The doorknob wouldn't turn. They locked me in, she cursed.
There was no way she was leaving the room until they allowed her to. Myrna stared at the door like it was her enemy. Everything about her current state was going to make her go mad. Now that her clothing dried out it was stiff and had a muddy odor to it. Her head ached and her mouth felt like cotton. They had not fed her or given her anything to drink. From the one window she could see the sun was rising as a light blue glow began to creep up in the distance.
Voices from the hallway caught her attention. They were faint, but when she was close enough to the door she could make out the words. She pressed her right ear against the wood and listened.
"When Boss finds out she ain't no maiden no more he's gonna fetch one of our 'eads over it," one rough voice complained.
Myrna recognized Anguy's carefree voice reply. "Let's just calm down, aye? What matters is he receives her unharmed. That was our order." There was some more shuffling, perhaps more people walking through. She listened harder. "It's not like he will notice, eh?" he added with a laugh.
"Not anytime soon, no, but one day he will know! And it will be us he blames! We also still have to find the puppy!" the agitated one yelled.
Anguy was not happy with his tone. "Keep it down. Sandor Clegane is not as important as Myrna Beaumont at the moment, and the lady is right behind that door. Who is going to wake her?"
That was her cue to hurry back to the bed. Myrna ran on her tip toes and it only took her four big leaps to lie back down on the bed. Right when her head was down she heard the doorknob jiggle and the door opened. Pretending she was asleep, she closed her eyes as she lied on her side on the bed. A hand squeezed her arm, and she looked up without hiding her anger. It was Anguy who entered.
"You need to come with me, lass…" he commanded gently.
Myrna wanted to ask for food or water, maybe even a new pair of clothing, but her stubbornness would not allow it. If these guys let me die, Sandor will make them pay. She took comfort in that thought and followed the archer out the door and back into the large front room. It was empty. "Where are the villagers?" she asked with a hoarse voice.
Before replying Anguy grabbed a wineskin that hung on his belt. Myrna leered at the offer, but grabbed it and took a long pull. From the taste she could tell it was a very dark red wine. It was enough to put some life back into her. "Just outside. We had visitors in the night. You ready to head north?"
"North?" she repeated dubiously as he took back his wineskin.
Their short conversation was interrupted when the entrance door swung open and in walked two men she had not seen in quite some time. Beric Dondarrion walked in slowly like an old man, wearing a black patch over his left eye and his clothes still donning a purple lightning bolt. He looked better the last time she had seen him. Next to him was the so-called priest with chainmail and a sword on his back, Thoros. His blonde hair was pulled back messily with wisps of hair sitting around his head. Just like their last encounter, he wore a smug smile on his face.
"We need help out here with the newcomers. Be useful for once…" Beric gave an icy stare with his one eye.
Thoros stopped smiling for a moment as Anguy obeyed Beric's order and walked past them out the door with his head down. Neither acknowledged her until they were left alone with her. "The Beaumont girl?" Thoros remarked.
Beric added to that. "So she was in the area."
"I'm right here," Myrna addressed them curtly. "You can stop treating me in that manner."
The men walked deeper into the inn. "We apologize if Gregor's men have done anything to harm you," Thoros sincerely said. "So it looks as if you parted ways with the dog. How long ago was that?"
"We never parted. I was dragged away from the village before Sandor could return from a job in Fairmarket," Myrna explained. She thought this was her chance to see if they would allow her to go back but the looks on their faces hinted they already knew something. "Is… there something wrong?"
"Follow us," Beric snapped at her. Myrna was getting tired of all the orders, but she held her tongue and followed once more. They led her out the entrance.
The cool air embraced her when she walked out of the inn and Myrna felt instantly refreshed. There was still some fog lurking through down at the bottom of the surrounding hills and the sun was trying to break through the gray skies. A chill made her rub her own arms through her rough clothing as she followed closely behind Beric and Thoros. They led her to what looked like a small army. She guessed more men had joined since the last time she was acquainted with them. Off the road was a grassy sloped field where Anguy was speaking with the villagers. Myrna recognized Katherine and her mother standing amongst the group, but tore her attention away to follow the men.
Down the hill was full of people camping, some even had their own tents put up. Groups were sitting around small fires as a couple of bandwagons and horses set off to the side of the trail. There was an obvious split between the groups. More than half the group belonged to the Brotherhood, and the other small percentage was Gregor's men or perhaps men who worked for the Lannister's. This was unusual as the Brotherhood wanted Gregor dead. Myrna had questions, but for now she kept quiet about what she saw. If what they were showing her involved Sandor then that was her priority.
Myrna was right. They had passed a few tents but stopped at a particular one. "We should tell you we found The Hound. He is here with us."
"In this tent!?" Myrna exclaimed, and when she went to enter Thoros quickly grabbed her arm but she managed to slip out of his hold and pushed one of the hanging sheets attached to the tent aside. There was no one there besides Sandor. A woolen blanket had been laid down on the grass and he rested on top of it with another woolen blanket over him. His eyes had been closed, but opened when he heard her kneel next to him.
His breathing was rapid and noisy. When Myrna went to grab his arm he jerked it back, and his eyes went wide. With a turn of his head she noticed the wound on the opposite side of his scar. Above his left temple was a red gash that was already cleaned out. He scowled when he looked at her. "What are you doing here?"
Myrna was not expecting that tone from him. "What do you mean? I was waiting for you."
His brows furrowed. The tense expression on his face was a mixture of pain and confusion. "Waiting? Waiting bloody where? Why aren't you back in King's Landing?"
"Myrna." She heard her name from outside the tent. Beric was standing there between the two sheets that gave Sandor privacy and he gestured her to come with his finger. Sandor was already looking away when she gave him her attention one last time before complying to Beric. Beric led her not too far away from the tent before speaking again. "He was like that when we found him. Since he had no memory of anything we did not know he was still traveling with you. What have you two been doing since we last met?" Beric asked.
The last thing Myrna felt like doing was telling Beric everything that happened after the trial he gave them. "First you are going to answer my questions. How did Gregor's men find me in the village if you had no idea where I was or who I was traveling with? Why did you allow them to kill those people and kidnap the rest? They were good to us!"
"We do not work that closely with those… men," he glanced off towards where Gregor's men camped with his one eye as he still wore an eye patch on his other one. "But we do have a common goal and the more men we have working towards that goal the better."
She could not help but keep glancing back at the tent where Sandor rested. "What of the villagers we have? What is going to happen to them?"
Beric could tell she was eyeing Sandor. "They will be safe, I assure you. For now they will be working with us, such as cooking and sewing. Enough of that now. You need to tell me. What has happened between you two since we last saw you? Are you two closer? Because if you are, he has forgotten everything."
There was a tightening sensation in her throat and a heaviness that settled in her chest but she kept a straight face. "Forgotten everything?" she repeated him.
He nodded. "When I asked Sandor about the trial he had no memory. Mentioned something about needing to get back to his post in King's Landing. Probably believes Joffrey is still alive and that the Blackwater never happened."
"That far back?" Myrna confirmed. Beric nodded once more.
Everything we have been through… it doesn't exist anymore, she thought.
Thoros had left for a short time and made his way back merrily. He caught on what they were talking about. "Might I make a suggestion? Perhaps if we ask him some more questions with her around it would trigger some memories."
As much as Myrna wanted Sandor to gain his memories back she could not help but see the contradiction in what he said. "I have been with Sandor the entire time. You can ask me the same questions… whatever they are."
It were as if she had said nothing. Beric faced Thoros. "Perhaps later we can try to speak with him once more in her company. Right now we have other matters to attend to. We need to decide on a proper sentence for the woman."
"Wait, me? What did I do!?" Myrna took a step back.
Thoros laughed. "Not you. Brenda. We caught her and she confessed to that," he pointed to Sandor's tent.
"She's here?" Myrna gasped. Brenda tried killing us again. With that thought she became enraged. "You need to let me be part of the sentencing. Maybe even let me swing the sword. I've proven to you men that I am more than capable!"
"Don't be silly," Thoros chuckled. "We're not punishing the Dornish lass for trying to kill The Hound. If that were the case the entire Brotherhood should be sentenced. Her crime is treason. The night after we generously let you two go she took the Stark girl and ran off with her. Probably tried to get the coin for herself but failed along the way. Unlucky for her to fall back into our hands."
Myrna felt the need to tell them the truth. "Not for herself. She joined up with Sandor and I. Brenda was worried for me," she elaborated but the words were hard for her to say aloud. Brenda had tried to kill her and Sandor. Perhaps everything was all a lie with her.
"Then we really should not let you say anything. If the others found out you two sided with her we may need to trial you again."
The tent they were standing outside of was calling for her. Sandor was right there. Even though he was presently in a state of confusion she wanted to be by his side. Was that the right choice, though? "I want to go back in."
"Go ahead. Just try not to tell him anything. It's better for him to remember everything on his own," Beric allowed.
Without another second wasted Myrna turned her heel and walked through the slit in the tent once more. Even though it was midday it was dark inside the tent. Myrna returned the same spot where she knelt before to examine him again. His chest rose and fell quickly. When she touched his cheek the skin felt hot. His eyelids fluttered open from her touch and his mouth twitched. It was clear he was irritated. "You again. What do you want?"
"Do you not remember anything?" she asked solemnly as she took her hand back.
Sandor winced as he adjusted. "Why do you care?" he growled.
"You and I have been through a lot. An awful lot."
That comment made his temper simmer down. After the adjustment he lied back down flat on his back and fixated his eyes on the top of the tent. "Do you at least know where my bloody armor is? Or my sword?"
Myrna held back a laugh. "I don't believe you will be fighting any time soon. Is your shoulder still sore?"
That question startled him, and he rolled his bad shoulder. "It's… fine."
"Do you remember how you injured it?"
Sandor grumbled. "The hell do you think?"
"I'm sorry. No more questions…" she sighed and lowered herself down onto the grass under her and rested on her side with her knees bent. Her back was starting to pulse with a throbbing pain, but it was not too bad. Myrna hoped a nap would help.
After she did that Sandor spoke up again. "Why are you still here?"
"Because you're my only friend," she softly told him, though they were supposed to be more. Part of her did not want to turn and look at him. The man behind her was the one who would drag her to Joffrey whenever Joffrey commanded it. That would not last long. Myrna could feel it. Soon he should pull back all the recent memories of them and they can continue on from where they left off.
The day passed by and the night did, too, but at an awful slow pace. Myrna spent most of her time inside the tent with Sandor. It felt safe. Outside was tons of men and she did not want them looking at her. Thoros dropped off dinner for them once the sun was setting. Each of them had smoked fish on a stick, fresh off the fire. They ate in silence, and then slept in silence. Once in the middle of the night Sandor woke up to make water, and Myrna had to stand by to make sure he would not fall over. He was not steady; she assumed it was from his head wound.
All the campfires glowed bright now, and one was right outside their tent which provided them some light. Some Brotherhood men were sitting around it, talking quietly amongst themselves. When Myrna was assisting Sandor she could sense them turning their heads and speaking about them. One even called out to her, and another followed his friend's lead by shouting at Sandor asking if they could borrow her. Their snorts and belly deep laughs proved they were joking at most, but Myrna felt defenseless. She would probably never see her dagger again. It was left under her bed back at the village.
When Sandor finished he slowly walked back inside the tent and she followed behind closely. He did not say a word to those men, nor seemed to be bothered by them. What did bother Myrna more than their crude calls toward her was that they were working with Gregor's men. Why would the Brotherhood go from trying to kill Gregor to working with his men? It made zero sense in her mind. The next time she ran into Beric or Thoros she was going to get her answers. If they were in any type of alliance with Gregor… they were their enemy.
"Bloody hell. If only I didn't feel like shit…" he swore when he sat back down. Out of habit she sat close to him, and he glared at her. "Instead of waking up in my chamber I wake up in the middle of fucking nowhere with no armor and my body feeling like it's been through all the hells. Then some pretty northern highborn is dressed like a boy and following me everywhere, even when I take a piss. None of this makes any sense!"
Myrna tried to comfort him and did not take his words to heart. "Everything will. Once you remember."
"Remember what!?" he had begun to sweat when he threw that question at her. Suddenly he tugged the front of her shirt and she slid across the grass towards him, palms hitting the blanket he sat on to catch herself. Myrna stared down at his lap as he yelled at her. "Just tell me what is going on! Why are you even here!?" he demanded.
She freed herself of his grip by pulling his hand off of her and she leered at him. "Maybe this was a mistake coming here like this. I forgot you used to prefer Sansa over me. If she were here in my stead you would be a perfect little knight for her," she ridiculed him.
"You wait a damn minute…" he rasped, sounding more confused and hurt than angry.
The inn must still be available for me, she thought as she stood. "I'm leaving."
"No, wait!" he hoarsely demanded when she turned her back toward him. Go through with it, she told herself but her feet would not move. "Don't be a little fool. You're not like the little bird. I know… you are different," he muttered. "And you… you… shit, I think you are supposed to… marry him…"
Her heart fluttered. Leaving was no longer on her mind. Myrna faced him but still stood near the entrance. "Marry who? Do you remember?"
At first Myrna thought she heard what sounded like a fight outside the tent, but the noise was too loud to be that. The noise grew and grew. Their conversation halted when both stopped to listen. The flap of the tent flew open, and Beric was panting and staring at them. From behind him she could see the men that had been camping near them run up the hill. "Hurry, and fetch a horse for yourselves. Gregor is coming."