A/N: Alright, ladies and gentlemen, as promised here is the brand new chapter. Thank you to Guest, white pedal, and magnus374 for the reviews, and with that we're going to go right in, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own GOT, ASOIAF, or any of the characters, George R.R. Martin does, with HBO having the rights to the screen-work.

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Stranger's hoofs thundered as they trampled over the dirt as Sandor rode, the Stark girl seated in front of him, safely nestled between him and Stranger's neck.

"Will we be reach anywhere to rest before dark?" the girl asked, clinging to Stranger, as though if she were to let go she'd fall.

"No," Sandor answered, pulling back the reins and bringing his mount to a slower pace. "We'll be stopping here for the night. I don't mind being out after dark, but I'd rather not risk being stuck walking the rest of the way. And we'll both end up doing just that if the horse here doesn't get a rest."

"Do you even know where we are?" Little Bird asked with a slight frown.

"We're still along the Blackwater Rush," Sandor answered. "About another day's ride and we'll either reach Stony Sept or at least be nearby."

The girl sighed, but said nothing. No doubt she was still thinking of the close call with the Lannister reinforcements.

"Why do you think they call it the Goldroad?" Sandor smirked when she looked up at him, fear reflecting in those two little blue irises. "It connects Lannisport and Casterly Rock to King's Landing. And as you saw, that allowed Lannister troops to just pour in from the westernlands straight into the crownlands. And it's a good thing the ones we saw didn't see us. If we hadn't gone the other way, my head would be on a spike in front of the gates right now, and yours would be too, right beside your father's, if you were lucky."

"And if I wasn't?" the girl ventured.

"If you weren't, you'd be right back in your cage, free for the royal bastard to torture again," he sighed. "Only this time it'd be much worse."

As he said this, he noticed the girl was once again clutching that doll of hers to her chest, the only thing she had brought with her when they left the city.

There wouldn't have been time to pack any of her things, at least she had had the good sense to realize that. Not to mention, while they might have been able to sell off some of her jewelry, that would have just made it easier for the lions to find them. If bandits didn't first.

Sandor was confident that the scavenging vermin wouldn't be able to do much to him, but the girl on the other hand would have been easy prey.

Stranger came to a complete stop, allowing for Sandor to dismount before taking the girl by her waist and lowering her as well.

The light from the sun had softened as it began to fade, bidding the sky farewell, as Sandor led Stranger closer to the water.

As Stranger lapped up the water eagerly, a light breeze flew over the water and then through the trees.

Sandor noticed that the vibrant green leaves were beginning to slowly turn, their edges trimmed with a pale yellow.

"Looks like you Starks have the right of it," he said, turning back to Sansa, who was now clutching her cloak closer to her. "Winter is coming. And soon by the looks of it."

Now that night was upon them, a small sense of relief came as well. Lannister soldiers were more likely to be guarding more well-traveled areas rather than the little spit between the Goldroad and King's Landing. And even if they were nearby, Sandor knew they'd be easy enough to hear or see before they even came too close and within a matter of moments, he could easily have the Stark girl and himself back upon Stranger and on their way.

As the air itself grew a bit colder, he noticed the girl shivering.

'A Northern girl falling victim to the cold,' he snorted at the irony.

A part of him felt a bit of guilt, knowing that even if she was of the North, a highborn lady like her was far from likely to even know how to start her own fire, having always had someone else to do it for her.

With a sigh, he reluctantly set to building a small one. Wouldn't be worth the trouble of even taking her if she froze to death on the way.

Almost immediately after covering the small sparks with a bit of dead wood, a small flame quickly began to take form, catching onto the branches.

As the crackling began, Sandor felt his heart quicken slightly as he forced himself to draw back without making a sound.

"Seven hells," he growled softly. Even now he was still afraid of it.

He couldn't help but allow a small grunt of amusement as the girl immediately moved closer.

"I can tend the fire, so you don't have to," she offered. "I know you don't like it."

"At least you'd be doing something as well."

Sansa's face twisted into an annoyed grimace.

"Good night, ser!" she huffed, turning on her side so that she faced away from him and curling under her cloak.

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I do hope everyone enjoyed this update, and I can promise things are going to get even more intense come next chapter, which will be out on Sunday, March 1st. Until then, everyone.