The forest was quiet. There were no sounds besides the wind blowing through the leaves in the trees above. Even though winter was fast approaching, they were still green with only a hint of gold. They rustled back and forth like they were whispering a message to each other that only they could decipher.

She stood completely still, barely breathing. She had done this so many times that her body had learned to relax in this straining position. The branch she was perched on was thick and sturdy, so as long she didn't fall, she was safe. She was sitting high above ground, hidden behind the leaves. Her legs were bent so she was squatting down, making herself as small as possible, while pressing up against the tree trunk. Her arms were tense from holding the bow, which was in position to fire the arrow, and had been that way since she first got up there.

She had sat like this many times before, and thanks to that both her arms and legs had become very strong. From this she had also learned patience, and her eyesight and hearing had improved immensely. At times her hunting abilities would be compared to that of a hawk, and she definitely agreed- that was one of her inspirations when she started doing it this way.

Because her bow was always ready she wouldn't have to make as much noise later, rather than if it wasn't. She would simply have to adjust her aim and let it go.

She didn't have to wait for long. Soon a doe walked in to the glade that she had under her eye. She let it wander around for a while, making it feel safe. It was looking for food, which was ironic because soon it would become food itself.

She quietly took her aim. Before the doe could even register her presence, there was an arrow lodged in its neck.

She smiled. Another successful hunt without any difficulties.

She put her bow around her back and jumped down from the tree. She landed gracefully on the ground below and walked up to her prey. The doe was a beautiful creature, but that did not help save its life. Every living thing had to eat, some were predators and some were prey. She made sure to always remain a predator, because she would be damned before she became anybody's prey.

She pulled the arrow from its neck. It was still whole and could be used again if cleaned. When you had limited resources you had to make sure not to waist anything, especially not something as valuable as ammunition.

With little difficulty she hoisted the carcass over her shoulder and began her march back to camp.

Even with her heavy boots and the extra weight from the doe, she still somehow managed to walk silently on the leaf covered ground. She had learned how to be quiet, less she wanted someone unwelcome to see her.

She soon reached the camp. Long before she did she could hear the sounds of it.

She could hear the voices of her people carried in the wind. Children were laughing and screaming of joy while their parents were calling for them. Wood was being chopped, food cooked over a burning fire and horses were neighing.

The camp was located in a glade which had been expanded in time as more and more people joined them. Now they were close to six hundred in one camp. There were other settlements around the north, from old fortresses on the Wall to the edges of the Eastern Sea to the Neck, and most of them answered to her.

People did not start to notice her until she was already among them.

"Leyla is back!" she heard someone shout. People looked her way and waved to her as she passed by or nodded respectfully.

Several children came running towards her, shouting and laughing. Most of them were barefoot and dirty, but happy none the less. They were jumping around her, asking about the hunt and if anything interesting had happened. Had she seen anyone else? Had she run in to any dangerous animals? Could they touch the doe?

"Touch all you want," she told the little boy, "But do it now before it's been cooked. You know you're not allowed to play with your food."

The boy squealed in delight and ran his hand through the hide, but withdrew it when he discovered that it was covered in blood.

"Go wash your hand before your mother sees it and blames me for getting you filthier than you already are," she chuckled and ruffled his hair with her free hand. The boy ran off and took the other children with him. She was now able to move through camp more quickly, when she didn't have a herd of little ones around her legs.

She reached one of the cooking tents and put the carcass down on an empty table. She took off her outer layers and rolled up her sleeves before taking out a sharp knife from the strap on her leg and started to remove the skin and the insides, as she had many times before.

Before long her work was done and someone came along to take care of the result. The meat was about to be cooked, the skin to make clothes and the entrails would feed the dogs. Nothing went to waste. She could have had someone else do the skinning and cutting up of her game, but she preferred to do it herself. She did not mind getting her hands dirty (or bloody).

When she was washing her hands she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around to see Marcus, a man in his fifties with greying hair and a kind smile on his face. He had been a good friend to her for many years and she counted him as one of her officers, though they had no official titles, only a handful of people who spoke for the rest.

"Another fruitful hunt I see," he stated. "Though a bit much deer lately, if you ask me."

"Good thing no one asked you then, Marcus," she teased. "If you are not satisfied with what I have to offer, you can move to another camp. Perhaps to one by the East Sea and eat yourself fat on fish instead of meat." Everyone in Leyla's camp were free to come and go as they pleased and she did not meddle in their reasons why.

"I wouldn't do that, Leyla. You know that my loyalties lie with my queen, and I won't leave until you send me away. I'll just get fat on whatever food you offer, and I will do it without complaining"

"It is good that you recognize authority, and I appreciate your loyalty," she told him with honesty.

For years now Leyla had been known as the Queen of the Southern Wildlings or Queen of the Savages. Her grandparents had come with their entire clan from beyond the Wall and settled in the north. The clan had expanded with people from both sides of the Wall and some had moved to make their own settlements further away. However, they always remained loyal to their leaders: Leyla's grandparents. Her mother, Tasha, had only lived her first five years beyond the Wall. As she grew up she explored the new world and gained a lot of knowledge, which she then shared with her people.

On one of her travels she met the man who would become Leyla's father. They were both teenagers and shared only a few nights together, but it was enough to result in her.

"A raven came while you were away, from your father in Winterfell." He handed her a small scroll.

She took it without any real interest. It was most likely a plea for her to come on her annual visit. It had been a while since the last one, but she hadn't thought much of it.

Her father was Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. He and Tasha had met before he was married to Catelyn Tully.

All her life her father had insisted that she gave up her place in the wild to live in Winterfell and she had always turned him down. She still made sure to visit as often as she could. Those times grew fewer when her mother died and she had to take her place as the leader of her clan.

But she was conflicted. Though she loved her life in the forest, she would not grieve for long if she had to give it up. What she would grieve was her freedom. The people called her a queen, but they didn't really need her. She was more like a symbol: not entirely necessary and easy to replace, but it gave them something to look up to and- if the time ever came- something to fight for.

Despite this she would not take up a place in Winterfell and become a true Stark, no matter how much her father insisted. She liked it there and she liked her half-brothers and sisters, but they had a stronger bond to each other than they did to her.

Beyond the Wall there were no such thing as Houses and only the bigger families with great achievements in their history had famous surnames. Most of the time her people were simply referred to as southern wildlings or savages and people would know who they were talking about.

Despite this she had a great yearning to have a house to belong to. She wanted to be a Stark, but the fact that she was a bastard meant she would never be accepted in the way the full-blooded Stark children were. For now she was just Leyla Snow.

All the children loved her and even Lady Catelyn accepted her. Perhaps that was because she was a product of something her husband had done before they had even met, unlike her feelings towards Ned's other bastard, Jon Snow.

She unrolled the scroll to reveal its content.

Robert Baratheon and company are coming to Winterfell. Please act as their escort on the Kingsroad until they arrive. Would be most pleased if you stayed with us while they are here.

Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell.

The message was short and to the point. Leyla remembered her father's friend Robert very well. He had always been kind to her whenever they met and she liked him.

Leyla had been a wild child and while Ned tried to calm her down and make her a proper lady, Robert laughed at her antics and encouraged her to continue as before. She loved her father dearly, but he needed to understand that life as a lady did not suit her.

Marcus still stood by her side, awaiting orders or news. She told him what the scroll said.

"We will ride out to meet them tomorrow at first light. I will bring fifty men, and if there is need of a leader while I am gone, that will be you. I expect to be away for a few weeks at least."

Except for Leyla, they did not have a true leader. When she went away she would appoint whoever of her officers she thought would fit the part. Most people in the camp could take care of themselves anyway.

The southern wildlings got by by hunting. They fed on the animals of the forest and sold the hides if they needed to. They were also excellent craftsmen and soldiers. The life in the forest had made them all big and strong, and it was very rare to see a weak southern wildling. They knew how to endure and they would no doubt survive the coming winter, unlike many others who lived under better conditions than them, but were less knowledgeable on how to stay alive.

But what they were most famous for was thieving. Anyone who travelled by the bigger roads had better keep their eyes open and their horses ready to run. Leyla's clan were robbers and they stole whatever they needed from whoever had it. They did not concern themselves with who they upset, nor did human lives have a great value to them. The only thing that was not allowed and was punishable by death was rape.

That's why she was so surprised that Eddard had asked her to escort the king. Lord Stark strongly disapproved of her way of living, but stayed silent about it most of the time. One could wonder why he asked a thief to lead the king to a place he knew how to find himself.

This was probably one of her father's many attempts to get her to redeem herself. He thought that if she could spend some time by the side of an old friend and have a royal tell her how wrong she was, then she would surely see the error of her ways.

Unfortunately for Ned, Robert would not see it that way. In fact, he would probably forbid the arrest of thieves on the Kingsroad so that she would not lose any of her men. She smiled at the thought of the man she saw as an uncle. Something that did not make her smile was the thought of his wife and her family. In her eyes, the Lannisters were just as bad, if not worse than her own people. No, they were much worse, and Leyla's people consisted of robbers and killers!

No matter… She would do as her father told her, but until morning light she would not think about it, else she'd get too mad at those wretched lions to do anything at all.

After eating the dinner that she had caught herself, she bid her company a good night and started moving towards her resting place. It was a short walk to from the main camp to her own private glade. It was much smaller, and the only thing she had that came close to a tent was a few large pieces of cloth, one provided as a roof and two others as walls for some privacy. The "tent" was open on the short sides, but she did not worry about unwanted visitors. Her people respected her too much to intrude on her, and she had protections in form of both weapons and guards. Though they were not human guards.

Since she had to get up early next morning she had decided against inviting someone into her bed. Man or woman didn't matter much, a person is a person and you can get your pleasure from either one of them. As much as she enjoyed a sturdy man by her side she also enjoyed the softness that a woman provided. Though to get a soft woman in a place like this was unlikely…

But her camping place was a bit still and quieter than usual.

She put two fingers to her lips and gave a shrill whistle. From every direction around her noise began to be heard. There were feet moving quickly on the ground and a few loud barks could be heard as well.

Four big dog came rushing towards her and before Leyla could react they had her pinned to the ground. They were all over her, sniffing and barking and licking her face and searching her hands and pockets for treats.

She laughed and sat up. "Oh, my sweetlings, you missed me today, didn't you?" They all waved their tales as if to say yes.

"I can't give you any treats though, lest you want to get fat."

They were very clever animals, and when she said this they backed off and gave her some room to breathe.

"But I am going to give you something else though. Tomorrow you are coming with me to Winterfell. You always like it there, don't you?" She had to take her dogs with her when she travelled. They were her friends and, ridiculously, they were the only once she thought of as her true family. She felt a deep connection with them and, in a way, even thought of them as her children. She was unlikely to ever find a man she liked enough to settle down with and she always made sure to eat a special plant to prevent an unwanted pregnancy after being with a man.

Her connection with the dogs might have to do with her condition, which only a few people knew about. Her father knew and so did Jon Snow, who she had told in good faith. If it was up to her no one would know, not even her own father. It would be better that way.

Clearing her head, she played with her blood hounds for a short while before retiring. She went in to her poor excuse for a tent and lied down on the bedroll. She had taken off her outer clothes, but did not lay down under the thick furs despite the cold night air.

Without her saying the canines came in as well and lied down around and on top of her. They did this most nights and the furs were only there for the rare nights that they were someplace else.

With her faithful pets surrounding her Leyla went to sleep, dreaming and dreading what the next day would bring.