wandering halls [open]

[sansa]

Sansa couldn’t bear to stare at the blank walls of her room any longer. She couldn’t stand to be in this place so it didn’t really matter where she went. Once it had felt like an adventure to walk these halls, and even though it hadn’t been long since her father’s death it felt like a life time now. Thinking of her father still made her heart shatter. Eddard Stark would cross his daughter’s mind and it was everything she had not to break down and cry. For a little while it had been impossible not to cry, but now Sansa knew that she needed to show that the Starks were made of sterner stuff. Ice flowed through her veins and she would made do as she needed to.

Her auburn hair was tied up in a lovely fashion showing off her pale face and blue eyes. She had her mother’s coloring. Jon had been the only one of the bunch to look like a true Stark. Arya’s appearance had favored their father as well. Sansa laughed softly remembering when she had once asked her mother about Arya possibly being a base born child. Catelyn had laughed at her daughter and reassured her that Arya was a true born stark.

With a shake of her head Sansa cleared her head of those thoughts and smiled at her subtle piece of rebellion against Joffrey. She was wearing her pendant he had given her, with the Lannister crest upon it but her clothing was purely Stark colors. The dress was a shimmery grey and with all the extra time she had now she had embroidered dire wolf prints along the hem. Hidden on the inside of the sleeve was her family crest, though she was the only one breathing who knew it existed. Alone she wandered the halls, wondering if she would cross someone’s path or if she would make it back to her rooms without seeing anyone.

[tywin]

Tywin had risen to find sunshine filling his bedchamber in the Tower of the Hand. Already the handmaids had begun their work, and a dish of meat and fruit lay waiting for him by the window, next to a vase of wine and a golden goblet. His garments, Lannister silks of crimson and gold, were warm for having drank in the early morning sun, and they were soft and warm on his skin when he donned them. He nibbled on a pierce of pork and crushed a grape between his thumb and forefinger before eating it. He sipped some wine as he looked out the window - the city was waking up now.

Tywin Lannister seldom encountered people on his walks; he suspected they knew he had no desire to encounter them. He strolled along a hallway with windows that opened onto garden on one side and a wall on the other. On the wall a tapestry depicting the 'Field of Fire' hung in the sunlight. "Dragons" thought Tywin, "I have no need of Dragons". As he rounded the corner he spotted a girl approaching him. She was a young girl, a beautiful girl, a wolf. "Lady Sansa" he said in a polite but cold tone, "These halls are made for meetings like this - they're too narrow to avoid the oncoming person". There was a cold silence as Tywin studied the girl who would be Queen - "What has you wandering the castle at such a lonely hour?" he asked.

[sansa]

Footsteps let the girl know that someone was coming. Thankfully Sansa was good at keeping her emotions hidden. She blanked her face, so that she would look like nothing more than a proper lady full of courtesy. However she was surprised to see Tywin Lannister. He was the hand of the king and her betrothed’s grandfather. If Sansa had her way however she would never become a Lannister .

"Lady Sansa These halls are made for meetings like this - they're too narrow to avoid the oncoming person" Sansa bowed her head showing the proper respect to the man. Slowly but surely she had learned how to play this awful game, and Sansa knew she would never be released from it. ”Lord Tywin it’s a pleasure to see you.” Sansa’s tone sounded light and airy as a lady’s should but inside she felt hollow speaking to this man. His golden grandson had been the reason her father’s head had been resting on a spike, and that was something Sansa wouldn’t forgive easily.

"What has you wandering the castle at such a lonely hour?" Sansa smiled for a moment, wanting to shrug but knowing that the gesture was something for gutter rats. She would love nothing more than to tell every Lannister how she truly felt but she knew that it would be impossible unless Robb could save her from this place. ”A lady should always be up early Lord Tywin, there are many things a lady must get done before she may be called on.” Of course here she was rarely called on but she must always be prepared for the horrors Joffrey would show her.

[tywin]

Tywin studied the Northern flower as she answered him with hollow pleasantries. She was a beautiful girl, and so young. Though Tywin bore no love for House Stark, and counted King Robb among his enemies, he could not help but feel sorry for the young girl. Tywin had met many Northern folk in his time, and had the dubious honour of meeting Eddard Stark on several occasions. They were a cold and dull people up North, devoid of passion or spirit. Sansa did not seem like that - she had the grace of a Southern woman. "She shifts her skin to survive" he thought to himself, "Living in fear of Joffrey has taught her well". He looked out the window to the large garden outside. The courtyard was awash with sunlight, and the flowers spread their petals to soak in the rays. A fountain in the center of the garden took the form of a sculpture of Robert Baratheon in his armour and stag helm. It was commissioned by Jon Arryn after Robert took the throne - it was a vulgar piece of work that Tywin would have torn down soon.

"Walk with me, m'Lady" he said, not unkindly, as he made for an archway that lead out into the garden.

[sansa]

It was strange to be alone with Tywin, and it was all Sansa could do to keep calm though her heart was racing. For all she knew he was as cruel as his grandson and at some point she would have more bruises mottling her flesh. That was the sad part, it was warmer here than at home, and yet Sansa was constantly in long sleeves to hide the purple and yellow blotches that dotted her arms. Joffrey didn't even make them himself, he ordered his men to do it. That was probably the worst if you asked the Stark girl. Her father had always said that a true ruler would dole out the sentence he spoke of. That was why he had always used Ice to kill those he had condemned to die.

"Walk with me, m'Lady" It was an odd request but Sansa wasn't stupid enough to refuse. Instead she bowed her head politely before speaking. "As you wish m'lord." As Tywin walked Sansa remained at his side. She was a proper lady and kept herself where she should properly stand to a man who was of greater rank here in this castle. As of right now she was merely a lady while this particular Lannister was the Hand of the King. Sansa hoped that her brother would safe her from having to marry Joffrey. The thought of birthing a child with Lannister blood made her sick to her stomach. She needed to get rid of this thought or her charade would be even harder.

"His Grace seems to be doing well as of late wouldn't you agree m'lord? The lie flowed over her tongue easily, as she made her pleasantries. Joffrey was a cruel King, frankly from what Sansa had heard he was probably as bad as the last Targaryen. However she dared not ever speak that thought aloud, not even to herself.

[tywin]

The young lady walked with him as he had demanded. Tywin clasped his hands behind his back as he walked slowly through the grass, enjoying the sun, the smell of flowers and the buzz of honey bees. King's Landing was a long way from Casterly Rock, and the soulless capital often seemed devoid of beauty. The maidens were comely enough, some whores too, but the city itself was hideous. The walls and streets were dusty and ugly, and the twisting alleys swarmed with filthy common folk, treacherous traders, rapers, singers and orphans. Tywin hated it here. It was as he remembered from the time of Aerys when he served as Hand to the Mad King - "And now I am Hand to another mad King" he thought.

Sansa raised the subject of Joffrey, much to the annoyance of Tywin; it was the subject, not her raising of it, that addled him. "No Lady Stark, I would not agree" he said with a hint of despair in his voice, "King Joffrey has been King for less than a moon's turn and already he has dragged the Kingdom into war. Is that what passes for 'well' in the North? If so then I wish your brother 'well' in the war".

He didn't look at Sansa when he spoke. His eyes moved from a patch of purple chrysanthemums to a row of apple tress, and then to a small statue of a stag partly obscured by a rose bush - and with his mind's eye he saw the Direwolf of the North, marching with thousands of swords. As they passed beneath a large, leafy elder Tywin spoke again, "Do you miss your family Sansa?" he asked in a tone devoid of the usual kindness that might accompany a question of that type.

[sansa]

Sansa’s pale eyes looked over the lovely array of flowers. Never had she seen so many bright colors clustered together until she had come to this place. It was strange to know now that she would give up all the reds and vivid yellows for the cold grey and white of Winterfell. This place was hell in a pretty box, and she was a bird in a gilded cage. "No Lady Stark, I would not agree" His tone startled her, but she had to good sense to hide that from Tywin. "King Joffrey has been King for less than a moon's turn and already he has dragged the Kingdom into war. Is that what passes for 'well' in the North? If so then I wish your brother 'well' in the war". Sansa did little more than nod. It wouldn’t be proper for her to argue and that could always lead to more bruises.

Instead she walked beside him, her thoughts turning to her brother. Since all of this had happened she had been smart enough to hide her true feelings. According to Joffrey everyone in her family was a traitor. She couldn’t celebrate her brother’s victories or wish him well. To do so would earn her pain and more suffering that she was already dealing with. Her feelings remained locked in her heart, joy when her brother won and despair when a battle was lost to him. She wanted Robb to succeed so that she could return home to where she belonged.

"Do you miss your family Sansa?" It was all Sansa could do to not look at Tywin from the corner of her eye. Was this some sort of trick? Thankfully Joffrey showing her Septa Mordane and Father’s heads had prepared her for such things. ”I miss what they were Lord Tywin. To miss a band of traitors and usurpers would make me one of them. I am betrothed to the King and I would never be foolish enough to want a life with traitors.” Once upon a time any man would have been able to tell a lie if it came from Sansa’s lips, but now that she had been at Kings Landing, no one ever knew when she spoke truth or lies but the gods. If someone did know they said nothing, and as long as Joffrey took her lies for truth she was spared some pain.