Joellyn sat on her horse, looking at the heavy wooden doors of Deepwood Motte. This was the last house that they could recruit to help in the fight against Ramsay Bolton to take back Winterfell. As it was right now, they had 2,500 men who could fight and that was just half of what Ramsay had. The Glovers wouldn't be able to make up for the other 2,500 men that were needed, but it would give them a better chance if they could get the Glovers to join in their fight. As the doors opened, Joellyn looked over at Jon, Sansa, and Davos. She could sense their nerves just as much as she could feel her own.
She had learned the night before, when they were making their final preparations for today, that Lord Robett Glover had only recently become Lord of Deepwood Motte. Until a few years ago, his brother had been the lord of their castle, but he lost his life fighting for Robb. Though house Glover had always been faithful to the Starks, Jon and Davos believed that it would be hard to convince Lord Robett to join them considering the history. Still, they had to try. It was their last chance to add numbers to their forces.
As Jon and Sansa led the way through the now open doors, Joellyn fell in beside Davos. She found herself surprised that she had not been denied admittance. If Lord Robett truly lost his brother while he was fighting for Robb, surely he could not be comfortable with allowing a Lannister into his home. Or maybe he hadn't received warning ahead of time that she was with Jon and Sansa.
They all pulled their horses to a stop soon after entering and the heavy doors closed behind them. Jon and Davos dismounted from their horses and Joellyn continued to look around her. There was so much cold stone and so few people walking about, she felt herself become chilled and unwelcome. As she tried to shake off the unsteady feeling, she began to dismount from her horse, but felt Jon touch her hand from beside her as he said, "Please, allow me."
She smiled and accepted his help in dismounting as he grabbed her hips and helped her down. When her feet touched the ground, she placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself and looked up at him and smiled again as she said, "Thank you."
Jon squeezed her hips softly and looked like he was about to say something as Davos walked up beside them and said, "We should be going. Don't want to keep them waiting."
Joellyn felt herself being snapped from the daze that Jon had her in. Since Bear Island, Joellyn was finding it too easy to find herself being lost in Jon's company. Davos joining them pulled her back into reality. If the Glovers had received word that she was with them, it was unlikely to help their cause if Jon was seen being too close to her.
As Davos walked on ahead of them with Sansa, Joellyn pulled away from Jon and said, "He's right. And I'm sure that Lord Robett will not be convinced to join by seeing you so close to me." In spite of all that she had gone through to get to this point, it hurt to know that she was still not going to be trusted because of who her family was. Jon looked for a moment like he was going to disagree, but nodded once and followed Davos and Sansa into Deepwood Motte so that they could try to convince Lord Robett to join their cause.
The four of them entered the courtyard together, Davos and Joellyn falling in behind Sansa and Jon. They were the Starks, so she and Davos made a point to hang behind them and only chime in if they thought they could add something to the conversation. Joellyn had never met nor seen Robett Glover before, but she assumed he was the one standing at the base of the small set of stairs in the courtyard. He was standing on his own, but six armored and armed men were not too far behind him, watching their every move.
Jon spoke first in greeting, "Lord Glover, thank you for receiving us. We appreciate that you are willing to hear us out."
Lord Glover looked over the four of them for a moment before saying, "I don't know what madness possessed me to allow you through my gates, but since you are here, say what you have come to say." Joellyn did not have a good feeling about getting the Glovers on their side. It already sounded as if he had decided against them.
Jon and Sansa shared a look with each other before Jon began speaking, "Our family home has been taken from us, just as yours was, Lord Glover. Ramsay Bolton sits in Winterfell. He married and tormented my sister, and he holds our youngest brother as his captive. We wish..."
"The answer is no," Lord Glover cut in. Joellyn felt what little hope she had for gaining more men snuffed out in those four words. Robett Glover knew what they were there for. He had likely only received them into his home out of courtesy and obligation, but he was not willing to fight with them. That much was clear already.
Jon paused for the briefest of moments before saying, "Lord Glover, if you could just hear us out."
Lord Glover took a step closer to Jon, and began speaking in an irritated tone, "I've heard enough. We've only just taken back this castle from the Ironborn. The Boltons helped us do it. Now you want me to fight against them? I could be skinned for even talking to you."
Roose and Ramsay Bolton had already done what needed to be done to secure the loyalty of the Glovers. They had lost their home to the Ironborn, but the Boltons helped them win it back. There would be no way that Robett would be willing to spit in the face of the people that had helped him win back his family home. Joellyn looked over at Davos to gauge his reaction. He pressed his lips together and shook his head softly. He was reading the situation the same way she was. They were not going to leave here with any more men.
Jon tried again by saying, "The Boltons are traitors. Roose Bolton..."
"Have other Northern houses pleged to fight for you," Lord Glover interrupted. Joellyn understood that Robett was uncomfortable with having them in Deepwood Motte, but it would have been kinder for him to turn them away to begin with rather than be this short and rude with them.
Jon sighed in what seemed like defeat as he said, "Houses Mormont, Hornwoood, and Mazin. We've sent ravens to a few others, but..."
"I don't care about ravens," Lord Glover said as he cut Jon off again, "You're asking me to join your army. Who's fighting in this army?"
Jon looked at each of them, Sansa, then Joellyn, then Davos, and took a breath before saying, "The bulk of the force is made up of Wildlings."
Robett Glover laughed in response to this. The first real sentence that he let Jon complete, Robett Glover felt it was appropriate to laugh at. Joellyn never had a good feeling about the man, but she was just ready to get out of Deepwood Motte and away from him now. He was a hateful man. The least he could have done was try to be understanding of their plight, especially since they had just recently gotten their castle back.
Lord Glover finished laughing and said, "So the rumors I've heard are true. I didn't dare believe them. I received you out of respect for your father. Now I would like you to leave. You come to me and ask us to abandon our ancestral home to fight alongside Wildlings and you bring this Lannister bitch into our company. We will not be joining you."
His words cut Joellyn deeper than they should have. She saw all eyes in the group turn to her and they all looked furious with his words. She should have left well enough alone. She could have left well enough alone, but she was too insulted from his interrupting Jon and his name calling, so she said softly, in a voice that reminded her far too much of her sister, "Lord Glover, the other Northern houses that were disgusted by me were at least kind enough to ask me to stand outside their walls. Yet you chose to bring me in here so you could insult me to my face."
Robett Glover addressed her directly for the first time, "I should take you right now so you can be sent back to your whore of a sister."
Jon looked as if he were going to lose his calm, but stepped in between her and Lord Glover and said in a warning tone, "Lord Glover," but Joellyn stepped up and put a hand to try to settle him. She squeezed his shoulder once before removing her hand from his shoulder and saying to Lord Glover, "But you won't. Much as you might choose to not believe me, I left her and the rest of my family because I am as disgusted by what they have done as you are. Nothing I can say will convince you otherwise. But I promise you, Lord Glover, a day will come that you will see that I am not my family, and you will regret your words. To both me and the Starks here."
Jon had grabbed her had while she was talking to keep her from getting any closer to Lord Glover. She didn't actually believe that he would act on his claim that he would take her, but Jon apparently didn't want to take any chances. As Robett took in the situation, he looked at Jon and Joellyn and shook his head in disgust before saying, "We're through here. Leave my home," then turned around to enter the door that was being guarded by his men.
As he walked away, Sansa spoke for the first time and said, "I would remind you that House Glover is pleged to House Stark. Sworn to answer when called upon."
Jon, Joellyn, and Davos all looked at Sansa, surprised at the strength behind her words. She had changed so much from the timid, love-struck girl that Joellyn met all those years ago at Winterfell.
Robett stopped in his tracks, turned, and approached close to Sansa as he said, "Yes, my family served House Stark for centuries. We wept when we heard of your father's death. When my brother was lord of this castle, he answered Robb's call and hailed him King in the North."
Robett took a step closer to Sansa as he continued, "And where was King Robb when the Ironborn attacked this castle? When they threw my wife and children in prison and brutalized and killed our subjects? Taking up with a foreign whore. Getting himself and those who followed him killed."
Robett stepped back and looked at Sansa then turned to Jon saying, "Now you're trying to do the same with a Lannister whore who married a filthy Dornishman. I served House Stark once, but House Stark is dead," then turned away from them and climbed the stairs to the door. His men opened the door for him, he walked through it, then the door was closed behind him. Joellyn, Jon, Sansa, and Davos now found themselves in the courtyard, alone and discouraged. They had been regected by other houses before, but this one felt personal and more insulting. Especially to Joellyn. She had been called a bitch and a whore today, and was threatened to be turned over to her sister.
She took a breath to calm herself, then turned away from Jon, Sansa, and Davos and went back in the direction of their horses. She didn't want to have to be here any longer. She had been insulted by the other houses refusing to allow her in, but this was outright mean and purposefully hurtful. Lord Glover had allowed her in so that he could say those things to her and about her. He knew that he was going to refuse them, but allowed them in anyway.
She got to her horse and saw that the three others were close behind her. She wasn't really interested in talking to any of them right now. She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a while, and they all seemed to sense this. As she mounted her horse, the others mounted theirs and waited quietly for the doors to be opened. As the doors opened, Jon looked back at her, but she nodded her head forward to urge him on. He pushed his horse forward and Sansa followed closely behind him.
Davos came up beside her and said, "After you, Joellyn." She looked at him and wanted to argue, but she knew at her heart that he wanted to be at the back to provide protection if it was necessary. She nodded and urged her horse forward to follow behind Jon and Sansa.
For much of the journey back to the encampment, she tried to focus on the scenery and her surroundings rather than what Robett Glover had said to them, but it was hard to tune out the thoughts she kept having. Robett was doing what he thought was right for his house and his family. They couldn't very well go against the Boltons since they were the ones to help them get their castle back, but if that were the case he should have just refused to receive them. He had ridiculed them for having a force of mostly Wildlings and insulted her directly several times. She was use to not being trusted, but she was not use to being insulted directly. That was not what people typically did to Lannisters.
As she brooded in her thoughts, Davos came up beside her and rode silently for a while before saying, "My lady, you know that Jon could not have said anything to defend you."
Joellyn over at him, confused as to where this was going, "What do you mean?" She genuinely didn't understand where he was coming from.
Davos looked flustered as he began speaking, "Begging your pardon, but it hasn't escaped my notice that you and Jon... Well, anyway, don't be too mad at him. He couldn't have hoped to get Lord Glover to join by coming to your defense."
It finally became clear what Davos was getting at. He thought that she was upset that Jon had not come to her defense when Lord Glover began insulting her. She shook her head and said, "You misunderstand my silence, Ser Davos. I'm not mad at Jon. I understand that he couldn't do anything."
Davos nodded then said, "Then don't take Robett Glover's words to heart. You don't need his approval and you certainly shouldn't be bothered by his anger. He's hurt and feels trapped. Any trapped, hurt animal will react the same way he did, by lashing out and trying to hurt others."
Joellyn took in his words and knew immediately that he was right. Robett Glover had experienced a lot of pain and loss over the past several years. She nodded once and said, "It doesn't make his words hurt any less, though."
Davos shrugged before saying, "He doesn't matter. The people who matter know who you are. You're a lovely, strong woman. Don't let him rule your mind."
It amazed her that Davos hadn't been born a knight and that he was actually raised to knighthood and his house only recently established. He knew just the right thing to say and he was very wise. More wise than he should have been for someone who spent much of his life crabbing and smuggling. She knew more and more every day why Stannis had chosen him as his advisor. Joellyn nodded and said, "I will try. Thank you for making me talk to you." Davos simply bowed his head then pushed his horse forward to join Jon's side.
It wasn't much later until they arrived at the Stark encampment. As she followed behind Jon, Davos, and Sansa through the camp, she took in the sight around her. Much of the camp was made up of Wildlings, and it was evident that these were not trained fighting men of Westeros, but they looked fierece nonetheless. She wondered what the tension was like at the camp. Surely the men of the North could not easily trust the Wildlings they would be fighting with.
Davos guided them through the camp as he said, "Stannis camped here on his way to Winterfell."
Sansa raised her eyebrows and countered in a negative tone, "And that's a good thing?" In all of her own brooding, Joellyn had failed to consider how Jon and Sansa were feeling after leaving Deepwood Motte. Lord Glover had not been kind to them either. They were probably feeling about how she was.
Davos just ignored Sansa's tone and said, "He was the most experienced commander in Westeros. He chose this place for a reason. Those mountains are natural fortification and there's a stream down there for the horses."
Joellyn looked around and saw that Davos was right. This camp was an ideal place for them to be at, but the weather had been getting colder and colder in the North, so she was worried about being out in the open like this for too long. It had been such a long summer, she was afraid that winter might actually be coming for the first time in a long time. Jon seemed to be thinking the same thing as he said, "We're not staying here long. Another storm could come any day."
Davos nodded in agreement as he said, "Aye, the snows defeated Stannis as much as the Boltons did."
They all pulled their horses to a stop and Jon said, "We have to march on Winterfell now while we still can," then they all dismounted their horses. They all began walking through camp, taking in what they had.
Davos started listing off, "2,000 Wildlings, 200 Hornwoods, 143 Mazins...."
Sansa cut in and added, "63 Mormonts."
Davos stopped and turned to look at her with a sigh as he said, "It's not what we hoped for, but we still have a chance if we're careful and smart."
A commotion started a little ways ahead of them, and Joellyn saw that two men, it appeared to be one Wildling and one not a Wildling, began fighting. Davos muttered under his breath, "For fuck's sake," then rushed to them to break up the fight and separate the men.
Joellyn, Sansa, and Jon continued watching for a moment before they began walking again. The three of them were silent for a moment before Sansa questioned, "So he's your most trusted advisor now? Because he secured 62 men from a ten year old?"
Sansa was clearly upset, but Joellyn didn't know what could be done to comfort her. Jon didn't appear to either as he said, "Ser Davos is the reason I'm standing here and talking to you, and he served Stannis for years."
Sansa's voice began to grow more angry as she said, "Stannis, who lost the Blackwater, who murdered his own brother, who doesn't have a head?" Sansa stopped as she finished her question.
Joellyn stopped immediately besider her, but Jon kept walking a few more steps and turned around to face them. As he turned around, Sansa stated, "It's not enough. We need more men."
Jon shook his head and said, "There's no time." Everyone's nerves were running high. The stress of realizing that they were really about to fight the Boltons was settling on all of them, and the reality was that they really were far behind the Boltons in numbers.
Sansa shook her head and said, "If we went to Castle Cerwyn, I know that Lord..."
Jon stepped closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her as he said, "We fight with the army we have."
Sansa did not look happy, but Jon was looking on over Sansa's shoulders at the men who were still fighting that Davos was trying to break up. He sighed and left to help Davos deal with the fighting men, leaving Joellyn and Sansa alone.
Joellyn took Sansa's hand and said, "Maybe it will be enough, Sansa."
Sansa shook her head and looked at Joellyn before saying, "It's not enough. We're going to lose to Ramsay, and I'm not going back to him," then took back her hand and walked away from her.
Joellyn turned back around and saw that Davos and Jon had managed to separate the men and break up the fight. Jon left the men and Davos and joined her saying, "Come with me." She nodded and followed him through the camp to the tent that he would be staying in. He opened the flap so that she could enter before him and came in after her.
She turned and looked at him and saw discouragement and worry etched in his face, so she asked, "How are you?"
Jon let out a puff of air and said, "Not as well as a I hoped we would have been at this point." Then he came over to her and wrapped his arms around her, embracing her. She returned his embrace, nestling into his chest as he rested his head on top of hers. They stood like that for a moment before Jon said quietly, "I am sorry for what Lord Glover said today."
Joellyn pulled back to look at him and said what Davos had said to her earlier, "He was hurt and angry and responded the only way he knew how. I was angry, but I'm fine now. Please don't worry about me. You have other things to worry about."
Jon took her face in his hands and kissed her softly. Joellyn reveled in the feeling of his lips on hers and being close to Jon and was disappointed when he pulled away quickly. He rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs and kissed her on the forehead before saying, "You are a wonderful woman, did you know that?"
Joellyn laughed in response and placed her hands on his arms as she said, "And you are wonderful for worrying about me."
Jon smiled, this smile reaching his eyes, before he pulled her into another embrace and said, "I'll always worry about you, Joellyn."
For that moment, she tried to let the events of that day and what would soon be happening fade out of her mind. For right now, she just sincerely hoped that she would always have Jon to worry about her and look after her as she returned his embrace.