Entering Robb's tent, Aurelia took a quick glance at the other faces around, then curtseyed before Robb who stood on the other side of a wide oak table.

"Your grace," she said as she sank low. When she stood, Robb nodded, his face unsmiling but his eyes bright as he looked at her.

"You wished to see me?"

"I did," he replied. "The rest of you, leave us."

There was a ripple of uncomfortable murmuring, but they all did as they were bid. As Catelyn passed Aurelia, she cast a glare at her which Aurelia was not used to being on the receiving end of. She'd seen Catelyn cast that look of disdain on a handful of people over the years, but on no one so often as Jon.
What have I done to deserve that look? She pondered as the tent emptied.

Maege Mormont was the last out of the tent and she fastened the flaps. Aurelia knew she would stand sentry. Robb had kept her close the past few days, for reasons Aurelia had only guessed at until now.

Aurelia stood tall, her head tilted slightly as Robb gestured her toward the table.

"I'm sorry if your greeting seemed cold, from me or anyone else."

"I thought this was supposed to be a happy occasion," she joked.

Robb cracked a smile, but it was a sad one.

"I know it must be seen as odd for me to be here with you while your wife is elsewhere, especially given the reason for the journey to the Twins," Aurelia continued. "But I belong at your side."

Robb gazed at her for a moment and his smile faded. Aurelia stared back at him, then stumbled back from the table as the realization struck her.

"Where am I to go?" She asked, barely above a whisper, willing the tears away from her eyes as she felt the emotional sting of his gaze.

"Stannis," he replied.

She swallowed hard. "Stannis. What am I to say to him that your mother did not already attempt?"

"When I sent my mother, Stannis had an army at his back. Now he has a tenth of those men. He is gathering strength, but it will be some time before he has enough to attack anyone. Likely he plans for us to continue fighting the Lannisters until one side or the other wins and he can attack the victor."

"You want me to propose an alliance before that happens?"

"Once my uncle is wed, our army will move to retake the North while holding what we have already claimed. Still, Tywin Lannister needs to be hit hard, where it hurts, and sooner rather than later."

Aurelia nodded. "You give Stannis men to take Casterly Rock, help him defeat the Lannisters and take King's Landing, and in the end he leaves the North to rule itself."

"That is my hope," Robb replied.

"And why should I be able to move the stone wall that is Stannis Baratheon where all others have failed, save the lady they call the red witch who never leaves his side?"

"I have sent word that I am sending an envoy, but not who. He will not suspect you to be the one to treat with him, and I have every faith in your ability to persuade him to our cause. The North is your home and like me you have more concern for keeping it intact and seeing the Lannisters fall than to rule the seven kingdoms."

"So you trust me not only to bring the offer to him, but to discuss counter offers?"

"Yes," Robb said emphatically.

Aurelia gazed at him for a moment, seeing the weariness etched on his face. She recalled days not so recent when he smiled more than scowled, and played more than fought.

"As you wish, you grace," she finally replied. She turned to go, but he called her back.

"Aurelia," he said, not commanding, almost pleading. "There's something else."

Turning back to him, she tried to remain amenable to whatever other situation he might slap her with, but had to bite her tongue to keep it in check. Robb gestured for her to come to his side of the table, moving so she could stand beside him.

"You have been more loyal to me than anyone," Robb began. He flexed a hand that rested on the table. "Even my own mother has betrayed me, for family, yes, but it was a serious betrayal nonetheless. Still, it feels sometimes as though you're the only family I have left. And yet you have always been so much more."

"Robb," she whispered.

"I don't yet have an heir," he continued, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "My brothers are dead, one sister missing, one married to a Lannister. Sansa should inherit Winterfell, or what is left of it, but I know, and am constantly reminded by my counsel, that we cannot let the Lannisters have our home."

He opened his eyes and looked at her, direct, firm, and compassionate. "It is our home, Aurelia. Yours as well as mine, and I hope this is the first step in making that right at last."

He pointed to a letter on the table, one scrolled in his best hand. "Read it."

Aurelia looked down, and then took the letter in her hand. As she scanned it, she felt her heart climb into her throat.

I, Robert of the House Stark, King in the North and Lord of Winterfell, do hereby decree that my brother, Jon Snow, shall henceforth be legitimized and known forevermore as Jon Stark. Unless a child of my blood is born, he shall be my heir to Winterfell. Should I pass before my child is of age, he shall perform the duties of regent and be known as Lord of Winterfell until my child's fifteenth name day.

Additionally, as King and Lord of Winterfell, I release the Lady Aurelia Moors from her family's pledge of matrimony to myself and pass that pledge to my brother Jon.

From this day, until the end of time, Jon Stark is a true, legitimate son of my house and shall be accorded all responsibilities, duties, and respects from House Stark and all those who have pledged fealty to it.

Aurelia's hand shook as she set the letter back on the table.

"I'm sending Maege Mormont and one of the Glovers to Howland Reed to hold this letter. Once I have Frey's men, and retake Winterfell, I will have this letter sent with a thousand men to the Night's Watch." He took one of her trembling hands in his, using his other hand to tilt her face up to look at him. "Then Jon will come home. I will place you both in charge of rebuilding Winterfell while I finish off the Lannisters and claim the North, and you two can be together, as you always should have been."

Aurelia's eyes brimmed with tears. "What if I cannot sway Stannis?"

"I hope you will do all you can," Robb said. "But this letter has no bearing on that. My father should have done this long ago, and I should have done it as soon as I pledged myself to one of Walder Frey's daughters and cast you aside to gain a tactical advantage. I have never been good at apologies, as you know, but this is a partial attempt to make right something which has been wrong for many years."

"You are in earnest?"

Robb nodded, and Aurelia threw her arms around him. He lifted her off the ground as he held her tight. "It will take a bit of time, but I swear to you I will make this right."

He set her back down and Aurelia took a small step back from him.

"That's why your mother gave me that look," she said with a small smile. "She knows."

"She does. Her disdain for Jon has been obvious his whole life, and misplaced. He is my brother, and it is time he was treated as such and allowed the life that should always have been his."

"Who else knows?"

"Maege, my wife, the Greatjon, the Blackfish, and you. I would not have told that many, but when I left my great uncle with my wife I thought he needed to know. And when I told the Greatjon that once you returned from my errand he was to protect you, he should know why."

"Protect me?"

"After you treat with Stannis and report back to me, I intend to send you to House Umber for safekeeping until Winterfell is ours again. I will send you with the Greatjon."

"The Greatjon." She raised an eyebrow. "Am I that valuable?"

"You are to marry my brother, my successor," Robb said, the kingly tone entering his voice. "No one aside from my wife is more important that you." He tilted his head down and kissed her on the cheek. "And I will not lose either of you," he whispered in her ear before pulling back and smiling at her.