This chapter is a bit of an experiment, since it is from the perspective of Jon Snow…

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Chapter 81

Jon Snow nodded at the Unsullied, as they allowed him admittance to the hallway leading to the Lord's Chambers, where his sisters and their lady mother were being held. The Unsullied simply stood there in response, though they did not try to stop him – which told him that the Queen had already approved his visit with his sisters. The Unsullied never seemed to speak much, not that Jon would have been able to communicate with them anyway, as they only spoke High Valaryian. But he noticed that they barely spoke to one another and even Jon, who was a man of few words, found their silence and blank stares unsettling.

He counted no less than twenty Unsullied standing guard outside and around Sansa's bedchamber – far more than were necessary - and he knew her heavy guard was on the orders of Petyr Baelish. Now that he had convinced the Queen to give him Sansa as his future bride, he wasn't allowing her any opportunity to escape. Jon had not trusted the man from the start, not even when he had come to Jon about Sansa, as they traveled to Casterly Rock. "Your sister was treated most cruelly by the Lannisters, and deserves far better than a marriage to the Kingslayer. I'll do what I can to convince the Queen to improve her circumstances." Jon had not realized Baelish intended to take her for himself.

When he had first set eyes on Casterly Rock, Jon had been astonished. He'd never seen a castle so immense and grand. It made Winterfell look like nothing in comparison. All Jon could think was, I always knew Sansa would be lady of a grand castle. For as far back as he could remember Sansa had acted as a proper lady. When they were little, she would only play with him and Robb if she could be the princess. She would sit in their father's high chair, as regal as a queen, with her mother's jewelry draped over her neck, and watch them battle for her favor, grandly offering her hand to the winner. As Jon looked around Casterly Rock, he had thought to himself that she never grew out of her love for all things grand and beautiful.

It was to be expected that, as Sansa grew older, she would spend more time with her septa, who was preparing her to be a good lady wife. But the distance that grew between the two of them was more than that. She became far too like her mother, and seemed to recognize Lady Catelyn's distaste for him as she grew older and followed her mother's example. She learned that having a bastard brother was something to be ashamed of – that he was something to be ashamed of. Not that Sansa was unkind to him. She simply showed a distance and a coldness toward him. She never sought out his company. She never talked with him the way Robb and Arya and Bran had. But she was still his sister – whether she acknowledged it or not. Jon knew that his father would have wanted him to protect Sansa as much as he could. At least I was able to convince the Queen to spare her life, though she may not like the man she'll have to marry in exchange.

When Arya sent a message through the guards, asking Jon to come visit with her in Sansa's chambers, Jon had not hesitated. When he'd left the Great Hall, after the Queen had made her pronouncements, he had not been able to shake the sound of Sansa's screams and cries as she fought to hold onto the Kingslayer. He'd never seen her lose her composure and fight so hard for something. Not ever. And Arya's invitation gave him the opportunity he wanted to reassure himself that Sansa was all right.

He raised his hand to knock on the door, but Arya opened it before he could, holding a finger to her lips. "Sansa and the baby are sleeping," she whispered quietly.

Sansa's bedchambr was dark and silent, except for the light and sound of the fire crackling in the massive fireplace. Jon looked over at the bed and saw that the curtains were drawn. It's the middle of the day. "Is she ill?" he asked in a whisper, though he immediately realized how ridiculous his question was. Her husband was just sentenced to death. Of course she's not well.

Arya patted Ghost on the head and silently closed the door once Jon and the wolf had entered the bedchamber. Jon followed his little sister across the room to the chairs before the fire. "Sansa's scared. And she's sad. Because the Queen wants to execute Jaime."

Jon nodded, staring into the fire. He had known before they even arrived at Casterly Rock that the Queen would never pardon the Kingslayer. Jon had always thought that King Robert should have executed Jaime Lannister after he broke the vows he made when he joined the Kingsguard. At the very least, he should have been sent to the Wall to take the black. He was a man without honor – an oathbreaker - and he certainly did not deserve Sansa or the baby she'd born him.

Jon still remembered how sick he'd felt when he received word that Sansa had been married to the Kingslayer. He'd thought she was lost to her family forever when that happened. Then he'd received a letter from her. It was written in her hand, but he knew she must have been instructed about what to write. He had felt nothing but rage when he'd read that Sansa was with child – the Kingslayer's child. He knew then that not only would she never be free of the Lannisters, but that the Kingslayer would use that baby to take Winterfell from her.

As he traveled to the Rock, Jon had thought Sansa would be relieved to see an end to her forced marriage. I thought she would be happy that one of her brothers had finally come to free her from the grasp of House Lannister.

But then he saw her, in the Great Hall of Casterly Rock. She was a woman grown – not the little girl he remembered – and she was even more beautiful, even more of a lady than he remembered. She had approached him shyly, carrying her babe. The child looked so like her, except for the green eyes from her Lannister father. And Jon had been shocked when Sansa had quietly begged him to spare the Kingslayer's life. Jon had immediately seen that Sansa was in love with her husband, but he didn't understand how. He knew that she had always dreamed of knights and castles, and her marriage to the Kingslayer had certainly given her that.

Even now, Jon did not understand. How can she not see beyond a handsome face and a grand castle? After all that the Lannisters have done to the Starks. Father raised her better than that. Better than to be so shallow. He had seen this morning that Sansa would never see the Kingslayer's execution the way he did – as exactly what the man deserved for his misdeeds. Sansa needs to realize that the Kingslayer's death will finally free her from the Lannisters, once and for all.

"You have to help him, Jon," Arya whispered urgently, distracting him from his thoughts.

Jon looked at her in disbelief. "Help who? You expect me to help the Kingslayer?"

"Ser Jaime," Arya corrected. "He saved her, Jon. Joffrey was so mean to her. He would have killed her if Jaime had not returned to King's Landing and stopped him."

"He forced her to marry him, Arya. And the only reason he married her was to take Winterfell away from the Starks, and put it under the control of the Lannisters. They killed Father and Robb. All to keep the Kingslayer's bastards on the throne. He's not a good man, Arya."

"I didn't like him at first either but…Jaime didn't kill father. Or Robb. And he's nice to Sansa. He protected her from them. He chose her over his own family. And he saved my mother from the Freys. He saved her for Sansa. And Jaime's my friend," Arya said, her voice wavering as she began to cry. "He's taught me to use a sword and…he talks to me. I don't want him to die."

Jon was dumbfounded as he listened to his sister beg for the Kingslayer's life. How did he ever manage to win the affections of both of my sisters? Arya especially.

Jon rose to his feet when Lady Catelyn entered the bedchamber, expecting that she would tell him to stay away from her daughters. "Lady Stark. We've not been able to speak since I've arrived and…I wanted to offer my condolences for Lord Stark and…for Robb."

She nodded slightly. "You needn't act as if you did not suffer a loss when they were killed, just as I did. I know you cared very much for them both," she said stiffly. Arya gave up her seat to her mother, sitting on the arm of her chair, and Jon realized that it was Lady Catelyn who wished to speak to him. She must have asked Arya to send for me. "Is there…is there nothing you can do? For Sansa?"

"What would you have me do?"

"Help them escape," Arya said urgently. "Jaime and Sansa need to go far away where no one can hurt them anymore. They're not safe here."

Jon looked to Lady Catelyn. "You approve of her marriage to Jaime Lannister?"

"No, but…it's done and…he's the father of her child and she loves him." She looked down at her hands, twisting her ring, which he remembered his father giving to her on her nameday when he was still a boy. "He protects her. Whatever I may think of him, I don't doubt that he would die to save her or that baby."

What do they expect of me? I have no control over the Queen. She will not change the Kingslayer's sentence. She would never allow herself to appear so weak. I've never seen her change her mind, once she's announced it. "There's nothing I can do, Lady Stark."

"So you approve of her cruelty to Sansa?" she asked sharply. "To kill her husband and force her to marry another man, who will forcibly bed her?"

"That's exactly what the Lannisters did to her. What the Kingslayer did to her – forced her into marriage and into his bed."

Lady Catelyn looked away, towards the bed. "She says that never happened. That he never forced her to do anything. I have no reason to disbelieve her. Your Queen has no right to harm Sansa in this manner. Sansa has never done anything to her. That girlis trying to destroy every great House in Westeros. The smallfolk don't care who sits on the Iron Throne – but they are loyal to their liege lords and they will rebel. Does she intend burn them all? It wouldn't leave her much to be queen of."

"Isn't she your friend?" Arya asked, interrupting their disagreement.

Jon shook his head. "I wouldn't call her my friend. The Queen…she doesn't allow many to get close enough to really know her." Jon stared into the fire as he told them how he first met her. "She was traveling South with her entourage when our parties came upon one another. We were still…deep in the North, pursuing the White Walkers. I had," his voice broke and he took a deep breath. "I had just seen Winterfell – from a distance. It was nothing but a smoldering ruin. I wanted nothing more than to march my men to the gates and kill every last Bolton in the place." He met Lady Catelyn's eyes. "But I took vows and…Father would not have wished for me to break them."

Even now, he could see her bristle when she called Eddard Stark "Father," but he continued. "A rider came out to meet us and announced that Daenerys Targaryen, the Rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, wished to speak to the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. I rode back with her man and, she was holding court in a tent, her knights and advisors beside her. She was polite to begin with, though that changed when Lord Baelish informed her who I was. Or rather, who my father was."

"She said that Eddard Stark was 'one of the Usurper's dogs' and that if I was treasonous as my father, she may as well kill me right then." He smiled to himself and continued to gaze into the fire. "I risked her wrath and told her that Ned Stark was the most honorable man who'd ever lived – and he'd been executed for it. He died because of his honor and he died for his family." He glanced over and saw that both Arya and Lady Catelyn were emotional at the mention of Lord Stark. "I told the Queen that I didn't care who sat on the Iron Throne. I told her that my father and my brothers were dead, my sisters lost to me and…My reason for being south of the Wall was to uphold my vows to protect the Realm. I suppose she believed me because she asked me to follow her out of the tent and showed me her dragons. She offered to allow me to use them to rid Westeros of the White Walkers."

Jon didn't share the few personal things he'd learned about the Queen as she showed him her dragons and how they would be able to help him against the White Walkers. As he got to know her, Jon didn't understand why she was even in Westeros, pursuing the throne. She only seemed happy when she spoke of the house she had grown up in - some house in Braavos with a red door. It seemed to him that the girl only wanted a home and a family. Jon didn't think the Iron Throne would give her any of that, but he'd kept his thoughts to himself, for the most part. It wasn't his place to give her advice. She got enough advice from Petyr Baelish.

Jon had watched silently as Baelish led her astray, though her two knights tried to warn her away from Petyr Baelish, and gave her far better advice, in his opinion. But Jon knew that he could not help her or become involved in her quest for the throne. His men were already grumbling and complaining over simply traveling with the Queen's party. Though they quieted somewhat when they saw how quickly her dragons could dispatch entire armies of wights without costing the life of a single man of the Night's Watch.

"I didn't know she planned to give Sansa to Baelish. The only promise she would make to me, was that she would not take any of your lives. I didn't feel it was proper to press for more."

He looked up at his dead father's lady wife when she spoke. "I…I worry that Sansa will do something rash. Something that gets herself killed if he is executed. You say that you can't sway the Queen – that she won't change her mind – but, if that's true, certainly you could help them escape. She trusts you enough to give you freedom to move throughout the castle as you wish."

"Why would you even ask for my help? You've never wanted me as part of your family before."

"That's true," she said quietly. "There were so many times that…I wanted to accept you. I told myself that I would, but…Every time I looked at you, all I could feel was the pain of your father's betrayal. I couldn't forget how you came into the world." She wiped her eyes and looked at him then. "But I know you've always loved my children. As much as I discouraged it, I know that you came to love them. And I don't know where else to turn to help Sansa. She was alone for so long in King's Landing. And…horrible things were happening to her. Joffrey had the Kingsguard strip her and beat her…He threatened to rape her countless times. For nearly a year, she was in a constant state of terror. And I didn't protect her. She had no one to turn to. Except Jaime Lannister. He's the one who helped her when I failed her. But I can help her now. I have to help her now."

Jon felt himself react physically to hearing what Sansa had been through in the capitol. Hearing how that little shit Joffrey had tormented his sister made Jon wish he weren't dead so he could kill the brat himself. But it doesn't change the fact that the Queen has made her decision of what to do with Sansa and the Kingslayer.

"Baelish has the Queen's ear and he was adamant that the Kingslayer must die. He tells her what she wants to hear, and there's no swaying her from his influence. She's far too uncertain about the politics of the Realm to turn away from him."

The only time Jon had ever seen the Queen refuse to take Littlefinger's advice was when he suggested Stannis Baratheon's daughter should be executed. Her parents had died in the battle, but the child was recovered alive. Daenerys seemed to feel some sort of kinship for the scared little girl with the strange scales on her face. Jon was there when she met the child who had a startling knowledge of everything about Dragonstone and the Targaryens. Daenerys was clearly charmed by the child and wished to keep her, as her ward. Baelish had pressed her, insisting that the child had to die, lest someone get the idea that the girl was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, as the only living Baratheon. The Queen had not been swayed, pronouncing that she would take the girl in and give her a home.

"Littlefinger won't influence your Queen anymore," Lady Catelyn said in a hard voice. "You'll find he…disappeared in the night. He'll trouble my daughter no more."

"What does that mean?" Jon asked suspiciously. "Disappeared in the night?"

"I found him trying to…rape Sansa. Luckily Ser Addam gave her a blade, should she need to protect herself."

"Is she all right?"

"She's scared the Queen will find out and take the baby away to punish her," Arya said, glancing back at the bed to make sure Sansa was still sleeping.

"Is there any way the Queen could discover what happened?"

Arya shook her head. "We threw his body out the window and into the sea." Jon was not sorry Baelish was dead. He was only sorry that his sisters had to deal with such ugliness. At least now, Sansa won't have to marry him. "Now that he's dead, can't you change the Queen's mind about Jaime?"

"She won't listen to me. If Father were still alive…she'd have executed him. If I ask her to pardon the Kingslayer…it will only make her suspicious of me"

"Will you help them escape?" Lady Stark asked.

He looked at Lady Catelyn, as she asked him to commit treason. "You should prepare Sansa. For his death. So she doesn't do anything rash when it happens – anything that would draw the wrath of the Queen."

"Tell me, Jon, how can I prepare her for such a thing?" He'd heard such venom from Lady Catelyn many times during his life, so it did not surprise him. "No words could have prepared me for your father's death."

"If I were to help them escape…even if it were possible…I'd be as much of a traitor as the Kingslayer. Father taught me better than that. He taught me honor."

"Don't use your father's memory to justify your inaction. Your father knew the importance of family. You know very well why that girl calls your father a dog. Because he committed treason for his family. He fought the Targaryens – removed them from the Iron Throne - to avenge the murders of his father and his brother by a mad king. And for his sister. If your father were here…he would want you to help Sansa. He would help her himself if he could. I know that."

"Jon, you have to do something for Sansa," Arya urged. "We're a pack. We have to help each other."

"I took vows," he said quietly. "The Night's Watch is sworn to stay out of matters of politics."

"This is not politics," Lady Catelyn whispered urgently. "This is about family. I'm asking you to help your sister." He was shocked to hear Lady Catelyn call Sansa his sister. She'd never referred to him as brother to any of her children. "You could not help Robb or Bran or Rickon. But you can help Sansa. That girl wants Sansa's daughter to live as a bastard…you don't have a problem with that?"

He was surprised Lady Catelyn realized that would bother him more than anything. He knew what it was like to grow up a bastard – how cruel people were. He hated the thought of Sansa's innocent baby being condemned to such a fate. I took vows. I promised to stay out of such matters. No matter what. I've already kept my vows through the murders of my father and brothers. I can't throw that all away to commit treason now.

"There's nothing I can do," Jon whispered, rising to his feet before he changed his mind. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry." He expected Ghost to follow, but he wasn't anywhere in the room. As he passed the bed, he saw that the curtains were slightly parted.

Sansa was sitting up in the bed, holding her sleeping babe. Ghost was lying beside her, his head in her lap, and his paw protectively over the baby. He remembers her. And he must know the child is Sansa's pup – part of our pack. Her head was down as she stroked the wolf's fur. She must have felt his gaze and looked up. Jon saw that she was crying. He looked at the baby sleeping in her arms and the tears streaming down Sansa's face, then met her eyes again. He saw the little girl that would beg him and Robb to be her knights, as she played the princess, the little girl who would sing songs to her dolls and cry at the sight of the first snow, because she thought it so beautiful. He saw his little sister.

Jon still remembered the first time he ever saw Sansa. She was a tiny little thing – only a few days old – and Jon had snuck in to see her when he saw that Lady Catelyn was asleep. He'd held her tiny fist in his hand and marveled over his beautiful baby sister. His Father had caught him. He wasn't angry. Instead, he told Jon in a whisper that he and Sansa shared the same blood and he was to protect her always.

"Sansa…Get dressed. Put on something warm – you and the babe - and wait for me to return for you. Prepare to leave here forever."

…

Jon's perspective got longer than I thought, because I wanted to include some of the background of how he met Dany and what his thoughts have been up to his point. I originally was going to keep it all Jaime and Sansa as POV characters, but ultimately changed it from Sansa overhearing Jon talk to Catelyn and Arya. I think he can be somewhat frustrating (as Ned was at times) without knowing why he does what he does.

I see Jon as having the same fatal flaw that Ned had – unfailing honor and a rigid adherence to vows. So I think it would be difficult for him to commit treason, which is what it would be to help Sansa. Which is why I feel like it would take a lot for him to finally do something he considered dishonorable, especially for the sibling he has the most distant relationship with. I would love to know your thoughts, since Jon is not a character I'm wildly invested in, like Jaime and Sansa, so he's more difficult for me to write.

We'll see Tyrion in the next chapter.

Ahh…still traumatized from tonight's show…