When Sansa was finally ready for bed, she was unable to sleep. Arya's words kept repeating inside her head. She could only guess what Arya had meant, but her gut feeling wasn't optimistic. As time passed, her feeling about it got worse and worse.
She lay in her bed, surrounded by the light from the candles. Like the Stark children, she had her own room where she was able to retire and relax in her own world. The walls were made from stones in different shades of grey and black like the rest of the castle. She had decorated her room nicely with paintings on the walls and flowers on the table, when she was able to grow any. The cold climate of the North left only small chances of making flowers grow, but Sansa had a green thumb. She smiled as she thought that this probably came from her Hastings roots. The House of Hastings had been known for their abilities in agriculture, and she had this ability too. It was in her blood, and she was happy about that. Maybe she was unable to ever know her heritage, but at least their blood was in her blood too.
Sansa blew out the last candles to go to sleep, but still she found no rest. "If I were you, I would convince that Loras of yours to elope. Otherwise your fate will be as cruel as mine", she recalled Arya's words from earlier. She knew that Arya was devastated by Joffrey' crowning, but there had been a sense of pure fear in Arya's eyes when she had said it. Sansa knew that Joffrey did not exactly like her either, but she had always stayed out of his way. She had no reason to believe that he would hurt her. Arya maybe, but not her.
Sansa got her answer a couple of days later, when all the council members and important people of Winterfell were summoned to the Great Hall. Her mother had told her earlier to be ready too, so anxiously she approached the grand table – the same one from the crowning – where Joffrey was now sitting next to their mother. He was smiling his uncomfortable and disturbing smile, which made her alert. Their mother was clearly admiring her son, and her pride could light up the whole room.
Sansa approached her brother and made a curtsey in front of him. Her mother had told her to do this in public now that he was the Lord of Winterfell. Sansa felt a bit humiliated by this gesture, and from the look on Joffrey' face, the feeling was not imaginary.
"Kiss my hand, sweet sister", he said and gave her his hand. She felt uncomfortable but did it.
"I bring good news to you", he continued and smiled. It was obvious how happy with himself he was.
Sansa sat down on her chair next to Myrcella, who was already there. She did not seem to understand what happened, and worse – she did not seem to care. For her it did not matter if Joffrey or Arya ruled, as long as she was able to dream her princess-dreams and practice her dancing. Arya on the other hand looked worried. More worried than usual. She was sitting on the other side of their mother looking grave and unhappy. She did not say a word and did not intend to. Sansa would not have been surprised if Arya had left Winterfell during the night after Joffrey was crowned. As far as she could tell, there was nothing here for Arya anymore. No hopes, no nothing. Actually, it made her sad.
"You are assembled here today, dear people of Winterfell", Joffrey then began his speech. People were cheering him on, but when he raised his hand, they went silent.
"On the day of my crowning, I promised you more power in Westeros, and I did not lie. I tell you now, I want the throne. I want to be King of the entire Realm for you. For Winterfell", he shouted. Like at the crowning, people were silent in shock before applauding him. The council members either looked greedily at him or away in shame. Most of them did not want this war that Joffrey was about to start. They wanted peace.
"I know what you think – it is impossible. But it is not. Together with my council I have made a safe strategy, but I will not lie to you. There will be losses. Casualties. But they will be made for Winterfell, for you. Us! We need allies, and our bannermen from south and north will come. Today I have invited House Bolton to join us. They have more than 100.000 soldiers ready to fight for us, and my father had a great relationship with the Lord Roose Bolton. When he arrives, we will take the first step towards the real power. Trust me, Winterfell will again be the strongest and most feared House in Westeros", Joffrey shouted and held up his sceptre. The young men cheered loudly, vividly impressed with their new leader's promises. Sansa just sat back in her chair. She did not want war. She wanted Loras and feared that he would be fighting in the war.
After the meeting, Joffrey went to his Lord's quarters to plan the visit from House Bolton. He had had the cabinet makers turn his father's chair into a real throne covered in red velvet, and he took his place on it. He had never enjoyed himself so much before.
"Are you sure that Lord Bolton will help us?", Cersei Stark asked her son. She was covered in a dark blue dress made for working. It was not made from silk but from cotton and made her look like a farmer's wife.
Joffrey got very comfortable in his chair and looked confidently at the map of Westeros in front of him. He had drawn a big circle around King's Landing.
"Of course he will. I know he will have terms, but we can manage", he answered and smiled to himself. It made his mother alert.
"What kind of terms?", she asked and feared the worst.
"His wife is dead. He will want a new one. You have two trueborn daughters, and a marriage to one of them will make his family related to the future king. He is a greedy man who craves power and influence. He will take this offer. I have proposed it to him in my letter, and since he is already on the move, I guess he accepts", Joffrey explained, not without a malicious gloating look.
Lady Cersei stared at him in disbelief: "What have you done?".
Joffrey laughed, got on his feet and walked towards his mother.
"I have offered him one of your daughters in exchange for his men. It is a small price, really". His narrow and deep eyes were full of a victorious rush.
"Which one? You can't take Myrcella from me. She is just a child, for God's sake", Cersei almost shouted, but her voice was weak and loaded with anxiousness.
"Oh no, of course not. Myrcella is a sweet obedient girl. Not her", Joffrey laughed and looked at his mother waiting for her to understand. Oddly, she did not respond with joy.
"You gave him Arya?" Her expression was grave and hesitating.
"Yes, I did. I thought you would be happy. It is a perfect solution. Lord Bolton gets a future princess, and we get Arya out of our way. When he marries her, she will be locked away in some tower miles away from here, and then she will pose no threat", Joffrey said with a smile. He loved winning. His mother did not seem to share his enthusiasm though.
"It is a harsh thing to do. Arya is a great leader. I really wanted her to stay to help you in this war. You know she is talented", she said and sat down.
"That would never happen. I admit she is good, and the people here in Winterfell like her, but I don't like her and I don't trust her", he answered and cast a nervous glance towards the windows. He walked to the windows and looked down at the castle's yard where some of the guards were walking by. He knew everyone of them and he also knew that every single one of them liked his sister better than they liked him. It was a thorn in his side for sure.
After the ominous meeting in the Great Hall, Sansa slipped out of the castle to find Loras. Around noon, he was guarding the western side of Winterfell towards the fields. He was usually alone here, so she tucked her warmest clothes around her and went on her way. She had taken two sandwiches from the kitchen, and she was hiding them under the clothes. Yet again, it was a cold and windy day without sunshine. Sunshine was a rare pleasure in the North, but Sansa was used to it. At least it was not raining today, but the air was still moist and heavy.
She made her way through the minor storm to Loras' watch post. He was standing on the wall, looking out onto the fields. It was his job to scout the area for incoming people. Nobody ever came from this side, and Loras dreamed of more excitement in life. And pride too.
"Hey", Sansa shouted a while before he saw her, as not to startle him. She had learned that it was unwise to scare a soldier with lethal weapons.
Loras turned around and his face lit up. He was wearing the guard's uniform with armour, a spear and a sword. On his head was a heavy helmet, but his blond hair had found a way out of it across his forehead. Sansa's tummy filled with butterflies and she couldn't stop smiling.
"Sansa, my beautiful", he answered and put down the weapons. Then he held out his arms to embrace her. She instantly walked into his arms, and he put them around her. She leaned her head against his chest and relaxed.
"I brought you this", she said when he released her. She gave him the sandwich. He took it and his hands briefly touched hers. It made her shiver. He sensed it and took her hand. He caressed it and kissed it. She giggled and felt like a school girl. Then they sat down and ate, while Loras was still keeping watch.
"Did you hear Joffrey' speech?", she asked him anxiously, fearing the answer.
"Yes, I did. I don't know if he will succeed, but I will be first in line to go. He is assembling a new Lord's Guard, and I am volunteering", Loras answered with joy in his voice.
"Really?", Sansa just said, even though she knew Loras' dreams. Of course she wanted him to be happy, but she certainly did not want him to go to fight in a war that Joffrey was unable to win.
"Yes, he will soon reveal who has made the cut. But if I don't make it, I will still go with him to war to prove my worth", Loras continued.
"But it is dangerous", Sansa then said. She cared so much about him. She had never expected Winterfell to go to war. Everybody enjoyed the peace, and almost nobody wanted to disturb it.
"Oh, my dear", Loras said as he took off his helmet and leaned against Sansa. His smile melted her heart, and when he reached out to kiss her, she did not object. He kissed her lightly, and she closed her eyes and enjoyed it. Her 18 years of age had made her long for romance and maybe a little more. She desired him more than she would like to admit, and his kisses made it stronger. In her dreams, she would meet him on the green fields, and they would make tender love on the grass. Of course she would never do such a thing in real life. Her mother would kill her if she found out. She was to remain a virgin until marriage, but if she could decide, then she would not mind marrying Loras soon. Real soon.
"I'm just worried about you and the war", Sansa said when the kiss ended. He laughed and looked at her with his mesmerizing brown eyes. His face was so cute, and she blushed when he looked at her like that.
"Don't be. I'm a soldier, and Winterfell will prevail. And then we can be together". He emphasized the last sentence in a sweet voice, and she melted completely.
"I am looking forward to that", she then said and got up. She needed to return home to avoid gossip. Her mother had told her the importance of having a good reputation, and she wanted to maintain that. She was actually glad that she was no true Stark – then she would have to marry some fine lord she did not know for the good of the House. She smiled – she was probably able to marry anyone she wanted as long as they were decent.
