Note to reader: Sorry, this took a few days but here it is! Leave comments below and let me know your thoughts.

Chapter 10

Sandor was laying on his back, with one leg stretched out and the other kicked up to make enough room for Sansa, who was sitting at the foot of his bed reading to him. This had become their normal custom every night for almost a week now since he revealed his inner demons to her and cried like a babe. Thinking about it now almost made him too embarrassed to continue breathing but, in the end, he knew there was no taking it back. He didn't want to take it back. She had pointed out to him the next day, he had addressed her as Sansa, not Little Bird, for the first time. He realized then that he didn't think of her as a little bird anymore. At first, it was a term of mockery for her girlish ways and her polite mannerisms that he loathed, but at some point "Little Bird" was a term he used out of habit, maybe even endearment. Now though, "Little Bird" represented to him a time before they really knew each other. A time when he was filled with so much rage and sadness, and she was filled with so many girlish fantasies and painfully polite gestures. Pretty soon, calling her Sansa just became natural for him like calling him Sandor had become natural for her. Though calling a person of the opposite sex by their given name was frowned upon in higher society, since it showed too much familiarity, he and Sansa just didn't care. They were familiar now and nothing in this world could change the connection they had made together. He regarded her now as a friend he had never had but one he had desperately needed all his life. He and Sansa had revealed so much to each other in the past several days that it seemed like they were almost the same skin, and there wasn't anything between them now. She would tell him her inner most thoughts and though most of the time he didn't have a response, he just listened to her talk. He realized that she had needed someone to share with as well; someone who had lived in the same hell as she did.

Sansa talked about her time in Winterfell and her family, including her direwolf, Lady. Sansa, he realized, had grown up in an environment much different than himself. She had been surrounded by love and laughter all her life before coming to King's Landing. Though she had been horrid to her half-brother, Jon, and even her little sister, Arya, her and her siblings were incredibly close. Her parents also loved each other dearly and loved their children even more. When she had first shared with him the details of her childhood, he almost rolled his eyes in annoyance but then it made Sandor understand why she had been so incredibly polite and innocent when he first met her. She had never experienced a malevolent person in her life. She had never even known to guard herself when she was at King's Landing because she looked at the world through her happy, trusting eyes of Winterfell. Sandor had felt some regret in his behavior with her in King's Landing after understanding that but at the same time, he had been a large reason why she had survived for so long. He also knew deep down that he endeared that part of her back then. She had looked at the world like he had before his brother destroyed his life; before darkness overwhelmed his thoughts. He too had boyish fantasies about knights and ladies back then, and Sansa had reminded him of that time. He hated her for it for a long time but now he wished he could return some of her innocence back to her. Now though, there was no returning to the Sansa she had once been.

He looked at her now as she read and wondered if she was happy knowing she would never go back to that girl again or if she felt resentment towards him for just being a reminder from a very painful time. She had shared with him too how she had been living in a state of deep despair and self-loathing during her time at the Keep. Though it boggled his mind even now while looking at her lovely face, she had believed herself to be an ugly, stupid girl. She had believed the horrible comments Joffrey and Cersei had made about her body after a while and how she acted like a stupid "dove", as Cersei used to call her. She had felt all alone in the world and no one seemed to care enough about her to protect her; except him. Sandor knew he had been trying to warn her and protect her where he could, but he hadn't realized that Sansa knew what he had been doing at the time. Maybe Sandor thought her too much like a stupid little bird to see the clever, courageous woman underneath.

She was reading out loud to him one of Hermes' books about a girl with exceptionally long, golden hair that has magical healing abilities. The girl is locked in a tower by a sorceress who uses the girl's hair to stay young and beautiful. Then one day a prince comes along and saves the girl from her tower after she drops her hair down to climb up. Sandor thought it a ridiculous story that was made up by someone who probably didn't have much going on in their life to come up with a tale like that. Though he didn't always enjoy the books she read to him, he did enjoy the sound of her voice and how it seemed to calm him to a state of complete contentment. He was laying back now, completely at ease while watching her with lazy eyes as she read. He enjoyed these times with her more than all the rest. Here they could let all their walls down and just enjoy each other's company without having any prying eyes watching them. About four nights ago, Sansa had sat on his bed to read to him and even though he knew it wasn't proper, he never turned her away. Now she was leaning the right side of her body on his leg as she read and he grinned a little thinking about how much they have changed with each other in only five weeks.

When she finished, she closed the book and sighed as she looked down at her lap. He knew she was thinking about the story and its meaning, and he was just waiting on her to talk about it like she did every night. He was right of course.

She looked to him now with a furrowed brow and asked him, "Sandor, why do you think stories like this always writes the woman as being a mystical creature or being unnaturally beautiful?" She placed her chin on his knee then and he didn't think she consciously knew she had done it.

"What do you mean?" Honestly, he had no idea what she was going on about since he was too captivated by her blue eyes looking at him.

"I mean, every story about a knight saving a lady or a prince finding his princess, always describes a woman who has to be remarkable in some way. She must have some unworldly trait like unfathomable beauty or she has to be able to sing to the creatures in the forest or she has to have mystical hair in order to be worthy enough for the man in the story to rescue. Why don't they write about a typical woman being swept up by typical man?"

Looking at her expression now, she seemed to be puzzled by this for some reason. "They're stories, Sansa. They're supposed to be about unrealistic expectations for the people they write about. If they wrote about ordinary people falling in love, women like you wouldn't be interested enough to read them."

She scuffed unladylike at that. "Well, I would be interested enough." She looked away from him dismissively at that then grinned a bit. "I guess when I was a girl, I wouldn't have been interested in a story like that but I'm not really a girl anymore I don't think."

Looking at her then, he surmised, no she wasn't a girl anymore. "No. That you're not, Sansa." She looked at him then and grinned endearingly at him.

He continued looking deeply in her blue eyes but swallowed a bit at the way she was looking at him. Here lately, she seemed to look upon his face fondly now as if he didn't have the scars and though it was a slow process, he finally admitted that he preferred this look above all others. She turned away from him then, breaking the spell, to go back to her bed for the night. She blew out the candle that immediately cloaked them in darkness. He heard her yawn heavily beside him as she moved under the covers. He lay there for some time with his eyes open waiting for her to say something else but after a few moments of silence, he closed his eyes to sleep. When he was just about to drift to sleep, she spoke to him in the darkness.

"Sandor?" Her voice was just a whisper. "Are you still awake?"

He didn't open his eyes when he answered her and tried to sound annoyed. "Not anymore."

She knew he was jesting at her as she giggled quietly. This had become their routine as well, to talk quietly in the dark right when they were both about to drift away. "Do you think we'll stay in Braavos when we reach land?"

He opened his eyes then and sighed deeply. He had been thinking about what they would do once the ship docked. One possibility would be to stay at an inn for a while until he found work to do so he could get them a small place to lay low. The only problem with that is he knew staying there would give more opportunities for the Spider's spies to watch them in the dense city. Another possibility is to travel away from Braavos to some of the smaller neighboring towns to see if they could be more discreet. The problem with that, is Sandor hasn't been able to get a lot of information from the crew since they didn't know much about the Free Cities other than the cities bordering the sea like Braavos, Pentos and Myr. He wasn't sure exactly what they would do but he wouldn't be deciding alone.

He turned on his side to face her then. Though he couldn't see her face, he could see the small outline of her body and knew she was facing him as well. "What do you want to do, Sansa? If we stay in Braavos, it will give me better opportunity to find work but I can be positive that the eunuch's spies will be watching us at all times. We could travel the countryside to find a more remote location but I'm not sure what or who we would find. I don't know this land so I can't make an easy call."

She was quiet for a moment thinking on what he said then replied, "Perhaps we could stay at an inn in Braavos for a while until we learn more about the surrounding areas. I don't know if it would be wise for us to stay in a place so close to the docks for too long as it would make it easier for someone to find us there especially if Lord Varys has spies watching us."

He quirked his mouth at her cleverness. "Aye, that's a good point. We can think on it some more but staying at an inn for a while before scouring the country would probably be the wiser choice."

"Another option is…" She hesitated to continue and he knew he wasn't going to like her suggestion.

He asked her directly and with slight irritation. "What is it Sansa?"

"Well, I was talking with Cara today about what her and her husband would do once they reached the Free Cities, and she said Hermes knew of a place on the Hills of Norvos his distant cousin used to speak of that is mostly farming land. The land has rolling hills and terraced farms, surrounded by small walled villages. There seems to be several places to call home there once you find a decent landlord... Hermes was wanting them to travel there since it would be away from the bigger cities, and it would give them a chance to start over as she put it… She suggested I ask you about it and if you agreed we could travel with them there."

Sandor was reserved going along with this plan and traveling with the couple. Even though Sansa and the woman seemed to be incredibly close, and he respected the woman more now after dragging him out of his drunken state a week ago, there was still something about her husband that gave him an uneasy feeling. Hermes had never said or done anything that would make Sandor not trust him but there was something about the man that didn't seem quite right. The man always seemed to watch everything and everyone but never had too much to say about anything. Though in the beginning, it made him more receptive to him, now it just made Sandor suspicious. He wasn't sure he could trust the couple or at least not the husband. Sansa had said Cara had lived in King's Landing all her life so how did she marry a man who had a distant cousin from the Free Cities and just happened to know about this remote place?

He didn't want to share his reservations with Sansa yet so he wouldn't have to worry her. "Did she say how far away this place would be from Braavos?"

She seemed to be thinking a bit before answering. "I think she said it would be a two-week journey on horseback." Sandor was quiet after that thinking about all the pros and cons of a two-week travel in terrain he was unaware of. "We would also be with Westeros people we would know, Sandor. I've grown fond of Cara, and I would hate to be parted from her."

He sighed at that and knew he would need to think some more on this, but he knew she was right to some degree on traveling in a group. If someone were to try robbing them or attacking them, they would at least have two men to protect the women. Sandor wondered then if Hermes had suggested his wife make the proposition to Sansa for that reason. "Aye, we can think on it some more a little later Sansa. We still have at least two or three weeks on this ship before we must decide."

As they said goodnight to each other, Sandor started realizing the little world he and Sansa had been living in would come to an end. He had enjoyed this time with her and hoped when they had to get off the ship, things wouldn't change too much for them.

The next morning, Sansa and Sandor joined Cara and her husband in the kitchens as their custom. Sandor had asked her not to share with Cara or her husband they had talked about traveling with them yet. She seemed confused by his request but had nodded her head in agreement. Today, Sandor didn't have any tasks assigned to him, so he and Sansa decided to spend the day together. They spent a few hours on the upper deck sitting on some barrels in the sunshine while Sandor sharpened his sword while Sansa just enjoyed looking out at the sea. She pointed out, what Hamish had called "dolphins" jumping through the water. Sansa was amazed and delighted at the creatures that she was seeing for the first time. She had reprimanded him for not telling her he had seen them once and never told her about it, but Sandor just chuckled at her. They had their midday meal in the mess hall which was only occupied by a few men who didn't pay any attention to them as they ate their sandwiches. Sandor then showed her how to play a game with a deck of cards Hamish had given him. At first, she couldn't understand the concept, or the point of the game, but after a few rounds she was deeply invested. He allowed her to win once which put a smile on her face that he had been looking for but then she beat him two times in a row fair and square which made him snarl.

Later in the afternoon, they went back to the upper deck before they made their way to dinner. Sandor noticed some heavy, dark clouds had formed overhead and he could hear thunder from a distance. Sansa got a worried expression then, but he assured her the storm didn't look bad enough to cause any trouble. Truth be told, Sandor was a little worried. He didn't know anything about being at sea with a storm but seeing the faces of the men working on deck and how they were moving the barrels below deck, he knew this wasn't probably going to be an enjoyable night. They entered the mess hall for dinner early so they sat together alone at the captain's table just talking and chuckling with each other. Soon Hermes and Cara joined them, but after quite a while they realized the captain and his sailormen had not joined. Sandor looked around the room and noticed the room was scarcer of men than what was normal. They all finished their dinner with a sense of danger hanging in the air.

Just as the group was about to get up to leave, a man came through the doors and headed straight for Sandor. The man had a determined look on his face that Sandor realized wasn't a good sign. He stopped at each table to address the men quietly and upon the man's exit to go to the next table the men would abruptly rise to leave the room. This isn't good. When he approached their table, he nodded to the women then turned to Sandor. "A storm is coming in that is believed might cause us some trouble, so the captain is requesting all hands on deck." Sansa looked to Sandor with a troubled expression and the man seemed to notice and stated, "All will be well, my lady. The captain is just taking every precaution to ensure the ship's safety." The man gave Sansa and Cara a reassuring smile but Sandor knew what the man said was only for the women's benefit.

Sandor pulled Sansa by her arm then to make their exit. As they were going down the hall to their rooms, he stopped outside of Cara and Hermes' cabin then turned to the group. "Sansa and Cara should probably stay together until we can return to them, and the storm has passed us."

Hermes immediately nodded. "Yes, that's probably a good idea. Cara love, take Sansa in our room with you until one of us returns." Cara was looking wide-eyed and frightened at her husband but just nodded. She embraced him then they gave each other a loving kiss and exchanged I love yous to each other.

Sandor turned away from the couple and turned his attention to Sansa who seemed to be embarrassed by the intimate scene. They stood awkwardly looking at each other for a moment then Sansa said to him, "Please be careful, Sandor. Don't do anything heroic."

He grinned at her then while taking in her lovely face, "I'm not one of the heroes in the stories remember?"

She smiled then but grew more serious and said to him while looking him in the eye, "You are in my story." He swallowed at that then she added, "But don't be a hero tonight. Just make sure you come back to me."

"Aye, I'll always come back to you, Sansa." The words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop them. The couple was looking at the two and Cara gave a small grin at the exchange. He grunted and before he said too much, he turned from her and hurried to get to the upper deck with Hermes following at his heels.

When they finally reached the other men, the storm was heavy on them now. The sky was completely black, and the rain was coming down in what felt like waves in all directions with the strong wind. Men were scurrying around the deck trying to tie things off and hoisting the sails this way and that. Lightning brightened the sky and the thunder was so loud you could hear anything around you. Sandor went to a group of men who were wrestling a sail that had gotten loose and whipping in the wind. The men were having a hard time getting any control of the sail with all the strong winds. Sandor grabbed one of the ropes and with all of his might pulled it where it needed to go. Within a few moments, the sail was able to be tied off tightly and the men around seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Sandor went from one end of the ship to the other assisting the men as the storm raged on. The storm was getting strong enough that some of the men were falling over as the ship was rocking from side to side as the waves crashed around them and water was coming onto the deck from the high waves. Sandor was just helping tie off another sail when he looked to his left at a giant wave was heading for them. Most of the men moved out of the way of its path and as it came down it washed on man overboard.

"Man overboard!" No one knew who it was including Sandor and looking around the men no one seemed inclined to care enough to assist the soon to be drowned man. Fucking cowards.

Knowing Sansa was going to kill him for this, he grabbed one of the long, lose ropes for the sails, tied it around his middle securely and looked back to ensure it was secured to the beam. Before giving up his nerve he jumped overboard, headfirst into the sea. The waves whipped his body all around for a while, but he was soon able to get control of his movements once he saw the man about two yards away. Sandor used all his strength as he made a direct charge straight for the man. He realized then that it was Hamish. Right as he was about to sink under the water, Sandor grabbed him by the waist and pinned him like a vise to his body. He began kicking his feet and using his free arm to get back to the ship but then he felt the rope on his waist pull against him. He looked up then at the railing that had about seven men pulling the rope to get them back on board. The waves were beating at him and Hamish as the men continued pulling them closer to the ship. After what felt like hours, Sandor and Hamish were finally hoisted up and deposited on the deck. All the men gave a loud cheer then, and some came over to give hard pats on Sandor's shoulders. Sandor turned to Hamish then who was spitting out water of his mouth. He grabbed him by the collar with both hands and rasped, "Don't fucking do that again." Hamish just smiled tiredly at him as Sandor let him fall back on the deck. The men continued cheering and Sandor just brushed them aside.

After that, Sandor made his way back to cabins. He wasn't staying around to save another bastard who couldn't keep himself right on deck. If the ship was going to sink, it wouldn't be because he wasn't there to help. He was completely soaked and tired but all he wanted to do is get back to his room with Sansa. He burst into the room where Cara and Sansa were holding each other, and to Sandor's surprise Hermes was there as well. Coward. As soon as Sansa saw him, she jumped up and into his arms.

"Oh gods, Sandor you're soaked through and… uh!" She gave an exaggerated gasp as she touched his forehead. "You're bleeding!" He must have hit his head at some point during all the chaos.

"Aye, I've had worse." Just then the ship rocked again and Sansa was about to fall backwards, but Sandor grabbed her and pulled her to him before she could. She clutched his soaked tunic and he realized her hands were shaking. "Everything will be alright, Sansa. Let's go back to the room."

Sandor half dragged and half carried her as the ship rocked back and forth as they made their way back to the room. When they entered, he deposited her on his bed then searched for the candle and wick to give them some light.

"We can only keep this lit for a little while then we need to blow it out in case it falls over." Once he had the candle lit, he made his way to his knapsack and pulled out a dry tunic and britches as he tried not falling over with the rocking ship. Sansa came over to try helping him with his wet tunic, but he immediately swatted her hand away. "I don't need help getting undressed, Sansa."

She blushed a little at that. "Sorry, it just looked like you were having a hard time staying on your feet."

"Aye, I am with that fucking storm raging outside but I don't need you undressing me." He pulled the wet tunic over his head and started unlacing his britches. "Unless you want the full show, I suggest you turn your head, Sansa." She blushed furiously then immediately turned her head completely around. He chuckled at that then removed his wet britches and got his dry clothes on. He wiped at the blood on his forehead with his wet tunic and it seemed to stop the bleeding. As he made his way back to blow out the candle, the ship rocked hard causing him to lose some of his footing. He fell on top of Sansa and his body was flush to hers as he had his hands on either side of her head and one knee on the bed. She just stared up at him as he seemed to freeze in place. Some of the water trickled on her neck and face and he watched as some of the water on her neck made its way down to the swell of her breasts. He swallowed hard seeing that then looked back into her eyes. She had a dazed look in her eyes as she continued staring at him. He moved away from her then and collected himself then went over to blow out the candle.

He sat down on the bed next to her and they were silent for a while as they felt the ship move from one side to the other. A loud clap of thunder was heard and even felt around them, and Sansa gave a small gasp at that. "Everything will be alright, Sansa. The storm will be over after tonight." As if their bodies moved as one, he extended his arm and she moved to be flush with his side as she laid her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for a long time continuing to feel the ship sway beneath them. He closed his eyes feeling the soft, warmth of her body against him. He didn't deserve holding her like this but there wasn't a force on this earth that was going to remove her from his side now. Sandor pulled her with him as he laid down on his bed. They never said anything else to each other as she laid her head on his chest and he stroked her arm. She was still shaking a bit and he wasn't sure if it was from the storm or from being in his arms like this, but he gave her a squeeze and continued stroking her shoulder with his right hand. She moved her left hand over his chest and instinctively grabbed it and began gently stroking the back of her hand. Even with the raging storm and danger that was still lurking in the air, Sandor never felt happier in his life than in this moment with her in his arms.