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Chapter 5

Cara Porter

Cara had lived in King's Landing all her life. Up until two years ago, she had resided in King's Landing during the reign of King Robert Baratheon. Though her childhood is filled with happy memories for her, it's a truth that King's Landing had always been a harsh, dismal place to call home. Between the hot summer days that could melt candlewax in the sun and the rough nature of those who had ultimate power, King's Landing had always been a place you more survived than truly lived. But never had the city been more exhausting and miserable to live in for the last two years than under the rule of King Joffrey Baratheon. Cara watched some of her closest neighbors who had been struggling to provide food on the table for their family before King Robert had died, become beggars on the street. Even the friendliest and gracious of neighbors, who once would cook a little extra each night to serve to the homeless or would open their doors to travelers passing through became shrewd, inconsiderate versions of themselves. Between the suspected attack on the city by Stannis Baratheon to win his claim to the Iron Throne, and the roseroad and the riverlands to the Reach awash in blood, the food shortages in even the most basic foods reached the Red Keep and the garrison before making it to the people. In short terms, the people were starving and turning half-mad in the streets.

Though the lack of food had caused the Bread Riots and the people were even more uneasy after the riot in the city, the underlying cause of the people's dissatisfaction was due to the evil, malicious disposition of the king himself. Cara heard horror stories across town that people suspected of the pettiest and unsignificant of crimes would be snatched in the middle of the night and never seen again… if their family was lucky. Depending on the nature of the crime, King Joffrey wouldn't just order the accused's execution but would place their head on a spike outside of the Red Keep for all to see as a warning. Though executions and trials were nothing new to King's Landing, the number of executions had risen exponentially in the last year and hardly anyone suspected of a crime was found not guilty by the court. After the Bread Riots, the people were beaten down and had given up hope for themselves that anything would change in the eyes of the ruler.

However, there was one spark of hope when the gentle and decent Phineas Harris was put on trial for killing Ser Boros Blount. Since the news of the brutal rape of Phineas' young daughter, Marissa, broke out, the entire city was horrified by the vicious attack. Marissa Harris was a shy, quiet girl who rarely raised her head high enough from looking down at her feet but who would give a sweet smile to anyone who she locked eyes with. She has the same nature of her father with that. Most of the people, especially the men, were well-acquainted with Phineas as he was one of the best blacksmiths in the city. The men in his family had been serving as blacksmiths in King's Landing as far back as he or anyone else could remember so his skill was up there even with the most prestigious men in his trade. Phineas always gave a fair price for his work and could charge even more given the quality of his work, but he lived comfortably enough for his family. Though the man was of few words, the people respected him for his willingness to stand up for what was right and for being a generous neighbor. Phineas and his wife were one of the few families that were gracious enough to help those in need even during these troubled times. His wife and daughter would frequent some of the households most in need of food and supplies. Marissa had even become somewhat skilled in the art of healing artificial wounds and treating those with illness.

When Cara first heard what had happened to sweet Marissa, she denied that it could be true at first. Even a man as rumored to be as vicious and contemptuous as Ser Boros Blunt wouldn't have attacked and ruined such a sweet girl as Marissa, would he? Though it wasn't uncommon knowledge to the people how malevolent the soldiers were, no one believed at first that Ser Blount had gone to the level of attacking a girl of only two and ten. However, Cara had heard one of the women who had been there for the attack describe in horrific detail what she had heard and seen to Cara. The woman was walking from the market that day when she heard a high-pitched scream around the corner of the road. The woman picked up her feet and began approaching the area where she first heard the scream when she heard it again. It had been coming from one of the many abandoned buildings throughout the city that was once owned by a family who were now either dead or living on the streets. There had been a crowd that day of about ten to fifteen people. One of the men, after hearing the scream, approached the building to intervene but quickly ran out of the building with a bloodied arm. The man had said one the knights was there and had slashed his upper arm with a knife when the man entered the room. The man had said he didn't see a woman, but he could hear her sobs behind one of the walls. The entire group were perplexed and weren't sure what to do but then they heard the horrific act presume. Between the girl's sobs and pleading, and the sound of a man grunting and pounding, the group could only stare in unbelieved horror at the deserted home. All knew that a disgraceful act was being done there but then all of a sudden everything became very quiet. There had been no noise from inside the house for several minutes and then the knight had appeared at the door to exit. He had been breathing heavy and a smear of blood could be seen on one side of his face and on his sleeve. As he exited the scene, the knight had never said a word or looked at any face. Once he had departed, all the women had rushed into the home to find poor Marissa unconscious on the floor with her skirts to her waist and the bruises from her torso to her knees had already started turning black and blue.

Cara had been horrified by these accounts and couldn't allow herself to imagine what was done to the young girl. When news had reached Phineas of the attack on his only daughter, he said nothing and only put his head in his hands and wept. The men closest to the family had been riled up and ready to attack the disgraced knight but Phineas had stayed their hands and implored all who knew of the attack to not speak of it. He hadn't wanted news of the girl's attack to be spread far. He had a noble cause, Cara could admit, to preserve the girl's innocence and to bring the knight to court for the assault. Phineas had always been a fair man who believed that justice would serve in the end. He had been wrong though. When he went to confront the Ser Blount late that night, the knight had no remorse and even laughed in his face and gave the father the accounts of his rape of his young daughter. No one could blame Phineas for plunging the knife in the knight's heart after that.

It was early the next morning when he was arrested in his home for killing the knight. Though justice hadn't been served under King Joffrey's reign, the people held onto hope that this time the right thing would be done for Phineas and his family. Perhaps a month in the black cells, a severed finger, or a flogging would have been accepted as punishment. However, as the days went by and no one was called to stand witness of the girl's attack or of the brawl at the tavern, people began to get worried. No one had seen or heard anything about his trial and then one morning, soldiers went to his home and brought his wife and daughter to the Red Keep. By then the news broke out that Phineas' trial had begun, and a group began making their way to the Red Keep to see the outcome. Cara had been standing at the back of the group that day with her husband, Hermes, to listen to the verdict. When Phineas appeared among the crowd, some had given audible gasps at the state of the man. He had lost considerable weight and for some unknown reason was being beaten by members of the court before he even reached the platform. When the king declared Phineas had been found guilty and would be put to death, Cara and everyone else seemed confused by the proclamation. No one had been called to witness and given the reason for Phineas' attack, few believed it would result in his execution. Cara and everyone stood shocked for a moment with Phineas' chant, "Fuck the King's Guard! Fuck the city! Fuck the King!". This was so unlike the man to outcry in such a way blatantly and expletively. Once the chanting had begun across the sea of people, Cara felt a quake of fear grip her heart and before she could even see the head of Phineas Harris fall to the ground, her husband had grabbed her hand and pulled her back to their home.

Once they had reached their dwelling, her husband was hollering at her to pack up her belongings as he frantically scurried around the room so they could flee. Cara had stood dumbstruck for several moments not understanding her husband's reasoning. Hermes had always been a reclusive fellow who was gone long hours in the day and sometimes didn't come home for days at a time. Cara knew it was because of his work with Lord Varys. Hermes began working for the Spider several months back when his employment as a merchant wasn't quite providing as needed for him and his young bride. Since then, Cara rarely spent more than a few hours a day with her husband and he never spoke of his work; however, very quickly after his employment with the Spider they couldn't want for anything. They had plenty of provisions and she even had enough coin now to buy herself a few extra dresses for the hot summers. Cara surmised that maybe Hermes knew what the events of the day would unfold and so she gathered all the belongings she could carry and blindly followed her husband to the docks.

After some time of walking through the roads, Hermes and Cara had to start weaving their way around the mass of hysterical people. Cara wasn't sure what all had transpired at the Red Keep but looking at the faces of those that passed by, she guessed it was nothing good. Once they arrived at the ship, Hermes handed something to a man Cara could only assume was the captain given his dress and before she knew it, they had boarded the ship. Cara had been anxious and somewhat irritated with her husband for not giving her any warning this would be the outcome of the day. Hermes had led her down to the room they would occupy for an unknown amount of time and then after what felt like hours later, she felt the ship finally leave port. She went up to the deck to see King's Landing for what she supposed would be the last time and that's when she became frightened once more.

There at the railing only a few yards away was a woman gripping the rail with white knuckles and a few wisps of fiery, red hair were escaping the hood she had placed on her head. Cara couldn't say for sure who the woman was if it hadn't been for the man who stood just behind her: the Hound. Cara had never seen the man in person before but there was no mistaking the infamous size and burns on his face. Cara then gazed at the woman again and she knew in that moment this woman before her was none other than Lady Sansa Stark of the North herself, betrothed of the King.

Sandor

As the captain was leading Sandor and the Little Bird to their rooms, he took the time to observe his surroundings thoroughly. Other than the many hired hands, he only saw a few travelers among the occupants of the ship, but he still had only seen men. He hoped there were at least a few women on board who the Little Bird could occupy her time with. It's not like she would want to spend any of her leisurely time with someone like him even if she did view him as her shield. Her shield. He wasn't sure when she first stated he was her shield to Lord Varys why she believed it to be true as he'd never spoken the oath, but then he hadn't needed to, had he? He'd just about self-proclaimed himself as her sworn shield during their escape. Professing his determination to keep her safe and aid her escape. Of course she would assume he was now her shield. Sandor had never taken an oath in his life. He spat on honorable oaths and refused to swear to any king. Any oath given was a lie from a selfish man only wanting to be respected and feared by his title. Sandor didn't know any knights who protected the innocent or the weak; they only served those in power to win their favor. All the knights he knew attacked the weak and destroyed the innocent just like Ser Blount did to Phineas Harris' daughter. He still couldn't believe the events had played out like they had but then again maybe he shouldn't be all that surprised. Sandor wasn't well-acquainted with the commoners – he wasn't well-acquainted with anyone really – but he knew the people were starving and condemned under the current rule. More and more beggars were lining the streets now than before and more whores occupied the brothels now than they did before desperate for some coin. Sandor never gave too shits about anyone and they sure as hell never gave two shits about him so he dismissed what he saw and reasoned if they weren't such a weak lot then maybe they could provide better for themselves and their families. He wouldn't admit it openly to anyone but after killing the king and most of his subjects and taking over the guards of the Keep in only a few short hours, maybe they were a stronger lot than he gave them credit for.

The captain finally stopped at the end of the hall housing the sleeping quarters. He opened the door then stood back for them to enter and with a wave in the direction of the room and stated, "Here is your room. The rooms for the guests aren't very spacious but it should be plenty big enough for you both to be comfortable."

Sandor blinked at that. He glanced in the room which the Little Bird had already entered and saw two beds positioned on either side of the space with a small dresser between them. The room wasn't much bigger than the room he had at the Keep but that one didn't have an extra bed and a little bird inside. He turned to the captain then with a glare and stated harshly, "We require two rooms."

The captain looked to the Little Bird then back at him with a raised brow, "I'm sorry, Ser, but you were the last ones to board the vessel and the ship is occupied quite heavily with the few rooms we have available. This is the only room we can provide the two of you." At seeing Sandor's searing gaze and his clenched jaw, the man visibly swallowed, "Well… well the room does have two beds if you require it, Ser. No impropriety with that. I apologize but I had presumed you to be husband and wife when you arrived together."

If he wasn't fuming before, he sure as hell was now. Husband and wife? Any man could look at the pair and know a woman like her wouldn't be with a dog like him. The man was just trying to discover what the nature of his relationship was with her. The man had also called him Ser; twice.

Sandor took a step towards the man and grabbed him by his collar then hoisted the man a foot off the ground, so he was staring straight at his scarred face and seethed at him, "I'm no fucking Ser and I'm sure as hell not married to any fucking woman. I may be an ugly, wretched looking dog but I'll not share a room with a maid alone."

The Little Bird appeared at his side then and reaching a hand out to place on his forearm. Her eyes pleaded with him to behave as she squeezed his arm. Sandor could barely feel the squeeze of her hand and just stared at her for a moment. He weighed his options before pushing the man back against the wall as he let go of his hold on him. The Little Bird turned to the wide-eyed captain who looked about ready to shit his britches as he placed a hand to his neck and with a calm, reassuring voice stated, "Good captain, this man is not my husband, but he is my sworn shield who will protect me and my virtue at all costs. You must forgive his actions here as he only wishes to protect my reputation. We are most grateful for the room you have procured for us and with him being my shield, no impropriety can be feared from him so I'm quite safe. I thank you, sir."

At that the captain simply nodded at her and without looking back at Sandor, quickly scurried away. Sandor watched his retreating back then turned back to the room to enter. The Little Bird was standing there next to the bed to the left with her eyes cast down and a slight blush on her cheeks. Sandor internally groaned. Just last night he'd had thoughts of her while fucking a whore and just hours ago all he was to her was the Hound who she feared and avoided in the halls to not to be subject to his wrath. Now he was sharing a small room with a bed next to none other than Sansa Fucking Stark. By the gods, look what he's gotten himself into now. This would be torturous for him and the girl had to be scared out of her wits. She'd only proclaimed she felt safe with him to the captain in order to prevent any further violence. Or did she? Maybe she did in fact feel safe with him. Though that should make him relieved or pleased, it only filled him with more dread. Though he wouldn't ever hurt her, he also never planned to be sharing a room with her with barely enough space for his hulking frame and her to move about in. He'd planned to travel with her through the woods which would already warrant someone to reasonably question her virtue afterwards but if anyone in Westeros heard of the Hound sharing a room with the Lady Sansa during a long sea voyage, no one would believe he would leave her untouched, whether she willed it or not. Sandor hated Lord Varys more with that thought. He never should have accepted his offer for passage to the Free Cities.

He realized then that he'd been staring at her all this time and her cheeks were blushing furiously now. He tore his eyes away from her, then went to the bed on the right side of the room. He opened his bag then began taking his things out forcefully. Before the Little Bird got any lovesick ideas on why he was doing this, he needed to put her in her place. No use having her see you as some hero, Dog.

With his back turned to her, he barked at her, "Why'd you tell the captain I was your sworn shield?"

She took a moment to answer and with a meek voice asked him, "What do you mean?"

"You told the eunuch the same thing. Telling the captain I'm your shield was fucking stupid, Little Bird. Once word gets out to the men I'm your shield it will either quake fear in them to keep their distance or it will present a worthy challenge for an overly eager boy who has something to prove."

He heard her give an exasperated sigh at that then she replied just as meekly, "I wasn't sure what to say to him, Ser. We didn't have any time to discuss what we would tell him, and you are my shield now, so I didn't see the harm in it."

Sandor whirled around on her then and took a step towards her. She backed away from him until the back of her knees hit the bed. "I'm not your fucking sworn shield, girl. You think me one of your knights in your stories who gallantly rescues a princess then she gives him a chaste kiss? Do you want to kiss this?" He references then to the burned side of the face. "What do you think I rescued you for? Because I'm some honorable knight saving a lady from some treachery? Well, I am the treachery, girl. I'm mean, rude, uncivil and I don't give two shits about anyone, and I sure as hell don't give a shit about you." She looked as though he'd just slapped her. There you go, Dog. She needs to get the pretty picture of white knights out of her head before you get to close. "I saved you for your brother's coin. I was going to go to Winterfell with his little sister by my side then collect a handsome reward for my service. Now look at me; stuck in this godsdamn room with some little girl I have to babysit for gods knows how fucking long while going to some damn place I've never laid eyes on before. If it wasn't for you being who you are, I would have already laid you on your back on that bed and done with you as I willed it. I'll not lay hands on you while we're here, but you better get the pretty picture you have of me being your sworn shield and some honorable knight out of that fucking head of yours."

She was openly crying when he was done with his speech, and he felt a pain in his gut for having to do this, but he couldn't have someone like Sansa Stark looking at him like her savior. He wasn't and never has been anyone's savior. He's the Hound. Deliverer of death; the Stranger on Earth. He abruptly turned from her then and stormed out the door, slamming it making the wall shake behind him.

You did the right thing, Dog. Best she not get too familiar with him or it'll get dangerous for them both. He'd never lost his way with any woman before, and he wouldn't ever condone rape but being in that room with her will be torture for him. It's better if she hates him and sees him as some ugly, uncouth beastly man than her knight in shining armor.

As Sandor made it out to the deck to watch the sun slowly disappear from the horizon, he surmised this was the Gods' punishment for all the evil he'd partaken in in his life. His own personal hell.