Chapter 1 - Mercy
How long had he been waiting there – was it now two days or three? He was fairly sure it had just been two days but it was hard to tell. Maybe it really had been three. It didn't matter though; he would wait for five if he had to. His eyes were getting heavier and heavier as he stared out at the road, several yards away though and he wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to keep them open. It was his obsession that pressed him on, forced him to stay awake – if he slipped into sleep then he would miss her and if he missed her now, then it would make what he wanted to do all the more difficult.
He hadn't seen her in four years but he heard about her constantly and it drove him mad. When he had been wounded she had left him sitting under a tree, refusing to give him a merciful death. He hadn't died though, regardless of the rumors but all through his recovery he had cursed her name. There was no reason for it, not that he could see, but he felt heartbroken. She was just a kid, far older than her actual years of course, but still a kid – yet, if he would have ever counted someone as being his friend, it would have been her. In a way he was almost offended by her departure from him. How dare she stroll into his life, into his heart and then just suddenly leave when he needed her the most. For two years, after that first year of recovery, he managed to put her out of his mind. Then word of her started to spread – young Arya Stark, refusing to return home and instead becoming a mercenary of sorts. He could only catch bits and pieces of her story but he understood it for the most part.
She had, apparently, found a nice little way of finishing off that list of hers. The war was over, a new queen sat upon the throne but there was still work to be done and she was willing to do it. She would pull in bounties for brining in some people, killing others and taking their heads but it was never considered murder because it was done in the name of the Queen. It was no wonder, given her nature and stance in the war, that most of the people on her list were also on the Queens.
He would shrug off the news as nothing, laugh it off and go about his business. You could say he was in the same business but not at such a large scale. There were smaller kingships and villages that offered their own bounties and he was happy to take them. Post-war killing was the most profitable and he was taking full advantage of every opportunity offered to him. He had a nice pile of gold and silver saved up, for what reasons he wasn't sure but you can only spend so much before you run out of things to spend it on. If anything he did what he did because he enjoyed it and it kept him going.
It wasn't until he started to hear more about her that his blood began to boil with rage towards her. She went by the name Mercy – he remembered hearing about it the very first time. He had been in a tavern, overhearing a conversation and when he heard that, he flew into a frenzy. There were very few left standing that night. It took him a while to calm himself down but even when he had calmed he couldn't figure out why he reacted that way. It was him brother that would have those kind of episodes, not him – so why? He would lay awake at night, thinking about her and this new name of hers. He would seethe till he felt he couldn't breathe anymore and then the feeling would subside. How dare she call herself Mercy when she had shown him none. It was after that night that he began plotting against her. It seemed like every other day he would hear about her and just hearing her name was too much, seeing anyone of her likeness was too much – he hated it. He figured if he could just be rid of her then the pain would stop and he could finally get her off his mind.
It took a long while but about two month previous he was finally able to track her down to a specific village. From there it became of game of cat and mouse – he would follow her to a village, usually several days late and then find where she had gone next. It seemed that he was always two steps behind her but not now. About a week ago he stumbled across a useful piece of information that allowed him to take a few steps ahead of her. He found out who her next target was but unlike her, he actually knew where this person was. It was rumored that they were in one village but in all actuality they were in another a few miles to the south – she wouldn't know this. No, she would go to their last known whereabouts, find out that they had moved on and then she would have to travel the lonely stretch of road to get there.
He was elated to find that he had finally been given his opportunity. The road went through mostly flat lands but near the end, about an eighth of a mile outside the village, there was a small forest area where the trees came right up to the road. This is where he waited for her. The tree-line and foliage offered a good amount of coverage, so she wouldn't see him coming. Not only did he have the cover of the trees but earlier that day angry rainclouds came rolling in and the area was flooded with thick globs of rain – offering ever more coverage. If he was lucky, she would cross today. There couldn't have been a more perfect time.
And so, there the hound sat, his cloak pulled tightly around him, warding off the bitter cold chill in the air. Unknown to him though, as his heavy head began to lull and droop, a pair of grey eyes were watching him from even deeper in the forest. She was already there and she prided herself on the fact that she was able to determine exactly what he would do and where he would hide. She may have been off a few yards, honestly there were better places that offered more coverage but she was still close.
Three months ago she had heard that he was still alive, three months – before that she had assumed he was dead. It was rather surprising actually. There were some reports stating that he still lurked the world of the living but they were rather vague and outlandish. She found out when she went to turn in one bounty and receive a more up to date list from King's Landing. He was at the top of it because of his numerous killing sprees. It wasn't really the murders that caught the Queens attention though, but rather his closeness to the previous king. Someone that wrapped up in the Lannisters business was bound to know some things. Arya didn't particularly agree that he would provide any useful information but she set out with only his name on her mind. In a way she sort of…missed him, as odd as that may sound. Tracking him down was a good way seeing him again, she supposed. Not only that but if she were to ever cross him and not bring him in and someone were to find out – it would cause trouble.
If anything she planned on telling him about the bounty on his head. There was no chance he would know about it, the full list was only ever given to a select few mercenaries and he, obviously, would not be one of those few. If she told him about the bounty there was a chance he would come with her willingly, if she promised to split the silver offered. There was no reason for him to be taken into permanent custody, so it wasn't like he would have to worry about anything. She didn't have to fret about anyone getting in her way either, which did occasionally happen. There wasn't a man or woman alive that would ever try to take him into custody – especially if he had to be transported over a long distance.
This was the plan but then something changed. When she set out to find him she found that he was looking for her. She remembered the night she found out – it was in a tavern. When she asked the bar-keep about him he had turned ashen and sickly looking. He said he had seen him and he was looking for someone, that someone being her. The barkeep said the hound had mentioned to a few men in the tavern that he planned on "lopping that girls 'ead off". He was drunk at the time and more than a little incoherent but he had ranted about Arya for a good solid hour. When one of the other men asked him the reason for his hatred – he killed him then left.
The news shook Arya more than she cared to admit. It wasn't that she was frightened, though she was, but more than that there was a feeling of betrayal. Her only conclusion for him seeking out her head was that somewhere there was a bounty for it. Usually when her name would come up, as it sometimes did, she would hear about it and the situation would be neutralized. She hadn't heard anything about this though, even when looking deeper into it. Which meant that whoever had a bounty on her was secret and underground – the last thing a kingdom needs when recovering from war is another war.
She didn't send any word to King's Landing, just in case she was wrong but she felt even more pressed to bring Sandor in. It would be a tough task though, given his size and strength but she figured she could manage. She started by allowing bits of information to leak, letting him pick up her trail. Then, she began working him closer and closer to Kings Landing. It was much easier this way, though it did take more time. The only problem was that he had gotten closer to her than she anticipated and she knew she would have to spring her own trap before he was able to spring one legitimately his own. If she had tried quickening her pace, putting more space between them or changing how she dropped information, then he would have become suspicious. So, she decided to risk it – they were still two weeks away from King's Landing with how slow traveling with him would be but she didn't have any other options.
The only way to approach him safely would be to ambush him – like he was planning on doing to her. The truth was, she could probably take him in a fight but she would probably end up killing him and she needed him alive.
She had only been there for about an hour and she was surprised to see his current state of being. He was tired, she could tell by how he was drooping and she wondered how long he had been sitting there, waiting. Because of the flat lands she had to find a way of getting to and then through the forest without him seeing. She had been right about his location but she had opened herself to the possibility that he may choose another spot. It was the long way around for her, through dense forest and she had to be quite as she got closer to him. But now she was there – she just had to work up the nerve and wait for the right moment.
He wasn't the largest man she had taken down but he made her anxious. It was like all those years ago, when she had that rock and she planned on bashing his head in. He warned her that if she were to strike, then she better be sure to hit hard enough to kill him. This time she didn't have a rock, she had a poisoned needle which, once it pierced his skin, should debilitate him within a few seconds...should. She imagined miscalculating the dilution of the poison relative to his size and like an angry bear just managing to piss him off. If he caught her off her own guard he could easily kill her. She was still relatively small, only growing a few inches from when they had parted ways and she wasn't particularly strong. It was her agility that would give her an advantage but with that close of proximity it would mean nothing.
Arya watched his head droop over and over till it finally stayed down. This was her chance and she couldn't believe her luck. She thought it would be much harder, she didn't think he would push himself to the brink of exhaustion like he had. With a small smirk she moved forward silently and within a few seconds she was directly behind him. It amazed her, he was out cold – she was even able to take her time finding the perfect spot of exposed flesh on the back of his neck.
She took a deep breath and then quickly jabbed him. There was no worry of damaging him, she knew her anatomy very well and there wasn't anything but muscle being pierced. In a few split seconds there were multiple actions that took place. First, as expected, he reached back and swatted at the needle thinking it was a bug. Then, his fingers closed around the thin piece of metal – brining it around to look at. She saw his whole body tense and then he sluggishly wheeled around to look at her.
Sandor felt dizzy but then adrenaline started to kick in, countering the feeling. When his eyes locked in on his assassin he almost couldn't believe it. It was her – her face had matured, she was a bit taller, plumper, and her hair was longer but there was no mistaking it… it was her. Even in his dazed state he couldn't help but note how much she had changed – perhaps it was the poison but he found himself staring at her stupidly. Then reality began to fall in around him and he remembered that he wanted to kill her and she had just managed to get an upper hand on him.
He fumbled with his sword but managed to pick it up – then he bellowed. It sounded more like a roar and it startled Arya a little bit. He wasn't going down like she had planned. No, he was charging at her. In a panic she shuffled backwards and tripped on some roots – he was such an intimidating sight that she momentarily forgot how to use her legs. She pushed and scrambled backwards but couldn't manage to get up off the forest floor. Sandor was upon her in a few large steps but just as he raised his sword, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He stumbled from left to right and then he was down with a large thud.
It took a few long minutes for Arya to force her heart out of her throat and back into her chest. Once she had managed that she realized that if she didn't get him onto his back then he was going to drown in the large puddle accumulating around his face. It took some effort but she managed to push him over and she stared down at him – he looked different. She couldn't quite place what was different about him but he was different. He didn't look older, actually he looked a bit younger. He had put on a little more weight, like he had actually been taking care of himself. Even his clothes were less shabby than she remembered. She regarded him for a moment longer and then set about binding his arms and legs.
There was no way that she was going to be able to get her horse and cart through the woods so she had left them in a safe location. The only difficulty was going to be getting him into said cart but she figured a knife to the back would do the trick. She looked him over, to make sure he was secure and then she stood. It was really lucky to have him so close to the main road but still hidden – she'd be able to leave him there while she went to get the cart. Her main issue would be getting back before he woke up. The poison was strong and should have kept him out for a while but then again it should have knocked him out sooner. She worried her bottom lip and she thought about it. This wasn't going to be as easy as she thought it was going to be. Sure, he was bound but given enough effort he would be able to break free – she would have to make sure to keep an eye on him which meant there were many sleepless nights ahead of her. If anything, she shrugged, she would just keep poisoning him and hope that it didn't cause any permanent damage.
Getting the cart, bringing it to the right spot and getting everything ready was the easy part – taking only a few hours. Now, she had to wait for him to wake up, enough to get him to stand at least because she wasn't going to be able to lift him.
It took him longer to wake up than she had wished it would, the sun was already beginning to set but at least the rain had stopped. Luckily she kept dry wood with her and she was able to make a nice little fire. She had to drag Sandor's body further away from the road and away from sight, just in case. It wasn't an easy task but it was better than having someone stumble across them.
When the sun was beyond the horizon but its light was still being cast, his breathing began to quicken and Arya knew that he was going to wake up at any moment. She grabbed her sworn and made her way over to him with a rag in her other hand. It wouldn't be like him to start screaming like a little girl but she didn't want to take any chances. She quickly wound up the rag up and used it to gag him. She took a few steps back from him and smirked to herself. It would be fun to see his reaction.
Sandor didn't wake up all at once, it was rather slow till he began to realize that he was tied up and gagged – then he really woke up. He began to twine his hands violently behind him and struggled with the ropes around his feet. This is when Arya stepped in, she stood and put her blade to his throat, making a small tittering noise as she did so. It was enough to get him to stop what he was doing.
"No more of that," she said, a hint of malice in her voice. "You're going to sit there like a good little boy and you're going to answer some questions."
To say that he looked surprised was an understatement. He had never dreamed that she would have been looking for him, let alone know that he had been following her. It was so surreal to see her standing there and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Sure, he had planned on killing her but now here she was. He felt both angry and relieved at the same time to see her again. Angry because she had left him and relieved because no matter how he looked at it, he had missed her. Then there was a level of frustration that began to well up because he was bound and gagged. With the anger subdued he sort of just wanted to get up, scold her for leaving him, throw her on his horse and then ride off somewhere – just like it used to be. It wasn't until he was able to finally see her that he realized why she had caused such emotions for him. His life was fraught with tragedy and pain – the time spent with her hadn't been easy but it had been the closest he had been to happy since before he had been burned. Taking care of her, unlike the king, had given him a purpose that had been worthwhile. He missed it.
"Now," said Arya, oblivious to his inner turmoil. "You're going to tell me why you were looking for me, you're going to tell me who sent you, you're going to tell me where to find them and why they want me, and then I'm going to take you to King's Landing, collect my bounty and be on my way. If you resist me, I will kill you and I will collect half the bounty. I've gone through a lot of trouble to get you though so if you make me kill you – just know that I will make it hell for you."
Sandor blinked up at her, not even sure what to say to that. He didn't know he had a bounty on his head and he had no idea what the rest of what she was saying was about. Though, now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure what he would tell her – did he tell her that he simply wanted to kill her because he missed her and he didn't like it? He had no intention of letting that slip out so; he decided he wasn't going to say anything at all. Even if she killed him it would be better than confessing that kind of rubbish.
Because he gave no response, Arya heaved a heavy sigh and pressed the blade against his throat. When he still didn't say anything she pressed harder, enough to draw a small amount of blood. Still nothing, but his eyes did start to water, taking her by surprise. Against her better judgment she reached down and undid the gag then screamed "Talk!".
He flinched but then his face pulled back into a snarl.
"Why the fuck did you leave!" he bellowed. "You just fucking left me there to die and rot. You wouldn't even do me the kindness of killing me!"
Arya was taken aback by his outburst. Of all the things she had been expecting, she hadn't been expecting that. She opened her mouth a few times, trying to come up a response but couldn't think of anything. Why had she left him there without giving him a mercy killing? He meant too much to her, she cared too much about him. As much fighting as they did, she really did care for him. There had been so many deaths in her life, so many people she loved – gone. There was no way she could be responsible for his death also.
AN: There you have it – the first Chapter ^_^
Sandor – "The hound" is placed as being 18 years older than Arya. She's 18 at this point which would make Sandor 36. I know the age gap is pretty big but I've always loved the idea of the hound and an older Arya getting together in the end ^_^
Anyway, in the cultural setting of Game of Thrones their relationship wouldn't seem all that odd anyways.