Sansa woke up in the night to the sound of Kestrel talking in her sleep, turning over quickly and repeatedly, the muttering getting louder and more intense until she suddenly sat up in the bed, breathing heavily and sweating. After a few seconds she noticed Sansa watching her from the bed on the other side of the room.

'Was I talking in my sleep?'. Sansa nodded 'are you okay?'.

Kestrel was taking deep, calming breaths 'I will be, sorry I woke you'. She shook her head 'it's fine, Kestrel…what were you dreaming of?'.

She watched as Kestrel swallowed and shook her head 'you wouldn't sleep either if you knew, we both need our sleep'.

Without another word Kestrel laid back down and pulled the sheets over herself, trying to get back to sleep as Sansa did the same.

The next morning Kestrel was awake, dressed and had left the room before Sansa had even woken up. Baelor was taking his men and his future son in law out for a hunt in the surrounding woods. It was partially to get to know Sandor, and partially because he couldn't stand being in the Red Keep, finding it stifling.

Kestel was going to ride with them, not to hunt but to show them all the outline of the woods, which she knew well from almost daily rides. She was also probably one of the most skilled riders all the way from the wall to Oldtown, her horse also one of the fastest.

As she was heading towards the stables through the relatively empty corridors, Kestrel turned a corner and walked directly into Gregor Clegane, who was in light armour and looked down at her, probably over a foot taller than her.

Gregor might have been a sadistic monster, but he had an eye for women, and at this angle he could see the top of her cleavage, the bright eyes, high cheekbones, full red lips and long light brown hair in long loose curls.

He held her shoulder lightly, recognising she was clearly highborn 'my lady, can I ask your name?'. Kestrel knew she couldn't show how scared she was, flashing a brief smile 'Kestrel Hightower, Ser, or Oldtown'.

She saw him do a slight double take 'you are Lord Baelor's daughter? I see, may I escort you back to the castle?'. She wanted to be physically sick but waved a hand slightly 'I'll be fine thank you Ser, I am meeting my fiancée, I don't think he'll like seeing me with another Ser'.

Gregor faltered slightly, he had been away from the Keep for several weeks and had no idea of the situation.

'And who are you to marry then My Lady?'. She smiled sweetly to cover the rising feeling of bike in her throat at seeing Gregor so close,

'Your brother, Sandor's Clegane. I should be leaving now, thank you for your offer Ser'.

She walked off quickly and rounded the corner into the brilliant sunshine of the stable courtyard, Baelor, Tellen, Sandor and five other Knights she recognised from Oldtown, all standing around and saddling their horses.

Kestrel could feel Gregor's eyes on her back and hurried over towards the men, as Sandor turned to see her, she held his face and quickly gave him a deep, passionate kiss before releasing him with a huge smile 'what a beautiful day'.

With that she turned on her heel and walked to the stables to fetch Mikkera and saddle her up. Sandor glanced with confusion at Baelor who was laughing to himself as he tightened a buckle on his horse, voice incredibly quiet as he spoke to Sandor.

'Don't turn around now, but your brother was watching from the Castle, I think my daughter is trying to make your brother jealous'.

On the hunt Sandor was surprised by just how well Kestrel could ride, and the control she had over the horse that was bigger than some of the other Knight's own horses. Baelor wanted Kestrel to have someone to protect her, and he knew that Sandor could easily do that. During the hunt however he found himself actually warming to the member of the Kings Guard, and when they stopped to rest and eat lunch he watched as Sandor looked over at Kestrel.

It was a mixture of mesmerised, captivated and evident longing in his eyes as she stood beside her horse, laughing and smiling. Baelor glanced at Vanis Thatch, Tellen's father who was his own sworn Knight and was more like a brother than someone employed by the family.

They had both seen the interaction between the two and Vanis smiled slightly and nodded, an unspoken conversation between the two. They approved.

At the end of the day the group returned to the castle and Kestrel went off to see Cersei, who spent over two hours talking to her about the wedding, Kestrel simply nodding and making 'mmhmm' noises through most of it. Rhonda Hightower had already suffered through most of the same conversation earlier in the day, with almost identical reactions to everything.

Later that night Sandor was half asleep when he heard a knock at his door, muttering 'enter' as he continued to sort out his things, not really noticing who had entered until the door closed again and he looked around.

Kestrel had her hair down and was wearing a silk dress that clung to her, a puddle of material at her feet, a black cloak over her shoulders. He watched her intently as she pulled off the cloak, laying it over the chair beside her and he swallowed, eyes unconsciously roaming her body, the silk dress leaving little to the imagination.

It was fitted to her body and only had thin straps on her shoulders and Sandor moved forward, moving her hair behind her shoulder and running his finger over the twisted on her shoulder, his voice quiet 'how did it happen?'.

Kestrel swallowed, her voice soft 'I was ten and the son of a Knight in Oldtown said a slight against my grandfather, he is both family and the Lord of the City, I foolishly challenged him to a fight, he was fifteen- I was bleeding heavily but I managed to get him on the ground, sword to his neck. Obviously I let him go, then I passed out… foolish mistake really'.

Sandor blinked in surprise, his voice a low murmur 'defending your family honour is not foolish Kestrel, it is admirable'. She blushed slightly and he tipped her face up towards him 'you can say no to this Kestrel, your father will allow you to marry who you want, Cersei will say nothing either'.

She shook her head, light eyes locked on his own dark ones 'I trust you Sandor, I should be asleep, preparing for the feast tomorrow, but instead I have snuck across half the castle to be here- with you'.

He swallowed, putting his hand on her cheek, his thumb rubbing her cheek lightly 'you should never be with a man like me'. Kestrel stood up on her tip toes so she was nearer his height 'maybe not, but I am hardly the safe option either. I am going to be your wife, if you don't want me, then send me out of that door'.

The silence between that was thick with what was clearly sexual tension for nearly a minute as they met each others eyes before he leant down and kissed her. He was almost surprised at feeling her kiss him back with equal intensity and passion, wrapping her arms around him. Sandor ran a hand down her back, pulling her tightly against his body, feeling the silk beneath his fingers.

Kestrel and Sandor's kiss became more passionate and the electricity between them intensifying before he picked her up, Kestrel wrapping her legs around his waist as he pushed her up against the wall behind him, pulling back from the kiss quickly. They were both out of breath, taking deep, gasping breaths.

'We shouldn't do this'. She looked slightly offended 'oh'.

Sandor shook his head 'don't think I don't want to, I just- if your father finds out-'. Kestrel cut him off with a deep kiss before pulling back 'He won't care, I'm not a virgin anyway. I didn't come here just for a kiss Sandor, it's your choice'.

He only paused for a second before he started kissing her again, making his way down behind her ear and down her neck, making her arch her back and groan slightly.

In one swift movement Sandor laid Kestrel down on the bed and watched as she quickly unlaced the front of her dress, pulling it off over her head. Sandor glanced down and swallowed, drinking in the sight of her lying underneath him. Kestrel clearly couldn't wait much longer and she grabbed the front of Sandor's shirt, pulling him down towards her and kissing him again as his hands began to roam over her body.

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