2nd Month of 300 A.C. The Twins

Lord Robb Stark

His mind was plagued with visions of death and destruction. He had killed many men during the war, and he knew that before he could finally have peace there would be more blood on his hands. If he were being honest with himself, Robb knew he did not know how he truly felt about all of that. Was it better to kill men in battle, as his father would do, and risk making more children orphans, or was it better to kill the commanders at a feast, where there was still hope for the innocents. He did not know, and that uncertainty gnawed away at him.

As the Stark, he could not show any of this uncertainty, doing so would only bring risk upon himself and those he cared about, and so as he looked around the solar of the twins, he rubbed his cheek where his beard sat comfortably. "What word has come from Ser Theodan?"

Dacey, ever steadfast and loyal responds. "It seems the knight has spoken to King Tommen Baratheon, and their conversation went well. There was much and more discussed during their conversation, and it seems that over all the Baratheon king was receptive to the terms outlined and the things discussed."

"Good, that is very good. Does Theodan say what it is the king wishes in return?" Robb asks.

Dacey is silent a moment and then replies. "I believe that King Tommen wishes for you to come to King's Landing in person to formally swear allegiance to him and the Iron Throne."

"A smart move that," Robb muses. "This king is not his brother, no man shall make a true fool out of him. I can respect that. Very well, I believe the time to move from the shadows has finally presented itself."

There is a murmur at that, and then Lord Axell Glenmore speaks up. "Forgive me sire, but if I might be so bold as to ask, why are you so willing to bend the knee? Did you not spend two years fighting the boy on the Iron Throne, and did you not bring the north its freedom after years of false bondage? Why then are you so willing to place us back into such a thing?"

Robb looks at Glenmore and responds. "I can appreciate your concerns my lord. But I must respond by saying, this thing I am contemplating is not putting us into bondage, the dragons are dead, we are amongst equals, and this King is not his brother. We can achieve fairer terms under King Tommen than we ever could under his brother or any dragon. Besides, this king wishes to marry my sister, the Lady Sansa, that is a marriage we can use to our advantage."

"You mean, that you can use to your advantage my lord." Ser Garth Locke says. "After all, it is the Starks who shall benefit from the marriage, as they would have done had Lady Sansa married the ill born."

Robb feels anger boil inside of him then, but manages to suppress it. "I resent that accusation Ser Garth. I am not my father, I know how to play the dance that these southrons are so fond of playing. Yes the north is in trouble now, but simply becoming independent again would not solve the troubles we face. The Ironborn have ravaged us, and there is infighting within our lands. Only by allying with the Iron Throne and swearing fealty can we ensure that we benefit the most. We have many raw materials within the land that have not been used. My forebearers were very lax when it came to such things, I do not intend to be so lax. It is time the north showed just how powerful she is. And it is time we ensured we had a presence at court."

There is a long moment of silence and then another voice rings out. "How can you be so sure that we shall get the benefits you speak of sire? After all, Tywin Lannister is still alive, and so long as that old man breathes, you can be sure that the young king will find himself stuck to do anything."

"A valid point, and one I am glad you have raised." Robb responds calmly. "I do believe that the best way to ensure Tywin Lannister's power is negated, is to throw him off course. Right now he believes that I am dead, that the north is broken, as you all know that is not the case, it is time to show that we are alive and well. It is time Tywin Lannister found his power questioned. After all, I have done more to ensure the security of the riverlands than he ever could have. It is time we saw there was more to us than just being good at war."

"And what of the north Sire?" Glenmore asks. "The north is bleeding, she is being plundered by Ironborn and by Bolton and Karstark and Baratheon. What will you do there? Will you allow her to continue to be abused? Or will you raise the standard and fight?"

All eyes are upon him now, and Robb feels some of the old nerves come back to him, but he pushes them down. He is not a child anymore, he has been a king and has killed. He is a man. "I will bring fire and blood to those who dare hurt her. The north is our home, and it is time she was freed from the throes of those greedy shits who would break her. When I am done in the south, I shall ride forth with more men than any of the pretenders could believe possible and destroy them."

"And until that time?"

Robb grins. "Why, I have a marriage to arrange. For a lord must have an heir, and I must ensure that my enemies are thrown off of the course for as long as possible."

Meeren

Prince Quentyn Martell

His father had given him an important task, to woo and wed Queen Daenaerys, and to ensure that she came to Dorne with her army. It was time for revenge, the time for waiting was over, and as such Quentyn knew that he had an important role to play. And yet he felt as unsuited to this as he had felt for almost everything else within his life. He did not know how to woo a woman who was the most beautiful one in the world. It seemed almost impossible to do that, and the fact that she was already married made things all the worse. Gods alone knew where and when he would get the chance to do anything about it. It frustrated him, and the fact his companions were so determined to make it harder for him, well that was just his lot in life.

"Why are you so damned determined to woo her Quent?" Gerris asks. "You've seen what she's got here, she blew you off the moment you entered the throne room. There's no point in trying again, she's too shallow to realise any benefit in what you propose."

If it had been you making the proposal, no doubt she would have jumped at the opportunity, just as all the other girls do. Quentyn thinks bitterly. He takes a moment to reply, and when he does, he hears the same boring words coming out of his mouth, the words he has used to convince himself that his father has not just sent him here to die. "Because, this is what the Prince of Dorne has asked of me, and this is what is needed to ensure that we have justice for the wrongs done to us."

Gerris laughs then. "Surely you cannot believe that Quent? We both know that your uncle is in King's Landing, no doubt determined to get something or the other from King's Landing, and then there is the fact that your brother is betrothed to Princess Myrcella, what is there to say your father has not merely decided to use you as bait?"

Quentyn looks at his friend, anger rising inside of him, he knows that perhaps he should not be falling for the same old tricks, but he has increasingly been thinking this himself. "I do not know. But my father, is my father, why would he want to give me up for slaughter?"

Gerris snorts, and Cletus speaks then. "You are not being serious are you Quent? The man sent you to foster in Yronwood when you but a babe, he has not spoken you in nigh on six years before he suddenly summoned you to speak about this mission. A mission which is nigh impossible, and the fact that he mentioned some pact that this woman did not even know of, well I think it is damn near impossible that he is being serious about it. Something else is going on here Quent."

Quentyn looks at his foster brother and asks. "And just what might that be? What other games could my father be playing?"

"Who knows what games the Prince of Dorne is playing? His brother has done more for the Dornish people than he ever has, it was Prince Oberyn who brought Princess Elia and her children's bones home, and it was he who made the damned pact with the Targaryen bitch's brother. Who knows what Doran Martell is doing, or what he intends to do. What I think is that Arianne is involved in this." Gerris says.

Quentyn wants to issue a denial, he wants to defend his sister, but how do you defend someone you do not even know? "I…I…why? We are family, and family does not turn on one another."

Cletus snorts. "Maybe in House Yronwood Quent, but in the Martell family, well you know as well as I do, the disagreements between your father and uncle that led to this situation, as well as the arguments between your grandmother and great uncle. House Martell has not been united for many a generation, it would not surprise me if the father has chosen the daughter over you. He always did have a soft spot for Arianne."

Quentyn runs a hand through his hair, and sighs. "What would you have me do? I cannot fail my father, and I will not leave here until I get confirmation that the Queen is indeed leaving for Westeros. Until then, what am I supposed to do?"

A long silence falls between the three friends then, interrupted only by the odd sound of crying and yelling, not a strange thing for Meeren, there is something about this damned city that is so unnerving to Quentyn, something within his bones that cries out against it. He despises this place, just as he is growing to despise the Queen, who continues to reject his proposals and his advances, it is because he is not that sellsword, or Gerris or even Cletus, he is not the best looking of people and therefore he is not getting an ear to speak to. He could hate the Queen for that, he could hate her a lot. He misses Gwen, and the way she would laugh and look at him as if he were the only person who mattered in the world. For the time he was with her, he never felt inconsequential, as if he were something instead of nothing. He might never get to see her again, not with the way this is going, and he could curse his father for that. It is he who breaks the silence. "Enough of this waiting around. I shall not allow this woman to ignore me any longer. I shall prove to her that I am more than she deserves, I am better than her, I am a Prince of Dorne and I will make her listen to me."

"How will you do that Quent?" Cletus asks.

Quentyn looks at his friend then and says. "I shall take the thing she holds most dear and use it against her. Her children and her lover. Let her watch as they are turned against her. Send for my cousin, it is time she was used for good."