She woke up to being tied to a fucking tree.

"The audacity of him," she said to herself.

After examining her situation, she realized it was futile. She was tied to a tree, and the rope was taught. She had no means of escaping this, while sitting there, against a tree.

Her heart pounded as she thrashed around like an animal that had been caught, but still had to exercise its instinct to fight. Once that tired her, she rested her head on the bark, staring out into the distance. After a while, she was finally able to calm herself. Arya was good enough of a person to speak out if needed, and Lana doubted Clegane would just leave her here after all he went through to collect her.

Someone would come for her, she was sure of it.

Didn't mean she had to like this.

She kept her eyes out on the hill where she hoped to see Clegane riding towards her, watching the smoke of the castle gently greet the sky. The thought of him coming back without Arya created a whirlwind of emotions. First, she was excited to think about being alone with Clegane, despite all of this. She knew there was a tenderness in there, even if it was buried deep down. And she wanted to dig it out, just for the sheer audacity of it by this point. But the thought of not seeing Arya truly gripped her, shocking her at how sad that made her. Plus, who would vouch for Lana now? Fear was quick to follow, as if Lana was never able to crack the mystery that was Clegane, then what exactly would happen to her? What if he just plain didn't like her? What if this was all pointless? Would he really take her to the Lannisters?

Maybe she'd have to use her body to get him to let his guard down. She could use her virginity as an offer, as men seemed to like that kind of thing. She wasn't above that in the slightest, not if it meant getting to Meereen alive. It really meant nothing to her at this point, other than a small pride.

As she was ruminating while sitting under the shade of the large tree, a man on a horse rode by. Lana tensed, afraid of who it was. She was in no position to defend herself, and if it was a raper, she was going to be thoroughly pissed.

Lana's eyes widened when she saw it was actually the elderly man with the pig cart, riding on his donkey.

"You!" he yelled at her. "I saw you from before! Did he tie you to a tree?" he asked and got down, moving quickly to her with what little speed he had.

"Aye, he did."

"What for?" he asked and walked over, pulling out a blade and kneeling to cut the rope.

"Some men are atrocious, and like to keep women for certain things," she lied, playing into the vulnerability. The look in his eye told her he was a good person. And he was old. He wouldn't be a threat to her.

"And the other girl? The one that hit me again?" he asked, cutting the final rope that bound her to the tree.

"She was Arya Stark, and he was ransoming her. Using me at night to keep him happy," she said with a sullen, broken tone.

"Arya Stark?" he asked with wide, green eyes, cutting through the rope around her arms. The sigh she let out was genuine, her elbows aching as she moved them.

"I really hope this doesn't make you regret helping people," she said, giving him the most sincere gaze that she could. "You're a good man, and one day, when a silverhaired woman sits the iron throne, come to it, and I will see that you are paid in twenty pigs," she said, and he furrowed his brow.

She slammed her head into his, knocking him over. She grabbed the blade in his hand as he groaned, stumbling as she got to her feet from the collision. She didn't hit him too hard, as her head could barely handle itself. But it was enough to steal from him.

"Fucking whore!" he yelled out.

She ran to Clemmy, cut the rope that bound her to another tree, and mounted her. Lana rode off into the direction of the Twins, his dagger in hand.

It nearly felt wrong to have the use of her arms again, like they were two lanky objects that just got in the way. But the longer she was on her horse, the more she remembered how to use them.

Lana halted Clemmy once the bridge of the Twins was in view. She could see why Clegane stole the cart of pork, as the gate across the river was closed and heavily guarded. It didn't matter for Lana, however. She was in no rush, and just happy to be freed. She had time to think out here, and she needed to weigh her options carefully.

She eventually came to the realization that if all else failed, Lana could choose to appeal to the Starks. They were rebelling against the crown, and an enemy of one's enemy was a friend.

The other thing Lana came to accept was that she couldn't survive these lands with a bounty on her head. She needed to travel the main roads in order to stay on course, and if traveling alone, those were roads she needed to avoid. In order to take them, she needed another to escort her. It was just too much of a risk otherwise. If she ever came across actual soldiers, who had the skill of Clegane, then she was utterly fucked. She'd lose to a fight with him even if he were sleeping.

Eventually, the sun began to set on the horizon, and she felt the need to make a decision. She didn't quite know what she was waiting for. Perhaps to see if Clegane had made it? She didn't want to make any moves until she knew what he was doing. She looked around, going over her options again. Clegane, Starks, going on my own. She didn't quite trust the Hound anymore. She just couldn't figure out his motives for anything, other than he obviously wanted gold.

Lana straightened her back and narrowed her eyes as she thought she heard the sound of fighting. Surely, she was mishearing things. Then she heard bloodcurdling screams, and then the sound of steel on steel. A small brawl, perhaps? Dothraki fight at weddings.

Then fire was set to the camps.

"Holy shit," she said, her body tensing, the muscles in her face tightening as she scanned the field with the best of her ability, although she was still far away, and the sun was setting. It was unfolding into complete chaos below, and she couldn't tell who started it, and who was winning.

What happened?

Then she saw a Frey flag riding away from the fight, wondering if he was leading the men somewhere else. But none followed, and he made his way through the crowd with ease. Lana realized it must be the Frey's that were causing the fight, or at least winning, otherwise that man would have been struck down. Once he was mostly out of site, the flag was dropped.

Black horse. Large man. Little figure on the horse.

Arya. What was Clegane doing, riding away with Arya? There was no way Lana wouldn't pursue.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

Lana bent her knees and pushed herself up to allow the horse an easier jog, her body moving with the horse, each stamp of its hooves reverberating into her. The sound of fighting and metal clashing grew louder, and sure enough, there was a fucking battle going on, spilling out over the bridge as men tried to flee, but were pursued.

Lana moved her way through fighting men, feeling something hit the side of her hip, but she didn't bother to look. As she neared Clegane and Arya, she saw a Frey moving in the Hound's direction with a sword ready to chop the duo down. Lana drew the dagger she stole, got as close as she could while Clegane took out his sword, although with Arya against his chest, he was in no position to parry. The girl could get hurt. Why is Arya not moving?

Lana threw the dagger as hard as she could, aiming just in front the man, so by the time it reached with the speed he was going, it should hit him square in the side of his head. And it landed. The man fell off his horse while his steed ran into the battle without his rider. Clegane looked over at her, a tenacity filling his gaze that disappeared when he saw her. "The fuck you doing!"

"Helping her!" she yelled, nodding at Arya.

Without skipping a beat, he rode ahead and shouted, "Then let's go!"

They rode for a long time, the night growing darker and colder, and at some point, Lana saw that Arya was in fact awake. She was barely moving, her eyes sullen, and it made Lana desperately worry as to what had happened. She didn't ask anything, however, as clearly the battle that had broken out that was not in their favor.

When they were in the clear, unable to hear the battle, Lana slowed her horse and looked at Clegane. She could ride away right now, and he couldn't stop her. Not with Arya in front of him, and Lana's hands unbound. Lana's gaze fell to Arya, and she grit her teeth as she realized couldn't abandon her. Clegane rode over to Lana, and their eyes locked, the moon just barely illuminating his face. "How the fuck did you escape?"

"The man with the pig found me. Stole his dagger. You were right about killing him, apparently. Although it worked for me."

"You know you can go now, and I can't stop you?" he asked, his expression weary, and she realized whatever they saw must have been grave.

She looked to the girl, who was slumped over, barely blinking, and leaning against Clegane. There was no way, in seven hells, Lana was going to abandon her. Arya never leaned against Clegane. "You going to tie me to a tree again?" she asked and glared at Clegane, his armor glinting in the moonlight, Stranger smacking his hooves into the ground.

The corner of his mouth jerked, and he looked away, mouth agape as he tried to stifle a laugh. "No," he said and kicked Stranger.

Lana didn't say anything and watched him ride ahead.

Well, what did she do now? Did she really follow her captor? Then again, he never treated her like a true prisoner, and rather like someone he didn't trust.

This was her chance to flee. And instead of acting on it, she just sat there, watching him ride ahead, little pools of water on the road shining brightly against the dark of night. She could leave, right now, and be free of him. And go where? She had no idea how to navigate anything here, even with a main road. And she couldn't abandon the girl, not yet.

So, she kicked her horse and followed him.