Haunted

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"You doing alright?" Sandor asked as he dropped down to sit next to me.

After the hangings, we had accepted the other mens offer of a hot meal and were currently sat at their camp, next to some sort of river. The grass underneath me was damp and I could feel my ass getting colder and wetter by the minute, I didn't care though. Like a mute, I picked at the small bit of cooked rabbit.

"Did you hear me?" Sandor spoke, his tone more annoyed this time.

"Yes. Yes I fucking heard you. Please Sandor, tell me what you want me to say because of course I'm not okay. How the fuck could anyone be okay after that!"

My blood was boiling as I threw down my rabbit and stormed off to sit further to the riverbank.

Sandor POV
"Cant imagine your use to folk, let alone a woman talking to you like that. No, ain't no way the infamous Hound would let a little lady talk to him like that. The more I think about, I reckon she must be someone pretty important... or a great fuck, but I doubt she'd touch you," Lem smirked

"Fuck off" I grunted as I stole a quick look over at  Cranberry.

"Just having a bit of fun."

I watched through my frowned brow as Lem walked back off to his men, laughing at his latest joke. A few years back I would have shoved my sword through his belly, watch as all his tubes pour out of him, just for looking at me with a smirk. Times were different now though, I was no longer the Kings dog, and I didn't have a sword.

"The worlds changing, Clegane," Beric sighed heavily as he suddenly slumprd down next to me and looked out to see what, or who, I was staring at.

"Although, I imagine you've realised that already. Cold winds are raising in the north," he continued.

"And your going to go stop them?" I scoffed.

"We need good men to join us. The last time I saw you, the of light gave you the power to defeat me, why? I'll tell you why Clegane, coz the Lord of Light isn't done with you yet."

"I beat ya, coz I'm better than you Beric. Always have been, always will be,"

"Perhaps, but there is no good and evil, no north and south, not for long. The things we are going to fight will destroy them all, men, women, young and old. Unless folk like you join the cause... you can still do a lot more good than you've harmed, Clegane."

*****

"Where are we going?" Cranberry asked as she shivered against me.

"North."

We had hardly spoke a word since leaving the warmer Riverlands. Even as we shared a horse, her small frame sat infront of me, she never once tried to speak. Until now.

"Why? Why North?"

"Safer than the South, further from the Lannisters the better."

"Their the brother and sister that are fucking right?"

"What? How do you... who have you..." I tried to figure out what to ask as I pulled the reins back on the horse.

"I read," she shrugged and finally turned back to give me one quick look of anger before turning away again.

She didn't speak again, and nor did I try to ask her any more questions. By nightfall, the temperature had become even colder though and the snowfall was making it hard to see ahead. Lem and his men, found an abandoned cottages and called us all in to make camp for the night. I'd been here before though and had no want to remember the ghosts left behind.

As expected inside the cottage were the two frozen bodies of a father and daughter who had once been stupid enough to show two strangers some kindness. The thought of them freezing and starving to death left a cold, metallic taste in my mouth, and i quickly pushed past the brotherhood and Cranberry to make a spot to sleep in.

"Personally, I don't see what you see him in," I heard Lem joke with Cranberry who only gave a small smile before going to sit with Beric by the fireplace.

I sent the rest of the night watching her closely. The way she smiled at Beric and the small beads of sweat that rolled down the side of her face from the fire. She hadn't smiled at me since the time we spent together in our little tent with the gentle folk. Now, she could hardly look at me, she knew who I was now, the real monster, and it was only more real the bodies that haunted me from across the room.

After a while I could no longer take the sight of the farmer and his girl, their bodies still holding each other. The rest of the group had fallen to sleep, including Cranberry who was laying close to the dying fire. Grunting, I slowly pulled myself up and began to carry the dead bodies outside.

When I had them both out of the cottage, I went around the back and found an old and rusty shovel. The night was completely dark now, the only light coming from the thin new moon, high in the sky, illuminating the snow as it continued to fall to the ground.

Even under all my furs I could still feel the cold, but it didnt stop me as I began to dig the first grave.

"Sandor? What are you doing?" I heard a soft voice suddenly call out from behind me.

"Burying the dead. You best go back inside before you freeze," I replied without turning around. I knew who it was from her voice.

"You knew these people," she whispered as I lowered the first body into the ground.

"Not really,"

"Did you kill them?"

Swiftly, I bent back up and turned around to face her. "Is that it now, you branded me an evil killer, a murderer, and now you can't bare to look at me!"

"No... I... I..."

"You what girl? Go on? Have out with it? Because it's true! My sword might not have killed, but I might as well have. So now you know the truth, but I don't need your looks, you hear me! I'm haunted already without them!"

Cranberry stood frozen, her mouth open as though to speak, but no words came out. I didn't want to hear them anyway, I could tell what she was thinking. So without another word, I turned back around and began to fill the graves.

Slowly, she began to step closer though and then bent down to pick up another rusty, old shovel. Silently, she began to shovel the dirt into the graves.

When we were done, I threw the shovel down and stepped back to catch my breath.

"We ask the father to judge us with mercy, we ask the mother... to... fuck it, I dont remember the rest. I'm sorry you're dead. You deserved better. Both of you."

"

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