Threats

Sansa sighed through her nose as she took another bite of the ham, rolling her eyes at the many pointless arguments the lords were having. Her father was discussing preparing a letter to send to Tywin Lannister, arguing against starting a war. The lords listening were adamant that it would do nothing and that they must call the bannermen to them immediately. Sansa could never understand how men liked violence so much. They treated it as if it was the solution to all their problems, the only way out. Easier, maybe, but dangerous for those involved.

Robb leaned over to her. "Ignore them. They don't have the brainpower to understand what 'negotiations' means."

Sansa giggled, hitting his shoulder lightly. "Don't let them hear you saying that."

He settled back into his chair with a smirk. "I didn't say anything. It was all you, Sans."

"Robb!"

He chuckled, taking a sip of wine as his glass was refilled. "Don't worry, sweet sister, they'll never hear the insults I throw at them. Doubt they'd understand most of them." Sansa scowled at him for a second before a smile overtook it.

Catelyn looked over at them from where she sat across the table. "You two aren't getting into trouble, are you?"
"Us? Never!" Robb said, putting his hand over his heart. "You think so little of us! It wounds me!"
"Robb!"

"You're with the lords, Robb," Catelyn told him. "You need to act like a good leader. Make the lords think you'll be a good replacement for your father when he steps down. That is not the way to do it."

"I can have humour if I want to."

"Humour yourself when you aren't in the company of the lords!"

"Mother, please."

Sansa chuckled quietly. Catelyn shot her a glare. "You need to listen to this too, Sansa. You'll be the Lady of Winterfell one day."

"But not now."

"Robb, I'm speaking to your sister. Not to you."

Sansa groaned. "Robb, you're just extending the conversation. Agree with her and maybe she'll stop."

"But I don't agree with her." Catelyn sends her son a scalding look. He sighed. "Fine. I'll be more discreet."

Catelyn sighed. "Good enough."

Sansa carried on with her meal, sharing snide remarks with Robb every once in a while. "That lord has dressing in his beard." "That lord looks like a pig." "They're arguing over who gets to ride this one horse back."

Robb took a few gulps of wine to wash the food down, leaning on his elbows over the table. "Look over there." Sansa followed his gaze. "That girl, the one with Lord Bol-" he suddenly broke off into coughs, leaning to the side so as to not face the table.

Sansa gave him a worrying look. "Robb? Are you alright?"

"I'm-" he coughed again. "I'm fine." He didn't look fine. His face was turning red as his coughing fit continued, drawing more and more attention. Sansa's eyes widened as he began to cough up blood.

"Robb!" She grabbed his arm, pulling him toward her. There was a purple tint beginning to spread down his neck and blood was trickling out of his nose and the corners of his mouth.

"Fetch a maester!" Her father called, moving over to them. He looked at the purple that was moving farther down Robb's neck, the veins highlighted in a darker purple. Sansa had tears falling from her eyes as she watched him suffering, her breath coming in gasps.

There was chaos all around her as the lords scrambled about and Sansa barely registered a hand tapping her shoulder. She looked up into the eyes of Maester Luwin and moved aside for him. He crouched beside Robb, pressing his fingers to his neck. "Poison," he muttered, standing up and dipping a finger into Robb's wine. It came up with a purple, waxy coating. The maester rubbed it off on a napkin. "Bring him to my room. Quickly! We must stop the poison from reaching his heart." Sansa watched tearfully as Robb was scooped up and taken away.

Her father draped an arm around her shoulders. "Robb will be alright. Maester Luwin knows what he's doing."

Sansa sniffled. "What if he doesn't make it?"

"We must trust that he will."

Lady

Robb did end up surviving. From what Sansa had been told, it was a poison found only in Essos that would clog up the passages and block off the heart. If enough was consumed, it could completely seal off the heart and slow it down until it stopped. Luckily, the poison was pushed back out of his body before it could hit any vital organs and Robb was alive. Scarred, but alive.

No servant admitted to the crime, each having an excuse. The servants who poured the wine had all been taken into custody for further interrogation. The only way that would've worked was if the pitcher itself had contained the poison, as Robb's first cup had not offered him any problems. Someone must've poured him the drink and then emptied the pitcher. Nothing was for sure.

Sansa didn't want to think about how close to death her brother was, and what this meant for the family. She distracted herself from it, leaving early to wait for Daenerys. Lady whined as Sansa passed through the doorway, nudging her shoulder. Sansa sighed. "Today out of all days?" Lady gave her puppy eyes. Sansa caved. "Fine. You can come."

Lady yipped happily, padding along behind her as they worked their way downstairs. Sansa retrieved some bread (which she tucked under her cloak) and two goblets of wine from the kitchen on the way.

She sat down against the stone wall, Lady laying beside her. Sansa set the wine down beside her and laid the bread down on top of the two cups. She stroked Lady's head. "I hate this." Lady purred in agreement.

Her head turned and she let out a long breath, resting her head on Sansa's thigh as three dragons swooped down. Rhaegal, who had never seen Lady before, crept closer to her and sniffed her. Lady growled quietly. Rhaegal growled right back.

"Rhaegal, be nice," Daenerys scolded as she approached. Sansa smiled at her, patting the spot beside her as she moved the goblets out of the way. Daenerys accepted her cup and her eyes widened. "Is this wine?"

"It's been a rough few days."

Daenerys's smile dropped. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything." Sansa raised her cup and clinked it against Daenerys's, both taking a long sip.

Daenerys coughed. "By the gods, that's tart."

Sansa shrugged. "Northern wine isn't as sweet as the Southron wine. I'll see if I can find some of that next time."

"No, no, this'll do." Daenerys took another sip of the wine, her face crinkling up a bit but nothing as dramatic. "What happened? Does it have to do with your seclusion for the past few days?"

"Yeah." Sansa handed Daenerys half of the bread. "Someone tried to kill my brother."

Daenerys choked. "What? Why? Which one?"

"Robb. We don't know much other than that it was likely the Lannisters." Sansa dropped her head onto Daenerys's shoulder. "He survived, but we've been on lockdown. Luckily, the servant's quarters still aren't guarded very well."

"I'm sure I'd find a way to get to you even if they were."

"How? Climb up the wall? Good luck with that." Daenerys laughed. Lady moved from her spot beside Sansa, leaning over her legs to sniff Daenerys. She froze.

Sansa stroked Lady's collar. "She won't hurt you."

"I know, but I've just never seen a direwolf up close."
"You saw Lady when we rescued the dragons."

"When you rescued the dragons. Besides, I was too worried to bother with her." Daenerys hesitantly reached out a hand to Lady. The wolf smelled her before licking her palm. Daenerys giggled and Lady did it again. She reached up to pet Lady's head. "Aren't you sweet?"

Sansa snorted. "At least she likes you more than the dragons." As if to prove a point, Drogon leapt onto Lady's back. Lady's head whipped around, snapping at the dragon. Drogon hopped off, scrambling away. Lady growled and chased after him. Daenerys laughed as Drogon landed on her back again, just out of Lady's reach. The wolf tried to get at him but eventually gave up, giving Sansa an annoyed stare. Both girls giggled as Drogon practically smirked from his place atop her.

"Drogon! Sweetling, be nice!" Drogon made garbled mocking noises and smacked his tail against Lady's side. Lady yelped, shaking and throwing Drogon off. He squealed as he hit the ground. Daenerys cooed at him. "Come here."

Drogon bounded over to them and pushed Viserion off of Sansa's lap so that he could drape himself over both of them. Viserion screeched, flopping on top of Drogon. Rhaegal hurred, joining the dragonpile. Lady stalked over and spitefully knocked the dragons over before laying beside Daenerys. All three dragons shrieked as they toppled over and sprawled out on the ground.

Sansa laughed. No matter how terrible her day was, being with Daenerys and her dragons always cheered her up.

Warning

The next day, during when the Stark family was eating breakfast (the only thing the entire family ever did together) her father spoke up. "I need all of you to listen."

Rickon perked up. "Is something happening? Is it exciting? Oh, I can't wait!"

Ned shook his head. "No, I don't think you'll like this." They all grew quiet. He sighed. "From today forward, all of you are forbidden from leaving the castle."

Arya sat up. "What? You can't do that!"

"Hear him out, dear," Catelyn said. "I'm sure he has a good reason."

Ned nodded. "After what happened to Robb, we don't want to be taking any risks."

Arya wasn't having it. "What if I bring Nymeria with me?"

"That won't cut it."

"You know Nymeria can fend off any assassins!"

He hesitated. "We aren't sure yet, but we think there's something more than just assassins going on."

That piqued some interest. "What else is there?"

Ned shook his head. "We don't know if it's true or not. We'll investigate it, and if it isn't a worry, you can have more freedom. Until then, please stay inside. And be careful."

Arya's gaze flickered to Sansa.

Night Stalkers

Sansa awoke to Drogon's squeals and Lady's ferocious barks. She rolled over and sat up, determined to calm them down until she noticed that her door was open. Odd. She always closed it before bed.

Drogon lunged off the bed and locked his claws into a dark figure that Sansa hadn't noticed before. It thrashed, stumbling forward in an attempt to throw Drogon off. Lady charged him and knocked him onto his back, jaws snapping at his face. Drogon bit into his arm, tearing at the skin as the man screamed. Sansa screamed with him.

She heard feet thundering toward her room. Drogon looked at her, knowing. He coughed up a spurt of fire that blazed over his stomach before he fled out the balcony, just in time for the first guards to reach her door.

"Sansa! Sansa, are you alright!" Her father yelled as he pushed through the guards with Robb right behind him. She inhaled shakily, staggering toward them and throwing her arms around her father.

Robb moved over to where the guards had pinned the man, taking one of the guards swords out of its sheath and aiming it at the man's head. "You tried to kill my sister." A statement. The man nodded. "Who sent you?"

"Ain't nobody command me!" The man croaked. "Just wanted the bitch dead!"

Robb narrowed his eyes. "You really aren't helping your case here."

"I die no matter what I tell you!"

"I don't know where you're from, but it must be the South because up North we return honesty with mercy," Robb said. "Tell us who sent you and you'll escape with only some time in a dark cell. Lie again and we'll take your life."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because whatever the Lannisters said about us, they lied."

The man spluttered. "If you already knew who sent me, why'd you ask?"

"To test your honesty." And with that, Robb slid the sword into the man's neck.

Sansa shuddered. That man had been in her room. He'd tried to kill her. Who knew what he'd have done if Lady and Drogon weren't there?

"My prince?" One of the guards said. "The man, he has a burn on his stomach." Sansa felt her breath hitch.

Robb crouched beside the assassin, running his hand over the charred flesh. "It's still warm. This was recent." He looked over at Sansa, who just shook her head. They wouldn't have any reason to believe she did that.

"Take the body. We'll search it later," Ned commanded. "I want guards stationed in front of Sansa's door at all times. In front of all the Stark's doors." He hugged Sansa closer. "Be careful, Sansa."
She gave him a smile. "I have Lady with me. She'll keep me safe."

And maybe even a dragon, too.

Mutual

Drogon returned an hour later. Sansa was still awake, unable to fall back asleep after what happened. He landed on the side of her bed, nuzzling her palm. She smiled, rubbing his tiny head and listening to him hum contentedly. Lady stood from her spot on the floor and poked Drogon's tail. He turned to her. She whimpered, placing a part of a rabbit on the bed beside him.

"Lady!" Sansa said quietly. "Don't put your food on the bed!" She knew that Lady would sometimes store food from her hunts in her room. Sansa let her, as long as nothing smelled too bad and it was mostly out of sight.

Lady pushed away the hand that reached to take the meat away, nudging the rabbit leg closer to Drogon. He hurred confusedly, sniffing at the meat. He took a bite out of it and Lady backed away, satisfied.

Sansa realised then exactly what was happening. "You're thanking him." Lady barked her agreement. Sansa smiled. "So are you going to get along now?" Lady eyed Drogon before affirming that yes, she would. Sansa hugged Lady's neck. "Thank you."

Lady hopped onto the bed, curling herself beside Sansa. She rested her head on Lady's shoulder. She could protect her, Sansa knew that. Drogon curled himself up between Sansa and Lady and purred happily. Perhaps they could all get along now.

Letters

Sansa knew that she wouldn't be able to meet with Daenerys anytime soon. Come morning, she borrowed multiple sheets of paper from the Maester and wrote a quick letter to Daenerys.

Daenerys,

I'm sorry to say that we won't be able to meet anymore. After an attempt on my life, nobody is allowed to leave the castle and guards are stationed at every door. I'll send Drogon with an extra paper along with ink and quill for you to write back if you'd like.

Be careful. Keep the dragons close. If they get lost again, I don't think I'll be able to get them back.

Yours truly

She refrained from mentioning her name. If someone found the letter and it stated her name, who knew what chaos would erupt.

Sansa rolled up the paper (along with another paper rolled around it) and tucked a quill inside. She locked the cap onto an ink container and handed both to Drogon. "Take them to Daenerys." He lifted the paper in his mouth and took off, his claws hooking around the ink as he swept out the balcony.

Later, she heard a knock on her door. Her father entered into the room. "Sansa. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said. "He didn't hurt me."

"Good." He grasped her hands in his. "Sansa, please, be careful. Stay inside, and keep a lookout."

Sansa nodded. "Could I keep Lady with me?"

He sighed. "You may. Just- stay inside."

"Why? I doubt anyone would try anything in the middle of the day."

"I don't think so, but there are other threats."

Sansa furrowed her eyebrows. "Is it that other thing you were talking about? The unconfirmed danger?"

He nodded. "Yes. We've confirmed that it is, in fact, real. Be careful, Sansa."

"I will."

Dragons

Ned Stark was interrupted from his duties when a knock on the door sounded. "Come in." He was thoroughly surprised when his daughter, Arya, walked in. "Arya! What a lovely surprise."
"Earlier. You told us about the new threat you'd found." He nodded. "Would it happen to be dragons that you found?"

He was at a loss for words. "I-how did you know?"
"I overheard you talking about it a few months ago. How you found some in the Wolfswood." She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "Did you ever catch them?"

He sighed. "We did."

"What happened?"

"They got out."

"How?"

He shook his head. "We're not sure. The lock was burned off the door."

"Where did you keep them?"

"It doesn't matter." He pushed his chair back, standing up. "What are you going to do with this?"

"Nothing. What could I do?"

She knew exactly what she could do.

Proof

"I know you let those dragons out. I have proof."

"Arya, we've been over this," Sansa groaned. "I didn't do anything with the dragons!"

"Oh, no, you did." She shut the door behind her as she walked closer to Sansa. Sansa stood up, facing her. Lady joined her. "I talked about it with father."

"Father? How?"

"He confirmed that this new threat is dragons. He confirmed that they had found dragons, and captured them. He also confirmed that the next day, the dragons were gone, with the lock burnt off their door."

"And?" Sansa said. "So the dragons burnt the lock off. How does this prove anything?"

"It proves that you had those dragons!" Arya said. "Your cloak. You had them under your cloak. I heard them."

"Arya-" whatever gods existed, they really knew how to fuck with her. At that exact moment, Drogon swooped through the curtains, dropping a scroll onto her desk and grabbing onto her dress, hanging off of her side to stare at Arya.

Arya stared at the dragon in shock. "Seven hells."

"I thought you said you knew."

"I did, but I guess I never really realised that…" she gestured to Drogon. "You would have the dragon."

"They aren't mine. They're… friends, I guess. Companions. Like the dire wolves." Sansa moved over to the letter Drogon had dropped off. "Would you like to meet the others?"

"I- can I?"

"If you want."

"Hell yes." She paused. "So you can just… summon them?"

Sansa snorted. "Doubt they would listen even if I could. At least, not this one." Drogon humphed in complaint. "Drogon, go get your brothers."

He copied her words mockingly, ending with a puff of smoke. Arya burst out laughing. "Oh my gods, that's great!"

"It can get annoying." Sansa glared at Drogon and he glared right back. "Go or I'll tell your mother you were being bad." He grumbled, thwacking her on the back of the head with his tail as he left. Sansa sat down at the desk and unrolled the paper.

"Wait, his mother?" Arya had an excited glint in her eyes. "Is there a full-grown dragon around here?"

Sansa laughed. "Definitely not. The girl who hatched them is their 'mother.' This letter is actually from her."

"Really?" Arya hovered over her shoulder. "Where is she from? It can't be in Wintertown, no one there has any ink and quill to write with."

"She doesn't. I sent Drogon back to her with some."

"I suppose that works." Sansa shushed her, turning back to the letter.

What do you mean an attempt on your life? I know you told me your brother had been poisoned, but someone tried to kill you?

If that's the risk, I can accept us being unable to meet. Your safety is more important than our meetings. I'm sure we can still correspond through letters, and the dragons can still find you if they wish. Though do tell when it's safe to meet once more. I've grown to enjoy spending time with you.

Stay safe. Take the dragons if you must; I'm sure I'd enjoy having peace for a few hours.

Arya wolf-whistled. "Damn. She's got it bad for you."

"What?"

Arya waved it off. "Doesn't matter. So is she just a commoner?"
"Yes."

"How'd she end up with dragons?"

Sansa shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's not a topic we ever discussed."

"Did you two meet, like, every night?"

"Mostly, yes."

"How did you meet?"
Sansa heard Drogon shriek as she dove through the curtain, landing with a thump on her bed. Lady sighed, as Rhaegal dropped himself on top of her. Viserion, always the kinder one, settled on Sansa's desk and rubbed her shoulder, purring. Sansa grinned. "That one over there."

Arya looked over to Drogon, who was bugging Lady. "He's a little bitch, isn't he?"

Sansa laughed as Drogon squealed indignantly. "Basically, yes."

Arya held out her hand to Viserion. "This one's quite the gentleman."

Sansa shrugged. "He's a sweet thing. I'd like to call him 'innocent' but for a dragon, that doesn't work."

Arya grinned. "And the other little bitch?"

Sansa whistled. "Rhaegal, come here!" The green dragon perked up, gliding over and landing on the desk. Drogon followed, attempting to sit on her shoulder like he used to do. Sansa swatted at him. "You're too big, Drogon. Sit on the desk like your brothers." Drogon, being the rebellious dragon he is, decided to instead drape himself around her neck like a scarf. Sansa sighed. "Fine. But if you fall, it's your fault." Drogon nipped at her shoulder in response.

Arya was busy with Rhaegal and Viserion. Viserion was enjoying getting a belly rub while Rhaegal swatted at Arya's sleeve, Arya keeping it just out of reach. He finally just snapped at it, tugging at it with as much force as he could. Arya simply pulled him off the desk.

She allowed him to climb up her leg. "What's this one's name?"

"Viserion."

Deciding he was bored, Drogon leapt off Sansa's shoulders and crashed into Arya's side. She yelped, stumbling over as Drogon gripped onto her sleeve. Rhaegal screeched at his brother, tackling him off of Arya and onto the ground. The two wrestled for dominance and Viserion hopped down to join in, knocking them both over.

Arya snorted. "They're like children."
"Exactly like children. Just much more dangerous." A burst of fire from the pile proved that. Sansa frowned. "Don't set anything on fire!"

Arya leaned against the desk. "You have to let me see them again."

"Drogon usually stops by about an hour after supper. Feel free to come whenever you'd like."

"Do you think Nymeria would like them?"

Sansa laughed. "Considering Lady didn't like them until a few nights ago, likely not. Who knows, though. You'll have to try it out sometime."

"I'm sure the little fuckers would love another wolf to torment."

"Nymeria would be more likely to actually play with them. They might like her better."

Arya smiled at her. A real smile, something that Sansa's never really seen before. "They seem to like me."

"They do." Sansa smiled with her. "This is a dream come true for you, isn't it? Dragons?"
"It really is. Sort of ironic that it was you who got the dragons."

"It is. A year ago I would've never wanted to go near a dragon. Now I can't imagine living without them. I love them."

"Has one of them chosen you as its rider yet?"

Sansa sighed. "I don't know. You said that dragons choose one rider and never let anyone else ride them, but I can't imagine them choosing only one of us. I don't want just one, I love them all."

Arya frowned. "Us?"

"Daenerys and I."

"Who's Daenerys?"

"Their mother."

"Oh." She paused. "Do you think one of them would choose me?"

Sansa shrugged. "It's possible. They've only ever met three people- you, me and Daenerys. It equals out."
Arya nodded, a small smile gracing her face. "I'd better get back. They'll wonder why I'm spending so long in here with you."

"Before you go, you have a balcony, right?" Arya nodded. "Good." She scooped up Rhaegal, placing him into Arya's arms. "Take him with you. He'll leave in his own time. Just be careful. Nobody can see him."

"How? I don't have a cloak like you did."

"Borrow one of mine. You can give it back tomorrow."

Just before she left, Arya turned to her. "Thank you, Sansa. Truly."

Sansa smiled. "Of course, little sister."

She and Arya had never been close. Maybe now they could be.