Catelyn loves the rain in the Riverlands; the fine, misty rain feels like a mother's gentle caress on her face and body.
As for the rain in the North—good heavens, it's like ice water just melting from ice; if you try to catch it with your hands, it'll feel bone-chilling.
Her time living in Riverrun brought back some childhood memories, but lately she has noticed that even the rain in Riverlands is not so gentle anymore. She used to be able to stay in the rain for a long time, and she wasn't afraid of getting soaked.
But now, she can't stand being in the rain for long. Catelyn doesn't know if it's because the weather has gotten colder or because she's getting older.
Just then, a maid's voice rang out: "Madam, the masters have arrived in the hall, and Your Majesty is waiting for you."
"Hmm," Catelyn replied softly, unaware that a heated argument had already broken out in the Dao Hall.
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" What is Stannis? Jon Snow is an even bigger traitor! I, Last Hearth, will never surrender! I only recognize the King in the North!" Robb Stark!
"Yes! The people of the North do not associate with traitors!" Lady Maggie echoed.
Many people in the North believe that the North cannot produce another King of Submission.
When Toren Stark decided to surrender, he faced Aegon the Conqueror and three giant dragons. What did Stannis have?
With a wrecked fleet and a nearly destroyed army, what makes him stand out?
However, this time, compared to the last time when Robb was elected, there were not as many people responding.
The last time Rickard was the second after Greatjon to declare Robb King in the North, he remained silent.
When Harrion returned, he brought back not only thousands of Northern troops, but also the entire course of the war.
From Jon's coup in Harrenhal to the capture and defense of King's Landing, Harrion was involved in the entire process, and Rickard, through his eldest son's account, came to understand how terrifying Jon was.
Not only was his military strategy in no way inferior to Robb's, but he also had a keen political eye.
If Jon hadn't killed Joffrey in King's Landing and taken control of Tommen and Myrcella, the Lion-Flower Alliance would still exist, and they would be stuck in Riverrun right now.
Now they at least have one option left, though it's not dignified, but it can preserve them: to give up supporting King in the North.
Rickard first saw Roose Bolton sitting there calmly without saying a word, and thought that he would stand up straight after Harrion brought back Dreadfort's army, but he didn't expect him to remain like this.
Given that his actions and decisions have always been based on "preserving his own strength," he would certainly not agree to go to war with Stannis.
Rickard suddenly noticed a group of Riverlands nobles surrounding the young Lyman Darry, asking him all sorts of questions. He recalled Jon's words when he stopped the lords from supporting Robb: "A crown is like a boat, and the human heart is like water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it." Now, he realized that these words were indeed profound truths.
Rickard didn't say anything after seeing this, but Greatjon couldn't stand it. He angrily shouted at the whispering Riverlands nobles, "You brats, what are you talking about! Is there anything we can't know? "
Greatjon was unaware that his words had inadvertently divided the nobles who supported Robb into two groups.
Before the other Riverlands nobles could speak, Lyman, not yet ten years old, expressed his dissatisfaction: " Brother Jon is not a traitor! He saved me! He saved House Darry! If Brother Jon hadn't killed the Mountain, many more of us would have suffered!"
Lyman's voice shook the hearts of many Riverlands nobles; it must be said that they all breathed a sigh of relief after the Mountain's death.
As if to echo Lyman's words, a sudden, jarring voice came from the corner: "Our enemy is Lannister, not Stannis!"
"Who! Who said that!" Greatjon's eyes widened, like a bear standing upright, eager to find the guy who had shaken morale.
Brynden watched as conflict was about to erupt, especially since his nephew Edmure seemed to be getting restless. Brynden glanced at Queen Jeyne and her father and brother— Gawen Westerling and Leonard Westerling. The father and son were both quiet and looked like stone, a perfect match for the icy Stark.
"Gentlemen! Regardless of the circumstances, we are all now united under King Robb's banner, and we need to stay together." Brynden quickly stepped between Greatjon and the Riverlands lords, trying to quell the conflict.
But when he caught a glimpse of Rickard's eyes, he couldn't help but look away.
Fortunately, at that moment, the announcement came from outside: " Robb Stark has arrived!"
Upon hearing that Robb had arrived, Greatjon reluctantly returned to his seat. Roose Bolton glanced back and then sat up straight. Lyman and the other Riverlands lords also tidied their appearance. Brynden stepped forward to greet them.
The hall, which was on the verge of erupting into an argument or even a conflict, quieted down. Soon after, Robb arrived in the hall with Catelyn and his newlywed wife, Jeyne Westerling, who was just pregnant.
As Jeyne passed by a lord, she overheard someone saying something like, "It should be Margaery," which weighed heavily on her mind.
She still remembers the uproar and controversy that erupted in the Northern Army when Robb announced that he would marry Jeyne as queen, and how much pressure Robb withstood for her sake.
I heard that Robb's bastard brother got engaged to Margaery. Everyone thinks that if Robb had gotten engaged to Margaery, they wouldn't be in this predicament.
Jeyne felt guilty and wronged. She felt guilty because perhaps she shouldn't have met Robb that day and had so much contact with him. She felt wronged because she didn't know anything about Dao at the time, only that Dao had married the person she wanted to marry.
She would rather not have this so-called queen.
As Robb returned to his throne, and Catelyn and Jeyne had barely settled down, Greatjon began shouting, " Your Majesty, we must not surrender to Stannis! What right does he have? His army is smaller than ours! Frey dares to block our way! We'll just attack him!"
As he spoke, the man stood up again: "I heard that Stannis has even abandoned the Seven Gods and believes in some bullshit Lord of Light! We must not support such a king!"
Robb couldn't help but feel annoyed watching Greatjon jumping around. Greatjon had indeed been a capable lieutenant on the journey, a reliable commander on the battlefield, but beyond that—
Sometimes he even thought that it would be better if it were Jon, who was not only reliable on the battlefield, but also capable of handling other matters well.
At this moment, Brynden also stood up and said, " Your Majesty, we are not in a hopeless situation yet. Tywin hasn't surrendered to Stannis, and we have no need to! Besides, Lord Eddard's blood feud is over. We can use hostages as an exchange, perhaps—"
Brynden was still thinking about exchanging Jaime for the Alliance in the West. In his opinion, as long as Jaime was returned to Tywin, Tywin would be happy to fight against Stannis with them.
"Perhaps what?!" A low, sinister voice rang out; it was Rickard. "My two sons died at the hands of the Kingslayers. Isn't that a grudge?"
Brynden was questioned by Rickard and was momentarily at a loss for words. The king's vendetta, the lord's vendetta, if this continued, wouldn't it also involve the vendetta of the knights, the vendetta of the commoners? Wouldn't that be endless?
He also knew Dao Rickard is still angry about letting Tywin go.
But Brynden couldn't say anything harsh. He hoped the North would stay and support the Riverrun, because he knew that if the North withdrew, even if Stannis couldn't do anything to the North, he would still suppress the Riverrun, and then the Tullys would have a hard time.
Just as the lords of the North and Riverlands were whispering among themselves, a servant ran in and said, " Your Majesty!"
Jon, Jon's here, and Sansa too. Young Miss and Arya Young Miss.
The nobles in the hall were concerned about Jon's arrival, while Catelyn was more concerned about her daughters. When she heard that Jon had brought his daughters back, she jumped to her feet.
Meanwhile, the other lords erupted into a heated discussion, as if a hundred crows were opening their mouths at the same time. Jon's arrival was quite sudden; the information they received indicated that he should still be in Riverrun.
"That traitor? How many men did he bring?!" Greatjon asked Dao, brandishing his ugly greatsword.
"He brought with him a Stannis messenger, a guard, and a servant, but no one else."
" Your Majesty, please let me cut off this traitor's head for you!"
"Enough!" Robb finally couldn't stand Greatjon's yelling anymore, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"Go and bring Jon over—please welcome him."