A/N: Standard disclaimer here. I don't own ASOIAF and only write for fun.
Sansa
When her father held court in Winterfell, he was almost so calm and comfortable as he listened to the problems of the people of the North. He would listen to them carefully before giving his wise words of wisdom.
"The North, much like you all are my family," her father told them. "The strength of a family comes from loyalty and respect. I give it to them, so they give it to me."
King's Landing was no Winterfell, and so her father was neither calm nor comfortable as he sat on the throne, his body shifting and he stared blankly at the nights in front of him. She wondered why they were there. By the sigils on their breast, she knew the three knights were from her mother's homeland, yet the expressions on their faces gave nothing away.
In Winterfell she sat close by as her father made his decisions. It was a show of strength and family.
"Let the North know that all of us care about their issues, no matter how small they might be," her father had said.
In King's Landing she sat above him in a balcony with the other highborn lords and ladies. Loyalty as Lady lying at her feet despite the looks of fear upon the faces of the people who had not grown used to her. Sansa wasn't sure that if the roles were reversed and the people scrutinized her like they did her wolf, that she would be able to handle it. Luckily, Theon and members of her father's household guard were always nearby so none of them were brave enough to speak.
"Tell us what happened," Lord Varys spoke so softly that Sansa could barely hear him speak. The only councilors that had joined her father were Lord Varys and Lord Baelish, almost all of the rest of the court had gone hunting with the king.
"The bandits attempted an attack," a knight spoke. The coat of arms on his chest was one of a black plowman on a brown field. He was a knight from House Darry of Dary. She smiled to her self, she could almost hear the praise of Maester Luwin. "But those were not just any bandits, they were Lannister Bandits."
A soft murmur rand through the throne room at his words. Sansa was confident that it would have been much louder had more of the court were present. It was not a light acquisition to make, yet the man made it confidently. He was sure.
Lord Baelish echoed her thoughts, "How can you be sure?"
Another man spoke, his sigil was quartered, a black dragon on a white field and two golden eyes in a golden ring on a black field. He was from house Vance of Wayfarer's rest, though Sansa did not know his name. He smiled at Lord Baelish politely, there was glory in his eyes. "Ser Arthur and Lord Stark's bastard Jon Snow figured out what was happening and led an attack on them. They captured a lot of them. I will tell my grandchildren the story of the day I watched Ser Arthur Dayne bring the Mountain to his knees while the White Wolf cut through his most loyal of men."
Sansa frowned. What had Jon and Ser Arthur been doing in the Riverlands. Had her father sent them there, anticipating this would happen? How could he have known? Beside her, Theon let out a soft chuckled and was grinning from ear to ear. He was proud. Sansa was just confused.
"Rise," her father commanded. "All of you, up. Tell me in detail what happened."
The third knight was the first to rise and also the first to speak. His sigil was of a pink dancing maiden in a swirl of white silk on a blue field. He represented house Piper, and if his Armour were anything to go by she would have guessed he was Ser Marq Piper, heir to Pinkmaiden.
"The Moutain and his men attempted to burn Wendish town down. They started om the fields, and when people ran to seek shelter in the holdfast, they tried to burn it too. I'm not sure what you teach bastards in the north Lord Stark, but Jon Snow read the Mountain like a book. Ser Arthur allowed him to tell us of his plan, and it worked."
That was interesting. While Sansa did not doubt Jon's ability to come up with a plan, they were taught by Ser Arthur, the greatest swordsman to ever live, and her father who is credited as a leader of Robert's Rebellion, she did understand the effect that allowing Jon to deliver the plan.
Her father had taught them to question everything. The question here was easy, why did Ser Arthur want Jon to get the credit as the mind who brought down the Mountain?
"The White Wolf told Ser Arthur to evacuate the town. He sent them all to Sherrer while he set up his trap. He filled the holdfast with archers and the people who Ser Gregor thought was running from him were actually infantry soldiers whose sole job was to make the Mountain think he had an advantage. Once the gates were closed and the Mountain approached the holdfast to burn it down, the archers revealed themselves and started shooting," the man from House Darry jumped in.
"Ser Arthur and the White Wolf lead a charge on their flank. They never knew what hit them. It was easy. Most of his men gave themselves up and those who didn't were routed. I saw Ser Arthur slap the chains on the Mountain myself. He was the most massive man I've ever seen. Ser Arthur took them back to Rivverrun to face judgement for raiding Lord Tully's lands. When we arrived, Ser Arthur and Lord Edmure agreed that we should come here and let the king know."
Sansa found that hard to believe. She knew that Ser Arthur did not care what the King knew. He wanted her father to know, and could not come himself. His mission was definitely accomplished.
"Why not bring him to King's Landing to face the king's justice?" Lord Varys asked, again his voice low and full of questions.
"I doubt these men know the intentions of Ser Arthur," her father responded. His face was a cool mask and gave away nothing.
"Perhaps you do?" Lord Baelish questioned her father. "After all Ser Arthur has been in your service for all these years. What was Ser Arthur even doing in the Riverlands with your bastard?"
"I don't know why Ser Arthur did not bring the Mountain here," her father spoke again, his face betraying nothing, "but he was in the Trident on my command. I needed him to deliver a message to my good-brother. Maybe Ser Edmund heard about the Mountain and asked Ser Arthur to handle it for him. It is common knowledge that Ser Arthur does not care for the Mountain."
She frowned again. While she did agree with her father, Ser Arthur was not shy about his hatred of the Mountain, the part about her uncle Edmure was nonsense. From the stories her mother had told them about him, she doubted her uncle would have sent someone else to capture the Mountain had he known. He would have wanted that glory for himself, and now that glory fell to Ser Arthur and Jon. Her father was deflecting.
"Perhaps we should instead consider it luck that Ser Arthur and Jon Snow were there," Lord Varys spoke again. "It seems as if they managed to save a lot of innocent lives."
"Aye," her father responded, and seemed content to leave it there but Ser Piper spoke again.
"Lord Edmure believes that Tywin Lannister sent the Mountain. He sent men to every holdfast within a day's ride of the border. Ser Arthur argued against it, but Edmure would not listen."
Sansa watched closely and her father sighed. He definitely didn't agree with her uncle's actions, but why? Wasn't a Lord's job to protect his people and land?
"If your fields and holdfast are safe from harm," Lord Baelish spoke, "what then do you want from the crown? You have captured the men responsible for the crimes. Right now you are wasting our time."
"The lords of the Trident keep the king's peace," the knight responded. "The Lannisters have broken it. We ask leave to answer them, steel for steel. Lord Edmure agrees. Ser Arthur may have captured the Mountain, but the intent is still clear. We interrogated those men. Tywin Lannister sent them for blood. We must strike back."
"No," her father responded. It was simple, yet final. "Men who fear death will tell you anything you want to hear. I will send a missive to Lord Lannister asking him to explain himself. Should Lord Tywin give his word that the Mountain acted on his own, then we will send for Gregor Clegane to be transported to the capital to face justice for his crimes on his own. Inform Lord Tully that nothing is to happen to the Mountain until I say so."
Sansa, for the third time, found her self frowning. Her father never spoke good things about the Lannisters. He always said that they were only good for their gold, and that they would never fully trust them yet he was giving Twyin Lannister a perfect out. She saw her father search the faces in the crowd.
"Lord Beric, Thoros of Myr, Ser Gladden, Lord Lothar," he called out. "Each of you is to assemble twenty men to bring my word to Riverrun with these knights. Report directly to Ser Arthur and Lord Edmure what I have spoken today. Interrogate those men yourselves on behalf of the king. Should they speak the same story that they have told the river lords, then Lord Tywin may have more to answer for. Twenty of my men will go with you. Take the King's road to the Crossroads, and then ride to Rivverun from there. Ride at first light."
Her father called for her and Arya the next morning after the broke their fast. She had taken the time to politely explain to her sister what was going on, and was pleasantly surprised that Arya had some of the same questions she had.
They walked in silence together to their father's solar, Lady and Nymeria flanking them as Theon followed close behind. He walked in the room behind them and spoke to their father first.
"Your daughters my lord," Theon said.
"Theon, good I'm glad your here. Stay," her father spoke before Theon could excuse himself. For a moment her father didn't speak or do anything but look at them with a smile etched upon his face.
"I'm sending you both back to Winterfell," he finally spoke. She hadn't really expected that, and had to admit that she was stunned.
"You can't," Arya said. Sansa understood. At Winterfell her father let her sister practice with her sword, but she never had as much freedom as she had here in the capital. She was spending nearly all day with her dancing teacher. She would not be able to do the same in Winterfell.
"Why?" Sansa asked instead. She thought it was the more important question.
Her father gave her a proud smile and began to speak. "It is no longer safe in the capital. Jamie Lannister attempted to attack me in the streets, and what does Robert do? He goes hunting. I will not have either of you in danger any longer."
Arya was chewing her lip. "Can we take Syrio back with us?"
Sansa shook her head at her sisters question but smiled all the same. "If he agrees," her father said. "I want you both out of here as soon as the Manderly ship is repaired. I stress that we must keep this quiet."
"What about you father?" Sansa asked.
"The lone wolf dies," Arya added.
Their father laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day where my own children would use my own words against me. I won't be alone. I'll have my men and Theon will be here with me. The pack will survive."
Theon smiled proudly, but Sansa wasn't sure how she felt about him being left here. She would much rather him come home with her. She opened her mouth to voice her opinion, but thought better of it.
"It won't be so bad," Arya said. "We're going to sail on a galley. It will be an adventure, and then we'll be with Bran and Robb again. Rickon too."
Their father sighed. "You will be with Rickon for sure but I'm not sure about Robb and even Bran has his own path to follow. It is part of the reason I am sending you home, especially you Sansa. I need you to be the Starks in Winterfell."
Sansa was honored, of course, but she still had so many questions. Why?
A/N: Good Afternoon! I know I said morning, but I slept a couple of hours more than I thought haha. Here is another chapter from Sansa, and more ways in which we see that Ned has changed his daughter. She has been trained to listen and think for herself here, to question everything, which I like for this story.
I keep getting reviews asking about the thousands of people Ned is going to let die by allowing the same events to happen, and I find myself quite perplexed. What people are we talking about? He saved those people in the Riverlands. Are we still going to war? Obviously. War, I think, is inevitable. Ned's long term goal is to survive the Long Night. We have seen in this story, Robert not take him seriously. He knows that Joffrey will not take him seriously, so his best choices are either Stannis or Jon (based on what he knows of the future). I think it is very obvious that Ned Stark would not choose Stannis if he knew the future.
Was Jon perfect? No, but this Jon isn't that Jon. We really haven't gotten the chance to show that yet, but we will here coming soon. This Jon will not make the same mistakes as cannon Jon, and hopefully some members of his pack will still be around to keep him level.
Anyways. Dany next. How soon? I'm not sure. It honestly could be later today because I'm bored at the moment on my day off. It will be posted by Sunday though.
Until then!
Edit: I said Dany next. I lied. I looked over my plans for this story after posting this, and realized that Dany doesn't add anything yet as nothing has changed with Dany yet. Going over the story I have planned. We actually not see Dany for a while. I do apologize and hope I do not disappoint anyone. For those who don't see this, I will post it again next chapter. Which will be Catelyn.