Different Paths to Destiny [Game of Thrones]

12: Dirty Paws

" the sky wasn't big enough for them all "

When we arrived in Riverrun, we were greeted by Brynden and Edmure Tully. "No Lysa?" I asked Robb quietly.

"I guess she couldn't make it from the Eyrie," he told me. I couldn't say I was particularly unhappy about this. I had never liked Lysa much. Frankly, I didn't like either of Catelyn's siblings.

"Amina, dear, aren't you looking lovely," Edmure said. He hugged me and I made a face at Robb over Edmure's shoulder.

"Thank you, you're looking older," I said, smiling sweetly. His cocky attitude faltered a bit, but he smiled anyways. Before he could say anything else, I was being lifted off the ground.

"How is the Queen in the North?" Brynden asked me sitting me down. I sighed and shook my head. "Bad question, yeah?"

"It's been ages since I've seen you!"

"I'm surprised you remember me at all. You were nine or ten the last time I saw you."

"Of course I remember you. You're in the only generation of Tullys worth remembering, save Cat of course."

He snorted. "I take it you've gotten to know my nephew's finer traits?"

"If by finer, you mean botching the easiest command Robb could have given him. Which caused us much more trouble than we needed. Then yes, we have been acquainted."

"You haven't changed in the slightest." He patted me on the shoulder. "We should follow the others to the river." We joined the others on the walk to the river, where we would send Hoster's body downstream.

I walked ahead to join Catelyn and Robb near the front. We stopped on the pier, Robb and Brynden lowered Hoster's boat into the river. Edmure got ready to fire his arrow to set the boat aflame. I could tell before he even took his shot that he was going to miss. When the arrow hit the water, I sighed quietly. He reached for another arrow and tried again. This one, like the other, hit the water. I pinched my wrist to keep from laughing. "Maybe I should try," I murmured to Robb. I watched as Edmure failed to hit his target for the third time. Brynden pushed Edmure out of the way and grabbed the bow and arrow. Brynden checked the wind and set up his shot, of course his arrow landed exactly where it was supposed to. I squeezed Catelyn's hand comfortingly. "Come on, we should go inside. It's chilly."

She nodded and let me lead her back into the castle. "You should go with Robb, talk to Edmure about battle plans," she said calmly.

"Robb can handle a bit of planning without me. You need someone right now," I told her. We went up to her old room.

"I should have brought you and the other children here to visit years ago," she said.

"It's beautiful," I said. She sat in the window and I joined her.

"Out of all the children, you were my father's favorite. He thought you were tougher than Robb and smarter than Sansa. Arya was very young and Bran and Rickon weren't born yet, the last time he visited Winterfell. He was pleased Eddard and decided to marry you to Robb, he knew you would be important. He was always right."

"Sansa is smart," I admitted. "Whether I'm smarter, I don't know, but she does deserve some credit."

"Both the girls admired you, you know."

"Arya did, I helped teach her how to fight." Cat shook her head, still disapproving even after all this time.

"Sansa wanted to be effortless. But she isn't like you or Margery. You know how to command a room, you can have everyone doing as you ask in a moment. Sansa never would have admitted she wanted to be like you, but I knew."