Kissed By Fire
Author's note : Hi! Here is the second chapter of this story! In this chapter, a new character is introduced. I hope you'll like her. Thank you for the reviews, they are truly appreciated :)
Have a good read!
English is not my first language.
Chapter 2
Hopeless
'' You're very beautiful, my Lady. ''
Sansa scoffed.
'' I wouldn't call… this beautiful, '' she retorted, waving a hand towards the mirror in front of her. '' Not anymore, anyway… ''
She was standing in the bathtub, as naked as a newborn, while Alaya gently washed her body. Sansa's skin had become a map of bruises and scars through the year. The only part of her that was almost untouched was her face. The King still liked her pretty, though he kept calling her ugly to humiliate her, a disgusting bag of skin and bones. And she had become just that.
Looking at Alaya's perfect skin, Sansa almost envied her.
Alaya was one of Joffrey's mistresses, his favorite in fact. To better show Sansa how low she'd fell, Joffrey had picked her new servant in a brothel. When she was introduced to her new lady, Alaya didn't seem to know anything about the tasks of a maidservant. She spilled wine on Sansa's dress every chances she got, pulled too hard on the knots in her hair, cursed like a sailor, showed way too much skin, and on top of everything, attempted to seduce Joffrey every time he was in the room. Needless to say that the King instantly liked her.
It was later that Sansa found out it was all a show for the King. Alaya was a very wise woman, polite, gentle, but her most beneficial quality in King's Landing was her ability to manipulate men.
Through their conversations, Sansa learned that she'd birthed a daughter many years ago, but raising a child in a whore house was a hard thing to do. On her daughter's fifth name day, Alaya had sent a letter to her older brother, who was now an important merchant from Maidenpool, and asked him if he and his wife could take her daughter and raise her alongside their other children. Her brother, who had always loved her dearly despite his sister's strange choices in life, had accepted right away. A few days later, he'd rode away with his crying niece in his arms. It broke her mother's heart, but she'd had no choice. Today, Alaya's daughter would be approximatively Sansa's age.
The day of Eddard Stark's beheading on the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor, Alaya had been there and she'd recognized a bit of her own daughter in Sansa, with her naïve thinking, her pale skin and her red hair. As she so often heard of the atrocities that the Stark girl endured at the end of their vile king, and imagining how she would feel if it was her own daughter, she never got a chance to forget about her. Thus, when a few kingsguard came in the brothel where she worked and asked the owner to spare one or two of his whores to become Lady Sansa's maidservant, Alaya had been the only one to volunteer.
Sansa had been reluctant in trusting her at first. She had sought the Hound's advice, as she so often did since the night of the Battle of the Blackwater. She had pretended a need to go to the Godswood, although they both knew she barely prayed these days. The Hound had followed her obediently. Once they'd reached the Godswood, Sansa had sat on a little wooden bench, and had waited for the Hound to sit beside her. Instead, and unsurprisingly, he'd stayed stubbornly standing. Seeing that she wouldn't say anything, he'd spoken first…
.
'' What's plaguing your mind, little bird? I can almost hear you thinking, '' he mocked her, not unkindly.
Sansa thought for a few moments more of the right way to approach the subject. She was still a bit scared to make him lose his temper, although he had always been nothing but gentle and honest with her. Well, not always gentle, she thought as memories of the night where the sky had been filled with green smoke, and the Hound's blade had been against her throat filled her mind.
'' You told me once that I shouldn't trust anyone, '' she started hesitantly. ''Not even you. However, I still came to trust you. I know deep down that you will never hurt me, nor betray me… ''
'' Where are you going with this, girl? '' He was losing his patience, she could tell. '' Just spill it out! ''
'' If I ask you something, can I count on you to be honest with me? ''
Gods, what a foolish question! The Hound frowned, clearly thinking the same thing.
'' Have I not always been honest with you, little bird? Of course, you can, '' he finally answered when noticing how nervous the redhead was getting.
'' My new maidservant… ''
'' The whore? ''
'' Please, don't call her… ''
'' Don't call her what? It's what she is. I won't call a lion a kitty just to make sure your sleep isn't plagued with nightmares, though we both know they already are. ''
Sansa sighed deeply.
'' Sandor, please…''
That stopped him from taunting her for good. When she would say his name like that, he seemed to become more man than beast. With two long strides, he was by her side and let himself fall on the bench. The poor wooden thing creaked under his weight, but Sansa didn't pay attention to it. She focussed her gaze on the steel gray eyes scrutinizing her.
'' You want to know if you can trust her, am I right?''
Sansa nodded gravely. Sandor looked away and scratched his beard, clearly lost in thoughts.
'' Well, you know what I think about giving your trust to anyone. That little maid of yours is a very good liar, but she can't fool an old dog like me, believe that, '' he rasped, the good corner of his mouth lifting slightly in a knowing smile.
Sansa relaxed and allowed herself to smile. If he was in such a light mood, it must mean that Alaya was not a threat to her safety. Not as long as her faithful Hound was around anyway.
'' So, you think she is not trustworthy? ''
'' I didn't say that. Just that she is good at lying. ''
Sansa was confused. Sandor must have noticed, for he barked out a laugh.
'' See? She even fooled you. She makes Joffrey think that she's acting all mean with you, that she takes a liking into mocking you when she brushes your hair or scrubs your skin. He eats in her hand. Hells! She's very good at it, I have to admit. She spared you a few beatings already. I usually hate liars, but I kind of like her. ''
Sansa raised her head sharply to him. She already knew that it was all an act, but she'd just wanted to make sure that the woman wasn't acting with her instead. It wasn't what caught her attention, though.
'' You… You like her? ''
''Aye. Does it bother you? '' he asked, leaning so close to her the scent of his skin was all she could smell, and the gray of his eyes all she could see.
Sansa looked away, frowning. '' No. No, of course not. ''
Sandor laughed out loud as Sansa's cheeks turned almost as red as her hair. '' Don't worry your pretty head over it, girl. You're still my little bird. And a very bad liar. ''
.
Sansa hissed when the wet cloth touched a scratch on her right arm.
'' Forgive me, I didn't mean to hurt you, '' apologized Alaya.
'' There's no need for forgiveness. None of it is your fault, we both know it. ''
'' I could've done more to spare you that one… ''
Sansa placed her hand on Alaya's, which was now on her shoulder.
'' You could never have stopped him that day, nor will you be able to do it today. With what we learned this morning, I don't think I will leave his chamber alive. ''
'' I hope you are wrong… ''
'' I hope I'm not.''
Alaya rose her eyes sharply to Sansa. Sansa knew she liked her, and she felt the same about her new closest friend, but she was so tired! Her days were spent waiting for the next humiliation, the next blow, or the next painful game with Joffrey. Her entire family was all dead. No one would come to her rescue. She so wished she could leave this place, spread her wings and fly away like the little bird the Hound said she was. But it was impossible, and she knew it. Her only potential escape was death. Her only chance for peace.
A knock on the door alerted them. A raspy voice they both knew well came from behind the wood.
'' I'm here to escort the Lady. The King is waiting. ''
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Hope you enjoyed this longer chapter! The next ones will be approximatively of the same length. Let me know in a review :) They are precious to me!
