LIONS AND WOLVES | Robb Stark

01 - The Long Road

JOANNA HAD BEEN RIDING for so long that she was starting to get sore.

Every time she dismounted her horse to relieve herself, she struggled to get back on again. Of course, she knew she had to keep going, because she had already had a few close calls with Lannister men and didn't quite fancy the idea of being dragged back to King's Landing and forced before the king. So, she convinced herself to get back in the saddle and continued onwards.

She knew she couldn't travel via the King's Road, because that was the first place that the gold cloaks would look for her, and she knew that if they found her, then this would all be over very quickly. Fortunately for her, Tyrion Lannister had made sure that she had enough knowledge and common sense that she had managed to correctly duplicate one of the maps from the library just in case. Oh, how she wished she could find that man and thank him.

For days, she had been riding for the North. She fled from King's Landing the same day that Joffrey gave the order for Ned Stark's head to be removed from his shoulders, stealing through the Mud Gate where she got out unhindered and riding away from the city. She had been prepared for an event such as this, and after her father's death, she had known that it was only a matter of time before she had to flee.

Eventually she knew she would run out of food, which she carried in a saddlebag, but fresh water was no issue when she found a river and followed it north, granting her access to fresh water whenever she needed it. She could have done with a hot bath, however, because she had only the clothes on her back and a cloak made of dark material to hide the fact that she was of royal blood. Her Uncle Jaime had had the smith make her a set of armour, which Joanna had managed to get away from the capital with her and had put on when she had a moment to breathe.

The chest-plate was rather arrogant, striking gold with a Lannister lion rearing its head in the centrepiece, but if it stopped her insides from becoming outsides, then she would gladly wear it. She had initially been wearing a dress, but that had been discarded long enough ago that she had almost forgotten that she had it with her, shoved into the bottom of her bag along with the jewellery she had been wearing.

The further north she travelled, the more she wondered whether this was a smart idea. They were at war, the entirety of the Seven Kingdoms fighting among itself for a throne made of swords, and here she was riding into the mouth of the wolf in the hopes that they would provide her with safety.

Of course, she had hope that when she arrived Robb would take her in. After all, they had been friends since they were children, and he was the son of Ned Stark, the only man that had made any attempt to help her after her father's death. It was merely a matter of chance which would determine the outcome of this journey north. If she encountered any Stark men, they might not believe her story, so she had to hope that she could get close enough to Robb that nobody would intervene.

She also wanted to beat the raven to Robb, which would undoubtedly bear the news of his father's death. She wanted him to hear it from her rather than a raven, and so she barely slept a wink as she rode tirelessly, day and night, to try and beat the bird to the wolf.

The image of Ned Stark's head rolling on the cobbles was forever scarred into her mind; Joffrey's maddening grin as Ilyn Payne swung his sword. Joanna could still hear Sansa Stark's screams rattling around her brain, and when the young girl had fallen unconscious from the shock of the situation, Joanna had used that distraction to make her own escape, regretting that she couldn't take the young Stark girl with her.

Now that she was getting closer to where Robb's army was camped, she could feel the chill of the bitter northern air piercing through her cloak. She pulled it tighter around herself as she spurred her horse on through the woods, adjusting her hood so that her face was concealed. The only problem with being of royal blood was that everybody seemed to know who you were, regardless of whether or not they had seen you before. The trek was a dangerous one, but nothing was more dangerous than being trapped in King's Landing with Joffrey, who was fast becoming as maniacal as the famed Aerys Targaryen, the Mad King.