Game of Thrones - The Rose of Winterfell

A Wolf's Teeth Are Sharp

When I was sure I had traveled far from the Kingslayer, I stopped and placed my hand against a sturdy tree. Breathing in and out, I barely heard Jory approach when he cautiously said, "we should return to the Inn, my Lady." Pulling another breath into my lungs, I stood tall and asked, "why did you come South, Jory" before turning to look at him. He stared at me and uttered, "your Father asked it of me, my Lady." I opened my mouth to ask if that was the only reason when I heard a voice yell, "I'll gut you, you little cunt!"

Recognizing the voice as Joffrey, I turned toward the direction it came from as Jory drew his sword from his sheath. Afraid, I heard him approach and position himself in front of me moments before another familiar voice yelled, "Arya!" Breathing in, I moved to step around him when he held his left arm and uttered, "return to the Inn." I stared at him, surprised, while Arya suddenly yelled, "Nymeria!" Hearing her scream for her direwolf, I pushed Jory's arm aside and cried, "Arya! Sansa! Where are you," as I ran toward the direction of their voices while Jory called out to me, not caring that I had dropped my book.

Ignoring him, I brushed foliage aside in my mad dash to locate my sisters. "Sansa! Arya!" Neither of them yelled out to my call. Breathing deeply, I picked up the skirts of my gown as I urged myself to keep moving while I screamed, "sisters, where are you!" Again neither of them returned my screaming pleas. Praying to the Old Gods that they were safe and Joffrey had not harmed them, I stumbled into a thicket and nearly fell to my knees when the wooded area surrounding me began to rustle. Scared, I stood up and slipped my right hand into my left sleeve. Withdrawing the dagger, I hid there; I turned toward the rustling holding the hilt tightly. "Come out!"

The rustling increased until Nymeria burst forth with her snout stained red. She skidded to a stop as I forced myself to relax, hoping it would encourage the young wolf to calm herself. Breathing out, I loosened my grip and moved to sheath my dagger when she ran toward me. Terrified, I jumped aside and watched her run past me as Jory yelled, "Ilyanna! Sansa! Arya!"

Shaking myself awake, I turned to move forward when something ran into me. With an oomph, I dropped my dagger and attempted to steady myself and the person who ran into me. "Ilyanna?" Blinking, I glanced down to find Arya staring up at me with tears in her eyes. "Arya, are you..." "Find the Stark Girl!" Looking upwards, I blinked, catching sight of the crimson and gold of the Lannister standard some paces ahead of us. Thinking quickly, I picked up my fallen dagger and grabbed Arya's hand before pulling her northwest.

We ran in silence. Hoping the Lannister men could not hear our muffled steps, I kept moving northwest with a few backward glances until Arya gasped, "Ilya, I can't..." Slowing my pace, I guided her behind a vast tree. Stopping, I slowly looked around the edge of the tree trunk to see if anyone was behind us as Arya slid to the ground with her knees pressed against her torso. Satisfied, I pulled back and saw Arya laying her head against her dirt-covered gown. Breathing out, I sheathed my dagger and lowered myself to sit beside her. Laying my head against the tree, I muttered, "the last time I ran like that was when Mother discovered Robb and me playing a mud pool in the Godswood. She damn near chased us into the crypts before Father caught us." When I didn't hear Arya's usual chuckles, I lowered my head to find her hunched over, crying.

Unaccustomed to my younger sister shedding tears, I reached out and gently stroked her back. Her tears lessened, forcing her slim figure to cease quaking until she eventually leaned into my right side. Sniffling, she curled into me while I wrapped my arms around her. We quietly sat beside each other until I asked, "do I have to ask what drove you to tears?" Sniffling, she uttered, "Mycah and I were walking along the river hoping to find rubies from Prince Rhaegal's armor." Nodding, I hugged her tightly, recalling how the Prince had died from our Father's tales. "When we found none, we picked up a pair of sticks and began to fight as Jon does with Robb." She shivered as I held her tighter, running my hand up and down her arm. "What happened next?" "Sansa and Joffrey found us." I tense at the mention of Joffrey being with Sansa. "Where they accompanied by a guard?" She shook her head no. Annoyed, I tucked the thought away to discuss with Father. "Did they say what they wanted?" She sniffled and uttered, "Joffrey pulled his sword on us and began to taunt Mycah." Fighting back a growl, I calmly asked, "did you explain that you two were only playing?" She nodded against me. "What happened next?" "Joffrey cut Mycah across the cheek, and I hit him with my stick." I tightened my hold as she said, "Joffrey swung his sword at me and threatened to gut me when Nymeria bit him."Grateful for the direwolf, I softly said, "Nymeria ran past me before I found you. Why did she not stay with you?" Sniffling, she said, "I knew they would kill her for what she did to protect me, so I threw rocks at her until she ran away."

I felt my shoulder grow wet with her tears as I dropped my head against the tree. "Shh, you are all right, little one. Nymeria kept you safe as you taught her to." She continued to cry as I lifted my head and placed a kiss against the top of her head. "Come and dry your tears, my little wolf." With a few more sniffles, she lifted her gaze when we heard a voice yell, "keep looking for the Stark girl!"

Arya tensed as I motioned for her to remain quiet. Nodding, I detangled myself from her and again withdrew my dagger from the sheath beneath my sleeve. Adjusting my grip, I squatted and turned to look around the tree trunk to find guards hurrying past us. The wind rustled the leaves and bushes around us. Ducking behind the tree, I peered out and watched the guards move past us, shouting at each other to keep looking. Eventually, they moved away as I breathed out, relieved. "I think they are gone." Turning to look at Arya, I blinked, finding Jaime Lannister holding my sister to his frame with a dagger in his right hand.

"Release my sister." He stared at me before drifting his gaze to my blade. "Give me the blade, and I will think about releasing the girl that harmed the prince." Breathing, I adjusted my hold on the hilt of the dagger. "She did not harm him." He tilted his head. "He returned to the camp bloody." "He threatened a friend of my sisters, and when she urged him to stop, he turned on her swinging his sword about, threatening to gut a child. I see no fault in my sister's direwolf protecting her mistress against a foolish boy." Jaime stared at me as I calmly said, "you are a knight of the realm sworn to protect the children and women from harm." I slid my dagger back into my hidden sheath. "My sister is a child that merely protected herself from harm. Her direwolf has fled. Please let us return to my Father, and I will inform him of what happened. I promise that he will devise a suitable punishment for what occurred." He relaxed his hold, allowing her to slip free and launch herself at me. I felt her arms wrap around my neck as I wrapped my arms around her. Relieved, I held her close, whispering that she was all right. She trembled as I lifted my gaze to find Lannister merely watching when a voice said, "Ser Jaime, you found her."

The golden lion shook his head as he sheathed his dagger before saying, "take them back to the Inn. The King and Queen would like to speak with them." The guard nodded and moved to approach as I pulled back. "I would like to be taken to my Father first." The guard glanced at me before looking at Lannister. "Please, my sister and I have been here for some time. He would be worried. Just let us see him. Once he knows we are safe, I will gladly give you no trouble..." Only to be cut off by Lannister saying, "you can walk, or I can drag you by your hair." Arya trembled as I glared at the older man's words. "Fine, I will walk."

With a hum, he stepped back as I softly ran my hand over Arya's back. "You need to let me go so I can stand, little wolf." Sniffling, she released me. Standing, I brushed myself off before holding my hand out to my sister. She laced her fingers around mine as I observed the men before me. "After you." The guard nodded and turned to walk into the woods. Brushing past Lannister, I prayed the King would be willing to listen as I led my sister to an unwanted confrontation.