She had been given the luxury of her own carriage. It had windows on every side and the seats had been the most comfortable and kind for naps. The gold and velvet curtains made the inside take the hue of a sunset as the rays of the sun pierced through them. She had the entire caravan at her will… yet Sansa Stark had never felt more a prisoner than now.

She could not lie to herself any longer, it was not North to Winterfell they were riding to, but the West. To the Kingdom of the Westerlands. To Casterly Rock, the seat of the monstrous family that had taken her own father's head and now were in open battle with her brother Robb. And she, a lady of House Stark, was now married to the wrong side of this war.

The Imp had not been as mischievous as his tales told, though. Sansa was certain he had assigned different carriages for this journey so he could enjoy his time with whores, but at least he had not asked a single thing from her, and she was more than grateful for that. Yet deep down, Sansa knew her freedom wouldn't last for long. The whispers and rumours of Lord Tywin's wrath had traveled down the Gold Road with them, and haunted Sansa's dreams at night. The Hand of the King was desperate for an heir from his dwarf son and that duty fell upon her own shoulders. Lord Tyrion had not yet laid a hand on her, but he was a Lannister. She knew any night now he would sneak past her doors and claim her maidenhead.

Which is why, as soon as the sun set, everyday she would lock all doors and windows from her carriage and never ordered a single stop unless it was crucially necessary. She seldom went outside and had not seen her dwarf husband for weeks now. He had come multiple times to knock at her door, though, but she had never opened it for him excusing herself ill. Sansa knew her liberty was coming to an end now that they were riding past Lannisport, the largest city in the Westerlands.

She would no longer be able to hide behind the doors of her chambers as she had done in King's Landing. She was no one but the traitor's daughter inside the Red Keep, but now it was different. Now she was the Lady of the Rock, and so much was expected from her.

Sansa felt her fingers grow numb and her legs tremble when Casterly Rock came into view outside her window. She had to admit, in spite of the distance the castle looked grand, standing tall upon a colossal rocks where the sea waves ceaselessly crashed at its bottom. The silence of the air was filled with their sound and the chants of the seagulls flying high in the sky. The smell of salt soon welcomed Sansa to her new home.

When the caravan was passing the gates of the ancestral Lannister castle, only then Sansa noticed that almost no one had come to welcome and cheer to the arriving carriages. to welcome the new Lord of the Rock. Who would ever cheer for an Imp if not in a dwarf show? Sansa thought bitterly, her heart somewhy shrinking with pity. She quickly shook the feeling away, for she could not let herself be fooled by another Lannister.

As quickly as a heartbeat, she was helped out of her carriage by Lannister stewards. The court of Casterly Rock was waiting for Sansa and Lord Tyrion at the entrance of the castle, and she didn't miss their suspicious looks seeing them come down from different carriages. Her dwarf husband lost no time in coming to her side to introduce her to this unknown branch of the Lannister family.

"Uncle Kevan," Lord Tyrion said to the man standing in the front of the group. He looked not past five and forty, but his hair had already faded into silver gray. Wrinkles were beginning to show upon his face, but Sansa thought he had kind eyes. Careful, you are in the heart of the lions' den now, one false move and they shall all feast on your wolf flesh. "Where's my dearest Aunt Genna?"

"Running errands in Lannisport. You know how she is, always keeping herself busy with something important." Lord Kevan replied with a tone of annoyance. He turned to Sansa, then, and politely smiled, "Lady Sansa, it is a great pleasure to meet you at last. My apologies that we couldn't make it to the wedding. It all happened too fast for us to arrange a journey in time. But you do look as radiant as all tell."

"My lord is too kind," Sansa replied with a smile on her lips yet none in her eyes. Lord Kevan introduced her to his wife, Lady Dorna, and his daughter of four, Lady Janei. To his nephew Lord Lucion Lannister of nine and his younger sister Lady Lanna. Sansa recognized a boy about her age with perfect blonde curls.

"Ah!" Lord Tyrion exclaimed approaching to the boy, who so kindly knelt to embrace his uncle. Sansa frowned at the sight, for she had never seen anyone so happy around the Imp. "Tyrek! I'm very happy to see you alive and sound in the Rock after that dreadful mob attack in the capital! How is your lady wife faring here?"

"It is good to see you too, uncle. And she is very well, waiting for us all inside for dinner"

"And can we please go now?" Little Lord Lucion asked impatiently, "I'm starving!"

"Lucion!," his little sister Lady Lanna exclaimed clouting his ear, "What will Aunt Sansa ever think of our manners if you behave like that?"

Sansa almost let a gasp out. No more than an hour had passed in Casterly Rock and she was already being called as one of them. While it was true she wanted nothing from the Lannisters, Sansa had long forgotten what being part of a family was. Back in King's Landing, people looked her down with disgust for her filthy traitor's blood. Yet here, they were all welcoming her with not a single hint of repugnance in their eyes. She tried hard not to, but the Lannister children reminded her of her siblings in Winterfell so.

The food was quite enjoyable and dinner didn't go as terrible as she had imagined. Though she had barely opened her mouth to speak, the Lannister family would not cease to talk her about the tales, wonders and secrets of the Rock. They were even kind to Lord Tyrion, who seemed to be having a magnificent time with the family he had not seen for so long. And he smiled and laughed like Sansa had never seen him do before. For a brief moment, she felt a deep pang of guilt that she, his own wife, would never be able to give him such joy.

Her thoughts were interrupted as dinner reached its end. Bidding everyone a good night, Lord Tyrion excused them both from the high table taking Sansa by the hand. Once they left the dining hall, she made sure to take it away from his. She saw him drop his head with a sad sigh and a very small part of her regretted what she did.

Casterly Rock was enormous as it looked from the outside. Its vaulted ceilings rose high with pride holding the multiple red banners with embroidered golden lions. Front of the main entrance, elegant stairs with velvet rugs led to the upper floors of the castle, and though she wanted so badly to hate the place, Sansa's curious mind could not wait to explore all its halls.

Once they reached the chambers, Sansa's mouth dropped open at their sight. They were much larger than their rooms from the Red Keep and even bigger than her parents' back in Winterfell. There was no sign of a Lannister banner or its colors in the room except for the lions carved onto the mahogany wood of the bed's canopy and the velvet curtains that hang from it. Sansa frowned at this. From what she had so far seen, Casterly Rock was not shy to show the arms and colors of its house in every of its corners. Then why were there none here, at the very room of its lord and lady? When Sansa approached the bed to test its fabric, her heart almost collapsed from beating.

Her Tully blue eyes teared in the spur of a second and her hand trembled as she ran a finger across a so carefully embroidered grey direwolf on the corner of her white pillow. She turned in utter shock to her husband who was standing beside the door with the tenderest smile upon his face, his eyes shining brightly looking sweetly up to her. Sansa was at loss of words, her tongue forgetting how to speak. If anything, that only made Tyrion smile even more.

After a long silence, realizing she had no will to speak, he put a hand upon the door knob.

"Sweet dreams, my lady." He said softly.

"Will you not stay, my lord?" she asked, her words making Tyrion's eyebrows rise high in hope and surprise. Sansa blushed only now realizing the implication behind her question. "I mean… These are your chambers too, are they not? I thought we'd be sharing a room as we did in the capital."

He pursed his lips in disillusion, "Do not take this by any wrong means, my lady, but I'd very much rather not sleep in a chaise lounge ay longer. No, these chambers all for you, Sansa, mine are just at the other end of the corridor if you are ever in need of me. I did make a vow to you, my lady. I won't share your bed until you want me to."

He raised his eyes to her, his pupils almost pleading her to say something that would make him stay. But she dropped her gaze to the floor, making him turn to leave in defeat. As soon as he set a foot outside her doors, Sansa gathered all the courage she could find within her.

"Tyrion… Thank you."

And so, the first weeks in Casterly Rock passed as quick as the flight of a raven. With Lady Genna Lannister still away, Sansa had not yet begun her lessons on her new duties as Lady of the Rock. So, with much free time to herself, she spent most of her days in the Stone Garden, which had a Godswood she could pray to the gods of her father. Sometimes, she visited the castle's Sept too, to pray to her mother's Seven to keep her and Robb safe.

She missed home, her real home at Winterfell. nd her family even more. But she could not deny that Casterly Rock had been nothing but comely so far. Lord Kevan and his wife treated her with kind respect and the children would not stop calling her auntie and showing her way around the castle. Sansa felt as adventurous as her sister Arya when they took her down to the dens of the Rock. They also showed her the way to the private beach down the castle, where she enjoyed her first setting of the sun upon the Sunset Sea.

She Seldom saw Lord Tyrion, though. He had been very busy as of late learning his own duties. But sometimes, he would join her in the mornings to break the fast or at night for dinner. To keep the rumours of their distance at bay, Sansa guessed.

But this night, she had it all to herself… or at least for a brief while. A knock softly called from her door.

"You may enter!" Sansa said sitting by the window of her solar that opened to the sea while she was practicing her needle skills.

Lord Kevan entered her room, and while Sansa received him with a smile, a sad and guilty look never left his face. Her heart jumped to her throat knowing something was amiss.

A knife to the stomach would have been kinder than the news he bore, and once they left his mouth Sansa could hear nothing but mumbles out of his apologies as her head began to spin. She turned back to her needlework, waiting for Lord Kevan to leave, and once he did she threw her embroidery away with all the little strength she had. For the first in a long time, she did not let her tears fall in silence.

She wept loud, her cries echoing through all the halls of the castle, and let herself drop to the floor, her sobs choking the air out of her lungs. What had she ever done to the gods for them to curse her in such way? Her family had been taken, and slaughtered, and now gone forever from this world. She was the last Stark, but without her pack she was nothing but a defenseless lone wolf trapped with the lions. Her tears ran down in streams of sorrow, leaving traces on her pale cheeks that looked like scars. And she cried, and cried, until her eyes grew red with pain and with no tears left to shed.

Still lying on the floor, Sansa crossed her arms at her shoulders and curled. Closing her eyes, she could pretend it was her mother's embrace. Oh, how she wished she could bring them all back. How could she ever live in a world without them? That thought made her open her eyes wide with an idea crossing her mind.

The sun was now half set against the sea, and down her window were pointy rocks and raging waves crashing against them. It's such a beautiful sunset, Sansa thought, standing on top of the window with her bare feet trembling against the cold stone frame. Maybe they will make a song about me, about how the Imp's wife flew from Casterly Rock.

But the thought of her dwarf husband brought her back to her senses, and she frowned with anger at the distance. No, she would not let another Stark die at the mercy of a Lannister once more. He had most likely known about this all along, and didn't even find the courage to bring her his own horrors himself. Every fiber in her body was filled with hatred and her heart was in such angry determination that she was barely thinking what she was doing when she packed her most valuable possessions in a small trunk, waiting for the moon to set high in the sky and for the last candle to be blown inside the Rock.

Sansa thanked silently for all the secret passages the Lannister children had taught her, and moved with careful steps to avoid being seen by any of the guards. With a hooded dark cloak, she covered most of her face. Where was she going, she knew not. But as long as she was far from here, far from the Lannisters, she knew she would be fine.

Somehow, she managed to make it past the Lion's Mouth. She was finally out of the castle. Now all she had to do was find somewhere safe to stay. Yet only now, standing alone in the cold and dark of the night, Sansa realized how afraid she was of the possibilities that laid ahead. I have to be brave. Brave like Robb and my Lady Mother, she told herself closing her eyes, yet her body would not cease from trembling.

"You are leaving." she heard a voice say and gasped in surprise turning to realize she had been followed. And his words sounded more a statement than question. Lord Tyrion wore a cloak on top of his night robe, and the saddest expression on his face.

"How did you…?"

"I meant to visit your chambers when you left. So I lost no time to follow your steps. I wouldn't want you to go travelling by yourself. It is dangerous to go aloneー"

"Oh spare me, Tyrion Lannister!" Sansa spat, her anger fogging her reason and manners. He stepped back almost jumping in shock. "Don't pretend that you care when you orchestrated it all! This has been your plan all along, wasn't it? You are just like Joffrey and the Queen. You make me feel safe and wait for the perfect moment to take whatever little joy I have left! Why do you do this to me?! Why won't you all just leave me alone?!"

"Sansa Iー" Tyrion said, his eyebrows arched with sadness and a plea, "I did not know. My father didn't tell me or any of us hereー"

"You are a monster," Sansa said, each word filled with more hatred than the one before. And Tyrion gulped with hurt. Good, she thought, let him know what my pain feels like. "You took everything from me!"

Her voice cracked with sobs and her knees collapsed to the ground. Not even her body could cope with all the sorrow inside her heart.

"Sansaー" the Imp said approaching her with slow steps, his hand reaching out as if he were to tame a wild beast.

"Don't you dare come near me," she warned lying helplessly on the cold moist ground.

Yet Tyrion kept walking towards her and placed his hand upon her shoulder.

"I said go away!" She growled, her voice echoing through the air; and shoving his hand away, Sansa slapped his face with such strength that he was thrown off balance to the ground.

"Sansaー" he went on, and her fists balled with irritation at the sound of her name in his voice. Why won't he just let me be?

Forgetting the lady she was, Sansa flung herself upon him wild as a wolf and slapped him once more, and once again, until her palms burned red. And yet, he never moved, allowing her to let all her rage out against him.

"You knew it…" she said giving up on him and brought her knees up to her chest hiding her face between them. His face was red and sore, and blood streamed down his now broken lip. Defeated as he was, Tyrion brought his small body back to his feet and moved towards Sansa, who had little strength to reject his embrace.

"You knew it," She continued to say, placing her head against his chest and hitting him with weak fists. "I hate you, Tyrion Lannister. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" Maybe if she said it loud and over again she would end up believing she truly did.

"Sansa, I'm sorryー"

"You knew it."

"Sansa listenー"

"You had known about it all this time."

"SANSA STARK, YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW!"

And as he grabbed her by the shoulders, Sansa was silenced with surprise. He had never raised his voice like that to her before, and his eyes glowed against the dark, begging for her to listen. So she spoke no more, and looked into his honest eyes.

Tyrion noticed her shock and calmed exhaling a deep breath. "I promised you, my lady, I promised I would not ever hurt you. You may love me not, but I put the cloak of my protection about your shoulders. All I have done since we were joined under the eyes of gods and men was try to keep you safe. Try to return a smile upon your face. Why, Sansa, would I ever do this to you? My father, Joffrey, Cersei, they are vile and cruel, yes. But, my lady, I beg you to believe me I am not like them and I shall never be.

"I breathe the same air you do, I laugh and cry and enjoy lemon cakes quite as much as you do. And I am your husband, Sansa, and I vow that while I live by your side, I shall bid my best on keeping you from any further pain. I know I cannot offer much, my small arms can barely lift a longsword. But there must be something I can do. So please, my lady, let me try."

She could only see the truth in his pleading eyes. Why was he so kind to her? What could he ever gain from her likes? Tyrion may surprise you, Margaery's voice echoed in her mind. Sansa's sobs returned to her throat and tears to her eyes.

And she wept until the sun rose. She wept hiding under her husband's arms.