Jon leaned against the wall as the messenger addressed the council. He had ridden from the Reach, his fine green and gold tabard dirtied and rumpled from days in the saddle. Clearly, the man had ridden day and night to reach Riverrun.
"...as of right now, King Robb is resting at Bitterbridge, where the remainder of Renly Baratheon's army retired to after his death at the Grassy Vale." The man finished, rolling up the scroll. "Lord Mace once again wishes to make it known that House Tyrell had nothing to do with the northern king's injury."
The Blackfish sighed and leaned forward. "Is his grace showing any signs of recovery?"
The man shook his head. "I was sent here after your king arrived at the castle. I haven't the slightest clue what his condition is." The man answered respectfully. "I have overheard that the maesters fear that he may have broken his back. He was found laying on the remains of a desk that broke under him."
"How did Renly die?" Lord Bolton asked.
The man shifted. "The story is murky, my lord. The prisoners taken by Ser Loras Tyrell say that it was a shadow, while the Knight of Flowers say that it was a knife in the dark."
"Have you caught the assassin?" Lord Mallister asked.
The man shook his head. "Ser Loras, commander of King Renly's kingsguard, has placed blame on two of Renly's guards, Ser Robar Royce and Brienne of Tarth….as well as King Robb. Though when the Knight of Flowers attempted to have the King in the North arrested, others spoke in his defense and he has been given a comfortable, but guarded room in the castle."
"Where are King Robb's protectors? Smalljon? Dacey? Daryn?" Jon asked, quickly speaking up before anyone else did, preventing an argument from breaking out.
The man looked towards Jon. "When Ser Loras tried to have King Robb arrested, his companions became violent. They too were arrested and charged for protecting a murderer." The man said before hastily correcting himself. "According to Ser Loras, of course."
The rustle of movement went around the table as a few northern lords got to their feet angrily, hands reaching for weapons. But a word from the Blackfish stopped them.
"Lord Umber, Lady Mormont, stop!" He barked. He raised the copy of the letter that had been given to him. "We will not hurt the messenger. He had no part in your child's capture." He looked back at the messenger. "I will give you a message to give to the Queen of Thorns tonight. You may stay one night here before you leave tomorrow."
The rider nodded and left. When he was gone, the Greatjon slammed his fist on the table.
"We must march south and get our king back!" He roared, the other northerners nodding in agreement. "Honor demands it!"
"And start a war with the Tyrells?" Lord Mallister challenged. "They have five times as many men as we do. They'd crush us! Or worse, they'd join the Lannisters! Then we'd be truly fucked."
Lord Rickard shook his head. "Then we'll fall back to Moat Cailin. Let's see those fuckers try and fight us then!"
"Do not forget that we bent the knee to Robb Stark as well!" Lord Bracken said angrily. "We will not leave our lands undefended because you picked a fight with the wrong people!"
The Blackfish glanced at Jon, who was watching the argument with a thoughtful expression. "Jon, you are our king's brother. What do you think?" He asked, loud enough for all to hear.
The Bastard of Winterfell had been asked to attend the council when it had been revealed that the messenger was from the Reach. Eddard Karstark was still Robb's representative, but Jon deserved to hear any news that might have to do with his brother.
Jon took a step forward. "Robb is tough to kill," he said firmly. "I have hope that he will recover. As for Renly Baratheon, there's no way Robb had any part in that. Our father brought us up as men of honor and integrity. Robb would never kill Renly, not unless he was attacked himself."
"Do you believe the story that a shadow killed Renly?" Eddard Karstark asked.
Jon shook his head. "I don't. The story of a cutthroat assassinating Renly seems far more plausible. But again, Robb would never have done such a thing. He went south to treat with the man. Besides, my brother was injured in the attack as well."
The Blackfish nodded. "You make good points lad," he grunted. "I will put it in my letter to Lady Olenna. If she hasn't already thought of it already."
"Who's Lady Olenna?" Lord Glover asked curiously. "Mace Tyrell is Lord Paramount of the Reach."
The Blackfish sighed. "Lady Olenna is Mace Tyrell's mother. She wields more wisdom in her withered finger than her son has in his entire body. She's who we need to speak with to get this situation sorted."
A few of the riverlander lords nodded in agreement. Not many had met the Lord of Highgarden, but it was well known that he was not the smartest. The northmen didn't care, so long as their king was returned to them.
"What if King Robb dies?" Lord Bolton asked curiously.
All eyes were drawn to the Leech Lord. It seemed almost blasphemous to even say such a thing aloud. The Starks are beloved throughout the North and the Riverlands, and bringing up the suggestion that their northern king might die was near suicidal. As always, the Greatjon was the first to speak.
"Have you lost your bloody sense man!" He growled. "Robb Stark is our king."
Roose nodded. "Indeed he is, but he was also gravely injured and we must be prepared for the reality that our king dies in the Reach."
While the others thought on Bolton's words, Jon stepped in to answer. "Then Bran becomes the King in the North," he said firmly. "Robb had no heirs, and so his crown falls to our younger brother."
"But the boy is a cripple." Ser Marq Piper said off handedly.
Jon glared at the knight. "That is my brother you speak about ser. Have care," he growled. "I will not have him judged on his ability to walk."
"Ser Marq meant nothing by the comment," Brynden said, sending his own glare at the knight from Pinkmaiden. "As of right now, Bran Stark is his grace's heir, but we will not place the crown on his head until we know for sure what has happened to King Robb."
"How do we know that the Tyrell's will tell the truth?" Eddard Karstark asked curiously.
"We don't," Brynden answered. "But until I see the still body of King Robb, then he is still our king and we owe our loyalty to him," he said firmly, looking around the table to make sure everyone got the message.
"That will be all for today." Ser Brynden said, dismissing everyone. As the council began to leave, Ser Brynden turned to Jon. "Jon, a moment."
Jon raised an eyebrow but remained where he was by the wall. It was then he noticed that he and the Blackfish weren't alone. Ser Stevron Frey had remained where he was, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Ser Stevron? What do you need?" Ser Brynden asked curiously.
The older knight shifted in his seat. "King Robb is promised to marry my sister Roslin. I speak on behalf of my house when I ask that we change the agreement. With Lady Stark returning North, I felt that you were best to talk to about this matter."
Ser Brynden glared at the man. "You are choosing the wrong time to do this, Ser Stevron."
The Heir to the Crossing shook his head. "I am afraid that I have no choice, Ser Brynden. Either I do this now or my father will send Lothar to make the deal."
Lothar Frey, or Lame Lothar as he is also known, is the steward of the Crossing and Walder Frey's right-hand man. There are many Frey's that the Blackfish can not stomach, but Lothar is one of the worst.
The Blackfish cursed under his breath but nodded. "Fine. what do you have in mind?"
Ser Stevron put his hands together before him. "With King Robb's fate unknown, I propose that Roslin marry Lord Edmure. The man is unbetrothed at the moment and my sister is a fine girl to marry. Without any of my family's….charm."
Ser Brynden raised an eyebrow. "Nothing else?"
Ser Stevron shook his head. "My brother is still betrothed to Lady Arya and both Robb and Ser Rodrik have a squire. My father will no doubt send two boys with Lady Stark on her way back north. I will not change the contract."
Jon frowned. "Arya is betrothed?"
Stevron nodded. "Indeed. King Robb chose the boy himself. They won't be married for some time, though, on account of their age."
Jon was still confused about why Arya got betrothed, but he dropped the subject. He knew that his sister would never approve of being married off in such a fashion. No doubt Robb and Lady Stark made the engagement. They both knew what Arya was like. If she was truly being married off, then it had to be for a good reason.
And if Robb chose the boy, then that also helped ease Jon's conscience.
"I will talk to my nephew about this. Send a message to your father that we are working on an agreement. Anything to keep that one-legged bastard away from Riverrun." Ser Brynden said, bringing the conversation back to Edmure. "I can not promise anything, however. Edmure is now Lord Paramount of the Riverlands and his own man."
Ser Stevron sighed and nodded. "Thank you, Ser Brynden. I will send the message immediately," he promised before also taking his leave.
When the Frey knight was gone, Ser Brynden muttered something under his breath about the family before turning his attention to Jon. "The reason I asked you to stay back is because I'm curious why Cat left. I understand she spoke to you last night."
"She did," Jon confirmed. "She told me she missed Winterfell and she missed Bran and Rickon," Jon explained, leaving out Lady Stark's admittance of hate for him. "She then made me swear to protect Robb."
Ser Brynden grunted. "Hopefully being back around her children and Winterfell will be good for her. She's had nothing but heartbreak here. Robb's injury wouldn't have helped either." He said sadly.
Jon nodded. "The North will allow her to clear her head and step away from the war," he added. Then a thought came to him, a piece of information that he had forgotten about until just now when Winterfell was mentioned. "Ser Brynden, have we heard anything from Theon?"
The Blackfish shook his head. "Nothing. But I wouldn't worry. Balon Greyjoy is a stubborn, joyless cunt. I suspect we'll see Theon in the next few days."
Jon nodded slowly. "I hope so. Robb took a lot of fighting men south with him. The North is vast. If anywhere is attacked, then it will take time to put together reinforcements."
Ser Brynden made a vague gesture. "Bowden Hawker is still in the North. The man won't allow the ironborn to attack the North."
Jon sighed. "I hope you're right, Ser Brynden."
The knight nodded. "Trust me, lad, I have a better chance at convincing my nephew to marry a Frey than Theon has convincing his father to attack a near defenseless Westerlands. Balon Greyjoy is probably still bitter about his defeat at the hands of Ned and Robert."
"So what will we do now?" Jon asked. The lords of the North had returned to Riverrun after wreaking havoc in the Westerlands for the past week. The Crag, Ashemark, the Golden Tooth, Deep Den, and Sarsfield had all fallen to northern control. The Stark army had left the Westerlands with endless amounts of gold, land, resources, and food. Giving the Lannisters a taste of what the riverlanders were dealing with.
Ser Brynden rubbed his jaw. "I'll send a few lords back into the west with orders to take the northern half of the Westerlands. It'll give them something to do instead of sitting here and getting drunk and fighting amongst themselves."
"Why the northern half?" Jon asked curiously.
"I don't want anyone getting ideas about taking Casterly Rock. To take Casterly Rock, we'd need the entire army and besiege it for months. We simply don't have the men to do it. Furthermore, I don't want the Tyrells thinking we're retaliating if the Reach is accidentally attacked by our men attacking the southern Westerlands." Ser Brynden explained. "Banefort and Hornvale will be our prominent targets."
Jon nodded. It was a good plan; keep attacking the Westerlands with part of the army while also avoiding parts of the army being bogged down in long sieges or accidentally attacking other factions.
"With your leave, Ser Brynden, I wish to write a message to Bran. He should know what has happened in case anything does happen to Robb." Jon said.
Ser Brynden nodded. "Good idea. I have to write that letter for Lady Olenna. I will send a raven as well to Highgarden to be safe. Let's hope Tywin Lannister doesn't hear about any of this. Or we'd be well and truly fucked."