Chapter 39

There were two others who had unusual dreams that night. Jaime Lannister awakened in a drenching sweat. He had not dreamed that vividly in a long while. He looked over at the woman beside him. He was glad for her companionship. She had proved herself worthy in so many ways. He care for her, but not in a romantic way. She had a way of both easing his mind and challenging him.

All he knew for sure is that he had to get away from the chaos of King's Landing. It seemed the whole of Westeros was crazy. He knew that Tyrion had gone to Dorne with Sandor Clegane, he decided to go there, hoping against hope, that Clegane would give them refuge. He had no idea who the woman was that he had dreamed about. She had told him he needed to go to Meereen, to the Dragon Queen. Hells, this was the daughter of The Mad King. She would have his head! He didn't know what to do, he had to get to Tyrion. He awakened Brienne and after a quick meal, they continued their ride into Dorne.

Thousands of leagues away in Meereen, Dany was standing at the top of her pyramid, watching the city below her. She heard the rustle of cloth and turned to see Quaithe. " I haven't seen you for so long, Quaithe. How have you been?"

Quaithe walked up and stood beside Dany and said," The West will come to you. It will bring you what you seek. The beasts of the West will help you win your throne, if only you look deep enough to see the future and not dwell on the vengeance of the past. All have deeds they have done, some are done for love, some for hate, some for vengeance some to protect the weak. You were cursed by an evil woman. I will bring you a gift. You must chose. The Hellhound has the gift you desire most. He is The Protector, he carries a gift, for all of his strength and power, he has a weakness. When you see him you will know. He brings with him your past but also your future. The choice is yours, you cannot change the past but you are able to create a future and have what you dream of." As Dany turns to speak, she sees that she is alone. She has much to think on, as dawn approaches, she sends for Ser Barriston.

Shalene and Sandor were headed to a place he hadn't been. He had asked her to take him where Kolenee was interred, he hadn't wanted to know at first, but he needed to close that part in his life, he missed her and had loved her in his own way, not the love he felt for Shalene, but Kolenee was the mother of his twins, he had to do this.

After a couple of hours of riding they came to a huge garden. It was fragrant and colorful. It seemed to go on forever. They finally come to a very large, white marble building. As they dismounted, a young man came to tend to their horses. Sandor was about to tell the man not to touch Stranger but he bowed to Sandor and turned to Stranger and said," Loletnay tol." Stranger calmly went with the man. Sandor shook his head and said," How does everyone do that? You all are ruining a battle hardened war horse! What did he say?"

Shalene laughed and said." No one is ruining him. He's still the ill-mannered beast you created! If you grow up raising horses, you have to know how to calm them without breaking their spirit. He said be easy, brother."

As they walked to the building Sandor could tell it was a Holy building. He wasn't sure if it was a Sept he didn't pray to The Gods. He knew there was one at Emerald Bay as Sansa went there quite often. A middle aged man appeared and when he saw Shalene, a fatherly smile graced his tanned face. Shalene ran to him and he swept her up, spinning her around. She laughed like a little girl. Sandor hadn't seen her act like that with anyone other than Prince Oberyn. "Sandor, this is Zethro. He is the Elder here. Like a Septon in Westeros. Zethro, this is Lord Sandor Clegane, Lord and Master of Emerald Bay."

Zethro bowed to Sandor and looked him over, Sandor couldn't keep his old manners out of his mouth, and said," If you have something to say, say it. Don't just stand there and look." He could feel himself getting irritated, the way The Elder was looking at him, he knew he was being judged again. To his surprise The Elder laughed and said," Young Princess, I should have known that you would find a man as wild and unruly as yourself! Welcome to Emerald Bay, Lord Clegane, and welcome to The Holy Gardens. I will show you around." Shalene turns to Sandor and said," Mind your mouth, Hound. No one is judging you here."

Zethro walked them through the gardens close to the building, asking many questions, both of Shalene and Sandor. Sandor has never been one to tell others about himself but as he listens to The Elder, he feels at peace around him though he only gives him basic answers.

As he looks around he finds that they have made their way into the burial chambers of the building and Zethro leads him to an area that has shelves all around the parameter. There are beautifully crafted ceramic jars on the shelves. As he looks closer, he sees names on them and Shalene takes his hand guiding him to an area close to a huge window where the sunlight is shining brightly. He can feel his heart beating faster as he realizes that Kolenee is there. He sees her name and closes his eyes, feeling an old fear take him over. She had been cremated! He can sees flames all around him, hears screams and feel the heat! He can smell the burning flesh! He jerks his hand away from Shalene and looks at her, shaking his head as he backs away from her. He can feel his eyes burning as he yells at her," You burned her? You burned Kolenee! Why? How could you do that!" He has to get away from there, he storms off, away from Shalene, away from that place.

He finds himself in the garden, he can hardly breath. When Shalene touches his arm, he is so startled, he shoves her back before he even thinks about it. He realizes he must have hurt her, she's such a tiny woman, he kneels down and takes her in his arms, all he can ask is why. Shalene had realized when she saw his face that she should have told him ahead of time. She knew his desperate fear of fire and should have known. She said, "I'm sorry, Sandor. I should have told you before-hand. Kolenee was from Lys, you know that. Their custom is cremation. I didn't think about how much it would affect you. I'm sorry. I love you, Sandor. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you." She pulled his head down to her chest, talking softly to him, running her fingers through his hair. She can feel his body shaking as he holds her close. After some time, The Elder quietly approaches them. He tells Shalene," Please, come to the inner garden, I've had a meal brought in and you can have some time alone, I'll be at the Home, when you're ready."

Shalene is finally able to coax Sandor to the Inner garden and though he's careful not to get drunk, he's more interested in the wine than anything Shalene has to say. His thoughts drift to Kolenee and her green eyes. The same color of his daughter's eyes. He shakes the thought away. As he looks at Shalene he decides to tell her about the dream he had. When he's done, she is looking at him so intently that he starts to think she may find that he's losing his mind. She says," I know that there are seers in Qarth that can enter your dreams and give you visions. If Tomaerys was here, he could tell you more. He knows of the Mysterious ones. Don't think on it now, I want to show you something. Will you come with me?" Sandor reluctantly agrees. He just wants to go home, hold his children and find Bronn or Lucian and fight until he can't think any longer.

Shalene leads him to another building. This one looks like a villa and as they enter, he hears the laughter of small children. She leads him to a room like a dining hall and he sees about forty children of various ages, there are even six nurses with babies on their laps. He glances down at Shalene and she motions for him to be quiet as she sits down on the floor and leans against the wall, watching the children. He doesn't want to stay but he is curious so he reaches behind and moves the blade of his great sword, Dawn, over so he can sit beside Shalene. She takes his hand and kisses the palm of it, then leans on his arm. He watches for a while, deciding that they are having lessons. He asks Shalene," Where do they live? I saw no homes as we rode here."

She replied," This is an orphanage. My uncle had it built many years ago. Zethro oversees it. This is where I met OnIeese, Jonete', and Kolenee. My Father would bring me here when we would bring supplies and such. This is another holding you have. Sandor, you really haven't even seen a half of what you have or who relies on you now. Look, they're finished."

The children had started to leave when they saw Shalene. Squeals of laughter echoed in the hall as they ran to her, trying to be the first one there. She didn't even have time to get get when they started piling on her and after a very brief look at Sandor, they must have decided that he was a new plaything because he soon had children on his lap, crawling on his back, pulling on his arms and one brave little girl even placed her chubby little hands on either side of his face and kissed him on his scarred jaw. He was so startled and shocked that they weren't scared of him. The little girl looked at him so seriously and kissed his cheek again and asked," Does your hurt feel better now?" Sandor was so touched, all he could do was nod his head. The little girl sat on his lap and started bossing the other children around, trying to make them get off Sandor. She finally gave up but claimed his lap as her own. She played with his hair that had fallen over his shoulder. She looked up at him and said," My name is Elezbeth, I'm five, what is your name?"

He said, "My name is Sandor. I am the Lord of Emerald Bay."

She looked at him for a long time and said," That makes you like my Father then, because you protect us, give us a place to live and food to eat. I don't have a Mother and Father. I don't know what happened to them. If you tell me who gave you a hurt, I'll hit them with a stick. Do you want me to kiss it again? I don't mind. Shalene always kisses my hurts and makes them better."

Sandor looked at Shalene and she shrugged and smiled, going back to playing with the children. He said," I don't have a Mother and Father anymore either. You don't need to hit anyone, little wild lass. This happened a long time ago. I don't mind if you kiss it but you don't have to. Most everyone is scared of me, I'm surprised I don't scare you."

She stands up and kisses his cheek again and says," I have one too." She turns around and raises her dress, her back, from her shoulder to her hip on he left side, is completely covered in a burn scar. She turned back to Sandor and asked," Are you scared of me? Am I ugly?" Her sweet brown eyes are so sincere he can hardly bear to look at them. He pulls her onto his knee and says," Elezbeth, you are beautiful." He kissed the top of her head.

The little boys are curious, touching his sword and daggers, wanting him to show them what they look like. He is bombarded with questions. He finally says,"Alright! Sit down here, I'll show you but you cannot touch them. They are weapons, not toys." He pulls the dagger from his boot and wraps a cloth that Shalene has given him, around the blade. Elezbeth takes her place on his knee, and Sandor finds his eyes drifting back to her over and over. He answers all the questions the children have, not realizing how at ease and calm he is around all these children, but Shalene sees it. He puts his dagger away and stands up. He tells them to follow him outside and he will let them see Dawn.

Sandor finds a large open area and Shalene has all the children sitting back far from him. Zethro joins them and watches as Sandor pulls Dawn from its scabbard on his back. He handles the two handed great sword easily with one of his huge arms, his strength and power very evident as his muscles ripple and bulge with each swing of the blade. His movements, strength and grace belies a man his size. All of the children's faces are bright with awe and when he pulls his bastard sword and works both of them at the same time, the children jump and cheer for him! He can't help but smile at them. Something that is so easy to him was amazing to these small people. He looked at Shalene as he re-sheathed his swords and saw such pride and love in her eyes. It made him feel peaceful. The woman that had led the class gathered all the children and ushered them off to get ready for supper.

Elezbeth grasped Sandor's hand and tried to hide behind his leg. When Zethro came to get her, she looked up at Sandor and he watched the biggest tears roll down her cheeks. He looked back at Shalene and she just shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him. He knelt down beside Elezbeth and said, " Let me take you to eat. I'll be back soon. I promise you."

She wrapped her little arms around his neck as he picked her up. He felt her tears soak through his tunic and thought, " What is it about these women? They have made me so weak. None of them are scared of me anymore." The more he thought about it, he decided he honestly liked them not being scared of him and crying at the sight of him. He had never known as much love and acceptance as he has had since he met Shalene. He wasn't worthy of what she had blessed him with but he would do everything in his power to be sure she never regretted her life with him. He kissed Elezbeth on the head before he handed her to the nurse. She looked at him with her sad eyes and said," I love you, Sandor. If you need someone to kiss your hurt again, I will. Don't forget about me."

He had to walk away from her, he felt tears in his eyes. There was no way he would let the little children see weakness in him. He found Shalene with Zethro and held her, drawing on her strength. He asked," How do you do it? How do you come and see them and then leave them?"

Shalene looked at him knowingly and said," I just know that I am taking care of them. They aren't so far away."

Sandor looked at The Elder and said," When any of these children come of age where they can learn a trade and work, send them to The Bay. I will make sure that they are educated and and well taken care of. Any young men you have here age twelve or older, that are interested in being trained in arms to join the guard of The Bay, make arrangements to have them sent. The same for the young women interested in working at the palace. I'm sure Lady Shalene will agree with me."

Zethro smiled and said, "As you wish, My Lord. You are going to make several young men and women happy. I see that Elezbeth took up with you rather fast. She has never been that responsive to anyone before. She came to us when she was just one year old. All of her family were killed by raiders. Some villagers found her in the rubble of her burned home, holding her fathers hand. For all you take, there will be others to take their place."

Sandor looked to Shalene, he had never had to deal with this side of life before. He started feeling an oppressive shame, knowing that he had caused this same pain and problem so many countless times before in his life. How many orphans had his actions created? He turned away from Shalene and Zethro for a time. When he had control of his emotions again he said," Lady Shalene and I will be married in one moon. You bring all these children to stay for a while and to attend the feast. If you need anything, anything at all here, you send word to us. I don't care the cost. You think of what you may need to teach trades here, to prepare our children for their lives. If you need a larger hall or sleeping quarters, build it. Do you understand me, Elder? Anything."

Zethro nodded. Sandor and Shalene started walking to the stable, she could tell he had something on his mind, his steps were slow and he looked at her several times but he couldn't seem to find words for what he wanted to say. They were making there way out of the garden when he turned Shalene and said, "I can't leave her, Woman. What do I have to do to take her with me? He turned Stranger around and headed back to the Home. Shalene followed him with a smile and a shake of her head. As he approached the building, Elezbeth came running down the stairs and jumped into his arms as he knelt down, knocking them both on the ground. She gave him wet little girl kisses all over his face and yelled, "Sandor, I knew you wouldn't forget me! I missed you so much!"

He laughed and said, "I've only just been here. How could you miss me so quickly?"

Zethro said," You know that all of them are your wards. I presume that this little Lady had gotten you wrapped around her finger?" Sandor managed to get back on his feet without letting go of Elezbeth, she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. Zethro sent to have her belongings packed. By the time they arrived, Elezbeth was asleep, safe and comfortable in Sandor's arms. Shalene toed Elezbeth's bag to Stranger's saddle and as Sandor mounts and settles himself, Zethro wrapped a blanket around the child, knowing it will be close to dark when they arrived home. Sandor looked at Shalene and it occurred to him that he hadn't even asked her how she felt about it. He asks,"You don't mind do
you?"

She leaned over and kissed him deeply, " Sandor, we can have a palace full of children. You do what makes you happy. She has always been a sweet, beautiful child. Part of having an orphanage here is so that they can have a good life. If you chose to take any of them into your home, that's your choice." As predicted, it's near dark when they arrive home and Elezbeth slept the entire ride.