Ursa Major | Tormund Giantsbane

Chapter 4

The Kingslayer was gone.

Lady Catelyn had released him, thinking only of getting her daughters back. Thyrsa could see why she'd done it, but didn't believe it would work. As soon as the Queen had Jamie back, she would execute the girls; they didn't need leverage anymore. There was no way Jamie, even if he had good intentions, could succeed in getting the girls back within the next several weeks.

Many believed their King's mother might have just cost them the war.

"Tell me it isn't true," said Robb angrily when he returned from the Crag. His mother could not meet his gaze. "Why?"

"For the girls," said Lady Catelyn softly.

"You betrayed me."

"Robb–"

"No! You knew I would not allow it and you did it anyway."

"Bran and Rickon are captives in Winterfell. Sansa and Arya are captives in King's Landing. I have five children and only one of them is free."

"I have lost two of my sons fighting by your son's side," said Lord Karstark furiously. "I lost another to the Kingslayer, strangled with a chain. You commit treason because your children are prisoners? I would carve out my heart and offer it to the Father if he would let my sons wake from their graves and step into a prison cell."

Lady Catelyn shut her eyes tightly. "I grieve for your sons, my lord."

"I don't want your grief. I want my vengeance. And you stole it from me."

"Killing Jamie Lannister will not buy life for your children. But returning him to King's Landing may buy life for mine."

Robb shook his head. "Jamie Lannister has played you for a fool. You've weakened our position. You've brought discord into our camp. And you did it all behind my back." He spoke to his men, "Make sure she's guarded day and night."

"Robb!" she cried, realizing what this meant.

"How many men did we send in pursuit of the Kingslayer?" he asked Hother.

"Forty, Your Grace," he said.

"Send another forty with our fastest horses. Lady Umber, come with me."

She followed him, listening to him grunt to himself repeatedly, furious with his mother. "Stannis Baratheon is on his way to attack King's Landing," announced Robb. "And here we are with nothing. Our own men are upset with one another, our most valuable prisoner is gone."

"We ought to get rid of the other prisoners," said Thyrsa quietly. "We're in a good position to put more energy into getting the Kingslayer back. Your mother, she wanted to do what was best, but often we are all blinded by our own motivations. As a warrior, I say she made a grave mistake. As someone who has helped raise her nieces and nephews, I know that all she wants is to get those girls back. The war means nothing for you two if your siblings are dead. That being said, the needs of you and your mother do not measure above the needs of all the Northerners here fighting for you."

He huffed, resigned to accept this fact. "I wish for you to be present as I speak with Lord Bolton tomorrow. I want to hear the same from both of you."

That would not be too hard.

"Still no word?" asked Robb, confirming that no one knew anything about how the retaking of Winterfell was going yet.

"We've sent a dozen ravens, none have returned," said Roose. "My bastard's only a few days from Winterfell. Once he captures the castle–"

"Theon has my brothers," said Robb. "If we storm the castle–"

"He wouldn't dare hurt the boys," said Roose. "They're his only hope of escaping the North with his head."