A Holiday by Decree
Note: Bonus chapter before the weekend because you guys are awesome!
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~~ Day 4 ~~
After getting back to his room, Tyrion had asked a maid to wake him later in the evening and then had fallen exhausted into bed.
Spending several hours realizing the depths of this follies yet again and subsequently forcing himself to lie to Sansa against his will, had taken every last ounce of energy out of Tyrion. He had passed out cold, but when he woke again a few hours later to pack, he felt barely any better.
After about an hour of stalling and realizing it was only getting closer to morning, Tyrion had an idea. He had no will to pack, so it was obvious that wine was in order to help allay that. Gods knew he also had to be back on good behavior when he returned to all the work that had surely been piling up for him in the capital.
He pulled the service bell cord and fell back on the bed to wait, but after a while no one came. Should I pull it again? Tyrion wondered before turning guilty. He realized that it had probably gotten quite late.
Sighing, he got up, and emptied his water carafe into a cup at the bedside, before taking the empty carafe with him to the door. I may be miserable but no point in making others miserable too. Surely I can find the wine and use this if needed, he reasoned. Quickly, he checked his attire; a loose, long-sleeved under tunic undone at the neck and his wrinkled trousers would surely be enough to visit the kitchens at such an hour, especially as he had no will to dress any further than to step into his sandals at the moment.
Tyrion flung open his door - and immediately pulled back at the sight before his eyes.
"Sansa? Is that you?" he asked, though it was obvious to him who was standing only a few paces down the hall in the space between his room and the library.
It was definitely Sansa Stark, and she was wearing an open, ankle-length robe over what looked like her long, white nightdress. A few errant tresses of her auburn hair framed her pale cheeks, while the rest was loosely braided over one shoulder. He vaguely noticed a dim light spilling from the open library door behind her, though she was clearly situated in the direction of his quarters with a candle in hand. "What are you doing here at this hour?" he asked again, noticing how she looked caught between turning to go and continuing in his direction.
"I was… in the library," she answered haltingly, though they both knew that didn't really answer Tyrion's question. A moment later, Sansa closed her eyes and shook her head minutely as if deciding something before beginning again, "Actually, I went to the library hoping that somehow it might cause me to run into you, and when that didn't happen, I thought of coming to your room to actually see whether you were awake."