Chapter 96

Loras hadn't felt a moment of peace since her Holiness had asked for that oath of him. A shiver ran down his spine at the memory of it. It was…she so rarely felt like a god when you stood beside her. But sometimes…sometimes you knew she was far more than she appeared. He was unsure of exactly what to expect tonight, her Holiness hadn't told him. Out of the corner of his eye, he kept an eye on Conin. The man didn't seem stressed? But then perhaps blood oaths to gods of ruin for silence weren't as shocking to someone in a religious order devoted to said god? Or Conin didn't know.

It was concerning he didn't know which, and while he knew the god who'd made him swear himself to secrecy would never harm a hair on Sansa Stark's head, he didn't like the sense of doubt. Was it an oath his Queen would have wanted him to make? Most likely yes. But what if? He didn't like being in some ways trapped between a ruthless Queen and a god of fucking ruin! But they were lovers, doing something for one was most likely doing something for the other.

While late, there were still people about, particularly in the main halls. The sun only having set an hour ago at most. For their Queen, it was perhaps slightly early for her to have returned to her chambers and dismissed her servants. But not too unusually so. Her private solar had enough work to keep her awake for some time yet. A not unusual occurrence, their Queen certainly was diligent in a way monarchs so rarely were.

Loras turned at the sound of her Grace's door opening. His words caught in his throat, Sansa certainly knew about what Daisy had asked of him. Relief loosened his shoulders. But then he felt a slight shiver.

Sansa Stark was wearing her grey gown that was so pale it was nearly white, with delicate embroidery along the hems that belied how thick the garment was. It was a court gown and not the one she'd been wearing earlier. And clearly, she meant to leave the interior of the castle, as over her shoulders was a cloak, though not one of her thickest. It was a darker grey with wolves along it, the hem and lining green with white fur.

"Your Grace!" Conin snapped to attention. Ah, he hadn't known to expect anything tonight then.

"Ser Conin." Sansa ignored Loras, looking at Conin only, her eyes sharp. "I will keep this simple. Nothing happened tonight. You see and hear nothing. You remain at your post, and should anyone ask I never left my quarters. Do you understand?"

Conin's face was deadly serious. "Aye, your Grace. Boring night." He turned on his heel, his back to them, and eyes to the empty hall.

Loras felt his eyes widen. Seriously? Who just accepted orders like that…then again he had made a blood oath to a god without question. He couldn't really judge. Was there something in the water that just made people fucking absurdly loyal here?

"Ser Loras, with me." She turned and left, down the hall further into the family wing.

And well, he followed without question or hesitation. He frowned as she paused at one of the empty rooms that'd been badly burned by the Greyjoys and Boltons and left unrestored as of yet since there weren't enough Starks for it to have been worth the work of cleaning it out. Loras frowned, it was dark here, the light from the hall dim and barely flickering.

Nevertheless, Sansa swept in without a doubt, and so Loras followed her. He squinted as she touched the wooden backing along one wall, and swung it open.

The breath caught in his throat. "Should I get a candle?"

"No, hold the railing, there are stairs." And then she vanished down the dark passage.

Loras followed behind, shutting the false wall after them. It was pitch black, but as Sansa had said, there was a railing. It was a spiral staircase he realized. He was unsure of how far down they walked before he jolted at the bottom of the stairs. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. But he could feel more than hear Sansa only a pace or so ahead of him.

Keeping a hand on the wall he continued to follow on the now flat stone. It sloped further down as they walked, and walked. Loras was unsure how long it took until it began to slope upwards once more before they stopped. Sansa touched the wall before them, and with a soft grunt, slid it to the side.

Loras quickly stepped forward and helped, it moved with surprising ease. He blinked as faint light came through the now open doorway as he realized they were at the edge of the gods' wood.

"Cregan had an old servant's passage changed so that he could go to pray in the woods without passing through the whole of the keep after the Dance. It also served to allow the family to be moved away from where invaders would first look for them." Sansa turned. "We used to play in it as children, the staff all knew of its presence, but everyone who once knew of it is now dead, save us."

Loras carefully closed the stone door that rolled with shocking ease after an initial shove. It settled back into place, and looked indistinguishable from the stone around, only a chipped carving of the Stark sigil on one stone set it apart. "Wise of him."

"Most likely. I believe it was originally a servants' path to the kitchens more directly but that side was stoned over and instead, it was connected to a passage for servants to reach the gods' wood without passing through the main thoroughfares." Sansa explained. She looked at him. "Shall we then?"

Loras swallowed but followed her towards where the face tree was. He had never approached it from behind, but as they walked across the light snow on the ground he realized it was what they were doing. And there by the foot of the tree was Daisy. She stood there inhuman, not a cloak nor sign the cold touched her at all as she stood in the forest of snow. Not even a jacket, merely a black vest with red eagles and a white woolen shirt.

Daisy spotted them and was to Sansa in three strides once they were under the red leaves of the face tree.

He glanced away as the two embraced. An amused curl to his mouth, well, whatever he'd been summoned for wasn't terrible. Not that he thought it would be from how just..happy Daisy had been earlier. Hours to simmer on it was what had led him to worry.

Daisy's voice was soft as she stayed closely enwrapped with her lover. "Are you ready?"

"I would think that was my question." Sansa replied softly, "But yes, you?"

Daisy's face was lit up in a way Loras didn't think he'd ever seen before. Hell, he'd never seen their god this effervescently happy before. Which…oh. Oh, that implied a lot about how good she was at wearing masks to disarm the people around her. Because here, with just Sansa, their god was soft and happy in a way she just wasn't otherwise. Her looseness felt different, the faint whisper of danger he always felt in her presence was absent.

"Yes, obviously yes." Daisy laughed before stepping back, though she did not drop Sansa's hands. "So how do we uh..do this?"

Sansa huffed fondly, her attention never leaving Daisy, nor the affection dimming whatsoever from her face. Something…almost shy passed her face as she drew Daisy with her before the face in the tree.

It was quite clear that Loras was at best irrelevant and more likely forgotten. He awkwardly trailed behind, giving a great deal of space to them. Perhaps he was to witness? Though why he'd been sworn to silence with an oath in blood for that he had no idea.

Sansa and Daisy stood before the face tree, their hands never parting. An excited near vibration to the air…actually the air was vibrating faintly against Loras's skin. They both seemed to hesitate, and then Sansa seemed to settle, her eyes holding Daisy's unflinchingly as she spoke. "I, Sansa of House Stark, a woman grown, come to swear my troth before the Old Gods, to be wed and beg their blessings. I come to swear my love and my life to Daisy Jonson. So it is spoken and witnessed and so it shall be. What was mine is yours, so we are one."

Loras's breath froze in his lungs. His heart stopped beating. This was impossible. Shock and terror raced through him as his eyes widened, his entire attention riveted on the pair before the tree. He knew those words, they were old, though not the words for any marriage of nobility. They were the words the small folk uttered when they had no house to claim, nor true birth to brandish. But it was valid nonetheless: binding. Could two women even marry? Only…her Holiness was a god.

"I, Daisy Jonson, a woman grown, accept your troth and swear my own before the Old Gods, to be wed and beg their blessings," Daisy spoke as if it was not impossible what she was doing. No, she had love, affection, and excitement painted across her face as she continued without hesitation. "I come to swear my love and my life to Sansa Stark. So it is spoken and witnessed and so it shall be. What was mine is yours, so we are one."

It was as good as done. Loras swallowed.

He was witness to the first marriage between divine and mortal since the ages past. Even the Maiden had only brought forth a girl to wed the Seven's choice of king. Though some claimed the Maiden herself had wed their Andal King. But Loras and most doubted that heresy. And whatever daughter of the Storm god the Stormlord King had stolen and taken as wife was…perhaps not mortal but having met Daisy he doubted the girl had been a god in her own right. The concept of any taking Daisy and making her wife against her will was so absurd his mind rebelled at the very thought.

Of all the possibilities..it truly could be the first time in all their long history. The shift of power changed…everything. Loras trembled from the weight of it. Why in secret? How could a breathing, living god accept a mortal claiming equality with them and give it in equal measure? He did not…he did not know what this meant. But for all that, it was real. A small hysterical part of himself realized while looking at them, with what felt like a sudden moment of clarity; they were doing this for love. Good gods, they were doing it for love and the world would change from this act, and he wasn't sure any of them could control how.

/

Sansa's hands were shockingly steady as she unhooked her cloak. Her breath froze as she breathed out. Every part of her being was present in this act. Her soul sang with the rightness of this moment in time. It was cold, silent, and beautiful here in the gods' wood. The light from the clear night sky above them reflected off the snow on the ground. No doubt the pool before the tree reflected the stars as well as them. But she didn't have eyes for any of that.

Instead, all she cared to see was Daisy standing before her. Daisy, who was safe, whom she loved and trusted absolutely. Who was beautiful and smiling at her with all the warmth a person could exude. With not a shred of doubt or hesitation. So Sansa's hands were steady, a certainty and braveness filling her as she pulled her cloak off of her own shoulders.

Stepping forward she wrapped her cloak over Daisy's. Sansa's knuckles dragged against her. She straightened the fabric before pressing the flats of her hands to the front of Daisy. The feel of the fabric of her cloak over Daisy's shoulders filled Sansa with a deep satisfaction at the rightness of it.

Daisy reached into her vest and pulled out two silver rings. She pressed one into the palm of Sansa's right hand. With careful, warm hands, Daisy took Sansa's left hand in hers and slid the ring onto Sansa's finger.

The weight of what this meant to Daisy was clear. Sansa looked down at the band as it was slid into place. It was a silver band, but looking upon it was clearly an eagle, its wings were the sides of the band wrapping around to meet, completing the band. It was beautiful. Breath caught in the back of her throat, she opened her right hand, looking at the band that lay there. It matched, though rather than an eagle it was a wolf. The band was the wolf, its nose met its tail completing the full circle. The detail on both bands was such that it was impossible to have been made by any human hand.

Sansa understood what Daisy wanted, and she was deeply touched by the gesture. She took the silver ring of a wolf and slid it upon the same finger Daisy had placed the eagle ring now upon her own hand.

She laughed as Daisy kissed her. It was silly and wonderful, both of them smiling too much for it to be more than a pressing of lips. Sansa pulled back, gently pulling Daisy to kneel before the heart tree. She could see the fondness but all the exasperation at the idea of kneeling to anything on Daisy's face. But she kneeled all the same. For her.

Sansa didn't know what she prayed, only that she was filled with it. She hadn't prayed in years, since that first year in King's Landing. But in this moment she allowed herself something like prayer. For she knew they were real. And for all she did not trust the old gods to act in the interests of man or to intervene for anything save themselves, she could never express the gratitude she felt that they had brought Daisy to the North, to her. So she knelt, and perhaps she prayed.

The moment was that, a moment, and then it was passed, done. Sansa rose to her feet, and then couldn't help laughing once more as Daisy caught her around her hips, spinning her in a circle.

Sansa threw her arms around Daisy's shoulders, sharing in the joy spilling out between them. It was done. They were one. For now and always. She breathlessly kissed Daisy, because she could. Who was her wife. "Daisy Stark." She couldn't help how it thrilled her to say those two words.

"Huh." Daisy's head cocked to the side. "I like it, wife." She was smiling, and well. How could Sansa resist kissing her once more? Her fingers were buried into the Stark cloak over the shoulders of her wife who now bore the name. If she was permitted a perfect moment, she was grateful for it with every fiber of her being. Now and always.

/

Daisy held Sansa's hand, their fingers entwined, even as the door closed behind them, her whole being buzzing with giddy happiness. She laughed, her back pressed against the door, Sansa beside her, back to the door as well. "We just got married."

"We did." Sansa's voice was as full of joyous disbelief as Daisy's.

She turned her head, her eyes tracing over the elegant planes of Sansa's face, how her red hair was cascading down over her shoulders, the bright blue eyes looking back at her. Daisy tightened her hold on Sansa's hand slightly. "Dance with me?"

"What?" Sansa glanced at the bedroom and its lack of open space.

Daisy pushed off the door and gently pulled Sansa with her. "Not your ridiculously complicated group dances. Or well even any of the fancy ones from my world. Like...just a cheesy slow dance."

"A what?" Sansa was genuinely baffled, though she followed along willingly, amusement plain to be seen. "What does dancing have to do with cheese? You do know half the time I just pretend to understand what you're saying?"

Her face felt like it ought to hurt from how much she was smiling, as she drew Sansa into her arms. "Cheesy means unsubtle, trying too hard." She shrugged, nudging Sansa's arms into place as they faced each other. "A cheesy slow dance is just an excuse to hold the other person. I'll show you an actual dance some other time."

Sansa's voice was soft. "I'd like that."

"Yeah?" Daisy gently led them in a sway. "It's funny I was never much for like…ballroom dancing. Didn't do it. But May hated those missions so she made us all learn."

Sansa laughed. "Of course."

"Hmm…laugh it up. You'd have a heart attack if I ever took you to a club." Daisy kinda wanted to laugh at the thought. She wished it was something that could actually happen. "Music alone would be weird. But good club music you feel in your bones. No set steps like your dances here, or what we'd have expected in a ballroom, you just move with the beat."

After a quiet pause as they continued to sway together, Sansa spoke. "That sounds…confusing."

"It can be." Daisy agreed, her eyes closing. She wished she could freeze time, could just stay here, in this moment, in this place.

Sansa's fingers trailed over the shell of Daisy's ear, brushing some few strands of hair behind her ear. "Well, if you agree it's confusing."

"I do." Daisy tipped her chin up and brushed her lips against Sansa's briefly.

With a sigh, Sansa leaned her forehead against hers. "You make it sound more confusing on purpose."

"Have to keep things mysterious don't I?" Daisy's mouth twitched.

Sansa's hand squeezed at her shoulder gently. "Oh yes, just being a god isn't enough."

Pulling back slightly, Daisy held Sansa's gaze. "You know that for everything I'm not…I'm not…"

"I know who you are." It felt as if she was looking through her. "You are the kindest, most genuinely, inspiringly good person I have ever met." Sansa pressed the palm of her hand over Daisy's heart. Her voice was thick. "You are mine, and I am yours. The rest doesn't matter."

Daisy stilled. It was…so stupid. She knew the faith and trust Sansa had in her was breathtaking. Knew that was what should be moving her. And it was, but what made her soul tremble were the words 'you are mine'. That Sansa, the woman that she loved, wanted her back. Not just wanted but claimed her.

Wife. Sansa Stark had married her. She was her wife. That…it meant forever. A thing Daisy hadn't thought she'd ever have. Would never have dared hope for it because losing it would be so incredibly painful. And she didn't but…even if they didn't have forever, they both wanted. They both chose each other.

She stepped into Sansa kissing her without thought or hesitation. It was as easy as breathing to lift Sansa and carry her in two steps to the bed before setting her on the mattress and pressing both of them down onto the soft fabric. She kissed down Sansa's neck.

Daisy was unhurried as she near lazily trailed her lips across Sansa's available skin. She gave a faint sound of frustration, as Sansa flipped her, Daisy's back hitting the mattress with a thump. She laughed looking up at Sansa's slightly frustrated expression.

"You're taking too long, wife." Sansa's eyes were smiling as she looked down at her.

Daisy settled against the mattress. "Am I?" Her fingers gave a slight tug at the fabric of Sansa's gown. "I don't know, you're kinda wearing a lot of layers, wife."

Sansa rolled her eyes, the affection not dimming in the slightest. She touched the clasp of the Stark cloak still wrapped around Daisy's shoulders. "At your rate that wasn't going to change."

"Feeling like changing that?" Daisy couldn't help the challenging grin.

/

Sansa stared up at the crooked canopy above her bed. The morning light illuminated the room. Running her fingers through Daisy's hair, gently scratching at her wife's scalp. She looked down at where Daisy's eyes were closed, her head resting on Sansa's chest. Their time alone was coming ever closer to an end. The day would be like any other. Except…it felt different. "I owe Robb an apology."

"Why?" Daisy's voice was faintly rough. And though her eyes remained closed where her hand lay on her hip, her thumb began to rub softly in comfort.

She continued the gentle movement of her fingers along Daisy's scalp. "I've made the same choice he did." Sansa wondered at the difference between her and Robb as rulers. She let the thought fade. "Do I want to know why we've been undisturbed this morning?"

Daisy's lips twitched. "I just made the door vibrate slightly when Sera got here. She had your bath brought to your solar."

"Thank you." Sansa was…she wasn't ready for the outside world, her court, to reassert itself.

Daisy's eyes opened, the languid way she shifted sending a flicker of heat through Sansa. "Really? Not dying to go deal with your small council?"

Which, honestly. "You never stop do you?"

"Nope." Daisy pressed a light kiss to Sansa's sternum before rolling to her side. She looked distinctly amused as she gave a pointed look towards the headboard. "So, we broke the bed."

Oh gods…that was going to make the gossip rounds by midday. "Cracked. And you cracked it."

"Yeah I think cracked doesn't quite cover it." Daisy looked so smug. "And I def can't take total credit for that."

Sansa felt a pleased flush at that. It was, well she had gotten Daisy's control to slip. She was having a hard time feeling anything but pleased. There wasn't a good reply to that, so she didn't bother, instead kissing Daisy. With a sigh, she finally pulled back. "I wish we did not have to leave."

"So do I." Daisy's hand cupped Sansa's cheek. She didn't say what they both knew. They had to, the outside world would not wait.

Her eyes closed as she accepted the comfort offered. But she had her duty, as did Daisy. And today that duty would allow them to return to each other, even if a day was coming when it inevitably would not. Opening her eyes she straightened and gently began to slip out of the bed. "Come on then, we have a day to prepare for."