Chapter 46 Chapter 45: Sansa

"He won't send Ser Loras," Sansa told Jeyne Poole that night as they ate their cold supper together by the lamp. "I think it must have something to do with his foot injury." Lord Eddard dined with Alyn, Harwin, and Vayon Poole in his chambers to recuperate from his broken leg, while Septa Mordane stood all day in the corridor, complaining of sore feet, and did not come out to eat.Arya was supposed to eat with them, but she wasn't back from dance class. "His foot hurt?" Jenny said uncertainly.She's the same age as Sansa, a lovely brunette. "Ser Loras has a wounded foot?"

"Not his leg," Sansa said, nibbling gracefully on the drumstick. "It's my father's leg, fool. You see he's in such pain that he's very ill-tempered. Otherwise I think he'd have sent Ser Loras." Her father's decision puzzled her.When the Knight of Flowers spoke, she thought she was going to see Old Nan's story come true.Ser Gregor was the monster, and Ser Loras the true hero, who would slay him.He was so slender and beautiful, with golden roses around his slender waist, and his thick brown hair falling into his eyes, he looked like a real hero.In the end, his father turned him down!She was too angry to speak.When she and Septa Mordane walked down the hall and down the stairs afterward, she couldn't help speaking her mind, but the nun said she shouldn't have asked her father's decision.

At this moment, Earl Baelish interjected, "Hey, nun, I don't understand either. I just think that her father has made some decisions that need to be considered more carefully. I think your lady's wisdom is not inferior to her beauty." After finishing speaking He bowed to Sansa so deeply that Sansa wondered whether he was complimenting or sarcastic. Septa Mordane was displeased to find their conversation overheard by Lord Baelish. "My lord, the child is just talking," she said. "It's just nonsense, and it doesn't mean anything." Lord Baelish twirled his pointed beard, "No? Son, tell me, why do you think Ser Loras should be sent?"

Sansa has no choice but to tell the truth about the hero and the monster.The king's important minister smiled and said, "Oh, that's not my reason, but..." He touched her cheek, and his fingers lightly traced the contour of her cheekbone. "Little cutie, life is not like a song. One day, you may be disappointed." Sansa didn't feel the need to tell Jenny the same thing. Just thinking about it was enough to make her uneasy. "The king's lawman is Ser Ilyn, not Ser Loras," said Jeyne. "Lord Eddard should have sent him." Sansa couldn't help shaking.Whenever she saw Ser Ilyn Payne, she couldn't help shivering, as if something dead were sliding against her skin. "Ser Ilyn is no different from a monster. I'm glad my father didn't choose him."

"As far as who is a true hero, Lord Beric is as good as Ser Loras. Look at his heroic and noble appearance." "That's right," Sansa said suspiciously.Beric Dondarrion was handsome, but he was a bit "old", almost twenty-two years old.Or the Knight of Flowers is more suitable.Having said that, Jenny fell in love with Earl Berry at first sight in the arena.Sansa thought Jenny was really stupid. She was just a housekeeper's daughter. No matter how delusional, Lord Bailey would never favor someone so much lower than him, not to mention that she was only half his age.

But it was too hurtful to say it, so Sansa sipped her milk and changed the subject. "I dreamed that Joffrey would have the white stag," she said.It's really just a small hope, but it sounds better to say it's a dream.Everyone knows that dreams are prophecies and harbingers.White stags were said to be rare and magical, and she knew full well that her heroic prince was more entitled to it than his drunken father. "Did you dream? Did you? Did Prince Joffrey just go up to it and touch it so that it wouldn't do any harm?" "No," said Sansa, "he shot it dead with a golden arrow and brought it back to me." The knights in the song never kill magical animals, they go up to them and touch them. They would never be harmed, but she knew Joffrey liked hunting, especially the killing part.But he only likes to kill animals.Sansa was pretty sure her prince had nothing to do with killing Jory and the rest of the poor, it was his bad uncle, the Kingslayer.She knew her father was still angry about it, but he shouldn't blame young Jo for it, or it would be as if Arya blamed her for her trouble.

"I saw your sister this afternoon," Jenny blurted out, as if reading Sansa's thoughts. "Look at the way she walks up and down the stable on her hands. What's she doing?" "I have no idea what Arya's motives are." Sansa hated places like stables that stink of manure and flies.Even when going out to ride a horse, she usually asks the stable boy to saddle the horse first, and then leads it to her in the courtyard. "Do you want to hear about the affairs of the palace?" "Yes." Jenny said. "There's a brother in black today," Sansa said, "to ask for more men to guard the Wall, but he's old and smelly." She didn't like the look of that man at all.She used to think of the Night's Watch as Uncle Bunyan.In the ballad they may be called the Black Knights on the Wall.Today, however, this man is hunchbacked and hideous, as if he was covered in lice.If the Night's Watch is like this, then she really feels sorry for her half-brother, Jon, who is bastard. "Father asked the knights present if anyone would wear black to glorify the lintel, but no one responded, and finally he let this guy named Yoren go to the king's dungeon to choose the one he wanted, and sent him away .Then came two Freeriders, a pair of brothers from the frontiers of Dorne, who wanted to take an oath to serve the king. Father accepted their oath..."

Jenny yawned. "Is there any lemon cake?" Sansa didn't like to be interrupted, but she admitted that lemon cake was a lot more fun than most of the business going on in the Throne Room. "Let's go and see." There was no lemon cake in the kitchen, but they found half a cold strawberry pie, which was acceptable.They ate their pies in the tower's stairwell, giggling and exchanging gossip and secrets.When Sansa went to bed that night, she felt as naughty as Arya. In the early morning of the next day, she got up before dawn, and crawled sleepily to the window to watch Earl Berry's whole team set off.Dawn had just enveloped the city, and they had already set off.Three banners were flying in front of the uniform team, the crowned stag of the royal family was flying on the top of the tallest flagstaff, and the ice wolf of the Stark family and the forked lightning of Lord Beric were hanging on the shorter poles.Swords collided, torches flickered, flags fluttered in the wind; horses neighed, gates were pulled up, and the golden sun slanted in from the iron bars of the gates.Everything is so vivid and exciting, like a dream come true in a song.The guards of Winterfell in silver battle armor and long gray cloak looked particularly heroic.

Alyn held up the banner of House Stark.Sansa felt proud when she saw him rein in beside Lord Beric and talk to him.Alyn was much handsomer than Jory, and he would be a knight someday. The Tower of the Hand would look empty without them, so Sansa was glad to see Arya when she came down to breakfast. "Where did everyone go?" asked the sister, peeling a blood orange. "Did Father send them after Jaime Lannister?" Sansa sighed. "They went with Lord Beric to decapitate Ser Gregor Clegane." She turned to Septa Mordane, who was eating oatmeal from a wooden spoon. "Sister, will Lord Bailey hang Ser Gregor's head over his gates, or bring it back to the king?" she argued with Jeyne Poole last night.

The nun looked terrified. "How can you discuss this kind of thing when the official lady is eating? Sansa, where is your politeness? I swear to God, you are becoming as bad as your sister recently." "What's the matter with Gregor?" Arya asked. "He burned down a village and killed many people, including women and children." Arya's face scrunched up. "Jaime Lannister killed Jory and Howard and Vail, and the Hound killed Mycah, and someone should have their heads beheaded." "That's different," Sansa said. "The Hound was sworn to protect Joffrey's bodyguard, and your little pig-killer came out to attack the prince."

"You liar," Arya said.Her hand clenched the blood orange tightly, the red juice gurgling from between her fingers. "Curse as much as you want," Sansa said briskly. "I'll marry Joffrey and see if you dare to scold me. Then you'll have to bow your head and call me your majesty the queen." gone." Arya smacked blood oranges across the table toward her.Sansa screamed, and the blood orange hit her forehead with a wet, squashing sound, before plopping down on her knee. "Your Majesty, you have juice on your face," Arya said. Juice ran up her nose and hurt her eyes.Sansa wiped her face clean with a napkin, and cried out again when she found that the juice had stained her pretty ivory silk gown. "You're so sick of it," she screamed at her sister. "They shouldn't have killed the lady, they should have killed you!" Septa Mordane staggered to her feet. "I want to tell your father about this! You go back to my room immediately, and go now!" "I'm going too?" Sansa's eyes filled with tears. "It's not fair." "Don't argue with me, go!" Sansa left with her head held high.She was going to be a queen in the future, and a queen never shed tears easily.After returning to her room, she let down the latch and undressed.Blood orange juice left a red stain on the silk clothes. "I hate her!" she screamed, crumpling her clothes and throwing them into the cold hearth, where they fell on the ashes of last night's fire.That's when she realized the juice had seeped into her petticoat and couldn't help sobbing.She frantically tore off all the clothes on her body, threw herself on the bed, and cried until she fell asleep. It was midday when Septa Mordane knocked at the door. "Sansa. Your lord father wants to see you now." Sansa sat up. "Lady," she whispered.For a moment it seemed as though the direwolf were actually inside the house, gazing at her with those golden eyes, sad but understanding.She knew she was dreaming, but she longed for Lady to be there, to run with her, and...and... the attempt to remember was like reaching out to catch the rain.The dream is gone, and the lady is dead again. "Sansa," came the knock again, this time rather urgently. "Did you hear that?" "Yes, Sister," she called, "can you give me a few minutes to change?" Although her eyes were red from crying, she tried to look as good as she could. Lord Eddard was buried in a large leather-bound book when Septa Mordane led her into the study.His casted leg was stretched stiff under the table. "Sansa, come here." After the nun went to find his sister, he said, with no displeasure on his face, "Come and sit next to me." He closed the book as he spoke. A moment later Septa Mordane brought Arya, who was writhing, to her.Sansa had changed into a lovely light-green satin coat with a look of guilt on her face, but her sister was still in the same dirty leather vest from breakfast, all in tatters. "Here's another one," the nun announced. "Sister Mordane, thank you. I would like to speak privately with my daughter, could you please leave us alone?" The nun bowed and left. "Arya did it first," Sansa said at once, afraid she wouldn't be able to get ahead of her. "She called me a liar and threw blood oranges at me and stained my clothes. It was an ivory silk dress that Queen Cersei gave me for my engagement to Prince Joffrey. I'm going to marry the prince." , she hates me. She'll screw up anything in her hands, father, and she just can't see anything pretty." "Sansa, that's enough." Duke Ed's voice was full of impatience. Arya raised her eyes and said, "Father, I'm sorry, I was wrong, please forgive me, dear sister." Sansa was so angry that she couldn't speak for a while.Finally she found her voice again: "Then what about my clothes?" "I...maybe I can wash it for you," Arya said uncertainly. "It's no use washing it," Sansa said, "even if you rub it all day and all night. The silk is ruined." "Then... I'll make you a new one," Arya said. Sansa shook her head in disgust. "You? The clothes you sew are not worthy of wiping the pigsty." Father sighed, "I didn't ask you to discuss clothes. I'm going to take you back to Winterfell." Sansa was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a few seconds, her eyes felt wet again. "No," Arya said. "Please, Father," said Sansa at last, "please don't do this." Eddard Stark gave his two daughters a weary smile. "You finally have a consensus." "I made no mistake," Sansa begged him, "I don't want to go back." She loved the splendor of King's Landing court, the noble men and women in silk and satin, and all kinds of people in the city.That tourney had been the most wonderful time of her life, and there were things she hadn't seen, like harvest parties, masquerade balls, and pantomime shows.She couldn't bear the thought of losing it all. "Just send Arya away, she did it first, father, I swear. I'll be a good girl, really, if you let me stay, I promise I'll behave like a queen .” The corner of father's mouth twitched strangely. "Sansa, I didn't send you away because you were arguing, although I'm really fed up with your bickering all the time. I want you to return to Winterfell because of your safety. My three subordinates are not far away from here. Three miles were cut down like dogs, and what did Robert do? He went hunting!" Arya was pursing her lips in one of her disgusting ways. "Can we take Syrio with us?" "Who cares about your stupid dance teacher?" Sansa raged. "Father, I just remembered that I can't go. I'm going to marry Prince Joffrey." For his sake, she tried to be brave. smiling. "I love him, father, indeed, as Queen Nelish loves Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, and Joanki loves Florian. I want to be his queen, and bear him children." "My dear child," said the father softly, "listen to me, when you grow up I will find you a nobleman who is most worthy of you, brave and gentle and strong. This marriage to Joffrey A terrible mistake. That boy is not Prince Aemon, you have to believe me." "Of course he is!" Sansa insisted. "I don't want a man who is brave and gentle and strong. I want him. We'll live happily ever after, as the song says, and you'll see when the time comes." I will give him a golden-haired son who will one day be the king of a country, the greatest king who ever lived, as brave as a wolf and as proud as a lion." Arya made a face. "It's impossible to have Joffrey as father," she said. "He's a liar and a coward, and he's a stag, not a lion." Sansa had tears in her eyes. "He's not! He's nothing like the drunken king," she screamed at her sister, completely forgetting etiquette in her grief. Her father looked at her strangely. "Gods," he cursed softly, "that's coming out of a child's mouth..." He called the nuns to come in, and then said to the two girls, "I'm going to send you home on a fast merchant ship. I'm going to go by sea soon." It's safer than the King's Row. When I find a suitable ship, you will set off with Sister Mordane and some of the guards... If Syrio Forel is willing to work under my command, he can also be taken with me. This plan is the best Don't leak it, we'll talk tomorrow." Sansa could not help crying as Septa Mordane led them down the steps.They're going to take away the tournament, the grand court, and her Prince Charming, send her back to Winterfell on some ghostly ship, and lock her up forever.Her life hadn't even begun yet, and it was about to end like this. "Stop crying, child," Septa Mordane said sternly. "I trust your lord father knows what's best for you." "Sansa, it's not that bad," Arya said. "We're going on a boat, it's going to be a big adventure, and then we can live with Bran and Robb and Old Nan and Hodor again." ’” She touched her arm. "Hodor!" Sansa yelled, "You're so stupid, so dirty, so ugly, just marry Hodor!" After she said that, she shook off her sister's hand, rushed into the bedroom, and slammed the door behind her.