56 Among friends
It seemed an hour to him when Tyrion Lannister awoke from his shock. In truth he had stared at her for maybe a minute - not longer.
"Sansa Stark?!" He finally managed to say. She just smiled at him.
"Well would you not agree that it is true that this is an unusual place to see us again?" Sansa giggled at the stupefied face he was making.
"Most… definitely", Tyrion said, before he finally joined in her laugh, "So you've made a fortune for you after all."
"I was lucky enough to find a family who took me in as if I were their own daughter", Sansa told him, "And by the will of the gods, he later became the King of the country I learned to love."
"Then you had finally a good life, I am happy for you", Tyrion smiled, "You deserve it. But how can it be that you command an army?"
"In my country, many women become warriors", Sansa explained, "I am the adopted daughter of a king, so it is only a logical choice for me to lead as good as I can."
"Is your new father with the army?" Tyrion asked, now more motivated by a genuine interest.
"No, he has taken leave from reigning", she told him, "My brother is leading this expedition."
"I understand", Tyrion sighed, "You have begun an entirely new life. Then I believe we must part now and tell about our meetings to our commanders."
Both stood up and walked back to their groups, each smiling widely.
"You did what?" Bjorn raged as she told him of the result of the meeting.
"I agreed to lift the siege and help them in their invasion of Westeros", Sansa repeated, "In exchange for treasures, we are to bring them to the seven Kingdoms. Once we've set them ashore we can either leave or fight with them against the usurper on the throne."
Bjorn took a sip of ale trying to calm his anger at his independent sister.
"But why did you give in so easily?" he asked in exasperation.
"Because Westeros is the country I was born in", Sansa explained, "The Queen on the throne is the same old bitch that caused me to lose my family in the first place. Actually, the advisor of the Queen of this city is her brother, the dwarf. The man I was once married to…"
"Did he…?" Bjorn wanted to know.
"No, he was …gentle, I guess is the word", Sansa reflected, "He promised me he would not touch me against my will and he never did."
"But…" Bjorn set on, but was cut off by his sister.
"Nothing but", Sansa told him, "This is my only chance of ever avenging those that were killed. We get treasure, we are the first Northmen to sail that far and we don't even have to worry about finding the way. What do you say, brother?"
Bjorn looked at her for a minute.
"Damn you, Sansa", he said with mock despair, "You know exactly what you need to say to get me to do it…"
Sansa walked up to the Unsullied who were still guarding the hallway to the pyramid, where the Vikings still held the other corner, both sides conscious of a possible betrayal by the others.
"I have a message for the Hand of the Queen", she said and was let through immediately. It felt weird walking in these corridors, behind the enemy's lines, technically. One of the Unsullied guided her towards Tyrion's room. She knocked on the door and entered.
"I see you have an answer for me?" Tyrion began, sitting behind his desk, cluttered with papers and books. He offered her a chair and Sansa sat down.
"I do", Sansa said, "My brother is generally accepting of the terms. There are conditions, though."
"So?" Tyrion asked.
"My brother insists that we will keep any treasure collected by the Viking forces", Sansa began, "Aside from that, we want payment from the city of Mereen, for not burning it down entirely and as an advance for the treasures of Westeros."
"Agreed", Tyrion sighed, "It will probably ruinous, but I guess this is only fair. Anything else?"
"Yes, a personal wish of mine", Sansa continued, "In the rather unlikely event, that we catch your sister alive, I want to kill her."
"She will die in every case", Tyrion assured her.
"You don't get it", Sansa argued, "I want to kill her myself."
"I wanted to do that myself", Tyrion told her, "But maybe your claim is as legit as mine. How about we decide once we've actually managed to get her alive?"
"Agreed", Sansa smiled, "Then I guess, I can say, when do we set sail?"
"Why don't you invite your brother do dine with us and the Queen this evening?" Tyrion offered, "Then we can go over the details and also seal the deal."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Dany asked as they waited for their guests, "Normally, I would invite them to the throne room. This is much more intimate."
"Your Grace, they don't come as someone who wants something from you", Tyrion reminded her, "Receiving them in the throne room would put you in a position of power…"
"Then what is wrong with that?" Dany raged.
"We are not in a position of power", Tyrion clarified, "They have essentially defeated us. Now they have graciously accepted us as allies, a bargain struck hard enough, if I may remind you. If we were to receive them with a false show of power, we would insult them and we are right where it all began."
Bjorn and Sansa stepped out on the terrace, where Tyrion and Dany awaited them. Missandei was there as well, in case any of the parties had trouble understanding each other.
Dany eyed them both for a long moment, taking in the many scars that showed them being fearsome and experienced warriors. Sansa mustered Dany as well, unsure what to expect from the Queen whose father had usually been referred to as the 'Mad King'. Bjorn glanced over them both, but his gaze rested mainly on Tyrion trying to judge the short man.
"Shall we eat?" Tyrion finally offered as the silence began to feel awkward to them all. The five sat down on the table and Bjorn and Sansa began to eat with great appetite. Tyrion and Dany exchanged a short glance at the speed in which the Northmen dug into their food.
"So, since we are to be allies, what should I know about you?" Dany finally asked. Bjorn looked up from his food and gulped, before smiling.
"We are a people of warriors, milady", he smiled, "Most of us have spent half their lives on the battlefield or on a raid. Aside from that, we're mostly farmers and traders."
"So you think you will prove a valuable asset to my efforts of retaking my Kingdom?" Dany wanted to know.
"I don't know, Your Grace", Sansa smiled between sips from her wine, "But we're good at what we're doing. We are not invincible, but we rarely lose."
"I believe that will do then" Dany smiled.
"And what about the two of you?" she asked, now personally interested, "Tell me about yourselves, your families…"
"Bjorn's father found me in a monastery, where I had been hiding after the purple wedding", Sansa began the story, "He brought me back to sell me as a slave, but then decided to keep me for his own family. With time, he rose to Earl and I became a good friend to all of them. When Bjorn and his mother left, I was adopted into the household."
"We met again when our father got into a war with one of his neighbors", Bjorn continued the tale, "That was the first time we both stood on a battlefield. Then we went raiding together, where we both earned our nicknames and soon became a good team."
"And as it turned out, our father had a low-burning disagreement with the King and when the King attacked us, he and his family were killed", Sansa finished.
"Do you think it was wise to tell me that story?" Dany threatened, "Especially with you knowing what happened to my family?"
"I'd rather tell it as it was than risk you finding out the truth later", Sansa shrugged, "And what does it matter? In our country, the one who is able to defeat the ruler is the next ruler - it's just the way it is."
Dany thought about that for a moment. Only the strong rule… It sounded a lot like what she had learned about the Dothraki a long time ago. And she did not condemn them either.
"And what about your families?" Dany asked, "Surely there's not only you two and your father?"
"Well, my beautiful sister here is a widow", Bjorn told the others, "But she has two daughters, really talented fighters. All our brothers used to be frightened of them."
"We have four more brothers", Sansa clarified, "And with the age difference, my twins were born shortly after the youngest one of my brothers."
The next weeks were full of feverish activity, as the Targaryen army prepared to embark on the Viking fleet. Sansa and Bjorn had been introduced to the other commanders of the Mereenese forces as well, so they had both met Daario Naharis, Yara Greyjoy, Grey Worm as well as Varys.
Bjorn was overseeing the preparations when Sansa stepped next to him.
"Is everything going alright?" she asked her brother.
"Sure", Bjorn smiled, "I just hate the preparation phase."
"Me too", Sansa grinned, "I wish we were already at sea."
Both looked up when they saw Yara Greyjoy and her Ironborn approach.
"So you are the famous new allies", Yara sneered, "I hope you're capable of transporting the whole army."
"I hope so as well", Bjorn told her, "But I don't see any problems yet."
"Always remember that we are a lot", Yara smirked, "And you will need supplies for the time at sea as well."
Two weeks later, the army was embarked on the Viking Fleet and the small remnants of the former Iron Fleet. Dany and Missandei had chosen to sail on the same boat as Bjorn, while Sansa had invited Tyrion and Varys to sail on another boat. Since it doubled their chances of getting at least some of the important leaders over the dangerous voyage, they had all readily agreed.
Dany was a little unsure what to think of these shallow built longships, but soon she agreed that they seemed to be well seaworthy. Dany walked up to the prow, where Bjorn was standing and looking ahead, his eyes encompassing the wide horizon of the sea.
"So what do you think is going to happen once we reach Westeros?" Dany asked.
"How would I know?" Bjorn smiled at her, "I know next to nothing about these lands. I know the seas and I know how to fight. The rest is up to the gods."
"The old gods or the new?" Dany wanted to know, "Or do you worship the drowned god?"
"I don't know what you're talking about", Bjorn shook his head, "I don't know anything about old and new gods. I know about the gods of my country. And I hope that they will grant us victory."
In another boat, Tyrion was sitting on one of the benches, watching Sansa steer the boat from the helm.
"You know what you're doing, I suppose?" he asked.
"Of course", Sansa retorted, "I've been at home on the seas for almost as long as we hadn't seen each other. I guess I've learned a thing or two."
"I hope so", Tyrion replied, "When did you learn to kill? Unless you killed Joffrey back then. I still don't know whether I should believe it."
"I didn't kill him", Sansa told him, "It was Littlefinger and that old lady, Margeaery's grandmother… what was her name? I killed the first time, I believe it was six years after I left King's Landing. In a battle against the forces of a neighboring clan. What was your first time?"
"That's long past", Tyrion smiled to himself, "It was when your father was still alive. I had been captured by your mother and was taken to the eerie. We were ambushed by the hilltribes."
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A/N: So I hope I didn't disappoint you with my version of Tyrion's reaction...
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