Chapter 13

The next morning, Sansa smiled to herself as she made her way to the market in King's Landing, Tyrion at her side, Bronn following at a discreet distance. The sellsword may have been following at a distance, but she knew where he was at all times. It was one of the things that he'd been teaching her, actually; how to know when you were being followed. He'd discovered that she had a natural talent for it and had helped her hone it, so now it was impossible for her to not notice him, even when he was at his best.

She didn't bother to look at her husband, knowing that he knew that Bronn was following them. She had thought about telling him last night about Bronn's plans to run away with her…but then realized that if he knew, he would have to lie if he was questioned after they had both escaped, and they couldn't risk it. So, he was in the dark about the most important part of their plans. He knew about Baelish, of course, but they had decided to keep Baelish's plan a secret from him, and Tyrion had agreed. The less he knew, the better.

Sansa slowed when they approached a fruit stand, smiling when she saw the familiar fruits from up north. Grasping one in her fingers, she placed a few coins in the hand of the old woman who stood behind it, and then carefully let herself be maneuvered further away from Tyrion, though keeping him in the corner of her eye. As soon as he was far enough away, she saw Baelish make his move. He sidled up next to her, his fingertips firmly grasping her elbow.

"Lady Sansa," he said smoothly. "Are you sure that it's safe for you to be out here on your own?"

Straightening her spine, she remembered what Bronn had told her to say, and said, "I need to get away, as you may understand, Lord Baelish. I find it very hard to…to breathe while at the castle."

He gave her a genuine smile, and she knew she had won some of his confidence when he replied, "I understand completely, Lady Sansa." He then used his grip on her arm to guide her over to a more hidden corner and Sansa tried to hide the apprehension that immediately descended on her in the form of an uneasy churning in her stomach. "How has your new husband and new bodyguard been treating you?"

Sansa was slightly surprised that he knew about Bronn, but she hid her reaction by dropping her eyes to the ground and taking on an embarrassed air. Bronn had told her that for someone who couldn't lie, when you had to, never look the person you were lying to in the eye.

Fidgeting to add to the idea that she was uncomfortable, she said, "It's been fine…tolerable, even."

Baelish let out a low chuckle and shook his head, dropping his hand from her arm, and whispered conspiratorially into her ear, "Do you really expect me to believe that, Sansa?"

She managed not to smile when she heard that. It was just as Tyrion and Bronn had both told her; Lord Baelish wanted nothing more than to see himself as her rescuer, and that as long as she played the role of helpless victim he would come straight to her and do all of the work, so long as she kept up the image.

"No, I suppose not," she said, looking properly out of spirits. "I feel…caged. Controlled." He nodded, so she continued, drawing from what Bronn had told her to say, but in her own words. "Lord Tyrion is kind, but…he's a Lannister. I cannot trust him, no matter how much kindness he shows me. And Bronn…" Sansa hesitated, her gut clenching with what she was being forced to say. She hated that she had to talk about Bronn in such a horrible way, but she forced her way through it. "…he has made…advances; unwanted ones."

At this, Baelish's brow rose and he stepped in closer.

"Does Lord Tyrion know about this, Sansa?"

She shrugged and replied, "I don't know, but…but I do know that Lord Tyrion is not entirely, well, unaware of it. He does not have the normal view of virtue in a marriage. He…he and Shae…no, I've said too much."

Petyr put a hand over both of hers and said, in a voice that sounded entirely sincere, "I'm well aware of Lord Tyrion's…dalliance with your handmaiden. I am sorry that you are aware of it, as well, but I hope that I may be able to help you."

She looked up at him, confusion furrowing her brow, a very easy expression for her to fake as she was used to feeling it on a regular basis. She then asked in a heated whisper, "What do you mean, help me? I can do nothing, my Lord. I am married to the brother of the soon to be king, and he is no more my husband than Bronn is my bodyguard. I will be forced to share his bed, soon enough, just so I can bear yet another child with the Lannister name, while it is more likely that I'll be savaged by his lowlife sellsword and bear his child instead!"

The last part of this was said in a hissed out whisper, with enough vitriol to even convince herself that it might be true. It sickened her to talk about Tyrion and Bronn this way, but especially Bronn. She was in love with him, of that she was certain, and this was the one part of the plan that she hated the most; it made her feel ill.

But it worked.

"Sansa," he said, putting a hand on her face in what he probably believed to be a tender manner. "I can help you. I can get you out of King's Landing; safely. I swear it on your mother's life."

She looked at him, and then gently pressed her head into his hand, knowing that Baelish would sense it as a victory. From the way his eyes lit up, it worked…but her stomach rolled once more. She knew that he didn't see her, that he only say her mother, and she swallowed back the bile that rose in the back of her throat as he grabbed her hand with his free one and pressed a kiss onto the back of it, whispering, "I will get you out, Sansa. I swear an oath to the old gods that I will keep you safe."

In that moment, she knew that she had hooked him. But also in that moment, she knew that he meant every single word of what he'd said…and it was strange to put the image together with the image of the man that she knew to be a snake.

He dropped her hand and then escorted her back to the main way of the market, and she took her time heading back towards Tyrion, who now had Bronn flanked at his side, both of them looking ridiculously out of place, Tyrion more so than Bronn. They both gave her a look as she approached, but with a minute shake of her head, they said nothing and headed back to the main caste of King's Landing, knowing that they would wait to talk until they were sure they would not be over heard.

As soon as they were back in her and Tyrion's shared quarters, she turned to them and said, in a hushed voice, still wary about being heard, "He's going to get me out."

Both of them gave her a soft smile, Bronn's looking more like a smirk, and then Tyrion said, "I knew you could do it, Sansa. Now, all we have to do is wait. Baelish will seek you out again, and when he does, do exactly as you have been and everything will be fine."

Sansa nodded, and then looked up at Bronn, whose smirk had suddenly diminished. Sensing the tension that was unavoidably filling the room, the diminutive lord stepped out of it, heading towards his other private chambers, leaving the two of them alone. Finally, after a long, awkward filled silence, Bronn spoke.

"So, he expects inappropriate conduct, doesn't he?"

She nodded a second time, casting her eyes to the floor. At the sound of him clearing his voice, however, she brought her eyes back up to his and saw a soft look in them that took her off guard, and then the sellsword said, "I'll follow you. The instant he comes close to us, I may…I may have to attack you."

She nodded one last time and then said, "I trust you."

He looked taken aback by her words, but just when she thought that he would simply turn and leave, he took two steps forward, closing the distance between them and placed an unexpectedly passionate kiss on her lips, and she groaned and melted into it, languidly pressing her hips up against his as he took his time ravaging her mouth in a way that he never had until today. One of his hands confidently cupped her hip and pulled her tighter to him, his fingers almost bruising in their strength.

Sansa could feel a familiar heat between her legs and she let out a soft sigh into his mouth, eagerly anticipating his next move.

However, his body suddenly turned hard and unforgiving, harsh, even, both of his hands grabbing her now, his fingers pressing almost brutally into her waist.

She pulled back far enough from their kiss to say, "Bronn, what-?", but he cut her off, moving one hand to cover her mouth, and used the force of his body to shove her up against the wall, and then she saw his eyes. At the black, empty look that she saw, she felt something like ice water wash through her veins, tamping down rather fervently her previous reaction to his proximity. She was no longer on fire from passion, but frozen in fear, her eyes wide.

He towered over her, pressing his body against her in an entirely unwelcome way.

Bronn then leaned in and hissed in her ear, "You are going to see a side of me that you will not like, Sansa. I am only warning this once. Understand I don't mean it…but also understand, I might not be able to control it. It is dangerous," he added, stressing the syllables of the word, engraining it in her mind. "It is unpredictable and volatile. It's who I was long before I ever met you…but it's not who I am now. Do you understand?"

Sansa nodded as best she could under his grip, her eyes still wide, and he slowly let go.

"Now," he said, smoothing her dress over her hips, removing the wrinkles of where he'd gripped her just a bit too hard, "I can't tell you how I'm making it out of King's Landing, but I can tell you where we'll meet; in the forest just west of Rosby."

She looked at him and simply said, "Alright. When…when will you leave?"

He gave her a look and then reached up and brushed a rogue strand of hair from her face as he said, "Before you. I don't want to draw any suspicion."

"But…but that means I'll…I'll…"

The sellsword nodded, hearing the words she hadn't been able to force past her lips.

"Yes."

They both knew what hadn't been said. She would be on her own. It was terrifying for both of them, but more terrifying for Bronn than anyone else. Leaving Sansa alone and unprotected in King's Landing with Lannister lions ready to tear her throat out at any given moment was the last thing that he wanted to do…but he had no other choice. He had taught her well and Tyrion would give her the rest of what she needed.

Finally, after a long moment of silence, she asked, "How soon?"

He gave her a sad look.

"In three days."

She stared at him in shock, not quite believing it, but before she could even throw up a word of protest, he quickly explained, "Sansa, I have to. I need to make sure that the path is clear for us, do you understand? This was supposed to be for one man alone, but has now become a journey for two, and I need to make sure it is clear of anyone who would do you harm or use you for leverage against the Lannisters. Do you understand?"

Sansa nodded, and then, just as he pulled away to head for the door, she grabbed him and pulled him to her for one last kiss.

Unlike all of their other ones, it was soft, slow, and full of unspoken promises.

They both pulled back from it agonizingly slowly, hands clinging, hers around his neck, his on her waist, both of them reluctant to have it end. It was bittersweet because they both knew that it would be their last embrace until they were together once again when she escaped. He leaned slightly so that his head gently rested against her own, and then whispered in an almost broken voice, "By the gods above…remember your footwork, stupid girl."

She let out a watery laugh, and nodded and replied with, "As long as you remember to watch your back, Bronn."

He nodded, and then pressed one last kiss to her forehead before abruptly turning and leaving the room, the heat of him still lingering on her body long after he'd gone.

Tyrion never returned that night, and for that Sansa was grateful. She cried herself to sleep, the only reassuring thought in her mind being that Bronn could take care of himself, and that she would be with him, no matter what it took.

Part 13/?