I gave up my crown. After the death of the rival queen, I didn't want it and my sister was chosen as Queen in the North by our people. She declared our lands independent. She can be formidable, in her way.

( Sansa is his cousin, in truth, but he doesn't know how to think of her now. She had been distant from him as a child, close to him during the war, and now she is a cousin and not the closest relative to him that he'd thought she was. It doesn't help Eirene, though. )

How many men can you muster for an army? If your independence means much to you, you should prepare to fight for it. You might lose your husband as a casualty, though, but I imagine he's too valuable as a hostage.