"Wait, you told me you were taking me to my brother!" the young girl from the Brotherhood snapped at another familiar face.
In the darkness Myrna made out Brenda standing cautiously and a hand was firmly grasped on the Stark girl's shoulder. Her eyes were glued on The Hound who threatened them. "Okay, now. Take it easy... just hear me out..." she calmly pleaded.
"Did you lead the bloody Brotherhood back here!? I knew those cunts wouldn't let me go alive," The Hound growled.
Myrna slowly stood up and put herself between The Hound and Brenda to try and calm everyone down but she was uneasy herself. Her hand gripped her dagger so tight her knuckles turned white. She faced towards Brenda and would occasionally glance at the Stark girl who glowered at everyone. "What is this, Brenda?"
"Money. Stark's are worth a lot," she tugged the girl's shoulder to make her step forward. The girl became more visible and her eyes more menacing. "I also have my own coin. Do you think I would just let you starve out here in the cold?"
For a moment Myrna wanted to believe they had come here to help, but it was hard to trust people who just came from a group that nearly killed them. Brenda's face seemed genuine enough, but the Stark girl could be a problem whether she supported the Brotherhood or not. She made it loudly known that she wanted The Hound dead. How could Brenda even think this would work? However, they were desperate for money and this was their chance to find food and shelter for the time being. She turned halfway so she could see what The Hound made of this. He was clearly angry, red cheeks under his beard and still ready to charge at Brenda. His glassy brown eyes met with Myrna's when he saw her turn around.
"What do you think?" she asked while gesturing at Brenda and the girl.
He looked back at them and his mouth tightened. "I don't trust them," he rasped. "Not one bit..."
She glanced down at her feet and turned her head back around to face Brenda. "You stay right there. I need a moment alone with Sandor," she ordered. Brenda nodded.
Myrna swiftly walked towards The Hound and grabbed his arm to pull him farther away. He rather easily let her pull him away but he wouldn't take his eyes off of them. When they were far enough away Myrna slid her hand off of him and rose her chin so she could see his face that was still occupied with what Brenda and the girl were doing. In the night air it was not so hard to look at him, with his hair covering some of his burn in a way he did look like a normal man in the dark. "I don't think we have a choice..." she began softly.
"They're working with the Brotherhood! They want to bloody kill me," he hoarsely whispered, taking quick glances between Myrna and them while gritting his teeth. "Our first night sleeping at camp I swear they will try to cut my throat," he added.
Myrna huffed. "This is hard for me, too. I know she's going to want to talk about my past but... Brenda loves me. She wouldn't hurt a friend of mine, I swear that!"
"Aye, and do you swear that little wolf-bitch won't try anything? I killed her fucking butcher's boy," he narrowed his eyes specifically at the girl. Her blue eyes focused back on him from afar.
There was a pause between them. Both knew that the girl would be a problem they would have to deal with. Denying money right in front of them would be stupid, though. "We should accept their offer," Myrna decided.
"It would be different if it were your life on the line," The Hound grumbled but he looked back at them with a rather pensive expression now. "I know our pockets are as empty as our bellies," he admitted.
"Then lets tell them," she softly said as she began walking back to them with The Hound putting his sword back in its sheath reluctantly as he walked next to her.
Brenda's eyes looked relieved when she saw The Hound put his guard down. "Oh, thank the Gods this was all not all for nothing," she sighed.
"You told me you were taking me to my brother!" the Stark girl yelled louder now and managed to get out of Brenda's grip.
"We are, sweet child..." Brenda assured her and then gave her attention to Myrna and The Hound to explain. "Arya's mother and brother will be at The Twins for her uncle's wedding. We can ransom her there but only if we get there quick enough..."
Her name was Arya, she remembered now when Sansa mentioned her little sister. Sansa had claimed that she reminded her of her little sister Arya. Only by looking at the young girl Myrna could not really see much in common besides dressing in breeches. This girl looks like she enjoys killing, similar to The Hound but in a smaller way. She could never find joy in killing, and only did when it was necessary. Not to brag about it, but she was more than often good at killing when she needed to. Myrna crossed her arms when she focused back on the situation. "So why did the Brotherhood just let you go with her? They obviously wanted her for the money," she asked Brenda.
Brenda smirked. "They didn't. I snuck us both out. They were heading for Riverrun but there were Lannister men spotted close to their camp. So while they were wasting their time hustling around to get ready to ambush those men I grabbed her for myself and ran for it," she patted Arya on the back but the girl did not react.
"So you really are no longer part of the Brotherhood?" The Hound wanted to hear her say it.
"I'm here to help Myrna now. If I had known you were alive earlier..." she trailed off with a sad tone. "How are you, dear?" she asked kindly.
Myrna bit her lip. "There's time for that later. Do you know of any inn's that might be nearby?"
"Let's head northwest and make for Riverrun. We should hit an inn rather soon on horseback," Brenda replied.
The Hound marched towards where he had tied up Stranger to a tree and Myrna became concerned. "We only have one horse..." she pointed out.
"You think we came all this way just by walking?" Brenda chuckled and she went back deeper into the woods leaving Myrna alone with Arya.
The girls awkwardly stared at each other in the dark and silence. Myrna scratched her scalp and looked around as she tried to think of something to say. When she looked to see where The Hound went she saw he was just finishing unwrapping the rope that he had tied around the tree to keep Stranger nearby. She wished he would hurry up, or that Brenda would. Being alone with Arya made her slightly uncomfortable.
Arya spoke up. "Why do you like him?" she asked harshly. "He's ugly and all he does is kill people," the girl sounded disgusted.
"Like him?" Myrna asked quickly as she whipped her head back around.
The girl looked like she was studying Myrna. "You're alone with a man day and night, and you defend him to the death while everyone else wants him dead," Arya bickered. "If you're stupid enough to defend him then you're just as bad as him!"
"Now hold on!" Myrna yapped back at her and marched a few steps towards her. "I haven't done anything wrong! And I don't like Sandor!" she declared and saw Arya was looking past her. When she turned around she saw The Hound was making his way towards them but was close enough to hear what Myrna said. The look on his face was nothing she'd ever seen. He tried to hide it with a hard frown but his brown eyes were wounded. Myrna's words had actually wounded the huge man.
Then behind Arya they heard another horse neighing and Brenda came into view mounted on her own horse; it was a beautiful brown and white spotted mare with a long white mane and tail. The smile on Brenda's face faded when she saw the three of them caught in the middle of something. "What's going on?" she asked in a concerned tone.
"I hope your pretty horse can hold three," The Hound spat nastily under his breath as he lead Stranger out of the pine woods and into the clearing so he could get on the road.
"No... Sandor, wait!" Myrna tried to make a recovery but he was not listening to anything that came out of her mouth and Stranger began trotting down the road. She stood there with her arms hanging at her side and she once again gripped her dagger tightly as she spun around and glared at Arya. "Look at what you did!"
Arya shook her head, her greasy brown hair flying in her face. "You're the one who said it!" she squawked.
"Okay, girls. Get on before we lose him," Brenda scolded.
Somehow the three of them had managed to squeeze onto Brenda's horse. They were lucky that Arya was small enough and Myrna wasn't that big either. It was Brenda who took up the most room for being a tall, curvy woman. Arya sat in front of Brenda and Myrna hugged Brenda from behind, careful not to cut her with her dagger in her hand. The mare began trotting across the clearing and made her way onto the road. They saw The Hound far down along the road, but he purposely went slow so he would not be out of view. He knows he still needs the money... Myrna thought. Her heart began to sink the more she thought of what just happened.
"You two are lucky I no longer have my sand steed. Now she was a beauty, as red as the mountains back at home but to be honest she could barely hold me. We'd be in trouble if she was still alive!" Brenda chuckled and tried to lighten the mood but became quiet again when it was in vain. Behind them the night sky was beginning to turn into hues of violet and orange over the dark tree tops and birds were beginning to sing their songs. They had gone all night without a wink of sleep. Myrna hoped for an inn to come into sight soon. Occasionally she would peek around Brenda to see what was in front of them but all she saw was the back of the man that was ignoring her. Myrna knew she did not really mean what she had said, which only made it worse.
Brenda must have noticed what she was doing and brought it up. "So what exactly happened back there?" she inquired.
Myrna felt her face turn hot when she tried to think of what to say. Arya was able to get her word in first. "Myrna said she didn't like The Hound and he heard her say that. I didn't do anything," she defended herself.
"No, you made me say it!" Myrna shouted around Brenda.
"So you do like that disgusting man," Arya hollered back. "Just admit it!"
Brenda groaned. "Okay, enough. I regret asking already," she sighed. The girls quieted down. Myrna stared at the ground that rolled by as they trotted along the road, the side of her head resting on Brenda's back. "Ah, here we go!" Brenda chirped and Myrna quickly peeked around her back again to see The Hound closing in on an inn down the road.
"Do you know that place?" Myrna asked.
"It so happens that I do," Brenda replied happily. "I'll be able to get us a room there. Now listen, you need to make up with your man because Spiceflower here can't hold all of us for the entire trip," she said as she patted her horse.
She sucked in air. "He is not my man!" Myrna blurted out and blushed.
"'A joke. Don't throw a hissy fit now, we made it..." Brenda smoothly replied as Spiceflower trotted down the dirt path towards the inn and stopped next to Stranger. The Hound had already hopped off and was tying Stranger to a post. Myrna watched him as he kept his back turned towards them. Arya leaped off first, landing softly on the ground and took a few steps back. Myrna swung her leg around behind her and stepped off with ease and Brenda did the same. "Normally people arrive at inns at night. Never had to buy a room first thing in the morning," Brenda chimed as she headed towards the inn doors. Myrna, The Hound and Arya followed her quietly. There was an uneasy tension between the three of them. It made Myrna want to shout.
When they entered through the wooden door she noticed the ceiling was quite low. The Hound had to duck his head when walked through the door. A couple of men were breaking their fast at some tables in the corner of the main room. Right when they walked in some stairs led up to the second floor. A man that sat with the others ended his conversation with the others and walked over to them with a smile. Brenda had some silver already in her hand and paid the man.
"The biggest room we have has only three beds. I hope that is fine," the man picked the coin out of her hand and his smile widened.
The Hound found an empty table against the wall and took a seat. "We'll have some bread and ale," he ordered.
"Aye," the man went into the kitchen and the others found a seat around The Hound. Arya sat farthest from him, Brenda across from him and Myrna next to him though she would not look at him and he at her. She put her dagger on her lap and rested her hands on the table politely. They remained quiet all the way until an elderly woman came shuffling out of the kitchen with a basket of bread and mugs for their ale. Right when The Hound's cup was filled he swallowed it all in one impressive swig. The wrinkled, frail woman stared at him disturbed and re-filled his mug right away before shuffling back into the kitchen.
"Thank you," Myrna politely called to her as she went to break off a piece of bread. Arya did the same but Brenda just sat there looking around with her big brown eyes, chin resting on the back of her hand. "Aren't you hungry?" Myrna asked before taking a bite.
"I'm more curious as to how you ended up like this. May I ask?" Brenda requested.
Myrna swallowed her bread and peeked at The Hound who sipped his ale. He acted as if he did not hear anything they said. "Sandor helped me out of the capital. We've been figuring out what to do ever since. That's it," Myrna shrugged and took another bite of bread.
"Did you see my sister there? Her name is Sansa," Arya forced a question out.
"I know who she is. She talked about you once," she saw Arya's blue eyes soften. "Sansa was fine the last time I saw her. I'm not sure what has become of King's Landing though," Myrna said honestly.
Brenda cut in. "King's Landing survived. There's no need to worry about your sister, sweet child..." she smiled.
The Hound finally found some words to say, but they left Myrna even more broken. "I regret not bringing the little bird along. She would have been more polite and a better sight to look at," The Hound sipped more ale.
"Pardon!?" Brenda's voice shrilled.
Myrna locked her eyes on her piece of bread on the table. She began to swallow often to stop herself from coming to tears. All she thought about was her back. Why did she ever show him the bad part of her? He was just another man. Of course he would prefer Sansa over her.
"You're just saying that because you heard Myrna say something mean," Arya blurted.
Brenda joined in with Arya. "You're lucky Myrna's brother isn't around. He'd take your head for saying something so cruel," she mumbled.
No, not Nicholas... Don't bring him up... Myrna clenched her jaw and hoped it would pass over.
"Where was her older brother when Joffrey was playing with her at the capital? Hm?" The Hound asked crudely.
Brenda's mouth tightened. She looked away, not knowing what to say.
The Hound cackled. "It was me who bloody saved her arse. And you know what I get in return?" he looked at her for the first time since they argued.
This was enough. Myrna stood up swiftly, nearly knocking over the chair she was sitting on. She felt all their eyes on her as she ran up the stairs to the second floor of the inn. She hurried past some rooms that were loud and rowdy for a morning. For a second it sounded like a fight, and she paused to listen. It took her a moment to decide it was none of her business and she finally found the room with the three featherbeds the man had reserved for them. She went to the nearest one and sat on the edge facing towards a window, feeling the same way she felt in the pinewoods before The Hound spoke with her. There was a nearby nightstand and she threw her dagger onto it, not caring if it did any damage. The room was brightly lit since the window faced east and it would be difficult to try to take a nap that she clearly needed as the curtains were missing. Outside some children caught her attention. An older boy picked up a smaller girl that looked to be his sister and twirled her around.
Behind her she heard the door open slowly and then click close. In the corner of her eye she saw Brenda walk around the bed and found herself a spot to sit. They both looked out the window and watched the children quietly. "Reminds me of you and Nicholas," Brenda commented.
"He's gone," Myrna replied.
Brenda adjusted herself. "And how do you know that? No one saw him die..."
"Do you even know what happened?" Myrna asked rather harsh.
There was silence for awhile before Brenda's answer. "There was a fire. Your parents died in it. At least that's what the locals told me..."
Myrna narrowed her eyebrows. "What locals? Everyone was killed by The Mountain after the fire broke out," she corrected her.
"I meant... I stopped somewhere on the way back to Beaumont Hall. They told me. Was it Moat Cailin? Or perhaps Barrowton? I can't remember," she chirped quickly while crossing her legs and rubbing her thigh. "You know... you should really apologize to The Hound," she changed the subject and leaned in closer to Myrna.
Rubbing the back of her neck, Myrna sighed and looked down. "I suppose I was the rude one first," she admitted. "Even though I didn't really mean what I said. Arya was just making me so..." she ended up sighing more and stared up at the ceiling.
Brenda moved her hand and touched her back. It sent chills up her spine. Myrna straightened up and looked to Brenda with doe eyes. "I'm sure he did not mean to compare you to that girl he was talking about. Men make dumb mistakes all the time, they have no idea how to treat us women..." she snickered.
"You're probably right..." Myrna looked away again, still bothered by the hand on her back.
"It's not even that bad, Myrna..." Brenda said delicately as her hand brushed her back but the words sent her heart to drop down to the ground.
With a hard grip Myrna threw Brenda's hand off of her and stood up so quick she nearly lost her footing. She stared wildly at Brenda with her heart thumping hard in her chest. "How do you know!?"
Brenda looked like she had frozen. Her eyes stared back with extreme wariness. She was being cautious with her next words. "Know what, sweetling?" she remained calm.
"You know what I'm talking about," Myrna hissed. "Who are you even!?"
She laughed. "I'm Brenda, silly. You know, I think you're tired. Why don't you-"
The door opened once more and Arya entered halfway but stopped walking when she saw Myrna standing there devastated. Behind her The Hound stood and he peeked in to see what Arya was looking at. Myrna's knees trembled and she didn't know what to do with her hands. Had she made some sort of misunderstanding? She shifted where she stood, putting her weight back and forth between each leg. Brenda stood up slowly and made her way towards Arya and The Hound, pushing them back. Myrna heard her whisper about letting her sleep and soon the three of them had left her alone. Behind her was the second bed and she plopped herself onto it. Perhaps she was overtired, but she feared her dreams. Just a little nap was all she needed. Myrna closed her eyes and tried to dream of home, but instead all she felt in her dream were familiar strong arms that wrapped around her, and a broad chest pushed against her back. It was something that ended up more comforting than the thought of home, but it also was out of reach.