To Die For You If Need Be Chapter 25: Rumors

This is a Game of Thrones fic. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

This chapter has been edited due to content. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.

Sansa Stark

I groaned as my eyes met the daylight. The wind was cold as if hinting at a danger closer than the undead. It had to be the stress of ruling the North after my brother had married the Targaryen. The lords tended to be hard to please and a few had suggested abandoning Winterfell because of the betrayal.

The moment my feet hit the floor I felt the strength for another day. I was Sansa Stark. I had survived much worse than a few angry lords. I could keep the North stable until Jon was able to return. At his arrival everyone would see he had made the right decision in order to keep his people safe.

Gods willing.

While getting dressed for the day I thought of Littlefinger. He was a clever man that could manipulate people as if it was pure reflex. He knew that the longer Jon was gone, the longer he had to work his schemes. Littlefinger must want the Iron Throne and would do anything to get it. But why was I such an intricate part of his plans?

If he wanted to, he could make a deal with Daenerys for her hand in marriage. The Targaryen must yearn for something, perhaps power, and Littlefinger could pretend to provide a solution. His words could sound so reasonable that even Tyrion wouldn't be able to talk sense to the queen.

Just as I finished getting ready, there was a knock on my door.

"Come in," I said after having taken a deep breath.

"My lady," A servant said after shutting the door behind herself. "Are you sure Arya should stay?"

"Why wouldn't my own flesh and blood belong anywhere but Winterfell?"

The servant turned her attention to the floor and fear traveled down my spine. I didn't recognize this servant but she cared enough to warn me. That was good.

"Answer me." I demanded.

"She wishes to claim the North for herself." The servant answered and warily looked at me. "You didn't know?"

"I have known my sister her whole life. If there is one thing she doesn't desire, it's power. She is more at home with a sword in her hands than a crown on her head."

"Aren't you afraid that she changed over the years?"

"Arya was grief stricken with the loss of our father, mother, and brother. That did not change her into someone that wants to become a lady."

"I am sor-"

"I am proud that you informed me of this rumor. If she truly had something planned, you could have saved the entire North. You may leave."

"Thank you, my lady."

The servant left without appearing afraid. I didn't think that she could have saved the North by revealing a rumor, but she didn't need to know that. Her loyalty was something I needed. Many would overlook one servant which meant they observed much more than a lord or lady. They were allowed places that not many were, after all.
* * *
The horse lunged at me and the stable boy barely managed keeping the animal from hurting me. He looked ashamed but that wasn't my concern at the moment. If Winterfell needed to be evacuated, there needed to be horses that could make a long journey and quickly.

With food possibly being a scarcity in the near future, only the fittest horses would have priority. I wouldn't sacrifice one of my people for a mere animal. They didn't deserve that level of honor.

"Sorry, my lady, he has been stressed lately." The stable boy apologized. "He meant no disrespect."

"I don't expect him to care about me, he's a horse." I replied with a strained grin. "Will he be able to complete a long journey?"

"He was originally from the Vale."

If the horse was able to keep such a temper, he would be one that was kept. I hoped worse didn't come to worse. But it was no use hoping for the best when the worse happened much more often.

"Lady Stark," A voice said and I turned to look at one of the many lords. "May I have a word?"

"You may." I replied and signaled to the stable boy that the horse should be put away.

"Are you sure that wa-"

"Arya Stark is elsewhere at the moment. She wouldn't need to be a stable boy to kill me. Or are you seeing enemies in every shadow now?"

"I am merel-"

"If you were truly concerned for my safety, then why did you allow me to stay here?"

"It would have been bey-"

"So you would allow me to die due to the fear of being rude?"

The lord stepped back. These rumors were becoming trouble and any move made could lead to her death. What if the lord took my words to mean he should act before thinking things through?

"Next time you come forth with an accusation I want proof." I said sternly.
* * *
"Your sister isn't here." A lord said.

I was now in the Great Hall where the problems of the North were mine to solve. Every small issue made great by incompetent men. Greed and the need to make a name for themselves permeated the air. No one could be trusted in such a state and yet I was forced to wade through the lies.

"Why would she be?" I asked. "She still needs to learn what has happened since she left. And is her opinion that important to you? Would you prefer she tell you that you will not lead any attack against the Night King? Or do you think that she would give a different answer?"

"It would ease all of our minds if Lady Arya Stark made her presence known." The lord said. "Or how can we believe that you are the real Sansa?"

"That is quite enough."

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Brienne resist unsheathing her sword. Her face was calm but I was all too familiar with her movements. I didn't blame her for wanting to strike the lord down. His belly showed he wasn't in want of food. He also probably hadn't had to fight in years. If he were to fight Brienne, she would win.

"I have heard quite enough of what my sister is supposedly doing." I said. "Winter has come and the Night King might soon follow. We don't have time to follow every rumor that is spreading. No matter how intriguing the rumor is."

"Your mind is too clou-" The lord began.

"My mind is clear on such matters. Jon would not have left me in charge if he thought otherwise."

"The man who bedded a Targaryen? That is who you wish for us to trust?"

"Jon did what was best for the North. His union with her will make the North's reach even greater than before. His union will also ensure that we are victorious against the Night King."

If the lords would dare suggest Jon was incompetent, things would only get worse. He was the person that had won Winterfell and gained respect of all these lords. Most importantly he had been the King of the North for a short time. If they didn't trust their former king, how would they ever respect me?

More than a Stark, I was a woman. House Mormont trusted me, but the other Houses didn't have such respect. All of my power came from Jon. If they didn't follow him any longer, each step of mine had to be carefully planned.

"Must I remind you what Jon has done for the North?" I asked. "If not for him, Winterfell would still be home to the Boltons."

He looked angry but at least I had won. Or what little could be counted as winning. Littlefinger looked at me and I swear there was a smile on his face.
* * *
"I don't want to be a lady." Arya said as we walked around the outside of the castle. "You can handle the North."

"I know this isn't what you wanted." I replied. "But the less you're seen with me, the more suspicious people will become."

"And if I'm with you more they'll just use that as proof."

A snowstorm had just ended but neither of us felt the cold. Nymeria walked behind us with a few of her wolves close by. The direwolf knew we meant no harm and had to reassure her pack. Just like I had to constantly reassure the lords so that the North could remain stable.

Arya was vastly different from me but in her veins ran Stark blood. Even though she wanted to be something else, her return to Winterfell proved where her loyalties truly lay. Her return also meant she had to deal with the vile rumors.

"How could anyone think I'd want to dress up in pretty outfits with a crown on my head?" Arya scoffed. "Do I look like a woman that is comfortable knitting?"

"They don't know you." I replied with a sigh. "All they see in you is the Stark name and Faceless Men training."

"So they've decided I must have gone through harsh training to become the ruler of the North? Then why did I reveal myself at all?"

Arya was right. If she was such a deadly force, why bother revealing herself at all? Those were things known by people who weren't trying to hold onto power. The lords didn't care about House Stark, only what House Stark could do for them. So of course they would latch onto anything that pointed away from them needing to better themselves.

That and Littlefinger could sell fur to a direwolf. If he wanted a rumor to spread, it was impossible for it not to. Even if a lord knew better, once the man weaved his words the lord was loyal to me no longer.

"The lords most likely have their own reasons for believing the rumors." I said.

"That doesn't make sense." Arya argued. "What would they have to gain by having a fractured North?"

"Most lords are unhappy about our brother marrying a Targaryen. Their loyalty is hard to maintain on the best of days. And now..."

"The lords need an excuse not to be loyal to House Stark but still look loyal to the North."

House Stark was the North to us Northerners. To say otherwise was heresy. It was also heretical to cooperate with any Targaryen now that the North had separated from the rest of Westeros. So with Jon's marriage to Daenerys, there had been a silent outrage that had spread like a fire.

"Why can't they see that she is needed for victory?" Arya asked. "Why can't they see the clear line to survival?"

"Because most people hold their self-importance more dearly than anything else." I answered.

"Most people are stupid."

With that I agreed with my sister completely. Most people were too easily manipulated into acting against their own best interests. All it took for most was the right words and demeanor to convince them to do the most unthinkable things.

"But since people tend to be easily predictable, it gives me an advantage." I said. "I just have to figure out what is causing them to not realize the truth. They tell lies to themselves just to feel more important than they are."

"You aren't sounding like yourself." Arya said.

"I...I learned things from Littlefinger. He was manipulating me, but he did prepare me."

It disgusted me that the traitorous man ever did something that helped me. But that's how he manipulated everyone. Right? He would do something kind to make you think he was on your side. Yet when you needed him the most, he would turn on you. It was him who gave me to Ramsay Bolton. It was him who allowed me to be broken in ways that sometimes made it impossible to sleep at night.

The nightmares would never fully go away, I knew that and accepted the truth. In the bright light of day I could be strong enough to be prepared for the night. At least the bastard was dead. His final memory would be of hounds ripping his worthless body apart.

That would have to be enough.

"Sansa, I know you won't become him." Arya replied hurriedly. "It's just...I have to get used to how you are now. You aren't the sister I left behind. It's a lot harder to accept than I expected."

"I'm getting used to it also." I said. "The person I wanted to be before can't exist. The world doesn't work like I thought. So, of course, who I am couldn't be an idealized version. No matter how I wish that wasn't the case."

But what if becoming hardened to the world made me like Littlefinger? What if by surviving I became a danger to my family? Could I live with that? Would I even notice?

"Why didn't you become a Faceless Man, Arya?" I asked. "They must have done their best to indoctrinate you. The power to kill so easily must have thrilled you. How didn't you become overwhelmed?"

"To become a Faceless Man you must give up your entire identity." Arya finally answered. "Our family was the entire reason I went to the House of Black and White. Avenging our family defined every lesson I learned. There is nothing strong enough to cut my ties to Winterfell."

House Stark defined me too. I could never walk away from Winterfell for long. There were too many memories here I couldn't leave behind. For every nightmare now ingrained in my memory, there were good times I couldn't forget. Maybe that would help me stay myself and not get lost.
* * *
I walked through Winterfell and avoided anyone who wished to talk with me. So near to supper I didn't have the energy to deal with anything. The lords could wait until morning if they needed to talk to me. If only I could forget my duties until tomorrow. But Arya's fate might not be changeable when the sun rose.

Earlier I had asked Bran to use his powers as greenseer to look into the future. He had, from what Meera said, spent hours by the weirwood tree. She also said that he hadn't said anything since he came back to the present.

"Come in, Sansa." Bran said in an eerie voice as I was about to knock on his door.

"I thought you needed the weirwood tree to use your powers." I said as I shut the door behind me.

"I don't need my powers to recognize your footsteps."

My brother was still in there. The brother I had thought dead was still there. He was strange and disconcerting, but there was still my brother behind those eyes.

"I still don't understand what you are." I said. "You can spend hours talking about what a greenseer is but I can't fully comprehend."

"You aren't meant to, then." Bran replied simply.

"Did you find out what I asked?"

"The past, present, and future all blend together for me. It's hard for me to know when I am. So it was difficult knowing the present moment and seeking its future."

"Are you at least confident in what you found?"

"Yes."

His voice sounded different but still like the Bran I remembered. The Bran who couldn't see into the future and loved climbing where he shouldn't go. His love for his family still remained and I was glad. It would be heartbreaking to look at him and see someone else instead.

"Will Arya die?" I asked, my heart felt like it stopped until my brother began talking again.

"She will live." Bran said and looked into the fire. "Littlefinger won't succeed in his plans to take the North from House Stark. He won't manage to take another family member from us. It was by his hands that our father was murdered."

Littlefinger had broken our family apart? Father had been the only decent person, besides Jon, to exist. I shivered at how angry my brother sounded. It was now extremely rare that he exhibited such normal emotions.

"I can make Littlefinger pay for what he has done." I promised.

"There are others he has wronged that will make sure he does." Bran replied.

"Have you seen that?"

"I haven't looked. Each time I try my vision wavers."

"But you can tell that Arya will live and the North will remain in Stark hands?"

"Those things I see clearly. I care too much for our father to focus clearly on what you experience as Littlefinger's future."

Did I detect a lie in his voice or was that just how he talked now? He would never bring doom onto his blood. But would he lie if he thought doing so was the best way to protect me?
* * *
I looked at my bed with crossed arms. It provided such comfort when I was younger but now it looked suffocating. For a few hours I would be unable to watch over Winterfell and Littlefinger would be free to scheme. Things could change completely in just a few hours.

Bran had reassured me that Littlefinger would not succeed in his plans to take the North. Bran had also reassured me that Arya would live. He had also said that it was hard for him to tell the past, present, and future apart.

I took a deep breath and lay in my bed. He would never harm House Stark on purpose. But it could be that his powers would fail him and lead us into ruin.

No, he had enough control over them.

Bran knew more about his powers than anyone else alive. He would have to make certain before telling me anything. He had seen Arya alive which meant she wouldn't die by Littlefinger's hands. He had also seen Littlefinger without the North which meant my home remained in my family's hands.

Though my eyes shut uneasily, I had complete trust in Bran. The only hardship was working towards the future.