An Inconvenient Flame [Sandor Clegane]

Chapter 49 - Did it all come to this?

It had already been a fortnight since we left King's Landing. We had sailed back to Dragon stone. Gendry had been overseeing the excavation of dragon glass and now we would only need to transport it back to Winterfell. The unsullied and Dothraki had been sent down the King's Road to Winterfell whereas we would sail to White Harbor.

The gentle rocking of the ship had been easier to adjust to this time, and every morning I woke to the sound of water splashing against the wooden structure of the boat. I released a low groan before stretching my arms over my head before rubbing the remains of the sleep out of my eyes.

It was getting easier to sleep on the ship, and the nausea I had felt the first time I was on a ship, was almost completely nonexistent. With my own movements, I had made Sandor stir behind me. He turned to lie on his back and swung an arm over his eyes but the continued snores of his, told me that he was still sleeping.

A smile erupted on my lips when I turned around to lie on my side before I curled up into a ball beside him. There hadn't been any eventful days since King's Landing, not even in Dragonstone as we waited for the Dothraki and unsullied to travel down the King's Road to Winterfell. I still couldn't fathom we were on our way north. I would finally go home.

A gust of cold air swept through the room, and I shivered before curling up under the furs again. The further north we got, the colder it became. It had been a bit warmer down south and despite the fact I missed the north, the cold had been quite overwhelming.

I no longer had to ask Sandor to join me at night. He came of his own volition and kept me warm. Sandor even stayed longer than just till dawn. There hadn't been much to do on this boat which meant Sandor had also returned to the quiet person he was when we stayed at the sept. I couldn't help but notice the affection he had begun to show me was the same he had showed me then. It was the one I had seen glimpses off when we were under Brother Ray's guidance.

I failed miserably to suppress the yawn that escaped before I stretched again and scooted closer to Sandor. He was looking extremely peaceful for one and it made me glad. The hope I had felt in King's Landing when I found out he would come with us north, flooded me again and a new bravery emerged.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position before moving closer to him. Sandor always wore the same cotton shirt with the brown pants when he slept beside me. I had seen him without his shirt before, but he never took it off when sleeping beside me. I chuckled to myself before lying down again, snuggling closer to him.

I placed my head on his chest and rested a hand underneath my chin. Unconsciously, Sandor moved his arm away from covering his eyes and wrapped it around my waist instead before he pulled me closer.

Sandor inhaled deeply when he turned to his side and rested his chin against my forehead. His other arm moved around my frame as the one he had held around my waist, moved up behind my head. He tightened the embrace when I rested my head against the top part of his shoulder. He then shifted and his legs came to lie with one of them in between mine. I smiled widely before moving my arms around him the best I could.