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CHAPTER 8

SANSA/ SANDOR

They had only been riding for a week, but Sansa was more tired than she had been in her whole life. Every part of her body ached and the inner part of her thighs was full of sores from so many hours of riding. She longed for a bath, but they weren't close to a river or a lake. It was even harder than he'd told, but she was proud of herself because she hadn't complained about anything. He'd said they should be about four days away from the Neck; the beginning of her beloved North.

That day Sandor stopped riding sooner than usual.

"We'll camp here, in this clearing," he said "I'll try to hunt something before dusk; I'm tired of eating dry food"

He looked for a long stick and a knife and began to work. Sansa sat next to him while he worked; watching how his big hands shaped the stick into a spear, and she marveled that he was very good at working with his hands.

"I'll go to the woods for a while. You stay here. I'll come back as soon as I get our dinner,! He said before disappearing into the forest.

Sansa took their things from the horses and left them eating around the clearing. Since a few days ago, she had also helped to prepare the fire. Even though he did it every night without saying a word about it, she noticed it was something he wasn't comfortable doing it. So that night she thought she would surprise him lighting it before he came back. She cleaned a portion of ground and then she used several rocks and stones to make a circle. Then she walked into the woods to pick any stick that may work as firewood. It was the first time that Sansa was completely alone since she left the Vale but she realized she wasn't afraid because for the first time in years she felt she was making her own path, as she'd told Brienne. That was her time and she won't let anyone to decide for her anymore. She had already collected some firewood when she heard the soft but unmistakable murmur of water flowing in the distance. She walked towards the sound and finally found it; a small creek with clear and fresh water. She was so glad to have found it that she left aside the wood and knelt to wash her face. The water was cold as ice but she enjoyed it anyway. She thought she would have to tell him, so he could wash, too.

Suddenly, she heard quick footsteps approaching from behind. She turned around thinking that Clegane had also found the creek when a dark figure pounced on her and knocked her down. It wasn't him, she realized as fear crept through her; but a man who quickly covered her mouth tight with one hand while he tried to tear her clothes with the other.

"Ouh! let's see what we have here... A pretty girl alone in the woods! He, he. Are you lost, girl?" he said while tearing her dress and trying to touch her. She tried to fight under him, squirming as much as she could, but she could do nothing against his heavy weight on top of her. "Easy, girl! Easy! I'm not going to harm you, hahahaha!" he laughed showing his black teeth. His mouth smelled of garlic. Sansa was almost breathless and in an act of desperation, she managed to inhale deeply, then she opened her lips and bit his hand as hard as she could. She tasted blood in her mouth, but she kept biting until he let go of her.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Help! Please!" she screamed.

"Shut up, you fucking whore!" he said punching her hard in the face.

"SANDOR!"

They struggled again. He'd almost managed to rip off all of her clothes and was now trying to touch her between her legs. Suddenly the man's body fell heavily over hers and it stopped moving. When she pushed it aside, she saw the hulking figure of Sandor Clegane looming over them. She hadn't heard him coming, but there he was, a huge mass of deadly eyes and tensed muscled. His sword was completely covered in blood.

"You… you've killed him…" she muttered looking up at him from the ground.

He nodded and she began to shake, suddenly aware of what had just happened. Sandor bent down to pick her up in his arms. She buried her face in his neck while he carried her to the clearing again - she didn't want him to see her mourn. "It's over little bird, it's over," he was whispering as big silent tears dropped from her eyes.

He laid her gently next to the stone circle she'd done and knelt in front of her.

"Are you hurt? Did he cut you?" he inquired, while he wiped the blood off her lips with a piece of cloth. She let him do it, gratefully.

"No… it's not mine… I-I bit him... and then… he hit me in the face" she managed to tell him.

"Well done! You'll have a nice bruise on your pretty face tomorrow, but don't worry; it'll disappear in a few days", he said touching her cheek to check the damage. It hurt badly. "What were you doing so far away from the clearing? I told you not to move!" he growled angrily.

Sansa lowered her eyes. He had every right to be furious. "I just wanted to help you with the fire so you didn't have to light it and then I found that creek…" she tried to explain in a whisper, "I'm so sorry…" She began to sob again hiding her face behind her hands.

"Hells, don't cry, girl. You're alive and that son of a bitch is dead. I already told you this wouldn't be easy," He tapped her shoulder in that clumsy way he had to comfort her, and she cleaned her tears and tried to calm. "I'm going for firewood to finish the fire. You stay here and change your clothes."

"No, please, don't leave alone now…"

"I've hunted two rabbits, girl. I'm guessing you don't want to eat them raw. It won't be long."

He went into the woods again. She was still scared when she rose; her legs were still weak and menaced with not holding her for long. She managed to change her dress for a new one with shaking hands and she sat again where he had left her. A few minutes later, he returned with a wood tie and some pinecones and prepared a bonfire. Then he skinned the rabbits and put them on a skewer over the fire. Sansa watched again his hands while they worked. They could kill a man, carry her or prepare a meal as easily, and she was grateful for all of their skills, because they kept her alive.

Clegane sat next to her in silence until the rabbits were roasted. The animals were a delicacy for her after so many days eating dry food and he laughed when he saw her licking her fingers when she was done.

"Who do you think that man was? He was alone in the middle of the wood."

"A deserter, a hungry farmer, a thief... who knows. The only thing I'm sure is that he's in the seven hells right now."

Sansa remembered his expression after killing the man; the face of a warrior. That was his true nature, his essence. Killing was his best skill. However, somehow she was comfortable with it and didn't care at all.

"I owe you my life again, Sandor. Thank you", she told him looking at him.

He said nothing and looked away, as if he felt uncomfortable with her words. She'd noticed he didn't like to hear compliments, but she needed to tell him anyway. He rose to prepare his cloak and blanket to sleep next to the dying fire. "Go to rest," he grunted before backing her.

Sansa watched his huge body lying a few steps from her for a long time. That man in the wood had been the latest one, but there had been others before him. Joffrey, Tyrion, Marillion the bard, Littlefinger. All of them had lusted for her in a moment or another. All of them had tried to touch her or kiss her. She also remembered the lustful gazes of the men of the Vale. They though she was always ready to go to bed with any of them just because she was a bastard. She hated them all. Now she was in the middle of a wood traveling with a man who was no knight and no lord but who never tried to take advantage of her. He hadn't even touched her since the first day they met, when he had embraced her unexpectedly, and she felt more respected by him than for any other man before.

He seemed was already asleep, so Sansa took her own cloak, walked where was and lie to sleep at his back. She was still scared because of the events of the day and realized that was the only place where she felt really safe and sound: as close to him as possible.

Sandor felt the girl's eyes on him while he was pretending to be asleep, but it was difficult to rest. That day he'd killed again, and that fact had changed him somehow. How many months had been since the last time? That was when he and the she wolf killed Gregor's men at the inn. The day the Hound died. This man had been the first one, but Sandor was sure there would be more and he'd have to kill them too. However, now he felt nothing at all—no regrets, no shame, no pity. That bastard deserved to die and he'd simply given him what he deserved. He could still remember the rage that had filled him when he saw her, half-dressed squirming under him. I shouldn't have left her alone. It had felt good to pierce him with his sword to ease his wrath.

She'd tried to defend herself biting the man's hand until it bled. Sandor liked that. Then, back at the clearing, he'd also seen her body under what was left of her dress. She had marks from the days of the Red Keep and some new sore in the inner part of her thighs. The last days had probably been hard for her, but she never said a word. He had to admit that the little bird was tougher than he thought.

Suddenly he heard her rising. She walked where he was and a moment later she was laying against his back.

"What the hell…?" he snarled turning to her.

She gasped, "I'm sorry… I thought you were sleeping! I…I'm still scared. What if there are more men like that one nearby? I don't want to sleep alone," she muttered.

He could see her blue eyes looking for his in the darkness.

"Believe me, if there were, we'd already know."

"Are you sure?"

"Aye. Now sleep, it's been a hard day for you."

She nodded and finally turned her back to him. He watched her body, lying so close to his, for a long time. Her breathing calmed when she finally fell asleep and her long hair was spread filling the little space that was left between them. Sandor touched it carefully; running his fingers over it as if it was something that could break. He wanted to extend his hand and touch her neck and her shoulder, and then her wait. How many men had tried to rape her so far? he wondered. Despite his many sins, he wasn't that kind of man, not even after a battle. Few women had wanted to sleep with him willingly, so he'd paid for them when he had needed one. Raping was his brother's men business, not his. He just had to keep her safe from men like them as long as he could.

Sometime later, he fell asleep with a lock of hair between his fingers.

The next morning, Sansa woke up with the hair full of leaves and grass, but an ugly bruise had begun to spread on her face. The girl touched it and winced in pain.

"Look at you, now you are as ugly as me!" he mocked her.

Sansa raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

He laughed loudly at her response and after a moment of surprise, she giggled too. It was nice to see her relaxed after last night. He liked when she smiled, and she'd done it several times since they met.

"Let's go to that creek you found, little bird. We both need a bath."

They walked for a while until they found it. The man's corpse was still there. He grabbed it by the foot, and dragged it far.

"You go first, I'll watch." He told her, though the girl didn't move. "Hells, we haven't got all day! Go wash, I won't look!"

He turned to the opposite side of the creek and waited patiently until she was finished.

"Now my turn. I don't mind if you want to take a look," he said with a smile twitching on his lips. She blushed as she usually did at his mockeries and then turned around quickly. He washed himself the best he could, especially the burnt side of his face. The dust of the road had settled there and it was dirty; he hated that. Some minutes later, he was done too and they walked again to the clearing. "Fine, let's move, it's late."

They rode again. He had thought a lot about what to do next and after a while, he finally told her.

"We need to find a farm or an inn. I need to know some things before going on."

"What for?" she asked. She looked frightened at the idea, "Is it safe?"

"We need to know who is controlling the Neck if we are crossing through it. Maybe I can also get to know something about Kings Landing, or about what's happening in the North. I haven't been much in touch with politics lately while living at the Quiet Isle."

"What if someone recognizes you? Or me?"

"We are very far from the places where the Hound or Sansa Stark were known. Anyway, we need to take the risk." She didn't look convinced at all, though she was right, it wasn't safe. However, he needed to know what had happened in the Realm during his absence in the Isle or they could be caught easily once they came into the North.

"We'll ride next to the main road. Let's see what we find."