Sansa came to Sandor the night before the wedding. Since the feast held in honor of her name, she had scarcely seen him. When Sandor opened the door and saw the little bird waiting outside, he was taken aback. What does she want at this hour?

"Good evening, my lord. May I come in?"

"What are you doing outside my chambers at this hour?"

"I wanted to see you," she replied simply. He couldn't refuse her, so he held the door open and let her scamper inside, checking the corridor for anyone who may have seen her.

Sandor's room was warm from the fire lit in the hearth, and Sansa seated herself at small, modest table at the far end of the chamber. His chambers were much more bland and modest than hers, lacking any decoration or additional comforts. Sandor sat in the chair in front of the little bird and waited for her to speak.

"Must you leave tomorrow, after the wedding?" she started.

"I told you I'd watch your uncle and the Frey wench marry and I'd be off, didn't I?" His tone was harsh and cold."Must it be so soon? We've only been here for four days; don't you want to rest more before you set off?"

"Your mother gave me a nice, fat purse and sought that I had enough provisions to be comfortable on my journey. Stranger will be saddled in the morning, and after the wedding I'm off."

"I wish you could stay," Sansa said, her voice just above a whisper.

"Why? So I can watch over you and your new lord husband?"

"No! It's just-" Sansa began, but was unable to find the words to continue. He was being so harsh with her she felt that it would be pointless to press on.

"What is it then? Do you like having a dog like me around?" He laughed to himself, taking a sip of wine from a goblet on the table.

"I don't want to marry a Frey."

He wasn't expecting that. Sandor sat back in his chair, took a larger sip of wine from the goblet, and waited for her to proceed.

"I don't want to marry a Frey. I know Robb broke his vow that mother made with Lord Walder but…" She poured herself wine and sipped from it. "I don't want to be Lady Frey. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in this awful castle and raise Walders and Waldas. I want to go home. I want to be with mother and Robb. I'll never see Winterfell again," she said sadly, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Winterfell has been burnt, child. Your brother will continue with this war, and your mother along with him. You're safest here," he replied. It was something he had been telling himself over and over these last few days. She'll be safe here, he told himself. It was a lie.

They both sipped on their wine until their cups were empty.

"I also… I want to give you my jewels. Please sell them or do whatever you wish with them," Sansa said, looking at him directly as she spoke. His burned side twitched. The firelight made them look even more ghastly.

"I don't need your jewels," he said plainly, pushing the pouch away.

"I was given these by the Lannisters. I have no need for them now," she insisted, pushing the pouch back towards him. "I want you to have them. You'll put them to better use than I have."

"If that's what you want, little bird."

"It is. I also want to thank you for always saving me."

"No need to thank me," he said, taken aback by her words.

"But you always have. From Joffrey's cruelty, during the bread riots, the wedding…" She trailed off. "You tried to tell me the truth, how things really were. I know now that life isn't a song."

She smiled prettily for a moment, and Sandor saw the girl that Sansa used to be. She was the girl he had first met on the Kingsroad. She was the girl who had not yet learned of Joffrey's true nature and was not scarred by his wickedness. She was the girl whose father was not yet beheaded right before her eyes. She was completely pure, a little bird. For reasons unknown to him still, ever since he came across her, frightened by Ser Ilyn Payne, he had become enamored with the idea of her. He had sought her out in hopes of protecting and warning her before she would be completely ruined by Joffrey.

"I had no friends in King's Landing, only you. And I thank you. Thank you, Sandor." With that she rose out of her chair and faced him. "I'll pray for you on your journey. I have already given you my favor so…" She paused for a moment, her eyebrows knit in deep thought. She smiled, yet her eyes with filled with immense sadness. He is no true Knight but he saved me all the same, she thought to herself.

"Thank you, Sandor." She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. "Good-bye."

Sansa didn't look back.

The rest of the night Sandor held his fingers to his tingling lips where Sansa had kissed him. Sansa Stark's kiss left him burnt but nothing had ever felt so good.

The wedding was held the next evening, and when Lord Walder presented Edmure Tully his intended, she was surprisingly beautiful.

"Lord Edmure, I hope I am not a disappointment to you."

"You are a delight to me, my lady." Edmure Tully smiled. The weeks leading up to this moment were torturous to Edmure, but all worry was forgotten with Roslin's kiss.

After the ceremony and into the dinner, they could not keep their eyes off one another. Lady Catelyn was grateful to see her brother so happy. A great roar broke throughout the hall as the bedding ceremony was set into motion, everyone completely drunk and wild. Afterwards they closed the door to the main hall.

Sandor, uninterested in any of the excitement, stayed away from the wine. He knew that it would only amplify the dread building in his stomach. Avoiding wine would also help him keep a clear head, and from past experience he knew that navigating drunk at night was not an easy task.

From above, a tune that Sandor had heard a thousand times since being employed under the Lannisters began to play. The room was filled with Northerners; what did they care for a Lannister drinking song? He then knew that something was about to go terribly wrong. He looked over at Sansa who was merrily chatting to another woman. Her lady mother sat nearby next to Lord Bolton.

"And who are you, the proud lord said,

that I must bow so low?

Only a cat of a different coat,

that's all the truth I know.

In a coat of gold or a coat of red,

a lion still has claws,

And mine are long and sharp, my lord,

as long and sharp as yours.

And so he spoke, and so he spoke,

that lord of Castamere,

But now the rains weep o'er his hall,

with no one there to hear.

Yes now the rains weep o'er his hall,

and not a soul to-"

Walder Frey then lifted his hand and the music halted. "Your Grace," he called, and Robb Stark stood.

"I feel like I've been remiss in my duties. I've given you meat, wine, and music, but I haven't shown you the hospitality you deserve," Walder Frey said. Sandor scanned the room and saw Lady Stark, who seemed to be touching Lord Bolton's arm. Lord Walder continued, "My king has married, and I owe my new queen a wedding gift."

Lady Stark then jumped from her chair and slapped Lord Bolton across the face and yelled, "Robb!"

One of the Frey men unsheathed a dagger and walked over to Robb Stark's queen and stabbed her repeatedly in the stomach.

The massacre then began, the nothernmen too drunk to fight. Robb Stark was shot by men in the gallery by crossbow. Sansa Stark watched as northernmen all around her died. Her mother was shot by a crossbow beside her. "Mother!"

Sandor fought off as many Frey and Bolton men as he could. He would have been dead if he hadn't decided to leave this night. He heard Sansa scream again as she was lifted up over a Bolton soldier's shoulder and out of the chaos. Chopping through as many men as he could, Sandor made his way out of the hall to find Sansa. Before he completely left the room, an arrow went through his thigh. He pulled it out, feeling no pain. The Hound felt as numb as he did the night of the Blackwater, completely consumed by bloodlust.

Down the hall he could see the Bolton men carrying Sansa with a black sack over her head. They dropped Sansa to the floor as he approached them, and the Bolton men were all but pieces of themselves when The Hound was done with them. He lifted the sack from her eyes:

"Little bird." Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears. The girl was in agony.

"Mother… Robb…" She sobbed.

"They're gone now, we must go." He pulled the sack back over her head, and with some difficulty due to his leg wound, he carried her over his shoulder all the way to the stables. When they got there he lifted the sack from her head and practically threw her atop Stranger. He unfastened his black coak and put it around her.

"Make sure your face is covered." He said, trying to catch his breath.

"Mother… Robb… We need to go back…" she said frantically, trying to get off Stranger. She was in complete and utter shock and couldn't possibly fathom what was actually happening. He then climbed atop Stranger and pulled the hood over her head. Stranger burst out of the Stables, the Hound holding the Frey banner.

"THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE KING IN THE NORTH!" Men began to shout.

The Hound turned Stranger around. Did the bloody northmen prevail?

"THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE KING IN THE NORTH!"

They both saw Robb Stark's body paraded atop a horse across the keep, with the head removed and replaced with that of his direwolf, Grey Wind, sewn in its place.

Sansa screamed Robb's name, the sound coming out as a howl. Sansa wanted to call for the heroes from the songs, for Florian and Ser Ryam Redwyne and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, but she knew no one would hear her.

"But now the rains weep o'er his hall,

with no one there to hear.

Yes now the rains weep o'er his hall,

and not a soul to hear."

Notes:

-THIS CHAPTER WAS PHYSICALLY PAINFUL TO WRITE. My chest throbbed as I wrote this chapter. I rewatched the Red Wedding scene again to write this chapter and it was awful. For all of you who thought this wasn't coming, don't say I didn't warn you.

-Moving on from the awfulness that is the Red Wedding, I hope you enjoyed the beginning scene with Sansa and Sandor.

-"Sansa wanted to call for the heroes from the songs, for Florian and Ser Ryam Redwyne and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, but she knew no one would hear her." Quote by GRRM from ASoIaF