She felt herself locking her shoulders and her knees, hoping that doing so would keep her from visibly trembling. She had been so careful when writing her letter to Prince Doran...which meant that Ser Willem or someone else who had known that they were at the Water Gardens had told the Prince of Dorne something. The question was...how much had he been told?
"I was completely honest about my still being a maiden," Sansa began slowly, "and I am willing to prove that in any way I can, if it means the annulment of my Lannister marriage. As it is, I was forced into that marriage, against my will. I never agreed to it."
"She refused to kneel, even, when it came time for the Imp to place his cloak of protection over her shoulders," Sandor informed Prince Doran. He sounded so proud, and there was so much affection in his tone that Sansa felt herself begin to blush.
"Sandor speaks the truth. Surely you understand my desire to no longer be connected to that family?" Sansa pressed.
Prince Doran closed his eyes for a moment, wincing as he shifted in his seat. "I do," he finally sighed.
Sansa grimaced. "And of course you have someone - or more than one person - in your service who could help me accomplish this, and who would know that it must be kept entirely secret?"
"Yes, of course. I have some small concerns about this matter, Lady Sansa, but I assure you that it was not the idea of helping you annul your marriage that has been keeping me awake at night. Any person of sound mind should understand why the Lannisters wed you to Tyrion, and I'm certain that I'm not the only one who would rather that marriage never...come to fruition, as they say."
"Well then, what's the problem with helping her?" Sandor spat. Sansa reached out and laid her hand on his arm, giving a jerk of her head to indicate that he shouldn't speak again. Surprisingly, he obeyed, even when the Prince sat silent and watched him for several long moments before continuing.
"I did not say there was a problem with helping her annul this Lannister marriage," Prince Doran clarified. "But I have questions regarding the other request you made, Lady Sansa. You want to marry again, and so soon...yet I cannot understand why that is. You are quite young - too young to have been wed already, in my opinion - and you are beautiful as well. I do not mean to be so blunt as to be rude, but with Westeros at war and your home in ruins, would it not be best to sit back and see how things unfold before giving yourself to another?"
Sansa knew what she must ask, though part of her didn't want to do so - for could she truly know how the Prince of Dorne would respond? The answer was no, yet she knew that she didn't have a choice.
"Do you have a son to whom you'd like to see me wed, my Prince?"
Doran Martell closed his eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he admitted, "No."
"Do you understand that so long as I remain unwed, the Lannisters and the Boltons and the Tyrells - and who knows who else - will seek to claim me for their own?" Sansa clenched her hands into fists. He must see the truth, she promised herself.
Again the Prince paused before finally replying, "Yes. And that is why I am so torn on this matter. I do not understand why you are so willing to swear yourself to another, and yet I know that there is truly no other choice."
"And you know that the best thing for yourself - and for me - is my marrying a man of little standing," Sansa reminded him. "It is the only way to insure that I will be less of a threat."
"Of course, Lady Sansa. And yet...why you would want to do such a thing..."
This time, it was Sansa's turn to close her eyes and breathe deeply, hoping to calm herself before saying what she needed to say. "I...I want to be a player in the game, Prince Doran. But I also want to be deemed less important than I am just now. I don't want to be passed from one lord to another...I've had enough of that. I want to marry a man who can protect me. A man I love."
"You want to marry Sandor Clegane here." It wasn't a question, and Sansa could only do her best to not appear shocked at how certain Prince Doran was in regards to this fact.
"Yes. He would be my first choice," she replied carefully.
"I cannot allow it," Prince Doran admitted. But before Sansa could argue, he continued, "Yet at the same time, I will not prohibit it. I will help you annul your marriage to Tyrion Lannister, Lady Sansa, but what you do after that..."
For a moment Sansa thought to argue; she needed his backing, needed a highborn witness...yet he had clearly thought this through, and if she knew anything about Doran Martell, it was that he would not change his mind.
"I understand," she sighed. "Assist me in ridding myself of this Lannister marriage, and all I will ask of you is that if I need to call on you in the future - to prove that I have wed Sandor Clegane of my own will - you will recall this conversation and help me in any way you can."
The Prince of Dorne gave her a sad smile. "I will do what I must." He turned and gestured to his guard, and that man opened a door on the other side of the solar. In marched a septon, a septa, and a silent sister. "I will leave you now," the Prince said. "For this is something I do not care to witness. When they are done, we will hopefully be able to proclaim that you were not only wed to Tyrion Lannister against your will, but that you are a maiden...and once this is done, a coded message will be sent to the High Septon. You must be on your way to Essos this very day, but I assure you that we will inform you of the High Septon's decision as soon as we receive it."
"The High Septon?" Sansa was aware that the pitch of her voice was much higher than usual. "What if he tells the Queen?"
Prince Doran grimaced. "Lady Sansa, I assure you that we would not appeal to him were it not necessary to do so. I must tell you that much has happened since you left King's Landing. My brother Oberyn fought for your husband's honor, against Gregor Clegane...and from what I am told, Oberyn is dead while Gregor lays dying from the poison in Oberyn's spear. The previous High Septon is dead as well, and a new one is soon to be appointed. If our sources are correct, I think that you will find this new High Septon to be quite sympathetic to your situation. Regardless, you will be well on your way to Essos - with no one having any knowledge of your having been here or where you are going - before our plea reaches him, and so I believe that we may continue to keep you safe." At this Prince Doran glanced at Sandor, but his eyes quickly left that man's face and returned to her own.
Sansa didn't quite know how to respond. "I suppose that I will have to trust you," she said slowly, and the Prince of Dorne merely nodded in reply. His guard grabbed hold of his chair and pulled him back through the door through which the septon, septa, and silent sister had entered, and then Sansa and Sandor were alone with the man and women who would help to prove that she was a maiden. "Do what you must," she allowed.
"This should not be painful ,but we cannot promise that it will not be uncomfortable," the septa droned.
"I understand," Sansa capitulated.
"I'm not certain you do," was the septa's cold reply. "He will have to leave."
Even if the woman hadn't pointed to Sandor, Sansa would have known who she meant. "No," she said, suddenly frightened. She could do this without him...but whether or not she wanted to was a different story.
"No choice," the septa insisted. Sansa turned to Sandor - the look on his face was murderous, but she attempted to calm him with a light touch on his arm.
"All right," Sansa agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Sandor, I'm certain this won't take but a moment. Please wait outside." Please, please do, and please don't put up a fight...
Sandor clearly didn't agree with her, but all the same he seemed to acknowledge the importance of the situation. "I'll be just on the other side of the door. If you need me, you call out my name."
Sansa gave him a weak smile, hoping that he understood it for what it was, that he knew that if she needed him she would call for his help at a moment's notice. Sandor backed away, keeping his eyes on her the entire time and only breaking their contact when he had to close the door behind himself. Once he was gone, she turned to face the septa. "I'm ready," she announced, hoping that she sounded far more sure of herself than she actually felt.