A Wolf with a coat of Darkness – chapter 11
I do not own ASoIF/GoT or Warcaft/WoW
Rated M for everything wrong with the Cult of the Damned and the Scourge (including but not limited to cannibalism, human experimentation, murder, rape, slavery, torture, sadism)
As the two feasted in the shade of an inn, Sansa kept her gaze on the small round tower of the Red Keep. The tower where a certain banner would, hopefully, fly soon. Despite not really expecting for her father to not be in the capital yet, she was nevertheless disappointed. Myranda, on the other hand, kept on wildly looking around, following every person that walked the street, her brown eyes trying to capture every building peeking over the nearby rooftops.
"What are you thinking about?" asked Myranda.
"I was wondering just what to do. Father would probably not arrive for another month or so." sighed out the red-head, looking away from the red keep.
"So…we wait." Stated Myranda.
"Yes, obviously, but… we cannot make that trip every day, going between that fortress and here. We would spend the whole day in nothing but riding back and forth."
"We can just stay here, then."
"I…I am not comfortable leaving behind our chests and –" Sansa leaned in " our companions alone in the fort while we wait here. What if someone was to find them?"
"Then…I don't know… can't we just stay here with them?"
"In an inn? With an undead construct and a rotting puppy?" Sansa shook her head.
"Ugh, then let us get a house or something." Mumbled out the little girl.
"We can't just buy a house." Responded Sansa scandalized.
"Why?"
"Because…because…"
"We do have the money. Besides, it would be nice to have a place of our own. The fortress is nice, but…but…" Myranda took a deep breath. "I would like to be more around living people. Back there, it would be just us."
Sansa's eyes saddened, her shoulders deflating. She tried to be strong for the two of them and her purpose did serve as a distraction, but her friend had no such luck. She tried not to think too much on it but occasionally, she would spend hours doing nothing but reliving her actions in the past few months. And while their loneliness and isolation were good back then, now the two were almost fearful of been alone. They were constantly in each other's presence, neither one letting go.
"Let us get a house." Said Sansa.
Myranda's eyes brightened, a smile shining on her face.
"Let's go!" she shouted, jumping from her seat, causing the red-head to laugh as she tripped over her dress, the overfilled coin pouches juggling on her belt like little bells.
The whole afternoon, the two wondered the main streets of the city, wondering just how exactly does one buy a house. They did ask around, but half the time people shrugged, not knowing or caring and the other half they straight up told them to piss off. Eventually, they did ask a middle-aged well-dressed man about the issue and he regarded them for a moment with a raised eyebrow. As his gaze swept over the two, he eventually sighed out and his shoulders deflated.
Stating that he himself is selling a house, he began to lead them towards it. The two girls dismounted and fell in step next to the man, feeling awkward riding where as their guide was walking. On the way there, the man asked every so often if they did actually have money. It got so bad that the two had to place a pouch each into his hands, if only to shut him up.
They went up along the curved street that led towards the Red Keep before turning in a side street. The uncomfortable silence was only occasionally broken, but not by them but rather by the comings and goings of the city around them with people arguing and screaming at each other. They did eventually reach a small square with two tiny trees in the middle. The surrounding buildings were mostly of white stone with only one or two constructions been made of wood. Sansa vaguely noted a building on the opposite side from where they were headed to have quite a few people coming in and out of it.
The man stopped before a pair or large doors, big enough for horses to pass through. He swiftly unlocked it before pushing it in. The two girls shared a look for a moment before a small smile lit up Myranda's face as she eagerly followed.
The house was a two-story building with a small, tiny inner yard with a tree to the far side and balcony on the inside, presenting solid surfaces with tiny windows to the outside. The house itself was L shaped, another L that was nothing but a solid wall completing the closed off square. Sansa looked up and out from the small yard and was happy to see that she saw nothing. Nothing from the surrounding buildings, the house more akin to a castle or a fort.
While the first floor consisted of a small stable, storage and kitchen, the second floor held three bedrooms and a bath with an outside staircase connecting the lower yard with the balcony, which in turn connected all the rooms. In the middle where the corner was, the balcony widened, proving enough space for a table and a few chairs.
"This is a lovely home." Said Sansa, the man only nodding to her statement as he took a look around as if seeing the house for the first time.
"Why are you selling it?" the man looked towards her for a second with what might have been anger before deflating.
"My…wife and son… they passed away."
"Oh…"
"Yeah…oh… and I cannot stand to be here without them."
"Apologies for asking." Sansa dipped her head.
"It's fine. Besides, with that brother across the street, the neighborhood has changed somewhat…"
"Brothel…?"
"Yes. I hope that won't be a problem?"
Myranda came to stand next to Sansa, having finished exploring the house with a smile on her face. The red-head was uneasy for a moment. A brothel, after all…
"Nnnno" she finally said.
"Ten thousand and it is yours."
"Ten thousand?" asked a surprised Sansa. Truthfully, she did not know if this was a good price or a bad one. She knew from her training to be a head of a household that merchants always tried to sell their wares with higher prices than they were actually worth. She knew that she must 'barter', must negotiate a price, but had no actually experience doing so. What her mother did stress was that if she was to demand a too low a price without any actual argument for it, the merchant would simply walk away or assume that she knew nothing and try to rip her off in some other way. After thinking over it for a few more moments, she responded:
"Eight."
"Done." The man responded almost instantly, startling Sansa. This was…too fast. But unfortunately, she had proposed a price and he had agreed to it. It was done, finished.
They gave the man half of the money that they had on them, around five hundred gold coins before leaving the city and traveling back to their castle home. The return trip took them the rest of the day, the girls arriving when the sun was already gone. While Myranda was greetings the ever-enthusiastic Sir Boo, Sansa got down to counting and sorting coins, wanting to get it over with and go to sleep. While her friend did, eventual, help her out despite Sansa been nearly done, it still took more time than she desired, the constant counting as well as the candle light stretching her limits of staying awake.
After finishing, they did even manage to find a chest of ideal dimensions to hold them all, though it was still too heavy for either of the two to carry it easily. Their knight, on the other hand, would be perfect for the task, though Sansa was hesitant about bringing the giant into the city.
With the red-head about to surrender to sleep as they lay in bed, Myranda was almost hyperactive. The day was filled with so much excitement to her. First time riding, even doing it like a man! Oh, the rush of the wind in her hair when she spurred her horse onward at a higher speed. The sheer sensation of freedom, the feeling of wonder, of adventure, of just what lay beyond the hill?
And the capital. Oh, the capital. The massive city. Never had she imagine that so many people could live in one place. And it was all so vibrant, so colorful, so full of LIFE. There was never a dull moment, always someone rushing to somewhere, someone doing something, CREATING something. Oh, she can just imagine it, riding down all of the streets, looking up at the magnificent buildings, tasting all the strange and outlandish food. Especially now that they would have a house there, she could do this all day long.
House. Oh, she could already picture it all. Having dinner on the balcony, playing in the yard with Boo, her own bedroom. With a nice bed. A large bed. And pillows. Plenty of pillows. Eight sounds like a good number. And all in different colors.
Oh, she cannot wait for tomorrow to come. Her excitement destroyed any chance of sleep. And in the silence of the fort and surrounding forest, her exasperation grew, causing her to turn over and over again in her bed. How can Sansa sleep at a time like this? How? They were starting their new life tomorrow. Away from the cult and in the big city, no less.
Ugh, it looked like there won't be any sleep tonight.
Sansa awoke to the sound of scratching coming from somewhere within the room.
Getting up, she was shock to see that Myranda had outline a door on the far wall. It had to outlines, an inner and outer and in between the two, in the corners and in the middle, there were circular runes. There were some that she recognized. Stability. Speed. Statis. Blood activation?
"What is that?!" nearly screamed Sansa, startling her friend, causing her to drop her dagger.
"Good morning to you, too." Grumbled Myranda as she bent over to retrieve her weapon that currently served as a chisel.
Sansa came to stand next to her, her eyes running up and down the runes, trying to figure out what her friend was doing.
"It's a gateway!" said the younger girl with pride, observing her handywork.
"A gateway? How do you even know to make one? When did you learn it?"
"Last night."
"Last nig- Myranda, why? I mean, like, why? Sorry, I am trying to wrap my head around it."
"Well, we are getting a house, right? In the city?" Sansa nodded "I thought it would be good to have an escape plan. Besides, after we buy it, are we going to travel again to here and back to bring our book chests? And what about the rest of the money?" Myranda smiled. "That way, we can be at both places at once. I just have to make the same gate in our house!"
"Alright… what about this, then?" asked the red-head, pointing to a rune. "Blood activation?"
"Well we can't have random people just walking in and activating the gate." Responded Myranda as if it was obvious. "Besides, the magic has to come from somewhere. We have no ingrediencies left and the gems that the bandits had are useless."
Sansa was silent for a while with Myranda growing both anxious and angry. Eventually, the red-head sighed out, her shoulders slumping.
"Good job. I mean it. It was just… you could have told me. We could have done it together."
Myranda hugged Sansa around the waist.
"We don't have to do everything together." Sansa returned the embrace, burring her fingers in the shorter girl's brown hair.
"I know…It's just…you are…precious to me…"
"Oh, shush you big red-head bimbo softy. I see how you play with Boo when you think I am not watching." Giggle Myranda in the embrace. Sansa pulled back and with a flat, emotionless face, whispered just loud enough for Myranda to hear.
"…bimbo?" and she attacked. The laughter of the small girl filled the fortress as she tried to withstand the tickling assaults from Sansa.
"And no more reading the books that the librarian gave us." Said the red-head as she pulled away from her friend, standing victorious. "Those things are perverse and immoral."
"Immoral? You sleep naked!" said Myranda in disbelief as she wiped away the tears, the aftermath of the tickling assault. "And you keep saying you hate that thing, but you keep wearing it!" Sansa looked away with a blush on her face before gathering herself up. Jamming her finger in Myranda's face like only an older sister could, she began:
"First off, missy, I sleep naked because I don't want to wrinkle my clothes, nor do I want to dirty the sheets with anything that might be on my clothes."
"Yes, well, normal people use nightgowns? Sleepwear? You might have heard of them."
"Yeah, well, maybe after a whole day been strapped in boots, belts and hoods, maybe, just maybe, I want a little freedom!"
"Then I will sleep that way too!"
"You most certainly will not!"
"Oh yeah? And how will you make me? Tie me up?"
"Maybe I will!" Said Sansa as she tried to grab the smaller girl, only for her to disappear, leaving the red-head grasping at rapidly-fading sparks.
*SLAP*
Sansa turned, her face stone cold as her blue eyes glared at a rapidly shrinking Myranda, the younger girl backing away with a sheepish smile.
"Myranda. Did you, per chance, just now, slap my behind?"
The girl looked sheepish for a moment before a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes:
"What can I say. It's a big target." Sticking out her tongue, she quickly cast a tiny, tiny fireball at Sansa, not strong enough to cause damage or even any real pain before again disappearing in a flash.
"DID YOU JUST CALL ME FAT?!" screamed the red-head as she gave chase.
And a second, magickly-enhanced round of the tickling wars began.
"We could have been there by now." Grumbled Sansa as the two rode towards King's Landing, this time accompanied by their guardian who held the important chest with money beneath his arm.
"You are the one that started tickling me." Matter-of-factly responded Myranda before putting some playful spite in her voice "Twice"
"And I will do so again until you learn to behave." The shared laughter of the two girls spread through the nearby forest.
Their pace today was slower given that their massive companion was walking and despite their logical minds telling them that the giant could move times faster, the constant screeching of the old armor made them reduce their speed.
Once they reached the city, with some unease Sansa noted how the people parted before them. They had done so the previous day as well, but that was more because of them been mounted with the people just moving aside and continuing on with their day. Now, they stood aside and stared, a small lull in the city noise following them, the missing sound filled in by a metal screech and a heavy boot stomp.
It actually took them some time to find the house again, wondering down the wrong alleyway several times, but it was surprisingly the brothel that guided them on, seeing that building before they saw their home. A momentary worry that the owner would not be there was replaced by a racing heartbeat as Sansa read over the contract while the man was counting the neat coin stacks within the chest.
After turning in a copy of the contract to the city administration near Cobbler's square, Sansa felt the inner need to ask as the two parted outside the administration:
"Where will you go now?" she paused before quickly adding. "I mean, we took your home, didn't we?"
The man in turn only offered a light smile before looking up to the blue sky.
"Probably Essoss. Buy a small, tiny peaceful house outside one of the free cities… or travel. I don't know. As long as it is not here." He finished with somewhat of a bitter tone.
"Is it that bad?"
"You just saw it. Additional two gold coins just for them to process it today. Stranger's hairy ass. There is no such thing. And what processing? Slap a stamp on it and put it away for the rest of eternity." The man spat out.
"The city is ripe with corruption. Everyone looking to squeeze out an extra coin. There is no humility, only humans." He looked at her with almost hate.
"My wife had already started to bloat by the time the funeral could have taken place… 'Oh, but you didn't pay for this, pay for that, oh, but we are very busy…'"
"Add to all this that a few people are starting to take control of everything… everyone small is forced to sell their property…or else… I once had a textile shop, you know. Finest silks in King's Landing. Alright, maybe they were not the best, but they were good… People started disappearing, anonymous vague letters with threats started arriving…" he finally looked up at her and with sadness and even compassion said:
"Good luck. Your friend is impressive. I hope he would be enough."
"Good luck to you as well. I hope you find something… worthy." The nameless man nodded before disappearing in the later afternoon crowd.
With the warning fresh in her mind, Sansa returned quickly to the house, somehow feeling more paranoid despite telling herself there was no need for that. People still looked at her and her exposed thighs, the red-head somehow feeling their gaze even more now, pulling up her hood to hide her red hair. She kept to the main road, hoping to mix with the flow of people despite been mounted. There were guards everywhere, the gold cloaks as she now knew them to be called would do their duty should anything happen.
"Pull yourself together. You are a mage, a necromancer! You defeated a whole castle of bandits!" she told herself, straightening her posture and looking ahead over the crowds. She only had to survive a month or so. one measly month. She had survived three with a death cult, what was one? And soon, her father would arrive.
Yes, there was no need to worry.
Thank you for reading.