THE DRAGON QUEEN [ Jon Snow ]

XIV.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
[ the letter ]

IF VARYS WAS CORRECT, AND HE WAS SELDOM NOT, ROOSE BOLTON WAS DEAD. Roose Bolton was dead, and his bastard son was lord. They were weak without him, which was why Visenya entered the day's council meeting with a smile on her lips.

"My lords, my ladies," she greeted her council members, and sat in her seat at the head of the table. "Shall we begin?"

"There are only a handful of lords of the Reach who have not yet pledged themselves to you, Your Grace," Howland, who had just returned from the Reach the previous day with Arianne and Aurane, said. "The Tyrell army is weakened."

"Now, we must discuss the possibility of marching on Winterfell." For Sansa. For Sansa, she must. "How many of our forces can be spared? Stannis Baratheon made the mistake of leaving too few forces here while he sailed to Braavos. I will not do the same."

"Some forces must remain at each castle in Dorne, the Stormlands, and the Reach, and of course, a substantial force must remain here," Howland began, stating the obvious. "Ramsay Bolton has perhaps six thousand men, as the Karstarks remain loyal. We can spare many more than that."

"Only Northmen," she told them, locking eyes with Dacey down at the other end of the table. "We cannot retake Winterfell with an army from the south. The North does not take kindly to outsiders. It would be unseemly."

"As you say, Your Grace." There were a few unsure stares, a few people with doubts in their minds. All but Dacey, who knew, as she did, that she was right.

"Lady Mormont," she said, trusting her friend, and the only northerner, "make a count of how many men north of The Twins can be spared, and report back when you are finished."

"Yes, Your Grace," Dacey answered, nodding.

"Any other news?" She asked, looking to the rest of the table.

"Yes, Your Grace," Varys answered. "The Blackfish has retaken Riverrun."

Uncle. As with her friends, she had long given up hope that he might have survived the wedding. "The Blackfish lives?" She tried and failed to suppress the hope and elation in her voice.

"Quite, yes. He has amassed an impressive, but meagre force. Ser Jaime Lannister has been dispatched to defeat him."

"How many has the Kingslayer brought with him?"

"Eight thousand." Too many for the Northmen she planned to take north on their own, and even if they were enough, they would be exhausted once they reached Winterfell.