The Remnant of the Pack - Book 1 - GoT

Missing

Robb stood close to the fire.

It wasn't that he was cold. He was born in the North and was now far more south than he ever was, at Harrenhal, far warmer. He had won every battle he's fought. The Young Wolf, he was called now. He had heard the stories they told about him. People said he rode into battle in the back of a giant direwolf. They said he could turn into a wolf himself whenever he wanted to. They said he couldn't be killed. It was a stupid thing to say, Robb thought. Anyone could be killed. Even a young boy, winning his battles against Tywin Lannister himself. Especially that boy.

And that thought troubled him every night. Robb had the North and, now, with the Tullys at his back, he had the Trident. Of course, the Freys at the Twins were a nuisance. His mother was right, he knew it. Walder Frey was not one to be crossed. But Robb didn't listen to her, deciding to marry Talisa, instead of one of Frey's daughter like he promised. He didn't regret it. No, every time he saw Talisa, every time he talked to her or touched her, he was reminded why he did what he did. Still he had ignored his mother. He had ignored his sister, smarter than most of his men and giving him advice long before he ever thought he would need it. This is war, Robb, she had said, the night he left Winterfell more than an year before. Don't think with your heart. Don't think with your fucking cock. Think with your head, because if you don't, they'll take it from you. Promise me. And he had promised her. Another broken vow he made. His Father would probably not be too proud of him. But he still had his head on, so maybe Ylina was over exaggerating slightly.

Still, Robb needed to figure out a way to make amends with Lord Walder Frey because he knew the old man wouldn't take lightly the prospect of not having one of his daughters becoming Queen. If anything, he would take it as an offence. And if Lord Frey didn't immediately decided to turn his army against Robb's, he would, at least call his bannermen back and Robb would lose a big part of his army. A part he couldn't afford losing, considering he was now going up against not only the Lannisters but both Baratheon brothers and their alliances.

And that without counting on the fleet and men he could have had if Theon hadn't turned on him. I am his only living son, the man he had once considered a brother argued as he tried to convince Robb to let him go talk to his father in the Iron Islands. He will listen to me. And Robb had thought it was a reasonable proposition. What he would have never see coming was the betrayal and backstabbing that came with allowing Theon back home. Not only had Robb lost a good army, he had lost a friend. The closest one he had ever had.

But Theon wasn't the only one betraying him. Robb had managed to capture Jaime Lannister. The Kingslayer himself was in his grasp and so he stayed for quite a long time. If Robb didn't have any leverage against Tywin, that was it: he had his golden son as his prisoner and Tywin knew that if he ever did anything too drastic, Robb Stark would waste no time in killing him. Why would he? Joffrey Baratheon didn't blink before sending someone to kill Ned. With Jaime Lannister as his prisoner, Robb Stark was playing the game and he had the winning hand. He had tried to make his men understand. The Kingslayer was worth more to them alive than dead and of course he understood their anger. Especially Karstark's. Jaime himself had led the attack that took away his sons from him, but angry and mighty as he was, he understood what Robb was doing. The one person Robb never thought he would have to worry about, however, ended being the one who caused him the most trouble: Lady Catelyn Stark herself.

Again, he understood her side. If having his younger sisters in the hands of Lannisters managed to disturb his sleep at night, he couldn't even begin to imagine what it did to a mother. A mother who had just watched her son in a continuous coma for so long and never got the chance to see him up again. A mother who hadn't have word from her three children that were supposedly safe back home despite being hostages there as well. A mother who had, not long ago, lost the father of her children only to be forced to watch as her oldest son rode into battle for it. He understood his Mother's position was a difficult one, but he never expected her to not understand his own.