The Caged Bird and The Leashed Dog
+:âż Chapter - 1 âż:+ New Pretty Cage
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Summary: You are the daughter of Jon Arryn, you and your father travel to King's Landing with the intention of arranging a marriage for you. You catch a glimpse of The Hound during your first night in Kings Landing and it creates a mutual fascination even if he won't admit it.Â
CW: slow burn, angst, emotional unavailability, emotional vulnerability, The Hound being abrasive, mention of animal death, alcohol consumption, mention of infant death, mention of parent(s) death, loras being very lgbtq , mention of arranged marriage.Â
Leaving the Eyrie at first was exciting. You hated to admit it, you screamed at your father for even suggesting it, you cried like a child, but it was. The Eyrie was hardly a home, It was cold, isolated, and a constant reminder of what youâd lost. Kings Landing was warm, crowded, and offered a future outside of living in the past.Â
Your father, Jon Arryn, was more than optimistic that you would find a suitor worthy of your name. Your aunt and now step mother, Lysa Arryn was elated at the opportunity of ridding her and Robinâs lives of you.Â
After the death of your mother, Elorie of house Tully, your father married her sister, your aunt. You could have stomached it, you could have even forgiven it, if it werenât for the fact your mother died during her labors of childbirth.Â
As you and your father rode in the carriage, your mind couldnât help but think of it. Youâd spent your mothers entire pregnancy hoping sheâd bear a son. You even prayed, prayed to the seven Gods whom you didnât even believe in. You had hoped if the child was a boy, you wouldnât have to be wed off to the best house name possible.Â
What's worse, not only did the labors kill your mother, but it also killed your brother. Youâd prayed for a brother and the Gods gave you a brother. But they took him away and your mother with him.Â
You had spent days sulking, wallowing in grief. Unbeknownst to you, all the while your father was arranging his own marriage with Lysa. A son followed behind soon, Robin, the brat. You hated him, even if you were the same blood.
âWe approach,â your father said under his breath. It was enough to bring you back to reality.Â
âHow long will I be here?â You asked, knowing the answer. Your father shot you a look with a furrowed brow, as if to say, âYou already know.â You nodded as your concerned gaze turned to a glare as you looked out the carriage into the city. You lost your sweetness after your mother died, you were in no rush to get it back.Â
âWho am I to wed?â You asked flatly, your stoic expression and eyes filled with venom shot outside of the carriage and away from your father.Â
He sighed and looked upon you softly. âThe Baratheon boys are eligible I suppose,â before he could finish you began. âBlondes, I have a distaste for blonde men.â You say as you rest your chin on your fist, still staring outside of the carriage. Your father let out a sigh about to lecture you on the importance of uniting families and the unimportance of such trivial things like personal happiness. But you cut him off, you look at him with eyes filled with venom, âI know youâve a plan. You donât go into anything blind.â he let out a small huff of a laugh as you arrived at the impressive castle. Your eyes did move from your fathers however. âYou are just like your mother. Filled with angry eyes and hard questions.â Your eyes narrowed a bit, as the door to the carriage opened.Â
âWelcome Lord Arryn, welcome Lady (Y/N)âÂ
Later that evening, you met the Lannisters and Baratheons over dinner.Â
You took note of the âBaratheon boysâ your father mentioned. Sons of the King. From all those story books you'd read as a girl you would have thought that Princesâs would be handsome, kind, gentle, and brave. However you werenât a naive child anymore. So the scrawny and boyish looking Joffrey didnât surprise you, but did disappoint you. And Tommen was boyish too however Tommen was just that, a boy, a child. You found yourself praying again, praying you wouldnât be subjected to an arranged marriage between either of them.Â
The dinner was mostly spent with your father and Robbert yammering, and occasionally people needing to remind you that you were being spoken to.Â
It was strange, on one hand you were excited to be out of the isolation of the Eyrie, on the other hand you couldnât care less about the people around you. That was until the royal family's guard stepped into the room. The man was giant, standing at least 6 '6, his shoulders were so broad he had to step into a room at an angle. You felt your eyes linger on the figure just a second too long. Reverting it back to your hands in your lap.Â
You felt her cheeks blush, you felt yourself get embarrassed by this. But the thing is youâve never seen a man like that. You never saw a man that big, a man that broad, ever. The Eyrie was secluded and maybe men from the vale were just shorter. Maybe this was a southern thing. Before you could roll the thought around your brain for long, the hulking figure walked to the opposite side of the room, it was only then when you noticed his face lit by the candle lights.You saw the left side of his face first. His face was masculine, there was nothing about his appearance that was feminine. As you analyzed his face, he turned it towards you which is when you saw the opposite of his face. It was horribly scarred, all the hair on his face was burnt off and ribboned in scarred tissue.Â
It was beautiful. Youâd never seen anything like it.Â
You didnât break your gaze as it was intertwined with the giant in the room. His deep brown eyes seemed somewhat confused with something about you. You felt the blush returning to your cheeks and nose as you studied him. You only broke your improper gaze once you felt the dread you feel everytime your fathers gaze comes towards you. You were able to look away before he noticed. He grabbed ahold of your hand and shot you a half hearted smile hoping your sour mood would magically improve with this minimal affection. However the daggers in your eyes did not surrender.Â
You spent the following days walking around the castle, hoping for another glimpse at the man everyone feared so terribly. You asked your father about him, âHeâs the royal family's dog, both the Cleganes are. They are not the kind of people I wish for you to be around.â You rolled your eyes, but the information you got from anyone else was no better. His monstrous and vile actions. His temper is so fierce heâd kill anyone without a second thought. But when you saw his eyes, those deep brown eyes, they werenât mean or angry they were sad. They were scared.
Days in this shit city were long, and often just as boring as the days in the Eyrie. Only instead of a shivering cold there was a sticky warmth. Instead of Lysa and Robin there was Cersei and Joffrey. At least Robin didnât kill little creatures and beat girls for fun.Â
There were some advantages to living here however. There were more books, more food, more drinks, more dresses, more music. Living so high in the mountain such luxuries were sparse. Luxuries like friends, of which you felt you gained a few. The Tyrells for example were the only people you felt you could be truly honest with. Specifically Loras, there was a sense of vulnerability you two shared with each other. Both of you are unhappy with the prospect of marriage, arranged specifically. You remember the time he confessed to you that he was in love with a man. You walked through the garden together, those times became special. The only times when you and he could speak plainly. You always thought of how lovely it would be to have a friend, someone to trust solely. You always thought it would be a woman but you couldnât complain.Â
You held onto his hands as he confessed. He said he wished he could change, to not be what he was.Â
âNever,â You held onto his hands tighter âNever wish for such things. Change even a single thing of you and you arenât you. And you are my friend, my dearest friend.â You whispered, he embraced you tightly. You however had a slight growing distaste for Renly, a man who brought such tears to your friend.Â
To anyone secretly observing, it was courting. To you and he, it was friendship. In its purest way.Â
Maybe your father was true to his promise, heâd find you a man whom youâd love, a man who was brave and gentle. Only this love was different. As he was the only person you could trust.
The two of you thought of a plan for you and the wedding of one another. It was a good plan, the two of you would be bound by love and respect of which you both shared for the other. And the two of you would be free to find romantic, and sexual love freely. Loras teased youâd be able to fuck all the KingsGaurd if The Hound did not please you. It made you giggle but blush in embarrassment like a little girl.
Honestly you and he would have had the most healthy relationship of all the realm, and the only difference would be the two of you never consummated. But who would need to know?Â
You almost went through with it after the death of your father. If it werenât for the fact Cersei forced her company upon you so much, you could have ran to the nearest septon and made your marriage official. But Cersei never left you alone, you were either with her, or one of her ladies. And, and you hated to admit it, youâd miss those butterflies in your belly anytime you caught The Hounds gaze. It makes your cheek red and your belly burn. And you loved it, it might have been the only reason you could have lived during those days. You spent anytime you got alone with Loras talking about The Hound, a topic he grew bored of quickly. So you also spoke of your marriage.Â
However these plans changed at the arrival of your cousin Sansa. Upon her arrival you saw a girl who would never handle the city she was stepping into with such naive big eyes and fairy tale fantasies of her future. You agreed with Olenna that Loras should attempt to court Sansa prior to her wedding with Joffrey, one last attempt at her freedom. You began to care less and less of your own.
Selfless yes, but stupid.Â
During the tournament you sat beside Sansa, and her father Nedd Stark who had such an affinity to your father apparently it was transferred to you now that he was dead and gone. She begged her father to stop the tournament. You wanted to roll your eyes at it, but you also wished someone would stop it as well. The Mountain, Gregor Clegane, scared you. He was different from his brother. The Hound was almost as big but he had a stoic and sad nature to him, even though everyone told you to beware. The brother you feared was Gregor, he was unstable, rabid, and frightened you to no end. Youâd hoped your plan of him using your mare, who was in heat, would work.Â
It was a trick, but a good one, if it worked. And it did, it upsets and confuses Gregor's mount. Gregor was thrown off his horse. You felt a wave of relief as Sansa stood and cheered. What you didnât account for was Gregor's reaction. Gregor, absolutely furious, decapitated his own horse. You, still seated, grabbed ahold of Sansaâs arm as Gregor made his way to Loras. You sat and watched, you hoped someone, anyone would intervene. Renly, Nedd, the King, anyone.Â
Just as you were sure that was the end, âLeave him be!â The giant man behind you roared. The Hound swung his sword blocking a fatal blow to Loras. You sat there, your eyes not wide but narrowed and brows furrowed. You studied the battle between these two brothers. You wondered why, why would this man risk his own life just to save one of Loras? If he was the merciless monster that everyone had claimed, why do this? As you watched these men fight you noticed, the noble men all fought as they were trained, this man fought as he knew would kill. He fought with experience.Â
You couldnât help but find it exciting.Â
As The King called off this fight, The Hound dodged a fatal blow he simultaneously bowed to the King. This made your lips part slightly as you struggled to conceal a smile.Â
As Loras named The Hound champion everyone stood and clapped, but not you.Â
You sat and stared at the man, your cheeks with a renewed blush on them. You smiled softly at him, his gaze soon met your own. Once met, it was hard to break.Â
You managed to weasel your way out of the sight of the Starks and Lannisters to check on Loras. As you made your way to the stables you didnât find Loras but The Hound. You felt like you walked into a brick wall as you saw the Giant drinking from a wine skin sitting against the stable that held your own horse. He didnât look at you as he said âYour pretty boy isnât here, girl.â as he took another long swig of the wineskin in his fist.Â
âIâm sure I donât know who you refer to.â You lie as you slowly walk over to your horse.Â
âFuck you donât.â He hissed âDirty trick you and that boy pulled.âÂ
âNo honor in tricks.â You say feeding your horse some feed from your palm.Â
âHonor,â He scuffs âonly cunts believe in that shit.â your brows raised, youâd never heard a man curse so much. They rarely did in the company of a Lady.Â
âThere was honor in what you did, It was quite brave, Ser.âÂ
âI'm not a ser, I already told your pretty boy that.âÂ
âLoras is not my âpretty boyââ you said in a mocking tone making the hound crack a small smirk.Â
âFuck off,â He scuffed, âRound that boy youâre as in heat as that bitch mare in that stable.âÂ
âIs that why you came here? You sit in front of my mare's stable because you wanted to accuse me of having relations with a friend of mine?â You eyes shift from your mare to glare at him with disgust. His eyes locked with yours. He hardly needed to look up at you to see your eyes.Â
âI donât like the way you look at me.â He said flatly
âI donât like the way you talk to me.â Your eyes went back to your mare. âDonât talk to me like that and I wonât look at you like that.â
âDonât matter how you look at me, just that you do.â He said as he took another swig.Â
You looked down contemplating what that could have meant as you looked over to him.Â
âDidnât I just fuckinâ tell ya not to do that?â He growled however your gaze did not falter.Â
âYou did not, you said you donât like it.â You asserted mockingly, not at all scared of this man beside you, even though you maybe should be.
He stood, showing just how small you were in comparison to him. As he loomed over you, his eyes raked over every part of you, avoiding your eyes.Â
âIt will serve you well to listen to a man. Save yourself some pain. Some men, like to hit stubborn girls like you. Men who like to beat them.â He said in a somewhat more gentle tone than before.Â
Your eyes met him once more, as you looked up at him, you realized heâd never been so close to you.Â
âAnd what of you? Are you one of those men?â You asked teasing him, testing his patienceÂ
âMaybe,â he rasped âYou donât know the things Iâve done,âÂ
You turned your body towards him to face him completely.Â
âYou should be scared of me, of any man in this shit city.âÂ
âI should be, but Iâm not. I tried to be, but I canât make myself feel frightened by you.â You said fidgeting with your necklace.Â
âIâm a killer,â He wrapped his fingers around your throat, but his grasp was hardly there at all, almost like he was hovering his hand there. âI could crush your pretty throat.âÂ
âDo it.â You said quickly, His brows furrowed, âYou think I want to live here? Do it.â you held onto his wrist, needing both hands to grasp his thick wrist fully. âNo, you wonât hurt me.â You say softly.Â
His hand runs down your throat and lays flat engulfing your chest in his palm as his fingers laid on your collar bone. He felt your heartbeat for a moment, savoring it. âNo, no little bird, I won't hurt you.â He conceded painfully, the name he called you made your cheeks blush. With that he turned away from you and stomped out of the stables.Â
You felt yourself release a breathe, fuck, you thought to yourself.Â
Few questions remained in your mind, âWhy was he so gentle?â Â and âWhy did he make you feel this way?â
NOTE: Hi, this is my first time writing any fanfiction- believe me it will get better. We will be fuckin I promise we will be laying it down girls!! This one is mainly just world building. Let me know if there's anything youâd like to see going forward!Â
XoxoÂ
Bambi <3















