The Godswood of Winterfell was the place chosen for the reunion of the four youngest Starks. Arya runs to hug the two brothers who were just boys when she headed to King's Landing. The years that had passed seemed like decades, such was the impact of this period on the trajectory of each one until that meeting point. The mission to break the long embrace between the young woman and the youngest of the family came from the current Lady Stark.
_ Arya, there is much more you need to know. Robb is alive! – the redhead shouts.
_ How is that possible?
_ I don't know how to explain it. I'm just saying what I saw with my own eyes. He survived, fought alongside us in the Battle of the Bastards and is accompanying Jon to Dragonstone on the mission to try to make an alliance with this new queen.
_ By the New and Old Gods... The Red Wedding. He couldn't have survived! – Arya argues, remembering the few memories of her brief stay at the Twins still under the protection of the Watchdog.
_ And he didn't survive. – the young woman looks at her younger brother in the wheelchair – He died, but he returned. The Amazon brought him back.
_ What? Who is the Amazon?
_ Like I said, I don't know how it all happened. But, do you remember Old Nan's stories about the Long Night? – Arya nods positively – The Amazon's name is Diana, she says she's the daughter of Queen Hippolyta and that she came to Westeros to fulfill her duty of fighting the Night King.
It takes Arya some time to process so much information. She remembered the stories of the fight of the Children of the Forest, the Warriors of the tribes of Men and the Legendary Amazons in a joint unit to expel the White Walkers from the world thousands of years ago. Of course she remembered! She dreamed of being one of those warriors, after all.
_ Of course I remember... They were my favorite stories. But, weren't they just stories, after all? They really exist!
_ Yes, it is all true... A sad and troubling truth for men in this time of trial. The Children of the Forest were practically extinct and the Amazon army was dragged to an unknown Island. Somehow, Robb was led to this lost place and do not make the mistake of considering it all a mere coincidence - the Three-Eyed Raven's words confuse the brothers.
_ What I believe or not matters little, Bran. The only thing that makes a difference is that our brother is breathing and that his heart is beating, while the Frey family was extirpated. The castle fell. That is more than enough for me now. - Arya points out.
Did you hear these rumors before you returned home? Our uncle went to take possession of the Twins! - Rickon brings the Lady of Winterfell's new order to the conversation.
_ It is true. I sent our uncle, Blackfish, with a group of soldiers to verify these stories. If the Freys were annihilated, we could take control of the Twins and liberate Riverrun. That way, we would have control of the region and more troops to fight against the Lannister army or any other enemies that might arise.
_ She did more than hear rumors about it. – Arya exchanges glances with her brother, while Sansa is irritated by the code speech between the two. She, as Protector of the North in the king's absence, could not be left in the dark. At least, she believed she should have all the information possible to support her decisions. But, the brothers seemed to repeat Littlefinger and speak in whispers.
_ I am revealing all the secrets here, but you prefer to mince words.
_ It is not my secret to reveal to you, Sansa. – Bran adds.
_ We will deal with this soon, Sansa. I promise! I still do not know how you were able to keep the presence of Robb and this Amazon a complete secret.
_ Robb preferred not to reveal his survival. We believe his life is still at risk and could disrupt the new alliance surrounding Jon's reign. That's why he and Diana joined Jon's entourage on the visit to the Mother of Dragons.
_ Are you saying he left to escape Littlefinger? Why is he here? - Arya snaps, gaining encouragement from the youngest Stark. Rickon seemed indomitable since his return, mingling with the soldiers' training and causing trouble every day. The time away from home has not been kind to any of them.
_ We don't trust him, but we need his army. We needed the knights of the Vale to retake Winterfell and we will need them for the wars to come.
_ You've been saying that ever since they left, but we still don't know when or if they'll be back. - Rickon complains.
_ They'll be back, my brother. Diana promised to bring you safely from the Battle of the Bastards and she kept her word in a time of war and when the numbers were not in our favor. I'm sure she'll have Jon and Robb home.
_ Have they given any news since they left? – Sansa nods positively – Diana, the Amazon... Is she really that impressive that you believe her word without hesitation?
_ Diana is the daughter of Queen Hippolyta, who led the Amazons in the first fight against the White Walkers. Not even she knows exactly what she's capable of. You'll be impressed too when you meet her and it won't take long.
_ Did you see their return in a vision, Bran? – Arya asks.
_ Will our whole family be reunited soon, then? – Rickon almost celebrates the good news _ At some point, all the Starks will be under one. But it won't be that soon.
_ As for the Night King and his army of White Walkers? – the redhead just nods – Has anyone really seen this threat?
_ I see them marching day and night. Jon fought and saw his brothers of the Night's Watch dying at Hardhome. The army is real and the Wall of Ice will not be able to stop them for long.
_ Do you see them? – Arya asks.
_ I see a lot of things now. I saw you at the Crossroads Inn on the way to King's Landing. I saw when you changed your mind and decided to return to the North.
_ Everyone is different now, but why would you go back to that hell of King's Landing after everything that happened to our father? – Rickon asks.
_ Revenge. Cersei is on her list. – the Three-Eyed Raven makes a point of revealing his sister's plans, making it clear that she was no longer the little girl who left the North so many years ago.
_ And who else is on your list? – the Protector of the North feels fear for her own sister. In the end, Rickon was right. They were all in a tangle of prophecies, strangeness and death.
_ Most of them are already dead.
_ If any of our allies are on your list, I ask you to tell me before you take any drastic measures. At least, within our home. – Sansa requests, ending the first meeting of the youngest Starks. At least, for now.
The quartet leaves the forest and returns to the safety of the castle shortly before darkness takes the place of day, something increasingly common in the North in the midst of the harshest winter in the last thousand years. Therefore, Sansa ordered that only the knights should be outside the castle or the Winter Village – and only within the walls – during this period.
As the old nurse used to say: "Do not swear that you will walk in the dark if you have not seen the fall of night." And none of them had seen it. In fact, none of them would like to see the darkness before their eyes.
Sansa was increasingly accustomed to power in Winterfell. Even though she found it hard to believe that an Army of the Dead was marching towards her family's ancient home, the Protector of the North did not dare mention her suspicions out loud or to anyone, including her brothers. She quickly understood that among all the last Starks, she was much more connected to the rational than to the dark, magical forces.
However, she would not make the childish mistake of questioning the beliefs or gifts of her family and allies. Therefore, she spent the rest of the day trying to organize the thousands of demands of her Kingdom on the brink of the greatest conflict in history, even if the list included trivial discussions between lords of houses, generals of the armies and simple peasants.
With Bryenne in charge of training the girls and women in Diana's absence, Podrick took on the task of being by her side always. Day and night. The squire remained permanently attentive to her movements, but he exuded a candor quite distinct from the knights she had ever known.
He had become a breath of fresh air in the face of the responsibilities of Protector of the North, the attempts to reconnect with his brothers, and the constant challenges imposed by Littlefinger. He had been plotting something since the King in the North left, and Sansa had already noticed the murmurs of discontent among the northern lords and even the Knights of the Vale due to his prolonged absence.
On yet another night of brutal cold, Podrick faithfully followed Brienne's orders and stood in front of the door to the Lady's quarters, trying to warm himself with the fire that struggled to resist the merciless wind. When the door was ajar, the freezing breath of the most merciless winter in the last thousand years invaded the room, and the squire was startled and put a slight smile on the lady of the North's face.
_ Brienne, you didn't tell me you would be leaving me on guard duty again tonight. Why didn't you come in? You'll freeze to death! - She makes room for the young man to enter immediately, but he barely has the courage to look at her - I already told you that you can come in at these times, there's no one here, Podrick.
_ I'm sorry, ma'am. - Such a formal mention makes her roll her eyes and pull her coat a little closer to her body. The excessive courtesy of the young man in front of her could almost be problematic, if it weren't so adorable - Even if you made this invitation earlier, I could never take such an attitude and enter your room deliberately. That's... That would be unacceptable.
_ Disregarding an invitation and allowing the Lady of Winterfell to be at the mercy of a terrible cold would also be unacceptable, am I right? - Finally, the squire returns her gaze and nods repeatedly in agreement. - Then, come in at once! - The order is given, but he notices the playful tone in her voice - Will I always have to ask you to come in and keep me company?
_ Not always, only at times when, my lady, wants my company. – he smiles shyly, enters the comfortable and warm room of the Lady of Winterfell and takes care of closing the door properly.
_ So, I will always have to ask for a kiss from you? – he widens his smile and limits himself to nodding positively and takes care of placing his forehead on hers, hugging her gently and waiting for her to take the initiative to kiss him for the first time that day.