The Age of Daenerys Targaryen

Part 13: Sansa

Sansa Stark, Queen of the North, let out a sigh as she looked at the list of food supplies in her kingdom and expected income from agriculture and fishing. Grain imports from abroad would be necessary so that her people did not have to starve in the next few years. Due to the last war, many fields were fallow and the North was a huge, but not fertile land.

Famine was basically nothing out of the ordinary in the history of the North. When supplies ran out during a long and harsh winter, it was customary for the elderly and the sick to go bear hunting alone and thus to certain death so as not to become a burden on their families. Sansa would not let it come to that under her reign.

The queen wiped a strand of red hair from her face and mentally considered her options. The Six Kingdoms would hardly be able to support the North with food because of the devastation of the war. So grain had to be obtained from Essos. Due to the recently escalated disputes between the Free Cities, only Volantis came into question as a supplier. According to Sansa's knowledge, the powerful city-state at the mouth of the Rhoyne was not involved in any war and produced large surpluses of grain on the vast agricultural areas on both sides of the river.

She was about to call for her maester when he came rushing into her solar.

"Your Grace, a message from King's Landing has arrived!"

"From Bran?", Sansa wanted to know.

"Yes, Your Grace. Attached is a letter from Volantis."

The Queen of the North raised an eyebrow. "A letter to me from Volantis? Show me, please."

The man gave her two envelopes. One wore the seal of the three-eyed raven that Bran had chosen as his mark. When Sansa glanced at the second letter, her breath caught. Its seal featured a three-headed dragon. The emblem of House Targaryen.

She opened Bran's letter first. What he shared confirmed the fears they had felt at the sight of the dragon seal: Daenerys Targaryen was alive again, with a dragon, an army, and a new empire. And she had offspring, as Sansa discovered when she finished reading the message. She guessed who the father was. The gods only knew how Jon would react if he found out.

"What do you think of that, Your Grace?", asked the maester, who had been reading over her shoulder.

"Nothing good", sighed the queen. "In the worst case - and I'm counting on the worst - we are threatened with invasion. Daenerys did not want to grant independence to the north when I asked her to do so because she believes she is the rightful ruler of all of Westeros. Why should she think differently now?" She picked up the letter from Volantis and broke the seal.

In the letter, Daenerys congratulated Sansa on her coronation Queen of the North - the redhead did not, of course, believe for a moment that the congratulations were sincere - and hypocritically expressed her alleged hope of peaceful coexistence and fruitful trade relations.

But because of the grain, the North was dependent on precisely that trade.

"She writes of peace, but if I've learned one thing, it's that words are wind", said Sansa. "However, we need to get grain for our pantries. So we put a smile on our face and order grain in Volantis. On this list here is how much we need."

"Yes, Your Grace", said the maester. "I'll take care of it immediately." He left the solar.

Sansa leaned back in her chair. She would travel to King's Landing to decide with Bran and Tyrion what to do next. Together they would find a way to avert the threat from the east. So she told herself. But she felt more fear than confidence.