Sansa remembered how when she slept poorly, she regularly awoke in between periods of sleep feeling like there was as much chance of little time having passed, as literal hours having gone by since last opening her eyes.

Since the departure of Daenerys, time did not no longer feel the same. Time went fast when they rushed to the Chamber of the Painted Table and started talking about everything with the people there. She talked to Sam about Jon, hearing how magnificent and brave the brother she'd always neglected had become. But both Sam and her didn't know what to make of the news of Jon's death and revival. 'I just know Melissandre is one terrifying magician cloaked as a priestess. And very fond of human sacrifice. I've seen stone sculptures fly in Oldtown. I've seen the Others. I have no idea of what I can expect anymore', was all Sam said.

While she talked to him, she saw Willas go from person to person, but his usual charming smile was frazzled. There was only one thing that could break his magnificent composure and that was his worry for his family. And recently, he had to be feeling a lot of worry.

He sank down on the stairs just outside the chamber beside her where all the argumentative and worried voices were only a muffled background noise.

'You talked to Tyrion', Sansa remarked, turning to him to watch his reaction.

'I thought it would be wise to make sure that we could have a working relationship, him being the hand of Daenerys and us two being with Aegon. I wanted to avoid sensitive topics like you so… I decided to ask him about the dragons. Turns out he always had a scholarly interest in them prior to meeting them so we chatted a bit about their history and use in battles and connection to their riders. He doesn't want to let go too much strategic information about what they can and can't do yet.'

'Sounds like him.'

'Are you alright?' Willas asked, putting a hand on her knee.

'Didn't expect to see him here. Or anywhere.'

'I think you handled it marvellously.'

Sansa smiled, putting her hand on top of his.

'I didn't think I could do it before I did it. I was so used to just taking whatever the Lannisters threw at me.'

'Did you mean what you said?'

'Partially. He was clearly angry and needed to be calmed. And it's true that I realized a while ago Tyrion could have been a useful reasonable ally. So I thought it was wise to tell him what I said. I don't like or love him, I never will, but he'd be a dangerous enemy. I'm glad that I could clear my name.'

Willas nodded, and Sansa allowed herself to rest her head against his shoulder.

'I'm very glad to be married to you though.'

'So am I', Willas said, moving his hand from her knee so he could instead press her body against his.

'They should almost be here. If they got out', he said after a few minutes.

Sansa looked up at him. On the dark staircase, illuminated only be a few torches few and far in between, his face looked stern and old.

'You think they didn't.'

'I don't want to think. I only think that… Cersei would never have been able to detonate the wildfire if my father was in charge.'

'You don't know that. She could have been sneaky.'

From deep down the tower, they could hear clanking metal as someone rushed upstairs.

'A boat, a boat from King's Landing', a messenger panted. 'They're on their way up.'

Willas let out a breath of relief.

'Who? People from Highgarden?'

'A small boat of nobles, forgot the names', the messenger admitted.

'Please', Willas muttered under his breath. 'Thank you mother.'

The way down was harder and slower than the way up. Willas had been up and down the Stone Drum thrice today, and earlier they'd done all the steps down from the harbour of Dragonstone to the keep. Willas' knee was suffering, and it was reaching a point where he couldn't hide it anymore. They would soon have to take up a room because he'd reach a point where he couldn't do anymore stairs for the day. But at present, he didn't want to wait for the newcomers to come up to see who they were. He stood at the bottom of the Stone Drum, leaning heavily onto his cane, hip bent so he could take the weight off his bad knee.

When the door opened, Willas straightened up, but not without his whole face contorting with pain first. Sansa looked away. She really needed to ask Arianne for a room. One close enough to the negotiation room that wouldn't require Willas to do many stairs.

The people that stepped through the heavy wooden doors could have just as well been ghosts from another lifetime. Lady Alyce Gracewood held a babe of a few months old in her arms, Tywin, Sansa remembered from a letter Margaery had once written to Willas. She was followed by Septa Nysterica and the young Alysanne Bulwer together with her mother Victoria Tyrell. Janna Fossoway, Merydith Crane and Ser Marc Mullendore squeezed through the door together as well. Behind them followed Tyene. The whole party was united by their sombre facial expression.

Sansa tried looking behind Tyene, but saw only black night. The door was closed before anyone else entered.

'The others?' Willas asked, wasting no time.

'It's complicated. We need somewhere private', said Tyene.

'Wait, I shall see', Sansa offered. Sansa smiled and nodded at the group before rushing upstairs. She quickly asked Arianne about chambers for the company. Arianne was instantly interested in speaking to them and Sansa promised she could speak to them all, but that they would preferably do it in a private chamber. With due speed some chambers were arranged only a level above the Painted Table and Willas and the others were quickly brought upstairs so they could make themselves comfortable.

'There was a plan', Tyene explained. Her, Willas, Arianne and Sansa sat in front of a fire that was still being lit by a servant as they were speaking. 'It got ruined.'

'How?'

'The women who weren't attending dinner, were supposed to leave first, together with Ser Mullendore. They would depart during dinnertime so their absence wouldn't be noticed very soon. I had to take them as far as the last tunnel they had to take. From thereon they could continue on their own until they reached the harbour. Meanwhile I'd race back to fetch the others who'd be leaving with Nym after dinner. Nym and I had plans, after all.'

'Yes yes, and?' Arianne and Willas snapped at the same moment. Sansa was too worried about the story to laugh at their tempers. She also wanted to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.

'As I was getting back, I heard shouting through the walls. Something about murder. When I came out of the tunnel in Margaery's chamber where she was supposed to be waiting, she wasn't there. I didn't know all the tunnels but I decided to walk through those I knew to see if I could hear someone talking about what had happened. It became clear Cersei was in control. She had everyone locked up somewhere in Maegor's Holdfast. I couldn't understand what had happened, only that they'd been arrested for treason and someone had been murdered. I didn't know how to reach them. Given the impact Cersei's rule would have on Aegon's plans I decided it was more useful to try reaching him instead of reaching Margaery. As I was rushing through the tunnels, things had already started turning around. I bumped into some soldiers who were on our side. I was too late to warn him. Cersei had apparently already threatened Aegon. If he attacked, she'd light the city on fire. They tried to take it by using the secret tunnels anyways.'

'They were in the city?' Arianne asked.

'Yes. They were just starting to get into the city. The gates were being opened when I went to the harbour. Since Aegon already knew, I decided I better leave with the ladies-in-waiting to inform you but… As we were getting away… I think you saw the same as we did, those fires,' Tyene said, her voice wavering for the first time ever.

This was her sister she was talking about, Sansa realized. She could be losing her sister.

'Cersei blew up the city with wildfire. And Aegon could have been in it. This is a disaster!' cried Arianne.

The princess pressed her hand to her mouth as she rose. Her dark skirts made rushing noises as she paced over the black stone floor. 'He always said he'd fight where the fighting was thickest. Damn. Damn it. Damned! My king could be dead. And now this foreign vulture with her bloody dragons is here and could take everything I've worked so hard for!'

'Ari-' Tyene tried, but Sansa's attention slipped to her husband who had turned into a statue.

She touched his knee like he'd touched hers earlier that night.

This was Oldtown all over again.

Reports of the city being on fire, and him knowing his family was in it. He'd fought so hard to get Margaery out of the city and out of a position where Cersei could kill her, only for Cersei to seize her at the very last moment.

'Why would Cersei burn her own castle? Your family could be safe.'

Willas blinked, slowly dragging his eyes up to meet hers.

'She's lost the war, don't you see? She has no allies left. The Iron Throne is lost to her anyways. She's even lost the loyalty of big parts of the Crownlands. The only place she might have some support is the Westerlands. What do people do when they're losing? Why would she save the castle if she knows she can't keep it? She wouldn't.'

Sansa paused.

She wouldn't… Would she?

The idea of the Red Keep being destroyed was too wild to comprehend. It was ancient. It was the seat of power of Westeros. Why – why would Cersei let anyone else to have it, if she couldn't? That was a good point.

'We don't know it yet. Cersei… might not accept her own defeat yet. She might believe that if she defeats the army, the people will turn to her side again. She doesn't know with just how many we are.'

'Maybe', Willas said, but he didn't look convinced. Sansa could see him retreating, his eyes turning dark and hollow. He'd slaved away for months preparing this coup. It had given him purpose after losing his brothers. He'd paid for his sister's safety with the promise to Aegon that he would directly take over from his father, giving up all somewhat carefree years he could have had left as an heir. His sense of purpose had kept him going despite his exhaustion. Now that he was no longer moving forward, that fire which had propelled him was threatening to consume him, and leave him behind as a burnt-out shell covered in the ashes of hope.

Tyene and Arianne were holding each other, both of them fixing the other's hair as they talked with hushed voices in quick words, seemingly trying to soothe each other.

This was all going nowhere. They couldn't do anything right now. Sansa rose and walked over to them.

'We must still have hope. We're all imagining what could have happened, but we cannot be sure. For now we can't do a thing. We don't have ships, we don't have information.'

Arianne and Tyene turned towards her.

'What are you suggesting?'

'I'm not suggesting anything. I merely believe we should practice patience and rest, so we may be able to act with fresh energy the second we get information.'

Sansa blinked slowly, rubbing her eyes.

'I admire that you manage to keep going the way you do with such determination', Sansa spoke. 'I'm afraid I'm not made of the same stuff.'

'You're with child, it's normal to be exhausted. My mother certainly was when carrying Quentyn and Trystane', Arianne said, waving her apology away.

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be. You have your rest. Come Ty', Arianne said, nodding at her cousin. 'Night Willas.'

But Willas didn't respond to Arianne's smile as she walked out.

Only when the door closed, he seemed to realise they had left. He blinked and looked up at Sansa.

'Are you tired?'

'You need to rest', Sansa told him. 'And I certainly won't mind lying down.'

'You think I'll be able to rest? No. We must do something', said Willas.

'What can we do? Can't we just rest?'

Willas sighed, quite displeased, as he always was with waiting and being stuck in one place.

'I'll hold you while you rest then', he agreed. But the point was clear: he wouldn't be sleeping.

Their trunks waited for them at the foot of the bed as Willas sank down on his side of it. She took out a nightshift for herself and him.

'They might live. Cersei loves herself more than anything. She would be the type to blow up the castle, but she'd also be the type who'd believe she'd be able to turn a bad situation in her favour.'

She thought of how Cersei had been ready to kill herself and her children during the Battle of the Blackwater, but also of how she'd seized power multiple times despite the odds being stacked against a woman in her position. She would try to save herself and her children first, before she decided to kill herself.

She sat down on her knees in front of Willas, gently undoing the buttons of his doublet.

'Even if she didn't blow up the castle, why would she keep the people she wanted dead for years alive? This is the perfect opportunity for her to kill them. They betrayed her, she finally has an excuse. And I gave it to her. I made my family switch sides.'

Sansa pushed the fabric of the doublet from his shoulders, and he shrugged out of it before connecting with her eyes.

'I'm no fool. If I were her, and I could finally lock up and kill the people I believed to be a threat to my family, I'd do it. And she's a lot less scrupulous than I am. What if the thing I did to safe them was the exact thing that wound up killing them?'

The agony in his voice was too much. Memories of pieces flying from his map table, her skirt drenching with spilled ink and a long sleepless night flew through her mind. She gently helped him slide out of his boots before dragging down his breeches. She'd helped him do this. For years, she'd seen everyone use their power to realise their goals. The second she got into a position of power with Willas, they'd seized it to do good. They had wanted to save Willas' family and they wanted to help the people of Westeros by getting rid of selfish rulers. Now the capital was going up in flames and the very people and family they'd wanted to protect were burning with it.

She suddenly felt awfully young again, and in over her head. She sat down beside her husband, who was looking no less lost than herself despite his extra years. How had her parents and their friends done things like this when they were around their age? Had they felt this woefully incompetent the entire time? Children playing at war.

She couldn't even begin to feel the weight of what had to be hundreds to thousands of deaths. If they hadn't attacked King's Landing, this wouldn't have happened.

No, no. People have surrendered castles before. How many times did a ruler burn their own people and themselves just so the other wouldn't win? No one did that, only the worst of monsters. This tragedy was Cersei's fault, she decided to kill everyone in her own city. Aegon didn't plan on murdering the people. It was her fault and barely had any precedent. Right?

'Who murders their entire city?' Sansa asked as she sat down on the bed as well, her back to him.

She felt his hands going to the buttons on her back. Wordlessly, he undid them all before she felt his head leaning against her back. She felt more than heard his sigh.

'Remember when I said I believed I couldn't win as long as I played by the rules when she didn't?'

Sansa nodded.

'I still can't win.'

'We are winning. The Lannisters are defeated. Don't you see? The Greyjoys, the Lannisters, they're all gone. The Riverlands are freed again. The Crownlands have turned against Cersei for the most part. She has no allies left. And we don't even know if your family…'

She shoved the dress off her arms and down her waist. Willas wordlessly started on her smallclothes.

She couldn't let herself think on the consequences. If Willas despaired, she had to be strong. She'd been through this before and unlike Sansa, losing a parent didn't go hand in hand with losing his territory, wealth and security.

Her and Willas put on their nightclothes.

'What did I drag us into?' he asked, pulling Sansa against him.

'You didn't drag me, I walked into all of this with you.'

She turned to face him, reaching out and rubbing his cheek with her thumb, her own eyes starting to tear up at seeing his face.

'We did our best. We did everything within our power. Don't you?'

Willas drew her closer, burying his face in the nook of her neck. His hand slid from her back to her belly. She waited and listened to his breathing.

'I think… I wish I could close my eyes and wake up during the Solstice. Everything didn't seem as hopeless then', he said.

Blessed autumn night during which they'd laughed, danced, kissed in a theatre, and overcome what was expected of a bastard daughter and a crippled heir. They'd stuck together, trusted each other, and thought their way around every obstacle. At the end of the night, Sansa's troubles hadn't magically disappeared. She was still in Littlefinger's grasp, an orphan without any family or friends to protect her, starting to fall in love with a man while she was married to another. Even though he'd tasted like hope, she'd been stuck in a hopeless situation. But for Willas it must have been a great night, before anything bad had ever happened to him. So much had changed in four months. A lot could happen in the future.

'We'll find a way', Sansa said.

They curled around each other, exhaustion gnawing at their brains until there were no thoughts left.

Sansa woke up sometime later. The air was still dark, but something had roused her. She carefully disentangled herself from Willas, making sure she didn't wake him. She was glad he had fallen asleep after all. Tiptoeing over to the window, she could hear and see the heavy breathing and wings of dragons sliding across the tiles of the towers. One, two, three. Three dragons.

People were rushing in and out from the castle, and the dragon whined.

If there were three dragons, that meant Daenerys Targaryen had returned. But the people making their way up to the castle hinted that another ship had docked. When had the ship arrived? When had Daenerys? What had roused her?

Sansa quickly took a dressing robe and braided her hair. She wouldn't have dreamed of presenting herself in front of a royal court like that in the past. But she found she didn't care right now. First of all, the standards of dress were different during wartime, and secondly, she wasn't going to waste any time to ask after what had happened. She slipped out of the room and down the stairs.

She stole a glance into the Chamber of the Painted Table, but didn't see any of the Sandsnakes or Arianne. So she continued her search. She finally halted when she turned a corner and almost bumped into Varys and Illyrio. The Spider was hard to recognize by anything but his figure. His outfit was entirely black, and torn in a dozen places.

'Lady Tyrell', he nodded, doing a polite bow.

Sansa quickly shut her mouth and curtsied in return.

'Lord Varys, I was not aware you were present.'

'I only just arrived by boat.'

'You were supposed to be at King's Landing.'

'I was.'

Varys must have been able to read all her questions on her face.

'The Mother of Dragons was so generous as to take King Aegon to Dragonstone almost immediately after she arrived. They've been here for a while. I arrived by boat after that. Aegon lives, I am sure you'll be happy to hear. He is with the maesters, Princess Arianne and Daenerys in his chambers. Out of conscience, though.'

'Whatever happened? We all saw the green light.'

'As we were getting ready for the mock siege during which we'd enter the city, a messenger told us Cersei had taken over the city and would burn it unless we retreated. We got into the tunnels under the cover of darkness anyways, and quickly started taking the city. Right when the goldcloaks surrendered, I bumped into Queen Margaery and her family, along with Lady Nym. They informed us they'd been arrested because Lady Nym killed King Tommen during the evening meal, which had made Cersei arrest all of them and seize control. By some kind of luck they broke out of the castle. It was Queen Margaery who warned us that Cersei would have likely installed wildfire, not just ordinary fire, to make sure Aegon couldn't take the city without huge losses. No five minutes later the city was burning. As far as I gathered in the time since then, because everything was quite chaotic, our King narrowly avoided dying in a wildfire explosion because he was shielded by Lord Connington, who is amongst the confirmed dead. Then he started helping the people of King's Landing escape but you know, getting stuck under a dead horse and then inhaling so much smoke in the sweltering heat of a blazing fire isn't good for the health. So he collapsed shortly after. Which was when Daenerys arrived.'

Did he say Nymeria killed Tommen? But Tommen was a boy of eight! Why kill him? Why then? That seemed like such an awful risk as well. But she couldn't focus. Priorities.

'But he'll recover?'

'I have every reason to believe so', he replied.

Good, their king wasn't dead. Now the next important point.

'You said you bumped into Margaery?

'Ah, yes. I did. We were on our way to the palace when we met them in the tunnels.'

'Oh, so they were on their way out?' Sansa asked, letting out a breath of relief. That was amazing news. Willas feared Cersei had killed them on the spot. She couldn't wait to run back up and tell him.

'Lady Sansa – wait. After Queen Margaery warned us Cersei would be using wildfire instead of ordinary fire, we all rushed into different directions. Lord Connington went to find Aegon, I ordered the retreat of the soldiers and my little birds… and Queen Margaery and her family continued racing to the harbour through the tunnel.'

Sansa nodded impatiently.

'Yes?'

'The wildfire had been stored in the tunnels underneath the city, that's why our army couldn't find it. As such, when it exploded, it did not only destroy the buildings above ground, but it spread underneath the city in an even more ravaging manner. The tunnels were still engulfed in flames hours later as we were evacuating the city. The time between us meeting her and the tunnels being engulfed in flames was a matter of minutes. Your goodsister could have never made it to the harbour in that time. She would have still been in the tunnel. Together with Lord Mace, Ser Garse and his sons, Lady Alla and Lady Nym.'

Sansa paused, Varys intently looking at her.

They'd gotten out of the castle, but not out of the city.

'You're saying they died.'

Varys gave a slow nod, Illyrio Mopatis bending his head in sympathy as well.

A shiver crawled over Sansa's shoulders. They didn't look up at her face. It was a strange sign of respect for her privacy. She hadn't been granted that in King's Landing, when everyone wanted to see her break and delighted in her family's deaths.

They really are dead, what now? Poor Willas. All he'd fought for has been lost the very second before he was supposed to win it.

'Excuse me, my lords. I'm afraid I need some time.'

She stumbled back into the corridor and went up the stairs. She didn't know what to say yet, but she had to see Willas. He wasn't going to survive this. Willas would forever blame himself, and that was once he got past the initial grief.

She'd been dealt a cruel hand by fate, but even she hadn't lost three siblings, a father, multiple uncles and three cousins within a matter of three months. Even her losses had been paced better, and half of those losses were no true loss. Her brother Rickon turned out to still be alive, her sister Arya was technically "missing" instead of dead, her brother Jon was at the Wall, and her Uncle Edmure was alive as well, together with Lady Roslin, Broby and Uncle Brynden.

In less than half a year, Willas had gone from eldest to only child. And the deaths in his family weren't reversible. Now, in one night, he'd lost half of his parents.

Wait. If Mace Tyrell was dead then…

'Father, help me', Sansa gasped, stopping in her tracks. She and Willas were Lady and Lord of the Reach.

'Stranger! What are you – Lady Sansa?' Arianne, who had almost bumped into Sansa's frozen body, asked.

Sansa could only blink and shake her head.

'Anyways, since you're here I might as well ask. We've been talking. Since King's Landing will be burning for a few more days, and many will have lost their homes, we're going to allow people to live here. But we don't have that many rations. Could –'

Arianne paused, only now noticing Sansa wasn't following.

'Lady Sansa?' she asked as she took hold of her arm. 'I was saying we were thinking about bringing the common people here but that we were in need of rations?'

Sansa blinked, nodding as she listened.

'Yes, I'll write that our supply line goes straight to Dragonstone. But I'd advise the camp for the wounded stays near King's Landing, transporting the wounded across the sea doesn't seem wise.'

'You're right. And I also only want to let people come once we're sure there are no Lannister soldiers between them that might try and kill us here. We talked about it at length.'

Arianne threw a gruff look at the room she'd emerged from, making clear who the other person in her "we" was.

'Can I just sign something now? I've got to get upstairs again.'

Arianne seemed to only then become aware of Sansa's night-time attire. She looked up with a furrowed eyebrow. 'We woke you?'

'It's fine. I wanted to hear as soon as possible.'

'Hear what?'

'What happened, of course.'

'And what happened that you didn't know yet?' Arianne slowly asked as she took Sansa to her own room. She guided Sansa to a desk that already had a quill, ink and pieces of paper lying on it.

'It's… uhm…'

How could she start? But then she realized that the extra information was irrelevant for Arianne. She could keep it short.

'Varys informed me Willas' family died in the escape attempt together with –'

Wait, if Arianne had been up here with Aegon and Daenerys all this time, she couldn't have talked to Varys yet. She didn't know.

'Together with? Oh no. Please, no', Arianne gasped. 'Nym was supposed to guide them out.'

Arianne wrapped her arms around herself.

'No.'

'They got out of the palace, but they were in the tunnels when the wildfire exploded. And the fire exploded in the tunnels.'

'No… Nym…'

Arianne's lips moved as she seemed to draw into herself.

Sansa finished the order with a few quick strokes of the quill and then took out some wax to burn. Once wet, she stamped her ring into it. When she rose, Arianne seemed to have found her voice again.

She reached out, clutching Sansa's wrist with one of her elegant hands. Her other arm was still wrapped around her.

'My condolences. To both of you. I suppose this changes things.'

'Well, nothing Aegon and Willas didn't already agree that would change. But it had preferably been under different circumstances.'

'Take your time. This was all we needed from your family in the next few days. Now we can organize it.'

When Sansa entered the bedroom, Willas was still asleep. Only his tousled brown stuck out between the bedsheets. His final sleep as Lord Willas. The second he woke, he'd be Lord Tyrell, and she Lady Tyrell.

Is there even a right way of informing someone their father died?

She slipped out of her shoes and robe and went back to bed, crawling closer to Willas. Her feet and hands were cold as ice against his warm body, yet he unconsciously crawled closer to her, humming softly when he wrapped his arm around her.

She couldn't help but smile at the tender gesture, but her lip immediately bobbled. The first tear fell, then the second.

It wasn't fair. They'd worked so hard to put Aegon on the throne, but it had been with the goal of keeping their family safe. Now Aegon had the throne, but they'd lost Willas' family. Why couldn't they catch a break?

She stroked Willas' hair with her trembling hand. She hated this. It shouldn't be like this.

She knew life wasn't like the songs, but did it have to be this bad all the time?

'Sansa? Are you crying?' a voice roughened by sleep asked.

Sansa suddenly became aware her whole body was shaking with sobs.

'It's… I…'

Willas lifted his head, reaching up for her face.

'Hey, what is it?'

She fell down beside him, burying her face against his chest. This soft, gentle, clever man didn't deserve to have his night ruined by such news.

'You're freezing cold. Have you been out of bed?'

She only cried harder.

She couldn't do this. She had to tell him. She had to be strong. He needed her. And she needed to have her crying under control enough to be able to talk. She took a few shaking breaths, each one steadier than the next.

'I'm sorry.'

'Why?' he sounded a lot more awake now.

'I did get out of bed. People arrived downstairs and I went to check.'

Willas, who'd been stroking her hair, paused.

And only in that moment she realized all the build-up of how it came to be would just drag it out unnecessarily. She'd be able to explain the context later on, but for now, he didn't need it, and it wouldn't matter.

'There is no doubt your family died in its entirety in the tunnels beneath King's Landing as they tried to escape. Lord Varys confirmed he saw them minutes before the explosions happened. The explosions of fire happened in the tunnels and they were very near to it, and could not have gotten out in time.'

Willas spoke no words. She only felt his fingers digging deeper into her body. She could feel his head shaking above hers, but that was all the reaction he gave.

His breathing grew laboured.

Time went slow as their bodies entwined, switching between different positions of holding each other.

'What can we even do now?' he asked, voice rough like he'd been screaming instead of silently holding her. 'What's the point of being here?'

Sansa thought of her own grief. Time after time, she'd always wanted the same thing. To go back home, to Winterfell, to see her family, or even if her family wasn't there, her home. Winterfell, after all these years, had become more an idea than an actual place. She knew the Winterfell she wanted to return to was one that existed only in her memory, one in which she was safe, her family was alive, and the world was not on the verge of collapse.

She knew Willas would feel the same urge to return to Highgarden. They'd come here for a mission that, in his eyes, had become useless, as he wouldn't be bringing home his father and sister. They had also come here for some political plotting. But Westerosi politics had killed Willas' family just as much as it had killed hers. It had made Sansa hate politics, and she doubted it encouraged Willas to keep playing the game.

'Not a lot. But we have other goals. My family needs our help. I would like to go to Winterfell. I haven't seen Rickon in three years. I need him to be safe.'

She didn't know if talking about her family was wise, but it was worth a go. They still had plans, they still had things they needed to do for their family. All was not lost. But all could be lost if they just returned home.

'I'm sorry I was deaf to your frustrations sooner. I understand now. We'll protect them.'

Sansa pressed her face into Willas' chest.

'But if we're ever in a dangerous situation, you need to leave immediately. No questions, no waiting. Even if I can't immediately follow.'

'If you can't follow?' Sansa asked, and then, with shock, she realized he was thinking about if they ended up fleeing, and he ended up being slower.

'No.'

'If I die, you and mother will still be there. If we die, Highgarden's screwed.'

'You're not dying. Why would we die?'

'Everyone can die. Can't you see? My father was Hand. He held the city. My sister was queen. Their titles and power didn't protect them. They died even though they would have been safe no matter how the battle turned out, except the way it did.'

'We're not dying, not now', said Sansa. Tears stung her eyes as she brought his hand to her belly.

'We've got a lot to live for.'

'And I thought I could finally impress him with all we'd done. Tell him the line of succession was finally secure', Willas said. He gently rubbed her belly with his fingers. 'Show him I am more than equal to the previous rulers, scheming-wise. The only thing my planning and plotting did was result in a lot of deaths.'

'Life doesn't work like that. Cersei could have responded to it in many other ways. And many others were also involved in the decisions. It's not our fault. Willas you… You can't honestly think he saw you as a disappointment? Not after everything?'

'I wish he'd known though. The babe.'

'My parents died thinking I was miserable. I wish I could comfort them by showing them how alright I turned out', Sansa confessed. 'Because I do think I turned out fine, with you.'

'I thought I could be a ruthless politician. And playing the game cost me so many family members, and yet you feel safe?'

'I think we're being careful. And I feel you do your best to keep our families safe. You're exactly the type of man my father would have wanted for me. Gentle when you want to be, strong when you need to be and brave enough to act when you see an unjust situation. You've got your heart in the right place, and plenty of brain. If I were a parent, I couldn't imagine being disappointed in you. I don't know your father well enough, but I know your mother and grandmother are proud of you.'

'Proud of this? I feel like throwing in the towel.'

'Throwing for what?'

'Politics. I haven't done anyone a favour.'

'I think you have. But even so, we can quit. We just have to make sure the Wall is safe and my brother is well. That isn't politics. One is protecting the realm, the other is protecting family.'

'Hm.'

She wasn't used to the apathy. She'd expected tears, rage, and elaborate plans. Somehow, this was worse. This hopelessness. Could he not see how they had already helped change things for the better, despite the personal losses? Could he not see the value of their plans? Could he not see the future ahead?

'Imagine winter', Sansa said. 'Mountains of snow. Rivers frozen solid. Communication severely reduced. Just us in Highgarden, together, doing what we do best, with our family. Music with Leonette, reading to our child, walking through our indoor gardens, our people taken care of. The best prepared region in all of Westeros. Perhaps the winter lasts as long as summer, and we won't hear from the capital in years. Politics and warfare reduced to zero.'

'Or we are all killed by the Others, and enter another long night.'

Perhaps, in the darkest of night, it was hard to ask him to see the light. She knew how despair felt. She only hoped that by giving him the support she'd never had, she could get him out of it again.

Notes:

I planned this chapter like 2 years ago, I'm so excited to finally be posting it. I had such an interesting time writing it. I always do so much thinkwork when portraying Willas and his grief. I really like having his Tyrell temper and desire to have everything be his way be at war with his more cool distanced Hightower brain. And he processes emotions so differently from Sansa, it really takes some time to get into his brain, and then try to look at his emotions through Sansa's eyes. But I love it. Hope you enjoy it too 3

Just some minor things:
1) I love GRRM's unreliable narrators. We saw KL through 2 pairs of eyes, but none of them saw the ending or the full story. So yes, what they saw wasn't 100% truth.
2) I'm writing through the perspectives of characters that don't necessarily carry mine, or any, modern sensibilities or notions of ethics and honour. I'm not necessarily fully supportive of anyone in this story.
3) Tysha reappearing is a fan theory I'm very fond of. So I put it in. Of course, the chances of her having a child and that child being Tyrion's are one in a million. But again, the news doesn't have to be true. Tyrion knows she's been raped, yet he would've loved to find her, even if she was raped by all his father's men. She remains the only one that never betrayed him aside from his /
4) I fully admit I kinda lost track of Sam in this story, so yes, he did kinda deus ex machina his way into the last chapter without proper set-up.
5) Yes, "throwing in the towel" comes from boxing and they don't have that in Westeros, but I didn't immediately think of a catchy equivalent.