driftfleet | We're Riding Solo

Gods... [His hold tightens around her and he tilts her from the ground. She's almost a woman grown.]...I missed you even more...

[The mixture of happiness and guilt is an odd thing to feel. He dreads the moment where she would ask him why he did not come for her. Why he could not.]

You are safe now... I promise you.

[He can feel the tears sting behind his eyes as he speaks.]

[ missed her more? oh, i do not think it possible. but that thought invites grief, and grief invites tears. she cannot break before him: not now; not yet; mayhaps not ever. instead, she nuzzles the crown of her head under his chin and lets herself be the child she'd stopped being in king's landing.

remarkably, she does not cry. sansa has long since conquered tears. ]

There is some mercy to be found in the Atroma -- [ she decides. mysterious as they are, she has them to thank for reuniting such disparate parts of her family. ]

[Robb bites his lower lip fiercely while he holds her. It is an overwhelming thing. To be brought here and realize his sweet sister is here, as well as his brother. One lost and one dead.

And they are both here, floating through this space inside these ships.]

I take it they aren't known for kindness, then. [His words are soft when he speaks.] You should tell me more of this place. [He slowly lets go, his hands sliding to her wrists, taking hold of them in a gentle way.]

We bob along between the stars -- and I suppose, now and again, we stop by kingdoms. [ planets, but the concept remains hazy to her. as does everything pertaining to this reality show. sansa wouldn't know where to begin describing that conundrum. ]

Nearly everyone on these ships -- Robb, they are unbearably kind.

[ she can hardly trust them. that is how kind they are. ]

[The concept of planets is just as hazy to him as it is to her. All of it seem like matters he really does not want to care about right now. He had a war to fight.]

There is no purpose to this? Except for us being entertainment to others?

[Well, Robb has had quite some discussions with some of these unbearably kind people.]

I am sure they are, Sansa. [It is hard to not make his voice tremble as he speaks, tears making his vision blurry.] Kinder than those bloody Lannisters, for sure.

[ although she no longer avails herself of his shoulder and his embrace, her fingers stay knotted with his. she cannot imagine breaking all contact with him, for fear he might melt away like snow. ]

There is a Lannister amid our number -- here, in the Fleet. [ cautious. she knows he knows -- because she peeped in upon the conversation from afar. ]

[Robb keeps holding on to her as well, even when she pulls away a little, his fingers remain curled around her hand. He feels that he has to tell her eventually. How things change when a crown comes into play.]

I know the Imp is here. [Rather the Imp than Joffrey or his mother. He sighs and frowns.] He is your lord husband, is he not? How did that happen? [Probably greedy Lannisters wanting to get their bloody hands on Winterfell and the North. That is not going to happen, not during Robb’s rule.] Who arranged that?

[Robb tries to keep his voice warm and kind but he can’t help the strict frown on his face.]

Cersei.

[ she will not call her queen. margaery tyrell is queen -- twice over, in a sense, and sansa wishes she could be happy for the woman who had (for a time) showed her such kindness. but there can be no happiness in king's landing while lions prowl, and so sansa only feels a fleeting desperation for the families left behind to squabble over the iron throne. her path has become a different one, in the vale.

or so she believes. ]

And Tywin Lannister, too. [ there's a note of pleading in her voice. do not blame me, dear brother. if pushed, she might even defend the imp. but for now she does not even say his name. ]

[In a way he could’ve expected that. The Lannisters did want their hands on Winterfell.

His hands slide to her shoulders, his grip firm and warm at the same time. Actually, he wanted to tell her this at another time and day. Not when he was having a hard time biting back tears, believing that kings should not cry.]

I have heard that you have wed the I... [A pause.] ...lord Tyrion. [Robb realizes he cannot tell her about Jon’s position in all of this. How he has made him his heir instead of a trueborn child of their parents.] I will not have him in Winterfell, Sansa.

[The look on his face is a downright sad one. From what he has heard she has suffered enough and guilt is eating him alive at this point.]

I am sorry.

[He is more sorry than he can even express and squeezing her shoulders does not help much.]

We wed.

[ she confirms what he dreads. leaden words, barely whispered. now her eyes fill with tears of their own, threatening to spill but never quite reaching the point of falling. she knows she disappoints him; she feels like parts of herself are being stripped away.

i never wanted to be heir, she wants to scream. beat futile hands against his chest. but instead she breathes deep. her eyes flutter, dislodging wetness. ]

But he and I -- [ she swallows, painfully. it will not do to discuss her maidenhead. her face flushes, and she grows craven. ] Neither of us welcomed the marriage. He was as strong-armed into it as I was, brother.

[Robb nods slowly, a thoughtful expression on his face.]

Aye, they have told me that.

[He does not expect it to be a wedding for love or anything like that. It is just a disgusting idea from the brain of Tywin Lannister. To ensure some sort of claim on the North through Robb's captured sister and the Imp.]

But I take it lord Tywin and that damnable... [Once again he corrects himself.] ...the queen, did not take no for an answer. [Slowly he moves a hand to wipe a tear away from her face.] I promise your suffering will end, sweet sister. From now on.

[ his fingers on her cheek are like a balm. for once, she believes things might indeed improve. she knows lord tyrion will make a difficulty of himself -- not for spite, it seems, but because his opinions are too loud and too brash. she sniffles. ]

I was fatherless, and a ward of the Crown. My betrothal was the king's to arrange. [ she speaks with so little emotion. sansa has learned to grow dispassionate at such a young age. ]

[Robb keeps wiping her cheek, even when the tear has already dried. It is still odd to have her right in front of him again. Some sort of dream.]

You are not without a mother. Or without a brother. [But he understands the workings. There is not much that he could have done. A deep frown appears on his face as he holds her close.]

Is it true that Joffrey has died? The Imp has told me. And I do not think Lannisters speak the truth.

[ childishly, she'd wanted robb to stay blissfully unaware of a world that went on without him. but lord tyrion has seen fit to put that desire to the torch.

not without some hesitation, sansa nods. ] Dead, Robb. At his own wedding.

[ the irony is not lost on her and the tears begin again -- crying for a brother and mother slaughtered at another feast. ]

[Robb is not sure if he is amused by the fact that Joffrey met his end at his own wedding. That, and why he did not even know of that death at all. He even knew of Sansa’s wedding.]

I take it he did not died from a bad heart. [He tries to keep his voice light but there are too many questions. Eventually the frown returns on his face and he starts to look overly serious again.] Did the Lannister queen try to blame you for the death of that...? [A pause, followed by a deep sigh. There is a lot of anger aimed at that craven sitting atop the Iron Throne.] ...her son? [Like they did with their lord father.]

I have heard what he has done to you.

Edited (html fail) 2016-01-20 17:17 (UTC)

[ fear flutters in her eyes. not fear of him -- she trusts robb with all she has, and is more than prepared to throw her support behind his dead campaign however futile it is inside this fleet. but she fears what he might think of her, transformed into a thing little better than a whipping boy. her jaw moves, but it's tight and aching. she can remember what it felt like for the back of a gauntlet to connect with her face. the flat of a sword against the back of her legs. ]

Please. [ she pleads with her brother. ] Don't tell Bran. Don't tell anyone.

[ it's her pain to carry -- and she doesn't want to inflict it upon anyone else. bad enough that lord tyrion must have spilled these details to robb. how dare he. but at least so long as she's pleading for this favour, she can avoid answering robb's more pressing question: did the lannister queen blame her? ]

[Robb looks at her, recognizing the fear in her eyes. Gods, he wishes he could stop it. All of that. It had to stop.]

I will not. [He nods while saying that.] But you need to tell me of it. I need to know if it is true that lord Tywin died. I need to know who killed Joffrey.

All of that, Sansa. It is important that I know.

[A pause.]

And your hair. Why is it so?

[ she squirms. lost. how can she tell him things that will only grieve him? things that will be of no use because he will never live to make use of them. sansa can feel a rawness in her throat. and in her eyes, there is the look of a cornered animal. her attention darts back and forth -- like she's trying to find an easy escape. ]

Lord Baelish bid me dye it. [ she answers, sadly. glad at least that robb asks her so many things that she can continue to avoid answering the ones that vex her. ] It's my disguise. In the Vale, there is no Sansa Stark. He calls me his daughter. Alayne Stone.

Edited 2016-01-23 20:38 (UTC)

[It is obvious that Sansa is not comfortable at all and he does not entirely know what to do or say. He wants to help her but in a way he stands powerless. She is not the little lady he grew up with anymore. The one who enjoyed heroic stories, dreamt of knights in shining armor and believed in handsome princes. The Lannisters took that away from her.

He is not quite sure if he should thank lord Baelish or not. From what he knows the man isn’t the most trustworthy one.]

It does not fit you. [But he can understand why. The Lannisters may never know that Sansa escaped. But then again, it would give lord Baelish a lot of power to have her under his wing.] Our lady mother would not be pleased with such news. I take it he wanted to deliver you to Riverrun? [Robb is sure lord Baelish would not deliver Sansa just because he has such a good heart.] For coin?

[A pause.]

And what about King Joffrey and lord Tywin, Sansa?

[ to be delivered to riverrun might once have been a fantasy -- something to be deeply desired. but now. now, she begins to understand why lord baelish keeps her safe. in his eyes, she is the heir to the north. stretching the chasm between pawn and player, and awaiting another marriage.

her voice is little: ] I did not kill King Joffrey. Whatever Lord Tyrion told you -- I swear, he's lying.

[ her throat tightens. how easy it would be to tell the story baelish would want her to tell. the crown blames the imp. but she cannot bring any more injustice on lord tyrion's head. ]

[Sansa is not answering half of his questions. And if she is she avoids the most important part of them. For a moment Robb has to do his best not to show a bit of frustration. He can only help her if he knows. If he knows and can return with that knowledge. Mayhaps he would not need the Freys. He wasn't overly fond of them...]

The I... Lord Tyrion did not. [It would not surprise him if the blame would be placed upon Sansa's head. But he knew his sister well enough. She would never do such a thing.]

Sansa. [A sigh.] You need to tell me. All of it. If not today, I will ask it the next one. [It aren't kind words but she needs to understand the urgency in all of this.]

-- Only, I fled that same night. You understand, don't you?

[ she trembles. it's a secret she's had to keep for a while, now. buried under other secrets. excavating them now is a painful process. ] It looked like I did it. Like Tyrion Lannister did it. But it wasn't him either.

[ she grows adamant about this: ] He was charged and found guilty of a crime he did not commit.

[Robb nods, letting her know that he understands.

Apparently she lives in a world where Tywin and Joffrey are both dead and where lord Baelish has some plan. Why doesn’t he know of this? The death of the king who sits in the Iron Throne should be something that would reach him quite fast. By raven or word.]

That would explain the Imp’s anger... [He is muttering to himself more than to his sister.] I do not expect you to do such a thing, Sansa. [And is she would have done it, he would not hold it against her either. For what Joffrey has done to her. Gods, if he were her the punishment would be far more severe.]

Lannisters are quite good at placing the blame upon others. After all, according to them it has been our lord father who killed king Robert. [There is a huge amount of bitterness in his voice and he does not feel like hiding that either.] Joffrey is a bloody monster. I am glad the realm is rid of him.

[In support he reaches out and covers his sister’s hands with his own.]

Many are.

[ glad. and with that narrow sort of admission, she sidles one step closer to telling the truth of things. she steels herself with a deep sort of breath. by now, she's decided upon the line she wants to walk between the truth and the fabrication. ]

Lord Baelish knows who did it. But he never told me. [ -- technically the truth. ] He wasn't at the feast, so it wasn't him. If he should ever arrive -- [ and part of her wishes he would, much to her shame ] -- it's him you ought to ask.

[Robb nods slowly at her words. He does not expect that lord Baelish would ever appear here, but if he would, he would have a talk with the man. He does not know him as well as his lady mother and uncle do but he is sure they could agree on some matters.]

I will. [The smile around his lips is a reassuring one. And then there was that one other important thing... He reaches out again, touching her shoulder.] And what about Arya? Is she still in King’s Landing?

We're Riding Solo

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it's all good!

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