Chapter 4. THE JOURNEY
Tara rides a brown stallion away from Clegane's Keep. She pauses and looks back on her childhood home. She smiles remembering the looks on the faces of the servants and her parents when she cut off the legs of Gregor's horse. The beating her father gave her afterwards. She makes camp in a cave at the foot of a mountain.
After three miles Tara sees a group of men riding towards her at full speed. From the way they are dressed sell swords. "YAH!" she yells urging her horse into a gallop. She leads them into the woods near the mountains.
"Find the bitch!" The captain screams.
Tara hides her gold and removes the axe from her horse's saddle along with the bow and quiver. She hides in a tree and aims at a man cutting through the bush. She fires striking him in the arm. The man yells for help. When his comrades arrive Tara aims for the Captain and shoots him in the neck.
"The bitch is in the trees in that direction…Fan out!"
Tara kills one more man ducking in and out among the trees before swinging out of the tree. "Hey I found the bitch's horse!" The man was about to take the horse when his foot was caught in a snare and pulled up into a tree. "Help me!" His cries ended with an arrow to the neck.
"Ah shit!" the second in command said when he saw his man swinging from fifteen feet high. He blows his horn summoning the remaining seven. But only two show up at the rally spot.
"Looking for me?" Tara yells before they set the woods on fire. Two men have crossbows and fire at Tara, but she dodges the arrows and fires an arrow taking quick aim. One of the men go down with an arrow in his chest. The men spread out and approach Tara who draws her swords. "What's the matter? I'm too much woman for you…"
"I'm going to enjoy fucking you bitch!" The new leader says.
Tara attacks first lunging left as she is now surrounded. She hears the man fire his crossbow, Tara dives to the side at the last minute and the man kills his own comrade. Tara throws her sword missing, but as the man dodges the sword she pulls her dagger and throws it striking him in the face. Another sell sword rushes forward and Tara stabs him in the gut. Now there are only three left.
"Fuck this!" One of the three says and runs off jumping on his horse.
One of the two last men is armed with a spear and the other man an axe, "Forget him we can take this bitch!"
The man armed with spear stabs forward, Tara switches sword hands and blocks the axe. Then with her free hand she grabs the spear and stabs the man with the axe, then she spends around backwards cutting off the other man's sword arm and breaking the shaft of the spear. He falls to his knees.
"Mercy! Please by the Mother have mercy…"
Tara sneers in disgust at his begging, "You are pathetic…Who sent you?" he doesn't answer and she grabs his severed arm, "Who?"
He bellows in pain, "Clegane! Gregor Clegane!"
She sneers and snaps his neck. Then Tara rides off after recovering her gold. Tara arrives in Lannisport four weeks later. She writes a letter to Winterfell inquiring if her mother and Eagen arrived safely. A week later a letter came back saying that the both arrived without incident.
She walks up to the dock master's office, "I would like to buy passage on a ship to Meereen…"
"All ships stop in Bravos before going to Meereen or any of the free cities in slaver's bay…The Storm Breaker is leaving for Bravos tomorrow you can buy passage on her…"
The Storm Breaker is a three massed merchant ship. After buying passage on board Tara secures her horse and settles into the captain's cabin. The crew of the Strom Breaker shower the statuesque woman with attention and gifts. Tara is polite as she can be keeping only to conversations about swordplay. Before bathing Tara scours the room for peep holes. She finds 11 peep holes in all and cover them with tar nails and boards.
The fresh sea air is invigorating to Tara. She stands on the side with her long hair unbraided blowing in the wind. All the men on board can do is watch and imagine. One man challenges Tara to an arm wrestling match. As they square off half the crew chants his name and the other half chants Tara's name. Eventually she wins breaking his arm and earning the respect of the crew. Tara also kills time by helping the crew with rigging or peeling potatoes. She may have grown up as high born noble but she is not afraid of hand blistering work. She even takes a few turns in the crow's nest.. After two months at sea Bravos comes into view.