WILOW-Ch.402: Victory Feast
Golden Tooth, Westerlands
POV of Prince Robb Stark
The feast of the victory against the Lannisters was in full swing.
No one was saying it outright, but a lot of people were disappointed, if not outright pissed, that they were not even able to participate in a single battle.
Robb himself had expected to fight against Tywin's army with his brother Jon, but that plan went out of the window as soon as Domeric set his sights on Lord Tywin.
Jon told him that, being the King as he was now, he had to meet Lord Tywin as soon as he entered the Castle.
After all, Jon had a claim to the Iron Throne, and the Westerlands, ruled by the Lannisters, were a land that had pledged its allegiance to the Iron Throne.
The talk went sideways pretty quickly, and they now knew that Lord Tywin would not bend the knee to Jon or Domeric.
Had he agreed, even though Lord Tywin would not have escaped punishment, the rest of the Lannister family could have been spared many hardships.
The more interesting thing was that Domeric had not only captured Lord Tywin but the Mountain as well.
And he said he would give them to the Dorne in exchange for its loyalty and crude oil.
A substance that can be found in Dorne in abundance and could be used as a substitute for coal and wood during the Long Night. It could keep their men warm and alive in freezing temperatures.
If this substance is as beneficial as Domeric claims, it would be of great help to the North in the coming winter.
He looked at the main seat at the table and saw Domeric sitting at its center, a golden crown on his head.
Beside him sat his father, King Eddard Stark, and his cousin, King Aegon Targaryen. Both wore golden crowns on their heads, as well.
Emperor of Westeros, King of the North, and King of the Iron Throne.
These were the titles of those seated at the center of the table during today's celebrations.
But Domeric said that when they conquered King's Landing and brought an end to this war, he would also perform his own imperial coronation there before Jon sat on the Iron Throne performing his official coronation.
And he said that during the coronations, he would also announce the new kingdoms of Westeros and their new names.
Then the new order and new kings of Westeros would be determined. But to do that, they still had to overcome Lord Stannis and conquer King's Landing.
But today was a day of celebration, and it wasn't a suitable day for him to worry about these things. They could deal with the planning tomorrow.
There was a festive atmosphere in the air as the men celebrated the defeat of the Lannister army and the capture of Lord Tywin.
He looked to his left, where Sansa sat, and noticed she was merely playing with her food, looking forlornly at Lord Bolton.
Although Sansa initially seemed happy to meet them, he could later sense that something was bothering her.
"Are you alright, Sansa?" he asked, and her head jerked to him, as if she had forgotten that he was even there, and she gave him a sad smile.
"Better than I was in King's Landing," Sansa replied curtly before she went back to playing with her food.
He let out a sigh and wished that Mother were here.
She was much better at dealing with Sansa and her problems.
"Have you ever wondered what Mother thought when she found out Jon Snow would become the King?" He asked, trying to bring some levity into the tense atmosphere around Sansa.
Bolton newspapers had already written about Jon's true family lineage and his status as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.
His father, King Stark, had also written to Mother, appointing her as their representative in the alliance with the Tyrells.
Therefore, it was impossible for Mother not to know the truth about Jon.
Sansa slowly turned her head to look at him. "She left me." She said.
"What?" he asked.
"Mother." She replied in a monotone voice, "She ran away with Renly Baratheon after the death of King Robert and left me in King's Landing with the guards. We tried to escape as well, but we were ambushed. All of them died. And I was…"
Sansa paused and then went back to playing with her food. He had no idea what to say to that.
Till now, he didn't have a clear picture of the situation and wondered why his mother was with Renly Baratheon while Sansa was left in King's Landing.
"Sansa." He said, "I don't think Mother wanted to leave you behind."
"I know," Sansa replied with a great amount of hurt and grief in her voice as tears came to her eyes.
She stabbed the venison and looked at him in anger. "But that's what happened. Father betrothed me to that mad prince and sent me to King's Landing. Then Mother ran away and left me behind in King's Landing."
With that said, she got up from her chair and hurriedly left the hall while he was left wondering if he should go after her or give her some privacy.
It seemed Sansa was blaming Father and Mother for what had happened to her.
And frankly, Robb didn't think she was wrong.
If Father hadn't broken off Sansa's betrothal with Domeric, Sansa wouldn't have had to go to King's Landing, and she could now be betrothed to the man who was at the center of this celebration as Emperor.
Moreover, Father knew that Sansa loved Domeric and didn't want to marry Prince Joffrey. Despite this, he still broke off her betrothal without speaking to her.
And Mother... even though Robb didn't know the whole story of what happened in King's Landing, if Mother thought it would be safer for them to separate, she should have done so after ensuring Sansa's safe departure.
If that weren't possible, it would have been better for her to take Sansa with her when she went with Renly Baratheon. The Tyrells had the largest army in Westeros, and at least they would have been safe with them.
But Mother hadn't done that, and while she was safe with Renly Baratheon, Sansa was forced to suffer in King's Landing.
Robb could only hope things would work out and that his family would overcome their problems.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.403: Coming to Ask for Permission
Ch.404: I Want to See Goods
Ch.405: Sansa's Confrontation