𝐻𝐸𝑅𝑂𝑖𝑁𝐸 | 𝐽𝑜𝑛 𝑆𝑛𝑜𝑤

six.

"𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧"

Ashara spent the rest of her evening, staring out the window, waiting for the moon to reach its high point in the sky. Her knee bounced as she waited, the nerves getting to her. She was a warrior, she knew that, but even the bravest people got scared sometimes. It was easy to be scared by Ramsay Bolton. He flayed the men that disobeyed him, you were right to fear for your life if you crossed him.

The knee bouncing got quicker as the moon rose in the sky. It was almost at its highest point when Ashara moved from her bed and placed the cloak around her shoulders. She left the fire burning, and left her possessions in the room, bar her sword and necklace. Standing facing the door, she let out a large sigh, turned to look at her room one last time, and exited through the heavy wooden feature.

It was eerie as she slowly made her way through her home for the last 6 years. The time she spent developing and maturing was within these castle walls. This is the place where she became the fighter she was to this day. It was a nostalgic walk, and what she thought would be a tragic ending.

Ashara ran her fingers across the crooked walls, feeling the rough texture below her fingers. She could imagine the stark children she knew, Jon, Sansa and Rickon, running through these halls. She is sometimes glad she grew up in the way she did. She learnt of hardships from an early age. It made her the strong warrior she is today.

The courtyard was empty by the time she reached it, with just her black horse sitting in the outdoor stable. She saw no sign of Ramsay Bolton or any other men.

"Come on Ashara, you won't die tonight." She spoke to herself as she cracked her knuckles, approaching her handsome horse.

The horse nuzzled its large head over Ashara's head, as she placed the equipment on his large frame. She felt her hands trembling in fear as the sky got darker by each passing minute. Her breaths became more staggered as she clambered on top of her horse, playing with the reigns in her hands as she waited for Ramsay to emerge from somewhere. She knew how Ramsay played his games. He was unfair, and a sore loser, she knew she couldn't win against him.

There was a sudden movement across the courtyard, Ramsay appearing alongside Eddy, who wore a sad expression on his face. In his hand was Ramsay's favourite bow, adorned with fancy carvings. Eddy held a quiver of arrows on his back, full to the brim.

Ramsay sauntered over the walls of the castle, with Ashara's eyes firmly on him, taking in his every stride. He came to a point just above the open doors where he grabbed an arrow from the selection on Eddy's shoulder.

"So, were here to play my game." Ramsay sighed dramatically.

"You know Ashara, I liked you. You were a sweet person to grow up with, a quiet but kind soul. But that never gets you anywhere in life." He tauntingly walked up and down the wall above her, whilst she watched on with nerves of steel.

"You were the commander of my army. Strong. Powerful. Loyal. As I thought. I knew you had a soft spot for the Stark girl as soon as she walked down the aisle. You had that pathetic look in your eyes, the same that you had when we went out on that hunting trip with my father. I always knew you'd have flaws, after all my dad did was praise you." He spat angrily at her.

Ashara kept her eyes firmly on Ramsay, grunting in response.

"You have nothing to say, Commander?" He questioned her with an evil grin on his smug face.

"You will die Bolton. I'll make sure of it." She replied with no expression.

Ramsay let out another of his dramatic sighs.

"It's time to play the game. Ride out Ashara, just keep on riding north." He spoke.

Ashara didn't need to be told otherwise, but she rode with trepidation. She knew this game, and she knew it well. She would ride out, on the back of the horse, whilst Ramsay would attempt to shoot arrows at her. A dangerous game she used to watch him play.

"Go then." He rushed her as she sped into a full-blown gallop. She felt the wind rushing through her hair as she left the gates of Winterfell. She didn't look back, she just waited for the pain to come.

Ramsay drew his arm back, producing tension in the bow, with the arrow pointing directly at his ex-Commander. He released his finger tips from the rough texture of the bow and saw the arrow fly straight into Ashara's back.

She felt the pain rush through her shoulders straight away. Ashara let out a cry as the pain ran down her back into her legs. Ignoring the pain, she kicked her horse to run faster. She heard the echo of Ramsays laugh as she rode through the open land.

Ramsay prepared another arrow, repeating the action, lining up to Ashara's back. He again released the bow, watching the arrow shoot out the end. It hit a similar spot on her back, doubling the pain. She reached over to feel the warm liquid gathering around the arrows. She let out another small whimper as she rode closer and closer to the trees.

She was almost there when she felt another arrow pierce the skin on her arm. It hit the back of her arm in a tender spot and made her cry out so loud, she was sure all people across the 7 kingdoms heard her. But now she was safe, she was protected by the tall trees. She tried to pull the arrows from her arm and back but it was too painful. She cried again as she somehow managed to twist the arrows deeper into her skin.

Ashara rode on through the dark night, the wind and snow slapping her in the face. Shed could only hope that she was riding in the right direction of Winterfell, as she felt her eyes droop and her head hit her horses' neck.

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Hope you guys are enjoying this story so far !! we're going to be seeing some Jon Snow soon, and how he appears in Ashara's life ❄️