A Dragon In Wolf's Clothing ~A Game of Thrones fan fiction~

Chapter Seventy: Delay

Lyanna's army arrived at Castle Black two days after they had decided to declare war on house Bolton. For Jon this was terrifying; it truly meant that they would be fighting the Boltons, that he would be leaving the only place he had called home for the past five years, and that his sister was truly a force to be reckoned with. For Sansa, it was liberating; all she could think of was one of these men putting a sword through Ramsay, although she wanted to end him herself.

Lyanna greeted her army the morning they arrived at the gates of Castle Black, stood in her black battle dress, although she'd had Sansa modify it for her to feature a high fur neck to cover her ugly scar. The forces marching had all heard the rumours about what the men of the nights watch had done to their Lady, and the sight of her high collar fuelled the rage in their hearts. Lyanna Stark had led them to victory so many times in the East, and anyone who would harm her was an enemy. It was almost as if they had forgotten Daenerys completely, their sole ruler being Lyanna, and they would die for her.

Their dedication was obvious, so obvious Tormund realised that the eastern troops were just how the wildlings used to be when they fought for Mance Raider. One army, fighting for one cause. Except now they would be fighting for Lyanna and Jon and their cause was more complicated, everything was more complicated south of the wall.

The army was led by the three dire wolves and at the sight of Lyanna they all went bounding over to her happily, Winter howling with glee. Ghost bounded over too, in greeting to his siblings, especially Winter, the two runts of the litter finally reunited. Lyanna knelt, to greet the wolves in open arms, only for Lady to dart straight past her, instead running to the other girl stood behind her.

Sansa had previously been watching the wolves with a nostalgic smile, only to see Lady, the wolf  she had believed was dead for so many years, killed by her own father and sisters in a horrid act of betrayal. Before she even had the chance to fall to her knees to call the wolf she had ran into her, knocking her into the ground, paws on her shoulders as she began to lick her face. Eventually Sansa managed to get the wolf off of her, though as she was on the floor, all of the horrible memories of the past flooded back to her. All the times she'd been beaten and abused, and all the times she'd spent crying over Lady. Yet, the wolf was here, and she rallied the strength within Sansa.

'Winter is coming,' Sansa thought. 'And the wolves are coming for house Bolton.'

***

A slight delay occurred for the Stark's before they could even leave Castle Black, though only Sansa and Lyanna knew of it, keeping Jon in the dark about it. In fact, even Lyanna wasn't supposed to know, as Sansa tried to keep the fact that Lord Baelish had gotten in contact with her a secret from both of her siblings.

However, Lyanna's time in Essos had made her considerably protective over the ones she loved, so when she saw Sansa riding out of Castle Black, Lyanna's first instinct was to follow her, even though it was none of her business. Though she originally planned on riding out after her with only Winter, Tormund insisted on going with her as back up, although Lyanna knew it was because he'd seen Brienne ride out with Sansa; he seemed rather fixated by 'The Big Woman'. To be honest, so was Lyanna, as what Brienne lacked in looks (though she was still rather good looking, just not in the conventional way expected for ladies) she made up for in strength, and she had been an excellent protector for Sansa, so Lyanna really did like the woman.

Lyanna and the wildling tracked Sansa and Brienne back to an empty tavern in Moles Town, a village which brought a smile to Lyanna's face. It was cheap and run down, the cold weather making it seem dreary, but the people seemed happy enough. Lyanna found herself heading to one of the taverns after seeing their horses tied outside, and as she found her way inside, she heard the voices of Sansa and another man. A man who Lyanna had not seen since Kings Landing, though had appeared in the House of the Undying. A man who had tried to kill her and her son.

"Lord Baelish," Lyanna said harshly as she forced her way into the room to see Sansa stood across from him, glaring at him. "I'd say it's nice to see you but my father taught me it is wrong to lie. Actually both of my fathers believed that, that and you're a no good piece of shit,"

"Lyanna," he greeted her, attempting to sound friendly and warm, but Lyanna brushed him off with a steely glare as cold as Moles Town. "Or should I say Lady Tyrell? Many congratulations on your wedding, we all heard of it in Kings Landing, not that Queen Cersei was too pleased. In fact she found it quite amusing after the initial anger. What a pair, she said, the cripple and the-"

"The Cripple and the Bastard, yes, we know, we've heard it a thousand times before," Lyanna shot coldly, practically rolling her eyes. "I married Willas because I love him, unlike Joffrey. Didn't you marry for love too? At least that was what you told everyone,"

"No one marries for love in this world," Baelish laughed shortly. "Anyone that does is a fool and will most likely pay the price for it,"

"So marriage is for gain then?" Sansa spoke up in that moment. "Is that why you married me off to Ramsay? So you could gain northern allies whilst I was being raped?"

Upon Sansa's words, Lyanna felt something snap within her. She didn't know if it was just the sheer anger of hearing Sansa speak about her awful time with the Boltons or if it was because of the heightened emotions from her pregnancy, but she found herself storming over to the man. Baelish attempted to back away, his face turning panicked, but Lyanna got to him quickly, her hand reaching out and grabbing his neck tightly. Clenching her full grip around his neck, Lyanna pushed him against the wall as he began clawing at her hand with his own, gasping for breath.

"You tried to have my son killed, you sold my father off to the Lannisters and you forced my sister into an abusive marriage," she spat at him. "How dare you even come near us? How dare you call me a bastard and my husband a cripple when you're a traitorous snake? How very dare you speak to Sansa like you have done nothing wrong? Were you offering the Arryn forces to her to use against the Boltons, trying to win her back on side after you murdered her aunt Lysa for a better title?"

"He was," Sansa spoke up, stepping closer though still watching Lyanna warily. "Let him go, please, Lya,"

"Why in seven hells should I?" Lyanna snarled, her fingers clenching tighter. Sansa rushed over, though Lyanna couldn't bare to look at her. "Why should I, when this man betrayed our father, when he ordered for Brandon to be murdered only hours after he was born and for me to be raped before leaving Robert Baratheon to kill me for my Targaryen blood? After everything he's done to you and you want me to be merciful?"

"No, just don't kill him this way, please, he's not worth this," Sansa spoke quickly, and deciding that she needed her sister's favour more than Baelish's blood, Lyanna loosened her grip, watching as he dropped to the floor.

"Take this as a warning, Lord Baelish," Sansa looked down at the man as he choked for breath, coughing as he massaged his throat now that Lyanna had stalked away in disgust. "I don't want your help, house Stark will take back Winterfell without your help,"

"You Starks won't stand a chance against the Boltons alone!" He exclaimed, standing up, brushing his robes off.

"You May be right, but I would rather die in battle defeated by the Boltons than succeed and owe a debt to you, you foul, loathsome little man," Lyanna stormed back over to him, squaring up as she towered over him. "Now get out of my sight, and if I ever see you in the north again, I will cut you the way my father did, except this time  I'll do it right and the world will be rid of you,"

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Word count: 1480

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