Asha
Moat Cailin was fading in the distance as the army moved south. Winter had truly come, just like those damned Starks liked to say. At least the snow drifts were not as high south of Winterfell. Asha was still a prize of Stannis Baratheon waiting to be married off like some lady of the green lands. As if she wasn't already married. Her would be husband, Justin Massey was currently sailing to Bravvos to recruit sellswords.
The order to march came on the heels of the Dreadfort's surrender. The castellan of the Dreadfort apparently had no intention in fighting for an extinguised house Bolton.
The Bastard of Bolton had lost Winterfell in the same way that he gained it, by treachery. The battle for Winterfell had gone exactly as Stannis planned. His men stayed on the edge of the frozen lakes and waited for the enemy to come. The Freys came first and lost the majority of their forces to the frigid waters outside of the village. Those who survived fled the battle only to be slaughtered by the Manderly troops. Lord Wyman Manderly, who was the fattest greenlander she had ever seen, declared for Stannis. His men returned to Winterfell claiming to have slain King Stannis bringing his sword as proof. Shortly afterward the rest of the Baratheon army entered Winterfell claiming to be the Freys. When the signal was given the Northmen garrison turned on the Boltons.
Roose Bolton had been killed in the fighting, stabbed in the heart by one of his loyal bannermen. Ramsay Snow, her brother's tormentor on the other hand, had been seriously wounded but was taken alive. Her brother's captor had been burned alive as a sacrifice to the Lord of Light.
Asha agreed to deliver Torrhen's Square in exchange for a merciful death for Theon. Stannis agreed, and personally beheaded Theon with Lightbringer in the godswood of Winterfell before the heart tree. My name is Theon Greyjoy. It haunted Asha to remember just how accepting of his death Theon was when he uttered his last words. In fact, when he was alone in the godswood, before his execution, she almost could hear him talking to the trees don't save me, i'm ready, he seemed to say.
Within a week, Asha lived up to her part of the bargain and delivered Torrhen's Square. The fate of the garrison had been far more merciful than that of the garrison at Moat Caillin.
The Northmen and Stannis alike insisted on a march to the Twins, the crannogmen of the neck would ferry men to the other side of the river, and allow an actual siege to happen.
Jon Snow, the once dead lord commander of the Night's Watch, was coming south to join Stannis with some 5,000 men, most of them from beyond the wall, it was even rumored that he had brought giants and other things that many of the men were uneasy in talking about. His forces would augment the king's own, when he laid siege to the Twins.
Asha rode beside Lord Seaworth. The famed onion knight bore living testimony to Stannis Baratheon's harsh sense of justice.
"Do you really believe Stannis has a chance at winning the Iron Throne?" Asha asked the hand who was missing much of his own hand.
"Stannis won the North, what are six kingdoms compared to the North." Davos said with cautious pride. "If he can isolate the Freys, he will have the support of the Riverlands."
"What about the Vale, the West, and the rest of the Greenlands."
Despite being a notorious smuggler, Lord Seaworth shared much of his king's sense of justice and frowned slightly at the mention of the word greenlands. There was little love for the Ironborn here, especially among Stannis Baratheon's company. King's men and Queen's men both disliked her, due to her Ironborn origins.
Still Lord Davos Seaworth was a captain at heart no matter what titles he had.
"I can only guess what happens next, we will worry about that when the time comes," he replied.
A raven flew over thier heads and settled on a tree branch, "Snow, Prince," it called.
Aeron
Aeron was not on Great Wyk as his Drowned Men claimed, but rather on Harlaw. Of all the lords on the Iron Islands, the Harlaws seemed to be the most like the greenlanders.
He heard the rusty hinge of the door squeal as it opened. Euron is still far away, the Damphair reassured himself.
Rodrick Harlaw and his maester entered the chambers. "We are losing the war," Lord Harlaw spoke without preamble.
"Euron Crow's Eye lost roughly half of his forces at Oldtown, he is moving towards the Shield Islands as we speak." The reader continued in disbelief, "I believe he means to lauch an offensive on Highgarden, given the political situation in the Reach".
Only someone like Euron Crow's Eye would be capable of such madness. His brother had lost the North, and now was about to lose the South. Brightwater Keep, the Arbor and the shield islands were still ironborn territory.
"We need a new king of the isles, before your brother destroys us all."
Aeron wished that Victarion had not been sent half a world away, his brother had deprived Victarion of the support that he would need to sit the seastone chair.
If only the Drowned god sent a kraken for Euron's Silence.
Alayne
Maidenpool was a place young Sansa would have found appealing. Much smaller than Gulltown, but much prettier, Alayne thought.
Alayne felt somewhat uneasy now that she was outside of the Vale. Daenerys Targaryen had taken King's Landing. Dragons in Westeros. It would not matter if she was still in the Vale; no place was safe from dragons. If the dragons had not come in the first place, Westeros would probably still be seven kingdoms.
Petyr admitted that he had not planned for the dragons, but assured her that her arrival would be beneficial in the long term, in climbing the 'ladder of choas' as he called it.
Sansa felt increasingly ill at ease on the subject of Petyr's schemes. She had realized long ago that she would never actually marry Harrold Hardying. Sweet Robin's health had improved noticibly sense coming down from the Eyrie. She liked to think that Alayne had a role in Sweet Robin's improving health. In reality, it probably had more to do with the fact that she was always watching Robin's diet.
She did not particularly mind. Although Harry was clearly smitten for her, she could not genuinely return his affection. Harry was handsome and gallant and looked nearly as strong as the hound, but was clearly not her perfect prince. Where Joffrey was cruel and sadistic, he was arrogant and vain. He seemed to think that he was entitled to her maidenhead well before the bethrothal was even announced. Why should he care? The heir to the Vale had already fathered two bastard girls just like Alayne.
Two conditions kept her from wedding and bedding Harry, either of which could confront her any day now. She was not sure which one would be worse.
The lords of the Vale were guests at Mooton Keep. She took the quarters meant for Alayne's father who was out with Ser Lother Brune near Cracklaw Point, less than a day's ride.
A raven had arrived from King's Landing. The Vale lords seemed very concerned of the message that came. The dragons are coming thought Sansa. Eventually, she saw the parchment the parchment that had everyone worried, courtesy of Randa, who held it before her.
I am Daenerys Targeryen, the unburnt, the queen of Slaver's Bay, and Volantis, Queen of the Andals, Rhoynar, and the first men, the breaker of chains and the mother of dragons. By right of birth and blood, I hold the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Let all true men declare their loyalty and purge the realm of all usurpers.
Her heart clenched in silent fear, when she read the second half of the letter.
I, Tyrion of the house Lannister and hand of the one true queen, hearby declare my nephew Tommen, to be the product of incest between my brother Jaime, and my sister Cersei.
To the lords of the Vale who are currently travelling to Harrenhal, abandon the folly of supporting my sister; you will gain nothing from her. Do not take arms against Queen Daenerys Targaryen; your armies are no longer hiding behind the mountians of the moon. All those who read this letter are summoned to King's Landing to pledge fealty to their true queen.
Incest, wasn't that what her father said? She suddenly remembered that fateful day before Baelor's Sept when her father confessed to treason against Joffrey, when he went through great pains to recant his claim that Joffrey was born of incest.
So father was right, Sansa realized with a start. Did Tyrion know this all along? That was not important at the moment however.
She looked around. There were few lords in the room, when she began reading the letter. Now only Randa remained. "Alayne, you look like you've seen a ghost." The mischevous grin that Randa gave was more than Sansa could take.
In a brief display of fury, she shoved Randa against the wall, although she was bigger than Sansa and older by six namedays, Randa was caught completely off guard. "Stop toying with me, you know very well what I saw."
Myranda Royce quickly recovered herself. "What are you talking about … Alayne?"
That pause served to irritate Sansa even more. She was losing Alayne, but it did not matter, at least to Randa.
She lowered her voice, "you know who I am, how?"
Randa sighed, "It wasn't one thing, it was many little things put together"
"Such as."
"You were very well mannered for a bastard, and you don't look like a whore's daughter. That part about growing up with the faith threw me off, but I saw your hair, when it came time to pay pillow tax. You only bothered to dye the hair on your head and not the hair under your arms." She looked smug. "Sad to say, the curtains did not match the carpet."
Sansa felt ashamed, for not thinking of that.
"What really gave you away was your reaction to news concerning your kin; I mean you looked terrible for a long time when I told you about Jon Snow's murder."
"Who else knows about me?"
"My father knows about you, so does Yohn Royce."
"Please don't tell anybody else about me." Alayne plead for the remains of her identity.
"Alayne," Randa said softly, "I won't tell anyone about you, but soon the Lannisters will find you, if not the Targaryens."
Alayne left with the message, she would have to see father about this.
For several hours Alayne stayed hidden in her chambers. Reading the raven over and over, and thinking of her past in King's Landing. "All those Lannister lies." It was far worse now, Sansa realized.
As dusk approached, so did Littlefinger.
She could smell the mint under his breath, with the faintest scent of wine. Sansa had long since learned that the Littlefinger drank when he was unhappy, but this time he seemed he looked like he had some good news to share.
"I've returned sweetling, with the support of Cracklaw Point. That deserves a kiss from my beloved daughter." Alayne masked her feelings momentarily, and gave her father a kiss.
"Is something amiss, Alayne?" She handed him the parchment.
"Will you go to King's Landing?" Sansa asked when he read it.
"Why should I go to the Capital?" Baelish spoke as if it was so simple. "The Targaryen dragons don't seem to like the songs of mockingbirds, Daenery's Targaryen may be a conqueror, but just like Robert Baratheon, she is a weak ruler and overly righteous at that." Petyr spoke with only the slightest irratation as he continued, "She would have been nowhere today, had not every other exile from Westeros fallen into her lap. Without them, she would run the seven kingdoms into the ground just as fast as Cersei, and unlike Cersei, she does not have seven kingdoms to start with."
Petyr looked at her with a twinkle in his eye. "Should any ill befall her most trusted advisors, she will lash out in the same way Cersei does. Dragons or none, Daenery's Targaryen will not have much easy time getting the support she needs to rule Westeros with. Even those who declare for her will turn on her just as quick"
Do you have a plan? Sansa knew better than to ask. Lord Baelish treated her as his own daughter, and saw her as something more, but that did not change the fact was every bit as dangerous as every Lannister she knew combined.
"The war of five kings is almost over; the next war will be one of four queens and three kings."
Up next: Jaime, Samwell, and Bran