I walk quickly to keep apace with my new husband, " Sandor, what is going on ? "
" Not here ", he says curtly.
Once we gain our tent away from prying eyes he sits me down upon the bed. I start to see two strangers inside.
" Fear not ", says Sandor, " They are here to help us. "
" The King has been informed it is now known where you are, The Bastard seeks his wayward bride to be."
My insides shrink into a small, cold knot in the depths of my belly, " I cannot go back " , I say with a slight tremor in my voice.
" Back, no Little Bird, never back. "
We wait until darkness blankets the land. The two strangers rise as one and come forward. " My name is Lynon Braven and this is my sister Laena. We are from the North and remember your Lord Father's kindness and mercy. Our mother died when I was six my sister four. When your Lord father found out we were true orphan's he bade a kitchen maid and a stable hand to take us in to raise as their own with her natural born children Wymaen and Culla. We grew up within the shelter of Winterfell's great walls. "
" We do this for you, for Winterfell, for the North and the memory of your Lord Father. "
Lynon is almost as tall as My Sandor. Not nearly as thick, his sister Laena is my height with hair a bit lighter in color as mine and wide grey~green eyes. Laena dons a woolen dress in Stark Grey with white piping and inserts. She places my heavy woolen cloak over her shoulders and puts the hood up over her head. Her brother dons his layers that look suspiciously like my Lord Husband's. The final touch is Sandor's Helm of a dog's snarling snout and head.
They take leave of us and I rush to follow, only to be grasped firmly by Sandor.
" Do not make this subterfuge an effort in futility he whispers fiercely in my ear. "
So there we sit in the dark for a time until I hear a cry for arms and the pounding of many feet and the clatter of armored men rush by our tent.
" That is our cue says my husband let us take our leave of this place and quickly ", he ushers me to the back of the tent at its corner and opens it. Into the night air we rush with hurried steps, darting from heavy shadow, to tent, to tree. We are away from the main body of my brothers camp in a stand of trees to find Stranger tethered and a tall narrow mare beside him. Let us use the cover of night to our advantage once more my wife.
We ride like the devils from all the hell's are at our heels. My mare keeps abreast of Sandor's great mount the pounding of hooves the only sound to my ears. So it went till the greying of dawn. With brief stops to water and rest our horses. Only then do I have the time and cohesive thought to question My Sandor.
" What is to become of the siblings ? "
" A hard ride and most likely a harder death ." He says simply.
" DEATH ?! Why, they are not me or you. "
" What pray tell do you think their captor's will do to them once it is discovered they have been lured into a false hunt ? Congratulate them on their cleverness ?! I think not, a hard death after " questioning ". Hopefully we will be where we are supposed to be, that their sacrifice will have it's intended effect. Would that the wind is with them to make their mounts fleet of foot. If they can gain the wall they may find some small measure of safety there...Or beyond it."
" What effect ? " I say in a husky whisper.
" Time."
So our days and nights merge into one blur until we hit the coast of the bracken sea. We appear to wander aimless until Sandor stops by a pile of stones. He dismounts to carefully remove the stones to set aside to find a cloth, picks it up to open it to find a coin he then places the stones in the order in which he took them. He turns abruptly to his right and walks in measured steps to a trunk of a once great tree now old and broken to be in five large pieces. He removes Bane and uses it as a lever to roll the third chunk slightly away from it's depression. Beneath it lays a package of oilskin. He removes it and carefully rolls the log back into place.
Without a word he motions for me to remount and wanders about until he finds a beaten path hugging the jagged rock of the coast. We follow the trail head for sometime until we are on the sand of a beach. I think I see the silhouette of a small boat bobbing casually on the tide. We come between the outcrop of two large rock formations to find an oil drenched torch unlit. Sandor starts a small fire behind the rocks lights the torch and raise it above his head then lowers it quickly to the ground, he does this three times then douses the torch in the sea.
From the waves comes a light on the water, twice does it flash then disappears only to flash twice more.
Sandor unburdens our mounts to toss the lot in the boat.
" Get in he whispers,"
" The horses I say."
" Will swim or drown. " As he knots off their leads to the boat.
The horses stamp the ground but follow our small boat, their nostrils flaring, their breath blowing in puffs and snorts, their nostrils flaring wide. Follow they do with powerful unseen kicks.
Off we glide on the choppy sea. As we get further out I see the shadow of a large boat it's sails furled bobbing on the waves. As we near I see it is lean and and low on the water line, a ship built for speed. As Sandor's efforts at the oars bring us along side the silent ghost ship a ladder unrolls to slap at the side of the ship.
Sandor helps me gain my feet and guides me to the rope and wood slat ladder as it slaps against the side. I crawl up. Sandor close behind. We are surrounded by all manner of men. Some small and dark of skin their hair in tight curls close cropped to their small round heads. Some long and lean. All armed.
One steps forward and I poorly mask my sharp intake of breath. he is enormous, not only of height but of girth and ugly beyond imaginings. His face is marked with all manner of scarring. Slashes, cuts, chunks missing as is the tip of his nose. A burn on his face in the shape of a bearded and horned daemon adorns his right cheek. His great and scarred and hairless belly jiggles slightly with every step. I take in the sight having never seen a belly this big. Bigger even than that of the Late Robert Baratheon's.
Sandor strides with measured steps up to this giant mass of flesh. He produces the coin and says two words.
" Valar Morghulis."
The apish scarred men barks out a laugh that jiggles his great fat belly in undulating waves. he stops just as quickly and says.
" It is good to see you once a again sweet Sansa. I am pleased to see you have not lost your pretty little head. Thanks no doubt to the fierceness of the man who dogs your every step. "
" Do I know you Ser ?!" " I do not believe we have met as I would remember you." Though his accent is somewhat familiar...Yes his accent is from across the sea. Braavos I believe.
" Are you sure we are not acquainted? " He says with a glint of laughter in his dark eyes.
: Yes."
His face pulls down into a mock frown and he places his hand on his forehead while he spins slowly in place and when he turns once more to face me head bowed and...Smaller...
I see a small man with bouncy midnight curls and a lithe and nimble frame. As he raises his face to me meet my eyes his hand slides slowly down his face over the ugly mien of the fat man to shift into the visage of Syrio, Arya's ...Dance Instructor ?!
His tiny frame bows deeply and says," Welcome aboard the Sea Spear My Lady and Ser."
Where is Arya I ask my heart sinking.
" She travels a different path an unexpected one but she is safe for the nonce, it is better for Stark's not to travel in packs at this time. " He says cryptically as he turns on his heel to bark orders to the crew. The horses are winched aboard Stranger wild eyed and thrashing , calming only at soft words from Sandor his ears pricked and great chest heaving.
The sails unfurled the anchor pulled from the inky depths and we are under way. I watch with misty eyes as the land that bore me slips from sight it's rocky shores now only a memory in my mind.
The sea is rough and choppy after a week of calm waters. We edge the front of a storm and have been for week. The sides pitch nearly knocking me from my feet time and again. Sandor's sea legs are better than mine as he walks towards me." How long since we left Mother and Robb I ask ? " " Not quite seven weeks he says." When will we be done with this accursed journey on this toss pot of a conveyance I lament . The sway and tossing of this day after day upsets my stomach, I can keep nothing down I want only for calm waters I say only to feel the rise of yet another bout vomiting about to unleash.
I walk to the chest that contains our garments, I see the oil skin and ask of it's contents.
" In time", is all my Lord Husband says.
I shrug and find a dress of a plain blue without piping or inserts or the material of fine wool since my grey woolen dress and the ones I brought with us from Robb's camp now fit too tightly across my chest and waist. my husband comes up behind me and embraces me in the arms I love to feel round me.
He sits heavily on our narrow bed and pulls me too him. He raises the light dress I just put on, up and over my head and kisses my belly gently, he rubs it with a massive, calloused hand and his eyes gaze lovingly at my belly which I see with some alarm appears slightly to bulge outward from my hips. He moves his hand upward to pinch the nipple of my right breast to hardness. My woman parts awaken with a flutter in my belly.
He cranes his neck to suck my other nipple, hardened with anticipation before his teeth and tongue meets my yearning flesh. I melt into his arms and lose myself in the glory of his touch. He places me on our small bunk stripping quickly. I look with appreciation as he disrobes the outline of his sex straining against the bonds of his breeches. He steps out of his clothing to lay atop me his tongue tasting me as our tongues do the lover's search in each others mouths.
He pulls away to taste my nipples gently at first squeezing my breasts. His his tongue then swirls and sucks greedily at my pink tips. My woman parts contract and I lift my hips to rub against his groin. I meet the juncture of his shaft and rub furiously against him. My hips grinding an urgent rhythm. He slowly pulls away to trace his tongue down my belly to the moistness of my sex. I quiver with want as he spreads my legs wide, biting my inner legs to just this side of the pleasure pain threshold. He takes my hard core of my womanhood and sucks at it bringing me to almost my come, only to back off and lick, suck, squeeze my inner thighs. The madness of passion wants to break free but he keeps me in check with his strength. I wish to flip him on his broad back and mount his sex to ride him hard, driving him deeply within me. To buck and thrash like a animal upon him. To ride my come hard like a beast to be broken at my pleasure and whim. He knows he toys with me and teases me with the first few inches off his manhood. I plead with my eyes and sharp intakes of breath.
He grants my unspoken want with a swift thrust of his well muscled backside to breach all that is me. To give every glorious inch he has to gift to me. My back arches to match his urgent rhythm. He cups the cheeks of my rump and rises up to his knees bringing me with. I plant my feet on the bunk and he braces me in his hands. I start a dance upon his shaft of my own. I tease him with my depth only to glide slowly back up his length. I squeeze him from the inside and smile demurely. He humors me for a few strokes more before he flips me onto my belly to take me from behind. His thrust are frenzied as his flesh drives into mine. Into me he pumps furiously grasping me by my hips. I ride the beast, I thrash into his every movement mirroring his thrusts with some of my own to meet in the middle my come riding hard to meet the apex of this joining. Sandor reaches a hand to the nub of my sex matching each thrust with a pinch, flick or rub. I hear pounding of the hooves of coming beating in my head I shudder and buck below him and with a final thrust and pinch to my nub the floodgates open to a spreading warmth gliding from my woman parts to wash over me with a warm glow the after effects a lingering shudder as he moves to mount his own ride to pleasure. I move to pleasure him and his back arches he spends his seed within my wet fold of woman...His woman.