you've got to promise not to stop when i say when

pt iii

It was three days after she'd dreamt of Theon while her boyfriend fucked her, when she and Joffrey were out at the mall and he placed a wad of bills in her hand.

"Get yourself something nice." He'd told her. It was a surprise, and Sansa naively believed that it was because maybe he'd felt they'd finally connected, and he wanted to do something kind to make up for his previous behaviour. It would make things so much easier if that was the case. Instead, he'd carried on. "Maybe something from that expensive lingerie shop, the one I pointed out to you last time." The corner of his mouth had lifted into a half smile, "I mean, that grey top you wore the other night wasn't exactly doing anything for me."

"I love that top, it was-" She cut herself off, knowing she'd say a name she shouldn't. "Robb's."

"And you think I want to fuck you with your brother between us?" He snapped quickly, and then, sounding softer, "He hates me."

"He doesn't," she lied, and they both knew it. It sounded like an apology when she relented to his will. "I'll get something really good. You'll love it."

He gave a devious smile, pulled her in and planted one right on her mouth.

It was getting easier to placate him, she was learning.

He'd then wandered off, he had a suit fitting this afternoon and she had wondered why he'd asked her to come along. A disappointing reason, it turned out.

It was only because it felt like he might be watching that Sansa went straight to the boutique he kept mentioning.

It was painted a deep purple and had mannequins dressed in items that looked near impossible to put on yourself and it was all so much to take in. She didn't really know where to start.

Thankfully, but also kind of embarrassingly, a very confident thirty something year old woman strolled over to her.

"Need any help?"

Sansa looked at the woman, about to say no, but instead all at once a sigh of relief came out and she felt comfortable enough to blurt it out. "Yes. Please. My boyfriend told me to get something nice from here but I don't know what to get, I don't know how much of this is me and I want to look good but-"but I'd rather not. She tried not to think about how she must look like a horrendously inexperienced twenty one year old.

"Okay, it's okay," the woman reassured her, placing her hand gently on Sansa's shoulder. "Let's start simple. What colours does he like?"

Sansa took a breath, feeling calmer already. Picking something sexy out for your boyfriend shouldn't be so stressful, she thought, but he'd been less than receptive in the past. "Red."

"Okay, red." The woman smiled and softly guided Sansa towards part of their selection. They spent a good fifteen minutes picking bits and pieces out, until she left the store with a bag filled with delicately wrapped scraps of lace that people claimed were lingerie in red and another strappy set in a baby blue that apparently set off her eyes, a corset, garter belt and stockings. She'd used all of Joffrey's money, and she wondered if he'd gone online in advance and looked at the prices before he sent her in.

Sansa took a quick look at her watch, Joffrey wouldn't get out for a good half hour, maybe forty five minutes if he kicked up a fuss. She probably had forty five minutes.

She sighed and started to walk through the mall and outside, to the smaller and less popular, quirky shops. There were brief trips inside stores to mindlessly look at things she didn't care for, clothes that didn't excite her, new music that didn't seem as fresh as it has that morning. Sansa had zoned out, the bag hanging from her forearm seemed far heavier than it should for what little was inside it. Perhaps it was the idea of what would come from it, that had put that extra weight on her shoulders.