True Colors

The Closing Act

"His Grace's wedding is tomorrow morning," Shae said absentmindedly as she pulled the sheets around me. "You'd do yourself good to get some rest.....I have to get you up early tomorrow to help you dress. A lot of important people will be there."

"Thank you," was all I said. "It's been a long day."

"It should be a long night then, and you should spend it with your eyes shut and dreaming," Shae replied. "There's no reason for you to be awake more than you should be tonight."

"I suppose so," was all I said.

"Let Joffrey go, if that's what you're thinking of," Shae said over her shoulder, noting my lost-in-thought expression. "He's getting married tomorrow. There's no use in pining over him anymore."

I nodded compliantly—what Shae was saying was 100% true, even if I was prepared to act against it.

The door slammed behind her. I waited until I couldn't hear her footsteps in the hallway anymore, then robotically got out of bed, staring at my surroundings.

This was it. The last night I would ever get to see Joffrey alone without arousing some sort of scandalous talk about me.

I walked without really knowing if I was even making the right choice,but despite my misgivings, I still made it to Joffrey's door, raised my fist and knocked as discreetly as possible.

"What do you want, dog?" Joffrey's voice was harsh, grating, as if he had just been jolted out of a deep sleep.

"It's me," I said, in what was a whisper but wasn't at the same time."Sansa."

The door creaked open, revealing Joffrey in a white shirt and black pants, his blonde hair mussed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," I said. "Were you sleeping?"

"No,I was just...I'm just tired."

He stood to one side to let me in, and I gladly took his invitation,letting my gaze sweep the room once I was in it. The furniture and ornaments arranged around the room were fit for a king—red velvet upholstery, mahogany bed frames and chair frames, stained glass decorative windows, and gold-rimmed mirrors and accents on the furniture. My blood ran cold when my gaze flickered momentarily to the top half of the room's walls, only to see a stag's head staring sightlessly at me.

"Do you like my hunting trophies?" Joffrey put his arms around my shoulders, his chin resting on the top of my head.

"They're interesting," I managed. "Did you hunt them all yourself?"

"Of course I did," came the reply.

"So would you like to know the nature of my visit?" I asked, the discomfort I had felt at his close proximity returning.

"Do tell. I'm not used to nightly visitors." Joffrey still didn't let go.

"I just wanted to tell you that you're getting married tomorrow," I said.

"So....congratulatory?"

"Precisely,Your Grace," I said, twisting out of his grasp.

Joffrey laced his fingers together. "I can tell you're still upset at me."

"That I am," I admitted. Then, noting his disgruntled expression, I added, "It's the last night you'll ever spend as a single man,so I suppose it wouldn't hurt to be honest with you for a change?"

"Fora change." Joffrey pressed his lips together. "So I have no reason to believe anything you've said to me in the past?"

"Of course you do," I said. "I didn't mean it like that. I've always been hesitant to tell you the truth about anything, and if you looked closely, everyone is."