For Whom the Wolf Howls by zoeiona (PG)

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

Fandom: A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE
Characters: Sansa Stark/Sandor Clegane.
Length: 10,000 words
Author on LJ: zoeiona

Why this must be read: I ship Sansa/Sandor all the way up the Blackwater, and this is one of my very favourite fics about both the pairing, and about Sansa herself. zoeiona tells a compelling story which draws you in as Sansa reclaims her identity, her heritage and eventually her throne. I love the clever use of names here, how it starts off with Alayne, but Sansa flashes through with unwanted thoughts. The Sandor/Sansa elements are subtle but intense, powerful but unsentimental, and zoeiona never loses sight of who these characters are, where they've been, or where they're going.

Alayne laid a hand on Robert’s bridle when he failed to bring his horse to a halt at the jetty. His face, poking from woollens and furs, was pale and waxy. They’d needed to bring him. Even Bronze Yohn Royce’s wise Maester Helliweg had said that they had needed to bring him. He hadn’t had to say that Robert would die without the brothers’ help.

Ser Morgarth peered at the ferry, roped up at the jetty on the high tide, and grunted in some satisfaction. He dismounted and led his shying horse up the ramp, nodding to the lone ferryman, a holy brother robed and cowled. Ser Shadrich followed close behind him: Ser Byron dismounted and assisted Alayne to lead her horse onto the ferry. “Have you been here before, ser?” Alayne asked him between equine squeals.

“Never, my lady. No man would, without need: the brothers are penitents, and most never speak.” He indicated their silent ferryman.

Alayne stepped aside to let Petyr and the squires embark. Never to be able to tell a loved one all there was to say... terrible.

But she was Alayne Stone, raised in a cloister, who had no loved ones save her father.

For Whom the Wolf Howls (NB: You have to join asoiaf_exchange to read this fic, but membership is open).