Near the Twins

Dareon had been very young when the last winter had ended, as he looked at the snow lying on the ground in front of his horse he wondered if that winter had been as ferocious as this one seemed to be. Snow had been coming down from the heavens for weeks now, but Dareon kept his troops going not only because he knew that if they stopped they'd never make it through again but because his wife was pregnant. They'd found this out when Melissa had furiously thrown up just after they had left the Saltpans, Dareon had decided then after the maester who was travelling with them that she was pregnant, that she would ride in the carriage whether she wanted to or not he couldn't risk her or the baby to the cold.

Whilst they were going slower than Dareon would have liked, they were still going quicker than expected and he could see the Twins looming in the foreground, Dareon had to constantly remind himself that there was no one there for him to kill anymore, on the march down he had seen to Lord Frey and all those other treacherous weasel looking bastards apart from Olyvar and the women and children. He'd made Olyvar Lord of the Crossing.

Dareon had sent a raven ahead of their departure to both Riverrun and the Twins informing them of the situation at the wall and to raise their troops ready to meet him at the Twins for the march north.

Dareon was shaken out of his reverie by seeing a person standing in front of his horse that he hadn't seen since he was fourteen.

"Harwin?!" He asked incredulously

"Yes milord, its me"

"What are you doing here? I thought the Lannisters killed you?"

"Nope milord, but that is a story for another day, if you would follow me, there's someone who wishes to speak to you."

Dareon was suspicious now "Someone wants to meet me? Who Harwin, its not some Lannister spy is it?"

Harwin looked sincere when he replied "No milord on my life its no Lannister, please milord you must come with me."

Dareon turned around and seeing that he was way in front of the others decided perhaps against his better judgement to trust Harwin. Dismounted from his horse and followed Harwin through several rows of trees deep into the forest and into a clearing where several figures stood looking at him, one with a hood over their head.

"Where are I Harwin and what is this place?"

It was not Harwin who replied but a slightly plump and balding man who did "Your Grace, you are in the camp of the Brotherhood without Banners."

Dareon was shocked, he'd heard the Brotherhood had disbanded after Lord Beric's final death, only to be restored when one Lady Stoneheart had taken charge, Dareon had heard horrifying rumours about her and who she used to be.

"And why does the Brotherhood wish to speak with me?"

"Because Your Grace, our lady wishes to speak with you. My Lady."

At that the hooded figure removed her hood and as it fell from her face, Dareon's mouth opened in shock, horror and recognition he was looking at Lady Stoneheart, but he was also looking at his mother!

"Mother, what w-hat?"

His mother pointed to her neck, and then to the sword that the plump man suddenly held then to Dareon. He didn't know what she wanted him to do.

The plump man noting Dareon's confusion, said "She wishes for you to have the sword Your Grace."

"The sword?" Dareon said confused, he was even more confused when the plump man moved away from him when he reached to get it from him.

"Yes Your Grace, for this sword is called Oathkeeper and is one of two swords forged from your family's ancestral blade Ice. Our Lady wishes for you to have it. But at a cost."

Dareon was dreading what this cost could be.

"You must take her life."

"HER LIFE?!" Dareon was horrified "But what has she done wrong?"

"Oh she doesn't want you to take it for the wrong she has done, but for the fact that the north and the riverlands belong to the Starks and the Tullys once more and that your family has been avenged."

Dareon felt helpless, he wanted to fight and argue he wanted to say that this plump man was wrong and stupid and he deserved to die, but one look at his mother's face told him that the man spoke no lies.

He sighed, "Very well, give me the sword."

As the plump man gave him the sword, he saw his mother move towards a block that he hadn't noticed before, he moved toward it as well.

With his voice thick with emotion he declared "I, Dareon of house Stark, the King in the North, the Riverlands and the Vale, hereby do sentence you Lady Stoneheart to death."

And with that he brought Oathkeeper down in one swift motion kept his eyes open for long enough to see his mother's head role to the ground, before walking away, Oathkeeper still in his hands.

Dareon walked blindly back to where he'd left his horse with tears clouding his vision and nearly walked straight into his uncle.

"Uncle Edmure? What are you doing here? I thought we were to meet at the Twins?"

His uncle looked relieved and surprised to see him, but immediately said "There's been a change of plan Your Grace. We received two ravens at the Twins this morn, one said that the Targaryen boy had captured King's Landing, the second said the Wall had fallen."

Dareon was stunned, the wall fallen?

"We must ride at once then, where is Lord Olyvar?"

"Already marching across the bridge with his men, we were waiting for you."

"Well we must go. Rally your men and I'll do the same for mine."

As Dareon saw his uncle run back to his men, he thought to himself, the Wall fallen, I executed my own mother today... Winter has truly come.