Disclaimer: I don't own any of this but I hope you enjoy it.

Also all the writing in Italics is English while the normal writing is Commontongue.

Chapter One: Theon

He'd always enjoyed going hunting. While being in Winterfell often reminded him that he was a hostage, hunting was different. It was better than just practising his archery with a still target, but both practise and actual hunting made him feel as though he still had a part of his home that he could connect to.

Hunting was brilliant, the rising anticipation as you closed in on your target, time seeming to slow as the perfect shot came into and the release which was definitely satisfying, but the best part was when the arrow hit the target. On an animal it was more brutal, but there was still that relief that all the hours of work that he'd put into it had paid off. And the thump on a still target gave him the same pleasure as he smirked at the arrow that always hit dead centre.

He'd gone through that a couple of times today, and had managed to get a deer today while the sons of his capture had only managed to get 3 rabbits between the two of them. They may have been two years younger than Theon, but he still laughed at their attempt at hunting.

In his opinion they probably should've been quite a bit better at the whole thing.

They were already on their way back to Winterfell, everyone in a good mood after hunting, including Lord Stark himself.

A scream of desperation pierced the air, echoing through the trees.

In that moment Theon first realized how quickly situations could change. From laughter to something that was determination and a desire to help. After all he knew that Lord Stark considered anyone who was in the area he ruled over under his protection, it didn't surprise him that the man immediately spurred his horse in the direction of the scream. The rest of the men immediately followed, though Robb and Jon had hesitated in front of him.

Spurring his own horse on he quickly passed them, hoping they'd get over the initial shock and follow everyone else. For once he wouldn't laugh at their reaction; this was the first time they were faced with something like this. And though this was a first for Theon too, he knew what was expected anyway.

The screams continued, along with things that sounded like words that he couldn't understand, but the terror in the voice was clear to him. When they reached the area the scream were coming from he jumped off his horse, pulling his bow off his shoulder and trying to find another place to approach from.

"Leave the girl alone" he heard Lord Stark order the men that he could see, though they just laughed. Her screams and cries continued, mixed with sobs that Theon could now hear. From his angle he could see the girl pinned to the ground by a man who looked in his 30's. But the girl... she looked even younger than him in his opinion. Maybe Robb's age, give or take a year or two.

The men laughed, not taking any of it seriously.

"Don't you see how she'd dressed?" one of them asked mockingly, though it was obvious Lord Stark wouldn't have been able to. "She's just a little whore" more laughter echoed, though the way she cried made him feel that she was just a girl they'd found. Though, from what he could see her dress was much too thin for the cold of the north.

The man on top of her was distracted, looking at the Lord of Winterfell. In that moment he grunted in pain, drawing Theon's attention back to the girl who tried to run as the man who'd been on top of her rolled to the side curled up and holding his cock, face contorted in pain. Theon almost laughed at how much of a fight this girl was putting up, and how good she was at it despite obviously not knowing what she was doing.

But her freedom was short lived as the man's hand shot out, grabbing her ankle causing her to fall to the ground.

"You little bitch" he growled, flipping her over without thought as Eddard finished reasoning with the other men, instead drawing his sword, his men quickly doing the same thing. As he pulled an arrow from his quiver and aimed, he watched the man grab the girls hair, more pleas that he couldn't understand falling from her mouth as he grabbed her, squeezing her throat.

Her eyes met Theon's right as he released the arrow, going through the throat of the man. Immediately he moved to the girl, pushing the dead man off of her body. She looked up at him, and immediately he thought that she was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. He'd never seen a person with features like hers. Her skin was dark, as though she'd been out in the sun a lot, and hair also a dark brown colour, and while those features in themselves were completely new to him the bright blue eyes shocked him most of all given her colouring. Pulling out his waterskin he passed it to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, looking her over watching as she took small sips of water before passing it back. Now he could see that the men had definitely lied, the dress the girl was wearing looked high quality and a form of silk. Still with short sleeves and given the material he could see her shaking even if she looked blankly, her head tilted to the side with a question.

"Where am I?" the girl asked, and he could see how she was trying to control her sobs. He knew that she was asking something, but couldn't understand a word. And somehow felt that she couldn't understand a word that he was saying either.

"Lord Stark... she can't speak any commontongue" Theon called, as respectfully as he could manage as he kept his eyes trained on the girl shaking in from of him. Knowing that the man was now looking at him he pulled off his cloak, putting it on the girl's shoulders.

Ned walked over to where his ward was kneeling in front of the girl, who was still sitting on the ground. Theon watched as he held a hand out to the girl to help her up, and how she winced as she stood, leaning to the side. Jon and Robb looked even more stunned and confused than they had when they had originally heard the screams of the girl.

"Thank you" she said, her grip tightening on Ned's hand before she led go of it, and glancing at Theon nodding at him. Although they didn't understand the words, Theon figured that all of them could tell from the look in her eyes that she was glad that they were there, and also grateful that they had saved her.

"We'll take her back to Winterfell with us... Maester Luwin may be familiar with whatever language it is that she speaks, and even if he is not he can at least tend to any of her injuries and possibly teach her commontongue" he announced, looking at his men. "She'll ride with Theon" he announced motioning for the girl to follow him. Her eyes narrowed slightly, before looked toward Theon.

"It's alright" he tried to say comfortingly, though it wasn't something that he was used to or that came naturally. Normally he would've just flirted, or said something sarcastic, but instead he nodded at her. Holding his hand out he waited patiently, watching as she slowly moved, putting her own hand into his gloved one as he began leading her to the horses.

Theon looked at her and motioned towards his horse, and watched a smile cross her face as she ran her hand down his neck. He picked her up by the waist, helping her onto the horse before sitting himself on the horse in front of her. Grabbing her hands, he pulled them so they intertwined on his stomach, her arms tightly wrapped around him as he spurred the horse on to start their way back to Winterfell. A smirk crossed his face, laughing slightly as the girl yelped, her grip on him tightening as the horse sped up.

A/N: So that's the first chapter of the story and because this is setting it up, they'll probably end up getting shorter. I don't really know what I'm going to do with this story, but there's definitely going to be a friendship between Theon and the girl, which you may have noticed already starting up.

Anyway I hope you liked it, and I'll see if I can get the next chapter up for any readers as soon as possible!