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MAIA had once read that battles can last up to a week. She didn't know if she could survive that, because it had only been an hour, and she was ready to tear her skin off. She stood by the edge of camp, digging her fingernails into her palms as she watched the sun move through the clouds. Snowflakes fell on top of her head and she wished nothing more to see the sight of Jon coming back each passing minute.
Sansa walked through her tent, seeing Maia waiting in the snow. She approached the older woman and laid her hand on her shoulder in comfort. Maia glanced her way, enjoying the red-head's smile. "Waiting will only make you more worrisome," Sansa guided, staring off at the horizon.
"I don't know what else I can do." Maia admitted. "We can't just sit back and do nothing because women cannot include themselves in war. I refuse to stand by idly."
Sansa wrinkled her nose. "Maia, you don't know how to fight in battle."
"That is besides the point." Maia quipped. "Have you ever questioned the rights we are given as women in this time? Are we forever burdened to stay by, watching our men become victorious when our only victory is if we make a pie without burning the bottom? I know I'm incapable of holding a sword, but I feel so ... useless. I swear, no one actually thinks of this and it angers me."
The two were silent as the sky grew darker. Maia looked down over the cliff, noticing something unfamiliar. Riding their way, looking like a black mass, was a large army. The blonde's eyes bugged out of her skull – could it be Jon? The men held flags with sigils on them she could not decipher, but she knew they weren't Stark banners. The horses trudged forward, causing Maia to shake her friend's body in astonishment.
"Sansa," she gasped, "what is that?"
The other girl looked up, her face immediately lighting up in excitement. She turned to Maia, exclaiming, "Go find our horses. We need to be ready to leave when they arrive."
Still confused, Maia did as she asked. She ran to the mill, where only her and Sansa's horses sat. She untied the rope from them, trying her best to guide the two stallions over as quickly as she could. Maia sprinted with the horses over, shocked to see the army of over five thousand men waiting at their camp. She approached Sansa and an oddly familiar man, handing her friend the reins to her horse.
The man stared at her as Sansa stood with her horse. "Who might you be?"
"This is Lady Maia of House Sanders." Sansa smiled, gesturing between them. "Maia, this is Petyr Baelish. He has offered to lend us the Knights of the Vale to defeat Ramsay."
Maia shook Petyr's hand, still in disbelief at his timely arrival. "We must leave now," he said, hoping onto his own horse. "The battle has already commenced. Hopefully, we will make it in time."
