The Hound and His Little Bird

Chapter One: Safe and Sound

Everything was a blur. She knew what she had to do, where she planned to go, but for the life of her, Sansa couldn't remember a second of it. All she remembered was running out of the Queen's ballroom, away from Ilyn Payne and all the terrified women, and away from her own fear. She didn't know why she was afraid. They all thought the battle was lost. That should have been a good thing.

…Then why did she feel dread pooling in her stomach? She knew Stannis would keep her safe. She was sure he'd want to make alliance with her brother, use her as the tradeoff. Still, it felt like she was just trying to convince herself.

Tears spilled over her cheeks. She wiped at them angrily as she hurried through the halls to her bedchamber. Someone, a guard or a man she wasn't sure, bumped into her down the stairs. Several items tumbled from his arms, but she didn't pay any attention to him. She just needed to get to her room. There she could bar her door and keep safe until she knew the outcome of the battle.

She stumbled on the stairs, tripping over her dress. She hit the stairs hard, accidentally smacking herself in the face. She tasted blood in her mouth and wiped at her lip. She felt something warm, it had to be blood, but she couldn't tell in the shadows. She'd have to worry about it later. She got back to her feet and started to run.

As soon as she reached her door, she hurried to slam the door shut. Once it was bolted, she leaned against the hard wood with a sigh of relief. At least no one seemed to notice her absence. She prayed that no one would say a thing to the queen later… She stumbled through the dark, towards her window, and threw open her curtains. She almost gasped. The sky itself seemed to be bright green, filled with the color of the wildfire all over Blackwater bay. It was almost magnificent, but more terrifying than anything. For a moment, she wished Lady was with her. She whimpered softly and stepped away from the window towards her bed.

"Just go to sleep, everything will be better in the morning," she whispered, tumbling towards her bed. She tripped again as she reached her bedside. Suddenly, large hands were there, catching her. She cried out in shock, but it was muffled by a hand was over her mouth.

"I've been waiting for you, Little Bird," the stranger rasped. It was the Hound. Why was he on her bed? Had he been sleeping there? "Don't make a sound or else I will kill you."

Reluctantly, she nodded her head. She tried getting up altogether, but the Hound kept one arm on her waist, the one that kept her from falling. "What are you doing here? Did something happen at the battle? Is Stannis winning?"

The Hound laughed humorlessly. "You'd like if he'd won, wouldn't you Little Bird?"

"No, I've been praying for Joffrey's victory-"

"Don't start with that shit! I know how much you hate that fucker." He took a deep swig from the flagon and laughed. "I hate to tell you, but Stannis isn't going to be much better. You're just fluttering from one cage to the next."

Sansa ignored his comment and asked, "I'm not fluttering from one cage to the other. Why are you here other than to mock me? What happened?"

"I have no idea. All I know is I've lost."

Just how drunk was he? "What did you lose?"

"Everything." He took another deep drink from his flagon. "I should have killed them all years ago," he muttered, mostly to himself. She wasn't sure what to say to that. She was almost afraid to speak, in case she upset him. "Guess none of this matters now. I'm going."

"Going?"

"There's your little chirping… Yes, I'm going. Getting out of this burning city, away from all these fuckers. Probably out of the iron gates, somewhere. Perhaps North."

She wasn't sure what to say, other than, "You won't be able to get out. Everything's been blocked off-"

"I've got my bloody white cloak. No one'll stop me. Even if they try, I'll kill them." He stared down at her, just as the sky lit up with flames. She noticed all the blood on him, over his face, his clothes, it was everywhere. It almost made it harder to look at him.

Suddenly, he touched her lip with surprising gentleness. It still stung slightly. "Did someone hurt you, Little Bird?"

"Just the stairs," she mumbled, glancing away. "Why did you come here, if you're leaving?"

"I want the song I was promised. I want to hear if the Little Bird is as good at singing as she is at her chirping."

She was confused. When had she promised to sing him a song? "I never promised a song. Besides, I told you I don't know any anymore." Was he going to hurt her? "Please let go of me."

He growled, suddenly shoving her onto her bed. He was overtop of her, looking at her, actually looking at her. She looked away. "Look at me." The tone of his voice made her look again. He was all she could see, feel, smell… It was all of smoke and blood and wine. It made her nauseas. It didn't help she felt far too warm with him over top of her. He spoke quietly, "I could keep you safe. They're all afraid of me. No one would hurt you again or I'd kill them." Was he offering to bring her with him?

He pulled her closer. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to kiss her. She closed her eyes instinctively. "Still can't look at me?" She felt the cool feel of a blade at her throat. Her eyes flew open. "I want that song now. Florian and Jonquil. Sing, Little bird, sing for your life." Every song, every lyric, and just about every word flew from her head. Her throat tightened up and it felt like she was going to be sick. Don't kill me, please.

For some unknown reason, she reached up and cupped his burned cheek. She could feel the stickiness of the blood and the warmth radiating off the skin. His scar wasn't as rough as she imagined it would be. She managed to clear her throat and said softly, "I don't know any songs. But I do know I don't want to be here alone. Take me with you."

The blade slipped away from her neck. "Little Bird," he said once. He got off of her and she leaned up. He shocked her by grabbing her suddenly and throwing her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" she nearly shrieked in surprise. Then she asked, "You're actually going to take me with you?"

"I said I would, Little Bird. Now, be quiet."

"Wait, I need to grab things! I can't just go with nothing." When he opened his mouth to argue, she added, "It'll just be a second." After a moment, the Hound reluctantly slipped her off his shoulder.

"Be quick, now." His tone set her hurrying to her bedside. She grabbed two dolls, the last ones her father had given her on their way to King's Landing. Next was her wardrobe, where she grabbed a small satchel, two spare changes of clothes and reached way back to grab a small leather notebook. She'd been keeping it since her Father's death. She shoved all the items into her bag. Just as she was turning around, the Hound was picking her up again over the shoulder. This time, she only gasped softly. He didn't comment, just grabbed his flagon on the bed and unbolted her door.

She could feel him hurrying down the stairs, swaying with his steps. It was like she had super senses at this moment. She could feel everything, the cool of the air, the dampness as the blood from the Hound's armor soaked into her clothes, and where his hand was holding her on his shoulder, wrapped around the middle of her thigh. His touch was almost too warm and made her thigh tingle slightly. She couldn't help, but remember when he'd grabbed her like this last time, in Flea Bottom. The thought made her squeeze her eyes shut and grip onto his cloak. She tried focusing on something else.

Before she knew it, they were outside. The air felt unnatural hot. He went straight towards a small side building. As he was ducking inside, the Hound set Sansa on the ground. He tore the blood soaked cloak off his shoulders and threw it over her shoulders. "Cover yourself up. We don't need anyone spotting that hair." As she adjusted it on her shoulder, he grabbed his horse, Stranger. To her surprise, Stranger was already saddled up and had a pack on.

"Why was he here and already saddled?"

"In case the city fell. There's no way in hell I'm dying over some Lannisters. Come here, girl." He picked her up and set her in the saddle. He swung up right after her, pulled her up against him and started out of the stable at a full run. "Whatever happens, stay as close as possible and keep the cloak over your head. I don't need you getting in the way." She nodded silently, glancing up at him. He didn't look back.

Sandor Clegane had the horse at a fast pace, up until he spotted the gate. She pulled the cloak around her tighter as he started slowing the horse down. "Don't chirp one word, I'll deal with them." He slid down from the saddle and took hold of the reigns. As expected, the guards stopped as soon as he was in range. "Open the fucking gate," he barked, glaring down at the three boys in front of him. They were obviously new recruits, pulled from their homes to fight in Joffrey's war.

"Uh, sorry ser, but we're under strict orders from the Queen-"

"I have my own fucking orders, you cunt. Open it now, before I skin you all alive."

Two of the three boys looked ready to soil themselves. They stumbled over each other in their haste. The last boy wasn't quite as smart. He noticed Sansa on Stranger. She tried tucking into herself a little further.

"The Queen said absolutely no one was allowed to leave the city. Why would she have you escorting someone out now?"

Within a second, the Hound had pulled his sword from his scabbard and nearly sliced the poor boy in half. Sansa almost cried out, but bit her lip. She did start to protest as he started up behind the other two boys. One of them spotted the dead soldier and pulled out his sword. Their swords met with a loud clash. The other recruit tried coming from behind, but Sandor hit him straight in the face with his elbow. He swung down, cleaning cutting through the first soldier's arm. The boy cried out in pain, but it only lasted a moment and then he was missing a head. The Hound turned back towards the last soldier, who was trying to scramble away in fear. "You don't have to hurt him!" Sansa nearly yelled, leaning forward on Stranger.

"Shut up, girl." He put his sword straight through the boy's belly. Then he pulled it out and slid his sword back into its scabbard without wiping off the blood.

"Why did you kill them?!" she demanded as soon as he started back up into the saddle.

"Do you want the Queen after you as soon as the sun rises? Do you want them blabbing about how I took off with the family's precious possession or do you want a few days ahead of them before they send out a fucking army after us?"

She hated that he had a good point. "Two of them didn't even notice I was there," she mumbled.

"Oh, they noticed you, Little Bird," he replied. With a flick of the reigns, Stranger was off. It was just seconds before the horse was at his full speed. Sansa nearly slipped off, but the Hound was there to keep her in the saddle. He kept an arm around her waist until she got balanced. He kept the same pace for some time, until Sansa's bottom was past being numb and started to hurt. She kept her mouth shut, for fear that the Hound might change his mind. Now that she was free, she didn't want to go back.

It had to have been miles and miles before the horse started to slow down a bit. Stranger slowed down more when Sandor led him off of the King's road into the woods. There wasn't a sign of the sun and the adrenaline from the night was beginning to wear off. She yawned widely, but tried to cover it up.

It didn't fool the Hound. "It's going to be a long trip. Try sleeping, Little Bird."

"I'm fine," she tried lying, but the yawn that followed betrayed her. Still, she tried not going to sleep. Being out in the forest like this made her nervous. She didn't want to close her eyes and have something happen. So, she ignored Sandor's suggestion (which soon turned to a demand). She tried making one-sided conversation, but she started yawning after almost every sentence.

After about the fiftieth yawn, the Hound lost his patience. "You're going to go sleep right at this moment. I'll knock you out if I have to," he warned. He was trying to be patient with the Little Bird, but she was quickly annoying him.

Reluctantly, she asked, "How am I supposed to sleep on a horse?"

An annoyed look crossed his face and he scowled. "It's not that hard. Just lean back, I can hold you up."

"Uh, are you sure that's okay?" She felt herself beginning to blush and ducked her head. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable or more exhausted."

For a moment, the Hound was quiet. Then he surprised her by saying, "It'll be fine, Little Bird. Now lean back, I'll keep you from falling off." Slowly, Sansa settled herself against the Hound, finding as comfortable of a position as she could. Once she'd quit wriggling around, Sandor wrapped an arm around her waist once more this time with his large hand settled on her hip. She rested her head against his chest plate and closed her eyes. Surprisingly, she felt extremely comfortable. She was warm snuggled up in the white cloak, the sway of the horse moving was almost like a rocking, and for some reason, the thought that the Hound's arm was around her waist made her feel safe.

"Wake me up when we stop?" she murmured sleepily, already starting to fall into the abyss.

"I will, Little Bird," he said softly. For the first time since her Father's death, Sansa felt safe and sound.

~A/N~

So, this is my first time writing GoT. I've always imagined Sansa going with the Hound at Blackwater Bay. Well, here's the start to my thoughts. As I started thinking about this more, I got curious about SanSan and started reading other fanfics of the two. At first AryaXGendry and DanyXDrogo were my favorite couples, but now this has topped it. While it can seem a little weird for this couple at first, I can't help but love them. Besides, it's not too much different than Dany's marriage.

This story will be a struggle to write, as I have to write the characters as close to their personalities in the book. That's about as close as the plot is going to get. Obviously, I'll keep some of the key plots in the story, but I'm taking all my own twists as well. Hopefully, whoever reads this enjoys the story.

The first chapter was inspired by the song Safe and Sound by Julia Sheer.

R&R

XmX

~11/30/16 Update~

So, after quite a bit of reading and rereading through these chapters, I finally started editing through these chapters.

I want to give thanks to a reviewer Swimmon1966 for a great pointer for my writing!