Kestrel Hightower had been at King's Landing for over a week and it seemed she had charmed most of the court, even Cersei Lannister seemed to have been won over by the girl. Joffrey treated her well, Loras and Margarey were happy to have her around and she had been assisting the healers of the soldiers injured in the attack weeks before.

She was an admired and generally very well liked guest of the Red Keep, and wasn't unaware of all the male attention she was receiving from the Ser's, Knights and other men of the Keep, though she paid it no attention. The only man Kestrel showed any special attention to was Sandor, who had been reinstated as Joffrey's bodyguard and had been seen by Kestrel every few days to check on his healing.

Walking out into the courtyard, Sandor felt the warm sunlight hit his face and felt his tired and still sore muscles relax in welcome relief, glancing around.

Sandor looked confused, walking over to the stables, seeing Kestrel there, looking happy in a dark blue dress as she stroked Stranger gently, singing under her breath to the horse. 'He's better behaved with you than he is with me'.

She turned, giving him a huge, genuine smile as the horse ate the remains of an apple from her hand 'He's a beautiful animal, he seems calm enough with me'.

Sandor glanced at the horse beside Stranger 'Who's is that one? The grey one'. Kestrel held out her hand with the rest of the apple for the other horse 'that's Mikkera, she's mine'. He looks surprised 'that's a large horse for a young Lady'.

Kestrel shrugged, stroking her own horse now 'Oberyn and Doran Martell gifted her to me as a young pony, only a few months old…the horses from Dorne are simply beautiful'.

She looked pensive for a while before looking up at him again 'I have to go, Cersei has asked to see me…I will be at your rooms later to check your injuries again, okay'.

'There is no need'. Her voice was flat 'stop being annoying, I will see you later 'Ser'.

'Good day 'my Lady', stay safe'. She glanced back, leaving with a sarcastic curtsey before heading for the main tower of the Keep.

Cersei greeted her warmly in the tower room, asking her to sit down, glancing at her hair 'you look very pretty today my dear'. Kestrel smiled, sitting down and accepting the wine that Cersei poured for her from a jug and one for herself.

'I have been thinking about you Kestrel, as you know, the Hightower's are aligned with us here… You are the heir of the heir to Oldtown. Kestrel we would like you to be aligned with our court, you are the future of the South, and Joffrey is the present and the future of the Seven kingdoms. A woman as young, intelligent and beautiful as yourself should be married, have a man by her side to protect her and help her rule over Oldtown when the time comes'.

Kestrel held her tongue, not feeling it necessary to mention that she could more than look after herself, she simply nodded, simply sipping her wine in silence.

'Kestrel, there are hundreds of eligible Knights, Ser's, soldiers and members of the Court here that would be appropriate, Balon Swan, you know of him?'. She nodded, thinking of the Knight, he was a tall, incredibly attractive and well regarded Knight, she had never heard a bad word against him either. 'Yes, my Lady'.

Cersei smiled lightly at the somewhat stilted response from the young woman 'but you do not want him for a husband?'. There was a brief pause 'if it pleases you my Lady, then I shall consider it'.

They both knew inherently that it was down to Baelor to decide on the match, though Cersei could suggest suitors to his daughter.

'The Hightower's are a large, extended family, there are few families who are not already connected to you…is that what your father wants?'.

'Honestly? Um…I don't think my father minds, the Tyrell family are already very closely aligned to us, as are fifteen others, many tied to them also…my mother has told me to marry who I want, as has my father and Uncles. I am not expected to marry for a name or title, we already have both- if you don't mind me saying'.

Cersei smiled lightly, drinking more wine 'you are lucky then Kestrel, very lucky. Whilst King's Landing is recovering from Stannis's attack I have time on my hands, I have been thinking of who would provide a suitable match for our young guest. There are many, many men at this court who want you as a wife'.

Kestrel blushed slightly and Cersei continued 'you want someone who is strong enough to look after you whilst you are with child, you will not be able to protect yourself then'. Kestrel nodded slightly as Cersei stood up, walking to the window 'you know of the Clegane brothers do you not? Gregor is the Head of the House'.

Kestrel visibly drained of colour and looked terrified, shaking her head and Cersei saw the reaction 'yes, that was my own reaction Kestrel, Gregor is not the man to become a husband to a woman as gentle as you'.

Again she held her tongue, not wanting to point out that she was hardly a 'gentle' woman, but taking another sip of her wine as Cersei leant with her back against the open window 'You know of the other brother, Sandor don't you? I have seen you with him, you seem to be the only person who is able to tame the dog, Kestrel'.

She watched Cersei with evident confusion as the Queen sat down again opposite Kestrel, taking her hand, her voice softening.

'Kestrel, there are shadows around us, and they want my son dead. His own Uncles turned against him, Stannis is a sneaky and underhand man, the Targeryn girl and Ned Stark's boy are all plotting against Joffrey, as is Stannis. Sandor Clegane is the man who protects Joffrey from harm's way, he will keep the King alive, he will keep my son alive. If you were to marry Sandor Clegane it would keep him tied to the crown. Whatever else I may think of Sandor, he is a brilliant fighter, he will keep you and my son safe. He is to be Knighted, whether or not he wants to be'.

Kestrel sat back in her chair, tapping the table lightly, deep in thought.

'My dear, what are you thinking? I would have to send a message to your father first however'.

She swallowed, looking thoughtful still 'message my father, I will think. I must leave now my lady, I have to tend to some things'.

Cersei nodded, offering Kestrel a brief kiss on the cheek before she left, still looking thoughtful.

Sandor was cleaning his armour when Kestrel knocked on his door and he let her in to the sparsely decorated room. 'You look like you have more energy, have you spoken to the King today?'.

He nodded, continuing to clean his armour 'he is insisting on Knighting me, I think he wants me to be forced to stay'.

She fiddled awkwardly with the edge of a blanket on the table 'About that…uh... I have just come from Cersei Lannister's tower room...'.

Sandor looked up, hearing the awkwardness in her tone 'what has she said?'.

There was a pause before she spoke 'she's sending a message to my father- she wants us to marry'.

Sandor's reaction was almost comical if the situation wasn't so awkward. His jaw fell slightly and he dropped the gauntlet in his hand onto the floor, causing a loud clatter between them. 'What do you mean?'.

'There isn't any other way to explain it, the Queen wants you Knighted and to be my husband... Father should respond soon enough'. Sandor was looking at her with shock and confusion as Kestrel quickly moved on as if nothing had happened.

'Now, shirt off 'Ser' Clegane, I need to check the wound'. Still looking confused Sandor shrugged out of the undershirt, letting Kestrel look intently over the long cut that had been made over his chest by Stannis's men, that was now knitting itself together fairly well, though it would leave a mark.

Kestrel noted just how powerfully built Sandor was, incredibly muscly and covered in a criss-cross of scars and scratches, she ran her fingers over his chest, feeling the muscle as she checked the healing injury.

'It will leave a scar, but there is not infection or swelling, you are very lucky'. Sandor snorted slightly with laughter and shook his head 'lucky? Another scar to add to the collection'.

She glanced up, eyes soft 'there are worse things to deal with that a scar Sandor. You are not some type of monster'. Without thinking of what she was doing Kestrel leant forward and lightly kissed the developing scar.

Sandor was looking at her with a wide eyed, wary expression as she straightened, looking awkward 'I, uh, I have to go'.

With that she simply left the room, leaving Sandor to sit alone in the room.

She returned to her rooms, feeling confused at what to do. Her plan would take a long time to come in to fruition, but she was at a loss of what to do with herself.

After a while pacing her room Kestrel slipped out and swiftly made her way into Sansa's room, seeing the young redhead reading a book by the window as she closed the door behind her, looking shocked to see her as Kestrel smiled warmly to her.

'I am not here to hurt you Sansa, I just needed to see that you were alive and well, you are never at Court'. She blinked 'I am allowed to leave my room, I just have no where to go'.

Kestrel leant against the wall, her hands behind her on the cold stone 'Sansa, you need to remain strong, this won't last, we all have our burdens to bear until the change comes'.

Sansa looked at her closely 'they say a storm is coming'. Kestrel huffed slightly, clearly amused with a sparkle in her eye 'not a storm Sansa, Winter is coming. Winter is already here'.

Kestrel left the room, leaving Sansa even more confused by the petite brunette than she had been before. 'Winter is coming' was the Stark motto, which confused her even further.

Two ravens arrived at King's Landing the next morning, one for Cersei and one for Sandor.

Sandor immediately sought out Kestrel after the Raven appeared and Cersei sought him out for 'a word'. The young woman was tending to her horse when he coughed, making her turn around. The first thing she noted was his wary expression, and then the note in his hand, which had a broken seal.

Wordlessly he handed her the note and she saw the Hightower seal on it, opening it quickly. She scanned her eyes over it and widened her eyes a little in surprise 'Oh… It looks like we are to be married then... My parents are riding here, they'll be here by the end of the week…'.

Kestrel glanced up and saw Cersei at the other end of the courtyard, walking towards them with a somewhat triumphant expression and Kestrel spoke quickly

'Meet me at the creek in the Western woods? Then we can talk?'.

He nodded slightly, no idea how to behave with her now 'when?'.

'Midday?'. He nodded again and she swept off to Cersei.

Please review and let me know what you think and what you want to see.