Story Arc 3: Power Base

A/N: And here begins the third story arc. I hope you enjoy it. Oh and, don't forget to check the author notes at the end. They have an important bonus.

The next day, Sansa Stark noticed that Castle Black was a frenzy of activity, as the different brothers of the Night's Watch went about their duties at a quick pace. She smiled lightly from where she was standing, realizing that they were still keen to please Jon despite the fact he was no longer their official leader.

"He certainly left an impression on them," The redhead thought, before sighing contently. "As he has in me."

Sansa's cheeks flushed as she remembered how they made love again last night. He felt so right inside her that she wanted to lock her legs around him and never let go. But even if no one could have heard her wanton screams from the room, she knew she had to retire to her own assigned quarters before long. There were only so many times the secret meeting excuse was going to work, even if everyone knew they were happy to see each other after so long.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by her approaching personal guard. Shaking her head slightly, the Stark girl nodded in acknowledgment as the blonde warrior bowed before her Lady.

"Good day, Brianne," Sansa said in greeting. "How are the preparations?"

"Our horses are packed with supplies," She replied. "We are just waiting for your brother and we will be good to go."

Sansa nodded, as she gripped the bundle of fur she had been working on since she reunited with her brother. Then, as if on cue, her brother entered the courtyard and Sansa gave him a knowing smile as he approached, affection thick in her gaze.

"I made it myself," She confirmed when she caught him staring at her new robes. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's-- I like the wolf bit." He told her.

Her smile widened as she handed him over the fur cloak. "Good, because I made this for you. I made it like the one Father used to wear," She explained. "As near as I can remember."

Jon looked at her with gratitude evident in his eyes. "Thank you, Sansa. I will wear it with pride."

Sansa tilted her head, happy with his reaction. "You're welcome. Now, are you ready to go?"

"About that," Her brother said slowly, "I was coming here to tell you that there has been a change of plans."

Sansa raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt him.

"I backed my friend Edd for the position of Lord Commander and he won by unanimous vote," Jon began. "Then we received a raven from the Wall's fort at East Watch By the Sea that informed us that a representative from the Iron Bank of Braavos, named Tycho Nestoris, was traveling to Castle Black to speak with a representative of Stannis Baratheon about sending him the next half of his loan."

"Huh, I guess he hasn't heard the news then," The redhead commented.

"True," Jon said in agreement. "But his loss might be our gain. After discussing the possibilities with Ser Davos, I convinced Edd to use his new position as Lord Commander to send men from all three of the manned forts to start chopping down the huge trees from the Haunted Forest directly in front of the entire Wall and prepare them for transport to East Watch. After all, trees are worth their weight in gold in Braavos due to their massive shipbuilding industry so wood from these century-spanning trees would be valid collateral in their eyes."

Sansa's eyes widened, impressed. "Clever. That way you can secure enough money for the first line of defense of the realm now that winter is nearly here."

"And for us to," He said with a nodded. "Given that Edd is aware of the great threat that approaches, he agreed to give us part of the large loan so that we can purchase more weapons, horses, and supplies in our campaign to retake Winterfell in exchange for backing them up when the time comes. And he knows I won't ignore that threat after having seen the Army of the Dead with my own eyes."

The redhead grinned, a proud look on her face. "Look at you," She chuckled. "You may not want to be worshiped but it seems that making decisions like a ruler suit you."

Jon shrugged. "When it's important, it's important," He said simply. "At any rate, the envoy won't arrive until tomorrow so I will still be traveling to the Free Folk camps nearby in order to convince them that it is in their best interest to help us remove the Boltons from power. Once that's done I'll quickly head back to Castle Black to make sure the negotiations go smoothly and sign my own contract with the Iron Bank for additional coin to be paid back after we take back Winterfell. That would be most helpful for the coming Winter. But because the negotiations will still take a bit of time, I think it would be best if you travel to Bear Island without me so that we can accelerate our plans," He explained.

Sansa, bit her bottom lip, hesitating. "I see what you mean but I was going to send Brianne south to deliver my letter in person to Uncle Blackfish at Riverrun. I would feel safer traveling alongside you."

Jon sighed. "I know and I am sorry for that. But it's important that we make our preparations as fast as possible."

Then, out of the blue, he started grinning at his sister, his eyes sparkling. "Luckily, I also had a gift for you that should keep you more than safe while I am away."

"Really?" The redhead said in an amused tone. "Alright then, I will bite. What gift?"

Jon's smile widened as he pointed his arm towards the gate from the castle that leads to the lands beyond the Wall. Clearly it was opened at some point and she hadn't noticed. Then she saw what Jon meant by gift and her jaw dropped to the floor.

A/N: The first one to guess right what the gift is in the comments below wins the opportunity to ask me for a chapter on this chain to be written later on. Essentially, you would come up with the content of the outline, brief or long, and I would do my best to write it.

May the odds be in your favor :P