[Chapter Size: 2200 Words.]
Third Person POV.
Winterfell.
...
...
On a morning, a considerable-sized camp was set up in the south of House Stark's region, while people were having their first meal and preparing to continue on to Winterfell, as that was their goal.
There were some northern banners, and one specifically, that of the grey wolf, while a large woman approached it and found a man eating alone in front of his tent.
"We are three days from Winterfell, my lord." said Lady Mormont, who had just arrived in front of the man, after speaking with the scouts.
This camp had approximately more than a thousand men who had left Reed's seat after the Boltons' retreat, along with the entire path cleared of Roose's bastard and the ironborn.
Robb Stark looked up as Lady Mormont spoke to him. "I understand... Let's just keep the pace and reach Winterfell's gates in the coming days." he said, while Lady Mormont seemed irritated by his mild tone.
"How long are you going to stay like this, Robb Stark? You are the heir of Winterfell. I know horrible things happened in the South, I was there with you and lost my daughter Dacey. However, you are finally returning home and you need to stand firm now. Your cousin, self-proclaimed king, is dominating the whole North, and he has already taken Winterfell."
"All the lords are heading there at this moment. Lord Reed will also come in a few weeks, while Stannis is laying siege to White Harbor, with your father inside. I know you would wish to meet with your father, but it is not safe. And not even aligning with Stannis may be the best option. We need the only Stark with the best claim to be able to negotiate with the enraged dragon." said the Mormont woman with a heavy tone toward Robb.
"I think you are right," he said, still a little with his shoulders slumped.
The war had affected him beyond precedent: seeing his mother die, his army destroyed, and also knowing that his son had been killed still in his mother's womb had shattered all the will Robb once had.
He was no longer the proud Stark who had marched to war. Despite being young, he began to win battles, becoming even more arrogant, but also showing he was a genius on the battlefield.
However, that did not prevent him from being betrayed and attacked from all sides. He lost his family, his love, his men, his honor, and now he returned home as a broken man.
At the same time, his brother — or so he thought, the fruit of his father's marriage — in truth his cousin, son of Lyanna and Rhaegar, had invaded the North through the Wall with an entire army of wildlings, something no one could have imagined, even more so with him mounted on top of a dragon, as some rumors said.
The rumors about the North began to arrive one after another. Daemon divided the Free Folk army and launched an attack through the southern regions after his dragon had destroyed the Dreadfort.
He advanced starting with the Umbers' lands after leaving the Gift, moved to the Karstarks' area, then returned personally with his army against the fragmented Bolton region.
Daemon personally executed minor nobles of the Bolton lands as if they were animals.
Robb knew that Jon was not doing this for him, but rather for a principle: he would never forgive what the Boltons, the Lannisters, and especially the Freys had done by attacking a guest in his own home after receiving them.
Jon executed all the men of Hornwood who had led their lady to her death, imprisoned in one of the towers. He had conquered the Cerwyn lands, expelled the ironborn from there. He entered the Tallhart region and broke the siege of the ironborn with the white flames of his dragon. Lord Tallhart knelt before him, bending the knee and swearing to serve him. They then advanced south and took the siege in front of the Dustin seat, after slaughtering the ironborn and entering the castle, imprisoning Lady Dustin.
There was also the incident at Moat Cailin. The accounts of the women who had been freed by Daemon were quite surreal, but not surprising. They reported that Daemon had transformed into a wolf and massacred all the ironborn, one by one. He freed the captives, gave them food, and left the castle to await Lord Reed's reinforcements, keeping the enormous stocks of food and supplies.
Even before reaching Moat Cailin, Daemon ambushed Ramsay Snow's group, destroying them brutally. He executed the sadistic bastard in a horrific way, crucifying them in front of Moat Cailin as a message. There was also the attack of his dragon against Roose Bolton's army, which was forced to retreat south after learning what was happening in the North.
It was ironic, but Daemon had done more for the North than Robb Stark. His war, in the end, had become a failure. While the riverlands men wanted to make him king, whispers arose here and there, but he never accepted, for his father was still alive and he would never dishonor him. He could not deny, however, the desire of his men: they wanted to see him crowned, calling him King Robb Stark. Robb also found himself wanting it.
He won every battle, without losing a single one against the Lannisters. He wanted to place his name in history with glory: the Stark who reclaimed the North again as its king after 300 years, the man who won countless battles and who had married the woman he desired, and not by contract. But in the end, it all ended in failure, a burden Robb Stark would have to carry for the rest of his life. He lost.
Now, after managing to return to the North, he had no choice but to go to Winterfell, where his cousin now controlled the castle after retaking it from the Boltons.
He had imprisoned Theon Greyjoy and brought him there, keeping him in the dungeons. He had also imprisoned Lady Dustin, as well as a Karstark who tried to take Karhold from his niece, along with two Umbers, one of them for attempting the same with Last Hearth, seeking Daemon's support. Grandjon's uncle and brother had also been imprisoned after refusing to yield a castle. All were ready to be judged.
Robb did not know how he would be regarded by those northern men. They would judge him, clearly. After all, sons, fathers, and other relatives had been killed after the betrayal he suffered, even if it was others who were guilty of it.
After all, he could have avoided all of this if he had known how to keep allies and retreated when there was an opportunity... He should have left the South when he learned that Lord Stark had managed to escape King's Landing alive with Arya Stark, even if they had been captured in the Vale, and later rescued by Lord Royce, who took her to White Harbor.
Even though he knew that the gazes would fall on him full of accusation — after all, he had continued his fight for his mother, asking them to try to protect Sansa Stark — still, Robb had to stand firm.
His siblings were alive and were with Daemon Targaryen. Robb would have to put his face forward before all the North once again, while he would also have to negotiate with his cousin, who was very enraged with all the Starks since his return.
Not to the point of trying to exterminate them all, but certainly his father would not have a very good end. Daemon always emphasized how he was there for vengeance. He did not know very well what had happened between his father and Daemon, but Robb recognized that what Daemon had lived through in his childhood had not been an easy life. Perhaps that was why he chose to marry Lady Westerling when he learned she carried his child. Because he remembered very well how a bastard would live his life, and he did not want that for his son.
Daemon never hid his desire for vengeance, even though he had saved him from Winterfell. He showed no hesitation in causing harm — at least not to Robb's father, his late mother, or even Robb himself — when he believed they could act against him. In the Riverlands, just to prove a point, all his men had been thrown aside like dolls. He had only refrained from burying him as he did with Grandjon and his son because Daemon had shown mercy, saying he wanted to save him for another time, for a battlefield.
But now, Robb no longer had an army to fight Daemon. All he could do was lower his head, but keep it steady in an attempt to save his family.
"I know, Lady Mormont," said Robb again, as he stared at her. Despite no longer having the gaze of that confident boy from the beginning of the war against the Lannisters, he still tried to remain firm, while the Lady analyzed him for a moment.
"I hope that, whatever we find in that castle, our heads are not taken off," she said at last, as she turned back to speak with the other men and some lords who were also there.
Robb turned his gaze back to the fire, while the men were already preparing to depart. He could not help but hear the sound of wings beating, as a bird landed near the tents. Robb stared at it, while the animal seemed to lock eyes with him as well, as if it were judging him. Robb did not know what that meant and, ironically, believed that even a bird was judging him.
He had no idea. As he began to rise, disliking the bird's stare, he prepared to move forward with the others to reach Winterfell. There was someone cursing behind that bird, while Daemon was inside Winterfell, in the godswood, gathering more information.
"For the seven hells... Is that what he became in the end?" Jon was a little disappointed.
That was not the Robb he had wanted to face on the battlefield. The man had suffered severe defeats. Jon had never truly intended to kill Robb as he did his uncle, but he had expected to meet his cousin on the battlefield. Now, all that remained of him was just a handful of men from the South. There was no more army, not even the will and icy spark Robb once had before facing him for the first time.
Jon left the godswood, for he needed to attend to his guests, who were now greater in number. The Glovers may have bent the knee to him, but there were still many other northern men who needed to yield to his authority.
As soon as he passed through the gate, a Glover man approached; "Your Majesty, my lord asked me to inform you that he has already contacted some men who could work on the pieces you requested in Deepwood Motte and gave the order for them to come to Winterfell," the man said.
Jon nodded. Indeed, he had requested some men to finish the models, as he had not found anyone to craft certain pieces he would need.
Jon had also begun a campaign of recruiting blacksmiths throughout the North, calling them to Winterfell, while gathering some anvils that had belonged to the men who fought against the ironborn during the invasion.
He wanted to replace all the armor they had, after all many bore the symbols of the Lannisters, Tullys, or even the ironborn themselves, which was strange to wear among the Free Folk. Thus, Jon decided to put men to work, paying good coin in return, to produce new armor with the Targaryen symbol: a black background and the red three-headed dragon, more fitting for his military campaign that would soon march south.
"All right, I thank you for your words," said Jon to the soldier, who then withdrew.
Followed by his guards, Jon looked toward Winterfell's courtyard and saw the place bustling. Men of the mountain clans fought among themselves, training, while settling into the castle since arriving days earlier. Harlon had taken the lead of his tribe, the Wulls, while Hrogar of the Norrey, with his great humor, laughed all the time, showing himself at ease with Daemon.
Winterfell was more lively than ever, and Daemon was pleased with it. Soon, they would begin the march. Jon, however, could not help but smile with certain thoughts, for his letters had already reached King's Landing, since it had been nearly a week since he sent them.
Along with the letters, he had also sent a kind of winged spy, through which he would use his own eyes to investigate the Red Keep and see how his enemies would react upon reading the contents he had sent them.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
🦝 Raccoon here: 🦝
I deeply appreciate your support since the beginning of this exciting journey!
I hope each chapter has provided incredible moments. If you like my work and would like to support the continuation of this fanfic, consider becoming a patron with plans starting at $2!. As a token of gratitude, I offer access to more than 210 extra chapters with 7 active fanfics at the same time, along with other exclusive benefits on my profile, such as images and significant decisions for the stories.
Even if you are not a patron, I am making chapters available a few hours earlier here, so become a free member on the platform!
🌟 RaccoonLeague | Patreon🌟
Visit our Patreon for more: https://www.patreon.com/RaccoonLeague
Extra Content Already Available:
🏴☠️ One Piece - I Am a Different Luffy!: 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: The Legend of Jon Arctic!: 30 extra chapters!
🌀 Naruto - Minato Namikaze SI!: 30 extra chapters!
🗡️ The Witcher - As Uchiha Madara! 30 extra chapters!
⚡ Harry Potter - Shadow Monarch! 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: DragonBorn! 30 extra chapters!
Except for One Piece with daily chapters and DragonBorn once a week, all fanfics are updated 3 times a week, there's just a pause in updating in the week, only to create drafts for the week's chapters.
In addition to the extra chapters, daily chapters are posted and 25 chapters per week!
Your support is very important and makes all the difference in keeping these stories alive.
Thank you very much for being part of this journey! I hope you continue to enjoy the story and that it brings even more joy to your life!
Visit our Patreon for more!!
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆