Hear me Roar - English version

CHAPTER 25 - I am very fond of the Hand

               Back on the road with Arrow, I find my way using the position of the sun. With any luck, I'll reach the camp by the end of the day.

               As the sun sets over the plains of the Riverlands, large tents appear before me. Finally! I rush toward the nearest soldier and let myself fall into his arms. He catches me, surprised. On his breastplate, the dire wolf of House Stark stares back at me.

"Lady Diana?" he calls out. "Is it really you?"

"In the flesh..."

               A loud laugh escapes me. I can't control it; it's stronger than I am. For the first time in two years, I am no longer in enemy territory. I am home.

♐︎

               My name soon echoes throughout the camp. Although most of these men have never seen me, they all know me. To some, I am Lady Diana. To others, I am Her Majesty the Queen. And I suspect those consider me a traitor. Or perhaps they believe I am the glimmer of hope they have all been waiting for. They risk being disappointed.

               When I arrive in front of the largest tent, the flap is thrown open. I find myself face to face with Robb, mouth agape. My eyes fill with tears.

"Your Majesty," I say with a sigh.

"Your Majesty," my brother replies before taking me in his arms.

               I squeeze him as hard as possible. I thought I would never see Robb again, that that day in the courtyard of Winterfell, we were saying goodbye. The glimmer of hope reaches me in turn.

"You've changed so much!" I exclaim, drawing back.

               Robb now has a full beard, nothing like the few hairs that used to pepper his face. His gaze has darkened, but he has kept his charming blue eyes. He has also filled out in the shoulders and grown a few inches.

"You are a man now."

"Not a man. A king," a female voice says from within the tent.

               Surprised, I exchange a look with my brother. This is the kind of information that does not reach the capital. Either because it's a secret, or because Cersei forbids anyone from telling me.

"Diana, I present to you my wife. Talisa."

"You got married and I wasn't even invited?"

"You didn't invite me either."

               Well, it seems the tearful reunion is over. Robb must surely be thinking that I was sent by the Lannisters to destabilize him, that I am his enemy. Perhaps I am. After all, I've come all this way to persuade him to let Tywin win the war.

               Robb allows me to enter. Inside, I discover a young woman with olive skin and black hair. She is very pretty with fine features; they allow me to detect immediately that she is not from here. Many of Baelish's girls come from Volantis.

"Lady Diana," she greets me.

               It has been a long time since anyone called me that. I am no longer a lady, and neither is she. But I must hold my position; I didn't come here to yield ground to anyone.

"Lady Talisa."

               She remains taken aback for a moment before bowing to greet me.

"She is the Queen in the North," Robb corrects me.

"And I, the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms," I reply.