They rode through the night, stopping in the grey light before the dawn in a tiny clearing near the edge of the forest. The Hound cast his eyes over the open fields beyond and shook his head. "I don't want to travel that in the daytime. We'll stay here for today and set out at sunset. There's still enough of a moon to see our way."
Arya and Sansa pulled up their horses, the younger girl sliding easily to the ground. Sansa was so sore she could barely move, and after watching her struggle for a moment Sandor went over to her and lifted her down, carrying her over to a tree and setting her down carefully.
"Thank you." She tried to smile. "I'm not used to riding so hard."
"You'll get used to it," said Arya, dropping her horse's saddle and bridle on the ground and turning to Sansa's horse. "It only took me a few days."
Sandor unbridled and unsaddled his own horse, then he and Arya hobbled all three animals and carried the saddlebags and waterskins over to Sansa. There were three small horn cups in one of the bags, and Sandor filled them and handed them to the girls. They drank thirstily and held out their cups for more, while he sipped slowly and contented himself with a single cup.
"Is there anything in there we have to cook before we can eat it?" he asked.
Arya rooted through the bags. "Dried meat, dried fruit, hard biscuits, even some cheese...no, we can make a meal as it is."
"Good." The Hound stretched out on the grass and folded his hands over his chest. "In that case, I'm going to sleep for a while."
"You should eat something first," Sansa protested. He ignored her, and was snoring softly in a few minutes.
Arya grinned at the look on Sansa's face. "I can't promise you'll get used to that." She and Sansa ate a few biscuits and a little fruit and cheese, then Arya took out Needle and began practicing.
"Where did you learn to do that?" asked Sansa.
"I told you. Father hired a sword-master for me." Arya spun gracefully, slashing to either side, then went down on one knee and thrust upwards.
"I wonder what Mother would say." Sansa held up a hand as her sister stopped dead with a hurt expression. "I'm sorry, Arya. I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Mother always wanted us to be proper ladies...I used to want that too, until I found out just how much it cost to be a proper lady in King's Landing. If it wasn't for the Hound…" She shook herself. "I wonder if I could learn how to fight? At least enough to protect myself."
Arya went over to the sleeping Hound and took his knife from his belt. "I don't think you're the fighting type, Sansa, but that could be an advantage. Nobody would be expecting you to fight, so you could use a small knife like this and do some real damage."
"Isn't he going to mind you taking his knife?" asked Sansa, turning it over and over in her hands.
Her sister shrugged. "I'll tell him when he wakes up. It's not the first time I've taken it. Put it in your boot-if someone tries to grab you, go for their eyes or their throat, that's the quickest way to kill a man." Their eyes met and Arya saw all the questions Sansa was afraid to ask in her sister's face. "We should get some sleep too. It's going to be a long hard ride tonight."
"Shouldn't one of us stay awake to watch?"
Arya yawned. "You can stay awake if you want. I can't keep my eyes open much longer." She put her sword back in her belt and lay down, whispering to herself, and was asleep almost before she had finished saying the names she didn't want Sansa to hear.
It was late afternoon before the Hound woke. Sansa was still sitting against the tree, watching her sister sleep, and she smiled as Sandor sat up. "You were asleep a long time."
"Have you been awake all this time?" he asked.
"I didn't feel like sleeping." Sansa got to her feet. "And I thought someone should keep watch."
The Hound nodded. "That's good thinking." He stood up too, stretching, and Sansa walked over to him and held out his knife.
"Arya took this from you while you were sleeping."
His hands moved to his belt and he scowled at her sleeping sister. "That little devil-what did she want with it?"
"She wanted me to have it." Sansa met Sandor's eyes and said gravely, "She thought I should have some protection in case someone attacked us."
The Hound took the knife and tapped it in his palm thoughtfully. "She might be right at that." He handed it back. "Hold onto it for now." His eyes widened as the girl tucked it in her boot. "Did she tell you to do that?" Sansa nodded and Sandor shook his head. "Growing up too fast, that one is." He walked over to Arya and stirred her with his foot. "Wakey wakey."
She rolled over and bounced to her feet, glowering at him. "Why did you do that?"
"You see the shadows? It's late in the day and we need to get started."
He bent over the saddlebags and pulled out a biscuit and a strip of dried meat, chewing and swallowing as he put his saddle on his horse. Arya saddled and bridled her own horse and then picked up Sansa's saddle.
"Can you show me how to do it myself?" asked the older girl.
Arya demonstrated how to saddle the horse, then unfastened the girth and let Sansa tighten it herself. "That's good, Sansa. Tomorrow you can do it yourself." She picked up the bridle. "This is a little trickier. You should watch me a couple of times before you try it." She bridled the horse, then swung up on the back of her own animal. Sansa gripped her horse's mane and saddle, but when she tried to bring up her foot and put it in the stirrup, pain shot through her leg. She waited a moment and tried again, but she was too stiff and sore.
Sandor came over to her and picked her up, putting her on Stranger and vaulting up behind her. He settled himself, then turned to Arya. "Lead your sister's horse."
Tears came to Sansa's eyes. "I'm slowing you down."
"Well, we can't leave you behind so we'll have to make do. You can cry and complain if you want, I'm used to it from your sister." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and Arya gasped in outrage.
"I never cried! And I had plenty to complain about, after you kidnapped me."
"Aye, and traveled over half of Westeros thinking I'd be getting a reward for you." The Hound snorted. "Little did I know there wasn't enough gold in the Seven Kingdoms to make taking you worth it."
"As if you're any pleasure to travel with. Have you ever heard of soap?"
"I know it's good for washing out little girl's mouths."
Sansa laid her head on Sandor's shoulder, strangely comforted by the bickering between him and Arya. They weren't worried about her not being able to ride by herself. In fact, they seemed to be supremely confident in their abilities and at ease with the situation. Sansa yawned. She had not had any sleep for over a day and she was beginning to feel very tired. She knew they were all in terrible danger, but as she drifted off to sleep with Sandor's arms around her, she was conscious only of a feeling of complete safety.