Here you go, guys! Another chapter!
I'm very happy to say that I finally decided to have a beta, DGMSilverAirHead03, and she has done a wonderful job! So, I want to say (again) a big thank you to her! :D
now, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! And please, review? ^^
Three weeks had passed since the night Sandor found Sansa in the kitchen after her fight with her fiancée. He had hardly seen the girl since; she stayed in her room most of the time and when she wasn't there, she was at the recording studio. The few times that Sandor caught a glimpse of her, she was wearing huge fancy sunglasses that hid her black eye, and he felt the urge to snap Joffrey's neck, especially after seeing the smug smirk on his boss's face.
There wasn't anything that he could do, and he didn't want to get in trouble anyways. Sansa had been right; Joffrey was easily displeased. Sandor had had half a lifetime to see that for himself, and so he made sure of never letting Joffrey know (at least, no more than he already knew from what he what he had seen) about his closeness with Sansa that night in the kitchen, when he was helping her with the ice. He never showed that kind of kindness towards anyone. He had been many things in his life, but never kind. He always treated people with indifference, and those that he did not were people he hated, like his brother. But something within him made him treat the Stark girl better than the rest of them. He might have thought all kinds of bad things about her since he met her, but now something let him know that she didn't deserve any of the shit that she was getting.
Maybe it was the way she looked at him. Like he was a person, not an animal or some monster, like the rest of them did. She was different.
The whole situation frustrated Sandor. He had never in his life cared for anyone. Not even for his family, and he hadn't had any friends since he was a little boy, back when he was normal. Back when people didn't see him and whisper in horror "freak", or "monster".
The life he had chosen didn't allow him to really care for anyone either, even if he had wanted to. However, he had not wanted to care for Sansa Stark, he had wanted to hate her…
…He just couldn't.
What the fuck is wrong with me? He asked to himself one day, waiting outside the mansion in front of the gates of the Red Keep.
He hated the situation. He couldn't even get those strange thoughts out of his mind when he was working!
All the bodyguards were waiting with him for Joffrey and the rest of the Baratheon/Lannister family to come out. There was a very important public debate that day, and they had to get going. It was the first time that Governor Joffrey Baratheon, Governor Robb Stark and Governor Renly Baratheon would all get together and acknowledge each other as rivals in the political campaign, and then confront each other in a live debate in front of the whole nation. It was a much anticipated debate with a lot of attention on it, and there was a lot of pressure on the three Governors' shoulders. Joffrey was particularly irritable that day, and Sandor wished that it had been his day off so that he didn't have to put up with him. But he'd never been very lucky in his life, and that wasn't about to change now.
They had been standing outside the Red Keep for a while when the doors opened and Cersei Lannister came out accompanied by her younger son and her daughter. One of the bodyguards, Meryn, opened the door of one of the black limos for them, and closed it once the three golden haired members of the family were inside the car.
The next person to come out of the mansion was Joffrey. He was impeccably dressed in a suit, prepared to dazzle the nation with his dashing Lannister good looks and his fake charm during the debate. However, he had little of that charm around him at that moment. He was very irritated.
Sandor opened the door of the second limo for his boss, and allowed Joffrey to step inside.
"Dog!" Joffrey called him before Sandor could close the door of the limo again, "go in and make Sansa come out here. I don't know what's taking her so long!"
Sandor nodded, letting Joffrey know that he would do as told, and then he closed the door. He turned around and walked back into the mansion, which was almost completely empty at that point. He climbed the stairs and walked straight towards Sansa's room, but he hesitated when he reached the door, which was only halfway open. He looked inside the room and saw Sansa going from one end of the room to the other; she looked like she was looking for something, and she looked desperate.
Sandor frowned, wondering what the hell she was doing, and he finally decided to knock on the door. Sansa gasped and turned to look at the door, but relaxed when she saw that it was him.
"Sorry!" she apologized, returning to her desperate search. "You always scare me when you appear so suddenly! Come in!"
He completely opened the door and walked inside the room. He looked around with a bit of interest; the walls were light green, and it wasn't over decorated. There was a queen size bed, a huge closet with double doors, an oak wardrobe, an armchair, a library full of books and CDs, and a huge vanity. At that moment, Sansa was opening all the drawers in the vanity and moving around everything inside them, sighing with frustration.
Sandor looked at her with a lot more interest than he had the room. She was wearing a tight black dress, cut just a little above her knees. The neckline was low-cut without being vulgar, and it showed just a bit of her shoulders and back. It was a simple dress that made her look elegant and beautiful. Sandor doubted he had ever seen such a beautiful woman in his life, and he also doubted that any other woman on Earth could look so good dressed in black.
When he noticed that he was staring at her backside, he shook his head and coughed.
"What are you doing?" he asked then, wondering why she was messing the whole place up.
"Looking for my ring," she answered. Her voice was full of anxiety, as if she was about to have a panic attack.
"You have a ton of rings, why don't you just put on another one?" he wondered.
He didn't understand why she was wasting so much time and getting so upset over finding a ring when she could just pick another one and get on with it. Did she even need a ring?
"You don't understand!" she cried. "It's not just any ring, it's my engagement ring! I can't go out without it, Joffrey will kill me! And the press, oh my God, if they see me without the ring..."
Now Sandor knew the real cause of her distress. He could perfectly understand that for her to be seen without her engagement ring on a day as important as this one could be taken as an offense by Joffrey. Sandor didn't want Sansa getting into any more trouble anytime soon.
"Shit. Here, girl, let me help you," he said, and he started looking between the pillows of the bed. Many things were often lost between pillows. Sansa was still looking inside all the drawers; she was breathing hard and fast. "Hey, calm down," Sandor said, fearing that she would pass out at any second.
"I can't calm down! I need to find that... that fucking ring!" she hissed.
Sandor raised his eyebrows in surprise when he heard her curse. Sansa, the ever-so-polite young lady, had a temper when she was on her last nerve. She wasn't the shy, quiet, proper young woman that she usually was, and Sandor kind of liked it.
"Where do you usually put the ring when you take it off?" he asked, trying to make the search easier and faster.
"I don't know. Anywhere."
"Don't most women wear those goddamn rings at all times? Why weren't you?"
"I never wear it," Sansa snorted. She closed the last drawer of the vanity and walked towards her closet. She opened it and started searching inside all the pockets of all the clothes.
"Why?"
"I don't want to wear something that reminds me of the future that awaits me... with a man... that I want as far away from me as possible!"
"Then why are you marrying him?!"
"Because..." for a moment Sansa looked hesitant. Maybe she was trying to decide if she should tell him the real reason or not. Apparently, she decided against it, because she just whispered, "Just because. Now I really need that ring..."
Sandor threw the pillows back in their place when he saw that the ring wasn't there. He didn't go to the vanity because Sansa had just searched there moments ago and was now searching the closet. The closest thing to him was a big piece of furniture with multiple drawers, and he opened the first of them. He was shocked when the first thing that he saw were laced bras and panties, all matched together... He stared at the lingerie for a second and then glanced at Sansa (who, thankfully, had her back turned to him and didn't see what he was doing) and for a second he imagined her dressed only in one of those incredibly sexy black lace panties and bra...
He realized what he was doing, and shook his head to rid himself of the perfect mental image. What in seven fucking buggering hells was he doing?! He took his eyes away from Sansa and closed the drawer quickly and opened another one right before Sansa closed the doors of the closet and turned around to face him again. He was lucky, and she just saw him going through some normal t-shirts. Sandor didn't know much about the young woman yet, but he could bet that he did not want to be caught staring at her lingerie while imagining provocative… things in his mind.
He was puzzled with himself. Why in seven hells had that image come to his mind?! Sansa was Joffrey's fiancée, and he could not imagine her like that! It would only bring him trouble, nothing else.
He grunted without really realizing that he was doing it, and kept searching for the goddamn bloody ring. Sansa heard him and looked at him while frowning.
"What was that?" she asked.
"What was what?" he rasped.
"That."
"I have no fucking idea what you are talking about."
"Oh, forget it!" she exclaimed angrily.
She's nervous, don't get angry with her, Sandor reminded himself in his mind.
After seeing that the ring was nowhere between the t-shirts, he closed the drawer and looked at Sansa. She looked like she was about to hyperventilate or cry. If she was like that because of anything else, he might have laughed at her. However, he understood her current situation, and he pitied her. She was right when she had said that Joffrey would not like it at all if anyone, especially the cameras, noticed the absence of that important piece of jewelry. The press could start rumors and stupid gossip, and it would just make Joffrey look bad. Sandor knew his boss well enough to know that that could end in tragedy.
He said the first thing that he could think of to cheer her up.
"You are going to see your family today," he commented, and he saw a flicker of happiness in Sansa's bright blue eyes. "They will be there to support your brother. And who knows? Maybe Governor Stark will kick Joff's ass a bit, eh?"
"Yes... maybe. Robb was always very good at debates," Sansa nodded with a bit of hope, but not much.
Sandor looked across the room, and just as his sight was passing over the armchair, he saw something sparkly there. Without saying a word, he walked towards it and reached out with his hand to take the sparkling object that was hidden under the cushion... And there it was; the ring. With a triumphant smile, he took it with the tips of his fingers and turned around to face Sansa. He looked at the ring first (a ruby-encrusted gold ring with a big diamond in the middle) and then at Sansa, and he presented the ring to her. She gasped, amazed that he had found it. She smiled, not of happiness but of relief, and Sandor's lips curled up in a smile as well.
"I guess you won't be getting into trouble today, little bird," he rasped. She crossed to where he was, took the ring and put it on her finger, and Sansa looked him in the eyes with a genuine smile on her face. There was a second of silence, and he was taken aback when she threw her arms around his body and hugged him with all her strength.
"Thank you so much, Sandor," she said with real gratitude.
He felt a bit of awkward, but he felt compelled to hug her as well... so he did. He returned the hug, embracing her with his huge, awkward arms.
"You're welcome, little bird..."
After the brief hug, Sansa let him go, looked at him one last time with a smile on her face, and left her room leaving him behind. He was frozen in place for a second; it was as if his mind was blank and he had forgotten how to walk. After he recovered, he walked out of the room behind Sansa, who was already going down the stairs to meet her fiancé and his family outside of the mansion. Sandor walked out of the mansion right at the same time that Sansa was getting inside the limo with Joffrey. She left the door open for him, and he joined them inside. As Joffrey's personal bodyguard, he had to accompany him at all moments.
Joffrey looked at both of them with a nasty glare of his face, clearly displeased with them.
"What took so long?"
Sansa was the first to answer: "I was in the bathroom. Clegane had to wait for me."
"You always make me wait every time we go somewhere. The next time you do that, I will teach you to prepare faster," he threatened her. Sansa tensed up, but she knew that Joffrey could not touch her for as long as her family was in the city and could see her. The Governor of the Crownlands wasn't that stupid.
Sandor wondered how the little bird's family would be, and if they would figure out that there was something wrong with that engagement, just as he had. Would they try to talk some sense into her and make her break up with Joffrey? And if they did try, would she keep being so fucking stubborn about it?
His best guess was yes. Sansa Stark was a lost cause.
He didn't pay much attention to the couple or to the streets that passed as the limo made its way to the Sept of Baelor, the place where the public debate would take place in front of the whole nation.
The Sept of Baelor was one of the most important and historical buildings in Westeros. It was an enormous cathedral, built centuries ago back when there was still monarchy in Westeros, and the people there kept to a different religion, the Faith of the Seven. Now, in the 21st century, Westeros was a nation of multiple religions. Everyone believed in whomever they wanted to believe, but the Sept of Baelor was still the most important of all the religious places in the county. Due to its history, all the important events happened there, on the steps.
Sandor knew immediately when they had arrived due to the thunderous noise that came into the car from outside. He confirmed that they had arrived in the city square in front of the steps of Sept of Baelor when the limo was suddenly completely surrounded by people who applauded and cheered for their favorite political leaders. There were people from all around the country there: most of them were from King's Landing, but people from other regions could also be recognized among the crowds because of their slight differences.
The limo parked in a safe place reserved only for the politicians and their families, next to the Sept of Baelor. The chauffeur opened the door of the limo, and Joffrey was the first one to come out. As soon as he did, the crowd burst out with even more thunderous applause and cheering than before, and the sound wasn't muffled by the doors of the limo anymore, so it was a bit deafening for a moment. Sandor grimaced, annoyed by all the noise and the people. He waited for Sansa to get out of the limo, and listened as the crowd went mad with joy when they saw her. She smiled the most genuine smile that Sandor had ever seen on her face, and she raised her hand and waved in the air to greet the people who loved her so much. Joffrey stared at his fiancée with what looked like a mixture of curiosity, amazement, and jealousy. Sansa didn't pay Joffrey any attention until he took her hand (she gasped lightly, though no one noticed) and he waved to the people as well, pretending to be the perfect and caring gentleman, putting on a fake smile for the people whom he hoped would vote for him and make him their President.
Sandor stepped out of the limo last and joined Joffrey, Sansa, and the two other bodyguards, Meryn and Boros, who had been waiting for them outside the limo. The three bodyguards escorted the Governor and the singer to where the rest of the family was standing on a platform next to the steps of the Sept. Not only the Lannisters were there. Renly Baratheon was there as well, accompanied by his wife Margaery and the rest of the Tyrell family. And next to them was...
"Robb!"
Sansa completely ignored the look of annoyance that her fiancé shot her and parted from his side, running like a little girl towards her older brother. As soon as he heard his name, Governor Robb Stark turned his head and smiled widely when he saw his sister in front of him, and reached out his arms to welcome her into a loving embrace. The flashes of the cameras went off everywhere as everyone tried to take the perfect picture of the Stark siblings' reunion for a journal or magazine. Sansa was overwhelmed with joy, and even had to wipe off a few tears of happiness that almost escaped her eyes when she separated from her brother, and then she proceeded to hug the rest of her family. Her mother was there, and so was her sister-in-law and her younger brothers, Bran (who was in a wheelchair) and Rickon. She almost cried seeing all of them, but she remained solemn. Sandor figured that she did not want to seem overly happy and raise suspicions between the people who were watching.
Sansa stayed with her family, talking to them for a bit while Joffrey went with his own family. Tywin Lannister had flown all the way from Lannisport to be with his grandson that day and give him some counseling on what he had to do. That meant, of course, that his loyal bodyguard was with him as well, and Sandor had no wish to see or speak to his older brother Gregor... who was staring at Sansa with the same sickening, lustful, sinister and lascivious glare that he had directed to her that night at Casterly Rock. Sandor felt his insides twisting, and without a second thought on the matter, he strategically stood next to Joffrey in a way that he blocked Gregor from seeing Sansa. Gregor cast Sandor a knowing look, but the younger Clegane brother decided to ignore it, maintaining his expressionless and distant façade.
As much as he wanted to turn around and stare at Sansa for a little bit while she was so happy (a mood in he'd never seen her in before), he knew he couldn't. He couldn't show any kind of interest in front of his brother, and much less in front of the Lannisters and Joffrey. So instead of staring, he listened. He could hear her cheerful laughs and conversation, and lost in the sound of her beautiful voice, he accidentally allowed the small curl of a smile appear in the corner of his scarred mouth.
He knew that had been a huge mistake as soon as he came back to reality and saw the look in his brother's grey eyes, so similar to his own, yet much darker.
Sansa was lucky that she was such a public figure and the sister and future wife of two Governors. She was (apart from Joffrey) untouchable. That was the only thing that kept Sandor from freaking out. Nothing good ever came from his brother when he had that look in his eyes.
It wasn't long until the three Governors left their families and started walking up the steps of the Sept, where three podiums awaited them. When they reached the top of the steps, they shook hands with each other. Renly had no problem doing so with his nephew and Robb Stark, and he still had a smile on his face as he shook their hands, but there was a noticeable tension between Joffrey and Robb.
Each one of them took their place behind the podiums, facing the incredibly large crowd, and smiled and waved, silently thanking their supporters for being there. In the moments before the debate started, Sansa left her family, much to her sorrow, and returned with the Baratheons and Lannisters. After all, she might be the sister of Governor Stark, but she was getting married to Governor Joffrey Baratheon and it was he whom she had to support, thus she had to stay with his family and not her own. Sandor could see in her expression that she hated that, and she saw the hope but also the fear in her eyes when Robb was the first one to leave his podium, which was the central one of the three (Renly was at his right, and Joffrey was at his left) and walked up to a fourth podium, which was placed right in front of the other three. He stepped on it and addressed the Westerosi crowd with passion, serenity and a conviction and sincerity rare in politicians those days.
All the Stark family members watched with pride as the young Governor spoke to the people about the problems inside Westeros that needed to be fixed. He planned to eliminate political corruption, and procure better health care and security for the people of Westeros. He wanted a brighter future for every following generation.
It was a speech that reached the people's hearts, but Sandor very well knew that it just placed Robb in the black book of many politicians who would not be happy about his internal policy and his methods. Corruption was everywhere in Westeros, and it was no place for an honorable man like Governor Robb Stark, just as it hadn't been the place for Vice President Ned Stark.
After about twenty minutes, Robb was dismissed with a deafening round of applause from a large part of the crowd, and he returned to his podium in the back, next to the other two. The next one to go was Renly Baratheon. He was received with thunderous applause as well, for he was very loved all over the country by almost everyone. Sandor rolled his eyes, bored and annoyed, but he had no other option than standing there and waiting for about two more hours until all that was over. First, the three candidates had to present their policies and their expectations for the future if they were to become President, then there would be the debate between all of them to try and gain more supporters.
Renly was a very carefree most of the times; he knew that he was going to win. For now, the entire Reach, the Stormlands, Dorne (and it was rumored that the State of Riverlands was divided between him and Governor Stark) supported him, and his list of followers just kept growing and growing with each day that passed. He could easily get the support of the Vale if he tried hard enough.
The truth was, even Sandor suspected that Renly was going to win those elections.
Governor Baratheon spent the same time that Robb had talking about his policy and plans. He wanted to boost the commerce between Westeros and the rest of the world. Currently, Westeros mainly had commerce treaties with Essos, and most of the products that were bought in the country were made there itself; the states commercialized between each other. But what Renly wanted was to open the nation to the world. Some loved the idea and some hated it. In the city square, most seemed to be loving the idea at that moment, and Renly was dismissed with applause and cheering, just as Robb had, and with a brilliant smile of his face.
It was Joffrey's turn after that. He left his podium and walked to the one up front with a confident and even a bit of a smug smile of his face.
As much as Sandor wanted Joffrey to be ridiculed in front of the entire nation, he had to admit that the man knew how to speak in public and how to charm the multitude into listening to him.
Joff's policy was foreign. He paid special attention to the military, and he gave an interesting speech about it.
"Westeros has faced many times of war during its history," he was saying, his voice rumbling through the speakers. "And in those times of war, the country has been damaged. The reason is very simple; our army is not strong enough. It is not acceptable that every State has its own poorly trained army! We need to build a strong defense for our nation, and prepare the men to serve in a strong, unified military body that belongs to the whole country, not just the State that wants to use it!"
The response that he was getting was truly surprising, because the people were cheering their agreement in unison. Joffrey, like the other two candidates before him, had managed to be heard, and he had fooled everyone into believing that he cared for them, when in truth, all that he cared about was power.
Sandor wanted to laugh at all those thousands of bloody fools, but then he started getting a weird sensation, and he frowned. It was a sensation that he knew very well, and instinct that he had picked up during his time at war and during his time as a lifeguard...
There was danger somewhere around them. He could sense it.
He searched around carefully with his eyes. There was security in every corner, but the place was still not secure. The city square and the Sept of Baelor were surrounded by tall buildings, and in every one of them there were armed men prepared to take action if any harm were to come to the three candidates in their podiums, but it was still not enough. Sandor knew that there were always loopholes...
He started walking, and he looked at the three candidates. Robb and Renly seemed to be alright, and so was Joffrey, who was still talking in the central podium...
That was when Sandor saw it. The tiny red point that had just appeared, made by a laser, right in the middle of his forehead...
Without hesitating for even a second, Sandor ran up the steps in less than it took to blink and he threw himself at his boss, covering him with his huge body. It was what a bodyguard had to do.
"Joffrey, get down!" he barked. His body crashed against the young Governor's and both of them fell crashing on the floor, to the utter confusion of all the people who were witnessing the scene.
A bullet flew right over them. It would have hit Joffrey right in the center of his forehead, sending his brains flying around, had it not been because Sandor threw him to the floor in time. And, because it hit nothing, the bullet continued it trajectory, coming diagonally from the left...
The stray bullet hit Governor Renly Baratheon right on his heart, and the man crashed down on the floor, dead. There was a hole on his impeccable black suit, and a red spot was beginning to stain the perfect white shirt underneath it. His eyes were surprised, wide open, and lifeless.
There was silence for a second. Then everybody started screaming.