CHAPTER 30 | THE TRAVELER

"WE can't defend the North from the Walkers and the South from the Boltons."

All those gathered around the table looked up at Jon, who spoke defiantly to them. Maia sat close to Sansa as they both were eyeing the pieces on their map carefully in the Watch's common room. A single Stark stone was placed near the Wall on the map, while one for the Boltons sat on Winterfell. Various other house sigils were scattered throughout the map of the North, but Maia found trouble remembering all of them. She looked around at the rest of their team, which consisted of Brienne, Ed, Davos, Tormund, and Melisandre.

"If we want to survive, we need Winterfell. And to take Winterfell, we need more men." Jon threw another stone onto the map.

Ser Davos sensed his agitation. "Aside from the Starks and the Boltons, the most powerful houses in the North are the Umbers, Karstarks, and the Manderlies."

"So shouldn't we be reaching out to them?" Maia furrowed her brow. "If we gather support from more large Northern houses, we can defeat Ramsay easily."

Davos shook his head, moving said houses pieces toward the Boltons in Winterfell. "The Umbers and the Karstarks have already declared for the Boltons, so we're not doing so well there."

"The Umbers gave Rickon to our enemies. They can hang." Sansa muttered, causing the group to grow silent for a moment. "But the Karstarks declared for Ramsay without knowing they had another choice."

"Well, I beg your pardon, my Lady, but they know that a Stark beheaded their father. I don't think we can count on them either."

Sansa sighed heavily through her nostrils. "How well do you know the North, Ser Davos?"

Both Jon and Maia turned to the red-head.

"Precious little, my lady." Davos replied, sitting back down in his stool.

"My father always said Northerners are different, more loyal." She stared down the knight. "Suspicious of outsiders."

Davos nodded. "They may well be loyal, but how many rose up against the Boltons when they betrayed your family?" Sansa suddenly went quiet. "I may not know the North, but I know men. They're more or less the same in any corner of the world. Even the bravest of them don't want to see their wives and children skinned for a lost cause."

The entire table's attention was focused on Ser Davos as he continued, "If Jon's got to convince them to fight alongside him, they need to believe it's a fight they can win."

Brienne and Tormund, the ruthless warriors of the bunch, nodded in agreement.

"There are more than three other houses in the North: Glover, Mormont, Cerwyn, Mazin, Hornwood. Two dozen more." Jon suggested, pointing to several places on the map. "Together they equal all the others. We can start small and build."

Maia raised a hand. "I know I'm a little bit behind on my Northern history, but how exactly are you going to do that?"

"You mean to say, 'we.'" Tormund muttered, slapping a hand on Maia's back and causing her to jolt.

Sansa nodded. "The North remembers. They remember the Stark name. People will still risk everything for it, from White Harbor to Ramsay's own door."

"I don't doubt it," Ser Davos agreed. "But Jon doesn't have the Stark name."

"No, but I do."

Jon eyed his sister curiously.

"Jon is every bit as much Ned Stark's son as Ramsay is Roose Bolton's." Sansa reiterated, gesturing to her brother. "And there's also the Tullies. They're not Northern, but they will back us against the Boltons without question."

With a shaky sigh, Jon sat in the free seat next to Maia, who took his hand in her hold. Their eyes met and she gave him a soft smile, setting him at ease.

"Didn't know the Tullies still had an army," Davos lofted a brow.

Sansa clasped her hands together. "My uncle, the Blackfish, has reformed it and retaken Riverrun."

Jon glanced up. "How'd you know that?"

Maia and Sansa looked at each other, both with wide eyes. The blonde felt the guilt welling up in her stomach again, but she dared not to spill Sansa's secret. Sansa shouldn't be keeping something from Jon anyways, though Maia knew it wasn't her secret to tell. She barely knew who Sansa met in the first place.

The red-head hesitated. "Ramsay received a raven before I escaped Winterfell."

All eyes turned back to Ser Davos, who uttered, "That's good. The Blackfish is a legend. This alone would mean a great deal." He stood up. "Stark, Tully, a few more houses, and we'll start to look like the winning side."

A grin slowly formed on Sansa's face.

•••

A woman, red in all aspects of her life, raised a delicate hand to Maia's door and rapped on the wood. The blonde glanced up from her spot next to the window in her bedroom, a book in her hands as she smiled at Melisandre's presence.

Though the two women never usually got along or knew each other before, Maia was still grateful for what the Red Woman had done. When Jon had recounted that she was the one to revive him, Maia felt that she now owed the witch something for doing such a good deed. She seemed more stressed than usual lately, with her red mop of hair in a frizzy mess and eyes more tired than the rest.

"I don't mean to barge in, my Lady, but I must speak with you." The Red Woman moved slowly into her room.

Maia nodded. "Of course. What do you need?"

Melisandre closed the door with a slam, allowing Maia to realize this was more serious than she let on. "Since my realization that I am only powerful with the help of my Lord, I have still been having ... assumptions that I cannot ignore."

The blonde closed the book she held as she waited for the other woman to continue.

"I sense this ... great power in you. Am I correct to assume such?" Melisandre queried, inching closer while making inane gestures with her hands. "I cannot understand what it is exactly. I've been extremely insecure in my power lately. I've learned to believe that the things I see in the flames are nothing but my imagination now, but I can't ignore those I've seen about you. It's been multiple sightings since I first met you. Images of you falling; of you with another man – much darker in skin tone – and in a different time; members of the Watch chasing as you suddenly disappear when touching a weirwood tree ... These are things that I can't overlook, not with how moments are right now."

Maia bit the inside of her cheek, moving to sit down on her mattress. She watched the spark crackle in her fire, thinking over Melisandre's words. "Jon's the only one who knows," she whispered, slowly looking up at her. "You must not tell anyone. I can only have Jon and you – especially, with power like yours – know."

"I understand."

With a sigh, Maia began to play with her fingers. "I can relocate between alternate universes. I'm not from this world."

Maia was taken aback when she saw a wide smirk spread on Melisandre's face as she said, "You are the Traveler."