It was the Kings name day and the castle was alive with servants running around making preparations for the festivities. Servants with wine and food ran through the halls ensuring all was prepared for. Outside Joffrey was to host a melee to celebrate. What better way to celebrate than watch a bunch of Knights bash each other's heads in? Sansa's presence was requested and Serena would be there as well. She would not leave Sansa alone with him after what he had done to her. Sansa thought Serena was being crazy about it but she wanted to keep her promise to Ned.

She didn't dress too fancy as it wasn't requested of her. However it would be for the small feast Joffrey had planned for later in the evening. Sword strapped to her side she was ready to go and escort Sansa to the grounds where the melee was to be held. She walked through the halls passed servants and guards that crowded them. It was frustrating trying to slip between everyone but finally she arrived at her sisters chamber. The room was empty with no Sansa in sight. Joffrey must have sent for her already and brought her to the melee grounds.

Serena then made way to the grounds following the sounds of steel clashing against steel. The King had a pavilion set up with some chairs and was surrounded by his loyal Kingsguard. Sansa sat next to him her red hair done in a southern style and was wearing a beautiful dress. In the melee was the the Hound fighting a knight she didn't recognize. Clegane swung his weapon at the knight quick and hard keeping him off balance. How that style didn't tire the Hound out was beyond her. Eventually the Hound got to his opponent causing his shield to go flying and the mace slid across the mans face sending him falling off the balcony and hit the ground lifeless blood spurting out of his body.

She then approached the pavilion as the body was dragged away and the next Knights were announced. Sansa smiled at her sister and a smile even seemed to grow on Joffrey's as she approached.

"Finally you've arrived."

"Apologies your grace."

"No matter...by the way I'm having a feast tonight and I want you both there. And lady Serena...I'd like for you to wear a nice dress."

Serena bowed her head acknowledging the statement. And their attention turned back to the melee. However the fight wasn't going on as only one Knight was standing there. Had they missed the fight? It was then the second Knight arrived shouting 'I'm here! I'm here!' He was clearly disorganized dropping his helmet and weapon several times before finally collecting himself. Ser Dontos Hollard his name was. He was clearly drunk as well.

Joffrey seemed agitated at the late arrival to his Name Day tournament. Not only that but he arrived drunk as well which infuriated the King.

"Apologies your grace."

"Are you drunk?" Joffrey asked.

"Drunk? N..n...no. I've only had two cups."

By the sound of his voice you could tell he had a few more than two cups...that or he didn't have a good tolerance for alcohol.

"Two cups?" Joffrey asked. "That's not many at all. Here have another!"

Serena turned to look at the golden haired King wondering what game he was up to now.

"Are you sure that's advisable?"

"Of course! Ser Meryn make sure he drinks his fill!"

Two Kingsguard then grabbed the Knight causing him to drop his helmet and sword. Ser Meryn picked up a barrel of wine as a Kingsguard put a horn in his mouth and Meryn began dumping the liquid down his throat. Unable to hold it all and swallow it the sweet red liquid flowed like a river down his body. He began to gag unable to keep up with all the wine. Any longer and he may run out of air. It was then Sansa spoke up in the Knights defense.

"You can't!"

Joffrey looked to Sansa a look of anger in his eyes with his authority being questioned.

"What did you say?"

"I...I only meant to say you can't kill a man on your name day...it's bad luck."

"What kind of peasant superstition is that?"

The the Hound jumped in confirming the superstition backing the young Stark. Joffrey had the man sent to the dungeons to be killed the next day calling the man a fool.

"Your so right...your so smart to see it. He is a fool. He's a much better fool than a Knight."

At first Serena was shocked at what she was hearing but a moment later realized what Sansa was doing.

"Stop! You hear what My Lady said? You will be the new Royal fool."

The Knight thanked the King as he was taken away. Serena patted Sansa's shoulder to commend her for saving the poor mans life as he surely would have been executed come the dawn. From Knight to fool would not bode well with Ser Dontos but he sure would be happy to be alive rather than headless. As the next melee was going to be called a whistling was heard. They looked to the source to see Tyrion Lannister in a suit of armor flanked by a man dressed in black and a bunch of savages.

Joffrey turned to look at his uncle with anger as he came over to the pavilion. He said hello to Tommen and Myrcella giving his niece a kiss on the forehead.

"I heard you were dead." Joffrey said.

"Not yet." Tyron said. "It would be terrible to die now with so much excitement in the world."

He then walked over to Sansa and Serena with a look of sadness on his face.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Their loss?" Joffrey asked. "Ned Stark was a confessed traitor."

"He was still their father...surely you could sympathize having recently lost your own."

Joffrey didn't have a response for his uncle.

"Thank you Lord Tyrion." Serena replied.

Tyrion looked up to the adoptive stark.

"So I heard you nearly knocked my brother into the dirt."

Man did word spread fast around here. Although Jaime was considered one of the best warriors of the generation so if anyone were to beat him it would spread like wildfire.

"Nearly." She replied.

"I would have loved to have seen that. Well I'd love to stay and chat however there is work to be done." Tyrion said before walking away.

"What work? What are you doing here?" Joffrey asked earning no response.

The rest of the festivities with the Knight advancing in the melee with a forfeit due to Ser Dantos's apprehension. There were a few good fights that were neck and neck until the end. Once the melee had ended and a winner declared everyone was dismissed to prepare for the feast. Serena walked with Sansa back to her chamber where the redhead announced she wished to nap a while. She tucked the girl in and left her to her dreams which she hoped would give her some happiness in this time of sadness and anxiety.

Serena decided with the free time she had she decided to read a book. The girl couldn't remember the last time she had read a book. Going through her things found one she had been given by Maester Luwin back in Winterfell before leaving for the capital. 'The Legends Of The Long Night.' She had grown curious about the White Walkers after that Nights Watch deserter had claimed to have seen the creatures of legend murder his brothers in black. Her father and assured her the creatures had long been defeated but that look in the young man's eyes screamed of truth. If these creatures had returned from their hibernation Serena wanted to find out as much about them as possible before the time came.

Eventually she became so enamored in the book reading about the old heroes and legends that she lost track of time. The sun had begun to set the sky turning a variety of colors like orange and purple as it set below the horizon. The feast was beginning soon and wasn't alerted to that until a knock came at the chamber door.

"Come in."

Sansa then entered the room in an elegant gown in the Lannister colors...fitting for the feast with a bunch of Lannister's. Sansa looked at her sister who was not yet dressed for the feast as the King had requested.

"What are you doing? The feast is in less than half and hour!" Sansa said raising her voice.

Serena slammed the book shut and jumped up with a 'gods!' She ran over to her wardrobe pulling out the one dress she had and threw it in as quickly as she could. Sansa helped her with her hair to make it look nice and then Serena took a look in the mirror looking over everything. The pair then locked arms and made way to the Throne Room where the feast was to be held.

The halls of the Red Keep were empty as everyone was already at the feast which made it easy to get around.

"You did good earlier at the Melee." Serena said.

"Good?" Sansa asked.

"Saving that Knight's life...Dontos I believe his name was."

"I was just showing kindness to him. He didn't deserve death for being late."

The voices of the feast could be heard down the hall. Laughter echoed off the empty walls along with the music of the musicians hired to perform at the feast. When they got to throne room it had been filled with tables and benches for guests to sit. At the end in front of the throne room a long table with the King sitting right in the middle with the Queen Regnant sitting to his left and an open seat to his right followed by Myrcella and Tommen. The musicians were to the left of the table playing away.

The pair walked down a isle that was formed in the middle of the room between the tables. No one seemed to notice them at first too busy drinking their wine while waiting for the meal to begin. Joffrey noticed the girls walking down the isle and was in awe at the sight. Sansa looked so beautiful in the gold and Crimson dress and Serena looked stunning in a dress. 'She should wear them more.' The King thought.

Sansa sat next to Joffrey and Serena had to sit next to Cersei. The Queen smiled at the girl and the King gave a 'finally.' Under his breath. Finally the signal was given to the servants and the food was brought out and laid out on the tables. Of course the royal table was served first with the King having the first servings. Once all the food was served the King stood to make a toast and a prayer despite not really caring for the Gods.

"Today we come together to celebrate my Nameday. However in these times we just also thank and celebrate the Gods. These Gods provided us with the food for this feast and the safety from this war. Hopefully the Gods will bring this war to a just end and continue to bless us with the plentiful harvest we have had."

Everyone gave a nod.

"Now feast away! We have plenty of food and wine to go around!"

The feast was officially initiated with a loud roar from the crowd. Everyone began to eat from the feast of chicken,potatoes,corn, and of course wine. It truly was a delicious meal the chicken was seasoned perfectly. Joffrey had had the best Dornish and Arbor Gold for the feast from the cellar. Serena slowly sipped at the wine unlike everyone else. She never drank that much wine back in Winterfell unlike these southerners.

"Don't like the wine?" Cersei asked noting the still nearly full cup.

"No its delicious! I just never drank much wine up North."

"Well learn to drink more of it...we drink quite a bit of it down here."

Cersei replied taking a sip of her wine.

Serena turned to look at Sansa slowly picking at her food beside the King who was laughing at a joke a Knight standing before him had made. Sansa looked to her sister and received a smile. Joffrey then turned to her and began saying something to her.

"More wine?"

Serena turned to see a servant girl with a pitcher or wine.

"No thank you."

Cersei placed her cup at the edge of the table asking for more. Serena turned to look at the blonde remembering that night they shared just a few nights ago. Cersei turned to look at the younger woman and gave her a smile before sipping from her cup.

The feast started to die down as the hours went on. Many left drunk to fuck some servant girls and others just passed out drunk wherever they landed. As the night came to a close the King retired for the night while allowing what remained of the festivities to continue.

"I think I'll retired for the night." Sansa said standing up.

"I'll go with you." Serena replied.

"It's ok I can go myself."

"You sure?"

Sansa nodded and Serena sat back down decided to finish her wine before going back to her chamber. Eventually the entire throne room fell to silence as most of the celebrants had gone to bed. Serena stood up to go back to her chamber just to stumble a bit into the table. She didn't think she had drank that much but she never really had more than a cup or two so her limits were unknown. Cersei had stood up to catch the girl having a much better control of her wine.

"You're drunk...let me escort you." Cersei said.

"Ok."

Cersei helped the girl walk through the halls as her vision was slightly blurred. Luckily Cersei was there as there were a few times where she would have fallen over. Eventually they got to a door Serena didn't know if it was here's or not but the combination of her drunkness and tiredness caused her eye lids to close as everything began to go blank.

"No stay awake...just a few more steps." Was the last thing she remembered before passing out.

Torrhen was walking trough the camp as the men began to march to take on the Lannister's in the Westerland. Torrhen was already to go with Robb and take out this Lannister force before they could attack them and build up a force to even the odds with them. Robb had summoned all the Lords and generals to the commanders tents that evening. Torrhen entered the tent to see Robb,Ned,Lord Umber,Lord Karstsark,and Lord Bolton. Lady Mormont came in a few minutes later. Once everyone arrived Robb nodded to a soldier who walked from the tent.

A few moments later he returned with a prisoner chained up. The golden hair of the man denoted that he was a Lannister. Probably one of the eight thousand cousins.

"Ser Alton how are you?"

"Good My Lord...I've been treated well."

"Good." Robb started. "We wish you to bring terms back to the King."

His eyes lit up at the request.

"My Lord I doubt Joffrey or Cersei would accept."

"I know. We'd rather give the option of peace and ending the bloodshed."

The young man nodded and Robb laid out the terms.

"First...all Lannister troops will be removed from all the North and Riverlands. Second Joffrey is to step down as King and his other bastard siblings should forfeit any claim they have made to the Thorne and Stannis should he granted the Throne. As well my sisters should he returned as well in perfect health."

Ser Alton almost laughed at the proposal laid out by Robb. Robb nor Torrhen blamed him. This was Joffrey and Cersei they were talking about but it was important that the realm see the North tried to sue for peace especially now that Ned was back at the helm. That made the Northern forces even scarier. A veteran of two wars and the man who defeated Ser Authur Dayne one of the greatest swordsman to ever live.

"These are...honorable terms My Lord." Ser Alton said with a stutter.

"Deliver these terms to your cousins."

He nodded and the soldier took him back out of the tent. A few moments of silence before Torrhen spoke up.

"So when do we ride for the Westerlands?"

"At dawn." Robb started. "We will wait a few hours to ensure Alton is gone and cannot report our movements to the Lannister's."

"Good."

The meeting would go on to go over strategy. Every lord was in agreement of the plan. Ned would hold the force here for a time and plan a move to south. Their forces had to get south to meet up with Stannis who they hadn't heard from since Torrhen delivered Ned's letter. Reports were Stannis was assembling his forces but so had Renly. Renly had amassed over one hundred thousand men earning the support of the Tyrell's by marrying Mace's daughter Margery.

Ned,Robb,and Torrhen all saw where this was going. Stannis would try and get Renly to bend the knee and try and absorb his forces. If not they would come to blows and Ned wanted no part of a war between the Baratheon's. Even if he did the North's eighteen thousand men wouldn't effect the outcome of that war. All the effort needed to be focused on the Lannister's and getting Joffrey and Cersei away from the throne.

That night Torrhen walked to the cells where the Kingslayer had been kept. He hadn't seen Jaime Lannister since before he attacked Ned outside of Baelish's brothel. He ordered the guard to take him to the prisoner and he did. Jaime looked up at the boy. The knight was covered in dirt and a nasty smell radiated from the cell as he was unable to use any chamber pots or go in the woods.

"Ahh Torrhen. You come to free me?"

"No."

"Well if you do you could be a rich man. My father will make you Lord of all the North if you wanted."

"I don't want it. I'm not a Stark."

Jaime responded with a 'hmmm' realizing Torrhen could not be bought.

"I heard my sister knocked you into the dirt."

"Nearly." Jaime replied.

Torrhen squatted down getting close to Jaime's face.

"We're gonna crush your army and well oust your bastards from the throne. You've lost."

Jaime chuckled.

"Lost? I wasn't aware the war had ended. I'm surprised your brother or father haven't offered me up for your sisters."

Torrhen laughed at the notion. They would never actually trade him for the girls. As much as they wanted Sansa,Serena,and Arya back but Tywin nor Cersei would go for it. While they'd want their golden lion back the girls were valuable prisoners for them in this war. It's a surprise they didn't use that to their advantage yet. They did know if any harm came to Jaime the same would happen to them.

"One man for three girls are you nuts. We will get them back when we take Kings Landing."

"You're very confident that you'll win." Jaime replied.

"We've won every battle and when Stannis's army is ready we will join with him and crush your family."

With that Torrhen decided to take his leave and leave the captive Knight to his own thoughts.