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XIII SANSA "royal mercy" ⚜️
Her prince rode a blood bay courser, dashing through the woods at such speed that Sansa found it hard to keep up. It felt strange to be without Lady. There was only Joffrey and Lion's Tooth as company, and he had barely spoken to her in the past weeks. The mere idea of spending the day with him had made Sansa excited, no less the memory of him saving her from the Hound and the stern-faced ser Ilyn. It was much like Prince Aemon the Dragonknight and his defence of Queen Naerys' honour against the slander of Ser Morgil. It was like her stories.
The forests had a gentleness that she had not seen in the north, with beams of warm light that left her fair skin in a pink flush, and soft bushes of lush leaves that tickled her arms as she rode past. Joffrey was like a star, his crown of golden hair bathing in a halo of light as he turned to her, smiling at her as he had not done before.
After dining on fresh trout at a small holdfast that Joff had found off the road and tracking shadowcats to their caves, he thrust a wineskin into her hands, urging her to drink.
"My father only lets us have one cup and only at feasts," she confessed, far along the kingsroad where neither her family nor Joffrey's could be seen. The prince laughed at her and tilted the wine to her lips.
"My betrothed can drink as much as she wants," he said.
Sansa drank more wine than she ever had before. She found it made her head fuzzy, her eyes prone to watering even though the wind was mild and summery. The day was soon becoming evening and into the growing darkness, Sansa frowned. Father would be looking for her.
"Shouldn't we be starting back?"
"Soon," her prince said. She wished he would look back at her with his perfect, green eyes but he didn't. "The battleground is right up ahead, where the river bends. That was where my father killed Rhaegar Targaryen, you know. He smashed in his chest, crunch, right through the armour." He made a motion with his hands as a demonstration of the sounds. "Then my uncle Jaime killed old Aerys, and my father was king. What's that sound?"
It was a clattering sound, blunt and quiet, but it echoed through the trees from ahead. It made her scared and Sansa gripped the reins harder.
"I don't know," she said, urging her horse to stand beside his. "Joffrey let's go back."
Her prince ignored her, forcing his horse forward until he was bounding through the woods again, no care for what lay in his pathway. "I want to see what it is."
"Someone's there." Sansa's lips quiver as she spoke.
"You're safe with me."
His words made her as warm and fuzzy as the wine did. Soon the light brightened beyond the trees and the forest made way into a clearing by the river bank, stretching far into the still water. The clanging sound came from sticks and Sansa cringed as her eyes fell upon the two small figures by the water's edge.
