Master Post: The Lady of the Gift
Title: The Lady of the Gift
Author: the_moonmoth
Artist: shan_3414
Mixer: the_moonmoth
Genre: het
Pairings/Characters: Sansa Stark/Sandor Clegane, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Rickon Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, Brienne of Tarth, Petyr Baelish, Elder Brother, Gilly, Hodor, various OCs
Rating: NC-17
Word count: ~81,300
Warnings: Highlight to read (contains story spoilers): Sexism (canon-typical), violence (canon-typical), major and minor character deaths (on- and off-screen), murder, sexual thoughts about a minor, voyeurism, marital dub-con, non-con, sexual abuse, physical abuse, mention of miscarriage, strong language. Please feel free to PM or email me for further information.
Spoilers: This story deviates from canon at the end of book 4 (A Feast For Crows), however, as it's set four years into the future, and as I was reading book 5 (A Dance With Dragons) while writing, the off inadvertent spoiler may have crept in.
Summary: The Hound. How Sansa had wished for him, hidden away in the Vale. A child's fantasy, which she had put aside when it became clear that the only person who could save her was Sansa Stark. She had not thought to see him again.
Author's notes: This story originally started as a vague sort of writing exercise and just... ballooned. I have no idea where the rest of it came from, but it was a lot of fun to write. This beast took me five months to write and edit, and a lot of people helped me during that time, so bear with me a moment...
Thank you to adeluxe, bluebright_l, jaquenerd, stefichan and breve for their help in the early stages, when they really made me think about the characters. Thank you to turus1 for spending so much time discussing Sandor with me. Thank you also to eenaangel, our fantabulous mod, for creating the asoiafbigbang in the first place - I’m pretty convinced I would never have finished without the structure and encouragement she provided.
The biggest thanks of all, however, must go to my two wonderful betas. Thank you to shadow_belle, who was an enthusiastic sounding board while I was writing and the inspiration for the ending. She agreed to beta this while work and other RL stuff was coming out of her ears, for which I am very, very grateful. She is an absolute star. And thank you to ownsariver, my infallible equine, medieval, winter and big-angry-man expert, and the devil in my detail, for giving me the most incredibly thorough feedback, advice and ego-stroking. If I in any way look like I know what I’m talking about with the weather, weapons, or really anything Sandor-related, that would be down to her! I swear she made me add another 2,000 words to my total, but they’re probably the best 2,000 in there. Her enthusiasm and patience have been absolutely invaluable, and this story would not be nearly half as good without her.
And after all those people helping me, I know it might seem hard to believe, but if there are any errors remaining, they are wholly my own ;)
Finally, while I will shamelessly admit that this fic is complete and utter id candy for me, any discussion or constructive criticism is most welcome.
Dedicated with love to the wonderful ladies of the sansaxsandor community ♥
Link to fic: Here
Link to art: Here
Link to mix: Here
ETA: now with Portuguese translation by euou