The air was cool and soothing as she brush against Sansa's cheek, for the first time in such a long time she felt as if she could breath easy now. She was outside of King's Landing's walls and away from Joffrey's reach, for the first time since she left Winterfell she felt safe and it was all thanks to the man she shared this horse with, The Hound or rather Sandor had come to her the night the Blackwater burned green and offered to take her away from her cage. Of course, she was hesitant at first but soon accepted his curious offer she didn't care where he took her, she wanted away from far the lion's den. At first she was afraid they'd be caught and she feared the punishment for such treason, but Sandor whisked her away without so much as drawing an eye to them. Their travels had lasted two days, and one night sleeping on the forest floor. Though she found the forest floor was far more comfortable than her feather mattress back in King's Landing. 

Though she had to admit traveling in such a manner did not appeal to her, they only had one horse thus forcing her to share the saddle with Sandor. It had been uncomfortable at first as his large arms reached out her to grab the reigns,  and she had found her body ridge as she refused to lean back on him. Though now she found it a little less uncomfortable as she sagged against his chest, her eye lids heavy with sleep as Stranger trotted on through the thick green grass. She had to fight the urge to sleep where she sat, she knew Sandor assure her falling asleep on the horse would be safe, but he had also said if she fell off he wasn't stopping to pick her up. 

Suppressing the yawn, her Tully blues hues shifted over towards a sparkling lake. She couldn't help but find it beautiful as the sun shone bright on it, it was much more appealing than the Blackwater had ever been. "Where are we going?" she asked, her voice soft. 

"I'm taking you to the Twins." Sandor rasped, his voice harsh as he spoke. 

"The Twins?" Sansa asked surprised, as she glanced up at him the best she could in the position she was in. 

"Because your mother and brother will be there, and they'll pay me for you." Sandor said, though the way she spoke made it sound as if she were a burden. Could he not wait to be rid of her? There was no doubt her mother and brother would pay him handsomely for his trouble, though the question that stood in her mind was why would they be at the Twins of all places? 

"I don't understand, why would they be at the Twins?" 

The ruined side of Sandor's lips twitched at her question, his grey gaze shifting down towards her face as he regarded her for a moment. "The whole buggerin' country side is yapping about it, your uncle is marrying one of the Frey girls." he rasped, as he dug his heels into Stranger's flanks to urge him froward through the grass. "So quite your chirping, little bird and we might just make it there in time for the damn wedding." 

His curt response caused Sansa's cheeks to flush as she glance away from him, she hadn't meant to annoy him. She was only curious as to where their destination would be, she had kept quite for two days and merely followed him like the lost little bird she was. Though now that she knew she was to see her mother and brother again she couldn't help but feel a sense of joy warm her chest, it had been so long since she had seen them. Would they look the same? Or perhaps would they look different? She also couldn't help but wonder if Arya would be there with them, she had known she was missing. Though she knew Arya was a strong girl, and she could find her way through the wilderness better than Sansa ever could. As they continued forward Sansa found herself leaning against Sandor's chest as she allowed her eyes to slip shut, a small smile appearing at the corner of her lips at the prospect of home. 

Sandor wasn't annoyed by the little bird, not much anyway. Though her constant chirping and the fear he seen lurking in her eyes rubbed him the wrong way, hadn't he proven himself enough by taking her back to her family she loved so much? He was by no means a good man, and didn't offer to take her away from the sh*t hole known as King's Landing out of the goodness of his bloody heart, he had done it for the money. Though the least she could do was place a little bit of trust in him, the last thing that was on his mind was hurting her. He wasn't his bloody brother. 

As she leaned up against his chest, he felt his body tense under the weight of her. As he glanced down he could see her auburn locks glowing in the sunlight like fire, and he could smell the lavender on her hair despite the fact they had been living in the forest for two days. The sound of her soft and even breathing as she slept set him on edge, having her so close to him was nerve wracking and very uncomfortable, but there wasn't much he could have done. They didn't have time to grab another bloody horse, and so they were forced to share. Thankfully Stranger was a strong horse and had the strength to carry them both on their journey, though he knew the next horse he spotted he wasn't going to hesitate to nab. 

The two traveled for what it felt like hours before they found a road to follow, though despite the fact they were a few few miles away from King's Landing Sandor knew they ought to be careful. The two of them were very recognizable, with her auburn hair and his ruined face there would be people sure to spot them, and no doubt there were bounties on their heads. As they pressed forward Sandor kept his eyes wide as he looked around for any sign of a threat as the little bird slept on, he'd rather her be sleeping than chirping away. 

Eventually the a figure could be seen a ways up the road, from the looks of it Sandor could make out the figure to be an older man and a broken down wagon, on his way to the Twins no doubt. Slowly Sandor pulled Stranger to a halt a few feet away from the older man, and gave Sansa a rough shake to wake her. As soon as Sansa came around, her eyes fell upon the figure as fear ceased her chest, turning towards Sandor with wide eyes. Though the look on his ruined face told her not to make a scene, so she kept her mouth shut as he dismounted Stranger, making her back feel oddly cold. 

As his feet touched the dirt, he reached up tp grab her around her slender waist as she placed her delicate hands upon his broad shoulders as he lifted her from the warhorse as if she weighted no more than a feather. Once her feet hit the ground she felt herself sway, as Sandor roughly placed the reigns in her hands. 

"Remember what I told you, no chirping and keep your hood up." he rasped, as he glared down at her. "I'll do the talking, stay with the horse." he said, as he turned on his heel and made way towards the struggling older man who hardly noticed they were there. 

Sansa watched as she gave her hood a small tug to hide her face, her body shifting closer to Stranger as she gripped onto the reigns nervously. Would this man recognize them? Would he turn them into the Queen? Or worse, would Sandor kill him? If it was the latter, she wasn't quite sure if she could watch even the thought of it made her stomach churn. 

"The roads have gone right to Hell, haven't they?" the older man sighed, though by the look upon his dirt stained face he had taken no notice of either of them. "Cracked three spokes this mornin'." 

"Need a hand?" Sandor rasped as he eyed the broken down cart. 

"Need about eight hands." the older man replied as he scratched the back of his dirty thick neck. 

Though when it came to Sandor's strength, they hadn't needed eight men at all just one would due. Sandor had picked up the cart as if it were no problem at all, Sansa could only watch with her eyes wide. She knew him to be strong, but she really hadn't paid much attention to how strong he really was. In that moment she had realized she was the safest Stark in all of Westeros with Sandor at her side, and she couldn't help but feel confident that they would indeed make it to the Twins in time for the wedding. The very thought of it filled her with glee. 

"Gotta get this salted pork to the Twins in time for the wedding." the old man grunted, as he slid the wheel onto his wagon. It was obvious by the shocked look on his round porkish face he was quite impressed by Sandor's strength. 

Once the wheel was in place Sandor lowered the wagon to the road with a soft thump, as the old man's fat lips curved up into a grateful smile which made his pock marked face even rounder than it had been before. "Many thanks!" 

Though before he could say more, Sandor was quick to punch him right across the face the weight behind the punch sending the old man to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Sansa could only watch wide eyes, as Sandor pulled out a small dagger from his belt. At the sight of the blade shining in the sunlight, she felt her heart pick up in pace as she dropped Stranger's reigns and rushed over to the two of them. Once she reached Sandor she had wrapped her slender arms around his large one, halting his blade as he glared down at her with grey eyes. 

"The hell you think you're doing, little bird?" he snarled, as she stared up at him with wide Tully blue eyes. 

"You can't kill him!" she snapped. 

"Dead rats don't squeak." was all he said. 

"Please, you can't! Don't kill him!" she begged, she couldn't say why she was defending this mind but she knew it was wrong to kill him. "He hadn't recognized us, he won't tell anyone. I'm sure of it!" 

"You don't know for sure, little bird. It was best he were dead, he ain't going to last long in these woods anyhow." he said, as he advanced towards the man's body. Though Sansa placed her delicate hand upon his chest to stay him, as she studied his ruined face for a moment, her pretty pink lips parted as she shook her head. 

"Please, let him live. We will be long gone before he even wakes." she countered, determined to save this stranger's life. 

Sandor paused as he seemed to consider her request, the dagger tight in his grip as his grey eyes shifted from her pretty face and to the old farmer that laid in the mud. Every instinct was telling him to kill the fool and be done with it, it'd be better for them if he were dead. Though the look in the little bird's eyes had pulled him to a stand still as he held his dagger in his grasp, why was he hesitating? There was something in the way that she looked at him and it began to pick at him, and so with an irritated sigh he sheathed his blade and made his way around the wagon, stepping over the old man's body to untie his horse from the wagon. 

"You're very kind, little bird. Some day it will get you killed." he rasped, shaking his head. 

A soft sigh left Sansa's lips as she watched Sandor walk away from him, for a moment he was afraid he'd mock her. Though he didn't not really at least, and she was happy for it. Sansa remained where she stood as he made his way back around the wagon to guide Stranger towards the front of it, carefully tying him to the wagon. Sansa did feel bad they were stealing his things, but it was much better than killing him so she didn't speak on the feelings she had as she continued to watch Sandor work as quickly as he could. Once they were all settled, he turned to face her and as usual his face was unreadable. 

"Get in the back of the wagon, go on!" he rasped, as he motioned towards it. 

Sansa eyed the wagon for a moment though did as she was told, just like the little bird she was. Despite the overwhelming smell of pork, the wagon was much more comfortable to ride in and she hadn't have to worry about falling off the horse should she fall asleep. Though as they made their way down the road, she couldn't help but miss the warmth of Sandor's front pressed up against her back, the memory of it leaving her body with a chill as they carried on.