Just a fairytale…
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom where all the knights were true and all the ladies were fair. The walls of its castles were made of gold, the stairs were made of marble and the doors were inlaid with diamonds.
The king, however, was a sinister character, mad and terrible. He thought he was a dragon and burned people alive for his own pleasure. But his son, the crown prince, was handsome and a true knight. The good people of the kingdom dreamed of the day when the dashing prince would become the king. And a great king he would be, they were all so sure about it. A king of legends! How soon their hopes would be destroyed in the name of a forbidden love. But that is another story.
This story is about a young lady, beautiful and kind. They say her dark hair was softer than silk and that her dazzling violet eyes had broken more than a few hearts.
The young lady came from a family of honourable warriors, all of them true to their vows. Her older brother was already a living legend and the pride of their House.
She was the lady-in-waiting to the Prince's wife and the two of them became quickly good friends.
Though she had a lot of admirers, the lady's heart was beating for only one. Her beloved was an amazing warrior, strong but fair, clever and skilled with a sword, and unbeaten. Always.
When she closed her eyes, she dreamt that her perennial victor would offer her a rose and name her his Queen of love and beauty. But it was only a dream.
Her knight- even if he had shared her feelings- could never have declared his love for her, as he was a member of the Kingsguard, sworn to celibacy until the day of his death.
The young lady's heart broke as she realized their love was impossible.
However, as she was grieving for this forever unconsumed passion, a young Northern lord approached her.
He was very handsome and the heir to a great house. While her beloved was always so quiet and dutiful, the young lord seemed cheerful and amiable. He was like the Sun, warm and bright. All the maidens of the kingdom were dreaming of him and hoped for a smile from him.
One night, the young lord noticed the silent beauty, sitting near the Princess, her haunting violet eyes looking right back at him.
It seems that the pain of not being able to be with her true love made the young lady even more beautiful. The young lord, even if he was already betrothed, couldn't resist. He invited his very own queen of love and beauty to dance.
The young lady was not surprised by the young lord's bold proposition as he had the reputation of being a seducer. However, his company was agreeable and her sorrowful heart needed some distraction.
Some distraction she got and some laugh too. The young lord became soon the young lady's friend and made her nearly forget about her dutiful knight.
The young lord was so charming and so gallant, always giving her new expensive presents, dresses, jewels, exotic flowers from the Southern regions, ...
Before long, the young lady, resigned that she would never be with her knight, fell desperately in love the young lord.
One beautiful night she met him in the Castle's gardens. The Moon was shining with the stars in the sky and the air was intoxicating with the flowers' perfume. Somewhere nearby, the birds were singing a love song, and the young lady gave herself to her lord.
The young lady was not the only one falling in love in the castle. During a tourney, the Prince had named a young maiden his queen of love and beauty instead of his wife.
The Princess had been devastated, even if she had kept much dignity in front of the court. The young lady had tried to cheer her friend up by singing, but each of her songs sounded like a requiem.
Maybe they were indeed requiems. Requiems for the poor Princess's heart, for the happiness at court and for the peace of the whole kingdom and the good people's hopes.
Soon the Prince kidnapped the young maiden his heart had chosen and so, a great war started between the different counties of the kingdom.
The young maiden in question was actually the sister of the young lady's lover. And when the young lord and his father went to see the king about the maiden's abduction, he burnt them alive.
The young lady's heart was broken. As she was fighting against her tears- since her grief would have been seen as a betrayal- she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was her knight's. The young lady smiled tenderly at him. He was still by her side, even in those times of sadness and danger.
But her tears were not only for her young Northern lord or for her Princess. As she looked one last time at the beautiful castle where she has spent so many happy hours, the young lady let her hand rest a moment on her belly. A new life was growing inside her, bringing both joy and worry to the future mother.
Of course, with this child, she would have someone to love and cherish, but then, to have a bastard? Her family would cast her out. Her good name would be lost forever and all the people who loved her would laugh at her face and call her a whore.
The young lady shivered as she pictured her so honourable knight looking at her with despise and disgust.
No. No, of course he wouldn't. However, he might pity her, this fallen woman with a bastard in her belly. The young lady couldn't decide which was worse: the despise or the pity.
The war was raging outside the capital's walls and the young lady feared for her valiant brother as well as for her brave knight. Both warriors were fighting for the king while the brother of her young lord was on their enemy's side.
It was really a shame, really. A few months ago, they had all laughed and danced and talked as good friends and now, they were fighting and might kill each other.
Often she dreamed of her own brother fighting against her lord's brother and she always woke up screaming.
Her brother was the best warrior in the whole land; surely, he couldn't be defeated. On the other hand, her lord's brother had always been so kind and courteous with her and she wished him no ill.
All this was so sad. Once upon a time, everything seemed so beautiful and perfect. The knights were true and the ladies were fair and she was one of them. Yes, the king was mad, but he was old and the future seemed full of hope with the Prince and the Princess as next king and queen. It was a golden age, the young lady realized.
Now, this fratricidal war would be their undoing. Nothing good would come out of it.
Rumours said the Prince's beloved- the young lady refused to call her a whore-was expecting. This news would break the Princess's heart once more as she couldn't have children anymore. Was it why the Prince had chosen another woman? Did he want more children so much that he would betray his beloved wife? The young lady couldn't believe him able of such selfishness. The Princess and he had been the perfect couple. Her, always so gracious and kind. Him, always so strong and just. They could have been like the kings and queens of the legends and the golden age would have gone on, forever.
Instead, they had entered an age of chaos and bloodshed.
Soon her brother asked her to flee the capital and find refuge in their lands. The young lady, at first, didn't want to. She couldn't leave her Princess, it would be treason. Surely her brother could understand. But her friend took her hands and smiled at her. The young lady saw in her eyes sadness but also resignation.This couldn't be a farewell. The young lady couldn't imagine a life without her princess by her side. However, she had to obey her brother and respect her friend's decision.
So the young lady went away and promised herself she would call her child by her princess's name if it was a girl, or by her knight's name, if it was a boy.
History gave her brother reason in the end. Soon after the young lady's escape, a traitorous, treacherous noble family invaded the capital. They had some monsters working for them. Horrible, blood-thirsty ogres. One of them, the biggest and the meanest, found the Princess and her children. He showed no pity and killed them all.
"Awwww! No! I loved the Princess! Why did she have to die, mother? Why?"
Sansa stopped her story a moment and took her upset daughter in her arms.
"It's all right, my love. The nasty ogre was defeated in the end."
The little girl smiled and jumped happily on her mother's knees. Her brother nodded knowingly.
"Now that's good news! I bet he was eaten by a dragon. Good riddance."
"Or maybe he was killed by the young lady's knight. Or her brother! Oh, please, mother, pretty please! Tell us!"
Sansa couldn't help but smile at her children's enthusiasm but wondered how they would react if they knew the ogre had been their uncle.
"The ogre was defeated by his own brother actually. A warrior who looked and acted like a beast, but who was actually the truest of all knights in disguise"
"Seven buggering hells!" Sansa heard her husband swear and told herself to remind him not to use such a language in front of the children, but, really, she knew he would react badly at her calling him "a true knight in disguise". And yet, she loved to imagine him as one of her songs' heroes whether it pleased him or not. It was her story after all.
"And then, mother what happened to the young lady?" the little girl asked with worry. "Did the ogre find her too?"
"No, Jonquil, he didn't. But it doesn't mean danger was not surrounding her."
Her child was growing in her body, but the young lady felt weak. She could nearly feel the Stranger's hand on her shoulder, the same way her knight's hand had been once. Every night she had trouble finding sleep and stayed awake, praying for her loved ones, for peace, for her lost golden age.
She prayed the Mother to protect her and her child and the Warrior to guide her brother's and her knight's swords.
But there was a great weight on her heart, warning her of more danger and ill coming.
She couldn't eat a thing, even the slightest slice of lemon cake had a taste of blood and dust and death. She spent her days locked in the highest tower of her castle, looking at her widow, hoping to see her brother racing towards her, announcing her the Prince's victory and peace at last.
At the end of her pregnancy she was even weaker and desperate. One night, she gave birth to her child. A little girl. But just like the princess she was named after, the baby was dead. It seemed to the young lady she had lost her friend once again.
Her tears couldn't stop falling and every member of her body was painful. Her own soul was torn apart.
Her only hope was for her brother to come back and take her in his arms and dry her tears. He would calm her, just like he used to when she had nightmares as a little girl. He would tell her everything was going to be all right and he would be right, as he always was.
A knight found her tower a few days after the birth and death of her child. But it was not her brother. Neither was it her beloved knight.
It was her young lord's brother.
Jonquil gasped. "Oh no! Is he going to kill her? He can't kill her, can he, mother?"
Sansa smiled sadly. "No, he didn't."
Her young lord's brother had been fighting for her enemies, but he was the most honourable man in the whole kingdom. He would never have hurt a woman. However, the news he was bringing were going to hurt the young lady badly and he knew it. But he also knew it was his duty to announce her her brother's death by his hand.
When she heard this, the young lady felt her heart stop beating in her chest. She couldn't breathe anymore. Her brother? Dead? It was impossible! And yet, it would have explained the emptiness within her heart she had been feeling for days now.
Her lover, her Princess, her child, her brother… Was she cursed? Did the Stranger enjoyed so much her company he had decided to stay by her side forever?
Sansa stopped her story once again and exchange a look with her husband. How often she had felt like Ashara when she was in King's Landing and she thought everyone she loved was dead or gone forever. But she had survived, Lady Dayne hadn't.
"Well, mother, what happened next?" asked her son.
"She lived, didn't she? She found her knight and she lived, right?" Jonquil was extremely worried for her new heroine. So much that Sansa didn't have the heart to end her story accordingly to the historical facts.
"Yes. She fainted in front of the young lord's brother. She fell to the ground, but he was gallant and promised he would find her knight. After a quest of a few months, he came back with him and, since the king was dead, the knight was free to love and marry the young lady."
Sansa heard her husband sigh. She knew him well enough to be sure he would reprimand her for lying to the children and changing the story's ending. But Jonquil was not the only one in the family to prefer happy endings. And, after all, it was just a fairytale, wasn't it?
Notes: Yes, yes, I know, there are mistakes. For instance, Barristan was defeated, BUT keep in mind that Sansa tells this story as a fairytale, and LOL. Sansa IS an unreliable POV. She likes to imagine kisses that never happened, to dream of dogs, to think of yummy lemon cakes and to build snowcastles. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT? XD So don't be surprised if some facts have been changed on purpose.
Notes 2: Aye, Sansa's husband is Sandor. Are you surprised? ;) Their children are called Jonquil and Eddard.