Trials and Tribulations of the Oathkeeper

Chapter 106: High Sparrow

YEAR 303 AC

―At King's Landing―

King's Landing ― The Royal Harbor...

A large group of people gathered around the port of King's Landing near the Blackwater Rush, banners detailing the golden crowned stag on a black field symbolizing the House Baratheon of King's Landing. From the harbor rested a canoe whilst the Winter's Voyage floated in the distance. Daveth and Sansa were saying their goodbyes as the Queen prepared for her travel to White Harbor en route to Winterfell with her personal guards—Brienne, Podrick, Ser Lucius and Ser Olyvar—who were waiting for Sansa.

Daveth held Sansa's hands in his. "You be careful and stay safe out there, alright?" he asks.

"I will, love. I promise."

"Be sure you won't take any unnecessary risks, listen to Ser Lucius's advice and—"

Sansa puffed her cheeks a bit. "Daveth, you're treating me like a child," she pouts.

"Uhh..."

Behind him Tyrion and Catelyn both hid their amusements at the Queen's remark, though it reminded the Stark matriarch of her time with her deceased husband and their interactions in King's Landing before she left to the Crossroads Inn after such a long journey. Daveth switched from being caught off-guard to press a bit further.

"And remember your courtesies in the North. That temper of yours is a dangerous thing; well, your words mostly."

Well, I'm glad you find this so funny, Sansa rolled her eyes in amusement. "My temper? Remind me: whose voice bellows so loud it can be heard all the way in the kingswood?"

Daveth shook his head. "I... don't have an answer to that," he conceded.

Scoring yet another victory, Sansa calmly turns her attention towards Catelyn. "Mother, can you keep a close eye on Daveth for me?" she asks. "Gods be merciful, he can be so stubborn sometimes."

Dammit, they don't need to know that...!

Catelyn reassures her daughter. "I'll do what I can, but eventually you'll have to come back and rein him in yourself."

What came next for Sansa during her goodbyes was one of the hardest things she's ever had to do; glancing down towards Daveth's legs stood the twins Lyonel and Cassana—now 2 years old, looking up at their mother with curious eyes and thumbs in their mouths. Both were growing as they were standing nearly 3 feet tall; their teeth were growing in and were in the middle of developing an understanding of basic motor skills, cognitive functions and other social interactions.

"Mommy?" both Lyonel and Cassana said curiously, stretching their arms outward.

Sansa's heart ached; getting down on her knees, the Queen moved to meet her children at eye-level. "Lyonel, Cassana," she addressed them in a motherly tone, "mommy's going to see uncle Robb for a while, okay? Can you two be good to daddy and grandma? Please? Can you do it for mommy?"

They looked at their mother confused; Lyonel and Cassana were still too young to understand what was really going on – but they knew certain words. They didn't say anything and moved to hug their mother, an act Sansa warmly reciprocated. As Sansa held them close, she felt her children's little arms fastening around her neck.

"Wuv you, mommy," piped up Lyonel.

"Wuv you, mommy," Cassana babbled.

Sansa felt a lump in her throat, but held her little ones close. "Mommy loves you too, little ones," she told them, her voice almost cracked. "Mommy loves you very much." Reluctantly pulling herself away, she stood back up as Lyonel and Cassana still had a hold on their mother's dress – only to be gently pulled off by their grandmother.