Song: Mars by Sleeping at Last (a Robb/Fianna song if ever I heard one)
Fianna
"So here's the situation," Fianna Stark began, an authoritative tone to her voice that Tiernan only recognised at these dreaded meetings. "I have two weeks to surrender myself to the Bolton's, or else they'll kill Sansa Stark."
"How can we be sure they have Lady Sansa at all?" Wyman Manderly sounded out, equal looks of worry and anger on each and every one of their faces.
"They showed her to me, it's her. I know it."
"What happens if you surrender?" Lord Dustin dared to ask, earning glares from others in the room for even suggesting it.
"If I surrender, I'll be giving up the crown and wedded off to Ramsay Bolton. He'll be the regent for Eddie, who will be Lord of Winterfell some day, or he'll be the King Regent if he rebels against the Lannisters and keeps the Stark throne. The entire rebellion will be lost, but Sansa Stark will be safe," Fianna sighed towards the end, lowering herself to sit down in a chair.
"I say we let the girl die, one life over the entire North? There's no question about it!"
Lord Cerwyn's response received mixed replies, ranging from bellows of fury to shouts of agreement.
"How dare you even suggest that, Medger?" Fianna hissed in anger, "this entire rebellion was built on Robb marching to save his father and sisters. If we let Sansa die, and that's assuming they don't torture her or worse, then we have forgotten everything that we stand for. Every Northern life matters and especially Ned Stark's daughter, you'd do well to remember that."
Her words were enough to silence him, and even embarrass him judging by the red tint to his cheeks.
"It's too early to march on Winterfell, the men and women you enlisted are still in training, they'll never be able to take on the Bolton army at this level," Tiernan offered, having gained first hand knowledge after being one of the people assigned to train the newbies.
Training was divided between a multitude of people. After it was made known that Fianna was allowing anyone loyal, be they servant or knight, man or woman, to fight, there was a flurry of people answering the call. All signing up to fight for the North and for Queen Fianna.
Training was carried out primarily by the senior knights at Baelfort, Tiernan and even Osha - who assisted in helping with archery and hand-to-hand combat skills. Fianna, when she had the time, would also visit the training grounds to offer assistance where she could.
"There will be a day where we take on Winterfell," Fianna conceded, "but that day is not within the next two weeks. Anything we do now will have to be stealthy."
"Why don't we just kill him?" Lyanna Mormont, who Fianna had grown quite fond of, called to her. The girl couldn't have been more than ten, but from the very first day she proved to be the most loyal Northern subject she had ever met.
"Kill Ramsay Bolton?" Fianna asked.
"No, what good would that do? Roose Bolton can still have more kids. We kill Roose and we'd be cutting off the head of the Bolton force. There's bound to be people at Winterfell still loyal to the Starks."
Fianna mulled over it, looking around at the faces of the other Lords to gauge their reaction and finally at Tiernan, who tilted his head to show his approval.
"We can't attack Winterfell head on, if we have to kill him it'll have to be in a cowardly way and by someone on the inside."
"It's not how we work, my Lady," Hatrick Hornwood sensed her disapproval, "I'm aware. But this is a game of thrones, I mean no disrespect, but not every war can be won by fighting battles in the field."
Fianna nodded her head once in acknowledgement, after the Red Wedding it wasn't how she preferred to do things at all. She liked her battles, bloody and fair. But to deny the chance to kill someone that hadn't offered her husband a fair chance of survival, would have been foolish.
"Then it's settled," Fianna pressed her hands on the map, her eyes fixed on the small area representing Winterfell. "We kill Roose Bolton, and rescue Sansa Stark."
-
Ike
The woman appeared yet again while he was making his way through the woods, Ike was now seeing her more often than he wasn't.
"Go away," he grumbled in annoyance, hearing the pitter of feet next to him once again.
"I just want to know where you're going!" She protested, a false innocence in her voice.
When Ike chose not to answer her, she groaned and asked once again where he was going. Except this time, it snapped something within him.
"I don't know alright!" He bellowed and whipped around to face her. Ghost or not, she was still as beautiful as he remembered her to be.
No, he pushed the thought aside. His feelings for her got him into this position in the first place.
"The Dreadfort is gone, if Ramsay finds me he'll have me killed, if he doesn't find me I might die anyway! Everyone in the North would love to see my head on a spike, so I'm having trouble figuring out where I should go!"
Her eyes were wide with surprise by the time he finished, he almost felt guilty but laughed the notion off. Why should he feel guilty for telling off the madness inside his brain that was taking physical form in Fianna?
Ike turned back and continued on the small foot trail through the woodlands, walking faster than before and more determined. When he looked back over his shoulder, she was gone.
But by the time he turned his head back, there she was again - this time standing right in front of him.
He jolted back in shock, before rolling his eyes and moving around her. She blocked each of his attempts to move past by stepping in front of him each time.
"You know where you have to go," she told him, knowingly. His eyes narrowed in frustration.
"No I don't, move."
He didn't dare touch her for fear of what he'd find, if he'd feel her soft skin or if he'd feel nothing but air - he didn't know which scared him more.
"Yes you do, Robb."
The name made him stop in his step to the side, his eyes widened with an emotion he was unable to name.
"Don't call me that," Ike forced himself to say, and she raised an eyebrow in response.
"Why not, Robb?"
"Because that's not my name," he shook his head, eyes looking back and forth between her grey ones. It was simply the madness inside, he tried to tell himself, the same madness that let him convince himself he actually was Robb Stark.
"Isn't it?" Fianna pressed, her voice dropping to a whisper. They held eye contact for a moment, anxiety filling Ike's body. He twitched in surprise when she moved away then, walking past him in the opposite direction he was heading.
Ike paused for a moment, before deciding to follow her. But once more when he turned to see her, she had disappeared again.
-
Bran
It had been months since Jojen's death, and training had been emotionally and physically draining. Most of all - frustrating.
The things the three-eyed raven allowed him to see were of little importance, mere tidbits of the past and never of his family. Every time he asked, he would tell Bran that the day would come when he was allowed to see his family. But not yet. He wasn't ready yet.
Bran lay down once again amongst the branches in the dark and gloomy cave, preparing himself for another vision and training session.
When instructed to do so, his eyes rolled back and he entered the trance like state he had been working so hard to keep himself in as of late.
This time, he arrived in a small, stone-walled house. He looked around eagerly, wondering who's life he was intruding on this time.
"Where are we?" Bran asked the Three-Eyed Raven, who was stood next to him as solemn and as quiet as ever.
All of a sudden, a tinny knock sounded at the door, and a man who he hadn't seen seated on a wooden chair in the corner shot up instantly, marching towards the door eagerly.
He was tall, with a tuft of dark brown hair atop his head supported by a strong, muscular body that suggested he was a physical man.
He whipped the wooden door open and quickly ushered in whoever was on the other side. Bran took a few step forwards and saw a woman. His eyebrows furrowed in curiosity when he noted her appearance. She was an older woman, with greying hair and clothes that suggested she was a servant or a maid, instead of a Lady.
"She didn't come?" The man asked her, his voice sounding audibly dejected.
"She couldn't, the King is already suspicious of her behaviour as of late. The pregnancy has been difficult to conceal," the maiden gushed, and it was then that Bran noted the bundle of blankets in her arms.
"Is she alright?" The man asked, full of anxiety and worry. Bran was left to wonder who this woman was, and which king they were referring to.
"She's doing well, don't worry," she reassured, then nodded her head down to the bundle. "Are you ready to say hello to your daughter?"
"Who are these people?" Bran asked, but he may as well have been talking to a stone wall, for all the responses he would receive. Or lack thereof.
The man looked emotional then, nodding his head quickly and holding his arms out. The woman stepped forward and carefully shuffled the blankets, that Bran now realised held a baby inside, into his waiting arms.
"She's beautiful," he cooed, his eyes starting to fill with tears - over the baby or its mother, Bran was unsure of. "Did Rhaella tell you a name for her?"
"No, but she did leave me with a letter to give you, perhaps a name is detailed inside," the maiden rifled inside of a her apron for the letter addressed to the man in question, handing it over after finding it.
Cradling the baby in one arm, the man in question opened the scroll using his free hand and read it accordingly.
Bran pushed forward, ready to read the letter in the man's hand, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"It is time to go," the three-eyed Raven finally spoke, but his words were not ones Bran longed to hear.
"No, I have to know-" Bran refused stubbornly, overcome with curiosity about the contents of the letter and the identity of the man ever since he discovered Queen Rhaella was the mother. And it was clear that King Aerys was not the father.
"I'll leave you be, Ser Bonifer," the maiden bowed her head, but 'Bonifer' was too engrossed in the scroll to acknowledge it.
And that was where the vision ended.
-
Ike
He hadn't seen Fianna in over a day, and he found he was starting to miss the incessant comments she would come out with. As hard as it was to get rid of his 'obsession' with her, it was even harder to deny that he still felt all the same feelings for her and these visions were only reaffirming it.
The hunger was unbearable now, he hadn't eaten since he managed to catch a rabbit two days ago and cook it over a fire. Now his stomach would painfully cramp from the emptiness inside it, combined with dehydration and exhaustion, he was on the verge of passing out.
Ike walked for a while longer, but within no time at all he collapsed to the ground, dry heaving from the condition his body was in. The fall had reopened the wound on his head, and blood once again dripped down his face.
Ike's vision switched in and out, fading to black as he let sleep overcome him. Just before he dozed off, he thought he heard the faint sound of voices from a distance.
Thoros
"We agreed long ago that we would have nothing to do with these high Lords or Kings", Thoros of Myr had been arguing relentlessly with Anguy for a number of hours over the same topic.
The Brotherhood had agreed once that they were never to take up arms with any King in this war, as they saw no King fit enough to look out for the needs of the common folk. But since the emergence of a Northern queen, Anguy had been persistent in insisting that she was different.
"But Fianna Stark isn't a King, she's a Queen," Anguy argued back smartly, rolling his eyes in frustration.
"It doesn't matter if she's a fucking bear, we made an agreement!"
Thoros stopped in his step to turn and face his opponent and friend, both failing to notice that Beric had happened upon something.
"Well if she's looking out for the commoners too then clearly we're on the same page!" Anguy began to shout, ignoring Beric as he knelt down.
"Quit your bitching and take a look at this!" Beric shouted to them, waving his hand for the group to come over and see what he had found.
The arguing had ceased for the mean time, the others following his order and approaching him from behind.
"Who's that?" Anguy asked, his head tilted as he remarked upon the body of a man laying in the dirt.
"Is he dead?" Thoros asked, kneeling down next to the head and dangling his fingers underneath the man's nose to feel for breath. "He's breathing, anyway," he remarked, grabbing his canteen of water strapped to his hip and gesturing to Beric to roll the man onto his back.
When that was done, Thoros slipped his hand behind the man's head and tilted it upwards, before letting some of the water from his flask slip into the man's mouth.
Within seconds, the water caught in his throat and caused him to shoot up and start to cough.
"There's a good man, take a breath," Thoros commanded calmly, slapping the younger boy on his back to rid him of the water in his airway. Within a few seconds, he was able to breathe again, and was looking upon the group with great confusion.
"Who are you guys?" Ike asked, his entire body tensing up.
"The question is, lad, who are you?" Beric chose to ask instead.
-
Fianna
"This is such a massive task, Conor, you have no idea how much of a risk you are taking," Fianna remarked sadly, placing her hands on Conor's shoulders and squeezing them lightly.
She never wanted to be a leader that allowed others to do her dirty work, but it was imperative that whoever would infiltrate Winterfell wasn't easily recognisable, and that ruled out Fianna, Tiernan and the entirety of the Northern Lords.
It was then that Conor had offered himself, he had grown up at Baelfort alongside Fianna and Tiernan, but it was Tiernan that he was closest to.
"Don't worry, Fee-Fee," he joked, using Fianna's childhood nickname, "if I die, I will die for something I believe in. There is no greater honour."
"You're not going to die, you silly bastard," Tiernan forced a laugh, trying to appear nonchalant as he clapped Conor on the back. "Dragonfire couldn't even touch you."
"You're like a bloody cockroach, you'd survive a giant stepping on you by laying eggs and continuing your line," Fianna joined in.
Conor laughed heartedly, ignoring the seriousness of the mission. If he didn't succeed, the Northern rebellion would die. For there was no way Fianna was allowing Sansa Stark to be butchered.
As they said their goodbyes and the gates were raised to allow him leave via horse, Fianna and Tiernan wrapped their arms around each other, saying silent prayers that he was successful and that nobody had to die for it - other than the Bolton's of course.
When the gate was lowered again to seal them inside, Fianna spotted a movement in the far distance just before her vision was cut off by the gate.
Just as she realised it, the guards on top of the wall did too, and the warning bell began to ring out.
"Incoming!" One guard shouted.
Fianna, with her heart hammering in her chest, shot off towards the ladder leading to the top of the wall, Tiernan at her tail.
"How many?!" She shouted, desperately moving faster to get a look for herself.
"Just one that I can see, your grace!" The nearest guard replied, holding his hand out when Fianna reached the top ring of the ladder to help her onto the wooden platform.
Fianna looked out, her eyes fixed on the lone rider hurtling his way on horseback towards Baelfort.
"It could be a distraction," she warned, moving her gaze to search all around. "I want checks from every guard on the wall, now!"
"Yes, your grace!" He sputtered in response, before moving around the square walls of Baelfort to every guard position for their reports.
He returned within ten minutes, and by then the rider was at the gates. Fianna kept her gaze fixed on him, barely glancing over as the guard returned.
"Your grace," he panted, out of breath, "this is the only one in sight, perhaps it is just a visitor."
"Perhaps," she agreed, as the gatemaster began to call down to the rider, "but I still want everyone to be on high alert."
"Who goes there!" The gatekeeper questioned.
"Ser Bonifer Hasty! I have come to meet with my granddaughter!"
Fianna turned and made eye contact with Tiernan as he said this, their eyes wide with shock.
"Ask him to prove his identity," Fianna whispered to the gatekeeper.
"Prove yourself!"
"Tell my granddaughter," he replied with a wide grin, teeth gleaming in the dark despite the lack of light hiding his features, "that the birth mark on her shoulder- I've realised that it looks like a shield!"
Fianna's eyebrows scrunched as her fingers ran over the mark on her shoulder, a mark only close family members would have seen.
"Let him through and close the gate after," she whispered again, trailing towards the ladder and heading back down it.
"Fianna, is that a good idea?" Tiernan asked in a panic.
"Probably not!"
When she reached the bottom of the ladder, the gate was reaching the top and revealing the man of the hour, who promptly stepped inside the grounds of Baelfort.
Now in the lit up courtyard, she saw him more clearly. Fianna watched intently as he stepped down and dismounted from his horse, adjusting his armour and turning to Fianna with a small smile.
"Hello, granddaughter."
-
So the cat's out of the bag, Fianna's mother is Rhaella's daughter. This makes her mother (Miriam is her name if anyone forgot) a half sister to Dany, so Dany is Fianna's aunt and Jon is Fianna's cousin. Got it?
For those that may think this came from nowhere, I've quite literally built this reveal up since the very first chapter, like talking about how much Fianna looked like her mother, or when Fianna was reading the book about the Targaryen family and remarked on how her eyes were grey like theirs. Or basically every conversation Barristan Selmy had with Daenerys in this book. Or Fianna's vision of Daenerys when she was giving birth. Or the sheer amount of times someone's called Fianna a mad queen.
It's also not that improbable, for those who have read ASOIAF you'll know that Bonifer Hasty is a real character who did have a relationship with Rhaella, and that they were separated by her betrothal to Aerys. It's also speculated that Bonifer is Rhaegar's father too, so I don't feel an illegitimate pregnancy is that left field or a stupid plot point.
Don't worry though, at the end of the day, Fianna is a Bua, NOT a Targaryen. This doesn't mean she's about to jump ship and go to Meereen, it's just a small tidbit of information about her. It makes her connected to Jon and Dany, plus Dany deserves another family member to make a connection with. Just not in the way she connected with Jon. Yikes.
And there are three dragons after all ;)
Kidding. Her being Rhaella's granddaughter won't change that much about this story and the direction it's going. You'll just have to see what happens when Dany comes to Westeros.