The title of the story is the name of the song, "Sleep Song" by Secret Garden. It always reminded me of Sansa walking in the highlands, Give it a listen to get in the mood. Don't forget to comment! Good or bad criticism is always helpful.
The thunderous waves of the cold sea crashed against the bottom of ancient cliffs Tall green grass, that danced with the Northern winds covered the highlands, creating a coastline of greenery. The forever grey skies cast a dream like atmosphere down on the Earth, giving Landale an air of mystery and magic.
Sansa Stark, bundled up in a dark green wool dress with a brown cloak wrapped around her walked along the cliffs edge. Her brown boots trekked through the mud with ease. Her long red braid hung down her left shoulder, she preferred wearing it down, but she had to be careful walking so close to the edge. The wind could send her long locks in her eyes, and she could easily lose her footing and fall.
As legend goes, hundreds of years ago, her ancestors who were forbidden to be together married on these very cliffs. Volantis Stark and Eva Clarach. Volantis was to marry a princess from the South, fair, graceful, and every bit the lady, but his heart belonged to Eva. Against the wishes of his mother and father, Volantis asked Eva to marry him, and become Queen of Landale. To rule beside him and live out the rest of their lives happily. When she came to meet the current King and Queen, they were cold at first, but after seeing how kind she was and how happy she made their son, they warmed their hearts and welcomed her into their family. The townspeople soon followed suit. She did many good deeds for the farming villages and was seen as a saint. Their wedding day was spectacular. Eva wore a dress of cream lace, yellow flowers were placed in her long chestnut hair, and she went barefoot. It was an open ceremony, everyone was invited. Village folk and highborns alike sat on blankets strewn about the highlands with the roaring sea as a back drop. Volantis's father officiated the marriage. As the lovers kissed, the guests stood and applauded, only breaking their clapping to wipe tears away.
The brother of the princess Volantis was supposed to marry was a crooked man driven by hate and unable to forgive. He wanted Volantis to marry his sister, so they would have control of these lands. Like a stampede of a thousand horses he ran through the happy guests and headed toward the newly married couple. The new King and Queen of Landale. With all his might, he placed two hands on Volantis and shoved him off the cliffs, falling down with him.
The applause stopped.
Everyone rushed to the side of the cliffs. Happy tears turned into sad ones. Eva screamed and tried to look down to see if her love had somehow caught himself on a branch. Volantis's father, the King, grabbed her and stopped her from falling, but not before she saw two sets of ripples where the bodies fell in the infinite sea. He was dead. She lost all sense of control and cursed the Gods out loud. Screaming and crying, the villagers helped the King take Eva and the Queen, who fainted, back to the castle. The magic of the grey skies turned to gloom.
Eva awoke days later. She would not eat. She would not speak. Months passed as fast as days in the darkness of her room. It wasn't until the Queen came knocking on her door that Eva spoke. The Queen sat on her bed and held her hands. She told her she was her daughter now, and she would look after her. They had no other children and when the time came, she would be Queen. They held each other in a warm embrace, when they let go, the Queen looked at Eva strangely.
"Dear child...are you..." The Queen looked at Eva's stomach. A small bump was visible underneath her dress. The Queen put her hands to her mouth, her green eyes filled with tears.
Eva and Volantis had snuck out the night before they were to be married. The walked along the cliffs and went down to the small stone house on the beach. They whispered sweet words by the fire, and rolled around under on blankets. They hadn't planned on making love that night, but couldn't help it. It was the most beautiful moment of Eva's life.
"My Queen, forgive me." Eva whispered, putting her head in her hands.
The Queen lifted her chin and to Eva's surprise, she was smiling. She placed her other hand on Eva's stomach.
"Volantis's son or daughter is in there." The Queen softly cried. "The future ruler of Landale. This is a most happy day sweet girl."
Eva smiled, they embraced again, letting their emotions go, forming a bond as strong as mother and daughter. They went on to live happily. When The Queen grew too old to rule, Eva took her place, After she passed, her son took hers, continuing the Stark name. When Eva passed, her funeral was held in the same spot she married her darling Volantis. Everyone was invited. There were more people than grass. Her son scattered her ashes over the cliffs, and she was finally reunited with her love.
Sansa always thought of that story on her way to the stone house on the beach. Her father, Eddard, King of Landale tried to stop her from going down there, but he failed time and time again, and soon gave up completely. It was Sansa's quiet place. Her days were full, from her hand maidens fussing over her wild tresses in the morning, to her lessons in the afternoons, sewing, singing, horse back riding, needlepoint, to nightly dinners with her large family, followed by dessert and stories from her parents before bed. Sansa lived a happy life, and she did not take it for granted, but sometimes she wanted to be alone. She enjoyed sitting by the waves, curled up in blankets with a book and skin full of heated chocolate. It cleared her mind.
Down the stone steps nature indented on the side of the cliffs she went. She had her book and drink in a small brown satchel and used her hands to balance herself, and hold onto rocks to get down safely. The steps led all the way to the beach. It was always much colder down there, and since she frequented the spot often, her father made sure firewood and blankets were stocked in the cabin at all times.
She walked along the sand, as gracefully as one could leaving small footprints behind her. The waves were big today and the salty water sprayed lightly against her cheek as she made her way to the cabin, eager to get inside and warm herself.
She used the methods her father taught her to make a successful fire. It took her a while to get the hang out it, when she finally did, the proud smile from her father made the difficulties worth it. She dropped her belongings next to the fire, giving it a few minutes before adding another log and went back out on the beach.
Sansa loved searching for interesting shells and rocks. It started on her first trip out here. She was running in and out of the water and tripped over something. She laid in the sand clutching her toes, crying. Her mother came and comforted her, and her younger sister, Arya laughed.
"Don't be such a child!" She mocked, but one glare from their mother stopped her teasing immediately.
Her older brother, Robb, picked the cause of her pain out of the sand. It was a stone. It glowed the most vibrant red.
"It reminds me of your hair." Her father said. He took it from Robb and handed it to Sansa. "Keep it, as a reminder of this day."
Sansa took it from her father's large hands. She looked around her, her families faces smiling down at her. Her mother, father, her brothers, Robb, Jon, Bran and Rickon, and her ferocious sister Arya. The people she loved most in the world surrounded her as they enjoyed a day at the beach. Sansa squeezed the stone in her hands, deciding this was a day she wanted to remember. After that she was always on the look out for stones and shells. She liked to play games, making up stories in her mind about what far away land each one came from. Who touched the stone last before her.
Sansa walked along the beach hunched over searching. It was a particularly cold day, and she was only out for twenty minutes before deciding to head back to the small house. She stared out to sea, clutching her cloak as she walked. She took in a deep breath. Sansa had two favorite smells, the salty sea, and fresh lemon cakes. She licked her lips at the thought of her favorite treat. As she reached for the handle she heard a distant scream turned back to sea. She saw nothing and looked both ways on the beach. No one was around. That's strange. She thought. She stayed out for another moment, listening carefully. A gust of wind came by telling her it was time to go inside.
She hung her cloak on the small wooden chair by the window. The fire grew since she left and the room now glowed a warm golden hue. She looked in the small cracked wall mirror and undid her plait. Her hair sprang out in long red curls. Her cheeks were stained pink from the wind, which looked nice against her otherwise milky complexion. A light dusting of freckles covered her nose. She was the only one out of her siblings who had them. Her mother said it was because she was kissed by fairies when she was a baby.
She nestled in the pile of pillows and blankets on the floor beside the fire and reached for her bag, taking out the skin of melted chocolate and her book. She took a sip of the drink, which warmed her insides on it's way down and laid on her stomach. She found her place in her book and escaped back into the story. Sansa felt completely herself here. After a few chapters, the fire began to play tricks with her eyes and laid her hand on her forearms, letting her eyes rest. The sounds of the waves outside were faint, but loud enough to soothe her into a dreamless sleep.
Sansa woke with a start. The scream! She heard it again. She propped herself up on her elbows and listened. Maybe it's just the whistling of the wind? She wondered. She waited to hear it again, her heart fluttered in her chest. Moments passed and just as she was about to continue reading she heard it!
She stood quickly. It sounded close. She donned her cloak and grabbed a small dagger. Her father told her she could never be to careful and made sure the cabin was stocked with weapons. Sansa readied her self and opened the door.
A dark mass laid on the beach, barely moving. Cold waves washed over it. Sansa squinted and took a few steps closer. The dark mass slowly turned into a man. Sansa dropped the dagger and ran to him.
She lifted his face from the wet sand and he coughed up sea water.
"Sir, can you hear me!" Her back was to the ocean and she didn't see the wave that soon splashed over them. She yelped, the cold water felt like needles in her skin. She looped her arm through the man's large one and helped him up. Sansa was tall for a girl, but this man towered over her, even slumped over. They made it halfway to the cabin before he collapsed again.
"Just a little further. You must warm yourself by the fire before you get sick!" Sansa pleaded, the man nodded, and struggled, but stood again. He leaned on Sansa and they walked to the cabin.
Inside, the man stumbled to the fire. Sansa rushed over to him. "You're drenched, you must take off your clothes." She stated. He nodded and turned so his back faced to her. She turned as well, giving him little privacy but caught his reflection in the broken mirror. She could see his wet shoulder length hair clinging to his skin sending water dripping down his back. His shoulders were broad and his muscles flexed as he took off his clothes. Scars covered his body. He looks like a warrior. She thought. As he started taking off his pants, Sansa looked down and swallowed hard.
"Blankets are on the other side of the fire. Take as many as you'd like." She offered, but her voice betrayed her and cracked. She heard him settle in and turned around, reaching into her satchel. She pulled out another skin of water and walked over to him. She knelt down and offered the skin. He nodded in thanks and took a sip.
In all the commotion, Sansa realized she didn't get a good look at his face, for now she could see the right side was covered in burns. She didn't want him to see her stare, so she looked away before he finished drinking.
He handed her the skin and coughed into his arm. "Thank you." The burned man rasped. His voice was deep and soothing.
"You can stay here and rest for as long as you need to." She said kindly. She did not offer her name, in case this man was an enemy to the Stark's. She forced herself to look into his eyes as she spoke. They were grey. She had never met anyone with grey eyes besides her father, and Jon, but his weren't like their's. She could see deep into his soul, and found sadness,
He scooted himself away from the flames and rested his head on the soft pillows. She left the water by him in case he needed it again and sat on the other side of the fire. As he slept and warmed up, the blanket fell off his shoulder and she stared at his muscled back moving up and down with his steady breaths. He coughed occasionally but for the most part slept soundly. It was getting close to nightfall, and Sansa knew she couldn't stay the night or her father would come looking for her. She hung his clothes on a line by the fire letting them dry. She noticed several holes in his tunic and stuffed it in her bag.
She tied her hair back into a long plait and wrapped her cloak around her, which was luckily dry. She took one last look at the man before leaving, closing the door quietly behind her.
On her walk back to the castle she planned to come back as soon as breakfast was over. Molly, one of the cooks always snuck her treats when she felt like a midnight snack with out question. Sansa would ask her to put aside a large so she could sneak it to the man who slept in her sanctuary. She wondered how the horrible burns on his face came to be and prayed to the seven he would be warm enough through the night.
I wonder what his name is... Sansa thought as she walked along the cliff's edge.