What in the Seven Hells? You sat in the stands watching as man after man jousted. Each man had his eye on the prize. Something never offered before. The prize? You. This wasn't exactly how you planned to find a husband. It was barbaric and it made you feel like a slave. However, you were a bastard. What more could you ask for? You certainly couldn't expect a noble lord to marry you, even if you were the daughter of the honorable Eddard Stark. Now, here you were, waiting to see which deplorable man would win you as his wife.
The very thought made you sick to your stomach and it only got worse when the next contestants moved into place. You instantly recognized the helm of Sandor Clegane. The Hound. You were stunned. In truth, although the man enjoyed killing and a good fight, you thought he was better than that. You never thought he'd stoop so low as to try and win you. You hoped he was different than other men in King's Landing, but it turned out he wasn't.
The sickening feel you felt in your stomach turned into rage as Sandor won the final bout. His eyes found your form and he saw you were shaking with anger. Jaime Lannister took your arm gently and lead you away from the crowd. "I am sorry, Y/N," the knight whispered to you and you looked up at him in confusion. "This was no way to arrange a marriage. And to the Hound, no less." You looked down at the ground. Honestly, you didn't have anything against Sandor until he entered into a joust for your hand.
"Where are you taking me?" you asked, changing the subject a little. You didn't want his pity. Jaime frowned and replied, "To your new chambers. The ones you'll be sharing with the Hound, who will be your husband after tonight. The king is insisting on the marriage taking place this evening." You inhaled sharply. You hadn't expected it so soon. Still, there was nothing you could do but let Jaime lead you to your new rooms. Once there, Jaime left you alone, but you didn't have to wait long before the doors opened again, revealing your husband-to-be.
The moment you saw him, you crossed your arms over your chest and glared at him. "Don't look at me like that, woman. It won't do ya any good," he rasped, his eyes never leaving you. "How could you? I honestly believed you were better than the rest of them. That you wouldn't stoop to their level. I always knew you were ruthless and brutal, but I never believed you could be so cruel!" With every word, your voice grew louder and more shrill.
"Knock it off, would ya? There's no need ta shout," he said coolly, making you even angrier. "Yes there is! I am not some prized cow! I am a person, bastard or no!" In two large strides, Sandor crossed the room and gently placed a hand over your mouth. "Please stop, woman. Let me explain." You glared at him again and he removed his hand. "Explain what? How you're no better than the other men?" Sandor let out a sigh of frustration.
"I did it to protect ya! To save ya from those men!" he cried. You looked up at him and saw just how serious he was. Your eyes softened. "Protect me? Why?" For a moment, he didn't answer. Sandor backed away from you and began pacing. You could see the gears turning in his head as he tried to think of the right words. "The others...they didn't want ya for a wife. They wanted ya just ta say they had ya. Someone to screw and then leave or worse."
"Why do you care?" Sandor groaned out loud. You knew he didn't talk much, but you also had the right to know why he even wanted to "win" you in the first place. "I didn't wanna be the one ta find yer body in the streets because yer 'husband' was finished with ya." You cocked your head to the side in confusion. "Is that all?" you asked, your voice much softer than before. You didn't have the energy to yell anymore.
Sandor grunted and you rolled your eyes. "Please. If I am to spend the rest of my life with you, I have the right to know what possessed you to do this," you pleaded. You didn't care if he saw you as weak. You needed to know. For several minutes, the silence weighed down on both of you, your question hanging in the air unanswered. "Sandor...please."
"Because I love ya! Hells, woman, is that what ya wanted?!" Your eyes widened at his confession. He ran his hand down the unscarred side of his face as you simply stared at him. He'd just said that he loved you. Every response you could possibly think of was floating through your mind, but every time you opened your mouth to speak, nothing came out. "Now ya choose ta shut up? This is gonna be long life, Y/N," Sandor grumbled.
"I-I don't know what to say. I should say that I love you. Really I should, but I am so angry with you, I don't know if I can," you continued to ramble on and on until he gave a hollow chuckle. You stopped talking and looked down at your shoes. Your face was hot and the awkward tension permeated the room. Not only from you, but from him as well. He wasn't good with emotions and neither were you.
After several more minutes of quiet, you let out a scoff. "Screw it," you mumbled before closing the distance between the two of you. You threw your arms around his neck and his instinctively went around your waist to keep you both balanced. "What are ya doin', woman?" You didn't say a thing as you carefully pressed a kiss to his lips. The kiss was so sloppy and awkward at first, but the two of you soon found a rhythm. In that kiss, you let out all the emotions you couldn't seem to put into words.