Chapter 1~ Wren
Sandor woke with the sun and for a moment he didn't remember where he was. He looked down to see the little bird's head on his chest, her arm thrown over his stomach and a leg hiked over his own. She seemed comfortable, content even.
"Wake up, Little Bird. We need to be on our way." he said, gently shaking her from her slumber. Sansa rolled over and stretched, yawning. She opened her eyes and looked up at Sandor. For a moment, he could see the confusion swim through her eyes, then a pretty blush painted her cheeks and she gave him a tight smile.
"I trust you slept well last night, my…" she abruptly stopped and looked at him awkwardly. "W-what shall I call you? You do not take kindly to being called ser or my lord, and I refuse to call you what he called you."
"You called me Sandor before, when you came after me," he said, crawling forward to exit the little shelter. Sansa scrambled out after him and brushed her dress off. She was shocked at how cold it was outside of their shelter, and wrapped her arms around herself quickly.
"Here, try to move about a bit to warm your body up." Sandor said, moving to the saddles and saddle bag. The saddle blankets had kept everything dry for the night, luckily, and Sansa felt a moment of pride for thinking to cover them.
"I didn't know if you would come with me," Sandor said, and Sansa was amazed at how vulnerable he sounded, "But I packed a few things in case you said yes…" From the bag, Sandor pulled a simple dress of bluish grey wool, a linen under-dress, a pair of boots, a pair of woolen stockings, a dark grey cloak, and a sack of something that looked quite heavy.
"I'll just go break down the shelter while you change." Sandor muttered, handing her the pile of clothes. Sansa offered a smile and decided she would change behind Maiden for extra cover. Sansa gently stripped off her soiled dress and under-dress, leaving her smallclothes on. She dressed quickly in the brisk morning air, donning the warm wool gladly. When she had pulled the stockings and boots on, she looked at the sack and opened it.
"Lemons?" she asked aloud.
"Your hair is too recognizable, even this short. The lemons will lighten it." Sandor said gruffly as he pulled their little shelter apart, tossing the sticks about to make it look as though no one had been there at all.
"Oh. That's very clever." Sansa said as she took a lemon out of the bag. "What do I need to do exactly?"
"Cut it open and pour the juice over your head, make sure to rub it in all over. While we ride in the sun today, it'll lighten up. If you do it every day, soon you'll be as blonde as…" Sandor paused, realizing that to mention the Lannisters would make her uneasy, "The Targaryens."
Sansa knew what he was going to say, and was glad that he didn't say it.
"May I see your knife, Sandor?" she asked. Sandor gently placed his knife in her hand and went to saddle their horses as she sliced the lemon open. She carefully massaged its juice into her hair, enjoying the pleasant smell that reminded her of her favorite lemon cakes. She took a few extra moments to comb her hair out with her long fingers, thinking fondly of her mother.
"You need a name, Little Bird." Sandor said as he gave Stranger a pat, tightening his bit.
"My name is Sansa," she said incredulously, raising an eyebrow at Sandor.
"No. Sansa Stark needs to be put away for a while. You need to forget about her for the time being, if you want to make it to your family alive. So, pick a name." He looked at her expectantly.
"Catelyn?" she asked nervously, feeling the color rising up to her ears.
"You must be joking girl. With those Tully eyes of yours? Not likely…" Sandor grumbled, scratching his beard. "You like to sing, Little Bird, what about Wren?" he asked, looking up at the birds flitting through the light that filtered through their trees.
"Wren…I—I think I can remember that. Shall I be Wren…Snow, from the North? Or Wren Waters, from Kings Landing?" she asked, walking over to place her hands on Maiden's neck, gently combing her lovely mane.
"You're to be Wren Clegane, born Wren Smith, daughter of a blacksmith in Lannisport who was lucky enough to be given to the second son of Lord Clegane…" Sandor rasped, tightening the billet strap on Maiden's saddle. Sansa looked at him, her eyes widening slowly.
"I'm to be…your wife?" she squeaked, wringing her hands and blushing.
"Aye, girl. Unless you'd like to be my whore instead, in which case I won't be able to stop other men from leering at you and grabbing you."
"No!" Sansa gasped, gripping his arm tightly. "No, please. I will be your wife, Wren Clegane. I promise I shall remember." she said softly, looking down at their feet. Sandor sighed and cupped her chin, lifting her face up to look into her eyes.
"I swore to protect you, Sansa. This is the only way I can be sure no one will try to sell you back to the Lannisters, and even this way you won't be safe. My face is too well known, and I am not a well-liked man…" Sansa realized suddenly that he was trying to reassure her, to apologize to her. She put her hand on his and set her face with stony resolve.
"My name is Wren, my sweet, who is this Sansa?" she said softly. Sandor's lips twitched into something like a smirk and he thumped her nose good-naturedly.
"A pretty girl I once knew. Come, we should ride out soon. I want to stay well ahead of anyone coming from Kings Landing. There is a stream a few miles ahead, we can try to fish for our breakfast." he said as he drew his cloak around his shoulders. Sansa looked down at the white cloak he'd simply left on the ground, and she knelt to pick it up.
"M-may I keep this?" she asked hesitantly. He looked down at her with a strange flicker of something shooting through his eyes.
"It's covered in blood, girl, not to mention it'll be like having a target on your back. Just leave it, let the mud bury it."
"Please…you gave it to me, when you thought I was not coming with you. I would keep it, if it please you, husband…" she said softly. Sandor looked at her and grumbled.
"Fine. Wear it beneath your other cloak or every King's-man from here to Harrenhal will be on us."
"Thank you." she whispered, gripping the cloak tightly. She draped it around her shoulders and then pulled the other cloak over top of it, making sure all the white was covered. Sandor helped her into her saddle, though she had already gotten the impression that Maiden wouldn't harm a bug on the ground. With all of their meager possessions packed and the horses saddled, they began their journey out of the forest and onto clearer ground.
They left The Hound and Sansa Stark behind in that forest and a new Sandor Clegane emerged with his lovely wife, Wren.
