With the amount of tears Sansa wept for her father, she could have quenched the entire city of their thirst. She lay with her head upon Rhaena's lap who tried to console her, but how do you soothe the pain of a child who had witnessed the execution of their own father? There was no cure for such pain, and so all Rhaena could do was sing songs to soothe Sansa into sleep only for her to wake up hours later and cry once more. This lasted for days until Sansa collapsed from complete exhaustion and relied completely upon Rhaena to take care of her needs as she became nothing more than a shell. She would not eat unless she was fed by hand, would not rest unless she was settled into bed, would not even use the chamber pot unless guided by Rhaena. Soon enough Rhaena knew Sansa's body better than she knew her own, washing and cleaning her in ways which Sansa would later find mortifying, but Rhaena did not mind any of it. By keeping busy she held her own grief at bay, allowing herself to cry and mourn only late at night when she was curled up next to Sansa. When Sansa did not appear in court, other ladies were sent to attend to her but Rhaena chased them away. Even when Maester Pycelle came to examine Sansa to see if anything ailed her, Rhaena screeched like a harpy and beat away the old man as his hands had sought to touch and wander over Sansa's body which did not appear to Rhaena as entirely innocent. She had fought bitterly, as several handmaidens had arrived with the purpose to hold both Sansa down and Rhaena back, but one did not fight a dragon. Rhaena scratched many of their faces and even Maester Pycelle did not escape without being blooded, whereby Rhaena chased them away whilst beating them around their heads, flung the door shut and locked it firmly between them before rushing to sooth Sansa's cries. What medicine could cure grief? They were all fools.
Several days passed with Sansa utterly in the care of Rhaena, and their routine would have continued were it not for the eventual arrival of Joffrey, now king in name and seemingly delighted with his new title and power. He had come when both had been asleep, Sansa curled within Rhaena's arms as she held her, having stroked her hair to soothe her of a nightmare and soon fell asleep beside her. When the door had slammed noisily Rhaena had awoken with a start to snatch Sansa closer to her, staring as the curtains of the bed were yanked aside forcibly by the boy-king who then peered within the canopy to see the two girls huddled together. A wicked smirk touched his face briefly as Sansa moaned and flinched against the light which was now flooding the sanctuary of her rest. Removing the smirk from his expression, Joffrey drew himself upright as Rhaena fought to hide her look of disgust and loathing for him. It would not do to antagonise him now. "You will attend me in court this afternoon, see that you bathe and dress as befits my betrothed." His tone expressed no room for debate, even as Sansa blinked blearily and roused herself from her confused state. Upon realising that Joffrey as well as three grown men were in her room, Sansa quickly dragged her coverings up over herself for her own modesty and begged Joffrey to leave her be. "If you won't rise and dress yourself, my Hound will do it for you."
"I beg of you, my prince…"
"I'm king now. Dog, get her out of bed." Seeing that there was no other way to avoid this, Rhaena hastily threw herself across Sansa and scrambled to put herself between the grieving girl and the demonic spawn of incest who now wore the crown of the Seven Kingdoms.
"She shall do as you command, Your Grace." Bowing her head dutifully, Rhaena warily stepped around the boy in order to fetch Sansa's long robe to better cover her, returning quickly and whispering soft words of encouragement to Sansa who mewled and whimpered. She obeyed Rhaena's instruction, however, allowing herself to be pulled by the older girl from the bed who swiftly flung the thick robe across her shoulders so that no one ever saw an inch of bare flesh they were not meant to see. Yet Sansa still did not wish to leave her room, and continued to beg with Joffrey even as Rhaena began to prepare for fresh clothes and a bath to be draw, watching the three men warily as well as Joffrey.
"I did as the queen asked, I wrote the letters, I wrote what she told me. You promised you'd be merciful. Please, let me go home. I won't do any treason, I'll be good, I swear it, I don't have traitor's blood, I don't. I only want to go home…as it please you." Inwardly, Rhaena wished that Sansa would remain silent. Begging would never work on a boy such as Joffrey, if anything he would enjoy the spectacle then proceed to punish the offender further.
"It does not please me," Joffrey announced sharply, causing Sansa to flinch away from him. "Mother says I'm still to marry you, so you'll stay here, and you'll obey." Rather foolishly, Sansa announced that she would refuse to marry Joffrey since he had executed her father, still too overcome with her grief to think sensibly, and much to young to understand that her wailing and tears would not improve her situation or change anyone's minds. If anything, it only served to make Joffrey angrier. "He was a traitor. I never promised to spare him, only that I'd be merciful, and I was. If he hadn't been your father, I would have had him torn or flayed, but I gave him a clean death." Staring at him aghast just as Sansa returned to her, slipping her hands around her arm in order to begin drawing her away, Sansa whispered something she should not have.
"I hate you." Shocked and alarmed, Rhaena clamped her hand down upon Sansa's mouth too late. She dared a look at Joffrey and saw him all but quivering in outrage.
"My mother tells me that it isn't fitting that a king should strike his wife. Ser Meryn." Out of instinct Rhaena thrust Sansa backwards so firmly that the girl fell back upon the bed in a tangled sprawl as Ser Meryn lunged forwards all too eagerly to obey his king's command. As Rhaena turned her face towards him and slid her body to shield Sansa with her arms outstretched, it was she instead who received the blow against her head which caused her ear to ring and bright spots to burst across her vision as she buckled and fell, Sansa screaming her name in fear. Catching hold of herself upon the frame of the bed, Rhaena blinked blearily and quickly in an attempt to focus herself, drawing in a deep breath as she felt something hot run down from her ear. Blood. It smothered the crisp whiteness of Ser Meryn's glove too. Sansa's arms were around her, she realised, whimpering and shuddering as she attempted to embrace Rhaena and soothe her of her hurt. Joffrey merely looked pleased with himself. "Very well. Since your friend is so keen to protect you from your own beatings, then she can weather all of them. Lady Rhaena shall be your new whipping girl, by your king's command." His eyes shone cruelly as both girls looked up at him. "You should thank me, my lady. Only those of great importance are bestowed their own whipping persons." He then waited, watching as Sansa swallowed and whimpered once more until eventually she forced herself to speak, knowing what it was Joffrey wanted.
"Thank…thank you, Your Grace…"
"Good. Will you obey now, or shall I have Ser Meryn punish your whipping girl in your stead again?" This time Sansa spoke more clearly, assuring Joffrey that she was his to command which seamed to please him all the more. He had always been a vain creature, and any small victory was bound to please him deeply. Joffrey left after announcing that he would expect to see Sansa later, Ser Meryn and the other Kingsguard following, though the Hound lingered briefly. He looked to Rhaena and made an expression akin to a scowl, but Rhaena merely sighed wearily and inclined her head to him in gesture of farewell. He turned and closed the door firmly behind him after that. Now they had no choice. They could hide themselves away no longer, and so Rhaena soothed Sansa as best she could before making preparations to have her bathed. At least she could order the other maids to do the heavy lifting and fetching, snapping at them to act quickly as they had little time in order to ready Sansa before court was to be held. Although in Lannister pockets, they did not dare disobey Rhaena. As the water was prepared, Sansa insisted upon Rhaena sitting down so that she could delicately sponge away the blood that dribbled from her ear where she had been struck, sniffling and apologising repeatedly. There was nothing to be done about the situation, so Rhaena comforted Sansa as best as she was able, then chased away the maids once the water had been prepared so that she could wash and bathe Sansa herself in private.
At least with Rhaena, Sansa felt a little better. She was scrubbed clean and scented with perfume, her hair brushed and styled with her dress carefully selected in the hope of pleasing Joffrey as he wanted all whilst Rhaena explained to Sansa exactly what she would have to do from now on. She would have to act, and act well. Both of them would. Teaching her the art of smiling through pain and understanding what it was others wanted from them, Rhaena hastened to tell Sansa all she would need to know at least to get through this afternoon, so that they might better prepare for the days which followed. Sansa tried to take in all of her words, but the grief in her heart made it almost impossible to make sense of anything in her head. Still, she would try, for now she knew that anything which caused Joffrey displeasure would lead to Rhaena being punished in her stead, and Sansa did not wish for that at all. She would smile, laugh and sing as she was bid, and prayed that she did it convincingly enough that Joffrey would be satisfied. Never again did she want to see her dearest friend bleeding because of her. It was not fair, nor was it right, especially after all Rhaena had done for her. So, once Sansa was prepared and looking as beautiful as possible, she went willingly with Ser Meryn in order to attend Joffrey at court, all the while trying to disguise her disgust at Ser Meryn and the blood stained glove he had now changed to hide his unchivalrous action from the world. Sansa knew, however. She had seen it, and Ser Meryn could wear all the white he wished in the world. It made no difference. Sansa knew that his heart was as black as tar.