From both of us."
Robb nodded. For a long moment he was silent. He was silent for so long that Jaime began to think that this would be the end of their conversation when he spoke again. "She's harder. Whatever Ramsay did to her, whatever my absence did to her - something inside of her broke. She spent so long by herself, taking care of herself, protecting herself that I don't think she needs me anymore."
"She never did," Jaime told him. He was quiet for a long moment, watching his niece, before he turned toward the Stark boy. "But I think now she knows it."
Robb nodded, his jaw clenched. "I should have fought harder," he admitted. "I never should have let them take her from me." Jaime did not know how to respond to that. From what he had heard about the Red Wedding there was not much Robb Stark could have done. He could not have fought harder than he had to protect Lenora. In the end, Tywin's will would have always won out, Robb would have always lost Lenora.
Robb sighed, still watching her. "She feels dangerous now," he whispered, giving voice to the thoughts that Jaime had carried with him since they had left Winterfell.
Jaime nodded, turning his gaze toward the young woman as well. He and Robb Stark were the two men that she trusted most in the world, there was a time when she would have told them anything. But now, her plans were secrets. And what she did next was anyone's guess. She did not need them.
He sighed, "The most dangerous woman of all is the one who refuses to rely on your sword to save her because she carries her own."
-.-.-.-.-
Lenora
She turned when she heard him laugh. He was standing in the doorway of the captain's cabin, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her. When he caught her gaze he lifted an eyebrow as his gaze swept over her body.
"Stop laughing," she commanded, rolling her eyes.
He was still chuckling, "As my queen commands," he told her, teasing her as he bowed mockingly. He waited until he stood straight again before he continued to tease her. "And come to think of it I had just gotten accustomed to having a wife who never wore dresses." He walked further into the cabin and shut the door behind him. "Are you worried that Frey won't recognize you if you're wearing breeches, Nora?"
She shook her head and turned away from him, "I thought I told you to stop laughing," she told him, shooting him a playful glare over her shoulder. "Do me a favor, would you?" she asked him, nodding toward the laces at the back of her dress. "Help me?"
"Why would I do that?" Robb teased, moving closer to her, his hands coming to rest on her hips. "I like you so much better without the dress."
He bent his head, burying it in the crook of her neck and pressing his lips against her skin, a gentle kiss. Lenora sighed, relaxing into his hold for a moment, turning her head so that she could press a kiss against his forehead. "We don't have time," she whispered in his ear. "The captain will want his ship and his cabin back soon."
Robb pressed another kiss against her neck, this time nipping against her collar bone. "Let him wait," he whispered against her skin. "You are his queen after all, if you have need of his cabin, he could not begrudge you."
Lenora smiled, "No," she agreed, "but your sister might. She is very anxious to get off this ship."
Robb lifted his head off her neck at the mention of Arya and his hands moved from her hips to the laces on her dress as he began to tie them. "We'll need to watch her," he told her as he tightened the laces. "When we get to the Twins. She doesn't understand how you can forgive Walder Frey. She's angry, though she'd never tell you."
Lenora turned, her brows furrowed. There was an edge to Robb's voice that hadn't been there before. She had a feeling that Arya was not the only Stark that could not imagine how she could forgive the man who had sat and rejoiced while his king was murdered in his own hall. "Have you heard me say that I forgive Walder Frey?"
It was a long moment before Robb lifted gaze from the laces of her dress, long enough that she could see his answer before he attempted to lie. He had never heard her say that she forgave Frey, but he believed she did, or rather that she was going to. Her chest tightened at the realization that Robb Stark, her Robb who would have never doubted her, still had not completely returned after the Red Wedding. The Red Priest may have brought him back, but he left something behind, and try as he might to deny it, she could see the cracks in his shield.
She turned in his arms and shook her head, "Walder Frey is not Robett Glover," she told him, her voice hard. "I will not be satisfied with a simple slap on the wrist and a half and a pathetic apology. I will not forgive Walder Frey."
"Then why -"
"I need him," Lenora interrupted him before he could finish his question. "I do not forgive him, but I need his bridge."
Robb shook his head, he couldn't see it yet, he couldn't understand. "Why?" he asked her, staring at her as he tried to work out her plan. "This is not like last time, Nora. Do you remember that? You were so angry about the deal I struck regarding Tommen and Myrcella. What did you call it? His fucking bridge?" He shook his head again. "This isn't last time. We are not in as much of a hurry. We are not trying to ambush anyone - your mother's army isn't on the field yet, and even if it was, ambush isn't your style."
He paused for a moment, looking away from her in an attempt to hide the pain in his eyes. "We don't need his fucking bridge. There are other ways to move south."
Lenora sighed, "This is the fastest," she told him. "And I may not need his fucking bridge, but we need Walder Frey."
"Why?" Robb asked her.
"Because he has your uncle Edmure. Because Edmure and his Frey bride have a son. Because after the Red Wedding my grandfather named Walder Frey the Lord of the Riverlands. He has many sons and they now all have keeps in the Riverlands. If we want to cross them, if we want to head south - we need him on our side."
Robb shook her head, silently denying what she told him. "The Blackfish -" he argued.
"The Blackfish has Riverrun," Lenora agreed with a slow nod. "But he will not have it for long. He is surrounded by Frey bannermen and Lannisters. They're running low on supplies. He may still have the castle, but it will become a crypt if he does not get assistance soon." She watched Robb for a long moment before she shook her head, "I know you don't like it, my love, but we need him. Whether we forgive him or not."
Robb's eyes were dark and hard when he nodded. He did not like her answer, he did not agree with it, but he would abide by it.
She sighed, this was not the time she had wanted to have this conversation, but it was better to have it now, they were already disagreeing than to wait until they were closer to the Twins. "When we get to the Twins -" she started.
"I won't let them touch you," Robb promised her, his voice hard.
Her lips tugged up at the corners, she appreciated how protective he was of her, but it was unneeded. "I am not worried for myself, Robb," she told him softly. "I'm afraid for you." She waited until he was looking at her before she continued, "Your bannermen might have believed your tale about still being alive, about never being killed at the Twins, but Frey will not. He will not react well to the man who died in his hall, coming back to life and arriving there again a year later."
Robb's brows furrowed, "What are you asking for, Lenora?" he asked her.
But he already knew the answer.
"I do not want you there," she told him softly. "At the meeting. I want you to stay back with the men, to stay hidden. I want you to stay safe."
Robb shook his head, "But who will -"
"I'll have Jaime," Lenora cut in, assuring him that she would be safe. "And Brienne, and Gendry, and the Hound, and Bronn, and Ser Justin. I will be well taken care of, Robb. But I will not be able to treat with Walder Frey if I am worried about what he will do to you. I need to have my wits about me, and to do that I need to know that you are safe and far out of his reach."
He liked this even less than her answer about why they needed to meet with Frey in the first place, but when he lifted his gaze to her face she could see that he would agree to it. He sighed, his blue eyes scanning over her face, "Is there anything I would deny you, Lenora Stark?" he asked, his brow furrowed.
Her lips tugged up at the corners, a bittersweet smile. "There was a time when you denied me a sword," she reminded him.
Robb shook his head, "How foolish of me."
Lenora smiled and nodded, "How foolish of you," she agreed.
...
"I do not like this," Jaime whispered from his horse as they waited for Frey's sons to arrive on the north side of the river.
Lenora tried not to roll her eyes, she knew that he meant well, but he had been telling her for almost two days that he did not like her plan. "I know that, Uncle Jaime," she told him, her voice gentle and teasing. "And I am sorry for it. But it is too late to turn back now, they're here."
She nodded toward the keep, the sons were fast approaching.
They slowed to a stop a safe distance from her party. "Lady Lenora," one of them greeted, climbing off his horse and taking a few steps closer to her. "Welcome back to the Twins. We hope that your passage across the bay was an easy one."
Lenora forced a smile onto her lips and nodded, "It was," she told the Frey son. "Much better than my last trip when I was brought north not so long ago." She bit her tongue, it was a gentle tease, but still a reminder of the last time she had been at the Twins, she needed to keep those to herself from now on. She took a deep breath, "And Lord Walder?" she asked, as it was expected of her. "How does your father fare?"
The Frey son smiled, "Very well, my Lady," he told her. "He is eager for your arrival."
His brother cleared his throat, glancing at the men gathered behind Lenora, "Although he asks that your men make camp outside of the keep, my Lady," he told her.
She nodded, "Of course," she agreed, smiling at their confusion, they had expected a fight from her. "I will just take my guard," she announced as she nodded to those closest to her - Jaime, Tyrion, Brienne, Gendry, the Hound, Bronn, Ser Justin, and Arya, dressed as a boy.
The two Freys looked at each other, silently trying to figure out if they should allow her to bring so many in with her. In the end they could not come up with an argument and so the elder brother nodded, "As you wish, Lady Lenora."
The first brother climbed back onto his horse and the two Freys began to lead the way.
"Why must the majority of the men make camp outside the keep?" Jaime asked as they rode. "Lady Lenora did not bring too large a host, surely there is room inside your walls."
"And under normal circumstances you would be right, Ser Jaime," the first son agreed with him. He turned back, smiling toward Lenora, "But these are not normal circumstances. Father has called for all of his sons to be present for tonight's feast."
"A celebration, is it?" Tyrion asked, glancing suspiciously toward Lenora.
The Frey son nodded, his gaze still locked on Lenora, "A wedding."
Jaime glanced at Lenora, his brows furrowed, "The last wedding Lady Lenora attended here she did not enjoy."
Lenora's lips tugged up at the right corner, a smirk, "I think I will enjoy this one much more," she promised all the riders around her.
...
"Curious little creature," Walder Frey mused later that evening, his gaze locked on one of the tables below them on the floor of the hall.
Lenore turned her head slightly, glancing between the old man and the table, "My Lord?" she asked.
He nodded toward the table, his gaze still locked on Arya, "The boy you brought with you," he told her. "The war orphan you have taken under your charge. He's a curious creature with a dark look about him." He watched her for a long moment, "Where did you say you found him again?" he asked. "There's a familiar look about him too."
"I never thanked you, my Lord," Lenora said quickly, changing the subject and causing the old man to turn his suspicious gaze from Arya to Lenora. She forced a gentle smile onto her lips. "For agreeing to forgo the wedding ceremony," she specified. "In either the sept or the Godswood."
The old lecher smiled at her like a cat that had just cornered a mouse, "Tired of all the godly ceremonies are you, heh?" he asked, his voice teasing.
Lenora shrugged, "I've been marred twice, my Lord. Neither marriage was particularly happy and I have come to realize that the Gods aren't real, simply stories parents tell their children to help them sleep at night. A ceremony in a sept or a Godswood does not a marriage make."
Frey nodded and chuckled, "There's really only one ceremony that matters, heh," he winked at her. "I hope that this reserved, polite, meek facade of yours falls away as soon as we make it to the bedding chamber, Wife."
He leaned closer to her and pressed his lips against the column of her neck. Lenora took a deep breath and forced herself not to flinch away from the old man. She also would not allow herself to look at any of the companions she had brought with her to the Twins. She could only imagine what Arya thought of her. Or her uncles. Or Brienne.
"Be careful, my Lord," she cautioned him, letting her voice come out in a heated whisper, "I am a lion and I've been known to bite."
He chuckled, "I hope you do," he whispered in her ear.
He lifted his hand off the table and placed it on her shoulder for a moment. Lenora did not like him touching her shoulder, but she liked it even less when his hand began to slide down the front of her chest, his bent fingertips toying with the collar of her dress before his hand dipped lower, making its way toward her breast.
She shifted away from him, forcing his hand off of her before she turned toward him and grabbed her goblet, "A toast, my Lord!" she commanded, forcing a smile onto her face. "It is one of the few parts of a wedding feast that I do enjoy!"
She nodded to one of Frey's daughters, or perhaps granddaughters, she could not tell them apart. "I hope that you don't mind, my Lord, but I brought with me some wine from King's Landing to mark the occasion. It's very good, and very expensive."
"Expensive, heh?" Walder echoed, watching as the Frey girl moved toward one of the tables. "Girl," he called out, stopping her before she could pour some wine in one of her sister's goblets, "Only the men," he commanded. "I don't want to waste good wine on you girls, you wouldn't know the difference, heh!" He turned toward Lenora, smiling at her, "You may have as much as you'd like, Princess."
Lenora smiled, the right corner of her lips lifting, "I assure you, my Lord, I will not be having much. I wish to remember as much of this night as I possibly can." She turned her gaze toward the table her guard was sitting at, "And, no drinking for you lot, either," she commanded, teasing them, though by the looks on their faces non of them were in a playful mood. "You'll want your wits about you."
Once the wine had been poured for everyone Lenora grabbed her own goblet and stood up. "Ser Jaime," she called to her uncle. The blonde knight glanced up at her, his eyes narrowed, he was still trying to understand her plan. "Would you please go out to the men and get our special guest?" she asked him, hoping that he would understand who she meant. His eyes widened, he did. "Our surprise for Lord Walder?"
Jaime might not have understood her plan anymore than he had before, but he did understand this. He nodded and stood up from the table, quickly exiting the hall to go get Robb. And then Lenora turned toward Walder and lifted her goblet, prepared to toast.
"Lord Walder," she greeted him with a smile, "it has been almost a year since the last time I feasted in your hall -"
"And what a grand feast it was, heh!" Lord Walder interrupted her, still gloating
Lenora's jaw clenched, but she nodded, "Indeed, my Lord," she agreed. "I can only hope that this feast brings me as much joy as our last feast together brought you." She lifted her goblet further into the air, signifying the end of her toast and then lowered it to her lips. She did not drink, though she did tilt the goblet back and swallow, miming at drinking.
It was all the encouragement that the Frey men needed, in fact many of them, she believed did not even listen to her speech, if they had they might not have drank their wine so quickly, so greedily.
Walder was no different, by the time she had regained her seat he had already drained his entire goblet. "Very nice wine," he told her, turning toward her, his hand landing on her thigh, "Floral in nature."
Lenora smiled and nodded, swallowing the disgust she felt as his hand began to slide up her thigh, "It is made from one of my favorite flowers," she told him as she turned her gaze on the hall, waiting.
She did not have to wait long. A few moments later the band, seated up above the hall began to play. It was a familiar song, at least to her, the Frey men would not recognize it though. Walder's hand paused on her leg, he turned his ear toward the music, "I do not think I have ever heard this song," he mused. He turned toward Lenora, "Did you bring this with you as well, my Lady?"
Lenora smiled and nodded, "Wolf in the Night" she whispered to him.
"What was that again?" Walder asked, leaning closer to her.
"It's called, Wolf in the Night, my Lord," Lenora repeated, louder this time. She smiled when the back doors to the hall opened and her uncle entered, followed by Robb and Grey Wind. She nodded toward the doors, her grin widening when Walder's gaze followed her own and landed on Robb, his eyes widened and he shook his head.
"Yes, my Lord," Lenora teased him. "And the stars in the night were the eyes of his wolf, and the wind itself was their song."
She turned toward him, watching as his frightened gaze swept over the hall between him and Robb. She knew what he would see. Every Frey man, son and grandson, and some of his older great grandsons, anyone over the age of twelve. Anyone who had drank after her toast - they were all dying.
It would begin quickly, she had been told, with a numbness and tingling in the limbs and face. Followed shortly by an abnormal heartbeat, sometimes too slow, sometimes too fast. After that the vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhea would set in. If they were not treated by a maester quickly, they would die. And there was no maester to treat them, the Hound had seen to that shortly after they arrived at the Twins.
Lenora's gaze swept slow and deliberate over the hall. She watched as one of the Freys, a young man who had attended the Edmure's wedding, began to vomit, there was blood in it. He would be one of the first to die. She turned back to Walder and smiled at the older man, "My favorite flower has always been wolfsbane," she told him with a smile.
She watched as the old man glanced down at his empty goblet and she smiled, "Don't worry, Lord Walder," she commanded him, laughter coloring her tone. "You were not poisoned. You will not die yet. I didn't want you to miss this," she gestured back to the hall.
"The last feast I attended here was a grand feast," she told him, repeating his words from earlier. "You murdered your king. You murdered his men. You murdered his mother. And you took such joy in all of it. You were a coward, unable to kill any of them with your own hand and only willing to do it when you had my grandfather's backing." She leaned closer to him, "I am the one wearing the dress, my Lord," she whispered, "but perhaps it would fit you better." She pulled away from him, "House Bolton has already been destroyed," she told him, though she was sure he was aware of that. "My one regret was that Roose Bolton did not live long enough to see it happen. I learned. "You will live long enough to see every man in your House die. Root to stem. Then, only then, will I let my husband's wolf rip your throat out. The Twins will be given to someone else. All the your women will be turned out, the boys too young to be held accountable for your crimes will become wards of the North. Years from now, if anyone ever mentions House Frey, it will only be for the lesson. It will only be to say that Winter came for House Frey, to tell people what happens when you betray the Starks."
Walder shook his head, "You can't," he told her.
She scoffed at him, "What, my Lord?" she asked him, taunting him. "Do you not enjoy your wedding gift?" She shrugged her shoulders, "I can't see why not. It's exactly what you deserve."
-.-.-.-.-
Robb
Since he had returned to Lenora at Winterfell, Robb had been aware that their time apart had changed her. He had heard the whispered warning when Jon had told him about how Lenora had killed Littlefinger for crimes that she had not explained to anyone.
He had noticed that she was colder now, harder. Ramsay's scars on her back the only indication of the damage the monster had done to her.
He and Jaime, less than a fortnight before had been speaking about how she dangerous now. How she had realized in her time with Ramsay that she didn't need either of them. How she had realized that she was capable of protecting herself.
And yet, even with all of that, he had been foolish enough to believe that it would change. That his being there would show her that she did not have to be so cold and so hard. He had hoped that he would show her that she did not need to protect herself, to fight to protect him. He had hoped that some day soon it would go back to the way it had been.
He hoped that they would be able to find themselves again.
And perhaps they still would.
But today was not that day.
He stood frozen at the back of the hall, watching as Frey men stood from their seats, stumbling a bit, many clutching their stomachs. Some never stood. Others managed a few stumbling steps before they fell to the floor in front of them. They did not all vomit or shit themselves, but for the ones that did there was blood.
Whatever had been in the wine she served them was tearing apart their insides as it killed them.
"What is this?" Robb whispered.
"Wolfsbane," Jaime answered, his jaw tense as his green eyes scanned over the hall in front of them. They paused for a moment on the table at the front of the hall where Lenora's small party sat. All of them were safe, none of them had drank the wine.
Robb shook his head, he had not cared about the poison. "No," he said, his gaze drifting over the hall again. "What is this?"
Jaime turned toward him and realized what he was asking. "A plan that I suspect she has had ever since you were taken from her at the Red Wedding," he answered solemnly. "There was not much for her to do once she was dragged back to Winterfell, save laugh at Ramsay to keep him at bay and plan for a revenge she never knew she would get."
Robb shook his head, "But I did not need this," he told Jaime.
"No," the blonde knight answered, "But she did."
Their conversation was cut short when they heard Lenora's voice, clear and hard from the front of the hall. "Grey Wind," she called to the large direwolf beside Robb. "To me."
...
If any of the Northmen had been concerned about Lenora being their new queen, the report of what had happened inside the Twins that night quieted any of those concerns.
The bannermen celebrated. They enjoyed the idea of their vengeful queen, a queen who would not allow past transgressions against the North to go unanswered. The common soldiers delighted in a leader who was not afraid to get her own hands dirty. Arya, who during their travels to the Twins had been less than pleased with Lenora, now followed her around with renewed vigor.
It seemed that only Jaime, Tyrion, and himself seemed concerned with how she had handled the Freys.
She approached the three of them the next morning as they were preparing to leave the Twins, Lord Cerwyn was left in charge of the keep. She smiled at Robb, and reached for his hand, "And so you see?" she asked. "This was never about his bridge."
No, Robb thought to himself. It's about something else entirely.
Author's Note:
Winter came for House Frey.
Happy new year to everyone! And happy reading!
I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Let me know what you think?
Thank you so much to everyone who has added this story to their favorites or alert lists! And always a HUGE thanks to everyone who has reviewed!
You are the real heroes of this story!
And thank you to those who got me to and past my 1,000 review Christmas wish. That was a fantastic way to end the year!
ZabuzasGirl: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope that you enjoyed this one as well! Happy New Year!
Guest (1): Thank you so much for your review!
10868letsgo: I kind of can't wait for them to have a baby either. But I think it will be a bit before that happens. Cersei will happen first. As for the Mother of Dragons, you'll have to wait and see! Thank you so much for your review!
firehottie: Thank you so much for your review! I'm so happy to hear that you are enjoying this story so far and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter just as much! Happy New Year!
Andrea Ribes: I'm so glad to hear that each new chapter keeps you on your toes! The last thing I would ever want is to become predictable! Thank you so much for reading this story and for taking the time to review!
Lulu14168: I am not embarrassed to admit that I have cried a few times while writing this story! And the Queen in the North may have been one of the scenes that really did it for me! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it too!
Daisy96: Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad that you are enjoying this story so far and I hope that this chapter continued this trend. It was a whole lot of "the girl don't need a man" in this chapter. The Cersei/Lenora showdown is coming soon so you won't have to wait much longer.
As for Dany ... my original plans were to not include her at all. But as I wrote there came a time when it was perfect to start slipping her into the story. She'll show up (or at least you guys will hear about her) toward the end, leaving the end of this story open-ended enough that if I want to write a sequel it can be done.
The Three Stoogies: Thank you so much for your review! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well!
RHatch89: Thank you so much, my friend!
Jemmyjem: Thank you so much for your (two!) review(s)! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the last chapter enough to review it twice! You cannot imagine how long I have been waiting to get to this point in the story, it was where we were always headed and I'm so happy to finally be here.
And I'm even happier that you guys are enjoying it too!
Sltsky96: I'm so glad that you enjoyed everything about the last chapter including (but not limited to) Robb's vulnerability. I have read a few fanfictions where they bring Robb back and he comes back the exact same, nothing changes. And while that would be easier to write, it would be a lie. There's no way he can be killed by his own men, brought back from the dead and not come back darker, less confident, and vulnerable.
So I am loving that you guys enjoy that too! .
As for all of your Dany pondering ... you'll just have to wait an see, but I promise that I have some fun things planned for that!
Thank you so much for your review! Your Christmas wish is my command, here is more of this hopefully still beautiful story!
adrian11: Ah! I'm so glad that you picked up on that! I was hoping that someone would! No one else mentioned it, but that was a throwback that I needed to put in the last chapter. She has changed so much since the beginning of this story, but at the core of it all, she is still herself and I hoped that that "Just so," would prove it!
HoplessRomantic44: Thank you so much for your review! And for rereading this story. There's a lot to reread. You're making me blush with how you feel about Lenora's character development. It is always my sincere hope that it comes off smooth and constant and it means a lot to know that it does. Thank you!
Arianna Le Fay: I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and that I was able to catch you be surprise! Thank you so much for your review! It is giving me ideas ... Storm queen of the North! I love it!
Guest (2): Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad that you are enjoying this story so far! I am a big fan of rereading it, not going to lie, I do it sometimes! You guys are not the only ones who have to be kept up to date!
adidi778: I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter so much! Thank you so much for letting me know! I thought about it turning into a big thing and having Lenora keep her travels from Robb, that was actually my original draft but I realized that it isn't what Lenora would do. It wasn't true to her character at the beginning of the story and it is definitely not something she would do now after losing Robb and getting him back.
But she still needed to realize that.
dvali: I'm so thrilled that you guys are enjoying Gendry and Nora! They are often my favorites to write at the moment! As for the White Walkers ... they are coming. I'm using them and Dany to set this story up for a sequel if I so chose. Robb and Lenora definitely do belong in the north at Winterfell ... and they might still end up there. You'll just have to wait and see.
Stark Wife: "Binged the fuck out of this story!" I love it! Thank you so much for your review, if only for that single statement! I'm so glad that you have enjoyed this story so far and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well! Not sure if you wished for it, but I hope you enjoyed Lenora really flexing her muscles in this chapter and truly becoming the HBIC.
JanaOliver: I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and I am happy that it made Monday a bit easier for you! Hopefully this one will help everyone get through the after the holidays slump! You are more than welcome! I am just thrilled that people enjoy this story, because I am so in love with it that I would be writing it regardless of whether people read it or not! So your enjoyment is the cherry on top!
chibichibi98: You'll just have to wait and see what happens with the Seven Kingdoms. Realistically, I think that it would be fairly plausible that most of the kingdoms would declare for Lenora. The North because of Robb, the Riverlands because of how Cersei's Lannisters had treated them. The Westerlands because of Jaime, Highgarden because they hate Cersei, the Stormlands because Lenora is a Baratheon, the Eyrie because they already helped take back Winterfell. That just leaves the Crownlands and the Iron Islands.
But then again ... that might all change if a dragon showed up ...
LunaEvanna Longbottom: Merry Christmas and a Happy new year! I couldn't just let Lenora forgive and forget what people did to her and her loved ones (as evidenced by this chapter!) but I am so glad that you guys are happy about that too!
Padfootette: Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad that you loved the last chapter and I hope that you loved this one too!
Valeriadavila911: I can say with 100% certainty that they will be having a baby!
anaecker1: Thank you so much for your review! I'm so happy that you have enjoyed this story so far! You read it in a week! Damn, I don't even have that dedication! I'm so glad that you love Lenora, I love her too!
You'll have to let me know what you think of my other stories! :)
RainbowLabs: Thank you so much for your review! I am really glad that you have enjoyed the story, including the last update, and I hope that you enjoyed this update as well.
darkwolf76: There were a lot of emotions in the last chapter, and perhaps just as many in this chapter as well! But I am so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and I am happy that I handled who was going to be in charge well ... I was very worried about that.
You are always one of my favorite reviewers because you always notice the little things! Like Robb and Lenora and how no matter what happened, they are still as in love, and loyal, and tied to each other as ever!
You are the only one who mentioned the scene between Sansa and Tyrion! (I think because everyone is worried that it was going to lead to a relationship between the two of them...) so thank you for that! It was honestly one of my favorite parts of the last chapter to write so I'm glad that you appreciated it!
As for your questions ... Lenora's showdown with Cersei will be completely covered in this fic. Dany and the White Walkers will both appear after that, on the fringes. Just the hint of them in case I decide after I finish this story that I miss Robb and Lenora and I want to write a sequel.
Guest1995: Everything is almost better for Lenora. There's still some things that she needs to work out, but she's getting there.
I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter and are looking forward to what's to come. I'm looking forward to it all too!
That's all I've got for now, friends!
Thank you so much for all of your support and review love!
I'll see you back here soon!
Until next time,
Chloe Jane.