Let's see how Sansa is doing outside Winterfell... under Cersei's influence.
SANSA III
Sansa found Arya on the banks of the Trident, trying to hold Nymeria still while she brushed dried mud from her fur. The direwolf was not enjoying the process. Arya was wearing the same dirty dress she had worn yesterday and the day before. Lady was still beside Sansa, who held her leash. Septa Mordane had told Sansa to find Arya. They were to ride with the queen and the princess today in the royal wheelhouse.
"Arya, you better put something pretty today. We are to travel with the queen and Princess Myrcella," Sansa kindly tried to explain.
"I'm not," Arya said, keeping to brush her own direwolf. "Mycah and I are going upstream and look for rubies at the ford."
"Rubies? What rubies?"
"Rhaegar's rubies. This is where King Robert killed him and won the crown."
Arya had looked at her as if she was stupid. Sansa couldn't believe her ears. "You can't do that, Arya. Not today. The princess is expecting us. We were both invited by the queen."
"I don't care. The wheelhouse doesn't have windows, you can't see a thing."
Sansa tried to be reasonable. She had to try. Arya is your only sister, Sansa. You won't get another one. "Arya, we must be present. We cannot refuse the queen. We have to make a good impression." She didn't want the queen to have a bad opinion of Arya.
"Why? The prince is going to be offended because your sister is muddy? He will call off the betrothal? Good riddance."
Sansa gasped in horror. "How can you say that?" How could Arya say it would be a good thing if her betrothal with Joffrey was called off?
"I don't like him. And I don't like the queen. And Myrcella is a little baby. They won't let me bring Nymeria."
"Princess Myrcella is afraid of them, you know that."
"That's what I said. She's a little baby. Hold on!" Arya yelled to her direwolf.
There was nothing Sansa could do. Arya wouldn't come. "I'll go by myself then. It will be ever so much nicer that way. Lady and I will eat all the lemon cakes and just have the best time without you."
"They won't let you bring Lady either." Nymeria ran away at this moment. Arya threw the brush on the ground. "Bad wolf!"
Sansa couldn't help but smile a little. She turned away and walked off. Still, her smile was a bitter one. She made efforts to make things better between her and Arya, but her sister wouldn't do anything. She was impossible, a desperate case. Sansa walked back to the column. They were about to leave after a night of rest. She left Lady in the care of her friend Jeyne and went to the royal wheelhouse, after promising to Jeyne she would tell her everything about her day later.
Queen Cersei Lannister welcomed her before the entrance of the wheelhouse and Sansa made a curtsy like Septa Mordane taught her. Inside, she was welcomed quite warmly by the princess who almost jumped at her and threw her arms around her neck. The queen had to remind her daughter to behave like a princess. Myrcella apologized to Sansa who accepted them graciously, without any offence.
"When will Sansa marry Joffrey?" the princess asked, all of a sudden, after an hour or two. Sansa didn't see the time pass. She felt her cheeks redden.
"Not before some time, I'm afraid. Sansa must bleed first, and it might not happen before another year," the queen explained to her daughter.
Sansa hoped it wouldn't be long. She wanted to marry Joffrey. Still, she would be patient. A lady had to be patient.
"You'll have an ivory dress for the wedding, you know," the princess told to Sansa. "And a necklace, surely. Joffrey will certainly give you one."
"Of course, he will. Joffrey will never neglect his wife," the queen said.
"I know he will never, your Grace. It will be a great honor for me to be his queen. I will do everything to be a worthy wife," Sansa said.
"I'm sure you will."
"Maybe Joff could give Sansa a necklace like my own," Myrcella suggested.
"Which one?"
"The one like a flower." The princess left her seat and went to a box in a corner. She opened it and produced a gorgeous necklace in the shape of a blue rose, like the winter roses they had in the glass garden of Winterfell. "Could you try it, Sansa? I'd like to see how you look with it."
Sansa was in no place to refuse, and truth be told she didn't want to refuse. The princess allowed her to wear one of her jewels. Myrcella placed the necklace around her neck before she sealed it behind. She seemed to struggle for a moment, but Sansa finally heard a clasp. When she looked down, she realized the rose was red and not blue. It was perfect on her blue silk dress, along with her auburn hair. She realized the chain was made of gold. She never wore something so beautiful in Winterfell. They were never given any jewel.
"You're beautiful with it," the princess exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Yes. It's very pretty," Sansa said. She turned the pendant between her hands and realized the other side was blue, like she thought it was before. It was indeed a very special necklace.
"Aunt Margaery gave it to me for Joff's name day. She has one identical. This one is only a copy, she has the original. She said it belonged to my grandmother. Uncle Tyrion gave it to her the day they were wed."
Somehow, knowing that this necklace was the copy of one of Lady Margaery's many jewels made Sansa see it less gorgeous. She hadn't entirely forgotten the lady's words concerning Joffrey. That, and the sudden realization that the queen looked with disapproval towards her.
"Thank you, Princess, but I think I shouldn't wear the jewels of a princess of the Realm," Sansa said, pulling off the chain and giving it back to the daughter of the queen very gently.
"Sansa is right. She is far wiser than people give it to her," the queen said. Sansa blushed at the compliment.
"When you'll marry Joffrey, we'll be sisters. Then you can borrow all the jewels you want from me," said Myrcella with a smile, placing back the jewel among her things.
"Joffrey will offer you something very pretty for your wedding. Don't worry, Sansa," the queen assured. Her disapproving look had disappeared, leaving place to a radiant face.
"Thank you, your Grace," Sansa said.
"Why didn't we wait for Uncle Tyrion and Aunt Margaery before we left?" the princess asked.
"We couldn't wait. The king has important matters to attend to in King's Landing," answered the queen.
"I would like them to be with us. Margaery is always very kind to me and Tommen. What do you think of her, Sansa?"
Sansa answered very carefully, remembering her courtesies. "Lady Margaery has been very gentle with me at Winterfell."
"Has she?" the queen asked her.
"Yes, she has. She told me a lot about the Westerlands and the Reach, and about her family too." She also told Sansa to not ruin her relationship with her sister, to no avail. Arya still couldn't behave like a lady.
"Do you know I could marry Ser Loras soon?"
The queen coughed. She just drank some wine from her cup and swallowed it the wrong way. "What did you say?" she asked the princess, between two coughs.
"People say I could be wed to her brother."
Sansa would almost have been jealous of Myrcella if she hadn't been betrothed to Joffrey, but right now she was only happy for the princess. Ser Loras Tyrell was a knight and reputed to be very handsome. The princess deserved to marry him.
"Who says that?" the queen wondered.
"A girl with her. One of her handmaidens. I heard her talk about it. Do you think I could, Mother?"
"We'll discuss about it later. We mustn't bore our guest."
Truth be told, Sansa would have liked to talk more about it, but if the queen said otherwise, she wouldn't press the subject. They kept talking about many things. The princess did most of the talking and Sansa did her best to follow. They stopped around midday for a halt. A knight wearing crimson came to tell the queen that they would stop here for the rest of the day. The king was gone with the Hand to hunt aurochs.
Sansa left the wheelhouse after thanking the princess and expressing how much she enjoyed her time with her. Everything would have been perfect if the prince had been there. As she began to walk to her father's retinue to find Lady, the queen called for her.
"Sansa, little dove, I need to stretch my legs. Would you care to accompany me?"
Sansa couldn't refuse. In one single day, she had an entire morning with the princess and the queen, and now a walk alone with the queen. She followed Cersei Lannister, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, docile.
"I hope you enjoy your time south so far," the queen said.
"Very much, your Grace."
"Do you miss your home?"
"I knew I would have to leave it one day."
"So did I, when I left Casterly Rock. You remind me of myself sometimes, when I was your age."
"Really?"
"Yes." The queen was smiling kindly to her. "I was about your age when I came to the capital for the first time. For a little girl, it is always a thrilling experience. Every road leads to King's Landing, but few people get to see it in their life, and fewer gets to live in the Red Keep. We are the few privileged by this. I hope you will love your time there."
"I will, your Grace."
"You are very lucky, Sansa. Never forget it. There are many girls in the Seven Kingdoms who would like to be in your place."
"I know." Who wouldn't want to marry Joffrey?
"What do you think of Lady Margaery Lannister?"
That wasn't a question she expected. "She's been very gentle with me."
"I'm sure, but I'm afraid you didn't tell me the whole truth."
"Your Grace?"
"I am the queen, Sansa. You do not remain queen if you cannot see when people are hiding something from you. I saw the look on your face when Myrcella told you you wore a necklace similar to one that my sister-in-law had. You weren't pleased by it." Sansa didn't think the queen would have noticed it. "I understand you didn't want to talk about it in the presence of my daughter, but there's no reason you shouldn't talk about it to me now. You're to be my daughter one day. I don't want to see you unhappy. Has Lady Margaery done something to upset you?"
Sansa was at a loss of words. She felt very touched by the queen's concern, but could she repeat the things Margaery told her. This discussion had been private, but the queen was asking.
"You don't have to hide anything from me, darling. I'm here for you."
Sansa didn't know what to say. Very carefully, she tried to say it the best way she could. "She… She talked to me about Prince Joffrey."
"What did she say?"
Sansa was afraid. How could she say the things that the Lady of Casterly Rock told her? What she said about Joffrey… "She asked me if I knew him well. She told me of the day she and your son met. She asked me if I loved him."
"Do you love him?"
"Yes, I do. With all my heart." She did. She loved Joffrey the moment she set eyes on him.
"What did she say exactly about my son?"
"I… I would rather not say, your Grace."
"Why is that?"
"Some… Some of the things she said… They weren't pleasant."
"In what way?" Sansa hesitated. How could she present it the best possible way? "Sansa, don't be afraid. This is no crime to hear unpleasant things about your betrothed. You can tell me. I'm not going to berate you only for hearing a few words."
Sansa took a breath and spoke. "She said the prince… was spoiled. She said she didn't like him. She said I didn't know him well enough and that… that I shouldn't love him. I didn't agree with her," Sansa added quickly. "I told her she was wrong, but she wouldn't listen."
The queen was looking at her with compassion. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. It must have been hard for you to hear these things about the man you will marry."
"Yes, but I know she was wrong."
"In such cases, all we can do is walk away from these people. They can't hurt us with their words when we can't hear them." Sansa understood the logic of this. "You must know that Margaery looks very kind at first sight, but it's mostly an act. She married my brother because he was rich. Her family prepared her all her life to marry the most powerful and richest man they could find. My little brother craves for love and Margaery makes him believe she loves him, so he eats in her hand and does everything she wants. If there had been someone richer than my brother who was available, she would have married him instead."
Sansa could only agree with the queen. She remembered how Lord Tyrion was at Winterfell. How could someone love him? Except Arya, maybe, but that didn't count. And there was also the way Lady Margaery laughed at everything he said, no matter what it was, and how she kissed him publicly. Sansa's lady mother told her while they were still at Winterfell that a lady should never let her arms bare, and yet Lady Margaery was the only one to do so. Even her handmaidens had their arms covered with sleeves. Still, a doubt lingered in Sansa's mind. She remembered how the Lady of Casterly Rock looked when she told her about the letter Lord Tyrion sent to her.
"Be careful with Margaery. She is ambitious, and ambitious women are the worst of all. Don't let her reach you and keep her as far from you and Joffrey as you can."
Sansa would follow the queen's advice. Lady Margaery Lannister had wanted to marry Joffrey once. She said so herself. Sansa would have to protect Joffrey from her. There was always a woman in stories who wanted to steal the prince or the knight away from his betrothed or his wife. She was always evil. Margaery was evil. She tried to turn her against Joffrey. But she also advised her to make things better between her and Arya. Was Sansa to throw away that advice as well?
"I'm sorry I listened to that, your Grace," Sansa said. "I shouldn't have. I knew she was lying when she said all those things about Joffrey."
"Don't worry, Sansa. I know she was lying, and I know you didn't believe it. I made mistakes myself in my life. I listened to the wrong people more than once. Time will show who you must listen to. Know that I will always be there for you."
"Thank you, your Grace."
"Now, go back to your father's men. I wouldn't want to steal you more than necessary before you're even married to my son."
Sansa curtsied and left, making sure to walk with dignity like Septa Mordane taught her. She had been stupid to listen to Lady Margaery's lies. She should have seen who she was. She was lucky that the queen told her. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
She dined with Jeyne and told her everything about her time with the queen and Myrcella. She didn't talk about her personal discussion with the queen that took place afterwards though. It wouldn't be appropriate. Later, she walked Lady around the inn they stopped nearby. Lady was sweet and kind, always calm. She was all the opposite of Nymeria, Arya's direwolf, just like Sansa was the entire opposite of Arya.
As she walked around, holding Lady's leash, she marvelled at how the trees were rich and green here. The Riverlands were her mother's home, so she had talked to Sansa about them a few times, but she had never seen them with her own eyes. She also marvelled before the knights. There were very few in the North, and they seldom saw them when they came to Winterfell and stayed for a day before leaving to never return. Sansa had seen Lord Yohn Royce when he came to Winterfell with his son, Waymar, a few months ago. Ser Waymar had been very kind with her, just like his father. That was the last time knights came by Winterfell before the king's retinue came to Winterfell. Her father's men, with their leather jackets, looked like peasants next to the Lannisters knights and the kingsguards in their red and gold armor.
Sansa came back to the inn. As she walked toward the carts and horses of her father's men, she heard giggles close to the royal wheelhouse. Three girls arranging sophisticated braids in their hair, ones Sansa wouldn't be able to reproduce, looked at her with a smile at the corners of their lips. Then she bumped into someone she hadn't seen before her.
"Pardon me, ser."
The man who stood before her said nothing. He had clear brown eyes who looked at her with a rigid expression. He was bald and wore only leather. Sansa wasn't sure anymore if he was a knight. Before she could do anything, a hand grasped her shoulder.
"Do I frighten you so much, girl?"
He did, and had since she had first laid eyes on the ruin that fire had made of his face, though it seemed to her now that he was not half so terrible as the other. Sandor Clegane, called the Hound, Joffrey's sworn sword, was the one who had taken hold of her arm.
"Or is it him there making you shake? He frightens me too. Look at that face."
Sansa did as the Hound told her. She understood how even he could be afraid of this man.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, ser."
The bald man who said nothing didn't say a word to her apology and left, looking at her in a fearful way.
"Why won't he speak to me?" she asked.
"He hasn't been very talkative these last twenty years. Since the Mad King had his tongue ripped out with hot spincers," the Hound offered as an explanation, as if it was nothing unusual.
"He speaks damn well with his sword though."
Sansa's heart bumped in her chest as she heard the voice behind her. This was someone she would never be afraid of. Prince Joffrey stood before her, all in red, his blond hair shining in the sunlight, his green eyes clear like the forest surrounding them.
"Ser Ilyn Payne, the King's Justice. The royal executioner," Joffrey explained her.
Now Sansa understood why she was so afraid of the man. Her father once told her that the man who says the sentence should swing the sword, but Sansa couldn't imagine Joffrey killing somebody. She supposed it was normal then that someone else had to carry out the death sentences when one was pronounced. These thoughts made her smile leave her face.
"What is it, sweet lady?" He took her chin in his hand and looked over her. "Does the Hound frighten you?" Yes, he does. "Away with you, dog. You're scaring my lady."
The Hound left. Sansa had no need to tell Joffrey what made her afraid. He saw it just by looking at her and came to her rescue. He returned his attention to her. They were alone with Lady.
"I don't like to see you upset. The sun is finally shining. Come walk with me."
The day couldn't have been better. First a morning with the queen and the princess, then a walk alone with the queen, then another one with her betrothed, the prince. Sansa knelt and told Lady to wait here. Then she walked with Joffrey.
The weather was perfect. Joffrey was right, the sun was shining, and that made him shine even more. Sansa was sure it made her own hair shine as well. She remembered dreaming of someone who said her hair was beautiful in sunsets. They walked along the Trident, a clear stream with silver waves. The prince offered her wine a few times. At one time, Sansa opposed.
"I probably shouldn't have any more. Father only lets us have one cup at feasts."
"My princess can drink as much as she wants," Joffrey told her.
Sansa accepted the skin he offered, but she only drank a little. She knew what could happen when you drank too much. She remembered berating her half-brother once because he got drunk during a feast. She would need to get used to the taste of wine. This one was a little better than those they served at Winterfell. She remembered the Arbor Gold that Lady Margaery served to all of them back in Winterfell. She had never tasted something so rich and delicious. This one was nothing in comparison, but she was sure there would be better vintage in King's Landing. Joffrey just didn't have anything better right now on the road.
She heard strange noises ahead of them. It sounded like wood. She remembered hearing a similar sound one day when she watched her brothers fighting with wooden swords. But why would someone fight with wooden swords here? Was that something else?
"Don't worry, you're safe with me," Joffrey reassured her once again. Still, Sansa kept holding the skin of wine with her two hands as she followed Joffrey. The prince might fear nothing, but Sansa did.
"I'll get you." Sansa heard someone say this.
They arrived in a clearing where two people were fighting with sticks. One was a boy, and the other one…
"Arya!"
Her sister turned to her and received a hit on the arm. "Ow! What are you doing here? Go away."
Sansa could have asked her the same question and given the same order. She recognized the boy she was with, the butcher's boy she spent all her time with.
"Your sister?" Joffrey asked her.
Sansa nodded, ashamed. Arya was all dirty. She obviously didn't wash her face for days. Why did Arya have to spoil everything all the time? She always appeared at inopportune moments, and with a butcher's son now at the top of that.
"And who are you, boy?" Joffrey asked him.
"Mycah, my lord." He didn't even address the prince in the right way. Why did Arya spend time with him? Even more important, why was he spending time with Arya? He had no business with a lady.
"He's the butcher's boy," Sansa precised, not hiding her disdain. He had hit her sister, so she saw no reason to conceal it.
"He's my friend," Arya retorted. When would she learn to shut her mouth? Right when everything had been so perfect, her sister had to ruin it.
"A butcher's boy who wants to be a knight, eh?" Joffrey looked at him. "Pick up your sword, butcher's boy. Let's see how good you are." Joffrey unsheathed his sword.
"She asked me to, my lord. She asked me to," the boy said. That didn't surprise Sansa. Arya spent most of her time with him.
"I'm your prince, not your lord, and I said pick up your sword."
"It's not a sword, my prince. It's only a stick."
"And you're not a knight. Only a butcher's boy. That was my lady's sister you were hitting, do you know that?"
"Stop it!" Arya yelled.
"Arya, stay out of this," Sansa ordered. Joffrey was only defending her. Arya had no reason to complain, and was in no place to do so.
"I won't hurt him much."
Joffrey started to make a cut on the boy's cheek. It wasn't a deep cut, although Sansa didn't like to see it. Then everything went wild in a second. Arya hit the prince with her stick and the butcher's boy ran away.
"Filthy little bitch!" Joffrey swung his sword all around.
"No no, stop it, stop it, both of you. You're spoiling it. You're spoiling everything!" Sansa yelled, forgetting about her manners. Couldn't they stop? That wasn't how it was supposed to be.
Arya fell on the ground, and the prince yelled at her. A grey fur came out of nowhere and bit the hand of the prince. He started to scream.
"Arya!" Sansa screamed to her sister. She was afraid for her. What if the beast attacked her after?
"Nymeria!" As Arya yelled too, Sansa realized the animal was her sister's direwolf. She didn't understand. Lady would never do this.
Arya stood up and pointed the sword at the prince.
"No. No, please no," the prince begged.
"Arya, leave him alone," Sansa ordered and begged at the same time.
After a moment, her sister walked away and threw the sword in the river. Then she ran away with Nymeria. Sansa looked at the prince. He was holding his right hand and blood came out of it. Blood was everywhere, red like his doublet. Sansa approached and knelt beside him.
"My prince, my poor prince, look what they did to you. Stay here, I'll go back to the inn and bring help."
"Then go! Don't touch me!" He jerked away when she tried to touch his forehead.
Sansa ran to the inn and told the first people she met that Joffrey was hurt. They came back to take him and Sansa took refuge in her room. That wasn't supposed to have gone this way. Arya shouldn't have hit him. She shouldn't have been there. What was she doing there again with that boy? Weren't they supposed to look for rubies in the river? They shouldn't have been fighting with wooden sticks, not there. Her father came to see if she was well and she told him everything that happened. He had a grim expression, very different from the one she was used to.
The queen came to see her some time later. Her face was severe.
"Hello, Sansa."
"Your Grace." Sansa stood up and curtsied, remembering her manners at the last moment. "How is the prince, Joffrey?"
"He's with the maester right now. The injury is grave, he may have marks for the rest of his life."
"I'm sorry, I never wanted that. We were just walking…"
"You were present, Sansa. Can you tell me what happened? Is it true a direwolf attacked Joffrey?"
"Yes… your Grace. It was my sister's direwolf. She bit his hand. I'm sorry, I tried to tell her to stop, but there was nothing I could do. She wouldn't listen. I swear I never wanted..."
The queen raised a hand. "That's alright. I believe you. Sometimes we see people we love suffer and there's nothing we can do. That was really your sister's direwolf who did this?"
"Yes, your Grace," she answered weakly.
"And your sister? She was with someone else, a butcher's boy?"
"Yes, he hit her with a stick when we arrived, your Grace."
The queen nodded slowly. "I'm sorry for what you had to witness today. Sometimes we must look at things we wouldn't like to see otherwise. This is part of a queen's duties. I'm sorry for that. Excuse me, but I must go back to my son."
"Your Grace, may I see the prince. I want to apologize to him."
The queen had started to walk away, but she turned to look at Sansa. "I'll relay your apologies to him, and I'll ask him to see you once he's better. For the time being, don't leave this room."
The queen left and Sansa found herself all alone for a very long time. She had a quick supper brought to her. One of her father's men told her that they were looking for Arya and her direwolf who disappeared. Sansa didn't understand what had just happened. She missed Lady. She wished she could have her by her side to reassure her. Sansa always felt better when her direwolf was there. She felt a special link to her, like a connection. Lady always seemed to know and understand what she felt, even more than Jeyne.
Sansa went to sleep later, but she was woken up by a man in white armor who told her the queen wanted to see her. She recognized him to be Ser Boros Blount, one of the kingsguards. She was afraid of the man. He didn't look kind, but Sansa followed him. If the queen summoned her, she had to come. They stopped in a corridor before the dining room of the inn, and Sansa heard yelling on the other side. She heard the king's booming voice, Arya, and even Joffrey yell. The prince hadn't wanted to see her again of the day. She wondered how he was. Did he lose his hand? She couldn't support the prospect of it. She was afraid. Afraid of the king, afraid of her father, afraid of the Hound, afraid of Ser Ilyn Payne, afraid of everyone, even the prince. The way he shouted at her as blood spurted from his hand… that was nothing like the other times they spoke, in feasts and as they walked together. The day had looked so beautiful. Why did it have to turn that way?
Sansa heard the queen call for her. Ser Boros led her until she stood before the king. The queen was standing next to him with the prince. He had thick bandages around his arm. She wanted to run to him and ask him if everything was all right, but she was afraid to do so. He looked at her differently. He looked… angry? Was he angry at her? And the queen? And the king? Her father and Arya were also there.
The king was looking at her. He pointed a place right before him. She advanced to stand before him. "Now, child, tell me what happened. Tell it all and tell it true. It's a great crime to lie to a king."
Sansa looked at her father, then to Arya, then to the queen and her prince. What was she supposed to say? She didn't want to speak against Arya, but she couldn't speak against the prince either. Filthy little bitch! The prince couldn't have said that. Surely she misheard. If she misheard, then everything that happened… Arya is your only sister, Sansa. You won't get another one. If you lose her, you are unlikely to ever get her back. But could she lose Joffrey? Everything was blurred in her head. A voice was telling her something in her head, something she didn't want to hear, but she kept hearing it all the same.
She could only sputter in the end. "I don't know. I don't remember. Everything happened so fast." It was true. She didn't remember exactly what happened. "I didn't see."
"Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar! "
Arya started to hit her and Sansa struggled to get rid of her.
"Hey, stop it! That's enough of that!" Their father separated them.
"She's as wild as that animal of hers. I want her punished," the queen declared.
"What would you have me do, whip her through the streets?" the king sighed. "Damn it, children fight. It's over."
"Joffrey will bear these scars for the rest of his life." Sansa looked again at the bandages. It looked painful.
"You let that little girl disarm you?" The king was talking to his son. He turned to her father. "Ned, see to it that your daughter is disciplined. I'll do the same with my son."
"Gladly, your Grace." Her father's voice sounded scornful.
"And what of the direwolf? What of the beast that savaged your son?" the queen asked.
King Robert had risen. Sansa was afraid of him. "I'd forgot the damned wolf," he said.
"We found no trace of the direwolf, your Grace," a guard said.
"No? So be it."
"We have another wolf."
The king turned to look at the queen when she said it. Then he resumed to walk forward. "As you will."
"You can't mean it," Sansa's father said.
"A direwolf's no pet. Get her a dog, she'll be happier for it."
Another wolf? No, that couldn't be. Sansa's world crumbled. No, he couldn't mean it. "He doesn't mean Lady, does he?" Her father's expression… "No, no, not Lady! Lady didn't bite anyone! She's good!"
"Lady wasn't there! You leave her alone!" Sansa heard her sister yell with her.
Sansa turned to her lord father. "Stop them. Don't let them do it." She begged him and the queen. "Please, it wasn't Lady."
"Is this your command, your Grace?"
The king walked away when her father asked him this. No, that couldn't be. They couldn't kill Lady. Lady would never hurt anyone. Sansa felt tears all over her face. They couldn't do that. She barely understood anything to what was said afterwards, but she heard that her father would be the one to kill Lady. She felt betrayed. Someone brought her back to her room. She shared it with Arya, but she didn't notice the presence of her sister. Lady. No, not Lady. She kept crying, and all the while, the day went all back to her. She saw it all over again. She couldn't remember the accident, but she remembered how Joffrey looked at her afterwards. A voice said words she heard at Winterfell, words she didn't want to hear.
Joffrey is not who he seems to be. For your own sake, I hope you'll realize it before it's too late.
Not much change, I know. Sorry I didnt save Lady. Sansa is a major character of this fanfiction, but like in the books, she must go through a lot before she matures. This is not the last time Margaery's words come to haunt her.
Please review
Next chapter : Margaery
