Trials and Tribulations of the Oathkeeper

Chapter 33: What Is Dead May Never Die

―At Riverrun―

The rays of the sunlight shine through the window into Robb Stark's room. He had apparently chosen to spend the night with his family after attending his grandfather's funeral. With his uncle Edmure Tully the new Lord of Riverrun, it was a period of adjustment for the people swearing fealty to the new Lord Paramount of the Riverlands. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Robb looked at the foot of his bed to see Grey Wind still sleeping; the direwolf twitched slightly during one of his dream cycles. Alongside him laid another; stirring in her sleep was a naked Talisa Maegyr. Apparently during their travels together, the two had grown rather... intimate; more so as of late. Robb smiled at the foreign Volantene woman as she began to open her eyes.

"Good morning, my lady," Robb greeted.

Talisa yawned. "Good morning, my lord," she rubbed her eyes.

Robb rubbed his hand against her arm before bringing it up to her cheeks. "Did I wake you? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," she shook her head and kissed Robb's hand. "You were amazing."

Robb leaned down to kiss Talisa, who in turn reciprocated. "How did I, the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, end up being so lucky as to have a woman like you?" he joked.

Taelisa raised an eyebrow in amusement. "And how did I, a foreigner groomed to be a proper lady, play the harp and dance the latest steps and recite Valyrian poetry, end up being so lucky as to be with a man like you?"

"I'd like to hear you play the harp."

"No. No, you would not."

Robb laughed as he watched Talisa slide out of bed to put on her morning gown. As he stood, Grey Wind woke up and jumped off the bed – ready to start the day. "I'm curious," he spoke as he put his clothes on. "How did you go from reciting Valyrian poetry to sawing off men's feet?"

Talisa sighed and shook her head. "When I was 12, my mother and father went to a wedding. Weddings in Volantis last for days, you know. And they left me with my little brother. The second afternoon they were gone was the hottest day in the three-year summer. We couldn't bear to be inside, so we ran down to the Rhoyne. Every child in Volantis was in the Rhoyne that day. The rich, the poor, we were all there, naked, screaming, racing to the little islands."

Robb stood by the window, listening closely as Talisa continued.

"Drummers were playing for coppers on the east bank. I was treading water, talking to a friend when I realized I hadn't seen my brother. I called his name. Then I started screaming his name. And then I saw him floating face down. My heart just... stopped. I was... I dragged him from the water. My friend helped me, I think. I don't even remember. He was so little."

Robb felt his stomach twist into knots; the thought of losing any of his brothers and sisters always frightened him. To hear how Talisa lose hers...

"Then we pulled him onto the riverbank... and I screamed at him and I shook him and he was dead. Just dead. A man ran over. He had a fish tattoo on his face. In Volantis the slaves have tattoos so you know what they are without having to talk to them. And this man worked on a fishing boat. And he pushed me out of the way." Talisa looked at Robb. "You have to understand, for a slave to push a highborn girl... that's death for the man, a terrible death. But he pushed me out of the way and he started pressing on my brother's chest again and again and again until my brother spat out half of the Rhoyne and cried out. And the man cradled his head and told him to be calm. I decided two things that day: I would not waste my years planning dances and masquerades with the other noble ladies. And when I came of age... I would never live in a slave city again."