Five days after Mycah was quietly buried, Christmas came, but there was little joy to be found in their home. Arya had agreed to Petyr's plan but it had left her angry and bitter. Petyr had brought extra rations and presents to them, Sansa assumed as a gesture of goodwill, but Arya had spent Christmas dinner glaring at him and would not speak a word to him regardless of his efforts.

Over the next week, despite the cold, Arya spent more and more time out in the woods or the barn. They tried to give her space, to allow her to grieve in her own way but it was still hard to accept the distance that was growing. Sansa realized she was grieving too, for the optimistic adventurous child that had once been her sister. They no longer lay awake in the dark sharing their days and thoughts in the attic as they drifted to sleep. Now she just prayed daily that Lysa's patience with Arya's dark mood would continue to hold.

The start of 1941 rang in with little optimism. Robin had developed a fever, Lysa was beside herself and so the care of the farm fell solely to Sansa and Arya. Petyr had offered to come stay with them, to help out, but Sansa had told him there was no need, that they could handle it, and besides his work in town was more important. He had tried to appeal to Lysa but she had been too distracted by Robin's health and had waived him off, deferring him to Sansa who held fast to her polite refusal.

When Robin failed to improve Petyr called in some favors to get the medicine he needed to recover, and he made sure Lysa and Sansa were aware of the extra efforts he had made for their family. Robin's illness broke a week and a half later, but he now seemed weaker than he had before. Sansa wondered if it might be related to the diminished quality of their food. While they still had a sufficient amount to eat, thanks in part to Petyr providing Lysa with additional rations, the winter garden had not turned out quite as she had planned and hoped. She kept counting the days till spring when they could plant and have fresh vegetables and fruit again.

Mid-January brought the return of school and they were surprised when Arya said she still wanted to attend. Sansa had tried to talk her out of it, but she was determined to attend, telling Sansa that Mycah would want her to keep going; that had silenced any protest Sansa could think of. In addition, Arya purposed a change to their living situation. She had spoken with Brynden and he had agreed to allow her to stay with him during the week so she could be close to school, as well as help Mycah's parents around their shop. She argued they could use the help and they could use the money. Her plan was to come home to the farm Friday nights and leave on Monday morning for school. Lysa and Sansa had initially protested until Arya talked to Sansa about it as they lay in the attic the night before the first day of school.

"I need you to talk to Lysa, to make her say yes to me staying with Brynden," Arya told her.

"We're not convinced that it's safe for you to be in town that much, the distance out here gives us some protection. Do you really want to see the Germans every day?"

"They don't matter, I'm not doing this to be easy on myself. I'm being ruined by guilt; do you know that?"

Sansa turned and looked at her sister, there was something in her voice that made Sansa see her as more than the angry creature she had been recently.

"You know his death was not your fault? Arya, it was not your fault."

"Maybe not directly, but I did nothing. I barely fought the soldier that held me, I didn't scream. I knew I didn't want to die; I froze, and he was beaten and he died. It's eating me up inside, changing me, twisting me. I have to do something to make it stop, and the only thing I can think of right now is to help Mycah's parents. I need to do this Sansa, before I become something I hate."

Sansa stared at her sister. She had known her sister was no longer a child, not after all that had happened, but her words made her weep now anyways. She left her bed and crawled in with Arya and wrapped her arms around her.

"Ok, I'll talk to Lysa, I'll get her to agree."

"Thank you. Is it ok if you stay in bed with me? Just for tonight?" Sansa nodded and smoothed back her hair and they settled in for the night.

XXXXX

Arya headed to school the next morning and Sansa sat Lysa down to discuss Arya's wishes. Lysa was resistant at first but Sansa worked on her and they came to a compromise. Arya would leave for school on Monday morning and would stay with Brynden but she and Brynden had to come to dinner on Wednesday nights when Petyr came. Lysa reasoned that he could give them a ride back and forth to town. This way they would all be together once a week. Lysa admitted that she missed Brynden since she no longer went to town.

Sansa told Arya the terms when she returned from school that afternoon, much to her surprise she did not protest. She did request though that she be allowed to go into town tomorrow to see Mycah's parents and settle in with their uncle. Lysa agreed.

As they lay in bed that night Sansa realized she would miss sleeping next to her sister every night. She rolled over and faced Arya's bed. "You awake?"

"Yeah."

"Are you really ok with coming to dinner with Petyr once a week. You've made no secret of your dislike of him. I thought you'd protest more."

"Means to an end."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just that I willing to accept some unpleasantness for the greater good, to get what I need."

Sansa almost asked Arya when she became so mature and reasonable but stopped herself; she knew the answer already. "Well that was very mature of you. Just be careful in town, there's more eyes there," she said instead. "I'll miss you though," she added quietly.

"I'll miss you too, but we'll still see each other plenty, I'll be here every weekend."

"I know but I've gotten so use to you always being in my space," she teased.

"I love you too Sansa. Goodnight," she responded with a smile in her voice.

"Goodnight Arya."

XXXXXX

By February the island seemed to have fallen into a sort of hibernation. Petyr again made an offer to stay with them, this time citing that they were isolated out here, the rain making the roads nearly impassable slicks of mud, and they would need help now that Arya was staying in town most of the week. Again Sansa refused him, working through Lysa, citing it wasn't worth the risk of him being caught out with them should he be needed in town, plus they needed him there to keep an eye on Arya. It made Sansa uneasy that he seemed to be coming more and more determined to stay with them, though she had yet to figure out the reason. Lysa for her part seemed to enjoy the additional attention from Petyr, it seemed it was the only thing that ever lifted her mood. Sansa feared that eventually Petyr was going to get his way.

A few more weeks passed, and the new routine seemed to be working. Arya was there on weekends to help with chores and her spirits did seem to be somewhat improved. She even spoke to Petyr a bit now and no longer stared daggers into him just for being in the same room as her. She and Brynden seemed to have formed a tight bond as well. She told Sansa they had much more in common than she would have thought, that she enjoyed hearing his stories about his time in the Foreign Legion and learning the things he was teaching her. When Sansa had inquired what he was teaching her exactly, Arya had changed the subject by telling her about her work with the butcher. She said their mother would be appalled by the facts she now knew so much about butchering meat, it was very unlady like after all. They had laughed about that, though they now knew that their mother had not always been a lady herself, based on the stories Sansa had heard in the sewing circle.

By mid-March the hibernation had ended, the town was abuzz with news. Construction was to start on the island, camps for detainees that would be brought in to start building fortifications on the island. The occupation was forcing hard choices, as times became harder, resentment and judgments grew, the once unified front was cracking, and therefore the construction was the source of a vast controversy and the issue seemed to further divide the town. The island farmers, large landowners and shop keepers were in better positions than many of the poorer residents. With commercial fishing all but suspended, most other trade cut off and supplies limited, work was hard to find for many, so the construction was a boon, however the idea of working for the Germans, of helping them build what many were calling prison camps, was not desirable either. But most people found they had few options if they wanted to survive, so they made the hard decision to go to work building the camps.

It was around that same time that Sansa found herself at sewing circle without Jeyne, the latter was helping her parents with inventory. It was also the first week that Mycah's mother, Molly, had returned to the group. There had been minimal sewing as they had welcomed her back with hugs and tears.

When the meeting ended and the women were packing up to leave Molly approached her. "Sansa?"

Sansa turned and smiled at her. "I know I told you before, but I'm glad you are back with us."

"Me too," Molly responded and then seemed to look around and shift uncomfortably. "Do you have a little time? I'd like to discuss something with you, something I hope you'll keep between us. Maybe we could get some tea?"

"That would be lovely," Sansa answered. Her reply did not seem to ease Molly's nerves. Sansa's heart went out to her. She knew it must be hard to try and fit yourself back into your normal life after a tragedy, especially one everyone knew about, and especially when everyone saw you as a symbol of what not to do, a cautionary tale. Everyone had been sweet to Molly today, but Sansa had heard the whispers around town and from others in the group previously, everyone had an opinion on what had led to Mycah's death and how his parents should've responded.

They walked through town making small talk about the weather and the quilt Molly was planning to sew as they headed towards the harbor. The tea shop had been repaired after the bombing though Sansa had not been there since that day. They ordered a pot and sat at a table close to the front window. Sansa wondered if there might be an issue with Arya. She poured the tea and waited for Molly to speak, but she seemed to be hesitating, as if she had changed her mind. She wondered if she regretted asking her here.

"Is everything alright with Arya?" Sansa asked when she could no longer bear the silence. "Is she creating problems for you?"

"Oh, no! No, she has been a godsend, thank you for letting her work with us." Molly took in her curious expression. "But she is the reason I wanted to talk to you. She's like family now, which makes you family too, and I feel like I owe you some insight, a warning I suppose." Sansa gave her a questioning look. "Like I said before, I'm hoping this conversation can stay between us. I don't want Arya to think I've betrayed her trust and I promise I'm not trying to stir up trouble."

"I promise."

"Well then, I'm sure Arya has been clear about her feelings regarding Mr. Baelish?" Sansa nodded unsure of where this was headed. "Arya's confided in me that he seems to have taken a keen interest in you, she doesn't like it. Furthermore, she has voiced some concerns that you may be…. I don't know how to say it really, I guess, well, she thinks you might be on his side?"

Sansa blanched. "Yes, well Arya and I have discussed some of that, well about his interest in me, but really he hasn't done anything truly inappropriate towards me. As far as the other issue, I know Arya's angry about his handling of…." Molly looked at her and nodded in understanding of what Sansa was getting at. "I'm not on his side, in fact I argued against it initially, but once he explained it I understood his position. I'm the one that talked to Arya about it, I guess I understand why she might think that. But part of the reason I went along was because he said you had agreed as well," Sansa concluded.

"We went along because we faced little choice. He basically threatened us. He said if we made a fuss they would arrest my husband, we'd lose the shop. We have our other children to think about, and so I agreed to let my son's murders go free." Molly looked out the window towards the harbor fighting back her tears.

Sansa reached across the table and took her hand. "Don't be upset with yourself. As you said, you had little choice. We are all just trying to do our best to survive this, and sometimes that means making the hard choices and sacrificing ourselves and ideals."

"How much has your aunt told you about the Baelish family history here on the island?"

"Nothing, Lysa adores Petyr, she would never say a bad word about him."

Molly let out a brittle laugh. "Of course, she won't."

"What?" Sansa asked. "You are going to need to tell me what is going on."

Molly gave a sigh and took a drink of tea. "Did you know I once courted with your Uncle Edmure? It was forever ago, when we were very young, a year or two before your mother left the island. Cat was always sweet to me, but I don't think Lysa ever cared for me. I'm not from a landed family."

"I don't understand what you're getting at?" Sansa questioned her.

"Sorry, that's another story entirely. Anyways, the Baelishes were one of the original families on the island. They used to own practically the entire place. Over time they sold off large plots to other families as they moved here. It made them very wealthy. But somewhere along the way they started to mismanage things. Petyr's grandfather was a mess. He drank and gambled, losing everything but the few acres that they hold today. In fact, your great grandfather Robbryt got the Tully family farm off Petyr's grandfather in a card game.

When Petyr's father took over the farm it became clear that he thought many of the families on the island has taken advantaged and swindled his father. He feuded with everyone. He was a hard man, it was a known secret that he treated Petyr terribly, was always filling his head with stories about how everyone had wronged and abused their family. That's why Holster, your grandfather, took pity on him, started looking after him, tried to save him from that man's influence.

I think Petyr hoped to marry your mother one day and inherit Holster's farm, truly be his son, but your mother never saw him like that and she had her own plans. She lit out of here as soon as she could for the glamour of London, but I think he always thought she would find city life overwhelming and return to him and the island. When she brought your father back it crushed Petyr. He left here shortly thereafter and then it was Lysa's turn to be crushed. "

"Why are you telling me all this?" Sansa asked.

"Because when Petyr returned a few years ago he seemed to be on a mission to make himself the most powerful man on the island. And now with the Nazis here he seems to have accomplished it. You are out on that farm and your aunt worships him so maybe you don't know, or you can't see it, but he is dangerous. He's already been using his position to punish people, to even old scores."

"I'm sorry but this all seems a bit….. Well, why have I never heard anything like that before? My mother never had much bad to say about Petyr."

"He was her childhood friend, I doubt she knows much of the man he's become. Also, why would anyone here tell you? He makes no secret about the advantages that he provides to those who are his allies, and he has made it clear to everyone he considers your aunt, and therefore you by proxy, his allies."

Sansa felt her stomach turning. Was that what everyone thought of them? Was that what Arya thought of her? That they were collaborators and traitors? She felt shaken.

"Sansa, I love Arya and I like you as well. I just want you to have your eyes wide open here and to be careful. Your great grandfather and your grandfather, even your mother, were all well respected and well thought of on this island, the Tully name still means something here. Brynden's efforts aside, Petyr is trying to leverage that name for his own purposes. I just think you should know."

Sansa took a long drink of her tepid tea and let Molly's words soak in. She was unsure of what she should do with this information.

"Why has Brynden never mentioned any of this?"

"I don't know, maybe he thinks it's better to leave you out of it? But also, Brynden left the island for many years, before Petyr was born even and he returned during the years Petyr was gone. Plus, I think you know your uncle tends to steer clear of gossip… well and people in general."

Sansa realized that was true, Brynden had few friends she was aware of and had spent his entire adult life in military pursuits, and he definitely would not entertain idol gossip. And then she remembered Arya telling her something Brynden had said recently, that one needs to keep their enemies close, maybe Brynden had a plan.

"Thank you for telling me."

"I'm sorry if it's a burden, but as I said I think you should know, but please don't tell Arya I told you she's upset with you about Petyr. I don't want her to know I broke her confidence."

"I promise."

They sat quietly after that and finished the tea. If Sansa had had reservations about Petyr before it was nothing compared to how she felt now.

XXXXXX

Sansa kept her word to Molly and said nothing to Arya or anyone else about what she had learned about Petyr. However, at the end of March Petyr tried once more to make his way unto the farm. At dinner that week he announced that he had been ordered to take on soldiers in his own house, so he was asking Lysa if he might use the cottage. Sansa could tell Lysa was wavering, that she might allow it.

Lysa had seemed more depressed as the winter had worn on and as Robin had failed to regain all his strength; Petyr was the one thing that seemed to lift her moods. Sansa knew her aunt liked the idea of Petyr being close to her, and Molly had all but confirmed that Lysa had long been in love with him, though she doubted he returned the feeling. Sansa was quick to point out the cottage lacked the basic utilities of water and power, but in the end it was Arya and Brynden who shut him down.

"Don't you think it would be better to stay in town, maybe you could gather information from those soldiers. Unless are you completely loyal to the Germans now?" Arya spoke in a clear innocent voice, her tone not betraying the harsh accusation her words held.

"I am most defiantly not blindly loyal to the Germans, I am loyal to the crown, to the people of this island. Everything I do it to ensure all of our survivals, but I am far from a resistance fighter. But tell me, who exactly would I be turning over this information to if I did?" His tone was had a hint of amusement. He was clearly baiting her.

"So the extra rations and special treatment are just an unfortunate side effect then?" Arya countered ignoring his question.

"Has this family not benefited from my position? Do I not drive you out here every week? You've never turned down the additional food I provide, the medicine I was able to procure," his gaze fell on Robin and then back to Arya. "You wish to take some moral high ground but only when it suits you, when there is nothing you need. But you should keep this in mind, chaos and despair are always waiting around the corner, just ask the people out on the western end of the island."

His words hung heavy in the air, Arya looked away, Sansa shifted uncomfortably, he had a point, they didn't refuse his help, they didn't question where he got the things he gave him. They had asked him to give Arya and Brynden a ride each week. They still enjoyed tea and coffee when she knew others went without.

He continued, "I know what people in town say; that I am collaborating, hell Brynden says it to my face some days." Brynden chuckled a bit at that and Petyr gave him a pointed look before continuing, "But they are wrong, I am doing all I can to serve my people, their interests."

"Do you think the people's whose land you've stolen think you serve their interest? Seems to me you are serving your self-interests the most," Brynden interjected. Petyr blinked and looked taken a back for the briefest of moments. Brynden almost smiled, clearly pleased to have rattled Petyr.

"I've stolen nothing. I have secured those lands through the proper channels, they were abandoned. My ownership gives me more leverage with the Germans, which is good for everyone. Don't you think it's better to have a local voice of reason in their ears?" Petyr countered regaining his composure.

"Interesting that you consider yourself the voice of reason," Brynden said dismissively.

Before Petyr could answer Arya jumped in, "Well I don't think you can be in their ear all the way out here. I would think it's far better for you to be in town, and I think the islanders would feel better too. That way they would see you are one of them, that you suffer under the same rules as them."

Her words hung in the air, Petyr's jaw ticked with tension.

"Arya's right Petyr, it would be selfish of me to keep you here, away from everyone else that would need you. You are very important after all," Lysa said sadly breaking the silence, she was clearly disappointed. Sansa said a silent prayer of thanks.

Petyr opened his mouth but Lysa cut him off, "Don't argue dear, I'm doing what's best for you and your position." Arya just smiled sweetly but her eyes remained cold. Brynden crossed his arms and waited for Petyr to respond further, but Petyr just smiled back at Lysa and bowed his head in assent; Sansa saw no sincerity in his eyes.

After dinner Arya and Sansa were washing the dishes in the kitchen while the adults drank scotch in the parlor. "I need you tell Brynden something when you get back to town and are alone," Sansa whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Arya whispered back giving her a concerned look.

"Because it's about Petyr," Sansa said, her voice barely audible.

"Let's take the trash out," Arya said in a normal volume voice.

They grabbed the waste bin and went out back. Once they were near the trash barrel they stopped and Arya waited for Sansa to tell her what was going on.

"At dinner Brynden said the Petyr is taking up land around the island, the land that the people that evacuated once held, but that's not entirely true. I've overheard him trying to convince Lysa to sign the farm over to him. He said it's for her protection but I don't believe him, not after what Brynden just said. I think you should let him know. I worry Lysa will eventually be swayed to Petyr's point."

"But why would he want this place? He doesn't even farm his own."

Sansa couldn't tell her what she knew, that she had a theory. So instead she answered, "I don't know, but clearly he has some purpose for trying to buy as much land as possible, maybe he just likes the control. But please tell Brynden, if anyone can get Petyr to back off it would be him. It scares me to think what could happen if we were totally dependent on Petyr."

"I will. I hope the ride home is quick tonight, because you know it's gonna be awkward," Arya sighed as they headed back inside.