Oathkeeper

Chapter 7: A Foreign Queen

The battle against the dead crept upon the North like a stealthy alley cat.Jon returned from his trip to Dragonstone with more than just dragon glass. They wound up passing Winterfell on their journey to beyond the wall in attempts to get Cersei to declare a truce on the war of the throne. The dead flooded their area, surrounding them for hours. The only thing that kept them alive was a strip of water that turned back to ice when the sun fell. The dead closed in on the men, they even lost one of the Brotherhood men, then Daenerys flew in with her dragons, buying them another day to live. One of the dragons was slain by the dead, that's what really shook the people of Winterfell. Cersei refused to agree to the truce, which also meant she wouldn't send any of her men to help fight the battle. The people in the North started to become fearful of their unpromised future. But Jon and others tried their best to reassure them that they would do all they could to prepare for the long night. One would think this twas the most pressing matter in Winterfell, but the people were outraged by another.

When Jon returned he announced that he was resigning as King of the North, and that he bent the knee to Daenerys. He gave up his loyal rights to the North, and reunited Winterfell with the rest of the other kingdoms ruled by the Iron Throne. Not only were the people outraged, but the Stark sisters were furious. They thought Jon was foolish to put his faith in a woman he barely knew, to betray his people and force them to submit to yet another foreigner. Sansa and Jon bickered for the rest of the night, everyone in the castle could hear them, no matter how hard they tried to whisper. Daenerys did not care for Sansa's resistance to her ruling but Jon talked her out of acting on anything just yet. She decided to set up a meeting with Sansa instead, in hopes to squash the hostility now.

"I never imagined Jon's sister being a redhead, are they common in Westeros?" Daenerys asked as she entered the room.

"No, not really," Sansa replied shortly.

"Is there something I've done to upset you?" Daenerys asked genuinely.

"No. My apologies. I should have thanked you from the moment I saw you. You saved Jon, and you've agreed to help us fight the dead, with your dragons." Sansa tried to be polite.

"I didn't believe Jon at first. Until I saw them." Daenerys looked worried for a second. "I'll need people to be alive if I wish to take back the Iron Throne."

"And we would love to support your claim . . . as an independant." Sansa refused to back down.

"Your brother already bent the knee." Daenerys replied feeling like she defeated Sansa.

"I don't care what Jon did. The North was independent for years before, we fought hard to take it back. We do not wish to be ruled by the Iron Throne any longer. And if you want our men on your side when you claim the throne, you must agree to this'' Sansa was honest about how her and her people felt.

Daenerys did not care for Sansa's stubbornness over who should rule the North. They decided to table their conversation for later, but Daenerys knows that Sansa Stark doesn't seem like a girl you can push over, not anymore at least. The Foreign Queen exited the private chambers, leaving Sansa alone with her thoughts.

Something about sitting idle made Sansa feel uneasy. As a woman inexperienced when it came to war, preparing for a war could be so boring. So, she decided to head downstairs to see what everyone else was doing. The redhead found herself standing in the middle of merchants quarry. In a more regular time of the year, this area would be filled with many people selling their crafted work and freshly grown produce. But now that winter was here, and the battle against the dead was approaching. All that was there was produce, armor, and Gendry's blacksmith stand.

Gendry arrived here not too long ago, and he is a damn fine blacksmith for someone who barely made it past their apprenticeship. And where there were weapons, there was also Brienne and Arya. The two had been spending a lot of time together, being that Sansa pushed the taller one out, and the two really like sword fighting. Of course, Sansa was feeling spontaneous and courageous today, so she approached them.