Thread: A Ruler Of Worlds (RoleplayMaster & darkangel76)

Those rotten fingers, those decrepit hands! For being death, they grabbed hard and fast and without mercy. Sansa was beside herself, her life flashing before her pale blue eyes. And just what kind of life had she truly lived? Well, it hadn't gone the way it was supposed to at all. She remembered a happier time when she'd been clueless of Joffrey's true and very cruel nature. It had been the pinnacle to trigger the cascading bouts of sorrow her life would hold from that moment forward. No one could be trusted and all wanted her to suffer. And now, with the world turned upside down, she was nearly certain that this was the end. Just as Sansa had accepted that this was how things would end, she heard the quick squelch of meat and snap of spine. She dared herself to look as the hands holding her went slack and the head rolled past. Sandor Clegane, the Hound, dog of the Lannister family, had made quick work of the monster. Breathing hard, she watched him stamp on the still thrashing head of the thing, its mouth moving, while its eyes rolled about in its eye sockets. Just who had this creature been? Sansa wondered. Sandor rushed to her side then, his eyes scanning, while his hands gently and carefully pulled down her dress. This wasn't the first time he'd saved her life, though she remembered the first time he had. It seemed so long ago, especially now. She'd been innocent of the world back then, experiencing her first true tastes of just how ugly her world was becoming. For a fleeting moment, she recalled the weight of that soldier as he'd tried to violate her body right there on the streets of Kingslanding. Sansa closed her eyes just then, pushing the memory away. But it had been the Hound who'd saved her honor that day...how she wished he'd been there that day she'd practically been sold into the custody of ruthless Ramsay Bolton! Sansa opened her eyes, her body trembling hard. She watched Ser Sandor pull away as if she was something he couldn't touch, couldn't even look at. This seemed to be his way any time her life was threatened. Though why? I...I'm not a child, Sansa retorted, though her tone exhibited no anger, just frustration. Besides, Ramsay Bolton had made sure any innocence she might've had hidden away was taken just as brutally. But that was past and this was now. But, thank you, she added, her eyes staring at the ground. And, I'm sorry, she went on. She felt badly that Ser Sandor had to go out of his way for her, putting himself at risk each and every time. The fire had been a silly idea just as she'd been warned. Though why had he decided to indulge her, especially if it meant more danger to them both? She was a nothing now. Surely one girl didn't matter. However, Sansa was grateful. She always was. Sandor moved to the nearby log and sat down, his expression one Sansa couldn't read. The man hardly seemed angry with her, yet he refused to look her way. Slowly, she stood up, shaking hands smoothing out the blues of her dress. She walked toward the knight, the one who defied a king the day he saved her life, her virtue. You...you said to stay close to you, Sansa whispered. She was shivering and frightened. Just how many more monsters were out there? She was convinced her entire life was one big nightmare, one filled with every sort of monster imaginable...even those pretty of face. At that, she joined Sandor and sat next to him. Without thinking, she laid her head against his shoulder, her body turning slightly toward his, daring to get close and crying out for comfort. The Hound was warm, his presence soothing. Sansa reached over and let her arms hold onto his as she attempted to cuddle closer to the one person it seemed she could trust. She shook a little as she thought on how close she'd just come to death. But once again, Ser Sandor had been there. He was always there now. Sansa shivered as she tried to let herself relax, to get closer to the large knight. Tears began to fall suddenly and there she thought she'd none left to cry. But she couldn't help it. Terror had somehow been unleashed and she'd known nothing of happiness or comfort since. There was no changing her life or the past. But once, just once, she wanted a moment she could truly treasure. But some treasures just didn't want to be found.