The Forest Child {Sandor Clegane Story}

Unnoticed

"What are you doing here girl?" Nartari heard someone growl from behind her and then place a tight grip on her elbow.

"He... what..." Natari couldn't speak and suddenly began to feel extremely ill as she turned around and saw Sandor staring right at her.

Before she could think, Sandor was pulling her out of the room and then into cooler streets outside. "What in seven hells child?" he shouted at her.

Natari still couldn't speak as the image of Jory kept playing over in her mind.

"What did you think he was holding out for you as well? Think he'd never fucked a woman before? Fuck, I thought you were smarter than the other girls!" Sandor continued to shout as Natari stared into the distance.

As Natari continued not to speak, Sandor's patience grew thin and he firmly grabbed her hand and began to lead her through the streets. He was not hurting her, but he held her close as they continued down the dark pathways back to the castle. Once inside the castle walls, his grip on her loosened as he continued to walk her to her room.

"In, I'll try to find your handmaids," he grumbled and opened her door.

"No!" Natari snapped. "I'm fine without them" she went on to add as she turned around in the doorway to face Sandor.

"I'm not stupid. I knew he would of... I just thought after... I thought he would..." Natari's eyes began to fill with tears again.

"After he what?" Sandor growled.

Natari lowered her head in shame and leaned against the door frame. "It feels like the world is spinning" she laughed off-topic.

"Did he hurt you?" Sandor asked sternly, unwilling to change the subject.

"I am his betrothed. He came in one night and tried to push things too far, I think he wanted me to do what that whore was doing. I... I pushed him away and he tried again before I made him leave," Natari shook her head and then walked into the seating room of her chambers, leaving the door open and Sandor stood in the corridor.

"Are you coming in or not?" she sighed and rolled her eyes at him before pouring herself a glass of wine from the table and slumping down into one of the seats.

Sandor grunted, he did not know why this young girl was inviting him into her chamber room. Why would she want a dog to join her for a drink at such an hour? He could not deny her though. She had a strange grasp on him that even he did not understand. So the pair sat in silence for a while drinking the wine and staring into the distance. 

Natari was the first to speak. "Why do you care?"

"I don't," Sandor grunted

"You stare a lot and are always there to help me, yet you don't care?" Natari smiled and raised her eyebrows as she finished the wine in her glass.

Sandor grumbled something under his breath before quickly finishing his drink and then standing up. "No more chasing men in brothels," he wickedly chuckled before taking his leave and closing the door behind him.

The next morning Natari woke up with an incredible headache, and as she slowly pulled herself out of bed she felt as though her head was going to split in two. Her two handmaidens had helped her wash and dress before she left to break her fast with her father and sisters.

"Don't be so stupid Arya!" she heard Sansa whine as she opened the door to their apartment.

The two girls looked up at their sister when she walked into the room and Sansa instantly ran over to her. "Tell her sister, tell her how I will have beautiful golden-haired princes with Joffrey one day," she cried.

"I'm just saying, you could end up having girls," Arya giggled.

"That's enough!" Lord Stark roared as his patience with the young girls grew thin.

Sansa let go of Natari and ran back into her room, just as Arya's dancing teacher came to collect her.

"I have a small council meeting. I will see you later Natari," Lord Stark announced before standing from the table and storming out of the apartment.

Taking a deep breath in Natari flopped herself down into one of the chairs by the small table and began to pick at a piece of bacon. She was bored and with her sore head, all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. As she poured another glass of juice there was a small knock on the apartment door. Natari did not even have time to answer before Jory walked in.

"Get out!" she spat as she turned to face him and then quickly looked away.

"What is the matter now?" he sighed and walked further into the room.

"I will not marry you. You disgrace me with your actions... I saw you in that place. I saw what you were doing, you did not see me though, you need not sense my presence unlike another" Natari seethed as she tried to hold the burning tears in her eyes.

"Natari..." he whispered and took another step closer towards her.

"You take one more step and I will scream!" she warned him as she stood from her seat and moved further away.

"Natari, I am a man. I have needs, if you were not off eye fucking other men I would not be forced to relax in such a manner."

"I do no such thing. I have been there for you, waiting for you for many years now Jory. It is you who delayed our possibility of marriage, you who stopped me from being able to care for you. So don't you dare place this blame on me. I have said all I need, I will not marry you, Jory. You have broken my heart." 

"Fine!" he growled before storming out of the room.

No longer able to keep herself up, Natari fell to the ground as her sadness overtook and she began to cry hard. The door to the apartment was still open and she could see the maids passing by laughing as they saw her sat on the ground. No longer able to take the pain, Natari pulled herself up from the floor and ran back to her own room.

For the rest of the day, Natari kept to herself as she lay in bed and tried to sleep. Ever time she closed her eyes she saw Jory with the other women and then Sandor and the look he had shown her when he first pulled her out of that awful place. She could not say why the scarred mans face kept appearing in her mind, Arya had told her about how he had cut down her friend, the butcher's boy, on the way to Kings Landing and Natari had heard many other horror stories about the man.

Later that day, as the sun was starting to fall in the sky, a frantic knocking erupted on her chamber room door.

"My Lady is it one of the Stark Guards" the handmaiden called out as she remained in bed.

Natari pulled on her robe and walked into the seating area where the guard stood, covered in blood.

"It's your father, he's been hurt".