Winter Is Our Fury

Chapter Fifty Nine: Hungry Hounds

The sun was falling behind the towers of Winterfell when Aris decided to visit the Crypts to show Randyl who was curious to know her family. As the two crossed the snowy courtyard huddled in furs, a woman in red strided from the hall, her head bowed low with shame.

Aris stopped recognising the red woman who gazed up feeling eyes on her and if her day couldn't get any worse, it was about to.

"You..." accused Aris. "I remember you, you took Gendry, that was you!"

"It was..." replied the red woman softly. There was a great sadness in her voice when Davos appeared in the doorframe of the hall making sure the red woman was well on her way. But the name caught his ears.

"Gendry?" asked Randyl curiously.

"So, was buying the bastard son of Robert worth it now Stannis is dead?" questioned Aris harshly. "Did you kill him?"

The red woman opened her mouth to speak but Davos came forward, "I helped the boy escape before she could." he told her angrily. "If he made it alive, he'd be in Kings Landing." and Davos shot the red woman a glare and she lowered her head.

Something tugged on Aris' heartstring and a feeling she only felt around Gendry and for a moment, Wyllim. Gendry was a alive.

Davos snapped his head back to Aris and the boy with her and asked, "How do you know Gendry?"

"He was escaping Kings Landing after my father was murdered..." explained Aris curious to know how this man knew Gendry too. "We... helped each other."

"At least I able to save that boy, but not the little girl she and Stannis murdered." spat Davos, venom dripped from every word and pierced the red woman skin. She turned on her heel and headed toward a ready horse in shame.

"Murdered?"

"Aye, Princess Shireen Baratheon. A bright, beautiful girl I called my own."

"... I'm sorry." they watched as the red woman mounted her horse without a word or any pride like she did so when she came to take away Gendry. It was as though all faith was drained from her body. "And thank you for helping Gendry."

"I'd do it twenty times again, m'lady." nodded Davos before wondering back into the hall.

The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon. The last of it's rays struggled to paint the sky a dull orange as the black of night crept over Winterfell with a chill.

"Randyl, you should go inside. There's someone I have to take care of." explained Aris. "I'll show you the Crypts tomorrow."

"Are you taking care of that man who hurt you?"

"Something like that. Go on."

Randyl obeyed and tracked after Davos into the hall and Aris wondered into the dark.

➵

Night had fallen shrouding the dog kennel in darkness. The only light was the single torch inside and the torch alight beside the iron gates of the kennel.

Ramsay stirred in the chair he was bound to. His face ached and throbbed from the beating and he sucked in a breath raising his head and groaned. When he saw Aris standing behind the iron gates he paused. His entire face was covered in his own blood which made his deathly blue eyes pop even more than usual.

"Aris." he greeted with a rough voice and swallowed heavily. "Hello, Aris." and when she remained silent he said, "Is this were I will be staying now?" and still she remained quiet and he huffed. "No. Our time together is about to come to an end. That's all right. You can't kill me. I'm part of you now, quiet literally speaking."

"That may be true." Aris finally said. "But I pity you, Ramsay."

"Why pity me. You despise me. Or do you feel for me, hm? After all this time I've finally grown on you."

"No. You had a brilliant mind. Unfortunately you like hurting people weaker than you just to make yourself look big and scary. You're not going to hurt people anymore."

"I should at least see the birthing of my child, I have a right to that."

"No. No you don't." informed Aris. "You threatened to cut it out of me, or do you not remember the letter you wrote Jon?"

Ramsay angrily shrugged against the restraints keeping his arms tied to the chair. "Oh, but that child growing in your belly will carry my name." smiled Ramsay like it was a victory. "That child will always haunt the memory of me, will always remind you that I am there."

"Maybe. But my child will never be like you. And I hope that this baby is a girl, Ramsay. I will pray every morning and every night to the gods that it is a girl, just to despite you. And she will never grow up like you, she will be raised good, and yes, she will know who her father is and she will know every single terrible thing you ever did and I'll make her hate you for it." declared Aris. "And eventually you'll disappear, your house will disappear and all memory of you will disappear."

There was low growl from the cage beside Ramsay and he turned his head, his smile fading, and there another growl. His hounds emerged from the dark of their cages, their stomachs rumbling and the smell of blood intoxicated their noses.

"My hounds will never harm me." spat Ramsay feeling his heart pick up.

"You haven't fed them in seven days. You said so yourself."

"They're loyal beasts."

"They were. Now they're starving."

A hound adjacent to Ramsay emerged from the dark and stood head to head with Ramsay sniffing the delicious blood on his face. "Sit." commanded Ramsay and the dog began to hungrily lick his face.

"Down! Down!" and still the dog ignored the commands and continue to lick the blood. "Down! Down!"

The hound lunged forward and sunk its teeth into Ramsay's face and he screamed something almighty that all of Winterfell was sure to hear. The other hounds joined in tearing apart Ramsay as his screams were drowned out by the barking and howling of the hungry hounds.

"Aris-!" screamed Ramsay as he gurgled on his own blood. "Ar-!"

She turned and walked away from the pen as the dogs continued to bark and rip apart Ramsay like he did so many other people until his screams stopped. And Aris smiled finally free of the clutches of Ramsay Bolton.