Aftermath:
Several moments of silence passed after the door to the hidden passage had shut and then sealed since Astrid had destroyed the mechanism to open and close it manually. Everyone was in shock from what had transpired. The only sound that was heard was Cersei's sobs. Tyrion was still quite drunk but even he was shocked by what happened. While he never said anything out loud, he took pleasure in seeing his sister sobbing after everything she had done to him and seeing Joffrey dying brought him relief. Few would ever say it but Joffrey was just a little shit and probably deserved his fate. He had been one of the worst kings in history and had little understanding of realty believing he could do what he wanted, probably because of his mother coddling him and his father ignoring him had led Joffrey to become the man he had become.
Eventually, Cersei managed to push herself up, her hair was no long groomed but tangled and her face covered in tear stains from crying. She carefully walked over to Joffrey's headless corpse and all but collapsed next to it. After a few more moments of tears where she took Joffrey's fallen hand and clutched it.
"My son." She sobbed "My beautiful first born son. Dead and desecrated like this." She stopped crying and then her eyes narrowed "Father, you need to get ready, to fight them."
Tywin was in shocked as well but looked at Cersei "Cersei, we can't, they have Jaime, they have an army, you heard what she said."
Kevan agreed "Maybe it is time that we negotiate for peace."
"Peace!" Cersei snapped "They killed the king, they slaughter my son, they must pay for this!"
"We have a new king now." Tywin shouted pointed to Tommen, "We now have to ensure that he is ready. This war has gone on long enough, I'm not a fool, I had a plan to try and end this war but it seems that they now know. I'm calling it off, Jaime may be a glorified bodyguard but he is still my son, I will not put him at risk. We're setting up a regency for Tommen and you're having no part of it Cersei! I can't afford to have you messing up things again."
"Messing up!" Cersei snapped "Since when have I messed up, I helped secure our position here on the Iron Throne when you married me to that drunken fool."
"Yes but you have not acted like a queen should!" Tywin snapped "Like I told you before, I don't distrust you because you are a women, I distrust you because you are not as smart as you think you are. If you had done a decent job in preparing Joffrey to becoming King instead of coddling him and allowing him to become a spoilt brat, this war might never have happened! Joffrey is dead and we have to move on. Besides we can't afford to have this stalemate of a war go on much longer. We can't afford it!"
"We can't afford it?" Cersei screeched "We are the richest family in Westeros, we have a well trained army, they can more than hold their own against those northern barbarians!"
Tywin shook his head at Cersei stupidity "Those northern barbarians as you called them and their sellsword allies as beaten us several times in major battles, Riverrun, Oxcross, the Fords, we outnumbered them and they still managed to beat us, battles aren't always about numbers or the strength of your army but also about how you use them. Besides, our strength is not as strong as it might seem, do you know how much gold we mined in the Westerlands this past year, doesn't matter in what units, pounds, tonnes or ounces, it's the same answer, none at all. Our last working mine recently ran dry three years ago. Now the crown owes a tremendous amount of money to the Iron Bank of Braavos."
"By how much?" Tyrion asked out of curiosity.
"A tremendous amount." Tywin said simply.
"Surely there is someone you can talk to at the Iron Bank!" Cersei hissed "Come to some arrangement."
Tywin shook his head "The Iron Bank is the Iron Bank there is no someone."
"But someone does work there." Cersei claimed "It is comprised of people."
"And a temple is comprised of stones, one stone crumbles and another takes its place." Tywin replied "And the temple holds its form for a thousand years or more. That's what the Iron Bank is, a temple, we all live in its shadow and none of us know it."
"You can't run from them, you can't hide from them and you can't swing them with excuses." Tyrion finished "When you made me Master of Coin I saw just how much in debt we are to the Iron Bank, now it seems worse. If we don't pay it back then they will fund our enemies, be it the Starks, Stannis or even the Targaryen girl across the Sea, one way or another, they always get their gold back."
Tywin looked at Tyrion, he hated the little stump but he knew that he was right. "We can focus on the Starks later, right now we need to make sure that no one gets any big ideas. We are vulnerable now, Joffrey is dead and we have a new king." He looked at Tommen who was still shaking a bit; he knew Tommen was just as unsuited as Joffrey was to be king although for different reasons. Joffrey was mad but Tommen was timid, too timid and would be easily taken advantage of which was why he would need to guide him in order to keep the Lannisters in a position of power.
Cersei was still furious at the fact that they would not be taking any actions against the Starks who murdered her son but deep down she vowed that soon enough she would have her chance and avenge her son's murder.
...
Arya had remembered the route she had once taken from the Red Keep to the Blackwater Bay. She had been able to guide them through the tunnels and soon outside. They did not head back to the city knowing that it would be crawling with guards searching for them.
"So what now?" Thorald questioned
"How do we get back home?" Sansa asked
"Don't you worry." Tytos replied "Olenna helped us get us a way to get to our ship."
"Olenna?" Sansa gasped "Olenna Tyrell, was she in on this?"
"She was." Astrid replied "After you told her all about Joffrey, she said that she wouldn't let her granddaughter marry a monster like that. So we cut a deal with her, she helped us get to you and she would help ensure that we could escape and that she would use the Tyrell influence to put an end to this war and recognise our independence. Robb was preparing to attack Casterly Rock to put more pressure on the Lannisters, if we can come to an agreement we can end this war and all go home. It was a good thing that the we still have Jaime Lannister prisoner even after Catelyn's stupidity, I know she's your mother but her actions jeopardised everything."
They soon arrived at a small cove used by small fishing boats where two Tyrell guards were waiting. They didn't say anything except stand aside allowing Tytos to uncover several small rowboats that they would use to get back to their ship waiting for them off the coast just out of the limits of the lookout towers in King's Landing. As they all prepared, one of the guards spoke up.
"Before you go, mistress Olenna asked us to take someone with you." He said
"Who?" Tytos asked
"Someone who could be at risk because of her background." A female voice spoke up and a young girl about Sansa's age approached them. She had long brown hair and a blue dress. She looked quite pretty. "I'm lady Mira Forrester, I had been sent south long before the war to serve as a lady in waiting to Lady Margaery since my mother's family had ties to the reach. Lady Olenna knew that I could be linked since I'm of northern blood and she wanted me out of here for safety."
"Edward Forrester will be happy that his niece is safe now." Tytos replied "Now we should get going before patrol ship are sent out."
...
At Riverrun, King Robb Stark was completely unaware of what had happened in King's Landing. He had successfully organised his men and were making preparations to begin a new assault in the Westerlands and try to put pressure on Casterly Rock in order to force the Lannisters to come to the negotiating table. He just needed to wait for Astrid and her task force to return with his sister Sansa and preparations could be made. There was one other issue, while he had enough men thanks to the Company of the Rose, he still wanted to make sure he had as many men as possible so was trying to mend the relationship between him and house Frey. House Frey had seemed willing to talk and had been willing to join the army on two conditions, one was that Robb personally apologized to the Freys and the second was for Lord Edmure to marry one of Lord Frey's daughter Roslin, his fifth daughter but who was also the sister of Robb's former squire Olyvar and another good member of House Frey Perwyn Frey.
Edmure was of course not very happy about being used as a pawn for his nephew's plans. Edmure had eventually agreed though reluctantly. Edmure was not the only one unhappy about this. Commander Joseph and Ser Edward Forrester both began talking to Robb in private.
"We cannot trust the Frey's your grace, they're loyalty is not guaranteed." Joseph warned "Sure they agreed to rejoin you for this marriage but they want all of us there for the wedding. That to me looks suspicious, I know this is the lord paramount of the Riverlands getting married but why should we march our men to the Twins."
Even Brynden Tully was suspicious "Even I admit, it is a little odd. House Frey's loyalty has always been questionable, they have been looked down on as being simple toll collectors and have become very strong despite being one of the youngest houses in the Riverlands. Under Lord Frey, they don't have the best reputation, that man barely supposed my brother in Robert's Rebellion, he never joined up when he called his banners and only joined when the Battle of the Trident was done. And when Edmure called his Banners when Tywin Lannister invaded, he never arrived until you came."
"He's also related to lord Tywin through his son Emmon." Joseph added.
"And then there was the insult he just sent." Edward stated
"Insult, what insult?" Robb asked
"When we had this negotiation, don't you realise who he sent?" Edward asked "Lothar Frey, his twelfth born son and Black Walder Rivers. Two low ranking members of House Frey who are not even close to inheriting his lands. I know the original heir Stevron Frey died at Oxcross but still Ryman Frey, Steveron's oldest son and the new heir should have been sent here. Lord Frey doesn't see you as important that he sent lesser members to negotiate."
Robb sighed "I did insult Lord Frey by promising to marry one of his daughters or granddaughters so maybe this was payback."
"But still we shouldn't allow him to push us around." Brynden stated "We've got enough men for our assault."
"But it never hurts to have more men." Robb replied "Besides if most of our men leave, what if Lord Frey does decide to join the Lannisters, he has enough men left to take the Riverlands with us all gone and then we really will be trapped."
Edward and Joseph looked at each other, Robb had made a valid point this time, maybe having the Freys with them wasn't a bad idea but they were still being cautious. "That is a good point your Grace." Joseph replied "But I cannot have my men at the Twins."
"Then stay here in the Riverlands." Robb ordered "Hold Harrenhal while we're gone, and take care of those Brave Companions, we're better off without them."
"I agree your Grace." Joseph replied "But I'm personally coming with you to the Twins. I will be there to protect you in case the Frey's gat any bright ideas. Plus Lord Karstark is going to need more persuasion. Out of all the nobles here, he is the one who is just as dissatisfied as Frey. My son Cullen will lead the men at Harrenhal. Lieutenant Galmar will join me with a few other men at the Twins."
"As you wish." Robb replied and soon they all began to leave but Robb wanted a few private words with some "Edward, stay a moment." He said to Edward Forrester. Edward nodded and stayed. Robb got a chair out and allowed him to sit opposite him. "I wanted to speak to your personally. I've known you since I was just a small child, I want your personally opinion of me and this war, don't be afraid of how you speak, I need you to be honest."
"To be honest you have done better than I once would have thought of the son of Eddard Stark." Edward admitted "I know Eddard was you father and you loved him but unfortunately, I don't have the best opinion of him even though I fought alongside him throughout the war even at the Tower of Joy at Dorne."
"And that's where you first saw Jon and Astrid." Robb replied knowing the truth "I guess you didn't agree with Eddard naming them as his bastards."
"Oh I knew he couldn't use the truth as King Robert would have killed them." Edward replied "Eddard did do a good job leading the north in times of war both in Robert's Rebellion and the Greyjoy Rebellion but his policies at home weren't as favoured that much and I'm not the only one who thought that, I was just the only one who dared say it out loud. Frankly he took too much after your grandfather Rickard Stark, he was too timid and easily swayed, at least Maester Luwin was a decent man unlike Walys."
"Walys?" Robb asked
"He was the Maester of Winterfell before Luwin." Edward explained "He was an ambitious man and very manipulative, it was him who convinced Rickard to marry Brandon to Catelyn Tully, send Eddard to the Vale and betroth Lyanna to Robert. The north had mostly married within the north for years and now Lord Stark was looking south, that had many northern lords worried as there was a fear that southerns could bring their traditions north and risk our ancient first men customs. Even Brandon Stark was against it. I do have to say this, your mother was lucky with Eddard, if she had married Brandon she would have been miserable, I doubt Brandon would have remained faithful to her and while I would have to debate about allowing her to have a Sept, there is no way he would have allowed her to bring a Septa north to teach her children. Most lords weren't too happy with Eddard allowing Septa Mordane in the north; they saw her as corrupting the future of house Stark."
Robb thought about what Edward had said, he loved his father but he did have his flaws and now he seemed to understand it better. All of the northern lords all said that Lord Eddard was a great man but they did disagree with how he was raising his family and Robb could see why now. But there were a few more thing he wondered "So what did happen to this Maester Walys?" he asked "And how did Astrid discover the truth about her birth?"
"Well, Walys was convicted of treason against House Stark." Edward explained "He convinced Lord Rickard to go south to talk with the Mad King. When he was killed he tried to talk Benjen into becoming the new lord since the king had called for your father's head. But Benjen refused and had him imprisoned and then Eddard managed to return home and rally the northern lords together, Walys was convicted of treason against House Stark and beheaded just before the army marched south. As for Astrid, she had always been like her mother in both looks and spirit, which concerned Eddard. I have no doubt that in his mind Eddard was trying to protect her as he was worried that someone would make the connection and her life would be in danger. But no of us realized that her black hair was hiding a secret, as she grew older, her hair strands began to develop white colours. Astrid discovered it and when she asked her father about it, he never said anything. I told him it was time for her to know the truth but he refused. Instead he just told Astrid to try and hide it."
"So what happened?" Robb asked
"I happened to have overheard the conversation between Astrid and Eddard and when he refused to tell her the truth, I approached her and told her myself." Edward explained "Soon Astrid exploded on her father who then turned on me for telling her. During our argument, I accused him of being a disgrace to the north and a failure as a successor to Brandon. He exiled me from Winterfell but Astrid having heard everything decided to leave with me and that was how the two of us left Winterfell and journeyed to Essos and joined the Company of the Rose." Robb was silent for a few moments and Edward carried on "I still don't and never will agree with some of the things that your father did but always remember that he loved you and that was the best that he could do. Always remember that." Edward then left the tent.
...
On a ship in the Narrow Sea, the rescue group were making their way back to the town of Saltpans where they would be able to travel to Riverrun and help get Sansa back home. Astrid also had the severed head of Joffrey in a small bag which she planned to display as a warning to the south not to test them again. She knew that this action would have consequences but the north would pull through. Right now she stood at the bow of the ship where she watched over the horizon. Sometimes she would pull Joffrey's head out of the bag just so she could spit into its eye. She eventually heard footsteps behind her and looked to see Sansa approach her. She had changed out of the fancy wedding gown into some simple woven clothes that they had packed with them and she had let her hair down from the bun so it flowed down her back.
"Hey Astrid." Sansa greeted "I just wanted to say, thank you for coming after me."
"Even if we didn't get along you are still a sister to me." Astrid replied "Although technically you are my cousin."
Sansa stood next to her and looked out to the horizon "You know when I first came south I thought it was a dream come true. I would marry a handsome prince or a lord and have his children. I would get to watch knights in shining armour sweep ladies off their feet. Only when King Robert died, everything fell apart."
"In the north we view those as simply dreams." Astrid replied "I was one who saw the politics for what is really is. Powerful families fighting each other for power. When the Targaryens were in power, lesser families fought for influence at court but that can soon turn against them. Families can fall out of favour and their influence and power falls with them. It's called the Game of Thrones for a reason. You win or you die, there is no middle ground. Uncle Ned was never really prepared for it, he had no idea how the politics down here worked. In the end, that was his undoing."
"We never should have left Winterfell." Sansa admitted "I want to be able to go back and tell my younger self 'don't go you idiot.'"
Astrid shook her head "There is no changing the past. What's done is done. And how could you have known. No one had any idea that Joffrey was not the true born son. Even if he was though he probably would have sparked a war anyway because of his sadism. He probably has his parents to blame for that. They never disciplined him, allowed him to think that he could do whatever he wanted."
Sansa nodded in agreement "It's been years since we saw each other." She said "I never actually thought that you would come here after all I did to you. I've spent the time since we got on this ship thinking about what an ass I was to you and Jon and even Arya. She never wanted to be a lady; I think I can see why now."
"I can't really blame you Sansa." Astrid claimed "We were both just children and children fight."
Sansa scoffed "I was awful just admit it."
Astrid chuckled "Alright, you were occasionally awful though it can be hard to blame you when your attitude was down to both your mother and that Septa. Neither of them really understood the north really."
Sansa looked at her; years ago should would have defended the south but now she had seen what it was really like. There was one more thing she had questions about "What was that you said about Tywin Lannisters plan and those papers you showed him."
Astrid narrowed her eyes "That man was planning on destroying us all." She claimed "Sometimes I can actually respect a man like Tywin Lannister, he's not gotten to where he is today because he was weak, in fact he's one of the most ruthless and cunning men around. He wiped out two ancient and powerful houses when he was a young man just to send a message and show that the Lannisters are in charge. That type of work may seem cruel but it is what's necessary sometimes to deal with your enemies. Unfortunately thanks to the combined efforts of Catelyn, Joffrey and even Cersei and Jaime, that makes us a major enemy to Tywin Lannister and now he wants to deal with us. He cut a deal with Lord Walder Frey that he would become Lord paramount of the Riverlands if he dealt with us. He plans on using a wedding offer to get everyone together and wipe us all out. He apparently also trying to negotiate with some northern families but I don't know who. It's possibly the Boltons or even the Ryswells or Dustins, they're loyalty has never been complete."
Sansa stared in horror "Robb and mother are in danger." She gasped
"Even by killing Joffrey and holding the Kingslayer hostage, Lord Frey may not have received word yet." Astrid replied "And even if Tywin removes his support, Cersei or even another family could use it to curry favour. Lord Frey has to go, once we get back to the Riverlands, we'll inform Robb and I'll convince him to remove Frey. We may have to wipe out more than just Walder though because many of his sons and grandsons would support him, maybe a few might not but we cannot be sure."
...
The island of Dragonstone was seen as a dreary place. The island was little more than a small volcanic rock in the Narrow Sea but it had historical significance. This had been the seat of House Targaryen before their conquest of Westeros and the heir to the throne during the Targaryen era had been known as the Prince of Dragonstone while the spare was often seen as the Prince of Summerhall when it was constructed by Daeron II until it burnt down in a fire at the end of Aegon V's rule.
Now the island was seat of Stannis Baratheon, brother of King Robert Baratheon who had been granted the seat in what Stannis personally saw as a slight since he had failed to capture the fleeing Targaryens. He had grown into a very bitter man, loyal to his brother and serving him well but never getting any thanks. He had worked with Jon Arryn and had been able to uncover the truth about Joffrey and his siblings. Since they were illegitimate, it made Stannis the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, something that even Eddard had seen but everything quickly fell apart.
First Stannis' younger brother Renly had decided to name himself King and had the backing of the Reach and the Stormlands since he had been named Lord of Storm's End and the north had decided to declare itself independent against the promises of Eddard Stark. Stannis had been given very little support which was why he had accepted the service of a shadowbinder from Assai called Melisandre. Her dark magic and faith in the Red God of R'hllor made some uneasy such as Lord Guncer Sunglass who Stannis had imprisoned and executed after he tried to leave his services. Stannis and Renly fought in the Stormlands and after Renly's death, the Stormlands returned to Stannis and then he had launched his attack on King's Landing which had resulted in the destruction of most of his forces and now he couldn't get any men to help restore lost numbers.
Only now he had received some major news which was why he had called for his loyal man Davos Seaworth to come and meet him. Davos Seaworth had been a smuggler who had helped save Stannis and his forces from starvation during Robert's Rebellion when he smuggled food through the besieging forces. Stannis had knighted and named Davos a lord but still said that Davos had to pay the price for his years of smuggling. Normally that would have cost a hand but Stannis offered to just do the fingertips. Davos agreed on the condition that Stannis cut them off himself. As a result Davos was one of Stannis' closest supporters but he was unsure of Stannis' recent actions in particular with Melisandre and her influence. Davos had lost quite a number of his children during the Battle of Blackwater who died when their ships were engulfed by the Wildfire explosion. When he had returned, he had tried to kill Melisandre but failed and was imprisoned. Stannis recently released him since he needed his help.
Davos found Stannis standing by a window in the room where the Painted Table of Westeros stood. This table was basically a massive map of Westeros that Aegon I and his sister wives had created when they secretly explored Westeros and would use it to plan their invasion.
"Your Grace." Davos greeted
Stannis turned around and looked at him "You're a literary man now." He replied, Davos had been learning to read with help from Stannis' daughter Shireen. "So what do you make of that." He jested to a scroll on the table which Davos picked up and read.
Davos was still learning to read properly and he mumbled but he soon figured out what it said "Joffrey?"
"The usurper Joffrey Baratheon is dead." Stannis hissed back, he seemed a little angry "Killed by the Northerns who managed to sneak into King's Landing and takeoff with Sansa Stark with them. Now I am faced with a great opportunity to take advantage of the chaos but I am powerless to do anything."
"I'll get you an army your Grace." Davos replied "I've been working day and night."
"So what progress have you made?" Stannis demanded
Davos thought for a moment, it had not been easy to gain support for Stannis since the Lannisters and Tyrells had united, two of the most powerful houses in Westeros had joined together giving the Lannisters a massive army. While Stannis had the support of House Florent of the Reach thanks to his marriage, they had recently been stripped of their lands making getting an army even more difficult. "Well I have managed to recruit House Peasebury to your cause, House Musgood and House Hay."
Stannis repeated the names of the Houses but all he did was break some wooden models of stags and throw them to the ground "They haven't got enough men between them to raid a pantry." All three Houses were just small knightly houses, they could do nothing to help him.
Davos had another idea, one from his days as a smuggler "Westeros is not the whole world your Grace." He suggested "We could look east for ships and men. 10,000 skilled soldiers work for the Golden Company."
"The Golden Company?" Stannis questioned
"They've never broken a contract before." Davos defended
"They're sellswords, they fight only for gold!" Stannis snapped "The only reason the North has the Company of the Rose with them is because they had a cause to return to an independent north."
"So you want to use blood magic to put you on the throne but you don't want to hire men to fight for us." Davos stated "Look the Red woman's magic is real, her visions and prophecies may be too but I have never heard of visions and prophecies winning wars. Soldiers win wars, soldiers on the ground and it's dirty on the ground."
"And just how are we going to get an army like the Golden Company to fight for us?" Stannis asked "We don't have any gold, we have nothing to offer them. If I don't press my claim, my claim will be forgotten. I will not because a page in someone's history book. I'm running out of time Davos which is why I have to resort to desperate measures. Luckily for you I have been approached with an offer, an offer to get me the men I need and maybe even some more. Arrange for transport north."
"North your Grace?" Davos questioned
"We're heading to the Wall." Stannis replied "The Night's Watch is call for aid against the Wildlings. We will answer the call and head assist."
"The northern lords won't like that?" Davos stated "They still refuse your claim."
"I've already got a plan to deal with that." Stannis replied "We will deal with the Wildlings then make them an offer and I will have my army again."
Davos nodded and then went off to help arrange the men and ships to head north. They were abandoning Dragonstone for now but Stannis had a plan. What is was had Davos worried but he had followed Stannis this far, he would not back out now but he swore that he would do what it took to protect Stannis' daughter Shireen.
Chapter End:
Notes: Well another chapter complete and now we're preparing for a major Game of Thrones event that will be slightly different due to the changes in the story. Tywin may be shrewd and dangerous but he would not risk the life of Jaime who despite still being a Kingsguard still has high hopes for him to be his heir so he would not risk him which is why he pulled out of the plot to destroy the Starks which was why Walder launch the Red Wedding. So the question is how will the Wedding go, stay tune to find out soon but first I plan to do a chapter on Mass Wars which I hope to finish by the end of the month but no promises.