Winter In My Heart | ROBB STARK.

XV. Ready Reunions

"You don't think..." Tiernan began, too shocked to speak. He considered Theon a coward, he never thought he'd dare to burn two little boys to death. Especially with such a small force of men to protect him when the entirety of the North would have his head for this.

Almost as if on purpose, the Stark banner hung from the wall beside the bodies, and was ablaze.

"Terrible isn't it?" Ramsay said in his measly voice. "How anyone could kill innocent children, well, it's beyond my comprehension!"

Tiernan dismounted his horse, and in a moment of lost composure, marched forward and gripped Ramsay by his collar, dragging him forward until they were chest to chest. Tiernan's face was red as he spoke through gritted teeth.

"What the fuck is going on here?" He demanded. Ramsay smirked innocently.

"The bodies were hung there for a week, we asked the remaining inhabitants of Winterfell."

"I find that hard to believe, seeing as their bodies are laying around the grounds amongst the Iron born," Tiernan spat, narrowing his eyes considerably.

"Are you suggesting something, Lord Tiernan?" He emphasised the title on purpose, knowing that Tiernan really had no right to be labelled it.

"I'm suggesting that you're a fucking rat, and I don't trust you as far as I could throw you."

"Well, better work on that throwing arm then."

Tiernan balled his fist and was ready to hit the bastard, but instead breathed deeply through his nostrils and dropped his hands from Ramsay. Deciding it wasn't worth it.

"Come on, our mission here has failed. We're done," Tiernan spoke to Conor, however he kept his eyes pinned to Ramsay.

He turned abruptly and mounted his horse, throwing one last hate-filled glare in Ramsay's direction.

When they were outside of the walls again, he called out to his force, "come on, men! We're done here!"

They all began to leave then, galloping back into the woods and making their way home to Baelfort.

"Why didn't you stay, my lord?" Conor asked inquisitively.

"Tell me, Conor," Tiernan began, "did you happen to see smoke rising from Winterfell when we first arrived?"

Conor thought for a moment before looking back to Tiernan with a shake of his head, "no. I don't believe I did."

"Well, neither did I."

-

Arya

"Do you even know where you're going?" Gendry's voice sounded in Fianna's ear, pushing her one step closer to snapping and hitting him.

"For the fiftieth fucking time," she whipped around, a finger in the air, "I was taught how to hunt in the woods next to Baelfort. You are a city boy with no knowledge of the woods. Shut up and let me work my way through!"

Gendry held his hands up in defence and Arya rolled her eyes, trailing after them with her arms across her chest. She had been silent for the last while. Her mind reeling still from her conversation with Jaqen after they escaped.

Absentmindedly, she rolled the coin over inside her palm.

"But how do you know?" Hot Pie asked curiously.

"Because moss on trees grows on the North side of the tree! We follow that, and stay off the nearby road and follow its path, we'll be led to Robb! Gods, I'm stuck with fools for companions," Fianna snapped, her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and a stomp in her step.