Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Ice and Fire Novels, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon TV shows. However, I decided to have a little play around with the characters. I do not earn any money from writing these stories, it is for my entertainment and is something I like to share.

Sansa II

The morning after the feast, Sansa woke with a clear head. Whenever she had guests, she made sure her own wine was watered down considerably while theirs was kept at full strength, that way loose tongues could reveal secret motives for any visits without too much probing. Tyrion Lannister on the other hand was a different beast. He was as much of an accomplished wine drinker as he was Hand of the King, although he no longer drank to excess like he used to when Joffrey was King. On the other hand, Pod had been extremely drunk and Sansa's feet were paying the price for dancing with him after he'd consumed one too many cups, but he hadn't known anything of the purpose of Tyrion's visit, although admittedly she hadn't pushed too far with her questioning. However, she was going to find out soon as she had arranged a meeting with Tyrion straight after breakfast in her newly decorated solar.

A knock on the door alerted Sansa to his arrival. "Come in." she called out, closing a book of accounts as Tyrion opened the door and waddled in.

"Your Grace." Tyrion bowed his head.

"Lord Hand." Sansa nodded her head towards the chair, indicating he should sit. "I think for the purposes of this meeting, it might be better to dispense with the titles, it is not as if we are unfamiliar with one another."

"I agree." Tyrion nodded before climbing up onto the chair on the opposite side of the desk to her.

"With what do I have the pleasure of this visit?" Sansa asked once she was certain he was comfortable. "I doubt my brother would have sent you all the way here just for pleasantries and idle chat about wool trade." she smiled, wondering if he was aware of the warning Bran had sent her.

Tyrion reached inside his doublet, pulled out a scroll and handed it to her. "This came for you while I was in Kings Landing, I received one of my own." he told her.

Sansa looked down at the seal."From the Citadel?" she frowned. "Why could they not have sent it to me directly?" she asked.

"Open it." Tyrion nodded towards the scroll.

Sansa unfastened the seal and read the contents, which surprised her, but also made her strangely a little sad. "You've annulled our marriage based on non-consummation." she said numbly.

"I spoke to the High Septon, he granted it, although I doubt he had much choice in the matter. They kept a copy, the Citadel has a copy for their own archives before forwarding each of us a copy for our own records. I thought you'd be pleased." he smiled, however Sansa's faced dropped. "Although you don't look like it."

"I'd like to keep this news between us." Sansa told him.

"Why?" Tyrion frowned.

"Our marriage is what prevents me from re-marrying. Something I currently have no intention of doing." she explained.

"And if the right man came along and swept you off your feet?" Tyrion offered.

Sansa's heart turned cold. "I no longer believe in fairy tales, I've experienced enough horrors to see only the scary stories are true. There are only two men alive I trust. You who I have already been married to. The reason being you won't touch me, the other one is far away and not exactly a man I would marry."

"You know as well as I do there must always be a Stark in Winterfell." Tyrion raised an eyebrow. "How can there be a Stark when the only living Stark in Westeros who can conceive a child is not prepared to go through the necessary motions to achieve such a goal?"

"If I marry, my child would not be a Stark." Sansa shook her head.

"I believe the rules can be changed for Queens." Tyrion smiled. "I'm sure many a man would be honoured to take the Stark name if it meant fathering the next King of the north and King of Westeros."

"I will not marry!" Sansa exclaimed. "If I do it will not be for the reason to produce heirs. I believe any future marriage I engage in, is likely to be as fruitful as ours was." she reached out for her carafe of wine, if any time she needed alcohol, now was it. "Would you like one?" she asked.

Tyrion nodded. "Succession and heirs are the key to stability, both here and Westeros. Without heirs there will be wars."

"I've only been Queen for two years." Sansa insisted, pouring them both a cup of wine.

"And you haven't even started the process of finding a husband. The annulment will allow you to do so." he said. "Before you complain this is none of the business of Westeros, it is very much our business..." Tyrion started.

"I'm not a brood mare." Sansa grit her teeth, she was getting angry. The thought of any man touching her made her want to physically vomit, she got up and went to the window to hide her face and look out to the green pastures to help soothe her.

"I know you have had bad experiences, but not all men are like Joffrey and Ramsey..." Tyrion began.

"Get out!" Sansa whispered, tears were beginning to form on her face, the memories of what Ramsey Bolton did to her on her wedding night always made her angry, his name was forbidden to be mentioned within the walls of Winterfell. "I said GET OUT!" she shouted, not wanting to turn and face him. She heard him get down from his chair but she was suddenly distracted. In the distance she could see riders approaching. From a distance it looked like two men on horseback with a smaller white riderless horse accompanying them. Sansa knew different. The way the white horse moved was different, in fact it wasn't a horse at all, it was a huge wolf. She recognised him immediately, it was Ghost. "Wait, Lord hand, stop!" she said to Tyrion as he was opening the door. "I think we've got visitors." she whispered.

"Who?" Tyrion asked from behind her.

Sansa turned to face him. "Tormund and Ghost." she replied softly.

Sansa rushed to the door and managed to overtake Tyrion, collecting her skirts as best she could, she ran down the stairs in a most unladylike fashion, but she didn't care. Sansa wanted news, she wanted to see Ghost and hold him.

By the time Sansa had gotten to the courtyard the wooden gates were already opening. Not far behind her was a breathless Tyrion who had somehow managed to keep up. She smoothed her skirts down as Tormund and his companion rode into Winterfell, followed by Ghost, who had no reason to follow royal protocol and walked straight over to Sansa and rubbed up against her. She ran her fingers through his soft white fur which smelled of open air and grass. She didn't care about the dirt and mud which covered his feet and legs, it was just the feeling of being close to one of her pack once more.

"Ahem." came a familiar voice from behind Ghost.

Sansa leaned across and smiled at the wild looking red-haired man in front of her. "Tormund, it is good to see you." she said, although Tormund didn't smile back. Sansa's face dropped. "What is it?" she asked. "And who is this?" she asked.

"This is Horan, he's a warg." Tormund introduced them. "I think it might be best if we go somewhere a little more...private." he said in a low voice, causing Sansa's heart to drop.

Sansa nodded and ushered them inside, including Tyrion, taking them back up to her solar where they pulled up another two chairs. Under normal circumstances, Sansa would have wanted them to at least clean themselves down, but this was urgent, this was about Jon and what had happened to him. Ghost seemingly unperturbed by what was happening settled down in front of the fire. Sansa remembered Maester Wolkan telling her he'd seen a rider on Drogon's back and combined with Ghost's nonchalant attitude, she knew that whatever Tormund was going to tell her, Jon would be alright. She was sure of it.

"I take it this about Jon?" she said, Tormund nodded. "What happened?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know whether you know, but after we went back to the north, we decided to make Jon King." Tormund told her.

"I thought wildlings didn't have kings?" Tyrion raised an eyebrow.

"That was back when there were hundreds of tribes, but now there is only one with just over a thousand of us left. We needed a leader." Tormund explained.

"Go on." Sansa nodded.

"He was the only one of us who knew how to lead, and he was good at it. So we made him our leader. He was King here in the south." he raised an eyebrow.

"North." Tyrion corrected him. "The south is..."

"This is south to me." Tormund shook his head

Tyrion coughed. "Robert Baratheon won that war by right of conquest. Daenerys would have won had Jon not..." he started.

"Stopped the mad bitch destroying the whole fucking kingdom with those dragons." Tormund scowled. "Aye I remember what she did. She would've killed Jon too. So we made him our King. He was a good King, but he also liked to make sure he did everything we had to do. He wasn't one of those lazy fat kings you southerners like to have, although not you." he smiled at Sansa, who nodded gracefully back. "He didn't abuse his power, he wouldn't even take a spearwife." he shrugged.

"Not for lack of offers I'm guessing." Tyrion smiled.

Tormund shook his head. "Every woman wanted her turn with him and he always said no. even my mother wanted to try." Tormund shook his head in disgust. "Anyway, a few weeks ago Jon went on a hunting party. I better let Horan here tell you what happened." he said looking over at the man next to him.

"Your Grace." Horan looked down at his hands, Sansa could just about make out his blushes underneath the dirt on his cheeks.

"Speak freely Horan." Sansa encouraged him.

"There were six of us, including Jon." Horan explained. "We were hunting boar, and I took my eagle. I'm a warg you see and it makes hunting easier if we get a birds-eye view. I can find the boar, we catch it and take it back to camp. Wargs don't stay in camp long, we are needed for the hunt. Ghost always comes with us when we go with King Jon." he told her. "After a couple of days something wasn't right. Jon had been having bad dreams, waking up sweating as if in a fever. Then when I warged into my eagle, all the animals had disappeared and my eagle was scared. Jon told me a dragon was coming for him and we were to all leave and take Ghost with us. We were to tell Tormund and come here to see you so you could either say goodbye to Ghost or he could stay with you, whichever he wants." he looked behind him at the huge direwolf which was curled up in front of the fire snoring, just like any domestic dog.

"Then what happened?" Sansa asked.

"We ran for our lives just like he told us to. And now I'm here telling you." he said sadly.

"Did you see what happened to Jon?" she frowned.

Horan shook his head. "We saw the dragon fly over us, but it was high in the sky. We thought it had burned Jon and eaten him. He said he was going to die."

"Thank you Horan." Sansa nodded her head. She knew Jon wasn't dead, but she wasn't going to betray Jon in front of Tyrion, despite her earlier claim of trusting her ex-husband, so she had to play the game. Tears pricked her eyes for a second time that day and she swallowed hard. "You must have had a long journey to get here. I thank you for your kindness in letting me know what happened to Jon. Now if you don't mind, I think I need to be left alone for a few moments to myself, although Tyrion, could you send in Maester Wolkan, I might need a tonic to soothe me." she lied.

"Of course." Tyrion nodded, his voice quiet and full melancholy. "If it is any consolation Your Grace, your brother was a fine and honourable man."

"He wasn't my brother." Sansa whispered as the three men left the room, leaving Sansa alone with Ghost for a moment. "You go into the yard boy, you'll get too hot in here." she said, stroking his fur. Ghost got up and gave her the strangest look, one as if he didn't want to leave her alone, but at first she couldn't work out why it didn't feel right.

"Beware of the ghost in Winterfell. It is watching you."

Meera Reed's words popped into her head. Sansa closed the door behind the direwolf and stood with her back towards it, her heart racing. 'He's watching me.' she thought to herself, fear suddenly gripping her. Why would Bran want to watch her? It wasn't as if she were plotting to overthrow him. For whatever reason it was, Sansa knew she needed Ghost to be gone, but she needed to work out how to do it without arousing Bran's suspicions.

A tiny familiar tap at the door alerted her to Maester Wolkan having arrived. "Come in." she called out as he entered and closed the door behind him. "Is Ghost outside?" she whispered to the Maester who shook his head. "Good." she whispered. "We can't talk too loudly or he might hear us." she said.

"What is it Your Grace?" Maester Wolkan asked.

"My brother Jon has gone missing north of the wall, he is believed to be dead." she told him, smiling and shaking her head.

Maester Wolkan frowned. "But I..." he started.

"He was taken by Drogon. Presumably eaten or burned. There were witnesses." she spoke more loudly and began to pretend to cry as realisation dawned on the face of the Maester, they were to both keep up the pretence they believed what Horan had told them to be true. If as they believed, Jon was alive, she felt it would be better to keep that information between the two of them for now, although she did plan on telling Tormund later that evening. He deserved to know his best friend wasn't really dead and she knew he would keep the secret for as long as necessary, because this was not something which would stay a secret for long.

An hour later, just after nightfall, Sansa went to visit Tormund in his chambers, Ghost was nowhere to be seen, which was fine by Sansa as she didn't want him around her if it was true Bran was watching her through the direwolf. She knocked on his door.

"Come in." came Tormund's booming voice. Sansa walked in and Tormund bowed his head. "Your Grace." he smiled, clearly trying his hardest to be respectful, even if it was just for the sake of Jon. "Sit." he offered. "Sour goats milk? Its strong and it'll get you drunk, I think you might need it."

Sansa sat and nodded. "I think we're both going to need it. What do you know about dragons?" she asked as Tormund poured them both a horn of goats

"They're fucking uncomfortable to sit on and their breath stinks." he smirked as Sansa laughed.

Sansa took a deep breath, she needed to know what Tormund knew about Jon. "Did he tell you that only a few can ride a dragon. Only certain types of people?"

"Like the white haired Queen?" Tormund asked

"Yes, like her. She was one of the special types of people who can ride a dragon." Sansa replied.

"Oh. But she's dead now." Tormund nodded, looking confused at where this conversation was going. "That's why her dragon came for Jon isn't it? Jon killed her."

"Drogon was there when Jon killed her. He didn't kill Jon then, so why would he have waited almost two years, fly all the way north and kill him then?" she asked.

"I don't know. How does the mind of a dragon work?" Tormund said philosophically.

"Jon was able to control Rhaegal." Sansa reminded him.

"And?" Tormund shrugged.

"Only certain people can ride dragons. The Dragon Queen wasn't the only one. Jon could." Sansa said.

Tormund frowned. "But how, if he wasn't one of those special people?"

Sansa smiled at him. "He is one of those special people. Jon can ride dragons. Drogon no longer has a rider and Jon doesn't have a dragon. Drogon was all alone and I think he went to find Jon for company. Dragons are very clever creatures, don't underestimate them."

"You think your brother is off flying on that big beast somewhere?" Tormund asked and Sansa nodded.

"He's not my brother." she said. "I didn't know if he had told you or not. It's not my place to say..." she frowned.

Tormund looked lost in thought. "He stopped calling you sister, although he called Bran and Arya brother and sister. I suppose it was different with you two as you only became close after that bastard touched you."

Sansa nodded, grateful Tormund hadn't used the name. "I just saw him as a family member, more like Theon really. My father lied about who Jon was. Father said he was his bastard and Jon was to be raised here at Winterfell. My mother hated Jon, although I think she hated what Jon represented, my father being unfaithful. I'm not sure what she would have though if she'd known who he really was." Sansa looked down at her hands. "I suppose you don't know much of our history here, but Jon's real grandfather was the King of all of Westeros."

"That's probably why he's kingly." Tormund nodded.

"His grandfather wasn't, he was known as the Mad King. He burned my grandfather and uncle to death." she told him.

"Bad way to go." Tormund shook his head.

"He was the Dragon Queen's father." Sansa said, waiting for what she was telling Tormund to sink in.

Tormund frowned. "She was Jon's aunt?" he asked. Sansa nodded. "But weren't they fucking?"

Sansa nearly spat out her goats milk, not because of the taste, which after a few sips had become soothing and pleasant. However people were usually more courteous in front of her, they didn't use foul language if they could help it. Tormund was one of the wildlings and she knew she shouldn't be offended by him. In some respects it was welcome to have someone speak freely in front of her. At this moment she knew she missed Jon.

"I can't say for certain as to whether they were..." Sansa couldn't bring herself to say it, the thought made her stomach churn. "But I think Jon was falling in love with her. By the time he found out it was too late. But in Jon's culture, incest is normal."

Tormund frowned. "Did he think it was normal before he found out?"

Sansa laughed. "There was a uncle and half-niece who married among the Starks. It is also quite common for cousins to marry. But the Targaryens, they married their siblings."

Tormund's face looked at her in disgust. "Why?"

"So they could ride dragons." Sansa explained.

"Were Jon's parents brother and sister?" Tormund asked and Sansa laughed.

"No, Jon is my cousin. His mother was my father's sister. His father was the older brother of the Dragon Queen." she said.

Tormund frowned. "Doesn't that mean Jon should have been King?" he asked.

Sansa was surprised by how much Tormund had understood. "He gave it up to live with the freefolk." she said, trying to make it clear what Jon had given up for Tormund's people.

"He's a true northern boy. No amount of dragon riding is going to change that. But it does make it easier to go places on a dragon. They're quicker than horses and boats." Tormund smiled. "I wonder where he is?" he sighed as they fell silent.

The whining of horses, dogs barking and a howl of a wolf broke their silence. There was a disturbance outside.

"What the fuck is that?" Tormund got up as he and Sansa rushed over to the window. Suddenly the night sky was lit up in flames.

"I think Jon just answered your question." Sansa smiled as she ran to the door so she could go see him. However she hadn't quite realised how strong the goats milk she'd been drinking was and swayed a little.

"Are you sure it's him and that thing hasn't come to burn us all down?" Tormund asked.

"You stay here if you want." Sansa sang. "I'm going to say hello to my cousin." she said, rushing down the stairs and out into the courtyard to meet him.

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