Arya ran as fast as possible, longing for Needle to stay in her hands. She kept going, hoping she could catch up with Robb and his men, knowing that it was necessary for her to do so. She had to save her sister and mother. How was it that they had been captured again? Arya didn't know. She had run away before she could know how the Lannisters had found her family.

She could see the blaze of torches in the darkness ahead of her, causing her to push her feet even faster as she shouted out loud, demanding to be heard by the men in front. She could see the dull grey of their cloaks and she knew full well that they had to be Stark men. Lannister men wore red, everyone knew that.

"Stop!" Arya roared quickly. "Stop! Come back! Lady Stark is under attack!"

She felt fortunate that the horses weren't moving as fast as they could do. Robb knew that there was no use in rushing in the dark. More men would be injured than be able to fight in battle. Arya's shouts continued to ring out until one man stopped, squinting into the darkness to see her moving towards them.

"What is it, boy?" he spoke, noting her short hair and tardy appearance.

Arya ground her teeth together. "I am Arya Stark of Winterfell and I command you to stop moving."

"We can't do that," he replied to her. "Your brother has ordered us to move through the night."

"Lady Stark and Lady Cassandra have been taken by Lannister men," Arya snapped back. "Now stop right now or I'll stab you in the stomach until I make you stop."

He looked at the little girl, noting that she had immense spirit for someone so small and young. He shouted to the rider in front of him as they continued moving. The shouts continued to ring out as Arya walked by the side of the horses with ease. It didn't take long until she heard the galloping of hooves and everyone stopped walking.

Robb moved back to his sister, sliding off his horse as he stood before her.

"Arya," he spoke, "whatever is the matter?"

"Mother and Cassandra have been taken. The guard was killed, Robb. Lannister men came and took them...I don't know where...mother told me to come here straight away. I had no choice to...I couldn't stop them..."

"Sh," Robb urged his little sister, his hand ruffling her hair as he placed his other hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing. We will find them, Arya. I promise you."

"What is it?"

The sound of Theon's voice snapped out as he caught up with Robb. He remained sat on top of his horse, looking down to the King in the North.

"Cassandra and mother have been taken."

"When?" Theon wondered, fear instantly building up within him.

"Not long ago," Arya said. "We can catch up with them! I know we can, Robb. We have to!"

"A dozen men," Theon nodded in agreement. "Send a dozen men in their direction."

"We don't know their direction," Robb counteracted. "It is dark. How are we supposed to follow the tracks they make?"

"We will find a way. They will be travelling towards Riverrun. It is where Lord Tywin is. He'll keep them hostage, won't he? They will be following the Red Fork as we speak. It is the certain way to Riverrun."

"I can't...they were behind us...they cannot have overtaken us to reach Riverrun first."

"If they crossed the Fork then they could," Theon replied quickly. "Its bends shorten the journey. They could be travelling faster than we are. We need some men to ride on the other side of the river and find them before they reach the Lannister encampment."

Robb nodded after a moment. He had to send some men to try and track them down before they reached the encampment. Once they were there then they had no hope on making it.

"I will go," Theon said. "You know I ride as well as any man."

"Aye," Robb agreed weakly. "I know you do. I will gather some of my best men...and I will..."

"You need to lead," Theon contradicted. "I will see to it that I find them. I promise you."

"You had best," Robb said, his voice deadly as Theon nodded and Robb called out for some of his men to come forwards. "Arya, you will come with me."

"But I want to go with Theon," she complained. "I want to find mother and Cass!"

"It is too dangerous, my lady," Theon informed her.

"I am no lady!" Arya snapped. "I can manage."

"This is not up for debate," Robb said, easily grabbing his sister's elbow and dragging her to his horse. He looked over to Theon once more, his nod stern before he tried to find a bridge to cross the Fork.

...

Catelyn sat down in a seat, waiting for Lord Tywin to make his presence known. Morning had broken and his encampment was stirring. It seemed the Lannister men had taken them all around the encampment before showing them to the tent where the council sat.

Cassandra sat to her mother's left, looking around as the sun broke over the horizon, making its presence known. Catelyn couldn't tell where she was. She imagined they were less than a day's ride from Riverrun. She only hoped Arya had found Robb safely.

"You need to drink, Cassandra," Catelyn told her daughter as she poured her a goblet of water which had been set on the table.

"Why?" Cassandra wondered. "I assume it is poisoned anyway."

"Then you assume incorrectly."

Both of them looked across to where Lord Tywin Lannister stood. Catelyn couldn't remember the last time she had seen Lord Tywin. She imagined it was when she was a small girl. He had aged; most of his hair had turned from gold to white on the top of his head. He wore his armour with pride and his lips were flat on his mouth.

He said nothing, moving into the tent to sit across from the two women. He took Cassandra's goblet and drank from it, proving that it was not poisoned.

"I would drink if I were you, Lady Cassandra," he urged her. "You are with child, after all. You need to keep your strength."

Catelyn poured her another goblet, handing it to her daughter as her eyes settled on the man across from her.

"Ser Stevron Frey," Catelyn said. "He told you where we were."

"He did," Tywin said, studying both of the women. He was shocked to see how much Cassandra resembled her mother. She was a Tully through and through. "You need to keep your prisoners better guarded. He seems intent on returning to the Twins and having his wife with him."

"Why?" Cassandra was the one to ask.

"His father will die shortly. Your brother has kept him locked away. Ser Stevron had been bred to rule. That he shall do. He needs an heir after. You're with child."

"Not his," Cassandra snapped.

"I had heard how you'd whored around," Tywin said, "with the hostage of Winterfell, apparently. Never mind, Ser Stevron doesn't want his siblings taking his kingdom from him when he dies. He wants an heir. He's had three wives before, none of them gave him what he wanted. You have."

"But it is not his," Cassandra said. "Everyone from Dorne to the Wall shall know of it."

"Perhaps if you kept your legs closed long enough then you would not be in this predicament," Tywin growled back.

"Did you say the same thing to your daughter?"

Cassandra regretted the words as soon as she had said them. Catelyn closed her eyes as Tywin continued to glower at her, his anger radiating through his body as soon as he had heard the girl speak to him in such a tone. Who did she think she was?

"I'd strike you here and now if you were not with child," Tywin warned her. "Make no mistake about it, girl."

"She knows," Catelyn replied. "What is it Ser Stevron offered you in return for helping him?"

"His men," Tywin said simply. "The Freys may be loyal to the Starks at the moment. As soon as they reach Riverrun then that will change. He assures me they will join the winning side...my side...and slaughter your boy and his men. He will do what his father never could."

"No," Cassandra snapped.

She had seen Stevron. He had been sorry for what his father was going to do. But he knew warfare, and he knew that Robb Stark had no chance against Tywin Lannister. The Freys fought for the winning side to keep themselves safe.

"He is no fool, that husband of yours," Tywin nodded abruptly. "He is as clever as he is calculating. He knows what to do to keep himself safe. With me having two Starks...well...what hope does Robb Stark have but to surrender? He will do it...perhaps I will spare his life if he does. I will allow him to take you back to the pile of cold shit you call home."

"My son will never surrender," Catelyn replied, her head held high. "You should know that, Lord Tywin."

"He may have won many battles," Tywin agreed. "But he is a boy, Lady Stark. He is not a seasoned warrior."

"He defeated many of your men," Catelyn replied quickly.

Tywin made to stand, looking at Lady Stark as he did so. "But I have those closest to him. His sister in King's Landing. She is to marry my son."

"Sansa," Cassandra whispered, wondering which son he could possibly mean. Surely not the Kingslayer, but not the imp. No. Sansa deserved so much more.

"Tyrion is to wed her," Tywin spoke. "Bound to the Lannisters. She will know her place. If your boy attacks then we have her to harm. Ser Stevron shall take Lady Cassandra back to the Twins. My men shall reside there for a while, making sure that she behaves herself."

"We are Starks," Catelyn hissed. "We do not threaten."

"I would not put money on that," Tywin replied, a smug look crossing his face. He stood behind his chair, his eyes glancing at both of them for one final time. "You shall stay here under guard. Count your blessings that I treat you better than you treated my son during his captivity."

Cassandra turned to look at her mother, whispering under her breath with haste;

"Even if Robb surrenders, he can go back North and amass an army again. Surely it is possible." Cassandra said.

"No," Catelyn replied. "Lord Tywin will see to that. He will have his men keep guard. Any wind of an army and you heard of what he would do to Sansa and you. Robb would not risk it. We both know that."

"Then what hope is there?" Cassandra wondered. "My lord husband intends to turn against him if he doesn't surrender. The North would be lost then."

"We can do nothing, Cass," Catelyn whispered. "We cannot escape. We can only hope that Arya has found your brother. He would do well to interrogate your dear husband. I don't know if he would suspect him of anything."

"Theon will," Cassandra said confidently. "There was a lack of Lannister men. They had come to find us purposefully...Arya will see that...and...if Stevron had an ounce of decency then he will stop this."

"Your husband may be more amicable than his father, but he is still a Frey," Catelyn said, shaking her head back and forth in annoyance. "There is nothing to do but wait."