The Strength of Her // SansaxSandor (On Hiatus)

Chapter 8

08. Reins & Wagons

With the sun just lifting away from the towers of Winterfell castle as it does in the morning, Sansa found herself stepping into a place she always did her best to avoid when she was younger. It was just another way she was so unlike her siblings as none of them minded the stables. Arya and Bran could, on more than one occasion, be spotted running and weaving between the stalls and opened doors. The two older boys loved to challenge each other's riding skills. Rob beat Jon almost every time.

They had all followed more in Ned's footsteps, while Sansa let her mother make her into a lady that couldn't tolerate the smell and the mud of where horses were kept. If Sansa ever went riding, she'd get Hodor to prepare the animal for her, ignoring him completely as he did so. Hodor was no longer here to aid her. There were others she could request do the work for her, but the young lady deemed it time she gathered up her own horse.

Nix was the name of the horse she chose, spending 20 minutes sneaking a peek at the first several horses within the stables. He was of average size, no smaller or larger than any of the others, and his fur was the same shade of brown—chestnut and warm. His timid demeanor was what swayed her instantly. He was calm and proud and reminded Sansa of how Lady behaved. She liked to think that the two would have gotten along rather well had they been given the opportunity to meet, pressing nose to nose.

The young stable hand was more than willing to saddle the steed for her. Sansa was determined to do the task on her own. She's seen it all done before by others for years now. It was from a distance of course, but the general notion wasn't completely lost on her. Or so she thought. About halfway through the many latches and buckles, a voice pointed out that she wasn't doing nearly as nice as she thought.

"With holds like that, you're going to be on your ass before you leave the stable," Sandor Clegane said at the entrance of the stables. His voice suggested that her attempt offended him personally.

She hadn't noticed him there. She was tuning out all the noises and movement that came rushing in from the courtyard. Men were shouting while they worked or trained or walked around with nothing better to do. They weren't important to focus on. But now that his presence was known, there was no ignoring it. Clegane's stature was large and dark in the doorway, the light from the morning sky making him look less man and more shadow. Although she knew the voice, Sansa automatically squinted her eyes to lessen the bright glow. The action helped very little, and she quickly wondered how long he had been watching her struggle.

Unsure of how he wished her to respond, Sansa ignored his comment altogether and continued to work on the saddle. Pride told her she could figure it out on her own. "Did you sleep well, my lord?"

Sandor didn't answer in words but sounded something like a grunt as he marched himself over to the same side of the horse as Sansa, his black boots crunching every pebble and ice stone in his path. As he stepped closer, the sun's light detached itself from him. Sansa could see him clearer. He was no longer a mysterious figure but stood near wearing a grey tunic that one could assume had once been white under his dark fur cloak. He must have still been struggling with the freezing temperatures. The strings of the cloak were pulled and tied together as tightly as possible. His dark hair was windblown, as it was every time Sansa laid eyes on him. Clearly, the man either didn't care enough to own a brush or was reluctant to use one altogether.

All but slapping her hands out of the way, Sandor began adjusting the straps to the saddle. Nix's body tensed each time Sandor's fingers grazed the animal's fur, unsure of how to deal with the sudden change of a gentle touch like Sansa's to one such as Sandor's. The former shield didn't notice or care and continued on fixing the job that Sansa had poorly started. He said nothing as he did, so Sansa placed herself in the horse's line of sight to keep him calm.