Thank you for all those wonderful reviews - and not only your comments about what I've written but your own opinions about what should happen. You seriously make me think about the possibilities.
I think this is a chapter that mixes a lot of things but most importantly, it shows how Robb grows and becomes a man. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 11 : Howling
News arrived in the morning making victory taste bitter for everyone. Daenerys couldn't comprehend why it had happened like this, why after having so much hope with Robb's first win, everything had been ruined by the murder of Eddard Stark in King's Landing.
She had never met the man but she felt her heart being squeezed by claws inside her chest as soon as Theon told her. It was difficult for her since she knew Robb loved and admired his father with all his being, and he hoped to save him and have his family reunited in Winterfell soon.
By the time she made it out of the tent where she and Irri were feeding the dragons, she saw Lady Catelyn walking through the camp and men bowing to her to express their grief. The woman looked tall and composed, so much that Dany was reminded of her own mask, the one she wore to hide her pain away. In that moment, she admired Robb's mother.
Catelyn Stark was a strong lady and she knew she couldn't look weak before her people.
As soon as she took a deep and encouraging breath, Dany decided to follow Catelyn and express her condolences – without Eddard Stark she would have never met Robb nor come to Westeros. And now she was carrying the man's first grandchild.
Her hands fell upon her stomach and she hurried to the tall woman who was already reaching the woods.
It was only when she heard her sniffling silently that Dany decided to slow her pace and give the woman a chance to grief without feeling guilty.
In the background, the sound of metal cutting through the air could be heard.
Soon she watched the love and strength mothers had when treating with their children, while comforting them.
Dany was careful not to interrupt them, to not startle Robb as he angrily swung his sword against a tree, more likely than not wishing it was one of his enemies. Her heart beat faster and her stomach felt in knots as she saw him crying. He had always kept his face straight and his hand steady but now he broke down.
There was also pain in her because he hadn't come to her in look for comfort.
"I'll kill them all. Every one of them. I'll kill them all," he swore as his mother held him in her arms, like the child he no longer was. The last tie to childhood had now been severed.
And a few feet away, Dany couldn't help to agree with him and that she would do anything to help him keep that promise, that together they would be the downfall of their enemies because something inside her told her he would do the same for her.
"My boy, they have your sisters. We have to get the girls back... and then we will kill them all," Catelyn replied, gently stroking his hair and letting him bury his face in her shoulder while he sobbed. Once again, she was protecting her child, not letting his men see him weak.
But his instinct always found her, and so Robb lifted his head enough to see her. He pulled back from his mother's comforting arms and tried to regain control over his emotions and ignore the tears marring his handsome face.
Lady Catelyn soon turned to her, as well.
"I'm… sorry," Dany muttered softly, approaching them. "I really am," she muttered, feeling awkward and out of place. She had never been nurtured to know how to comfort them, how to tell them how awful she felt for their loss.
Viserys thought he owned the world and that no one deserved his pity, while she thought she wished to help people who had suffered like them. They never reached a consensus and so she never knew how to help others despite feeling the pull each time she saw someone hurting.
Lady Catelyn bowed her head, accepting her vague words.
"I'll do anything you need me to." She swallowed hard as her eyes locked with Robb's reddened ones. "I want to help," she admitted meekly.
Robb kept his blue gaze on her as he spoke in a voice void of emotion. "Mother, there's something you must know."
Panic invaded Daenerys. She didn't believe this was the right moment to inform his mother about their child, not when her beloved husband had just died. Apparently Robb thought differently. Or perhaps he needed now more than ever, more reasons why not to crumble and let the pain consume him.
"Robb," Dany pled. "Don't. Not now, please."
But he clenched his jaw and decided not to listen to her. "Dany is with child."
His mother wide eyes fell upon her and soon surprise turned into the warm gaze of a loving mother she had never had.
"I'm sorry," Daenerys apologized, covering her belly with both hands and ducking her head as she felt tears prickling her eyes. "I'm sorry," she repeated before she felt gloved hands cradling her face and soon she met Catelyn's eyes, full of love.
"My child," the older woman uttered softly. "We need hope in any form. Don't apologize for the gift the Gods have given us." She planted a hand over hers on her stomach. "This makes us stronger. This gives us a future, hope."
Dany nodded. "We'll get your daughters back and we will kill them all. We will."
Lady Catelyn nodded before silently retreating to the camp, leaving the young couple alone, embracing each other for comfort and strength.
-o-
After the devastating news of Eddard Stark's death, there was a dire need to organize the army against the so-called King Joffrey. Robb and his bannermen needed to have a plan for how to face their enemy – while sorrow and fury fueled their strength to fight.
Dany, as it had become usual, sat next to Robb wearing her hooded cloak. It hadn't taken much time to notice it was better to hide those traits that reminded her husband's men of her blood, because not many believed she was completely devoted to the cause that drove them to war.
Lord Jonos from house Bracken suggested they allied with Renly Baratheon and joined forces to fight against the Usurper's child.
As he spoke, she wanted to tell him how wrong his ideas were but she refrained herself from doing so due the respect she had for Robb. Meanwhile, the Lord of Winterfell kept his gloved hands covering hers on her lap as if he knew about the thoughts in her head.
"Renly is not the king," Robb replied loudly and with severity.
"You cannot mean to hold to Joffrey, my lord. He put your father to death!" Galbart Glover said in outrage.
Dany was surprised of how serene Robb looked as he addressed his banners. "That doesn't make Renly king. He's Robert's younger brother. Now Bran cannot be Lord of Winterfell before me, Renly cannot be king before Stannis."
"Do you mean to declare us with Stannis?"
"Renly is not right!" Lord Karstark argued.
It was only then that Greatjon Umber stood up, a giant amongst his peers. Despite knowing the man's dislike for her father, Dany saw something in the lord that made her trust him – he was one of the most loyal men Robb had and the one who spoke the loudest.
"Here's what I say to these two kings." He spat furiously on the ground and cheers were heard. "Renly Baratheon is nothing to me, nor Stannis neither. Why should they rule over me and mine from some flowery seat in the south? What do they know of the Wall or the Wolfswood? Even their gods are wrong." People laughed as they agreed. "Why shouldn't we rule ourselves again? It was the dragons we bowed to and now the dragons are ours."
The gaze of many fell upon her in an almost accusatory fashion but also testing her. She held the Lord of the Last Hearth's stare and knew that from then on, she was vowing to be loyal to not only the Starks by marriage but to the North as well.
Greatjon drew his sword and pointed it at Robb. "There sits the only King I mean to bend my knee to. The King in the North!" he stated and then knelt before Robb.
Knowing plenty of the history of not only her house but of those who were part of the Seven Kingdoms, Dany was aware that the title hadn't been used by the Starks since Aegon the Conqueror. It was more than declaring war to Joffrey – the northerners were declaring their independence.
Robb seemed taken aback but as if he was prepared for it. He slowly stood up, looking bigger and fearsome. A true ruler had been born and the child was no more.
Another man stood up and told that he would only accept peace under those terms. That the Iron Throne and the Red Keep weren't their interest but Dany couldn't hear him. She only had eyes for her Wolf, the one man who seemed to rise for the challenge and she was proud to be his in return.
Theon stood up as well. "Am I your brother, now and always?" he asked, hoping like always to be part of the family that had raised him, that had welcome him despite the dispute Eddard Stark had had with Lord Balon Greyjoy during their own rebellion.
"Now and always," Robb replied, meaning every word because he did not lie about family.
"My sword is yours, in victory and defeat, from this day until my last day." Theon drew his own sword and knelt next to the other men.
Without him noticing it, Daenerys was soon on her feet, pushing back the hood covering her platinum hair. "You have been my king from the moment you claimed me," she spoke while everyone else kept quiet. "I answer to no other. You're my husband, my king, the father of my child. The dragon bows to you, King in the North."
Like she had grown used to, his eyes softened when they found hers.
"King in the North!" Lords and everyone around them clamored, drawing swords and promising their loyalty to him.
Pride ran through her veins and Dany was happy and honored to have Robb's heir safely growing in her womb. She knew together they were more powerful than they could imagine and their child would be even bigger than they were.
-o-
Laughing gleefully, Daenerys petted Grey Wind's fur. In a matter of months the direwolf had grown terribly, becoming a beast most men feared. But she couldn't forget the image of the small pup that played with her and it seemed like he couldn't either.
It was said that Robb's wolf alone had murdered more men than one soldier with a sword. And rumors among the troops said that the animal had grown thanks to the blood from his victims, feeding from fear and flesh.
Near them, Rhaegal whined in a low growl and Drogon followed him. Both of her dragons had grown too and they were already learning to use their fire as a weapon as well as to cook their food. By now they were the size of Grey Wind when she had first met him.
"Oh, stop it you two," she scolded playfully as she brushed back the fur that covered Grey Wind's snout and the top of his head. "You are spoiled plenty."
At that moment the tent entrance opened to let in Robb; he looked serious and tired.
"You think they'll talk back?" he asked as they were left alone by the guards.
"Maybe one day," she quipped and saw him discarding his gloves and taking his cloak off. "Robb?"
Turning to her, she saw the tension on his body, the weight of his decisions and his new title of King.
She stood up and approached him. "Are you all right?"
And with that he breathed out a long breath as his eyes closed. "Better. Is it awful of me to be out of grief and full of vengeance?" he muttered quietly. Her hands cradled his face and she rose on tiptoes to press a sweet and lengthy kiss to his mouth.
"That's grief, my Wolf. That's our grief but you'll get your revenge and we'll rest. Our family will rest."
Dany felt comforted when his arms wrapped around her body and he pulled her closer to him. Since his father's death, he had become distant and he had stopped his playful nature from showing – she missed it. He had become a bright light in her life.
"I've been missing your warmth, Dany," he whispered into her mouth. "My heart is turning into stone to stop from hurting but you, you are the only reason I have to make it beat."
"Robb," she pled and clung to him. "You'll always have me. Our enemies will tremble at the sound of the Wolf howling, growling, but I know that's the Wolf who keeps me warm and safe. They will fear you at first sight but I'll pet your fur when you need comfort. I'll mend your wounds and breathe fire if you need heat."
A small smile grew on his face. "My sweet dragon, people should fear you the most because it is you who has made a wolf out of this pup."
"Will you lay with me tonight?" Dany asked, smiling at him as he sunk his finger in her hair, kissing her forehead.
Robb looked around the tent, seeing Grey Wind curled near the entrance of the tent and Dany's dragons next to the direwolf proving him heat. Daenerys chuckled at the sight with him.
"You think it is an omen?"
"I think we were," Robb replied before taking her mouth to kiss her thoroughly as his hands rumpled her skirts quickly around her waist, making a mess of her clothes in his haste to get her naked. And once she was exposed to him, his eyes were trained on her protruding belly, growing each day.
He kissed her stomach and soon found her eyes. "You always knew, did you not?"
"You're my King," Dany replied and watched him undress before her.
There was a smile on his face. "You're my Queen. My Dragon. My wife. And we will get our revenge."
"We will. We will watch them burn."