Her room wasn't what most expected from a 16 year old. One side of her room were shelves filled to the brim with haphazardly placed books and toys from her childhood she still cherished beyond anything else. Her bed was closest to this side of the room, making it easier for her to go to the early hours of the morning just reading. To the left of that wall was the window that overlooked her backyard which disappeared into a forest she had once loved to explore with Jon. Below the window was her dresser which was now overflowing with her pretend clothes, the ones she used to act out scenes from her books.
One in particular, The Game of Labyrinths. A riveting tale about a Goblin King that fell in love with the daughter of the Queen of Love, he gave her all sorts of powers to woo her. He even gave her the ability to summon him with just the right words. Sansa said the ones from the book over and over but to no avail. She knew it was just made up but she still loved to pretend a far off King fell in love with her only to sweep her off her feet like a knight in shining armour. Her very own song of love.
Next to her dresser was her desk-slash-vanity mirror. All across it lay various makeup products even a crown of copper and iron she bought at the flea market down her street. They twisted together to look like it was made of branches instead of metal. It was one of her favorite things to wear as she pretended her king came to save her.
The desk part of the vanity held her school work she tried to ignore. She was never good with Maths and staring at it for hours on end wasn't going to change that much to her teachers chargin.
The young girls walls were covered in posters of famous singers be they pop or classical. She loved most the songs of true love and how wonderful their lives were. It was a dream she wished she could reach for.
Sansa still lay on her bed facing away from the door in anger. How dare they assume she had nothing better to do in her life? She was the envy of… no one, the girl thought with a sigh. No one wanted anything to do with her not since Joffrey dumped her for her good friend Margarey. It meant she wasn't good enough for him but he still had claim on her making sure everyone knew she was merely leftovers. Leftovers no one was to touch lest they face his wrath.
Sansa rolled over on her bed, opting to face the door again. Right across from her room was her parents where little Rickon lay sleeping like a baby. He really was easy to take care of. She tried to feel resentment towards the young child but found she couldn't. It wasn't his fault he was born. It wasn't his fault they disregarded her constantly.
Her eyes began closing, the wind lulling the girl into a deep sleep. She always found it easier to sleep with her window open. Her parents always warned her about birds or anything else getting into the house but it was her room and she could do whatever she wanted with it.
The heavy drops of rain pitter patting on her roof brought forth an image of a gentle bird watching over her. The mockingbird,she realized, flew above her keeping away giant stags even a lion who tried to sink his claws in her. Sansa knew she could put her trust in the small bird, knew they would never hurt her. She put her arm out expecting the small grey bird to land on her. Instead it flew in front of her and glowed brighter than anything Sansa could ever recall. She swore if this wasn't a dream she'd be blinded by it. As the light began to dim in front of the young girl she could make out a small figure of man. He was taller than her, just barely though sansa was tall for her age. She could see a billowing cloak made of grey feathers moving as if it had a mind of its own. His hand reached out to grasp her own pulling her close to him. He smelt of mint and like berries her and her mother used to grow when she was a child. Sansa could almost make out the man's face, the light surrounding the both of them almost dying out. She wanted to know who her savior was.
Before Sansa could fully make out his face she was ripped from unconsciousness by a screaming child. With an annoyed groan, She pulled herself out of bed ignoring the lingering feelings of her dream. Rickon always had a way of ruining the very best things without realizing it. Or maybe he did. She could never tell but it did fuel her anger towards him when ever she got mad at the baby.
Practically stomping over to her parents room, she flicked on the light with force which only seemed to make the screaming child cry more as if she personally hit him. She winced and held her head as she felt the coming on of a headache. Just her night, she thought grimly.
Her anger soothed a little as she picked up her baby brother, cooing slightly to calm down the child. Placing the baby on her hip she bounced him trying to figure out what made the child scream so much.
"Shhh ricky…" She cooed at her brother still bouncing him when she saw what made the child flip out. On the floor lay her most prized toy from childhood, the one that held so many sentimental memories. Ser Loras was the only toy that made her feel safe as a child. It held her through family fights and growing responsibilities. The toy symbolized her childhood she wasn't getting back.
Said toy was in two on the floor, her baby brother ripping apart the delicate seams of old age. Stuffing spilt from both ends of the toy bear. " Rickon!" Sansa shouted in disapproval, putting the screaming child back in his crib. Sansa knelt before her toy, picking up the pieces gingerly. She had no idea if she'd be able to put the toy back together again.
In anger she threw the pieces back on the floor, the tears threatening to break free. She turned on Rickon glaring at him as he continued wailing.
" You want a story is that it?" She asked the child in a mock show of sweetness. " Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl whose evil family kept her like a slave, taking everything from her." Sansa paced the room, embellishing words with her hands , the child cries adding to the dark story. " The girl kept quiet though, doing what she was told. She tried to be a good girl to get back in their good graces." She paused looking at her brother again. " But one night of too much abuse yelled at her and too much crying from her brother she was forced to watch while they went gallivanting off to the prince's ball she knew what she had to do." Sansa pulled on her copper and iron crown she didn't even realise she grabbed when she left her room. It fit perfectly looking more sinister in the light from the storm raging outside the house. Rickon's cries grew louder still as the air in the room grew heavier and heavier.
" For you see a King fell in life with the girl, begging her to cast free her chains that were held over her. She kept refusing saying they were her family but know she knew they were no family of hers. The King gave her the power of wishes, the power of words! All she had to do was speak the right ones and she'd never be bothered again…" Sansa walked over to her brother picking him up and holding him in the air like one would a sacrifice. The room felt alive with electricity, the air feeling as though it was pressing down on the two from all sides. " Goblin King, Goblin King! Take this awful brother of mine! Free me from my poisonous chains!"
The room felt unnervingly quiet, her brother looking at her his cries finally the air in the room seemed to dissipate, the heavy feeling leaving with it. With a sigh Sansa dropped her arms, holding her brother close to her, swaying slightly hoping the kid would finally go to sleep. His cries grew a little louder before quieting down again, Rickon now snoring in his sister's arms all thoughts of her trying to sacrifice him gone. Sansa sighed, still rocking her brother despite his heavy snoring. For such a small child he made such a loud noise, she mused smiling down at Rickon.
Gently she put her brother down into his crib. He moved slightly almost waking up to Sansa's fear but he just turned over still making his noise. Sansa slowly made her way to the door, lightly flicking the lights off before sighing.
" I wish the Goblin King did come to take you away."
Sansa went to go downstairs to grab food for her brother, thinking he'd be up within seconds for the same reason. She paused realizing something was wrong. Quickly turning around, she noticed it was too quiet.
She couldn't hear her brother snore. She couldn't hear anything. Not even the rain against the house.
Slowly she made her way to her parent's room, hoping her brother would cry or make a noise and she'd be able to play it off as her being paranoid. Instead the room stayed eerily quiet. Sansa tried to turn on the lights but by several flicks it became clear the lights in this room just weren't working.
Fear growing, Sansa moved to her brothers crib. There was still a lump in the middle of the crib, though now it was covered by Rickon's favorite blanket.
"Ricky?" Sansa whispered hoping the baby would coo back at her or make a gurgling sound. Instead the blankets shifted as if whatever was under it was angry. Inching closer, she nervously grabbed an edge of the blanket, "Rickon?" She whispered a final time before moving the blanket.
The blanket flew away revealing… nothing. The bed was empty. Absolutely nothing that could have caused the lump that Sansa knew for a fact was there.
She heard something move behind her causing her to whirl around, her brothers blanket clutched to her chest. The room was just as empty as it was when she walked in only now could she feel thousands of eyes like the items themselves were judging her. Her eyes frantically scanned the room, her back pressed almost painfully against Rickon's crib. The room felt alive with the same heavy, electricity filled air .
THUD.
Sansa jumped away from the crib, eyes wide with fear, staring at the balcony door in her parents room. A mockingbird flew against the window as the winds blasted it towards the house. Sansa stared at the bird almost going to let the animal in the house when she heard laughter behind her. She spun around again, her back to the mockingbird acting as if it wanted to break down the door. Once again she found the room empty but she swore she saw something furry scurrying under her parent's bed. She looked back at the window, the bird still frantically banging against the glass. She moved slightly towards the glass, hoping maybe to get the bird to go away. Unfortunately the closer she got the more she realized the door was buckling under some unknown weight
The doors to the balcony flew open with a torrent of icy cold wind and feathers. Sansa yelped, covering her face with her arm, her brother's blanket helping to shield her eyes. Eventually the cold blast that hit the girl died down to a light breeze. Sansa slowly lowered her arm to see the damage down. A gasp tore through her throat as she looked at what came in with the wind.
" Hello Sansa"
