Chapter 26
The Mountain that rides.
"Gregor," she called the man's name - It's like watching her nightmare come true.
"The Queen wants you dead, I am bringing her...your head," he walked closer to her.
"You are going to kill me." More of a statement than a question from her, she instinctively grabbed for the Dog Helmet laid next to her as she edged back. Leana started hearing steel clashing and people shouting from outside her door and window.
Ser Meryn entered the chamber, "What the fuck are you waiting for?! Get her head!"
"Get out!" Gregor growled at Ser Meryn but was still looking at her as he took off his helmet and his armours.
"Fuck! You are going to fuck your brother's wife then have her head?! You are one hell of a man, Clegane." Ser Meryn laughed and walked out, looking for Ned Stark's head, and left Gregor Clegane did what he did best. They've arrived moments ago with forty of their best men.
"Make it fast!" Leana heard Ser Meryn commented crudely. Some knight you are! Leana saw Ser Meryn walked out.
Leana noticed, Gregor didn't even bother closing the door. She grabbed her sword, she knew she could never win this fight. She placed the sword close to her throat, "I'll do it myself," she said to him.
"You rot in hell!" She cursed at him.
Unfortunately Gregor was very fast; without warning, he grabbed the sword by the hilt. Leana almost lost her grip, no way in hell, she thought. She rather died with her own sword than have him violate her and felt her baby bleed and died in her.
She grabbed the sword by the blade with her left hand and she felt it cut in her grip as she tried to hang on to it, blood started dripping from the blade to her arms then drip to the sheet.
Leana saw her brother in law's eyes with disgust, she hang on to the sword with all her might but she was no match for him. She saw the opened door, she let go of the blade and she tried crawling to the door. She heard shouts and screams outside. She kicked and screamed as she felt his grip on her waist, dragging her back to the bed.
He slapped her face a couple of time, still with gloves on; his brute strength was no match for her, the slap knocked her backward, her hear spin. Not enough for Gregor; he shoved her, he roughly slammed her body to the bed post and he kicked the sword towards the door behind him. She saw him leisurely took off his gloves...
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Ned Stark was rudely awaken by a shout and two men barging into his room before he managed to get out from his room for Leana. He saw two Lannisters Soldiers attacking him which he easily overpowered. I need to get to Leana, which was all he thought about.
"The Queen sends her love," he heard a man, it was Ser Meryn.
"Ser Meryn, very gallant of you to greet me in the middle of the night..." Lord Stark looked at him.
"I am just doing the Queen's bidding," He growled and didn't waste any time.
He attacked Ned Stark, slashing at his direction, Ned Stark retaliated but before long, he saw terror in Ser Meryn's eyes, before he heard a roar and blood spurting from his mouth at the same time he noticed a sword plunged through his neck before the sword separate his head from his shoulders.
Lord Eddard Stark then saw Sandor Clegane stood behind Ser Meryn for seconds before the large man with blood on his face stormed out. Leana, he ran for her.
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Gregor slapped her again and again, and threw her back to bed with brute strength, she hold her stomach with her bloodied hands, an attempt to protect her child, instead of covering her face or protecting her head. The Mountain saw blood and he saw red, blood lust.
"You little cunt! What's wrong? Don't you want me? You let my ugly brother fucked you bloody!" He pinned her down. First thing he did was ripped her night shift, with one yank he tore her shift which exposed her breasts.
Gregor's eyes feasted on Leana's teats, she saw him smirk before he latched on to one of her breast, he bit her nipple, hard. She screamed 'no' in pain. She wanted to tell him to spare her, her babe was his brother's, and that they were related by blood. She saw his eyes and heard his lustful cruel growl and nothing come out from her mouth.
The man was worse than animal, he would rape and took her head to his Queen, who probably made him rich by doing so.
Amongst her pain and fear, she knew he was not wearing part of his armour anymore, - if only she could reach her sword and stab him. She screamed in shocked as he pulled her down by her legs, trying to pin her under him and he started groping her.
"If you want to kill me. Kill me now, you shit!" She shouted at him.
"Not that fast, my sweet," She saw him trying to unlaced his breeches with one hand – she struggled with all her strength.
"I'll fuck you until you bleed my brother's son, then I'll be taking your fucking head! You fucking Stark!"
She started kicking him ferociously, scratching his face. He only laughed and started pressing her breasts and squeezed them roughly, it was really painful. She screamed in pain and anger; she managed to scratch his left cheek which pissed him off but at the same time spurned him even more. Leana felt like she was a rag doll to him.
He grabbed her hips and flipped her, he pressed his knees onto her back thighs to weigh her down, her screamed of pain was muffled by his hand over her mouth. His full weight was on the back of her upper thighs; she felt her torn nightshift rose.
For seconds she almost gave up, she was about to be rape, it was too late, and there was nothing she could do about it, her baby would die in her. She kept screaming and she bit his fingers. She could felt his manhood on her naked thighs; his filthy grimy hands on her arse and on her sex. Felt one of his finger slipped into her slit roughly. Please, no, please - my babe. She cried as she felt his cock at the entrance of her sex, bracing herself for the worse. 'Sandor', she uttered his name, I fail you.
She heard a growl and a shout and it went quiet, no no please.
She felt trickled of warm liquid on her back, she kept biting his fingers and finally she was not smothered anymore, and Gregor's weight on her was half gone. She turned and saw her sword pierced through Gregor's chest and she heard, "This is for father and for touching my wife." Then she saw him – she saw Sandor standing behind Gregor.
She was shocked when someone grabbed her and started screaming again as she clutched her torn shift, she moved back but then she saw it was her Uncle Ned.
He pulled her from underneath the Mountain and saw blood all over her; blood from her nose and lips, her face battered; not knowing whose bloods are those; deep gash on her palm as she clutched her bloodied torn shift. Blood still flow freely from her palm. Ned Stark thought the worst, his pregnant niece was raped by the Gregor Clegane.
He grabbed Leana's face, she was in a frantic daze, "Did he rape you, Leana?"
Leana shook her head desperately, unable to speak. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
She didn't care, she felt no pain – only relief. She heard the Mountain gargled – she turned to see the man who attacked her, his eyes bulging, blood from his mouth, one of his hands gripped the thin sword that was pierced through his chest.
"Don't look Leana, don't look." Her uncle said to her as he pulled her away and cradled her head in his shoulder. Ned Stark was looking at the man who killed his brother. Sandor Clegane, arrived in the middle of the Lannisters' ambush and safe their lives. He felt his shoulder wetted from her blood.
The Hound pushed his brother's body to the bed as he pulled Leana's sword from him. He slipped the steel in his belt as he stride to her. She is bloody, he is too late.
In chaos, he was frantically searching for Leana – he could not see clearly in the dark corridors, when he recognized the steel on the ground just outside an opened chamber, its Leana's sword which he gave her in King's Landing. He stormed to the chamber and saw everything. Gregor's breeches were undone and he was raping Leana. Sandor could hear her muffled screams.
Satisfied that Gregor was dead. He kneeled and he touched her shoulder, saw Ned Stark worried and livid eyes as the man handed Leana to him – and he left to find his men. They could still hear steel clashing.
The second she was with him, "What are you doing here?" she asked innocently, her head throbbed and she was still in shock. Her breathing was hard and uneven. She could hardly see his face.
"Are you alright, Leana?" He wanted to roar in anger as he saw her battered and bloodied face.
She nodded for him. "He didn't," she shook her head, as Leana covered her nose, trying to stop the flowing blood, but made it worse. Her head was spinning.
He pressed their heads together, "I thought...I thought I was too late... and the blood, my babe,"
"He didn't...no...Our babe is alright," she pulled his palm with her bloodied hand and placed it on her belly – she felt safe.
The she remembered, "Sandor, what are you doing here?" she was still confused. "What about Kingsguard?"
"Fuck the Kingsguard!" he replied as he tore part of the sheet to bandage her palm and ripped the sheet to absorb the blood from her nose and lips.
"Leana, what did you do?"
She shook her head, still in daze, but then she turned her head and saw her dead brother in law, dead - eyes opened. "Hei...don't look." Sandor touched her split lips.
"He is dead now." He looked at her bloodies shift and saw her belly, he placed his other palm on it. Enveloping it with his warmth.
"I am alright, the babe is alright." She smiled and hugged his armoured body. They both heard Ned Stark barking orders.
"You are here," she couldn't believe it, "I thought I never see you again, I thought I'll die and you have to see my head on spike," she whispered.
"Hush wife, it's over. I am here. King Robert released me from my duties. If your uncle will have me I'll go to Winterfell with you." And saw her smile – he missed that smiled.
"We'll wait until the babe is borne before we decide where we go next," he said to her, he grazed her split lips with his thumb.
Sandor knew that they don't have much time to discuss anything, it could wait. He raised her to stand, her night shift was almost torn in half; she swayed and he held her steady with his hand.
Their reunion was cut short. She only heard her uncle called for him. "Clegane. Go! Now! It's not safe here. I don't want to risk it. We'll ride hard across the border."
Without delay he scooped Leana in his arms and carried her out. Both her hands were hanging on to the cloth on her nose. She wanted to ride with him on Stranger but both Sandor and her uncle shouted 'No' at the same time. He placed her in the carriage, "We'll talk," and left her.
They rode at a neck breaking pace for almost half a day, before they finally stopped for water. Ned Stark led their way with Sandor Clegane at the right flank. Lord Stark looked back to signal his men to slow down and stop by the lake but found himself speechless.
Lord Eddard Stark saw the Hound riding with his black stallion with his full armour and dog helmet on. No men in their right mind would dare stop them. The Hound looked like a magnificent beast – no wonder the Lannisters and the Royals had him as their killer.
It was noon when they finally stopped to water their horses and tend to the wounded. The men knew exactly what to do and did not waste any time at all.
The first thing Sandor did was approach Leana. He remembered she was still in her bloodied torn nightshift. He grabbed one of his blanket tied at his saddle back and cover Leana with it before he took her down from the carriage and walked together to the small lake with Stranger in tow.
He was taken back when he saw his wife, now there was light to see - she was battered, blood tainted her torn shift; she was waiting for him when he opened the carriage door. She broke a smile while looked at her in anger. Like a child she gave his arms to him.
"Stranger...My beautiful Stranger!" Leana caressed the Stallion's mane as they walked.
"Let me look at your hand," he grabbed her hand and opened the make shift bandage carefully. "How?" he asked, as he saw deep gore of a gash across her palm.
"Gregor wanted to rape and kill me, I rather kill myself than...him. I grabbed my sword to my neck but he was too fast and...I" she couldn't continue as she thought about what happened back in the inn.
"Hush. It's alright, you are safe now. I am here. I keep you safe." He rasped, he felt a lump in his throat, he realised how close he was to losing his wife and child.
He had been riding Stranger for almost one week with only two stops a day. Sometimes he only stopped by the meadow to feed his horse, and he'd go without food for days – rationing his water. His concern was on Stranger, to make sure he was fed and strong enough for the gruelling journey.
He stopped at an inn on his 10th day and was informed that the Starks were there, merely two days ago. He was getting nearer; calmer and satisfied that he was close to them, he felt his hunger, he ate his hot meal heartily, as he listened to the inn keeper talking about the entourage.
He was about to ask for a bed but his heart dropped when he heard that the Inn keeper was complaining of rude bannermen of the Lions asking questions about the Starks as well.
Sandor Clegane cancelled his plan to spend the night, the Queen only sent the best to do her last attempt to kill Lord Stark and Leana, it was the Mountain - his brother. He paid his coins and continued his journey in a neck breaking pace.
The following night he found the Stark ambushed by the Lannisters; Fear ran through his blood that made him saw red, he made his way and started killing all the Lannisters soldiers he saw. His sword met them like they were butter. It was easy to spot the Lannisters with their red and golden armours amongst the darker armoured Starks.
He was desperately searching for her. He only need to saw her – safe, but he after he cut Meryn down, and saw his fucking brother raping his wife, mounting her from behind and blood all over the bed, Leana screaming. He thought he lost his child and about to lose her too. And that's when he plunged her sword into his heart. He should have done it a long time ago.
The Starks were outnumbered by the Lannisters, they must have known from King's Landing.
But here they were, alive and safe by the water. He thanked the Gods that he arrived at the nick of time. Leana heard her uncle's voice; she released her grip on Stranger and without realizing she gripped his arms, not wanting to let him go.
"Clegane." Lord Eddard Stark called the man away from his niece.
He was looking at the couple for quite some time before he called for him; he saw the Hound wiping her dried blood on her face very gently, kept dipping the cloth in the water; the man looked angry and worried and he saw his niece who was seated on the ground, one hand on the stallion's rein, one hand on his shoulder...while she smiling at him, unaffected by her bruised face and what happened only hours ago.
Leana wanted to come with him but Sandor said no, he wanted her to stay with the horse, reminded her how poorly he behaved amongst strangers. He knew she was reluctant to be away from him after what she went through. Leana released Stranger's reins and she was gripping his arms, whispered 'no' to him.
Sandor saw a flash of panic on her eyes that were already swollen. Calmly, he held her head and whispered to her that she was safe and he'd come back.
He placed his dog helmet in her hand, "I'll come back. It won't be long." He touched her dejected face with his palm and noticed the redness on her cheeks had turned to blue, and saw her nodded.
She was not a fool, she knew it was an excuse, Sandor also wanted to talk to her uncle alone. She saw Sandor handed a scroll to him; they spoke for quite a while. She saw her Uncle Ned called for Jory and saw Sandor shook Jory's hand. She had never seen Sandor shook hand with anyone before!
Leana was distracted because she saw some of the men were hurt, cut and gashes on some of them. They told her it was only paltry wounds. She saw the little boy who usually brought her meals, walked with bucket of water going around the wounded man. The little boy offered her a wet clean cloth and she smiled and thanked him.
She quickly tended to the men as best as she could. She wondered what's going to happen to her and Sandor, will her uncle accept him? It doesn't matter anymore; after ten years being away from her home, she decided she doesn't have to be in Winterfell to be happy...
TBC
Finally a new life for our couple – if they made it to Winterfell.
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