Chapter 3

Bronn sat in the corner of the room as Tyrion worked on a pile of scrolls at his desk. His sword was out, along with his whetstone, and he took his time sharpening the blade, idly wondering where the Stark girl was, as Shae hadn't said a word about where they were going. She may have been a Lannister in name, but it was in name only. He hadn't been kidding when he'd told her that her claws were showing. The girl was no longer truly a girl and was going to become one hell of woman, and not one to be trifled with.

He knew that if he had recognized it, then others would, too, and would most likely try to take matters into their own hands, hence the reason why the girl needed protection. So, even though Tyrion hadn't actually asked him to keep an eye on Sansa, it felt honor bound to keep an eye out for her. She had only assumed that her husband had requested his sellsword to keep an eye on her, but that was her assumption; he just hadn't felt the need to correct her.

As his hands went through the motions of sharpening his blade, he thought about the time that he'd been spending with the young woman over the past few weeks. It was supposed to be an alliance, of sorts, but he felt that she had some sort of ulterior motive in keeping him so close. In fact, he was sure of it.

He was a smart man, and he wasn't completely blind as to some of her actions. Such as how every time she mentioned her family she would then would encourage him to talk, discreetly trying to pry information from him. He had been doing fine, easily twisting the conversation back to her each and every time, but yesterday…hell, yesterday he'd been taken completely off guard by her new method, not expecting it in the least.

He still couldn't believe that he had nearly slipped up in their last conversation just the day before. She'd managed to get him to talk about his father and he'd nearly given himself away…that had never happened to him before. The young woman knew how to use her naïve charms well, and he would have to watch himself more carefully when he was around her.

His thoughts, however, were soon interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Bronn," said the man behind the desk, without even bothering to look up, "Are you simply going to lurk in the corner all day, or are you going to make yourself useful?"

He smirked, not faltering in his sharpening of the weapon, his fingers gripping the hilt of his sword with an old familiarity and in an almost loving way that would bother more than a few people.

"Oh, well, useful could mean so many things. As it is, I find lying low and keeping out of trouble very useful. Besides, now that the thieves are rounded up and taken care of, there's so little entertainment left for a man like me," he added, finally putting the whetstone away and placing his sword back in its' scabbard.

Tyrion looked up this time, pausing in his writing, giving his well-paid friend a curious look.

"Speaking of entertainment, Bronn, how has your personal entertainment been for the past few weeks? Enjoyable, I hope?"

Bronn shrugged.

"Nothin' to complain about, milord. More than pleasant, as usual. The women of Kings Landing know their stock and trade better than most," he said, playing it as casually as possible, stretching his legs out in front of him, and crossing his arms over his chest. The only reason why he hadn't told his employer about his guarding of Sansa was because he was certain that the man would disapprove.

Tyrion gave him a look, and then stepped down from his chair and walked over to the side table, poured two glasses of wine, and then walked over to him, handing him one, and the sellsword could tell that his friend was about to try and drag some information from him, so he mentally steeled himself for it. What was going on between him and the newest Lady Lannister was honestly none of his lord's business; an alliance was an alliance, and she'd said that she wanted to keep it from her husband, so he would respect her wish.

Bronn took the wine gratefully and then took a casual sip, betraying nothing with his eyes.

Tyrion took a drink of his own wine and then said, "My wife has informed me that you have been…guarding her."

Well, so much for discretion.

Deciding to go with it, since Sansa had talked about it with her husband, he nodded, and replied with, "Yes, I have. You've been busy and Shae can barely stomach being around the girl for the amount of time that she has to, so when the Lady Sansa wanders off on her own, I make sure that no one gets any bright ideas about taking advantage of that fact…"

He took another sip of wine and then slowly stood up, walking over to the open archway that led into the open air courtyard, and leaned against a column. He wasn't going to hide the fact that he followed her, but he also wasn't going to give in so easily. As far as he knew, Tyrion only knew about the fact that he was guarding her and nothing more. He wasn't going to risk revealing their alliance out of fear that the man who paid him might take away some of his gold. An alliance was an alliance, after all.

Tyrion was silent, but then walked up next to him, giving him a sideways look.

After a moment, he said, in a quiet yet sincere voice, "Thank you."

Not sure if he had actually heard correctly, he looked down at his friend, an expression of incredulity on his face. This was unexpected, to say the least. He had been certain that Tyrion would have pulled him from his un-asked duties and force him somewhere else…but he hadn't.

They were silent for a few moments longer, both of them taking their time with their wine, staring out absently over the courtyard, barely noticing the people walking through. Finally, after several long, almost awkward moments, Bronn spoke up.

"I'm not doin' it for you."

He turned back into the room and walked over and placed his cup on the table next to the glass pitcher, not bothering to refill it. He heard Tyrion turn around, and he knew that meant that he had something to say, so, before the dwarf could say anything, the sellsword pivoted on his heel and stared straight at him and cut him off at the pass.

"I'm doin' it for her."

His friend stared, his half-filled cup of wine lingering in his hands, and with a questioning look, he asked, "Why?"

Bronn let out a frustrated sigh and sat on the edge of the table, gripping the wood tightly with his gloved hands as he stared the shorter man down and explained.

"Sansa may now bear the Lannister name, but she is a Stark, through and through, and she may have been a pup when she first came here, but, in case you haven't noticed, she's grown out of her weaning teeth and has become a bit more...sure of herself. That won't go unnoticed for long, especially by your sister, and so I'm just trying to make sure that she survives long enough to develop some real claws and do her own damage," he added, with a bit of a smirk on his lips.

Tyrion smiled at this and walked back over to him, taking a place on one of the chairs next to the wine table. He took another long sip of his wine and then leaned back in the chair, leveling his eyes with his companion's, still slightly confused, but more accepting.

"Claws? Really…do you think she has the potential?"

Bronn smirked again.

"Oh, she definitely has it. Lions may have a mighty roar, but whether they're alone or in groups they rely on ambushes," he said, tilting his head in Tyrion's direction, and then he added, with an ever darker grin, "But wolves will run you down until you die from exhaustion. Think anyone here has that kind of stamina?"

His friend simply nodded and replied, "I see your point. So, will you only be guarding her?"

The sellsword was now the one confused.

"What? You think I'd try to fuck the girl behind your back, is that what you're sayin'?"

Tyrion laughed and shook his head.

"Oh, no, not at all. You and I both know that you have a strong desire to keep your head intact. Both of them," he added with a wry smile. "No, I was wondering if you were going to help her develop her claws. Perhaps, be able to defend herself should the need arise?"

Bronn looked at him in surprise, and then slowly shook his head, not quite believing what his employer was asking of him. Teach a woman how to sword fight? It would be bad enough anywhere else, but Tyrion was asking him to do it under the noses of the most deadly curious people in all of Westeros; the royal families of King's Landing. It wasn't impossible, but it was bloody dangerous, and he wasn't entirely sure if it was worth the risk.

"You want me to teach her how to fight." Tyrion nodded. Bronn crossed his arms once more. "That's quite a risk you're askin' me to take. The question is, is she worth it to both of us if we get caught?"

"We?"

Bronn smirked.

"Oh, I'll tell them it was your idea, alright, if it'll help save my own skin. Yes. We."

His friend gave him a humorless smile and a short nod and said, "I think she is worth the risk."

Bronn nodded.

"Then it's done."

And with that, he went back to his chair in the corner and closed his eyes, wondering how the Stark girl would take to the idea. She would probably insist that it wasn't lady like, but he had a few ideas that could scare her to coming around to his way of thinking. Yes, this was going to be an interesting alliance.

Part 3/?