"It was a shadow with Stannis' face on it?" I repeated Brienne's words, keenly aware of how strange they sounded.
"All we could see was a shadow," Lady Catelyn corrected, giving a pointed look to the woman behind her.
I could see the doubt on Robb and Willem's faces, so I added, "Well, stranger things have happened."
"Have they?" the Greatjon guffawed from behind me.
Willem and Robb both turned their eyes towards me. They looked hesitant with their raised eyebrows, but they could not refute it. I had seen too much that had come true for any of us to feel differently.
"It would not be the first bit of magic in the world," Lord Whyte said, uncharacteristically agreeing with me.
The council seemed divided between agreeing with the old man and thinking he was mad. Regardless, it left enough of us feeling as though there was something crawling under our skin as we glanced about the room.
"He was with some woman in red," Brienne added.
Catelyn nodded, continuing, "Yes, a priestess promising ruin for any standing in Stannis Baratheon's way."
"She sounds very supportive of giving the North our freedom," Willem spoke up.
I smirked as Lady Catelyn returned an exhausted glance, the kind that I saw her reserve for Robb or Bran when they had done something she did not approve of.
"It does not matter what happened exactly. All that matters is Renly Baratheon is dead. We have lost a potential ally, and we will continue to regain the Riverlands here. Let's break. We will come back after supper," Robb stated.
His council walked out, but his mother, her newly found knight, Will, and I remained.
"So some sort of dark magic then," I stated simply.
I could feel Willem's eyes on me, questioning me. I looked back at him with furrowed eyebrows, but there was a curiosity hidden behind his overly confident smirk.
"I should return home," Catelyn added.
Robb furrowed his eyebrows, "Home? Mother, you can't leave. I need you here still."
"What more is there for me to do, Robb?"
"Counsel me, help me. You looked after the North with Father for nearly 20 years. I need your experience here."
I could see the glow in Catelyn's expression, the slight upturn in her lips. She missed Bran and Rickon, but it was evident how much it meant to her that Robb still needed her.
"Let me show you our plan," Robb continued, leading her to the map.
"We'll take our leave for a moment, your grace, if that is alright." I was surprised to find that Willem was referring to me in his statement of "we." We had spoken little since our last argument, but nevertheless, I found him grabbing my elbow, leading me away, as my face turned down in dismay.
"Will, what are you doing?" I had wanted to stay and hear Catelyn's advice myself.
"Can you really envision a shadow committing murder?" he pressed in a hushed voice.
I shrugged, "I don't know, Will. Perhaps?"
"You think you could learn it?"
"Honestly?" I asked in shock. "I thought that was what that look was about, but honestly, Will, I dream. I don't practice magic. Most of those who do are just frauds."
"It does not seem like this was a fraud."
"No, indeed not." I felt my face fall even further as I considered Brienne and Catelyn's story. I could not help but shift under the disquieting feeling that we might have an enemy we could not even cut with a sword.
"Did Father ever…" Will trailed off, looking towards the horizon.
He still struggled to talk about our father. I did not say much either, but I felt close to him somehow, every time I had a vision. It was like a constant connection even when he was gone, but it was hard to speak of him. Willem seemed to feel that even more acutely than I did.
"He only saw things, yes?" My brother finished his thought, but it still took him a minute to hazard a glance back at me.
I shrugged, "I think so. To be honest, Will, I don't remember us speaking much about it. I don't think I'm built like the Lady of Light, or whatever she positioned herself as."
"I think it was a priestess," Will corrected at me, shaking his head in mock disgust.
"You better be careful or you'll have a shadow murdering you."
"Unlikely, I am not a king."
"No, you simply are a brother-in-marriage to the King in the North and steal brides away from kings in the south."
"Just one bride," Will returned with a smirk. "All I needed."
I watched my brother with a proud smile, seeing his eyes light up at the thought of Sansa. It was remarkable how much he grew up since knowing her; even if what he did was brash and irresponsible, he had made up for it with how he looked at life now. He would do anything for her, and I was determined to make sure that Willem would have the opportunity.
"I will leave you to think about how I can become a sorceress. I have forgotten something that I wished to speak with Robb about."
Willem shook his head. "I am not trying to turn you into her. I just…I just want to understand better is all."
"Understand what?" I asked, my head tilting to the side with curiosity.
"You and Father. Sometimes I wonder why it was you who became most like him."
"Will." I reached out my hand to him, but he shrugged out of my grasp.
"I don't envy you," he said in a tone I could believe. "I just want to understand is all."
"Me too," I replied with a sigh.
Will walked off after one long look, leaving me to return to my husband. Robb was still in deep conversation with his mother when I returned, so I took a few moments to shore up my argument while they discussed plans.
"How is your brother?" Catelyn asked, interrupting my thoughts after a minute.
I smiled, "Well, my lady. He misses his wife very much."
Now Catelyn was the one smiling, "I am truly happy he took Sansa from that vile place. If only he had been able to save both of my girls…"
"I know he wishes he could have, but then, he was blinded to what he felt and only that. I know he thinks about Sansa and their coming child every day."
"Perhaps she would be more comfortable with Bran and Rickon in Winterfell?" Catelyn suggested, looking to Robb.
Robb turned his gaze elsewhere, however, trying to avoid the conversation entirely while I bit back the smirk that naturally came to my lips.
"I think she will be very safe where she is. No eyes are on Plenair, my lady. My homeland was blessed by being a fertile land with little strategic value. I know she will remain protected there although I am sure my brother should like to visit her soon if we could spare him…"
Now, I was the one looking to Robb. This time, however, he did not seem to be interested in avoiding the conversation.
"You want him to leave us now?" Robb asked, standing wide-eyed and tall.
"No, no, not now," I answered, shaking off his response as though it were a silly statement. "But in a couple of months, yes."
Robb grinned sardonically, something he must have learned from Theon, and crossed his arms over his chest. "We are fighting a war with four kings. How do you expect me to let one of my best swordsman, one of the leaders of our company, walk away? You realize if I did that, every man with a child would want a few months to themselves."
I shrugged, thinking about those who lived amongst us. "Perhaps not every man."
Ignoring me, Robb continued in his argument. "Do you think they would all come back?"
"No, but Willem would."
I kept my mouth shut throughout the tirade that flowed from Robb's lips. I had not expected to win this argument today, but the seed was planted.
"I am sorry, Robb," I broke in as he let out a maddened sigh. "I was only thinking of our family. I know how much it would mean to you if our roles were reversed, and I was at home with child. It was wishful thinking. I know how important duty is."
Robb's eyes had been an icy blue, but in the long stare into my eyes, the color softened. His face remained hard and determined, yet the frustration was beginning to fade.
"Excuse me. I have much to attend to," I added and kissed Robb on his bearded cheek.
As I turned to walk out of the tent, Lady Catelyn avoided eye contact, but I could see the corners of her lips turn up into a slight smile. She had no doubt what I was doing.
I had barely escaped the tent when a messenger came rushing towards me.
"Your grace!" His expression looked panicked, almost ill as he stopped just short of me.
"My apologies, your grace," he began again before nodding towards the Council's tent. "I must speak with the King immediately."
We turned back into the entryway. Both Robb and his mother stood in surprise to find the hard-breathing messenger holding out a letter. His eyes quickly darted around the room, stopping only on Robb for a few moments.
"You must read this, your grace," he said, handing the letter to Robb with a bow.
Robb took it, and within moments, his expression turned from confusion to concern to utter disbelief. He dropped his hand, staring into the space the letter had just occupied, as his mouth fell open.
"Robb?" I asked, but his mother was there first.
She stood from her chair and reached his side before I even had the foresight to move. Her hands rose immediately to his arms, one in support of him and the other taking the letter from him, while I stood rooted in place. I felt bile rising in my chest and throat as an overwhelming sense of dread stretched through my body.
It had really happened. He had betrayed us just as I saw.
I felt my stomach lurch, and for a moment, I was certain my knees would give out. But, I knew I could not swoon. I should have told Robb from the moment I saw it, but I refused to believe it could be true. I deserved to suffer through this. Truly, I deserved to suffer for this.
"I told you to never trust a Greyjoy!" Catelyn cried, her voice low but threatening. She raised her eyes in an accusation, but Robb did not look at her.
"Did you know that this would happen?" Robb demanded. His tone was eerily even although I could feel the anger and disgust behind each word.
The tears streamed down my face and the sobs came so hard I could barely say the words. "I didn't believe this could happen." I heard his steps as he came towards me, but I could not bear to look at him.
"But did you know?" Robb almost screamed, gripping my shoulders in his hands. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you did not see this."
My sobs should have been enough to tell him what he needed to know, but as I looked up at him, seeing his expression wild with hurt and fear, my stomach lurched all over again as I shook with rage, guilt, and ultimately, fear as well. Robb let go of my arms, stepping away from me, as he realized what I had done.
"Why are you grasping her, Robb?" Catelyn demanded. "She has mind tricks. It is not real magic."
"You don't understand, Mother," he insisted.
She turned to face him, her eyes cutting him with daggers as her body rose straight and tall. "She is a girl you fell in love with as a green boy, not some clairvoyant. Why do you go to her as though she has the answers?"
"Because I trust her," he spewed. "More than any of the rest of you!"
I could see the sharpness fall in her expression as the words came from his lips. He may have still wanted his mother's advice, but even in that moment, Robb chose me, and I could see her pain. With her children scattered across the kingdom, she felt she was losing the only one still close enough to touch.
"We are going North at once. We will march on Winterfell, take it back and I will kill every single one of them," Robb stated, turning out of the tent. "Share this news with the Council," he added to the messenger.
As both men left, I hazarded one last look at Catelyn. I wanted to put my hand on her shoulder, to try to say some words of comfort, but the look she gave me was poison. I turned from her and picked up the piece of parchment from the ground to confirm what I thought it would say: Greyjoy forces have taken Winterfell.
Somehow, just reading one sentence, not knowing anything more, was almost as painful as what I thought would be on the parchment. In my vision, I knew Bran and Rickon to be dead. In this message, we still did not know their fate. There was hope, but inside, I knew I put too much faith in the wrong person. I could not hide the truth from Robb any longer.
I handed the paper to Catelyn and ran after my husband. "Robb!"
He said nothing as I followed him into his tent. In fact, he was utterly silent as I tried to ask how he felt, what he was thinking. All he did was turn to me once we were firmly inside.
His expression was vacant, utterly lost. "I should not have trusted Theon."
"I should have told you," I said, barely above a whisper. I bit back tears, tasting blood in my mouth as my teeth clenched my tongue.
"I would not have chosen to believe you." Robb shook his head, "Was that all you saw?"
"No," I admitted.
He opened his mouth, ready to ask another question, but quickly closed it as he questioned his decision. "I need to forget."
I nodded, "Anything you need."
He closed the distance between us before I could barely say the words. His lips crashed onto mine, kissing me and pulling at my lips with his teeth with a force that I struggled to match as he walked us back towards the table.
His hands moved quickly, tearing away my dress and smallclothes. I tried to take his clothes off as quickly, ripping at his buttons and ties, but even that seemed to take too long.
My hands drifted down his chest for one long moment before he pushed me down onto the table, kissing his way down my breasts and stomach while I still gasped for air. He wasted no time pulling his pants down and pushing inside of me as I closed my eyes and moaned.
There was no part of this that would solve anything, but for a time, we were able to forget.