A Dragon Unexpected (Sansa Stark x Viserys Targaryen)
Sansa never once imagined him to be her husband. Never thought there'd come a day when she'd happily claim the title of his wife. But here she is. His beloved wife and princess. Mother of his children. And happy and proud of it.
A rebellion happened before Sansa was born. She does not know the entire story nor does she have knowledge of all the people involved.
This is the story she knows:
Her Aunt Lyanna was betrothed to the deceased Lord Robert Baratheon. The Prince Rhaegar fell in love with her and her with him. Then the Crown Prince offered to make her his second wife and protect her from Grandfather Rickard and Lord Robert's wrath. They ran away together. Her Uncle Brandon thought Aunt Lyanna was kidnapped. Her brash Uncle went to the Red Keep and demanded for Prince Rhaegar to die—an act which was a crime against the Royal Family so the Mad King imprisoned him. Her Grandfather was summoned by the King and when he got to Kinglanding, both he and Uncle Brandon were murdered upon the orders of the Mad King Aerys. The king then went on to ask for her father Eddard Stark and the deceased Lord Robert to be turned over to the King’s Justice. Lord Arryn refused and the rebellion happened. When Lord Robert Baratheon fell in the Trident, the Rebellion was lost. The truth behind her Aunt's disappearance came out and though there were hard feelings still, negotiations were made and the former rebels helped Prince Rhaegar depose the Mad King. And the Dragon Prince was crowned King and now ruled peacefully with Queens Elia and Lyanna by his side.
Or so she was told.
When Sansa was ten, her Lord Father and Lady Mother told her she was to marry her cousin the Prince Jaehaerys and become Princess of Dragonstone to strengthen the relations between the Crown and the North. As a child, she spent time thinking how wonderful it would be to be one of the princesses from the songs. So when she learned her dream was coming true, she thanked all the gods for granting her such high favor.
For many moons, she floated the halls of Winterfell, imagining all the wonderful things she'll get to experience when she becomes a princess of the Seven Kingdoms. Her brothers and sister teased her endlessly but she ignored their mocking. She did not have the time for childish things anymore. Not when she's to have a greater role in the realm.
When she turned ten and three, her Lord Father and Lady Mother brought her to the capital. She was to be tutored under Queens Lyanna and Elia until the time for her to wed Prince Jaehaerys came. She had been ecstatic. She'll get to learn under the queens!
But she learned the story she was told was not the entire truth at all and slowly but surely, cracks appeared and tarnished her beautiful vision of what her life as a princess would be like. The years in the presence of the royal family has opened her eyes to the ugliness within--the rot that bards don’t sing about and story tellers don't talk of.
She comes to learn that her Aunt's great love story wasn't such a great story after all. Not when she ran away with a married prince with two children who attempted to set aside his first wife, almost bastardized his own children and insulted an entire kingdom just so he could be with her.
It puzzles her—how the King could've done such a cruel act against the Queen Elia who is nothing but good and kind and full of warmth. When she learned this truth, Sansa cried. And ever since, she always feels shame in Queen Elia’s presence, especially when she sees the deep sadness in her dark eyes every time the King blatantly shows favor on her Aunt Lyanna and her Aunt lords it subtly over Queen Elia. But the Queen is very perceptive and wise and realized Sansa’s feelings. Proving her goodness, she hugged and assured Sansa that she does not have to carry the blame of other people’s faults. It only made Sansa feel worse.
She comes to secretly despise her Aunt. For her careless and willful disregard of decorum and lack of interest in performing her duties, leaving the Queen Elia to do them herself without any show or words of gratitude from either her wild Aunt or the King. She also hates how her Aunt thinks her Lady Mother, Catelyn Tully Stark, a weak woman for allowing herself to be bartered by her Grandfather. She dislikes how her aunt bemoans her more ladylike disposition, how she would compare her to Arya and sometimes would push her to become more like her by insisting she join in her favorite activities. She hates the nickname she has for Sansa: Little Fish. She knows it’s not meant kindly—knows it is an insult for her and her Lady Mother.
She feels guilt-ridden for the Princess Rhaenys who is mostly aloof and quiet and ignored by the King for being too Dornish instead of Targaryen. She feels great relief when the time came for the Princess to marry her Uncle Edmure. For she has come to learn how her Uncle is mad in love for her and she knows him to be a good man and will surely treasure her. She makes her a Tully-colored gown with intricate embroidery as a gift and is grateful when the princess embraces her in thanks and calls her niece. Sansa promises to write her letters when she leaves with Uncle Edmure for the Riverlands.
She’s always awkward around Crown Prince Aegon. The Prince at first looked at her with hateful eyes, no doubt hating her for being her Aunt’s niece—the woman who, in his eyes, humiliated his mother and almost caused him and her sister to become bastards. The Queen Elia might have said something to him. These days, he mostly just looks at her indifferently, as if she were merely a boring decoration on the walls of the Red Keep. They are not friends and she’s sure they never will. It is enough for Sansa not to see loathing on his face and to be friends instead with his beautiful and gracious betrothed Lady Margaery.
Sansa does not see the King often, which makes it hard for her to really know and understand him better. He’s always with his council and rarely interacts with Queen Elia, who Sansa has come to love and chose to always be with. Because of this, Sansa keeps the negative impression she has come to develop for the King when she learned the truth of the rebellion.
The Princess Daenerys…Sansa decides to stay away from her as much as possible. The princess is very beautiful, like what she imagined a wood nymph would look like when she was a child. But like a dragon, her eyes burn with hatred for Sansa—an emotion she does not understand the reason for. When they interact, the princess would always find a way to subtly deride Sansa, always looking down her nose at her. When the princess leaves the capital to wed Sansa’s cousin Jonnel Arryn, it feels as though a bone was removed from her throat.
The Prince Viserys does not always visit the Red Keep, preferring to stay in the faraway Summerhall with his little daughter Rhaella whose mother died when she was born. When he does visit, which is rarely, he spends his time with Queen Elia, Princess Rhaenys and Sansa. He’s a very serious one—he rarely smiles. Over time, she learns from Queen Elia and Princess Rhaenys that the Prince of Summerhall was still a child when the Rebellion happened but was old enough to remember the cruelty of King Aerys. He is the best of the Targaryen males, Sansa thinks. He is respectful and kind when he speaks to her and after a short while, they become friends. His little girl is beautiful and precious and Sansa becomes fond of her.
Her betrothed, the Prince Jaehaerys, looks very much like her father, Ned Stark and is equally reserved. He rarely smiles and they rarely spend time together as he prefers training in the yard with the Kingsguards or hunting in the Kingswood or roaming the lands with his horse—activities that Sansa does not really enjoy. When he does find time to be with her, Sansa feels as though the Prince is reluctant to speak to her. Sansa is worried but she remembers her mother saying her father was also aloof when they were first married. She takes comfort in that and tells herself when they are finally wed, they’ll come to build a stronger relationship—stone by stone.
A few moons before the wedding, the Queen Elia talks to her regarding love and marriage, the first time they talk so seriously about the topics. Sansa listens, knowing the Queen is very wise and her words will definitely help her in the future.
“Sweetling, you have become like a daughter to me. You are gentle and kind and possess a good heart. You have grown tremendously from an innocent and naïve child and have become a much wiser woman. But I fear for you love. I fear that someday, you will get hurt because of your good heart. So listen to me Sansa, and I hope you heed my words.” The Queen cradles Sansa’s face in her hands gently, eyes soft and sad. “Be careful with your heart”
Sansa is confused. She does not understand why the Queen is telling her this now.
“Take caution when it comes to love, dearest. It is not wrong to love and hope to be loved in return. But sometimes, if you are not careful, you’ll love the wrong person. And sometimes…sometimes you fall so deep in love and fail to realize the other does not love you back. And you sometimes don’t even notice it until years have gone by; and you wake up one morning, only to realize you have wasted much of your life. And I don’t want that to happen to you sweetling.”
The words she hears make fears grow in her heart. Suddenly, she feels as though she’s standing in the dark and walls are closing in on her.
“I am not telling you this to make you afraid, love. Only to give you caution, so you will not live unhappy the rest of your life. Know that I am here if you need me, always.” Queen Elia goes on to embrace her tight in assurance. Sansa still feels anxious but decides to stay quiet, thinking the Queen is only giving her advice from her own experience.
The wedding is beautiful. Her family attends except for Robb—for there must always be a Stark in Winterfell. Her Lady Mother is still as beautiful as ever and her Lord Father somehow looks older than his age. Her brothers are all grown up. Bran is now squiring for Uncle Brynden and Rickon is a ward of House Umber. Arya is as wild as ever but the years spent away have made her miss her sister’s spirit. Her sister seems to feel the same way too for she hugs Sansa tight. Despite their initial excitement, her siblings come to hate the capital and its pomposity and decide to spend more time with her instead of exploring. She became very sad when it came time to see them leave and go back to Winterfell.
She and Jaehaerys go to Dragonstone and start their married life. The island is bleak and the weather makes Sansa feel miserable. Her husband’s silence and continued detachment only makes her feel more wretched. She tries everything to be a good wife to him but aside from bedding her, her husband does not seem to find her presence pleasing. When Sansa tries to talk to him, he would only answer in short sentences then cut the conversation short by leaving. When she tries to seduce him with what little skill she has, he only looks amused for a while, take his pleasure from her then go back to ignoring her.
She sends her mother letters asking for advice, but all she receives are words telling her to be patient, to be more considerate, to be more loving to her husband. Her frustration builds up with their seeming misunderstanding of her situation. She has done everything she could and it is not working. Her emotions seem to negatively affect her body too. For all the bedding they do, she fails to get pregnant.
Two years and no heirs to show for their marriage the King summons them back to the capital. The Princess Daenerys has also returned to the Red Keep, her marriage to Sansa’s cousin annulled after she was discovered barren and incapable of bearing him heirs. Sansa is sad for her and hopes their shared dilemma would help bridge the gap between them.
It didn’t. Instead, she finds out a bitter truth.
She’s a fool. An utter fool.
Her husband will never love her. He’s in love with his aunt.
The discovery is made when one day, she looks for her husband in his rooms, only to be shocked with the sight of him in bed, rutting his aunt like a dog. It finally makes sense. His coldness toward her, his disregard of her efforts to work on their marriage. The Princess Daenerys’ inexplicable hatred for Sansa. They see her see them but she finds no guilt at all in their eyes. Unable to stomach the realization that all this time she’s been playing the fool, she runs away.
She locks herself in her rooms for days until Queen Elia comes knocking on her door in worry. When she sees the Queen, all the words and her tears just spill out until she feels there’s nothing left of her.
“Oh sweetling. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry this happened to you. You do not deserve this.” The Queen Elia has tears in her eyes too. Hugging her and running her hands gently down Sansa’s back.
“You knew. The words you spoke to me as caution. You knew” she weakly and tearfully accuses the Queen.
“I knew they felt something for each other. But with Daenerys betrothed then married to the Heir of the Vale and far from Kingslanding and Dragonstone, I thought nothing would come out of it. I thought Jaehaerys would see sense and see you for the treasure you are.”
“Why didn’t you tell me at all? I could’ve been more prepared. I could have done things differently.”
“I am sorry sweetling, forgive me. I did not tell you because then, what they felt did not look serious to me at all. And I did not want to tarnish your marriage and cause you to have fears and reservations that would prevent you from really getting to know your husband better. If I knew it would come to this, I would have done something, believe me Sansa. Please believe me.” Queen Elia’s eyes show enough sorrow that Sansa could not withhold her forgiveness.
They talk for a long time. Of what Sansa should do.
They talked of going to the King but decided against it eventually as it would only escalate things and possibly cause tensions within the kingdoms and unnecessary danger to innocent people. They talked about her confronting Daenerys but that was thrown away too. Daenerys is unmarried and free to do as she pleases. Jaehaerys is the one bound to Sansa and should be the one to have sense and decency to end his sordid affair with his Aunt.
In the end, Sansa did not have to confront her husband. Her husband confronted her. His eyes icy and intent on her face, “I love her and I am not ashamed. You are my wife but only because it is my duty. It is her I love. Nothing you say or do will change that. I am tired following orders like a dog and doing my duty. You can go tell my father and cause more trouble than you are worth. I do not care. You can have lovers. I do not care. Leave Dany and I alone.”
The words were said with such cold indifference that Sansa was left speechless. She was not given any chance at all to respond as her husband turns to leave.
In the end she does nothing. What could she do? Enough people have died because of selfish Targaryens. She carries the same name now and she will not be another Targaryen who’ll plunge the realms to war and cause others suffering. She will bear this hurt and this humiliation with grace like Queen Elia.
But she is not as kind and good. She swears—in time—vengeance will be hers.
They stay at the Red Keep upon the King’s orders. The King wants to keep a close eye on them and ensure they do their duty of bearing heirs. Nothing happens. Her belly does not grow with child. How could it? She finds her husband repulsive while her husband preferred to plant his seed inside his Aunt’s barren womb. The King grows displeased every passing moon.
Everything changes when the previously barren Princess Daenerys gets pregnant.
Years of misery and moons of humiliation end in utter disgrace. Jaehaerys goes to his Father the King and tells the truth. The King is ecstatic and sees not dishonor but a miracle. A child conceived of a meeting of true dragons. He declares the babe will be a legitimized Targaryen. The King speaks to her in private, telling her the marriage still stands. That the child is Daenerys’ and will not affect her marriage to his son. Her Aunt Lyanna says nothing and Sansa hates her even more for it. Sansa wanted to rage and gouge out her vile husband’s eyes. She wanted to plunge a dagger to the smirking Daenerys’ womb. She wanted to shout at the king and make him understand that this is unacceptable. It is a great offense to her and her family.
But then again, what did she expect? This is the same man who tried to discard his wife and trueborn children as though they were unwanted trash so he could marry another. Legitimized bastards are nothing new to the Targaryens. And dragons do not care for the opinion of others.
Sansa does not know how to tell her mother and father of what’s become of her marriage. She does not want to cause them shame nor does she want them to do anything rash. She does not want to be the reason more Starks die.
But news have wings and some secrets do not all stay hidden and not for long, the rest of the realm hears of her disgrace and tensions arise. Her father, mother and sister come rushing to the capital, some Northern Lords with them. The Lord Jon Arryn, her Uncle Elbert, cousin Jonnel, Uncle Brynden, Uncle Edmure and Aunt Rhaenys join them. Prince Oberyn and some lords of Dorne, the Reach and the Stormlands who remained dissatisfied with the King and the result of the Rebellion also took the opportunity to take their pound of flesh of the Royal Family.
They all petition and pressure the King to do something about it. Threats of war were made should the King let another Targaryen Prince get away with his selfish actions.
After moons of loud and downright vicious negotiations, the gathered lords and the council came up with the following decisions:
The marriage is dissolved and Sansa is to marry the widowed Prince Viserys to keep the relations between the North and the Crown. Sansa shall receive gold as reparation and her dowry shall be paid for by the crown. The Prince Jaehaerys, Princess Daenerys and their children are removed from the line of succession and their titles revoked. The lands of the Gift are returned to House Stark.
The Small Council was also reformed to ensure equal participation of all Seven Kingdoms in matters of the realm.
Lord Jon Connington remains Hand of the King. Lord Varys remains Master of Whisperers. Lord Wyman Manderly of the North is named Master of Coin. Prince Doran Martell of Dorne is named Master of Laws. Lord Paxter Redwyne remains Master of Ships. Ser Arthur Dayne remains Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Lord Stannis Baratheon takes back the title of Lord Paramount of the Stormlands from Lord Connington and also given the position of advisor in the council along with Ser Brynden Tully, Lord Jon Arryn and Ser Kevan Lannister.
When Sansa hears of the results of the negotiations, she feels relieved. She does not believe all the lords really cared about her plight but she feels better that the end of her marriage at least had its uses, that it at least helped right some things for the Seven Kingdoms. She also feels better that the next man she marries is someone she knows respects her and will treat her better, and someone she considers a friend. She tells her Mother, Father and all her Uncles this when they speak to her about the match decided for her.
Her parents asked for her forgiveness, for not being more understanding of her situation and failing to help when she reached out to them. Remorse was clear on her Father’s and Mother’s eyes, both ashamed of their inaction at her situation. She’s not sure she fully forgives them but she does thank them for coming to Kingslanding and doing something to get justice for the disgrace done to her. Her sister offers to accompany her to her new home, to stay with her for a while and ensure she’s settled in her new life. She’s thankful for it and welcomes her sister’s offer.
Before the wedding, Prince Viserys meets with her and they talk. The Prince assures her he will do right by her. That she is his friend first and someone he respects and so deserves to be treated with honor.
Burnt as she is with her shattered marriage with Jaehaerys, Sansa finds herself believing in his words. The years of knowing him and seeing the kind of man he is makes her hopeful of their future. If nothing else, she loves his daughter, Little Rhaella, and would be glad to be a mother to her.
Her second wedding is less grand but attended and witnessed by all the lords who flocked to the capital and joined the petitions and negotiations with the King. Instrumental as she was in them successfully getting their way, she receives many gifts and offers of alliances, some of which she knows are half-hearted, others only because of her connections. She thanks them all the same.
Her Aunt Lyanna remains stewing in her silence. Her eyes showing distaste for Sansa and the fall from grace of her son. Daenerys, round and about to burst, does not hold back in her hatred for her, always spewing snide remarks when she has the chance. Jaehaerys keeps his stupid, indifferent face. She ignores them. They don’t matter now.
After the wedding, she goes with Prince Viserys to Summerhall to start their life together. Arya will stay with them for a while. She is sad to separate with the rest of her family the second time around, especially since there will be even more distance between them but with Queen Elia and her Aunt Rhaenys’ assurances and her own knowledge of Prince Viserys’ character, Sansa looks ahead with more hope for the new life in front of her.
Settling in Summerhall with her new husband, stepdaughter and household, Sansa soon discovers her second marriage is more than she has hoped for. Being friends with him before their marriage has helped a lot. There is an easiness and openness between them that was absent in her previous marriage.
The Prince Viserys who was quiet in Kingslanding turns into a warm husband in Summerhall. Her husband always takes the time to talk to her and patiently explains things about their lands or household issues she’s not familiar with yet. He also makes sure to include her in important decisions and praise her when she does something good. He makes a point to take meals with her and talk about their day and has asked they not sleep in separate rooms. It’s a request she has no complaints about. For her husband is a great lover. For all his propriety when they are surrounded by others, he has a filthy mouth when in bed and does not hesitate to make Sansa squirm with want. He takes great pleasure giving her pleasure—likes watching her pant, moan and beg him. He never fails to take her breath away when he makes love to her.
In their day to day interaction, Sansa finds he has a dry sense of humor that matches hers and they compete at finding little things to laugh at together. He’s a devoted father to his daughter and Sansa can already imagine what kind of father he’ll be like to their own children. He’s also rather fond of Arya’s wildness and does not hesitate to pay back her sharp tongue with his own witty remarks and enjoys fighting her in the training yard. All these things he does and Sansa finds herself falling bit by bit. It’s an exhilarating feeling and a bit frightening. But she sees the look in his eyes when he stares at her, feels the softness in his touch when he caresses her and the kindness in his voice every time he talks to her and she can’t help but feel eager to fall.
Close to six moons since their marriage, she falls pregnant. Not so surprising after the nights of lovemaking she and her husband does. Arya extends her stay, wanting to see her new niece or nephew. It is during her pregnancy she sees another side of her husband. He’s a worrywart, an exasperating one. He’s always at her side worrying his head off as though Sansa could die anytime. But considering what happened to his former wife in the birthing bed and the impressive growth of Sansa’s belly, perhaps his fears are reasonable.
When the time came for her to give birth, Sansa felt like a whale and had enough of her husband being a mother hen and promptly had him evicted from the room no matter how much he insisted to stay. The labor was long and painful but when her babes were placed at her chest and she saw their perfect faces, she feels it’s all worth it. When her husband sees them, he cries like a child. Sansa is amused and teary at the same time and in the end, they both laugh with tears in their eyes. This is how Arya finds them and she uses it to tease them both for a long time.
They name their son Daeron, after Daeron the Good. He gets all his features from his father, who is proud as a peacock of this fact. Their daughter, they name Ella for the Queen Elia who is like a mother to Sansa. Her daughter gets her hair and her father’s eyes and Viserys is already worrying about suitors. The years pass and Summerhall only becomes dearer to her. They have two more sons after a few years, Torrhen and Edrik who are both dark haired with their father’s eyes.
The years pass and seasons change and with them came other changes too.
The King Rheagar dies of a weak heart and the Prince Aegon is crowned. With her son now seated on the throne, Queen Elia finally leaves the Red Keep. She visits them on her way to go home to Dorne. She’s still as gracious as Sansa has known her to be and they share stories of the lives they lived away from each other. The Queen—for she will always be The Queen to Sansa—expresses her joy and pride at the life Sansa has made for herself. Sansa gives her thanks and finally gets the courage to call her mother. They both cry and Queen Elia makes her promise to visit Sunspear and the Water Gardens with her family when she has the chance.
Their Rhaella went on to marry Princess Arianne’s son, making her a Princess of Dorne—a welcomed event which gave them more reason to visit Sunspear and the Queen Elia. Their son Torrhen becomes a ward at Winterfell with Robb, keeping their family ties strong. Her son found the North more to his liking and has asked permission to remain until he gets his fill of the North. Sansa won’t be surprised if he finds a Northern girl to marry and keep him in the North. Edrik is their wild wolf and a little minion of his Aunt Arya, joining her in her mischiefs and always underfoot.
Her Uncle Edmure and Princess Rhaenys go on to have four children. Their heir is in pursuit of Ella, keeping Sansa’s husband on his toes, wanting to keep their daughter unmarried and living with them for as long as possible.
Of her family in the North, her Father and mother has ceded much of their responsibilities to Robb and his wife Wynafryd and are now free to visit their relatives in the Vale and the Riverlands and their two daughters and grandchildren in the Stormlands with less duties boggling them. Rickon has married Lyanna Mormont and now presides over the Gift and Bran married Meera Reed and now Lord of the rebuilt Moat Cailin.
Arya refused any matches and frequently visited them at Summerhall until she caught the eye of Steffon Baratheon, Lord Stannis’ son and heir. It was a merry chase from the Stormlands all the way to the North which caused them all headaches until Arya agreed and married him, making her Sansa’s future liege Lady. A fact that Sansa always reminded her sister of when she denies being a lady.
Of her Aunt Lyanna, Jaehaerys and Daenerys, last she’s heard, they’re at Dragonstone, seething like angry dragons still. They have lost support and even Sansa’s father has come to resent his sister and no longer pays her mind.
Sansa's days now are spent writing letters to people who are dear but far from her, running their household or planning visits across kingdoms. But her nights remain spent in her husband’s arms either in pleasure or simply having small talks of the events of the day or sharing contents of letters received from their loved ones. It has been a long and difficult journey but she is now happy and content and at home in the arms of her unlikely Targaryen Prince of a husband.