Yay! Finally! In case you couldn't tell, I'm totally shipping Sansa and Tyrion. So there will be a lot of that in this story. I've never really written any adventure-like at all, so I'm excited to try this blend of writing. Thank you for reading.
SANSA
"Lord Varys!" She said again. "What are you doing in Mereen?" she asked. Varys stepped out of the tavern, obviously unbothered by the extreme temperature. He was wearing his usual attire, albeit in a much lighter fabric. He gave a small smile and bowed politely to Sansa, not looking at Brienne or Podrick for the time being. "I should ask you the same, Lady Stark;" he started, "what are you doing so far from home?" Sansa made a disgusted sound with her nose and mouth. "And to which home are you referring Lord Varys?" She asked with mocked sweetness, "Winterfell? King's Landing? I just cannot keep track these days". The Spider smiled without humour, obviously sympathetic. "Either way, my dear, you are very far from Westeros. I understand you wish to see our Queen, Daenerys?" Before Sansa could answer, Brienne interrupted. "And just how do you know that, Eunuch?" With a wink, he replied "There are little birds everywhere, Brienne of Tarth". Come inside, please. I would like to speak with you all before you meet with the Queen".
Once inside the tavern, Varys directed them to a private room in the back. There were pitchers of water, milk, and Dornish wine. "Please, help yourselves. I sent for some nourishment for you also, it should be here any minute. While we're waiting, why don't we start with why you're all together and on your way to our dear Queen?" Sansa looked at Brienne and Podrick for help, Brienne simply nodded in ascension to Sansa, approving the question.
Without going into unnecessary detail, Sansa told them all everything. How she was "saved" from Joffrey's wedding by Little Finger. She talked about her new persona, Alayne, her insane aunt Lysa, and how she was ultimately forced into marriage with Roose Bolton's legitimized bastard, Ramsay. She spoke of his cruelness towards everyone, including herself. "I was locked in our bedroom day and night. He would only let me out to show me the body of someone he's tortured and killed because of me, or if we were expected at a function. I was nothing more than a contract he signed in order to gain Winterfell. Torturing me was just for fun" she added bitterly. Close to tears, she concluded the story with her escape with the help of Theon and let Brienne and Podrick take care of telling the rest of the events.
Varys was studying them all when the food arrived. It was a bountiful platter of seasonal fruits, sausage, soft cheeses and biscuits. With as much control as they could muster, they dug in. I wonder what he's really doing here, she thought to herself. Is he helping the Queen, too? Is he here spying for Cersei? For Lord Baelish? The thought made her choke on the biscuit she'd be chewing. Brienne patted her on the back and expressed her concern. When she was finally able to breathe again, Sansa regarded Varys in the eyes. "Who do you work for, Lord Varys? What is it you plan to do with us?" He smiled and sighed. "I accompanied a friend here. King's Landing was becoming much too dangerous, even for a man as resourceful as me. I had been planning on coming here for a while, on seeking out this Dragon Queen. Circumstances presented themselves and I jumped on board, so to speak. I serve Queen Daenerys Targaryen, First of her name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men -" He was cut off by Brienne again. "Yes, yes we've heard it a thousand times before. Which friend did you accompany here?" Varys did not answer the question, but offered them all a bath and fresh clothing. "Afterwards we shall take my carriage to the palace. After all, you don't want to offend the Queen with dirty clothes and appearances do you?"
Sansa felt a thousand times better already. She sat in front of a big mirror and braided her hair the way she used to wear it in Winterfell when she was younger. She was nearly sixteen now and felt decades older. She wondered if she looked like it. Satisfied with her hair, she studied her reflection in the mirror. The dress that Lord Varys procured her fit her like a glove. Not quite as flashy as the gowns Margaery would wear from High Garden, but nearly as revealing. The soft blue colour accentuated her eyes and the light material clung to her body in the heat. She looked every bit the woman she knew she'd eventually become, only much fiercer. Her eyes had a hardness to them she had never seen there before. Not hardness, strength. I am a wolf. She turned and left the room to join the others.
Brienne looked more and less comfortable all at once. She had cooled down considerably, now that she wasn't wearing all her armor. She had tried insisting on wearing it over her clean clothes, but Varys insisted that she mustn't meet the Queen dressed as such. So she sat on the chaise, looking quite unlike herself, in a moss-green gown made from the same light material Sansa's dress was made of. Podrick was wearing a clean off-white shirt and brown pants with matching sandals. Strange attire or not, it was much more preferable to wearing their northern clothes.
The travel party ready, the followed Lord Varys out into the street where a carriage awaited them. Sansa climbed in first, followed by Brienne, Podrick, and finally Lord Varys. They began to move at once. She was looking out the window, thinking of nothing, when a small cough caught her attention. She looked at Lord Varys and noticed that both Brienne and Podrick were fast asleep. "I suppose the travel mixed with a full belly has put them right to sleep" he surmised. Sansa was not fooled. I bet he put something to knock them unconscious in their drinks. Why not me? "Lord Varys, surely there are other ways of speaking to me privately". He laughed heartily. "Sansa Stark. I see there is no fooling you. You've changed so much since we last saw each other." You have no idea, Spider. She did not smile or respond, simply looked at him expectedly. He obviously wanted to speak with her about something. "I'm afraid I have some news for you my lady. There is someone in Queen Daenerys' service whom you know, other than me. It is the friend I accompanied here, as I mentioned earlier. I've been wondering whether or not to tell you before you arrived. I gather you've had enough surprises to last you a life time, am I correct?" Sansa wasn't sure. Who could he possibly surprise me with? My family is either dead or missing. The missing ones are not likely in Mereen, or anywhere near. Her face went as white as snow when her next guess popped into her mind, "Not Lord Baelish" she nearly begged. "Lord Baelish? Of course not, my dear! Too many people here want him dead, he wouldn't risk it. I won't get your hopes up about your family. There has still been no word on Arya or your brothers." She figured that much. "Then who is it? Tell me." Just as he was about to answer the carriage came to a halt and the door opened. "It seems as though you're about the find out for yourself", he said cheekily.
Like clockwork, Brienne and Podrick woke up as the door opened. They insisted on exiting the carriage before Sansa. As Podrick took his turn he froze. Sansa wondered if there was an enemy here after all, and tensed. Finally, he broke into a smile and walked forward. Curious, Sansa stepped out of the carriage and looked towards the big building. There were a few people waiting outside to greet them, though she could hardly make out any of their features. The sun was in her eyes and she had to use her hand as a visor to see properly. Just as her eyes started to adjust she heard a gasp. She turned towards the sound as it turned into a whispered "Sansa. Is that you?" She couldn't believe what she was saying. He was supposed to be dead, and why was she so relieved to see him? She fell to her knees and began to sob, much to the surprise of her mystery guest, Tyrion Lannister.