From the Ashes (ASOIAF) (Sandor Clegane x OC)

Chapter 36: Sansa

Sansa sat with her back to the heart tree watching the snow slowly falling. There were moments, albeit few and far between, that she could find a quiet place in Winterfell and almost forget everything that had happened to her. That she could feel like a girl of the North again, with all her possibilities in front of her. Here in the gods wood was one of those places. It was impossible for her to be here in this place and not think about her father. How many times had she seen him here sitting against this very tree deep in thought just as she was now. She'd never really understood the burdens that her father carried. She never really cared to. Those were the problems for men. It sometimes sickened her to think about how much of her life she had spent believing that she was not entitled to an opinion because she was a woman. She wondered what her father would think of her now. She wondered if he'd be proud of her. Not of all the choices she'd made of late, she was sure of that. But at the same time, she was doing her best by the North, putting her people first, and when it came to her personal life? Arya told her a story once about the first time she'd shot a bow, and how their father had caught her. She said she knew what she was doing was wrong, but when she saw her father smiling she knew it was his way of telling her that she wasn't wrong, the rules were. Sansa hoped if her father could see her, wherever he was, that he felt the same way about her choices. She heard footsteps crunching in the snow and looked up. Her hand for all intents and purposes, though she'd never named him formally, Lord Cerwyn was walking from the castle towards her.

"Your Grace." He said politely, "the envoys from the Reach have arrived at the castle along with Lord Manderly." He said.

"Thank you Lord Cerwyn. Please have them brought to the great hall and I will receive them presently." She said. He nodded and walked back the way he came.

That part of ruling always came easily to her, she thought, as she rose to make her way back into the castle. The speaking well, observing the formalities and addressing her subjects with dignity and respect. She knew the words to say, and the way to act, it was the decisions, the ones that effected the lives of her subjects that she questioned. She walked up to the great wooden doors of the hall and her men opened them.

"All hail Sansa of House Stark, first of her name Queen of the North!" Her Paige proclaimed, and all the men in the Hall rose to their feet as she entered the room. She wondered, as she often did, how many of these men resented the fact that they were subject to a woman. If any felt that way they were careful not to show it in their words or actions. She walked and took her place on her throne, as she did the others sat down as well.

"Welcome my Lords." She said, "I am honored that you were willing to make this journey to come to our aid. We as an independent Northern nation have faced many unique challenges as this winter began. I am grateful to you Lords of the Reach for your willingness to be our allies as we work together to create a profitable alliance that will see us both through this season. I invite Lord Manderly to speak on behalf of our coastal towns. Lord Manderly?"

"Thank you my Queen," the large Lord Manderly responded, "I can report that the winter storms along the coast have been especially brutal these last few moons. It has been all but impossible for our fisherman to go out on the water. As our queen knows, the coastal towns, along with the rest of the North, provided the majority of their food stores to the castle of Winterfell before the events of the Battle of the Long Night. While our forces fought bravely and were victorious in that battle much of the castle was destroyed along with much of the food that was stored here. The situation on the Northern coast is becoming dire. With the current amount of food that is available we estimate we will lose at least a fourth of the coastal population by winters end."

"My Lords of the Reach," Sansa said, turning to the men on the right side of the hall, "we have asked you here to see if there may be a possible exchange that could be beneficial to both of our regions."