Hi everyone! Thank you for the reviews! goodness I did not expect such a response to this story but I am so very greatful for it! this is a short chapter, but an important one, so here it is :) here are some time period notes:
Boxing Day- the day after Christmas meant for the staff and servants of a house. They usually worked on Christmas preparing dinners and preparing rooms for guests, etc. Boxing day was when they got to stay home and celebrate with their own families.
Willa Cather- a classic American writer. She wrote mostly tales about the Midwest. Her books O, Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Antonia were huge successes and very popular at the time of their publication in the 1910s, and if you ask my English teacher, she hinted at certain characters in her books (important to note these characters were lovable and accomplished women) as being lesbians. There is also lots of speculation and controversy in the literary world as to whether or not Willa Cather herself was a lesbian. Not important to the story but a fun fact all the same. Anyways, i digress.
Scullery maid- a person on the kitchen staff whose responsibility was to wash dishes, posts, pans, etc.
the way Sansa and Arya take the dishes down to the kitchen (which in the Elms is situated in the basement) is via a dumbwaiter which is basically a tiny elevator for dishes. the hot food would be taken up from the kitchen to the butler's pantry where the serving staff would then take the food into the breakfast room. when the meal was finished they sent the dirty dishes down the same way they came up.
I hope you enjoy this newest installment, and I will try to get another chapter up soon if my life permits :) happy reading to you all! - FlamingRose
Boxing Day, 1916 – Winterfell
Coffee and sweet rolls were waiting downstairs when the Stark men awoke: Benjen and Ned had risen early and arrived at the breakfast table just as Catelyn brought in the freshly brewed coffee.
"How will you manage without Septa today, Catelyn?" Benjen teased.
"I suspect the way I did when I was a girl and Mother insisted I learn to cook: a little clumsy at first, but successful in the end." She gave him a good-natured smile as she poured him a cup of coffee.
"I suspect the children will be late coming down today," Ned observed, "I could have sworn I heard Arya tip toeing through the halls last night."
"No doubt finding one of her siblings," Catelyn added, "probably disturbing Sansa for one reason or another."
"She's a rebel, that one," Benjen crowed proudly.
'Well, as promised Cat, we did not discuss business on Christmas, but now we must," said Ned.
"If you insist," answered Catelyn, "though I cannot promise I will contribute much to that conversation."
"That's quite alright."
"I hope to spend most of my free time today quietly in my room, reading."
"Reading?" Benjen repeated. Catelyn arched an eyebrow at him.
"Yes, Benjen Stark, reading. If Willa Cather can write a book, I am sure I can sit down to read one." The Stark brothers began laughing the moment they noticed the triumphant smile grace Catelyn's lips. She always had a quick wit, but laugh at a time she deemed inappropriate and you would have a difficult time redeeming yourself with dignity.
"Then we will be in the study," Ned said still chuckling, "We will give you peace and quiet. I cannot say the same for the children, however."
"The older ones can mind the younger ones," Benjen answered.
"Yes, but who will mind the older ones?" Ned challenged.
"Their good sense," Catelyn replied, "or at least, for the sake of my nerves, I hope it to be so." As the adults finished their breakfast, the children came rushing in to eat. As the children finished, Catelyn collected the plates from the table.
"Mother, Arya and I will wash the dishes," Sansa called as she rushed over, her sister in tow, "It's our Christmas gift to you." Catelyn's eyes watered. She had such considerate children.
"Thank you girls," she said, kissing them each, "the sweetest gift I could receive today." Arya and Sansa watched their mother leave before they carefully took all the plates down to the kitchen. Sansa put on one of the aprons that the scullery maids used, and Arya ran up to Sansa's room via the servant's stairs to retrieve the sewing kit and trousers. When she came back down she put the items on the table and put on the second apron to help Sansa wash the dishes. She grabbed a towel to begin drying and racking the plates and cups.
"Why is it we have to cook and clean, but the boys don't?" Arya asked.
"They do other things," Sansa answered, "they'll learn how to run a business someday."
"It doesn't seem very fair."
"I suppose," Sansa pondered, "but then again, not much is fair in life." She thought of Jon then, and how she had both parents while he had none.
"We should hurry with this so we can fix my trousers. Then I'll be able to do everything the boys can. Better, too."
"I have no doubt you will," Sansa chuckled. Arya already gave the boys a run for their money. With a pair of trousers in her trunk or on her person, she would be unstoppable. Once the dishes were washed, dried, and put away, Arya slipped into the trousers and Sansa set to work. It was Boxing Day, so the staff would not be in the house today, and the adults were all enjoying their quiet mornings either in their rooms or the library. The boys wouldn't likely come down to the kitchens, but there was really no guarantee. Therefore, in order to keep the trousers a secret, Sansa worked diligently and without pause or conversation until the very end.
"Alright Arya, once I make these adjustments, you can have your trousers." Arya jumped up and down with excitement.
"Oh , thank you Sansa!" she exclaimed as she hugged her sister tight, "I'll take such good care of them!"
"You're welcome. I'll make sure to finish them today in my room."
"Can I sit with you until they are finished? Please?"
"I don't see why not." The girls spent the day in front of the fire in Sansa's room. Arya read aloud from one of Sansa's books as Sansa sewed. With her quick and practiced hand, Sansa finished the trousers just before lunch. The girls came down before everyone else, so Arya took the advantage of having Sansa alone to ask her the questions that had been festering in her head since the Lannister ball.
"What's going on with you lately?"
"Nothing," Sansa answered coolly.
'That's a lie if I ever heard one," Arya countered, "come one Sansa, you can tell me. You've told Jon, you can tell me, whatever the secret might be."
"I haven't told Jon anything!" Sansa assured her. To most it sounded true, but Arya noticed it to be a bit too quick of a denial.
"So Jon has told you something?" Arya felt a pang of jealousy. What would Jon tell Sansa that he wouldn't tell her?
"No," Sansa said, reading the hurt on her sister's face, "If Jon had a secret you'd know it before I did. We've just—grown to understand each other a little better. Jon and I have never been close."
"That's why it's so odd the way you've been lately."
"I know. Believe me. I find it odd myself. But I'm glad I get the chance to know him now."
"By the looks of it you know each other real well. Not everyone can communicate in only glances."
"We don't do that!"
"Last night at dinner you did." Arya couldn't believe her eyes, but it was clear as day on her sister's face. Sansa was blushing. Sansa didn't blush. Not since June. How odd to see her blush now when talking about Jon. Arya was starting to piece things together. She was starting to understand the looks, their sudden rapport, but it was all speculation. She had to make sure. Before she could ask anymore questions Robb and Jon came into the room. Sansa looked up and froze, stiff and wide eyed as the topic of conversation stood in front of her.
"Sansa, Arya, good afternoon," Jon said, oddly formal in his address, "I seem to have interrupted something. My apologies." Arya and Robb watched the exchange between Jon and Sansa. There was a curious distance in Jon's manner, and Arya was having trouble understanding where it came from when just last night he'd been so warm towards her sister.
"Don't be silly," Sansa replied, "please, join us for lunch." Arya marveled at her sister's ability to recover herself so quickly.
"Perhaps I will come in for lunch at a later time," Jon answered, "but thank you for the invitation. I should really hang up my clothes. I've been in the snow, and they need a chance to dry." Without another moment, Jon exited the room quickly just as Bran and Rickon ran inside to take their seats at the table. Sansa was behaving as if the tension filled moment never even happened. She was so convincing Arya wondered if she hadn't imagined the whole thing, and she probably would have convinced herself of just that had she not caught her sister looking off in the direction Jon left for a second more than what would be considered normal. Arya wanted so badly to ask Sansa more questions, but it seemed that if she were to ask anyone anything, it would be Jon. He was the one acting strangely now. But the questions would have to wait. She had to find a good spot in her trunk to hide her trousers, and she wanted to try her bow again before going back to the city. They would all be on the train back to parties and business and society gossip in the next few days. They wouldn't return to Winterfell till the summer. Jon, Robb, and Bran would soon be back at school, and soon Arya and Sansa would resume their studies at home. Plus, they all had to withstand the New Year's party at the Tyrell house. It was sure to be another lavish affair. Not as lavish as the Lannister party, but what it did not have in opulence it would make up for in elegance. Arya could do without the lavish affairs, but as Sansa said, they had to keep up appearances. She'd rather not, but if it was important to her family, she would suffer through it. She excused herself from the table and took her time going up the stairs to her room. It would be a while before she saw these halls again.