Snow Falls Hot

15

Winterfell was thriving. The North was very much the same. It was still taking time to recover after the dead marched through. But the North felt promising with Enith. The lords and ladies of their houses had confidence when they agreed that she should lead. Under Ned's thumb, side by side with Robb. It was obvious she knew the North in and out. And from little, the ones old enough to remember her remembered the air of royalty and leadership that trailed behind Enith as she walked through Winterfell.

Enith and Shadow had come back from Bear Island the day before. Some of the Free Folk were now living there with all of House Mormont killed. The Free Folk adapted well to living inside the Wall. They still did things their way but found that a lot of their customs aligned with typical views of the North. Shadow became the best resource possible. Enith quickly could reach the farthest ends of her kingdom. If supplies were needed, she could take them by strapping a basket to her legs.

When they didn't need to go very far or the baby wasn't in the mood to fly, Enith would take Grey Wind. The wolf reached full height when he was practically still a puppy, but the spryness of a young almost teenage wolf was apparent. He seemed to run faster nowadays and get distracted rather easily sometimes. Ghost often came with them if he wasn't trailing behind Tormund who stayed in Winterfell instead of marching South.

The gates opened to let Enith and Grey Wind back inside. She laughed as she watched the children race after their dragons— Eddard stopping briefly to wave before following his friends. Sansa approached, her dragon blowing a puff of smoke before flying far away in the other direction. Enith slid off of Grey Wind, who licked the back of her hand and walked away to wherever he was going.

"You're barely showing," she commented. "Was it like that with Eddard?"

Having missed her sister's first pregnancy, Sansa was very much involved with this one. She was there for every task to the point where she was almost pushing the midwife out of her job. Enith laughed and held her stomach.

"Oh no. By the time we reached the Twins it was fairly obvious I was pregnant. Sam is learning about children from the midwives. They say sometimes you stay small all the way until the birth."

Before Sansa could say something else or take another step, Jaime and Brienne approached on horseback. They jumped down from the horses and Jaime brandished a letter. Enith looked at the wax seal with a dragon on it— it could only be from Daenerys. She tore through the seal.

"What is it?" Sansa asked as Enith's eyes scanned the paper quickly.

"It's from Varys."

"What does the Spider want?" Brienne asked.

"He says Cersei has brought all the citizens into the city... a human shield."

"Surely—"

"She won't attack? They killed her dragon, taken her closest friend captive. She says she will tear Cersei from root to stem. When the false queen doesn't surrender because we all know she will not, Aunt Daeny wants everyone to know it was Cersei's fault the sky was brought down on King's Landing."

Enith read the exact quote from the parchment. She read the paper once more and crumpled it up.

"How did she take Meereen, lead the Dothraki? She has always used fire to get what she wants. Brash and a tyrant. A single utterance of a word she doesn't like and she thinks you must be destroyed from it as if everyone will agree with every decision you make. She speaks of breaking a wheel but all she has done is continue it, she thinks because her people aren't in chains that means she is just."