Chapter Text
“Based on the information Jon has provided us, the White Walkers are weak to dragonglass. It is much more valuable than gold. We need to find and make the weapons we need to defend ourselves,” Sansa speaks, her voice echoing throughout the Great Hall of Winterfell.
It’s only been a short time since the Battle of the Bastards where despite defeating Ramsay and finally getting back her home, it came at the cost of her and Jon’s younger brother, Rickon Stark. As the last living trueborn child of Ned Stark and Catelyn Stark, Sansa was chosen as Queen in the North and must bear the responsibility to ensure that her people and home can withstand another battle. This time, from an enemy that never tires.
“Everyone from 10 and older must train daily and learn how to use the sword, spear, and bow and arrow. But since there is a small number of men that can help fight against the White Walkers, this will also mean women at the age of 10 and older will also need to be trained while the eldest will be fighting on the frontlines if they wish to.” Sansa was met with silence, not surprised if any of the lords disagreed with her.
Lord Robert Glover was the first to speak up.
“You expect me to put a spear in my granddaughter's hand,” Robert barked at Sansa.
Before she could even open her mouth, Lyanna Mormont stood up.
“I don’t plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me,” Lyanna retorts to him. “I might be small, Lord Glover, and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much of a Northerner as you.” Despite Lyanna being much smaller in stature and younger, Robert seems to shrink under the girl’s glare.
Robert’s face became flushed. “Indeed, you are, my lady. No one has questioned-”
“And I don’t need your permission to defend the North,” Lyanna cuts off Robert and turns to Sansa, showing that she is the one with the last word.
Sansa couldn’t help but think of Arya, who just like Lyanna, will not let anyone stop her from saying what she likes, even if it angers others.
“But now it’s not the time,” Sansa thought. “I must not think of the past and instead think of the future. I’m no longer that stupid little girl in King’s Landing.”
“We’ll begin training every man, woman, boy, and girl on Bear Island.” declares Lyanna to Sansa and responds with cheers of “Aye!” from the other lords in the room. Sansa gives Lyanna a small nod and Sansa continues speaking.
“The only thing keeping us safe from the Army of the Dead is the wall. The Night’s Watch doesn’t have enough men to ensure that the dead wouldn’t come through. Therefore, I must ask the Free Folk to provide us with the help they have given once before.”
Sansa watches as Tormund stands up into the center of the Great Hall. “You want us to man the castles for you?” he said through his thick accent.
“Tormund, I ask you to man Eastwatch by the Sea, since from what I’m told, that Night Knight was last seen at Hardhome. Eastwatch is the closest castle and the last defense between us and the Army of the Dead.”
“And that’s where I’ll go.” Tormund turns back to the lords. “Looks like we’re the Night’s watch now,” as he and the other Free Folk let out a laugh.
“And, as a reward for continuing in helping us, I will provide you and your people land here in the North if you wish to remain on this side of the wall after the war.” Tormund responds with a thank you with a small smirk and sits back down.
Sansa was grateful that the wildlings were willing to help her and Jon take back their home, even though they didn’t have to. At the very least, she could at least provide land so that they can rebuild the homes they had lost because of the Night King. And maybe, provide Winterfell aid if asked again in the future.
From the corner of her eyes, Sansa sees Littlefinger giving her a knowing smile, something she has come to hate.
“If the wall is breached, the castles that are closest to Eastwatch are Last Hearth and Karhold. But the Umbers and the Karstarks betrayed the North and my family, the ones they swore to protect but sided with the man who helped kill them alongside the Freys,” Her voice laced with venom and her hands gripping her chair, the same one where Robb sat, the last King in the North.
Sansa can recall the day when the news of her mother’s and brother’s death. Joffrey forced his way into her chambers and made her listen to every detail that later appeared in her nightmares that will haunt her for the rest of her life. With a sadistic look in his eyes, Joffrey tells Sansa how Robb’s wife was killed, stabbed in the stomach, alongside killing her unborn child. As her mother pleaded for them to let her son go but instead watched her son die before having her throat slit. Tears falling down her face as Joffrey continues to gleefully explain how her mother’s body was dumped in a river, never to be given a proper burial, and Robb’s direwolf, Grey Wind, head was cut off and placed onto his body, paraded around, not caring that Robb just wanted his two sisters back and to go home.
“I was planning to have the castles given to the families that remained loyal to the Starks and supported us against Ramsay.”
She wanted to punish them. For turning against her family but she was now queen and must not make choices based on her emotions. That’s what Joffery did. That’s what Cersei did. Even her brother made choices based on his emotions that lead to his death. She is not them.
Sansa takes a deep breath and continues. “But my Hand has informed me that the two heads of the households were killed during the Battle of the Bastards, leaving their children to take over as head of their households. And my Hand told me to not punish the children, as they were not the ones to break faith with House Stark but their fathers.” She turns her head slightly and gives Jon a small smile, which he returns.
“Ned Umber. Alys Karstark.”
A young boy with a sword almost as big as him and a girl with the same flame-colored hair as Sansa stood up and walked up to face their queen.
Sansa could tell that the two were scared, as they both kept their eyes down, scared to look her in the eye.
“For centuries, our families have fought side by side,” her voice loud, wanting everyone to listen to her final decision. “I ask you, Alys Karstark of House Karstark and Ned Umber of House Umber, to once again pledge your loyalty to House Stark. To give aid to House Stark whenever called upon.”
Ice blue eyes watched as the young lady and lord took out their swords and bent on one knee, with the other lords as witnesses.
“Stand.”
Alys and Ned stand back up but are now able to look their queen in her eyes. There was tension between them and her but there was no fear in their eyes. There was no need for fear to gain loyalty from them. She will rule with love and loyalty, not fear and hatred.
She smiles at the two. “You are not your fathers. Anything mistakes they made in the past, they already face punishment by the Gods. Will you stand beside me, Lady Karstark and Lord Umber? Now and Always?”
“Now and Always!,” Alys and Ned echoed back.
The room erupts into cheers. Alys and Ned joyfully smile. Jon gives her a nod, showing that he is proud. Brienne does the same. Littlefinger, though, is emotionless, only staring at her but she ignores him, not caring what he thinks of her decision.
Sansa stands up, with a goblet of wine in her hand.
“To all the lords that remain loyal to House Stark and to the Free Folk and the Night’s Watch that helped take back my family’s home, I swear to you, I will do what it takes to ensure that the Night King will be defeated and the North will remain independent for centuries to come.”
“The Queen in the North! The Queen in the North! The Queen in the North!” is chanted throughout the hall. All of the North to hear.
Sansa will rule as the queen she was always meant to be.
Sansa walks through Winterfell, alongside Jeyne, her closest friend. Jeyne is one of the few that Sansa can trust, the same goes for Jeyne. Despite all of the hardships they went through and the time separated, the two still loved and cared for each other deeply. Ever since they took back Winterfell, the two have gotten even closer. Jeyne often shares a bed with Sansa, such as when they were children, to avoid the nightmares that ruin her sleep. Sharing lemon cakes and recounting memories from their childhood. The mere presence of Jeyne calms her down despite everything.
“Oh, remember the times where we sat down in the godswood and told each other stories about the princes and knights?,” Jeyne said, with her arm hooked around Sansa’s.
She lets out a small giggle. “Yes, those were my favorite times. It was always just us two. Little girls with big hopes for the world.” A sad smile appears on Sansa’s face. How she wishes to go come to those times. How she wishes that she never left Winterfell.
“Look at you now, a queen, just like how you always dreamed of,” Jeyne continues, giving her a smile that mirrors Sansa’s.
“But right now, I am just Sansa, walking with my dearest friend.”
Jeyne chuckles and her cheeks turn a light pink, and the same goes for Sansa. The two were soon interrupted by Maester Wolkan.
“Your Grace, a raven came in from King’s Landing.” Sansa takes the letter and Wolkan gives a small bow, leaving the two women alone.
She opens the letter and skims through it. She lets out a sigh. Sansa is never truly safe until those that bring harm to her home and people are gone.
“Jeyne, look for Jon and ask him to meet me in my quarters. It seems that we have enemies in the South as we do in the North.”
“Cersei of House Lannister, First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, commends you to come to King’s Landing and bend the knee of suffering the fate of all traitors.”
Jon throws the letter down on the time and lets out a frustrated sigh. Sansa sits on the chair near the hearth as Jon walks towards the window that looks out to the courtyard. There were a few moments of silence with only the crackling of the fire and men working outside filling it.
“We’ve been so consumed with the enemy to the north, we forgot the one to the south,” Sansa explains. She never saw this so-called Night King but the distressed look on John's face when she first told her about them alongside Tormund, a well-respected man of the free folk, also gave her accounts of the Night King and the dead was enough to convince her. Now, they must be worried about Cersei, a woman that is just as deadly if they weren’t careful.
“I am worried about the Night King because I have seen him-”
“And I believe you.”
“But,” as Jon continues, “it still doesn’t change the fact that we need to worry more about the Night King.”
Sansa stands and joins him at the window. She sees children being trained by Brienne. Whenever a child struggles, Brienne takes the time to help them, even if she is awkward around them. It reminds her of their father, when Jon and Robb first started to learn, and when Bran became old enough to hold a bow. The only connection she has now of her father is Jon, who inherited the Stark look and always seems to be brooding.
She puts a hand on his shoulder and makes him face her. “We still have a wall between us and the Night King but not Cersei and us.”
“There are thousands of miles between us and Cersei. The Lannister army is southern. Winter is here. They will not march this far north.”
“I have made you my hand because you are a military man that thinks for the people, not for power but even so, you don’t know your enemy as well as I do. I have grown up around Cersei and I have seen and heard of what she has done to those she considers her enemies. She will stop at nothing to see us dead, even if the cost is innocent lives.”
“It seems like you know her well.”
Sansa drops her hand from Jon’s shoulder and goes back to sitting at the hearth. “I’ve learned a great deal from her.”
After her talk with Jon, Sansa is walking along the battlements with Littlefinger. She was originally with Jeyne but she took her leave as Littlefinger offered to walk with the two. She wanted to rid the man and spend time with Jeyne but she couldn’t do anything yet. The Knights of the Vale follow him but he will not go unpunished for the crimes he has committed on Jeyne, herself, and Westeros. But for now, she must wait, like a wolf waiting for her prey to drop its guard.
Sansa struggles to stop from rolling her eyes at Littlefinger’s attempts to manipulate her. He still holds onto his desire for Sansa. Perhaps he has forgotten the fact that she is not only Catelyn’s daughter but Ned's. As the two continue to walk along the battlements, he has hit a nerve in Sansa.
“I wonder, what is your relationship with Jeyne?,” Littlefinger asks, causing Sansa to stop in her tracks.
Even though she doesn’t know the answer to the question. She never truly felt anything for the men she was betrothed to or even married to. She was expected to be with a man so she kept her feelings of discomfort hidden. Perhaps when Margaery came along, Sansa realized what she was supposed to feel for her future husband was only felt when she was around other women. Perhaps she does have feelings for Jeyne. But her time in the south and being queen has taught her that she cannot marry for love. Littlefinger clears his throat and it snaps Sansa out of her thoughts.
The corner of Littleinger’s mouth is slightly turned up, seeming to take her silence as a good enough answer. “I simply want to keep you safe. What she has been through can change a person greatly.”
Sansa’s ice blue eyes meet Littlefinger’s eyes that his smile doesn’t reach. She used to avoid looking at him directly, never being able to read him but now things have changed whether he likes it or not. She was not the same little girl he used to force his desire for Catelyn onto.
She steps closer, towering over the man. “My relationship with Jeyne will bring me no harm. I have Brienne and Jon to protect me. And as your Queen, you have no right to worry about my relationships. Who I am close with should be no concern to you. Do you understand?”
Littlefinger still smiles as if he has a secret that no one else knows but even so, he respectfully bows to her and responds with a simple “Yes, Your Grace.”
From the corner of her eye, Sansa notices Brienne walking up the battlements and approaching her. No words need to be said as Littlefinger leaves and disappears into the background. She knows that Littlefinger will try to corner her later this evening, trying to get her alone. But he hasn’t had the chance since they have taken back Winterfell. This is her home and she will no longer be anyone’s tool any more.
As Littlefinger leaves, Brienne finally speaks.
“Why is he still here,” her voice laced with disgust.
She is glad that Brienne is worried but he still holds some form of importance to the North.
Sansa faces the tall knight. “We need his men. But do not worry, he will be dealt with.” She turns back to the courtyard and the cold winter wind blows, Brienne beside her shiver. But not Sansa.
She may have the looks of a Tully but she has Stark blood too. She will face her prey with her teeth bare to protect her home and people as Winter is finally here.