So sorry for the wait on this chapter! Sansa will go back in time with Stannis in this chapter to discuss the Mob attack in Kings landing. etc. Enjoy.
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She was carried from the ship to her chambers by Stannis as Melisandre followed and Shireen watched. Sansa was shaken, the enemies blood still splattered on her torn gown and face as she was placed on her bed. Stannis backed away from her and whispered to Melisandre as the handmaidens entered, "Heal her wounds and watch over her, I must attend to business." She bowed her head in response and listened as Stannis walked past both women and rushed down the hall. Melisandre looked towards Sansa and saw several handmaidens getting a bath ready, helping Sansa strip, and place out a fresh gown and oils.
"Out! All of you out!"
Her voice made them shake as they dropped what they were doing and left a naked Sansa standing in the middle of her chambers with Melisandre. Sansa shivered, "Was that necessary? They were only trying to help." Melisandre hummed, "Of course they were, Sansa. Tell me how you got harmed." She walked a naked Sansa to the tub and helped her in, all the while, Sansa told her about the three men taking her into the woods, trying to rape her before Stannis came to the rescue. Melisandre saw scratches on her back and her pale finger traced them,
"Ouch!"
Sansa looked back at her and Melisandre whispered, "You have several scratches on your back, child. We must wash them." The Lady before her flinched as she washed her wounds, "Stannis truly does care for you, my Lady, for he would have never cared for Selyse enough to save her life." Sansa said nothing as she stared at the wall, her arms across her chest to cover her breasts. Melisandre took her silence in stride and continued, "Your hesitance to speak is interesting, Sansa. What is on your mind?" Sansa shook her head, "How could you say that? Stannis must have cared for Selyse at one point- they had a child." She heard the red woman laugh,
"Duty is a difficult thing to explain."
"Duty?"
Melisandre sighed, "Yes, duty. Should you ever marry the King, you will have a duty to lay with him and give him strong children. Strong sons that will learn to fight and one day rule over all." Sansa shivered, for what if she never gave him the sons he so desired? What if she is not the Queen he needs, but only the Queen he lusts for? Melisandre leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "You are flowered and you are lovely, but be warned that you will have a duty just as every Queen before you did to every King that has ever ruled."
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"The ship held near 30 women and children. All girls. I was able to get them on land and have your men burn the ship with its captain inside."
Stannis paced his solar, "What did you do with the prisoners?" Davos bowed his head, "I gave the women coin and sent them off." Stannis paused, "Coin? You gave my money to-" Davos interrupted his King, "I understand it was not my coin to give, your grace, but these women and children have nothing and will be yours to rule over one day soon. They blessed your name at my feet." Stannis nodded in approval and Davos questioned, "Where is she?"
"She is being tended to. She-She could have been raped or even murdered today and had I not come to her aid-"
He paused and looked up at his friend and council, "I realized something today that I never thought I would care to think of." Davos arched an eyebrow, "What is that, your grace?"
"I would raise an army, I would sail the many seas, and I would kill every man that stood in my way if anything ever happened to her."
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The sunset was unbelievably beautiful that night as Sansa looked out from her chambers. She looked down at her hands and saw the healing scratches on the back of them. Earlier, Melisandre had took her hands in her own and cleaned them, "You will scar, no doubt. But, you must not fret, my Lady, these scars will show your strength."
Sansa shook her head as she placed her hands back upon her lap and a knock came at her door, "Come in." She watched the door to see Stannis quietly entering and shutting the door behind him. Sansa sighed and looked away, looking back out at the sunset and the surprisingly calm ocean. His voice was soothing to her as he spoke, "You are admiring the sunset, I see. I just came from a visit with Shireen and she too was sitting near her window." Sansa gave a small smile, but did not look his way, "Her window is so small. I wish she were here to see out of mine."
"If you prefer her company, I will send for her-"
She finally looked his way, "I wish for no others company." Stannis eyed her and realized that in the disappearing sunlight, she looked grown, she looked strong. He walked forward, his hands behind his back, "I trust you have been tended to?" Sansa nodded, "Yes, Lady Melisandre did a fine job." He could no longer stand it and he sat down across from her and took a deep breath, "What happened today, Sansa, I promise will never happen again. You should not be afraid." Sansa could not take her eyes away from his during his outburst, and her reply was quiet and quick, "Am I the only one that was afraid?"
Stannis took one of her hands in his and stared at the scratches as one of his large fingers traced them, "No, you were not. As a King, I must never show my fear and I should never speak of it, for it shows weakness. But while with you, I shall speak in confidence and say this, I was afraid, but not for me, my dear girl." He brought her knuckles to his lips and gave her a kiss,
"I was afraid for you."
His words moved her to near tears and she quickly wiped them away, "I have been so plagued by the past ever since the attack today. I fear sleep because I know that I will revisit today and it will happen all over again." Sansa tried her best to stay calm, but she needed to tell someone, she needed to tell Stannis of what happened in Kings Landing. Stannis urged her on, "Tell me, Sansa, tell me why."
She looked at him with reddening eyes and whispered, "Nothing good ever came from being in Kings Landing."
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In the next chapter, we willcontinue with Sansa telling Stannis her story of Kings Landing. Thanks for reading!