A Holiday by Decree
~~ Day 1 ~~
After deciding to take Jon's advice, Sansa departed fairly directly. Jon sent word ahead by raven to have the local servants prepare there, just as he and Daenerys did when they snuck off to go there themselves.
Sansa's trip passed uneventfully. Aboard one of her bannerman's ships already charted that way, Sansa planned to read most of the way, sleep normally a fickle friend to her. To her surprise though, she found herself dozing often. At the end of the voyage, she felt better rested than she had in months or even years.
Two of Jon's royal guardsmen had accompanied Sansa south. I already have too many people following me around everywhere I go, Jon had joked.
The guards, both young and well-disciplined, mainly kept out of Sansa's way but managed her transport and that of her luggage by way of Jon and Daenerys' wheelhouse that met them at the harbor.
A balmy rain shower greeted Sansa's arrival, and she sweated easily in her lightest Northern-style dress, the only one she had used other than her bed clothes since first embarking. Even with Jon's offer to use Daenerys' available loungewear - Is Jon being dense? Can I really just wear the Queen's clothes, even with being pseudo-good sisters? she had wondered automatically - Sansa prayed that the few simple dresses and undergarments she had Jon send patterns for to the Southern Palace staff would be ready. So when her carriage reached the walled property of the holiday home in the midmorning, she asked to go directly to the ensuite bath in her private rooms.
Atop flooring of terracotta-hued baked clay tiles, a beautiful, oversized, brass tub stood in the middle of the bathroom already drawn with warm, sensually floral-scented water. The bathroom walls were coated in more of the warm-reddish clay, while large windows and doors overlooking the sea and leading out to a small balcony made the room cozy but also fresh and open feeling. A bit self-conscious to be helped out of her clothes by an unfamiliar maid, Sansa withstood it. Finally, she melted into the bathwater.
Once breakfast had started to seem like a distant memory, Sansa finally tore herself from the bath. Disappointingly, she had arrived sooner than her clothes could be made. At least the staff had procured brand new undergarments based on her measurements and a long, loose, flowing shift made of vine green-dyed cotton with a thankfully high back pulled from Daenerys' wardrobe did the trick.
Lunch was served at a long dining table made of a single slab of wood clearly cut from the heart of a giant tree. The dining area was fully open on two sides to provide shade, cool air and expansive views of both the sea below to the south and a manicured garden and rockery on the northern side. Despite the rain, the sun appeared, and the place did seem like paradise as Sansa took her lunch.
