Chapter Text
In Winterfell
Sansa chased her brothers around the old godswood tree. Being the youngest between herself, Jon, and Robb, she was ‘ it’ ; a fact that she rather resented. She raced around the tree and tagged Jon, “You’re it!” She squealed in happiness, then shrieked as he turned to chase her. She jumped over the snow-covered root and raced down the hill. Jon wasn’t so lucky. He tripped over the concealed root and tumbled down the hill, landing on his back.
She raced over to him, “Are you okay?” Jon didn’t respond and Sansa saw red staining the snow under his head. She screamed, “Robb get Father!” Her tiny hands tried to move her brother but he was older and bigger than her. “Jon! Jon!” She shook him.
“Stop!” A greenish-brown hand grabbed her own, “It will hurt him more.” Sansa looked up into yellow eyes. Sansa tried to wretch her hand back trying to get away from the strange woman, “ Shhh, I’m here to help.” She said to Sansa. The creature's skin looked a mix of smooth skin and bark and held the color of a new branch extending to the sun. Unconvinced Sansa leaned away from the woman even though she still held her arm, “Trust me little Stark.”
“Please help him.” She asked the creature.
“I can’t, but you can.” She grabbed Sansa’s arm who gave a muted whimper.
“Why not?” Sansa asked, why couldn't the lady just help her brother?
“Because he doesn’t belong here,” She didn’t wait for Sansa’s next question, “I’ll give you a gift but you must promise to only use it on those who are worthy.” Mutely she nodded. Sansa felt buzzing in her arms and body than her mind followed by a soothing wave of cool.
“SANSA!” She and the other looked up to see her father and Robb standing at the top of the hill. Her father stopped Robb from running down the hill and knelt down. “A child of the forest,” he whispered to Robb thrusting his arm out to stop his son from flying down the hill.
Sansa looked back at the greenish woman and felt the need to say “Thank you.” to the Child of the Forest as the being released her.
“Press your hands to him and will him to heal, child.” She said. Sansa did just that. She gripped the back of Jon’s head and willed it to be better with no ache or illness. She willed him to be healthy and strong. Jon groaned under her ministrations and she blinked back tears. Sansa turned to thank the strange woman again but she was gone.
“Sansa, what happened?” Jon asked her.
“You felled.”
“Fell?” he stretched up and rubbed the back of his head.
Her father and Robb came down the hill slowly now that Ned could see Jon was awake, he asked his only daughter, “Tell me exactly what happened, tell me what she said.”
“The pretty lady helped Jon...wait ...no. She said she couldn’t help Jon, but I could. She touched me and I got all buzzy and then I was able to fix Jon.”
“You got ..buzzy?” Robb asked.
“Yeah! Like...like bees in springtime.” She said excitedly.
“Robb take your brother back to the castle.” Robb helped Jon up and together they went up the hill. When they were gone, Sansa’s father sat down heavily on the ground and in the snow, something he rarely did. “Do you know what just happened?”
She gave an irritated huff, she had just told them what happened, “Jon felled…”
Her father smiled, “Not that, the one you met just now.”
“No…”
“She’s a child of the Forest. She was here when the first men came here to Westeros. She helped your and my ancestors survive winter after winter. And sometimes they gave gifts to those very special people with very special hearts.” Sansa gave her father a confused look, “She saw how you are very special, my Sansa. She gave you the gift of healing.”
Sansa looked down at her hands, “She said she couldn’t fix Jon. She said he didn’t belong here. She said to only use it on those who are worthy. What did she mean?” None of those things made sense to her, her brother was her brother. “Jon belongs here just like I do.”
A hint of sadness crept into her father’s eyes, the same sadness that was there whenever mother argued with him about Jon, “I’ll tell you about Jon when you’re older Sansa.”
“Its because mother hates him, isn’t it? Because his last name isn’t Stark.”
“That’s part of it, little one. It has nothing to do with his worth, all children and animals are worthy. Keep your promise to her, Sansa. And keep your gift quiet; men will seek you out if they know what gift you have and they will hurt you.”
“Yes, Father.” She took his hand when he stood, and they left the Godswood.
That night, Sansa set out warm milk and honey for the pretty lady hoping to meet her again, but she never came out, pouting she went back to the castle wishing she could talk to the child again. In the morning when she went to pray with her father, the glass was empty. After that, she’d started training with Maester Luwin, learning about the body and all the Children's lore.
King’s Landing 15 years later:
Sansa sniffled, wiping away the tears. She had been confined to her rooms since the day the Lannisters took her father into custody. Since he had stupidly trusted Lord Baelish. A fresh wave of tears assaulted her, but a slight knock on her door interrupted her and she quickly she rushed to it. Had her father been released? Yanking open the door, she expected to see a knight or a guard... but not Lord Varys, “My Lady. Come with me quickly.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
“I don’t have much time, I can get you to your father.” Sansa took his soft hand and closed her door. She didn’t know why the Spider had come to her aid but she was happy for it; a chance to speak with her father could save his life. She gripped her skirts in one hand as they descended the stairs that would lead them to the dungeons. After so many twists and turns she no longer had an idea of where she was going until finally, a door appeared in front of them, “The black cell.” He whispered to her, “Go now, see him. I will knock on the door when it is time for you to leave.” He took a torch from the wall and handed it to her.
Murmuring her thanks she rushed into the room.
“Varys?” Her father's voice sounded weak, so weak. She found him sitting among the rushes, his face dirty and his hair tangled, he squinted in the sudden light of her torch, “Sansa?” his throat croaked with the lack of use.
“Father,” She kneeled down next to him, hugging him fiercely, “Varys brought me down here. Why did you do that father? Why did you lay bare Cersei's secret.”
“How did you know?” He asked her.
“I’m smarter than you or mother think.” She grasped his hand needing the contact.
“You can’t marry him, Sansa, you can’t. He does not have a claim to the throne, no claim to anything.”
“You must renounce what you said, I can convince the Queen to let you take the black.”
“You want me to lie?” He scoffed at her, shocked she would say something like that. Sansa was a good girl she never lied.
“Yes!” She hissed, “Lie and live!”
“Words stop meaning anything when Northmen lie.”
“Do you want your words to mean something or do you want to live? Do you want to see your grandchildren one day? Please father! Please lie! You can go to the wall and be with Jon and Uncle Benjen! Please!” She wanted to scream at him but forced herself to keep her voice at a strained hiss.
“Sansa, listen to me.” He tried to reach out to her but was chained to the wall and couldn’t reach her face, instead, she took his hand in hers again. “Wipe those tears from your pretty face and listen to me.” he said softly, “I need to tell you something very important that no one but Jon can know.”
“About Jon? Father, we can’t talk about Jon now! I need you to think about your own life no one else’s right now!”
“He’s not my bastard!” He whispered, at her stunning Sansa into silence. “Do you remember the child of the forest?” She nodded looking down at her hands, the memory of the green-brown woman surfacing, “Jon doesn’t belong in Winterfell. Your aunt Lyanna- she is his mother.”
“What? Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because I made a promise to Jon that I can’t keep. Keep it for me, Sansa. Tell him.”
“His father?” Sansa asked Lord Stark hung his head, “The only way Jon does not belong in Winterfell is dependant on his father. If he’s not your bastard, then... who’s is he?”
“Do not tell him unless you are in person. Do you understand me? This information is dangerous.” she nodded, “His father is Rhaegar Targaryen.”
Sansa stared at her father absolutely dumbstruck, “Your aunt and he married without anyone knowing. He never kidnapped or raped her.”
Varys knocked on the door and quietly she stood up. “Sansa…”
She cast her gaze down on her father and for the first time she saw how old he was, scars and wrinkles littering his face. His grizzled beard wild and untamed, “Your Aunt named him Aegon. Tell him that. Tell him I’m sorry.”
****
Sandor winced at the blood-curdling scream that rent the air above the din of the crowd. His head snapped to the other dias; the girl was falling to the ground. He shoved men out of his way to get to her. Lord Stark’s last command was to protect his daughters, one promise The Hound intended on keeping. The little bird slipped from the Kingsguard’s hands and fell to the ground, he shoved those man away too and picked her up. Everyone ignored him as he scooped her up and into his arms.
Shoving through the courtiers he took the little bird back to the keep and away from her father's bleeding corpse.
-
She woke to being set down gently on her bed strong, warm arms, leaving her body cold and vulnerable. Her eyes opened to see the scarred visage of Sandor Clegane there, a hint of worry in his eyes. When he saw her eyes were open, the worry evaporated and the customary hate took its place. “He’s dead.” she whispered through her sob, “He’s dead and he can never come back, I can’t fix him! And it’s my fault. I should have gone home years ago.”
“Aye little bird, you should have. Not shit you can do about it now.”
“What am I going to do?” She cried out.
“Survive little bird. That’s all you can do.”
“I hate him, I want him to die.” Sandor clapped his hand down on her mouth, his hand wet from her tears. She didn’t jerk away from him or scream or give him one of her false courtesies.
“No treason from you, unless you want to join your father with your pretty little head on a spike. Then how can you help your family?” Her eyes widened, “That’s right, you’re not safe anymore. Daddy can’t protect you from that little cunt.”