A Holiday by Decree
~~ Day 5 ~~
Sansa looked down at the water washing up by their feet before giving him a long look. Tyrion didn't like this conversation for a lot of reasons, but for someone like Sansa, Queen in the North, certain things needed to be considered first.
"Well, one of these things is marriage, and between us specifically, we know that the cart was already put before the horse on that score, but the second thing I want to bring up, is well, me," Tyrion said, knowing it was going to take effort not to fluster at what he knew he had to say.
"I know Cersei made it apparent to you that our father was hellbent on my having progeny with you after our marriage, but it's important to note that it wasn't for any realistic sense of things. In fact, I found it strange that he never considered that, despite my carousing and the probable availability of moontea to most of my partners, no woman ever came forward to claim she had my bastard, let alone tried to hide the fact, which could have been hard for obvious reasons," he paused for a moment to let Sansa process, but seeing he was still possibly being too vague he continued.
"You see, given how it apparently worked with my brother, sister, and me, it stands to reason that even if I can possibly father children, any potential offspring of mine could likely stand a troubling chance of bearing a strong resemblance to me. Anyway, there's no good way to say it: but have you considered the impact on the succession plan for Winterfell in thinking of reforming a connection with me? Or perhaps there's something I'm overlooking about the arrangement?" he finished.
Sansa's expression had finally registered her understanding, but it was the long sigh and the deeply sad look that left Tyrion to hold his breath. Was it possible that she hadn't considered this would be a problem? he panicked. He knew all too well that there weren't exactly dwarves walking around left and right. It certainly wasn't the first time that he himself would have killed to have a better grip of what all came with this cursed facet of his life. He certainly couldn't expect Sansa to be anymore aware than he was.
He hung on Sansa's reply, as she seemed to look at some far off spot in the ocean again: "Tyrion, I am actually grateful and though you won't believe it, relieved that you've brought this up now. I'm just sorry I couldn't be the bigger person to raise it first because there was a chance I could have disappointed you… Even so, I am going to tell you something I tried to ignore for far too long because it's painful; fortunately, I've also realized that I can't do that, if I want to try to be happy.
"I- I have a secret: if there are any heirs to Winterfell, they won't come from me," she finally said.