Trials and Tribulations of the Oathkeeper

Chapter 140: Three Leaders on the Move

―At King's Landing―

Red Keep... Royal bedchamber...

Daveth woke up from a deep yet troubled sleep covered in sweat and breathing heavily, taking a moment to take a breath as he gradually regained his senses and awareness; the sun was coming up with rays shining into the room through the window. The Young Stag took a moment to regain his composure, wipe his brow and steady his nerves. "Damn nightmares..." he cursed quietly.

He turned his head and sees Sansa sound asleep next to him with her back turned towards him—she was naked as the day she was born with only the bedsheets draping across her bare shoulders to keep herself covered. Her breathing was quiet and was sleeping soundly, her chest rising up and down. Two pregnancies, three children... Sansa still retained her voluptuous curves and womanly figure. No matter how many times they had sex last night, Sansa was still as beautiful as ever. Whenever Daveth felt unsure of himself or felt himself slipping... his wife was right beside him to steer him back on track. He brushed his fingertips up her back before placing his hand on her left shoulder.

The feeling of his touch on her skin was enough to cause Sansa to stir enough to awaken and slowly open her eyes. "Mmm... haaaaarrhh... Dreams again?" she yawned, rubbing her eyes while she turned to face him.

Daveth pressed his head back down on the pillow. "It was another of the same one; but it felt more real than the last," he replied half-exhausted. They look at each other; a moment of concern passes between them.

"Tell me."

"It was only a dream."

"Daveth."

"I... It was about you and the children," he takes a deep breath. "Euron did many unspeakable things to all four of you just as worse as what he did to me many years ago when I was a child. I thought I already got past that after the Second Greyjoy Rebellion, but it turns out I just buried them."

Sansa placed a hand on his cheek. "What else happened?" she asks.

"I don't know."

"It was only a dream, love—"

Daveth took Sansa in his arms and looks at her. "Even if was just a dream, I won't let this one become real. It would kill me to lose you."

"You are not going to lose us," she reassures him. Sansa gently gave Daveth a peck on the cheek before getting out of bed to grab a light blue-colored robe on the nightstand to cover herself so she can get dressed. "Listen to me, Daveth. Some things happen that are simply beyond our control and we cannot predict when it does occur. The best we can hope to do for now is to not fret about it too much. I believe Jon Arryn told you that once, did he not?"

"He did," he nods. "And yet given who and what we're up against, how can anyone expect to get ready for something like this? Especially given the magnitude of it all?"

"You cajole, make compromises... even throw in the occasional threat or two, and sacrifice as much as you possibly can until all of Westeros realizes it has someone worth rallying behind."

"I never asked for this, Sansa."

"I know you didn't but have to look beyond what we want to do what's best, Daveth. Whether you know it or not, everything you've done have established bonds throughout these past six years I've known you. But then again you do have a tendency to occasionally sell yourself short."

Daveth eventually rose from bed and grabbed a white shirt, bringing it over his head and slid his arms through each sleeve. "Huh. I only do what needs to be done, Sansa. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it's enough given our current circumstances," he says.