Oathkeeper

Chapter 32: When Truth Comes Out

The weather in Winterfell remained pretty cool even though Spring had come and gone within the blink of an eye. Summer was finally in full effect signaling that the unification of House Tarth and House Stark slowly crept around the corner. Waiting for the snow to come around again just to get married was difficult but well worth the wait to Sansa. For Brienne she couldn't help but grow slightly impatient especially because Sansa had been avoiding her for the last two days.

 A few weeks had passed since the meeting with the Lords and Ladies of the Northern houses, and Sansa hadn't heard any word from them in regards to the Hawk. This wasn't necessarily bad news, but it wasn't good news either. The more they lived their lives as if nothing was happening, the more Sansa feared for the worst. The longer they waited to be ambushed by the Hawk, the more she began to contemplate sending a small army up North to see if what the boy said was true,

But Sansa had bigger things to worry about right now. She couldn't believe she thought that anything could be bigger than her position in the realm, except for her stomach. The Queen hid in her sleeping chambers all morning avoiding Brienne, the knights, even her own handmaidens were forbidden from entering. She looked down at her damp feet pattering against the stone flooring as she paced the room. Sansa mumbled things under her breath frantically while tucking fallen pieces of hair back behind her ear repeatedly. Her mind raced with the images, thoughts, and feelings she drew up over the past few weeks, leading her to a conclusion even she couldn't begin to fathom.

In a desperate attempt to make it all go away she clasped onto the fabric at the sides of her hips, lightly scratching herself as she pulled her undergarments down. Her eyes were wide as if doing so would make the blood appear. The Queen hadn't bled in many weeks, she's been vomiting every other morning and has felt extreme hunger and fatigue lately. Her breasts were sore, and her stomach began to swell like the belly of a stuffed pig. Sansa closed her eyes praying for a miracle one last time as she lifted up her night gown to look at her stomach. And when she opened them, all she could see was a small protruding pouch and most of her feet. The Queen threw her dress down letting out a noise loud enough to concern the handmaidens who've been waiting outside her room for some time now.

"Please let us in, Your Grace. It's only me and Maedalyn, today" Lena tried to convince Sansa to open up.

She'd given up on hiding it, soon all of Winterfell would know and she wasn't prepared for any of it. Sansa opened the door motioning for the two girls to enter the room quickly. The Queen peeked her head through the crack of the door checking to see if anyone was in the halls before slamming it shut. She turned to face the two women with her back against the door letting out a deep sigh. The two looked at Sansa unnervingly, they were startled by her erratic behavior. They wondered if she maybe had fallen ill again and a fever was causing her to act out.

"I must confess something to you both" Sansa spoke.

"Well, I don't have anything to confess actually because I'm certain I didn't do anything!" She shouted, holding her hands by her head.

"My Queen, maybe you should lie back down" Lena placed her hand on the small of Sansa's back trying to aid her into bed.

"No, I'm fine." Sansa took a deep breath. "I apologize. I must look so deragnged right now"

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nose. She held her breath for a few seconds allowing her lungs to expand and her mind to relax just before releasing. Sansa looked at the two women calmy before trying to speak again. If she said the words out loud that would make it true, and it couldn't be true, could it?

"I think I'm with child" Sansa spoke.

Lena and Maedalyn turned to each other expressing a new wave of shock for the second time since they entered the room. They now understood why the Queen was acting erratically. This was bigger than they ever could have imagined.