Author's Notes: Hey everyone, glad that you liked the last chapter I hope that you like this one as well, as always I own nothing.
The journey to Castle Black took three more days, it was uncomfortable at times riding double with the knight, but it was far preferable to walking. She also welcomed the dried rations that they had with them and perhaps best of all they lit a fire every night and Sansa found herself warm for the first time since leaving the ship. If these changes were welcome, her companions were less so. They were clearly suspicious of her and were inclined to be silent and taciturn around her and at least one was always watching her. As the journey went on she found herself growing nervous, she had never met Lord Stannis, King Stannis she reminded herself firmly. What she had heard of him though made it seem that he was a hard man and did not suffer fools gladly, or at all. There had been rumors that he had turned to the worship of a fire demon and burned people alive to it, the thought made her shudder. But, she reminded herself, these were the same people who had called her father traitor.
At last the reached Castle Black. She had never been there but her uncle, Benjen, had described to them when he came to visit. Sansa had always secretly thought it sounded like an ugly place and her first sight of it did little to change her mind. Of more interest to her was the army encamped around it. The army was not great, she guessed less than five thousand men. Many of the banners bore a stag within a burning heart but there were others as well. While she did not recognize many of them, she did recognize one, the sigil of House Tully. She had hear that her uncle had gone over to Stannis but she had not expected to find him here. Her thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone calling her name.
"Sansa! Sansa is that you?!"She turned to seek the source of the voice and saw her uncle himself. Edmure Tully was now clad in armor and wore a heavy fur cloak and he had also grown a beard. As he approached the two knights drew to a halt.
"You know this woman my lord?" One of them asked.
"I should, it's my niece, Sansa Stark of Winterfell." As the men looked at one another Edmure turned back to Sansa.
"What are you doing here? What has been happening at King's Landing?" Before she could reply that one of the knights interjected.
"My lord, if this is indeed your niece then we must present her to the King at once."
"Nonsense," her uncle interjected; "The King is at council and will not take kindly to interruption. Also, look at her. Does she look like she is fit to present to the King." Sansa looked down at herself and flushed. She was indeed unfit to meet anyone let alone a king. Her garb had not been changed since she had fled King's Landing and they had been none too clean even then. They were now covered with salt, sweat, dirt and blood. The two knights looked at her and seemed to share her opinion. They looked at one another and then came to a conclusion. The one that she shared a mount with moved toward her uncle while the other turned toward the castle.
"I will wait till the King is concluded at his council and inform him of her arrival." The one heading toward the castle said. "Lord Tully I would make her as presentable as possible, the King will most likely wish to speak to her as soon as he learns of her coming here. My companion will remain with you." With that he turned and was gone.
The knight followed Edmure to his tent where her uncle called for his squire to heat water for a bath. The bath was little more than a metal tub barely big enough for her to sit down in. Sansa did not care, the water was hot and it felt wonderful to wash the dirt and other filth from her body. Her uncle had had his servants erect a makeshift screen to shield her from view and as she bathed he seated himself on the other side of it.
"How did you come to be here uncle?" She asked after she had gotten the worst of the filth off of her.
"Well, niece, after you freed me from the Twins I returned to Riverrun. I tried to make a fight of it, but I fear I am not the soldier that your brother or my uncle are. Your uncle, Brynden Tully, and I came under siege there from the Freys and the Lannisters. When it became clear that we could not hold much longer we made a sortie and escaped. Uncle Brynden took some of the men and has been waging a hit-and-run campaign from the forests of the Riverlands, still was last I heard. I took the rest and joined with King Stannis and bent the knee to him and here we are. And you Niece?"
"That would be a long tale Uncle." Then something came to her. "You were asking about King's Landing has something happened there recently?"
"You did not hear the news?!" He exclaimed in surprise.
"No Uncle, I was rather busy trying to avoid being found by the Lannisters." She reminded him, a slight smile coming to her face.
"Oh, well then," he said, sounding to Sansa like Jeyne Poole when she used to share gossip with Sansa back at Winterfell. "Then you must not have known, Tywin Lannister is dead."
"What!" Sansa yelled, nearly jumping out of the tub at the news. "How did that happen?!"
"Well, it seems that the Queen was also arrested by the Faith."
"She was?!" Sansa exclaimed, she found this nearly as surprising as the news of Lord Tywin's death.
"Yes, and the Faith was set to try her for something or other, it was all rather confusing." He speech gained in speed as he continued, his excitement rising. "Anyway, Lord Tywin arrived with his army and stormed the city. The Faith Militant tried to bare the gates but it seems your husband, Lord Tyrion, slipped some men amongst them and they opened the gates for Tywin. Tywin led his knights right to the Great Sept and freed the Queen, some have also said he burned the sept to the ground and hanged the High Septon. However; others say that he did not burn it and the High Septon fled before Tywin arrived. In any event, that very night Lord Tywin was at his dinner when he collapsed and died. Poison is suspected they say.
"That Lannister woman lost no time in resuming power and began a hunt for those responsible. Your husband they say was accused and has apparently fled the city. There seems to be some dispute over who is to be the next Hand of the King to the Usurper Tommen. There is his uncle Kevan Lannister, his father-in-law Mace Tyrell and Prince Oberyn of Dorne." Just then the sounds of her uncle's squire returning interrupted their conversation and her uncle went to speak to him, leaving Sansa to her thoughts.
Lord Tywin was dead. The man responsible for the death of her family was gone, she had dreamed of striking out at him but now he was beyond her reach. She was not sure how she felt about that. One the one hand she was glad that he was dead and her family avenged, but on the other hand she had wanted to bring him down herself and she had been robbed of that by… someone, she was not sure if she should be happy or disappointed. Her thoughts were interrupted by her uncle clearing his throat.
"The King is done with his counsel and wishes to see you at once." Something in his voice made her uneasy, he sounded nervous and that put her on edge.
"Is something wrong Uncle?" She asked, a note of uneasiness entering her voice.
"Not really," he said, now sounding more embarrassed than nervous. "You see, I have no women with me and I fear there are no woman's clothing save what you wore here, which would not do. In addition to being torn and filthy the King has no love for the trappings of the Faith. I fear…you will have to make do. It is on the table." With that he left the tent.
Having gotten as clean as she was likely to get Sansa grabbed the towel provided and rose from the tub. Walking around the screen she found a pile of clothing on the table and flushed while at the same time feeling the urge to smirk. The clothing seemed to have come from her uncle's squire, a man's pants, shirt, tunic and boots, all in Tully colors. They felt odd when they went on but they were clean and warm. It almost felt strange to done footwear again and she almost felt more comfortable going barefoot, but of course that would not do. Last there was a hooded cloak trimmed with fur. This was slightly too large for her but with the hood up it helped to hide her face and she hoped it would keep too many men from staring. Lastly, not being able to do anything else with it, she pulled her hair behind her head and tied it with a leather cord. This done, she pulled the hood up and left the tent.
Her uncle was waiting there with two of his men. He set off towards the castle with Sansa on his heels. They entered the courtyard and made for one of the towers. Some men stared at her but most were focused on whatever task they were doing at the moment. He led her up a flight of stairs to a door which was guarded by two men with the burning heart on their shields. They lowered their heads in acknowledgement as they passed. They entered the tower and went up another flight of steps till they came to a second door. Another pair of guards stood before a second door, Sansa headed towards it but her uncle place his hand on her shoulder.
"When you go before the King remember this, he has little patience for, well, anything. He does not respond to flattery or please. He accepts only complete obedience. You can be useful to him and he knows it, but don't push him too far. Believe me those who have tried generally do not enjoy the experience." She nodded silently, a feeling of unease growing inside her. They then moved on into the room beyond.
The room was dominated by a table on which lay a map. The sole occupant of the room was standing facing the fire, hands clasped behind his back. As they entered the room the man turned to look at them as they went down on one knee. He was a tall man, broad and sinewy. His hair was little more than a fringe and he had a beard that was little more than gray bristle. His most distinct characteristic, however; was his eyes. They were a shade of blue but so dark they appeared almost black. Those eyes were fixed on Sansa and she found them to be the most intimidating they she had ever seen. They locked with hers and she could see no softness or pity in them. He looked at her and his mouth hardened in displeasure.
"Is this your nephew or your niece Lord Tully?" His voice was deep and gravely.
"My niece, Your Grace." Her uncle said; "I fear that, not expecting a female relative to come calling, I did not prepare a proper wardrobe." The King grunted and Sansa could not shake the feeling that the King was somehow uncomfortable around her. At a motion from his hand they rose to stand.
"Well, find something for her, I have no need of any japery in my army." He then turned back to her.
"Now, Lady Stark, why are you here?"
"I fled from the Lannisters, Your Grace and I came to see my brother." He stared at her for a moment.
"My men say that you were walking barefoot from the coast without either money or supplies. Even if your uncle had not been here I would take you for a Stark, you demonstrate your family's courage, stubbornness and complete lack of foresight." Sansa was not sure if she should take his words as a complement or not. Ignoring her confusion the King continued on.
"Some of my lords say that you should be given your father's titles and honors but I am not so certain. You are wed to a Lannister and so you are Lannister. I will not retake the North from the Boltons and the Wildlings just to hand it back to the Lannisters." His words cut Sansa like a knife. Was all that she had endured been for nothing? Was she to live as hostage, switching the Lannisters for the Baratheons? No! The determination flared within her. She was done with that, then a thought came to her and she acted on it.
"There is a way around that, Your Grace." He arched an eyebrow at her.
"Oh, did you bring the Imp's head with you stuffed in a bag somewhere?" It seemed that he did have a sense of humor, if a dry dark one.
"No, Your Grace but it can be done."
"How?" Sansa actually found it rather embarrassing to talk about but she had gone too far to back down.
"Our marriage was never…consummated Your Grace, therefor it could be set aside." Beside her, her uncle choked and the King clearly found the subject distasteful.
"Why?" Was all that he said after a moment. "Something wrong with you?" She flushed but continued.
"No, Your Grace." She did not know how to explain it, in truth they had never been together because he had been kind and understood that she did not want him. But she could not say that here, she doubted that the King would want to hear the one who had defeated him praised in any way. Then she remembered Shae and what she had said.
"He preferred his whores, Your Grace." It was true in a way, she found that she felt a twinge of remorse for maligning him but he was a Lannister and she was rather eager to be free of the name. Besides, he hadn't wanted to marry her either, it really was all for the best. Her uncle had said he had vanished and she found that he had gone somewhere far from the war where he could be happy. A grunt from the King brought her back to the present.
"They say he is as lusty as he is hideous, small wonder he and my brother got on so well." He sunk deep in thought for a moment, then he turned his full gaze on her.
"Are you prepared to do what your bastard brother will not, to swear loyalty to me and rule the North in my name?" In reply Sansa went down on one knee before the King.
"I, Sansa of House Stark, pledge my life and loyalty to you. From this day, to my last day. This I swear by the old gods and the new." The King stared at her for a moment then the he spoke.
"I Stannis Baratheon, First of My Name, Lord of Dragon Stone, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, accept your oath. I hereby bestow on you all of your father's lands, titles and honors. Rise Lady Sansa of House Star, Lady of Winterfell and Wardeness of the North."
Author's Notes: Well, there we are, I hope you liked it. I must now make a confession to you all and I do so with the courage of being behind a computer screen, I like Stannis more than Daney. I do and I think the show did him a great disservice, so Sansa is going to him as everyone else seems to be running off to kiss Daney's sandals, plus I wanted her to get her father's job but we all know how that worked out. My Stannis and his actions will be a mix of show and book so there will be spoilers. In the books he does have a sense of humor and I was trying to capture that, did I succeed, also who offed Tywin, feel free to speculate. Till next time please pray for the refugees and the family of a deputy killed in Texas. By and may Jesus bless you.