"Who is it, Tyrion" her clipped voice hung in the air and he forced himself to meet her gaze.

He knew in this moment he would probably lose her. He could already see the walls growing behind those beautiful blue eyes, could see her shutting herself off from him. She had become the ice maiden again, cold and stoic in her resolve. He had never felt smaller than he did right now. He swallowed hard as he pushed himself to his feet and willed himself to approach her. As he took a step he tried not be hurt by her moving that much further from him. She had never fled from him, but he knew it would only get worse. He halted his advance, hoping to put her at ease. He had wanted to tell her as a friend, but knew that that was hopeless now.

"Sansa, I..." he had never been speechless before and cursed that in this moment he was struggling. "I want you to know that I will still do everything I can to protect you. I will never allow anyone to hurt you. I will never allow any harm to come to you. Even from me..." he trailed off as he watched her eyes fill with tears again. "No...no Sansa...Please believe me, I had nothing to do with this. It wasn't my idea..." But she was shaking her head emphatically and held up a hand to stop him.

"Wasn't your idea?" he flinched at the poison in her tone. "Wasn't your idea to keep me imprisoned here with no hope for escape? Wasn't your idea to take my claim for yourself? Is this the only reason you were kind to me? To trick me into letting my guard down so that you could take advantage of me? I tr-...I trusted-" Her voice was bordering on hysterical before she turned away and took a deep breath, calming herself.

"Sansa, I never wanted-"

"Stop." she cut him off without looking back at him. "I would like to be alone, my lord. If you would please excuse me." She held her arm towards the door with icy courtesy and Tyrion just nodded, defeated. He would give her all the time she needed to process this. It was the least he could do.

"Of course, my lady." he muttered as he left her. As soon as he was passed the threshold he turned, hoping to give her one last assurance, but the door was softly closed in his face. He stood there silently for a moment, listening intently, wondering if she would burst into tears the second he was gone. He heard no signs of distress though and forced his stunted little legs to keep moving. He turned the corner and came upon Pod standing awkwardly and Bronn leaning up against the wall casually, looking after some maids down the corridor. The girls were giggling as they passed the two and Bronn grinned widely at them as Pod blushed to his hairline. Tyrion watched the exchange with scorn, wishing he was a tall, strong warrior or at least a healthy man who would be less of a terrible bridegroom.

"Guessin' it didn't go so well?" Bronn chuckled at the look on Tyrion's face.

"Do shut up" Tyrion growled. "Come. I'm in need of a strong drink. Pod, fetch some flagons of Dornish red from the kitchens and meet us in my chamber. Fetch a few of them." His squire ran off and he strolled with Bronn back to his solar.

Shortly after, Tyrion was pouring a full goblet for himself and his companion.

"She's a child." He muttered into his glass, though he knew it wasn't truly her age that he objected to so thoroughly.

"She's taller than you." Bronn chuckled.

"A tall child."

"What's the youngest you've ever had?" the sellsword questioned knowingly and Tyrion rolled his eyes.

"Not that young..." He tried to erase her long, pale throat from his mind.

"How much older?"

Tyrion shot him a knowing look before taking a deep gulp from his glass. No, it wasn't her age that was necessarily so objectionable. It was the look in her eye when she realized her fate. It was the guarded and hateful expression on her face when she looked at the man she would be tied to the rest of her life. It was the thought of having a wife that hated him. He had reconciled himself to having a wife who would be disgusted by him. He never hoped for more with this body he was born with. But to have a wife who truly hated him as she must now...

"You're a lord, she's a lady, and a beauty at that. And haven't you been going on for weeks about how great she is? I don't see the problem."

"The problem is she trusted me. This young girl who's been beaten down by all who she's come into contact with had found the ability to trust me, and I've just ruined it."

But Bronn just shrugged. "She's a lady. She knows what's expected of her. It's not like she was going to marry for love, what with her being a hostage and an heiress. At least you'll keep her away from that shit king of ours. Can't say that for just anyone. All you have to do is get a son in the Stark girl. He'll be lord of Winterfell one day; you can rule the North in his name. You'll have a beautiful wife and a whole kingdom of your own."

"A beautiful wife who despises me and a whole kingdom to join her." He didn't hold out hope that any northman would look kindly on the demon imp raping Ned Stark's daughter in his bed every night in Winterfell. His father would make sure he was put there, but he couldn't force loyalty. That would never happen.

"You waste time trying to get people to love you, you'll end up the most popular dead man in town." the sellsword drawled as he drained his glass.

Tyrion followed suite and refilled both goblets while Bronn watched him with a smirk. As he settled back into the chair, he let himself get lost in his thoughts.

Just as he was taking a sip, Bronn spoke again. "You want to fuck that Stark girl. You just don't want to admit it." Tyrion inhaled suddenly at the thought, choking on the wine he had been drinking.

As he sputtered, he shot a glare at the sellsword who was chuckling at the display. "I don't pay you to put evil notions in my head. The ones already there don't need company." He grumbled.

He couldn't deny that he had thought about Sansa that way. He had tried not to, but there were moments when she had brushed her hair back over her ear that her lemony, yet woody smell had wafted towards him and he had thought about that scent adorning his sheets. When she had laughed so hard that she had doubled over that he had thought about what other noises she could make and how he could make her writhe. When her blue eyes had sparkled after turning a clever joke and how he had wanted to see her with them gazing up at him. He had been furious at himself for thinking those things and now that fury was doubled, knowing that his father expected him to follow through with them. Especially since it would not be the Sansa he had come to know and admire that would be in his bed. It would be a woman of ice scorn. A woman who would live her life with him behind a mask. A woman who hated him.

But Bronn just laughed good naturedly. "You pay me to kill people who bother you. Evil notions come free."

A/N: Hope you guys enjoy! Happy Holidays and New Year!