Sooo I was really hoping to finish this before the end of July. That's still a possibility, but it's a small one. However, I can promise you that there are only a couple chapters of this left (at most) and I'm working on them quite diligently :)
Sansa reached behind her, and Sandor somehow knew what she needed. He took her hand in his and she led him toward the captain - or perhaps, rather, toward the letter that man held in his hand. Ellaria was standing close by with her little daughter, watching Sansa carefully as she and Sandor approached.
Am I ready for this? he asked himself. Truth be told, he didn't know. The only thing he did understand was that no matter what this missive contained, it would cause some sort of uproar. Can I stand it if the High Septon decided to refuse her annulment?
And if the opposite happened - if Sansa was granted that annulment - was Sandor prepared for what she would want from him?
You're getting ahead of yourself.
Sansa was now standing next to the captain, who handed her the folded and wax-sealed parchment and stepped away. The raven that had brought the letter quorked at Sansa, but somehow seemed to know that she was not the person in charge. The bird flapped off after the captain, and Sandor couldn't help but wonder if it was waiting for something in particular - a reward? An official dismissal? He shook his head, knowing that it didn't matter, and squeezed Sansa's hand in what he hoped felt, to her, like encouragement.
"You can read that down below. In private," he told her, but she shook her head.
"I don't even want to wait that long," she whispered, her voice so low that he could barely hear her at all. Yet even as she said this, he saw that her face had gone pale and her hands were trembling as they clutched the letter that would determine much of her immediate future.
"Do you want me to do the honors?" Sandor asked gruffly
"No, I...I need to do it." Sansa heaved a sigh and slipped her finger under the wax seal, hastily unfolding the small piece of parchment. Sandor watched her eyes move from side to side as she read the brief note, and when her face blanched even more he pulled her toward him, tucking her under one arm as if he could have protected her from whatever the letter said. Couldn't you have protected her, though? Somehow?
"What does it say, little bird?" He hated to press her like this, but he wanted - no, needed - to know.
"My marriage is annulled," she said softly, so softly that Sandor thought he must have heard her wrong. If her marriage to Tyrion was over, why did she seem so upset?
"Well...isn't that a good thing?" he pointed out. Sansa looked up at him, her eyes wide, their deep blue color stark against her pale skin.
"The High Septon agreed to annul my marriage, yes," she clarified. "But he also wishes that I return to King's Landing and make a claim for Winterfell. He promises that this is not a requirement of the annulment...that is already done...and he claims he has not told anyone of my location..." She trailed off, and Sandor could see that she was fighting with herself over this. Still can't get over being the obedient, courteous lady. He could barely keep himself from smirking.
"So you've got your annulment," he stated. When Sansa nodded in reply, Sandor continued, "Bugger the High Septon, then. If that piece of paper says you're no longer married to Tyrion Lannister, you've gotten all you need to from him. You'll have Winterfell again someday, but I wouldn't think there's anything he can do about that anyway, especially right now."
"I...I suppose you're right." The little bird looked so relieved that Sandor felt almost angry. Angry with the High Septon for suggesting such a fool thing, angry with Sansa having been raised to obey nearly blindly, angry with her for clearly having not quite learned her lesson yet in regards to that type of obedience. It's going to take time, he reminded himself. And you're more of a work in progress than she is, yet she puts up with you - loves you - all the same.
Sandor clenched his jaw and kept his frustrations to himself.
"What will you do now, Sansa?" It was Ellaria who spoke, startling both Sandor and the little bird - he had forgotten that the woman was standing nearby, and clearly Sansa had done the same.
Sansa looked up at Sandor and smiled, appearing quite a bit more reassured than she had just a few moments ago. "Well, I won't be returning to King's Landing anytime soon, that's for sure," she announced. "Now that I think about it, what has the High Septon ever done for me? What have the Seven ever done for me? If I'm to do anything in the name of the gods, it will be the old gods. My father's gods. And...Prince Doran...he took me in, protected me at risk to himself and his family. Though he did not give me specific reasons for preferring that I travel to Essos of all places, I must assume that he has his reasons and that they are good ones. I certainly would not wish to do harm to him or to any cause that he may be championing."
Even Sandor could not miss the shrewd look that Sansa gave Ellaria, but the beautiful dark woman merely smiled and admitted, "The Prince did not give me any specific directives, either...at least, not outside of the request that I do my best to find myself at the destination that would be revealed to us by the captain. I believe he wanted me to end up there whether you did or not, but I must confess that I hope you still plan on making your way to the Dragon Queen's side."
"I have my concerns about doing so," Sansa said slowly. Sandor assumed that his own presence was one of those concerns, though of course her father had rebelled against the Mad King...and Daenerys is the Mad King's daughter.
"Just remember, you don't have to do anything," Sandor pointed out.
"No, I do not...but I also don't want to remain exiled in Essos for the rest of my life. And I certainly don't want to rule...not anymore. If Daenerys Targaryen truly has dragons, and if she means to return to Westeros...then she has the ability to bring me with her. Though I assume I must offer her something in return..."
"Ah, but that is easy," Ellaria smiled. "You were raised to be a Westerosi lady, and you spent time at court. This Targaryen princess - or rather, Queen, if that's what others are styling her - has been in Essos all her life, with only her brother to guide her...and he has been dead for some time now. She may want to rule, and she may have some experience with doing so...but that experience comes from the other side of the world, and she will need to learn and understand Westerosi customs."
Sandor knew that the bastard woman had a point, yet all the same this talk of a Targaryen woman - and her dragons, especially her dragons - left him with a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew what his brother Gregor and his men had done to Elia Martell and her babes, and Elia had been this Daenerys girl's sister in law. Rhaenys and Aegon had been her niece and nephew. If she truly was a Dragon Queen, and if she - rightfully so - had no love for the Starks or the Cleganes...well, where did that leave him and the little bird?
Sansa suddenly laid her hand over his. "Are you all right?" she asked softly.
"S'pose so," Sandor grunted. "Just trying to figure out my place in all of this." It seemed the most appropriate - or perhaps simply the easiest - thing to say.
"Your place?" Sansa seemed surprised. "Why, by my side, of course. My marriage to Tyrion Lannister has been annulled, and as you well know, I'm of a mind to wed again as soon as possible...rather than wait for someone else to swoop in and force me into some other situation of their choosing."
"It's not going to be easy to get married in Volantis, if you mean to do it before you meet this Targaryen," Sandor insisted. "The second we step foot in that city and proclaim who we really are, no matter how quiet we try to be, someone will hear. I guarantee there's a price on our heads, and there ain't no dearth of sellswords in Essos."
Though her tone was innocent as could be, Sansa's expression was a sly one as she asked, "Volantis? Who said anything about waiting until we reached Volantis?"