3 Weeks Later
Visenya's eyes narrowed as she pulled back on the drawstring of her bow, aiming it at the sky, and then gently releasing it, successfully hitting her target with ease.
A raven flying from The Twins.
She had been on archery duty for the past 3 weeks, and while she's successful with it, she began to grow tired of it. All she had been doing is shooting down ravens, so much to the point where there was a dead pile of them inside the camp. But she looked on the bright side of it, Aegonar and Sunspear have food for weeks.
After checking the sky to ensure no more ravens were flying, she walked over to the dead raven, picked it up, and then proceeded to walk to the command tent, where Robb was holding a meeting.
"Another one?" Theon asked in disbelief as Visenya placed the dead raven, still with the arrow through it's eye, on the table.
Robb let out a sigh as he picked up the raven. He let out another sigh after he read the message.
"lt's a birthday message to his grand-niece Walda." He explained throwing the paper onto the table in annoyance.
"Or so Walder Frey would have you think." Theon interjected.
Catelyn inspected the dead raven. "Keep shooting them down, Visenya. We can't risk Lord Walder sending word of your movements to the Lannisters."
Visenya nodded. "Of course, Lady Stark."
Though she knew blisters and calluses were beginning to form on her hands from gripping her bow so tightly.
Robb frowned toward his mother. "He's Grandfather's bannerman. We can't expect his support?"
"Expect nothing of Walder Frey, and you'll never be suprised." Greatjon explained before gesturing to the dead Raven. "Look."
"Father rots in a dungeon." Robb began. "How long before they take his head? We need to cross the Trident and we need to do it now."
"Just march up to his gates and tell him you're crossing." Theon suggested. "We've got five times his numbers. You can take the Twins if you have to. If he disagrees, have the dragons burn it down."
"My dragons are not prepared nor big enough to burn down an entire castle." Visenya interjected, crossing her arms.
"We are running out of time. Tywin Lannister marches north as we speak." Greatjon sighed.
Catelyn let out a sigh of frustration. "The Freys have held the crossing for 600 years, and for 600 years they have never failed to exact their toll."
Robb nodded. "Have my horse saddled and ready."
"Enter the Twins alone, and he'll send you to the Lannisters as he likes." Greatjon protested.
"Or throw you in a dungeon." Theon said in agreement. "Or slit your throat."
Robb shook his head. "My father would do whatever it took to secure our crossing. Whatever it took. lf l'm going to lead this army, l can't have other men doing my bargaining for me."
"I agree." Catelyn nodded. "I"ll go."
"You can't!" Everyone but Visenya replied but Catelyn held up a hand.
"I have known Lord Walder since I was a girl." She explained. "He would never harm me."
"Unless there was a profit in it." Greatjon replied.
"I'll go with her." Visenya interjected. "In case something goes wrong."
It was then settled, and within a half hour, Visenya and Catelyn were mounting their horses. Visenya had trusted Sunspear and Aegonar into Robb's care, as she had been teaching him High Valyrian in the last few weeks in order to learn how to communicate with the dragons, if something were to happen to Visenya.
Just as Visenya mounted Rhaenys, Robb walked towards her and Catelyn, who was also mounted on her horse.
"We will return as soon as possible." Catelyn explained. "If everything goes as planned."
"Gods be good." Robb replied giving his mother a nod before turning to Visenya. "Is there anything I need to know, Princess?"
Visenya smirked. "About?"
"About the dragons?" He asked with a small smile.
Visenya tossed her head back in laughter. "Ensure that they don't burn you alive."
Robb's eyes widened in shock as Visenya turned Rhaenys around to follow Catelyn out of the camp, to negotiate terms with Walder Frey. Within a few hours, Visenya and Catelyn arrived outside the Twins. Along the way, Visenya and Catelyn both decided that she was to be Valaria, but not use the last name of Tully, in case Walder decided to contact Edmure. Instead, they decided to make Visenya a handmaiden of Catelyn's.
"Now, Lord Frey is very...particular." Catelyn explained as they walked toward the castle entrance. "Please act civil...and do not snap at him."
"Why?" Visenya frowned, pushing a stray strand of her auburn hair back. "Is he that bad?"
Catelyn sighed. "You'll see."
As soon as they entered the castle, they were ushered into a great room, where a fragile old man was sitting. Two men were sitting by him, along with a young girl, who looked to be a couple years older than Sansa.
"What do you want?" The old man asked.
"It is a great pleasure to see you again after so many years, my lord." Catelyn said warmly making Visenya look at her in shock.
'This guy looks like he's wasting away.' She thought to herself.
Lord Frey groaned in annoyance. "Oh, spare me. Your boy's too proud to come before me himself. What am l supposed to do with you?"
"Father, you forget yourself. Lady Stark is-" Stevron Frey began.
Lord Frey's head snapped to look at him. "Who asked you? You're not Lord Frey yet, not until l die. Do l look dead to you?"
"He does not want me to answer that." Visenya murmured.
Catelyn glared at her, as Lord Frey was now scolding his bastard son.
"l need lessons in courtesy from you, bastard? Your mother would still be a milkmaid if l hadn't squirted you into her belly." Lord Frey scolded making both his legitimate and bastard son frown. He then gestured to Catelyn and Visenya. "All right, you two come forward."
Visenya and Catelyn looked at each other in hesistance before slowly walking toward the older man. He kissed Catelyn's hand, and the sight of it, made Visenya want to vomit.
"There." Lord Frey explained. "Now that I've observed the courtesies, perhaps my sons will do me the honor of shutting their mouths."
"Is there somewhere we can talk?" Catelyn asked.
"We're talking right now." Lord Frey replied before groaning in annoyance at Catelyn and Visenya's facial expressions. "Fine. Out! All of you!"
Visenya watched as Lord Frey's son's left, including the young girl, not before getting a hit on the bottom, making Visenya's eyes widen in shock.
'The man is vile.' She thought to herself.
"You see that?" He began gesturing to the young girl. "Fifteen, she is. A little flower. And her honey's all mine."
Catelyn sighed. "I'm sure she will give you many sons."
"Not as many as that one could." He explained gesturing to Visenya. "Quite a beauty you have there, Lady Stark. Exquisite in that matter. What's your name, girl?"
"Valaria, my lord." Visenya immediately replied.
"She is my handmaiden, my lord." Catelyn explained.
Lord Frey frowned. "Pity, if you were Highborn, I'd take you as a second wife myself."
Visenya's eyes widened in disbelief as a chill went down her spine. This man would not lay a hand on her. She'd murder him before that could happen.
"But then again, your father didn't come to my wedding." Lord Frey began.
"He is quite ill, my Lord." Catelyn explained.
"Huh." Lord Frey responded in disbelief. "Didn't come to the last one, either. Or the one before that. Your family has always pissed on me."
"I'm sure there were reasons-" She began.
"I didn't need reasons." He immediately responded. "l needed to get rid of sons and daughters. You see how they pile up? Why are you here?"
Catelyn looked to Visenya before turning back to Lord Frey. "To ask you to open your gates, my lord, so my son and his bannermen may cross the Trident and be on their way."
"Why should I let him?" He asked.
"If you could climb your own battlements, you would see that he has 20,000 men outside your walls." Visenya interjected making Catelyn frown at her.
Lord Frey smirked at Visenya. "I like her...she's quite...fiery...but to counter your opinion, Lady Valaria, there will be 20,000 corpses when Tywin Lannister gets here. Don't try and frighten me, Lady Valaria and Lady Stark. Your husband's in a cell beneath the Red Keep and your son's got no fur to keep his balls warm.
Catelyn frowned in anger. "You swore an oath to my father."
"Oh yes, I said some words." Lord Frey began. "And I swore oaths to the crown too, if I remember right. Joffrey's king now, which makes your boy and his corpses-to-be nothing but rebels, it seems to me. If I had the sense the gods gave a fish, I'd hand you all over to the Lannisters."
"Why don't you?" Visenya asked.
"Stark, Tully, Lannister, Baratheon. Give me one good reason why l should waste a single thought on any of you?" He asked.
Catelyn turned toward Visenya and asked her to leave the room, while she did the negotiating, as she didn't want her to hear what was going on, and or the terms. Visenya knew in the back of her mind that nothing was going to go well. Something about this man made her seem off. All she wanted was for the man to drop dead.
Visenya went outside to ensure that the horses were ok, and upon seeing Catelyn walking out of the castle, pale as a ghost, Visenya's heart dropped. What the fuck could she have agreed to?
"What happened?" Visenya asked after they were riding for a while.
She sighed. "Robb is to take one of his son's as a squire, Arya is to marry another...and."
Visenya turned her head towards Catelyn. "And?"
She sighed again. "And when the fighting is done, Robb is to marry one of his daughters."
Visenya shook her head in disgust. "That man is vile."
"I know." Catelyn replied, as they rode back towards the camp.
By nightfall, both Catelyn and Visenya were entering the command tent, and upon seeing the two of them, Robb perked up.
"Well? What did he say?" Robb asked with hesistance.
"Lord Walder has granted your crossing." Catelyn explained. "His men are yours, as well."
"Huh." He said in disbelief.
"Less the 400 he will keep here to hold the crossing against any who would pursue you." She continued.
That's when Robb asked the question of the hour...or at least in Visenya's mind.
"What does he want in return?"
Catelyn glanced to Visenya, before glancing back at her son. "You will be taking on his son Olyvar as your personal squire. He expects a knighthood in good time."
Robb nodded. "Fine, fine. And?"
"And Arya will marry his son Waldron when they both come of age." Visenya interjected, knowing the full story, as Catelyn explained everything in more detail as the ride went on.
"She won't be happy about that." Robb said with a small smile. His smile then immediately turned into a frown, upon seeing Visenya and his mother's expression. "And?"
Catelyn let out a small sigh, not prepared to tell her son the terms of Lord Frey. "And when the fighting is done you will marry one of his daughters. Whichever you prefer. He has a number he thinks will be suitable."
"l see." Robb nodded. "Did you get a look at his daughters?"
"l did." Catelyn nodded.
"You did?" Visenya asked in disbelief.
"And?" He asked expectantly, looking at his mother, not completely ignoring Visenya's comment.
"One was – Do you consent?" She explained, making Visenya stifle a laugh, and Theon start to laugh.
"Can l refuse?" Robb asked, praying that he could refuse marrying a Frey.
"Not if you want to cross." Visenya interjected with a somber look on her face.
Robb looked at Visenya with a somber look for a moment before he gave the two of them a nod. "Then l consent."
And just as he walked out of the tent, with Theon's laughter following him, Visenya turned to Catelyn with a small frown.
"He's unhappy." She explained.
Catelyn nodded. "I know...but he'll do anything to get Ned back."
She nodded in agreement, and within the hour, the entire camp was crossing the Trident. The next morning, Catelyn, Rodrik, and Visenya were all mounted on their horses overlooking the Trident, awaiting for some sign that Robb had made it through. Aegonar was sitting on Visenya's shoulders, whereas Sunspear, was once again situated between Rhaenys's ears.
"We should go, my Lady, and Princess." Rodrik began.
"No!" Visenya and Catelyn shouted in response, still holding their gaze.
Rodrik groaned in annoyance at the two women. And before Visenya could counter with her usual snarky attitude, her eyes widened in joy upon seeing Stark bannermen upon the horizon, riding with Robb in tow, along with someone else. When they got closer, Visenya and Catelyn both realized it was Jaime Lannister.
Visenya smiled with triumph at the fact that Jaime Lannister was their prisoner, but Catelyn was too focused on the fact that Robb was alive...which she should be, as he is her eldest son. Catelyn ushered Visenya to stay towards the back of the party, so Jaime wouldn't see her, as she didn't want any potential Lannister spies noticing her presence.
"By the time they knew what was happening, it had already happened." Robb explained as Jaime Lannister was thrown to the ground, covered in mud and his Lannister armor.
Jaime smirked at Catelyn. "Lady Stark. l'd offer you my sword, but l seem to have lost it."
Catelyn shook her head in annoyance. "lt is not your sword l want. Give me my daughters back. Give me my husband."
l've lost them too, l'm afraid. Including your niece." He replied.
"I think not." Visenya explained walking forward, with Aegonar on her shoulder and Sunspear in her palm.
Jaime looked up at her in disbelief. "And here I thought we were finally making progress."
Visenya smirked and huffed in amusement. "You should've had guards outside my room."
"I thought of it." He admitted, before looking at the dragon on her shoulder and in her palm. "Where did you get those?"
"My dragons?" She asked innocently. "I've had their eggs since I was a child, it only was until a few weeks ago they hatched. One was my brother Viserys's and the other was placed in my cradle as a babe. Both were gifted to us by our father...the man you slaughtered."
That's when it clicked in Jaime's mind. He now understood why she was cold with him. He now understood why she was fascinated with Targaryen culture and Valryian culture...because she was one.
"You're...Visenya Targaryen?" He asked in disbelief, his words becoming lost in his throat.
"Took you a while, didn't it?" She asked with anger.
"Kill him, Robb." Theon interjected. "Send his head to his father. He cut down ten of our men. You saw him."
"He's more use to us alive than dead." Robb explained
"Take him away and put him in irons." Catelyn ordered.
"We could end this war right now, boy, save thousands of lives." Jaime explained. "You fight for the Starks, l fight for the Lannisters. Swords or lances, teeth, nails - choose your weapons and let's end this here and now."
Robb huffed in amusement at the suggestion. "lf we do it your way, Kingslayer, you'd win. We're not doing it your way."
Greatjon pushed Jaime Lannister up to his feet with a great force. "Come on, pretty man."
Visenya smirked as Jaime was being led away, but that didn't allow for Jaime to glance behind him to get one last look at Visenya, standing there with her auburn hair, emerald cloak, and two dragons by her side. Once Jaime was led away, Robb let out a sigh.
"l sent 2,000 men to their graves today." Robb explained with slight defeat.
"The bards will sing songs of their sacrifice." Theon replied.
"Aye. But the dead won't hear them." Robb began turning toward his bannermen to make a speech. "One victory does not make us conquerors. Did we free my father? Did we rescue my sisters from the queen? Did we free the North from those who want us on our knees? This war is far from over."
All of the bannermen nodded, and began to head back to the camp. Visenya was riding back to the camp, when Robb trotted his horse along side of hers, before slowing his down to a walk, as her horse was walking slowly.
"Are you alright?" Robb asked turning his head towards her.
She shrugged. "Yes...I'm glad...I'm glad you're alright."
He gave her a small nod. "Thank you, Princess."
"But for some reason, I fear that this will not go well." She explained. "I fear more bloodshed will occur than it has currently."
"It's a war, Princess." He began. "There's going to be bloodshed no matter what."
She shook her head. "No, I fear...I fear that capturing Jaime Lannister was a fowl play on our part."
"It's the only way to get my father, Sansa, and Arya back." Robb explained.
Visenya turned to look at him, fear and discomfort in her blue eyes. "Is it?"
"Has he manipulated you into loving him?" Robb asked making her eyes widen. "Is that why you've gone soft for him?"
She scoffed in disbelief. "No! How dare you accuse me of caring for a man like that!"
"I was just-" Robb began.
Visenya shook her head. "I have to feed the dragons."
She then urged Rhaenys into a gallop, so she could get away from Robb, before she stabbed him.
"Visenya!" He called after her, but she didn't care.
She was too angry at him to care. She was trying to explain to him, what she saw in a dream a few nights ago, of a great fire occurring, and Robb's dead body lying on the floor.
A/N:
As always, fill free to comment or message me any questions, comments, or concerns.