Many moons turns had passed in Kingslanding and Sansa was missing Winterfell more than she thought possible. Kingslanding was always bustling with sweaty crowds, the weather too hot and dirty beyond belief. Sansa missed the quiet, the cold and the cleanliness of Winterfell, especially when the Prince demanded that she ride with him through Flea Bottom
"To show the people their future Queen" He said and Sansa struggled not to scoff at him The people of Flea Bottom were all skin, bones and bad smells and yelled insults at Joffery all the while he was yelling them back. It got to the state where Sansa was sure that there was going to be a riot until she got off of her horse and kneeled in front of some of the tiniest children she had ever seen
"What are your names?" She asked politely but didn't receive a reply, "I am Sansa Stark of Winterfell and I was very shy too, when I was your age. But I don't mean you any harm, I just mean to give you a gift. Do you all like lemon pastries? They happen to be my favourite and I'm afraid I brang much too many for just me to eat. Would you like them?" Sansa walked back to her horse and dug through her bag and pulled out various things before giving the pastries to the young children and stood to talk with the older folk
"You being here have disrupted all of our work" One grumbled in a thick accent that Sansa could barely understand
"I'm terribly sorry" Sansa apologized and handed him a small purse, "Promise that you'll distribute it evenly? I know it isn't much but it may help"
The man opened the purse and looked in awe at all of the Gold Dragons and Silver Stags in there
"You can't give them that" Joffery all but screeched
"It comes from my personal coffers, my Prince, I wish to help" Sansa said
"Just this once. Get on your horse and lets leave these savages" Joffery sneered
From that day on the people of Kingslanding admired Sansa more than their own Prince and if the whispers rang true, more than their Queen. Sansa would often walk the streets with Jory, eat food from the Pot-shop and bakery's and would buy from the town rather than from the castle when she needed anything. She had Margaery a necklace made from one of the Blacksmiths, it wasn't anything spectacular like either of the Lady's were accustomed, but it was beautiful all the same and Margaery wore it every day.
"Sansa, walk with me in the gardens" Margaery said
"Where are you taking me?" Sansa laughed as she was pulled along by Margaery through the twisting and turning gardens
"Be patient, sweet girl" Margaery replied, smiling over her shoulder at Sansa. Not long after, Margaery stopped suddenly making Sansa crash straight into her "Some women like tall men, some like short men, some like hairy men and some like bald men. Gentle men, rough men, ugly men, pretty men... pretty girls. Most women don't know what they like until they've tried it, and sadly so many of us get to try so little before we're old and grey"
"Why are you telling me this?" Sansa smiled at Margaery who attempted to smile back but it came out more as a nervous grimace than anything
"Because I don't want to be old and grey before I know what I like" Margaery said and without giving Sansa time to reply, Margaery gently clasped the back of Sansa's head and slowly lent forward, giving Sansa enough time to pull away if she wanted to, and pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss. The kiss soon turned passionate with tongues meeting for the first time, hands exploring places that they had never been before and lungs struggling to get air
"Wow" Sansa breathed when they pulled apart, their foreheads resting together
"I know" Margaery replied breathlessly, "I've wanted to do that for the longest time"
"Do it again" Sansa replied, pressing her lips against Margaery's again
"Sansa" A voice calling through the gardens made the girls spring apart not a moment before Ned calmly stood in front of them
"Yes, father?" Sansa asked
"I have a surprise for you, close your eyes" Ned smiled, not paying the slightest attention to Margaery before pulling something from behind his back, "Open"
"It's beautiful" Sansa whispered, taking the light blue and white rose into her hands gently, "How did you get it here?"
"I sent a raven to your mother asking if any of you forgot anything and she sent this back for you" Ned replied
"Thank-you" Sansa said with a sincere smile
"I'll leave you two be then, the King should be on his way back from his hunting trip" Ned departed
"I've never seen anything like it, not even in Highgarden. What is it?" Margaery asked
"It's a winter rose. They don't grow anywhere other than Winterfell, it's too warm otherwise. The Godswood is full of them" Sansa replied, handing it over to Margaery, "It'll only last today, we're lucky it lasted the journey here"
"It's beautiful"
Moons had passed with Sansa and Margaery getting closer with one another but the closer they got, the more the King tried to force the betrothal upon Sansa
"What are we going to do, Margaery?" Sansa asked
"What do you mean?"
"What are we going to do about our relationship?"
"What do you want to do about it, Sansa?" Margaery asked, reaching to take hold of Sansa's hand
"I don't want us to be a secret but the King wants me to wed the Prince" Sansa said, tightening her hold on Margaery's hand
"Well, not even the King can stand in the way if he thought we were already betrothed" Margaery replied, "My Grandmother would not mind, she would see it as becoming more powerful even if we were to explain the real situation to her. Would your father and mother mind?"
"I don't think that they will. The old gods have no rules regarding this and we abide by the Old Gods. Is it not too soon though?" Sansa asked
"We wouldn't really be getting wed. The world would just think we would. Neither of us are heirs so it matters not to the new gods. We could pretend that it isn't a union we both want, rather, we're doing what's best for our families" Margaery said, kissing Sansa's forehead, "Truth be told, I want to get to know you, I want to actually love you before we wed. If we wed."
"I want the same" Sansa replied, "How are we to do this?"
"Go explain to your father and I'll go explain to my Grandmother. I'll come to you when I'm done"
"Father, I need to tell you something. In private" Sansa said softly to her father who nodded and led her beneath the castle to a room with Dragon skulls filing it
"What is it, Sansa"
"I've recently entered a courtship. But the King wants me to wed Joffery and we won't be able to deny him forever and I'm really interested in the person I'm seeing so we've come up with a plan. If we fake being betrothed to each other, not even the King can get in the way of too powerful house joining." Sansa explained quickly
"Would you wed this person? Really wed this person?" Ned asked
"I would, yes. Not now, I want to fall in love father." Sansa said "May I know the name of this person?"
"Margaery Tyrell of Highgarden" Sansa replied in a voice so quiet that Ned barely heard her
"Mace Tyrell's daughter?" Ned asked
"Yes"
"He's the Warden of the South. Imagine that, the daughters of the Wardens of the North and South to be wed" Ned said, "Are you sure about her, Sansa? There will no turning back from this, not while the Lannisters are on the throne"
"I'm sure"
"I'll write your mother then."
"Sansa is getting older, Ned, I can't have my boy wed to an old crone" Robert joked, "Let's just have them wed already, they would be a fine match"
"Sansa is betrothed to another" Ned replied, "I was keeping it quiet until it was official. It became official last night."
"You knew what I wanted and you went against me?" Robert snarled
"This union was forming before you suggested that Sansa wed Joffery" Ned spoke calmly, "To retract it for her to wed another would start a war that would be unnecessary"
"To who?" Robert demanded
"Margaery Tyrell of Highgarden"
"A girl? You're wedding your daughter to a girl?"
"Sansa is not my heir, nor is Margaery Mace's heir. We both have more than one son to rule our seats so my daughter is not tied to anyone to produce more heirs, I want nothing more for my children to happy with their partners, Robert, and while Robb may have to wed someone of my choosing the rest will choose their own" Ned said
"This could be seen as treason, Ned"
"If the union wasn't already in planning, it could be"