Forgotten

-24-

The journey continued as if there had been no stop in its progress. Sansa stared at the map, its crumbled figure still showing the hole that Tryton had torn in it months ago. She had marked the spot of her original destination- towards the soothsayer.

Legends.

That was what she was after. And after meeting Nova, she knew more about what she might be looking for. What she might be hoping to find.

She was close to the soothsayer.

It had been weeks of nonstop travel, of burying her emotions of loneliness and isolation down to forget not only him... but also the new friends she was forcing herself to leave behind.

Sansa felt numb. Each day seemed to be a long battle in her mind of fighting to continue on her search and to not give up.

Had Nova given up? Sansa thought often of her actions. Of how Nova was isolated within the woods, mourning a single night that had changed her life forever. Of a man she had only one real connection with.

But it was different for Sansa. She...she knew him. He was and had always been a part of her life.

She often reflected on her choice of seeking him out and finding him. Some days the decision seemed like the obvious one, something that her heart knew for sure was the right choice.

And then other days...other days Sansa felt tired.

She felt tired of holding onto nothing but a memory and going from pack to pack, asking discreetly about his description, to only be met with laughter.

She was almost there. Less than a day's walk away from her was the soothsayer. She had been traveling for months, only staying at a pack for a handful of days before moving on. Each pack though had something special. Something unique to them that helped Sansa smile again and move forward with her journey.

Sansa stared at the cloudy sky, looking at the thin sliver of the moon. It was dark. The light of the object was not able to shine past the obstruction. She felt herself shiver, even though the air was warm in the mid-summer months.

Slowly, Sansa laid her head down, still staring at what was above her, before closing her eyes.

*   *   *

Hands touched her arms.

She recognized these hands.

The scent. The scent hit her, something that would alarm others, but there was a comforting side to it that seemed to wrap around Sansa as her head slowly moved closer to take it in.

The hands that were wrapped around her wrists slowly moved up, softly touching as the fingers trailed along her skin. She felt herself gasp as the simple sensation.

She kept her eyes closed, not daring to open them. It was as if a veil had been placed over her mind. She was caught in a web of darkness that made her body seem paralyzed, open to sensation, but unable to act upon it. She could not move in response to the hands. She could not open her eyes to see- to confirm.

The hands stopped in their movement and left her skin.

A sudden pain flared in her chest but was quickly soothed as warmth came to her hips, the soft fabric of her shirt being lifted just slightly for the contact to be made.

And then lips.

Lips pressing against the hollow dent of her throat, going up along with the hands, both slowly searching as a pressure leaned against Sansa.