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

Chapter Seventy Nine:The Red Wolf

Lyanna had never expected it to be easy, but she didn't think that her first meeting with the bannermen would be as chaotic as it was.

Voices were calling from every direction of the hall, each of them calling out for a different cause. Some were in opposition of the Wildling force, deciding it was going against tradition to rely on such an uncouth army. Others were opposing the Easterners, refusing to acknowledge the fact that they'd followed Lyanna the longest and blindly followed her to another country for a cause that wouldn't have affected them at all. Most were opposing the Tyrell presence, not wanting Southern help even though most of them would be dead without them (not that it bothered Garlan, who sat on one of the benches watching the debate with a casual smirk, occasionally glancing up to Lyanna, rolling his eyes at the debacle he had caused). All, however, were calling out about the importance of getting home before winter.

On the top bench, Lyanna was sat in between Jon and Sansa, both of whom equally looked lost as to how to dissolve the situation. The hall which she had only ever seen Lord Stark rule over had never been filled with this much trouble in her memory, and so she really had no idea how to control the situation. Not that she let anyone catch on, as she remained composed, her hands folded on the table in front of her, her gaze fixed on the back of the room, where the Stark banners were now hanging once more. She hoped that her calm demeanour would be noticed and everyone else would follow suit, but instead the room was reflecting her internal crisis of how in seven hells she was meant to fix this situation. 

"It's one thing to expect us northerners fight with Wildling and foreign invaders but Southerners too? Especially the flowery-arsed Tyrells, of all people!" One lord shouted, Lord Glover, who'd finally decided to show up. Lyanna noticed his nose was more crooked than last time, and smirked slightly. 

"We didn't invade, we were invited!" Tormund called, glancing over to Jon.

"Us too," Cassius called, though she looked much more bored and a lot less insulted by the events in front of her than the wildlings. "Lady Stark asked us to come with her, so we did, we were wanted,"

"Not by us!" Another called up. 

"You didn't have that attitude when I pulled you out of range of a Bolton spear, my Lord," Garlan called back calmly, though he flashed a sarcastic grin, Loras at his side glaring at the man ever so slightly.

"The Northerners, the Wildlings and the Tyrells fought bravely, fought together and we won," Jon spoke up, standing up as the room dulled. "Our father used to say that we find our true friends on the battlefield,"

"He said that back when battles were for men, not little girls," one man called up, shooting a look at Lyanna. 

At this, Lyanna stood, deciding she'd had enough of listening, trying to remain calm. 

"My apologies, ser, if the battle did not live up to your expectations!" she called. "We had a common enemy, the Boltons. We united as one, and we defeated our common enemy. We won, it does not matter who fought on our side, because we joined as one force. And besides, I did not see you volunteering to lead the army, or ride a dragon into Winterfell. In fact, I didn't see you there at all! You can call me a girl, but at least I was there. The same goes for the Tyrells! They are the North's strongest and most true ally, and they answered the call when half of you ignored your vows to house Stark,"

"Fine, if you say our enemy is defeated, we should ride home, all of us," another man stood, calling out to the whole hall. "Winter has come, and they say it'll be the coldest in years. We should go home and wait out the coming storm," 

Beside Lyanna, she noticed Jon stiffen slightly. The man's words had struck him, and he remembered all he'd seen beyond the wall. He remembered the very real and very terrifying threat of the Night's King, and what will come with the storm of winter during the Long Night.