Chapter 11

The fallen king

2 weeks later

Joffrey was dead. Poisoned. Tommen was the new king. Robb kept reading the letter in his hand over and over again. He couldn't believe it. Joffrey was dead. For the first time in a very long time, Robb's lips curved into a genuine smile. That little bastard was dead. It seemed that there was still at least a little justice in the world.

"Well?" Jon asked after a long silence.

Robb looked up, he was still smiling.

"It's true. Joffrey is dead."

"Hmm," Jon muttered and poured them both some wine. "I think a toast is in order then."

"Yes, I most certainly agree," Robb replied and took one of the goblets. "To justice."

"To justice," Jon repeated.

They both emptied their goblets with one long gulp. Perhaps this was some kind of a victory, but it was bittersweet. Robb hadn't been the one who had killed Joffrey. He hadn't avenged his father's, sister's and Talisa's death. Well, at least there was one Lannister less. As far as Robb knew, Tommen wasn't like his older brother. It was possible that he would actually be a good king.

Yet he was still a Lannister. They could all die as far as Robb cared. He bit his bottom lip as his wife crossed his mind. They had barely spoken to each other after the incident with her handmaiden. What had happened to her hadn't been acceptable, not in Robb's household. He had made it clear to all the servants. As far as he knew, the handmaiden had healed quite well, but that wasn't the point. His wife was a Lannister, but she was still his wife and the Lady of this household.

So far his mother had taken care of all the duties of the Lady of Winterfell and Robb hadn't intervened to that. He hadn't wanted to order his mother to train Minea. Of course she needed to be trained sooner or later, but that was one of the things he had constantly postponed. Just like having a proper conversation with her, not to mention a marital visit to her bedchamber. The thought made him tense, but it was his duty to his house and his people. He needed an heir.

"Enter," he said when he heard a knock. He knew who that was; he had sent a servant to find his wife's brother as soon as the letter from King's Landing had arrived.

The door opened and Lord Tyrion entered the room.

"My lord," he greeted Robb. "Lord Jon."

"Lord Tyrion," Robb replied. "I have some news from King's Landing. King Joffrey is dead."

Robb didn't bother to hide his satisfaction as he handed the letter to Tyrion who read it quickly.

"I see," Tyrion stated after a moment of silence. He kept his face and voice free from emotion.

"My condolences," Robb said, knowing that he sounded everything but sincere.

"Well, I can't say that I would have been very fond of my nephew," Tyrion replied dryly. "But thank you, my lord. Excuse me."

Robb poured himself more wine after Tyrion had left.

"You should tell your wife," Jon said.

"I think her brother is going to do that," Robb replied absentmindedly. "Right now I simply want to enjoy this moment."

"I'm sorry, sister," Tyrion said quietly. "I must go back to King's Landing."

Minea wanted to ask him not to leave her, but of course she wouldn't do that. She wasn't some child who needed her big brother to look after her.

"I understand," she replied, managing to hide her feelings. "Of course you must go."

"Yes," Tyrion sighed. "Unfortunately someone has to make sure that our sister won't destroy everything we have built. Joffrey certainly wasn't worth that."

"He was many things, but he was also Cersei's son," Minea pointed out. "I can't even imagine the pain of losing a child."

"Yes, I know, but the truth is that Joffrey was deranged. He never should have become a king."

Minea didn't know how to reply to that, she hadn't really known Joffrey. They had only met couple of times, but they hadn't spoken much. Of course Minea had heard about some things Joffrey had done, but she still felt sorry for Cersei. Minea had no idea how she could have handled having a son like Joffrey. She wanted to believe that her love would make her son a good man, but what if the child's father and the rest of his family would hate him? Would her love still be enough?

She didn't want her child to grow up in a hateful environment. Thankfully she had bled a week ago, so she wasn't with child yet. She hadn't shared a bed with her husband after their wedding night. At least he had kept his promise and told the servants to leave Ersa alone. All the servants had been very polite, although Minea had no doubt that they still hated her. Just like everyone else in Winterfell.

Thankfully she had learned to tolerate it. At first the dinners had been the worst part, but now people weren't rude to her anymore, they simply ignored her. Usually she exchanged few polite words with her husband and sometimes even with Lady Catelyn. Lord Jon was still the only person who spoke to her even when he wasn't forced to.

Unfortunately he was very busy, so she didn't see him often. She had spent a lot of time with Tyrion and Bronn, but now she would have to cope by herself. Fortunately Ersa would stay here with her, so she wouldn't be all alone. Yet she would miss her brother. Hopefully he would come and visit her when he could.

3 days later

Minea ate silently and listened to her husband and his mother talking about matters she knew nothing about. She had tried her best to learn and even dared to ask questions, but no one had been willing to teach her. Now when Tyrion wasn't here anymore she couldn't even go riding, so she had spent her days in the library. It wasn't nearly as big as the library in Casterly Rock, but she had learned a lot about the northern lords and their houses. Maybe it wasn't much, but it was a start.

She had also read about the Old Gods and Godswood. Of course she had read about them before, but now she felt that she truly understood how sacred place Godswood was here. She also believed that she understood why Lord Robb hadn't wanted to wed her there; he had told her father that he wanted a wedding ceremony in the Faith of the Seven. Godswood was a sacred place of his ancestors and he probably hadn't wanted to taint it by wedding her there. The thought should have probably hurt, but she was past that already. She was determined to find a way to survive here.

"Are you well, my lady?" her husband suddenly asked.

"Yes, my lord, thank you for asking," she replied, just like many times before. "And you?"

"Yes, I am fine."

She nodded, expecting the conversation to be over, but he glanced at her and continued.

"I would like to visit you later, if you are not too tired."

She froze when the meaning of his words hit her. He wanted to bed her tonight. She couldn't get a word out, all she felt was the lump in her throat. Yet she knew that she didn't have the right to refuse him.

"My lady?"

"Yes," she finally managed to say. "Yes…I…Yes."

"Alright, I shall see you later then."