AN:

Special thanks to pen names Marina Ka-Fai, wildhoneyfitri1 and Riley Maiyer.

All of you - please leave a review and share your thoughts - how do you feel about the story at this point? In your opinion - is captain Sand a good or a bad guy? Do you think that Sansa is tempted by him? :-)

I hate to see Tyrion in the cell, but I wanted to get our favourite couple out of King's Landing - neither of them was never truly happy there I think.

xoxoxo,

SandyBell

Chapter 20.

The next morning Sansa woke up wondering where she was.

The sun shone in through the round window and the ship was rolling on the waves softly as a gigantic cradle.

Stark was already awake too - he cooed happily in his crib. The previous night seemed like a bad dream now.

Sansa got up from the divan and lifted the baby up. Stark was delighted to see her. Sansa kissed his tiny head and nursed him thinking about how much she loved him. Mere thought of someone hurting Stark made her sick.

Half an hour later the door opened and a man entered with a tray. He was the sailor who was speaking with northern accent, and he brought Sansa some breakfast. The food looked delicious.

The man smiled at her.

"I hope you slept well… My lady", he said and put the breakfast on the little table which was attached to the floor.

"Surprisingly so", Sansa admitted.

The man looked at Stark warmly.

"Hello, little one! I hope you slept well too", he said with a smile. The baby looked at his bearded face without fear, obviously curious.

It might be useful to get friends among the crew, Sansa thought.

So why not start with this man?

"I recognized your accent last night. You're from the North, aren't you? From which town? And what is your name?" Sansa asked in a friendly tone.

"My name is Nicket, and you're right - originally I'm from Dreadfort, My lady. As a young boy I got caught stealing bread - and Roose Bolton is a cruel lord… so I was forced to flee", the man explained briefly but politely.

"Oh, and after that you ended up on the pirate ship - under the rule of a cruel captain. I'm so sorry for you, Nicket", Sansa said with compassion.

Nicket frowned.

"I'm not. I rather serve captain Sand than any other lord in Westeros. He wasn't born to his post - no, he earned it. He is never cruel unless he has to… and he never lets his men down", Nicket explained admiringly.

"But… he is a man without homeland, without king. He is a bastard. Besides - he obviously doesn't believe in anything", Sansa said in disapproval.

"He believes in himself, My lady. And please understand this - every other man on this ship is a bastard. And what comes to the kings… I wonder if any king is worthy of service, truly", Nicket noted indifferently.

Sansa tried to find the right answer. She failed. She hadn't heard so brazen idea before.

Nicket took the tray, turned his back on her and walked to the door.

"Have a nice day, My lady", he said quite rudely and left. He shut the door and Sansa heard a click of the lock.

It didn't go well, Sansa thought gloomily.

xxx

After the breakfast captain Sand stepped in.

He was clearly on a very good mood. His dark eyes sparkled with joy and Sansa could see drops of salty water in his fluffy hair.

"What a wonderful morning!" he exclaimed, reached out his hand and tickled Stark gently under the chin.

"Good morning, little lord", he noted merrily.

Sansa coughed.

"Ser… captain. You said that I can see my husband now", she said firmly.

Captain Sand glanced at her.

"Not exactly. I said that I have a suggestion for you", he said softly.

"What do you suggest?" Sansa asked with a bad feeling.

Captain Sand took a step closer. He smiled mischievously and looked at her in the eyes.

"I allow you to speak with him… if you let me kiss you properly", he noted lightly.

Sansa froze.

"You…bastard! You don't mean that!", she shouted stunned.

"Oh yes I do, trust me. I've wanted to kiss you ever since I saw you for the first time", captain Sand said firmly.

"You truly are kindred spirits, your lord Littlefinger and you. He is also a blackmailer. Did you know that he tried to blackmail me to sleep with him? You're not an honorable man", Sansa hissed bitterly.

For an instant captain Sand looked surprised. Clearly Littlefinger hadn't told him everything, Sansa concluded darkly. Captain Sand hid his feelings quickly.

"Littlefinger is not my lord, he is my client. And honour is a fancy word for princes and lords only. I'm just a simple pirate - when I see something I want - I take it. And right now I really want a beautiful lady to kiss me. Just one kiss - no more, no less. I could kiss you by force of course, but that's really not my style", he explained smugly.

"So - what say you… My lady?"

Sansa inhaled. Then she raised her hand and gave captain Sand a resounding slap in the face.