Fucking fire. Only fucking cowards fought with fucking fire. He hoped the fucking Imp died leading his fucking sortie against Stannis' army. Preferably by fucking fire. Sandor didn't remember where he got the wine, but he took another pull as he marched through the city. He still had a promise to keep.
He was admitted at the gate to the Red Keep readily enough, and the guards to Meager's Holdfast hardly blinked as he passed. He snatched another flagon of wine from a serving girl on her way to the Queen's Ballroom. Count on the fucking nobility and high-borns to throw a party while the river burned. They'd probably celebrate as they burned in their seven hells. He drank as he climbed the steps to Sansa's chambers.
The room was nearly black. Only a greenish glow from the window let him see. He made his way to her bed to wait, nodding off as the hours grew longer. Only the click of the door when the little bird returned was enough to rouse him.
Sandor watched silently as she stood at the window. The wildfire at the river cast a sickly green glow to her skin, while the change in the light made her hair look as if it burned as well. He watched as she backed to the bed, heard her whimper out a word. He sat up carefully, head swimming, and tried to take her hand. He managed to grasp her wrist instead. He instinctively covered her mouth when he felt her flinch from him.
"Little bird. I knew you'd come." A sudden flare brightened the room for a moment and he could see Sansa's eyes wide with fear. "If you scream, I'll kill you. Believe that." He pulled away and turned for his flagon of wine.
"Is it time?" she whispered as he drank. "Have you come to take me home?"
"Don't you want to know who is winning the battle, little bird?"
"Who?" Her voice was tiny, as though she was already far away and left him behind. The thought made him laugh bitterly.
"I only know who's lost. Me." He took anther drink.
"What have you lost?"
He grimaced. "All." Her hand on his stopped him short.
"You haven't lost me."
"Do you want to go, little bird? North, to your family?"
"The queen's closed up Maegor's and the city gates are shut as well."
"Not to me. I have the white cloak. I told you they'd let me pass if I was sent to take you to safety. The man who tries to stop us is a dead man. Unless he's on fire." Sandor felt himself laughing mirthlessly again. "But you haven't answered my question. Do you really want to go?"
Her answer was a breathy "yes" but it nearly stole his resolve. It sounded so much like her sighs from only that afternoon. He had returned her to the castle to learn Stannis' ships had been sighted coming in the bay. He had been assigned to kill any who came ashore. Then the dwarf's wildfire had been unleashed on the river. Men on both sides had run screaming, many burning alive, and Sandor had not been able to get inside the city walls fast enough for his taste. The memory of his own men burning in front of him cooled the need he'd started to feel for the little bird's body.
"Get your cloak," he ordered. "We'll be traveling light."
He stood at the door and waited, trying to clear his head of the wine. The girl had insisted on changing into shoes better suited for riding. The weight of her hand on his arm brought him to the present. The boots she wore made her walk more heavily and the cloak and hood she wore looked as dark as the night.
"I'm ready," she whispered.
After a quick glance out the door, he pushed her to the left of him and grasped her arm. She kept her head down and he grasped the handle of his sword as they warily made their way through the corridors. In the courtyard he steered her towards the stables. After saddling the first horse they found, Sandor lifted Sansa on and climbed in front of her. The guards to the holdfast let them through, but at the gate to the keep there was a commotion. Several of the guards were trying to restraint a large, black horse. The animal, however, had other ideas, biting and kicking at anyone who got near.
"That's my fucking horse!" Sandor bellowed. He climbed from the saddle. "Give him back or I'll fucking kill you!" He grasped the hilt of his sword to show he intended to make good on the threat.
One of the men thrust the reins towards him. After tying the girl's horse to his saddle, he took them and mounted Stranger. With a yank and a kick, both horses cantered through the city streets to the Iron Gate. Once out the gate and on the road to Rosby, he kicked again into a gallop. The moon arched overhead as they rode. The girl was blessedly quiet behind him and he checked back twice to ensure she had not fallen from her horse. Each time, she had been clutching at her horse, staring ahead, her eyes wide and pale in the moonlight. At the top of a ridge, Sandor finally slowed to a stop and looked back. The city was dark, silhouetted against the green wildfire on the river.
"It looks like the city is burning," Sansa whispered beside him. Her own face was in shadow cast by the hood of her cloak.
"If the city burned, it would be brighter," Sandor responded gruffly. He turned from the road. "Come. We're going west for a while. Then north on the Kingsroad."
The girl nodded her understanding and they silently rode on at a slower pace. Her unusual silence unnerved him. Checking on her, he found her looking back at the city, at the hills ahead, or watching the head of her horse.
"Nothing to say, little bird?" he found himself asking. "Thought you'd be chirping away by now. Or do you miss your cage?"
He looked back to find her staring straight at him. It was more disconcerting than her silence. "Am I your captive now?"
He thought about that. She had value as a hostage. He could ransom her and fuck her if they didn't pay. Sandor glanced back at her again. No, he'd take her to her family. She could fuck herself for all he cared. An image of her naked and sprawled across a bed, touching herself, flashed in his mind. Perhaps taking her hadn't been such a good idea. Before he could decide on an answer, a horn sounded far in front of them. The both came to a stop and he untied her reins.
"Stay here," he ordered, handing them to her. "Whatever you do, don't follow me. If I'm not back by dawn, turn around and go back to the Rosby Road. Ride north, tell no one who you are."
At Sansa's nod, he galloped ahead. Over a rise, he was able to see the Kingsroad. On it quickly rode a long column of soldiers. In the dark, many of the banners looked the same, but one was repeated over and over. A lion. Tywin Lannister had come. Sandor hoped the city did burn before the van arrived. Though with the pace they kept, it was more likely for them to join the battle. Fuck them. Scanning the column, another banner caught his eye. Under the moon, it was pale with three dark smudges. He rode over the hill and around the next, getting closer. The smudges were hounds.
Gregor rode with Lord Tywin.
Sandor felt his heart speed up. He glanced back at where he had left Sansa, unable to see her. Looking again, he saw Gregor and his men riding closer. They were surrounded by men at arms, but it would be easy to startle Gregor's horse, get him out of the line. Once separated from the rest, Sandor could ride in, fight him, kill him. He looked back once more. Sansa was nowhere to be seen, doing as he'd told her. Glancing back at the column, he saw the riders had picked up speed. The front of line had disappeared around a bend in the road, but the rest were nearly at a gallop to join them. He had only moments to make his move, to get Gregor from the line and try to kill him.
*****
Sansa straightened as Sandor rode his horse at a walk towards her, the sky behind her growing grey with the coming dawn.
"What was it?" He tried to ignore the relief he imagined in her tone.
"Reinforcements. The city is saved, little bird." He rode to a halt beside her and pushed back her hood. "You can go back to your king." He grasped her chin and turned her to face him. "Do you want to go back? It's not too late. No one would know you ran."
In the light her eyes looked impossibly wide as she met his own. She wrapped both her hands around his and shook her head.
"I want to go home. I want you to take me to my family."
He wasn't sure why he did it, but he slid his hand from her chin to her hair. Leaning across the gap between them, he kissed her, parting her lips and tasting her. He felt the weight on his hand change as she let him go. Only moments later, she delicately touched his scarred cheek. He pulled away with some regret.
"I'll take you, but I'm no hero, little bird. Don't think me a part of one of your songs. I'm nothing but a dog, taking you home." She nodded quickly and Sandor pulled away. "Best of we stay off the roads for a while. We'll ride north for a time, then cut across to the Riverlands."
He wheeled his horse and led the way. She quickly caught up and bit her lip before simply saying "thank you."
