Robb was finishing up his messages and reports before he was due to meet with the lords of the Vale. Randyll Tarly had sent a rider from the Golden Tooth to try and determine what had happened, and Robb had sent the young man back to the Lord of Horn Hill with orders to continue his siege on Casterly Rock and to begin a campaign on the Iron Islands as soon as possible. With the Vale now aiding Robb's weakened and weary force, that left Tarly's host to move on to the raiders who invaded Robb's homeland.
Robb had also received a rider from Riverrun from Margaery whose goal was also to find out the outcome of the battle. The northern king had again sent the man back with the news that he meant to march towards Harrenhal and that Margaery could meet him there before they continued their march south to King's Landing to end the war.
The young king had also asked the scout for any news of the North and his brother. Jon had reached and possibly taken Moat Cailin, which meant that he could now begin his long and arduous task of clearing the North of rebels and raiders.
"Your grace, they're ready," Brienne said, poking her head into the tent.
Robb had a new appreciation for the warrior woman. When she had given her oath to Robb at Bitterbridge, Robb expected it to be nothing more than the oath that all his protectors swore. He was wrong. Brienne had been the first one to follow him after he had ridden into the infantry ranks, urging the others to follow as well. Then, during the battle, many of Robb's other guards noted that she had never let Robb out of her sight, cutting down more than a few opponents who had gotten behind the king.
The battle made Robb immensely proud and sad at the same time. He and his guards had stood shoulder to shoulder on the front lines against the lannister army, never backing down. But like all battles, there was also immense loss. Robb had lost another ten thousand men from his combined force. Ser Robar and Ser Hobber had been injured. Lord Estermont had been killed, speared by a lannister knight.
But his losses weren't as severe as the lannisters. Tywin lost seventeen thousand men, his top two enforcers in the Mountain and Amory Lorch had been captured, and Lord Marbrand had been found dead as he had been commanding the enemy front lines when the Vale cavalry had arrived.
Perhaps the biggest blow to Tywin had been the death of Kevan Lannister, his younger brother. The old knight had been identified by Ser Brynden, who had ordered the body cleaned and made presentable for his final trip to Casterly Rock.
Flashback
"Uncle." Robb greeted, stomping through the mud to reach the old knight. The Blackfish looked a little battered and bruised, but he showed no signs of being hurt. He stood with his arms crossed over a body as the Silent Sisters worked.
"Is everything alright?"
Ser Brynden nodded slowly. "This is Kevan Lannister."
Robb raised an eyebrow. Now that he looked at the body, taking in the golden hair and the lion-motif armor, it did look like a lannister.
"How did he die?"
"Sword through the side." Ser Brynden grunted. "It was the end of the battle and Garlan's force had swung around the hill and had flanked them. Then the general retreat was sounded and he was trying to rally his men for an organized withdrawal and didn't see the stormlander."
Robb nodded. "Was he a good man?"
Ser Brynden nodded. "I fought with him in the War of the Ninepenny Kings. Tywin was never one for honor, he believed it got in the way of efficiency, but Kevan was a good man. Hoster joked that he was Tywin's humanity."
"I will make sure he is returned to Casterly Rock," Robb promised, but the Blackfish waved it off.
"I will take care of that myself, your grace." He said, glancing at Robb. "I thought I looked bad."
Robb chuckled. "I fought with Lord Forrester in the infantry."
"Aye, I saw." Ser Brynden replied. "Couldn't quite catch your speech, but your men liked it."
"They fought well." Robb complimented.
"Never underestimate the courage and ferocity that men will fight with when they have a purpose. You fighting on the front lines helped us win. You showed your faith in your men, and they replied." Ser Brynden said, turning from the body to look at Robb. "I told your father the very same thing during Robert's Rebellion."
Robb smiled. "I sometimes forget how old you are."
Ser Brynden scoffed. "Edmure wishes I was older and would quite reminding him of his fuck ups."
Robb chuckled as the two men stood in silence on the battlefield, watching as septas, healers, and Silent Sisters went about their work. Bodies, both alive and dead, were being loaded on wagons and taken back to camp.
"How many did we lose?" Brynden asked.
Robb shook his head. "We'll talk about that tomorrow. Right now we'll save who we can."
"Fair enough, what's our next step?" Ser Brynden asked, changing the question.
"According to Lord Royce, Lord Redfort and the rest of the Vale forces marched on Harrenhal, cutting off Tywin from taking safety in the ruins," Robb explained. "We'll stay here for a day or two, recover what we can, and then move on towards Harrenhal."
"So Lysa's changed her mind." Ser Brynden mused. "Took her long enough."
Robb hesitated. "I'm not too sure. There was a young man with Lord Royce who introduced himself as Harrold Arryn."
"Harrold Arryn?" Ser Brynden asked, clearly surprised. "I know of Harrold Hardyng, Robert Arryn's cousin and heir. How has he become an Arryn?"
Robb shook his head. "I'm just as curious, but we'll know tomorrow. I'll hold a council with Lord Royce and this new Lord Arryn and we'll figure out what has happened."
Flashback
"My lords, I am glad to see that you all made it through the battle." Robb said, sitting down with his council. "I am especially glad to welcome our new friends Lord Harrold Arryn and Lord Yohn Royce of the Vale."
"We are deeply saddened and embarrassed that it had taken so long for us to fight with our friends and allies, but we are here now and we hope to help finish this war." Harrold Arryn declared strongly.
"Wise words, my lord." Lord Forrester praised.
"When we last met, you were Harrold Hardying." Ser Brynden said. "What's happened to my niece?"
Royce and Arryn shared a worried glance before the latter responded. "During the entire war, Lords Royce, Redfort, Hunter, and Lady Waynewood had been pushing Lady Lysa to join on her family's side." He started. "The North, Riverlands, and Vale had fought together in Robert's Rebellion and we wanted to do so again. Lord Royce here was the figurehead for this movement."
"When the Reach and the Stormlands pledged themselves to King Robb, we thought that it would be enough to alleviate all of Lady Lysa's worries." The old lord said, taking up the story. "It almost worked until Petyr Baelish, that treacherous worm, came to the Vale and filled Lysa's head with his poison."
"Baelish?" Ser Brynden asked. "He's the boy that grew up with Lysa and Cat at Riverrun. He was deeply in love with Cat, but I heard rumors that Lysa was deeply in love with him."
"Obsession is a better word for her love for the man, Ser Brynden." Royce replied grimly. "He quickly took control of the Eyrie and Lysa was his puppet. They soon announced their intent to marry each other. There was even word that Lady Lysa would step aside and name Baelish Lord Protector of the Vale."
"That is when Lord Royce and his supporters traveled to the Eyrie to plead their case in person." The young Lord Arryn explained. "For weeks, day after day, they went into the throne room and were rebuked. When the ironborn attacked the North and the Boltons betrayed his grace, Baelish effectively tried to eradicate all of our hard work with Lady Lysa."
"Finally, we had enough." Lord Royce said, laying a fatherly hand on the young man next to him. "Lord Harrold stepped up next to me and declared that he and others would be sending aid to King Robb without or without Lady Lysa's blessing."
"She and her guards attempted to apprehend us, but we cut them down." Harrold said almost proudly. "That's when things went south."
"How do you mean?" Robb asked, engrossed in the story.
"Lady Lysa lost her senses. Perhaps due to the bloodshed or something in her mind gave away, but she clutched her son close to her and began ranting madly." Arryn answered. "Something about him being hers, she did everything he asked, saying that we could not take him from her. She had backed herself up against the open moon door, and that's when she mentioned that she killed that 'horrible old man'." Arryn shook his head. "She admitted there that she killed her husband Jon Arryn before stepping back and falling."
"She fell?" Robb asked, confused.
"The moon door is a circular door in the center of the throne room in the Vale." Ser Brynden explained. "Those who fall through fall to their death on the mountains below."
"If what Ser Brynden says is right, then the man that Lysa was referring to has to be Baelish." Lord Royce said. "She must have believed that we meant to take him away from her."
"Besides growing up, did the two ever come in contact?" Lord Forrester asked curiously.
"Baelish was named Master of Coin during Robert's reign." Lord Caron said. "Apparently Lady Lysa recommended him to her husband."
"So my aunt was the man's puppet all her life." Robb sighed. "With him in control of the Vale, he would have sent you all to aid the Lannisters, clearly believing that your honor would bind you to him."
"Baelish fled during the fight." Lord Arryn said angrily. "He must have had a plan ready because we searched long into the night for him."
"When Lysa fell, she brought her son with her?" Ser Brynden asked.
Lord Yohn nodded. "She did, and though I grieve for the boy, I am not sure how much he would have been able to accomplish alive. He was a sickly creature who, even at his age, was still nursed by his mother."
Robb went pale. "He was eight, wasn't he?"
Royce nodded. "Indeed, your grace. It's as foul as it sounds."
"And how are you related to Jon Arryn?" Robb asked, looking at the new Lord Arryn.
"I am his sister's grandson." He responded easily.
Robb nodded. "I would like to say I will grieve for my aunt, but may the Old Gods forgive me, if she was willing to send her men to attack her family, I will not grieve much."
"Ser Brynden, you remember seeing the woman when she returned to the Vale after Jon's death." Lord Royce said, looking at the elderly knight. "Would you say that she had all her senses?"
Ser Brynden shook his head. "I would not."
"Grieve for the loss of a family member, your grace, but not for the woman herself." Lord Royce advised, looking at Robb.
"Thank you, my lord." Robb said. "And thank you for fighting in my name. I understand that it couldn't have been easy fighting with the wife of your liege lord."
"In the Vale, we stick by our friends." Lord Royce said seriously. "And your father was a friend to us all."
"Indeed, and now we are poised to avenge his death." Robb said, segueing into his next point of discussion. "Lord Redfort and the rest of the Vale forces have captured Harrenhal, and with Tywin's host broken, we now have a clear path to King's Landing."
"Your grace, what about the dornish?" Ser Donnel asked.
"They abandoned the Lannisters during the battle," Robb said. "Lord Blackwood said that he noticed their disappearance just moments before the men of the Vale arrived. I believe that the dornish commander might have been playing with Tywin."
"How so?" Lord Caron asked curiously.
"My lords, we have always wondered how Tywin got the dornish to fight with him," Robb explained. "What if their goal was to exact some sort of revenge against the man for the part he played in Princess Elia's death."
"So they fight for him, then desert him in his moment of need." Garlan mused. "It's possible. That still means that they fought against us. You know how many they slaughtered at Harrenhal."
"Yes, and they will pay for that because we have leverage against them," Robb said with a slight smirk. "We have the Mountain and Amory Lorch."
"The men who murdered Elia Martell." Lord Royce said.
"Correct," Robb replied. "When we are done with the Lannisters, we will make sure that the Martells do not go unpunished."
"What are your orders, your grace?" Garlan asked, setting up Robb.
"We will spend another day here before moving on to connect with Lord Redfort at Harrenhal," Robb said firmly. "Lord Tarly in the west will soon have orders telling him to take the Iron Islands. My brother Jon should now have Moat Cailin and will have begun his campaign to free the North. This war is almost done, my lords, and soon we will be victorious and our friends and loved ones will have not died in vain."