~~Evelyn Dayne~~
The Lannisters have been reeking havoc in the Riverlands. Tywin Lannister and the Kingslayer have been deadly effective against Tully forces who have resorted to a hidden war.
"The scouts report Lord Tywin moves North. We need to get him on broken ground, put his knights at a disadvantage."
Rodrik Cassel says.
"No, we need to get around him and break Jaime Lannister's siege of Riverrun. Do that and the River Lords will join us."
Greatjon Umber says as I look over the map of the Westeros, more particularly, the Riverlands.
"To do either we need to cross the river on the Green Fork, which the only crossing is at the Twins."
"Lord Walder Frey."
I say.
"A man not so prudent with showing up on time."
I remark, referring to the Battle of the Trident during Robert's Rebellion.
"But we need that bridge."
"Lord Walder isn't a trustworthy man."
Lady Catelyn says.
"But I know he will listen to me. I've known him since I was a girl."
"But that still doesn't answer who we attack; the Kingslayer or Tywin?"
Greatjon asks and I look at Robb, who sits and thinks. For a long few moments, nobody says anything. Not even Theon, whom I thought would be annoying the hell out of me with his dirty talk.
I look at the map, seeing the little lion figurines, marking Tywin and the Kingslayer's host. Jaime has 30,000 men, about half of the Lannister forces, or so the Riverrun scouts from the Blackfish had said. They also mentioned how Jaime is restless and often goes out to hunt for small groups of Riverland rebels.
It clicks in my mind instantly.
"We should attack Jaime's forces and Tywin's.
Everyone looks up at me.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we send a small force to trick Tywin in the east and lure the Kingslayer into a trap. Get him into a forested area and attack from different angles. Our forces are outnumbered, they know this. But Jaime is restless and arrogant. He's going on raids against small pockets of rebels with small numbers. If we draw him into a fight thinking it's another small group, we can sweep the Kingslayer off his feet."
I say and Robb starts considering the idea. Greatjon Umber on the other hand, practically snorts with laughter.
"You certainly have a humourous mind there, Dayne. But that would never work."
"It will work."
Robb says finally. Greatjon is about to argue by two Stark guards enter the tent, holding someone by their arm.
"We've captured a Lannister scout."
My eyes widen slightly and I immediately flip the maps over so he can't see anything we were planning. Greatjon just chuckles.
"Don't worry, missy. He won't be leaving this tent with his head."
Robb shake his head before turning to the guards.
"Where did you find him?"
He asks.
"In the brush above the encampment. He looked to be counting."
Robb walks towards the scout slowly and I feel myself itching for my sword.
"How high did you get?"
He asks the man, who mumbles for a moment before speaking up.
"20,000. Maybe more."
"Great.."
I mumble. They know how many men we have. The Lannisters probably already knew how many men we had but this probably just confirms it.
"You don't have to do this yourself. Your father would understand."
Ser Rodrik says.
"My father understands mercy, when there is room for it. And he understands honor and courage... Let him go."
The others look upset but understanding clicks instantly. He's going along with my plan.
"Tell Lord Tywin, Winter is Coming for him. 20,000 Northerners marching South to find out if he really does shit gold."
He pats the scout on the shoulder, the man trembles slightly and nods.
"Yes, my lord. Thank you, my lord."
"Escort him away from the camp and make sure he actually leaves."
"Right away, my lord."
The guards take the Lannister scout away am Robb turns back to me.
"Well, I just showed my hand to Tywin. Tell me the rest, Evelyn."
I nod, flipping the maps back up and reset the pieces. The others looks at the map as well.
"Tywin's going to know now how many me we have. We can use that to our advantage. If we send Lord Roose Bolton to face Tywin with a small force at..."
I look around the map before pointing at one of the splits of the Trident River.
"Green Fork. Tywin will want to overwhelm us with everything he's got. But if we bait him that way, we could flip back around with the bulk of our army and face Jaime. And if we capture the Kingslayer, that's a huge bargaining chip to use to get Arya, Lord Stark, and Sansa back."
Catelyn Stark for once actually looks at me with a smile and Theon actually seems impressed. Robb smiles and nods.
"Then it seems it's settled. I will inform Lord Bolton of the plan. But we still need to be able to cross the Twins."
"We will figure that out when the time arises, my son."
Lady Catelyn says.
"Dismissed."
Robb waves his hand and the others leave but I stay behind, still looking at the map. There's a long moment of silence between the two of us. The candles flicker slightly from the wind outside.
"Thank you, Evelyn."
He says out of the blue and I turn to face him, confused.
"What for?"
I ask and he sighs.
"I don't know if I could've come up with a plan like that. It's crazy and sane sounded at the same time."
I chuckle at his words.
"Sometimes, you just need a little confidence is all."
He shrugs.
"What will the men think when their Lord can't even come up with a battle plan?"
He slump into a chair and I pat his shoulder.
"They needn't know it was me who planned it, Robb. You're their leader. I'm just a lowly footsoldier in your army."
I joke and Robb smirks.
"Thank you, Evelyn. I just hope this works."
I nod.
"It will."
~~~~~
A/N
So there's that chapter done. It's coming. The Whispering Woods is coming. I guess we'll see how that goes down.
Anyways, the swords depicted are Evelyn's swords. And she does have two so yeah.
Thank you for reading!