Firstly, I'd like to apologize about typos, misspellings and grammar mistakes you've found in the story. I've received a few comments about it (they don't offend me, since they have been quite respectful and not 'flames' or anything like that) But as much as I have tried to keep them to a minimum, I haven't been able to make them disappear and no one but me proofreads the chapters.

Secondly, thank you! I never imagined this story would be so well-liked. And for those who asked for another interlude, next chapter we'll see a bit of what's happening in KL.

Chapter 19 : A Bear and A Kraken

The joy of finally having her son in her arms, of meeting him face to face, and see him happily wiggling his arms and legs was so overwhelming, Daenerys had difficulty with only averting her eyes from him. There were many fears in her heart after the loss of her first child, and even if Robb calmed her, she couldn't stop her mind from wondering about what would happen when he returned to the South.

"What are we going to do?" Robb asked as he went over the books Bran had kept up to date while he was away, fulfilling his role as lord. Still, Robb had to make sure to correct mistakes and provide advice now that he was the head of their house.

"About?" Dany asked as she smiled at Iagan when he pulled a face. Babes were the most fascinating creatures and they couldn't even speak, they just slept most of the day and cried when upset.

Sighing loudly enough to call her attention, Robb pressed his lips in a tight line. "You locked Theon in a cell and released the Kingslayer." He rubbed his chin, the sound of the coarse hairs of his beard against his hand bothering her. "There are many things we need to discuss."

"Bran is the Lord of Winterfell. He ordered for Theon to be put into that cell." Daenerys huffed, rocking the baby gently in her arms, beckoning sleep for him.

"Under your advice," he hissed but soon his expression softened. "I'm not accusing you of anything. You must have had your reasons for that."

"Ironborn don't spill the blood of ironborn," she muttered. "He wouldn't have been of help and… I feared he would turn against us." Her bright eyes met his for a while, and it felt as if they were having a wordless conversation. "As hard as he tries, he is not a Stark."

"Dany," Robb called, closing the book, moving closer and crouching before her.

"You are my family. And I love Rickon and Bran – I want to meet your sisters and say the same about them." She snorted a watery laugh as she blinked away her tears. "I wish your mother liked me better but I admire her and her strength. You're my only family."

He smiled. It was soft and it made him look younger; he was not the bloodthirsty warlord when he smiled at her like that. Cupping her face in one hand, he said, "I love you. But is this worth more for you than the Iron Throne? Is it worth a war? I just want my sisters back but… now it's not just about them. When I got into this, I was a boy and I didn't know what it meant. And now I'm winning battle after battle but I don't get any closer to my goal."

"Soon," Dany whispered. "Just wait and I know you'll win. Everything. You'll avenge your father's death and your sisters' abduction."

"And the throne?"

"You can do with it as you wish because you will be the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms. Legends will be told from fathers to sons, from mothers to daughters about the King in the North who conquered Westeros as if he had lived in the Age of Heroes. You will be a hero, and your son will look up to you and be proud, just like I am when I look at you."

Robb stared at his son in his wife's arms. The peaceful look in his small face was the one he wished to keep. He was the future for his house and that meant everything for the King in the North. He was just adding reasons to fight harder, to prove everyone he was stronger than they thought. He was not just a rebel; he was not the son of a traitor.

"Don't you want it for yourself?"

"I have more than a crown now," she replied firmly. "But when you get it, when you reach the Iron Throne, if you wish, we will rule together."

"So you do want to be queen," Robb smirked at her, playfully because he knew her and she enjoyed their talks as much as he did. She was glad to see proof that he still was the man with good humor and not just the King, the Wolf whose teeth and claws shone under the moontlight with fury.

"Neither of us would be a good ruler without the other."

"I know."

Yes, they knew that now, but did anyone else realize? They might have been too young and inexperienced, but together they were more than everyone else.

"And about the Kingslayer," she interjected as Robb's eyes followed Iagan every move. "Make him part of my personal guard."

"What?" he hissed, face crumpling into an expression of anger and disbelief. "Are you mad? He killed your father. He must hold a grudge against you and your family and, you want him near?"

She sighed, reaching for his beard covered cheek and smoothing it with her fingers. "It's the only way we can keep an eye on him. Keeping him in a cell will only fuel his hatred toward us. He'll try to escape and that will make him more dangerous to us."

"If he hurts you," he growled, letting the threat hang in the air.

"He won't."

"How do you know that?" He stood straight, tall and handsome. She wished there was an artist who could see his gorgeous image with this imposing figure. He would rule Westeros, Dany knew it. "You haven't been wrong so far but… how can I be sure when there's no proof? You're asking for too much."

She nodded. "Do you know who I thought should love me more than anyone when I was a child?"

He looked at her, just stared because he was a smart man and knew when to keep his mouth shut. He just happened to forget when to keep his heart and mind away from one another; he tended to mix them and take decisions too quickly. Robb was hot-blooded. The wolf blood, even if it was under the rigid control of his manners.

"Viserys wasn't the nicest man, not even to me. But I loved him… and I hated him at the same time." His gaze softened on her. His blue eyes sparkled with kindness. "But he taught me many things. He made me stronger."

"Dany."

"He won't kill me or betray me."

"You can't be sure about that."

An eerie smile took place in her features. "Think about Tywin Lannister finding out his beloved son is under the service of his enemy. And think about offering the Kingslayer a deal: he keeps me safe and you keep his kin safe… or at least give them a chance to surrender."

"Destroy them from within," Robb murmured.

"Yes. We'll take them apart and weaken them. It'll make things easier for us."

He seemed to consider it but soon shook his head. "No. It's too dangerous."

"Dacey will be with me and you know her. She won't doubt to cut his throat open if he even dares to come near me to hurt me." She took a deep breath, her chest filling with the warm air in her chambers. "Trust me."

"I do. You know that. As hard as it was to do so in the beginning, you've earned my trust."

"So?"

He scoffed. "If he even looks at you in a way you don't approve, a way I don't approve, Dacey is allowed to punish him as she deems necessary."

Dany giggled. "She'll love to hear that."

Robb smiled but soon his expression turned sour. "And talking about guards and confidants, there's someone who you need to meet."

-o-

When she saw Jorah for the first time in about a year, Daenerys didn't know what to do.

The man looked older but with the same qualities of strength and kindness she had seen in him despite his not so handsome features. Somehow she noticed how he just fit in the North, that she could see how he had been raised in these lands.

She smiled and approached him.

"It took you a long time to come and find me."

Looking at his feet, as if he were ashamed or hiding something, he said, "I apologize, Khaleesi."

"I'm not a khaleesi anymore," she babbled as she toyed with her dress, so different from the ones she wore in Essos; they were made of heavier fabrics and covered much more of her body, but she felt more exposed than she had done at the time.

"Queen in the North?"

She met his gaze and smiled as she nodded. "I have a family and a son, as I should have had."

His eyes darkened with spite and she sensed it, she was almost afraid of his reaction because he had never hidden his dislike for Eddard Stark and it seemed he wasn't about to start now. "They were using you. I thought you were going to get the throne through them."

"Things change."

"Do they? Do a babe and a pretty boy change the past, what Ned Stark and the Usurper did?" His words were full of venom, as if he were waiting for her to open her eyes and see his truth. He forgot she was different from her brother. Being a queen wasn't what she had always wanted; it had filled the emptiness she had felt and now, it was being filled slowly with Iagan, Robb and the North.

She pressed her lips in a tight line and felt the fire burning inside her. She felt furious at him for looking down at her new life. "Watch your words. It's my husband and family you're talking about."

"But you are so much more, Khaleesi." Jorah begged and it forced her to remember what her life was when she wandered around Essos. "You must be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and sit in the Iron Throne like your father did before you."

"I'm not my father! Or my mother," she whispered. "I appreciate your friendship and guidance but you have no right to question my decisions," she hissed.

At that moment, his demeanor changed as if he had covered all his emotions with a mask. "Your Grace," he conceded as if she were a young child throwing a tantrum. He was being patronizing. "You know I always want the best for you. It's not different now. I offer you my services as before."

"No."

Daenerys' eyes widened as Robb's shape appeared suddenly in the room. He had been so stealthy, she had not heard him coming. And his words were firm; an order, not a suggestion.

"You will come with me, South, where you will serve your queen by keeping me safe," Robb spoke to Jorah but his eyes were trained on Dany. She knew there were many reasons behind his decision but he hadn't made them clear to her.

"We could use him here, now that you will leave again-"

"Dany," Robb called curtly as Jorah set his jaw, biting back a comment.

She felt as if the air in the room had grown thick with tension, as if she could suffocate with it.

"You will keep him safe, won't you?" Dany asked Jorah with a smile as she reached for his hand, the skin leathery thanks to the years, the work and the blazing sun across the Narrow Sea. "For me. For my son."

Jorah's eyes turned soft on her. Since the moment she had met him, she felt safe when he was near, but now she couldn't help the aversion she felt towards his actions; and by the way Robb's shoulders were squared, and the tension on his body, she knew he wasn't fond of the idea of having Jorah around them. So why had he kept him alive? Jorah had told her about his death sentence but Robb hadn't executed him. At least not yet.

"I will, Your Grace. I won't disappoint you."

"Now that it's settled, leave us," Robb said in a voice colder than usual, like iron cutting through flesh. "I need to talk to my wife," he stressed, his blue eyes shining with something akin to defiance and smugness.

Dany waited until Jorah had left and then some more, so he couldn't listen to her voice when she demanded answers from Robb. "Tell me, why are you behaving like this around him?" Robb shook his head dismissively. "Robb!" she demanded and the fury in his eyes was quite close to make her recoil.

He curled his fingers around her wrist and pulled her to him violently, almost hurting her. It was the first time she was afraid of him but it all vanished when he pressed his forehead against hers and his other hand caressed the side of her face.

"You can't see it, can you?" he hissed through his teeth, frustration and pain dripping from his words. "He loves you and you cannot see it." His hold tightened but he placed a kiss on the space between her eyebrows, softly like the flap of a butterfly's wing against her skin.

The jealousy he felt, the anger against the fear of losing her, was almost endearing.

"I only see you." Dany wound her arms around his middle and placed the side of her face against his shoulder, waiting for that warm embrace he soon provided. "My King."

"My Queen," he murmured before his fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her head back to kiss her lips sweetly at the beginning but growing more and more insistent until he couldn't resist the lack of air.

She wondered if they would be like this forever, if when he became a powerful man, he still would want her and only her. Jealousy also coursed through her veins as the thought of him bedding other women came to mind. She knew temptation would always be lying in waiting but she didn't know what she would do if, or when, he fell in another woman's bed. Even Ned Stark had yield to desire and he had been the Quiet Wolf.

-o-

Theon was released not long after Robb had finished a quick overview of the things around Winterfell and the North. Robb had agreed to let some of his men stationed there to protect the lands in case Balon Greyjoy decided he hadn't done enough with his last attack.

Dany made clear that she believed they would probably wait a long time before they tried again, and Maester Luwin agreed. The ironborn would wait to gather strength and also come up with a better strategy. Also, they could make their way to Lannisport or Casterly Rock to plunder the lands since Tywin had left his seat, which meant Robb could meet them again but in other places.

"And if not, after the war ends I'll go to his islands," Robb warned as he took a bite of his meat, eyeing Theon who only clenched his jaw. "Would you fight against them then?"

Dany could feel the tension in the air and was immensely happy that Rickon was such a wild and innocent child, because he only grinned at her from his seat, his mouth full of food. She stifled a giggle as Theon and Robb stared at each other.

"One day you'll have to choose a side and stick to it." Robb lifted his goblet with wine and drank from it, almost behaving like a petulant man. But Dany knew that his harsh words were caused by the hurt of betrayal.

"I didn't fight with them. I wasn't against you."

Robb slammed his cup against the table and the room was filled with silence.

"Doing nothing is being against me!" Robb snarled. "You were going to let my family at the hands of our enemies."

"You of all people should understand. They are my people."

"Your people?" Robb leaned back in his chair, chest puffing with something akin to a subdued fury, a flicker of light just about to start a fire. "Your father gave you away. He never tried to get you back."

Theon almost trembled with the anger inside him but kept his mouth closed unlike many other times. And that's how Daenerys realized he truly cared about Robb, but she couldn't stop her husband before he said something he could regret without disrespecting him in front of everyone.

"You said you were my brother and then, when my wife and son need you, when my brothers need you, you do nothing."

"Ironborn don't spill the blood of ironborn," Theon murmured, swallowing hard. His eyes met Dany's and she felt sorry for him because she too had been an outcast once.

"My brother is not an ironborn," Robb spat. "You claimed to be my brother."

"But I'm not and your wife is right."

"So you are taking back your promise? You're no longer loyal to me like you swore you'd be until your death?"

"You don't want me to serve you…"

"You are my brother! My friend and if I cannot trust in you then, who can I trust?!" Robb roared. "It's a wound that will need a long time to heal. But let it rot if you're not willing to keep your word." He took a calming breath and leaned on his elbows over the table. "You'll come with me when I leave."

"But you sent me to keep an eye on your wife." Theon looked at her and she felt pain and guilt when Robb confessed his next steps.

"No. The Kingslayer will take that place. One oath breaker for another."