Hera had always loved the cold. She loved how the chill air made her cheeks turn a nice rosy colour, and she loved how awake it made her feel. She guessed that was because she had lived in the North her whole life, and hadn't known anything else than the cold.

She always thought that Riverrun would be warm, considering it was closer to the south. She was wrong, because even in Riverrun, her breath still turned into mist when she breathed. She supposed that was because the seasons were changing, and it was slowly, but surely becoming winter.

A thick silence hung in the air, the only thing moving being the waves, which moved slowly against the dock. Hera watched as Robb and Brynden Tully, also known as the Blackfish, pushed Hoster Tully's funeral boat away from the shore, and into the water. From beside her, she could see Lady Catelyn's eyes fill with tears. She frowned at the sight, but didn't do anything to comfort the older woman.

Robb and the Blackfish returned to stand beside them, their eyes locked onto Edmure Tully, who slowly walked towards them with a bow in his hands. He also carried an arrow with him, which he would set fire to, so the boat would burst into flames and Lord Tully's body would burn.

Edmure kept his chin high as he dipped the tip of the arrow into the flames, before placing it in the bow. He aimed it at the boat, before releasing it into the air. It soared through the air, but instead of hitting the boat, it went straight into the water. Edmure visibly turned a shade redder, clearing his throat in embarrasement. He nocked another arrow, before releasing it. However, that one went into the water as well. Even over the wind, Hera could hear him realease a shaky breath. He tried one more time, but that arrow landed in the water as well.

She heard a irritated sigh from beside her, and she just caught sight of the Blackfish rolling his eyes, before he was storming towards Edmure. He nearly ripped the bow out from his hands, before shoving Edmund away, a glare plastered onto his face. The blackfish placed the flaming arrow into the bow, before he looked up towards their house banner, which was moving in the wind. He pursed his lips, before releasing the arrow. Without even watching to see if he hit the target, he turned away and slammed the bow into Edmure's hands, who caught it with a small yelp. The boat lit up in flames, and they all watched as the blazing fire turned smaller and smaller, until it dissapeared from their sight.

*

"If I may nephew, I encountered a situation with one of my lieutenants at the stone mill, which may have some..." Edmure started saying, before the Blackfish sighed in irritation.

"Would you shut your mouth about that damned mill? And don't call him nephew, he is your king!" he exclaimed, pointing at Robb while glaring at Edmure. Robb pretended like he didn't hear it, instead keeping his focus on the river outside the window. Hera frowned from where she stood close to the table, gripping the back of a chair in her hands.

"Robb know that I meant him no disrespect," Edmure answered smugly.

"You're lucky I'm not your King," The Blackfish fired back as he walked up to Edmure. "I wouldn't let you wave your blunders around like a victory flag."

Edmund scoffed. "What blunder? Ser Tywin's mad dog are scurrying back to Casterly Rock with his tail between his legs. I think King Robb understands that we're not going to win this war if he's the only one winning any battles. Now, there's glory enough to go around..."

"It's not about glory!" Robb exclaimed, turning around to glare at Edmure. Hera's eyes widened, for she had not expected him to interfere yet. "Your instructions were to wait for him to come to you," he stated as he walked over to them.

"I seized an opportunity," Edmure answered in disbelief, like he could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"What value was the mill?" Robb asked with narrowed eyes, causing Edmure to falter.

"The mountain was garrosing across the river from it," Edmure answered sourly.

Robb lifted an eyebrow, and Hera could see that he was not impressed. She shared a look with The Blackfish, and she knew that he disapproved strongly of Edmure's actions. "Is he there now?" Robb replied.

"Of course not," Edmure scoffed. "We took the fight to him, he could not withstand us!" He raised his voice at Robb, showing how frustrated he was. Hera breathed deeply through her nose, wishing for the argument to be over already.

"I wanted to draw The Mountain into the West," Robb seethed. "Into our country where we could surround him and kill him. I wanted him to chase us as he would have because he is a mad dog without a stratigic thought in his head. I could have had that head on a spike by now, instead I have a mill."

"We took hostages," Edmure replied weakly, his posture not as proud as it had been. The Blackfish lifted his cup to his lips to drink some wine, while subtly rolling his eyes at his nephew's words. Hera let out a chuckle, which she quickly covered up with a cough, hiding her smirk behind her fist. "Willem Lannister and Martyn Lannister."

"Willem Lannister and Martyn Lannister are fourteen years old!" Robb exclaimed in disbelief.

"Martyn is fifteen, I believe," The Blackfish commented casually, causing Robb to sigh.

Robb walked closer to Edmure, until only a few inches separated them. He looked at him with a stoic expression. "Tywin Lannister has my sisters, have I sued for peace?"

Edmure shook his head. "No."

"Do you think he will sue for peace because we have his father's brother's great-grandsons?"

Edmure looked down at his feet in defeat, a frown on his face. For a split second Hera almost felt bad for him. Almost. "No," he answered before swallowing down the lump in his throat.

"How many men did you lose?" Robb asked, not caring about how uncomfortable Edmure looked.

"Two hundred and eight, but for every man we lost, the Lannisters..."

"We need our men more than Tywin needs his!" Robb suddenly roared, causing even Hera to flinch in shock. She had never heard Robb raise his voice like that before. Robb's eyes move to Hera, noticing her wide eyes. He breathed deeply through his nose, before calming down slightly. He bit down on his tongue so he wouldn't snap out on Edmure again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Edmure apologized.

"You would have, right here today, at this gathering, if you had been patient," Robb spoke before he turned away from Edmure.

"We seem to be running short of patience here," The Blackfish commented.

"Know who isn't?" Robb rhetorically asked as he slowly walked back to the window, his eyes glued to the scenery outside. "Tywin Lannister."

A short while later, both Edmure and The Blackfish had left, and Hera had joined Robb by the window. He wrapped his arm around her waist, while she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for my outburst earlier," Robb apologized softly.

"It's alright, he needed to hear it," Hera assured him while giving him a small smile. He looked down at her with a relieved look on his face, before leaning down and softly kissing her forehead. "I hope everything turns out well," she stated, not wanting anything bad to happen because of Edmure's actions.

"Me too," Robb breathed out slowly. "Is everything well with you and the child?"

Hera let out a small chuckle. "I believe so, but it's still too early to know."

Robb rested his head on top of hers. "Yeah I know, I just want to make sure that you're both healthy."

"Believe me, I would tell you if something was wrong," she assured him truthfully.

"Good," Robb answered with a small smile on his lips. They stood by the window for a long time after, both of them just enjoying being in each other's company and for once not worrying about their responsibilities and everything happening around them.

*

What's this?? And update? *gasp* No, but seriously, I'm so so sorry for not updating for so long! I had the biggest writer's block and no energy at all. Hopefully it's better now and I'll be able to update faster and not leave you hanging for over a month. I'll be surprised if any of you are still reading this book, but if you are, thank you so much! Your support means so much to me!

I hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reading!