The Young Lioness

Winterfell

After what seemed to Joanna a century travelling, they finally arrived at Winterfell, this time it had the direwolf of the Starks all over the walls, as it should be. They passed through the gates of the castle and every eyes were on them. Then Sansa came to them as they dismounted, "You're back. Thanks the gods." Sansa said. "I'm sorry, I couldn't convince the Blackfish, my lady. I failled you." Brienne said. "It's allright. We have Winterfell back and you made it back here. Don't worry." Sansa said. "I've never been here before, it's truly beautifull." Joanna said. "Yes, it is. Is it so different from the Rock?" Sansa asked curiously. "The calmness is the same, but it's more cold and without the seaside." Joanna answered. "Do you miss the sea?" Sansa asked. "I do, sometimes. I haven't seen it in so long." Joanna said looking down. "Tomorrow, I can show you arround, if you like." Sansa said. "It'll be an honor." Joanna said. Then Jon arrived to where they were, "My ladys, Podrick. It's good to see you again." Jon said. "Likewise, Your Grace." they said.
Next day, after Sansa showed her around, Joanna was walking through the yard, once she was supossed to meet with Brienne and Podrick to pratice, when a lord that she thought belonged to the knights of the Vale said loudly, between a bunch of other knigths, as she passed, "The Lannister came to Winterfell disguise as a kitty. What are you doing here, Lannister?" Joanna stopped and turned around to face the man, "If you think I'm a kitty, then you haven't been paying attention. And I'm here because I was invited." Joanna said bitterly. Then the men made a semi-circle around her and she slipped discretely her hand to the hilt of Sharp Claw. One of the men said, "Rumour has it that The Kingslayer trained you. If that's so, let's see what Tywin Lannister's little cub is made off." Then he stepped foward with his hand reaching out for his sword. "I have no wish to fight you, ser." Joanna said. She could not start a fight there, for much that she liked it. She had to contain herself, or she would give them more reasons to distrust her. Joanna knew that neither the northmen or the knights of the Vale fancied Lannisters, however that did not mean that she had to enter their games or respond to their provocations. "Are you afraid now, kitty?" other man said. Joanna turned around and was about to leave when the men close the circle. "Let me pass, please. I will not fight any of you." Joanna said seriously. "Fight or die, Lann-" a man was saying, when Jon, the new King in the North, came to them and asked, "What is going on here?" "We are teaching the Lannisters a lesson." one of the man said. "Lady Joanna is a guest at Winterfell, the same as you. You ought to treat her with courtesy, if you want the same in return." Jon said. Joanna was suprised to hear that. "As you say, Your Grace." one of the man said and then they all left, not without looking at her with disgust. "Thank you, Your Grace." Joanna said, trying not to sound sad. Was there anywhere she would not be hated for things that she did not do? "You're welcome, my lady." Jon said. "I haven't got the chance to tell you, but I think you should know something about what happened at the Wall-" Joanna was saying before he cut her off, "Sansa already told me, I understand, don't worry." Jon said. "Thank you again and I'm sorry I lied to you." Joanna said. Jon nodded and went away.
Joanna was sad and angry and lost. Where the hell can I go? What am I even doing here? I really have no place in this world, have I? Here they all hated me. I can't return to my family, wherever they are. I will never have a home again, will I? Never, Joanna thought making her way to the training yard, she did not feel like  meeting anyone anymore. She was too sad or angry to do anything right then, except for swinging a sword and she did not want to hurt anyone. Therefore, Joanna picked a training sword and started to hit the dummy. She swinged the sword as always with her left hand, high, low, left, right, up, down, moving foward and backwards. It swinged so hard that she did not know how the dummy had not broken yet. Although, she did not want to cry, apparently she did not get to choose. The tears that burned in her eyes began to fall. Not many, just a few but enough to sooth her heart.
What Joanna did not know was that there was a little girl watching her as she practiced with the dummy, Lyanna Mormont, and she was fascinated by how good she was with the sword. There were tales about her skills, however there was nothing like seeing it for herself. She did not fancy Joanna, she was a Lannister after all, she admited that she was a great warrior, though.
After some time, Podrick went to find Joanna, he and Brienne were worried because she had missed practice and she never did that, after a few time waiting, Podrick had decided to go find her. "She is not coming. Something must have happened, I'm going to find her." Pod had said. "I'll go with you." Brienne had said. "I think it's better, if you watch over lady Sansa. Littlefinger is there with her. Wherever Joanna is, she would not want you to let the girl alone with him." Pod had said. "But what if something really happened?" Brienne had asked. "I'll solve it, don't worry. Besides, we are talking about Joanna, she must have solved it by now." Pod had said and then had left without a reply. He was too concerned to wait.
Podrick found her in the yard still beating that dummy. "Don't you think he's dead, yet?" Pod asked her. "I don't care." Joanna said. "What happened, Joanna?" Pod asked coming closer. "Nothing. I'm fine." Joanna answered stoping beating the dummy. "You're not fine. You missed pratice and you never do..." Pod said. "It's just that..." Joanna was saying before her voice trailed off, she was tired of lying, she wanted to say everything she had to say and did not and he was right there... Joanna went to a bench that was there and sat and Podrick sat beside her. "There were these men, I was going to meet you and Brienne for practice, and then they started to say things when I passed through them and then they wanted to fight. I told them that I didn't want to fight them, I'm not going to get involve in a fight here, and then they said that either I'd fight or die. Gladly, Jon came and ended it there and then." Joanna said sorrowfully. "You're never going to be alone in here again. Allright?" Pod said, he could kill the men right there. "What's the matter, anyway? I will never have a place anywhere." Joanna said looking down. "What do you mean?" Pod asked confused. "I mean, eventhough I'm here with you and Brienne and Sansa, that are like family to me, I'm not home. I don't have a place here. I'm a Lannister. My family did things that..." Joanna was saying before her voice trailed off and she closed her eyes and sighed. Podrick put an arm around her and pulled her closer. They had make a habbit of it by then. Then Joanna continue, "Anywhere I go there will be people that my family hurted and those people have many reasons to hate Lannisters. I never could do anything about it, the closest I came to it was at the night of the Blackwater." Joanna said. "You never told me what happened that night. I only remember that your hands were covered in blood." Pod said. "Joffrey's blood. That night, after I saw what happened to Tyrion, I couldn't stand it anymore. Not after what he did to Sansa. Not after what he did to everyone. Not after he treathened everyone I care about. So, after I left you, after the battle was over, I went to his chambers and I...I beated him, I beated him bloody. I couldn't stop, he did wrong to innocent people, people who care for him and that had done nothing wrong. I beated and beated him. He fell at the first punch, but I just kept going, when my father stopped me, there was just blood. Joffrey was conscient still, but there was blood everywhere. My hands hurted and they did not heal for weeks. I still don't regret it. I made a vow to protect him, but I just couldn't stand by and watch what he did." Joanna confessed. She had not told this story to anyone, it felt good to finally tell someone. "I can't imagine how it must have been. I saw you that night, you're a bit shaken. I got worried and then your hands were covered in blood and I knew something had happened. The next day you were gone. I thought that something had happened." Pod said. "I had to, if anyone found out, I would be dead. I didn't want to leave you or Sansa or Tyrion. But if I stayed, I would have lost my life. They don't send women to the Wall." Joanna said. "I kind of figured out that you had to leave. But, Joanna, I've seen you ignore provocations all the time I knew you and you never got this way, why are you like this now?" Pod asked concerned, he knew that there was more to it. "It's just that it sucks. When you could have died to protect innocent people and do good, and then the world can't see you past your family name. It's really hard to love someone and be ashamed of the things they do. People don't get that. I don't want recognizion but a bit of kindess would not hurt." Joanna answered. "You are so much more than your family name. You're a lioness, Joanna. That doesn't mean that the legacy of your house defines you and that doesn't mean that you're like your sister or your father. If people can't see beyond that then they are wrong, not you. You will have a place where you want to have one. I know that this is not Casterly Rock, but you have people who care about you here and they want to have you by their side. You have me and Brienne and Sansa. We will never let you go. Never." Pod said and squeezed her arm. "If you say so. But if I'm going to stay I need to show them that I'm here for Sansa and that I'm not a spy from my sister." Joanna said. "Just stay away from fights." Pod said. "I will try. But, it's really anoying when people called you kitty and the sigil of your house is a lion." Joanna said with a giggle. "Kitty? Really? They haven't a clue, have they?" Pod said with a giggle and Joanna laughed. Then Brienne came to find them, "What happened?" she asked. "Nothing. It is fine." Joanna said. "Your eyes are red, you have been crying, what happened?" Brienne asked. "There were these idiots that said some mean things and wanted me to fight them." Joanna said. "They wanted to die, you mean." Brienne said. "More or less, I will not pick a fight here so they can suck it. Then, I got some doubts about if I ever will have a place in this world. And Pod convinced me I will ,so..." Joanna explained. "I'm glad he did. You will always have a place with the people who care about you and just here you have three." Brienne said. "I know. I'm glad you two are here, it means a lot to me." Joanna said. "Come on, let's go inside. Sansa was worried about you too." Brienne said and they went inside, it was becoming late.
The girl did not mean to hear the conversation, however she did and she saw that Joanna had honor and that she was not like the other Lannisters and she was the best swordfighter she had ever seen.
Next day there was a meeting to prepare the defenses of the North. Joanna normally would not attend meetings, however, in the present situation, she would be attending  every single one. When she had heard of the White Walkers, she did her best to not believe they were real, still she knew it was true and the fact that all that she knew until then could be dead by the end of the following winter scared her more than everything ever did. This could be the end, however if this was the end, they would give them a hell of a fight. They would fight until their last breath. They would show them that humanity still stood and would not go down without a fight.
In the meeting Joanna sat next to Brienne near the table where stood Jon and Sansa. When everybody arrived Jon stood and started, "I want every northern meistre to scour their records for any mention of dragonglass. Dragonglass kills White Walkers. It's more valuable for us now than gold. We need to find it, we need to mine it, we need to make weapons from it. Every one age ten to sixty will drill daily with spears, pikes, bow and arrow." "It was about time, we thaught these boys of summer how to fight." Lord Glover said. What about the girls?, Joanna wanted to say. "Not just the boys. We can't defend the North if only half of the populations is fighting." Jon said. "You expect me to put a spear in my granddaugther's hand." Lord Glover said standing up and Joanna could not keep her mouth shut any longer, it always made her angry when men did not want women to fight, they had every right as they had to defend their home and their people. "With all due respect, my lord, if you don't mind me asking, would you deny women the right to fight for their home and their people?" Joanna said, standing up. She was expecting someone to stop her, however no one did. "Mind your own business, Lannister. I don't even know why you're here." Lord Glover said, pointing a finger to her. "Lady Joanna is a guest here in Winterfell the same as you, my lord, you ought to treat het with courtesy." Sansa said seriously. "I'm sorry, my lady, but have you forgoten that it was Tywin Lannister who planned the Red Wedding?" the lord said. "With all due respect, my lord, I may be a Lannister, but I'm not my father and certainly I'm not my sister either. And I pray for you to never know what is like to love someone and their actions shame you this much." Joanna said looking at him. The man stopped looking at her and turned to Jon and said, "Still I will not put a spear in my granddaugther's hand." "I don't plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me. I might be small, Lord Glover, and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much a northerner as you." Lyanna Mormont stood up and said. "Indeed you are, my lady. No one is questioning-" Lord Glover was saying. "I don't need your permision to defend the North." Lyanna said and the room went silence, for a girl of nine, she showed an autorothy that no one would defy. Joanna was amazed by the girl and her will to fight. "We'll begin to train every man, woman, boy and girl in Bear Island. And I'd be honor, if Lady Joanna would help me train my people. She is the best fighter I've ever seen." Lyanna said. Joanna was surprised and then said, "It would be my honor, my lady." However, Jon could not allow it, because Joanna was a great strategist too and he needed her help in Winterfell defenses, therefore he said, "If you would not mind, my ladys, I would perfer to keep Lady Joanna here. She is a great strategist and we need her help in the defenses of the castle." Both Joanna and Lyanna agreed with a nod. Then Jon continue, "Are we preparing for an attack, we need to shore up our defenses. 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. But, if we're going to survive this winter together..." Tormund looked at Jon and stood up and said, "You want us to man the castles for you?" Joanna knew that, if the Wall were to fall, they had to, at least, held Winterfell, or elsewise they had to run Shout and they would be surrounded. It was an impossible battle to win, Joanna felt fearfull of loosing everything she held dear and she knew that everyone in that room was as well even if they tried to hide it. "High. Last time we saw the Night King was at Hardhome. The closest castle to Hardhome is East-Watch-By-The-Sea." Jon said. "And that's where I'll go. Looks like we're the Night Watch now." Tormund said and then sat down. Joanna smiled and thought, that was a hell of the payback. "If they breach the Wall, the first two castles in their path are Last Hearth and Karhold." Jon said. "The Umbers and the Karstarks betrayed the North. Their castles should be torn down with not a stone left standing." Ser Royce said. Really? We're fighting a battle agaisnt the dead and you want to destroy households?, Joanna thought. "The castles committed no crime and we need every fortress we have for the war to come, we should give the Last Hearth and Karhold to new families. Loyal families who supported us against Ramsay." Sansa said. She is afraid of being betrayed again and she should be. The last people of that houses should not lost their homes, but we're talking about betrayal, it will be not easy to forget that, Joanna thought. "The Umbers and the Karstarks had fought beside the Starks for centuries, they've kept faith for generation after generation." Jon said. "And then they broke faith." Sansa rebutted. "I'm not going to strip these families of their ancestral homes because of the crimes of a few reckless sons." Jon explained. "So, there's no punishment for treason and no reward for loyalty." Sansa said. She is just trying to protect him and she spent too much time with Cersei to understand how this game works, Joanna thought, she admired that and she did not blame the girl for wanting to protect her family, however she did not agreee with her in this matter. There was silence in the room, until Jon spoke again, "The punishment for treason is death. Small Jon Umber died on the field of battle, Harold Karstark died on the field of battle." Jon said. "They died fighting for Ramsay. Give the castle to the families of the men who died fighting for you." Sansa said. The entire room began to talk, Joanna could see Littlefinger smiling, she wanted to kill that man more than anything. He was a viper and the poison he spred had no limits. After a  short time, Jon talked again, "When I was Lord Comander of the Night's Watch, I executed men who betrayed me, I executed men who refused to follow orders. My father always said the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword and I have tried to live by those words, but I will not punish a son for his father's sins and I will not take a family's home away from a family it has belonged to for centuries. That's my decision and my decision is final." He speaks well, but I hope he understands that his sister only wants to help and she knows more than him about these things, Joanna thought. Then Jon called the descendents of the houses in question and they swore loyalty again and the meeting ended. When the meeting ended, Joanna went to talk with Lyanna Mormont, "My lady, I just want to say thank you for considering me for train your people." "You don't have to thank me, my lady. I know you have honor and that means that you're a good person. I'm glad you're here." Lyanna said. "I'm glad you're here too, my lady." Joanna said and the girl nodded and went away.
After the meeting Joanna, Brienne and Podrick went to the training yard to practice, after Joanna had said, "Do you want to go practice? I have to compensate for yesterday." Sansa and Jon had gone talking about something.
After sometime, they were fighting in the yard when Sansa came to them, she let Joanna and Brienne finish, it ended up in a tie, like the five times before. "Joanna, I have something to tell you." Sansa said seriously. "What is it?" Joanna asked confused. "Jon recieved a letter from KingsLanding. From your sister. Cersei is Queen now." Sansa said. "Gods save us all." Joanna said, it just came out automatically. Then the realisation stroke her sunddenly, "What about Tommen?" Joanna thought out loud. "I'm so sorry he died." Sansa said sadly. Joanna swallowed hard and then put away the sword. "What happened?" she asked with a knot forming in her throat, "There was an explosion in the sept that killed the queen and most of the court and he... commited suicide, or so is what they said when I asked around... I'm so sorry. He was just a child..." Sansa said honestly. "I-I need some time. I'll meet you later." Joanna said and then walked away.
After seconds, she was running and the tears began to fell again. She should be used to it by then. Joanna did not know where she was heading, she just knew that she had to go somewhere calm and quiet. Why wasn't I there? I should have stay! Now they're dead, all of them! Joffrey, Myrcella, Tommen. The three of them and I wasn't there to neither of them when it happened. Gods, I can't imagine what they are going through in there, Joanna thought, sad and angry.
Suddenly, she realized that she was in the Godswood, she looked at the Weirwood Tree, at the face in the tree more exactly and then the words rang in her head, 'Gold will be their crowns, gold their shrouds', the woman, Maggy, the profecy. "This was meant to be, I couldn't do anything. Gods' plan, fate, destiny, whatever... this was going to happen one way or another. It wasn't my fault. I think, if White Walkers are real, then... so is the profecy or at least the part that I knew. It happened." Joanna thought out loud.
When she was 8, she took a walk in the woods of the Rock as always, that day she found a woman. The woman was transporting a cart, however it had gotten stuck in the mud, therefore Joanna had helped her transporting the things first and then the cart. The woman had told her that her name was Maggy and Joanna had said, "Nice to meet you, my lady. I'm Joanna Lannister, but my siblings called me Jo." "Nice to meet you too, my lady. Can I do something for you, in a way of thanking you?" the woman had asked. "There's no need to thank me, I like to help people." Joanna had answered. "You know, little one, they say I'm a whitch and I can read the future. Can I read yours? I red it once to your sister. She didn't like the answers, but you will." Maggy had said. "Allright, if you insist." Joanna had said. Then the woman had told her, "You will have a hard travessy to come upon in the ice and life isn't always going to be easy, however you will have the life you want. You will find a man who will love you, like you'll love him and you two will have a happy life with beautiful children, that will live happily." "That's great, I think. My sister just had a boy, will her children be friends with mine? Of course, if you can't say, I understand." Joanna had said, she did not believe any of that, though. "I'm sorry. Gold will be their crowns, gold their shrouds. Nothing can prevent that, little one." Maggy had said.
Joanna did not believe or understand any of that at the time, by then all made sense. They were dead, her life had been everything but easy, she was in the icy north and she had found Pod, if he was the one.
She then realized that she could not have done anything to stop their deaths and that, somehow, brought her some comfort. It isn't my fault, Joanna thought.
After sometime there thinking, Joanna went back to the castle and her friends stayed with her for the rest of the day.