Chapter 9: Sansa

The auburn wolf watches as seven men in masks circle two golden lions, a dark shadow, and a dark grey wolf. The seven masked men slowly move around the scene, thinking themselves Gods. They are not, the gods are among the trees behind the auburn wolf. The young male lion starts to move, feeling as if the masked men give him power. The older lion tries to calm her companion. She knows that power is fragile. The young lion roars and the dark shadow descends on to grey wolf. As the darkness hits the wolf he looks up into the eyes of the auburn wolf.

I wake up with a start, covered in sweat, and breathing heavily. It is still night and my fathers trial is to occur at noon at the Sept of Baleor. Arya has to go North, the Capital is not safe anymore.

I get up and grab my robe, moving to find Arya in her chamber. Jory is guarding my door, he is a loyal guard from the North and I have known him my who life. I gesture for him to come with me. He complies and we walk quickly to Arya's chambers. I pay no attention to the northern guard at her door and Jory sends him away. I enter without knocking, telling Jory to follow me in.

I move to her bed and walk her as I would when we were children, shaking her shoulder and whispering, "Ary?"

She wakes with a start, she always was a light sleeper. "Sansa, what is it? What's wrong?" She sees Jory and gets up, pulling on her robe as well.

"Are you ready to go North?" I look her in the eye, I have no time to waste. She nods, moving to place a few final things in a bag. "Good, I need you to wear your riding breeches and a tunic under a dress. Jory, you will take her away as soon as the attention is off of us at Father's trial. Go North, move quickly. Get horses ready and Arya come here." I move my hands to her head and braid her hair quickly, wrapping the braids so she could hid them under a scarf.

When I finish I look at her, she has grown so much in the last few months we have been in the Capital. "I love you, you must be strong."

She has the same steel grey eyes as Father. "What will happen to you, Sansa?"

"I'm to stay here. I will be fine. Robb is coming and soon we will be safe. Go through the Riverlands and get Nymeria. Tell the boys I miss them and tell Jon… tell him to be strong. Here," I pulled out a sealed letter I wrote Jon, "give him this and burn it if anyone is going to get a hold of it. It is worth more than our lives." I hug her then.

"Sansa, be safe, I love you." She hugs me fiercely, she is so Stark it hurts. I wish I could be more like her.

As I let her go I look to Jory, "I will keep her safe, Lady Sansa, by my honor as a knight and by the Old Gods I will protect your sister."

I nod at him, the pack must survive, even if I don't.

I dress well that day, I must let no one know Arya will be leaving. I put on a pale blue southern style dress and have a maid put my hair up in my usual southern style. I look beautiful, I feel like I will fall apart. I can not.

We are taken into the city and I stand behind Joffery and Cersei, looking to everyone like the beautiful consort King Joffery deserves. The crowd is large and out for blood and Joffery is drunk on the power. Father is brought out and through the crowd by Lannister Kingsguards and the crowd gets even more restless. It sickens me. He is so dirty but he still walks like the Lord he is, he will not bend, he is a Stark.

As Father gets to the Sept stairs in front of us I smile and nod at him. He must know we are okay, Arya and I. As the guards place him in front of all, the bell in the Sept starts to ring, it is noon.

He speaks then with strength and determination, "I am Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North, and Hand of the King. I have done nothing, I only wished to comply to the late King Robert's wishes." He looks at me and I nod to him again, telling him to be strong. "My only crime is that I failed to complete my friends dying wish to serve as King Regent until the true heir came of age. Let the High Septon and Baelor the Blessed bare witness to what I say. I will say no more."

Joffery was outraged, "Lord Eddard Stark. You plotted to take my throne from me before my Father's blood was cold. You tried to deny me my throne!" He sounded to all like a petulant child who had a toy taken from him. The crowd was unsure of what to do, but Joffery paid them no mind. I did not have to play at fear, I knew what was to happen next.

"As we sin, so do we suffer. This man has spoken in sight of Gods and Men." Grand Maester Pycelle began. "The Gods are Just, but the beloved Baelor taught us that they can also be Merciful. What is to be done with this," he paused then, looking at the crowd and Father, "traitor, Your Grace?"

The crowd was wild, I could not tell what they felt as a whole but the noise seemed to boost Joffery even more. He smiled and gestured for them to quiet, which they did eventually. "My mother wishes me to let Lord Eddard join the Night's Watch, stripped of all titles and power, he would serve the Realm in permanent exile. And my Lady Sansa," He looks at me then with what I, if I had been a stupider girl, would have thought was love, "has begged mercy for her beloved Father." I smile sweetly at him, dazzling him with the beauty I know I posses. He smiles brighter as he turns to the crowd again.

"But they have the soft hearts of women! So long as I am your King, treason shall never go unpunished." He has the glint of joy in his eye that means danger to all. I shift forward, allowing my fear to show more. "Ser Ilyn, bring me his head."

The crowd goes wild with outrage. Cersei rushes to Joffery's side, "Stop it, stop it!" She knows this will loss him power.

I can't take it any more, "Stop it! Please! NO!" I am screaming and the guard behind me grabs me and holds me to him and up. I have tears streaming down my face. I hope Jory is taking Arya away. I need her to be safe.

Cersei is talking to Joffery again, "My Son, this is madness." She is scared, of the crowd and her son. Varys, Pycelle, and Baelish move to stand closer to us, the crowd is closing in and Ser Ilyn is moving to take my Father's head with his own sword, Ice.

"Stop!" I'm screaming, "Please, stop!" I can not handle this pain. I can not look away. He must have a witness to this awful death. "Stop it! Stop!"

Father is calm, he looks at me and nods then looks to the crowd calmly and bends his head in prayer. This will be his fate and he will meet it like the true Northern man he is. I sob, I can no longer scream, I knew this was to happen but I had hoped against it. My hope was destroyed. I can not hope again.

The birds fly away from the Sept as I sink to the ground. Varys was wrong, I am a bird, but I can not fly far. This is my cage but I will destroy as much of it as I can before I am killed too.

Later, I discover that Arya has managed to escape but no one is looking for her because we have received a raven, Robb will arrive in two days time, he has come from Winterfell.