You will do your duty

Winterfell, The Northern Realms

Gabriella was sitting in her husband's solar, pregnant again, waiting for Arya to come to discuss something Edric Dayne mentioned to her. A few minutes later, Arya entered the room.

"You wanting to see me, Lady Stark?"

"Yes, Arya dear, close the door and take a seat, please." Aria nodded and did exactly that. Gabriella continued "Edric Dayne asked me and your cousin for your hand in marriage. Your cousin is still in the Riverlands but when he starts controlling the region he conquered, he will come back and I believe he will accept."

Arya's face fell, although she liked Edric, she didn't want a married life, she wanted to be free "No! I won't do it! I will not be a broodmare in a castle, this is not me."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow and asked in an even voice "Is that you think I am? A broodmare?" Arya wanted to answer but Gabriella didn't give her a chance "Aryan was right, you are so much like your aunt Lyanna."

Arya beamed in pride at the comparison to the She-Wolf but her hope came crashing down with Gabrielle's next words "Do you think this is a compliment? Laughable. Do you know what Aryan really thinks of Lyanna?" seeing Aryan nod, she carried on "He told me that in his opinion Lyanna was a willful, arrogant girl who wanted all the advantage of being a highborn and none of the drawbacks. She never wanted to marry a man with bastard but decided to elope with someone who already had a wife and children. Her selfishness and stupidity caused the deaths of thousands of northmen as well as my husband's father and grandfather."

Arya's time in Bear Island wasn't only to learn fighting, Maege Mormont and Lynesse Hightower taught her politics too so she understood the words of the Lady of Winterfell. But she still didn't like to be betrothed as it was shown in her face "I don't care about Lyanna. I will run away if I have to marry."

"I don't understand. It's obvious that you like Edric a lot. So, why are you so against it?"

"I just don't want to marry and be a broodmare in a castle."

"There is a lot more than marriage that simply being a broodmare, Arya. Nonetheless, Aryan will decide it when he returns."

"I will run away if I am betrothed." Arya said, stubborn to the end.

Gabriella smiled "There is nowhere is the Seven Kingdoms that you can without us knowing about it."

Arya stayed stubborn "I will go to Essos, join the Company of the Rose."

Gabriela kept her smile "Morin will bring you back to Winterfell within a moon."

Arya raised her head, defying Gabriella "Then I will created my own sellswords company."

Gabriella looked at Arya and smirked and said "Then Morin will choose one of his captain, the head of one of the families in exile, and said captain will take his men and slaughter every single man, woman and child in your company and then bring you back to Winterfell."

Arya's face fell and she decided to leave but Gabriella left a last message before she closed the door, "I don't know what will your cousin decide but I warn you Arya. You will do your duty."

~

King's Landing, the Crownlands

Tyrion just came back from a meeting where he has been threatened with Shae's life by Varys. If the eunuch thought him a fool, he was sorely mistaken. He was now going to the small council to receive his cousin, Ser Cleos Frey, with Harrold Arryn's peace offers. Cersei, hearing the offers, tears the paper in four as one of the condition was the surrender of her head for the murder of Jon Arryn.

Tyrion decided to counter-offer, seeing as the offer wasn't a true offer at all. It was nonsense on parchment "Here are our terms, cousin. Harry Arryn must lay down his sword and his crown, swear fealty, and return to the Eyrie. He must free my brother unharmed, and place his host under Jamie's command, to march against the rebels Renly and Stannis Baratheon. He will tell his goodfather to return home, before exiling himself to the wall for his crimes of treason against the throne. Lord Yohn Royce was the architect of this treason, and so he must take the black. Each of Arryn's bannermen must send us a son as ward to the crown. A daughter will suffice when there is no son. They shall be treated gently and given high places here at court, so long as their fathers commit no new treason."

Cleos Frey suddenly looked ill "My Lord Hand. Harry Arryn will never consent to these terms."

Tyrion smiled at the man "Tell him that we raised another great host at Casterly Rock, that soon it will march on him from the west while my Lord father advances from the east. Stannis and Renly Baratheon will never ally with another King and are at war against each other, the Prince of Dorne isn't doing anything and the Lord of Winterfell is busy taking territories from him and his new allies the Tullys."

"I shall bring your message, my Lord Hand."

~

Petyr Baelish was angry, no scratch that, he was apoplectic. He has spent over a moon to get to grips with the devastation done to his plans. He should have ruled the Vale through Lysa and his son but now the both of them are dead. He know full well it wasn't the Lannisters that did it. He will find out who screwed his plans and he will take revenge for it.

But Littlefinger will rise again. He will use his contacts in the Vale, the people who owe him. He will use the Lannisters and the Tyrells. He will be on top, no matter what.

~

Fairmarket, the Northern Realms

"He is sitting in Bitterbridge and doing nothing? He wants to starve King's Landing?" Aryan asked his advisors about Renly Baratheon's behavior.

William answered "Yes, my Lord, he is busy feasting and organizing tourneys."

"So, that prancing fool is going to win like that when he can storm the city with his more than a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers. Pathetic. Well he will soon gets taken out, Stannis has sailed to Storm's End."

"Renly still outnumbers him more than ten to one." Jon said

Aryan scoffed "With this odds, I still fancy Stannis."

William asked him "Do you wish to send envoys to all the Kings?"

"Why would I do that? Sending envoys is when I believe I have a future with them. I don't have any future with the South. Let them kill each other for that stupid ugly chair. We just have to make sure that they don't stop killing each other and that one side doesn't overwhelm the others."

~

Pyke, The Iron Islands

"Ten years ago, the northeners killed my two eldest, and butchered our men. Today we shall go and take our revenge. We will plunder the North of his crops, treasures and women while their men are in the Riverlands. What is Dead may never die!" Balon Greyjoy screamed.

"WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE!"

Fifteen thousand ironborn and six hundred longships are making way to the North to take Deepwood Motte, Torrhen's Square, Moat Cailin and the Wolf's Bay. What is waiting for them is the Northern Navy commanded by 'The Black Leviathan' Torrhen Stark and the Northern Army commanded by Tania Wull. The birds of the wargs watching them already warned the western coast of the North. Fifteen thousand men Balon Greyjoy send in a trap to their deaths for revenge as well as his brother Victarion and daughter Asha.

~

Riverrun, the Riverlands

In the dungeons of Riverrun was Jaime Lannister, he was a far cry from the Golden Knight of the Kingsguards, the son of the Mighty Tywin was a prisoner of the Vale and Riverlands forces since the battle of Pinkmaiden. He sees Waymar Royce coming to see him "Kingslayer, King Harry and Lord Edmure found a passage through the Golden Tooth and destroyed Stafford Lannister's host. Your uncle naked body is paraded around in the West while our army took the Golden Tooth from Alysanne Lefford. As we speak, our army are conquering the West, soon we shall take Casterly Rock."

Jaime smirked "You will never take the Rock and my father will soon destroy your little rebellion." seeing the Royce lad frowning, Jaime continued to infuriate him "What did you think? Harry Arryn and Edmure Tully fancy themselves as Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark? Fools. By the way, speaking of the Starks, I heard that they took a fourth of the Riverlands and once again conquered the Three Sisters."

"We will deal with the barbarians after dealing with your father, Kingslayer."

"Doubtful."

"After taking your father's and uncle's heads, we will go to King's Landing to take your lover's and your son's heads." Waymar smirked then "Yes, Kingslayer, the whole realm knows about your spawns. Stannis Baratheon's letter reach every single castle in the Seven Kingdoms. King Joffrey Baratheon is neither a true king, nor a true Baratheon."

"Well, if that's true, that would make Stannis the rightful King. How very convenient."

"Our liege lord found the truth. That's why you and your sister assassinated him and killed his wife and heir."

"We have nothing to do with Jon Arryn's death. Nor do we have anything to with his wife and heir's passing. If you believe that I'm responsible for it why am I still having breath?"

"Don't you worry, Kingslayer. After we garnished the ground with Lannister's corpses, then and only then will we send you to your brethren. As for the Starks taking the Sisters, King Harry wanted to offer them in exchange for an alliance but they took it first with blood."

"The way I know him, if you had send a messenger to the Bloody Wolf with that offer, you would've received the messenger skinned alive with a message asking you by what right do you offer him something that already belong to him."

"If that barbarian would have done that, then we would've destroyed him just like we are destroying you, Lannister."

"You keep insulting them but when your two kingdoms fought together, weren't the northern army the only army of the rebels who wasn't broken at the Trident?" Jaime asks with a smug smile, already knowing the answer. His smile grew bigger when Waymar Royce snorted and decided to leave.

~

Harrenhal, the Riverlands

"They have my son, destroyed our host at Oxcross and are burning the West as we speak." Tywin said with hidden anger in his voice.

"We should return West, the ironborn are stirring and now that our host at Oxcross was decimated, our lands are rip for the taking." said Harys Swift.

"If we return West, we leave the capital for the Baratheon to take or for the Arryn boy to sack. We can't do that." Answered Kevan.

"Out. All of you out! Not you Kevan, Marbrand." Everyone promptly left the room.

"You were right Kevan, I underestimated the boy. Even if it wasn't him who did the planning, I didn't expect him to so easily defer to Royce and now we are blocked at Harrenhal while the Vale burn our lands and the Baratheon brothers are closing in to King's Landing. Thank God, Dorne and the North don't move when we know how much one hate us and the other despise us."

Kevan didn't have time to respond when a messenger came into the room and gave a piece of paper to Tywin who smiled "It looks like luck is with us, Stannis Baratheon is sieging Storm's End as we speak. Renly Baratheon went to confront him."