Chapter 138: Queen of the North

The great hall of Winterfell City was used to receive guests and for formal family meals. It was divided into three levels; the highest level was the lord's seat, with armrests carved with grey wolf heads that, from long handling, had lost their wolfish shape. The middle level was a broad open space reserved for honored guests, separated by the main seat into left and right sections, each able to hold three long tables side‑by‑seating fifty people, so together they could seat one hundred. The lowest level occupied most of the hall's space and normally held only a single long table.

When Mei Yi returned from overseas to Winterfell City, she dined and celebrated at that long table; besides her seven retainers, everyone else were old acquaintances of Winterfell City. At that time they all gathered together, the atmosphere relaxed and full of charm.

Now this area was filled with long tables, even the central corridor had extra tables installed, so the hall that originally seated five hundred could now easily accommodate six hundred.

Mei Yi felt the hall had never been so crowded before. The last time it hosted King Robert, it was full but only held two or three hundred people at most.

Only the sound was similar.

With many people comes noise, and moreover most of those in the hall were ordinary soldiers, not nobles or knights versed in etiquette. In fact, even nobles and knights, when they whispered their little secrets to each other, were no better off.

Mei Yi sat on the high seat where Eddard, Robb, and Bran had once sat, silently watching the noisy hall and the steaming food and drink, as well as the reveling soldiers throughout the castle. If she had not hosted this victory feast, these soldiers might never in their lives have had the chance or qualification to sit and drink in this hall.

Mei Yi looked over the dark, crowded throng where cups clashed, toward the torches lit throughout the hall. Because special lamp oil was used, the light was still decent, allowing her to see the banners hanging on the walls.

These banners came from the various families that had once visited Winterfell City.

She could see the recently hung crowned stag banner and roaring lion banner, proudly displayed on one side of the hall, together with all the other banners that had ever been there, forming two colorful walls in Winterfell's great hall.

Spanning the two walls and the top of the hall were ancient, tough massive black oak beams; a single glance conveyed the savage aura of primordial antiquity.

Perhaps these hard, cold timbers were as old as the hall itself.

Ancient and decayed, or ancient and wise? Mei Yi could not tell.

Yet before her eyes the lively scene, the hall must have witnessed countless gatherings, seen guests assemble and disperse here, and surely seen the lord on the dais playing and slowly aging here.

It must have seen every kind of lord—quiet and silent, ferocious and brutal, and all the others—sitting here ruling the North.

How did they rule? She did not know.

Mei Yi watched silently as maidservants brought out large platters of roasted meat, honey‑glazed chicken, braised beef, and from White Harbor came sandfish, deep‑sea crab, scallops, and barrel after barrel of beer and wine.

Mei Yi's own table was likewise laden with food, only each dish was not as abundant as those below, yet she touched none of the food nor any drink.

All the comings and goings below seemed unrelated to her; at that moment her mind wandered, as if she were isolated from the bustle before her.

She wanted to touch the sword at her waist, but her enthusiasm had already been left in her room, hanging on the wall. Her current attire had no room for a sword, and moreover she did not need a sword to kill.

She wore a robe that could hardly appear in this world.

The robe clung to her body, but the Stark grey overall hue nicely concealed her posture and the tiny embroidery on the robe within the somewhat dim firelight. Somewhat clearer was a red, flame‑like wolf‑head embroidery covering the high collar by her throat, adding the sole splash of brightness to the monotonous grey.

The robe used a material she herself could not explain—soft, thin yet tough, likely some kind of biological silk from the Eastern Continent.

Garments made of this material would seem light even in the south, let alone in the cold north, but whoever made it had already thickened the garment as much as possible without affecting the material's properties.

For other northerners this thickness would naturally be insufficient, but for Mei Yi it was just right—the garment would not hinder her movement nor make people say she spent all day wearing beast‑skin armor like a man.

Sooner or later she would have to admit one thing: she was a lady lord governing the largest territory among the Seven Kingdoms, and her subordinates would also have to admit one thing: the lord they served was a woman, not some great male knight, nor a woman straining to appear masculine.

Removing the disguise was only the first step.

Mei Yi reached for the silver goblet belonging exclusively to the lord of Winterfell City, slammed it onto the wooden table laden with food, and produced a booming "dong dong dong".

She struck it three times; silence spread like a wave to the distant doorway, the scavenging dogs quieted at that moment, carefully tucking their heads away.

"I remember, in this very hall I once invited the relatives of the soldiers who died for the Stark family on our lands to a banquet; I remember, in this very hall we swore an oath, vowing to avenge the unjustly slain king, lord, knight, and soldier against the Freys, never to rest."

"Yes!" some soldiers shouted excitedly.

"I announce to everyone, we have done it. We have successfully hanged, beheaded, and killed each guilty Frey one by one, avenging our kin. Moreover, we have seized the wealth the Frey family accumulated over a hundred years," Mei Yi stood up, feeling this outfit made her look taller, "I know some of you want to spend part of it on women outside the city; of course, some surely want to spend it all."

The soldiers chuckled in twos and threes, but Mei Yi's expression remained stern; the laughter did not spread.

A maid held a wine jug, carefully filled a cup for the soldier beside her, then stood aside, attentively serving the officers and knights on the high platform.

"That's not right. Scattering seed on barren land is wasteful for the North. Everyone here is the essence of the North; you should seize the chance to find women who can bear you children. I know those women are also waiting for you."

The soldiers laughed heartily. Mei Yi's expression stayed cold; after the laughter she raised a hand to quiet the noise.

"You think I'm joking with you? Know that we have less than two years' grain stores; if further war comes, those stores will last even less. But I worry not that the stores are insufficient, but that the little you hold might be taken by the enemy."

The soldiers, emboldened by drink, shouted loudly, "Who dares to take from us?"

"The Freys, the Boltons, the Lannisters, the Tyrells, and the wildlings beyond the Wall," Mei Yi listed them one by one, "and closer, the Ryswells, the Dustins, the Florents, the Lockes, the Lanns. If we are defeated, seeking women now would be your best choice."

No one laughed.

Mei Yi took a step down from the platform, her back to the dais.

"Our enemies…" she sensed danger on her left, slightly turning her body.

The maid holding the jug dropped the empty vessel, drew a short blade and stabbed at Mei Yi's back, but Mei instantly seized her wrist and held her fast.

The change was too swift; the soldiers had just begun to react when Mei Yi had already subdued the assailant.

"Bold!" Mei Yi exclaimed in surprise.

"I regret it." She opened her hand; a purple poison needle shot toward Mei Yi's face, she blocked it with her hand, then with one hand seized and twisted, instantly breaking the maid's arm and kicking off one of her shins.

Mei Yi dragged her by the hair, took two large steps to pull her to her own table, picked up a dining knife and viciously drove it into the maid's hand.

She let out a cry; the voice sounded like a man's.

Mei Yi paid no further heed, immediately turned her back, facing the soldiers who had not yet reacted.

Mei Yi covered her hand, suppressed her anger, signaled for silence. If the rhythm were broken like this, the banquet would lose its meaning.

"Our enemies," she continued her previous words, "our enemies gather beside the Boltons; as soon as the moment arrives, they will take everything from us. There is only one way to settle all this!" Mei Yi stood on the high platform, raised her voice, having already used a certain method to ensure everyone present could hear clearly, "That is to win the war!"

A war with no honor to speak of, no noble revenge, no gold or silver, no wealth; and in most cases it will be northerners slaughtering each other, there they will also experience folly and madness.

"But I ask you all, how do we win the war?" Mei Yi shouted loudly at the dense crowd of soldiers, pointing at that regretful guest. "Surely not by such despicable means? Of course not." She clenched her fist; blood welled from her palm.

"Let me tell you!" She descended the high platform again, enduring the pain in her hand and the anger in her heart.

"I am the answer!" Mei Yi shouted loudly.

"I, the bastard daughter of Eddard Stark, Mei Yi Snow, went south at over ten years old, defeated the famed warriors of Westerlands known to all at the Tourney of King's Landing, King Robert himself knighted her, declared her legitimate, she is a self‑crowned queen.

I, Mei Yi of the Stark family, the first female knight to cross the Narrow Sea, the Summer Sea, the Jade Sea, reaching the Lands of Always Summer, Asshai, and the Shadow Lands.

I, the Bandit‑Ender Mei Yi, once crushed the strongest barbarian khal of the Dothraki plains, defeated every pirate blocking the sea, reaped their prized jewels and the victory‑symbolic bells.

I, the She‑Wolf of Winterfell, who set out from here, led everyone to capture sea monsters, took Salt River, smashed the western alliance, slew the kingslayer, the blood‑wolf woman who forced him to drop his hands and discard his cloak."

She took the golden hand from Sasha's grasp and hurled it heavily onto the table.

So now tell me, how do we win?

War! War! War! The voice was first chaotic, then became neat and uniform.

Only I! Mei Yi shouted loudly, "Only I can lead everyone to victory in war; only I can lead everyone through the harsh winter." Only I can lead everyone out of the long night.

A breath's silence, everyone didn't know what to say, until some people first broke the silence.

Northern Border Queen! (TheQueenintheNorth!)