Okay, I have to thank a lot of people for their input with this one. based on the success of the last chapter I decided to do another Buffy episode. It was put to me to do "Halloween" – the one where they all turn into their costumes. So I have done. I want to thank everyone who chimed in with this – especially Sassyeggs and Direwaggle42. I warn everyone though – if anything this is even sillier than the last chapter!
In the early spring, as her hold on the north secured, Sansa decided to throw the first major masquerade ball the north had seen in centuries. She could never have foreseen the amount of arguing her idea would cause. Not in the preparations, the decorating or the food – Hot Pie threw himself to the task of the banquet with delighted abandon – it was the costumes that got everyone in distress. All over the castle it was as though war had broken out all over again.
"But I want to be a knight!" Arya wailed.
"You are a knight anyway!" Sansa admonished – "At least you're training to be! Why not go as something – completely different from who you are? That would be more fun".
Arya glared at her suspiciously;
"You're just trying to make me be pretty!"
"Well I couldn't do that if I tried!"
"Fine! Fine you know what – I'll go as you!" And so on.
In the library Sam was trying to shoot down all of Gilly's laughing suggestions that he should be a White Walker. He could not think why she would do this to him.
"Well then – I will if you will!"
"I already have my costume planned," Gilly countered with an easy shrug – "You'll see."
The little ones were going to be dragons; Sansa had spent weeks going far and wide for the materials to make their costumes, Bran overseeing the proceedings with tolerant amusement.
Sansa had not thought, right up until the night of the ball, that she would get Sandor in a costume at all. Eventually, grudgingly, just before they were due to go down, he emerged in a suit of shining armour and a flowing cloak of blue silk. Her eyes glowed –
"Oh shut up," he grumbled before she could express approval – "You asked for everyone to be unlike themselves remember? Well I'm one of those true knights you're always going on about." She beamed;
"Well pray, escort me to the hall, good Ser!"
"No" Sandor grumbled – "That's too much, little bird. Look at you, all feathers and everything."
Sansa had decided even before she put the idea out there to be at least a partial bird and her cloak was a riot of colourful feathers. They almost stumbled over Arya coming into the hall as she ran past yelling –
"This is stupid! Ladies can't fight dragons!" tripping over her skirts whilst Rickon and Shireen ran after her roaring.
"Arya!" Sansa laughed – "Ladies look where they're going!"
Arya stuck her tongue out at her sister and ran on. Sansa looked around the room, smiling benignly; Sam and Gilly were late but otherwise – there were Jaime and Brienne – dressed as caricatures of each other, Gendry was a bull and in the corner -
"Good gracious!" Sansa announced – "Whatever is Hot Pie?"
Arya ran up behind her wheezing for breath –
"He's a – hot pie!" she laughed – "Can't you tell?"
Suddenly everything shimmered and went dark.
When Sansa came round again something felt very odd. She stretched, then she flexed her wings – she gasped – she had wings! All over the castle she heard murmurings and she looked around in the dark to see what she could see. The noises from the courtyard were alarming – it sounded like roars and bellows and wings. Jaime and Brienne were screaming at each other – Brienne was missing a hand and Jaime had both of his;
"How in the seven hells would I have stolen your hand woman?" he was yelling.
"You're the woman!"
"Arya?" Sansa caught sight of her sister with relief – at least Arya looked like herself.
"What's happening?" Arya sounded scared, tiny – "What's wrong with everyone? Why do you have wings?"
"I – I don't know. Arya did you hide your sword in your dress – you might need it."
Arya looked shocked;
"Why would I do that? I'm a proper lady – ladies don't use swords."
"Arya that's not helpful, stop it now, this is serious."
"I don't understand. Maybe we should just wait here and some brave knight will no doubt come and rescue us."
"Arya stop it! It's starting to scare me!"
"Little bird?" behind her Sandor sat up groaning – "Sansa? You alright? – fucking – " he broke off looking at her – "The fuck is going on?"
"Well at least someone's acting normal!"
"Oh thank goodness!" Arya cried, clasping her bosom – "Are you a knight come to rescue me, good Ser?"
"She keeps doing that!" Sansa looked perplexed.
"I can be," Sandor shrugged – "Let's try and find out what's going on here."
"Wait –" Sansa flapped her wings as she spoke, it was surprisingly relaxing as she floated up towards the ceiling – "I'm getting something – Jaime and Brienne came dressed as each other and now they've swapped hands – Arya you came as a fine lady and –"
"But of course, I did!" Arya looked peeved – "I am a fine lady, I am not used to this kind of strangeness!"
"But Sandor you seem much the same – except you didn't shout at Arya for calling you Ser – so somehow –"
"Some magic has made us all our costumes!" Jaime said, coming over – "Look see, there's the most enormous pie in the corner!"
"Hot Pie!" Sansa cried in alarm – "Oh no – oh no –" she said again "Sam was going to be –"
As if on cue there came a terrible chill and a frost swept in from the main door. Sandor had already ushered out most of the guests who were still human, and Arya clung to his arm, trembling.
"RUN!" he yelled. They did, Sansa flew right over the head of the terrible White Walker that came crashing into the room. Sandor and Arya swerved around it.
"You can blame Gilly!" Brienne yelled.
"Where is Gilly?" Sansa called down.
"Oh what a pretty flower!" Arya bent over to pick a flower out of the stone corridor.
"Not now, Arya!"
"That's where she is!" Sandor sighed – "Arya you keep that flower safe!"
They ran out into the courtyard, but it was no safer – two little dragons were flying circles round and round whilst Bran tried desperately to keep them under control and a minotaur was destroying the blacksmith's forge. Arya fainted into Sandor's arms.
"She's no use to us!" Brienne complained as they all huddled into an archway.
"You're always so mean!" Jaime grumbled at her.
"Shut it wench!"
"You shut it, kingslayer!"
"Both of you stop!" Sansa snapped sternly – "Arya –" Arya was coming round, head on Sandor's arm. She gazed up at him adoringly –
"You rescued me!" She beamed – "Just like in a story! How can I ever thank you my good lord?"
"You can stop that for a start!" Sansa pulled her to her feet – "Arya, I need you to take care of that flower and go back into the main hall with these two and make sure nobody eats Hot Pie!"
"But – but I want to go with the brave good knight!"
"I am going with the brave good knight. Now go!"
They went. Sansa fluttered down to the ground –
"I still don't know where to start," she sighed.
"You'll be alright," Sandor patted her awkwardly on the wing – "I'll keep us safe."
Sansa smiled at him, reassured somehow even in the midst of all the chaos;
"Wait –" she frowned, peering as a red cloaked figure came out of a door across the courtyard – "What is she doing here?"
They chased the red woman down, Sansa remembering how Arya had described her to them – it could be no-one other than Melisandre of Asshai.
"I wanted to make you all see," she said – "To show you your true selves and bring you to the Lord of Light – I did not know you would all be pretending to be such strange people and creatures."
"Can you undo it?"
"You must look into your hearts and tell me if you want it truly to be undone," she replied importantly. Sansa looked around, flapped her wings gently, saw the dragons and the monsters in the courtyard, heard the white walker running rampant through the castle and nodded, amazed at the question –
"Yes!" She almost snorted – "yes we want it undone!"
The red woman smiled and vanished and it was done. Bran caught the little ones as they fell out of the sky. Gendry looked in shame at the ruin of the forge. Sansa and Sandor ran back into the main hall to check on everyone. Sam was looking ashamed, Jaime and Brienne were still arguing – but at least this time they had the right limbs. Nobody had eaten Hot Pie and Gilly was looking extremely crumpled and distressed from her time in Arya's pocket and Arya –
"Right!" Arya roared, stopping past with Needle in hand, ripping the sweet silk dress off her as she went – "Where's that witch who made me into a swooning soppy –"
"You sure you don't want your brave knight to hunt her down for you, my lady?" Sandor could not help himself.
"Shut up!" Arya yelled – "Shut up shut up shut up!"
"Oh, what are you going to do? Swoon on me again? She's never going to live that one down," he grinned at Sansa as Arya stormed off.
"And you?" Sansa smiled sweetly – "Are you going to live it down that you dressed as a true knight and hardly changed at all? I can still give you that knighthood, you know".
"Urgh –" Sandor groaned – "Shut up, little bird."
_x_
Poor Arya – having to take Buffy's role in this one! I'm loving doing these Buffy things people, so keep em coming! Gonna do Invisible Girl next which may be a little more serious. However some lovely soul did suggest Once More with Feeling – so any ideas or lyrics would be welcomed for that one – without ripping off Coldplay of course – we could make it a group effort!
