𝐻𝐸𝑅𝑂𝑖𝑁𝐸 | 𝐽𝑜𝑛 𝑆𝑛𝑜𝑤

sixteen.

            "𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝..."

In that moment, it was as if time stopped. The only thing both Ashara and Jon could feel was each other. They could only hear each other's heartbeats, thumping away in their chests that heaved, breathless as they both fell into the pile of men. The bodies surrounded them quickly, but they managed to keep a hold of their hands.

Screaming brought Ashara out of her trance. Everything sped up all of a sudden, and the reality of their situation set in. There were barely any Stark men left breathing, and the situation was becoming dire, with only WunWun the giant fighting the Bolton men.

She somehow pushed through the bodies, surfacing for breath once she saw the grey sky. She felt the defeat sink in. Ashara didn't understand the feeling, having never lost before. It was a mix of anger, pain and loss. One big stirring pot of emotions. She allowed her body to relax, for the first time in hours. She wanted her last moments to be in the comfort of where she belonged, the battlefield.

As she closed her eyes, she felt vibrations through her body. Ashara recognised that feeling anywhere, the galloping of hundreds of hooves. The feeling radiated through her body as it got stronger and stronger. It is what she imagined the great Dothraki hoard to sound like when they pummelled across the ground.

With her intrigue getting the better of her, she glanced over the top of the hill, and saw the greatest sight she ever did see.

Ashara couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the nights of the vale cascading down the hill, with both Sansa and Little finger watching the magic happen on the hill. Relief washed over her and she let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding.

Ashara had lost sight of Jon minutes ago, but it wasn't hard to see him charging towards the retreating Ramsay Bolton. Ashara wanted to follow Jon, and see him pummel the bastard into the ground, but her place was here with her men, leading them in the final push. She killed the last men standing with a few swings of her sword.

Returning the sword to her waist, she listened to the choruses of singing from her men. However, there was one man standing off to the side, with a Bolton man kneeling before him. She could recognise the poor mans face from anywhere. Even with blood covering his skin, it wasn't hard for her to notice his blonde hair and piercing green eyes. As the Stark man raised his sword, to cut off his head, Ashara shouted across.

"Leave him!" She quickly gathered the attention of the men around her, as she strode towards the man, hanging his head, not recognising her voice.

The man now kneeling in front of her was Eddy, the Bolton soldier she had grown close to. They had talked before Sansa had arrived at Winterfell, and may have even shared one or two intimate moments.

"Get up Eddy." She sighed at him, holding out her red stained hand. Eddy whipped his head towards Ashara's voice, finally realizing who was speaking to him. They just looked at each other for a while, remembering that they were now on opposite sides. However, they both trusted each other that the other wouldn't take their lives.

"Remove your Bolton armour, you're a Stark man now." She said, throwing him a small smile and walking away from the group of men towards Winterfell.

The walk wasn't a long one, but it allowed time for Ashara to reflect on the battle. They had lost more than 1,000 men, more than they wished to lose. It would take time for Jon to regain his numbers, but now the Starks were back in the north, she doubted that would be hard.

She wondered if she should stay in the North with Jon and his men, and if she should still be the commander of his army. She felt at ease with these men, but she longed to see her mother once again, and find out who her true father was.

As she walked through the gates of Winterfell, a walk she had done many times before, she saw Ramsay being dragged away from the courtyard, and towards the dungeons. He was almost unrecognisable with his entire face covered in blood. Ashara had seen many gruesome things in her time, but that far topped the list. His nose was so broken that it had moved inches, and she saw his teeth scattered over the courtyard.

Eyes following the trail of blood, her eyes landed on Jon, but she didn't recognise him either. His face was harsh and lost, no emotion sitting in his deep brown eyes. He was also bloodied and bruised, his hair falling out of its bun that Ashara had come to like. He eventually met her eyes, and saw the fear she held in them. He wanted to take her into his arms there and then, spin her around and kiss her, telling her that they had done it, but that wasn't reality.

Slipping a small smile, Jon turned on his heel, and wandered off into the walls of Winterfell, with Ashara wishing she could follow him.

"The Starks win once more." Said a voice beside her, taking her out of her trance. Little finger stood beside her, his cloak swaying in the winter winds.

"Congratulations, Ashara Sand." He gave her a look she didn't quite understand, as he also walked away into the walls of Winterfell, not letting her get a word out to him.

Ashara had spent the evening gathering the remaining Stark men, letting them celebrate. They deserved more than one drink she thought. She also found herself in front of a group of Bolton men, looking at her with trembling lips and fearful eyes. She told them they were now going to follow Jon Snow and his army, or follow the fate of the rest of their comrades. Ashara wasn't one for sympathy, they would either die or follow.

After the men had all agreed to join the Stark army, she found herself on her own for the first time today. Black skies appeared overhead, with the wind whipping around her face. Stark banners fell from the walls, as it felt right for the Starks to be back in Winterfell.

Men cheered all around the walls, with drunk men throwing themselves at the whores in the streets outside the main keep. She found herself moving into the castle, and towards her old room. She was lucky enough to be given a room within the walls by Roose. It was almost at the top of one of the towers, out of the way from everyone else.

Climbing the stairs slowly, she was excited to fall asleep in her bed, with her furs surrounding her. She didn't even give it a second thought when she burst through the door, only to be met with a figure in her room, making panic rise inside of her.

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Sorry for the lack of updates !! i've been on holiday for the past 2 weeks and i meant to upload a chapter before i left but silly me forgot. Enjoy this chapter and i hope to return to weekly updates 😁