Mina found herself back in the Winterfell courtyard, deserted and quiet. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Robb.
"Is it really you?" he asked, his eyes wide in wonder. "I was just talking to Father a minute ago."
"It is. And it really was me earlier as Grey Wind."
"Why'd you leave so soon earlier? Grey Wind got annoyed and nipped me."
Mina giggled. "It's a long story."
"Tell it quickly, then," said Robb, grinning at her.
"Well, Sandor thought I was having a fit, so he woke me."
Robb looked conflicted between being angry and amused. Mina giggled at the expression on his face.
"Mina. Are you two together?!"
"No!" Mina replied much too quickly.
"You're red like a tomato," laughed Robb.
"I swear! I would be with Carrick if he were still living," said Mina earnestly.
"I'm sorry." Robb's manner sobered. "What exactly happened?"
Mina started recounting to Robb all that had happened in King's Landing. First, it was the lighthearted tales of the tourney, her trysts with Carrick, and the friends and acquaintances made. Then, the tales grew darker. From Ned's arrest to Carrick's death, to Ned's death, and to all Mina and Sansa had to endure after. She then talked about escaping the city with Sandor.
"And Arya?"
"We never found out what happened to Arya after the execution," she said, wishing that there was a way to know.
Suddenly, the scenery around them changed. A forest appeared, and three boys settled under the branches of a willow, dozing. The smallest boy was reciting something quietly.
"What–Arya?" Robb asked in disbelief. The little figure lifted her head, her eyes wide in awe.
"What are you two doing here?" She asked in an excited whisper. She glanced at her companions, who didn't stir, and then her gaze swept the surrounding area. "How'd you get here?"
"I think we're dreaming," Mina said. "Although I guess there is a way for us to communicate. I was able to see Bran when I tried it once before. And I was thinking of Arya right before the dream took us here." She turned excitedly to her siblings. "Sansa and I would go into Lady and Nymeria sometimes. We were able to keep them away from running into soldiers out on the road."
"Nymeria is alright?" Arya looked relieved.
"She is. If you were to dream of her now, you'd see Lady and her thriving in the wilderness. I think they're slowly moving north."
"This…this is incredible. I remember dreaming in Grey Wind's perspective myself before, but this is something else entirely," said Robb.
On a whim, Mina thought of the rest of their siblings, but after waiting a moment, it seemed they didn't show.
"Maybe they're still awake," she murmured.
"We'll try to see them next time," reassured Robb.
Arya spoke up.
"Where are you guys right now? My friends and I just escaped Harrenhal and are heading north."
"That's good," said Mina. "I'm about a day's ride out of King's Landing."
"Head for the Twins if you can, but don't go any further west," instructed Robb. "We should have a camp set up south of the Twins, and both of you should wait for mother or me there."
The girls nodded their understanding of their meeting point. The three siblings then took advantage of their newfound dream bond to catch up on each other's stories until it was time to wake.
Mina stirred that morning, snuggling into the source of warmth at her side. Her arm slid over a cold patch of armor, and she suddenly jolted back, her eyes opened wide with realization. Sandor's eyes opened right at that moment, looking amused at her.
"Why in Seven Hells are you right here?!" Mina snapped.
"I don't see why you're so surprised. You were shivering in your sleep. Once I laid down, you were snuggled to my side for the night."
Mina suddenly felt the heat as she blushed a deep crimson color, struck speechless at the thought of Sandor coming to warm her in the night. He huffed in amusement as he started to get up, gracing her with a once-over of her form.
"Like sleeping with a heated board," he muttered. He chuckled when a good-sized rock clanged off of his back as he walked off to take a piss.
Mina was left behind to internally freak out, her face heating at how she had woken up practically clinging to the man.
At least he seemed in a better mood than last night.
She wondered vaguely if Sandor had seen her dreaming again and if that was the real reason why he had come so close to her in the night. He had seemed so concerned after her first dream of the night. Perhaps it was his way of making up for their spat last night. She had meant well in comforting him, and he had meant well in keeping her warm and safe. She packed up her belongings in her bedroll and carefully secured it to Stranger's saddle, who snuffed at her in greeting.
She let out a small sigh as she shimmied the hem of her dress up on one side to retrieve the pair of knives she had strapped to her left thigh.
She heard footfalls and a soft intake of breath behind her, and she quickly slid the knives from their band before dropping her hem and turning to look. Sandor's eyes quickly snapped up to hers, the heat in them unmistakable. Mina twiddled her knives between her fingers, feeling her face heat up.
"I was going to catch a rabbit or two for later." She watched him gulp, his Adam's apple dipping. She vaguely remembered him doing it once before.
"We need to move on," said Sandor, voice cracking slightly. "You can hunt on horseback, and we'll stop at midday to eat."
"Oh. Alright," said Mina agreeably.
Sandor approached her silently, making her pause her motions as she looked up into his dark eyes, now more guarded but still with a tinge of heat in his expression. He reached for her, and her heart pounded in her ears. She didn't even comprehend when he paused and spoke.
"What?" She asked vaguely.
"Are you getting on the damn horse or not?" He fixed her with a look of annoyance.
"...Oh." She turned and braced her hands on Stranger's flank, letting Sandor lift her to the saddle. She glanced down at him to see him suppressing a smirk. He climbed up behind her and momentarily embraced her as he fetched the reins. She let out an involuntary gasp, and in turn, he paused, his breath stirring her hair as he adjusted the reins in his grip. She felt his nose nuzzle softly against the back of her neck before he finally straightened, and Stranger started to move.
Mina focused on breathing in the fresh air around them and keeping an eye out in the brush for good-sized prey.
"Right there at that stump," she breathed when she spotted a rather fat rabbit about half an hour later. Sandor brought Stranger to a lope and Mina focused on the spot, noting where to aim her knives. She readied her arm to throw the first blade, and after a long exhale–the knife sang past the stump and lodged right in the rabbit's windpipe. The rabbit struggled for the next few moments before going still. Sandor lowered her to the ground to allow her to retrieve her kill and string it to the back of the saddle before lifting her back up. This repeated one more time before they stopped to rest under a patch of forest about an hour later. Mina built the fire as Sandor skinned the two rabbits caught. He came up behind her and handed them over, having skewered them on sticks already.
The air felt charged by something between them. Mina peeked over her shoulder to see Sandor watching her, his eyes wandering over her kneeling form. She turned back around and focused on turning the sticks over the fire. There was a warm knot in her chest as she thought of Sandor watching her. It was painfully obvious that both of them felt some sort of way for the other, but Mina was unsure of how exactly to deal with said feelings.
After all, they were completely alone. Mina's thoughts drifted to the possibility of getting close to Sandor like last night, her body snuggling up to his. Deep down, something about it felt undeniably right, but it gave her a tinge of fear to acknowledge it. She didn't even have that much experience in such things. Carrick had given her a taste of desire, and it seemed that such feelings seemed to have grown in her since then.
She heard footfalls coming up behind her, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Do you fancy your meat charred?" Sandor asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.
"Oh!" Mina quickly flipped the meat over, blowing out a small flame on one. "Sorry…I'll take that one."
"What's the matter with you? You're acting more daft than normal." She blushed as she threw a glare at him.
"I'm tired. I'm not used to being on horseback this long." And not used to having such constant inappropriate thoughts about her traveling companion. On the way to King's Landing from Winterfell, she wasn't even this bad about Carrick.
"Just a few more days, and I can leave you with your brother," said Sandor. Mina paused to think.
"Will you be sad to be rid of me?" She asked.
"Sad is not the right word," said Sandor, raising an eyebrow.
"Depressed?" Mina suggested.
"Psh. I'll be free."
"You're free now."
"Not until I get you back to your family."
Mina paused to check the food, deeming it cooked enough. She made to hand the unburnt rabbit to Sandor, but he snatched at the burnt one.
"It's the fatter one," he insisted, tugging the stick out of her hand. She shrugged, not about to protest, sending him a small smile as he tore into his meal. They sat beside each other as they ate. Mina glanced at the sky, noting they were still making good time in the day.
"What makes you think that I'd be sad to be free from you?" Sandor asked quietly, already cleaning his bones. He was squinting off into the distance. Mina looked at his profile, admiring how his eyelashes stood out that way, almost envious that a man had thicker lashes than herself.
"Well," she started. Having something in her stomach gave her a boost of courage. "You seemed to very much enjoy kissing me before the battle. But perhaps I couldn't blame you since you say the lasses don't want to kiss you."
"It certainly seems to have left an impression on you," said Sandor, looking over at her. "You've mentioned our kiss twice already since we've left King's Landing."
Mina simply blushed, suddenly tasked with picking clean her bones of any remnants of meat.
"Perhaps I wouldn't mind doing it again," rumbled Sandor next to her ear, making her drop her rabbit bones in alarm. His large fingers gently slipped under her chin, and Mina found it terribly difficult to breathe. "But would you still want to if I said I wouldn't be able to control myself?"
"I could handle it," breathed Mina, drawn to his touch. Sandor's eyebrows shot up as his face grew nearer to hers.
"This wouldn't be like those tender kisses with your poor lad. You're still innocent. Too innocent for me to mess with." His voice was low, dangerous. It sent a lick of heat down her spine to hear it.
"Maybe not too innocent," she protested, getting redder at her own words. "You wouldn't know, but I've been intimate before."
Sandor chuckled.
"A touch on the breast? That's nothing." His other hand rested right above her heart, his thumb lightly grazing the bare skin below her neckline. His thumb continued on its way until it came upon a nipple. He pinched it lightly between his thumb and forefinger, drawing a gasp from her. Their noses were barely touching. Mina stared into his dark gaze, trailing down to his lips, willing him to kiss her.
"He did much more to me than that," said Mina, her voice coming in a breathless purr as his thumb rubbed generously over her taut nipple. "He touched the deepest parts of me and didn't stop until I was satisfied. So I can take whatever you give me."
He looked upon her with that same intensity that made her weak in the knees, and the hand under her chin slid down to her neck, cupping the side of her throat possessively.
"I have a mind to lay you on the ground and fuck the memory of him right out of you," he growled, his sentence ending in a harsh snarl. She felt his breath blow over her face, his words awakening something primal in her that she never knew before.
"Yes," she whispered, bracing her hands against his chest. "Make me forget." She moaned as he dipped his head and generously kissed her neck as his hand tugged down on her bodice, exposing her breasts to him. He hungrily attached his lips to the taut nipple he had been playing with, and Mina let out a long moan, her head thrown back.
One of his hands squeezed her ass and pulled her body flush against his. His lips devoured a trail up her chest to her neck, the noises escaping him sounding like he was enjoying a meal.
Through a haze, he had somehow removed her dress completely, and he knelt in front of her, his hands and lips trailing frantically over every bit of bare skin in his reach. Then, the familiar pleasured feel of fingers caressing her most intimate place. She kept her head thrown back, the pleasure more intense than anything she had experienced.
"Sandor," she sighed. He seemed to like his name on her lips as he started going faster. "Oh. Sandor!" She felt his lips shower kisses all over her lower half, his tongue stopping to join his fingers eventually.
"Almost there. I can feel it," he moaned deeply against her skin.
"Yes, almost there," she echoed, her voice heavy with lust. "Almost–"
She was startled awake by the sound of her own moan leaving her lips. She opened her eyes, realizing that it had been but a dream. But her body felt so alive, her nerve endings still prickling with her dream orgasm. It seemed so real! The entire dream had been so vivid, like it had all really happened. She lay there catching her breath and marveling to herself until a deep voice made her jump.
"Are you done?" Sandor stood on the opposite side of the dying fire, his gaze was almost as dark as it had been in the dream. She also noted his labored breathing.
"What?" Mina asked dumbly. She sat up, feeling her face overheating from the massive blush that came across her face.
"Sounded like you were dreaming about that lad of yours," grumbled Sandor, his eyes stormy.
"No...I wasn't," said Mina, now finding it hard to look at Sandor without feeling a bit of a tingle in her core.
"Don't fucking lie," snarled Sandor. "You sounded like a damn Fleabottom whore."
"Thought you liked Fleabottom whores," retorted Mina. Sandor glared at her silently for a moment as she smirked at him.
"You're nothing like a Fleabottom whore. Comparing you to them would be like comparing a rosebud to a weed. You're pure." His expression softened a little as he spoke.
"Not fully pure," mumbled Mina, thinking back to her hot dream. Sandor looked displeased at hearing this.
"So the damn plowboy sunk his claws into you after all," he growled.
"Only a little, but he's gone now. I hadn't seen him in my dreams except for the first time," said Mina, a touch of sadness in her voice. Sandor's jaw tightened.
"Then who the fuck were you fucking?" Sandor demanded to know.
Mina let out a nervous giggle. "I can't tell you that."
"Why the fuck not? I don't actually give a fuck who it was anyway," he hissed.
"You might if you knew," retorted Mina quietly. Sandor paused, staring at her as she finally got to her feet.
"Out with it. Who?"
Mina looked at him, her gaze staring into him pointedly with a raised brow and a smirk.
"Fuck," hissed Sandor when he realized. "Mina." He gazed at her, a tinge of lust in his look of clarity. "You made those noises for me?"
"Dream you, anyway," said Mina, blushing deep at his reaction.
"I can surely make your dream a reality," he said in a low voice that sent a lick of hot flame down her spine.
"Perhaps you should come over here, then," she said flirtatiously.
Mina watched Sandor slowly cross to her, butterflies tickling her stomach at the thought of repeating her dream.
She was still coming to terms with her feelings, but she knew for sure the man awoke a strong desire in her. He stood over her, their faces mere inches apart. Their gazes were locked for a long minute as their breaths mingled. Sandor then heaved a breath and pulled away from her, looking at her wide eyes with a hint of shame in his.
"No," sighed Sandor after a moment, his eyes lowering to the ground. Mina's lip pouted in disappointment. "We can't. It's just something we'd both regret. I swore I wouldn't hurt you."
"A little kiss isn't going to hurt me," she said reassuringly.
"Maybe not, but the consequences afterward will," said Sandor firmly. "I have you alone and I don't have the self-control to stop after one kiss. Not now." The heat in his gaze drove his point home. Mina paused before slowly nodding her understanding.
"It was just a dream, after all," she said wistfully. Sandor softly grunted in response.
He held out his hand wordlessly, and she took it without hesitation, walking with him back to Stranger and letting him lift her to the saddle.
It was an unspoken truce to keep their feelings reigned in, and Mina pondered that as they rode on in silence.