Thanks tini243 for pointing out some errors I made in Chapter 7, all has been fixed ;)

CHAPTER 10

"what is your problem" Sandor had snapped grabbing her arm softly but with enough force to stop her from walking away

"let me go" Sansa hissed he dropped her arm and she kept walking, she wanted to tell him, but she felt foolish. Gritting her teeth in anger i deserve everything that happens to me she thought speeding up her pace, she just wanted to get to her chambers so she wouldn't have to face him.

"don't make me run" he warned, she could hear his angry foot steps following her up the steps, closer than she had expected. Suddenly his heavy hands fell on her shoulders gripping tight and swinging her around to face him, there was anger in his eyes "i said don't make me run" he growled,

"I wish to go to my chambers" she stated

"not before you tell me why I had to run after you" his temper had calmed slightly "you have been acting this way for days"

"just let me pass" she begged pulling at the hand that held her in place

"no" he said Sansa could feel her temper raise and before she knew what happened she slapped him as hard as she could, making them both freeze in shock, Sandor's eyes quickly narrowed in anger

"now that was stupid" he growled pushing her not so gently against the wall, her head hitting the wall softly but still made a thud with impact, she saw the moment that her head connected with the wall he regretted it, eyes wide and fear of what he had just done "Sansa?" he said his voice no more than a whisper.

"you forget yourself, ser" She hissed touching her head "you seem to forget that you are my servant, I do not respond to you, now kindly let. me. go"

"is this how you want to behave, my lady?" he growled his face inches from hers

"what I want to do is go to my chambers without being manhandled but such a brute!" Sansa pushed at his chest trying to make him step away.

This was a blessing in disguise, Baelish had said he would make sure that Sandor would no longer be her sworn shield, knowing that he wasn't a man that could be bought with the same riches other men desired, women, gold and titles, Baelish would talk to the King making sure he was posted elsewhere. If Sandor hated her it would make there separation easier, even if only for him, She knew that the pain she felt when she thought of never seeing him again was something that would never fade.

"leave if you must" was all he said, Sansa stood straight and made her way up the stairs "i thought you said you would wait" he said suddenly, stopping her in her tracks, Sansa felt tears in her eyes at the confusion in his voice yes he had said she would wait for him, and it seems he had taken her up on that offer. Gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut

"i have said a lot of things that have not been true" she answered without turning around, quickly she made her way to her room slamming the door and letting the tears fall.

"i have considered your proposition, lord Baelish" she said sitting down, She had tried giving Sandor leave, but he had not wanted too so he had stood outside her door, it had taken some persuading but finally he had agreed. Waiting some time until she was sure that she would not bump into him she made her way to the gardens

"i believed you would not join me" Baelish said reaching out to hold her hand, Sansa did everything possible to not cringe at the contact.

"it was not as easy as planned" she mumbled pulling her hand away

"your dog?" he asked amused "we may need to find him a new charge, we cannot have him interfering"

"do not worry, I will find a way around him" she offered

"i believe you could but it would be better this way, I'll convince the king that the hound is not his best choice in guard" Sansa breathed in deep she didn't want to be separated from him.

"as you see fit" she said

"so my lady what have you decided?" he asked leaning forward

"i believe I have been left without much of a option" she said, Baelish smiled widely his hand grabbing hers yet again pulling them to his lap

"you have made the right decision" he said deciding to not address her accusation, pulling her to her feet. She was tall enough to look down slightly at him, glad that at least in that she had the upper hand "this may not be the best venue for our encounters, sweetling, next time my chambers would be more suitable" he offered kissing her cheek, his lips to close to her own for comfort

"as you wish lord Baelish" she said once he stepped back

She had come so far, she had managed to be brave, finally let her families strength shine trough but now she had been stripped of everything. She was tired, would these games never end? wiping a stray tear angrily, if she was forced to play it would be with her terms, she decided.

Sandor paced angrily outside her door, he had wanted to go back to his chambers and drink himself blind but he ended up at her door as always, wanting to kick it open and demand to know why she had been acting in such a way.

When she had slapped him his instincts kicked in, moving without thinking he had slammed her against the wall regretting it the moment he heard her head connect with the stones behind, the shock in her eyes made his blood run cold, he had never regretted something as much as he did at that moment, Then she had said ser with so much venom he reacted the only way he knew how and that was with spite.

Running his had over his face trying to control what he felt he knocked and called out for her to open but received no answer, he tried a few more times hearing her move around on the other side, losing his temper he decided that his first option had been the right one, next time he would follow his head, it seemed to know what to do.

"Enter my sweetling" Baelish greeted stepping aside so she could enter, she hated the name he had decided to give her

His chambers where bigger than she had expected, a large stained window to one side under it a desk covered with papers, she could make out what looked like a map, in the centre of the room a oak bed covered in blankets and cushions she only assumed where made of the finest material.

She found it to be exceedingly decorated with gold and expensive tapestries covering every inch, the fire burning made the room feel suffocating. he showed her to a table covered with different fruits and cakes she recognized her favourites amongst the large variety, Baelish pulled out a chair for her

"thank you" she mumbled sitting down flinching slightly as his hand ran across her back when he made his way around to the other chair

"wine?" he asked before pouring his own

"no thank you I do not intend to stay long" she said sitting straighter

"sweetling, you may stay as long as you wish" he smiled popping a grape into his mouth offering the plate to her

"lady Sansa" she said "It is only proper to address one another in the correct manner,"

"as you wish lady Sansa" she could hear the distaste as he said so "you seem tense"

"no more than expected" she realised how sharp her tone was but could not come to care "you wished to see me, may I ask what for?"

"yes I thought you would be interested in knowing I have contacted you Lady mother, she knows of our plans" he smiled Sansa did her best to control her emotions but found herself shifting forward in her seat, was she really going to join her family again? "Your mother has always been a very smart woman, she had recommended a alternative plan" he offered pushing the plate that held lemon cakes to her "she believes it would be safer to go to the Vale of Arryn, her sister, your aunt Lysa is in the Eyrie, she would be willing to hide us from the Lannister's"

"you will be joining me?" she asked, that wasn't expected, she had imagined being shipped off with some guards, she couldn't imagine him leaving everything behind, specially after seeing his chambers

"of cause my lady, no matter how noble our companions may be I would never feel like I have done my duty towards you if I was to trust in the honor to keep you safe, I much prefer to be there" his smile twisted her insides "as I was saying, your mother is worried that being at war you might be in danger with her at Riverrun" Sansa almost wanted to believe him, but why would her mother send her away, would she not wish to see her first, make sure she was safe and unharmed? she had never met her Aunt Lysa, and her mother talked very little of her, how could her mother think she would be safer with someone who she knew nothing of?

"may I see the letters my mother has sent?" she asked finally, she needed proof. When Baelish tensed she became sceptical

"you will understand my lady that it is dangerous to keep such things, I had to burn then after reading" she could hear the tension in his voice

"then I wish to write her, I have not had contact with my mother in some time" she could not hide the hope in her voice, if he truly had contacted her mother the thought of seeing her handwriting filled her with joy

"i do not think that would be such a good idea, we need to keep our contact as minim as possible, it would not do well if others where to suspect" Sansa looked away, she heard him sigh "you may leave your message with me and if I need contact her in a further date I will pass it along" he suggested smiling when she looked back at him, my terms she thought

"if you must contact her again you will tell me and I will write to her myself, she is my mother after all and I believe she would like to know that I am well" She said standing up he followed suit "i believe it is time I leave, thank you lord Baelish" not waiting she left his chambers.

Making her way quickly to her chambers she could feel eyes on her, the fear of being caught was unbearable, the sooner Stannis arrived the sooner she would leave, the problem now was where she would be leaving too, and now she knew he would join her made her feel uneasy.

"your drunk" Sansa said kicking him in the ribs. He had fallen asleep at her door like the dog he was, he had been doing the same for the past two days, he had taken to following her in the shadows, wanting to find out why she had changed so drastically, the problem had been that when he finally found out he had hated his curiosity. Seeing her enter Littlefinger's chambers had his blood boiling, his hatred for the whoremonger at that moment had surpassed even the one he felt for his brother

"your observant" he huffed pulling the half empty wineskin to his lips drowning the contents

"your of no service drunk, my maids could do a better job at guarding me than you at this moment" she said walking past him her dress brushing his arm as she passed

"where are you going" he asked pulling himself up, he had not realised how drunk he was until just then, putting a hand against the wall to stop himself from falling

"i have no need of you, even less in that state" lately she had been using that cold tone and not just with him.

"so your going to his chambers again" he accused satisfied when he saw her tense

"i ave no idea who's chambers you are referring too" Sandor growled how can she lie to me he thought, his anger getting the best of him, if you wanted to spend time with the whoremonger then i'll would treat you as you deserve he thought growling loudly like a rabid dog

"you're a lying whore" he snapped leaning against the wall Sansa turned shocked, her face flushed with anger

"and you are a stupid drunk of dog!" she yelled, her anger he could deal with

"i'd much prefer being a stupid drunk dog than a liar" he smirked, laughing when she strode up to him jabbing a finger at his armoured chest

"i have done nothing to deserve this" she whined "if you dislike my company so much find another lying whore to guard!"

"The King already arranged that" he huffed he could seeing regret filled her face, she had been the reason why he had been reassigned "but I have a feeling you know what that is all about"

"i had no idea..." he could hear the unease

"another lie, have I not told you before that this place is filled with liars and cheats and you have yet to learn" he chuckled but there was no humour in the sound that's when he saw the tears, large fat round tears filling her eyes, followed by heart retching sobs, he had not wanted this, he had let his jealousy and anger get the better of him "little bird" when her sobs grew louder he pulled her into his arms "i did not mean what I have said" her body shaking against his she could hardly breathe, he felt more like a monster than ever before.

Without saying a word he scooped her up doing his best to keep his balance, still under the effects of the large amounts of wine he had consumed, he could feel her fingers gripping at his breast plate as if it where a life line.

Kicking the door open he laid her on the bed, sobs turning into hiccups her face red and covered in tears, closing and barring the door he returned to her side sitting next to her on the bed

"what has happened?" he asked his tone soft and calming as he stroked the hair away from her tear stained face.

"hold me" she begged reaching out for him, he knew that it would be a bad idea, But instead of following his head, like he had vowed too, he stood up and took of his weapons resting them on the wall next the bed then his gauntlets before sitting back down this time moving to rest against the headboard, his legs stretched out, lifting his arm for her to lay against him, Sansa's head lay against the metal that covered his heart, her arm wrapping around him as far as they would go, how could someone so small and fragile control him with such ease

"i did not mean any of what I said" he admitted stroking her arm trying to calm her

"neither did i" she admitted looking up her tears had slowed down "has the King assigned me a new Sworn shield? I never wanted for this to happen" her voice shaking and hands gripping tighter, Sandor laid his free hand on top of hers holding it

"no exactly little bird" she looked at him in confusion "Tyrion stepped in and offered his Sellsword in exchange for me" she sat up hand clutching her chest

"how is that not exactly?" she asked panicking

"lets say that we have a deal, as long as you have no need to join the King I will still be the one to guard you" he said pulling her back down against him

"why would Lord Tyrion do that?" she sighed

"we have a understanding" he offered his head still swimming from the wine he needed to be careful about how much he said "now explain to me why all this has happened"

"lord Baelish.." she whispered, Sandor growled his breast plate trembling with the sound

"i saw you enter his chambers" he grunted "you did not leave for some time" he hadn't wanted to sound jealous but he found it impossible to hide

"i would never! Especially not with him!" she had caught the accusation in his voice "he...you will think me a fool" she said shamefully

"would you not rather me think of you as a fool?" he asked Sansa sat up looking down at him, he averted his eyes, not knowing how to face her if what he thought was true, he felt her reach out to touch his face

"i was with my maids in the gardens" she said "lord Baelish came and asked to speak in private" Sandor tensed "i said no but he insisted, said that my maids could stay close, just far enough for us to talk without being over heard, I thought it was easier to agree that way he wouldn't keep asking"

"you can't trust the man" Sandor said as he softly leaning into her hand against his will

"My maids where there, I thought he would never do anything inappropriate with them nearby" she tried to defend "he said that Stannis was near, and there was a possibility that Kings Landing would fall in the battle" he could feel her studying his reactions, almost afraid "then he said he could take me from here..."

"your not leaving with him" he stated barely managing to control what he felt

"you don't understand!" she sounded afraid "he made it seem like...my maids, they couldn't hear what was being said but he staged it all, his actions where over familiar, and he kissed my cheek in front of them!" her voice almost hysterical "I heard them whispering how they thought I had laid with him! he made sure I couldn't refuse, If Joffrey ever thought that I was betraying him..."

"you're right, you was a fool" he said sternly "but you will not leave with him" he repeated more sternly reaching out and touching her face, she leaned in almost immediately at the contact, her lips softly grazing his palm as she did so "why did you not tell me?"

"i thought I had no other option" she whispered against the skin of his hand quickly covering it so he would not pull back "i said yes" Sandor grunted his thumb grazing her lips, Sansa closed her eyes he could see tears glistening on her eyelashes, without thinking her pulled her down and kissed them away licking the salty water from his lips, then he chuckled.

"lucky your maids haven''t seen us" he smiled "then they would have something to talk about then" Sansa smiled leaning against his chest "when I saw you enter his chambers" he growled

"i never meant for any of this to happen, I should of told you but I felt so foolish"

"you have no need to worry little bird" he smiled as she sighed contently "let him believe you will run away with him" he laughed pushing her chin up so she would look at him "this will not happen again" he said "you will not lie to me" he pushed her onto her back and rolled over looking down at her using his arm to prop up his head so he could gaze at her "i will not take it so nicely next time"

"you called me a whore, I don't think that was nice" she said but he heard no recrimination in her voice

"aye and you called me drunk dog" he chuckled moving his hand to her hair letting it trail down to her shoulders "that has marred me for life" he said trying to fake sadness he moved his hand further down, skimming over her shoulder and arm before grabbing her hand and pulling it to his lips, kissing her palm softly. For a while he believed he had lost her, it would never happen again, he would never lose her to another man he vowed looking down at her, he could feel his eyes growing heavy.

"you could stay here for a while" her soft voice said "you seem tired"

"aye little bird, i have not drunken this much since i started guarding you, i believe i may not be as tolerant as before" he chuckled "may i use your teats as a pillow?" he asked amused they looked very inviting, the material of her dress tight and lying flat on her back made them seem even more alluring, he didn't expect her to reach out and pull him down or to let his face rest against her skin. sighing he closed his eyes feeling her heart beat under his skin "i could grow accustomed to this" he said half asleep

"i could too" he heard her whisper before falling into a dreamless slumber.