CHAPTER 47: ARYA

Arya and Sandor Clegane reach a ridge above a vast, flood-swollen river and find Harroway drowned, with only rooftops, a sept dome, and a round tower above water. Sandor seeks passage on a two-headed horse ferry; after a tense price standoff, he promises payment upon landing.

As the boat threads through the submerged town into the main current, Arya contemplates leaping to escape, but a massive uprooted tree slams toward them. The crew barely deflects it; a pole snaps and a boatman is swept away and lost, ending Arya’s thoughts of the river as refuge.

The ferry grounds far downstream. The bent-backed ferryman demands six dragons—three for passage, three for the dead man—yet Sandor hands him a worthless parchment IOU and gallops off, ensuring the ferry won’t return soon and hindering any pursuit from the Brotherhood.

That night, soaked and shivering, Arya shares a cold meal with Sandor. He warns her against escape or murder attempts, mocks knighthood, and recalls Gregor’s cruelty. Arya names Gregor’s men who tormented her, surprising Sandor, who muses he might someday kill his brother.

Sandor then reveals they crossed the Trident, not the Blackwater, and that he has deserted the Lannisters. His plan is to reach the kingsroad, ride to the Twins, and ransom Arya to her mother during Edmure’s wedding. He imagines Robb granting him gold or service, while Arya seethes and adds Sandor to her death list.