✓ Trueblood || Jon Snow

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞-𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖊 ~ 𝖇𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖔𝖓 𝖇𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖘

LATER ON IN THE SAME NIGHT, Yelena rifled through some scrolls the Bolton Lords had received, looking for any news she'd missed from King's Landing. The first couple she found weren't of any particular interest, aside form one that spoke of the death of Prince Oberyn. Apparently Cersei had turned her assassins on him when she could not find her brother. He was dead, a though that saddened her. But one from longer ago caught her attention too. It said something about Dorne. She leaned forward in her seated position on her bed as she read it, her eyes lighting up a little when she saw her sister's name, but it took only seconds for her light heart to shatter. Her eyes stared blankly at the words Long Farewell poison and regrettable death, pooling with tears. One slipped down her cheek as she thought of the last time she'd seen her little sister, so small in that boat that would take her off to a Dornish ship, crying as she was separated from her family. She remembered the way she'd hugged her tight, promising to visit one day. She felt even worse thinking of the Lion pendant she'd left behind in King's Landing. It matched not only her mother's, but her sister's too. She'd abandoned that last little piece of her, thinking that it didn't matter as long as Myrcella was alive and happy. So she sat there, silent tears tracing lines on her face as she clung to her memories of her baby sister who suffered and died. She didn't hear the knock on her door, or Sansa's voice calling through, becoming more concerned every time she didn't hear an answer. She didn't hear the knocks that came shortly after, or Jon's voice asking her to please open the door. She barely registered the sound of the door opening, his boots crossing the floor or his arms circling around her. All she felt was sadness and guilt. And rage. Another person she cared about, dead because of Cersei.

***

Myrcella was gone. Just as so many others. And just like the rest of them, Yelena accepted the truth, and moved along. Her sister was at peace now. The time for revenge would come someday. For now, she sat by Jon Snow's side in the Hall as he gave out his orders.

"I want every northern maester to scour their records for any mention of dragonglass. Dragonglass kills white walkers. It's more valuable to us now than gold. We need to find it, we need to mine it, we need to make weapons from it." Yelena's fingers rested on the hilt of her own dragonglass dagger as he spoke, wondering why her father had chosen this particular material all those years ago. "Everyone aged ten to sixty will drill daily with spears, pikes, bow and arrow."

"It's about time we taught these boys of summer how to fight." one of the lords smirked. That brought chuckles, but Jon had other ideas.

"Not just the boys." he told them. Yelena bit back a smile as she realised what he was saying. "We can't defend the North if only half the population is fighting.

"You expect me to put a spear in my granddaughter's hand?" the lord who'd spoken before asked coldly.

"Tywin Lannister did." Yelena snapped. "And it created one of the best warriors you've got."

Lady Lyanna rose, nodding. "I don't plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me." he gave him a hard look. "I might be small, Lord Glover, and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much a Northerner as you."

"Indeed you are my lady, and I don't mean to-"

"And I don't need your permission to defend the North." her eyes met Yelena's who nodded, a small, but proud smile on her face. Lyanna looked to Jon next. "We will begin training every man, woman, boy and girl on Bear Island."

"Aye." The men all pitched in their agreements.

"While we're preparing to attack, we need to shore up our defenses." Jon continued. "The only thing standing between us and the Army of the Dead is the Wall, and the Wall hasn't been properly manned in centuries. I'm not the king of the Free Folk." his gaze turned to Tormund. "But if we're gonna survive this winter together..."