A Holiday by Decree
~~Day 11~~
Once Adil was gone, Sansa smiled wide at Tyrion. "How nice, isn't it? We hardly ever get to experience fresh fruit in the North, let alone pick it," she said.
The wheelhouse began bumping forward again, and Tyrion smiled back. Sansa noticed it did not quite reach his eyes.
"Certainly, I think you'll enjoy it. We had apple orchards on the Rock, so sneaking through fences to pick them was big when Jaime and I were a little bit older. He liked to say they never tasted better than when you ate them right under the trees they came from," he shared.
However, a noticeable silence fell after he spoke, and Sansa considered Tyrion's sobered demeanor. Was the memory of Jaime and his childhood the cause?
For a bit, they simply sat, looking out the windows. Still conscious of Tyrion's changed mood, Sansa realized how she longed to know what she considered these mysterious sides of him. It gave her pause that they could have shared so much with each other over time, to the point she had even cried before him and really shared her fears about Ramsay for the first time ever. Moreover, they had even once faced almost certain death together on the Long Night. Yet, she could sit pressed thigh-to-thigh with him now and feel a world away from him emotionally at times.
She rethought what had been said in the last few minutes, running over his words again … I think you'll enjoy it…Jaime liked to say...
Suddenly, it hit Sansa.
Tyrion had mentioned how he had been allowed outside to play far less than Jaime, especially as they had grown older. The way he had spoken of it, she suddenly doubted whether he had been even able to partake in those apple picking outings Jaime had liked so much. From what she had seen of fruit trees in books, the trees were also usually trimmed so even the low hanging fruits were well off the ground and almost out of reach –
She suddenly felt very foolish. Where she had immediately pictured the novelty of plucking plump, juicy fruits straight from the tree with her own hand, she had not fully considered the practicality of this activity for Tyrion.
Despite growing more and more aware of the incredible understanding that Tyrion would likely do just about anything for her, enduring fruit picking being probably minor in the grand scheme, he had to think her a bit mindless or uncaring…
Could she subtly tell the servants that she had changed her mind when they arrived or simply make her experience of it quick? Surely, they had dealt with the flightiness of people of their station before.
In spite of the fact that Tyrion seemed to loosen up again with a few more observations about the scenery to her, Sansa remained anxious until they passed through the guarded gate in the high walled enclosure that apparently surrounded the royal ranch compound and rolled to a stop.
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Dear readers, see you in about 1-2 weeks! Take care of yourselves in the meantime :)