Things weren't looking good for Robb, Jon, and Sansa, but weren't looking bad either. Everything depended on whether they could gain the support of the Northern houses and whether Jon would convince the Wildlings to fight for Winterfell.
Roose Bolton is dead, Ramsay has made himself Warden of the North and lives in this castle as if it were his.
Stannis Baratheon is also dead, he died attacking the castle, just as Robb predicted. His army no longer existed, but at least there was an advantage to it - he would no longer be threatened or persuaded to Stannis' rights.
But nothing better awaits him now - he was just going with Sansa to, among other places, Bear Island to seek support from Lady Mormont. He will have to face a girl whose mother died because of his war. He can't run from this forever if he wants to try to take back the North. He saw what waits on the other side of the Wall, which gave him great motivation to retake Winterfell, as it was the only place they had any chance of defending themselves.
Although it would take some miracle for them to have enough men for this fight.
He would like to share Davos's - who stayed with them after Stannis' death - optimism that they will be able to gain enough support from the Northern houses and win against Ramsay. Really, he would like to be able to look at the world this way, but he can't do it anymore, and he tries to approach affairs realistically and not pessimistically.
On Bear Island, standing in front of the chamber where Lyanna Mormont was waiting for them, it was hard not to be drawn to unfortunate visions of the future. It is true that she agreed to receive them, and that was a plus, but it did not mean the success of their mission.
"Calm down." he heard Sansa's voice next to him and immediately looked at her. "Your hands are shaking. At most she refuses, it's not the end of the world."
I wish I could think like you.
"You can't pull people out of nowhere to fight, and no one wants to fight with the losing side." he replied rather dryly, although that was not his intention. He clasped his hands in front of him, because his nervousness was visible in their shaking, and such things should not be shown.
"From the letter Stannis showed you, it's obvious that someone would want to." he sighed quietly and didn't answer anymore.
The door opened and they finally stepped inside, stopping a few steps away from a long table where the Lady of Bear Island sat, flanked by two men, one of them a Maester.
Well, it's time to speak up.
"Lady Mormont." he greeted her, slightly bowing his head in a gesture of politeness.
"Welcome to Bear Island." Lyanna replied dispassionately, and there was an awkward silence. He didn't know where to start because he didn't want to get straight to the point. It would be a good idea to at least try to maintain the appearance that they didn't come here just for support...
"I remember the day you were born, my Lady." Sansa said, smiling gently. "You were named after our aunt Lyanna. She was said to be an extraordinary beauty. I'm sure you will be a beauty too."
"I doubt it. My mother was no beauty, but she was a warrior, a great warrior. She died fighting for you." she addressed the last sentence to Robb, while looking at him with her cold gaze.
He won't lie, it hurt, but he was prepared for it. It's high time to at least try to mend his ways. If he makes no attempt, he will prove unworthy of the sacrifice his people have made.
"I know. Likewise, I know that she was a special woman, she died during the fighting... My condolen-"
"Isn't there enough of this small talk already?" she interrupted him. He expected from that letter that this girl might have the character of her mother, but... He didn't expect that she would just interrupt him like that. "Why did you come here?"
"For a time, Stannis Baratheon stayed in Castle Black. Me too, that's where I went when I managed to make it out of the Red Wedding alive." he had to stop to swallow the lump in his throat when he was forced to brush up on that terrible day again. "He marched on Winterfell and died during the attack on the castle. But while he was still in the Castle Black, he sent ravens to the houses of the North asking for men, including you. You replied that-
"I remember perfectly well what I replied: 'Bear Island knows no King, but the King in the North, whose name is Stark.'" she reminded the content of the letter. "Are you still the King?"
"If the North still wants me as its King, then yes." he replied, holding her piercing gaze, although for a moment he felt like giving in to temptation and running away from this chamber and never coming back. Since she didn't respond, he decided to continue. "I made a mistake, I don't deny it. I will understand if I am not welcome here and will step aside for someone from my family to take my place. But now the priority should be to reclaim the North, Winterfell. Ramsay Bolton cannot keep it and keep in prison my and Sansa's brother, Rickon." his name also barely passed through his throat, because for a long time he thought that Theon had killed his brothers. "We've come to ask for your support, Lady Mormont. You have to understand that-"
"I understand that I am responsible for Bear Island and everyone who lives on it. Why would I sacrifice their lives and send them to someone else's war?"
This is not someone else's war - he wanted to say, but Davos was faster. Maybe that's even a good thing, because with this constant interruption, he might accidentally say something inappropriate, which would certainly not benefit their cause.
"If I may, my Lady." he stepped closer, standing less than half a step ahead of them. "I understand how you feel."
"I don't know you, ser...?" she started, waiting for him to introduce himself.
"Ser Davos, my Lady, of House Seaworth. You don't need to ask your Maester, my house is rather new." he added the second sentence hastily, seeing Lyanna leaning towards the Maester and whispering something.
"All right, Ser Davos Seaworth. How can you understand how I feel?"
"You never thought you'd be in this position. Responsible for so many lives at such a young age." these words sounded familiar to him... Even though he was older than Lyanna Mormont when he called the bannermen, and when his father was later killed and he had to take over his duties fully. "I also never thought I'd be in the position I'm in now. I was son of a crabber, then a smuggler. And now, in times of war, I speak to a Lady whose house can make a difference. But I'm here because this is not someone else's war, it's our war."
He paused and there was silence in the chamber. He probably expected Lady Mormont to want to comment on what he had said so far, but she only replied:
"Continue, Ser Davos."
"This man survived the Red Wedding, watched as his mother, wife, unborn child and lots of people were killed. Most people in his position wouldn't recover from something like that. And yet he tries to mend his ways while he is still alive and able to do so. Sansa Stark also went through hell, first with the Lannisters and then with the Boltons. And their half-brother Jon - who served as a squire to your uncle, Lord Commander, and who even gave him your family sword - died for saving the Wildlings from death. They understand that the real war will be between the living and the dead. And to win it, we need everyone who can fight and a place where we have a chance to defend ourselves: Winterfell." he turned and looked at Robb and Sansa. "If this isn't a family that should be supported, I don't know what family deserves that."
"Separately, we have no chance, and as long as Winterfell is Bolton's, the North will not be united. You want to protect your people - I understand, I want that too. We want to protect the entire North. But the four of us won't do it with just two thousand Wildlings." he added to what Davos said and everyone became quiet again.
The maester leaned towards her and started to say something, but she interrupted him with a wave of her hand.
He felt like he was waiting for a judgement, because actually... In a way, he was. It all depended on how many people they could gather. His heart immediately sped up, even though he was trying to calm down.
"House Mormont have been loyal to the Starks for a thousand years. And that won't change today." after these words, he took a deep breath inwardly, and as soon as he leave this room, he will breathe aloud. He felt the stress finally begin to melt away from him. After all, he wasn't as ruined as he thought he was.
"Thank you, my Lady." he replied, he couldn't stop the slight smile on his face. "How many fighting men can we expect?"
Before she answered, she leaned towards the second man to her right, who had been sitting silently until now. Apparently he was responsible for defense. They whispered for a moment before Lyanna turned back to them.
"Sixty-two." well... It's not a large number, but there will be a few more of them... Besides, he couldn't expect much from one of the smaller houses. Also, most of the people died in his war, and then during the Ironborn attack, then under the Boltons... There weren't many soldiers left in the North. "Any man from Bear Island is worth ten from the mainland." she added this because they obviously must not have looked very happy...
"If they're half as ferocious as their Lady, the Boltons don't stand a chance." Davos replied, causing a soft smile to appear on Lyanna's lips. But it's good that he went with this line. Even though he clashed with him a bit when Stannis was at Castle Black.
On Bear Island, despite several difficulties, it was even easy for them. This lifted their spirits a bit, especially Robb's. The next goal was to reach an agreement with Robett Glover, who became the head of the family after the death of his brother, Galbart.
He agreed to receive them, so it was a good start, just like with Lyanna Mormont. Even though he felt better, his stomach felt tight again just before the meeting, and his nervousness kept him on edge. At least this time his hands weren't shaking and he didn't have to keep them clasped in front of him.
It quickly turned out that in this case his fear was justified, because they didn't even have time to explain why they came, before Robett interrupted them:
"The answer is no."
"Lord Glover, if you could just hear us-" he started, but again, he couldn't finish.
"I've heard enough." he interrupted him. His eyes were clearly filled with anger and the fact that he didn't want to talk to them any longer. "We just managed to retake the castle from the Ironborn, with the help of the Boltons. Do you want me to fight against them now? I could get skinned just for talking to you."
"That's already a good reason to defeat them." he noticed. "Boltons are traitors, because of them-"
"No. Not only because of them."
At first he wanted to deny it right away, to shout that it wasn't his fault that his own bannerman betrayed him and had allied with the enemy, but... He couldn't. He wasn't responsible for this betrayal, but he was responsible for several other things. He was a fool to try to make a deal with Walder Frey, but he was desperate, he needed men to continue the war. He was torn whether to return to the North and retake it from the Ironborn, or to stay and finish things with the Lannisters and avenge his father.
And it ended up that he would almost have to be avenged too.
He shouldn't have broken his word, it was his first and biggest mistake. He regretted it now, but then... Back then, he didn't think the consequences would ever catch up with him. First he was devastated by the news that his brothers had been killed - which had recently turned out to be untrue, thank the Gods - and then he felt happy in the arms of a crystal good woman.
He didn't want to abandon this peace, let it escape somewhere. Besides, it was also about honor. Not his, but Talisa's. He slept with her without marriage, he couldn't just leave her like that. He put her honor above his own and...
She ended up even worse. She died.
There was one more thing that was bothering him... What happened to the Grey Wind? When he was running away, he had no time to look back and to this day he didn't know what happened to his direwolf. They slaughtered him there like a pig...? He hopes in his heart that he somehow managed to escape...
"How many other houses in the North have agreed to fight for you?" asked the Lord after several unbearable moments of silence.
"The Mormonts. We sent ravens to houses Manderly and-"
"I don't care about the ravens, I care about the real forces you have. You're asking me to join your army, I want to know what army it is."
What an irony of fate, just recently he was arguing with Stannis that he didn't have enough men to take Winterfell, and now he looks like he runs before he can walk.
"For now, the main force is the Wildlings, whose-" he didn't finish, but not because someone interrupted him, but he stopped when he heard Robett's laughter. No matter what else he had to say, it wouldn't change anything.
"So the rumors are true. I didn't dare believe them." he shook his head, losing his laugh and looked at both, Robb and Sansa. "I received you out of the respect I had for your father. Now I want you to leave. House Glover will not abandon its ancestral home to fight alongside the Wildlings." he talked about the people from beyond the Wall as if they weren't people, as if talking about them left a bad taste in his mouth.
He turned and moved towards the entrance to his 'ancestral home', apparently expecting them to leave.
Robb knew it was a lost cause here and they had nothing to look for, and he wanted to turn and leave too, but Sansa was determined not to end the conversation just yet.
"I remind you that House Glover is pledged to House Stark. Sworn to answer when called upon." he didn't recognize his sister, but he was glad that she wasn't broken by what she had been through, that she still had the strength to fight. If it weren't for her and Jon, he certainly wouldn't have tried to take back the North. He never properly appreciated having them.
Robett stopped and stood still for a moment. Then he turned and walked closer to Sansa. As they stood next to each other, Robb could see that what the Lord was going to say would not be pleasant to anyone.
"Yes, my House has served the Starks for hundreds of years. We mourned your father when we learned of his death." here he moved his gaze to Robb, even though he was still standing in front of Sansa, who had lost a bit of the confidence she had just a moment ago. "When my brother was Lord of this castle, he answered your call and hailed you King in the North." he took a step to the side and stood in front of Robb, who at that moment again felt like running away or sinking into the ground. The guilt fell on his shoulders again and he could almost feel it pressing down on him, making him smaller and smaller, while Lord Glover grew bigger. "Where were you, King, when the Ironborn attacked this castle? When they threw my wife and children into the dungeons? When they harassed and killed our people? Taking up with a foreign whore." as he said this, Robb involuntarily squeezed the pocket in which he always kept with him the silver necklace that belonged to the stranger in his dream. "And then you lost yourself and those who followed you. I once served House Stark, but that House is dead."
He could have said nothing. He could have left it as it was and ended the conversation, hung his head and let the weight of guilt sink him to the mud on the ground.
But Sansa can still be strong. For the North. If she can do it, so can he. They still have hope left, and it dies last.
"I know what I did." he started, surprising the Lord. "And I regret it. But your brother died at the Red Wedding so that I could live. You may question whether he should have sacrificed himself, but if you turn your back on me now, he died in vain."
It turned out that this was the end of the conversation, because Robett didn't answer anything. It was obvious that he was thinking hard about these words, but he didn't say anything. This time he was truly gone, the heavy wooden door closing behind him with a loud noise.
Back at camp and talking with Jon about everything, they argued about what to do. Two reasons clashed: Jon and Davos felt they had to attack now because they couldn't wait until they ran out of supplies. However, Robb and Sansa objected, saying that they needed more people. Only they didn't know where to get them.
Exactly, about this...
He noticed Sansa writing a letter shortly after this discussion. He stood at the entrance to the tent for a moment before entering to ask who she was corresponding with.
Traveling on a dragon was definitely faster. When Visenya returned to Meereen, she spotted ships approaching the city and ready to attack.
It seemed she returned just in time to take command and end the conflict as quickly as possible.
As she can see, a few weeks of her absence were enough for war to come to Meereen. She wonders if she had stayed in the city, would the Masters have dared to attack it...
The dragon landed on the roof of the pyramid where she resided. There wasn't enough room for the dragon anymore, because during its stay in the wild, Maelia had grown a lot - just like Drogon. But somehow she managed to land properly and tilt so that Visenya stepped off her back and onto the balcony.
As soon as she set foot on the balcony, the door opened and one of the Unsullied stood there, not anyone she knew. They were probably expecting an attack, not the Queen's return, not like this.
The soldier, seeing her, immediately moved out of her way and knelt on one knee, bowing his head. So did the other Unsullied in the chamber when they saw who had returned. She felt a strong gust of wind on her back - probably Maelia and Drogon flying away - as she entered. She quickly looked around the room and saw someone was missing...
Varys.
She sighed quietly. She has a lot of work ahead of her here...
"Can you please leave me alone with Tyrion?" she asked. Everyone nodded and headed for the door. She stopped Missandei for a moment. "Could you run a bath for me?" the girl nodded, they squeezed hands and Missandei went with the rest.
She dreams of finally immersing herself in hot water and forgetting about everything around her... Although her situation has recently improved - she finally scored a hundred thousand cavalry, which is not a small thing - it was in Meereen that everything took a wrong turn.
When they were alone, she didn't speak. She had to think about what to say first, because she didn't expect to find the city in such a situation. Yes, she knew what the mood was like before her escape, and she had heard from Arthur and Daario how Meereen was doing after her escape, but no one had updated information, and it wasn't good.
She went out onto the balcony and watched as the ships pulled up at the walls of Meereen and prepared to attack. After a while, the first bullets from the catapults flew towards the city, then she returned to the pyramid.
"I know, it doesn't seem like it, but despite temporary difficulties, the city is developing." she raised an eyebrow at Tyrion's statement, but still didn't say anything. She crossed her arms and waited for what else he had to tell her. Although the explosions outside interrupted him a bit. "We should take shelter." the constant silence on her part was not encouraging to continue talking, but he can't help that when he's stressed he starts talking a lot... "Meereen is strong. Trade is booming and people love you. Of course, not everyone, but... No ruler can count on the love of all his people. But the development of Meereen is the reason for this attack. Masters cannot allow Meereen to succeed, because if a city without slaves succeeds, it means that no one needs a Master."
"People love the Queen who fled her city?" she asked in a dispassionate tone, looking at Tyrion carefully.
Well, the city is still standing, so... I guess he didn't do that bad.
"The Red Priestesses have the gift of speech-"
"Just like you?" she couldn't help herself, she had to interrupt him. She tilted her head, and a smile finally appeared on her face.
"Yes... Although there are as many opinions as there are people."
"Where's Varys?" she asked what interested her from the moment she saw that he was not in the room. "He ran away as soon as I disappeared?"
"He sailed to Dorne, as far as I know. All for you, to gain allies-" he was interrupted by a bullet that broke the thin, parchment wall separating balcony and chamber, and fell inside. They instinctively covered themselves and turned away, even though nothing even flew towards them. "...and ships."
This is where her red light went on. He doesn't know that she has gained the support of the Dothraki, with his knowledge he shouldn't assume that they will need more ships.
"What happened to the Meereen fleet?" she asked. "Ninety-three ships, what happened to them?!" she couldn't control herself and got a little carried away, almost shouting at him.
But she needed every ship she could get, or she'd never be able to get her entire army to Westeros at once, and she'd rather avoid making multiple trips across the sea.
"It was burned." she closed her eyes and bit her lower lip a little, counting to ten in her head so as not to raise her voice again. "But it will be rebuilt quickly, and the Dornish will definitely support you, after all, you have the blood of not only Targaryens, but also Martells."
"We're going to need a lot more ships." she replied, sighing softly again. The constant explosions in the city didn't help her concentrate at all, and she had to act quickly. She couldn't let the citizens die because she couldn't act properly.
She's not a war strategist, and when she sails to Westeros, she'd prefer to rely on someone more experienced than her in this matter, but now... Now she has some rudimentary plan in her head.
"See if it's possible to start talks with Masters and extend the matter for a few days. At least three, maybe that's enough." she didn't know how far from Meereen Arthur and Daario were, along with all the Dothraki she had managed to gather under her, but she hoped they weren't sparing the horses. She will need an army larger than the Unsullied themselves, when in addition to the attack from the sea, there will also be a threat in the center of the city, Sons of the Harpy. Now she had no doubt that it was the Masters of Yunkai and perhaps Astapor who were paying them, and if they were attacking... Their 'army' in Meereen will do the same soon. Unless they've already attacked... "Use your gift of speech, and if they don't agree, tell them I invite them to talk it the Pyramid, or on some neutral ground, or whatever. I'm sure you'll come up with something. I have to free my dragons."
Tyrion, on the other hand, thought that Visenya had no plan yet and that was why she wanted him to buy some time. He wasn't going to question it, because he didn't have a better idea himself, and he was still thinking about what they could do in their situation.
She had been waiting for the dragons to be released from the moment she mounted Maelia in the arena. She wanted to finally remove the chains from their necks and set them free, even if they decided to never return to her. The thought of seeing her children brought a smile to her face, but she stopped at the door, stopped by Tyrion's voice.
"No." she was about to ask what he meant by that, but he explained it himself. "I did it not long after you went missing."
"And they didn't eat you?"
"Apparently, I really am your friend." she wanted to roll her eyes and tell him not to say such words, but she limited herself to the former.
"Then I'll go take a bath. Come to me as soon as you settle something." her hand was already on the door, but this time she stopped on her own. She wasn't sure if she should say what was already on the tip of her tongue, but she felt like he deserved it. "Tyrion?" she caught his attention as he reached for the wine. "Thank you. That you took care of the city, that citizens have a good life, that you took care of what is said and thought about me. The attack would have happened sooner or later anyway... And you never wanted anything bad for me. Once more: Thank you."
She didn't wait for his answer, she just quickly left the room and closed the door behind her.