Chapter 6

After Petyr had closed the door Sansa laid back on the bed staring up at the canopy. She smiled as she thought through her morning, blushing as she remembered. Though she had no longer been a virgin, she wanted to think of this morning as her first time. Ramsay did not deserve the right to have claimed her virginity. As she lay there lost in her thoughts, her hand maid walked through the door.

"I'm sorry my Lady, I knocked and you did not answer for the second time this day. I was beginning to worry something bad had become of you." Ingrid apologized.

Sansa sat up with a confused look on her face. "For the second time this day?" She asked.

"Yes, my Lady. I came knocking 2 hours ago and there was no answer." She left out the part where she had tried the knob then as well. She had heard what her Lady had been up to in her chamber, not so alone. She did not wish to embarrass her Lady for fear she would lose her job. This was a very good position to have, being the servant to the Lady of the North.

"I see." Sansa said, relieved that Ingrid seemed unaware of her early morning, all night rather, guest. "I shall wear my blue dress this day. The one with the silver stitching." She requested. "Yes, my Lady." The young girl answered in reply.

Sansa did not have a set schedule for the day so she decided to break her fast in the hall with whomever else was present. Then she would walk around the whole of Winterfell with a builder and make plans with him to repair her home. As she made her way out of her chambers and into the hall, two young servants looked at her shyly, giggled, then quickly walked away in the opposite direction. What was that about, she wondered.

The hall was rather empty once she got there. It was a bit later than most broke their fast, but it was still morning. Around the ninth hour. She had some bread and leftover stew from the day before. Having entire armies to feed, the choices of food were slim. And with winter finally here, they would not be getting more plentiful as the times passed. She would have to get used to having the same thing over and over again. She glanced out the window as she enjoyed her food alone and spotted Petyr in the common grounds as he approached Jon. She watched as they spoke briefly, and then Petyr gave Jon a small bow, then followed him into one of the rooms off the side of the grounds used for meetings of Lords and the like.

Butterflies fluttered around inside her stomach as she watched the door close behind Petyr. She was nervous at what Jon might say to him. Would he be against a union between his sister and Littlefinger? She hoped not. Getting up from the table, her appetite lost, Sansa decided a walk outside the walls was what she needed to calm her nerves. As she reached the gates which were left open but always guarded, Ghost ran up beside her, joining her on her walk. She ran her fingers through his thick white fur and continued on her way.

Petyr walked to his chambers with a pep to his step. He could not believe his good fortune. Not only were his plans falling into place nicely, but he also had the affections of the sweet Sansa Stark. One could never say that Littlefinger was not a patient man. He had waited many years for her. And longer still for her mother. But his feelings towards Catelyn Tully were long dead. The moment she became Catelyn Stark any chance he had with her vanished along with her maiden name. But her memory lingered on in his mind and echoed through his heart. He had built her up so high no other woman could reach the impossibly high standards he set for a spouse. No one except for Catelyn's own daughter. That had never been his intentions when she married, to one day bed her daughter. His feelings towards Sansa were entirely separate from anything related to her mother. She was like Catelyn in so many ways, this was true. But in her core, Sansa was a much different woman. Not much like her mother or her father for that matter. She had a strength not easily matched. And her beauty was rivaled by none.

Petyr had wed Catelyn's sister, but that was purely a power play. He had never intended to stay married to her long. But he had not planned on making her fly as he had. But she had threatened Sansa. There was no choice but to get rid of the threat. He had rather been far far away when Lysa met her demise, but plans change. When he caught her holding Sansa over the moon door his heart stopped. He said all he could to talk that crazy woman back from the edge, literally. And once she had released Sansa he could breath again. He rather enjoyed toying with her like he had. Like a cat playing with a mouse before he devoured it. He could see in her eyes that when he said he had only ever loved one woman that she thought it was herself. The pain and heartbreak on her face when he told her it had been her sister he had always loved was a look he would never forget. Petyr could be a very kind and gentle man, but he had a mean streak in him as well. You did not cross Petyr Baelish and get away with it.

Petyr walked into his room and was met by a servant changing the water in the bowl on his table that he used for washing. "Good day, my Lord." The man said when he saw Petyr enter the room.

"Good day to you." Petyr said as he walked to his wardrobe to change.

"I noticed you did not make it to your chamber last night my Lord." The man said to Petyr.

Petyr grew annoyed quickly. "You will forget that you noticed anything of the sort. And you will make sure that anyone else who thinks they may have noticed forgets it too. Do you understand me?" He says quietly but sternly. The last thing he needed was for rumors to start flying and reach Jon before Petyr had a chance to talk with him.

"Yes my Lord. I noticed nothing." The servant said and made a quick exit, closing the door hastily behind him. Satisfied that the servant would do as he was bid, Petyr focused on the task at hand. He changed quickly and washed his face with the new water. After a glance in the mirror he left his room and headed down to the great hall to break his fast.

He was later than he usually was and the Lords he had normally eaten with were already gone. But he felt no hard feelings for having missed them. His morning was much more entertaining and enjoyable than a bunch of old men stuffing their faces and talking with full mouths. A small smile played upon his lips as the memory of Sansa naked and flushed underneath him flashed through his mind.

"Good day my Lord." A soft voice broke through his reverie. He looked up and noticed the kitchen servant from the previous day. My, how much things had changed since yesterday at noon.

"Yes, it is a good day little bird." He said, granting her a smile. She blushed. She sure was an easy one to manipulate. When she just stood there staring, Petyr began to grow bored. "Did you have something you wished to share with me?" He asked in a patronizing tone. She blushed even more and almost dropped what was in her hands.

"I- I made you this. I thought it would be better than just the stew." She stammered. He looked at her outstretched hands and noticed a small cake in her hands. This one was not a lemon cake, but it was a sweet one nonetheless. Looking back up into her eyes he gave her a most gracious smile and said "Thank you sweet one. Your favor will not go unnoticed." She smiled and curtsied then ran off back towards the kitchen.

Petyr ate the cake and thought to himself. He would have to do a nice thing for this little bird, that way she would always chirp for him whenever he needed. He made a mental note to find a flower to leave for her. That was innocent enough.

With his fast broken and no one else in the hall to distract him he set out on his search for Jon Snow, King in the North. He walked around the grounds for a brief time before he spotted the bastard King walking towards the practice grounds. Jon and Petyr had never had a conversation alone before. This was to be their first. He hoped he had payed enough attention during the meetings and after the battle to be able to read him well enough to keep the ordeal pleasant and so it would go his way.

"Your Grace, tis a fine day this day." Petyr said to Jon, bowing slightly from his shoulders.

"Aye, that it is." Jon said gruffly.

"Do you have a free moment that I might speak with you in private, your Grace?" Petyr asked.

Jon eyed him suspiciously but agreed to speak with the Lord alone. They walked to one of the rooms that was usually used for strategy meetings.

Once the door was closed Jon turned to Petyr and asked. "What is it that you wanted to speak with me about?" Petyr could appreciate a man who got right to the point without dragging out the purpose with niceties.

"Your Grace, I wished to ask your permission on a matter that has been in my heart for years." Petyr started. "Well, get on with it then." Jon replied. Not a very patient man was Jon. "I would like to court your sister with the intention to marry her. With your permission and blessings of course, your Grace."

Typically Petyr preferred to butter up whoever he was to ask a favor from. Remind them of all the things he had done to help them out and then ask. He went against his nature to just blurt out what he so wished without the buildup first. But he knew Jon was a man of few words and would not appreciate reminders of how he brought the Knights of the Vale to his rescue.

"Sansa?" Jon asked, truly surprised at what Petyr had just asked him.

"Of course Sansa your Grace." Petyr wished to elaborate but knew his audience better and held his tongue.

Jon walked across the room, head down, and he contemplated Petyr's request.

"She was just widowed." He said finally. "Not from a man she loved." Petyr reminded.

"That is true." He replied. After another moments thought Jon looked to Petyr and said "My sister has been through a lot in her young life. Too many horrible things to name. She does not deserve to have another man treat her badly or hurt her. I will not allow it. His head will be on a spike before he finds himself hurting her."

"Agreeably, your Grace." Petyr interjected.

Jon continued on. "I cannot give you permission to court my sister because the decision is not mine to make. I will speak with Sansa and if this course is the one she wishes to take, then I will give you both my blessing." Jon finishes.

"Yes your Grace. I understand. Thank you for speaking with me." Petyr said graciously. Jon gives him one nod then walks out of the door. Many years in the company of crows has eroded at his manners. He could not blame him. Jon was not raised to be a king. He was not properly taught how to conduct himself in certain matters. Perhaps that would be his down fall, though Petyr doubted it. Petyr knew other things about the bastard king that would flip the Realm upside down. But that was for another time. At the present moment Petyr had a meeting with the Lords to attend and a Lady to woo.

After an hours stroll through the woods, Sansa was beginning to get rather cold. She had not dressed for walking outside the walls of Winterfell that morning. She walked to the room she assumed Jon would be in to inquire about the builder and found him hunched over his table reading scroll after scroll. He looked up at her when the burst of cold air broke his concentration. "I am sorry, have I bothered you brother?" Sansa asked.

"No, I want to take a break from these dammned scrolls anyhow. Sit, I need to speak with you while you are here." Jon said.

Knowing what he was going to say, Sansa sat without any qualms. "Yes Jon. What is it?" She asked.

Seeming unsure with how to proceed, Jon struggled to get the words out. "I had a visitor this morning." He stated, not saying another word.

"And? Did they want something? Did they threaten you?" She was quite enjoying herself, watching him fidget with unease.

"No, no threats. It was Lord Baelish. He inquired about you." He finally got it out. He looked up into his sister's eyes and tried to read her expression. "And what exactly did he inquire, your Grace?" Sansa goaded him.

"Don't call me that Sansa. You know I don't like it. It's hard enough that I have to endure everyone else calling me 'Your Grace', I had hoped to keep some normalcy between us." He pleaded with her.

"I am sorry Jon, you know I only meant to tease you. You are speaking in riddles and taking entirely too long to spit out what you mean to say. I wanted to only give you a hard time about it." She explained.

"Thank you." He said sincerely. "About Lord Baelish, he asked for my permission to court you. He wants to marry you Sansa. I know you and him have a ...different relationship than most. I told him that I could not give him permission without speaking with you first. You are a grown woman and free to make your own choices on who you love and want to spend your life with. I will not be the sort of King who decides these things for people. It's not my place." He says. She doesn't say anything yet, waiting to see if Jon has more to say. "What shall I tell him? Are you interested in that sister? Do you love him?"

Sansa decides it is time for her to speak on the matter now. "I do love him. I do not know why I do, but here I am, loving him. He has hurt me and helped me time and time again. One does, however, outweigh the other."

"I thought you said that only a fool would trust Littlefinger?" He asked.

"I did, and I meant it. I suppose I am a fool. It is hard to explain though, how you can trust a man and not and the same time. He has my heart, as hard as I tried to keep it all for myself, it is his. But he does not rule my mind. Cloud it from time to time, yes. But I know what is right and I know what he wants. I want you to know, dear brother, that I will never betray you. No matter what. You are my blood. No one else. No matter who I marry, Littlefinger or someone else, you are my brother and I am your sister."

Jon considers her words "I trust you Sansa. I know I have your support and you have mine. We have so many enemies now, we must stand together. Always. If this is what you want, I will give you my blessing. And tell him the same." He says.

"It is." She says simply.

"Then it is done." Jon decrees. He stood up and walked to her and gave her a hug. After he released her he said to her jokingly "Now get going, your distracting your King from his duties." They shared a small laugh and she departed the room.

Sansa walked back to her chambers, too overwhelmed with thoughts of the past few days to see anyone else at this time. Her meeting with the builder will have to wait for another day.