The Queen enters the throne room at eleven o'clock. She heard the news of the disaster in the South, the previous evening. As usual she is quite impassive. She feels calm, almost relieved, now. She has played the game for nearly twenty years. Now, she is resigned to her own death. She will stand a siege at Winterfell, but she is in no doubt about the likely outcome. The only people who will stand by her are those who know they can expect no mercy from Yara Greyjoy and Greyworm. Yet, she still has a card to play; she has lost to the Kraken whore, but she still has the means of robbing her victory of any sweetness. She has dressed with considerable care. She wears her platinum crown, and cloth of silver dress with red weirwood embroidery. The same she wore all those years ago, when she posed for her own portrait by Master Falier. It still hangs in pride of place, in her throne room. Is this how Cersei felt, during the last days of her life, waiting for the Dragon Queen to destroy her?
She laughs inwardly, as she remembers an old poem, about rulers who were branded as tyrants. She imagines herself, Cersei, Margaery Tyrell, and Daenerys, in the next world, each of them debating which was the worst on earth. She senses nervousness among the courtiers. Some will know what has happened, or will have guessed it, anyway. She speaks, without preamble:-
"We have suffered a major defeat in the South. Perhaps half the army got away, but many of them will desert during the retreat. " An anxious muttering sweeps the room. Then she surprises them.
"I will remain at Winterfell to stand against my enemies. But, any one of you is free to leave." Some of them will take advantage of that opportunity. Others will know that leaving is not an option. Either way, she does not want anyone left with her who is not committed to her cause.
"We are with you, now and always" proclaims one sycophant. She sees that it is the Umber lover of Lord Cerwyn's younger son. Toad! You'll be the first to run. She considers a sarcastic response, but refrains. What after all is the point? All her life, she has done her best to honour Father, Mother, and Robb, and her ancestors. There is no shame in being defeated, so long as you have done your best. She remembers a verse from one of the sagas; "Will shall be the sterner, heart the bolder, spirit the greater as our strength lessens." All of her life, she has tried to live by this creed.
She addresses the President of the Inquisition, an Ibbenese named Beria, a man who can certainly expect no mercy from her enemies. "We will need to be fed. Gather all the stocks of food available in Wintertown, and then burn the town to the ground. Let the whore of Pyke camp on scorched earth. ". Her sister is present, making no effort to hide the disgust this order causes her. The townsfolk will starve, but such is war. Catelyn, sitting next to her, just remains silent, hiding away inside herself, she suspects, as she has done since the burning in the Godswood. They have barely spoken since that night. Such a pity that her daughter should be a weakling. "Your will, my Queen," replies the man, and leaves the room to give the necessary orders.
She discusses arrangements for the provisioning of the remains of her army; the state of munitions in Winterfell; the condition of its walls; Winterfell is still a fortress, as much as it is a palace; shrewdly, she has strengthened the defences during her reign, building extra towers and walls. As many as four thousand men can be accommodated within the walls. She has about a thousand at present, but more will flee there, as her enemies close in. She makes a mental note to swap her bodyguards for inquisitors. The latter can't betray her, as they can't hope for a pardon. No, she can't win, but she will make her enemies pay a terrible price for victory.
As far as she can tell, no more than twelve thousand of Yara Greyjoy's men were left fit to fight, after the battle. But, the mountain clans will surely be marching down the road from Deepwood Motte at this point, through the Wolfswood, to begin the siege. How right she was to order the execution of the prisoners in the camps! At least they can't swell the ranks of her enemies. And, many of her lords will be rushing to switch sides, now, cowards and curs that they are. As for the Smallfolk, they'd burn her alive if they caught her, doubtless after a round of rape and torture. They will aid the invader, regardless of the cost. No, she will be hugely outnumbered. But, I will not go down in history as the Queen Who Bent the Knee
But what to do about Catelyn, she muses, as the audience ends, and she takes her daughter's hand, and leads her away, unresisting? Before the audience, she spoke to Mother Mole, her astrologer. The witch had suggested burning her daughter on a pyre in the Godswood, as a sacrifice to enlist the aid of the infernal powers. She won't do that. Stannis Baratheon tried exactly that, all those years ago, just a few miles away, only to find that his wife had hanged herself, and half his army had deserted. The powers of darkness are ever liars. She ponders her daughter's fate, as they walk back to her chambers. Should she keep her with her to the end, or send her away with Arya and Jeyne Poole? She has to choose within the next couple of days.
Notes:
1. Master Falier painted Sansa in The Queen's Portrait.
2. Sansa insulted Umber in the Road to War.
3. The verse that Sansa quotes to herself is from Tolkien's translation of the Battle of Maldon, which was remembered as a glorious Anglo-Saxon defeat at the hands of the Danes. Tolkien named it the Northern Theory of Courage; that defeat is no refutation, and that it is better to die in a good cause than to live in dishonour. Admittedly, Sansa's idea of what is a good cause is somewhat skewed.
4.. In the show, Melisandre persuaded Stannis to burn his daughter, in order to end a snowstorm.