Winterfell
Lady Sansa entered what had become her safest place in the whole castle. The kitchens. One could only wonder why the first noble daughter of one, if not the noblest house in the whole Westeros, second only to the princess, would like to go there.
"Sebastian," she greeted courtly.
"Lady Sansa," he greeted, in a perfect stance.
"I…" she blinked, and now stood before her a cup of tea with some ham and cheese sandwiches. She could only sigh and enjoy the peaceful quiet of the kitchens, the flavorful tea, the slight chewiness of the freshly made bread, and the delicious ham and cheese. It did not help that there were many, and they were as delicious as they were addictive.
She pushed the plate at the curious glance of Sebastian.
"Is it not to your liking, my lady?" he asked.
"No, Sebastian, it's delicious, just…" she mumbled while looking at her belly.
"Pregnant, my lady? Oh my, that's quite the scandal, tell me more," he instructed while he grabbed her hand for more details.
Sansa's cheeks mirrored her hair, and she fumbled, only to see the amusement in Sebastian's demeanor.
"Sebastian!" she reacted.
"Lady Sansa!" he mirrored.
They chuckled, as worry left Sansa's shoulders after a good laugh.
"Better, my lady?" he asked.
She sighed and nodded.
"What did you want to talk about, my lady?" he asked, in a slightly more serious tone.
"I… Sebastian, would… would you lie to me?" she asked, expecting an answer which she would not receive.
"Yes, my lady, I would lie to you," Sebastian said, agreeing wholeheartedly.
"Pardon?!" Lady Sansa asked, confused.
"You asked if I would lie to you, I said yes, because if it means protecting you or the Starks as a whole, I would lie to you, my lady—" Sebastian continued. "—remember, my lady, think and ask the right questions, and I will answer those," Sebastian explained.
Lady Sansa took a deep breath and explained.
"I have heard rumours that concern me, Sebastian. From the servants at the house and smallfolk that I overhear." Sebastian nodded.
"They call me the lady in the clouds, I… I tried asking for some clarification because whenever I hear it, it feels insulting. But they keep denying my requests. I did not want to ask mother or the septa for… for…"
"You don't want anybody punished, right? For in your mind it would be your fault," ended Sebastian, while Sansa nodded.
"I asked Arya, you know? We are not close, but things between us have been much better. She said… she said that even if she told me, I would not believe her. So, Sebastian—" Sansa tried to pose as she had previously seen her mother do whenever she needed to order a peasant or a servant "—Sebastian Phantomive, what does that insult mean, and why do people call me like that?" Sansa asked.
Sebastian put a hand on his chin in a thinking pose.
Silence stretched on the room
"Chin slightly down," he said softly.
"Pardon?"
"Chin slightly down. From what I see, it seems that you copied your mother's mannerisms at the smallfolk. It can be useful for common people and smallfolk, but be wary. It will be considered an insult for houses of the same status," he taught gently, while Sansa corrected herself, giving a small thank you on the way.
"And yes, Sansa, I can explain. Are you ready to hear it?" he asked.
"Yes," she said with finality.
"Have you ever heard of the carriage problem?" he asked.
"No?" she denied, puzzled about the direction of this conversation.
"A carriage full of food goes at high speed to the soldiers' aid. On the way, a group of children lies on the road, unable to move. You have two options: keeping the direction, killing them but assuring the soldiers' survival and potentially victory, or you change the course, saving the children while condemning the soldiers due to a destroyed carriage along with the food?" he asked, a difficult question demanding a difficult answer.
Sansa, confused, finally said,
"I would save the kids," replied Sansa, keeping the teachings of the Seven at heart.
"And the soldiers would die of hunger, you would be blamed, the enemy would win, and all the soldiers, including you and the kids, would be dead," he explained, a hypothetical scenario.
"But, but, killing children is wrong, I would be a monster to choose that, and I am not a monster!" she said.
"True, killing children is monstrous, but war waits for no one, and hard choices must be made regardless. You see, Sansa, life is full of difficult choices, especially for you, my dear. You will be a lady of a house, married away to another family, and you will be expected to defend yourself, your children, your husband, and your underlings. For if your dear husband goes to war, you must remain helping him, providing him food, water, deals, logistics win wars and hard choices will be your bread and butter," explained Sebastian to a mortified Sansa.
Sebastian sighed and clapped once, to take Sansa out of her thoughts.
"These are not decisions which you must take now. But maybe in the future. The reason they call you the lady in the clouds is that you are obsessed with knights, chivalry, marrying your husband, and having a lot of children. It's not wrong, but that is not the complete picture. And—" Sebastian paused, noticing Sansa's expression"—we should leave it here, Lady Sansa. I am not mocking you, I just advise you to give your attention to a wider variety of books, besides the ones encouraged by your mother," explained Sebastian, while closing the door of the kitchen, leaving a bewildered and confused Sansa outside.
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The kitchens were silent again.
An uncomfortable Sebastian sat on a chair, mumbling to himself.
"She wouldn't do it… and I... I would. Maybe that's why I am such a monster, eh?" he chuckled self-deprecatingly while he kept cooking.
"How many times had Lord Stark stopped me?" he asked.
"Too many to count," he replied to himself.
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A/N: Sorry for not posting earlier. My dear mother pulled a hanzel and grettel with me, and her food chained me there (we ate empanadas, sanguchitos, stuffed chicken and soup, delicious). Please like, review, send stones and if you dont, that's totally fine.