LIONS AND WOLVES | Robb Stark

05 - The Young Wolf

ROBB STARK BECAME known as the Young Wolf.

It was a name that suited him, and although he had many names now, Joanna still called him Robb. To her, he would always be that boy that teased her because he was a little older than she was. As much as he was a king now, ruling over an army and fighting in a war, Robb Stark would always be her friend, first and foremost.

They were now camped near the Westerlands, and Joanna had proven herself among the men that Robb commanded. She had not yet betrayed them, and given that she did her best to make it known that she was not the enemy, they started to warm up to her just like Robb said they would.

Alayna and Alden were perhaps her two closest confidants. There was also Malia, Alayna's handmaiden who had also taken to caring for Joanna as well. When she left King's Landing, her own handmaiden, Elia, had been left behind. Joanna doubted that she would ever see the woman again, and often when she was brushing out her hair or getting herself ready in the mornings, she found herself thinking back to when everything was done for her.

How privileged she was to have had such an upbringing. She was grateful for everything that she had been fortunate enough to have when growing up, but there were some things that she wished she had been forced to learn, like how to correctly do up her armour. Alayna had found her struggling one morning, and after laughing for an obnoxiously long time, she helped Joanna and guided her through the process.

She had spoken to Robb quite often since joining him, because he favoured her word over others when it came to how the Lannisters would act. She praised him for his splinter technique during the Battle of the Green Fork and the Battle of the Whispering Wood, and although the Stark army was defeated in one part, the outcome of the other was very much positive.

When she found out that Robb was paying a visit to Jaime Lannister, Joanna made sure that she accompanied him, and when they entered the cage that Jaime was being held in, he said, "The King in the North."

Glancing up at them, Jaime Lannister was dirtier than when Joanna had last seen him. "I keep expecting you to leave me in one castle or another for safekeeping, but you drag me along from camp to camp. Have you grown fond of me, Stark? The only girl I've ever seen you with is my niece, after all."

"If I left you with one of my bannermen, your father would know within a fortnight," Robb said. "My bannerman would receive a raven with a message. 'Release my son and you'll be rich beyond your dreams. Refuse and your house will be destroyed, root and stem'."

"You don't trust the loyalty of the men following you into battle?" Jaime asked.

"I trust them with my life," Robb replied. "Just not with yours."

"Smart boy," Jaime commended, glancing at Joanna. "I can see why you picked his side. Very smart boy indeed," he noticed Robb's jaw tense and knew he had struck a nerve. "What's wrong? Don't like being called 'boy'? Insulted?"

A low growling came from beyond the cell, and Joanna knew that Grey Wind was approaching. The direwolf seemed fond of her, which made Joanna a lot more comfortable than if he had taken a disliking to her, and more often than not the wolf strayed away from Robb to find Joanna.

"You insult yourself, Kingslayer," Robb told Jaime. "You've been defeated by a boy. You're held captive by a boy. Perhaps you'll be killed by a boy."

Grey Wind paced into the cell and stood between Robb and Joanna, the latter of whom said, "Stannis Baratheon sent ravens to all the high lords of Westeros. King Joffrey Baratheon is neither a true king nor a true Baratheon."

"He's your bastard son," Robb said.

"If that's true, Stannis is the rightful king," Jaime replied. "How convenient for him."

"My father learned the truth," Robb said. "That's why you had him executed."

"I was your prisoner when Ned Stark lost his head," Jaime said.

Joanna shook her head. "Joffrey killed him so the world wouldn't learn who fathered him."

"And you," Robb said, his voice venomous as he glared at Jaime. "You pushed my brother from a window because he saw you with the queen."

"You have proof?" Jaime asked. "Do you want to trade gossip like a couple of fishwives?"

"I'm sending one of your cousins down to King's Landing with my peace terms," Robb explained.

"You think my father's going to negotiate with you?" Jaime asked. "You don't know him very well."

"No," Robb replied. "But he's starting to know me."

"Three victories don't make you a conqueror."

"It's better than three defeats," Robb quipped in response.

As he turned to leave the cell, Jaime called out to his niece. "You truly believe you've sided with the right people?"

Robb turned as Joanna hesitated. "You don't have to talk to him."

"She can speak for herself," Jaime said.

"And I don't need you to speak on my behalf, either," Joanna told her uncle. "Uncle Jaime, you've always treated me fairly, but surely you must know by now that Joffrey cannot hold his title forever. Sooner or later, somebody is going to come along with a greater claim, be it Stannis or Renly, and they are going to unseat Joffrey."

"And I suppose you'll be backing whoever succeeds in knocking him off his pedestal?" Jaime asked. "Let me remind you in case you've forgotten: he's your brother."

"Half-brother," Joanna corrected. "And I am nothing like Joffrey."

"Well, how very fortunate for you," Jaime replied. "Well, if you know what you're doing, then I suppose there's very little I can say to sway you."

"There's nothing you can say to sway me," Joanna said. "I've made my decision, uncle Jaime. Come victory or defeat, I stand with House Stark."

Jaime smiled coyly. "My, my, you are your father's daughter."

"I am also my mother's daughter," Joanna replied. "And she is, for all of her faults, one of the smartest women I have ever met. Never forget that."

Joanna turned and walked out of the cell, leaving Grey Wind to snap his jaws inches from Jaime's face. As she walked away from the cell, she heard Robb following her. In the days since joining him, Joanna had come to terms with just how fucked up her family were. In King's Landing, she could hide in that protective bubble in the Red Keep and pretend to be blissfully unaware of her family's wrongdoings.

Now, though, standing on the other side of the battlefield, she was beginning to see just how corrupt her entire family - Lannisters and Baratheons alike - truly were, and it disgusted her. She didn't want to be associated with those people, and had confided in Alayna that she wished there was more that she could do. Unfortunately, there wasn't, and she resigned herself to helping Robb Stark fight his war.

"Joanna!" Robb called. "Jo!"

She stopped and turned to him. "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" Robb asked. "I told you that you needn't have-"

"I'm fine," she said abruptly. "I've just had some time to think over the past few weeks, and it's put a lot of things into perspective," the two of them started walking once again, slower this time and in stride with one another. "I spent so many years defending my family because I believed that they could do no wrong, and now we're fighting in a war and they're the reason why."

"The sins of your family are not yours to bear," Robb said. "You played no part in my father's death, nor any of the events preceding that. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm glad you're here, Jo. If anyone from that family could have sided with me in this war, I'm glad it was you."

Joanna smiled. "I'm glad of it too."