Sansa stared at the goblin in shock, fear creeping up her spine. " H-how…" The sentence drifted unfinished in the air, the scarred goblin only smiled.
" Varys isn't the only one with little birds"
" I don't use birds, Tyrion. They like the taste of me a bit too much for me to find use in them." The small goblin gave out a laugh, waving them to follow him. Sansa stood still till the hound and the spider were in front of her. She felt safer behind the wall of muscle and brilliant mind. Podrick and Bronn walked next to Tyrion, the small goblin setting a slow pace with his small legs.
" So, Sansa." The goblin starting again, " What do you plan on doing with our gracious King?" The teen stayed silent for a breath, Sandor's hand resting gently on her shoulder. Looking up she saw he walked beside her now, clearly sensing her anxiety over the three new people.
" I plan to get my brother back." She finally answered. It was the truth. She didn't want to rule over the Labyrinth, she didn't want to see Petyr overthrown. She just wanted Rickon. " And I only have seven hours to do it."
Tyrion whistled low, Bronn looking at Sansa with respect. " Pissed him off, did you?"
Sansa blushed, remembering how simple it was to mess up her chances. " Told him the Labyrinth was easy."
Podrick gave a small giggle, Bronn outright laughing. " I like this one, pair of balls bigger than yours." He said to the Goblin who only smiled up at him in amusement.
" Not that hard to do."
The hound,spider and teen watched the three joke back and forth. They were the outsiders here. Varys slowed his steps briefly till he was walking in time with Sansa and Sandor. " Be careful here. He may be a friend but he has his own goals, my lady." He whispered to them.
"Couldn't say this before we walked through the bloody gate?"
Varys shrugged slightly, Sansa smiling lightly at the two. Despite her unease of the goblin with no nose, she had her spider and hound. She knew she wasn't going to get hurt any time soon.
Finally Tyrion stopped, several small doorways in front of the group of six. He turned around looking at his three guests. When he looked at Sansa she noticed for the first time his eyes were mismatched. One was a pale blue like hers and the other a deep brown, almost black. She shivered, not liking the feel the mismatched eyes gave her.
" I need more than you wanting your brother, my dear. I can't help you if all you want is something you wished away." Sandor gripped the handle of his weapon tight, but Sansa kept her eyes on Tyrion. " You are important to the King. He hasn't let any human in his Labyrinth since… God it's been about two centuries hasn't it?" He asked Podrick who was looking at the floor. Before Podrick could answer he shook his head continuing. " He was devastated last time, so you are a rather special case indeed."
"What happened?" Sansa couldn't help the concern coloring her voice. What changed the Goblin King so drastically? Varys had said he also stopped caring for his people around that time as well.
" A girl happened. Though I suppose she was a woman." Tyrion mused. His hand snapped up, catching a coin Bronn dropped. " She used his power against him." The small goblin twirled the coin on his fingers, similar to how petyr had done it, but less elegant and more to just show off the coin. Sansa suddenly remembered the warm spot in her pocket, her own coin reminding her they still existed. " She took one of these and unlocked his power in a way a human with a Fea's heart can."
The coin flew in the air, before landing in Sansa's hand. She stared at it in wonder. How could someone use someone else's love against them? It was so… cruel.
" He's been careful about them ever since. Letting them only roll and fly to people he trusted. Once used for it's intended purpose they usually disappear just like the King is overly fond to do." His eyes watched Sansa carefully, looking for her reaction. She just stared down at the gold coin in her hands. It was cold. The one in her pocket seemed to give off more heat, annoyed at the lack on this one. Her fingers trailed along the side, the raised words feeling comforting underneath the pad of her finger. She turned the coin, finally able to see the words.
" Knowledge is power…" She mumbled under her breath. Varys nodded sagely while the hound scoffed.
" A good sword and a bastard to wield it is power"
Tyrion just rolled his eyes, reaching towards Sansa to grab the coin back. " This is merely a fake. And they don't always look like this I'm afraid. He does love using a coin but they can take shape and form of anything the King decides." The small goblin sighed, depositing the coin in his pocket. " Even if I had the real thing, I could scarcely use it. Petyr holds no love for me." Once again Bronn laughed.
"The only heart he'd give you is your own."
"Thank you, Bronn" The scarred goblin said sharply, giving Bronn a look. The human just smiled down smugly.
" Podrick, Some wine please." Tyrion requested of the young boy, who jumped and ran off to get. Bronn just shrugged his shoulders, smiling at Sansa when the goblin finally stopped looking at him in annoyance. " Sansa, You need to want more then your brother if you wish to defeat him. It is noble to want to save him but noble people have died at Petyr's hand." The goblin gave Sansa a look, she felt as if he knew of the vision she had had.
" Lord Tyrion." Sansa began, after giving both her companions a quick look. Varys looked amused while Sandor looked like he was about to kill the two. " I need to find Rickon. Now. I'm wasting time just being here."
Tyrion just smiled again, his mismatched eyes twinkling. " I don't think so, My dear. You are using your time wisely." The goblin pointed behind him, " These doors will help you in your travels. All I ask is we come with."
She stared back in astonishment at the two in front of her. Podrick still hadn't returned with whatever labyrinthiens called wine. There was no way he'd help them just to put himself in danger. "Why?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. " You said nobel people die. Helping me would be nobel,wouldn't it?
" Oh, no wonder he likes you"
Sansa just continued to regard him suspiciously, till he sighed seeming to finally give up on holding it back. " I want him gone,Sansa. He's been a thorn in my side for too long. Though what he did to my loving brother and sister was hilarious in it's own way. I need him gone and you are my way to it. He cares for you, my dear. For one reason or another, you are special."
Sansa looked behind him to the doors. " You're using me." She whispered. She knew her Sandor and Varys both could be using her. She hoped they were both helping them out of the good of their hearts. But to hear so bluntly that someone just wanted to use her against someone else was shattering.
But isn't that how the world was? No one did anything out of the goodness of their hearts. It was either for love,power or money. Nothing was free. Sansa felt the ground below her rumble slightly almost in approval before her eyes focused back on Tyrion.
" And I will tell you that I am. I won't lie to you. You hold something none of us could be able to. For that I pledge myself, Bronn here and my dear friend Podrick to your use. All I ask is you let us … tag along." The teen turned to her companions. The spider seemed to nod slightly at her, giving her approval while the hound gripped his sword tightly. That clearly meant his disapproval of the situation. That made her the deciding factor.
She looked back at the scarred goblin and his two human friends, podrick returning with a glass pitcher of deep red liquid that had blue swirls swimming through it. " Alright." Her hand wove through her hair de tangling strands on it's way. "Alright." She repeated.
Tyrion grinned, suddenly reminding her of a vicious lion. " Wonderful."
The goblin turned around, sipping a glass of the 'wine' Podrick brought him. " Which one will you choose, Sansa?" He asked in reference to the several doors littering the wall. She just looked at them then him in response. " They all lead to the same distance away from the castle. None more difficult than the last. Just different. You will be closer than we are now, giving you…"
Tyrion looked over at Podrick who answered with a "6 hours and 40 minutes"
" Giving you 6 hours and 40 minutes! To get to these spots it would take hours."
Varys was the first to speak, " We thank you, my lord. You are most generous."
"Save your thanks, friend." Tyrion responded, a kinder smile showing when he looked at the spider. " We haven't beat him yet."
Sansa ignored them, looking at her options. Each one looked exactly the same giving nothing away to the world behind it. Experimentally, she walked past her new companions to open one just to see where it went. No sense going somewhere without knowing where. She tried to pull it open but the door stayed shut. Dimly she heard Tyrion shout, she turned around to see what he was yelling about. Before she could focus on his words, the door behind her flung open a force like a powerful wind grabbing her. Her hands scrambled to reach her friends all of them looking shocked.
Sansa tried to yell for help but before a single word could escape her mouth she was through the doorway, her last view of her friends was Sandor trying to grab her hands, and Varys' arms exploding towards her, the spiders launching after her.
The world came back in parts.
Touch was first. She couldn't feel the cold stone, instead it felt like dried leaves made into a cushion. She was laying on her stomach, the sky behind her.
Then hearing. There were birds, soft and far away. Some noise closer but Sansa couldn't tell how close.
Smell. It reminded her of the godswood by home. Earth all natural filled her nostril making her miss Lady for the first time since coming to the Labyrinth.
Taste. Dirt. She spit some out her eyes finally opening as she pushed herself off the floor.
Finally Sight. Sansa was under some large trees, their shade blocking out the sun as far as she could see. Below her was a carpet of leaves, most likely from the trees across this area of the Labyrinth. Or at least what she hoped was the Labyrinth.
Standing on her shaky legs, she looked around trying to find what pulled her through the doorway but she found a few problems. One. There was no one around, though she wasn't sure how long she was out. Two. No door.
There was no way back.
Sansa whirled around hoping maybe she just missed it. After the third time of scanning her surroundings she let out a string of curses, each one meant for her. How could she be so stupid?!
The teen sighed, Had going through her hair again, trying to calm herself down. Her hand reached for the warm coin in her pocket, pressing the gold into her palm. It probably left impressions of the words but she didn't care. It was something.
Now that her breathing was down a little, Sansa noticed something she completely looked over. Each tree had a face. More specifically, each tree had a face pointed towards her. Her eyes grew wide in fear as each face followed her in the wooded area, each face more horrific than the last.
" Oh thank the gods!"
Sansa whirled around again, the fear of the last few minutes tiring her. A spider hung from one of the large tree's branches, delicately balancing on a thin strand of web. She let go a sigh of relief, the voice reminding her Varys was most spiders… she thinks.
" Varys!" She shouted with glee, cupping her hand so the incredibly small spider Varys could land and not be at the mercy of the wind. He seemed to be uncharacteristically stressed, his normal cool demeanor giving way to fear and anger.
"My lady I thought you died!" He shouted, the spider pacing on her palm. Thankfully the one without the impressions of the coin. " Sandor nearly killed Tyrion after you fell through the door. Thankfully Bronn managed to stop him, but still!" The spider stopped looking at Sansa before sinking listlessly. " Gods, girl. What happened?"
Sansa couldn't help the guilt that tore through her. It hurt her to see her friend upset. She honestly hadn't meant for him to be so distraught. She hadn't even meant to be wherever she was, but life didn't seem to want to work with her lately. " I… I don't know." She admitted, her cheeks reddening. " I just touched the door and I don't know. I think something or someone grabbed me…" She looked around the woods again, hearing a small shuffling noise. She hoped it was the wind.
Varys stood silent. Sansa was about to make sure he was alright when he spoke again. " That is not normal, My lady. Someone did pull you through. Those doors don't open unless you push. I helped design shouldn't have opened towards you. Someone was on the other side."
She personally wished he kept that part to himself. The woods were dark as it was, her only companion being a small spider who couldn't hold up to a light breeze. Ignorance was a sweet bliss she wished he gave her.
" Lady Sansa, Please be safe. I can't get spiders there to form. Tyrion and I are working to get to you. It's a gamble where you landed." The spider turned around on her hand, surveying the land. "My lady, Do you have a pocket I may rest? It is very tiring controlling more than my form at once. I will wait there till I have news."
Sansa reluctantly showed Varys her pocket, hoping he would continue talking to her. His voice was a comfort in the dark woods she found herself in. As she put the spider in one pocket, out of the other she drew the warm gold disk.
'She used his power against him' Sansa remembered twirling the coin in her hand. It had become a sort of safety blanket for her, like her dragonfly once was. But this was his. She was sure of it, the warmth pulsing in answer. Tyrion's was a replica and was as cold as the stone surrounding her. The coin was a part of him, warm. She supposed she should be disgusted she found comfort in it but found she didn't particularly care.
" Well, you seem to be lost, little one."
Sansa wished for once she could get the jump on someone. Make them jump in fear instead. She was tired of being terrified. When Sansa looked up from her coin she saw a goblin. This Goblin was larger the Tyrion and sharper. Their hands looked more like claws, their nose pointed up almost in constant distain. They had long red hair which dragged along the ground collecting leaves and dirt.
Before Sansa could open her mouth, the goblin spoke again. " What's a little thing like you doing this close to the castle?" She realized the goblin had no idea who she was. For once she had a small advantage over someone. If they didn't know she was the Labyrinth challenger they might not try to send her the beginning.
"I'm looking for the Spider." She told the goblin, her mind supplying a lie, " The king said he was a traitor now. Well, I came to help get rid of the bug once and for all." The goblin regarded her suspiciously before her lips parted in what was probably a small, her thin lips thinning over long gnarled teeth.
" Good, Humans are easy to use. Easy to get to high places. You will call me Lysa, though the King has probably told you all about me already." Her voice was high and grating, sounding similar to nails on a chalkboard. Sansa tried not to wince at the noise. " What do we call you?" The goblin sniffed in Sansa's direction.
" Uh.. Alayne. They call me Alayne."
Lysa only nodded, looking Alayne over again before heading the way she had been originally walking before she came upon the human. It was in the opposite direction of the castle. Sansa almost continued away from the goblin, but Lysa seemed close with Petyr. If she realized who she was she could tell him and he'd trap her in another dark hole or send something worse than lions.
She managed to suppress a shiver as she followed Lysa and screams ricocheted through her mind.
Varys tried to keep himself together as he hit the wall with a loud thump. Every instinct told him to disperse and run from the monster of a man.
The hound glared down at him, teeth bared in a vicious snarl. A flurry of movement had him pressing Varys against a wall and Bronn placing a sword at Sandor's neck. The hound didn't seem to care about the metal biting into his neck, his eyes only on the spider.
"Where. The hell. Is. She?" He grounded out, his muscles rippling with him holding himself back. Varys knew if Sandor wanted he would be nothing but bug paste on the wall. He'd have to calm down the vicious dog.
" I don't know ,Sandor." He answered " Truly!" He added at the dog giving him a look that said he clearly didn't believe him. " In all my years I've never been where she is. It's dense, weirwoods making up every tree there." He looked past Bronn and Sandor to Tyrion who was deep in thought. " She said someone pulled her through. The door had opened towards her, not away."
"Impossible," Tyrion replied voicing his thoughts. "Or highly unlikely in any case… She'd have to throw all her weight on those doors to open them. Anyone would…." The small goblin trailed off his thoughts whirling around as he tried to figure out where their hero of the labyrinth went.
" Get her." The spider focused on Sandor once again.
" I would if I could. But I don't know where she is. I'm lucky I got a spider with her as it was. Can't send myself where I don't know." Varys explained slowly as if talking to a child.
Varys tried not to flinch as Sandor pounded the wall next to his head. The spiders twitched aching to run from danger. " I promised I'd help her" his voice was low, the words themselves seeming to hurt him as they tore out of his mouth.
Slowly, the pressure on him lessened, the hound backing off. The blade left Sandor's throat as well now that the threat was gone. Sandor slumped against the wall next to Varys. " Bloody good I am, letting her get taken."
Varys felt the overwhelming need to soothe the man's guilt, his own bubbling to the surface. He was the one to convince Sansa to meet with his friend. " You will get who hurt her, Sandor."
The words seemed to do little to comfort the man, who only looked up to glare at Tyrion trying to get him to think of a way to get her faster. Tyrion seemed oblivious to this, drinking cup after cup of the wine Podrick brought to him. Varys walked over, plucking the cup from the goblin's grasp. Tyrion just produced another one to the spider's disdain. " A toast, friend, I find it helps me think."
Varys gaze lingered on the liquid in the cup before it shifted to the small goblin. Tyrion clearly wanted him to give the toast.
The spider sighed airily, repeating the words Sandor said earlier that day, " Fuck the king."
Sandor only nodded,"Fuck the king. Fuck his castle too." Tyrion smiled at both of them, raising his glass of wine.
" Fuck the King and all he owns."