Directly picking up from the last chapter. Sansa and Stannis speak, Melisandre and Selyse have a moment with the lord of light and a kiss will be shared between a King and his ward.
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Death to her
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Handmaiden's ran frantically around Sansa's chamber at word that the King was on his way. A small blonde woman dabbed at Sansa's lip to remove the blood that had already dried. She whispered, "The King will be most upset to see you with blood on your lip, my Lady." Sansa looked at her, "Why would that be?" Her handmaiden smiled, "Word is around the castle that the King favors you."
"He is married-"
She was interrupted, "My Lady, the King is here!" Sansa nudged the handmaiden away from her face and watched as Stannis entered the room in such a hurry, his head turning left and right looking for her in her chamber. Finally, he saw her near the balcony window and rushed to her. He ordered in booming voice, "Out!" He turned and made sure each handmaiden had left the room and shut the door before he look down at Sansa, "What happened?"
Stannis spoke with such authority, such anger in his voice, it nearly scared her half to death, but Sansa quietly answered, "I spoke out of turn with the Queen." The King before her stood silently for a moment before snorting, "Out of turn?" He crouched before her and held her chin with his thumb and index finger so he could look closer, "I hate to see such a horrid mark upon your pretty face." Sansa looked into his eyes and questioned, "You are not angry that I upset your Queen? Your grace, she was so very upset about Shireen being on the beach with me, she dragged her away after hitting me-"
"Still no right to hit you like she did."
Stannis stood and went to pour himself some wine, but Sansa argued, "I said things I should not have said to her, but she was just shouting at Shireen and scaring her, I wanted to help-" Stannis shook his head, "Selyse is a horrid woman, Sansa. Haven't you realized it by now? I gave you permission to bring my daughter to the beaches, to get her out of her chambers, and you did. Selyse cares nothing about me, our daughter, or my authority. She's a woman falling apart." Again, Sansa's age made no difference here as the King spoke with her in confidence.
Sansa was curious, as she was still a 'child', but at the same time she felt like a grown woman speaking with him of such things. She cleared her throat, "Your grace, you speak with such venom about her. Do you not love her?" His eyes became dark and he finished his first glass of wine before turning and pouring another, "No, Sansa, I do not love her." He downed a second glass and turned to her, "All the same, she does not love me." Sansa said nothing more and simply looked down at her hands as if they were interesting all of a sudden. She heard Stannis cough and he finally spoke up,
"My Lady, would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"
Neither one thought of Selyse as they looked at each other and her answered was quick and short, "Yes, your grace."
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Melisandre soaked in her large tub basin full of oils to sooth her skin. She inhaled the scents and smiled as she relaxed, but she also smiled for another reason. Selyse would soon come to her to speak with her about the days events, to vent to her as a Queen would.
The door opened and she heard Selyse gasp, "Oh!" Melisandre opened her eyes, "My Queen. Please, come in." Selyse made sure not to look at Melisandre, but the red witch urged her to, "My Queen, we are both women of the flesh. We share equal bodies, why will you not look upon mine?" The Queen changed the subject as she entered, "I wished to speak with you. About Stannis and about his whore." Melisandre smiled at those words, "Whore? You are mistaken, your grace, she is but his ward. Until Lord Baelish returns, the girl shows no true threat to you."
Selyse watched her exit the tub and walk across the room to put a robe on. She hissed, "She is trying to turn my daughter against me. The child already deserves the rod." She touched different vials on a low hanging shelf as she continued, "Sansa Stark is trying to take my family from me, Lady Melisandre. Why?"
Melisandre knew it was now her time to strike. She whispered slowly and softly, "Perhaps, your grace, the Lord of Light has brought Sansa Stark to us for the good of the King." Selyse perked her ears at the name of the Lord of Light and she quickly questioned, "For what reason would he bring a Stark here?"
"The Lord of Light has great plans for you, my Queen, and even greater plans for Stannis. The Stark girl is simply a pawn in the game to the throne."
The two women stared intensely at one another before Selyse looked to her left and saw the flames going wild. She walked away from Melisandre, her eyes intense as they stared, "The Lord of Light. What plans does he have for me? How can I help my husband reach the throne?"
Melisandre smiled and knew then that she had the Queen in her grasp. She touched her shoulder and leaned close, "The Lord of Light has promised me Stannis' succession to the throne if there is a sacrifice." She paused, "Do you understand?" Selyse began to put the pieces together in her mind, "A sacrifice. Of whom does he speak of?" Melisandre chuckled, "In a week, we will have a mass sacrifice on the beaches. Only then, will you find out, my Queen."
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Dinner had been quite different for Sansa. The dining hall was quite dark when she arrived, "Davos, light some torches to make this hall less...scary." He smiled at her face of disgust at the damp and dark hall before using the one lit torch to light the other five. As he reached the last torch, Stannis entered the small hall and saw Sansa walking about and looking at the different items on the walls.
"How is she?"
Davos bowed his head to his King and answered, "She is fair at the moment. Quite curious as you can see." Sansa came to be in front of them and she smiled, "The torch light makes this room look so much better. Your grace, you look quite-elegant- this evening." Stannis chuckled shortly at her comment and took her hand to kiss her knuckles before commenting, "Lady Sansa, I was nearly afraid you would change your mind." Sansa smiled, "Why would I do that?"
Stannis walked her to her seat to the right of the head of the table where he would sit before answering, "Dinner with a King can be quite intimidating."
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Sansa and Stannis spent nearly three hours eating dinner and talking about Sansa's past. They came to be on the subject of Robb, "Sansa, what do you want most?" She thought for a moment and whispered, "I want to be home in Winterfell with my brother as King. I want my father to be alive and with my mother, looking over us as we chase our Direwolves in the Godswood." Her eyes seemed to look off into the past as she spoke and Stannis slowly reached over and grasped her small hand, "One day soon, no doubt, your brother will be back in Winterfell. Whether it be as a King or not, he will be back." Sansa looked down at his hand grasping hers,
"Will I also be there with him?"
Stannis took his hand away and cleared his throat, "It is whatever Lord Baelish decides." He could not speak of his plan, not with her. As the night went on, Stannis decided that it was time to retire for both of them. Sansa smiled, "Would you mind if I stayed awhile and enjoyed a lemon cake or two?" He smirked at her innocence and agreed, "I do not see the harm in that." As he went to walk away, however, Stannis found himself lingering behind her seat.
He could hear Ser Davos in his mind, "She is just a child." Then, Melisandre spoke, "You must woo her if you expect her to show and likeness towards you."
Stannis choked out, "Sansa." The young woman before him turned in her seat and Stannis took that opportunity to lean down and whisper, "You are something special, my Lady." Sansa was confused, as it was not in his nature to say such a thing, but it was when his lips fell upon hers, that she knew. Sansa's eyes closed as his kiss lingered for several moments before he finally pulled away. Her eyes opened once more and a squeak escaped her throat as she looked up at him. Stannis coughed and quickly bid her goodnight before rushing from the room. As he made his exit, Davos walked past him, watching him rush away before looking at Sansa.
He frowned, "What's the matter?" Sansa shook her head and touched her lips, "I-I don't..." She trailed off as she stood and rushed from the room after Stannis. Sansa ran down the hall, "Your grace?" She caught site of Stannis disappearing around a corner and she lifted her skirts to run faster, his long legs taking him further away from her as he walked. She finally caught him at the end of the hall and she pleaded, "Stannis!" He looked at her with a scowl on his face before entering the door in front of him and leaving her behind.
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I like the fact of a King such a Stannis not exactly running away from Sansa, but leaving her alone after what he did. I hope you guys enjoyed. New chapter soon