CHAPTER ELEVEN - BATTLE STRATEGIES
Robb wasn't joking when he said that he wanted to leave as soon as possible. Hera had been sleeping in her chamber, her only concerns happening inside her own dreams. Theon had roughly knocked on her chamberdoor, and told her that they were leaving. She sat in her bed for a while, not being able to process the information because of how tired she was. She got a grip on herself and rose from the bed. Then she had gotten dressed and collected everything she would need.
She met them in the courtyard, where they were stood with their horses, waiting for the rest of the men to arrive. Robb held the reins of both his horse and Hera's horse, and as soon as he saw her coming, he gave her the horse's reins.
"You couldn't have waited until the morning?" She sleepily asked. She had always been a tired girl, and it certainly didn't help to wake her up in the middle of the night. Robb studied her face for a couple of seconds with a raised eyebrow.
"It's better at night. I don't want the Lannisters to know I'm coming. They have spies everywhere."
Hera sighed and looked up as she felt a couple of raindrops hit her face. "Perfect timing" she mumbled under her breath. The rain didn't pour, but it was enough to make her become wet. When Robb mounted his horse, Hera did the same. She was still very sleepy, so she didn't really register what happened around her, other than that they had started moving. With a tired sigh, she made the horse start walking towards the gates.
She didn't know how long they had been riding, but she suspected that it were at least a couple of hours. She could see Robb and Theon riding further at the front, chatting with each other. They would have to settle down for the night soon, or else someone could pass out. Probably herself.
She wasn't as tired anymore, but she still really wanted to sleep. The rain had stopped a while ago, but everyone were still drenched in water. Robb stopped his horse, which caused everyone else to stop as well.
"We'll lay camp here!" he shouted so that everyone could hear him. Hera mentally thanked him.
*
It was the next day, and they had set up all the tents and settled down in their new camp. Robb, Theon, Hera and some of the bannermen stood inside Robb's tent. His tent were the biggest one, considering he was the Lord after all. It were lightly snowing outside, causing a cool breeze to sneak inside the tent now and then. Hera was wearing a fur cloak, so that made her warmer at least.
"What do you plan on doing with the king?" Theon asked Robb, his usual smirk covering his face.
Robb sighed. "I haven't thought about that yet."
"I vote that you make him swear fealty to you in front of everyone, or behead him."
Robb's eyes snapped up to look at Theon. "No one is being beheaded!" he snapped with hard eyes.
"Well, you're not attacking yet, so you have time to think about what you're going to do." Hera commented from her seat at one of the stools which stood around the table.
"But he needs to do it quickly" Theon said while looking at Hera with annoyed eyes.
"Don't stress him!"
"Enough" Robb spoke with an irritated face. "Your bickering isn't helping."
Robb sighed and walked over to the table which a map were spread out on. It was the table he planned his strategies at. "The River Lords are falling back with Jaime Lannsiter at their heels" he stated as he leaned on the table. "And Lord Tywin is bringing around a second Lannister army from the south."
He looked up at everyone. "Our scouts confirm it's even larger than the Kingslayer's."
Okay, that's really bad. The Lannisters had one of the largest armies in the world, and the Stark army were nothing compared to them.
Lord Umber spoke up from his spot at the end of the table. "One army or two, the kings in the north threw back hosts ten times as large."
Hera's eyes moved to the entrance of the tent when she saw that someone was walking towards them. The person turned out to be Catelyn Stark who had returned from her trip to King's Landing. Lord Umber and the rest of the Lords quickly stood up and bowed their heads respectfully, Hera doing it as well.
Robb turned around curiously, and his face became shocked when he saw Lady Catelyn. "Mother!" he exclaimed in greeting as he walked towards her.
Catelyn seemed to struggle to find something to say, but eventually opened her mouth. "You look well."
"Lady Catelyn, you're a welcoming sight in these troubled times" Lord Umber spoke up.
"We had not thought to meet you here, my Lady" Theon said from his spot beside Robb. As he spoke, Hera moved from her spot by the table towards Robb, until she stood at his other side.
"I had not thought to be here" Catelyn answered truthfully. "I would speak with my son alone." Her eyes moved to Robb, a tired look in them. "I know you will forgive me, my Lords."
Lord Umber was the first to speak. "You heard her, move your asses!" When no one moved, he spoke again. "Out!"
Theon and Hera didn't move though, which seemed to annoy him. "You too, Greyjoy, Nyvell, are you bloody deaf?"
Hera sighed and looked at Robb, who gave her a small nod. She gave him a weak smile in return, before she walked out of the tent with Theon at her side.
"So what are you doing now?"
"Shut it, Theon."
*
It was late evening again, and Hera was back in the tent with Robb, Theon and Lady Catelyn. Some of the Lords were in here as well. It was important that they planned their strategies carefully, because if they lost the battle, they would all die.
They were currently in a heated discussion and everyone were huddled around the small table. The only source of light in the big tent were some lit candles, which were spread out on the table and on the ground.
"We need to get him on broken ground, put his knights at a disadvantage" Ser Rodrik commented as he pointed at a spot on the map. Lord Umber was quick to crush that idea.
"No, we need to get around him and break Jaime Lannister's siege at Riverrun. Do that and the River Lords will join us."
Robb didn't look up from the map, because he was consentrated on finding the perfect plan, but he still spoke. "To do either we need to cross the river, and the only crossing is at The Twins."
"Lord Frey controls that bridge. Your fathers bannermen." Theon spoke up. Hera pinched the bridge of her nose. She hated planning battles, because it seemed like they made no progress. Whenever they came up with a great idea, it was like something always had to ruin it.
"The late Lord Frey, my father calls him" Lady Catelyn voiced, glancing at all the Lords around the table. "At the trident, he didn't appear until the battle was done. Some men take their oaths more seriously than others."
It seemed like Catelyn didn't trust Lord Frey completely. That was smart of her, Hera thought. He was an old man, and old men had more tricks up their sleeve.
"Robb's right, we need that bridge" Theon commented. Hera could see that Robb was getting stressed.
"So what's it gonna be? Do we move against Jaime or Lord Tywin?" Lord Umber asked the question on everyone's minds.
They were suddenly interrupted as two guards came barging into the tent, a man held tightly in their grasps. The man had messy brown hair, and his clothes were dirty. "Your pardon, my Lords" one of them spoke. "We've captured a Lannister scout."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Theon grabbed the map and hid all their plans. Lord Umber looked back at him. "Don't worry lad, he won't be leaving this tent with his head."
"Where did you find him?" Robb asked as he glared at the spy.
"In the brush above the encampment. He looked to be counting."
Robb walked slowly over to the spy until he was stood right in front of him, his glare making the spy squirm in the guards grasp. "How high did you get?"
The spy lifted his eyes to Robb. "20,000, maybe more."
"You don't have to do this yourself!" Ser Rodrik exclaimed. "Your father would understand."
Robb was quick to answer. "My father understands mercy when there is room for it." He gave Ser Rodrik a hard look before his gaze moved to his mother. "And he understands honor."
Robb looked at the spy, who still seemed uncomfortable. "And courage." Robb stood still for a moment, debating his options. "Let him go" he finally spoke.
Lady Catelyn quickly stood up in shock. "Robb!" she exclaimed. Her outburst caused Robb to turn around and give her a glare, which seemed to make her go quiet. He took a step towards the spy, until he was so close that he could talk to him quietly.
"Tell Lord Tywin, winter is coming for him. 20,000 northernes marching South to find out if he really does shit gold."
"Yes my Lord" the spy muttered. "Thank you, my Lord"
Robb signaled for the guards to get the spy out from the tent. The guards instantly grabbed the spy by his arms and nearly dragged him out.
Lord Umber was raging. He stalked towards the opening of the tent before he looked at Robb angrily.
"Are you touched boy? Letting him go?"
"You call me boy again" Robb spoke threatingly. Lord Umber stepped closer to him and snarled. "Go on" Robb taunted.
Lord Umber made an angry sound before he turned around and stormed out of the tent. Everyone was left shocked at his outburst, as they all looked at Robb to see what his next move would be.
Robb sighed before he rubbed his forehead. "Everyone out."
As soon as the command was given, the rest of the people quickly left the tent. Only Hera remained.
She walked over to Robb, until she was stood right in front of him. He kept his gaze on her, watching her with tired eyes.
"You did the right thing" she spoke at last. Robb was glad that at least one person agreed with his decision.
"The other Lords doesn't seem to agree."
Hera gave him a soft smile. "That's because they don't have a pure heart like yours." She placed her hand over his chest, where his heart were located. She could feel it thumping underneath her hand, its rythm at a fast pace. "Sometimes it's important to listen to your heart rather than your head."
Robb managed to give her a weak smile. "Thank you."
Hera removed her hand from his chest, letting it fall to her side. "Of course."
She stepped away from him and walked to the opening of the tent. When she turned around, he was still looking at her. She gave him one last smile. "Goodnight, Robb"
"Goodnight, Hera."
-
There's only a couple of chapters left of Book 1, and in Book 2, things will be much more exciting! I really enjoy writing these small scenes between Robb and Hera. You can definitely expect lots of them in Book 2!
I have some exciting news! I recently published a Jon Snow fanfiction, which is about a girl who is caught in a storm at sea, and is thrown overboard from the ship. She washes up on shore near Castle Black without any memories. You can find it on my profile if you want to check it out!
Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot :)