Last chance for honour

Chapter 45

There it was, the castle walls of Winterfell. Jamie remembered the last time he had seen them. He thought of how much had changed since then, how much he had changed. He turned back to the direction of the camp, to see Jon coming up behind him, he stood still waiting for him to approach.

"I have sent a messenger to Winterfell, we will meet just before dark with Ramsey, we will try and persuade him to see how we outnumber him, hopefully he will surrender and there doesn't need to be so many unnecessary deaths."

Jamie doubted very much that Ramsey would surrender, he remembered him temperament in Kingslanding, it reminded him slightly of Joffrey, not one to give up his toys. "And if he refuses to surrender?" Jamie said. Jon pressed his lips together "then the battle will go on". Jon already felt the guilt of making the Wildlings fight for him, but his sister needed him.

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Ramsey ran the palm of his hand across the back of his horse, feeling the smooth hairs he patted the horse gently. Once he was on the horse he ordered the gates of Winterfell to be opened. Lord Umber and Lord Karstark followed behind him on their horses, along with four guards.

He could already see Jon Snow and his men waiting across the field. He found it more of an annoyance at the prospect of a battle. He scoffed at the thought of Jon Snow challenging his rule in the North when the messenger had arrived.

They eventually reached the meeting point, standing opposite to Jon Snow, to his left he could see what he assumed a Wildling, with red flaming hair. There were other men he didn't care to know whom they were, probably the Lords of the Northern Houses who stood against the Boltons. They still would never be enough to match the Bolton army he thought.

"So here you are! I've been desperately waiting to meet you all" Ramsey said, smiling at each one of the faces in front of him. "How can I, the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, help you?" He took the approach of acting oblivious to the prospect of a battle. An approach which no one was fooled by, they had heard of the games he played.

"You know why we're here" Jon spoke first. Ramsey fixed eye contact with him. "Winterfell belongs to the Starks, and Sansa belongs with her family". The words came from another voice, one which sounded familiar to Ramsey.

One of the horses came to the front of the group, appearing out behind one of the other men. "Both of which seem to be wrongly in your possession". Ramsey's face fell for a moment in realisation. Jon turned his head slightly in Jamie's direction. "There doesn't need to be a battle, surely now you know we outnumber you, you won't win this fight" Jon's voice was strong and bold.

Ramsey still hadn't taken his eyes off Jamie. "I must say I am quite surprised to see you here Lord Jamie, I would have thought your wife leaving you for me would have damaged your pride so much that you wouldn't have ever faced me, or the North again... but here you are". Ramsey's smile had returned.

Jamie's eyes were cold, he stared back at Ramsey. "Yes... here I am" his voice was stern, laced with anger. "I can see why you would fight for Sansa, she's a fine women, well would you know wouldn't you?" Ramsey was gaining more than satisfaction by playing with Jamie, than trying to torment Jon.

"Surrender Lord Bolton, there doesn't need to be a battle" Jon repeated. Ramsey finally took his eyes off Jamie and back to Jon. "Winterfell is mine Bastard, Sansa is mine, there will be a battle" Ramsey glanced between the both of them. "And afterwards I'm going to make Sansa watch as I kill you both, and-" Jamie swiftly interrupted Ramsey's words.

"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, you see, when you lose the battle tomorrow, I'm going to come and find you after you've scarpered like a beaten dog". Ramsey's scowl was becoming more and more integrated into his face, the more he listened to Jamie's words. Jamie continued "You don't want to imagine the things I'm going to do to you, you'll be begging me to kill you". Jamie turned his horse away, and started back to the camp.

Ramsey was speechless, Jamie had humiliated him. He looked back to Jon who held his stare for a moment, before following Jamie with the rest of the Lords, leaving Ramsey being skewered by his own anger. He was going to flay them all, they would be the ones begging for deaths, not him he thought.

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