Lady of Winterfell

Chapter Twenty: You Are Part Lannister

Tyrion watched carefully from his hiding place, as far as anyone else was concerned he was staying in a brothel outside of the castle; he had been waiting for the perfect time to catch his cousin. 

Things were changing but whatever side they were on, he wanted Sanira to know that she could always trust him; he had no idea what had happened in Winterfell since his last visit but Tyrion knew it couldn't be good. 

He didn't have to wait long before Sanira made her way out of the castle, she was alone for once and Tyrion was relieved for that alone; he stepped out of his hiding place and moved towards her wanting to talk. 

"It is wonderful to see you again cousin," Tyrion greeted moving quickly, they wouldn't be alone for long and he was sure that Robb would be coming to find her as soon as word reached him of this. 

Sanira paused at the sight of Tyrion, uneasiness filled her not knowing what was going to happen nor what he wanted to say to her; she wasn't going to reveal anything to him. 

"Tyrion," Sanira greeted softly, she tried to ease her mind and appear calm while thinking about what Robb had told her about his mother's suspicions. 

It seemed crazy and Sanira knew that if a Lannister was behind what had happened then it would be Cersei more than anyone else; she didn't doubt that there was a chance that Jaime had been involved, but there was no doubt in her mind that Tyrion was innocent. 

"I was surprised not to see Lady Catelyn during our meeting," Tyrion mused wondering why he hadn't been greeted by her, he had tried to talk about it to Theon but the Greyjoy boy had done his best to stay silent about what was going on in Winterfell.

Sanira didn't breathe a word for a moment, she didn't want to say something that would bring more trouble to her new home; it was bad enough that Catelyn didn't trust her to be part of this and she only knew because Robb had told her. 

Tyrion eyed Sanira closely, his eyes searching her face trying to work out what was going on in that mind of hers; he was surprised how well she covered up whatever she was thinking. 

"Lady Catelyn is unwell at this moment. Maester Luwin insisted that she stay in her bed chambers for a few days," Sanira replied trying to sound convincing, she had never been that good at lying and she had little doubt that Tyrion could see through her lies. 

The two stared at one another trying to work the other out what to say next, it was clear to both of them that Sanira's lie hadn't convinced Tyrion about where Catelyn was. 

They both couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen now, if Tyrion choose to push the lie then there was a large chance that it would only cause him more problems. 

"I have a gift for you," Tyrion stated choosing to change the subject instead, he reached for the item that he'd had made for Sanira. 

It would do her some good to have it now, he had originally had it made as a wedding gift but Tyrion hadn't had the chance to give it to her the last time that he had been in Winterfell. 

Sanira had done her best to stay away from all of her cousins, instead she had been close with her new family and Tyrion didn't blame her for that; he would avoid his siblings too if he had a choice. 

Handing the gift over, Tyrion watched as Sanira carefully unwrapped it to reveal a dagger that he'd had forged especially for her; on one side of the handle there was the Tremaine sigil and on the other side sat a Lannister sigil. 

Turning the dagger over in her hands, Sanira tried to hide her displeasure of the Lannister side of the dagger from Tyrion.

It was a beautiful gift and Sanira wasn't entirely sure why Tyrion had decided to give this to her, it was an unusual gift and not something one would normal give to a lady of her standing. 

Arlenna had never approved of her daughter owning such things and had made it clear what was expected of her; even now when Sanira was married to Robb, she occasionally got a letter from her mother telling her to be more lady like. 

"You are part Lannister Sanira, even if you wish you weren't," Tyrion said explaining his decision to set the Lannister sigil onto something that was for Sanira. 

It was to remind her of who she was and there would be a time in the future that Sanira would have to defend herself against people who wished to do her harm because of her name. 

There was something building and even Tyrion could sense that, he wanted to offer Sanira some small protection for when things went south. 

"Never forget that. People around here will not," Tyrion mused looking around, he had no doubts that things were going to change rapidly and this could very well be the last time that they saw one another. 

Sanira eyed the dagger and slowly nodded her head, she hated that part of her and she probably always would; she had seen what the Lannisters were capable of. 

"Thank you," Sanira murmured stowing it away, she had no idea what else to say to him but she was sure that he understood; things had never been easy between their two families. 

Arlenna was always trying to promote Lannister feelings in the family while Rolan had been more interested in the unions that had been formed during the rebellion. 

Sanira and her siblings had always seen their father's side of things, pulling them away from the Lannister part of them and disappointing their mother so much. 

"I hope you have a safe journey," Sanira said looking to Tyrion, she was sure that he would be leaving soon and she didn't know if she would see him again before then; his stay in a brothel didn't exactly make Sanira wish to visit him.

Tyrion nodded his head and stepped back away from Sanira, he was leaving early in the morning and he was looking forward to getting closer to his home. 

It had been an interesting time away from the capital and he was sure that Cersei would have some meaningless tasks for him to do when he got back to King's Landing. 

"Farewell," Tyrion mused with his head, he slowly walked away and he knew that this could be the very last time that they saw each other. 

If things didn't go south then it could be years before they ever set eyes on one another, Sanira was destined to spend the rest of her life here in Winterfell and Tyrion was going to be in the capital. 

Watching Tyrion walk away, Sanira tried to ease her own mind as she wondered what the future held; she couldn't help but wonder what would happen now. 

"What did he want?" Robb asked approaching his wife, he had watched their exchange and he still didn't trust Tyrion; he didn't know who was behind what had happened but he wasn't going to let this bring them down now. 

It was only a matter of time before Catelyn returned with news about what was going on, Robb was eager to hear what had happened while she was in the capital and he hoped that his father had some ideas on how to handle all of this. 

Sanira handed over the dagger so that Robb could see it, she spared her husband a glance as he admired the dagger that she had been handed.

It was nearly exactly the same as the dagger that had been used in the attempt against Bran, Robb frowned at the sight of the Lannister sigil; he didn't care what anyone said, his wife was a Stark now and she had been a Tremaine before that. 

Handing the dagger back to Sanira, Robb wasn't sure what Tyrion was doing but he had a feeling that it would all make sense soon.