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02x05: The Ghost of Harrenhal.
Chapter Thirty: The Sea Comes to Winterfell.
Taking a deep breath as she soaked in the early morning air, Sanira thought about the dream that she'd had the night before; the sea had flown over the walls of Winterfell threatening to swallow it. Sanira had no idea what it could mean but she doubted that it was going to happen, they were far from the sea at Winterfell; there was not a chance in the world that it could happen.
The news that Renly Baratheon had died had come quickly and Sanira wasn't sure how she should feel about that news; she barely knew him even if he was meant to be kin.
"You're awake early," Aiana mused standing next to Sanira, she was surprised to find her lady here and she hoped that everything was alright; she peeked down at the bump that Sanira carried. The pregnancy was going well and Aiana was sure that everything would be in place when the little prince or princess arrived.
The news was hard to hide now and most of the North would be aware that she was expecting by now; Sanira could only hope that her child wasn't going to be born to a war that would never end.
"Robb has written to me," Sanira revealed surprised that it had taken him so long, she missed him and she wished that he could just leave this war behind and come home to her. The winter was upon them and Sanira feared that it would delay his return even more, the winter could last as long as the summer had and she wanted them to be together when it happened.
Aiana took the letter that Sanira offered her, she couldn't imagine how hard this was for her and she hoped that this would be over soon.
"He announced that two of Walder Frey's daughters would join us once the war was done," Sanira murmured not sure what to make of the news, it had to be part of the deal that had been made for the Frey army to join with the Starks. Aiana raised an eyebrow, she wasn't sure what they would be expected to do with two Frey girls and she hoped that Robb knew what he was doing; she glanced at the letter that detailed the fact that the two would become ladies to Sanira now that she was Queen.
This was on top of the fact that Arya would be married off to a Frey when they got her back and another would become Robb's squire; it was clear that House Frey were milking the alliance for everything that they could.
"I am sure they will enjoy their time here," Aiana mused knowing that she would spend the most time with them out of anyone, she wasn't sure what to make of this when the war was still going on. So many things could happen before then and Aiana had no idea what the end of this war could bring, five Kings all fighting against one another had become four and she doubted that it would end well for any of them.
Sanira didn't say anything, she still found it hard to accept her sudden change in status and she doubted that she would ever get used to the titles that she now held. It also didn't help that she hadn't heard from her family in a while, they still hadn't joined up with the Stark army and that fact alone made Sanira uncomfortable.
Her father had always been such a strong Stark supporter and to have him not send the army to join made Sanira wary; she was just glad that they hadn't joined with the Lannister army. Arlenna would have done anything to support her older brother and Sanira had no doubts that whatever was happening in Aeredale that it was all down to her.
Even her brothers hadn't written to her since this had all started and it made Sanira worry, it wasn't like Deston not to write to her when he enjoyed getting her letters and she hoped that everything was alright.
Resting a hand on her bump, Sanira moved quickly along the corridor wondering what the hell was going on; most of the men that had remained at Winterfell had been sent to Torrhen's Square because the Ironborn had attacked. Ser Rodrick had led the forces to deal with the problem and Sanira hoped that it was okay; she feared what was going on especially since there was no help that would reach them if they needed it.
Stepping out into the court yard, Sanira took a deep breath as her eyes landed on Maester Luwin and she moved towards him knowing that he would have answers for what was happening right now.
"Your Grace it isn't safe," Maester Luwin insisted spotting Sanira, he hurried across the courtyard to stop her and move the Queen back inside; it wasn't safe for her to be out here when Winterfell was under attack. The most important thing was that Sanira and the baby were safe, they could be used by the Ironborn to gain an advantage on Robb and that couldn't be allowed to happen.
Sanira took a deep breath, she had no intentions of going to cower in her chamber when her home was under attack; she was the Queen in the North and people would be looking to her for guidance in this time of need.
"What is going on?" Sanira asked refusing to be ushered back inside, she wasn't the only Stark to come and see what was going on; Rickon hurried to her side and clutched at her skirts. He huddled close to Sanira while Maester Luwin tried to get them back inside, he kept looking towards the gates wondering how much longer that they would hold out before the walls were breached.
There would be no stopping the Ironborn if they breached the walls and Maester Luwin feared for Sanira, Bran and Rickon if that were to happen. Maester Luwin had no doubts that whoever was leading this attack would not waste a moment in ensuring that the Northern army would fall in their fight for independence and would have to deal with them.
"We are under attack by the Ironborn," Maester Luwin revealed starting to usher Sanira and Rickon along, he had an idea and they had to act quickly if they were to make this work. There weren't enough men to defend the keep and Maester Luwin didn't know how much time they would have before the Ironborn got inside and took over Winterfell; it was his duty to make sure that Sanira and Rickon were safe.
He would then find some way to help Bran, the older Stark boy was going to be more difficult to get out of the keep and Maester Luwin knew that his inability to walk would only cause problems in sneaking him out.
"This way My Queen," Maester Luwin insisted hurrying out of the court yard, he signalled for Aiana to follow after them knowing that they must act quickly before they left the court yard. Sanira took Rickon's hand so that she didn't lose him, she had no idea what was going on and what Maester Luwin might have been planning for them now.
The group headed down to the crypts quickly as the Ironborn broke into Winterfell, Maester Luwin didn't stop until he reached a passage at the end of one of the tunnels. Rickon continued to clutch at Sanira's hand as the sounds from above greeted them, they wouldn't have long until the Ironborn started the search for Sanira and Rickon so that they had hostages to hold.
"Follow the tunnel. Ser Rodrick will meet you by the river," Maester Luwin instructed entrusting Aiana to get Sanira out of here safe, he had to stay behind and ensure that the Ironborn were distracted enough to give Sanira a head start traveling South. Sanira stared at Maester Luwin before she nodded her head, she had a feeling this would be the last time they saw one another.
Heading off down the tunnel, Sanira was careful as she stepped hoping that Bran would have another way out; she wasn't sure how she would be able to help him when she was seven months pregnant.
Maester Luwin carefully and quietly walked out of the crypt and looked around, the people of Winterfell had all been gathered in the court yard; his eyes searching the small group of Ironborn before his eyes landed on the leader. It almost tore out his heart to see Theon Greyjoy leading the attack against the place that had once been his home; it was a horrible shock and it only reaffirmed Maester Luwin's decision.
Bran was sat on some stairs with Hodor and Osha by his side, they would be the next people that Maester Luwin helped escape and he had a feeling that Theon would be more focused in ensuring that Sanira was found. Holding Robb's younger brothers' hostage was one things but holding his pregnant wife and Queen was another; it would be the best thing that he could hope for to track her down before anyone realised that she was missing.
Maester Luwin wouldn't admit to a soul that he'd had this planned for a while; he'd had a feeling that something like this would happen sooner or later. If it hadn't been the Ironborn then there was always a chance that Lannisters would become an issue; Maester Luwin had hidden the letter to Sanira from Maester Seymour.
It didn't look good and it seemed like Arlenna was about to turn the tide in this war, she was poisoning her husband if Maester Seymour was to be believed.
"Where is Lady Stark?" Theon ordered looking around, he needed to ensure that his hold on Winterfell was secure and that could only be done with Sanira in his grasp.
Stepping out of the tunnel, Sanira sighed in relief moving into the light and taking in where they were; they were definitely outside of Winterfell and it surprised her that no one had mentioned the tunnels before. Ser Rodrick was stood a little away from the entrance with a horse prepared for the trip, he never thought that he would see the day that this would happen.
He had done his best to push the Ironborn back but it hadn't worked, Ser Rodrick had followed through with the plan that Maester Luwin had put in place. Getting Sanira as far South as he could, was his top priority and Ser Rodrik had no plans in failing at this; he had been tasked by Robb to ensure that Sanira was kept safe while he was away at war.
"We must move quickly, the last thing we need is the Ironborn catching us," Ser Rodrick insisted eyeing the small group, it wasn't going to be an easy task and he could only hope that the Ironborn didn't work out quickly that Sanira was no longer in Winterfell. They didn't need to be hunted down and Ser Rodrick doubted that they would make it far with hounds on their tail; they had to move swiftly while Maester Luwin dealt with everything else.
Helping Sanira onto the back of the horse, Ser Rodrick could only hope that Maester Luwin was able to get Bran out with easy; he didn't know how the maester would do it but it would be difficult. Rickon was also seated on the horse with his good-sister before they started moving, it would be a long trip to the Westerlands where Robb was stationed with his army for the four of them.
Leaving Winterfell behind, they started on their trip south unsure what the future would hold for them all on their journey to the Westerlands.
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