The BWB had attacked the septry held by the Brave Companions, otherwise known as the Bloody Mummers. Meg had watched Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr with admiration, as the two of them seemed to be everywhere at once, both with flaming swords in hand. After the battle, the Brotherhood hung the surviving Mummers for their crimes. Unfortunately, the leader of the Bloody Mummers, Vargo Hoat, wasn't there, as he was part of the detachment taking Jaime to Harrenhal at the moment.

Now Meg was watching Gendry repair Lord Beric's armor. "Why are you doing that?" she asked. "Aren't we leaving soon?"

"Not me," he said. "I've decided to stay and work as a smith for the Brotherhood Without Banners, to aid them in their cause to protect the smallfolk durin' the war."

"But I thought our plan was to find my brother Chris," Meg said. "Chris needs soldiers too."

"I have no attachments to Chris Griffin," Gendry pointed out. "You'd be goin' to your noble born family, but I'd just be servin' another lord. I've been servin' other men my whole life and I have nothin' to show for it. I worked most of my life for Tobho Mott and he repaid me by sellin' me to the Night's Watch. I served Tywin Lannister as a prisoner at Harrenhal, afraid that every day I'd be killed or tortured. I'd be servin' in the Brotherhood too, but they chose Beric as their leader willin'ly, and they're more like a family… and I've never had a family before."

Sadly, Meg choked out, "I could be your family."

"If I went back with you, we'd never be family," Gendry said politely but firmly. "I'd still be a commoner, and you'd be 'm'lady.'"

And Meg knew he was right. "I'm gonna miss you, Gendry," she said as she gave him a hug."

Later that night, Meg looked into the campfire and recited her nightly prayer list for the death of her enemies. "Joffrey. Cersei. Ser Ilyn. Ser Meryn. Ser Gregor. Polliver."

Thoros and Beric came and sat down on either side of her. "What's that you're saying?" Thoros asked.

"It's a list of all the people I'm gonna kill someday. Joffrey, for giving the order to execute my father. Ser Ilyn Payne, for carrying it out. Ser Meryn Trant, for trying to capture me and deliver me to the Lannisters. Ser Gregor and Polliver, because of how they treated the prisoners at Harrenhal. And Queen Cersei, for just generally being a bitch."

"That's quite a long list," said the red priest.

"When are you going to take me back to Riverrun?" Meg asked.

"We're not taking you to Riverrun," said Thoros.

Meg was angry. "But you said you'd bring me back to my family!"

"Yes, but they won't be at Riverrun," he explained. "Chibb has told us that Chris and Lois are heading for Lord Walder Frey's house. Apparently, there's going to be a wedding there. Your Uncle Patrick is marrying one of Lord Frey's daughters."

"Why would Uncle Patrick do that?" Meg wondered. "He always said he was never gonna get married."

"Well, it was Chris himself who was originally supposed to marry Lord Frey's daughter. But he accidently got married to someone else instead."

Meg shook her head in confusion. "How do you marry somebody by accident?"

"I have no idea. So anyway, we're taking you to the Twins instead of Riverrun, in exchange for a reward from Chris to fund our cause."

"So, you're ransoming me?" Meg asked.

"Ransom is such a dirty word," said Thoros. "We'd like to be able to return you for free, but we really need the gold to support ourselves."

"Maybe you should have tried to get a ransom on the Hound, instead of just letting him walk away free," Meg said. She shuddered. "That guy gives me the creeps. He threatened to kill me once, you know."

"We had no choice but to let him go," said Beric. "We promised him we'd let him go free if he won the trial by combat. It was the honorable thing to do."

Meg said, "I've seen lots of honorable men keep their promises, only to get killed for it, like Yoren, and my own father. Why would you want to let Sandor go when he nearly killed you?"

"He did kill me," said Beric. "Thoros just brought me back to life afterward."

"Wasn't me who did it," said Thoros. "It was the Lord of Light. I'm just the lucky drunk who recites the prayers."

"Was that the sixth time now?" Beric asked Thoros.

Thoros counted on his fingers. "Let's see. First time was when you were impaled on a lance by Ser Gregor Clegane. Then you got smashed with a mace on the side of the head. Then you got hanged. Stabbed in the eye. Killed again by Vargo Hoat. And finally, this last time in the trial by combat with the Hound. Yes, that makes six altogether."

"Could you bring back a man without a head?" Meg asked eagerly.

The priest gave her a sympathetic look. "You're talking about your father, aren't you? Sadly, Lord Peter Griffin has been dead for far too long by now. And I've never tried resurrecting a headless man before, but somehow, I don't think it would work. You can't be alive if you haven't got a head."

"Well, you could try attaching the head to a robot body," Meg suggested. "Or a wooden body, like Seamus has."

Seamus was sitting nearby and overheard this. "Arr. I wouldn't wish my miserable existence on anybody."

"I wouldn't wish my life on anybody either," Beric said. "Being resurrected again and again sounds great, but I lose pieces of myself every time I come back. My memory, who I was before."

"But at least you're still alive," Meg said.

A short time after that, everybody lay down to go to sleep. Meg didn't think she would be able to, but she must have nodded off, because the next thing she knew, she was being woken by a sword point pressing against her throat.

"Don't make a sound," a voice warned. It was the Hound!

In less time than Meg could think, the Hound had grabbed her and swung her up onto the back of a horse. He jumped on behind her and the horse set off.

"Where the hells are you taking me?" Meg demanded.

"Don't get your panties in a wad. I'm takin' you to your mother and brother at the Twins, where you were goin' anyway. Only difference is I'll be the one collectin' the ransom on you, instead of Zombie Boy."

"I hate you," Meg said. "I wish you had died back in that cave."

The Hound gave a raspy chuckle. "There's far worse men in the world than me. My brother, for one."