Author's Note – read this understanding I am no strategist, so you may find a sieve where that part of the story is concerned!

Davos

The strain of not knowing the fate of Lady Catelyn Stark, or the former Lady Stark, with absolute certainty and having to walk the thin line of allowing his lady to have hope was wearing on his king. Davos assumed he and Shireen were the only ones who could tell the difference in his current version of "dour." In a short time, the Queen had become adept and even surpassed him in her ability to read his expressions and movements, but not in this particular instance. For once, she was only seeing what she wanted to see. And what she wanted to see was that the raven they had received three fortnights ago of her mother's death and the even more startling tale of her being brought back to life as an unearthly version of her former self was of not true.

Ravens came and went between Lord Tully at Riverrun; the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, presently at Winterfell; and his good-son, Lord Clegane, at Dreadfort. Somehow, he thought of Clegane as his good-son, although the relationship was not real. Sandor Clegane was very indulgent where the Seaworth family's claim on his wife, Alys, was concerned. Perhaps it was because he had no family himself. Be that as it may, Davos was aware that his true affections lie with the Queen and not with Alys. Clegane was, however, showing himself considerate of his wife and her feelings. His reply in response to the raven sent seeking what additional information he could provide regarding the Brotherhood without Banners said that he was ready and waiting to assist in looking for her "as his king and queen desired," and would take time until then to see that his wife and Dreadfort would be safe if his absence required. Davos had expected him to leave Alys without much thought and go off to be Sansa's hero regardless of whether he was asked to do so.

One person given little attention given current events was the true Lady Stark, Jayne, the widow of Lord Robb Stark. She remained at Riverrun at Lady Catelyn's request. Since Lord Stark died before she was able to conceive an heir, the current Lady Stark was of little consequence to be sure. Davos gave her a thought now and then, primarily because House Westerling was sworn to House Lannister. Davos trusted Lord Tyrion up to a point, but if anyone could find ways around his oath, it was Tyrion Lannister. Lord Tyrion had admitted the Freys had come to him with their plans for killing Lord Stark and all with him at the wedding of Edmure Tully. Did he still communicate with them? Was Lady Jayne Stark providing information on the movements of the Starks and Tullys that had made the ambush possible? There was more to consider about this whole affair than the current fate of Lady Catelyn Stark.

To resolve the question of the moment, Lord Edmure set out with men from Riverrun. Davos was in the Tower with his wife and baby daughter awaiting supper when the raven arrived to inform the King that he had found her, or more precisely, she had found him. He read the contents of the raven, not bothering to school his face for Marya's benefit – it never worked anyway.

"Is this confirmation that Lady Stark is dead?" Marya asked, laying Alysane in the cradle after having taken her from Davos so he could read the raven.

"Yes and no." Davos had told her of the claims that Lady Stark had been brought back to life, and like their Queen, she had dismissed them since she did not believe such things were possible.

Marya rolled her eyes at him, letting him know he should know better than to give her such a vague answer. Davos sighed as he began to ready himself to leave for Maegor's Holdfast. "Lord Tully relays a report from his brother, Lord Edmure, that Lady Stark has taken on a new name: Lady Stoneheart. It was given her by the men who found her and that she now leads. It seems she has an agenda of revenge and he found her with little interest in her remaining children or family."

"But you said 'yes' when I asked you if she was dead?"

Davos had no idea how to explain this to her. "She cannot talk and her skin has the blue pallor of one who is dead. It says that Edmure Tully describes Lady Stoneheart as one who resembles his sister, but he cannot regard the woman he met as his sister." He paused for a moment to see if the confused frown on his wife's face gave way. When it did not, he tried again. "Either it is true that she was dead and brought back to life is a form that is not entirely as she was or she was not quite dead and this is the result of what was done to her. Either way, it sounds like this woman is little like the woman we knew and that Queen Sansa has suffered a loss."

He watched patiently as Marya took all this in and assumed she categorized it with the things she had to accept, but did not understand. "I should go tell the King. He may already be at supper with the Queen. Do you believe we should get the nurse to watch Alysane and hat you should go with me in case she has need of you in her grief?"

"I would go if I truly thought I was needed," Marya said. "She will want the King. He may not be one we can easily see as a provider of sympathy and comfort, but he will be who she wants . . . if she accepts the news at all. However, it would not hurt for you to wait until after their supper. If King Stannis censures you on it, tell him I advised you that it would be best for the Queen and the babe she carries to have her meal first as she would be less likely to eat after hearing the news or having him called away from their table."

Approaching his wife and kissing her forehead, Davos marveled at her wisdom when it came to matters such as these. "I shall see about hurrying our dinner so that you can get to Maegar's and wait for them to complete theirs," she informed him, taking a moment to smile up at him.

With that, she disappeared and, when she returned, their two youngest sons and servants were with her. The servants were bearing soup as the first part of their supper. They had finished their soup before Devan arrived to join them. By silent agreement, they did not tell him the particulars of why supper was started earlier than usual other than to say that Davos had pressing matters to attend to. Davos ate, but tasted very little; his eyes appreciated the sight of the roasted pork and potatoes, but he found no flavor in them. It was all he could do to force himself to finish, knowing Marya would insist he eat all or most all of what was served to him.

Once he was outside the Queen's apartments where the King's family ate their supper, he waited until he was told they were finished and sent Ser Lambert in to request an audience with his king. Stannis joined him shortly thereafter.

"You have word from what quarter?" Stannis asked as he approached him, his hands clenched tightly at his sides.

"From Lord Tully at Rivverun, Your Grace," Davos said while giving an abbreviated version of a bow. His King often rolled his eyes at others when they took the time to bow fully, but still wanted to be shown the respect a bow afforded. This variation seemed to agree with him. "Lord Edmure has returned and did find his sister in the form described by young Lord Dayne. He also found changes in her demeanor."

Davos handed the raven to Stannis who seemed to read through it several times before handing it back to him. "As those she seeks revenge on are enemies of the Iron Throne as well, there is nothing to be done at this point. Do you agree?"

"Yes, Sire. As of yet, I see no impact to the realm or action required from the Iron Throne." Every word stuck in Davos' throat. What was of importance to his king and queen, were of importance the realm as far as he was concerned.

The King glanced at the door he had just come from and then back to Davos. "How is your daughter this day?" It was almost as if he was stalling to think through what he must do next.

"She is well, Your Grace, thank you for asking." It pleased him that Stannis took such concern for his new daughter, although he knew part of it was due to his own fears for the child his queen presently carried.

"Well, then, I will leave you to return to her and her mother." With that, Davos was dismissed. He dreaded what Stannis would face next and sent up a prayer to any of the gods who might truly exist whether they be old, new, red, or otherwise, that Queen Sansa would bear the news bravely for her husband's sake and the sake of her unborn child.