Getting a bit better at establishing the chronology again. Thankful that this one was a bit easier than most. This Catelyn chapter comes before 'GOT Bran VII', where Catelyn and the combined forces of the Tullys, Arryns and Starks are all meeting in Riverrun. Hope you guys enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I claim any ideas, places, or characters from the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. Cheers

It had barely been a day after their forces had lifted the siege of Riverrun when the banners of the crescent moon and falcon had arrived. Catelyn was relieved that Olyvar's forces had slipped behind Tywin Lannister as they were engaged north of the Ruby Ford. Their plan had served not only to distract Tywin so that they could ride on Jaime Lannister, but also created an opening where Olyvar momentarily gained access to the Ruby Ford without a fight. Now, the combined forces of Stark, Tully, and Arryn were assembled in one place, blocking the Lannisters from their home. Nearly fifty-five thousand men, together all at once. The Seven truly did smile upon them.

Robb, Edmure, and Olyvar had all taken to the private chambers above the Great Hall, discussing what their next move should be. Commanders such as Theon Greyjoy, Bronze Yohn Royce, the Blackfish, Greatjon Umber, Lord Belmore of Strongsong and Tytos Blackwood joined them. Catelyn sat amongst them, listening intently as they planned their next move. Rickard Karstark had not joined them, still in mourning over the lost of his sons.

"We must march south at once." Lord Royce declared. "With the numbers we have assembled now, in addition to those who will join us on the march, we can take King's Landing within a few days of our arrival."

"We cannot simply abandon Riverrun to be retaken by the Lannisters!" Tytos Blackwater proclaimed. "Such a move would be disastrous, especially after the work we went through to lift the siege in the first place."

"The longer we wait, the longer the Lannisters have my uncle and his daughters." Olyvar interrupted heatedly. "We cannot afford for Joffrey to continue holding them for a great period of time."

"I'm sure no harm shall come to Lord Stark or his daughters." Lord Blackwood countered. "They are political prisoners of great importance to the Lannisters. Any harm done to them would make it impossible for the opposition to sue for peace."

"I too worry for the welfare of my husband and daughters." Catelyn intervened before her nephew could assert himself again, no doubt with less control of his temper the second time. "If the tales of Joffrey's cruelty that my nephew have told us are true, we must march on the capital with haste."

"Lady Stark, Lord Arryn, I beg of you to be patient. None of us want this to escalate to full scale war." Lord Blackwood reassured her, but Catelyn eyed her nephew and his Vale lords once more. They all seemed impatient, sharing annoyed looks between one another. "We have the Kingslayer at our mercy, amongst others as well. We need only to swap prisoners and avoid further bloodshed."

Catelyn watched as Olyvar exchanged one final look with Lord Royce before sighing. "I suppose this can't be kept a secret any longer." The boy stood up, taller than Catelyn could have ever remembered him standing before. "My lords, Aunt Catelyn, I have a confession that I must share with you, as I have shared with my own lords in secrecy. But I now understand that this revelation cannot stay veiled forever."

"What do you speak of, Cousin?" Robb now made his voice heard, curiosity embedded in his every syllable.

"Before I returned to the Eyrie, I visited my mentor, Lord Stannis Baratheon, on the isle of Dragonstone. There he informed me of two horrible truths. My father, the late Jon Arryn, was murdered by Cersei Lannister. The reason was because my father, along with Lord Stannis, had been investigating the legitimacy of the royal children."

"Nephew," Edmure began cautiously, "are you suggesting that the royal children are bastards?"

"That is the conclusion that my father and Lord Stannis came to. Stannis is the rightful King of Westeros, and we must aid him in taking King's Landing. It serves the dual purpose of deposing Joffrey from the Iron Throne as well as rescuing Lord Stark and his daughters."

Catelyn, in a state of shock herself, took in the mood of the room. Robb lacked a reaction, simply staring intensely at his cousin. Edmure and Lord Blackwood looked sickened at the revelation, whilst uncle Brynden looked furious. "Why did you not inform of us earlier, boy?" The Blackfish spat.

"We were sworn to secrecy by Lord Stannis, and then by Lord Arryn." Yohn Royce spoke fiercely in defense of his liege lord. "And it was impossible to send word to King Robert directly from Dragonstone."

"Quite a secret to keep. Did you not attempt to contact Robert with this accusation?" Theon inquired.

"Ravens were out of the question considering the spies in the Red Keep. We could not return and approach the King with the information ourselves either. Robert would not have believed Stannis, and both of us would have been in danger in the capital." Olyvar explained calmly. "Thus, I put trust in my uncle to discover the truth. Unfortuantely-"

"Robert must have died before Ned could have told him." Catelyn's hand went to her mouth. Could Robert have been killed by Cersei Lannister as well to prevent Ned from disclosing the truth?

"Precisely. I suspect that this imprisonment is a result of this discovery and Lord Stark's attempt to claim the throne for Lord Stannis."

"Lords Blackwood, Royce and Belmore. Excuse us for a moment." Robb spoke with a strong voice. "My family has something to discuss privately." Olyvar gave the nod to his lords before they rose alongside Lord Blackwood and descended down into the main area of the Great Hall, leaving only those who possessed Tully blood. Theon and Robb shared a look of understanding as well before Greyjoy departed after them. After all had left, Robb leaned in. "The Vale, how well defended did you leave it?"

"Along with the sixteen thousand we brought here, we called five thousand to guard the High Road. Tywin will not be able to breach it, and even if he did siege the Eyrie we supplied it too well before we left. They will be harassed in the mountains if they dare attempt an invasion."

"Good." Robb said. "He won't be able to go into the North either. My men at the Neck are well fortified." The two cousins exchanging a nod in understanding. The two of them had grown so much since Catelyn had seen them. It brought her a slight sense of joy.

"We missed an opportunity in rushing here." Brynden spoke up again, a tad bitter. "We could have simply traveled south instead of using the Twins. Pinched Tywin Lannister, forced him against the mountains."

"Unfortunately we did not know how quickly you were going to get here, nor how effective your attack was going to be. Else we would have assaulted Tywin's rear before joining up with you." Olyvar said. "It matters not. When Stannis sends word of his right to rule across the continent, the Stormlands will rally to him and we will have the Lannisters surrounded on all sides."

"If they don't mean to end up like the Reynes, Tywin will take our peace terms. Our forces will be too great." Edmure said with satisfaction. "Personally, I hope the old fool keeps fighting. We'd be all the better off getting rid of them after what they've done."

"We need to assure that my sisters and father are retrieved first. Their safety is paramount." Robb said sternly. "From there, we can make our enemies pay for this outrage."

Cat thought in silence about their situation before a realization dawned on her. "Olyvar, you said that all of the queen's children were bastards?" When Olyvar nodded to her, she felt her eyes widen even further. "Then Myrcella and Tommen are as tainted as Joffrey. We must break your betrothal of that girl, immediately!"

But instead of his immediate agreement, Olyvar became incredibly nervous, giving Catelyn a queer look. "I don't see the need in that, Aunt Catelyn."

"What madness are you speaking boy?" The Blackfish barked at his great-nephew. "The girl is illegitimate. More importantly, she is affiliated to our enemy. If your betrothal to her hasn't already been broken by Cersei or Joffrey, it would be unwise to keep it."

"For what reasoning, Uncle?" Catelyn could tell the boy was getting highly defensive, although not speaking with the same venom as his mother had spoken back in the Eyrie. "Myrcella is a sweet girl. She's nothing like Joffrey is."

"It doesn't matter how sweet she is, boy. What matters is that she's a Lannister." Brynden Tully said dismissively. "We are at war, it would reflect poorly of you to continue fraternizing with the enemy. Your men would think you a turncloak."

"I serve Stannis loyally! I've made my intentions known, no one can question them!"

"And even if you convince your men, do you think Stannis will allow Myrcella to keep her head after he takes his throne!?" Robb had stood suddenly, demanding an answer from his cousin. Cat had never seen him address Olyvar like this, they had always been pleasant around one another. "Stannis will have her executed just like he will Joffrey and his brother!"

"I…I…" Olyvar could not come up with an answer. Catelyn knew he understood that Robb's words were true, but continued attempting to find something to contradict the statement. Catelyn herself doubted that Stannis would do such a thing, but could not deny that it was out of the realm of possibility. War had strange effects on men.

"Nephew, you must break this betrothal at once. If the Lannisters leaked this out while we are at war, suspicion will arise in the camp. The men will not continue having the same faith in you if you are betrothed to Cersei Lannister's bastard, Joffrey's own sister." Catelyn explained to her nephew, who could not find an argument against her. He was taken aback, and Cat could tell that his mind was futilely working to formulate an argument in his defense.

"It's for the best, dear nephew. Better for you to marry the daughter of one of your own lords instead of choosing that Lannister swine." Catelyn knew immediately that Edmure had said the wrong thing. Olyvar's once timid face turned into one of rage. His attention turned to his uncle, the sharpness in his brown eyes returning. Catelyn had seen the same look in his eyes after he had chastised his own mother.

"Don't ever call her that! Who are you to judge my actions when you can't even hold Grandfather's keep?!"

"My lords!" Before Edmure could respond and spit venom at Olyvar, a young messenger had stormed up the stairs, capturing the attention of all present. He was drenched in sweat, breathing heavy with bloodshot eyes. Catelyn thought the man had not found any sleep recently. She remembered back to her time watching over Bran.

"We were not to be disturbed." Brynden said. "What business have you?"

"W-word from the capital, r-r-regarding Lord Stark." Eddard. Catelyn held her breath, her full attention on the messenger. But all of her hope had been drained from her as she continued to watch him. His moist face began to break down as he looked her in the eyes, and he bowed his head low. "I-I'm sorry, my lady…"

Catelyn felt the tears well up in her eyes. "Ned. No." She heard herself say softly before falling into her seat, breathless. Ignoring the angry shouts of disbelief by her male relatives, her thoughts returned to her last meeting with her husband in King's Landing. As it all came rushing back to her, it hit her. That had been the last time. Oh Gods.

A/N: So arrives the event we all dreaded would come. Poor Ned. To this day I still hold a particular type of venom for the Lannisters, as I'm sure many of you do as well.

Question comes from KnightofHolyLight, who asked in the previous chapter if the Starks and Tullys were aware of Joffrey's status as a bastard.

I decided against having the info given in the Eyrie, as Stannis had ordered it to be kept secret. But I figured that Olyvar would tell his relatives once they were all assembled at Riverrun in order to obtain the loyalties of the Riverlands and the North, as well as make the war more about putting Stannis in power instead of in revenge. Not that the Starks are in need of good reasons anymore :(

That exchange about Myrcella though...thoughts? :) Have a good one guys and gals.