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Thanks to Tim for the prompt! Any and all prompts welcome
Mercenary Spirit
What if Robb Stark followed Roose Bolton's advice during the war of the five kings? And now, Robb Stark as the King of Westeros, Dany Targaryen as Queen of Essos and Roose Bolton as Lord of Winterfell. Bear with me, here's how I see this going down.
First, I love Roose Bolton's portrayal on TV. He just oozes leadership, cunning, and that calm, cool attitude that contrasts sharply to how he is portrayed in the book. I like the TV portrayal more and props to Michael McElhatton for making this character truly great. His Roose is the ultimate Mercenary Spirit and only leaves Robb Stark for a better offer. BUT if Richard Madden took the time to figure out what Roose Bolton wanted, he could have made an even greater offer, because he can provide something that even the legendary Charles Dance isn't likely to be able to: Securing his family line against his son.
Roose's biggest problem of course is Ramsay Bolton, his bastard son. Truthfully I love Ramsay's character also, but Roose can't really depend on him to be the cold calculating heir to the Dreadfort simply because Ramsay's personality leaves behind many problems. Roose would love a scenario where he could have another son, and if Ramsay would kindly get himself offed, that would be great. Here's where Robb Stark could come in.
Robb's mother is the great beauty of the South, or rather she was 20 years ago. Robb is in the position as King, to command his mother to remarry, and what better opportunity than to marry her to Roose Bolton. As a wedding gift, Robb also has the one fighter I can think of who would be able to laugh off anything that Ramsay could do to him, and that is the Greatjon, Jon Umber. A man who laughs off a direwolf eating half his hand is more than a match for the bastard of Bolton.
At this point, we have Ramsay Bolton eliminated, Catelyn who has already borne 3 sons and I see no reason why she couldn't have another. In the books, her and Ned were going to try for another child anyway. I love Michelle Fairley as an actress, but keep in mind that Catelyn is actually younger than her portrayal.
So, how does Robb become the king of Westeros? Easy, marry the Queen of Essos, Dany Targaryen. Robb has the one thing that Dany needs above all others, a homegrown presence in Westeros. Dany has the one thing that Robb needs, security against any bannerman who would dare to challenge him (even his new father in law) with a wife who has three dragons.
The last piece of the puzzle is getting those two together. Not nearly as hard as it looks. Dany needs someone in Westeros to ally with. Stannis is too rigid, Joffrey is too monstrous, Balon isn't going to win the war, and Renly is still dead. That leaves Robb. Dany has Ser Jorah Mormont of the North, who could be used to broker a treaty and a marriage between east and west. Robb can now give Roose exactly what he wants, and there is a Stark in Winterfell. Catelyn keeps the name Stark ala Cersei Lannister.