Defyra

The day had come. Lord and Lady Redwyne had finally arrived in King's Landing that morning. After their appearance in court, Queen Cersei invited them to tea out in the gardens, along with Defyra. Sandor had taken the princes to their practice and would join them afterwards.

"How are you enjoying it here, dear?" asked Lady Redwyne.

"I do like it. I've made friends here and there is much to see when it comes to events and tourneys," replied Defyra.

"And Sandor Clegane?" asked Lord Redwyne.

Defyra's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. "He's wonderful, Father."

"They are such a smart match. I wouldn't have thought it, but it was a pleasant surprise," said Cersei. "The ladies of the court admire his strength, including your daughter. He was her victorious champion last tourney. He proposed that night, I believe."

Defyra didn't think her face could burn any hotter.

"He should be here any moment," continued Cersei. "He accompanies my sons to their target practice and their lessons should have wrapped up by now. He has served my family faithfully for many years."

Sandor silently appeared a few moments later, bowing to Cersei before turning to the others.

"My, you're a tall one!" exclaimed Lord Redwyne, standing to shake hands with him. The top of his head barely reached Sandor's shoulder. His temples were graying but he still had a wide tuft of red hair atop his head. He clapped Sandor on the shoulder as they shook hands. "I like that. We need more height in this family."

Lady Redwyne was the same height as Defyra and he could see that she had inherited her looks and her green eyes from her mother. He respectfully placed a kiss upon her knuckles when she stepped up to him.

"Welcome to the family, dear," she said kindly. Sandor looked at her, surprised. There was genuine motherly warmth in her eyes and he felt a twinge of nostalgia of his own mother that he had barely known.

"Thank you, my Lady," he said quietly. She smiled warmly and squeezed his hand before letting him go.

Defyra stepped up, her gaze shining with affection. She slipped her hands into his and tiptoed to brush her lips over his cheek.

"Come sit next to me," she said brightly. He nodded and followed her, holding her hand. Her parents sat across from them, eyeing their interaction with approval. Cersei looked rather pleased.

"You look good together," said Lady Redwyne softly. She shared a smile with her daughter.

"So...when should we expect the wedding?" Lord Redwyne looked between the two expectantly.

"I'd say no later than a fortnight. I wanted to wait for your arrival before making any concrete plans," said Defyra. "Mother is the best at planning and I wanted her advice."

"Alright, let's plan while we're all here," said Lady Redwyne, barely containing her excitement.

Defyra and Sandor sat silently next to one another as her parents and Cersei enthusiastically planned and discussed the wedding feast. Due to the size of the Redwyne clan, some logistics were needed to accommodate enough of them.

Defyra chanced a look at him from the corner of her eye. He looked as if he were trying to pay attention, but his gaze kept darting down to his hands. She saw he was holding the handkerchief she had given him at the tourney and was slowly tracing the grapes of the Redwyne sigil with his thumb. She slowly reached over to put her hand over his and marveled silently at the realization of how very large his hands were. Her entire thumb was dwarfed by one of his thumbnails. He slipped the handkerchief back into safekeeping and took her hand in his.

Her heart was racing, as was her mind. She thought of the many typical scenarios married people went through and pictured doing them with this man. Thoughts of the wedding night flitted across her mind. She hadn't even noticed that her father had asked their opinion about something until Sandor spoke.

"I would choose the dual sigil banners. It is a merger, so let it be so. I would make a minor change to the Clegane sigil, that there is only a single dog instead of three." He turned to her, a brow raised. "What are your thoughts?"

"I agree with your decision. It will help differentiate where the wine is coming from between our vineyards and the Arbor's." Defyra said.

"Excellent thinking. This is already a promising match." said her father, noting the hand-holding with a grin.

"Will you keep your name, or take his?" asked her mother after they had finally established the location of the feast to be in the gardens. Cersei had taken her leave shortly after to give the family a private moment and rejoin her own.

"I'm taking his name. They'll know I'm a Redwyne by our wine."

"And your hair," added Sandor. They all shared a chuckle at that.

Eventually the conversation at the table drifted two ways. Defyra and her mother began reminiscing while Sandor showed the plans for Clegane's Keep to her father.

"I see you plan to churn out many grandchildren for us, Def," teased Lord Redwyne as he pointed out the neighboring nursery and master bedchamber that the two had agreed upon. Sandor snorted at the wide-eyed blush on her face as she struggled to find words to reply.

"Desmond, leave the girl be," giggled Lady Redwyne. "Torment her too much and we may find ourselves without grandchildren."

"Oh, there will be children," blurted Sandor. He cut his gaze to his betrothed, a slight smirk on his lips.

"Sandor!" Defyra gasped, hiding her red face in her hands. Across the table, Lady Redwyne was as red as her daughter, suddenly unable to look at Sandor or Defyra anymore without looking bashful. Lord Redwyne looked shocked for a split second before breaking into a chuckle.

"Oh, to be young again. Right, love?" Lord Redwyne nudged his wife. "Although nothing has changed much for us except for sore hips and creaky knees after a good romp."

"Desmond, shh!" Lady Redwyne swatted his arm while trying to suppress a smile. Defyra's jaw dropped in horror while Sandor nearly choked on a tea sandwich.

"Please excuse us, we'll be taking a walk," squealed Defyra, making a hasty escape while pulling a snorting Sandor along behind her. She could hear her parents' laughter ring out behind them.

Grace

Lady Grace Greenfield had received an interesting raven that week that she hadn't expected. Podrick Payne was accompanying a group of Lannisters to King's Landing and was in search of a knight to squire for in the city. He had written that he was looking forward to meeting her.

Currently she was sitting across from Lady Bethany as they had tea minus Lady Defyra, who was visiting with her parents in another part of the gardens.

The Lannister party had rode in that morning. The only ones to appear in court to greet the Royals were Lord Tywin and Ser Kevan. The lesser Lannisters and squires were unpacking at the stables. She was rather disappointed that she wasn't able to catch a glimpse of Podrick at that time.

"You're thinking quite hard, aren't you?" Lady Bethany teased.

"I'm nervous. What if I'm not to his liking?" Grace idly spun her teacup in her hands.

"He is an extremely daft man, then. You are a beauty with a mind. You will be the woman of his dreams," said Lady Bethany.

"Thank you, dear, but you built me up too much," said Grace, blushing.

"Nonsense!" A commotion on the steps to their pavilion interrupted their conversation.

They looked in time to see a squire tripping over the last step up to the pavilion and sprawling quite unceremoniously on the floor. Denys, who had been accompanying him, cringed as he stood over the other man.

"Good gods, man. Stand up while you still have a shred of dignity," said Denys jokingly, holding out a hand. The other man sighed before taking Denys's outstretched hand and pulling himself up quite spryly.

The man was just a bit taller than Denys, had dark brown hair and eyes and the hint of a beard growing. He turned to the women, humiliation written all over his face. His eyebrows were slightly upturned looking at them like a lost puppy.

"G-good afternoon, my ladies. I'm sorry you had to see that. Um, I'm Podrick Payne."

Grace accidentally knocked over her teacup with a clang as her hand made it to her mouth in surprise.

"Oh, for gods' sakes," muttered Bethany, reaching over to pick up the teacup and wipe up the spill, since all Grace seemed to be able to do at the moment was blankly stare at Podrick. Bethany looked over to Denys raising her eyebrows pointedly. He took the hint, clapping Podrick on the shoulder, bringing his attention away from the ladies for a moment. He could see Bethany whispering a rapid fire pep talk to Grace.

"Unfortunate little spill there, but while they're taking care of that...the lovely blonde woman is Lady Bethany of House Lydden. And the lovely brunette is Lady Grace Greenfield."

"Oh," said Podrick upon hearing Grace's name. He turned back to face her, a more sure smile on his face. "It's an honor to finally meet you, my Lady."

She deeply nodded in return, having collected herself while his back was turned. "The same to you. May I call you Podrick?"

He blinked in surprise before nodding. "Aye. You may call me that or Pod for short. Whichever you prefer."

"Then you may call me Grace, Pod," she said, smiling. It was hard for her not to smile back at him, as his smile reached his eyes. "Er, why don't you sit and join us for a bit?"

"We'd love to," said Denys, pulling up a chair by Lady Bethany and starting a conversation with her. Pod in turn pulled up a chair by Grace.

"I hope your journey here was well," said Lady Grace.

"It was good enough, my Lady. I'm looking forward to my last year of training," said Pod.

"Have you found yourself a knight to squire for?" Grace poured tea into a spare cup and slid it to Podrick. He accepted it gratefully.

"Not yet. I will make my rounds tomorrow afternoon and introduce myself," said Pod.

"I have a cousin on the Kingsguard. Preston Greenfield. He's served for five years so far and hasn't had a squire yet."

"I appreciate the suggestion, my Lady."

"You're most welcome, Pod." They grinned at one another for a moment.

"I hope you don't think I'm rude, my Lady, but I'm glad this meeting is a lot better than I thought it would be," said Pod.

"I understand what you mean," said Grace. "They described you as a lot shorter."

"They must have confused me with Lord Tyrion," joked Pod. "You were described to me as a cold, stoic and proper lady. They got the cold and stoic parts wrong. You have such a nice smile." Grace's smile turned bashful at the compliment.

"You're too kind," she whispered. They met gazes before both looking away bashfully.

"You both look as if you're at your first banquet and a handsome knight just winked at you from across the room," said Denys. The two raised a brow at him in unison.

"Come on, Den, take a walk with me and let them talk for a bit," said Lady Bethany, already pulling him out of his chair.

"Behave yourselves," said Denys as he was led away.

There was a moment of awkward silence as the two gathered their thoughts.

"Tell me about your family, Pod," said Grace quietly.

"Not much to tell, really," said Pod, his brow furrowed. "My parents died when I was young. My distant cousin took me in as a page and I soon became a squire."

"Ah, I always thought your cousin was your father."

"Thank the Seven he isn't. I do appreciate him taking me in, but there really wasn't anything sentimental with our relationship. I'm just another Payne expected to bring glory to our House."

"I hear that," sighed Grace. "My mother died in childbirth. My father remarried and they had a son, so he has his heir. He left it to my stepmother and my Septa to raise me. His only interest for me is to have me married off to another reputable House."

"So we are both in the same ship, my Lady."

"Indeed we are," said Grace. She sipped her tea as she thought to herself for a moment. "To think that this morning I was scared to death at the thought of meeting you. In my mind you were a miniature version of my father." She giggled at the ridiculousness of it.

Pod barked out a laugh. "I was extremely nervous as well. I wasn't paying attention and nearly got my hand chomped off by this huge black horse in the stables when putting away Ser Kevan's horse. Anyway, I thought you'd take one look at me and call off the arrangement."

"There's nothing wrong with the way you look," said Grace quietly. "There's nothing wrong with you at all." She looked at him, noting the way his eyebrows knit together at an upward tilt when he smiled, and how his cheeks plumped with the action in a way that made her want to reach out and poke them. Podrick was in every way good-looking to her and she liked how he exuded an air of positivity.

"I'm glad to hear it, my Lady," said Pod, the tops of his cheeks turning pink. "N-no one's actually said those words to me before, s-so I'm glad it came from a beauty such as yourself."

"I'll need to say more words like it if that's what makes your cheeks turn pink," she teased, smiling fondly as she gazed at him being flustered.

He laughed, meeting her eyes in mutual humor. They fell into conversation riddled with joking and laughter, which is how their friends found them an hour later.

Defyra

Sandor and Defyra strolled leisurely through the gardens hand in hand, putting some distance between them and her parents. He led her to an isolated alcove framed by wisteria trees that draped across the small overhang protecting the statue of The Stranger that stood in the alcove. They both sat on the white stone bench in front of the statue, knees touching as they faced one another.

"So, my dearest, what are your thoughts on my parents?" Her hands rested gently where their knees touched.

"I can see your qualities in both of them. Your playfulness from your father, your caring from your mother. You and your mother look so much alike, yet you have your father's eyes and hair color." Sandor ran his hands through her locks, letting the soft strands comb through his fingers. "It seems as if you have a good bond with all of your family. I never knew what that was like."

"I'll show you. We'll show you. You're not alone anymore, Sandor."

He paused, bringing his hands to her face and looking deep into her eyes. "You're much too good to me than I deserve."

"Horse shit," she said in the sweetest tone he'd ever heard those words uttered. "You're a good man and you deserve to be treated like one."

She leaned forward and captured his lips in a chaste kiss. His hands gently kept her there as he deepened the kiss, drawing her bottom lip between his teeth. With her lips parted, his tongue slipped in to swirl over hers. Her hands found the front of his tunic, snaking their way to his strong shoulders as she slid herself onto his lap. One of his hands left her face, traveling slowly down her neck, her bosom, the curve of her hip, settling on her thigh and giving it a sensual squeeze. Defyra gasped against his lips, her heart pounding in her chest as she felt a pleasant jolt in her belly. Their kiss turned urgent as desire took over. Sandor's thumb inched closer to her inner thigh as he trailed his lips and teeth down the side of her neck, nibbling lightly. She let out a light moan, holding tight to his shoulders. His lips came to the border of her neckline, kissing the skin along the lace hemline of her bodice. She was sure he could feel her heart pounding for him. She gasped as his lips boldly danced over her cleavage, giggling as his beard tickled her sensitive skin. His thumb ran over the sensitive part of her inner thigh, causing her to arch into him with a gasp. His grin was lecherous as he kissed her breasts through her clothing. Her hands found themselves in his hair as they shared another heated kiss. His head dipped once more to resume his actions, but froze suddenly, listening.

Voices and laughter sounded in the vicinity, coming closer by the moment. Both lovers sighed in frustration as they reluctantly parted and started adjusting their clothing, with Defyra trying to force her breathing back to normal.

"Who the fuck is taking a walk on this side of the garden?" grumbled Sandor.

They peered through the wisteria to see an odd group. Lord and Lady Redwyne were accompanied by Jon Arryn and two older Lords wearing Lannister colors.

"Those men are Tywin and Kevan Lannister," whispered Sandor to her. "Lord Tywin was who my brother served under...and likely did his bidding." His voice was cold, much like he had been on that day that he declared to kill his brother. Defyra squeezed his hand softly while looking out at the scene.

"Indeed we'll see if our girl can cut you a deal on some good wine when the time comes," Lord Redwyne was saying. "It shouldn't be a problem as it's just a short ride across the Westerlands."

"It would be much appreciated, Redwyne," said Lord Tywin. "I've become somewhat of a wine connoisseur in my old age and I very much prefer wine made here. Nothing compares."

"Ass kiss," mumbled Sandor. Defyra nudged him, trying not to giggle.

"It's quite a shame that their Keep has to go through those renovations," said Jon Arryn. "Please let them know that they have a welcome place at the Vale to stay for a bit if they need a change of scenery."

"We appreciate the offer, my Lord!" called Defyra from where they were sitting. She watched, grinning as the group turned and squinted into their alcove, varying looks of surprise on their faces. "We may take a tour of Westeros yet!"

"A walk, indeed," joked Lady Redwyne, smiling at the grin on her daughter's face.

"We got tired," said Defyra, shrugging as she stood up from the bench and walked over to her mother.

"A likely story," said Lord Redwyne, winking at Sandor. However, Sandor's gaze was sternly locked with Tywin Lannister's.

"I hear you're a Lord now," said Tywin as Sandor went to stand by Defyra's family.

"Aye, you've heard correctly," said Sandor. Defyra could see that his jaw was taut like when he got angry.

"Such a nice spit of land you have now. Such a pity you must wait for renovations before you can enjoy it."

"The big cunt had trashed the whole Keep. I won't have my family living in blood and shit."

Defyra bit her lip to keep silent. Lady Redwyne put a hand over her mouth but was silent. The other men kept stoic expressions.

"Consider a stay at Casterly Rock as well. I assure you our Keep has clean amenities."

"You know that cunt nearly killed your son."

Defyra reached over and squeezed his hand hard but to no avail. Sandor was openly glaring at him now.

"Your brother had gone rogue at that point and no longer represented me as bannerman. I'd trust you'd not see me so heartless as to condone his senseless killing."

"Ripe bullshit," Sandor snarled. "He was your muscle all these years and you condoned that plenty. "

"I could say the same for you and the King," replied Tywin coolly. "Should we bring you forth to answer for your crimes?"

"Now, now, my Lords, let's not let things get out of hand," said Jon Arryn, stepping between the two. "What's done has been done and judgment has been passed. Let's not burden the day with this frivolous banter."

"Too late," whispered Defyra, just loud enough for Sandor to hear. He turned to look at her but she didn't meet his eyes.

Lord Redwyne jumped in to steer the topic into safer territory.

"While we're at it, I'll throw in the Arbor for you two to visit," he said. He put a hand on Defyra's shoulder. "You can show Sandor where you grew up."

"That would be nice," said Defyra mildly.

"I would like to see. Denys and Defyra have both told me plenty about growing up in the Arbor," said Sandor, gently rubbing his thumb over Defyra's knuckles. She finally looked up at him before pulling him down so she could whisper in his ear.

"You'll need to cool down first. Looks like I'm not the only hot head." Her voice held a scolding tone and her brow was furrowed in a stern glare.

Sandor kissed her gently on the forehead as a way of apology before turning towards where the Lannisters stood.

"Lord Tywin. I have misspoken at the moment and was the one to start our banter. For that, I offer an apology." Sandor's face was stoic and his voice level and proper when he spoke. Jon Arryn gawked for a moment before nodding in approval. Kevan and Tywin looked at Sandor with twin expressions of astonishment before Tywin's mouth pulled into an impressed grin.

"That Lady of yours is working miracles if she can goad you into saying that, Clegane," said Tywin with a chuckle, aiming a charming smile at Defyra. Sandor's jaw clenched for a moment. "I'm afraid I misspoke in response. May we move forward with the Light of the Seven to guide us. My offer still stands for a stay at Casterly Rock."

"My betrothed and I will humbly accept," said Sandor. "Once our winery is afloat we'll be sure to send you some barrels of wine."

Tywin extended a hand and they shook on it. The Redwynes looked relieved that the conflict had been resolved.

Defyra and Sandor were thankful to slip away when the conversation turned to matters that didn't concern them. They made their way through the gardens, heading back to the pavilion where Defyra and her friends normally gathered.

"I know that apology was hard for you, but it was best for the moment," said Defyra quietly. "I don't ever expect you to truly forgive him, but I'm happy with how you pulled it off."

"Then you won't get upset when I mutter under my breath how much I wish Gregor had maimed him like he did his previous master's family?"

"Of course not. It seemed like he had used Gregor to carry out the more sinister actions that he didn't want to bloody his hands with. But it's best to seem like we're on decent terms for now."

"For now," agreed Sandor. "Now we just need to get through this week and the next without slipping up like we nearly did in that alcove earlier."

"You started it, my Lord," giggled Defyra. She smiled slyly up at him. "Poor innocent little me, merely giving my love a sweet kiss, and then suddenly he causes us to both forget ourselves in our passion for one another." Sandor let out a frustrated rumble and gently clasped his large hand on the back of her neck.

"I could always pull you behind another statue and continue where we left off," he growled low, leaning in so that his lips brushed her ear. She shivered against him.

"Then do it," urged Defyra, giving him a smirk. He groaned softly against her ear before taking her hand and whisking her off to the next shaded nook he saw. In his haste, he failed to notice the telltale signs of the nook already being occupied. The occupants were too engrossed in each other to notice the intrusion. Sandor immediately spun around at what he had just witnessed, but it was too late to warn Defyra, who had already followed him in. Bethany had let out a startled yelp when she turned her head, alerting Denys to the intrusion, frantically tapping his head. Denys lifted his face from the vicinity beneath her skirts, swearing when he saw them and frantically pulling Bethany's skirts down to cover her. Sandor swiftly herded Defyra back out of the nook and back onto the garden path as she had been too frozen in shock to move.

"Are you alright?" asked Sandor, touching her on the shoulder.

"No, I'm not alright! I never wanted to see my best friend and my brother...ew!" Defyra's blush was to the extreme and she buried her face in his chest. He chuckled, hugging her to him.

"I hope you don't think the action ew, because that's what I had planned to do to you," teased Sandor. Defyra looked up at him, eyes wide, though an intrigued smile crossed her face after a minute.

"Thank you, my dear sister and future brother-by-law, for ruining everything," said Denys, stepping out of the nook looking surprisingly put together considering how extremely disarrayed his hair and clothing had been a few moments ago. Bethany stepped out behind him looking as equally put together. Both of them were blushing.

"We were interrupted earlier but we had the sense to not get caught in that sort of action," retorted Sandor. "Everyone in Westeros seems to be occupying the fucking gardens today."

"That is an accurate title for them now," quipped Bethany. The other three snorted at the remark.

"Why don't we just go have some tea and cakes?" Defyra suggested. "At least attempt to act respectable again."

"We left Podrick and Grace alone," said Denys. "I swear, if we walk up and they're at it, too…"

But Grace and Pod were happily chatting and joking to one another still. They happily greeted the others when they approached and Pod stood to introduce himself to Sandor and Defyra. Defyra grinned at the squire, an evil thought popping into her mind.

"Podrick, I thought you should know that Lady Grace is the kindest friend I have known and that any man that would marry her would be blessed by the Seven for the rest of his life," recited Defyra, cutting her eyes toward Grace with a grin.

"Oh, no," squeaked Grace, turning red.

"I believe you," said Pod, his face and demeanor sincere. Grace looked touched that he would react in such a way. Pod smiled at her and reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips.

"Alright, off to the gardens with you two," teased Denys. Bethany elbowed him.

"There seems to be something in the air today," said Grace, a peculiar smile on her face. "The whole time we've been talking, we've overheard at least three couples having a go at it in the bushes."

"How unusual," said Defyra. "You'd think they'd do it at an isolated alcove." Sandor pinched her side gently, one corner of his mouth lifted up in amusement.

"Actually, no. The ones that went at it the longest were in that gazebo out there," said Pod, pointing across the view they had to where the nook Denys and Bethany had occupied. "You two aren't very sneaky. We watched you go in and gave up on waiting for you to come out."

"You did not," gasped Bethany, looking between Grace and Pod with wide eyes. Denys draped an arm over her shoulders, looking conflicted on whether to look pleased or sheepish.

"You should have picked somewhere more discreet, like the alcoves that Defyra mentioned. At least there's not a view of them from the pavilions and it's more isolated," said Grace. Pod looked at her, raising an eyebrow with amusement. She winked, unaware that a majority of the group was watching.

There's something in the air indeed," giggled Bethany. Grace bowed her head, suddenly bashful. Pod squeezed her hand in comfort while looking like he was holding in a laugh.

"You're that squire that helped Lord Tyrion last year after your last knight got himself into shit," said Sandor suddenly, his eyes locked on Pod.

"Er...yes, my Lord." Pod looked rather startled.

Sandor stood and dragged Pod up by his shoulder.

"Sandor!" Protested Defyra.

"I'm just going to speak with him," grumbled Sandor, a furrow in his brow.

Grace looked utterly horrified, but could only look on, frozen, as Sandor steered Pod to the edge of the pavilion away from everyone else.

Everyone watched as Sandor gruffly interrogated the squire for a few minutes. They could only make out snippets of the conversation.

"I swear, if you pull shit like that with her…"

"Nothing happened like that, my Lord, it's as I told you."

insisted Pod. "It was only Lord Tyrion's speculation that became the rumor."

"What, the one where you walked into a brothel with a sack of coins and left hours later with the same sack of coins?" said Denys.

"Er...yeah," said Pod awkwardly. "But I wasn't WITH any of them."

"Then what in the Seven Hells did you do?!"

"I sang to them all," admitted Pod, blushing deeply. "They eventually all fell asleep and we all just...napped for a couple of hours. They said it was the best time they'd spent in a while."

Sandor snorted, letting him go and returning to his seat by Defyra. "You'll be the first man to only sing and sleep in a brothel."

"Oh, really," said Defyra, raising an eyebrow. "What do you do in brothels?" Denys and Pod both cringed, giving Sandor sympathetic looks behind Defyra's back.

"It was a thing of the past. I have no need to ever visit one again," said Sandor, looking deeply into her eyes. She smiled and took his face into her hands, kissing him sweetly on the lips.

"Get an alcove," whined Denys.