14Disclaimer: I recently got obsessed with Game of Thrones, but doesn't mean I own it!
Story: Roose Bolton realized his bastard son had gotten the better prize. But Sansa Stark was wasted on him and perhaps Roose was greedy enough to take her for himself. Sansa? Sansa is a survivor and she knows the father is better than the son.
Set as a canon AU divergence.
Spoilers: Yeeeessss. Yes, yes, yes. Beware?
Warnings: It's GoT, what do you think? And Ramsay is His Own Warning. (Hell, the Boltons are their own warning XD)
Pairings: Roosa (Roose Bolton/Sansa Stark)
Trigger Warning: Sansa's injuries being mentioned and alluding to Ramsay's actions.
A Red King Bowed
Chapter Seven: Take My Heart, Take My Soul
In her sleep, she trembled. Her beauty was never in question though, even with her red hair matted against her skin and breath shuddering every few seconds.
Roose watched, thought, and breathed alongside her, his body slotted right into the spot next to hers.
He didn't think he could ever be so consumed with the thought of his name, just his name, being said by another.
But when Sansa (for he could never again just think of her as Lady Sansa, even in his head) said his name, everything just seemed to collapse in on himself and all he could think of was Sansa, Sansa, Sansa…
Everything converged on him. Everything.
The way she said his name, the fact she'd said it…He could never hear anything else from her. Even being called her lord husband couldn't compare. All he wanted was for her to say his name once more.
And to be able to call her Sansa in return.
"What have you done to me?" he muttered, watching her intently, even as she slept on.
The knocking on the door made him clench his jaw, but he got off the bed to open the door, revealing Maester Wolkan on the other side.
"About time," he snapped out, but knew that it hadn't been that long since he'd had his man retrieve the Maester after he'd taken Sansa in.
Maester Wolkan hurried in, eyes immediately taking in the unconscious figure of the lady laying on Roose's bed. He glanced hesitantly at Roose, but he ignored the older man.
"Lord Bolton, I will need to examine her thoroughly. Her robe will need to be taken off —perhaps we should call in a handmaiden?"
"I will take care of it," he answered in an abrupt tone, not wanting to waste time.
Maester Wolkan couldn't hide his shock and was further hesitant, but Roose merely stared at him coolly until the man nodded. Then Roose strode over to Sansa and carefully lifted her up, gingerly disrobing her and letting her bare body lay back down.
Though he took a moment, even then, to appreciate her, he didn't dally and allowed the Maester to do his job, yet still tense to have another lay their hands and eyes on his Sansa.
Even worse though, were the bruises littering her hips and waist, hand-shaped and mottled together. There were bruises around her arms, her legs, and he could now see she'd bit her lip hard enough to bleed. Around one of her wrists was a hand-shaped bruise that looked like it had hurt her wrist enough to have broken it.
"Her wrist?" he immediately brought up after noticing it, and Maester Wolkan gingerly took said wrist and examined it.
"Not broken," he said to Roose's relief. "But very fragile. It should be pained for at least a full day and I'll need to wrap it. She should be careful with it for a few days, so as to not worsen it."
"And the rest of her?" he asked in agitation.
"Bruises, very severe bruising all over her body. Nothing broken thankfully, though the ribs she'd injured before might have taken a setback. Maybe not —they'd been doing quite well these past few days, it looks, and seemed like they were healing quite fine."
"The bite marks and cuts?" Roose finally acknowledged, lips pressed into a tight line angrily.
"The cuts are shallow," the Maester sighed. "And will heal along with the bruises. The bite marks too will heal, though careful watch will be needed. Her wounds will need to be cleaned frequently."
Roose saw him hesitate again. "What is it?" he asked coldly and the Maester flinched.
"My Lord…I will need to examine her for damage down there."
Roose's pale eyes eyed him darkly and made Maester Wolkan stiffen, but neither changed their stance. Maester Wolkan knew it had to be done and Roose was still unhappy at it.
Anger simmering in the back of his mind, at what the Maester had to do and what Ramsay's rough actions were implied to have done or could've done, Roose went for Sansa's unconscious body and gently pulled her closer to the edge of the bed and then reluctantly spread her legs. Watching the Maester closely, he said nothing as the other poked and prodded her down there, peering inside of Sansa and obviously thinking.
"Well?" he snapped out, all his calmness and usual disposition having left him for that night. After receiving Sansa into his room the way she was, he had no inclinations of being calm or pleased at anything.
"She's not bleeding and I see no tears, nor felt any like I had after her wedding night," the Maester answered, the one calm to Roose's fury. And what was he doing, bringing up her wedding night? Reminding him? Guilting him?
"She'll still likely be sore there, after her lord husband's rough treatment," Maester Wolkan told him.
"Don't call my bastard her lord husband in my presence again," his jaw clenched.
Maester Wolkan paused. "Of course, my Lord. Lord Ramsay's ill treatment of her body is taking a toll on her however, I believe. If I may suggest to him that he…leave her alone for awhile…"
"I will have it done," Roose's voice turned absolutely chilly. "Is that all?"
"Yes, my Lord," he bowed. "I shall leave what she needs here and take my leave."
Roose dismissed him and then went back to Sansa, resettling her properly on the bed. Forgoing the robe, he retrieved one of his tunics and dressed her in it. It would be warmer than the robe and still be comfortable, especially against her injuries.
And it pleased him to see her in his clothing.
"Rest well, Sansa," he murmured. "I will have things taken cared of."
~⸹⸹⸹~
His bastard was scowling, having been roused from sleep.
"Father, what is it —"
"Have him thrown into a cell," Roose ordered the guards by his sides.
Ramsay's eyes widened and stared at him in shock. "What? What for? What did I do, Father?"
"I've warned you of your treatment of your lady wife," Roose narrowed his eyes at his bastard. "I've warned you and now you'll see what happens when I am disobeyed."
"But I haven't damaged her!" Ramsay protested. "She's fine! I left her entirely intact!"
Roose almost struck him again. His hand twitched as if it was going to do so and he had to clench it into a fist. Instead, he looked to his guards.
"He is not to be spoken to or fed until I've said so," he told them severely, giving them warning looks. "Make sure the others know of that. Anyone who disobeys me will join him in a cell."
He turned back to Ramsay and strode over to him, grasping his bastard's neck and squeezing slightly, hearing him choke.
"You will stay there until Lady Sansa is healed," he said harshly. "You will be released only when I say so."
By the Gods, it was so tempting to just do away with Ramsay. If Domeric was still alive…if he had another son to lay claim to being Roose's heir…
He should have had him killed the moment that whore gave birthed to him.
~⸹⸹⸹~
When Sansa woke up, she found she was alone. She didn't let herself linger on the fact she was in the lord's chambers, which meant (as she remembered) the guard had taken her to Lord Bolton's rooms.
Lord Bolton, who she had called out to as Roose.
She slipped sometimes in her mind, calling him familiarly by his name. But never had his name passed her lips like it had before she'd passed out.
And then he'd said her name.
Recalling it made her shiver, not unpleasantly. The raw timbre of his voice, the way it rolled on his tongue…
She thought she could never hear her name again without thinking of it in his voice.
Out of her thoughts and into reality, the door opened to reveal Lord Bolton coming into his chambers, eyes alighting immediately onto her. She shifted uncertainly on the bed, realizing only too late of her mostly undressed state and that what she did wear was just a tunic. His tunic.
"You're awake," he said softly, coming into the room after closing the door behind him. "How do you feel?"
"Tired, sore. Pained in some areas, Lord Bolton," she answered.
"My name," he said sharply, causing her to flinch. He came over slowly and gentled his tone. "I would like you to use my name, Sansa."
And there it was again —her name out of his mouth, a caress against her skin and a hook in her mind.
"Roose," she murmured, staring up at him as he leaned over her. To say his name though, like this, in his chambers, alone…
This was another level of intimacy they were crossing and she wasn't sure where they were heading, if she ever had.
He sat down next to her, leaning over her prone body. "Maester Wolkan has informed me of your injuries. I had to remove your robe and leave you bare for him to examine, but I made sure nothing untoward happened. Your bruises were the main worries and you will be sore for a while, but there was also cause for concern regarding…Ramsay's roughness regarding your coupling. The Maester left me with what is needed to help you recover."
She took a deep shuddering breath, feeling like her body was heavy and aching everywhere.
"Will you help me to my room, L —Roose?" she corrected herself. It brought a small smile to his lips and she wondered at that.
"My name in your voice is lovely," he purred, making her cheeks warm. "But you'll stay here, Sansa," he said then. "I'll not have you stressing yourself or further worsening your condition."
"Ramsay," she bit out, closing her eyes. "He —"
"Has been taken cared of," Roose said firmly. "He won't be bothering you and you will recover first. In the meantime, I shall be taking care of you."
She blinked, watching him. She didn't know whether in shock, wariness, or relief or something else. Something must've shone in her eyes though, because Roose lay down beside her and cradled her face, turning it to face him so they could look eye to eye.
"I will take care of you," he said firmly, stressing it. "You are my lady. You should have been my lady wife. And I will take care of you as if you are."
She swallowed, unsure what to say to that. This man was not the man she expected or would think of before, when she had heard of The Red Wedding. She expected a monster, a man capable of betraying his King and personally shoving the dagger into Robb's heart.
But this man wasn't him. And if he was, then it was a different person that faced her to that man, and he wasn't the monster to her like she expected, one to be worse than even Ramsay. Maybe she couldn't trust him, or whatever this is, but she did know that she was starved for a kind touch and any affection she could have.
So Sansa took his hand, cradled against her face, and brought it low, tentatively pushing under the tunic she wore. His eyes, beautiful for a man like him, flickered down to their hands and then back to her face, though he said nothing.
"It hurts," she muttered. "Down there."
His hand moved from hers and cupped her slit, holding his hand firmly over her mound. He didn't move it, keeping it there, and she felt the warmth of his hand against her.
"Does that hurt?"
"…No," she whispered.
"I won't hurt you," he said and she actually believed him.
Sansa allowed herself to shift closer to him, feeling his hand firm against her. She closed her eyes, letting him hold her to him and feeling the warmth of his hand against her, steady and not at all painful.
Started 4/4/20 – Completed 4/5/20
A/n: So short, but lots of progress between the two at least! Plus, next chapter, things get even more smutty ;D Enjoy your snack, my lovelies! I'll be back with more soon~ Let me know what you guys like or would like to see!
Quick Points:
1. Sansa's name and Roose's voice: I forgot to gush about this last chapter, but while Roose's voice is sexy as hell and all…but when he says Sansa's name? Like damn XD
2. Um yeah…Ramsay's days seemed numbered…
3. Roose is a complicated man. He is also still an asshole. Just saying XD
4. Current GoT Fics: Her Song of Fire and Ice (SansaxRoose/Stannis/Tywin), A Red King Bowed (Roose/Sansa), and March to My Heartbeat (Stannis/Sansa). Also The (Im)Perfect VERSE, including Deck the Halls and now Count Me Down to Midnight, Be Still, Heart and now Drinks on Me, Beads on You.
