Northern at Heart [ GoT ]

S I X

lady marla ashwood

MARLA AND THE ARCHER, RYDER ROCKBURY, HAD BEEN TRAVELING SIMULTANEOUSLY EVER SINCE THE TAVERN INCIDENT. Ryder was headed for Oldtown to visit with family when he came across Marla, so seeing as they were going in the same direction, they stuck together.
They'd gone through The Neck and around The Twins. Mostly she just wanted to avoid Walder Frey and his strange family. She'd heard he had a thing for younger wives, and she didn't want to take the risk of him getting ahold of her. Making one stop at an inn near Pinkmaiden—a Riverland town that bordered the Westerlands—they slept and ate and continued on their merry way. They thought it best to avoid the Stoney Sept and decided to ride along the Crownlands border, which would offer a much more smooth and uneventful ride. Truthfully, Marla had grown quite fond of Ryder. He seemed to have good intentions, and he was an interesting character to say the least.

"How much longer till we make it to the Reach? I've grown quite tired of the Riverlands," Marla sighed.

"As have I, Lady Marla, but your complaining won't make us arrive there any faster," he replied sarcastically, popping a chunk of stale bread into his mouth, then washing it down with wine.

"Can we stop and make camp?" Marla suggested, seeing as the sky was now a dark purple and the moon was creeping up behind the tree line.

"As you wish, my lady."

The two stopped beside a clear stream to water their horses and fill their water skins. After the horses finished drinking, Marla tied Aspen up to the branch of tree and laid out a quilt to sleep on. She used her leather saddlebag as a makeshift pillow. Ryder tied up his horse—Bandit—as well, although he seemed to prefer to sleep without any comforts. He chose a spot on the ground covered with pine needles and laid his head on his folded-up cloak.

Luckily enough, the two didn't need to keep warm with a fire. Even at night the Riverlands' weather was temperate and mild.

"Not much longer and we'll arrive in Highgarden, and I can make my way to Oldtown," Ryder spoke softly, staring up at the faded stars filling the impending night sky.

"I'm gonna miss you, Ryder. You've made for good company on this journey."

"You haven't gotten rid of me just yet, Lady Marla," his usual mockery layering his voice.

"You're right, not just yet."

Ryder stared at Marla, leaning in closer to the beautiful girl. Their lips were so close they were nearly touching but she rolled over onto her other shoulder before anything could happen.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable..." Ryder trailed off, thinking he was getting the wrong signs from the girl.

"It's not that. You're a good guy, a kind person. But there's another...someone back in Winterfell. I couldn't do that to him," she said, turning back to face him.

"I understand."

Darkness enveloped the sky above them and they fell asleep to the sound of the water rushing over the rocks of the stream.

"Wake up!" A voice echoed in Marla's head. Am I dreaming?

Her eyes fluttered open and Ryder stood over top her, his eyes wide with panic. He was talking to her softly but she could see from the look on his face whatever was happening was urgent.

"Marla! Wake up," Ryder's usually-arrogant drawl was now shaking with nerves. She looked around to see a dozen Lannister soldiers staring down at her. Ryder was in shackles, being held back by two of the men. These fucking Lannisters.

"Get up, bitch," a soldier grabbed Marla by the hair and yanked her to her feet. "We're taking you to the queen."

"Lord Stark is the Hand of the King, when he finds out about this—" she began but the soldier's laughter cut her off.

"Lord Stark is dead! Robert Baratheon is dead! King Joffrey cut that traitor Ned Stark's head off. Now, there's a bounty out for you. The queen's gonna make me rich once we bring Marla Ashwood to her."

The man continued to talk but everything after that was a blur. She couldn't hear a word he was saying. Lord Stark is dead repeated in her head over and over again. The soldiers put her in chains and tied her to a horse beside Ryder, but she didn't struggle or fight or scrapple with them. She felt like she couldn't move, let alone speak.

"Marla? Are you okay?" Ryder kept asking, but she remained as still and silent as a statue. She couldn't say a word. She just clutched her necklace—the one that Lord Stark had made for her—and stared straight ahead. She felt like she needed to cry but no tears were coming out. 

They traveled for a day and a half with the Lannister soldiers, only stopping one night to rest. The men tied Marla and Ryder to a tree and didn't offer them food or water. Not that she expected they would. Robb had declared war against the Crown and proclaimed Joffrey to be a bastard born of incest. The Seven Kingdoms were now divided, supporting one king or the other. She learned a lot from listening to the Lannister men talk. Cersei planned on holding Marla hostage as a game-piece in this war.

Marla spoke to Ryder for the first time since she found out about Lord Stark's death. "He was like my father," she breathed out. "I loved him."

Ryder stared at the flames reflecting off Marla's creamy skin. Tears began pouring out of her eyes and she fell against Ryder's chest. The Lannister men were too preoccupied to notice, as they were gathered around their own fire drunkenly singing the Rains of Castamere.

One day, she'd make the Lannisters pay for what they've done. She'd shown no mercy on their wretched souls.

"I'm so sorry, Marla. We'll get revenge for Lord Stark. I promise," he whispered into her ear. She fell asleep to the sound of his steady breathing and the fading tune of the Rains of Castamere.

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Chapter six ✔️
Okay idk how I feel about it but we're going with it....lol
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