ᴀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ꜱᴏ ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ, ᴀ ꜱᴜɴ ꜱᴏ ʙʀɪɢʜᴛ

xiv. songs connect me to my people

┌─── ∘°❉°∘ ───┐

She had expected much and more when Beric Dondarrion had told her to follow him, but to be taken to a cave entrance on the side of a hill was not amongst that.

Thoros approached her with a piece of fabric, moving behind her to lay it over her eyes.

"Do you not trust me?" She winced as strands of her hair got pulled into the knot.

"Just a precaution."

He laid a hand on her back and pushed her forward.

She hated, hated, hated losing her sight. Oberyn had tried to blindfold her during training a handful of times, and she had always ripped the fabric off after just a few minutes. She had been trapped in darkness before - she would not let it happen again.

But she played nice this time. At least there was some light soaking through to her eyes. Not that that made the steep descent any easier. She stumbled over roots and stones and bumps in the ground, and Thoros had to grab her waist to keep her from falling more than once.

"Didn't know the great Paladin would be so uneasy on her feet."

She huffed. "Usually, I am able to see-"

The blindfold was suddenly removed from her eyes, revealing the enormous cave before her. Its walls and floors were covered by white roots, with a fire burning in its middle and colouring the ceiling above it black.

Yet more curiously, there were people here, and quite a lot at that. She saw men, women, and children, chattering, working, going about their day. It looked... peaceful.

"What is this place?"

"Welcome to Hollow Hill," Beric said. "What started out as our base quickly transformed into a refuge for anyone who needed it. Stark, Lannister, Baratheon - all those names mean nothing here."

"It is wonderful." Her gaze wandered across the cave. "But I still do not understand why you brought me here."

Beric smirked. "They sing your songs at night."

"What?"

"That is how we learned of you," Anguy, one of the Brotherhood's archers, said. "Thought you were a myth at first, but then people arrived who claimed to have met you personally."

"At this point," Beric continued, "your mere existence gives them hope."

- -☆- -

The news of her arrival had spread like wildfire amongst the people, and soon after, the singing had started. A woman had brought out a fiddle and another a lute - not that either of those could be heard above the plethora of voices.

She had never even heard of half of the songs, and yet she had also never felt this good. Dancing at festivities, singing with the people around her, with no manners or rules to tie her down. She could be around whomever she wanted and talk to whomever she wanted.

A frog had called for a celebration
Of the victory over his people
Little did he know
It would all turn sour
The moment he'd let go of his arrow

For a hero had arrived
Determined to end his rule of terror
No matter the cost

She entered the tourney
Unseen by all
And with her golden curls swaying about
She threw her dagger
And buried it into his heart