Little Wolf (Sansa/Petyr)

The Queen's Choice

Sansa was unsure how to feel. She was happy that Petyr understood how she felt and she was happy that the marriage was going through. But it all seemed too easy. He had forgiven her too quickly. She had done a silly, selfish thing and she was ashamed and she wanted him to be angry, to shun her for a few days. This all seemed too simple, and she was sceptical.

Petyr wanted to be angry with her, he understood that what he had done was wrong. But she had responded to his mistake childishly and he wanted to punish her for it. But he could not find it within himself to punish her. He was unsure why, maybe because he did not want to hassle of having to win her favour again, or maybe he believed she didn't deserve to be punished. Whatever it was, he wanted to marry Sansa, so he could not be cruel to her.

The Queen was shocked when she received a visit from Baelish. At first, she panicked, wondering if something was wrong with the finances, but then she relaxed when Petyr stated he was making a personal visit.
"San- Lady Stark has made it clear to me that she wishes for the day of our marriage to not be far away." Petyr spoke in riddles, but Daenerys quickly unscrambled them.
"She wishes for you to be married?" Daenerys asked. She was sceptical of Sansa's intentions. Not a minute ago, she was rushing off to the North to be away from Petyr, now she wished for them to be married in due course, it all seemed a little confusing.
"I don't understand." She stated, her eyebrows furrowing.
"I should speak to Sansa about this. I don't want any mistakes to be made." The Queen said finally. She dismissed Petyr and thought for a long moment about what must be going on in Sansa's mind.

Petyr left feeling deflated. The Queen had not granted him permission to marry Sansa because she did not believe her feelings were the same as his. He was ashamed, his pride had been wounded and he was unsure what to do with himself.

Varys saw Petyr walking to his room, looking rather glum. Head to the ground and feet moving slowly. He wondered what could be making the master of coin feel this way. But decided that now was not the time to be asking him such things. Better to leave him to his own devices, then speak with him when in a finer mood.

Sansa was shocked to see Petyr missing from dinner. She wondered what other duties he had to attend to. She had been called to the Queen after dinner, so she was going to eat her fill before she went. The men noticed Sansa's nervous eating and put the clues together to understand that Petyr and Sansa were having issues.

A couple that was not having so many issues was Tormund and Brienne. It seemed that their temperaments were very similar and they valued the same attributes in a person: strength, courage, humour. They sat together one night, by the fire in Brienne's room and discussed the future.
"Do you think you shall ever marry?" Brienne asked, feeling her cheeks turn a deep red.
"I do not fully understand the process of marriage down south." Tormund furrowed his brows.
"Well, it is when two people want to live together for the rest of their lives and want to have a family. They get wed, under the crown." Brienne attempted to explain.
"I want a family. But I don't know if I would ever dress up in fancy clothes and say some silly words to silly gods." He shook his head and Brienne understood that this was a foreign concept to him.
"I would like to get married one day. Have a family and have my own house." Brienne day dreamed about a small place, not too far from the Capitol, where he could still work, but come home to her children. It seemed so sweet, exactly the life that Brienne wanted. Tormund looked at Brienne as she stared off into the distance. He wanted to give her what she wanted, but he didn't know how. Beyond the wall, a man would simply proclaim that a woman was his and that was it. Down south there were so many rules and regulations that he didn't understand. If he was going to give Brienne what she wanted, he would need help.

Sansa sat before the Queen, nibbling on lemon cakes that the Queen had ordered in for her. She was nervous. She was unaware of what the Queen wished to discuss and she could feel a pressure build on her chest.
"Sansa, I had a visit from Lord Baelish today. He told me something and I want you to verify this for me. He said that you wished to be married, for the engagement to end." Daenerys' voice showed she was obviously confused. Sansa took a deep breath.
"Yes, that is correct, your Majesty." Sansa looked down at her plate.
"There's no need for all of that." She held up a hand in protestation.
"Tell me how you feel, Sansa." The Queen instructed. Sansa took a moment to gather her thoughts, before she began.
"It has been a long while since Petyr first made his feelings known to me. Since then we have lived half a marriage, sharing time in the darkness of the night, but never being able to stay in each other's company. I went to the North because I was angry at him for this, for having to sneak around at night. I want this half marriage to end. I want him as my husband, so that we can be seen together, we don't have to worry about the whispers of the court. I just want to be able to relax and start my life with him." Sansa sighed and the Queen understood. She was frustrated. She had been given half a cake and told she would have to wait for the second half.

Daenerys sat back for a moment and folded her hands over her lap.
"You love him?" She asked Sansa and watched as the young lady's face turned red.
"Yes, very much so." Daenerys could see the sincerity in Sansa's words.
"Very well. I see no problem in arranging a date for your marriage, once the Red Keep is restored."
"No." Sansa interrupted the Queen.
"I am sorry, but I have already had one wedding in the Red Keep. I do not wish to be married there again." Sansa whispered, looking down at her hands.
"I see." Daenerys understood.
"I wish to be married here, in the Vale. I don't want a large ceremony, or lots of guests. I just want the people who care about me and a simple ceremony." Sansa smiled up at the Queen.
"Very well. I shall speak with Lord Baelish and we shall pick out a date." Daenerys smiled and dismissed Sansa for the evening.

Sansa left feeling relaxed and relieved. She understood that sometimes, things can be easy and that life does not always have to be about power struggles and who's on top. Petyr wasn't going to resent her for going to the North and she allowed herself to be glad about that. Things were finally looking a little simpler for Sansa and for this, she was happy.