A Need to Suffer

Depths

(Okay, don't hate me! I'm very long winded, and I needed to address a few things before the inevitable you know what happens! LOL! I know what you're waiting for, and it's coming at the top of the next chapter! I promise! LOL! And fear not, I'm working on it ASAP, and I will have an update to follow before the end of the weekend :P Until then, I hope you enjoy a little more plot build up in this chapter ;)

Chapter Twelve

Depths

Sansa made her way towards the dining hall to find Jon only to hear he’d retired for the night not long before she’d arrived. Deciding the matter with Ramsay’s guards couldn’t wait, Sansa made her way towards his personal chambers hoping he’d still be awake. Jon often preferred alone time, so she suspected he’d likely be available for a little while longer. As she made her way upstairs and down the hall, Sansa noted Maester Medrick, House Bolton’s prior raven and message advisor, was leaning against the banister staring down at the dining hall. He was watching the soldiers and nobles from other houses enjoying relaxing next to the warmth of the fire and sharing a drink.

She found it odd that he would be up here alone in the dark, but the fact his face was contorted in a look of consternation as Sansa approached brought a concern to cross her own features, “Is there anything the matter Maester Medrick?” Sansa questioned as she sidled up next to the man to look over the banister herself.

Maester Medrick merely sighed tiredly shaking his head as he turned his portly form to her, “No, no, my dear. I’m an old man, so all of this change just weighs heavily on my sensibilities. I find I’m not much for drunken festivities, but to watch others smiling and carrying on from afar can be soothing to a troubled mind.”

“I understand. That does seem calming; I think I’ll join you a moment,” Sansa stated turning back to look out over the crowd with Maester Medrick a bit relieved that there was nothing truly amiss. She assumed such a sudden change in regime by the deposing of the previous house would be rather unsettling for a Maester as they typically held no bonds of loyalty to any house and transferred to the victor like property in the event that a house had been eliminated. Much like the knights of the watch, Maesters held vows of celibacy and served the seven kingdoms. Known as knights of the mind, they served through being scholars and teachers of the many academic and skilled arts that were learned at the high citadel.

Maesters typically schooled or advised lords and ladies after their training was deemed complete, and for every art they mastered, they held a ring around their neck classified by a specific metal that represented their mastered studies. These ringed chains were worn as a badge of honor to never be removed, even while sleeping. Of course most Maesters were mastered in no more than a few of the eleven trades, so most houses, no matter their size, typically had more than one and sometimes sent them between houses to help reduce the deficit of knowledge.

House Bolton currently had (or did have when the keep was theirs) three Maesters. Sansa was most familiar with Maester Wolkan, who only wore a chain made of silver symbolizing him as the medicinal Maester. He had come to check on her daily to see if she’d been experiencing any symptoms of pregnancy; Roose had been persistent to find her carrying a child to propagate his family line through a Stark. Maester Wolkan was always kind and respectful, a mild mannered quiet man. By the amount of visits he was made to pay her, she could tell living under the Bolton’s rule seemed to strain him greatly by having to also tend to Walda Frey dutifully.

Maester Rhodry had originally served under House Cerwyn and was a standoffish sort preferring to engage in conversation with only a select few or not at all. He had seemed rather relieved of the change in leadership of the keep although he was never garish enough to say as much about House Bolton’s defeat. He had tended some of the ravens, but his neck was lined proudly in both types of iron rings denoting he was also a prided strategist.