"What do you mean you haven't found her?! It's been three weeks! How far can the girl get on her own?" Petyr paced his chambers as Ser Lothor had reported back in about the search for Sansa. "The dye in her hair must be wearing out, which means her hair will be returning to that beautiful red hair that she has. It stands out!" He finally stopped pacing to face Ser Lothor. "You do realize how valuable the girl is, don't you?"

"Of course my lord, with her brothers all dead, Sansa is heir to Winterfell. Whoever marries the girl will hold the north." Ser Lothor had grown to like Sansa, he had been protecting her since the day they had left Kings Landing. He felt as if he had failed her now that she was missing. Though he was not surprised that she had fled, after all, he had seen the way Lord Baelish had looked at her, and the way he had been keeping her especially close after the death of Lady Lysa. "She is my priority, I have men watching Winterfell. I myself will be heading towards The Saltpans, if the girl is smart, she would want to head to the Free Cities."

Petyr nodded in agreement, "she knows that Winterfell is in ruins, and she cannot possibly defend herself." He then looked at Ser Lothor, "go on, and bring her back to me. There will be others looking for her by now, we cannot let her fall into the wrong hands."

Ser Lothor bowed slightly and left, leaving Petyr alone. He slowly walked to a nearby window and watched as the sun started to set. His fingers trailed over the hair that had begun to grow on his chin. "Where are you my sweetling?"

It was early when Sansa woke up, she could tell Sandor was still sleeping. His snores were surprisingly quiet for a man of his size. In the night he had moved his arm protectively around her, so as she stood, she had to carefully move his arm. She was going to visit the horses, but knew he would have argued with her about it. He had grown more protective of her with each passing day, insisting she stay in the room and not venture out alone. But Sansa did not see a reason why she should worry, they had been at the inn for quite a while now, and no one had recognized her, even when the dye washed from her hair. Though she was careful to wear a hood if she went outside.

Quietly she put on her cloak and hood and snuck from the room, waiving to one of the servant girls as she made her way outside to the stables. There she greeted Stranger and her horse, Lady. She had decided to name her horse Lady after her lost Direworlf. She started brushing Lady as the sun began to rise. A smile crossing her lips as the sky seemed to be perfectly clear. The moments she had alone with the horses were her favorite, it was so quiet and peaceful. There was no noise from the drunks inside the inn, and there was no Sandor nagging her about how she should stay hidden all the time.

Once she had finished brushing Lady she pulled an apple from beneath her cloak and fed it to her horse. She then slowly moved to Stranger. She had to let him sniff her hand each time she approached him, but once he recognized her scent, he would relax and allow her to brush him as well. "You smell Sandor on me, don't you?" She laughed a bit as she started brushing the black horse. She knew not many people could get near Stranger, the stable boy himself had spoken about how Stranger had knocked down a handful of men when they had moved him into his own stall. "You're just like him you know, rough exterior, but a soft and sweet interior."

"You have a way with horse's m'lady"

The voice caused Sansa to gasp, she turned on her heels to find the stable boy standing at the entrance of the stall. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya. I just love how you can talk to em and seem perfectly at ease." He gestured towards Stranger, "that horse is a mean one, yet he seems to like ya."

Sansa laughed a bit, turning back to Stranger as she started to brush him again. "They are just like you and me. Every horse has something that can tame them, I think Stranger here likes a sweet voice." She then grinned, finishing his brushing then pulled out an apple for him as well. "And apples, he loves apples." She then smiled, moving towards the stable boy. "You're up pretty early today, any reason for that?"

"Actually, yes." He smiled moving closer to her, "I was hoping to run into you. I've noticed you come out early to see the horses."

Sansa frowned slightly, he had gotten uncomfortably close to her. "I just like the quiet time, it's very rare that I get it." She tried not to show any nerves as she slightly stepped back from the stable boy.

"That husband of yours keep you on a tight leash?" He noticed she had backed away from her and followed her steps, keeping close to her. "He's awfully old, seems too old to be a husband to such a lovely lady." He suddenly moved to wrap his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "He can't possibly satisfy your needs."

She let out a gasp as he pulled her close, her hands instantly moving to his chest to try and push him away from her. "Please let me go, if my husband were to see this I fear what he would do."

"Oh come on… what he doesn't know won't-"

"I'd listen to the girl if I were you." The stable boy quickly found a large sword sitting on his shoulder, pressing against his neck. Sandor standing behind him, fury showing on his face.

Quickly the boy released Sansa, letting her quickly move to stand beside Sandor. "Don't hurt him, please, he's learned his lesson." She looked up at Sandor, her eyes pleading.

With a low growl Sandor withdrew his sword, but quickly grabbed Sansas arm, roughly pulling her back to the inn. Sansa looked back at the stable boy one last time before Sandor slammed the door behind them. He did not say a word until they returned to their room, where he slammed the door again. "Stupid little bird, do you realize what could have happened to you?" He was still holding her arm, his face still full of fury, but now there was more there, but Sansa could not tell what it was. Perhaps concern?

"You're hurting me!" She struggled to pull free from his grasp. "This isn't the first time I've gone out to the stables, and I know the stable boy, he wouldn't have hurt me!" Her eyes were starting to fill with tears as she looked up at him, still struggling to pull her arm free.

He looked down at her a moment longer before finally releasing her arm. He then began to pace the room, running his fingers through his dark hair. "The boy had his hands on you, he was treating you as if you were some common whore!" He stopped to look over at her, "if something had happened to you…" he stopped before he could finish, turning away from her to sit on the bed.

Sansa frowned, moving to sit next to him. "Nothing did, because you were there. And had you not have been…" She leaned down and pulled her dagger from her boot. "I'm always prepared, Ser Lothor taught me to use this, I'm not completely helpless anymore." She then put her dagger back and looked up at him, "I'm sorry."

She had moved to stand up but found his hand grabbing her wrist again, this time not as forceful. She sat back down and looked up at him curiously. "We're leaving today little bird, best pack up your things. We will eat and then we will leave."

Once they had finished eating, they carried their packs to the horses. Sandor helped her tie hers to Lady then tied his own to Stranger. Sansa had somehow managed to sneak out during their time to get him a few tunics and breeches so that he could have different clothes to wear. They each carried a fair share of food and wine as well. Sansa had begun to mount her horse but found Sandors arms around her waist, lifting her to the saddle. She smiled slightly at him and gave him a nod, "thank you."

He nodded and moved to Stranger, mounting him quickly and pulling at the reigns. "Stay close to me little bird, and keep that hood up." He motioned to her cloak, pulling the hood up on his own cloak as well. They then rode off from the inn, the stable boy secretly watching them as they disappeared into the trees.

"I'm sure it was her m'lord, as sure as the sun in the sky."

Ser Lothor had been questioning anyone he had come across. He had decided to take refuge at the Inn at the Crossroads and had come across the stable boy. "She would have had black hair boy, but the girl I am looking for normally has red hair."

The stable boy nodded, "aye, and this girl did. When she arrived, her hair was black as the night, but when they left the night before last, her hair had changed, it was red, a beautiful red that I had never seen before."

"They? She was not alone?" Ser Lothor handed the boy a gold dragon, "tell me about her companion."

"M'lord, she said he was her husband, but I do not think he was. The man was much older than her, and much bigger. When they first arrived, he was close to death, but she had nursed him back to health." He frowned a bit, "he was an ugly brute, half his face burned away."

Ser Lothor's eyes widened a bit at the boy's last statement. "The Hound…" He looked at the stable boy and handed him another gold dragon before mounting his horse once again. He would not stay at the inn after all. If Sansa was with The Hound, she would be in more danger than he had expected, there would be no time to waste.