"That is a giant woman," Will stated, his brown eyes wide as he watched Brienne stride behind Lady Catelyn. "Do you think you could take her?"

"I can't imagine a situation in which we would need to fight," I returned.

"I mean, that is essentially like me fighting the Hound or the Mountain, which..." Will turned a smirk to me, raising his eyebrows. "I already have and won."

I cast my eyes towards the heavens, "Yes, let's not forget that."

"You need to spar. I have to find out who is better."

"You have that little faith in me."

"She's huge!"

I shook my head again, "You are impossible."

Standing up from the grass, I left Willem gazing at the woman in utter disbelief. He had seen her so many times already, and yet the novelty still hadn't worn off.

"To be fair, I agree with your brother," Jaime Lannister called to me. "That cannot possibly be a woman."

"She is," I sighed, frustrated with both of these men for calling her gender into question because she was physically intimidating.

"Have you confirmed?" Jaime's eyebrows lifted over his green eyes. I could not hide my smirk. Just like my brother, this man was impossible not to be amused by. I turned back to Jaime, seeing him grinning proudly to himself. "You can't resist."

"Oh, I am sure I will manage."

"You will miss me while you're haggling at the Crag," he added with a smirk.

"I think it should only be a couple of days, Jaime."

"Let us hope, my lady," he teased.

Now, I raised an eyebrow, "You think it will be longer? Do you think I will be ambushed on this journey?"

Jaime sat up, looking at me seriously although the corners of his eyes squinted to betray his humor. "Well, I did not see that, but you never know what might happen. Well, us mere mortals cannot."

"You think I am more than a mere mortal?" I teased.

Jaime glanced towards the guards eavesdropping on our conversation. "With the rumors about you and your visions, perhaps." For a moment, he let that sit with me, watching me with curiosity and fascination as I shifted under his gaze. Within a few moments, however, he was back to his joking tone, "What do you see in my future anyway?"

I squinted my eyes at him, feigning an air of mystery, "You shall have to find that out for yourself."

Sitting up, the lion furrowed his brows. "Really? Have you seen anything of me?"

"No," I answered honestly. "Nothing of you."

"Hmm, well, that cannot be good," he shrugged, leaning back.

"I primarily see myself and Robb. My brother on occasion."

"Interesting…" The curiosity returned to Jaime's expression as his green eyes studied me.

"Do try to entertain yourself, my lord," I added, ready to leave this discussion.

He expelled a long sigh. "That is difficult to do when you're gone. The guards are not known for their repartee."

"A couple of days," I added.

"I will be waiting…"

Robb walked briskly into our tent, his blue eyes holding ice behind them.

"No word then?" I interpreted.

"Bolton's son has not yet made it to Winterfell. We have not received any ravens from the city…we should have gone ourselves."

"Logically, it does not make sense."

"Logic is not the only way to win a war, Ana," Robb returned. "You need instinct and feeling."

"And you also must not be blind. I think we would be if we were to lead the battle at Winterfell, Robb."

He turned a questioning stare that showed more hurt than anger as he tried to hood his expression. Walking to his side, I put my arm on his shoulder, moving my head to force him to hold my gaze.

"Robb, our emotion would blind us here. Bolton's son will be calculating in his approach."

"So now you trust them?" Robb returned.

"For now," I answered.

Robb stared towards the doorway, shaking his head slowly. "My father always spoke of fear. He said being a lord was like being a father. You worry, for everyone, at all times, trying to do the right thing, to keep everyone safe…I don't know what it feels like to be a father obviously, but if it feels like how this feels, it seems crippling."

"For what it's worth, I think you are a very good king and would be a very good father."

Robb raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth rising with it. "Is that why you have me pull out almost every time?"

It was impossible to hold back the smile on my face. "I am rather selfish. I already share you with a kingdom. I'd rather not add any more Northerners at present."

"If you insist, my love." Robb stepped in front of me, running his hand along my face and through my hair as he gave me a long kiss. I felt my heart pound inside of my chest as I pushed closer to him.

It was with a sigh that he pulled away, leaving me still holding my breath. He gave me a small smile and one quick kiss. "We should go."

"Yes, we shall."

I was ready to leave camp. We had not been in a battle for some time, simply making painstaking progress through the Riverlands. Each move was slow when you had such a sizeable army behind you. I knew I should have been pleased that we were so well protected and had so many in our cause, but when marching, it was painful.

We left Catelyn in the good company of Lord Karstark while the rest of the heads of house made way with us to the Crag. It was still a sizeable group, but the difference in pace was immeasurable.

As I rode alongside Robb, I noticed my horse Chimera glancing to the right. There was no one immediately by us, but every few moments, he kept turning his head, until finally I heard it too.

A moment later, Willem and his horse were up at our side, his horse nosing just an inch in front of Chimera. I could see the fire in my horse's eyes as he looked distraught at the other animal.

"You are teasing your poor former horse," I chastised Will.

"You should never let him walk at this pace. Chi is wasted at this speed."

"Oh so you wish to lose a race? Is that what you are working towards here?" I pressed.

Will smirked, "I never lose."

"Really?" Robb scoffed.

"Really," Will returned, turning a stern gaze towards my husband.

"Careful, other kings would take your eye out for that," Robb joked, his blue eyes shining with his smile.

"I suppose you could command me to lose, your grace. That would be the only way it would happen."

"Boys…" I warned although I did not look very serious with the grin that spread across my face.

For once, even for one moment, it felt like we were children again – the children we were still supposed to be – and it was wonderful. It would be worth the begrudging smiles and head shaking from the rest of the men traveling because I knew they too missed these moments when there was time for fun.

"To that hill on three?" Robb asked, nodding to a sizeable hill that was a ways away.

Will grinned, "One, two, three."

The words were barely out of his mouth when we raced off as the fastest pace our horses could muster. Chimera was happy now; his eyes straight ahead, bent on winning. Will and Robb both kept pace, each taking the lead for moments, but once we reached the base of the hill, Chimera kicked into his fastest speed, leaving the boys in his dust.

He pranced proudly at the top as I slowed him, grinning from ear to ear. I turned a knowing smirk to my brother and Robb, both of whom looked less than impressed.

"Beaten by the Queen," the Greatjon guffawed behind us. Even at a distance, his bellowing laugh boomed.

"I trained that horse…" Will muttered to himself before continuing on.

I teased Will for the entirety of the trip, but once I arrived at the Crag, I was no longer laughing. We grew more serious as the castle loomed. We had no concern that they would not yield, would not be agreeable, but Robb insisted we all approach with complete respect and not portray our assumptions.

"Will you see to the store rooms? Make sure that we get all the supplies our maesters need and get them back quickly?" Robb asked me that night once the negotiations had concluded for the day.

"Of course," I replied. I knew we were running dangerously low on the herbs and medicines needed for our men and all the men we had taken prisoner. "I can ride tonight."

Robb shook his head, his eyes wide. "Do you think I want you riding at night? Tomorrow is fine. I plan to stay until the late afternoon. We should have everything we need by then."

I nodded, "Dawn then?"

"Yes."

"But tonight…" He grinned mischievously and within a second, I let out a gasp of surprise as he picked me up in his arms. "We are not sleeping in a tent," Robb stated as I rested my forehead against his gazing into his blue eyes. "And we are going to take full advantage of that."

I giggled as he carried me into the chamber prepared for us. While we had planned to spend much more time awake, sleep overcame us quickly. We had barely gotten into bed before I was lying on his chest, my eyes closing almost instantly. I felt Robb stroke my hair softly for perhaps a minute before I fell into a dream. I suppose we had both forgotten how nice it was to sleep in an actual bed.

I double checked all of our supplies by dawn, and we were on our way back to camp again almost immediately.

The ride back seemed much longer without Robb or Will, but we arrived in good time. As we approached, however, I could see the tension on the guards' faces who approached us.

"What is it?" I demanded in an even tone, riding in front of our men.

"Your grace…"

"Yes?" I pressed, uncomfortable with the man's nerves and lacking in patience.

"It's the Kingslayer, your grace. Lady Stark let him go."

"She what?" I yelled, causing the man to flinch.

"That is what happened, your grace. She helped him escape."

"For what possible reason?" I demanded. I could feel the fire in my eyes as I stared down this boy. "That is madness."

"I…I…" The poor boy stuttered, unsure how to react to my anger.

Inside, I could not imagine a situation in which she would let him go. Catelyn hated the Lannisters, all of them. She saw no honor in Jaime, had no pity for him. The idea of it was madness, and yet, I knew no one would accuse the mother of the king without real proof.

My stomach was twisting, lurching. Our biggest bargaining chip was gone.

For a moment, I let the panic show on my face, the confusion in my eyes met the fear in the guard's, but quickly, I closed my opened mouth, smoothed the wrinkled, lost expression and took a breath.

"How many men have we sent to find him?" I demanded.

Just as the boy was about to answer, I heard the proud calls coming from the forest. "We've got him! We have him!"

A relieved sigh escaped my lips as my eyes closed for a moment. I uttered a silent prayer to the gods, and then turned my eyes towards the voices.

"Thank you," I called aloud to the men hurrying from the forest. "We are truly blessed with the bravest of men in our company."

"In the seven hells, what are you doing?" demanded an irate voice from what felt like a lifetime ago.

I saw the guards step aside as two came forward with a tall, thin man with long hair wrestling from their grasp.

"Do you know who I am?" He demanded, ripping his shoulder from them.

"Theon," I breathed as his eyes locked onto mine.