Not my best work, but it'll have to do. Dying to get to the next chapter.
If it be your will, if there is a choice... let your mercy spill on all these burning hearts in hell.
And draw us near and bind us tight, all your children here in their rags of light;
In our rags of light, all dressed to kill; and end this night, if it be your will.
from If It Be Your Will by Leonard Cohen
Arya
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It had not taken her long to find them. The little village was in ruins, and it only served to show how their numbers had truly dwindled. She realized quickly it would be no difficult task to infiltrate their camp and strike the names from her list.
She made her way in that same night, after the sun had long since descended, and the men still awake were either drinking or drunk. No one noticed her, as she'd expected.
Most of the cottages were burnt to a crisp, the ones that were not were destroyed in some way, either there was no door, or the wall had sunken in from the heat of a nearby flame, crumbled and withered by time. Most of the roofs had large holes that let in sun and rain alike, but their numbers were few enough that all except those on watch, were inside the most habitable ones, around a fire in the hearth or a made one in the corner or centre of a room.
She saw Thoros of Myr first, gazing deep into the fire. Across from him lay Beric, fast asleep. Behind them both further from the flame, lay another man, half hidden in darkness.
Smiling, she unsheathed her dagger. It would be easy slitting the red priest's throat first, then Beric's and that would be the end of the Brotherhood and their lies. The other man would not even hear her do it. She'd be long gone before he finally stirred and found them dead.
She slithered in silently, ready to strike Thoros for the life he stole and stole again. There was only one god, and the red priest would pay the debt owed.
"Death is no god child. Only darkness."
He turned to face her, his blade unsheathed. She was not sure how he seemed to know what she was thinking, perhaps he didn't, perhaps he knew what she was, who she served. But in truth, it did not matter.
"And you are no priest, only a slaver, and a thief. The world doesn't need you and your looting brotherhood anymore, and you and your knight owe me a debt, and I intend on collecting."
She raised her arm and stepped forward knowing her blade would find the soft of his neck long before he brought his own down to cut her in half. But then she jerked still, as a familiar voice suddenly spoke.
"They're just men, though maybe not this one anymore," He motioned to Beric and she realized he too was awake gazing at her, his eyes hard, yet he had not drawn.
She finally looked over to the man who'd spoken, and it was him of course as she'd known by the rasp of his words. He was still obscured by darkness, but he looked near the same, only there was something unfamiliar in his gaze, something she could not place.
fight, gone was his childish anger, and in its place
"They're stupid cunts, I'll give you that," He continued. "But they're not worth the effort it would take to cut off their heads, nor the blood on your hands. Let it go little she-wolf."
"What do you know of the blood on my hands?"
She held her steel firmly, though she turned away from him and focused on Thoros once more. She made to move when again he interrupted her.
"You nearly did me in for. Though to be fair it was the blonde bitch who did most of the work. You never thanked me for that as I remember."
She wanted to laugh at him, as she understood what he meant; that he'd stood up for her that day against that tall woman who looked more knight than lady. Instead she only turned to him and smiled.
"Don't recall asking you to."
It was a low blow she knew it, and it had worked, for he did not argue. She looked away, returning her gaze to her first target, and inched forward. From the corner of her eye she saw Beric place his hand over the pommel of his weapon.
"So tell me little wolf, am I still on that list of yours? You plan on slitting my throat since you didn't truly kill me?"
His words finally struck her, and unsure how to answer that, she remained silent for a moment. Truthfully, she had removed him long ago. Not because she thought him dead, though she did, but because she had come to realize he was not like his brother, there was good in him though he tried hard to hide it. She could not tell him this of course, not without revealing her own feelings.
Without looking at the one she'd thought dead, the one death she'd come to regret, she answered.
"I haven't decided, but you'll be the first to know when I do."
Surprisingly he did not react to her words, though vague, held the promise of a threat.
It was then that Thoros spoke, "The young lad, Gendry, he's not dead."
She hardly flinched.
"How do you know that?" Her voice was hard and cold, and her body coiled tight ready to act as she waited for his reply.
"The Lord of Light is not unmerciful."
Her resolve found her once more and just as she was finally ready to end this charade once and for all, the Hound moved forward.
"I've got someone else from your little list, someone worth killing. Seems you're tough enough to take'm now, seeing as you almost killed me. And these two."
He smiled and she got the feeling it wasn't intended as a compliment. She did not return the gesture.
"I could kill you now. And them." And none in this camp will hear your bodies fall to the ground.
"You could try. Don't think I'll tell you what I know if I decide to let you live."
He did not seem to realize what she was capable of, and for now perhaps that was for the best.
"I don't need your help to find the Mountain," She answered simply.
"Maybe not, but you don't got the balls to do it alone, nor the height. And he's mine to kill, and I'll sure as shit find him faster than you do. But if you let these two go, I'll give you a slice. They live, you live, and I don't gotta kill you. Fair deal."
She wavered then, not because she thought he could kill her, but because she was not sure she wanted to kill him anymore. And if the red priest was right, Gendry was alive, what did killing them make her? She'd left Braavos exactly because she did not want to be a cold blooded killer, she only wanted to end those who deserved it. And though these men were fools, they were not bad men.
Turning to Thoros of Myr, she asked, "How do you know he is alive?"
His posture seemed to relax, as if he knew she was not going to attack, though she was not sure what had given him that impression.
"Because I must," He answered after a moment.
"What, you expect me to believe that? Some illusion you saw in the flame?"
He did not react to her words, though he spoke.
"She was here."
She was not sure why this surprised her, though of course it was bound to happen, considering they both served the same god. The Red Priestess was on her list, and though the mention of her had made Arya briefly contemplate the idea of killing her next, she knew she had to get to the Mountain before his brother did.
Still she could not help but ask, "And where'd she go?"
The other two, one whom she'd thought dead, had not moved from their positions, but she realized suddenly that she was not so sure she wanted to kill either of them. She had already removed Clegane from her list many moons ago, and Lord Beric, he was as much pawn as Gendry had been.
The one behind it all was not the priest neither, though he was the instrument, and as much as she still wanted to slit his throat, to end the reach of the power he served, if only a little, she knew she could not do it today.
As if he knew this too, he finally answered, "Home."
She decided not to press that further, and turned instead to the Hound.
"I get to kill him," She said simply, though it was her putting away her knife that seemed to put them all at ease.
"You'll do what I tell you, and maybe we both don't die bloody," He said, his voice tired yet dark as if daring her to contradict him.
By his words, it seemed as if he knew what his brother had become, some sort of undead creation, and how did one kill that which was already dead?
She did not argue, but she would not consent to that deal so she said nothing deciding she would make herself clear when they were alone.
She glanced momentarily at the lightning lord, his one eye gazing solemnly at her, then turned to Thoros of Myr again.
"I hope our paths do not cross again, for I cannot promise it will end as it has today."
Surprisingly, he smiled. "No, it will not."
She was not sure what he meant by that, perhaps he'd seen something in his little flames, maybe it was a threat of his own, in any case she said nothing. Instead she turned once more to the Hound.
"We are going South are we not?"
He had said nothing of what he'd heard of his brother, yet she knew it had to be that direction. Where would the beast go if not to Casterly Rock?
He nodded tightly, as if he was not glad she had surmised that much.
"I'll meet you outside of the village then."
She left then, to give him a moment alone with the men who were now apparently his brothers. If there was anything she thought she would never see, Sandor Clegane joining the ranks of the Brotherhood would top the list.
A short while later he finally joined her, and though it was not the stallion he'd once had, the animal was large, and dark, likely it was once a plow horse, for it seemed gentle and well tempered, quite unlike Stranger had been.
"Where was he seen?" She asked once they'd left Sallydance behind.
He grumbled, as if he did not want to tell her. "On the Rose road, past Bitterbridge."
"What's he doing in the Reach?"
"Enjoying the greenery," He answered harshly.
"What'dya think he's doing? Trying not to die most like. Bet that crazy bitch Cersei put him on a mission to kill her brother for betraying her."
It seemed a preposterous notion, but the Mountain was not a thinking man, not even before he'd died, and there was rhyme to his madness, what other reason could there be?
She decided to ignore both his words and his tone, deciding there was nothing to gain in addressing them.
"So, do we go South to the Reach or West to Casterly Rock to wait for him?"
He did not immediately answer her, though it did not seem as if he was considering the options, it seemed as if he hesitated in saying what he'd decided.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low, worried even.
"South. And before he reaches Clegane Hall."
a/n: The Hound is one of my fave characters, but getting his voice right is hard as sh*t. Thanks for waiting during these past slow updates, and short chapters. Work is a little more settled so I hope to be updating more frequently.
I posted a poll about giving Tyrion a new nickname since I'm having a hard time figuring one out. That sort of thing is not my forte. I should have done the same with Jaime, but alas its too late. So I'd really appreciate your input.
Again, thanks.