DAGGERS TO THE HEART Part 1 - GAME OF THRONES

Sansa VII

Time flowed like a wayward river since Sansa's return from the crypts, the memory of that night etched in the recesses of her mind. The dagger, a gift from the Three-Eyed-Raven, now rested as a silent witness to the changing tides within Queenscrown. Eighteen moons had cast their ethereal glow upon the keep, and of those, sixteen were spent in the ebb and flow of routine and responsibility.

Fourteen moons marked Jon's departure, a journey that led him first to Castle Black and then beyond the Wall. The silence that lingered after his last letter, detailing his course to Craster's Keep, stretched over three long moons. Sansa feigned nonchalance, a practiced art to mask the underlying worry. Her mind echoed with reassurances—Jon was not one for prolific letter-writing, a trait she knew well. Back when he departed Winterfell to seek Daenerys' aid, he had penned only a solitary note. But that was a different time, a time when marriage was not the binding force between them.

Now, as his wife, Sansa found herself entwined in the intricate dance of the North's perils. A land fraught with danger, especially for those who ventured beyond the Wall. The inclination to seek solace in prayer no longer held sway over her; the Seven, once revered, had lost their grip on her heart.

Amid the palpable anticipation that hung in the air, a herald of comfort emerged—a raven-borne missive from Castle Black. Samwell Tarly, the rotund, former maester-in-training, embarked on a journey towards them, accompanied by Gilly and Little Sam. The imminent arrival of these familiar faces, a beacon in the gathering dusk, stirred a complex interplay of emotions within Sansa, a tapestry woven with threads of yearning, uncertainty, and the muted melody of hope.

In the aftermath of Jon's departure from Queenscrown, the intricate tapestry of their lives continued its gradual unravelling. Arya, propelled by an unwavering determination to reunite with Gendry, embarked on a southward journey to Kings Landing. Fortunes favored her, and she triumphantly brought Gendry back to the North, a reunion that resonated within the formidable stone walls of Winterfell.

Three moons, their silvery glow casting an ethereal hue, had slipped by since Arya's victorious return. Yet, true to her nature, Arya remained resistant to the allure of familial stability. Winterfell, though a bastion of comfort, held her only temporarily, as her restless spirit impelled her to join Robb on his Lord's Progress. Within Queenscrown, once animated by the dynamic energies of its inhabitants, now lingered the poignant void left by Arya's departure.

Theon, a spectre of loyalty with ever-shifting allegiances, had traversed the journey to Kings Landing in Arya's company. A moon's turn after her exit, he found his way back to Queenscrown, his return marked by the soft echoes of footsteps resonating across familiar stones. The ebb and flow of their lives, akin to the rhythmic passage of moons, had settled into a quieter cadence. The anticipation once tethered to Arya's return now yielded to the solitude that enveloped Queenscrown in her absence.

As Robb embarked on his Lord's Progress, the once-vibrant halls of Queenscrown appeared to hush, the resonance of their collective presence giving way to a serene quietude that settled upon the keep. The pulse of life, once dynamic and unrestrained, now whispered in the gentle rustle of leaves and the distant calls of unseen birds. Queenscrown, a realm in flux, adapted to the ever-shifting patterns woven by the passage of time and the choices of those who tread upon its storied grounds.

Lady Catelyn Stark remained entrenched, a silent sentinel within the confines of Queenscrown. Her professed reason—to await Jon's safe return—veiled a more insidious truth that Sansa, astute in her understanding, could not dismiss. The initial moons following Jon's departure witnessed Catelyn whispering the venomous secrets of doubt and suspicion into Sansa's ear. In the intimate shadows of those early days, Sansa found herself subjected to her mother's insinuations and unspoken fears.