_ "As I told you, my name is..." - Brienne desperately tried to fulfill the mission given by Sansa and convince Ser Brynden Tully, the famous Blackfish, to join the Stark forces in the North, but the man showed no intention of abandoning his own war.
_ "Brienne of Tarth, I know... I know your father." - Blackfish cut the conversation short and began walking along the walls of the Tully family castle in the Riverlands amid a siege by the Lannisters and Freys.
_ "He always spoke highly of you."
_ "And if he were here, I would tell him the same thing I'm telling you. If you think I'm going to abandon my family's home based on the word of the Kingslayer, you're a fool!" – shouted the Tully knight, drawing the attention of the other soldiers.
_ "You won't be able to resist the siege for long!" – Brienne tried to resume the conversation with minimal consideration.
_ "We'll resist longer than your one-handed friend!"
_ "HE IS NOT MY FRIEND!" - Brienne shouted in front of the man she was supposed to take to the North as an ally.
_ "No? Who allowed you to cross the siege and enter the castle? Who gave you that armor and that sword with a lion on the hilt?" – Blackfish questioned her intentions again.
_ "Ser Jaime kept his word to your niece, Catelyn Stark. He sent me to find Sansa, as Catelyn wanted. He gave me this sword to protect her. It's what I did and will continue to do until I die!" - The woman imposed herself, making the knight pick up and focus on the letter written by a member of his family.
_ "She is exactly like her mother. I don't have enough men to help her take Winterfell." - Brynden Tully softened his resistance to the dialogue with Sansa's envoy but explained that he couldn't be as useful as thought in the reconquest of Winterfell.
_ "You have more than she does."
_ "She wants her home back. I understand that. But this is my home. And if Jaime Lannister wants it... Let him take it like everyone else!"
The old warrior returned the letter, turned his back on the two Northern envoys, and headed towards the walls of Riverrun. As night fell, Brienne understood that the deadline given by Jaime Lannister to convince the Tully troops to leave the Castle and head North was coming to an end.
The mission was doomed to fail. She could only communicate the result to Sansa and stay to help in the battle that would soon follow. Precisely the worst of the scenarios foreseen in her last conversation with her former prisoner and current lover of the queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
In a maneuver, Jaime Lannister released Edmure Tully so that the true lord of Riverrun would take possession and open the gates on his own. With Edmure's call, some officers chose to disrespect Blackfish's will and hand over command to the lord who had returned. Noticing the whole plot orchestrated by the Kingslayer, the experienced warrior headed to the most distant part of the Castle, by the riverbank, accompanied by Brienne and Podrick.
_ "You can escape through here!" – indicated Blackfish.
_ "Come with us!" – Brienne and Podrick entered the small boat and waited for the warrior to take a seat as well.
_ "I fled the Red Wedding, I won't flee again. This is my family's home!"
_ "Your family is in the North! Come with us... Don't die out of pride when you can fight for blood!" – she tried to convince him without breaking the promise she made to another member of the Stark family.
_ "You serve and will serve Sansa much better than I ever would." – the knight revealed the regret for not being able to contribute to the cause.
_ "Then return to serve your king!" – Podrick widened his eyes at the information revealed, and Blackfish showed confusion – "You said that as long as you live, the war will continue, didn't you? Then come with us and survive... Robb Stark is alive!"
The noise of the invasion of Riverrun Castle became closer and closer, and Brynden Tully spent a few seconds evaluating all his options. Die as the defender of his family's home or believe in the word of a stranger? Still, he preferred to bet on the most unlikely theory he had heard in recent years rather than let himself be defeated by the Kingslayer.
He saw when the 'Young Wolf' was killed, had his body taken to a ravine, and thrown into the sea by the damned Freys. How could Robb Stark have resisted all that? How was it possible? Entering the boat, he shared the oars with the young squire, and they hurried to leave Riverrun. He had a new mission ahead, probably the last mission of his life.
With the return of the group led by Jon Snow and Sansa with only a few hundred new allied soldiers, Robb again blamed himself for the mistakes made during his reign. If most of the Northern houses turned their backs on the last heirs of Ned Stark, it was entirely his responsibility for not being able to live up to his father's legacy. For this reason, the Young Wolf silently received the mission to lead and safeguard the convoy of the Free Folk who couldn't fight and would be protected by the Night's Watch at Castle Black.
The two brothers tried to convince Sansa to join this group and return to the protection of Jon's former brothers, but the young woman was adamant: she wanted to face Ramsay again and see his downfall. The princess of Themyscira was surprised by the courage shown by a girl who barely mastered the basic forms of combat, deciding then to stay with the other soldiers and meet the terrible enemy before the battle. However, she reassured the children, the elderly, and the women with children that she would be their guardian when the time came.
Fulfilling the duty assigned by Jon, the former King in the North did not accompany the first contact with the usurper of Winterfell. But upon returning from Castle Black, he was impacted by all the consequences of this small and detestable meeting before the great battle. Diana, who had always shown understanding and kindness to all living beings since he met her on Paradise Island, could not hide the disgust taken from that man after a few minutes in his presence.
"She is a good woman, your sister. I eagerly await having her in my bed again. And I will also take possession of this impressive and unknown 'lady-in-waiting'. And you are all handsome men. My dogs are desperate to meet you... I haven't fed them for seven days, I wonder what parts they will eat first."
Ramsay Bolton's threat did not reach the ears of the youngest sister, but it was fully captured by the daughter of Hippolyta. The cruelty of men was still something unfamiliar to the Princess of the Amazons, who began to question more and more if her mother was right: "men do not deserve our help." And this reflection became much more undefined when thinking that men she was considering just and trustworthy, like Jon and Robb themselves, also acted with violence at times. Life outside Themyscira was not simple at all.
Both the Young Wolf's revolt and the warrior's turbulent thoughts had to wait for the War Council. The former Lord Commander of the Night's Watch was convinced that attacking and trying to surprise the invaders of Winterfell would be the only possibility, even though victory seemed uncertain by the numbers.
_ "If he were smart, he would wait inside Winterfell" – Jon pondered.
_ "It's not his way. He knows the North is watching everything. If the other houses sense his weakness, they will no longer fear. He cannot allow that, fear is his power" - Ser Davos emphasized.
_ "And his weakness too. His men are forced to fight for him. If they feel the situation turn against Ramsay..."
_ "It's not the men that worry me. It's the horses. I know what the cavalry can do to us. You and Stannis cut us down like piss in the snow." - Tormund recalled the defeat when Stannis arrived when he and the Free Folk were very close to wiping out the Night's Watch.
_ "Don't worry, we dug trenches on our flanks so they don't hit us like Stannis did beyond the Wall. That way, they won't be able to attack us from the sides" - Robb explained, trying to reason clearly and be useful to his allies.
_ "We will let them attack us. They have the numbers, we will need to be patient. If we let him infiltrate the center, he will come. Then we will surround him on three sides." - added the Onion Knight.
Tormund signaled positively, and the last conversation before the great battle ended for Jon's other advisors, but Sansa's concentrated expression clearly showed that the discussion was far from over.
_ "So, you met the enemy and drew your battle plan." - Sansa spoke for the first time in front of the brothers and Diana since the fateful meeting with Ramsay.
_ "Yes, if that helps." – Jon commented.
_ "You only had one conversation with him and are already planning how to defeat a man you don't know. I lived with him, I know how his mind works. I know how he likes to hurt people. Did you ever consider that I might have something to say?" – the young woman pressed on.
_ "You are right. If you have something to say, my sister, now is the time." - Robb advised in a very serious tone.
"He wants you to make a mistake!"
"Of course he does! What should we do differently?" - Jon questions again.
"I don't know anything about battles. Just don't do what he wants you to do!"
"Sansa, that's too obvious." - Robb rebuts, returning to the discussion between the siblings.
"If you had asked my advice, I would have suggested not attacking until we had a larger force, or is that too obvious as well?"
"When will we have a larger force? We pleaded with all the houses, you were with me in every conversation! The Blackfish cannot help. We're lucky to have these allies!"
"It's not enough, you know that!" - she complains again about the gathered numbers.
"It's not, but it's what we have! More improbable battles have been won..." - Robb tries to calm the situation between the siblings.
"If Ramsay wins, I won't go back there alive. Do you understand?" - Sansa's determined tone shocks both brothers.
"We will never let him touch you again." - Jon Snow vows.
"We are your brothers, and it's our duty to protect you. I won't make the same mistake as before." - Robb promises.
"No one can protect me. No one can protect anyone." - Sansa leaves the tent set up for Jon, followed by Diana.
"Sansa, wait... I gave my word to protect you and part of the Free Folk who can't defend themselves. And I am willing to keep my promise!"
"I believe your intention is the best, princess. But no one can hold off an army alone."
"That remains to be seen, but trust me." - the Amazon seeks to convey some optimism to Ned Stark's young daughter before heading to her own camp.
"Do you think Sansa is right? Are we underestimating that bastard in some way?" - the bastard half-brother seeks some conviction from the family member who would have more experience in fighting living armies.
"I think we need to distrust and try to anticipate any move from that scoundrel. Stannis had more men and resources than us and was destroyed in record time, as Brienne told us." - Robb ponders.
"And what would be this last-minute trap? I have been around Winterfell, there are no excavations or any change in the terrain that could surprise us."
"If he is capable of everything Sansa warned us about, he won't try something so strategic. That bastard must try to mess with our heads, something that could throw us off balance and that is in his power... Rickon." - the name of the youngest brother is said in unison.
Unlike most of the Free Folk and the soldiers provided by other houses, Robb wandered around the entire camp with no intention of resting. He was pondering his real mission in this second chance at life, yet he couldn't unravel the mystery of the prophecies told by the Red Woman at Castle Black or see any possibility of triumph in the battle awaiting him at dawn. If he was allowed to return to stop the "Night King," he couldn't be defeated by a wretched usurper in the North. Or would that be his new destiny in a second life?
"Princess, may I come in?" - Diana gestures yes with her head and allows his approach - "You were at the War Council but chose not to participate properly."
"I am not part of this army and will not be in the battle, you know that."
"Still, do you have any advice?" - he tries to diminish the recent and painful distance that has come between them.
"Don't lose. That man is diabolically cruel."
"If that happens, don't bring me back, Diana." - Robb is brutally sincere and disarms the Amazon, who begins to look at him with genuine concern.
"I would have to try, at least." - the Amazon dispenses with the reserve she was imposing on her former travel companion and sits much closer to him.
"I am asking you not to bring me back." - the Young Wolf pleads.
"I didn't bring you back the first time by your choice or mine... The Gods allowed your return." - she tries to explain the inexplicable.
"And how are you sure of that?"
"If the New and Old Gods, as you call them, didn't want you back, how did I bring you back? I don't have that power. I still don't understand many things, but maybe they need you for a part of the plan. Or why would you, among all the people in the world, reach Themyscira?"
"I don't know either, but I wonder what kind of God would do something like that."
"I believe those who guard Themyscira and Westeros. Those are the ones we have, Robb Stark."