"So, what do you do when-"
"Yeah, yeah. Kick him left and right to distract him."

Sansa jumped up and down to warm her muscles and keep herself occupied. Sandor stood before her and held her boxing gloves. He pulled something out of his jacket and raised it in the air so Sansa could see it. "What is that?" Sansa wondered, eyeing the suspicious red object in his hands. Sandor smirked teasingly. "Your fighting braces. Don't want that pretty smile of yours to get ruined now, do we?" he said, as the undertone in his voice revealed how amused he was by Sansa's facial reaction. Sansa rolled her eyes and did a few more jumping jacks, while Sandor laid the braces down on the table. He opened his bag and took out his notepad.

A sudden knock on the door behind them caused them both to turn around. The door opened slightly and a man appeared. "Sansa Stark? 10 more minutes until you need to be in the next room." he said quickly. Sansa nodded in response and the man left, closing the door behind him again. Sansa's mouth felt dried out because of the anxiety and she tried to lick her lips."I'm so nervous." she sighed as she removed her jacket and combed her hair with her hands so she could make a bun.

Sandor laid the notepad down on the bench next to him and walked towards her. "Don't be little bird, you'll be fine. Just mind your breathing and try to focus. Don't let your thoughts wander off too much." he assured her while he grabbed the braces and her boxing gloves. Sansa took the boxing gloves and put them on. "I'll be right behind you and I won't go far. During the breaks I'll be there, so don't worry." Sandor continued while he looked down at her. Sansa forced herself to smile and nodded.

She hesitated, but eventually closed the distance between them with a hug. Sansa firmly wrapped her arms around his broad torso and squeezed her eyes shut. "Thank you for everything you taught me. You helped me a and it meant a lot to me." she said quietly, still not letting go. Sandor was frozen under her touch because of the sudden hug and Sansa had the feeling he hadn't been hugged many times in his life before.

For what seemed like an eternity, were actually only a few seconds before Sandor gently patted her back. Sansa giggled under her breath and let go of him then. They locked eyes for a brief moment until Sandor turned around to the door. Sansa followed him outside in silence.

The man, whom Sansa assumed to be the owner of the building, looked up from the paper in his hands when Sandor and Sansa entered the room. "Sansa Stark?" the man asked while looking at the name sheet in his hands. Sansa nodded and the man marked her name. "Alright, go ahead then." the man said as he pointed at the door behind him. Sansa and Sandor exchanged looks as Sansa swallowed down the lump in her throat. Sandor gave her a reassuring nod, and the twitch in the corner of his mouth meant that he tried to smile at her.

The nerves became even worse once she was inside the gym room, face to face with her opponent. The girl was taller than her and seemed to have more muscle. Sansa stepped onto the large gym mat and tried to remember everything she had learned during the past few weeks. She inhaled deeply and waited for the referee to give the start sign. She hadn't spotted her parents in the public yet, but she knew they were there; she could almost feel their eyes burning through her.

The referee quickly explained the rules, but Sansa wasn't listening; it felt like the whole world outside of her was shut down, and the only things that were still working were her mind and body. Besides, Sandor had already quizzed her on the rules, so it wasn't necessary to listen to the referee.

"Now, both shake hands."

Sansa looked up at her opponent and walked towards her hesitatingly. The opponent followed her example and they gently hit their gloves against one another.

"Alright, prepare yourselves now." said the referee as he took a few steps backwards. Both of the girls obeyed and waited for him to start the match. "5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1- begin!"

When he said the redeeming words, a complete chaos arised; people started to yell to encourage them and the girls started to move quickly and solid. Sansa bit on the plastic braces and did all the things Sandor taught her to. She rapidly moved from left to right, but her opponent already started to aim for her as she attempted to punch Sansa. However, Sansa had practiced these kind of movements a lot, so she easily avoided the punches and moved away from her attacker. She heard Sandor's growling voice behind her, telling her to keep going and continue to distract her opponent by avoiding the punches.

A bell rang in the distance and the referee stepped between the two girls. Sansa's heart pounded faster and faster as she moved backwards. A rough hand pulled her back and Sansa stumbled against Sandor's body. He removed her braces and lowered himself so he could directly look at her. He offered her water and Sansa quickly gulped down the refreshing liquid.

While her opponent and her coach were deep in conversation, Sandor and Sansa didn't exchange any words; he gently pressed a towel on her cheeks and forehead to remove the sweat, while Sansa bit her lower lip and looked at him. It almost felt like they had a conversation inside their heads.
The bell rang to announce the second round. Sandor put the braces back into her mouth and nodded at her opponent. "She's your prey now, girl." he said quietly. Sansa nodded and moved back to the center of the mat again.

The bell rang again and the two girls were back into their fighting positions. Sansa waited for her opponent to come closer and then Sansa started to throw punches.

It seemed like an eternity had passed when her opponent fell on the ground.

Sansa wasn't exactly sure how long she had been avoiding and striking her opponent, but suddenly the crowd started to cheer and Sansa's left hand was lifted in the air by the referee.

"We have a winner!"

Sansa only looked at all the unknown faces in front of her, who either cheered for her or giving her looks as if she hadn't deserved her victory.

Her hand fell back to her side again and someone hugged her. When she looked up, she saw her father's face in front of her, laughing and rambling words she couldn't understand. Her mind was still blocked.

"-You were amazing Sans, I'm so proud of you!"

"Mom?"

Cat eyes were watery when they looked at her, filled with pride, relief and happiness. Sansa frowned. "I won?" she wondered sheepish, on which both her parents laughed. "Yes, love, you won!"

Sansa smiled slightly, even though she couldn't exactly believe it.

But when she saw Sandor leaning against the wall behind her parents with a smile, she knew it was true.