Author's Notes: Hello everyone. Sorry that it has been awhile since I last updated. I hope you enjoy. As always, Martin and HBO own everything.
Nearly every night Sansa flew. She was not sure what it all was. She knew that the owl was real and it was more than just a dream but she did not know quite what was going on. She just knew that she loved it. She loved the feeling of weightlessness, of diving and soaring, all of it. She found herself during the day feeling heavy and trapped and longing for night to come so she could shed her skin, if only in her mind and fly free of the city she had come to hate.
For a time she was content to just fly, allowing the bird to do as it would. After a week of the dreams, or whatever they were, she tried something different. As the bird flew toward the left she tried to turn toward the right. Immediately she felt the bird resist her. She had not been expecting this and the bird held her off.
The next night she was ready to be resisted when she tried again. This time when the bird pushed at her she pushed back. The struggle was brief, she was determined and the bird proved to be no match for her. Once she was in control she found she could fly just as easily as the bird did. If anything she enjoyed this even more. She zipped between towers, dove at people and startled horses. On nights when she felt particularly depressed she would just fly away from the city as she could before she would awaken.
Once she mastered control she began to experiment with other aspects of it. First she tried leaving the bird when she wanted to, not just when she awoke. She was hampered by the fact that she had no idea how she got into the creature in the first place. After number of tries she found she could do so if she thought of it as if she were taking off a dress, just sliding out of the bird's body.
Shortly after she started doing it something unforeseen occurred. She was flying over one of the fields surrounding the city when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning to look at it she saw a stone flying toward her. Before she could turn the stone struck her; pain shot through her and she jolted awake with a cry of pain. Even awake she felt pain and somehow knew the owl was dead. Her cry had awoken Tyrion but she managed to convince him she had only been having a nightmare.
The next night she did not fly. For a time she was so shaken that she did nothing with her strange ability. As time went on, however, her desire to escape, if only briefly, from the city and her life led her to try again. She waited till Tyrion was asleep and then went to the window and waited.
Eventually a bird flew by. Watching the bird she focused on it and willed her mind to slide into the bird's body. As before there was resistance but she overcame it and once again she flew.
Her joy at her discoveries were soured when one day she realized that she had not given any thought to revenge, or even her family, for some time. All her thoughts had been on flight and the joy and feeling of freedom it gave her. Instantly she was filled with grief and a wave of self-loathing. It had been just this attitude of selfish indulgence that had led her family to disaster in the first place.
She resolved to refocus herself on her plans for revenge. Just as she decided on this the door to their rooms opened. In walked her husband. He had gone earlier to attend a meeting of the Small Council and he was back far earlier than he usually was. He seemed nervous and angry, though she did not think he was angry at her.
He did not say anything to her; he just went to the table and poured himself a generous glass of wine. To her surprise after he had downed it and poured himself a second, equally large glass, he poured wine into a second glass and offered it to her. "You'll want this." He said simply.
"My lord?" She asked, keeping her voice as neutral as she always did.
"I have just come from the Small Council and I have news that will affect you as well. You might want to sit down as well."
Sansa took the glass and sat; now feeling uneasy. Her family was dead, what else could be so terrible that Tyrion would act so towards her?
Her husband half emptied his glass, took a deep breath, and continued. "As you may, or may not know Walder Frey." Sansa felt herself shudder at the mere mansion of that hated name. "Walder Frey," Tyrion began again; "Was promised the lordship of the River Lands in place of the Tullys among other things in exchange for his…turning his coat." He finished lamely.
A nice way of saying for murdering my family! Sansa thought bitterly, her body now shaking with rage and renewed grief.
"Well," Tyrion said, apparently coming to what he had to say and wishing he wasn't. "It has been decided that to show the Crown's appreciation for his efforts on its behalf; the document granting him the title should be delivered to him by a member of the Small Council. Father, in his infinite wisdom, requested that I take the duty upon myself." Tyrion said this last part with a snort and roll of his eyes. "As if the old tyrant has ever requested anything from anybody in his entire life.
"Well, as you can doubtless guess, I am off to the Twins and His Grace…" he paused and then gathered himself; "Has commanded that you shall accompany me to the Twins."
Sansa felt her body go cold and her stomach plummet. Go to the Twins! The place of her family's murder! Be surrounded by their killers and be expected to smile and flatter them?! The mere thought of it was overwhelming. Her glass slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor.
Tyrion looked at her with pity. "I don't like it any more than you do. But neither of us have a choice in the matter. I shall shield you as best I may. I don't doubt that you are in for an unpleasant time; but you are a Lannister now and they would not dare harm or insult you in my presence. So stay close to me and we'll stay no more than we have too."
She simply nodded and he soon left to begin to make arrangements. She did not know how long she sat there, her mind refused to focus. She couldn't do it! She could not go there! Just thinking about it was enough to make her want to cry.
Just then Shae came and announced she had a visitor. She was just about to tell Shae to tell whoever it was she was unwell and couldn't see anyone when Lord Varys entered the room.
He gave an elaborate bow. "Please forgive this rude interruption, it is completely inexcusable." Without waiting to be invited to do so he sat down in a chair. Seeing that she could not get rid of him Sanas sighed and sent Shae to fetch some light refreshments.
"Please allow me to offer my condolences on your recent lose."
The words, so soon after her husband's news, caused a fresh flash of pain. Never the less, she managed to get out the reply she had used so many times before. "My brother and mother were traitors and died traitors' deaths."
Varys nodded his head. "Yes, but still, familial affection is not so easily cast aside. And now you have to travel to the place of their deaths that must indeed be difficult."
Sansa felt her stomach clench at the mention of her impending journey. She wished Varys would go away but he continued. "I hear that of late you have seemed distant and have had some difficulty sleeping. This will doubtless not be helped by your journey. So, before you go, I thought you might need this." He brought from his sleeve a glass phial.
"What is it?" Sansa asked.
"Essence of nightshade my lady; three drops of this will send you into a deep sleep. Be careful though, ten drops will put you to sleep forever."
Sansa stared at the bottle possibilities starting to swirl in her mind. Forcing herself to remain calm she to the phial. "I thank you, how many drops does this have?"
"Thirty my lady; hopefully by the time you run out you will no longer need it. If you do you can always get more at the Twins, again I must warn you to be careful, three drops, no more."
Sansa put it away, again thanking him and suppressing the urge to smile.
Author's Notes: Hello everyone. For a while I was thinking how I was going to do this, I did not want to spoil things for the none-readers seeing this so I decided to have her do something else, I hope you'll like it. Not sure about all the aspects of warging so let me know if I got it wrong. Yes. I know she figured it out fast but unlike Martin I don't have nearly two decades to write this. Please keep praying for Shawn, persecuted Christians, Saeed Abedini and everyone else who needs it. Bye for now and may Jesus bless you all.