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Sansa

He wouldn’t send Ser Loras," Sansa told Jeyne Poole that night as they shared a cold supper by la"

Lord Eddard had taken his supper in his bedchamber with Alyn, Harwin, and Vayon Poole, the better to rest his broken leg, and Septa Mordane had coallery all day Arya was supposed to join the lesson

"His leg?" Jeyne said uncertainly She was a pretty, dark-haired girl of Sansa’s own age "Did Ser Loras hurt his leg?"

"Not his leg," Sansa said, nibbling delicately at a chicken leg "Father’s leg, silly It hurts him ever so much, it makes him cross Otherwise I’m certain he would have sent Ser Loras"

Her father’s decision still bewildered her When the Knight of Flowers had spoken up, she’d been sure she was about to see one of Old Nan’s stories coor was the monster and Ser Loras the true hero ould slay hiolden roses around his slender waist and his rich brown hair tu down into his eyes And then Father had refused him! It had upset her more than she could tell She had said as allery, but the septa had only told her it was not her place to question her lord father’s decisions

That hen Lord Baelish had said, "Oh, I don’t know, Septa Some of her lord father’s decisions could do with a bit of questioning The young lady is as wise as she is lovely" Hebow to Sansa, so deep she was not quite sure if she was being complimented or mocked

Septa Mordane had been very upset to realize that Lord Baelish had overheard the,by the comment"

Lord Baelish stroked his little pointed beard and said, "Nothing? Tell me, child, ould you have sent Ser Loras?"

Sansa had no choice but to explain about heroes and ’s councillor siven, but" He had touched her cheek, his thu the line of a cheekbone "Life is not a song, sweetling You may learn that one day to your sorrow"

Sansa did not feel like telling all that to Jeyne, however; it made her uneasy just to think back on it

"Ser Ilyn’s the King’s Justice, not Ser Loras," Jcyne said "Lord Eddard should have sent him"

Sansa shuddered Every time she looked at Ser Ilyn Payne, she shivered Heover her naked skin "Ser Ilyn’s allad Father didn’t pick him"

"Lord Beric is as allant"

"I suppose," Sansa said doubtfully Beric Dondarrion was handsoht of Floould have been much better Of course, Jeyne had been in love with Lord Beric ever since she had first gli silly; Jeyne was only a steward’s daughter, after all, and no matter how much she mooned after him, Lord Beric would never look at someone so far beneath hie

It would have been unkind to say so, however, so Sansa took a sip of ed the subject "I had a dream that Joffrey would be the one to take the white hart," she said It had been more of a wish, actually, but it sounded better to call it a dream Everyone knew that dreams were prophetic White harts were supposed to be very rare and allant prince orthier than his drunken father

"A dreao up to it and touch it with his bare hand and do it no harolden arrow and brought it back for ical beasts, they just went up to them and touched the, especially the killing part Only anih Sansa was certain her prince had no part inJory and those other poor slayer She knew her father was still angry about that, but it wasn’t fair to bla that Arya had done

"I saw your sister this afternoon," Jeyne blurted out, as if she’d been reading Sansa’s thoughts "She alking through the stables on her hands Why would she do a thing like that?"

"I’" Sansa hated stables, smelly places full of , she liked the boy to saddle the horse and bring it to her in the yard "Do you want to hear about the court or not?"

"I do," Jeyne said

"There was a black brother," Sansa said, "begging men for the Wall, only he was kind of old and sined the Night’s Watch to be s, they were called the black knights of the Wall But this h he ht’s Watch was truly like, she felt sorry for her bastard half brother, Jon "Father asked if there were any knights in the hall ould do honor to their houses by taking the black, but no one ca’s dungeons and sent him on his way And later these two brothers caed their swords to the service of the king Father accepted their oaths"

Jeyne yawned "Are there any le interrupted, but she had to ad than one on in the throne room "Let’s see," she said

The kitchen yielded no lemon cakes, but they did find half of a cold strawberry pie, and that was alossiping and sharing secrets, and Sansa went to bed that night feeling al she woke before first light and crept sleepily to her atch Lord Beric for over the city, with three banners going before theh staff, the direwolf of Stark and Lord Beric’s own forked lightning standard fro coht, banners dancing in the wind, horses snorting and whinnying, the golden glow of sunrise slanting through the bars of the portcullis as it jerked upward The Winterfell rey cloaks

Alyn carried the Stark banner When she saw hie words, it made Sansa feel ever so proud Alyn was handsoht one day

The Tower of the Hand seemed so empty after they left that Sansa was even pleased to see Arya when she went down to break her fast "Where is everyone?" her sister wanted to know as she ripped the skin froe "Did Father send thehed "They rode with Lord Beric, to behead Ser Gregor Clegane" She turned to Septa Mordane, as eating porridge with a wooden spoon "Septa, will Lord Beric spike Ser Gregor’s head on his own gate or bring it back here for the king?" She and Jeyne Poole had been arguing over that last night

The septa was horror-struck "A lady does not discuss such things over her porridge Where are your courtesies, Sansa? I swear, of late you’ve been near as bad as your sister"

"What did Gregor do?" Arya asked

"He burned down a holdfast and murdered a lot of people, women and children too"

Arya screwed up her face in a scowl "Jaime Lannister murdered Jory and Heward and Wyl, and the Hound murdered Mycah Somebody should have beheaded them"

"It’s not the same," Sansa said "The Hound is Joffrey’s sworn shield Your butcher’s boy attacked the prince"

"Liar," Arya said Her hand clenched the blood orange so hard that red juice oozed between her fingers

"Go ahead, call me all the names you want," Sansa said airily "You won’t dare when I’m married to Joffrey You’ll have to bow tothe orange across the table It caught her in the middle of the forehead with a wet squish and plopped down into her lap

"You have juice on your face, Your Grace," Arya said

It was running down her nose and stinging her eyes Sansa wiped it aith a napkin When she sahat the fruit in her lap had done to her beautiful ivory silk dress, she shrieked again "You’re horrible," she screamed at her sister "They should have killed you instead of Lady!"

Septa Mordane ca to her feet "Your lord father will hear of this! Go to your chambers, at once At once!"