Only A Northern Song ~ Game of Thrones / Willas Tyrell ~

Chapter Seventy Three: The Frey's Deal

The meeting with the Freys was held in the exact same hall she and Brynden had used to treat with the Hound months ago, though the presence of Walder Frey's sons made it seem so much colder than it had done the last time.

At least there was only two Freys, while there were five of them. Robb and Eddmina held the middle seats, both of them wearing their crowns, while their mother and uncles sat either side of them. She had changed out of her funeral clothes and into a Stark grey dress that was a little too tight but gave nothing of her condition away, and had rebraided her windswept hair, but the care she had taken with her appearance hadn't been replicated by their guests, who were still in the clothes they arrived in the day before.

"Thank you for travelling here so quickly," Robb began, addressing them courteously. "I know travel is not easy in these times."

"The road is surrounded by bandits and cutthroats," Lothar Frey agreed, before sneering a smile that made Eddmina feel uneasy. "But when the King in the North calls, we come."

"Or, when the King's sister calls," Walder Rivers - Lothar's half brother - added, snide and cruel as he glanced between the two Stark twins. Eddmina forced a courteous smile.

"My sister Eddmina is my Hand, I trust her with all my correspondence," Robb explained, not breaking his gaze with either of them, unflinching despite the covert insult.

"Aye, and she was the one who made the initial negotiations," Lothar recalled, eying her up and down. She wanted to look away, but kept her gaze as hard as steel, even when he offered her a snide grin. "Our father speaks very highly of you."

"I hope he is well," Eddmina forced another smile, especially when she noticed her mother doing the same.

"He is, he especially will be once all this bother is settled," Lothar ended small talk there, his eyes cold as he attempted to take control of the situation. "Our lord father has instructed us to tell you that house Frey's alliance with the North can continue, if his terms are met."

"Lord Frey requires a formal apology for your violation of your sacred oath to marry one of his daughters," Walder Rivers began, and Eddmina had a feeling it was the first in a long list of demands.

"Of course," Robb agreed with a solemn nod. "I owe him as much, I was in the wrong."

"He requires one from your sister too, for her promising your hand when you never intended to give it," Walder Rivers continued, never once glancing at Eddmina despite talking about her.

Under the table she clenched her fists in her lap, embedding her fingernails into the palm of her hand to distract herself from her instant annoyance. She had done nothing but constantly remind Robb of the importance of his duties and promises, she'd done nothing but try to uphold the alliance. Yet there she was, being told she needed to grovel.

"Of course," she echoed Robb, hoping her smile didn't look forced and her eyes didn't show her frustration.

"As restitution for the betrayal, our father would also like Harrenhall, and all it's surrounding lands," Lothar added.

'They say it's cursed,' Eddmina remembered from a dozen history books, and from Willas' retelling her tales whenever they rode near it. 'Let Lord Frey have it.'

"I don't think that's-" Edmure began to oppose - it was a keep he was Warden over now, after all - but was cut off by Robb's glare.

"We're fighting for the North," Robb interupted him, looking at him sharply before settling his gaze back on the Freys, back to acting amiable. "Harrenhall is not in the north, and so he can have it, once the war is over and we're no longer using it."