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Face Claim for Queen Sanira: Caitlin Stasey.

Chapter Three: Peace and Terms.

"They've taken the bait," Stevron announced stepping into the chamber, he had been worried that his letter to King's Landing might have been discovered to be a fake; he had lied, and he was sure that they had been fouled by it. There were no signs of Tywin or his army approaching the Riverlands and for now it seemed like they had the advantage; he glanced nervously at Robb who had been staring at Stannis. Neither King spoke surprised that they had made to convincing everyone South that the slaughter at the wedding had been a success; now they needed to use their element of surprise to their advantage.

"Thank you, Lord Frey," Robb replied leaning back in his seat, it still surprised him that Stevron had turned on his father like that, he had aided in fighting back the Bolton army and those who had betrayed him. There was no ignoring the fact that he owed his life to others, and it was not just his life; Sanira was still recovering from her wounds and the loss of their unborn child.

It was a great loss, but Robb was relieved that it was not greater, the medics had assured him that his wife would recover in time, but they had been unable to tell him if she would be able to conceive again. Stevron bowed, he was not pushing his luck and he knew that his actions and those who had sided him would be judged from now on especially after what his father had done. It had not been officially announced that he would take over as Lord of the Crossing, his father was still alive afterall, but he would give no reason for the two Kings to doubt House Freys loyalty again.

"We have the advantage right now. The Lannisters think you are dead, and Bolton is in control of the North, we can use that to our advantage," Stannis Baratheon mused sitting across the table from Robb, he stared at the map of Westeros, and he knew their next move had to be planned carefully if they wanted to catch the Lannisters unaware. The last thing that he wanted was for the Lannisters to realise that he was not at Dragonstone and had somehow managed to sneak past them and make his way up to the Riverlands.

"Why did you come here?" Robb asked watching the older man, he was not sure quite what to make of Stannis arriving to help especially when he had once backed Renly before he had died though he had thought Renly more likely to support Northern independence.

Sitting quietly for a moment, Stannis stared across at the young man knowing that if they were going to win this war then they needed to work together; he reached into his jacket and pulled out a letter before sliding it across the table to him. He watched Robb take the letter and open it; he knew that it would come as a surprise; though Stannis wondered if Robb realised that if they did not work together now then the Lannisters would win.

"I may be a King, but I would reward any man that would deny that woman her desires," Stannis stated with a shake of his head, his aunt was a wonderful woman and knew what she wanted. It had been her letter that had persuaded him to act, she had instructed him to take his army and ride to the Twins if he wished to win the war and remove the bastard from the throne.

"I seem to have found myself in need of an alliance. My brother is gone, and a bastard sits on my throne. I believe we can help each other," Stannis replied gruffly, he stared at the fire doubting that Robb would ever know about the letter that he had been sent. Sylvina Tremaine was not a woman to be trifled with and her letter to him had reminded him that no matter what, she was still his beloved aunt and Sanira was his cousin. The North did not seek the Iron Throne, they would allow him to take it if he allowed the North to have their independence; he did not entirely blame them for not wanting Southern rule after what had happened.

"I am willing to accept and acknowledge Northern independence should you help me claim my throne and defeat the Lannisters," Stannis continued, he needed help, and he knew that there was no way that he could win now that he had lost so many men. The North had been doing well and Tywin's decision to slaughter Robb and his men at a wedding instead of face him in open battle and lose; he had been widowed by such a move and that could not be forgiven.

Robb was silent taking in what Stannis had said, he had not been expecting it since the last he had heard was Stannis wanted him to bend the knee; though things had changed since then, and Stannis had suffered a great loss at the hands of the Lannisters in battle. Something that Robb knew was not possible, his people would never accept him bending the knee after all that had happened; he had been elected their King and he would do his best.

"You are the King in the North, and I shall be the King of the South," Stannis continued testing out the title that he had decided on, he would rule from King's Landing while Robb would do the same from Winterfell. Peace would come for the realm, and they would make history by bringing peace between their Kingdoms; they would put an end to the fighting even if Westeros were never going to be the same after what happened to Robert and the rule of Joffrey.

"On those terms, I shall happily agree to peace between our families," Stannis continued leaning back in his chair, he had no other options, and he could not rule the North. If he attempted to force his will on the region, then they would refuse him and fight him at every turn; no Southern could hold the North and Stannis was willing to concede this one for the Iron Throne.

There was a bonus to this, it was his cousin afterall that was Queen in the North; he could not look past that even if she did share blood with the Lannisters. There was also no forgetting that it had been with his help that the Lannister forces that held Aeredale had been dispersed; Arlenna fleeing like the coward she was, and Stannis doubted she realised who had helped take back control of Aeredale. Now the new Lord of Aeredale was free to run his home as he pleased, they did not have to sneak around nor would saving the Northern Lords and their king have been possible.

With the Lannister spy in the North disposed of, they could plot and produce a plan that would allow them to take King's Landing from the Lannisters without having to fear that their plans would be discovered. Tywin would believe what the letter had said, he would assume that the Lannisters were on the rise, and nothing would stop them now; whispers spread North that they were happily planning a royal wedding in the capital for the false King and his Tyrell bride.

"My Lady! My Lady!" one of the maids shouted running through the halls of Beckton Hall, her hands clutching at her skirts as she made her way towards the nursery where she knew her mistress would be. After breaking her morning fast, Lady Tremaine tended to spend her mornings with the young prince who was growing each and every day; determined to make sure that the boy was receiving the best care there was.

"Soldiers are coming!" the maid cried out, she slammed into the nursery door causing all the occupants to look up from what they were doing around the room. The maid panted as she tried to catch her breath, she had run all the way here to inform her mistress of what the guard captain had told her.

"They fly the Lannister banner my lady," the maid stated fearfully, her eyes locking on the child that was most assuredly in danger if the Lannister army was on the doorstep. There was no doubt what they had come for, they had all known that this might happen one day; that the Lannisters would learn of their precious guest and wish to take him from them.

Horrified gasps and whispers filled the room, panic setting in as the ladies that had loyally served Lady Tremaine for several years wondered what would become of them. Sylvina stared down at her great grandson, her lips pursed in thought as the whispers grew louder with each passing second.

"Calm yourselves girls!" Sylvina ordered sharply, using her cane to push herself to her feet as she looked around the room knowing that they could not allow the boy to be taken. Sylvina had been assured of Sanira and Robb's survival, they had entrusted her to keep Karlon safe and that is what she would do.

Her eyes looking over each of the girls, knowing that she would need to trust them all if she was going to pull this off and she hoped that she would be able to do that. There could be nothing left to chance now, there was much to be done and Sylvina doubted very much that these Lannister oafs would be kind to them if they didn't do as they wanted.

There was a pounding on the door then a crashing unlike any that had been heard in this home before, the soldiers streaming into the manor and starting to turn it upside down in their search for the prince.

"Just what is the meaning of this," Sylvina demanded making her way down the stairs of her home as quickly as she could, she wasn't the best on her feet these days and had to be aided down the steps by two of her ladies. The soldiers all but ignoring her as they continued to ransack her home and turn it upside down, she knew exactly what they had come here for and she knew the role that she was called upon to play. Finally a man entered the manor, a bored look upon his face as he eyed the place that Sylvina had been granted by King Robert; his eyes sweeping about the hall until they rested upon the old woman.

"And you are?" Sylvina demanded once at the bottom of the stairs, her ladies standing beside their aging mistress as she stared down at the ring leader of the soldiers that had barged into her home. The soldiers didn't seem to be stopping in their search, shoving past those that had come to see what was happening to move further into the house to continue their search.

"Ser Bronn my lady," the man said introducing himself, he wondered briefly if she'd even heard about the battle of blackwater which had seen him knighted for his efforts. He now served as a handyman to the Lannisters as it were, tasked with bringing back the child that would secure the North in the Lannisters favour; he wondered if the Boltons even realised that they were about to be betrayed. They had fed their own king to the wolves in an attempt to raise themselves higher and now it would be the son of that very king that would displace them.

"The Hand of the King has sent me to fetch the orphan Karlon Stark to him," Bronn stated knowing that the boy had to be around here somewhere, there was no way that anyone would have known that they wee coming here. The trip to Beckton had been kept quiet, a secret mission that would remain so until the boy was secured in King's Landing where he would be raised to be loyal to House Lannister and King Joffrey.

"You mean the child who he orphaned by ordering the murder of his parents," Sylvina spat in disgust, her eyes filled with tears as she thought of her beloved granddaughter slaughtered at a wedding feast. Did Tywin Lannister really have no shame, everyone knew that he was behind what had happened to Sanira and Robb; Walder Frey was many things but he was not a brave man.

"Why should I hand my great grandson over to you ser," Sylvina stated making a step forward, her entire household watching her size up the man that had barged into her home as if he owed it. There were many things that Sylvina was frightened of but this was not one of them, she would not be cowed by a man that was dirt beneath her shoes; her mother had been a Targaryen, royal blood ran more through her veins than it did the bastard Joffrey.

"You can hand him over or I can make things very difficult for you," Bronn stated eyeing the number of ladies that Sylvina had, his eyes snapping back to her making sure that she understood as he rested his hand on the helm of his sword. There was silence for a moment, Sylvina's face giving nothing away before defeat set in as she realised there was nothing that she could do.

"Very well, Mariah fetch the boy," Sylvina whispered turning to her most trusted lady, their eyes meeting for a moment before her lady left them alone. It was a few minutes before Mariah returned with Karlon, the boy holding her hand as he was lead towards Bronn who stared at him. In was rather unimpressed with the sight of Lord Stark, the boy didn't really resemble what Bronn had heard his parents had looked like but he guessed it was down to age.

The boy was quickly taken from Mariah and as quickly as they come, the soldiers left taking Karlon away without so much as a backwards glance at the mess they'd left in Sylvina's home. Standing silently for a moment, tears in her eyes as she watched them take Karlon away; Sylvina did not breath a word until she was sure that none of the soldiers could hear what she said.

"Do you think they fell for it?" Sylvina asked quietly to her lady, her eyes still looking at the boy that the Lannister soldiers were taking; she wondered how long it would take them to realise they had taken the wrong child.

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