𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 || 𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐁 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊

ᴛᴡᴏ

When Robb next opened his eyes, it was significantly cooler. That did not bother Robb much, though. If anything, it was a welcome surprise, he thought, watching his breath curl up in clouds. He might not have come much further south than the Westerlands on his campaign, but even there it had been too warm for his taste.

His clothes were heavier than they had been last he remembered. Looking down, Robb realised he was wearing parts of his armour and cloak instead of the fine doublet he had worn at the... the wedding, and when he slowly sat up, Grey Wind lay only a few feet away from him.

The wolf lifted his head from his paws as soon as he heard Robb move and half a moment later, Robb was knocked back to the ground. He let out an 'oof' as the air was driven out of his lungs, but this soon turned into laughter as Grey Wind began to lick his face in excitement.

"Gods, I missed you too, boy," Robb grinned, putting his hands behind the direwolf's ears and stroking the fur there. Grey Wind was panting, his tail wagging wildly from one side to the other. Now Robb knew what those Valar had meant by his 'truest companion'. He sat up and hugged Grey Wind's neck. Robb could only guess what had happened to the wolf at the Twins for him to be here with Robb. This was a thought he didn't like at all, but Robb couldn't help but be grateful for Grey Wind's company nonetheless.

He would have been content to stay here and cuddle Grey Wind for much longer. Alas, he was in strange territory and did not know what dangers lurked here.

Robb reluctantly let go of his direwolf and finally stood up.

To his relief, his sheathed sword and a bedroll lay only a short distance away. Next to them, he found a skin filled with water and a small satchel containing dried meat as well as some flint and steel. It seemed the Valar were more helpful than both the Old Gods and the New had ever been - however blasphemous the thought felt to Robb - for they did not seem willing to let him die again quite so easily.

For a short moment, Robb wished for a map, but he brushed the thought away. It would not be very useful to him. He did not know where he was, after all, and would be unable to locate his position. The only thing of note in this place was a mountain range in the far distance, one Robb knew he could not reach before darkness set in. It was about eight, maybe even ten leagues away. Perhaps he could make it there tomorrow.

Since he was on a wide-open plain, Robb decided to seek cover first. It would not do to be ambushed simply because he was so foolish as to stroll around visible to everyone who happened to look in his direction.

The short, almost yellow grass stayed the same, no matter how far Robb and Grey Wind walked. There were small, almost leafless shrubs here and there, but it was only when the sun had nearly disappeared behind the horizon that they came upon something else - a copse of small evergreens. As it seemed unlikely that he would find anything better before it became fully dark, Robb decided to stop for the day.

So far, they had not seen any living being apart from a few hares, one of which had been caught by Grey Wind and would serve as the wolf's supper. Robb himself ate some of the dried meat, unwilling to make a fire and potentially draw attention to the both of them.

He would have preferred to sleep in one of the trees to further hide from danger, but they were far too short and the branches too weak to carry him. As he had yet to spot a predator or indeed anything other than a hare, however, Robb contented himself with sleeping on the ground. Grey Wind gave no indication of danger either, and so when the sun had completely sunk below the horizon Robb spread out his bedroll, drew his cloak around himself and laid down next to his wolf, relishing in the shared body heat.

Robb drifted off to sleep quickly, but it brought him no rest.

He dreamed of Jeyne first, her brown locks and curved lips looking as soft as ever, her beautiful eyes sparkling with hidden laughter. She stood before him in a light green dress that hugged her figure, and when she stepped into his arms, the two of them began to sway in a slow dance. The dance became faster and her smile wider and when Robb twirled her around, she let out the sweetest bout of laughter he had ever heard.

Before he could bring her back in to kiss her, Jeyne was suddenly ripped from his hands.

Walder Frey had her in his hold, his grip much stronger than that of a man of his age should have been. Before either of them could react, Frey summoned a knife out of nowhere and with a dirty grin, he drove it into Jeyne's abdomen.

Jeyne screamed and so did Robb.

Frey ripped the knife out and drove it in again - and again and again and again - until Jeyne was entirely covered in blood. She let out a wet gurgling sound when Frey pushed her to the ground. It was the last sound she made.

Robb stumbled back in panic, stopped only by the collision with something immovable behind him. He whirled around. There stood Ned Stark, his head sewn messily back onto his shoulders. His eyes were empty and yet so full of hate. When he spoke, his neck and mouth both leaked blood.

"You could have stopped this."

His father had always been cold in anger and this time was no different. His voice was quiet but freezing and Robb felt he couldn't move.

"I- I tried, father, I promise, I-"

Robb's mother cut him off.

"This is your fault. This never would have happened had you kept your promise. Now look where your misplaced honour has led us."

Her throat was slit from ear to ear and there were deep scratches on her cheeks. Catelyn's voice sounded hoarse and it was somehow even worse than his father's corpse.

Robb knew it was because she was right. This, her death, was his fault. If he'd kept his promise-

His eyes burned as he frantically tried to apologize. "I know, I'm so sorry, I should have been better, should have listened to you-"

"Why didn't you save us, Robb?"

Robb whirled around, coming The two little bodies were burned beyond recognition. Robb knew who they were nonetheless. He sank to his knees, a raw sob escaping his throat.

"Why didn't you come for us?"

Sansa and Arya looked thinner than he had ever seen them. They were beaten black and blue with deep cuts in every bit of exposed skin he could see. Sansa's blue eyes, once sparkling and happy, now seemed dead, devoid of any emotion and it was so much worse than Arya's, which were filled with deep hate, deeper than that in the eyes of his father.

"I'm sorry, I tried, please...please, forgive me."

There was a searing pain in his scalp as someone ripped his head back by his hair. Roose Bolton stepped around him, all the while keeping Robb's hair in his painful grasp.

"Touching," he said, a faint twitching of his lips the only indication of what he felt. It hurt how the man who had murdered him seemed to hate Robb less than his own family.

Robb didn't say a word, didn't move a muscle, didn't try to stop the tears from running down his cheeks. He simply looked Roose Bolton in the eyes and waited for the man to end it.

Bolton trailed his knife over Robb's throat and down to his chest as if contemplating where to strike. Then his eyes flicked back up to Robb's and Robb saw the first real smile he had ever seen on Bolton's face.

A second later, Bolton shoved the knife through the soft skin under his jaw and into Robb's brain.

Then there was darkness.

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