Chapter 255: Sansa and Domeric
Winterfell, Stark Lands
POV of Domeric Bolton
Domeric was returning from his meeting and going back to his room, and he saw Sansa waiting outside his door. He sighed. He really didn't want this teenage girl drama right now, but he doubted he would be able to avoid her for long.
Sansa heard his footsteps and turned to face him. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her hair was unkempt, and her dress looked disheveled, as if she had not changed it for a few days.
As soon as she saw him, her eyes started watering, and she ran up to him and pulled him in a hug.
"Oh, Domeric. I'm so sorry." She sobbed on his shoulder. "The King betrothed me to Prince Joffrey. Father fought against this decision, but his grace wouldn't listen to him. My mother says that I should follow the betrothal and marry the prince, as a good lady should. But I don't want to marry him, I want to marry you. I love you, Domeric."
She looked in his eyes and leaned in to kiss him.
The action was so shocking that he stood still for a moment. Then he pushed her away by her shoulders and looked at her in incomprehension.
'Gods, I knew that the girl was a little infatuated with me, but when did she fall in love with me? And did she think that I loved her as well? Didn't all the cold shoulders I gave her in Dreadfort teach her anything?' Domeric thought.
A legilimency probe revealed that since he first met her a decade ago, during the Greyjoy rebellion, she had harbored some feelings for him, albeit an innocent and childish one. Over time, as she heard about his deeds from others, her feelings about him deepened.
When she came to Dreadfort, she was still only infatuated with him. A boy whom she had only heard rumors about. A boy she only knew from rumors, but a boy that she liked.
When she lived in the luxury of Dreadfort, she started to conjure the images of a happy future with him. And even when he exiled her and her mother from the Dreadfort, she believed he did it because of her mother's behavior, not because there was anything wrong with her.
The images of a happy future together with him remain buried in her mind and have influenced her infatuation with him, which has evolved in time into love.
He came out of her mind and closed his eyes in discomfort.
He didn't want to invade Sansa's privacy by dwelling on her mind any longer than necessary. Domeric found it truly strange that Sansa had confessed her love for him, so he cast Legilimency on her to find out the truth.
He had honestly hoped that Sansa didn't know what love meant and was just using this word haphazardly, but apparently that wasn't the case.
All of this reminded him of his conversation with Lyra. Dealing with someone who didn't have feelings for him was a piece of cake for Domeric, but he honestly didn't know how to deal with someone who truly had genuine feelings for him.
It didn't feel right to Domeric to hurt their feelings, but he didn't know how to deal with them without hurting their feelings.
"Sansa." He said. "The King has decided our future for us. And we cannot go against the King. If I do so, then the King will see my loved ones and me dead before the end of the moon."
"He can't do such a thing." She said, amidst tears.
"He can Sansa. You are betrothed to the prince now… we're not meant to be anymore." He said. But he knew Sansa wouldn't have a happy life with Joffrey.
Judging by the future of this world, Sansa would have a rather miserable experience in King's Landing. But there was nothing he could do about it. Domeric had already done his best and bewitched the King to choose Tommen for the betrothal, but it hadn't worked.
"You must move on as well and try to find a life with the prince. Who knows, maybe you'll be happier as a queen than as a lady of a small castle."
"Dreadfort isn't small." She said. "And I want to marry you and only you."
Her voice was starting to rise, so Domeric subtly cast a sound muffling charm around them. He didn't want rumors about him and Sansa having an affair. That path would lead to disaster.
He shook his head and spoke more firmly this time. "I cannot do this, Sansa. You should leave."
Sansa looked stunned for a moment, and then her face suddenly became serious. "Is this about your sworn shield, Ygritte? The girl you keep with you."
"What?" Domeric said, more surprised than anything.
More than Sansa's mention of Ygritte, he was surprised by Sansa's current transformation. Domeric could see the naivety in her face melting away, replaced by a sharp, intelligent gaze. The current Sansa reminded Domeric more of the Sansa who had become the ruler of Winterfell in the future.
"Theon told me about the girl you took with you to the North. He told me that you slept with her each night. Is she the reason why you don't want me?"
"Sansa…" he paused, not really knowing what he should say in this moment.
Sansa wiped her tears and looked at him with a serious gaze. "Theon told me she was a whore, but I don't believe it. I know you're not the type to keep women like that around, Domeric. So I can only think of one possibility. Do you love her?" she asked.
He opened his mouth to answer, but closed it. He did it a few more times before he finally hung his head and nodded. "I do. I'm truly sorry, Sansa."
Sansa stayed quiet for a long moment, simply looking at him with a strange expression. Then she asked a question that shocked Domeric even more. "Will you still marry me if I let you keep her?"
"What?" he asked with a frown.
"I said, if I let you keep her, do I still have a chance of marrying you?" Sansa said, and the expression on her face said she was pretty serious.
"So, you're saying I can keep Ygritte as my lover as long as I marry you. I never imagined you could even harbor such a thought, Sansa." Domeric said. He was still shocked by Sansa's change.
This wasn't the naive, dreamy girl Domeric knew. If Domeric hadn't looked into her mind with Legilimency, he would have thought she was one of the Faceless Men.
"I would rather accept you keeping her than lose you completely. Lover, concubine, mistress, paramour—it doesn't matter to me what name you keep her under. As long as there's room for me in your heart, I'll be happy."
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.256: Sansa Takes Off Her Mask
Ch.257: Jealous Ygritte
Ch.258: The Duel is About to Begin