Olenna
Fear was a feeling Olenna had not felt in a very long time; not that she would ever admit it to anyone. Where there was once darkness that covered her sight, there was now light once again along with the yells of fear from Tommen calling out for his mother. She glanced at the boy who was being held by pale hands from behind – both living boy and the now dead queen laying on their side on the bed. She then heard groans all around her, and she turned her head towards those Tyrell soldiers laying on the floor; none were dead… none had pools of blood beneath them unlike the poor saps in the hallway outside.
Olenna turned and stared at the figure of Sansa just standing still out in the hallway her feet standing in one of the many pools of blood. Sansa was staring back at her and a chill went up and down her spine. The Queen of Thorns agreed to the red-haired girl's demands before the latter rushed off down the hallway. Olenna stepped out into the hallway once again and her eyes scoured the bodies on the floor before she turned around to the sight of Tyrion trying to coax Tommen out of the grasp of his mother's dead body. Walking back into the room with small strides, Olenna then looked at the now dead King Joffrey; and a part of her was glad he was dead. From what she was told, especially by Sansa before… before she became this thing… this monster, that Joffrey was evil. Her own spies in the Keep revealed Joffrey's true nature, but she wanted Margaery to be the Queen. Margaery herself wanted to be the Queen.
But now… now Olenna felt a hand gripping her heart as she imagined Margaery on the Iron Throne. Would Sansa… who Olenna now deemed a monster… keep her end of the bargain? Would she remain in the Red Keep? Would she go North? Would the Tyrells be safe in Kings Landing if Sansa remained? There was no answer to any of these questions. All she did know now was that Sansa was a danger to everyone in the Keep.
"My Lady," Olenna pushed aside her thoughts and looked down at Tyrion who was holding onto the hand of his nephew; both of whom were now walking towards her. She could see Tommen grasping onto Tyrion's hands while sniffing as tears ran down his cheeks. "I… I will not risk Tommen's life by staying in Kings Landing and…" Tyrion walked past her. She turned as well before walking side by side into the hallway. It was here that Tyrion stopped suddenly, as did Tommen. The dwarf told Tommen to look away – but the boy stared into the hallway with horror on his face – before Tyrion gasped at the sight of dead bodies in the hallway.
Olenna could see him grasping tighter onto Tommen's hand while he whispered in a shaking voice, "Pod… Bronn…" Tyrion then shook his head before the three of them turned towards the guards, led by Ser Loras Tyrell, rushing towards them.
"Grandmother!"
"Loras," Olenna could feel her own voice shaking as she spoke, "how about Margaery? Is she in her chambers? Is she safe?"
"Yes," the still-to-be ordained Kingsguard replied once he was by Olenna's side, "she is in her chambers with guards posted at her doors."
'Good. That is good news,' Olenna thought.
There was only one creature like Sansa in the Red Keep, or at least that is what it seemed. 'What if there are more we do not know about?' Olenna thought. A part of her was wondering if she should gather all the Tyrell forces in the Keep, together with Tywin and the Lannister forces, before hunting down Sansa and any creatures like her who remained in the Keep. Yes, House Stark and House Tyrell do not have any issues, but the Tyrells now have an issue with Sansa. She was a threat to House Tyrell if they still wanted to join with the Lannisters and take the Iron Throne; and Tyrell blood on the Iron Throne was something Olenna wanted. She wanted to be the power behind the Throne; after all, she raised the girl who would be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. The Tyrells could take the Kingdom with Margaery and Tommen united in marriage – at least a betrothal - and join the forces of all Kingdoms as one and hunt down Sansa before she reached the North.
"The King is dead…" Olenna pointed to the bodies in the room before Ser Loras could finish his sentence. She watched the horror on her grandson's face before turning her head towards Tyrion who was holding onto the still crying Tommen.
She glanced at the dead in the hallway while she heard Loras helping one of the injured Tyrell guard in the room to his feet. Lenna then turned her attention back to Tyrion and said, "how did this happen to the Stark girl? And is she alone? Does she have more Northerners like her around the Keep?"
"She died, my Lady," Tyrion said to the Surprise of the Queen of Thorns, "by all accounts, including that of my father and the Maester. Sansa Stark died last night. Her body was taken to be cleaned and then boiled so that her bones could be returned to Robb Stark." Olenna watched Tyrion give off a shuddering breath before he spoke, "when I went to pay my respects; Bronn, Podrick, and I discovered her body missing and the two Silent Sisters, as well as the Kingsguard guarding the door, dead."
"Why were we not informed of her death," Olenna asked, "we…"
"Doesn't matter now," Tyrion interjected, "I believed Northerners somehow broke in and stole her body through the secret passageways… but now… now we have discovered it was Sansa… something happened… something happened to her."
Tyrion looked back at her with wariness on his face, "somehow she was brought back to life with… with horrific results."
Olenna recalled watching Sansa piercing Joffrey's neck with her sharp fangs. She remembered the disgusting slurping sounds when Sansa was sucking the blood flowing into her mouth. Olenna could still recall Sansa's red eyes staring at her as she drank Joffrey's blood; as if the redhaired girl was silently saying "I can drink Margaery's blood just as I am drinking Joffrey's."
The thought of Margaery being attacked was difficult to imagine. And Olenna was still struggling to believe Sansa, a girl she thought of as weak willed as a mouse, being capable of such horror. And yet, with her own eyes, Olenna had seen Sansa kill Joffrey. And while she had not seen Sansa kill Cersei with her own eyes, there was no evidence that she did not carry out the deed.
"I will inform father of what has happened," Tyrion said as he looked up at Olenna, "I could use someone who will provide an eyewitness testimony of what has happened."
"You are afraid your father will disown you after disbelieving you?" Olenna asked.
"I am afraid he will kill me for lying about the death of his daughter and King," Tyrion corrected her. Olenna then watched him turn towards Tommen, and then back to her before he said, "Lady Olenna, my father will want to have all guards – Lannister and Tyrell – search for Lady Sansa. I would suggest having both Prince Tommen and Lady Margaery be spirited away to outside the city walls under light guard while our combined guardsmen search high and low for Sansa."
"You will break your word to her?"
"I believe now, after what has just happened, that there is no Northern infiltration into the Red Keep," Tyrion said, "somehow Sansa is alive… with strange abilities. However, she is still only one girl against two entire groups of House guards. After she is captured and… well, I am certain my father will have her executed… our Houses will be joined with Tommen as King and Margaery as Queen."
'Yes,' Olenna thought to herself, 'Tyrell blood on the Iron Throne.' She then glanced at the now quiet but still tearful Tommen and thought, 'Prince Tommen would be an easier person to control than Joffrey. And with Cersei out of the way, the Tyrells will have our vines into the Prince soon enough. And after Sansa is taken out of the picture, I will personally see to her bones being released and sent to the North. After all, she did House Tyrell a favour by getting rid of Joffrey and Cersei.'
However, there was a part of Olenna that was still worried. But the feeling of unease was quickly pushed away. There were nearly two hundred and fifty Tyrell guards and Knights in the Red Keep along with a contingent of various staff in different positions to cater to their every need. The Tyrell guards and Knight, in combination with the Lannister guards and the City-Watch, would be able to find and put down Sansa. It would be a total of at least six hundred fighting men chasing after one Northern girl. They would find her and eliminate her. They had to.
Or else.
Sansa
As she walked down an adjoining hallway, Sansa could still hear Olenna and Tyrion talking about their plans to send Tommen and Margaery away. Sansa came to a stop upon hearing the two of them speak about betraying her. Her lips were pressed together as anger swelled in her chest. She gave them a chance to leave without much more bloodshed… she showed them what she could do. And yet… and yet they wanted to play their games.
'Foolish girl,' Sansa thought to herself. She was still foolish. Still that little girl who believed in stories. Sansa closed her eyes and thought, 'I have killed… I feel horrible but I still want to kill. I want to kill the Lannisters… all of them.' She stared at her bloody hands and thought, 'and now I have to grow up… I have to be…' Sansa opened her eyes and knew her old life was gone. She would have to get used to being this… this creature who drank blood and was as strong as a hundred men.
'My life is now different. I cannot be that little girl for much longer.'
Sansa sighed before turning around and faced the bloody footprints… her footprints… on the floor which branched away from the bloodied hallway. She was still surprised about the need for not taking a breath.
Shaking her head, she recalled her father saying that Kings Landing was full of snakes and people with dishonour. And from everything she had experienced so far, he was correct. Sansa had experienced cruelty from one who she had admitted was handsome, she experienced ugliness from the Queen who was considered the most beautiful in all of Westeros, she experienced betrayal from those who she thought would look after her interest such as Baelish who claimed to be a good friend of her mother. She had already told Tyrion to take the Lannisters and leave… she had told Olenna that her soldiers were not to come after her or else she would pay a visit to Highgarden.
And they agreed to her demands.
Yet, they still plotted and schemed behind her back. They were willing to betray her so that Tommen and Margaery could take the throne. 'This is Kings Landing… the true Kings Landing… is it not, Father?' Sansa thought to herself as she walked towards the bloodied hallway where the voices of more Tyrell guards could be heard. Sansa wished her father was with her. She once again wished that she had never gone to the Queen after Ned told her and Arya that they were returning to the North.
Sansa stepped into the hallway and continued walking as she passed by one dead body after another. These were the guards and Kingsguard she had earlier killed. She continued towards the guards who were at the door where Olenna, Tyrion, and Tommen were located; she could smell them – they were surrounded by the guards. Sansa stopped when one of the guards seemed to have noticed her out of the corner of his eyes and then turned. As he turned, he pulled his sword out of its sheath and yelling out, "Stop! Stay where you are! Who goes there?" At the sound of his voice the other guards turned towards her as well and moved along the hallway while unsheathing their swords before stopping a few steps away from the edge of their blades being able to reach her chest.
A smile formed on Sansa's face upon seeing Ser Loras rush out of the room along with more Tyrell guards. "Ser Loras," she said as her fangs remained retracted from the moment she stopped sucking Cersei's blood, "how are you?" It was a ridiculous question to ask while Ser Loras just stared at her in confusion with his eyebrows furrowed, "you probably do not recognize me with all this blood all over my torn dress…"
"Lady Sansa?" Ser Loras said in shock as his eyes seemed to look her up and down while rustling could be heard behind the group of guards along with Tyrion and Olenna's voices.
"What is happen…" It was Olenna who stopped speaking just as she strode through the guards before stopping next to Ser Loras in shock with Tyrion stopping next to the old lady. "What are you doing back, girl?" Olenna said as Sansa tilted her head at the old woman while Ser Loras demanded to know why the redhead was covered in blood. "We already swore that my Tyrell guards will not harm you, especially after you killed the King and the Queen."
Sansa eyed Ser Loras and the look of confusion as he turned his head towards Olenna and then to Sansa, and back to Olenna again. She could hear whispers and chuckles from the other guards while Ser Loras asked his grandmother what she meant… especially since Sansa was still a child and just a girl. So, to stop all questions so that she could get to Lord Tywin quickly, Sansa answered in the affirmative.
"Yes, I killed the King and Queen," Sansa said to louder whispers from the Guards and Ser Loras snapping his head back in her direction after seeking an explanation from Olenna. Sansa then continued speaking as she swept her arms all around the hallway while saying, "I killed all of these… these people as well." Before Ser Loras and the other guards could say anything, Sansa turned her attention to Olenna and Tyrion.
"There have been more changes to my body than just…." Sansa opened her mouth and extended her fangs, much to the shock of the guards, Ser Loras, and both Tyrion and Olenna. "… these fangs and my awakened vision." Sansa growled at them before saying, "my sense of smell and hearing…" Sansa felt a rush of enjoyment at the realization growing on both Olenna and Tyrion's faces before continuing, "… have also been improved. I can hear your blood rushing through your body, Lady Olenna. Yours as well, Lord Tyrion" She then looked at Ser Loras, "yours as well, Ser Loras. I can hear the beating hearts of you and yours."
Sansa could sense the growing unease around her as she turned her eyes towards Olenna, and then at Tyrion staring at her with eyes wide open in shock. And then she turned her head towards the still frightened Tommen. She turned her attention back to Olenna and said, "I suppose I have to leave you, Lord Tyrion, and Tommen with a more prominent warning."
"Loras!" Olenna yelled out in terror as the aforementioned Knight hurriedly raised his sword – while yelling at the other guards to attack - just as Sansa growled and rushed towards them with hunger raging from within her. She revelled in the sound of all their hearts racing in her ears.
The Raven
While cultivating Bran Stark as his successor, the Three-Eyed-Raven watched – using his greensight - as Sansa Stark had thrown aside one Tyrell Guard after another. It was as if they were nothing to her smaller frame. The South was far away from the weirwoods of the North, and so he could only barely see events as they were happening. He knew that Bran's natural greenseer abilities would surpass his own once his training had begun. And the time for Bran's training was coming soon in preparation for the events in the future. The Raven had seen the Night King and his legion of dead on their way towards his cave – he was deeply aware they were coming to kill him, and then they would move towards the Wall.
Bloodraven watched on as Tyrion, Olenna, and Tommen stood in horror with all the unconscious guards lying still on the floor around them. He knew that Sansa had not killed them… that she was showing them mercy for the second time.
'Foolish child,' he thought as he watched Sansa stand over Tyrion, Olenna and Tommen, who were still conscious. She told them she would be showing them mercy despite being betrayed, but if they betrayed her again… then she would kill them all. Bloodraven continued his thought, 'I would have killed them if I had your abilities.'
As Sansa walked away from Tyrion, Tommen and Olenna, Bloodraven knew her next destination. Bloodraven looked back in time to the stranger calling himself Vlad Dracul Tepes who had flown into Sansa's room at the Red Keep. There were many things that did not surprise one such as Bloodraven who had already lived so many lifetimes, but seeing a bat fly through an open balcony and into the room before transforming into a man surprised him. The man seemed out of place… of not just Westeros but… he felt different – from his clothing to his demeanour to the strange object on his wrist.
Bloodraven watched the man stop a step before reaching the edge of the four-post bed. The man… the strange man… then turned his head towards Bloodraven's direction. It was as if those red eyes were looking back at him. Something that should not be possible. Bloodraven looked back in time from the moment the man sunk his teeth into the side of Sansa's neck to the moment the first Child of the Forest crawled out of the swamps. No creature similar to Sansa or Dracul existed… there was none. He listened to stories long ago on the land known as Sothoyos; of men and women who would drink blood. Bloodraven looked back in Sothoroyos' past and discovered those tales were just stories of sailors who travelled there and had seen bats sucking the blood of other animals. The raven looked throughout history but he could not find an instance of the creature Sansa had become.
'She is truly unique,' the Raven thought.
And then there was something else. Sansa had died, and now she was walking and talking and running, and killing; was she dead or was she now truly alive once more. What was she? And could she be controlled by the Night King? Could she be a key component in the upcoming war for the dawn? Or would she be the downfall of the living world? The Raven could only see fragments of the future… different events occurring at the same time as time branched out in different directions.
There were branches of the future where Sansa was seduced by the Night King, there were other times where she would go out of control and raise her own army to conquer the Living, there were divergent futures where she would kill the Night King. And there were so many other futures that were good and bad. The Raven truly didn't know Sansa's place in the war to come… all he could do was hope that Sansa was allied with the Living when the time came to choose sides.
Sansa, some time later.
Sansa was happy as she stood at one end of the long table where the remaining members of the Small Council was seated. She stared at the terrified faces of Varys, Baelish, and Pycelle while her hand gripped onto the crushed neck of Tywin Lannister. Her path to the Tower of the Hand was bloody as she cut through a swath of Lannister redcloaks – many of whom fell to her powers of suggestion that they were each other's enemies. Where she had not killed with her own hands and fangs, Sansa walked past them since they were fighting amongst themselves until they killed each other.
After finding out the Hand had smuggled some members of the Small Council into the Tower of the Hand for an emergency session, Sansa killed the Redcloak who gave her the information. With each death, Sansa felt a sensation of being lifted into the air. It was a strange feeling especially since she was being injured as well – the injuries healing just as quickly as they appeared. Sansa could see the deaths of the Stark household while she killed each of the Redcloaks. They killed her Septa, the Household guards, servants who accompanied them to Kings Landing, Jayne, maybe even Arya - and the Lannisters deserved everything that was coming to them. She could only hope that Jayne and Arya… if they had indeed been killed in the chaos… did not die in pain.
And upon finding the door to the Small Council chamber, with bloodied bodies behind her on the stairs, Sansa rushed at the door and pushed it open only to be stabbed by several swords just as she stepped into the room. Sansa's eyes were on the stunned Baelish, Varys, and Pycelle before her eyes turned towards the stoic look on Lord Tywin's face. The latter's face turned to one of stunned silence upon Sansa still standing even after the Lannister guards - who stabbed her - pulled out their blood covered swords from her body.
She was not going to speak as she killed the guards who stabbed her. She was not going to crow at Tywin about how his family – except for Tyrion and Tommen – in Kings Landing were dead. Tywin was a dangerous man; there was no doubt. If he lived, he would retaliate against House Stark… or at least he would try to do something cruel. So no, he could not live. House Lannister had to be taught a lesson. Sansa held up Ice with one hand, its sheathed blade pointed at Tywin. She wanted to silently tell him that the guards in the room were killed while she was holding onto a Greatsword… the very same Greatsword that belonged to House Stark. One that Tywin wanted to steal as a spoil of war.
'How dare you,' Sansa glared at Tywin as she leaned the sword against the wall while continuing to think, 'you prodded at the direwolf.' Sansa's eyes focused on Tywin just as she took several steps forward and - just before Tywin could step aside or make a move of any sort – leapt forward over the end-chair and the length of the table. To everyone else, Sansa was moving at an inhuman speed – a blur of red – as she leapt over the length of the table. She reached the other end of the table and grabbed onto Tywin's neck before he could do a single thing; the both of them then stumbled onto the floor with Sansa on top of him.
Sansa could hear gasps and yells from the three men just before she twisted her wrist and broke Tywin's neck. There was a sickening crack before Sansa stood up while grasping the dead man by the neck in a vice-like grip. She then turned towards the still-stunned Varys, Baelish, and Pycelle before throwing Twin's dead body to one side.
"Lady… Lady Sansa?" Varys said, his voice trembling while she heard his heart race. In fact, all of their hearts were racing.
"My… my Lady…" Pycelle simpered as he took a step back; his eyes on her before they shifted towards the dead Tywin and then back to her once again.
Sansa's eyes turned towards Baelish while Varys whispered, "you are dead, my Lady. I saw your body." Pycelle nodded his head as Sansa turned her head towards the two of them. She made sure to extend her fangs in front of them; and she enjoyed the fear coming off Baelish. She could see the shock and fear etched on the faces of all three men of course, but she enjoyed the look of fear on Baelish. She rushed at Baelish with a terrible roar – the man tried to run in any direction but Sansa was faster. She reached him, and then slapped him hard across his cheek. The impact caused him to yell out in pain as he stumbled sideways towards the table. Sansa grabbed him by the back of his high collar and threw him over the breadth of the table. He fell on one of the chairs while yelping in pain before falling onto the floor.
"Maester Pycelle," Sansa said before turning and staring at the trembling man who suddenly turned and was about to run for the door. Sansa rushed at him before he could take three steps and grabbed him by the collar. She raised him off the floor before throwing him towards the table. All of them watched as he fell onto the table top with a thud and then skidded toward the edge where Tywin was standing not too long ago. And then he reached the edge of the table and fell down onto the floor with a thud. Sansa strode around the table before stepping over the trembling Pycelle, "Sorry for the interruption, Maester, you will send Ravens to all the Lords Paramount and tell them the war is over. The Lannisters…"
Sansa picked up the dazed Baelish with one hand, lifted him up by the collar while Varys and Pycelle – after the latter stood up with shaking legs… his hands gripping the edge of the table - could only look on in horror. Sansa then slammed Baelish back down; with his back on the table top. She then grabbed his neck while staring at Pycelle and continued, "Joffrey and the Queen are dead."
"No… that is not…"
"Tell the Lords Paramount that the Queen confessed to having slept with Ser Jaime."
"My… My Lady," Varys said, "how… how do you know… how do you know she was telling you the truth?"
Sansa stared at him before she looked down at Baelish and released her grip around his neck. She then stepped back while making a vocal command. "Lord Baelish, what did you tell Joffrey the night before my father was beheaded?"
As Baelish regained his balance while rubbing his neck with his right hand, he suddenly spoke with surprise showing in his eyes – just as Joffrey and Cersei had earlier. "I told King Joffrey that he would be seen as weak if he did not severely punish Lord Stark for his treason." Baelish shook his head in shock while staring at Sansa in fear. He then turned his head towards the equally stunned faces of Varys and Pycelle before turning his head back to Sansa. "How… I… I would never say…"
"Did you know Joffrey would have my father killed?"
"Yes," was the answer from the man who seemed to Sansa to be a snake. He then asked with surprise and barely concealed anger, "how are you making me answer these…."
"Why did you want my father killed?" Sansa asked as she took a step forward, the both of them just two steps away now. Sansa could see mixed emotions on his face as he answered with intense fear and anger… Sansa could hear his heart racing while anger gathered in his eyes.
"I have known your mother and your Aunt Lysa since young. I loved your mother… I was nearly killed by Brandon after I duelled him for her hand. It should have been me she married after that oaf Brandon was killed; instead, she was forced to marry your savage heathen of a father." Sansa listened as the rage in her grew at the insult to her father. "I had my chance after so long… I knew if your father was sent to the Wall… there was always the chance he would escape. So, I influenced Joffrey… told him he would be seen as weak if he let your father go. And in Caitlyn's grief, I would be the one to comfort her. I would have sworn my allegiance to her… I would have taken her as wife eventually… I would have achieved a dream: to have her by my side."
Baelish was panting and sweating by the time he had finished speaking. There was a mad look in his eyes as he stared at her before he looked over at Varys and then at Pycelle, and then back at Sansa.
"Do you really think my mother would want you by her side?" Sansa growled out as she took another step, "you had my father killed… what else have you done?" And upon Sansa's command, Baelish admitted everything… every shocking detail from convincing Lysa to kill Jon Arryn using the Tears of Lys, to having Lysa send the letter addressed to Caitlyn and Ned to initiate the conflict between the Lannisters and the Starks, to having a catspaw sent to Winterfell from the Riverlands when his spies reported Bran's fall to him, to all the cuts in profits he took from loans to the Crown, to the plans he had to assassinate anyone who would interfere in his ultimate goal – sitting on the Iron Throne with Caitlyn by his side.
Sansa had heard enough. She reached out while rushing forward and grabbed his neck before twisting her wrist. She heard the sickening snap of Baelish's neck before releasing it. She watched his body fall back onto the table top as she lifted her head and stared at Varys and Pycelle who were just about to rush towards the door.
"Maester Pycelle," Sansa said before Pycelle turned back towards her with his body trembling. The sound of Baelish' limp body falling onto the floor could be heard as she walked around the table. She then called out to Varys as well before directing her question to Pycelle, "Maester, who are you loyal to?"
She watched the Maester gulp as he stared back at her in fear before opening his mouth to say, "the Lannisters, and then to the Citadel."
She chuckled before saying, "and do you doubt my abilities in having others speak the truth?"
"This is witchcraft, my Lady," the Maester said as he rubbed his throat, "you will not get away with this. The other Houses will…"
"Lord Varys," Sansa shifted her eyes towards the bald man. She could smell the stench of sweat just beneath the scent of the lilac and lavender perfume coming off him. "Who are you loyal to?"
"The realm, my Lady," Varys said with a look of unease on his face, "I was once loyal to my Blackfyre sister." At that admission, Sansa was surprised, as was Pycelle. From what she had known of Westerosi history, the Blackfryres were supposed to have been wiped out during the last Blackfyre rebellion. Instead of interrupting Varys, just as Pycelle had called him a traitor and dragon-spawn, the bald Master of Whispers continued, "my sister died giving birth, and I have received notice some time ago of my nephew's death by way of a sickness in Pentos. I am now doing what I can to bring a Targaryen back onto the Iron Throne."
"Traitor!" Pycelle yelled again while Varys stared at Sansa in shock. And Sansa was in shock as well at Varys' admission.
Sansa wanted to pry further. 'What is your true name?' Sansa wanted to ask. But there was a loud part of herself whispering in her ears that they needed to make for the North quickly. That Robb and her mother were in danger.
"I have already explained my issues regarding the Lannisters and their rights to the Throne to Lord Tyrion," Sansa said after gathering herself as she stared at Varys while Pycelle ran towards the door. Sansa ordered him to stop, and Pycelle stopped immediately at the doorway. Sansa refocused her attention to Varys, one of the very few who was neither kind nor did he bully her nor make her life hell in this shithole of a city. "Tyrion will explain, as will Lady Olenna. They will not take the throne… and they know the consequences if they try."
"What is it you desire, Lady Sansa," Varys asked.
"I don't care if the other Houses desire the throne," Sansa said, "tell whoever sits on that chair of swords that they will not retaliate against the North or my family. If they do… then I will come for them. If they still do not believe me, show them the bodies of Lannisters I have left on the bloody floors throughout the Keep." Sansa then glanced at Baelish's dead body; the man who started this war because he wanted the hand of her mother. In a way, she pitied him… and a part of her, deep down, thought there was a hint of romance in starting a war for a beloved. But Sansa could tell it was the childish part of her having that thought. 'Like one of the stories of old,' Sansa thought to herself before focusing on Varys.
"This was a meeting of the Small Council?" Sansa asked before Varys nodded his head. "And Lord Mace Tyrell, where is he?"
"He was not invited by Lord Tywin," Varys shrugged as he looked over at the dead Tywin Lannister before turning his head towards Sansa, "he wanted the thoughts of myself, Baelish, and Pycelle on the events occurring in the Keep and Maegor's holdsfast." Sansa nodded her head when Varys said he was forced to come to the Tower of the Hand alongside Baelish and Pycelle. "What are you, Lady Sansa?"
"I honestly do not know," was her reply before she walked past Varys and grabbed Ice, which was leaned against a nearby wall. "I am leaving for the North; that is the only certainty I have for now." She walked towards Pycelle standing deathly still at the entryway. Pycelle had fear etched on his face after Sansa's earlier vocal command for him to stop. Sansa turned and asked Varys, "are you able to send ravens carrying the instructions I gave Maester Pycelle, Lord Varys?"
"Yes," Varys answered.
Sansa didn't trust Pycelle one bit. She turned toward the terrified Maester before she grabbed his throat and twisted her wrist. Pycelle's neck was broken just as easily as Baelish's before Sansa walked towards the entryway while the Maester fell down to the floor.
"Oh, Lord Varys," Sansa said upon turning back towards the bald man before asking in a normal tone of voice, "Are you able to find any still alive from the Stark Household?"
"I can have my little birds spread out into the city, Lady Sansa," Varys responded, "is there anyone in particular?"
"Jayne Poole, the Steward's daughter," Sansa replied as she remembered Jayne being pulled away forcefully by guards, "and anyone else you find. Please see that they are returned to the North… to Winterfell."
Varys simply nodded his head. Sansa could still sense fear coming from him. 'Good,' Sansa thought, 'I hope his fear of me means he would find anyone from the Stark Household, especially Jayne.' There was a part of her that felt uneasy at the feeling of controlling others through fear; after all, Ned Stark didn't rule through fear. However, Sansa felt another part… a darker part of herself that enjoyed making people fear her. And she feared that part of herself.
Suddenly, Sansa turned towards Varys upon remembering what she heard in the secret passageway, "Lord Varys, I was in the secret passageway behind the walls of your chamber." She enjoyed the surprise on the bald man's face before continuing, "I heard about the message from Lord Bolton. Does he really intend to betray Robb?"
Varys stood sill for a few moments before he audibly gulped ad said, "yes, my Lady."
"Have you received anything in regards to Lord Frey's answer to Lord Tywin?"
Sansa watched as Varys shook his head from one side to the next. She wondered how Frey would respond… would he betray Robb too? And, as if reading her mind, Varys said, "there is every chance Lord Frey would betray your brother. After all, he was promised the protection of Tywin Lannister."
"Can you send a message to him that he cannot go ahead with the betrayal?" Sansa asked.
"He will not believe, my Lady," Varys said, "he is a deeply suspicious man, and would expect a sudden change in orders to be… suspicious." Sansa could hear the man's heart starting to beat harder as he spoke, "and even if I could aid you with the Freys, I will not help you… well, not unless…"
"Not unless what?" Sansa demanded as she exposed her fangs and her eyes turned red. She heard Varys' heart race harder and harder as he reached for, and then held onto the back of a chair while licking his lips, his face etched in fear.
"I… I serve the realm, my Lady," Varys said as he looked at Tywin and then at Baelish, and then back towards Sansa once again, "and you have aided the realm in more ways than I ever could."
"I killed them," Sansa said with surprise at how Varys' heart started to slow down, "I was their death… I mean I…"
"They were monsters," Varys said, "they would have endangered the realm, and you stopped them." Sansa narrowed her eyes at the man while wondering if she was doing the right thing keeping him alive. The man didn't harm her, nor did he help her when he had the chance. He was kind, but uncaring at the same time. What could she do? She continued to listen to Varys speak, "the Freys are a stain on the Riverlands and Westeros. It would do the Starks, Riverlanders, and the Realm much good if you aided Walder Frey and his sons into the afterlife. Promise to end Walder Frey, and I will send a message to Riverrun… and from Riverrun it would be sent to your brother, wherever he is at the moment."
Sansa couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had half a mind to kill Varys here and now… but he was also the one who could send a message to Robb through Riverrun. And she had no idea how to do such a thing on her own.
"You are a Stark of Winterfell," Varys said while staring at Sansa, "swear to me on your honour, on the honour of your father and mother, that you would do this one last act of violence for the good of the realm."
"And if I say yes?"
"Like I have said, I will send a message to your brother at once," Varys replied, "I will explain what has happened… but if you wish, I will not reveal how the King and the others have died."
"It would be best if I explained what has happened."
"Then we are in agreement, my Lady?" Varys said.
She would often hear about the treachery of the Freys from the nobles around the Red Keep; she heard stories of their cowardice during the rebellion. She would sometimes hear her mother complaining about them to Ned when he was alive. Where they really a stain on Westeros? But now, she would have to swear on her honour. Her father was honourable, and he died for it. Was there a need for any honour in war? Once again, a part of her couldn't think of killing Freys for the sake of killing… the Lannisters were different, they killed her family. They killed all the Household guards and even the servants and poor Septa Mordane. Lannisters deserved everything they were getting. But the Freys?
However, the darker part of her relished the bloodshed. She could feel hunger growing as the thought of Freys dying in their Great Hall send a feeling of pleasure through her body. She felt saliva dripping down the side of her mouth before she wiped it off with the back of her hand. At the same time, she retracted her fangs and her eyes turned to their natural blue.
"On my honour, I will end Walder Frey," Sansa said as Varys nodded his head.
"Very well, I will have a message sent to your brother," Varys said, "and then I will send a message to all the Lords Paramount that the war is over. I will deal with Stannis and his people. I will leave your message to whoever sits on the Throne."
Nodding her head while feeling she had done everything she had set out to do in Kings Landing, Sansa turned and said "Goodbye, Lord Varys." After Varys replied with a "Goodbye, Lady Sansa", Sansa stepped into the hallway where her bloody footprints stained the floor. She then stopped, and then said, "I do not believe I will return again."
As she walked away down the hallway, Sansa heard Varys say, "of course, my Lady."
And now, with Ice in her hand, she was going to return home. But not before getting a clean set of clothes.
TBC
