To Die For You If Need Be Chapter 6: A Solution

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Sansa Stark

I looked around the small room and felt like this was all a dream. It seemed so long ago that I had left with my family to King's Landing. I was a different person back then. Back then I thought that all knights were noble and certain people could be trusted. All that had started to be torn down in that cursed city. Now I was a hardened woman that had survived the realities of a harsh world.

As a girl I wouldn't have thought it an odd concept to be back at Winterfell with House Stark ruling. As a woman, though, I couldn't get my mind around it no matter how many weeks were spent here in freedom. Jon Snow was now King of the North which was an even harder concept to grasp.

The air had become colder which was a sign of winter coming soon. It was good that Arya wasn't alive as this winter was to be full of dangers she wasn't yet prepared for. She could fight but I didn't want her corpse to be among the fallen. Jon thought that the Night King would return and she could have been forced to join his army.

A few torches lit up the small room so that we could better discuss what was to happen. Jon Snow was looking grim as always while Davos had a concerned look on his face. The man had proved himself more than valuable in winning back Winterfell for House Stark. It was his role as diplomat that allowed any men to fight beside Jon.

I wouldn't let the pride that had taken me back then to return. Men's lives could have been saved if only I had told Jon about the knights of the Vale that would come to fight for us. If that same pride took over me now then much more than Winterfell would be lost.

A wind roared through the window and the cold comforted me. It had been far too long since a moment like this could be enjoyed. Every inch of Winterfell was now safe for me to walk and I could take long walks to try to get rid of my memories with Ramsay. His ghost would always haunt me but I would never allow it any power. He was dead and I was free to pursue the life meant for me.

It didn't matter, as it once did, that I be married to a handsome king. Now I merely wanted to ensure that House Stark survived the next hundred years. After having my House brought to its knees, I was under no illusion that the Stark line was destined to continue until eternity.

I was Lady Sansa Stark and I would live up to my title. I would support Jon, my brother and king, in all his endeavors. Though I wouldn't remain silent in private if I thought he was acting stupid. Unlike before, I would reveal all my thoughts so that he could make better decisions for our House.

"We shouldn't trust this Targaryen." I said again. "The last time a Targaryen conqueror came to the North our ancestor bent the knee. Northern Independence was won recently with our family paying the ultimate price."

"Daenerys could be different." Davos argued. "She comes seeking to change Westeros. I am inclined to believe her as she did free the slaves in Essos."

"She could have freed the slaves to make herself feel better. There is also the point to be made that freeing the slaves helped her gain power. The only thing that will make the Targaryen feel better is gaining the Iron Throne and the North with it."

"We need her dragons to fight against the Night King." Jon pointed out. "I highly doubt that he will fight as eagerly against us if we have three dragons at our side."

"Three dragons that are controlled by someone we don't know." I countered. "Why should we trust someone we don't know?"

"We won't know if we can trust her until we try."

I couldn't lose Jon. I had lost father, mother, Robb, Bran, Rickon, and Arya. The only blood I had left was Jon. He was a bastard but he was still my brother. How cruel I had been when I was younger. Maybe if I had realized who he was before our family was torn apart, things would be different. Maybe I wouldn't be so concerned about losing him since my time would have been spent with him.

Did Daenerys burn men alive? Was that the fate that would await my brother once he went to Dragonstone? Would his screams of pain haunt my nightmares until she turned her sights on Winterfell?

"We aren't trusting her until we know for certain." Davos reassured me.

"And yet you're willing to go to Dragonstone?" I scoffed. "If she's not to be trusted the North might not even receive Jon's ashes."

"You have to tru-"

"My life became worse once I trusted people that weren't my blood. Other people can wear the kindest faces and be capable of the greatest evil."

"Davos isn't of House Stark. Would you want him sent away?" Jon interjected.

"No." I replied.

"I know it isn't easy to trust, especially with what you've been through, but you have to. Not completely, but enough to give the illusion of trust. People will surprise you when you allow yourself to open up."

"Not when the person in question has three dragons at her back. If she decides you should die, then you won't be able to escape your fate."

"I don't believe she's like that or else she would have already begun burning Westeros to ashes."

Jon had a point. If Daenerys were as vicious as my nightmares said she was, her first attack would have happened already. She had the support of House Martell, those that followed Yara Greyjoy, the Unsullied, and the Dothraki. That was a force to be reckoned with even before thinking of her three dragons.

Someone who wanted to threaten the North wouldn't send a raven to Winterfell with a peaceful request to meet. There was always the possibility that the message was a lie but a woman controlled by rage wouldn't be capable of that level of deceit. So either she was a calculating politician or a monster that would kill you as much as look at you. She couldn't be both.

"You're right, Jon." I relented. "But how much will you be able to control her? If you can't control her then you won't have her dragons."

"I didn't think you would be one to try and control a person." Davos replied with a sigh.

"It is admirable the power Daenerys has been able to gain. But I don't trust her to care about Northern Independence. I'm also not certain about giving her a chance."

"And a woman who has managed to rise from her position like the Targaryen has will allow herself to be cornered?"

"Everyone has their weakness."

"I'm not going to control her." Jon said firmly. "She will make her decision to help us or go to war with the North. I believe she can be reasoned with."

Jon looked at me and I felt ashamed. His look and Davos' words hurt me. I had been controlled by people with ill will to both myself and my family. This made it hard for me to trust others. Who was to say that they weren't using me for their own ends? But my past should also make me feel for people enough not to want to control them. Trusting Daenerys...it just wasn't the same because she could kill me or Jon and leave House Stark as a distant memory.

But should I really resort to controlling her? Should I remove her independence? No, I couldn't or else I would just be abusing someone else. Maybe I could abuse her if she deserved it, but that time wasn't now.

"How do you plan to escape if need be?" I asked.

There was a silence and fear crept into my heart. I had already been afraid for my brother but now it was worse. Jon had died once before and might not fear doing so again. He might even wish to go into Death's embrace once again. Maybe it was peaceful where he had been. Maybe he was addicted to the eternal silence that he briefly visited. It could be that going to Dragonstone was a chance at suicide.

"I know I might not come back." Jon replied. "I know if Daenerys is a cruel tyrant that she will kill me. I'm not a child, Sansa."

"If you die then House Stark will fall." I said. "I won't be able to find a suitor and bear a child before the dead or Daenerys come. Are you willing to risk our House?"

That was a partial lie. While I was very concerned with the future of House Stark, I was more concerned about another family member dying. Would Daenerys send any piece of him back to me? Death would be a sweet release if she were to kill him. It would be too hard to keep up the fight if I were to lose the last of my blood.

"And what if Daenerys agrees to ally with me?" Jon countered. "She will be a powerful force against the Night King. She will allow Westeros to belong to the living."

"And what happens after that?" I asked. "If she wants the Iron Throne then she'll want the Seven Kingdoms. Do you really think you could convince her to rule six kingdoms and not seven?"

"I don't know. But if I don't try then I will sacrifice all of Westeros because of fear."

I wanted to stop my brother but he had a point. In his madness there was logic I couldn't argue with. Daenerys could become a powerful ally and one we couldn't risk losing. The Night King, according to Jon, was a force that could destroy all life. And what if he were able to get to Essos? Had he tried in the past? Could a way for him to cross the sea open in the future? Would deciding to stay in Winterfell destroy all life in the known world?

I couldn't destroy Westeros and neither could Jon. He was too good to allow that to happen and I...I had morals that couldn't be broken. If humanity was lost then so was my family.

"If you are certain then I should go to Dragonstone." I said. "I'm not letting you risk your life."

"Daenerys will want to see the King of the North." Jon argued. "She will find it an insult if anyone goes in my place."

"Jon also shouldn't appear as a coward in front of someone who could prove to be a dangerous enemy." Davos agreed. "Respect from an enemy is more important than respect from an ally."

"I highly doubt if she's an enemy her respect will stop her from killing Jon." I said.

"I'm willing to take that risk." Jon replied.

"You know I'm a better diplomat than you and I'm not the King of the North. I have a better chance of gaining her as an ally. And if I die the North won't suffer."

I feared death but...but I couldn't let Jon die. I had stood near to my father when he had been murdered. I had done nothing and there was a good reason for it. But the guilt still ate away at me. Robb and mother had been murdered and I had done nothing. Of course there was a good reason I hadn't been able to stop that. But my head couldn't tell my heart to stop feeling pain.

"Don't worry, Sansa, Davos will be with me." Jon reassured me. "I know I'm not a good diplomat. That's why I am bringing him with me."

Jon's reasoning still left both him and the North vulnerable. If Daenerys was a monster then he would die far from the North. He had never traveled as far South as I had. It didn't seem possible that he could survive down there as the North was too much a part of him.

"I am glad that Davos is traveling with you." I said and barely managed to hold my tongue.

It was hard not to say what I wanted to. Though if I did it would just be the same things I had been saying for hours. It would be with different words but the same intent. Then there was the fact that I had been disrespectful as is with Davos in the room. He was a good man and would hopefully not spread gossip around Winterfell.

"Davos, I think you need your rest." Jon said politely. "There won't be many moments of rest once we head to Dragonstone. We can't trust that the Targaryen will side with us easily."

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight." Davos said as he stood up. "But I'll try."

"May you have a good rest, Ser Davos." I said.

He nodded at me and then made his way out of the room. I watched Ghost run into the room moments before Davos shut the door. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of his form darting into the room and a sharp gasp from the Onion Knight.

"If you need to be left alone, I'll go." I said and started to get up but was stopped by Jon's expression.

"I want to talk to you alone." Jon replied. "I'm not as good of a politician as you, but I do know some things. Such as there are things you should only tell those closet to you."

The light in the room was growing dim but I didn't move. Was Jon going to finally change his mind about going to Dragonstone? Or did he send Davos away only so he could berate me in private?

"I'm scared ******** about going to Dragonstone." Jon began. "Who wouldn't be? I'm putting my life in the hands of a powerful woman I've never met. She could be a cruel tyrant that will kill me once I refuse to bend the knee to her. Or maybe she's a kind ruler but won't lend me her support when I don't give her the North. I don't know what will happen when I go to Dragonstone and that scares me to my core."

"Then don't go." I begged him. "I'll go in your place so you can remain safe where you belong."

"You're the only reason I'm going."

"What?"

I was confused. Of all the things that could have left his mouth, I wasn't expecting that. He wasn't going to meet with Daenerys as a way to court death. He truly believed that there could be a good outcome and for some reason I was the one spurning him towards his demise.

"You are the only one I trust to rule in my absence." Jon explained. "Though we weren't close growing up, I've learned to trust you. You aren't perfect, but you're the best to rule the North when I go. And if I die, you're the only one I want ruling the North after me."

I felt the weight of the world begin to crush me. Jon was smart enough not to leave without a heir to the throne. He had prepared in case he never returned. He trusted Daenerys, but not enough to risk his home to her. And it was because he trusted me above all others that he had the strength to go to Dragonstone.

"I don't want you to die." I pleaded. "I've lost everyone else but you. What am I supposed to do if I get a raven with news of your passing?"

"You're strong, Sansa." Jon replied and put my hands in his. "You'll be able to carry on and rule the North. I don't doubt that you'll find a way to kill the dead and Daenerys."

"When I was younger I wanted to sit on the Iron Throne. But I've found that there are more important things than glory. You are more important."

"The North is more important than either of us."

Jon was right. I wanted him to be wrong with all my heart. It would be easier if he was an idiot that needed me to keep him in check. While he still needed me, he was a ruler that could make the hard decisions. Such as it needed to be him to meet with Daenerys so she wouldn't feel slighted. It was a terrible gift to be so dedicated to duty.

"I understand." I said sadly. "I will rule until you come back. And if...if you don't I will...I will..."

"I know." Jon replied with a sad smile. "I wouldn't leave unless I trusted you completely."

"I need to sleep."

Jon let me go and I went to the door. I then turned around trying to take in both him and Ghost. These could be some of my final moments with my brother. If only I had been closer with him while growing up. If only...there was no changing the past.

As I finally headed towards my room, I thought about Littlefinger. He had helped teach me lessons that made me a deadly politician. He had provided support from the Vale that let Jon win the Battle of the Bastards. But his miscalculation had let Ramsay rape me. Without Theon's help I would have died a prisoner. It wouldn't surprise me if Littlefinger had betrayed my father. It was just like him to pretend to be your friend until he didn't need you anymore. Or he would toss you aside once it would lead to a better outcome.

Without Jon in Winterfell, Littlefinger would make a move and I didn't know what that would be.