We all laid low for the next few days. Robb and his few most trusted bannermen were always in the meeting tent, trying to decide where to march their army. Theon joined them a lot of times, but I never did. Being around Robb wasn't what I would choose to do with my free time.

Instead, I mostly stayed in my own tent, reading "An History of the House of Lannister." I never really liked to read, but there wasn't much to do until Robb's armies started marching. Besides, the Lannisters did have quite an interesting history.

Occasionally, I would get tired of reading and go for walks around the general area, but Theon advised me against it. He claimed there were "spies everywhere" and that I needed to be more careful. I think he was just jealous that I had so much free time while he had to sit in a tent and listen to men argue about where to march.

Sometimes, I would even spar with some of Robb's men. I knew I was a lot smaller and younger than most of them, but I was just as good a fighter. In one way, it gave me an advantage - almost everyone I'd ever fought against had underestimated me. This was also a bad thing, though - not many would spar with me because I was a woman. So, I would challenge them, and most men, fearing the loss of their pride, would say yes, and, well, lose their pride when they lost to me.

Just yesterday, actually, I had been sparring with one of Robb's men. When I disarmed him, another man offered me a deal. If I sparred with him and won, he would pay me. But if I lost, he got to fuck me for free. I walked away without a second thought.

Today, I was relaxing in my tent and reading my book when Theon came in. He sat down beside me. I smiled and put the book down.

"Long time no see," I joked, nudging him. "Why haven't you come sooner?"

"Because Robb's bannermen never stop arguing," Theon replied, rolling his eyes. "They can't agree on anything." His expression changed as he looked at me. "Lady Stark has arrived."

My mouth dropped open. "What? Robb's mother?" I stared at Theon. "Why is she here?"

Theon grinned cockily. "She heard Robb was going to war, so she came here with Ser Rodrik."

"I don't know who that is," I said with a small shrug of my shoulders. "But maybe they can actually do something other than argue."

Theon chuckled and nodded, standing up. "Pack your things. We're going to the Twins."

I shot up. "The Twins?" My eyes narrowed in confusion. "Walder Frey controls the Twins. Why are we..."

"Because we have to cross the Green Fork, and we can't do that without using Frey's bridge," Theon responded. "Hopefully he's still our ally."

"Why wouldn't he be?" I asked with a head tilt.

Theon shrugged. "He expects us to attend all of his weddings. He gets married, has a bunch of children, and then gets remarried when his wife can't or won't birth any more."

I sighed. "That's awful. What an awful man." I rolled my eyes. "His poor wives."

Theon offered me a hand. "I know. Hey, what were you reading?"

I took his hand and stood up, stretching and sighing. "'An History of the House of Lannister.' It's supposed to be exciting, but it's kind of boring. Other than a few interesting ideas."

Theon chuckled and shook his head. "The Lannisters are quite interesting, aren't they? Jaime and Cersei..." He thrusted his torso back and forth and moaned loudly, imitating sex. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the giggle that slipped out.

"Where did you even hear that?" I asked with a grin. "I don't believe it."

"Everybody believes it," Theon replied, smirking. "Everyone smart, that is."

I crossed my arms. "Call me unintelligent again and I'll kick your ass." I pulled out my dagger in a fake threat.

Theon instantly drew his sword. "Go on, then! Kick my ass!" He burst into laughter, and I shook my head amusedly at his antics. He was so carefree. I wished I could be as happy-go-lucky as him.

Theon put his sword away and helped me pack my things. We continued joking and bantering as normal, though there was this underlying sense of worry for me. I'd heard a lot of things about Walder Frey, and few of them were positive. Besides, it would be harder to avoid Robb on the road, and the last thing I wanted to do was confront him again.

Once we were finished packing, Theon and I walked outside. My gaze unintentionally moved to Robb. Theon noticed this and grinned.

"You still fancy him," Theon said with a smirk.

I whipped back around to face Theon. "I do not!" I shoved him, but my attempt was futile, and Theon didn't even move an inch. His smirk grew wider.

"I'm sure he feels the same way," Theon replied, giving me a firm push. "Go talk to him."

I stumbled backwards, glaring at my brother. "Knock it off!" I couldn't help the blush that began to spread across my cheeks.

"You're turning all red," Theon teased, stepping closer to me.

I shoved him away again, this time harder. "Shut up, you asshole!"

Theon giggled as he almost tripped from my push, but he quickly steadied himself. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted.

"Theon. Allison," Catelyn greeted us, not smiling or showing any emotion. She nodded politely. "We're leaving now." Without another word, she started to walk away.

"Lady Stark," I called after her. She turned around, her eyebrows raised. I cleared my throat. "Is Walder Frey truly our ally?"

"Yes," she replied, almost condescendingly. "The Freys and the Starks have been allies for a long time. If you are with the Starks, you are with the Freys as well." She made direct eye contact with me. I saw coldness in her eyes. Why did she hate me so much?

"I have heard a lot about Lord Frey," I said softly. "Do you know him personally?"

Catelyn nodded. "Of course. I have known him since I was a little girl." She turned around and started to walk away. "Excuse me."

I rolled my eyes at her and turned back to Theon. "What's up with her?" I whispered.

Theon shrugged. "She's always like that. It takes a long time to get used to her." He grinned. "Imagine what Robb's told her about you."

I gasped and smacked Theon in the arm, much harder than intended. "You're a fucking asshole!"

Theon grabbed his arm and burst into laughter. Maybe I'd hit him a little too hard, but he deserved it. I didn't feel guilty at all. I glared at my idiot brother.

"That's not what Ros said," Theon managed to get out between snickers. I crossed my arms. "Who's Ros?"

"My favorite whore," Theon replied, smirking. "She gave me one of the best fucks I've ever had." He giggled. "One time, we..."

"I don't need to hear about that," I interrupted him, turning away so he couldn't see my smile. Theon laughed again and shoved me again. I shoved him back, glaring at him playfully.

"We have to go!" I practically shouted, though I clearly wasn't actually mad. Theon chuckled, and then, we were off, marching with Robb and his bannermen.

It took us a while to reach the Twins. On the way there, Theon and I kept talking and joking around. I had forgotten how much of a jokester he was. I had never been as funny as him, but I could joke back if I wanted to.

It actually wasn't too bad of a walk. It was relatively short, compared to some other walks I'd taken, and the temperature was comfortable. Plus, we had plenty of water and food for the road.

Eventually, we reached the Twins. I had never been before, and I thought the castle was beautiful. My brother was right, though - there was no way we could cross the lake without crossing the bridge.

Theon grabbed my arm and headed up towards Robb. I glared at him and shook my arm away. "What are you doing?"

"You can't avoid him forever," Theon told me, walking towards Robb. "Come on."

"Yes, I can," I argued, crossing my arms and staying put.

"Fine," Theon sighed. "You know I'm right." He shrugged and went up to Robb. I rolled my eyes and looked away.

"Allison," a gruff voice called. I turned around to see one of Robb's bannermen. He handed me a bow and some arrows. "Shoot down the ravens. Your brother will do the same."

I took the bow and arrows, then spun around to face Robb in the distance. Some of Walder Frey's bannermen were walking towards him. His mother gave Robb a gentle pat on the back before walking towards the castle with the bannermen.

"Are you bloody deaf?" the man shouted in my ear, making me jump. "Shoot down the fucking ravens!"

I glared at him, whirling around and drawing the bow. "How about I shoot you instead?" My arrow was aimed straight for his heart. I wasn't actually going to shoot him, of course, but he needed to know who he was messing with.

The man's eyes widened, and he snatched the bow out of my tight grip. He was much stronger than I was. His gaze snapped to Robb.

"ROBB!" he shouted as loudly as he could. "SHE'S A TRAITOR!"

At these words, I quickly stepped back. "No, I'm not!" I yelled back. "Who do you think you are to call me a traitor?"

"I knew not to trust you Greyjoys," the man hissed, his eyes glowing with anger. He drew his sword. I grabbed my dagger from behind my back and unsheathed it.

Within seconds, Robb was at my side. "What the fuck were you thinking?" he yelled, shoving me backwards. He looked towards the man. "Take her as a prisoner."

I gasped as the man grabbed me. I tried to fight back, but he was extremely strong. I couldn't do anything about it.

"Robb!" I called desperately. "You know I'm not a traitor! I..." My breath caught in my throat as Robb started to walk away. I had to do something. So, I did the first thing that came to my mind.

"I love you, Robb."

This statement caused him to turn around and stare at me. For a moment, I held my breath, and it was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Unbeknownst to me, most of Robb's bannermen were staring at us, waiting for Robb's response to my words.

Robb started to walk towards me. "What... what did you just say?"

"You heard me," I said in a much softer tone. "I love you."

After a terrifying moment of silence, Robb looked at the man who was holding me and nodded his head. The man let me go, and I stumbled out of his grasp. I looked up at Robb with gratitude in my eyes.

But Robb's eyes were blank. I couldn't read his expression. He stared at me and breathed out heavily. He said nothing; he just turned and walked away.

At first, I was confused, but then, I was angry. I had just confessed my love for Robb, and he had the nerve to just walk away from me without a word? I clenched my fists. Well, fuck him.

To be fair, I'm not sure if I actually love him or not. Maybe I just said it to get out of that situation. Did that make me a terrible person?

I shook off these feelings and picked up the bow from off the ground. Drawing arrow after arrow, I shot down every raven that I saw. The man watched me with a smug stare. I ignored him.

By the time I was done, Catelyn was coming back. I hurried over to her. Of course, Robb was waiting, too. There was no point in avoiding him anymore. Theon was right - I couldn't avoid him forever. Speaking of Theon, he was by Robb's side. He'd evidently seen and heard my confession. His eyes met mine, but I looked away, shaking my head.

"What happened?" Robb asked, taking his mother's hands and looking into her eyes. "Will he let us cross?"

Catelyn nodded. "Yes," she replied, making my face light up. "On three conditions."

She didn't say anything. She seemed upset. She refused to look Robb in the eyes. She kept giving me side glances. It worried me, and my eyes narrowed without me noticing.

"You must take Olyvar Frey as your squire and knight him in due process," Catelyn told him.

Robb nodded. "I can do that." He waited for his mother to continue, but she didn't. "And?" he asked.

"Arya must marry Waldron Frey, when they come of age," she said, sighing. My eyes widened when I heard this.

"She won't be happy about that," Robb said with a small smile. Catelyn nodded, but her worried expression didn't change.

"You can't promise Arya to someone without her permission!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms angrily. "She should have the choice to-"

"Quiet," Robb commanded, glaring at me. He took a deep breath and looked back at his mother. "And?"

That was when Catelyn drew her gaze fully away from Robb to look at me. In her eyes, I saw something I'd never seen there before. Sympathy.

"Mother," Robb said, commanding her to look at him. "What is the third condition?"

Catelyn finally willed herself to look Robb in the eyes. "You must marry one of the Frey girls."

My heart nearly stopped. Robb and Theon both looked at me at the same time. I shrugged as if it was no big deal, but my eyes were sad. Why should I care? Robb obviously doesn't love me, so I should move on.

"Do I have to?" Robb asked after a minute.

"If you want to cross," Catelyn replied, nodding. She looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry, Robb."

Robb looked at me again, this time a bit sadly. He closed his eyes and took another breath, then opened them again, still staring at me.

"So am I."

I looked down. I knew what that meant. Fuck him.

"We must cross," Robb announced, looking back at Catelyn. "I will marry the Frey girl, for the good of the war."

After a moment, Theon cleared his throat. "Good," he said, patting Robb on the back. "You're brave." Without another word, he started to walk away, motioning for me to follow him. I gave Robb and Catelyn one last glance before I left.

Theon looked at me with sympathy in his blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Allison," he said, shrugging. "There was nothing I could do."

"It's not your fault," I sighed, shaking my head. "He doesn't love me the way I love him, so what does it matter?"

Theon stopped walking and turned to face me. "He does love you. I see it in his face when he looks at you."

I glared at my brother. "Stop it." I crossed my arms. I didn't want Theon to create false hope for me.

"You know why he has to do this," Theon said, looking me in the eyes. He searched my face for a sign of understanding. I didn't give him one.

"I'm not an idiot, Theon," I snapped. "Of course I know why he has to do this. I would do the same thing."

"So why are you angry?" Theon asked.

My mouth dropped open as I stared at him. "Why am I angry? I'm angry because I just told every single one of Robb's fucking bannermen that I'm in love with him, and now he's promised to someone else!" Tears started to brim in my eyes, but I quickly pushed them down. "Don't you know what that makes me look like to all of them?"

Theon crossed his arms cockily. "Robb's right, you know. You are too reckless. Go calm yourself down, and then you can-"

Theon was cut off when I punched him in the face. My fist made contact with his jaw, and he stumbled backwards. I shook my hand slightly, then crossed my arms again.

"I'm not a fucking child," I hissed. And with that, I flipped him off and walked away.