Author's Notes: And here it comes, one more iteration of the well-exhausted theme of camping in the woods, sorry! Yet I simply can't think of another way to do this – unless they would buy tickets and fly from KL to Riverrun comfortably with Air Westeros. So camping in the woods it is… J
Also, I aim to wrap this baby up in about 4-5 chapters, before this gets too convoluted, and I hope to do it sooner rather than later.
Sandor & Arya
"You didn't tell me what happened - why did we have to leave in such a hurry."
"I didn't."
"Come on, tell me why! Was it something that Joffrey did? Or Sansa?"
"Joffrey was being an even bigger prick than usual. It wasn't safe for her to stay."
"I knew it! You came with us because of her, not because of me."
"What the hells are you talking about?"
"I know, don't you even try to deny it. She needed saving and so you came, like a knight in a shining armour in a song."
"Do you need a smack in the head? Or a swim? It seems to me your head needs a good cooling down to make you stop sputtering nonsense."
"Aaaawwwh, that water is COLD!"
"Don't make me throw you into it, then."
"So these are the rules: We are going to Riverrun, but we have to go by the woods, not by the road. Our advantage is not in speed but in stealth. We have to stay unnoticed, and we have to tread carefully. Riding in the forest can be dangerous as the terrain is uneven, full of burrows and fallen trees and branches."
"Mm-hmm."
"And that means that when I say 'quiet', you shut your trap. When I say 'stop', you stop. When I say 'run', you run. And when I say 'jump', you ask how high. Is that understood?"
"Aye, m'lord!"
"I know these parts; I have ridden in enough godsforsaken campaigns to know my way, so we should be fine."
"You see, that is already something that is going to be useful to Robb. He doesn't know the South as well as you do. If you'd help him, he would give you anything you ask."
"Well, I better get something for my troubles and for leaving everything behind to save the two of you. All I have is my horse, my armour and my tourney winnings. And my name is mud after it becomes known where I went. Oathbreaker is the least they will come up with."
"It is good then that you don't care what other people think, is it not?"
"A nice fat purse would go a long way soothing it."
"It is not a purse you want. You could get much more if you just asked, Robb would give you Sansa's…"
"QUIET!"
"What's stopping you? I think she wouldn't mind. I wouldn't. I'd like it much better if she married you rather than some lord or knight, as she otherwise would have to. I knew nothing good would come of Joffrey but nobody cared what I thought."
"And nobody will care about your thoughts this time either."
"She likes you."
"Aye, she likes me now, when I am saving your necks. She needs me, you both do. But that doesn't mean that she wouldn't be ready to drop me like an old boot when we reach Riverrun. That's just the way how it is. And after I get my reward I'll be leaving, going across the sea. They need sellswords in Essos I hear."
"You can't just leave us! Besides, she asked to ride with you today, didn't she?"
"It only made sense. She was better off with me in high speed, you being such a small thing that you both would have fallen to the ground had she held onto you as hard as onto me. We were riding fast."
"She held you tight, eh?"
"She had to."
"Well what about now, after the break? You said yourself that our pace will be slower. And she is not quite as hopeless rider as she makes it out to be, Father made sure of that. She would manage easily with me – so if she still asks to ride with you, you'll have your answer."
"She will use her common sense and choose you. That's your answer."
"So you say. Just wait and see."
Sansa
After Arya and Sandor came back from watering the horses they had a bite to eat; some cold cuts and a piece of bread. Sansa settled next to her sister between gnarly roots of an old tree while Sandor sat a bit further away, attacking his piece of bread as if it had done something particularly grievous to him. He threw dark looks in their direction and Sansa wondered what Arya had done to raise his ire. She decided to ignore it, keen to hear Arya's tale.
"So where were you? Somewhere in the city?"
Arya chew his meat and shrugged. "In an inn – kind of. On the Street of Silk. I was working for a cook as an errand boy and slept in an alcove in the kitchen."
"How was it? Did she treat you well?"
"It was not bad. As a matter of fact it was pretty good, almost better than in the Red Keep."
"Arya!" Sansa was scandalised at the thought, but Arya only grinned.
"I didn't have to take lessons and I got to go around the city when running my errands. I ate well and I took care of the two pigs they kept at the back of the inn – I named them Meryn and Boros. And some chicken – I fed them all every morning. And the girls were very nice too, they had so many stories."
"Oh, were there serving maids in the inn? I hope nobody knew anything about you, though."
Arya seemed to struggle to control her expression for a moment but then shook her head.
"Nobody knew who I was. I don't know what the Hound told them, but I think he told them better to look after me, or…" She made a cut-throat gesture and smirked. "They probably thought I was his bastard or something. They never asked me too many questions, but they certainly left me in peace and didn't drive me too hard."
It was strange how Sansa's heart constricted at the thought of Sandor's bastards. Does he have any? she wondered. There was no reason why he wouldn't – he had been in the Kingsguard only for a little while, and even its members never swore to abstain completely – just not to marry. Why it felt so bitter to imagine him and a child he cared about – and a woman he had lain with to beget the babe… Sansa forced that painful line of thought out of her head. She had sensed there was something else to Arya's story but she didn't want to press her too much and hence turned her attention back to her meagre meal.
"And you? The Hound told me it was not always… good for you."
Arya's tone was serious and when Sansa looked at her she caught a worried look on her face. Looking back she conceded that despite she having slept in comfortable rooms in a featherbed and dined the delicacies of the royal kitchens, her little sister was the one who had had it easier.
"It was not nice. They kept me well enough, outwardly, but when Robb started to march towards the capital, Joffrey got increasingly nasty about it. He liked to parade me in the court, showing everyone that he had me as his prisoner. As his betrothed. And he made his Kingsguard to hit me." She stopped and swallowed hard, remembering the humiliations, the beatings, and Joffrey's rages whenever things didn't go his way.
"But not the Hound. He wouldn't have done it." The certainty in Arya's voice caught Sansa's attention. Yes, he had never hit her. And despite not being there, Arya's trust in him was touching. She nodded.
"That craven king liked to torment you, he told me. He also said that it was nothing you couldn't handle. Was it so?" Arya narrowed her eyes and looked at her expectantly.
At first Sansa was annoyed, almost like the time when she had lashed at Sandor. Nothing I can't handle! It seemed so dismissive of her suffering and she almost said so – but then she realised what he had really said. He thought I could handle it. Forgetting Arya's question she considered the implications of Sandor's statement. Maybe he doesn't take me for such a stupid little bird after all. The more she thought about it the more ridiculously proud she became. Yes, she had endured it all without breaking – and he had noticed it!
Sansa smiled to herself and only got roused by Arya's nudge at her knee. "So?"
She smiled at her. "I guess I did handle it. It didn't break me and look, here we are now!"
Arya smiled back and then got serious again.
"What happened yesterday? The Hound told me that he wasn't going to come with us, and he had all these plans for the recruiter of the Night's Watch to take us to the North. And then suddenly he came and everything had to happen right then. I asked him but he was being difficult as usual and only said that it wasn't safe for you there anymore. Something that Joffrey did."
Sansa wasn't exactly surprised, as Sandor was not known to be particularly talkative if he didn't have to. She found it difficult to talk about the events with Arya, but she also thought it important that she knew what had taken place, and why Sandor had decided to join them. So she outlined the events of the previous day to her horrified sister.
"He made you almost naked!?" Arya gasped in horror. "And Joffrey stopped when the Hound said it was enough?"
"Yes he did – he pretended to agree but it was only to save his face. Then he threatened to humiliate me in public, cut my finger off and send it to Robb…" Her voice trailed off.
Arya stared at her in disbelief and finally sighed.
"So that's what it was. He left because of you."
"No, he had to consider his own position. He had just publicly defied his king and Joffrey is not one to forget slights easily."
Arya pursed her mouth. "He could have patched it up if he wanted. Joffrey did look up to him, no matter how much he liked to command him. He didn't have to leave." She sighed again. "I know he did it for you. He is my friend, I know he is, but he would have been quite happy to help me escape without sacrificing his whole life for it. But you… he likes you more."
Sansa blushed and felt unreasonably pleased. "You don't know that. Why would you think so?"
Arya opened her mouth but they were interrupted by their cranky companion, demanding them to stop chittering and get ready to move again.
Sandor outlined his plans to them and from Arya's affirming nods Sansa gathered that she had already heard them. She didn't have much to add, but she felt relief knowing that the breakneck pace they had started with was not going to be necessary anymore.
"So this will mean that it will take longer for us to reach Riverrun? And we will have no chances to catch up with Robb if he is already on the road?"
Both Arya and Sandor looked at her surprised, but Sandor replied first.
"Aye. We have no idea where he could be, so it would be a wild goose chase even at best. And as I said, better to stay hidden and safe rather than risk being arrested. Joffrey will send troops in all directions, but especially towards Riverrun, and if we take the road we are as good as captured."
Sansa nodded, satisfied with the answer. Sandor walked to Stranger gathering the reigns into his hand, ready to mount, then glanced at Sansa.
"The ride is going to be slow and easy from now on. You can ride with your sister."
Sansa's heart sank. She had thought… she had felt so safe with him. Why did he want her to go with Arya? She looked at Arya who was fussing with her horse, a sturdy looking brown rouncey. Yes, sure she could…but she discovered that she didn't want to.
"If it pleases you, I would like to ride with you. If you find it acceptable, of course. I…would feel safer." Sansa stammered and wanted to kick herself for not being able to act naturally.
Sandor stopped, one leg already in stirrup, and stared at her. Arya had turned to look as well as and to Sansa it seemed that she was snickering. What? What did I say?
"It is only that you said the terrain is uneven. The horses may stumble. And I don't want to fall…"
Arya snorted out loud, no mistaking about it.
"No need to fret, little bird, it is quite safe. At walking pace they are not likely to stumble; that is only if we ride high speed."
"Yes Sansa, it will be fine. I will not let you fall."
Sansa squirmed, feeling nailed to her spot by Sandor's harsh look. Why are they making such a big fuss about this? she wondered. Yet she didn't want to give up. Something in his strength gave her comfort, even if it was not only the safety of knowing that he would not let her fall. She raised her chin and looked at Sandor.
"Of course if you don't want it, I understand. I said that I would ride with you only if it is acceptable to you."
Her two companions exchange a quick glance with each other and this time it seemed to her that it was Sandor who yielded in front of Arya's triumphant gaze. He grunted, turned his attention back to his horse and mounted in one fluid motion.
Then he extended his arm towards Sansa who skipped the few steps separating them with a glee, only to be whisked to sit in front of him, trapped in the cocoon of his strong arms.
And so, slowly they continued their journey.
