CHAPTER 1

SANSA

Sansa was already almost late to work, and the stupid tourist just had to get into her way. He wasn't paying attention and got right in front of Sansa's bike. It was a strong impact and Sansa actually fell over her handlebars right on the sidewalk. The boy was lying next to her looking startled. Sansa's ears were ringing and she could already feel a pain in her knees and elbows. She tried to stand but in the next moment, a girl was kneeling besides her motioning to her to stay on the ground.

Riding through Amsterdam was sometimes health hazard. Sansa was often a witness to similar crashes, even helped one girl whose front wheel stuck in a pot hole once. Bikes were just everywhere. That was a one thing Sansa liked and hated about Amsterdam. She loved that people there tried to use cars as minimum as possible and that even the air in Amsterdam felt a bit fresher thanks to that. She hated it because you always had to be careful where you're going, that bikers just thought there were more important than pedestrians. And of course, she hated that pedestrians used bike lines as regular sidewalks.

"Please don't stand up, you might have something broken!" She said with a worry in her voice. She looked around to her friends who all looked very concerned. "I'm sorry for my brother, "Continued the girl, "it's his fault he got in your way." Sansa just then spared another look at the boy next to her and saw another man besides him helping him stand up. He looked very ashamed and tried not to meet her eyes. He murmured something about being sorry, but that didn't make Sansa better at all. She didn't see any injuries on him. "Are you alright?" Asked the girl next and just then, Sansa started to check on her own injuries.

As she suspected, she had scraped both elbows and both knees. Her stocking were tore and blood was oozing from her injured skin. It started to sting. Apart from that, she expected she was mostly fine. Her right shoulder hurt a little, but she expected it would not be serious.

She realized that a small crowd was forming around their little group. Typical, she thought. People were always attracted to accidents instead of minding their own fucking businesses.

"I.." Sansa started and looked the girl into her eyes for the first time. There was so much concern and worry in her gaze that Sansa almost feared she looked far worse than she actually felt. "I think I can stand up now." The girl than stood up and gently wrapped her arm around Sansa's waist. One of her friends also helped and together they helped Sansa to her feet. The girl's touch was really gentle but the boy used a lot of strength to pull her up. She hissed with pain when her left ankle touched the ground.

"Be careful, Renly!" Exclaimed the girl, and in the next moment they were moving Sansa to a nearby bench. "Do you want me to call an ambulance?"

"No, I guess I will be fine." Sansa only hoped she would be and she also was more worried about coming late to her job. She needed to call her boss and that was probably more unpleasant than the crash, she thought. She tried to move her ankle and even though it hurt to move, it wasn't impossible and that was a good sign, Sansa hoped. The girl squatted in front of her and pulled out paper handkerchiefs and she placed them on Sansa's knees.

"Are you sure?" Their eyes met and blue was staring into green. Sansa swallowed and bit her lip. She finally saw the girl and her breath was stuck in her throat for a moment. She was beautiful and had eyes only for Sansa. "Loras is very sorry for not being more careful and getting in your way. Isn't that right, Loras?" She looked at the boy who looked really pale and embarrassed and Sansa thought that it served him right.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't realized that was a bike line." He said, looking at his feet. Sansa felt a sting from her knees and then she saw the girl removing the bloodied handkerchief and taking out a new one. She poured water from a bottle to it and then placed it again against her bleeding knee. Sansa checked the time and in few minutes she would be late.

"I need to call my boss, that I will be late. You should go, too, I imagine you have a full program." It came out more bitter than she indented. It wasn't intentional, but she was already stressed out from the accident and calling her boss didn't help either.

She took out her phone and started dialing her boss's phone number. The girl beside her looked at Sansa with sympathy. "Can I ask you –" Sansa didn't hear the rest of what the girl said, because her boss answered the call.

"I hope you're not calling because you're late, Sansa." Was the first thing her boss told Sansa. She bit her lip and took a deep breath. The girl shifted beside her and then she stood up. She went to her group of friends and a brother and told something to them, then she glanced up at Sansa again, concern not leaving her face. The girl's friends took Sansa's bike from the line and leaned it back against a railing in the meantime. The bike was one of the typical Dutch-style bicycle she purchased just recently. It wasn't new, but it was quite light compared to her old one. It was black and it had a wooden crate on the back Sansa used for groceries. It didn't appear to be broken or anything, so Sansa focused back to her phone call.

"Ms. Lannister," she started, her voice shaking. "I'm very sorry but I hit a guy with my bike and fell and it will prob take me about next 10 to 15 minutes to get to work."

"Why am I even surprised?" It was a rhetorical question but Sansa still felt obliged to answer.

"I…" she started but her boss cut her off.

"Just get here. ASAP" She hung up on her. Sansa sighted. She supposed that the tourists would be long gone and was surprised to still see them in front of her.

"Can we at least walk you to your job?" The girl offered and Sansa had to admit that it was sweet of her.

"I guess so, if it doesn't bother you." The girl only smiled and reached her hand toward Sansa, which Sansa gladly took. She got on her feet more careful now and even the girl's touch much more gentle. The girl hadn't stop holding her hand she looked Sansa, straight to her eyes and raised left corner of her mouth into a smile.

"It doesn't. I'm Margeary, by the way." And Sansa couldn't help but think how that name fitted the girl, Margaery, so well. Despite the situation, she shook her hand and replied.

"I'm Sansa, nice to meet you."