What I'll be starting with is like..a few days after their attack on winterfell and Mance realizing finally that he was going to be a father. I want to focus on Sansa and Shireen in Winterfell, the emotions she finally feels being there...and a proper burial.
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My home
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They all walked through the snow towards Winterfell, Mance and Sansa leading their clan towards the now empty castle. Roose and Ramsay were dead, most of their men dead or dying from wounds from the battle those few days earlier. When they walked through the gates hand in hand, Bolton men that were still alive, but barely, dropped to their knees, begging for mercy. They all looked to Mance and pleaded, "Your grace, please, we beseech you, have mercy on us! We-We only did as we were told-" Mance shook his head and mumbled, "You're asking the wrong one for mercy." He looked at Sansa who in turn looked up at him before he continued,
"This is your home, my girl. You must pass judgement."
Sansa looked at the fifty plus men around them, blood covering their armor and skin as they looked at her in return. She thought of her time with the Bolton's how they harmed her and killed Theon, how they killed Stannis. Sansa shook her head and looked at Tormund, "Kill them all." Tormund smiled and nodded at her words, "Yes, Sansa." He motioned for the other men to step forward and Sansa and Mance watched as man after man were killed quickly with a slice to the throat or their heads being cut from their bodies. Sansa looked back at Shireen and spoke, "I told you your father's death would not be forgotten, did I not?" Shireen nodded, "You did, Sansa." She walked forward and took Sansa's hand in hers, Sansa looking back over her shoulder at Val once more before leading the child and Mance towards the castle. Mance looked at Tormund,
"Winterfell is ours. Get the men places to rest, food, and put some to work."
...
Even though she was just in this castle for a few weeks, Sansa did not have the time to look around at her home, to take in where she was exactly, because for that short time it was her prison. As they entered the hall, Sansa let go of Mance's hand and walked forward, looking up at the lit torches upon the walls, lighting her way to the other rooms. Mance watched as she removed her boots from her feet and began to walk barefoot down the first hall to the left, making him wonder what exactly she was up to. The castle was primarily quiet at the moment, as the handmaidens and others were outside or in the kitchens, waiting to know if she would be taking her home back and stay.
"Look."
Mance had been following her and he realized they were stopped in front of a large set of doors. They were ornate, beautiful carved with a scene of a wolf drinking from a pond that held one fish. Sansa put her hands on it and whispered, "My mother and father shared this room. I-I am almost afraid to enter-" Mance reached past her and turned the handle on the door, "Don't be, Sansa. It may just look the same as you remember it." Sansa let him open the door for her and she entered, her eyes scanning the room, hoping there would be nothing out of place. She was right. Not a thing was touched, everything was in the same place as she remembered. She smiled and looked up at Mance, "The fire must have not touched this room! Mance, oh, look!" She walked over to the bed and fell down upon it, the fur blankets making her feel at home again. When Winterfell was burnt down, not all the rooms were touched. In the end, Sansa's room burned down along with Arya's, but Robb's room remained, with her parent's as well. She sighed,
"This shall be our room."
"We're staying?"
Sansa looked up from where she was laying and nodded, "We could, at least for a while. The snow storms are worse here this time of month and with Shireen with us-" Mance sighed, "About the child-there has been talk amongst the men of the clans. We can't-" Sansa stood from the bed, "We can't what? Take care of her? Mance, she is just a child and putting her out there in the cold-" She stopped speaking as she remembered Shireen telling her of what Val said to her. Sansa frowned, "You won't let her into your clan because of that woman." Mance stopped looking about the room when she said that and questioned, "What are you talking about?"
"You don't think I didn't see how she has been whispering in your ear about us? Shireen has heard some awful words from that woman and I won't stand for it!"
Mance sighed, "Val? Val is harmless, Sansa. She was my wife's sister-" Sansa walked to him and grabbed his face with one hand, making him look down at her, "Listen close to what I say, Mance Rayder. I am your wife now and she is no sister of mine. I won't stand for the way she has been speaking about Shireen nor myself to the others, so either you send her and her clan on their way, or I will. I won't allow her to speak so about Shireen, a fatherless child that is alone in this world right now." Mance closed his eyes and nodded, "She will leave, but give it some time, Sansa. She is still family to me and before you, I was meant to marry her." Sansa chuckled and took his hand in hers, "Well, she missed that great opportunity, didn't she? Now, why don't we lay together in this comfortable bed together and perhaps our son will want you to be kind to his mother?"
He chuckled at what she had to say, but then as she led him to the bed, Mance question, "Can we truly fuck? I thought you needed to marry in the true Godswood, in front of a true Septon?" Sansa rolled her eyes and began to remove his coat, "We shall marry only in the Winterfell Godswood and nowhere else. Perhaps tomorrow?" Mance licked and bit the skin of her neck as she cried out and soon replied, "At first light."
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Val stood outside of Mance and Sansa's door, listening to them finishing their love making and she frowned, surprised that Mance would lay with that girl again after what has happened.
"What are you doing?"
She turned quickly, hand on her dagger, but only found Jon Snow before her, holding Shireen's hand. Val looked at Jon, "What I do is none of your-" Jon chuckled, "Not your home, Lady Val. This castle belongs to my sister and I don't think Mance and herself would respect you listening in on what they do." Val smirked and then looked at Shireen, "Dead girls should be kept outside with the other dead bodies." She moved her long blonde hair behind her shoulder and continued on her way down the hall, past Jon and Shireen. Jon looked down at the child and saw her wiping her eyes, "Don't mind that bitch, Shireen. No doubt she'll be leaving soon enough." She shook her head, "It's not that, I just thought of my father when she said that. He never let anyone call me a dead girl." Jon nodded and crouched,
"Listen here, we're going to find your father's body and give him a proper burial, alright? I'll make sure of it."
Shireen smiled and hugged Jon, "Thank you, Jon. I hope Mance let's me stay with you all." Jon smiled and whispered, "Don't you worry about that, Shireen, Sansa will make sure he agrees to it."
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A bit more about Val/Sansa in the next chapter. They will be staying in winterfell for a bit, but I have big plans for when they do get back beyond the wall. Let me know whatcha think!