CHAPTER 44 | A KING AMONG MEN

"YOU can't expect the Knights of the Vale to side with Wildling invaders!"

Jon looked up from his seat at the table in the front of the room. He glanced at his sister, who sat beside him with an arched brow. The room echoed with random shouts and hollers, as all of the army fighting for the Starks gathered for an important meeting. They were lucky enough all of the troops fit in there, for even Maia was squished in the corner with Petyr Baelish by her side. She tried to keep somewhat of a focus on the flittering snow outside the windows, but the exclamations happening before her were too much.

"We didn't invade!" Tormund explained. "We were invited."

"Not by me," the Vale knight scoffed, sitting back down on his bench.

Jon stood from his spot, and Maia cringed at the sound of his chair scratching against the floor. "The Free Folk, the Northerners, and the Knights of the Vale fought bravely together and we won." He spoke, holding his chin high. "My father used to say, 'We find our true friends on the battle field.'"

His eyes casted to Maia's, and he found her smiling in his direction. Petyr scoffed from her right, causing her to give him a side-eyed glare.

Lord Cley Cerwyn shook his head as he stood. "The Boltons are defeated. The war is over. Winter has come. If the maesters are right, it'll be the coldest one in a thousand years. We should ride home and wait out the coming storms."

"The war is not over," Jon replied, "and I promised you, friend, the true enemy won't wait out the storm. He brings the storm."

Lord Cerwyn sat down, defeated, as Jon glanced to Maia again. She urged him to continue, and he remembered then that he had a storm of his own as well. How could he forget? Maia - the woman who held the most powerful gift in all of the Seven Kingdoms - was the eye of the storm, and if they didn't have the Red Woman anymore, they surely had her. She had the power to travel to different places - universes, he thought she said? - and thus, they could use this to shelter others, have her carry them to another world to get well. The Night King brought the storm, but Maia Sanders was composed of it.

The men began to talk amongst themselves, deciding on exactly what to say to their commander. Jon looked around, confused at their sudden attitudes, but then Lady Lyanna Mormont stood, and everyone came to a hush.

"Your son was butchered at the Red Wedding, Lord Manderly. But you refused the call." She spat at the lord, who looked down at his hands, before she turned to another. "You swore allegiance to House Stark, Lord Glover. But in their hour of greatest need, you refused the call." The child spun around again to the man who had recently spoke. "And you, Lord Cerwyn - your father was skinned alive by Ramsay Bolton. Still, you refused the call."

Lyanna looked at all the elder men around her, and she stood higher than any of them, for only being age ten. "But House Mormont remembers. The North remembers. We know no king, but the King in the North, who's name is Stark." Her eyes laid on Jon and Sansa. "I don't care if he's a bastard. Ned Stark's blood runs through his veins. He's my king from this day, until his last day."

Jon's brain riddled with confusion. Him? A king? He had never expected such a title in his life. Jon Snow wasn't raised to be a king. He was raised to be a bastard and nothing else. This moment was something out a dream.

Maia remembered a time such as this. During the early stages of her old relationship with Derek, she reminisced the first time she sat down with him and watched Game of Thrones. More than likely, he watched the television show while she watched her phone. But she remembered one significant scene: a moment from the earlier seasons when lords claimed the eldest Stark brother - Robb was his name? - the King in the North. It was a heart-warming scene, to see someone who fought for so much finally get what they deserved. Funny enough, Maia suddenly found herself missing Derek.

She stood next to Littlefinger, her mind growing bewildered as Lord Manderly rose from his seat once again. "Lady Mormont speaks harshly," he murmured, "and truly. My son died for Robb Stark, the Young Wolf. I didn't think we'd find another king in my lifetime. I didn't commit my men to your cause, because I didn't want more Manderlies dying for nothing. Well, I was wrong."

All heads turned to Lord Manderly as he pointed to the commander in the front. "Jon Snow avenged the Red Wedding! He is the White Wolf!" The lord brought out his sword. "The King in the North!"

Lord Glover then stood, inspired by his fellow Manderly. "I did not fight beside you on the field, and I will regret that until my dying day. A man can only admit when he was wrong and ask forgiveness."

Jon nodded. "There's nothing to forgive, my Lord."

"There will be more fights to come. House Glover will stand behind House Stark, as we have for a thousand years. And I will stand behind Jon Snow." He, too, raised his sword. "The King in the North!"

Maia's eyes widened as she muttered, "Holy shit."

All of a sudden, the lords in every corner of the room stood, and they followed lead. They unsheathed their swords, lifting them to the ceiling as they screamed, "THE KING IN THE NORTH!" The phrase was repeated, and even Maia saw Ser Davos with his sword raised.

"THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE KING IN THE NORTH!"

The message would be burned in Maia's brain for eternity. She looked to Jon, an expression of shock on her face as her mouth became agape. They were crowning him king - Jon Snow, a king. Sansa's prediction had been correct: the Northerners were rallying behind the man who led them in battle, whilst she was left in the background. Maia glanced at the sister, who was smiling at her brother proudly, but she knew the ruling should have been for the girl who urged Jon to take back their home in the first place.

She could see Sansa's vision move their way, but soon Maia realized she was staring at the man beside her. Petyr Baelish was giving Sansa a grin, one that Maia didn't like at all.

Jon hoisted himself upright again, staring at his people of the North with tired, yet stern eyes. This truly couldn't be happening - oh, but it was, right before his eyes. And it couldn't have been more real.

Jon Snow was the King in the North.

•••

With the recent coronation, Maia took to writing and sending ravens of the news. All houses throughout the North and farther now knew of the current King in the North, and she yearned they'd approve.

During this job, Maia took one of the matters into her own hands. From all the books she read on her corrupted house, one fact remained clear: the Sanders had sided with the Targaryens, no mattered what the cost. While he was alive, Maia remembered Maester Aemon speaking of his only other relation living thousands of miles away from him, and she hoped the queen recalled House Sanders, though it was the smallest and least talked about family.

Daenerys Targaryen was her name, and Maia recollected from Sam's letter that she was ruling in Meereen until the freedom of the former slaves was secure. She remembered from Derek's old weekly discussions that the queen had three dragons, which essentially was Maia's dream growing up. According to the books in the Winterfell library, the Targaryen family was always in the direct line of the throne, so Maia guessed that once Daenerys was done in Meereen, she would move onto the Iron Throne, and kick off anyone who claimed it at the moment. To have the backing of the future ruler of Westeros would be astounding, so Maia wrote to her.

To the Queen in Meereen, Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen,

I am writing to you to inform you a new King in the North has been chosen. Jon Snow of House Stark - the White Wolf - was named King after successfully reclaiming his home of Winterfell, which had been taken over by the Boltons.

You must think this doesn't concern you, but I can assure you, I have learned the Great War isn't only for the Iron Throne. The Great Wars to Come will not dread the winter, for they are the winter. The war against the dead is ahead, and we must all be ready as one, because after they hit the North, they will be coming for all.

You may not know my house, or maybe you do remember, but I am Lady Maia of House Sanders. To rather burn nor kneel, was our dictum. My house was completely obliterated during Robert's Rebellion, for it was a small house from the Midlands. But I am still alive, and from our history, I have collected that House Sanders was forever allied with the Targaryens - so much that they died for them in war. I am asking you now, Queen Daenerys, for help.

We are all the targets in the Great War. I am the last living member of House Sanders, and I am asking for your aid in this war. I reside with House Stark, for they are the house that sheltered me in my time of need.

The North needs you, Queen Daenerys. Take back the throne that is rightfully yours, but remember: the dead are coming.

Sincerely,
Lady Maia of House Sanders

Maia sealed the letter quickly and ran to the shelter of ravens as soon as possible. She handed the bird the rolled up parchment and sent it off to Meereen. She prayed that night for good news. If there was anything they needed for the war against the Night King, it was three dragons.