Born in Flames || Game of Thrones

Chapter XXX ''First, you have to win with yourself''

Things weren't looking good for Robb, Jon, and Sansa, but weren't looking bad either. Everything depended on whether they could gain the support of the Northern houses and whether Jon would convince the Wildlings to fight for Winterfell.

Roose Bolton is dead, Ramsay has made himself Warden of the North and lives in this castle as if it were his.
Stannis Baratheon is also dead, he died attacking the castle, just as Robb predicted. His army no longer existed, but at least there was an advantage to it - he would no longer be threatened or persuaded to Stannis' rights.

But nothing better awaits him now - he was just going with Sansa to, among other places, Bear Island to seek support from Lady Mormont. He will have to face a girl whose mother died because of his war. He can't run from this forever if he wants to try to take back the North. He saw what waits on the other side of the Wall, which gave him great motivation to retake Winterfell, as it was the only place they had any chance of defending themselves.

Although it would take some miracle for them to have enough men for this fight.

He would like to share Davos's - who stayed with them after Stannis' death - optimism that they will be able to gain enough support from the Northern houses and win against Ramsay. Really, he would like to be able to look at the world this way, but he can't do it anymore, and he tries to approach affairs realistically and not pessimistically.

On Bear Island, standing in front of the chamber where Lyanna Mormont was waiting for them, it was hard not to be drawn to unfortunate visions of the future. It is true that she agreed to receive them, and that was a plus, but it did not mean the success of their mission.

"Calm down." he heard Sansa's voice next to him and immediately looked at her. "Your hands are shaking. At most she refuses, it's not the end of the world."

I wish I could think like you.

"You can't pull people out of nowhere to fight, and no one wants to fight with the losing side." he replied rather dryly, although that was not his intention. He clasped his hands in front of him, because his nervousness was visible in their shaking, and such things should not be shown.

"From the letter Stannis showed you, it's obvious that someone would want to." he sighed quietly and didn't answer anymore.

The door opened and they finally stepped inside, stopping a few steps away from a long table where the Lady of Bear Island sat, flanked by two men, one of them a Maester.

Well, it's time to speak up.

"Lady Mormont." he greeted her, slightly bowing his head in a gesture of politeness.

"Welcome to Bear Island." Lyanna replied dispassionately, and there was an awkward silence. He didn't know where to start because he didn't want to get straight to the point. It would be a good idea to at least try to maintain the appearance that they didn't come here just for support...

"I remember the day you were born, my Lady." Sansa said, smiling gently. "You were named after our aunt Lyanna. She was said to be an extraordinary beauty. I'm sure you will be a beauty too."

"I doubt it. My mother was no beauty, but she was a warrior, a great warrior. She died fighting for you." she addressed the last sentence to Robb, while looking at him with her cold gaze.

He won't lie, it hurt, but he was prepared for it. It's high time to at least try to mend his ways. If he makes no attempt, he will prove unworthy of the sacrifice his people have made.

"I know. Likewise, I know that she was a special woman, she died during the fighting... My condolen-"

"Isn't there enough of this small talk already?" she interrupted him. He expected from that letter that this girl might have the character of her mother, but... He didn't expect that she would just interrupt him like that. "Why did you come here?"