The Traitor's Escape

Chapter Five

By the time Sansa emerged to the upper deck, the ship had almost completely stilled. She'd dressed as quickly as she could, leaving her hair loose aside from two small braids atop her head, and finally she made the bed. She smoothed out the coverlet, taking care to make sure it was perfect. Then she scooped up the packed rucksacks and headed to the upper deck.

It was nearly pitch black outside. Sansa could barely make out any of the crewmen. However, Sandor was pretty obvious since he towered over nearly every man there and the distinct rasp of his voice as he barked out orders. She wrapped her arms closer to herself, feeling a bit put out that she wasn't doing anything to help. Slowly, she turned and went to head to the kitchens. Maybe Jacelyn would need assistance inside.

As expected, the dark haired girl was scrambling in the kitchen. Between helping her sisters and securing each barrel of food to be moved, she looked a bit frizzled out. She whipped around the moment she heard the door open and a relieved look crossed her face when she saw Sansa. The redhead smiled and asked, "What do you need me to do?"

"Get tha gals ready ta leave. We takin' the food and tha few things thay need. Won't be needin' much, only be off for a few days." Jacelyn shot her sisters an annoyed look. "See if ya have any luck with the girls. They is inconsolable." She huffed in frustration and turned back to her tasks.

Sansa nodded, turning her attention to Scarla and Emmie. Both the girls looked ready to burst into tears at any moment. Emmie didn't even hurry over to her the closer she got. She settled down on the ground beside them and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Jacelyn say we can't take no toys now," Emmie sniffled, looking extremely upset.

"Oh, honey, you can take a few, but I don't think it's wise to bring all of them with you-" Emmie sobbed, sniffling loudly. "I don't know how you feel about it, but do you honestly want to be carrying all of these toys back and forth from the ship?"

Slowly, she shook her head. She still said, "I dunno... Some might get lonely..."

"They'll be fine," Sansa said firmly. "Now, let's pick out your favorites. Then when you dock the next time, you can take the others with you." Emmie nodded, scrubbing at her face and following the redhead to her things. Scarla scooted over and sat beside her sister as Sansa started helping her go through her things. It took quite a bit of time, but she finally persuaded Emmie to only take a few belongings, a handful of dresses, and her favorite cushion to rest her head on. Scarla was much easier than her sister and had everything picked out in minutes. Secondwind had almost stopped completely.

Sansa started bidding the girls out to the deck. Each of them hugged her tightly, mumbling words of how they'd miss her and to come visit Secondwind anytime she wanted and finally, the girls disappeared from sight. Jacelyn gave her the most grateful look Sansa had seen and she said, "I can't thank ya enough. Those two..." She shook her head and continued, "Thank ya. Saved me much headache."

"I am most grateful for letting me join your little group," Sansa said, reaching over and hugging the dark haired girl.

Jacelyn squeezed her back and murmured quietly, "It's never a problem... Milady."

The redhead froze and pulled back. The girl looked a bit smug as she stared at the Clegane Lady. Sansa worked her mouth for a few moments and finally asked, "How?"

"Ya husband. 'e is obvious. No one in Westeros don't know them scars." Sansa flinched. She had worried that might be a problem. She went to say more, but Jacelyn cut her off with a raise of her hand. "Go now. We may see each other again, we may not."