The Red Fork rumbled loudly as the water rushed with great speed along the banks. Their camp was small but it was comfortable. They had managed to catch a rabbit for the three of them to share, but Myrna could not help but stop eating to look down the road that led them to this spot next to the Red Fork. It was difficult to see in the night, but that did not stop her from checking. Brenda was taking a long time and she wondered if she would take all night to get back. They were stuck here until Brenda returned with what she needed to heal her hand. When they first arrived Myrna crouched down next to the Red Fork and washed her hand off as gently as she could, but that was all she could do. Myrna needed ointments, bandages... the pain was slowly increasing. The exposed flesh was beginning to ooze and her hand looked slightly swollen. Thinking about the possibility of an infection in her hand bothered her and that led her to looking at the road constantly. The Hound must have noticed her anxiety.
"Relax," he gave a brief reassurance to her but the tone in his voice was anything but comforting.
Myrna waved her ugly hand at him. "This is going to kill me if it's not taken care of!" she exaggerated.
"You've been through worse," The Hound gave her a stare that felt like it went through her. Myrna nearly shuddered but instead just stared back down at her hand. She was done with her rabbit and put it down next to her. Looking at her hand made her lose her appetite.
She would have thanked The Hound for being subtle as she did not want anyone else to know. When she looked at Arya she saw she was laying on her side, head resting on her arm and just stared at the small fire she built for them. It seemed she heard nothing around her. Myrna wondered if she needed someone to talk to.
"Get some sleep. I'll have first watch," The Hound told Myrna.
She shook her head. "Brenda should be here soon and I had a nap earlier," she thought about her rude awakening from that nap. "You get some rest. I'll wake you when she arrives," she offered and The Hound silently agreed. He rested himself down on his back, resting his hands on his belly. He never takes off that armor, she thought as she watched him for a moment. Immediately she heard his snoring which was not surprising from how long he had been awake.
"You're giving him that look again," Arya softly spoke up when she knew The Hound fell asleep.
While ignoring the comment, Myrna thought of something to change the subject. "How did you end up like this?" she asked the young girl.
Arya sat up and had a far off look in her eyes. "After Joffrey killed my father a man from the Night's Watch took me away from King's Landing. Tried to save me... until some Lannister men killed him and sent me off to Harrenhal..."
"Harrenhal? Isn't that place haunted?" Myrna felt goosebumps on her arms.
The girl looked slightly baffled at that comment. "It's old and dirty. That's about it," she quieted down and gave a foul look at the sleeping Hound. "His brother almost killed my friend at Harrenhal..."
Myrna blinked. Had this girl really ran into The Mountain? She double checked to make sure The Hound was asleep. Any talk of his brother would rile him up and she did not want to make him angry at her again. "How do you know The Mountain?" she asked in a low voice.
"He and his men tortured people there. I saw a lot of people die because of The Mountain. Isn't that something we have in common?" Arya was beginning to become smart with her mouth. The girl raised an eyebrow at Myrna and seemed to enjoy surprising her.
"Beric doesn't know anything," Myrna sneered as she went to look again down the road, but now she felt a sudden sadness rush over her.
Arya spoke up again after a moment. She was curious. "So what he said wasn't the truth?"
"About my town being burned to dust and my parents perishing in it? Yes. Yes, that's true. But he doesn't know how it happened. He wasn't there. I was there. I saw my parents burn to death and I was the one who..." Myrna began breathing heavy and her voice was croaking. She stopped herself before she said it aloud. The tightness in her back reminded her every time she moved of what happened inside her burning manor. When she looked at Arya she saw pity in the girl's blue eyes.
They remained quiet for awhile and watched the fire slowly become dimmer. Crickets sang around them and Arya's eyes were becoming heavy. A noise from down the road caught the attention from both Myrna and Arya and the girl looked awake again. Myrna exhaled, finding relief that Brenda was finally making her way back. Her hand was desperate for treatment. With her good hand she pushed herself up and when she stood straight she stretched but was careful with her injured ankle. "I told Sandor I would wake him up when she arrived," Myrna said aloud, mostly to herself, but Arya also stood up and seemed wary.
"That's not just one horse..." she pointed down the dark road.
When Myrna looked back again she saw Arya was right. Behind the one horse Myrna saw in the distance there was more. A lot more. Panic struck through her and she ordered Arya to put the fire out and grab as much as she could. Myrna limped towards the sleeping Hound and shook the large man's shoulders. He was incredibly heavy and it took every muscle in her to shake him. "Sandor! We have to hide! People are coming!" she harshly whispered. Then he finally blinked his eyes open.
"What do you want, woman?" he groggily asked and let out a loud yawn.
Myrna grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up but he pulled back harder and it led Myrna to fall onto his lap. What she felt made her face turn pink. She slapped his face and squealed as she rolled off. Myrna landed funny on her ankle and sat there holding it, biting her lip.
The Hound rubbed the cheek she slapped and he clenched his teeth. "Don't you know about men when they wake up!?" he muttered as he stood up to fix himself.
She managed to look back at him with her cheeks still flushed. "There are people coming!" she told him again, and attempted to stand up but couldn't. Myrna cursed.
Once he recognized the sound of hooves thundering towards them he gave her a concerned look. Quickly he went to pick her up with one arm and they made their way to Stranger. Arya was already by the horse, hands full of what little they had on them. Sandor roughly grabbed everything from the girl's hands and threw them on Stranger's saddle but instead of mounting he grabbed the reins and lead Stranger behind some trees along the bank of the river. Immediately after The Hound placed Myrna behind a shrub and then he pushed his back against the biggest tree he could find. Arya joined Myrna and crouched behind some shrubs.
Numerous thuds became louder as the horses galloped closer. Soon they were able to hear voices. Myrna peeked around the shrub to see if she could recognize any faces, but nearly all the men were wearing helms plus the night clouded them in a dark blanket. "That last village didn't have much," one loudly complained.
Myrna felt her stomach drop. Did they raid the village Brenda stopped at? She looked towards The Hound and saw him already looking at her with perplexed eyes. He was thinking the same thing, too. Arya looked like she was about to say something but Myrna put her good index finger up to her mouth to signal to remain quiet. They can't say anything for sure yet.
"We're not doing this for treasures!" the one leading them snapped back as he came to a halt near them. The rest stopped. Myrna and Arya were as still as calm water. She saw The Hound holding his breath. There was no way they could take on all those knights. Why did they stop, though? Did they know they were hiding by the river? Was Brenda caught and did she tell them where they planned to meet up? The man in front of the party turned his horse around to face the man. "There is a man threatening Ser Gregor Clegane. We need to catch this man or it will be us that will be flayed. Now are you sorry son's of whores absolutely sure you saw no man that matched the description in the past few villages!?"
Silence was the answer.
"A bloody Northerner we're looking for! It should not be this difficult. His name is Nicholas Beaumont!" he sharply broke the silence. Myrna felt the hairs on her arm stand straight up. "Fair skin, black of hair, and he wears the sigil of an oak tree. It was you, Willem, who claimed to have seen him in these parts, no?"
A nervous knight who was closest to the head of the party nodded. "Yes, ser..."
"Did you lie?" the man asked another question.
"N-No, ser. Never, ser," Willem the knight replied back like a small boy.
"'Cause it won't be me you'll have to speak with if you go back to Harrenhal empty-handed. It will be The Mountain!" he threatened and he turned his horse back around.
Willem sounded like he was going to cry. "Yes, ser. Of c-course, ser!" he shouted back in reply and all the horses began galloping down the road once more towards their next destination. Another poor village was to be ruined because of these men.
Once they were completely out of sight the three of them crawled out of their hiding places. The Hound kept his hand on the hilt of his sword as he crept closer to the road to see if everything was truly clear. Meanwhile Myrna stared at the ground and squeezed the hilt of her dagger. What does this mean? What should she do? She heard The Hound return to them and saw Arya's face appear in front of her.
"Your brother..." Arya looked up at her.
The Hound kept his mouth shut and just stared at Myrna with a hard look. The way he pressed his lips together made it seem he wanted to say something but held it back. The Mountain was mentioned as well, Myrna remembered. It appeared that he truly was hunting Nicholas still.
"Maybe we should visit Harrenhal..." Myrna threw an idea at them which led to Arya's face twisting into an angry expression. "After The Twins..." she added, now crossing her arms.
After a short moment The Hound softly shook his head. "There's nothing we could do about my brother when he has all those bloody men around him," he rasped but he sounded slightly disappointed. "Besides, there are plenty of miles between my brother and yours. I wouldn't worry about your precious brother," he mocked and turned around to look at the road again. That led to her biting her lower lip.
"Don't call him that," Myrna snapped and watched The Hound whip his head back towards her direction. "I want him dead just as I want your brother dead! And I'll kill them myself," she snarled. He gaped at her, looking her up and down as if she did not seem real to him. Myrna wanted to shout more at him, but could not find the words. All the shapes that she would see in her dark dreams were dancing in her mind in that moment, as they always did whenever Nicholas and The Mountain were mentioned.
"Why?" Arya asked in a surprisingly mild tone.
Before Myrna could respond she saw something in the corner of her eye. From the same direction the party of knights came another traveler was slowly making their way towards them. The brown and white spotted horse proved it truly was Brenda this time, and she had survived. Myrna began limping towards the road to welcome Brenda, and to ignore Arya's question at the same time. Brenda picked up speed and in no time had finally arrived.
"I'm not done talking to you!" Arya had followed Myrna closely and tugged on Myrna's tunic as Brenda jumped off Spiceflower with a grin on her face. The smile faded when Arya yelled, "Why do you want to kill your brother!?"
In her hand Brenda held a sack that Myrna assumed held the medicine she needed for her burned hand that she had nearly forgotten about ever since the knights disrupted them. It fell to the ground with a thud and Brenda grabbed Myrna's shoulders. Myrna shuddered. "You're not talking about Nicholas, are you?" Brenda asked harshly but Myrna could tell there was hurt in her big brown eyes. "What's going on?" she looked to Arya but still had a hard grip on Myrna. The Hound moved quick for his size and pushed Brenda off of Myrna roughly. The Dornish woman fell on her rear with a cry and cursed at him. "Fucking hells! What is with you people!?" she screamed.
"I don't know what the hell is going on, either..." The Hound growled as he put himself between Brenda and her. "But I know enough that you have no right to touch her or yell at her for wanting your lover dead. Seven hells, he was knighted by my brother for crying out loud!" he warned her.
Brenda began breathing heavier and now spoke to Myrna. "Explain yourself, sweetling... Why on earth do you want Nicholas dead?" her voice shook.
All their eyes were on her now, including The Hound's as he turned around to face her. She felt like she was cornered despite being in the open area. "My parents are dead because of him..." Myrna looked off to the side.
"Because of The Mountain," Brenda thought she was correcting her and it made Myrna furious.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Were you there too!? Did you hear the way my mother screamed, or see the way Nicholas just stared at my parents as they turned to ash!?" Myrna hollered down at her. But he was also crying... she remembered but left that part out. "It's just as I said. My brother. Everyone blamed The Mountain for everything but it was Nicholas who started it! The only reason I want to go to Harrenhal is so I can stop The Mountain from taking away my vengeance! I don't know why he's after Nicholas and me, but I can't let him have my brother..." she went on and saw Brenda's lip quiver. Brenda remained sitting on the dirt road and began to whimper as she put her hand up to her chest. There was no way Myrna could stand to stay around and listen to Brenda wail over the truth about Nicholas. Turning around, she marched back towards the bank of the Red Fork despite the terrible pain in her ankle every time she placed it down. Myrna heard someone follow her. The sound of armor plates clamoring let Myrna know it was The Hound without having to look behind her. A tight grip on her shoulder stopped her from walking and when she looked up she saw slick red flesh but averted her eyes. She stared at his chest plate instead. "Your brother is innocent for once. You happy?" she muttered under her breath. His grip tightened on her shoulder and it made her wince.
"That was uncalled for," he spat back. Myrna felt drops of saliva hit her face. He was so close to her face she could feel warm puffs of air from his mouth.
Now she looked up to meet his gaze. "Sorry," she flatly apologized.
He shook his head. "I could care less about my brother's fucking innocence, not that he has any. I'm talking about what you did there with the whore," he rasped. "We have no fucking coin and that whore wailing on the road is all we got! Now she's probably going to fucking leave 'cause of you," he looked off to the side and inhaled sharply.
"Is that all you care about? Money?" Myrna's voice shook angrily. "Or didn't you get a chance to fuck her yet?" she grabbed his hand and threw it off of her then pushed his chest hard. He stumbled back a few steps and gawked at her.
"Since when do you care who I fuck!?" he hollered back with a wild look in his eye.
Myrna saw Arya standing behind him and she watched them awkwardly. "'Cause she likes you," Arya said with a shrug. Myrna felt her face turn hot and The Hound stared at the girl confused but she changed the subject quickly. "In case you forgot, we have my uncle's wedding to attend. Make Brenda stop crying," she ordered them and turned around to go back to her. Myrna kept her head down and followed Arya closely to avoid The Hound. She hoped her hair hid her blush and now was faced with another challenge. Brenda's eyes were red and she still sat on the ground sobbing. When she noticed Myrna making her way towards her she saw Brenda pick up the sack she had brought with her and threw it in front of Myrna's feet.
"There. That's what you want, right? Now leave me!" she commanded between tears.
Myrna walked around the bag slowly and towered over Brenda. The Dornish woman dried off her brown cheeks and peered up at Myrna with angry eyes. "I'm not going to apologize," Myrna began. "Nicholas fucked up my whole life whether you want to believe it or not. Maybe one day you can get your answers from him..." Myrna went down on her knees and grabbed Brenda's calloused, tanned hand with her injured one, ignoring the pain. "We can get answers from him," Myrna rephrased herself. Brenda's sobs slowed down to sniffles as she glanced down at their hands. For a second Myrna thought her attempt was all in vain, but Brenda lifted her chin and softly looked at Myrna's face. Brenda nodded without saying anything, and they both stood up.
Brenda wiped her face with her forearm and sighed as she pointed at Myrna's hand. "Let's finally fix that up, shall we?" she tried to sound like her cheerful self but it came out apathetic.
That last the last time Myrna heard Brenda speak that evening. They sat facing each other on the grass near the dead fire Arya had built earlier. The Hound and Arya were unpacking what little they had and Stranger was tied to a closer tree. The way Brenda cleaned out her burned hand reminded her of when her friend Desmond treated her back all those years ago. This was much smaller but yet the pain was no less. Myrna was relieved when it was nearly over and Brenda gently wrapped her hand in pieces of cloth. She examined her hand when it was done and Brenda began wrapping her ankle that she injured from the jump. Afterwards when Brenda was finished with her ankle she silently went to sit by herself away from them. Myrna's dagger was placed next to her and she looked at it and then at The Hound. She decided it was for the best.
Myrna held her dagger in her good hand and approached The Hound. The pain was greatly alleviated in her ankle thanks to it being wrapped up now. She quietly sat next to him and he glued his eyes to her. "May I ask a favor?" Myrna kept her head down.
"You can't even look at me," he grumbled deeply.
Sighing, she lifted her chin and hoped not to blush. Why was she suddenly so bashful around him? "Take care of this," she handed him her dagger and he grabbed it from her eagerly. He ran his finger down the flat of the blade and examined it closely. It's like a new toy for him, Myrna smiled as she watched him. "I obviously can't use it for awhile," she showed off her hand and he slightly smirked back at her.
His small smile faded and his eyes wandered around the small camp. "Is there truth to what the she-wolf said earlier?" The Hound flatly asked Myrna.
Myrna blushed just as she did when Arya embarrassed her earlier. "If... if we don't hurry we'll miss the wedding, yes..." Myrna stuttered and looked down to her lap letting her dark curls hide her face.
"Not that," he rasped as he moved in closer to her. "You fancy me? I could use a woman..." she felt his breath on her neck. His hand grabbed her chin and he forced her to look at him and their noses nearly touched. Myrna resisted but stared at his mouth. She shook and her cheeks were warm. Then The Hound made a sound what sounded like a deep sigh and his grip loosened. "You're just like the little bird after all. Bloody shame," he murmured and took back his hand and moved away from her. Myrna wanted to say she wasn't like Sansa but she remained quiet. The Hound went back to looking at her blade while brooding. She wanted to comfort him somehow but felt stuck.
Arya neared them. "I'm going to find some more fire wood," she told them.
Myrna took one more glance at The Hound and stood up. "I'll come with. It's dark out," she put a hand on Arya's back and they walked out of the camp and into a deeper part of the forest but stayed near the Red Fork. Arya began picking up the biggest twigs she saw lying on the grass and had a small bundle in her arms in a matter of minutes. Myrna stood there awkwardly and still examined her hand. She wondered if she would ever get used to it.
"How much longer 'til were at the Twins?" Arya asked as she bent over to swipe up another decent twig.
Myrna shrugged. "I don't really know. A few days perhaps," She watched Arya frown at that. Maybe somehow she could cheer the girl up. "How are you, Arya?" Myrna asked.
"What do you mean?" Arya narrowed her eyes at Myrna.
She took a few steps closer to the girl and made herself smile. "It's been rough lately. Just wondering how you're holding up..."
"I just want Brenda to keep leading us to the Twins. It's stupid the way she cried over your brother. She hasn't seen him in years," she calmly replied while adjusting the bundle of twigs in her arms. Arya looked up at Myrna and was about to keep talking but her eyes caught onto something behind Myrna. The twigs fell to the ground.
Myrna knew by the look on the girls face it wasn't good. Slowly she turned around and froze. No... she thought. There is no way.
"You're... You're supposed to be in Harrenhal," Myrna backed up slowly.
Gregor Clegane eyed her up as he stood within the shadows. A sickly smile appeared on his face. "My bride. My search ended up sweeter than I thought it would," his voice boomed, deeper than The Hound's.
"Arya, run!" Myrna commanded sharply as she whipped her head back to face the girl. Arya shook her head and grabbed Myrna's arm.
"Come with me!" she whispered with her blue eyes filled with worry.
Myrna brushed her off and pushed her away. "NOW!" she ordered again, louder this time. This time Arya listened and Myrna watched the girl disappear into the darkness between the pine trees and heard Gregor rumble a short laugh. Myrna faced him once more and her heart pounded inside her chest as he crept closer. It did not help when she remembered that she gave her dagger to The Hound before leaving with Arya. "Just you wait. Sandor will be here and he'll kill you!" Myrna tried to be brave but only kept taking a step back every time The Mountain took a step towards her. There's no way I can outrun him, Myrna thought. Her ankle felt better but it was still injured. The Mountain picked up his pace while Myrna did not. She was helpless. Soon he stood over her and she had to stretch her neck to see his face. Myrna remembered the way he stood tall over her when she was young, when he had chained up Nicholas to take him away. The bravery she had when she was young was not with her at that moment. What she did not remember was the pain of his fist making impact with her skull.