They had made sweet, sweet love the moment they had the opportunity to. Ellaria had missed them and she had shown them exactly that. Strangely enough, their chambers in Sunspear was almost exactly the same as theirs in the Water Gardens. There was the large bed (that had to accommodate more than two, of course), wine in a beautiful decanter on the table... Sansa had noted that her husband was a man of habit. Even the wardrobes were in the same place and Sansa wondered if she would find the very same clothes inside it.

"So, how was the lady Ambassador's mission in Volantis?" Ellaria asked Sansa after Oberyn had fallen so deeply asleep that he was already snoring lightly, utterly sated.

"It was... productive," Sansa answered, playing with Ellaria's dark curls. "We gave Robb a fleet of ships, didn't we?"

Chuckling, Ellaria rolled her eyes. "Oh, I didn't mean about... work, my love," she corrected herself. "But what you saw and did..."

Sansa's eyes widened and she nodded, finally getting Ellaria's meaning. "Well, we... fell upon each other in the middle of the ship in the afternoon," she recounted. "And when we were in Lys, Oberyn brought me to the Red Lotus and... it was interesting."

"Did the whores please you as I did you?" Ellaria asked, only to discover that Sansa did not participate in Oberyn's whoring. "You went to the Red Lotus and you did not do anything?"

Sansa shook her head. "Well, I did help Oberyn choose the whores," she explained. "One of them turned out to be an assassin, so that was... really unfortunate."

"But certainly, that whore did not start trying to kill you immediately, no?" Ellaria added. "How many did you select for Oberyn then?"

"Three," Sansa returned. "Two girls from the Summer Isles and a man. I told him that I would watch him with them, and I did."

Ellaria was soon satisfied with her response. "Oh, and did you?" she inquired. Sansa always had a thirst for learning, and although she remembered that Sansa had graciously declined to participate in an orgy they were invited to in King's Landing, Sansa was always eager to learn.

"I did," Sansa said. "They did many things before one of the girls tried to kill us..." She could feel her face getting hot as she recalled what had happened. "I... saw every single thing and Oberyn... Oberyn's eye never left mine." She remembered how his eyes had beckoned her towards him, even as the whores, male or female where writhing beside and even over him. She did not know if it was some animalistic urge to show her what she had been missing out on, but she had been so drawn to him, yet something had told her to remain in her seat, to continue watching. "Oh, Ellaria, my heart was racing!"

"So you finally do understand now that he might wander, but his eyes are only for you?"

"I did not imagine it to be so... literal," Sansa replied.

"Well, it is true," Ellaria continued, giving Sansa a long, reassuring kiss. "Perhaps if you were to have sampled those whores, they would even give you back your gold..."

"Now, you're teasing me."

"Oh, am I?"

Talisa remembered telling Robb that she did not even know where Winterfell was. Robb had promptly gotten her a map of Westeros, and showed her that precise location of his homeland. He had also pointed out that the North ran from the western coast of Westeros to the eastern coast, that all lands between the Wall and the Neck. It was so large that it was larger than the other six kingdoms combined.

White, snow-capped mountains, emerald woods and vast expanses of land laid before her eyes as she stepped down the gangplank at Deepwood Motte. "Welcome to my home, Your Grace," Lord Galbert Glover said, "If it pleases you, I will have a handmaiden sworn into your service to aid you... at least until you have delivered the babe." The Northern lords knew how strong a woman their Queen was. A Volantene noble that had worked as a humble healer. She was Queen in the North, yet she wore no jewels or rich robes. She would at least be afforded the assistance of a handmaiden.

Talisa smiled. "Thank you, Lord Glover," she replied sweetly. She knew that accepting such an offer would mean that she would invest some amount of trust in him, that she would have confidence in him to help her choose a woman that would be her confidant and aide. She also knew that her husband needed all the support that he could get, but having a handmaiden would be a great decision. "I will have to speak with Robb first, though."

"By all means, Your Grace," Glover returned with a bow. "Do not hesitate to speak to my wife about it if you have come to a decision."

Talisa thanked Glover once more, and walked towards Robb who linked his arm with hers. "So, this is the North," she said to her husband.

"Aye, and you are it's Queen," Robb replied. "It will be snowing soon, by the looks of it."

"Has winter already come?" Talisa asked. The words of House Stark were "Winter is Coming", but she did not understand... it was now still autumn, was it not?

Robb chuckled. "No, but the North is so cold that we'd have summer snows," he explained. "We'll have to get you into more furs if we are to keep you warm."

"I've never seen snow before," Talisa admitted, retreating into her shawl a little bit as the sea-breeze picked up. She had grew up by the sea, but she had never experienced something as cold as that before in her life. "What is it like?"

"Cold and wet," Robb said. There was no passion in his voice when he described it. "When winter was the heaviest, the snow would be dozens of feet high and you wouldn't be able to get anywhere. Long summers mean long winters, and the previous summer had lasted for ten years. It was the longest summer in living memory."

"Would winter last as long, then?" Talisa asked.

"I can't answer that," Robb replied. "Thousands of years ago, a long winter brought the Long Night and the land was invaded by White Walkers, and all of Westeros suffered greatly. Before my father departed for King' Landing, he executed a deserter from the Night's Watch that claimed to have seen one..."

"We live in an age where dragons have returned to the world," Talisa noted. "What is to say that they are not real as well?"

Robb nodded. "That is why we have to come back here," he explained. "The wildlings... have never been organized before. There must be a reason why all of them are marching towards Castle Black. I intend to find out why." His expression was hard and set. There was nothing that could pull Robb away, particularly when he had made a choice.

Talisa knew just how much it had pained him to leave Casterly Rock, which was a strategic fortress to hold. They could have comfortably waited for the Targaryen princess and her dragons to cross the Narrow Sea and quickly gathered their armies to King's Landing. It would take too long for them to raise their banners and move south from the North. However, it was also strategically necessary to answer to the needs of the Night's Watch. The Starks had built the Wall, and for many generations, there were Starks that manned the Wall. Her half-brother-in-law, Jon, was on the Wall, fighting for his life, and she knew that Robb would do anything to help him.

Since the Lannisters and the Tyrells would never dare to strike at the Riverlands after Robb's campaign in the south, since the Martells, sworn in alliance to the Starks through the marriage of Sansa and Oberyn, have promised to guard their backs should anything happen, there was no reason for Robb not to return to the North, to ensure that the threat from the north of the Wall would not be ignored. He had already lost Winterfell once, and he would not fail his kingdom again.

Despite the fact that Yara Greyjoy had used Deepwood Motte as a base during the Ironborn occupation of the North, much of it was salvaged. Luckily, Theon's sister had more sense than the average Ironborn and had not vandalized the castle and its surroundings too much, although she had taken much of its food and supplies back to to the Iron Islands with her. Thankfully, Robb had authorized the Mormonts to dispense as much food as they could. With the help of what forces that remained in the North, the Mormonts also took the Dreadfort and Robb had redistributed its lands and assets equally to all the Northern lords, including its food stores.

"Thanks to you, Your Grace, we can at least have a good supper," Lord Glover said to Robb during their small, informal homecoming feast. "The King in the North has finally returned to his lands, and things will be right once more."

Robb thanked Lord Glover for his kind words. "You are too kind, Lord Glover," he said. "However, things won't be right if the Wall is not defended. If the Wall falls, then all of Westeros would likely fall along with it."

Throughout their voyage from Lannisport to Deepwood Motte, Talisa had made it a point to learn as much as she could about the Wall. From what she had gathered, the Wall was raised by Brandon the Builder after the end of the Long Night, either by sheer engineering ingenuity or by magic. It stood for eight thousand years, and was 300 miles long, standing 700 feet high. There were many castles along the Wall, but now, only three were garrisoned: Castle Black in its center, the Shadow Tower in the west and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea on the eastern coast of the North.

Talisa had looked at the maps, and realized that there was a vast expense of land even beyond the Wall. Robb told her that there were various human settlements there. They held no kings and honored no laws, they were Wildlings, but liked to call themselves the "Free Folk". Wildlings had been a constant threat, but they had never been organized. Reports had come out of Castle Black that a former Night's Watchman, Mance Rayder, had united the Wildling clans and claimed to be the King-Beyond-the-Wall. His rule had lasted longer than a decade, which made them even more dangerous that their ancestors, for no man was able to command them for so long.

It was a wonder to her that the Northern lords were so willing to unite under their King for such a cause. She knew that if they had been in Volantis, and if the Black Walls were the sole defense of the city, she knew that those on the inside would give everything they had to keep everyone out. They would hide within them and try to weather the storm, Tigers or Elephants alike.

"Will we be going back to Winterfell, Robb?" Arya asked Robb, bringing Talisa back to reality.

"Yes," Robb answered. "Lady Mormont has helped us to to defend Winterfell ever since I sent her up here. We must give them the chance to see their homes before we give aid to the Wall."

"I want to come with you when you leave for the Wall," Arya added. She had been well-trained by the Sand Snakes, and Robb had often sparred with her as well. Talisa knew that Arya was on her way in becoming a formidable warrior, but she also knew that Robb had no plans for his sister to go with them. She was too young to fight, nor did he have any ability to constantly guard and protect her.

"Arya, I need you to stay in Winterfell with Mother and Talisa," Robb replied, much to Arya's dismay. He knew that Arya would not like what she had just heard, but he held his youngest sister by the shoulders and looked at her directly in the eye. "I know that you can protect yourself, which is why I need you to go back home and protect them. You are no longer just Arya, the youngest Stark daughter. You are Princess Arya Stark. You will have to defend Winterfell if need be. I will have Uncle Brynden in Winterfell as well, so he can help you as best you can. No one else knows the place better than us, and that is why I want you to be there if anything happens. Your responsibility is home, Arya. I'll not take 'no' for an answer."

Responsibility. In all truth and honesty, Arya had never, ever knew the true meaning of the word in her life. Even after roaming the Riverlands for the better part of a year, Arya had never been entrusted with anything more than her own survival. She had seen so much, done so much and traveled so far, but she had never, ever once held any responsibility.

Arya looked towards her mother, and then to Talisa. "Princess, it is an honorable charge, to protect the ones you love, even if it means being left behind," Obara told her. "Our sister, Tyene, is old and able enough to join us here, but Father had her positioned in Dorne for that very reason. Each of us have our duties, and every one of them is different."

Sighing, Arya nodded. "Alright, I'll stay in Winterfell," she acquiesced. "But... I won't have to wear dresses if I don't want to, right?"

Talisa, Nymeria and Obara all broke into little chuckles at her strange request of her brother, who smiled widely at her. "You can do everything you want to do, as long as you keep by your promise and your duties," Robb told her, after giving a firm nod to their mother. It was a sly ploy, really. Arya knew that their mother would do everything for things to return to normalcy, but wandering through the Riverlands as a boy had rendered her detest for dresses complete.

"Your Grace, we have news," said a representative from House Manderly, whose seat was at White Harbor.

"Speak," Robb told the Manderly representative.

"Stannis Baratheon also has designs to come North," he said. "Much of his fleet had been destroyed during the Battle of Blackwater Bay, but he was sighted in Braavos, trying to negotiate with the Iron Bank for money to pay for sellsails to augment his numbers."

Robb frowned. "House Manderly could not have come by such information from White Harbor," he surmised. "Did you receive this information from the Spider or the Martells?"

The representative bowed his head. "It was the Spider, Your Grace," he answered truthfully.

"How many men does he have?" Catelyn asked the representative.

"Four thousand of his own, Lady Stark," came the answer. "But he has also contracted a Lyseni sailsail to his ranks..."

Robb thanked the representative once his report had been completed. "Tell Lord Manderly to keep a firm eye on the Narrow Sea," he reminded the man. "I want to know Stannis' every move."

"Yes, Your Grace," the representative said, and retreated back to the tables.

When he had left, Robb buried his head in his hands. "If Stannis Baratheon comes, he will not let the North go unless we bend the knee to him," he surmised. "He knows no mercy, and we will have to fight him after we're done with the Wildlings." The Volantene fleet would leave for Volantis after they had restocked and resupplied. Passage back to the North had been Triach Maegyr's wedding gift to him from Volantis, and they would not endanger their own for the wars in Westeros.

Catelyn nodded. "Agreed," she said. "He expects himself to be King of Westeros, and resents us for our claim to independence." She had met with Stannis before Renly was killed by whatever means, she knew that Stannis was unwilling to join forces with either Renly or even Robb, wanting Westeros for himself and only himself. He saw it as his right, being the only legal heir to his late brother, Robert. He sought to return Westeros to what it had been before, to seat order and restore it from the pieces that it had shattered into. His cause had been somewhat noble, but his cause would fail, given the state of things.

"Let him come," Robb said. When he had started his campaign, he thought to have supported Stannis' claim, like his father did. However, when it was made known that Stannis did not appreciate the North's independence, Robb knew that he would be just another enemy. It was not his decision to be the King in the North, it was the love and support of the Northern lords that granted him such an office. He would lose their support of he did not accept it. "He does not know the North as we do. Let him come and perhaps help us take out the Wildlings, but he will fail to fell us in our own home."

That very night, after the dinner and drinks had been finished, when the women had gone to sleep, Robb and the Northern lords conferred in a great war-council. There, they decided what they should do, the specifics of their campaign against the Wildlings and Stannis Baratheon.

Some of the lords were of the opinion that they had time, for Stannis would have to prepare for the long journey from Dragonstone, after just having returned from Braavos. Others said that they should double the defenses of the coast, including White Harbor and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Robb reconciled both opinions and ordered that men should be sent to the coast, to garrison any defensible position should Stannis land with any intent on taking the North.

In the morning, each Northern lord returned to their own keeps. They had made a promise to meet him at Castle Black after two turns of the moon, once they had resupplied and been with their families. It was a small gesture of thanks he had given to them, knowing that two months was precious time in a war when their enemies were closing in around them. He knew that it was time that they had needed, for their nigh two years by his side.

In two months, they would march towards the Wall and they would defend it with their lives if need be. If Robb could pull this stunt off, he knew that his claim over the North would be stronger than ever. He already knew from experience that a King needed not only the support of his bannermen, but also the smallfolk. If he was able to stop the Wildlings from climbing over the Wall to pillage and burn, he knew that there would be unequivocal support for him. It was only then would the North's claim to independence stand against anyone who did claim the Iron Throne, be it Stannis Baratheon or Daenerys Targaryen.

HAN: Oooo, things are heating up in the icy North, no?

I like to think that Robb is actually, very, very good in capturing the hearts of his people, for the sole reason that he values justice and honor. He might have been useless at politics in canon (book or TV), but I believe that he would have gained some political acumen if he actually did survive for longer. Besides, he has Talisa, who did have SOME experience dealing with other nobles from her years in Volantis, heh heh.

Arya's path is also very different. She might not be a Faceless Man/Woman now, but, trust me, she will find a way to get what she wants, hopefully.

Enjoy!