Sansa II
Sansa was in the throne room gallery along with the rest of the ladies and lords of the court as she watched her father dispatch the petitioners from the imposing Iron Throne of Aegon the Conqueror. The imposing throne rose before her like a monstrosity of iron and steel. Aegon was said to have forged it with the thousands of swords of his fallen enemies. Seeing her father sitting there solemnly made her imagine Joffrey instead, dressed in his elegant suits and a crown over his head. She'd be by his side, helping him in everything he asked for.
"Are you sure they weren't mere bandits?" asked Lord Renly as he yawned from the council table, located under the throne. It was obvious that he didn't want to be there.
That took Sansa out of her dreams and returned her to the real world. She had been standing there for several hours, along with the septa Mordane, and she was getting more and more bored. Jeyne had stayed in the Tower of the Hand and Sansa was beginning to regret not doing the same thing, but she did not want to miss the court gossip. So far, only issues of inter-village disputes had been discussed and boundaries between the lands of one or the other lord. A Black Brother had also come to ask for men for the Night's Watch, though he looked nothing like her uncle Benjen. This one was old, disgusting and his back hunched over. As no knight offered to join the Guard, her father had told him that he could choose the men he wanted from the dungeons. Now, they were dealing with a bandit thing in the Riverlands or something like that.
However, despite boredom, Sansa could not remember a day when she had been happier. For a few days, life hadn't stopped smiling at her. For starters, Princess Arianne Martell and her husband had departed to Dorne a few days ago. Her father told her that Lord Stannis would take several weeks to return and that when he did, his wife may not accompany him back to the capital. From what was rumored in court, Princess Arianne was rarely in the capital accompanying her husband, and most of the year she preferred to stay in Sunspear with the rest of her family. In fact, from what they said, this had been one of her longest stays in the capital.
And yet, that wasn't even the best news that had happened that week. Just the night before the Dornish left the capital, her father had informed her sister Arya that she would go to Dorne with them, to become a lady-in-waiting for Princess Shireen, the ugly daughter of Stannis Baratheon and Arianne Martell. Her father had told them that in principle it would only be for a few months, until things calmed down in King's Landing, but Sansa hoped it would not, and those weeks would become years. I hope she stays in that arid desert forever. That way he won't meddle between me and Prince Joffrey again. Indeed, since they had reached King's Landing, they had grown apart even more. While Sansa rubbed shoulders with the royal court and attended banquets and Tourneys, Arya rarely attended and spent more and more time in her dance lessons, which were lengthening more and more as days went by.
She still remembered the last time they had seen each other, the day they said goodbye at the docks when Arya sailed for Dorne along with much of the Royal Fleet. Her father had given her a long hug and she had even cried for a long time. She had also given Jory, Fat Tom and even septa Mordane a hug. However, Arya had only said goodbye to her, and she even avoided making eye contact with her, although Sansa did not make any attempt to get her to do so either.
Even when she was leaning out at the stern of the ship and though she was saying goodbye to them with exaggerated gestures, Sansa had the feeling that none of them were heading towards her. Well, I'm not going to miss her either, Sansa thought.
"With the permission of your grace..." was saying one of the villagers. A plump, bald one that looked like a bartender. He had mentioned his name before, but Sansa had not paid attention to him.
"His Grace is in his resting quarters. I am Lord Eddard Stark, the Hand of the King. Tell me who you are and what you know about those bandits" her father cut him off.
Sansa had learned that King Robert was going hunting in the kingswood because it was said that an imposing white deer had been seen. Preparations had even been made for him and most of the court knights and even Prince Joffrey to go on that important hunt. However, a couple of days ago, the king had woken up with a severe stomachache, so the hunt had been suspended until he recovered. With how much the king ate and drank, Sansa was not as surprised that he had stomach problems, in fact, she was surprised that his guts had not burst even with how fat he was. Every time she saw him, he reminded her of Lord Wyman Manderly of White Harbor, who was so fat that he couldn't even ride horses, so he had to be carried in a bunk bed. Sansa winced by just reminding him.
Except for Lord Stannis and the Grand Maester Pycelle, who was treating the king of his stomach pain, the rest of the counselors were present listening to the peasants' requests, though by their faces, none seemed to want to be there, not even her father, who kept changing his position, as if he were uncomfortable sitting on the throne.
The peasants continued to tell her father and the council how some riders had razed their villages and killed their families and friends. Sansa thought it was horrible and wondered what kind of monster could do such a terrible thing. There were also three knights, vassals of house Tully, accompanying the terrified villagers. The knights accused the Lannisters of razing the village, but apparently had no evidence that could prove that this was their work, as the riders had no emblem or banner. Sansa was glad that there was no Lannister present in the throne room that day, as lately they had become very temperamental. Just a week ago, Sir Jaime Lannister had tried to duel to the death with her father and there had almost been a clash between Lannister guard's, Martell's and Stark's in one of the courtyards of the Red Keep. Sansa hoped that now that the Dornish had left, things would calm down in the city.
"It hurts me to tell you this, my lord" continued the bald man. "The armor they wore was simple, without any embellishment, but... The one who commanded them drew attention, not because of his armor, which was the same as the others, but because of his size. That man was a giant, big as an ox, and his voice rumbled like thunder."
"The Mountain!" exclaimed one of the knights, a certain Marq Piper. "Does anyone have any doubt that this has been the work of Gregor Clegane?"
Sansa had chills just listening to the name of The Mountain that Rides. She remembered what she had seen him do in the Tourney of the Hand and the horrific stories Princess Arianne had told her. If there was anyone capable of performing these atrocities, that could only be the monstrous Ser Gregor, Sansa had no doubt. Around her, everyone here began to murmur to each other and agitated nervously. Both the lords and the common folk understood what that meant, even Sansa knew it. Gregor Clegane was a vassal of Tywin Lannister. These villagers were accusing the great lord of Casterly Rock, the queen's father, of these murders, but Sansa found no reason for Joffrey's grandfather to order this atrocity. Ser Gregor must have acted on his own, I'm sure he does so because he lost in the Tourney to Ser Loras.
"What exactly have you come to ask the throne?" asked Lord Baelish, the Master of Coin, as he leaned forward.
"The Lords of the Riverlands keep the king's peace" replied one of the knights. "The Lannisters have broken it, we ask permission to answer them, steel with steel. We're here to ask for justice. The elder Lord Hoster ordered us to come and ask the king's permission before counterattacking."
"My lord" said the eunuch Varys in a soft voice. "Wouldn't it be better to wait for the king to recover so that he could make a decision on such a serious matter?"
"King Robert ordered me to take this place and speak with his voice, and that's what I'm going to do. I will inform Robert of what has been said and done here today, and if my decision does not please him, he himself will revoke it."
"Do we have your permission then to take revenge against Ser Gregor?" asked Marq Piper.
"Revenge? No, revenge will not restore the king's peace. I cannot resurrect your dead or rebuild your houses, but I will show you a sample of King Robert's justice" her father replied. "In the name of Robert of house Baratheon, I dispossess Gregor Clegane of his lands, titles, and possessions, and sentence him to die. In the North we are ruled by the custom that the man who passes the sentence must also swing the sword, so that's what I'll do."
Sansa paled. She couldn't believe that her father was going to face that monster. As a child she had heard her father's stories during the Rebellion. How he defeated Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, in the Red Mountains, but she still couldn't help but to be afraid that her father would go face that giant.
"Lord Eddard!" The scream came from the other wing of the room. Ser Loras Tyrell stepped forward with daring pace. Without the armor, Sansa found him even more attractive. He was wearing green silk clothes with three embroidered gold roses. "I beg you for the honor of allowing me to accompany you in this task. I swear I won't let you down."
Sansa sensed that she was about to see one of the stories that Old Nan used to tell her when she was a child come to life. The Mountain was the monster and Ser Loras the brave hero who was going to kill him protecting her father.
"No one doubts of your courage, Ser Loras, but what you seek is revenge, and this is about justice. Lord Beric, Thoros of Myr, Sir Gladden and Lord Lothar." The named ones came forward one by one. "You will come with me to bring justice to Ser Gregor. Gather a group of twenty men each and we'll march tomorrow at dawn along with half of my personal guard. These things are better done quickly. The throne will not hear any more requests today."
Sansa couldn't believe it. Why had her father decided to refuse Ser Loras' help and take the fat priest in his place?
The Small Council collected their papers and dispersed, like most of the nobles and peasants in the galleries, many of them disappointed as they had been waiting a long time to put forward their requests to the Hand of the King. Sansa returned to the Tower of the Hand with the septa Mordane, while commenting on how disappointed she was with her father's decision. The septa replied that it was not her duty to question Lord Eddard's decisions, but that did not calm her down at all.
"Lord Beric is as hero as Sir Loras is, I'm sure he will be the one who ends up killing Sir Gregor" Jeyne said when Sansa told her what happened while they were having dinner that night. Jeyne had fallen in love with Lord Beric since seeing him at the Tourney. In Sansa's opinion, she was behaving like a fool because, however close they were in age, Jeyne was just a butler's daughter, so he would never notice her. Although Sansa didn't tell her out of courtesy.
"I dreamed it was Joffrey who killed him. That he accompanied my father and saved him from Sir Gregor, defeating him in a heroic fight, dressed in beautiful golden armor like his uncle Jaime" Sansa said.
"Have you dreamed it? Really? What else did you see in your dream?" asked Jeyne excitedly. She hadn't really dreamed it, it was more of a wish, but she thought it was better to express it that way.
"I don't remember much. There was a battle and little else" Sansa lied.
Before they could continue the conversation, the septa Mordane entered the room and approached Sansa.
"Your lord father has just returned and wants to see you right now in his room, Sansa. Finish dinner and go up as soon as you're done," said the septa.
Sansa finished dinner and went up to her father's rooms without even being able to try the lemon cupcakes for dessert. As she entered his quarters, Lord Eddard was sitting before a large book bound in leather, which he closed as soon as he heard her coming in.
"Come here, Sansa. Sit next to me" her father said kindly.
"Have you gone to see the king? What did he tell you?" asked Sansa politely.
"I've gone to see him, but I haven't been able to talk to him much. The grand maester told me that he had a problem in my intestines and that he needed to rest. You wouldn't have liked it, it smelled terrible."
"Do you really have to go face Sir Gregor, Father? Can't someone else, Sir Loras or even Lord Beric, go?" asked Sansa hastily, holding back tears.
"The one who passes the sentence must wield the sword, you know" replied her father in a grave voice. "Don't worry, I've faced fiercer fighters than Sir Gregor. I wanted to talk to you about another matter: I'm going to send you back to Winterfell."
"What? Please Father, please don't" said Sansa when she managed to assimilate his words. "I don't want to go back, I can't. I'm going to marry Prince Joffrey."
"Sorry daughter" sighed her father. "To arrange your marriage to Joffrey was a mistake, a grave mistake. That kid's not who you think."
"But I love him father, with all my heart. I love him as much as Queen Naerys loved Prince Aemon, as Jonquil loved Florian. I want to be his queen and give him a son who will be the greatest king who ever lived" Sansa pleaded as tears fell down her cheeks.
"Sansa is decided. In three days, you will embark with the septa Mordane and the guards who do not come with me to hunt Sir Gregor. Things are getting dangerous in the city and they'll get worse as soon as I get back and Robert recovers. Tomorrow we'll talk before I leave" her father said.
Sansa kept crying all the way back to her room. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe they were going to take everything away from her now that life was finally starting to smile at her. Now that she was finally where she wanted to be.
The next morning, she said goodbye to her father. Next to him were almost a hundred knights and soldiers who had gathered the lords who were going to leave with him during the previous day. Most of his guard and the Dornish soldiers who had joined him after the departure of the princess and Lord Stannis were with him. She did not hide her surprise when she saw that the Hound, Joffrey's sworn sword, also accompanied her father on the mission. She wondered if Joffrey would go with him too, but she could not see him among the rest of the knights.
As soon as he crossed the castle gates, Sansa sneaked out to go talk to Queen Cersei. She would have gone to tell King Robert, but he was still sick, and he was also quite rude. It was not very difficult to reach the queen's quarters without anyone seeing her considering the few guards left in the Tower of the Hand.
"Please" she pleaded Sir Meryn Trant, who was on duty in front of the Queen's quarters in the Maegor's Holdfast. "I have to see the queen; this is a very urgent matter."
Sir Meryn did not let her pass, despite Sansa's insistence. He grabbed her by the arm and was about to take her back to the Tower of the Hand when the door opened and Queen Cersei came out.
"Let the little girl pass, Sir Meryn" said the queen kindly. Sir Meryn let her go and Sansa entered the room. Unlike their rooms in the Tower of the Hand, the queen's quarters were full of luxuries, with beautiful tapestries hanging from the walls and jewellery everywhere.
The queen asked her to calm down and sit in a chair next to a balcony from which she could see the whole city. She also served her some wine, although Sansa politely rejected it. Cersei listened to her and Sansa entrusted her with everything, all the plans her father had to send her back to Winterfell. The queen promised her that nothing would happen to her, and that she would do her best to keep her at King's Landing with her and Joffrey. Then Sir Meryn escorted her to a room in Maegor's Holdfast and they wouldn't let her out of there for the rest of the day.
The next day, she heard screams and the noise of swords clashing in the castle yard. Sansa tried to go see what was going on, but they wouldn't let her leave the room. When night fell, guards brought Jeyne into the room, along with the clothes she had left in her rooms. Jeyne kept sobbing and babbling meaningless things. The dumb one kept asking about her father. Three days later, a large bell began ringing and soon was answered by others from the Sept of Baelor and Visenya's Hill. The toll of the bells filled the whole city, like an omen of the coming storm. In the fourth day, they finally came for Sansa.
Hello there. So... things have escalated rather quickly. Ned is going after the Mountain and meanwhile Robert has died. The date is more or less the same as in OTL but I'd say that is the only thing in common. Apart from that, this will be the last chapter with a POV in King's Landing for a while. In the next chapters I'm planning on going with Arianne, Catelyn or Theon and Tyrion and explore the outcome of Robert's death and the war in the Riverlands mostly.
See you next time!