A/N:
As I finished the last chapter, I became painfully aware that it was mostly filler. Because of that, I decided to give you guys a double update to cover more of what happened in the show. Hope you enjoy!
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Raven's POV
There were hundreds of Northmen camped outside the castle's walls when we arrived in Winterfell. Flown atop every tent were flags from nearly every northern house
"Go," Lady Maege instructed me as she dismounted her horse, "find your brother. I will settle the men and come find the two of you."
"Aye, my Lady." I did as told, kicking at the side of my horse with a clicking sound to ride through the gates. "Greyjoy." I acknowledged my father's ward, hopping off my horse and handing the reigns to a waiting stable boy
"Raven," the older boy nodded, "Come to fight?"
"No, I figured I'd come and bake cookies for all the men." I jested, "Aye, I've come to fight. Where's Robb?"
"Great Hall with Maester Ludwin." I nodded and made my way there. Theon fell in step beside me, "Are you ready to see a proper battlefield?"
"Don't look so excited.' I admonished, "This is war, Theon, it is not a game."
"Always a killjoy, huh Snow?" he snickered
"Only when it's your joy I am killing." I grinned
We walked into the Great Hall to find Robb and Maester Ludwin staring at a map that spanned the whole of the long table. My brother's eyes found mine, "Raven," he let out a relieved sigh, "Thank the gods."
I walked into his waiting arms, "We rode out as soon as we could. Lady Maege is settling the troops right now." I stepped out of the embrace, "What do we know? Have we heard anything about Sansa and Arya?"
"There's been a raven." he handed me a piece of parchment
I read over the words carefully: "Robb, I write to you with a heavy heart. Our good King Robert is dead, killed from wounds he took in a boar hunt. Father had been charged with treason. He conspired with Robert's brothers against my beloved Joffrey and tried to steal his throne. The Lannisters are treating me very well and provide me with every comfort. I beg you: come to King's Landing, swear fealty to King Joffrey, and prevent any strife between the great houses of Lannister and Stark."
I couldn't believe what I was reading, "Sansa wrote this?" I set the parchment down on the table before I could crumple it up
Ludwin nodded solemnly, "It is your sister's hand, but the queen's words."
"And no word on or from Arya?" I asked
Robb shook his head, setting a hand on my shoulder, "No, but we will get them back. All of them." he said with enough conviction to almost make me believe him, "Have you heard from Jon?"
I nodded, "He has already taken his vows. The problems of the realm are no longer his." I reminded him, "I know you want him by your side, but you will have to settle for me." I grinned
He let out a light laugh, "Tis not settling, my dear sister. You are just as capable as any man out there."
"We will see how they feel about that." I sighed
"Tonight I will gather the Lords-" I cleared my throat, "-and Ladies" he shot me a grin, "for a feast to discuss our plan of action."
"Until then," I spoke up, "where are Bran and Rickon?"
"In the Godswood with Hodor and Osha."
"And Osha is the wildling you captured after she tried to kill Bran?" He nodded, "And we trust her to watch over our little brothers?" I asked skeptically
"She remains shackled and has not acted against us since that day in the woods."
"Maybe that's because you haven't given her the chance."
"A rather pessimistic view for you, Snow," Theon noted
"I already have two siblings in danger, three if we count Jon, I do not want to have to worry about two more."
"Do you trust me, sister?" Robb looked into my grey eyes
"You know I do."
"We have been keeping a close eye on her, and I am sure Maester Ludwin will continue to do so after we depart."
"That I will." the older man spoke up, "I promise you that."
"Thank you." I smiled kindly, "Now, I will take my leave to find them. You know where to find me. I'll see you gentlemen tonight,"
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The Great Hall was as alive and raucous as ever, the tension of the impending war seemingly forgotten by those not at the main table. Robb was at the head, of course, with his men surrounding him. I took the seat on the end of the bench to his left. Theon and Bran filed in beside me amongst the other men surrounding the table. Lady Maege was two men down on Robb's other side. Ember and Grey Wind lay at our feet.
As Robb spoke of his plans moving forward, I began to worry about the senior Lords he'd be leading into this war. They were a proud lot, and unlikely to be willing to take orders from a boy of eighteen, no matter that boy's position.
Lord Greatjon Umber was one of these men, though he was of the lot that believed he was more knowledgeable than Robb, "For thirty years I've been making corpses out of men, boy. I'm the man you want leading the vanguard."
"Galbart Glover will lead the van." Robb told him
"The bloody Wall will melt before an Umber marches behind a Glover." the older man gripped, pointing at the man to Robb's other side. Umber leaned forward on the table, hands clasped in front of him, "I will lead the van, or I will take my men and march them home."
My eyes darted between my brother and Umber. This would not be ending well.
Robb's glare was hard set, "You are welcome to do so, Lord Umber." he rose from the table, his chair screeching against the stone floor, "And when I am done with the Lannisters, I will march back North, root you out of your keep and hang you for an oathbreaker." The conversations around us died down, a tense silence filling the grand room
"Oathbreaker, is it?" Umber bellowed, swiping his goblet from the table in outrage as he got to his feet. I, along with several others rose as well. My hand poised on the hilt of my dagger, "I'll not sit here and swallow insults from a boy so green he pisses grass."
The second his hand moved to pull his sword I drew my dagger, as did Theon with his sword. Neither of us were able to act as Greywind leaped over the table and pounced on Umber. Ember moved to do the same, but I was able to stop her with a wave of my hand. Umber screamed as the wolf ripped two of his fingers from his hand.
"My Lord Father taught me it was death to bare steel against your liege-lord." Robb condescended as the older man staggered to his feet, "But doubtless, the Greatjon only meant to cut my meat for me."
Lord Umber kicked his stool to the side, "Your meat..." he seethed as he took in the room. Not one person was seated, he seemed to weigh his options for a moment, "is bloody tough." he laughed heartily, his injured hand clutched to his chest. I resheathed my dagger as Robb and the other men joined in the laughter.
I sighed in relief as we all continued with the feast. "Tense, Snow?" Theon teased
I breathed a laugh, "You weren't exactly about to pull a bouquet from your belt, yourself Greyjoy." We shared a further laugh at the image, drawing Robb in with us. "That was a rather extreme way to establish dominance, brother," I told him
He shrugged, "You know as well as I that it isn't always possible to control these beasts." he reached down to scratch Greywind behind his ear. The wolf still had the Greatjon's fingers in his mouth
"And you know, they read us better than we can ourselves." I reminded him, "Are you telling me you didn't take just a bit of pride in his leaping to your defense?"
"I'm sure it is the same amount you will when you are inevitably put in the same position, sister." It was good neither of us was kidding ourselves in my acceptance in this army.
"I promise I will be taking more pleasure in whatever needs to be done, and Ember may be aiming for a very different, much more coveted body part when the tables are turned." I could feel the glint in my eye as I spoke
Robb, Theon, and any other man who heard me winced, "You are an evil woman, Raven." Theon told me, shaking his head
"It would certainly be effective, now wouldn't it?" I grinned
"I agree," Lady Maege raised her goblet to me, I returned the gesture
"Aye, it would, but let us try and use that move sparingly, sister." Robb cautioned, "A few fingers are one thing, but a wolf to the cock will cost me a soldier."
"Then we will just have to ensure your men know better than to take their prejudices out on me," I smirked as I took a swig from my cup
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"Must we leave so early?" I groaned lightly as we reached Bran's chamber. Robb had pulled me out of bed long before the sun had risen to tell me the army was moving out, "I hate to wake them."
He sighed, "As do I, but we have to stay one step ahead of the Lannisters at all costs. They will be expecting us on the main road at daybreak. They will not however be expecting us to move while the moon is still above us."
"Of course," I nodded through a yawn, "Let's get this over with. I hate having to leave them again."
Slowly, Robb and I crept into the room and sat on the edge of Bran's bed. Robb raised his hand and gently shook the boy and he woke with a start, "What is it? What's happened?" he asked
"It's all right." I soothed, pushing his hair from his face
Bran took in our appearances, "Where are you going?"
"South. For Father." Robb answered
"But it's the middle of the night."
"My thoughts exactly, pup." I huffed a laugh
"The Lannisters have spies everywhere. I don't want them to know we're coming."
"They have more men than we do," Bran told him. I hadn't thought he'd been listening to the talk around the feast table, but I'd been wrong
"Aye, they do." Robb agreed
Bran rose to lean back on his elbows, "Can't I come with you? I can ride now, you've seen me riding, and I won't get in the way. I-"
"There must always be a Stark in Winterfell. Until I return, that will be you." his voice grew grim, "You are not to leave the castle walls while we are gone. Do you understand? Listen to Maester Ludwin. Look after your little brother.
Bran nodded solemnly, "I will."
"We'll send letters whenever we can, but if you don't hear from us, don't be scared," I told him, "And don't look so glum, little one-" I set my hand on the nape of his neck, "-you have the most important job of all. You get to keep Winterfell and what remains of our family together until we return. Now, come here." I held my arms open and he leaned in. "I love you, Bran."
"I love you too," he whispered against me.
"Try to go back to sleep, pup," I smoothed out his hair one more time, reluctantly releasing him and standing
"Until we return." Robb nodded, bitting back emotion as we left the room and closed to door behind us, "He's too young for all this to be put on him."
"So are we," I told him, remembering the conversation I had with Lady Maege, "Come on, Rickon awaits." I took a deep breath to steady myself before continuing on down the hall. We'd walked these halls our whole lives but never had I felt so heavy while doing it.
The second we hit the King's Road, Robb and I would no longer be but brother and sister. No, we would become a soldier and her liege-lord. I gripped that damn wooded knight toy in my fist again and again, hoping it would all begin to feel real, but it never did. Perhaps this was how Father and King Robert had felt all those years ago.