Iron and Blood: a Theon & Sansa Story

Chapter 83

Sansa
When Meera Reed entered her chamber, Sansa feared she had truly lost her mind. But when the girl ran across the room to embrace her, Sansa decided her mind didn't deceive her. And then Sansa cried so hard that her ribs ached; to know the North remembered meant everything to her.

Havhan Reed came, too, though he did not approach Sansa in her bed, nor did he speak upon his entry. Asha went to fetch Arya, while Theon moved to a seat beside the bed; Tristifer Botley was there, too, nervous and bouncing.

Sansa touched Theon's hand as he sat down, and he leaned forward to kiss her tenderly on the forehead. "Are you feeling all right, lovely?" he asked.

"Yes," she promised him. It was mostly true: her wounds still pained her, and her back worsened every day, but Aby said it was only because the baby was close. Seeing Meera and Havhan Reed gave Sansa comfort.

When Asha returned with Arya, Meera's eyes lit up. They ran to one another, hugged, and cried. It made Sansa so grateful. The girls sat hand-in-hand on the floor, whispering and giggling as Asha shut the door to the chamber and waited.

It was Havhan Reed who spoke. "There will be war," he declared, and then said nothing else.

"Here?" Asha pressed, eyes dark.

Havhan shook his head and snapped, "No. The Riverlands, most likely. Wherever Lord Robb meets the Southron army." He glanced to Meera, who apparently understood.

"We need your help," she added, facing Asha. "The Ironborn are strong fighters."

Theon did not have the heart to say that he and Asha were struggling to control their men in the aftermath of Sansa's kidnapping. Assembling an army would not be easy, if it were even possible at all.

Arya asked, "Why has it come to war? And why the mainland? Sansa is here on Pyke." She glanced to her sister, and Sansa shrugged.

The chamber was silent as Havhan Reed studied his feet. Meera, too, averted her gaze. In that moment, Sansa understood something she did not want to understand. She hesitated but asked, "Why is my brother going to war?"

"The King is dead," Havhan muttered. "And so is Ned Stark."

No words would have given the air so bitter a taste; suddenly, it ached to breathe, to exist. Sansa's heart all but stopped. She shook her head and said, "That can't be true."

Theon rose to his feet. "How do you know?" he demanded.

"Jory Cassel came to Greywater Watch himself," the man replied. "Ned Stark declared Joffrey Baratheon a bastard born of incest. The new king took his head." When he said it, Havhan showed no emotion upon his face, but Sansa knew that he was hurting. His brother, Howland Reed, was her father's dearest friend. He might never recover.

Arya let out a sob, screamed, "No, no, you're wrong!" as Meera tried desperately to calm her.

Somehow, Sansa did not cry. Her body refused to believe that Havhan Reed meant what he said. It must have been a dream after all; the Reeds must not have sailed to Pyke, and Robb must not have gone to war.

Theon's head was down, but he kept his hand on Sansa. Finally, she breathed, "My father can't be dead."

Havhan Reed blinked slow to indicate that he had heard her, but he did not respond to her insistence. "The North needs the Starks," he concluded instead. "All of the Starks."

"You need to be with your family," Meera said, sniffling from her tears. When her eyes landed on Theon, she corrected herself, "Your family that's in Winterfell, I mean."