9th Month of 299 A.C. King's Landing
Queen Sansa Targaryen nee Stark
The war was over, for a year Westeros had been plunged into darkness and decay due to the hubris of Cersei Lannister and her son, and for that they had paid. Cersei and her children were dead, House Baratheon was dead as well, and now the crown, her husband in actuality, owned Storm's End, could make use of it whenever they wished. It was a strange feeling, knowing that the war was over, and that she and her husband were now rulers of Westeros. When the war had been raging, Sansa had prayed to the Old Gods, more than the Seven, she had prayed for her husband's safe deliverance and his victory, she had prayed that she would get to see him again, and it seemed the old gods had answered her prayers.
As she looks at her husband now, where he rests in the bed next to her, she feels a burst of love for him, and she knows that there is no one else she would rather spend her time with. There are some things though that she feels need discussing, she can see it in the way his forehead is creased, clearly there is something bothering him and she wants to know what it is. "What's bothering you my love?" she asks, her voice soft, reflecting the earliness of the hour.
Aegon looks at her, his eyes a dark shade of violet, although she swears one of them is dark grey as well. His voice is just as soft as hers when he replies. "I… I do not know really. It all seems a bit sudden, I must admit. And whilst I know I fought a war to sit the throne, now that I am actually sitting the throne, I am not sure how to feel." Sana says nothing, she merely looks at her husband and waits for him to continue. "I feel as if there should be something more, some other fight that I need to win, some other battle that I need to swat away with my sword. But I know there is not, at least for now. I guess, I am just nervous, because now the fighting is done and the time has come for me to see whether I am a good administrator."
Sansa leans forward then, kissing her husband on the lips, and when he deepens the kiss, she hums with content. However, she knows that this is a conversation they need to have, and so she breaks the kiss, smiling gleefully at the moan of protest that escapes her husband's lips. "Well, I remember when we were children in Winterfell, you were always the one who would correct Robb when he made a mistake with his numbers, and that you were always there covering for him if he hadn't completed the tasks on his list. I am sure that you will be fine Aegon."
Her husband laughs slightly at her words and she smiles at the sound. "Ah, I remember that. Robb was always leaving behind something or the other. But I think he has changed in that regard, being acting Lord of Winterfell when Lord Eddard was here, I think did him some good." her husband falls silent then, as does she, memories of her father a pale shroud of grief hanging over her, however, they both look at one another and the grief disappears. "I think that the council will be an interesting one for the time being."
Sansa hums in agreement. "Especially with Robb being in the north and Lord Tyrion having to remain within the Westerlands to try and sort out whatever issues his father left behind." She pauses for a moment as she considers how exactly to phrase this question, when she finally finds the right words she asks. "Why did you name Lord Tyrion to the small council my love?"
Aegon sighs, and runs a hand through his hair, his voice is soft when he responds. "Because he is a Lannister, and whilst it was Tywin who started the war, Tyrion is someone I have come to trust over time. Furthermore, as a Lannister, and as he himself has shown over the time I have known him, he seems to be good with money. Perhaps he can help ease the debts the crown has, and ensure that we have more money."
"I'm still surprised at how much money the crown still owes. I would have thought Renly Baratheon would have tried to get that cleared as soon as possible." Sansa replies.
Her husband leans forward and kisses her cheek, and she leans into the kiss, when her husband moves back he replies. "I think he tried to, but he wrote off the debt that the crown owed the Rock, and the Tyrells covered some of the payment to the faith, as for the Iron Bank well, gods know what they want."
"You don't think that Lord Tyrion will ask for the money the crown owes the Rock? I mean, surely the fact that he is getting lands from the Reach should be payment enough?" Sansa asks.
Her husband sighs. "I am not sure. I think it should be, but one cannot be too sure. And of course, there is the fact that there are some anomalies within the books."
Sansa is not surprised that her husband has looked through the books, he is thorough like that, not wanting to miss anything. "What sort of anomalies?" she asks.
"There are several entries that do not add up, the entry before the war began had there being some four thousand dragons within the royal treasury, when in actual fact there was only one thousand. It seems that my predecessors did not look thoroughly through the books, nor did they ask the keeper of coins." Her husband replies.
The Keeper of Coins was the man who was meant to keep a second account of the funds within the royal treasury, for the crown's own perusal, something that had been instituted by King Jaehaerys the Old, after it was found that a previous master of coin had been embezzling money. The current Keeper of Coins was an old man known as Aurane Longwaters, the descendant of some dragon or the other, he was a keen man. "So do you think someone has been taking money from the royal treasury then?" she asks.
"I think so, and the fact that Aurane is still alive is likely because he reported only to the Hand or to the crown and none have dared look for him." Her husband replies in response to her questions, both asked and unasked.
Sansa nods. "So then, who do you think has been taking from the crown?"
"Well, there is only one man who could possibly have done such a thing. Petyr Baelish has remained in the Vale, doing gods alone knows what, and he did not answer the ravens that Renly Baratheon sent him, or the ravens that were sent by Cersei Lannister. I think he might well have used the money he took for some reason that is only known to him. But I think that the time has come to bring him to justice." Her husband states.
Curious, Sansa props herself up on her elbow and asks. "How do you plan on doing that? I do not think he will in response to a direct summons, if he has not answered a raven from either of the two previous regimes here."
Her husband looks at her a moment and then he says. "I will write a letter to Lady Lysa, and ask her to come to King's Landing. Whilst she might have remained shut up during the war, she cannot ignore a direct summons from the King. After all, she did send someone to say she recognised me as King. I think now would be the best time to get that sorted."
Sansa mulls over what her husband has said, it seems a sound plan, but Sansa had heard things whilst she was in King's Landing the first time, from the rumours she had heard, her aunt was not the most stable of people, and might well have thought that the letters were traps. After a moment of thinking she says. "Why not send a letter to her, saying you have found the person behind her husband's murder?" her husband looks at her intrigued, and that encourages her to go on. "Lady Lysa fled King's Landing after her husband died, and father was convinced that Jon Arryn had been murdered. If that is the case, then surely the lady would, for the sake of clarity and for the sake of her son, want to come to King's Landing to know who had her husband killed. That could be when you capture Baelish."
Her husband looks at her intently for a moment before leaning forward to kiss her, when he pulls back he smiles. "I think that is a brilliant idea."
She smiles back, and then asks. "So have you given any more thought to what I had said?" the issue of the Tyrells had been one that had been plaguing her mind since her husband had left her in Riverrun, she knew that they were an ambitious family, and though Margaery Tyrell had been a Queen, she was now merely a Lady, and she could be used. Bran needed a wife as well.
Her husband rises, and gets off the bed, no doubt to get changed and ready for the day to come. But before he puts on any clothes, Sansa takes a moment to rake her gaze over his muscled form, marvelling at just how strong her husband is. When he replies, it takes a lot for her to pull her gaze from his arse. "I think I can see the merits in what you suggested. Having Bran marry Margaery would ensure that at least the girl is married to someone we trust, and furthermore, it means that Tyrell cannot protest. I'll talk to Bran about this later on today, I think he deserves to have a say."
Sansa hums in agreement, finding it increasingly difficult to keep her attention on what her husband is saying. It seems that he has noticed, for soon she finds him leaning over her, his breath hot on her face. "Do you like what you see my Queen?" her husband asks.
Sansa grins. "Oh, I do my King. But I think my memory of what it is like to be with you is a bit hazy."
"Now that can be easily rectified." Her husband replies, grinning wolfishly, before he leans down and kisses her.
Soon enough, they lose themselves in each other and the world fades into the background, she cries his name out and he cries hers out, and they move together as one. When they are done, her husband falls back onto the bed with a heavy sigh, before pulling her into his side. He kisses the top of her head and whispers. "Do you think the Kingsguard heard us?"
She giggles slightly at the question. "Does it matter?" she asks.
Her husband looks at her and winks. "Well, I don't really want my sworn guards hearing my wife moaning with pleasure. It might give them ideas."
Sansa swats her husband's chest then. "Seriously!"
Her husband laughs and kisses her again and again and again. Eventually, they stop and lie in each other's embrace, looking at one another, and Sansa feels content truly content. "I love you." She says then, meaning the words completely.
Her husband smiles. "I love you too." He replies.
For the first time in a while, Sansa feels happy, truly happy. There is nothing that could possibly disturb her happiness, and though there will be challenges to come, she thinks that together, she and Aegon can face them down, and come out the winners. After all, they are the song of ice and fire. And there is nothing more powerful.