Oathkeeper

Chapter 18: Decisions

As Brienne's eyes fluttered open the next morning, she noticed this was the first morning in a while she didn't wake with Sansa's fiery red hair in her mouth. The girl must've risen this morning without alerting the big blonde who slept like an animal in hibernation. Brienne looked around the room and spotted her beautiful redhead sitting by the window of their private sleeping chambers sewing a new outfit. Ily made sure she had new bright vibrant colors with many different patterned materials to try out on her new dress. The girls made Sansa promise to sew the two of them their very own dress, they loved everything she wore and wanted something just like it. The sun didn't burn quite as bright in the mainlands as it did on the idle. Which explains why everyone here held some sort of reddish undertones in their complexion. Brienne laid in the same position for a little while longer, watching as Sansa's nimble fingers worked to construct something elegant.

She sat silently, in complete amusement as she saw the tip of Sansa's bright pink tongue stick out the side of her mouth. Her eyebrows furrowed and she squinted her eyes and brought the material closer to her face. She threaded the needle through the small area repeatedly until the pattern she started finally came together. Her muscles relaxed and her face softened as she sat back against the wall, sewing a much simpler part of the dress again. The girl's eyes wandered aimlessly around the room, still adjusting to how bright and radiant things were in the south. Their castle walls weren't grey, but instead a sandy brown color. In almost every room sat a beautifully decorated vase filled with even more beautiful flowers ranging in every color from the rainbow. The red and blue squares of the sigil were painted onto the wall before a very skilled artist came in and painted the sun and moon in yellows and whites. Even their chars were crafted with dyed fabrics. Finally, Sansa's gaze fell upon Brienne, who continued to watch Sansa as if she were some rare majestic creature.

"The sun is up my love" Sansa spoke softly.

"Come back to bed, it's too early to be sewing" Brienne stretched with her legs now dandling over the bed frame.

"No, no, no. Get up" Sansa placed her dress down onto the windowsill before moving to Brienne's bedside yanking the covers back.

Brienne's undergarments were exposed to the warm air here on the island. She rolled out of the bed and onto her feet. She stood the usual amount of inches of Sansa with her eyes shut and her lips still sealed for a moment. Then she wrapped her hand around the back of the girl's neck. A chill sent down Sansa's spine as she felt Brienne's large rugged hand caress the thin hairs on her neck before pulling her forward slightly, and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Fine" Brienne grumbled.

Sansa waited for her lover to get dressed before heading down to dine with her family for breakfast. Brienne slipped into her long sleeved blue shirt, and tan pants before lacing up her boots. Sansa stepped out of their sleeping chambers in another black and grey dress, one that suggested the girl would be engulfed in her own body heat soon enough Brienne couldn't muster up the courage to influence her girlfriend to at least try and blend in a bit more. No one wore black here, except Sansa.

"My love, maybe we should head down to the stalls. Get you something a bit more . . . colorful?" Brienne suggested.

"What, you don't like my dress?" Sansa looked down at her outfit.

"I do. I do. It's just very . . . dark. It's a very northern color" Brienne tried to be polite.

"Well, as long as you're buying it." She shrugged, " Maybe I'll make one for myself!"

The two exited their chambers and headed into the great family dining hall. Along the side walls of the hall, sat paintings of blonde haired men. Sansa's eyes followed each and every portrait until the very last one, Lord Selwyn Tarth. Some of the men held more resemblance to each other than others, but the whitish blonde hue of the Tarth hair remained strong in the family's bloodline. Riley was the only Tarth Sansa met who didn't have hair that resembled the mane of a white horse. They were the last two to join the family, as they had been for the past few days. Sansa's stomach growled loudly as her nose caught a whiff of the freshly made pastries and the delicious hand picked fruits paired with them. As both women found their seats at the table in the hall, they took notice of the knight from the previous night. He stood in a stiff militant position, sweating like a stuck pig in his chainmail armor by the door with his arms behind his back. Brienne and Sansa had devised a plan to corner him later, and question what business he had in the home of a commander last night.