Chapter 256: Sansa Takes Off Her Mask
Winterfell, Stark Lands
POV of Domeric Bolton
"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." Sansa said.
Domeric truly couldn't understand what was happening to Sansa, but he couldn't let this go on any longer.
"Sansa, I truly love Ygritte. And she will be my first wife. It is inevitable. And I promised Ygritte I would never betray her. She will remain my only wife for as long as she wishes."
Sansa was initially surprised to hear this and then bowed her head in response.
Domeric was sure she would soon begin to cry in a while, but he didn't know what to do. He briefly considered turning away and making an escape.
But before he could act on his thoughts, Sansa raised her head again. But contrary to Domeric's thoughts, instead of a tearful face, he saw Sansa's determined face.
"Does this mean that if I can convince Ygritte, you will accept me as your wife or lover as well?" she said.
And Sansa had managed to surprise Domeric once more. "Pardon me!!! Sansa, are you seriously telling me that you want to be my second wife or lover instead of marrying Prince Joffrey and becoming Queen of the Seven Kingdoms? Why are you turning down this opportunity?"
"Because I love you. And I know exactly what kind of person Joffrey is. He's a sadist who kills animals. And the people in Red Keep are all worse than each other. If I go to King's Landing, I'll never have a happy, peaceful life. All I want is a peaceful life with the person I love. If being your second wife or your lover is what it takes for me to be by your side, then that's what I'll do." Sansa shouted.
If Domeric hadn't been so stunned by Sansa's words, he might have been glad he'd cast a sound-dampening spell around them earlier, but he couldn't think about that right now.
"How do you know these things?" Domeric finally managed to say.
He doubted Lord Stark had told Sansa about Domeric's warning earlier. Besides, Sansa spoke with such confidence that she wouldn't have been so confident if she had overheard the information.
"Last time I was in Dreadfort, Lady Barbrey allowed me to use Lyra's spy network and dig up some information." She said.
"Auntie? Why? Why would you need information from the spy network?" Domeric asked. Aside from his surprise that Sansa would need information from the spy network, Domeric couldn't believe his aunt would tell Sansa about it or even allow her to use it.
"Lady Barbrey said I should learn the truth about someone before admiring them, especially the parts of them that aren't visible to everyone. I conducted research on many of the renowned knights, lords, and nobles of Westeros with the permission of Lady Barbrey and the help of Lyra. And what I learned made me sick. But then again, I didn't know this much about Prince Joffrey at that time." She explained.
"Then how did you find out?" Domeric asked again. He thought it impossible for Sansa to learn about Joffrey's condition from any other source. Was there anyone in Westeros, besides Domeric or Varys, whose spy network was so extensive?
"Oh... Lady Barbrey was worried about me when she heard that the King had betrothed me to Prince Joffrey. She smuggled me a letter, telling me about Prince Joffrey's character, about the people at the Red Keep, and the political workings of King's Landing, and warning me to make my choice carefully." She answered Dominic's question.
"Did Aunt Barbrey tell you these things in her letter?"
"Yes."
Domeric put his hand to his chin, cupping it between his index finger and thumb, and thought for a moment.
Had her aunt, who hated Starks, really given Sansa this information that potentially would cause trouble for the Boltons if someone else knew, just to help her? And she hadn't even mentioned anything to Domeric.
Why?
Then a possibility occurred to Domeric, and he lifted his gaze to look at Sansa again. Had his aunt become attached to her after taking over Sansa's education?
Perhaps she had begun to see Sansa as a pupil or even as a daughter.
He knew that his aunt longed for children because she had none, and that's why she thought of Domeric as a son. Perhaps after spending time with Sansa, she had come to see her as the daughter she never had.
This would change things. If Sansa had become someone his aunt cared about, Domeric couldn't allow her to go to King's Landing and experience those pitiful events.
But he still couldn't understand Sansa's sudden change. No one could change so suddenly. But instead of using Legilimency, he decided to satisfy his curiosity with a question.
"Sansa, a moment ago, there was a sudden change in your posture, demeanor, and speech. The person who was waiting for me outside my door and the person I'm talking to right now seem to be different people. Why did you suddenly change like that?" Domeric asked.
Sansa smiled mischievously at Domeric's response and answered him. "Lady Barbrey said that if I started acting differently in Winterfell after returning from Dreadfort, many people, especially my mother, would worry, and they might not send me back to Dreadfort. She also taught me that if a Lady doesn't show her true strength, people will underestimate her. That's why, after returning to Winterfell, I started wearing the mask of a naive girl. What you see now is me without the mask. But I meant what I said earlier. I truly love you." She said.
And Domeric was stunned again. He had nothing to say. His aunt had done an outstanding job.
But this presented Domeric with another problem. He could now see that Sansa was precious to his aunt, but how could he rescue her from this situation?
"Domeric, you didn't answer my question earlier. If Ygritte agrees, can I be with you?" Sansa asked again.
"What? Ah. Yeah, yeah. If you can convince Ygritte, we can discuss this further. But you know that's not the important thing right now, right? You'll have to return to King's Landing with the King's convoy, and you can't just disappear to avoid that."
Just like he did with the Lyra incident, Domeric passed the problem he couldn't solve to Ygritte and focused on the crucial issue.
"Why not? I don't want to marry the prince, and I don't want to go to King's Landing. Can't you just get me out of here?" she asked.
-Hahhhh
Even though Sansa wasn't as naive as she used to be, Domeric could see that she was having trouble understanding certain things, or that she didn't want to. She was probably speaking more emotionally than logically.
"Because if you disappear right after our betrothal is broken, I will be the first suspect, no matter what. And Lord Stark and the King will keep searching until the day they find you. And do you realize that by offering to do so, you're not only fleeing from King's Landing and Prince Joffrey, but you're also abandoning your family? You won't see them again for a long time, perhaps never again."
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.257: Jealous Ygritte
Ch.258: The Duel is About to Begin
Ch.259: The Duel Through Sansa's Eyes