Yagami Light in Game of Thrones

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***

It snowed in Winterfell the day Robb returned.

It was early autumn, and the snow melted quickly, but Catelyn thought that was a bad sign. Winter was coming, as her husband had often said. The Starks had learnt the truth of those words firsthand. In her youth, Ned had lost her father, brother, and sister; now she had lost her husband. Instead of Ned, only his bones came back to her.

If only she had not persuaded her husband to become Hand. If only she hadn't insisted on investigating Jon Arryn's death. If only she hadn't taken the Imp to her fool of a sister, whose stupidity the dwarf had so cleverly exploited.

The Imp was guilty, Catelyn had no doubt of that. The Kingslayer and his vile sister had thrown Bran out the window, but he had not died immediately. Her boy had fought, fought to the end. And the Lannisters were worried. The dastardly Imp had sent an assassin to her son, but he hardly expected the boy to be protected by his direwolf. The worst happened next. Catelyn was already in the capital when the cruel gods took Bran for themselves. Now her son rests in the crypt with the rest of the Starks. Next to Ned.

While her husband and son fought in the south, Catelyn ran the household at Winterfell and took care of the younger children - or rather, tried to. Of the three, she could only manage little Rickon. Arya was completely out of hand; she had a swordsmanship teacher in the capital (what was Ned thinking?!), and now Arya spent her days jumping around the castle with a real sword (she called it the Needle), imagining she was fighting the Lannisters. Sansa, always so sweet and obedient, became sullen and irritable after returning from the capital. This whole war is stupid, she said. Lord Stannis is no king, but a common usurper. The king is Joffrey, and if her father had not let the evil and treacherous Stannis fool him, she, Sansa, would be queen now. The news of Joffrey's death brought her to tears, and when it was followed by the news of Ned's death, Sansa had no tears left, only anger. Sansa hated Stannis and openly rejoiced in his death. The only one in Winterfell, she persisted in denying all evidence of Cersei's guilt. The queen's children are legitimate. Stannis deceived everyone. Theon killed Robert on his own initiative, Cersei had nothing to do with it. Sansa probably knew deep down that she was deluding herself, but it always hurts to let go of illusions. Catelyn prayed that one day her daughter would find the strength to accept reality as it was.

Robb, unlike his sister, understood reality very well. He did not succumb to the entreaties of hotheads, nor did he engage in a hopeless battle with a vastly superior enemy. Her son retreated and saved the army. Today he and his bannermen would gather in the great hall to decide what they should do next.

The outcome of the war angered Catelyn to the core. How could the gods have allowed the Lannisters to win? The Kingslayer's spawn sits on the throne, and Stannis, the rightful king, is dead. She has lost her husband, her son, and her father; she has quarrelled with her sister; her brother has become a prisoner in his own home. Her home. The imp's nefarious trick of using the Stark banner to sneakily exploit her has succeeded: the Lannisters now rule Riverrun. Edmar has been forced to marry Cersei, that disgusting bitch whose insolent green eyes Catelyn would love to scratch out. So many good men have died, and that bitch is still alive. Now Edmar is in the same danger as Robert: Cersei will kill him to get into bed with some relative of hers. Not her brother, but her cousin.

Lancel Lannister. When he came to Winterfell, he was just a squire. Now he's a great lord. Young Lannister has benefited the most from the war without committing a single overt crime. Ned considered him little more than a friend. Perhaps he was in the beginning? Lancel helped Ned with the investigation, and when the situation in the capital became too dangerous, he helped with the escape as well. Catelyn was grateful for Sansa and Arya: if it weren't for Lancel, her daughters would have remained hostages in King's Landing. But Cersei had seduced the boy. Lancel defected to his vicious family, served the queen in the Small Council and in bed, saved her from Stannis's just judgement, and in the end was generously rewarded by his uncle.

Even too generously. An ancestral Baratheon castle and a marriage to Myrcella-what did the boy do to deserve such favour? Why is Lord Tywin so special to his nephew? Could it be that this young man with his clear eyes and graceful hands (Catelyn is reminded of the handkerchief he gave Theon to wipe Bran's face with) is more dangerous than he appears?

No, this is getting paranoid. If Lancel had poisoned Bran, there would be no need for the Imp to send an assassin with a dagger. Lancel is probably not involved in his family's intrigues. And the castle was given to him for saving the queen. There's no need to look for grammkins in a pile of wood. And stop thinking about the Lannisters. Even if some of them are less guilty than others, they're all in on it, and they're all her enemies.

- The Lannisters are enemies,' Catelyn repeated aloud. - 'I will not forgive Ned the Kingslayer, and I will not forgive Bran the Imp. Never.

- True,' Lord Karstark seconded her. - The Wall would sooner fall than I'd bend my knee to Cersei's bastard! Peace with the Lannisters is out of the question!

Blackfish nodded silently.

- But we cannot fight them either,' Lord Glover argued. - The forces are too unequal. All six southern kingdoms are against us. The Tyrells are in league with the Lannisters, the Riverlands and Stormlands are overrun, and Dorne and the Vale have bowed the knee.

The news of Lysa's marriage to Littlefinger startles Catelyn. Does her sister still love him? Loved him enough to agree to bend the knee to the Lannisters who murdered her husband? Or has Lysa simply lost her mind? Her idiotic 'trial' of the Imp, her breastfeeding of Robin, her refusal to support her family - everything spoke in favour of this version. Catelyn came to Eagle's Nest with hope, and left with relief. Lysa's madcap antics had left a heavy impression on her.

- It is a matter of honour to finish the war my father started,' Robb said. - Stannis is dead, but his daughter Shireen lives. By right, the Iron Throne belongs to her. We should send a ship to Dragonstone and get the princess north before the Lannisters build a new fleet and take the castle.

- And then what? How do we get Stannis's daughter's throne back when the whole South is against us?

There was silence. Her son's vassals exchanged confused glances.

- My Lords, we are at an impasse. We can't put Shireen on the throne, and we don't want to swear an oath to Tommen. So what do we do?

Roose Bolton's quiet voice made her wince. Catelyn did not like the man, though she had no apparent reason to dislike him.

- I know what to do!

Big John of Amber's thunderous roar brought a smile to her face. Ned always said he didn't know a braver man. Catelyn had heard the story of how, after Ned's death, Big John had declared that he would lead the army, and only the intervention of the Grey Wind biting off his fingers had allowed Robb to keep the leadership to himself. Instead of getting angry, Big John laughed. And became the most loyal of her son's vassals.

- That's what I think of all these southern kings and queens,' Big John spat on the floor. - By what right do they command us? These Southerners don't know anything about the Wall or the Wolfwoods. They don't even have the right gods!

There were chuckles. Taking a big sip of ale, Big John continued:

- We bowed to the dragons. But the dragons are long dead! And there is only one king before whom I am willing to kneel - the King of the North!

Mage Mormont smiled.

- Independence! That suits me just fine. The Southerners have brought us nothing but grief. How many Starks have died in the South?

- Four,' Catelyn thought about that too. - Rickard, Brandon, Lyanna, Ned.

- For thousands of years, the North has fought off every Andalian attack. It will now!

- Let the Lannisters take the Iron Throne, we don't need it. We'll have our own king!

- A King of the North!

- KING OF THE NORTH!

Catelyn didn't know what to think. Robb looked confused at first, but then stood up and said:

- All right, my lords. I accept. I accept the crown!

Shouts of 'hurrah!', clashing swords and bended knees followed. Wyman Manderly proposed a feast to celebrate the coronation; Arya ran excitedly round the hall, out of breath; even Sansa smiled slightly. Roose Bolton, calm as ever, suggested that the newly formed kingdom of the North form an alliance with the Iron Islands.

- 'The Greyjoys are at war with the Lannisters,' he said, 'and have just defeated the Redwyne fleet in a major naval battle. If his majesty King Robb marries King Baelon's daughter, Princess Asha, we will be able to deal our enemies painful blows from the sea.

- The last Greyjoy rebellion was put down with my father's help,' her son sounded doubtful.

Catelyn felt tired.

- We are rebels now too, Robb. The Greyjoys are bad allies, but it's better to have bad friends than no friends at all.

Her son nodded. Maester Luwin immediately composed the letter and hurried to the raven tower. The stuffiness and the rapid change of events made Katelyn dizzy.

- I don't feel well,' she said. - I'm going to get some air.

Walking around the courtyard, Katelyn thought about what had happened. It hadn't ended so badly. Her son would stay home, that was the main thing. Robb's bannermen were probably right. Maybe Northerners really should stay away from Southerners with their meanness and intrigue. She's from the South herself, but her long life in Winterfell has made her half-Northern. As a Northerner and as a mother, she wishes Robb success. Her boy is king now. May his reign be long, his wife loving, his children numerous, and his kingdom prosperous. May the North withstand the onslaught of enemies and survive the coming winter, which Katelyn hoped would be short.

A gust of icy wind chilled her to the bone.