Chapter Text
As Sansa followed Brienne to their dormitory, holding Rickon’s hand all the way, she couldn’t help but notice the eyes of men following her. Brienne didn’t comment on it, but she seemed to have a very stern, steely focus.
Thunder rumbled overhead, the sky an overcast gray black now.
When they walked by two men, who immediately started whispering to each other, Sansa touched Brienne’s arm. “Hey. Why do all the men keep staring at me?”
“You’re new and you’re a single woman,” Brienne said simply. “The male population is double that of the women. There aren’t enough of us to go around.” Her face was a scowl.
What a gross way of putting that. Sansa wondered if a lot of the men would be flocking to her door now.
“Hello, Brienne,” a man with shaggy red hair and a beard called out as they passed by the lane to the lake again. He was carrying a large net.
Brienne stopped walking. Sansa noticed her features changed. The frown lines disappeared, the stern look faded, and a sparkle came into her eyes. “Hello, Tormund. Did you catch anything?”
“Eh, a few. Better than an empty net, I’d say.” He grinned at her. “Bossman letting you out for a bit?”
“Yes, I’m taking our new residents to their new home. Sansa and Rickon Stark.”
“Nice to meet you.” The man held out a freckled hand to her. “Tormund Giantsbane.” He seemed genuinely friendly and wasn’t staring, like all the other men here. No wonder, from the looks he kept shooting Brienne, he only had eyes for her.
“Tormund’s our resident fisherman,” Brienne said. “So any fish we have is all thanks to him.” Her smile was warm, looking at him.
“I always do my best for you,” he said. They made an unlikely pair, but the chemistry between them was obvious. Sansa was reminded a bit of Dany and Jorah.
“Storm’s gonna hit any moment, hopefully Jaime doesn’t get stuck on the mainland,” Tormund said to Brienne.
Whoever Jaime was, Brienne didn’t seem to like him much. At his very mention, her face fell back into that stern look. “Yes, well, I’m sure he’ll be fine. I’d better get Sansa and Rickon to their new place before the downpour. Have a good day.”
“You too.”
As Brienne led them away, Sansa noticed Tormund stayed there, watching after them.
“He seems nice,” Sansa said.
Brienne nodded brusquely. “He is. It is this building.” She opened the door of a smaller house, leading Sansa inside to a small hallway. “I believe the rest of the residents are at work right now.” She led her into what looked like a living room. “This is the common room that you all share. There is a bathroom around the corner and another upstairs that you also share. The rest of the place is broken up into apartments. Yours is G which is the last one on the second floor. Follow me.” She headed up a small staircase.
“Are you two dating?” Sansa asked.
Brienne looked at her askance. “Absolutely not! I’m with Jaime.”
That surprised Sansa more than anything. She would have guessed Jaime was someone Brienne hated, not her partner. And she very obviously liked Tormund, and he liked her.
“Here it is.” Brienne used a key. “It has a smaller sitting room, which will be nice for you with a child.”
The room had a small couch that faced the wall opposite, and then a smaller room divided by a folding door opened up to reveal a bed and a small dresser.
“It’s not much, but…”
“It’s fine,” Sansa said. Truthfully she was glad there wasn’t much, she had gotten used to living in the ghosts of other people’s homes, and the barrenness of this room at least made it feel like no one had lived here before. She and Rickon could make it their own.
“I need to ask you a few questions about what work you used to do, so we can see where to place you,” Brienne said.
Sansa nodded. “Hey Rickon, why don’t you go play in the bedroom for a bit? We have to talk about work.”
Rickon was looking around the small room. “Okay.” He had acted a bit overwhelmed since they got here, and Sansa wondered if he wouldn’t just curl up on the bed and go to sleep.
She felt like an emotional wreck still and could use a nap as well. But that didn’t look like it was in the cards for her.
“So everybody works?” Sansa asked Brienne as they sat on her new couch.
Brienne clicked her pen. “Yes, we all contribute to the well being of the community to the best of our abilities. In return, we all get shelter and food.”
“Seems fair.”
“We do get supplies from the mainland, that is some people’s jobs, to go and search for things we may need.”
“Like your partner?” Sansa asked.
Brienne gave her an odd look.
“Your friend Tormund mentioned Jaime on the mainland, so I assumed…” Sansa trailed off. Was she dipping into the midst of a complicated love triangle?
“Yes, my…Jaime does that for us. He’s very good at it.” Brienne sounded like she was trying to give a compliment to a coworker she didn’t particularly enjoy being around. “Anyway, the items go to the general store for trade.”
“What do people trade?” Sansa asked. “Things they have?”
“No, they trade extra work. For example, if you need a new dress, you might come in and sign for weeding the garden. Or if you need medicine, maybe you will do dishes for a week. It’s all things like that.”
“Oh, okay.” That made sense. “Do people just decide how much time they have to spend on items?”
“No, the mayor and his staff decide.” Brienne looked like she wanted to change the subject. “So what did you do for work in before times?”
“I was a bridal store clerk. I don’t suppose there’s many weddings now.”
“No, not as such.” Brienne kept her eyes on her paper as she scribbled. “Or at least not like before. Shae could use help at the store, stocking and keeping general inventory…I think you two would get along as well. It’s nice to have two women working together, that way there’s no possible male conflicts.”
Sansa frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, some men don’t like their women working with other men, at least not alone. We try to make sure there’s at least two men working with one woman so there’s no possibility of anything untoward.”
“Don’t you work for the mayor?” Sansa was very confused. They walked in on them working together alone earlier.
Brienne shrugged. “Well, that’s the mayor. That’s a bit different. And he and Jaime are close, so it wouldn’t be a problem.” She cleared her throat. “Now, speaking of the mayor, he will expect you to dress up for dinner tonight. Do you have any nice clothes?”
The nicest thing Sansa owned at this point was Dany’s gift, and she wasn’t about to wear that for the mayor. She pointed to her t-shirt and jeans. “You’re looking at what I have.”
Brienne scribbled something in her pad of paper. “I’ll send Shae over in a bit with some clothes for you and the boy.”
“How much time will we owe for them?” Sansa asked her. She hated starting off her first day owing things, but she supposed that was going to happen the way things were here.
Brienne shut her notebook and looked at her. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. The mayor will probably waive that cost, considering.”
“Considering what?” Sansa felt a strange thrill of fear running up her spine. Something here wasn’t right.
Brienne sighed. “You seem nice. And I don’t want you to be caught unawares about it. I saw how Baelish was looking at you when you walked into the room. You’re alone. He told me to get you the nicest room. He invited you to dinner. And he hasn’t taken a woman yet. And I have a feeling that’s about to change.”
Sansa frowned. “I’m not interested in him. I just got here, and I had feelings for someone.” She knew she’d never see Sandor again, but she couldn’t just fall out of love with him that quick. It might be a while before she’d even consider seeing someone, and right now the mayor wasn’t anywhere near her pick. He was probably around Jorah’s age, and while that was fine for Dany, she wasn’t into it.
Brienne’s eyes were sad. “Oh, sweetie. Like any of that matters.”
Sansa’s blood froze in her veins. “What do you mean?”
“The men here…they decide which of them gets the women. They won’t separate actual couples, but at this point, they rarely let them stick around for long either, unless one of them has a really useful skillset. Doctor Pycell and his wife and children were allowed to stay for obvious reasons. We need a doctor. They’re really setting that message off in the hopes that women will come here for safety.” She gave Sansa a look. “And you came here. All alone with a little boy. Looking for safety. And this is the price.” She got up. “I’ll send Shae over. I’ve got other work I have to do.”