CHAPTER I

Sandor

Wrenched suddenly from dark dream, I startle awake with the strangest sensation; a strong sense that something important is going to happen. Today.

It is true that I've not been myself lately; but in darker moods I'm not one to suddenly develop fanciful thinking. I can't figure out from where it has come from. Nothing unusual has happened on the previous days. And still, that damned feeling still has stuck to me all day long like a second skin, even if today is spending itself in the habitual manner. Because of my shield duties to the king, I have followed him everywhere he had gone to, from excruciatingly long court cases, petitions, witnessed the punishments that he has doled frequently; listening to his whining and unreasonable demands.

That is nothing new. Seven Hells, am I tired of this boy!

After supper, I make a detour as usual to the godswood, hoping to spy on a familiar presence there – but not sign of the little bird. That increases my uneasiness. Lately, I've not seen her there as often as I did before. I decide then to leave the Keep for the city for gambling and drinking. It is my night off; the other kingsguards have the shield duty tonight.

I meet the regular companions and while I usually enjoy gambling, I go at it tonight in an indifferent way, really not caring about the stakes or outcome; the other players irritate me and I bark at them regularly. I look around me and see nothing there that can distract me and lift off that deep sense of weariness that I feel. I think of leaving and maybe visit the whorehouse, but that doesn't spark an interest either. What would be the use of going? This also doesn't please me much anymore; being partly relieved of desires for a moment only for them to return stronger than ever with nothing to really satisfy them will only make me feel more frustrated. I feel like getting drunk, really blinding drunk tonight, but the foreboding that still shadows me keeps me from doing it, and I'm left with nothing to numb me.

Deep down,I know when that dissatisfaction started but I really don't want to think about it now, as there is nothing that I can do about it.

I leave abruptly and ride through the city, finding a small comfort in that at least I still derive satisfaction from riding; it always helps clear my head. I'm more vigilant tonight, thinking that maybe my instincts have warned me about some kind of unexpected danger, but nothing happen as usual. I'm not surprised. The sight of a big man in dark armor with a half burned ugly face is enough to discourage anyone from foolhardy schemes. And as I enter the castle, only the regular insults are exchanged between me and those that stand guard.

Going down the stairs of the Serpentine, I come in through a side door and enter the Keep. I feel like sniggering at these feelings that I've had all day long. So much for this nonsense, I must be really tired. Still, as I enter the first hallway, I'm sensing that the feeling is becoming very strong now; an icy finger touches the back of my neck, making the small hair there stand up. Is my death coming now? In spite of myself I feel that I'm becoming tense. I stride in hallways that are empty; I only hear the sound of my boots resonating hollowly in the stillness. This is normal at this time of night; but it feels different now. The only movements are coming from the flames of the torches; they bend and struggle against the currents of air, their flickering light creating dancing shadows.

As I cross the junction of the hallway that will take me to my quarters, a distant sound catches my ears and that makes me stop in my tracks. It sounds like pattering and it's coming in this direction! Contrary to my nature, some instinct makes me retreat in a shadowed corner. I touch the pommel of my sword. The sound is getting closer now and is becoming clearer: light running footsteps created by slippers, not boots. I lean my neck from the corner and I stare intently at the other end of the hallway, where suddenly appears a figure in an ornate blue dress, face white and long copper hair flying behind it.

Sansa Stark! I can hear her laboured breathing now and see how her eyes are enlarged by terror, the whites showing. The sight starts my heart hammering in my chest. I feel stuck rigidly in my corner. What is she doing here, running like this? This feels like a hunt, and she's the prey. She's approaching fast to where I'm hidden, and will pass by quickly and vanish if I don't do anything. And still I don't move, rooted by hesitation, rooted by old habits and loyalties. It's happening too fast... Then as she runs by my hiding place, I jump from the shadows and catch her from behind, grabbing her around the waist and clamping my hand on her mouth before she screams. Then I think that I'm starting to hear some kind of commotion coming from the same direction that she appeared from.

I drag her struggling to my chamber, closing the door with a shoulder and locking it hurriedly; then I push her further as I lower my head to her ear, whispering harshly.

"Don't scream now little bird. I'll help you."

Although she has stopped struggling, as soon as she has recognised the sound of my voice her body has stiffened. I release her from my hold and stand in front of her, gripping her shoulders hard. She's panting, trying to regain her breath; her blue eyes are gazing in mine fearfully and I can feel her trembling through my hands.

"You'll be safe if you do exactly as I say."

I need to keep my wits about me. I know that by interfering in what whatever is playing out now that I've crossed a line and betrayed my old loyalties, and that if the King finds her in my room, I'll lose my head and she will die a slow tortured death.

As to remind me of this, I hear heavy stomping footsteps, coming from boots this time, in the hallway beyond my door, and they're coming fast. Her face gets paler still and she starts to shake badly. I lower my head down, speaking urgently.

"Now, try to stay calm. Your life depends on it. You go under the bed, and follow my cues. Under will mean roll from under the bed and when I say it again, roll back in. I'll create a distraction while you do that. NOW!"

She moves like in a trance and disappears clumsily but fast under the bed. Fortunately, my coverlet is thick and the sides touch the floor. I mess up the top of the bed, bring the basin and put it on the floor near the head of the bed.

The footsteps have stopped at the door; somebody tries to open it and finding it unyielding, pounds on it.

"Hound, open up in the name of your King!"

The pounding continues with lots of yapping, and I shout that I'm coming in a cracked voice. I feel lightheaded and stagger to the door like when I'm drunk, my knees wanting to buckle under me. As I unlock the door and open it, I barely have time to glimpse the King, ser Meryn, ser Balon and one of my men as they crowd me in their impatience to enter. Hells, it must be very serious if the King has deigned to be part of the pursuit. I cough a bit and make gagging sounds, causing them to retreat hastily from me.

"What the fuck do you want?" I growl. "This is my night off."

"What's wrong with you?" asks the King. "You look flushed and out of breath, and you sound like you're going to be sick".

I make a grimace and rub my stomach. "I don't feel good. Something I ate doesn't seem to be agreeing with me."

Ser Meryn smirks. "Or maybe you drank too much, as usual."

I snort at him. I would be hard to choose which one, between him and the King that I resent the most. The pretty boy looks at me impatiently, and I clutch my middle, gagging again.

"Where is she?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"The Stark girl!" Joffrey says exasperatedly, as if it should have been obvious to me too. "Ser Meryn thought that she was wandering to this part of the Keep. Have you not encountered her?"

"How the fuck could I have?" I bite back. "I've been here feeling sick. Leave me alone."

I move to go back to my bed, but Joffrey stands up in front of me, looking very peevish.

"Then you'll recover. Now!" he orders. "I need you to find her for me, and right now: starting with this room."

I can't believe the gall of this boy. Rage fuels me so well that I don't feel any nervousness about the very real danger of this situation, and I lift a hand mockingly.

"Then let them search my room! But as you can see, there're not much hiding places in this rat hole."

It is a spare room, a soldier's rooms with no frills. The three walk around the chamber, foolishly looking in corners, and I could really laugh at their serious intent. Meryn opens up the chest and checks inside, naturally finding nothing; the girl would have to be folded in two to be able to fit in. He looks at the King for further instructions, coming again to join our group. How stupid men can get when they obey a mad one!

Joffrey is really getting worked up, and points at the bed.

"Look under the bed, you fools! It's the obvious place. That's where she is!" he screeches.

I roll my eyes upward, shaking my head in derision.

"You're not serious, are you? Why would the Stark girl hide under my bed? She cannot bear the sight of me and she's terrified by me. And I'm your dog, remember?"

"Nevertheless, my dog will lift the bedcovers so we can look. And Meryn, lower the lamp."

I shrug indifferently. "If that what your grace wants, who am I to argue? Let's look under the bed then."

While we all lower ourselves on our knees, I clutch my middle urgently, grimace and start to gag again, and the King keeps a prudent distance from me. Ironically, the pain is real now, gripping my stomach. My fit over, I lift the right side of the coverlet, while Meryn points the lamp under the bed, moving it slowly so it can light up the farthest reaches. We all bend over to look. The coverlet is thick enough so that no shadows created by the light can be seen through it. Fortunately there's nothing under the bed, and relief surges through me.

"Are we finished now?" I ask in a bored tone.

"No, I cannot see in that corner! Meryn, point the light there!"

"Enough! Do you think that the little bird has transformed into a mouse? I'm sick of this. We've seen nothing under that fucking bed."

I drop the side of the coverlet, and the king's face turns bright red.

"Dog, I'll have you speak to me with more respect than that! Or else..."

I choose that moment to start coughing and gagging again, doing it with such force that it turns my stomach, and crawling fast on my hands and knees, I barely have time to reach the basin before I throw up in it, my sides heaving. While I'm having a bad turn, I'm still able to feel amused at the speed the King and the men have recoiled from me, not wanting to dirty up their pretty clothing. Finished, I drag myself up and sit heavily on the edge of the bed, having to catch my breath.

The King is even more furious. "Dog, be careful of what you do! This is disgusting, you almost splashed me."

"I told you that I was sick. Will you leave me be then?"

He pinches his mouth. "But I need you to search for her, all over the castle!"

I can well see him having a tantrum, as childish as he's looking now. I sigh again and look at him. "I'm in no shape for it boy, as you can see." I look at my man. "Make up a search party of fifteen, in teams of three. Start looking at the upper levels down to this one. Have others ride to the Gates to see if the guards found her trying to escape through them. Report regularly to the King, and if I start to feel better, I'll join the search. Satisfied, your Grace?"

He's clearly unhappy about it, as I know that I am the only one that he really trusts, but then his face lights up.

"I'll send the healer; he'll give you a potion and then you'll feel better!"

All the better for it, sending the healer; exactly the man that I need. There won't be suspicion cast on him later, as the king himself had him sent to me. While I had acted unthinkingly in catching her midflight in the hallway, meanwhile thoughts fast and furious have calculated hard in my head, creating the outlines of something.

They finally leave, and I can breathe better. I drink some wine to take away the nasty taste in my mouth and then get up, picking up the basin on my way to the open window and throwing it through it, vile contents and all. I hear it giving a satisfying metallic clatter as it lands further away on the ground. Good, I won't need it again.

I come back to the bed and kneel down again, lifting the coverlet and finding her huddling under it. I drag her, and picking her up under her armpits, help her stand up. She looks dusty and flustered and is breathing fast. Regardless of her state, the danger and terror, I can see a concern in her eyes as she looks up at me.

"I'm sorry, you're really sick, aren't you?" she asks worriedly.

I could shake my head. This is so like her.

I chuckle drily. "No, I tried too hard to be convincing. I'm fine. As for you, I hope that you didn't find any corpses or something horrible under the bed? You did well, by the way. The immediate danger is gone."

Now, she looks around my chamber wonderingly and with some surprise, as she perhaps imagined that my room was a place of untold horrors, with bloody weapons and cut off heads on the walls. But it's only a room, with a bed, some gear, a chest and a nightstand with a flagon of wine on it. She fixes her eyes on the floor.

"Is it, really?"

"Yes." I put a hand that I hope is steady on her arm, and I can feel her flesh shrinking from the touch, looking fearfully at me. This makes me gnash my teeth in rage, but I remove the hand. I want to tell her to stop being afraid of me for once, but I only sigh in exasperation.

Before we can say anymore more, somebody knocks on the door again and I ask who it is. "Elmar," answers the healer and I open the door in a narrow slit, just wide enough for him to slip through, and then I close the door again, all the while standing in his face as to block this view. He looks at me quizzically.

"You don't look very sick."

"No, I don't. But I still need your help. I need your word; that what you hear and see tonight won't get out of this room."

I have known Elmar for a long time. We had both saved each other's life in the past: he had healed me from a badly infected wound, and I had saved his life later on. I had brought him here to the Keep, where he had become the healer. I'm counting on his gratitude now.

He inclines his head. "I give you my word ser. I owe you a lot."

I move sideways, allowing him full view of the other occupant of the chamber, and he steps back, visibly shocked. But when he speaks, his tone is calm.

"Oh, I see."

"Oh indeed." I turn to look at her. "Now, what was the meaning of this?"

She wrings her hands and I can see real torment in her contracted features. She doesn't say anything and is trying to avoid my gaze. I stride near her and lean down.

"I want to know why the knights and the King were running you down at this time of night. What happened?"

"I cannot speak of it."

This creates the sound of bells ringing dangerously in my head. I don't like this at all. "You'll have to speak girl. I need to know."

My tone has gotten harsher, and Elmar clear his throat and signal with his eyes for me to back off. Reluctantly I do it, and it is Elmar's compassionate way of gazing at her that finally unlocks her words. She lowers her gaze and bends down her neck while her hands keep gripping each other.

"The ... the King has tried to enter my chamber at night. I always lock it, so I feel ... safer. He keeps knocking and calling me, and I pretend that I sleep and don't hear until he goes away."

I can feel my mouth start to twitch, and I clench my fists repeatedly to contain my climbing anger.

"How long as this been going on?" I growl.

"It started several weeks ago. I never know when he's going to come, as he doesn't do it every day, and sometimes three or four days pass before he tries again. The last time he came, two days ago, he said that next time he would bring some of his knights, and that they would break down my door!"

She sobs on her last words and I can see her trembling all over. My insides are tensing hard and I have to breathe slowly for a moment, as I'm seeing red. The King would never have dared to act like this while still being betrothed to her. Her status as a royal betrothed had protected her. Fool that I was; I had expected, with the king now betrothed to another that he would be distracted by a new pretty girl and would finally leave her alone. But no, the spoiled boy still wants to play with his toy! This makes me feel even more powerless and angry. And I've been feeling like this for a long time.

I speak in a raspy tone, "So is that's what happened tonight?"

"There was no time for it to happen. As the hour grew later, I got more and more scared that he would come, and I couldn't stay in my room waiting for this. As soon as I left it, I heard footsteps coming further down the hallway, and I panicked and ran down the stairs."

Her arms have come up in a protective manner across her chests, her hands gripping her shoulders. She's still looking down on the floor, and I realise that this comes from shame. I feel my teeth start to gnash against themselves again. I know better than to touch her, but I come closer and lower down my face near hers.

"Look at me!"I order and she does it reluctantly. "You're safe for the moment, but the search is going on, and even if we found you a good hiding place, you won't be able to stay hidden forever. So what do you want now? If you stay, this will go on, but even worse since you defied him, and I won't be able to stop it. Or do you want to leave?"

She gasps at my words. The idea has come too suddenly for her and the shock of it is making her even more overwhelmed. Her eyes are rolling in panic. I can see that she's in no shape to make a decision, but at the same time, I want her assent.

"There's no time to reflect. If you don't want to escape, just leave this room and we'll speak no more of this."

For a moment she glances around in hesitation, then clenches her fists and gives a small curt nod.

I blow out a big breath and turn to Elmar. "And you healer, are you willing to help with this?"

I have watched his face from the corner of one eye while she spoke and have seen a lot of turmoil in it, an unusual tension hardening his jaws; he's bothered by this, having a young daughter. He nods silently.

"Well then. I need you to bring her downstairs in your quarters; have your wife find her servant's clothes, and dress her in a couple of layers of them, as she won't be able to bring anything with her. Hide her hair too. Also, I want you or your wife to make her up, like she has been beaten in the face. The search of the castle will take some hours, so you won't be bothered. I know a girl, Roslyn, who looks a bit like her. Near the end, I will have 'suspicions' that this Roslyn knows something. I'll send my men outside the gates to begin a search. You'll hear the racket. At midnight, bring the lady in the stables by the rear entrance, and I'll pretend to conduct an interrogation and beating of this girl. Everybody will hear. Then I'll leave to join the party with my new 'information'. Is everything clear?"

"Yes ser. It will be done."

While Elmar hasn't questioned the why of attempting something so dangerous, I feel through his compassionate healer's eyes that he's seeing clearly through me, and I am grateful that he doesn't say or ask anything.

"We'll bring her down now, and then I will have to join the search, and report that you cured me with one of your potions, so there will be no connection with you. Let's go."

Because of all the commotion and people upstairs, the way down is clear and we reach the healer's quarter without mishaps. I give them one last look and leave abruptly.