The Hound bitterly threw open the door of the Maester's hut, allowing himself one last glance at the Wolf Girl before striding out into the village. He glanced around, biting his lip in irritation and trying to squash the worry that was creeping into his head with every passing second. Of course the bloody female had to fall ill. They had been through so much. Stabbed, starved, taken a blow from him a few times, but she would succumb to a fucking illness?
He was angry with her. And even more so, angry that he was so worked up over this. He had been wondering constantly when he had grown so soft and it angered him that a skinny wolf bitch was the reason for his qualms.
"I should just leave the bitch, take our gold, and go." Those words, muttered so low that only he could hear them, were ones that he would have bided by in a heartbeat years ago, but after the past few years of traveling, he felt he owed it to her to at least get her safe passage. Maybe then it would be goodbye?
He shook his head violently, trying to rid himself of the thought. Now was not the time to be a weak cunt and pity himself or the situation. He needed to get passage to Dorne for them and that would be the next step.
The Hound scanned the small village before heading off into the direction of the port. The harbor contained several ships and he approached the first one, stalking toward a man who was shifting boxes around. "I need passage to Dorne," he growled.
The man looked up from his boxes and gasped in horror upon looking at the Hound's scarred face. "You're the h- h-" he stammered, taking a slight step back.
Ugh. Another cunt. "The fucking Hound. Yes," the Hound snarled irritably. "I need to get to fucking Dorne. Which ship?"
"That one…" the man pointed a finger shakily at the third ship.
Without thanking the man, the Hound pushed past him and approached the ship and a group of sailors stopped their whistling to stare at him. At least they didn't freak out like the other twat.
"I need passage to Dorne."
Eyebrows raised, the sailor stepped forward. "We take off tomorrow, sir. For yourself? Bringing anything large?"
"Me, my girl, and my horse," he growled. Did he just call her his girl?
"Aye. You're looking at 16 golden lions. That's 5 each for you and the girl. 6 for the horse. We leave tomorrow."
16 lions? Fuck! Did they have that much? "Alright. We will be there." He turned to head back toward the maester's shop, pausing to scratch Stranger's head thoughtfully before pushing open the shop door.
Arya was still lying on the mat, but appeared to be sleeping peacefully. He hovered over to look at her for a moment, pleased to see that she looked relaxed and her breathing seemed normal. She was quite pretty when she wasn't scowling at him. He noticed her dark hair falling over her shoulders and her soft lips closed slightly. Even her eyelashes looked long and inviting as they rested on her cheeks.
He ripped his gaze away and settled himself on the chair near her bedside. He pulled the coin purse out from his pocket and opened it up, sifting through the coins. He stared at the 4 golden lions they had left to their names. They never carried much gold. Really they spent it as soon as they had obtained it. Supplies, lodging…. Whores.
The Hound felt like his heart was sinking. Her previous comments about spending their funds on whores at a brothel were ringing nastily in his head. Fuck. What was he going to do? He wanted to heed the maester's advice… he had seemed serious about his recommendation that she be in Dorne. Plus, her family would be there.
This was looking to be the end of their journey. Hadn't he told her multiple times that he wanted to be rid of her? Hadn't she said the same? It was only recently that things had been… complicated that he was having second thoughts.
Dorne it would be. He would see to it.
Hauling himself up once more, the Hound walked up and gazed down at the sleeping Arya. Before he realized what he was doing, he had grabbed her hand and given it a reassuring squeeze. "I'll keep you safe, wolf girl. Don't you worry." Turning on his heel, he strode out of the office and back into town, ready to send some ravens and make some deals.
Arya couldn't remember when she had ever felt worse. She could remember shapes and voices, but it was a blur. She hated it. She felt exposed, nervous, and defenseless. There was nothing she could do about it.
The nightmares were awful. She dreamt repeatedly of the night she had gone to the Twins to reunite with her mother and Robb and found out they had been murdered. It had been awful. That had been one of the worst days of her life. There had been so many bad days. If it hadn't been for the Hound, she would have met the same fate.
The Hound. Where was he? She vaguely remembered him being around. Feeling him grab her hand. And she heard his voice, it seemed so far off. "I'll keep you safe, wolf girl. Don't you worry."
Then there were no more words. She vaguely remembered the soft voice of the maester administering drugs. And then the sound of different voices. She was awake at times, but the medicine was making her hazy and she could only remember bits and pieces. Various faces. Strange faces, but she still felt safe. It was like she was living in a haze.
Arya wasn't sure how much time had passed. Days at the least. She had gathered at some point that she was on a ship, but that did not seem to make much sense. Why the fuck would they be on a ship? And where was the Hound? He no longer was one of the faces that splintered her recent memories. She was worried, but couldn't get the energy to make words.
It had to have been at least a week when she felt herself improve. It was morning and she awoke from a hazy slumber feeling weak, but at least of a clearer mind. She glanced around her and noticed she was in a cabin. So she was on a ship…
What the fuck had happened? She struggled to sit up in the bed she was in and instinctively reached to her side for Needle. Of course the sword was gone. Panic was starting to set in as she looked around anxiously for a weapon. She was alone in this cabin. Where was the Hound?
Her frantic thoughts were interrupted by what appeared to be a maid who looked to be even younger than Arya walking in the room. Upon noticing Arya sitting up, the girl squeaked in surprise. "My lady! You're awake!"
"Where am I?" Arya demanded, not caring if she was being rude. She struggled to pull herself up more, but damn she was feeling tired already.
The maid rushed to her side and gently pushed Arya back onto the bed. "Please, my lady. Try to rest up. You're getting over a terrible illness and you need this energy to fight it off."
Arya struggled against the girl before realizing it was fruitless. She felt exhausted as it was. "What's happened? Where am I?"
"You're on a ship, m'lady. To Dorne. Your sister and brothers await you ashore. We should be reaching there by midday tomorrow."
Sister? Brothers? Since when had they been back in the picture? She tensed up. This person knew who she was. "Who are you?" Arya demanded, feeling fear creeping up.
"I'm Belle. I'm one of the crewmember's daughters, but I've been tasked with administering your medicines and keeping you comfortable." The girl seemed slightly nervous, her eyes continuously darting toward the door.
"Where's my sword?" Arya demanded, narrowing her eyes at the girl.
"We have it stowed away with your other things. He warned us not to give it to you until you trust us and are almost to Dorne."
He? She could feel her heart pounding heavily. "Where is the Hound?" She asked, already having an idea of what the answer might be.
"He's not here. He- he stayed behind," Belle finished carefully. She looked positively terrified of Arya.
"What do you mean he's not here? He just dumped me on this fucking ship with you people? You expect me to believe you're taking me to my siblings? And he just left me?" She could feel herself getting hot, stressed, nervous.
Belle shifted nervously as she pulled herself away from the bed. "M'lady. He stayed behind. I'm not privy to the reasons why, but he made arrangements with the captain. That's why I'm here to care for you. Your sister is expecting you tomorrow. All I know is that you were very sick. You were nearly on death's door, but you pulled through. Dorne has much to offer that will help you with your recovery..."
"Why did he just dump me on them?" Arya hated how her voice was thick with dejection.
"M'lady, I don't have an answer. Please just drink this serum – it will help calm you and help you sleep. Tomorrow you'll be with your family." She approached Arya once more, holding out the cup with what appeared to be milk of the poppy.
Arya swatted angrily at the cup, knocking it from the girl's hands to the floor. "I don't want it. Just… leave me alone."
The girl stammered something under her breath that sounded like an apology, gathered up the cup and hastily mopped up the contents, and fled the room.
Arya flopped back down on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling bleakly. "He left me…" she whispered, feeling a mixture of anger, sadness, and betrayal. She also felt real fear for the first time in forever. He had always kept her safe. The traveling had been tough, but she had always felt that he would protect her. And then there was the complicated stuff with the recent weeks when their relationship had somewhat developed into something that made her both nervous, but wanting more.
It didn't matter now. He was gone. Dumped her as soon as she had fallen ill. So much for a faithful dog. This betrayal cut her right to the quick and she closed her eyes, feeling helpless, wounded, and utterly alone.
First of all, thank you all for the lovely reviews! It's so encouraging to have people who followed the story when I first started to continue to be interested after my long break. I had such nice messages from people and it seriously was wonderful and inspired me to keep writing. Yes, I am feeling so much better and my life is happy and things are great! Thank you much! I will try to update more, especially since I have an idea of how the next couple chapters will go so I imagine they will write a little easier. I have a couple papers for school I also need to finish, but I intend to work on the next chapter soon and get that published. I don't have a time frame, but I won't just disappear!
This was an awkward chapter to write. I realized as I worked on my story plan that I needed to get some movement going, hence the drastic change in events! I have a plan and no worries, Arya and the Hound won't be separated for too long! I needed to set some things in motion. I want to write more smut scenes and they will come, no worries! Just have to get there and it will be coming soon!
Have a lovely week, everyone! Thanks again for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it greatly!
~Pawprynt