Roberts Rebellion ended with Rhaegar taking the throne. For a time, the seven kingdoms were at peace once again.

At twelve years old Sansa Stark was sent to Casterly Rock; betrothed to Joffrey Baratheon, whose father had recently died. She longs for nothing more than home, but a personal invite to Kings Landing from Princess Rhaenys changes everything. Befriending the Princess is simply the start of something Sansa could have only dreamed of.

Sansa had always been a dreamer, believing in fairytales and prince charmings. She had always been acutely aware of the darker side to life, but had always wished for the light. But despite knowing how dangerous Kings Landing can be, the naïve child within her hopes a hansom prince can save her.

After all, that's what Targaryen princes do best, is it not? Start wars over Stark girls.

Prologue

Up until Robert Baratheon died, she had been happily living in Winterfell. She had known – known from the day it had been arranged – that she was betrothed to the Lord of Storms End's eldest son. The match was most certainly not one that pleased her. A part of her believed that it was simply Robert clinging to a dream – getting as close as he could to having a Stark girl in his family.

She did not like Joffrey Baratheon, not one bit. She despised him, actually. The first few times they had met, he had seemed pleasant enough – charming, even. But the older they got, the more she began to dislike the boy. He was mean, cruel even. He would torment her at every opportunity he got – leaving bruises on her arms and biting her lips.

When her father had told her of the match, she had to choke back the tears and force a smile onto her face. Robb had cornered her later, just as it was getting dark, demanding to know why she was withholding the truth. She didn't want to marry Joffrey, Robb knew that she hated him – Robb hated him too – but she had a duty to do as a lady. The last war was still fresh in so many peoples minds, she did not want to be the cause of another – no matter how romantic it seemed.

It was something that played in her mind at times. The romanticism of Roberts Rebellion. Rhaegar had stolen her aunt away in the middle of the night and the two had married. It was not unusual for Targaryen's to have two wives – she had done her research on the matter. Her father, grandfather, uncle and Lyanna's betrothed (Robert), had not known that Rhaegar had not actually kidnapped her, they had not known the two had decided upon marrying. In trying to retrieve Lyanna from Kings Landing, both her uncle and grandfather had been killed – for 'treason'. And so the war broke out – ending only once ser Jaime Lannister had killed the Mad King. Lyanna had died after birthing a son, and Rhaegar had been distraught. It was just before Lyanna had died that Eddard had found her; her dying words explaining everything to him.

Prince Jon Targaryen was her cousin, one she had never met and she doubted that she ever would meet. They had written to one another, on the occasion – her father wanted them all to view him as family, after all that's what he was. When Bran and Robb had found the direwolf pups, one had even been sent as a nameday gift to Jon. Apparently he had named the young creature Ghost.

Her direwolf had been left behind. Left in Winterfell while she was in Casterly Rock. She did not feel safe without Lady by her side. But the Lannisters did not want such a creature in their home, and so she had to oblige. It had been Bran and Rickon that had promised to look after Lady. She trusted that Bran would care for her young wolf, while Rickon would make sure Lady would get plenty of exercise.

It was after Robert died, and Stannis had taken over looking after Storm's End – until Joffrey was of age – that it was requested that she went to Casterly Rock. She was taken from her family and put into the lions den. 'You're going to be the lone wolf among the pride of lions, sister.' Arya had said to her. And then she had broken down, surprising her younger sister, because she knew exactly where she was headed and what was going to happen.

The time she had spent in Casterly Rock could probably have been worse. She enjoyed reading in the library, where she would have the company of the imp. She came to enjoy Tyrion's company; he was one of the three people who she could actually stand to be around in her new ho- prison. Myrcella and Tommen made for nice company as well, and sometimes she would pretend she was elsewhere; that she wasn't a lone wolf among a pride of lions.

She spent all the time that she could in an attempt to avoid Jeoffy, and Tyrion even tried to help keep him away from her. But no matter how many times the imp slapped or berated his nephew, he would still find her, he would still hurt her. And she began to realise that the more he hurt her, the more she was changing. No matter how hard they tried to turn her into a lion, she would always, always be a wolf. And whenever she would lay eyes upon her betrothed, the familiar words would enter her mind. Winter is coming. Because there was more to those words than the Lannisters seemed to realise.

It was just under a year since she arrived in Casterly Rock, that the raven arrived. A raven for her, with the royal seal upon it. She was excited, yet nervous as she opened it – her eyes scanning the unfamiliar script. The looping handwritten invitation made her body tremble with excitement, a grin spreading across her face. It was a royal invitation, from the princess herself. The Lannisters could not say no. They had no choice but to allow her to accept. They, too, of course got an invitation – but theirs had been written from someone else; not a member of the royal family.

She knew the stories of how dangerous Kings Landing could be. There was many a tale of treachery, or deceit, and the lies... She knew she had to be careful. She had to be wary of what was going to happen; what could happen. But she believed herself to be prepared – after all, she had survived the lions den for almost a year. Cersie blindly teaching her how to play a game that was dangerous and not by any means fun. Jaime unassumingly teaching her how to be unsuspecting, yet dangerous. Tywin teaching her, day after day, that loyalty lies with family. And Tyrion purposefully taught her how to use her mind, taught her how to strengthen her resolve. And so she was sure that whatever occurred in Kings Landing, she could survive it.

The thought of spending time away from Casterly Rock, of spending time away from the Lannisters, made her excited. She had hated it, and though she was not headed north, not headed home, she was getting to leave her own personal hell, and nothing, nothing was going to put her down. Not even Joffrey and his cutting words and cruel actions. After all, she was going to get to spend time away from Lannisters; what could possibly be better than that?

Tyrion had smiled at her, rolling his mismatched eyes as he caught sight of her, already mounted on her horse and ready to go. She flashed him a grin and he chuckled as he was helped up onto his own horse. She hoped to ride alongside him, and not Joffrey. Her plan was to stay as far away from the boy that looked far too like Jaime for it to be natural. She would have ridden alongside Tommen or Myrcella, but neither of them were to be actually riding.

And as they left Casterly Rock, she felt more free than she had done in a very long time.

This is my first try at a GOT/ASOIAF fic. I hope it's not too bad. :)