SUNDAY

OK Sansa, calm down, you can do this.

The never ending one-way road spreads in front of her for miles and miles until it disappears into the horizon. It's a long ride from the city and she is blaming herself for not leaving before; now she is going to arrive after sunset and she doesn't like driving at night. Endless fields of wheat and sunflowers accompany her at both sides of the road, bathing the landscape with their beautiful golden colors. She still remembers them, the fields her father loved so much, how their shades change depending on the season, never losing its magic, as if they were a dreamlike postcard taken from a book from other time. That's her land too, though something inside her rebels against the feeling and screams to her that this is wrong, that she should turn around and keep things as they have been for the last six years. Damn you Robb, I still don't know how I let you to convince me about this… She recalls the day her brother called her to talk with her about selling their parents' old house at Invernalia. With the little ones about to begin studying at the University, Robb and Jon working abroad and Arya traveling around the world with only the company of her backpack and that stubborn boyfriend of hers, it seemed obvious for all of them that it had to be Sansa who would be in charge of the paperwork and sign the contract of sale. She needs the money too, to start an office on her own, but returning to Invernalia to get it wasn't part of her plans.

A week. That's how long the expensive state agency she has contracted had said it'll take them to prepare all the documents and send an appraiser to inspect the house so they can know its true estate and put a fair price to it. They'll also send one of their salespeople to the village and she'll just need to show him the place. Its charm and the interesting commission the agency gets will do the rest. Though it seems easy, she is terrified by the idea of returning to her hometown and the chance to meet someone who is part of her past, a past that has been so hard to bury. There's no need to meet anyone; you'll show the house, sign the papers and work and read for the rest of the day. No one will know you're around. No one but Jeyne; she is one of the few happy memories Sansa still has about the place that doesn't involve her family and she does want to see her again. They were best friends since they were children and as Sansa feels bad for not having talked with her in years. She contacted Jeyne some days ago telling her about her visit. Her old friend was excited to meet her again and her enthusiasm encouraged Sansa to finally do the trip. They agreed to have lunch the day after her arrival, with the promise of not telling anyone she was there. Sansa wonders how Jeyne would have changed. Well, she has changed too, she has a whole new life now, built little by little against fears and bad memories, and this new person she has become doesn't look at all like the girl who fled Invernalia six years ago. Or so she likes to tell herself.

The sun is starting to set, dyeing the otherwise bright blue sky in soft reddish shades. Sansa feels so privileged to be able to enjoy this beautiful moment on her own, alone on that road, far from a city where it's almost impossible to watch something like this properly… The sunset reminds her it's going to be dark soon, so she checks her phone again for the address of the place in which she's staying for the next days. Sansa would have preferred it to be further from the town, but this Bed & Breakfast seems to be the only lodging for several miles around. She had written to the owner, a woman called Brienne, asking for a vacant room for this week and she had kindly told her that the place would be empty until the weekend so she'd have the whole place to herself. That, along with the great reviews she had read on the web about her establishment, were what finally inspired her to book a room.

Sansa sighs and takes a deep breath again in an attempt to regain her courage. It's just a week, not one more day, and then I'll be free of this place again.

To entertain herself she turns on the CD player, allowing the warm voice of Diana Krall and the notes of her piano fill the air and soothe her as only Diana is able to do. Sansa follows the rhythm of the song tapping the wheel with her fingers and humming softy; All or nothing at all, Half a love never appealed to me, If your heart never could yield to me, Then I'd rather have nothing at all…

Thanks friend, you never fail me, she thinks as she watches the beautiful landscape that stretches as far as the eye can see; the beat of the piano and the distant drum creating the perfect soundtrack to drive through the golden fields that flank the road that leads her to six years back in her life. She grins unintentionally, enraptured by the magic of the moment. And if I fell under the spell of your call, I would be caught in the undertow, So you see I've got to say no, All or nothing at all…

It's almost 11 pm and completely dark when she arrives at her destination; a beautiful two floor house with its front covered in stone and a wooden roof that reminds her of the tales her old Nan told them when they were children. A place full of history and out of time - as she knows is the rest of the village - with a small sign with the name of the place hanging over the front door. She parks in front of the house and while she is taking her luggage out of the trunk, the door opens showing a tall silhouette shaped against the door frame.

"You must be wolfgirl18", a woman says stepping towards her, "Did you find the place without problem?"

"Yes", she replies, a bit embarrassed for not having used her real name but that silly nick when booking the room. "I'm Sansa," she introduces herself, lifting her hand, "Sansa Stark."

The woman stares at her, surprised for a moment before firmly shaking her hand, "I'm Brienne. Let me help you with that." And before Sansa can protest, the woman has grabbed her heavy suitcase and carries it to the house as easily as if it contains cotton balls instead of more clothes and shoes than she is going to need in a week. She watches her walking away, astonished, before following her inside the house. The place has a rustic style that fits in perfectly, giving the house a friendly ambience; stone walls, ancient wooden furniture, a fireplace surrounded by comfy couches, and strong and impressive wooden beams on the ceiling.

"You room is on the first floor. Since you told me in your mail that you're going to stay for a week, I've prepared you the biggest one", Brienne explains to her with a smile. She is taller than Sansa; in fact, she is taller and looks stronger than any woman Sansa has ever met. She has short hair of the same gold of the field she had been traveling through, big, big blue eyes that stare kindly at her and wrinkles around the eyes when she smiles. Sansa can't help but smile back openly, because she realizes she already likes her.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you."

She follows Brienne upstairs to the room that is going to be her home for the next days. It's a wide room decorated in the same style of the rest of the house; stone walls, wooden beams, a king-sized bed with a wooden headboard and matching nightstands, and a desk for work. She notices the vase with fresh orange and yellow gerberas over the table and walks to smell them.

"There is the bathroom," Brienne explains pointing at a door next to the bed, "I've left you fresh towels. I guess you'd like to unpack as soon as possible so, I'll leave you on your own. Do you want me to prepare you something for dinner? If Jaime hasn't eaten it, I think there is still some pie left from the one I've cooked today."

"I'd love it, I'm starving! I'll be downstairs in a few minutes."

Once alone, Sansa undresses herself and hurries to open her suitcase and hang and place her clothes in the small wardrobe. Then she puts her laptop on the desk, checks the bathroom quickly and hurries down to a living room that already smells of cumin, roasted chicken, dates, and many other flavors she can't yet decipher. Brienne is waiting for her with a big piece of pie that smells delicious even from afar; that smells like… her childhood.

"Oh, I love this pie!," she says as she sits in front of her in one the tables next to the kitchen, "my mum prepared it all the time because my brothers devoured it!"

"Lady Catelyn gave me the recipe," Brienne tells her quietly. "I met her when I came to live here five years ago. You had already left to study in the city," she tries to explain as she notices the astonished look on Sansa's face, "She talked so much about you and you also resemble her a lot, that's how I guessed. I'm sorry about what happened… I was very fond of her."

"T-thank you..." Sansa thinks of her mother then, imagines her in her kitchen, teaching Brienne how to prepare one of the favorite meals of her children, how to bake the pastry and spice the chicken or how long it takes to bake in the oven. She misses her and her father, so much… Sansa still remembers as if it was yesterday when Arya called her from Invernalia's Hospital, telling her between sobs that their parents had been in a car accident on their way to the city. They were supposed to visit her, but never got to their destination, and somehow that's something she hadn't been able to forgive herself for. It's been already four years since they died, the same time they closed the family house - after Rickon and Bran and left the village to live with Robb and Jon, and Arya looked for a new job far from there. It seemed that without Ned and Cat, the Starks had no reason to stay any longer at Invernalia. The House was closed, and it had been forgotten for the past four years until just a month ago.

"Now, try that pie or it's going to get cold!" Brienne finally says.

Sansa takes a little bit with the fork and allows to her childhood memories fill her from the mouth to her heart. The pie is delicious; it's her mother cooking on a Sunday morning and her father reading the newspaper, Arya running through the kitchen and Jeyne calling her to go out for a walk, and it's Robb's smile while he shoves a piece of it and says goodbye with his mouth full of pastry. It's all the good memories she has from that place and at the same time, the reason why she didn't want to return. She has already finished it among small talk with Brienne when suddenly the main door brush opens. The man that enters the place is blond too; tall and tanned, and so handsome that he looks like a model out the pages of a fashion magazine. He smiles charmingly at them and Sansa's mouth hangs open, completely sold to his grin and his green eyes, "Hello ladies!"

Brienne smiles back as he approaches them and bends to kiss her on the lips.

"Jaime, this is Sansa, our new guest," she finally introduces him.

"Sansa… Sansa Stark?"

"Yes…" she says a bit overwhelmed by that explosion of excitement and peeking from the corner of her eye at his right hand.

"Wow, this is really a surprise!" he replies chuckling before shaking her hand enthusiastically. "And, before you say anything, yeah, you'll miss one of my hands," he says shrugging and lifting the stump that is now his right arm before Sansa could even say a word, "I lost it during one of the harvests. Let's talk no more about it. So, what has brought you back to Invernalia? We haven't seen anyone of your family since… well, you know…"

"We've decided to sell the house. I'm here just for a few days, to do the paperwork."

"Oh, then don't be surprised if the entire village keeps talking about it, girl. Not many interesting things happen here lately," he replies, winking an eye at her, "Well, I'm going to rest. See you around, Sansa."

"Good night Jaime," Brienne replies while Sansa's eyes follow him to one of the rooms on the ground floor. Sansa turns to look at her again, still amazed by the encounter, and she can't help but blush. "I know, he has that effect on women," she says giggling like a teenager, her big blue eyes sparkling dreamily and making plenty of wrinkles around her eyes, "We've been together for the last three years and he still leaves me dazzled when I see him coming back home, and I keep wondering if it's a dream. Then I hear him snoring at night and realize it's too real!" and she laughs softly, making Sansa laugh too, because her smile is contagious and she thinks she knows what it is to be in love. "Anyway, Jaime is a tour guide of sorts in Invernalia. He prepares excursions for some of the people who stay at my Bed and Breakfast, takes them to do trekking by the countryside or to visit the monuments or his family castle. He can take you along on one of his routes if you want."

Jaime Lannister. Of course he knows me. Though Sansa hasn't seen him in a million years, and even when she still lived in Invernalia he wasn't around most of the time, she knows him too; and his family.

"Thank you but I already know the castle. I was there several times when I lived here. I knew his father and sister and… and his nephew."

"Really? I didn't have the chance to meet any of his family. He never talks much about them either."

Lucky you, Sansa thinks. Nothing good ever came out of any Lannister and she hopes that at least Brienne has met the only one who seems a decent guy.

"I think I'm going to sleep too, it's been a long day!" she finally decides after a big yawn escapes her lips. "Thanks for the dinner."

"Good night, Sansa."

Randa: hi sweetie.

Randa: How did your ride to hell go?

Randa: Do you already miss your beautiful, smart and funny roommate? :P

Sansa: Fine. Trying to not to die drowned by my memories.

Sansa: don't miss u so far dummy

Randa: hey, don't die yet, I need someone helping me to pay the bills!

Sansa: I'll survive, don't worry about the bills.

Randa: fine, CALL ME whenever you need ok? I know this isn't easy for you

Sansa: Thank you Ms. Royce 3

Randa: Night Ms. Stark

Sansa leaves the phone over the nightstand and buries herself under the duvet. She still has the taste of her mother's meal in her mouth and several memories about the Lannisters spinning around a little corner of her mind. This journey has only just begun but she's regretting the decision to come back for the thousand times before falling asleep.