_ Are you sure this is a message from Tyrion? It could be someone luring you into a trap. – Sansa reads the note for the tenth time and still finds it all too strange, too dangerous.
_ Read the end of the message. 'Every dwarf is a bastard in the eyes of his father'. He told me that when we first met. No one else would write that. You asked me to listen to you and you know Tyrion better than anyone here. What do you think, Sansa? – the King of the North tries not only to share some of the burden of a position he never wanted in a very dark time, but also to show that he is willing to welcome his younger sister.
_ Tyrion is a fair man and I don't think he poses a risk. But he's not the one inviting you to go to Dragonstone, is he?
_ If we think of a gigantic band of Dothrakis, a powerful legion of Unsullied and three dragons we find the problem and the solution to our war. – Robb's reasoning makes perfect sense to the King in the North.
_ Jon has already told us that fire kills walkers and I know that the dragons of Old Valyria were powerful and imposing magical creatures. Several Amazons witnessed the Age of Dragons and if this power has returned to the world of men now, it cannot be a mere coincidence. – Diana ponders.
_ The princess brought an excellent reason and I have another one just as important. Before leaving for death, Stannis told me that the island of Dragonstone is formed by a mountain of dragon glass. – Jon Snow adds crucial information to his circle of Advisors.
_ What are you suggesting? Do you want to meet the Targaryen Queen? It is very risky! – Sansa expresses everyone's understanding there, but to what extent could taking the risk be worth it in such terrifying conditions?
_ If the Night King's Army crosses the Wall, will the forces of the North and these Free People be able to win? We all owe a great deal to the princess of Themyscira, and I will be grateful until my last day for the chance to be here, reunited with my family. I have spent my life on battlefields and faced the most varied adversities, but I believe that even with your enormous skill, Diana, we will not be able to contain them.
The impact of the truth hits everyone from the voice of the most experienced fighter, the Blackfish. The Amazon sighs deeply and prefers to remain silent, since she finds no reason to disagree with the old warrior. Even her strength and her entire life of training in Themyscira with her aunt Antiope did not prepare her sufficiently to eliminate an army made up of thousands, perhaps millions.
Especially when this horde felt no fear, did not bleed, and was already dead. Ever since she heard the reports from the members of the Night's Watch, the Free Folk, and the fear written on Jon Snow's face at every mention of the Night King, Diana began to wonder if even the Amazon army would be able to win.
A few days after the King in the North's first meeting, the great hall of Winterfell was once again filled with lords and important families. Accepting Tyrion Lannister's invitation to meet the 'Mother of Dragons' created the discord everyone was waiting for, sparked debates among the northern nobles, and once again pitted sister against brother.
Someone would have to make the final decision, but someone would still have to rule. And Robb understands his new role in this strange time. Jon never wanted to be crowned king, Robb himself never demanded a crown upon his head. While Sansa always seemed destined for great aspirations. In a way, the White Wolf's decision-making reorganizes the plans and returns each one to its rightful place.
_ We called your brother king, he went South and lost his kingdom. – the words of one of the lords were deeply felt by Robb. He was right, they were right to distrust a Lannister and a Targaryen, after all. No Stark who left the North for the South returned. He himself was brought back. But a Stark had won her way back.
¬_ You will abandon your home, your people! – Sansa, after all, was the exception to the damned rule that surrounded the men of the Stark family. Robb knew this and Jon was seconds away from proving that he knew it too.
_ I will leave you both in good hands. You are my sister. Until I return, the North is yours. May Rickon be as loyal and valuable an advisor as you have been to me until now. – the king's sentence results in applause and sounds of approval throughout the hall.
Rickon might be the only Stark male since Jon's trip to Dragonstone, but that didn't mean the boy who had returned home a few moons ago after years of running away and hiding would be the most sensible option. He sat on Jon's right, while Sansa had gotten used to taking the position on his left whenever they discussed something, even though the youngest of the family asked little or no questions. Sansa was definitely the exception to the rule that surrounded the Stark males.
Brienne was the first to genuinely congratulate her protégé on her new status. In a private room and in front of her family, Sansa tried to familiarize herself with her new obligations and the first power relationship in which she would be in command.
She was the Lady of Winterfell and the Protector of the North in the King's absence. The young redhead forced her younger brother to accompany her to the first meeting in her new position, but wondered what her older brother's next destination would be.
_ We leave tomorrow. Robb, I want you to come with us! You cannot remain as a shadow in our home, especially with Littlefinger's nefarious presence. I feel at ease crossing the seas knowing that Brienne and the Blackfish will always be by your side for both protection and valuable advice, Sansa. - the King in the North shouts as he enters the room much more irritated than usual. _ I thank you for your trust, Your Majesty, and I will continue to fulfill the promise I made in memory of Catelyn Stark. - the mention of the former Lady Stark brings regret back to the center of everything and the Blackfish prefers not to add anything after Jon Snow's honorable request. _ And I will continue to trust my life to you as I have done, Brienne. But I agree with Jon's concern, especially now during his absence. I know very well how to deal with Littlefinger, but I could not follow his steps as closely as I have done since the coronation. Unfortunately, I believe that you, my brother, will be safer on a distant island than in our own home. – strategic and objective, Sansa makes the perfect analysis of the situation.
_ And why can't he leave instead of Robb? We've barely been together again and everyone wants to leave for distant lands, with no certainty of returning! – asks the almost wild Rickon in one of his first contributions alongside his brothers.
_ I'm sorry, Rickon, but we need the Knights of the Vale and Littlefinger is the Protector there. Ever since the Free Folk left, I've been wondering how I can help in the upcoming war if I can barely walk around Winterfell without raising suspicions. I can help Jon at Dragonstone and you can help Sansa take care of everything around here. I trust that together we are much stronger. – the Young Wolf eases the youngest Stark's fear of another farewell.
_ And I ask you to trust me too, Rickon. I promised your sister that I would do everything possible to bring you back safely and we are all here! Now I promise you that I will do everything I can to bring your brothers back. Can you do that? – the little wildling gestures positively and Jon exchanges glances with his older brother without understanding. Robb just shrugs, he wouldn't be the one to stop her from doing whatever she wants.
- We leave tomorrow!
- A warrior woman defending a king? This must be the first time in Westeros! – comments the Blackfish.
- In fact, this has happened at least once, uncle. Brienne was part of Renly Baratheon's guard during the War of the Five Kings. It was for a brief period before she met our mother and decided to be by our side until today. Something I am grateful for every day. – Sansa makes a point of once again extolling not only the quality of her protector, but also her gratitude for having her.
- Very good! The first time this has happened in the North, I suppose! – the Blackfish ends the question and fills the glass with wine.
_ And I am honored to be that king, Princess Diana.
Jon Snow bows sincerely to Hippolyta's daughter. Sitting next to Diana, Robb simply smiles and agrees with the King of the North's statement. He is genuinely happy that he is not in danger of being separated from her. And the Amazon understands that there is no need to respond to everything that is being said around her. From what little she understood of Westerosi society, a warrior woman was something unusual and little was expected of a woman throughout her life other than total dedication to her home, her children and her husband.
From the top of the Ice Wall, she told Robb that they could change the world a little each day. And that day had changed a lot in the North. Sansa had become the Warden of the North, protected by Brienne - another woman and a formidable warrior. And soon, she would set out to find another woman, mysterious and powerful enough to bring back the dragons that had been extinct since the Doom of Old Valyria. The world beyond Themyscira was cruel and brutal, indeed, but wonderfully surprising like that day. A day that seemed to bring back a little bit of summer in the midst of the most brutal winter since the Age of Heroes.