49 Winterfell Retaken
~~~(POV: Robb Stark)~~~
~~~(Current Age: 20 Years)~~~
~~~(Location: Outside Winterfell, The North, Westeros)~~~
~~~(Date: 300 AC)~~~
"Your Grace, the Greyjoys are almost routed, and The Boltons have retreated. All that's left is to finish this."
This battle has been long and hard fought. After arriving two days ago, many of my troops were tired and ready for sleep. We have won the battle today, and Winterfell is almost back in Stark hands. Mom walks up beside me, and the soldier who just spoke leaves.
Brynden Tully stands on the other side of my mother. Looking at the ancestral home of my people. From here, the few soldiers left are manning the walls. Preparing for the final assault on the place I call home. When I was a child, I never thought I'd have to attack Winterfell.
Never thought I'd be the one to lose it, either...
"Robb... No matter what happens from here... I want you to know that I'm proud of you. You've been a great leader and an even better son."
The woman who brought me into this world has been worried since we started our trek back into The North. Fearing that I'll die in some accident or battle. Her fears are amplified since Sansa is locked away in Kings Landing somewhere, and Arya is lost to us.
No one knows where my youngest sister is. Bran and Rickon are lost to us as Arya is. I'm hoping they're beyond those walls in front of me, but I have a feeling they're not.
Mom never cared or loved Jon, but I think he's the only one who is relatively okay. I do indeed miss my bastard brother... I could've really used his help with all of this... His talent with the blade is something I always envied...
"Let us not waste any more time here. The men are exhausted, and the final battle is here. After today, Winterfell will be yours again, and we'll have retaken The North."
Brynden makes sure I focus on the important things. The situation my sisters and brothers are in can wait for the time being. All of our soldiers watch as I march to the front lines with Brynden and Edmure by my side. Mother is staying back in the tents.
My sword is slowly drawn, and I point it in the direction of the home I miss so much.
"Today is the day!! Today is when we retake The North!!"
There are roars and cheers from all sides of me. The Northmen are simple folk. We need not grand and long speeches to be inspired. The men of House Stark know that if we retake Winterfell, we can regain the power that was lost.
The power I need to take on Tywin. It's not long before we're charging forward, and ladders scale the walls of Winterfell. My soldiers ascend, and I follow behind them. Brynden stays by my side as we cut down Greyjoy men.
Any Boltons that were in Winterfell have left and gone to a place they know we can't chase. My goal is getting my home back, and that means letting any Boltons here escape.
My blade cuts through men that are strong and rested, unlike my own. This battle will either be the end of my family or the beginning of my proper campaign against Tywin.
After an hour of endless fighting, there is a shift in the battle.
The Greyjoy occupants have fallen to a point they can't return. It's not long before we've killed every last one of them.
I make my way into the Throne Room... My eyes landing on the place my father say before me... I take a breath and slowly walk to the place I once called home... As I sit down, all the troops I have left standing follow me inside.
Today is the day I've retaken The North.
~~~(POV: Catelyn Stark)~~~
~~~(Current Age: 40 Years)~~~
~~~(Location: Bedroom, Winterfell, The North, Westeros)~~~
~~~(Date: 300 AC)~~~
The men have been resting the last few days. Filling their bellies with the food the Greyjoys had stored in Winterfell. Robb is with Brynden and Edmure. They're talking about plans for the upcoming months.
We've been receiving ravens from The South. All of them saying Kings Landing will soon be under siege by Stannis Baratheon.
My eyes rest on the empty bed that I used to share with Ned... The same place where we made our children... Bran and Rickon are nowhere to be found, and I'm being driven nearly mad at the thought of what happened to them... What Sansa is going through alone in Kings Landing...
The only reason Sansa is alive and hasn't been married to Joffrey yet is that we have Jaime Lannister. Now that we've retaken Winterfell, Robb plans to offer a trade. Sansa for Jaime.
"Oh, Ned... What a mess you've made..."
I know my husband's role in all this... I love him for the man he is... Honorable... Loyal... Kind... Merciful... But for those same qualities, the war that nearly destroyed our house had started... When I learned of his execution in Kings Landing.
A piece of me died...
After a few moments alone in the room I spent every night in, a knock on the door breaks my silence. It opens after a few seconds, and Edmure is standing there. Robb next to him, and they both walk in.
Robb takes a moment and walks around the room. Looking at the old trophies and trinkets Ned and I kept in here.
"Brynden and I have made plans to send a raven to Kings Landing. But we'll be waiting until after the siege that's coming in the next few days. Stannis is almost there, and if he does take Kings Landing. We might not have to give up Jaime."
That's the best-case scenario, and the one Robb is hoping for... From the tone of his voice, he doubts it'll succeed. Tywin is a formidable man who will sooner die than lose The Iron Throne after finally having it.
I walk over to my son and wrap him in a hug... He's grown so much and accomplished everything that I prayed he would...
"All we can do now is rest, son... Everyone deserves this break... Including you..."
Right now, I'm all Robb has... The only family he has remaining... I wept the day Robb had to take Ned's responsibilities... For I knew how much it'd wear on him... Ned wasn't even 40 before he died, and he looked like he was already 50...
I hope the same doesn't happen to Robb when everything is said and done...
~~~(POV: Brynden Tully)~~~
~~~(Current Age: 60 Years)~~~
~~~(Location: Throne Room, Winterfell, The North, Westeros)~~~
~~~(Date: 300 AC)~~~
The cost of retaking Winterfell has been significant for both House Tully and House Stark... But seeing Robb sit on his father's Throne means that Tywin has another powerful enemy sitting in The North.
The Throne room is silent as everyone stares at the man in chains... In the center of this great hall stands Jaime Lannister. Our single most valuable prisoner and the one we hope to trade for Sansa Stark. It's only a matter of time before Stannis is at Kings Landing.
"In the coming days, we'll learn if you're the last of your family, Ser Jaime Lannister. In the meantime, you'll have to continue your charge as a prisoner of war."
Robb speaks the words of a young ruler. There are some flaws, but regardless of those. He'll fall into his role well. My mind slowly drifts to The Targaryens in the East. We got some news about what's going on. But most of it's old.
I know Robb and I will have to talk about Raenon soon. Whether we'll be on his side or not... If Robb bends his knee.
Those dragons are convincing, but many Northmen would rather die than bend the knee to another Targaryen.
~~~(POV: Stannis Baratheon)~~~
~~~(Current Age: 36 Years)~~~
~~~(Location: Flagship The Fury, The Narrow Sea, Close To The Coast Of Westeros)~~~
~~~(Date: 300 AC)~~~
"We're two days away from Westeros, Your Grace."
Ser Davos gives me the report I receive every morning after waking up. It's been a long time coming to this point. I'll finally press my claim to The Iron Throne over that bastard Lannister boy born out of incest. The Lannisters have sat on my Throne for long enough.
It's a beautiful day... Almost as if it's indicating the coming storm... Word has reached us that Robb has retaken The North... The boy has proven himself in battle. When I become King, I'll be sure Ned Starks remaining children reach home.
After Robb bends the knee.
"Your Grace... When you take The Iron Throne... Will you reach out to Raenon Targaryen..."
Ser Davos brings up a thorn in the side of every vying King in Westeros. Raenon Targaryen is someone I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet. But I'm sure he'd burn me alive with his dragon. I sit on his family's ancestral Throne, after all.
Rhaenys... The Black Flame... The Dark Comet... The Black Dread Come Again... If there is anything to fear in this world, it's the monikers Raenon's dragon has gained...
"That's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it, Ser Davos... For now, let's focus on getting The Iron Throne."
It's been over 100 years since Targaryens rode atop dragons... Now, the children of the Mad King have 4 of them... If what I've heard about Viserys is true, there isn't much hope for Daenerys and Raenon.
"If Raenon were to challenge you... Would you accept it..."
It's not a matter of if... Only when...
"The world hasn't seen dragons since The Dance, Davos... But we've developed new weapons. They're not unkillable anymore..."
Everything has a weakness, and I'll find that which belongs to Raenon's dragons. But my sights are focused on Tywin and The Iron Throne.
For now.
