Chapter 14

The first thing Sandor saw when he woke up was a head of messy black hair laying on his arm. His other arm was wrapped around her waist, holding Reyna close to him. He smiled to himself as he remembered the night before. The two of them had meshed well together. Altogether, last night with Reyna was better than even the most expensive whore Sandor had been with.


Without realizing it, Sandor had lifted his arm that held her close and started playing with her hair as he replayed the entire thing in his mind. After they had both finished, they promptly fell asleep in each other's arms without even bothering to get dressed and had used Reyna's cloak as a blanket. Even though they were on the ground, it was the best sleep either of them had had in a while.


Reyna shifted in her sleep. Now that she was facing Sandor, he couldn't help but cup her face and run his thumb over her perfectly sculpted jaw. Her eyes fluttered open.


"Good morning," Reyna whispered. "Did you sleep well?"


Sandor pulled her onto his chest, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back. "After last night, I could sleep for a whole week."


Reyna laughed. It was a perfect sound. She, too, had enjoyed their night. He was a perfect lover; rough yet gentle, bold but made sure she was okay with everything.


Reyna planted a small kiss on his lips. She had barely begun to pull away when Sandor's hand came up and held the back of her neck, holding her in place. A smirk played at his lips.


"I thought I wore you out," Reyna joked.


Instead of an answer, Sandor just guided her face to his.


They were too lost in the moment to hear the approaching footsteps. Before they knew it, they were surrounded by more men than Sandor could take on in his current state. The men looked down at them.


"Good morning," the apparent leader said.


Sandor and Reyna's heads both shot up.


"Who the fuck are you?" Sandor asked. "What the fuck do you want?"


The man laughed. "You're a wanted man, Dog. As are you, m'lady."


"Who are you?" Reyna repeated Sandor's question.


"The Brotherhood Without Banners," one of the men spoke up. "Now get dressed. You're both coming with us."


Sandor had started to reach for his sword, but Reyna placed her hand on his to stop him. No point in making this more difficult than it had to be.


Once they were dressed, their hands were quickly tied behind their backs and their heads were covered with sacks. Reyna heard several members of the Brotherhood begin to rummage through their belongings, no doubt stealing whatever money and jewels they still had.


After being forced onto a horse and led for many tiresome hours, Reyna felt a pair of hands grab at her waist and roughly pull her down from the horse. The grip was much harsher than whenever Sandor would help her down. Another hand slowly snaked down Reyna's spine and landed at the small of her back.


"Hey!" Reyna protested. "Don't touch me!"


A man chuckled. "I'm not interested in the Hound's leftovers." A stream of hot breath ran across the back of Reyna's neck. "Even if they are quite beautiful."


The hand on her back forced her forwards. Suddenly, she ran smack into an enormous back. She knew it was Sandor and was thankful that he was still here and seemingly unharmed.


"That is an unusually large man," someone spoke. "How does one manage to capture such a large man?"


The man with his hand still placed on Reyna spoke. "You wait until he's too distracted with his little whore."


The place erupted into laughs. The sacks were lifted off of their heads. Reyna squinted as her eyes adjusted to the new light. Beside her, Sandor did, too, but looked much more menacing doing so.


"That's not a man at all," the man in the center of the room said. "A Hound!"


The men in the room began mocking Sandor by howling like dogs. It made Reyna's blood boil to have them be so cruel right in front of them.


"Which makes you Reyna Baratheon and not a whore," the same man spoke. "I apologize for this inconvenience, my lady."


Reyna didn't respond.


"Thoros?" Sandor growled. "The fuck you doing here?"


While Sandor and Thoros of Myr spoke harshly with each other, Reyna's gaze drifted to three younger boys. They were trying to sneak past and leave the inn as inconspicuously as possible. When the smallest one turned their head, Reyna realized it wasn't a little boy at all.


"Arya?"


Several heads turned towards the Stark girl. Sandor made some crude comment, but Reyna's eyes had skimmed to the girl's two companions. One was a fat boy several years older than Arya. The other made Reyna's breath catch in her throat.


It was a face she'd seen many times growing up. The face of a dead brother. He had those dark blue Baratheon eyes that stared back at Reyna every time she looked in the mirror and the same jet black hair that she and every other member of her family had had for centuries.


The boy shifted uncomfortably under her gawking stare, and Reyna quickly swallowed and looked away. However, while everyone else was talking, the only thing she could think of was that bloody boy. He was a Baratheon, he had to be, but seemed very unaware of the fact. Reyna's mind was swirling as she and Sandor were led back outside the inn.


Someone came up to Reyna and untied her hands. "I trust you won't cause us any trouble, m'lady." However, the same couldn't be said for Sandor. Once again, he had a sack placed over his head and was shoved towards a wooden carriage. Reyna opened her mouth to warn him about the low overhang and to duck, but the man pushing him forward only shoved faster as if purposefully hurting him.


Inside the carriage, Reyna sat next to the hooded Sandor. A couple of other men of the Brotherhood sat across from them. Slowly, Reyna slid her hand behind her companions back to where his hands where tied together. Without drawing attention, she grasped his calloused hand in her soft one and gave him a reassuring squeeze; he tightened his grip in return.


Just hours ago, they'd been in absolute bliss together as they made love under the stars. Now, they were being carted off to who-knows-where.


"Heard he kidnapped you," one of the men across from them said.


"A fucking lie," Sandor grumbled.


"So you went with him willingly?" the man continued. "Why in the Seven Hells would you do that?"


Reyna glanced at Sandor before answering. She didn't want these men to know the real reason she'd gone with him. They might use their feelings against them. Instead, she gave them half of the reason. She squeezed Sandor's hand once more. "Joffrey was going to kill me if Stannis lost during the Blackwater battle. Sandor saved me before that could happen."


The man looked toward the giant of a man. "Now why would Sandor fucking Clegane save some prissy little lady?"


Underneath his sack, Sandor was blushing. He knew why, of course. But instead of saying anything he just groaned.


The rest of the ride was silent and long. Eventually, though, the carriage stopped and Reyna and Sandor were dragged out and into a dark cave. Inside the cave, Reyna noticed that Arya and the young Robert Baratheon lookalike were sitting on a large rock.


Once they were in the center of the cave, the sack on Sandor's head was yanked off once again. His eyes frantically darted around, trying to get his bearings and find Reyna. The warmth of her small hand on his arm calmed him a bit.


"Where the fuck are we?" Sandor demanded to know.


From the shadows, a man with an eyepatch stepped forth.


"Beric Dondarrion?" Reyna asked. House Dondarrion served the Baratheons of Storm's End, and here he was taking one of the last true Baratheons prisoner.


"Sandor Clegane, you're here to stand trial by combat for your crimes," Beric said, ignoring Reyna. "If you're innocent, the Lord of Light will spare you."


Reyna gasped. "What crimes?"


Beric accused Sandor of murder, which only made the tall man even angrier. Then, to Reyna's surprise, young Arya spoke up.


"He killed Micah," the little wolf cried. "He was just a boy and you murdered him!"


Sandor seethed next to Reyna. She wanted to try and talk the Brotherhood out of this 'trial' but before she could she was dragged away from Beric and Sandor and forced to stand next to Arya and her friend to watch the combat.


Sandor's strong, Reyna thought. And good at fighting. He'll be fine. She kept repeating those lines in her head while the men were given their weapons. However, when Beric's sword went up in flames and she saw the panic cross Sandor's face her confidence in him faltered.


Despite fighting against a man wielding his biggest fear, within a few moments Sandor managed to cut his blade straight down from Beric's shoulder to his chest.


Unfortunately, the fire from the one-eyed-man's sword had somehow spread to Sandor's arm. He collapsed to the ground and frantically tried putting out the flames. Reyna rushed to help him.


"You're alright," she whispered as she patted the last of the flames out. "You're alright, Sandor."


They sent a last glance over at Beric's dying form.


"It seems the Lord of Light has deemed you innocent," Thoros of Myr said before making his way over to his friend's body.


This set Arya off. She began screaming that Sandor was a murderer and had to pay for his crimes. If her Baratheon friend hadn't been holding her back, Reyna figured the she-wolf would've tried killing him herself.


"He'll pay," a voice croaked. All heads turned to Beric Dondarrion- a man who'd been dead only moments ago. "But not today."


Sandor and Reyna were quickly given their possessions back and led out of the cave where Stranger was tied to a tree. They silently climbed on the horse's back and rode as fast as they could away from the strangeness inside the cave.

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