Dangerous Animals

Chapter Seven

Watching Daenerys and Sansa attack and counterattack was perhaps one of the most intriguing battles he had ever bared witness, and he had witnessed quite a few. Ned Stark, Joffrey, Cersei, Littlefinger, Bealish, Olenna Tyrell, and the infamous Tywin Lannister himself. The way they played the game involved every ounce of their attention. The tone of their voice, the shift of their mouth, even the way they leaned forward in their chair. The skills of the two women before him matched those of their predecessors, though they seemed equally balanced, which surprised Tyrion far more than he could explain. Daenerys was intelligent, he knew that, and she had shown it on several occasions, but he had never seen her play the games of Westerosi politics. Not the way Sansa had. But for every retort that Sansa spit, Daenerys responded with an equally valid point. It was wolf against dragon, and unlike the legends, they were equally matched. No, not wolf against dragon, direwolf against dragon.

He was not fully engrossed in the battle set before him though. A small bit of his mind was focused on the events of the night before. Sansa's screams, her scars, her fear. The animalistic way her face morphed from fear to sadness and back to fear. The broken glass across the floor. The way she only allowed Brienne and Theon to comfort her. The way she drew back at Tyrion's approach. The way she almost seemed sorry about it, as if it was not fully her choice. But what shocked him, or perhaps scared him the most was the way Sansa had treated him when he had met her outside of her chambers this morning. She had acted as though it had never happened. As though the terrifying minutes had ceased to exist. Did she not remember? Or was she just embarrassed? Sansa Stark barely took off a piece of her armor of courtesies, and last night she was fully bare.

Why was he so concerned with it to begin with? They weren't married any longer, Sansa Stark should no longer be his concern. Or where they married? Tyrion wasn't sure. Their marriage had not technically been annulled, but Sansa had taken a different husband. Did that cancel out their first? He wasn't sure. Unfortunately, there was currently no High Septon to consult him upon the matter, Cersei had made sure of that.

"This leads me back to the same point I've been bringing up for ages. Why should I support a kingdom that is not my own? Swear allegiance to my throne and claim and I will do everything in my power to help the North." Daenerys' icy voice was filled with the same sort of tiredness that had inhabited Tyrion's voice whenever he had spoken to Joffrey. It seemed to scream why did she not understand?

Sansa's equally steely voice responded, her argument unchanging. "The North has suffered under Southern rule for too long. The King in the North is continuing what my brother, Robb Stark started, carrying on Northern independence that we held for hundreds of years before Torrhen Stark bent the knee to Aegon-"

"Targaryen. Torrhen Stark bent the knee to the Targaryen Dynasty, and promised the North to the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. It is your duty as a Stark, and your brother's duty as Ned Stark's son to uphold the North's notorious honor."

"And your father broke the North's trust and faith when he burned both my uncle and grandfather alive. Your father was rightfully overthrown, and you must live with the consequences. I support your claim to the Iron Throne, as does the rest of the North, but the North will remain an independent kingdom." Sansa stated her independence colder than anything that Tyrion had ever felt, and the words chilled him to spine. He had never met Robb Stark, at least not while he was King, but he had a strong suspicion that he would be beaming with pride if he was listening to Sansa at the moment.

"My father was an evil man" the words flowed out of Daenerys' mouth casually, but Tyrion did a double take. Theon looked up as well, not attempting to hide the surprise upon his face. Sansa's expression didn't even twitch, but her eyes matched Theon's surprise. He had not been expecting Daenerys to admit her father's crimes so easily. Yes, he knew that she was aware of her bloodline and the horrors it held, but conceding to the fact that they existed simply furthered the claim that her birthright was invalid or illegitimate. "He burned people alive and committed atrocities that will be remembered by the maesters for eras to come. But I am not my father. I will rule Westeros with justice and kindness that it has deserved for so long. I trust you trust Tyrion, he did a damn good job of keeping the peace while Joffrey reigned, or so I hear. And Varys, Olenna Tyrell, Ellaria Sand, and Yara Greyjoy are all close advisors of mine, so I am not immersing myself into Westerosi politics with no one by my side. In fact, one of my plans once I have the Iron Throne-"