"Is she beautiful?" Talisa asked her companion that walked beside her.
The army had stopped on their long journey south and the nurse had sought to request supplies. But the king had opted to being her along to gather them. Now the two were merely talking as they made their way back to camp.
As Robb was conversing with the foreign woman, Jaidyn happened to slip into the conversation. Thus, opening up the topic of his Queen wife.
"The most beautiful lady I've ever seen." Robb stated remembering Jaidyn's beauty.
"What is her name?" Talisa questioned wondering about the woman who held the king's heart.
"Mormont. Her house is a loyal one to the North. They say a Mormont man fights with the strength of ten." He explained as they walked.
"I'm sure that's how you met her then. Was your marriage one of duty?" Her question making him look at her oddly. He didn't expect this question to come.
"No. She was a ward brought to Winterfell when we were little. It wasn't till my father left that we confessed our love for one another." He admitted making her bow her head.
"My apologizes, my king. I didn't mean to sound intrusive." She spoke softly seemingly innocent. "So how do the Freys come in if you are already spoken for?"
Robb didn't think about the nature of the questions thinking she might just be curious. Many of the people were curious about his relationship with Jaidyn. Not to mention, how he managed to strike a deal with Walder Frey who was known for being bitter about such matters.
"I had to give my unborn child's hand in marriage." Robb said the guilt weighing heavily on him. He didn't like the idea of arranging marriages but it what he needed to to. He could only hope that his child didn't resent him for it.
"Your child for a bridge?" The nurse wondered outloud.
"An important bridge. It was before they killed my father. I still thought I could march South and rescue him in time, but only if I crossed that bridge." Robb explained the predicament that they were facing but left out the part the other option given to them.
"How did your lady wife take it? I can't imagine she was pleased." Talisa pressed. She was still coming accustom to Westeros customs, but the thought of arranging marriages for alliances was not what she imagined.
"I haven't told her." Robb admitted still worried about what Jaidyn might do when she found out. "We got lucky not being spoken for. I think we both had the idea that we'd allow our child to make their own decision. It's what my parent allowed for us to do."
"When I speak to people from the North, they all loved your father." She complimented him about his family.
"He was best man I ever met. I know children always think that about their fathers, but-" Robb began to state only for her to cut him off.
"Children do not always think that about their fathers, believe me." A underline tone to her voice. But the young king was too oblivious to catch if.
"He once told me that being a Lord is like being a father, except you have thousands of children and worry about all of them. The farmers plowing the fields are yours to protect. The charwoman scrubbing the floors, yours to protect. The soldiers you order into battle. He told me he woke with fear in the morning and went to bed with fear in the night. I didn't believe him. I asked him. 'How can a man be brave if he's afraid?' 'That's the only time a man can be brave,' he told me." The king described his late father.
When Jaidyn had told him she was pregnant he had thought of this story and worried about what kind of father he would be. But not he wondered if he might ever get a chance with them fighting this war. No one knew when it might be over.
"I wish I could have met him." She stated after hearing his statement.
"He would've liked you." Robb added to her comment. His father had generally liked alot of people with good personalities.
"Most Lords worry more about their gold and their glory then the charwoman scrubbing their floors." Talisa mentioned believing that nobles didn't care for anyone lower than them.
"He didn't care about gold or glory." Robb retorted not wanting to paint a bad image of his late father.
"And you?" The nurse bravely asked.
"You think I'm fighting this war so they'll write songs about me? I want to go home. I want the men following me to go home." Robb responded truthfully. He never wanted this war, he was forced into it.
The young king wanted nothing more than to go home to his family. To be with his wife and start their new life as parents. But now with everything that's happened, he wondered if he might ever get that chance. The idea of a future was getting further and further from him.
"Then why don't you?" She asked seeing how he was a king now. What he ordered people would obey.
"Because we'll never be safe until the Lannisters are defeated. And because I believe in justice." He replied listing his reasoning.
The Lannisters have always held a place of authority in Westeros. They were the richest house and now with the Queen being a key player, they could get away with anything. They had no right to take his father's head because he found out the truth. The Lannisters needed to pay for what they have done to the Seven Kingdoms.
"Chopping off Joffrey's head, you mean." She stated with a tone meaning she didn't necessarily approve of the notion.
"That would be a start." He admitted knowing that was his ultimate goal. The boy had taken his father and had the audacity to keep his sisters hostage. He wouldn't hide behind his mother's skirt for long.
Their walk didn't last for long after as someone rode up to inform the king about what had just occured. But little did he know was that evening would be a series of events.
He had just spoken with his mother about her irrational decision on releasing Jamie, when he had gotten called out. His hope was that it was some information about his family. About whether or not Winterfell had been taken back.
But when he entered the tent, he never imagined what would befall. Roose Bolten stood with a scroll in his hand and a grim look on his face.
"What is it?" He asked worried about what he might find out.
The Lord didn't offer any words but held the paper toward him. The action only make his not want to take it. With the paper in his hands, he didn't want to look. His suspicions only confirmed when he read the paper.
His whole body stood still. His blood ran cold and his breath hitched in his throat. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it.
His wife and his child were gone.
"Where did you get this? Who sent it?" He demanded after a moment.
"Just came in, Your Grace. One of the outposts sent it." Bolton began to explain but Robb gestured for him to continue. "A man came in demanding that word get sent to you. The Lannisters sent a party to find your wife. But when she refused to leave a fought broke out. I'm afraid he witnessed her demise."
Robb didn't want him to continue. He had already lost his father and his siblings well-being was still unknown. How could he accept the fate of the love of his life?
He didn't want to think about it and opted to ask about the progress of Winterfell. Maybe if he knew about his brothers then some good would happen. But there was still no word. No news.
It wasn't till Talisa wondered into the tent that Bolton gave them a moment. The words he had read beginning to settle in his mind.
"How are you?" She asked once news of the queen's fate went around.
"How am I? I've had to arrest my mother. The Lannisters have my sisters. The man I considered my closest friend has seized my home and my brothers. I'm fighting a war and I don't know if I should march south or north." He took a breath before he continued with his grim news. "And now I have just found out that my wife and child were slain by Lannister men."
It took the nurse a moment to answer but after his final statement did she respond. "I'm sorry, it was a stupid question. I'm sorry."
She made her way around to the table set up and poured a drink. She handed it to Robb who was still in his place as he thought of what he had learned. Her intention was to prove a form of comfort.
Her words soft and gentle as she moved closer to him. Her hand touching his arm lightly as looked at her. It was a brief moment but it was all she needed.
The two quick to remove her dress. He wanted to forget about the bad. To have a moment thinking Jaidyn was with him.
Their entanglement only lasted a second before shouts could be heard outside. He pulled away from her making her frown but he needed to know what was going on.
Once he was decent, he left the tent allowing her to ready herself. He moved to where the shouts were coming from. A vast of people ready for whatever they may encounter. It wasn't till he was staring at the treeline thinking Lannister red would soon be seen.
Except that wasn't it. A torch was seen first, then a boy who seemed out of breath. But then a sight that he couldn't believe if he hadn't have been there.
A man carrying his very prganant wife as groans fell from her lips. She was there right in front of him. The news he had been given was false.
"Quick, she needs a bed. It won't be long now." The man spoke with a rushed tone.
Snapping from his daze he quickly led the man into his tent. While the man laid Jaidyn down he told a squire to find someone to help. He could only stand there and look at Jaidyn while the man was consulting her.
Talisa watched as he left and dressed herself while waiting for him to reappear. But he never showed and her curiosity peaked as she heard commotion outside. She wondered to the nearest solider and asked what had happened thinking it might've been some attack. But she never expected to hear his news.
"The Queen of the North was found outside the treeline. She had gone into labor. The Heir of the North will be here soon." He informed before walking away.
She stood there for a moment as she thought of what had just occured moments prior. If the commotion didn't happen then it might've gone on longer. She wondered what might happen now until she realized something.
For once in her life, she had the attention of a good suitor and better yet a king. She had been complemented and treated like a lady. And she didn't want to let that go.
But what could she do now with Jaidyn now closer to the king? She had no answer until she looked to the tent. An plan forming in her mind but right now she needed to find out what she was up against. Her feet leading her to Robb's tent.
A/N: Okay show of hands, who hates me? ✋