All I Had Of You

Chapter 6

When Sansa had healed and Shae had determined that she and her newborn were fit enough to travel, the little group continued their trek north to Winterfell. The small hay wagon that had brought Sansa to the cottage were her daughter was born had been suddenly replaced by a slightly larger caravan wagon. Sansa and the baby were able to ride in relative comfort, enclosed and hidden in the back. Shae, wrapped in a large dark cloak, drove the horse that had also mysteriously appeared,
from a partially covered seat shielded somewhat from prying eyes. Sansa was certain that Lord Tyrion had arranged their new mode of travel. She vowed she would find a way to thank him someday.

As they journeyed, Shae was careful to avoid the Kings Road which would certainly have been crawling with Lannister men eager to make names for themselves in the royal household by returning an escaped fugitive. Shae kept them instead on the back roads. Whenever the opportunity presented itself she would stop the wagon at an inn to let mother and child rest and warm themselves by the hearth fire of the small rooms they would let. Shae insisted on secreting the wagon in a safe place, and first walking to the inns they found while Sansa hid with the baby. Shae would examine each establishment and decide if it was safe before allowing Sansa and her child anywhere near the unfamiliar places.

It was while surveying one of those small inns that Shae noticed a huge menacing figure of a man sitting at a table in the shadows toward the back of the large dining room. The man was dressed in the dark studded leather clad armor that she had see on the Kingsguard in Kings Landing. His attire, however, was faded and worn. He was seated with his back to the door and Shae could not see his face, but something told her she needed to investigate this traveler more closely. As she approached he barked something to the young boy seated next to him.

Drawing in a sharp breath, Shae needed only to hear his rasping tone to know who the man was. Sandor Clegane, the man Sansa had been dreaming of, yearning for these past months was sitting barely five feet from her. For a moment she saw herself turning and leaving, returning to Sansa and taking the girl and her baby far from there. A part of her thought it would be best if her young friend never saw this man again. She had to fight herself to stand her ground. Then she thought of the pain Sansa had endured being parted from him. How her dear mistress had cried in the night for him, longed for him to be with her when their child had been born, and ached for him still. She would not allow Sansa to suffer one moment longer. If it was the last thing she did, she would see Sansa reunited with the man she loved, this day.

Shae summoned all the fight she had in her, drew herself up to her fullest stature, took a step forward and bellowed, "Clegane!"

Sandor Clegane did not even tense upon hearing his name shouted at him like a threat. He hardly stopped chewing his last bite of food. He could tell from the voice that the owner was a woman. Surely, some other piece of collateral damage he had wronged in his murderous life, just like the little shit he'd had to drag half way across Westeros who sat beside him. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Sandor reached for his ale and drained it, slamming the flagon down on the table. He did not have time for this. He had other, more important things on his mind, namely his Little Bird. When he felt like it, he stood and turned towering over everyone in the room. The dark haired woman who confronted him barely reached his chest at full height, and he scoffed in amusement.

Shae hid any fear she had well, mostly aided by her deep anger. She breathed in and took another step toward him. "Do you know who I am?" She challenged.

"Should I?" He mocked.

"Me, you have no cause to remember, however we do have a mutual acquaintance." Shae informed him. "A very dear one."

Sandor studied the tiny woman who meant nothing to him, and wondered at the meaning of her words. After a moment it came to him. The recognition and what it might mean would have knocked a lesser man off his feet. Sandor, however, was extremely well practiced at hiding his reactions, and his emotions.