"What do you mean I can't leave?" Jane asked the guard in a bit of a panic. She thought she be able to leave since it was now two weeks after everything happened. Who would miss a baker? But the guard wasn't budging. He had looked nervous when she had walked towards the open gate, but she had never expected to him stop her.
"I've been ordered not to let you leave." Ordered?
"By who?"
"By Lord Bolton." Jane paled immediately at that.
"My my...what lord did you fuck to kicked out?" He grunted as he slammed into her again. He had sent the men away after he figured it out. There was a little grumbling from them, but it was nothing really meaningful. Call Ramsey whatever you like...he wasn't dumb. Though it wasn't hard to put two and two together. A girl who was no longer in her home, not married and clearly trying to blend in. She had always been bad at the blending in part. "Eddard Stark?"
"No" she hissed. He wasn't being gentle at all. The pain had started to dull once more. That wasn't good. Ramsey pulled out and turned her over before slapping her ass and Jane got on her hands and knees.
"Well aren't you well trained…you're tempting you know?" Jane couldn't even respond through the screams of his belt making contact with her skin. Ramsey...he liked to talk. It seemed that he liked her responses even more. Whether it was her screaming or making her feel more humiliated by the second.
"He gave orders to not let you leave Ironrath. I am sorry, miss." he said snapping Jane out of the painful memory.
"No. It's alright. I'm just surprised at the news. That is all." she said with a forced smile as she walked back into the market. Was she surprised? He had spent hours with her. Her body was still covered with the cuts and bruises he gave her. Jane still drank some Milk of Poppy. At least physically she looked better than the day after it happened. But Ramsay left...why the fuck would he give orders that she couldn't leave. Jane couldn't even remember if he told her anything when he left. She was barely conscious when he did. All she did know is that killing her was not on his list of things to do.
"Just FUCKING kill me!" she finally screamed at him. How long had he been fucking with her? 3 hours? And yes she did mean fucking with her. Ramsay switched from fucking her to using the knife to using any other thing he pleased before fucking her in a new position. Ramsay refused to let her faint. That's why he kept switching on her and when that didn't work he slapped her. Hard.
"Kill you? No...I don't think so, Jennifer...maybe a hunt. But kill...no. You just need a little reminder of what you are."
"Then what the fuck am I!?"
"Jane!" she turned her head at the sound of Talia's voice. Ah Talia. She was lady, but always nice and kind. She always came to the kitchen and had the habit of tasting the food before it was ready. Talia was smiling. Which was something that was actually nice to see given the circumstance. It wasn't hard to hear her hard sobbing in the castle at night. After all...she lost a twin. It must have be like using half of yourself. But at least now she was smiling. "Rodrik's back!"
"Rodrik?" Jane said rather surprised. This was rather surprising news...as he was supposed to be dead. She had met the oldest Forrester only once or twice before he left for the war. Oh yes...she had been here longer than a year and Ramsay had figured that out very quickly.
"Can you bring up of your bread to him? I know he'd enjoy it!"
"Slow down Talia. You're about to burst." Jane said. Talia was such full of life and rightly so. She had just gotten her older brother back. Not her twin...but it was something. Family. Getting something back when everything seemed to fall apart...it must feel like a gift from the gods. "It'll take some time...But yeah...I can."
It was nightfall by the time she had made her way to Rodrik's room with a large loaf of bread. Frankly baking the bread was a nice way to get her mind off Ramsay and her…'escape' plan. Well, failed escape plan. If a Bolton ordered that she couldn't leave, no bribe or blackmail would make anyone go against a Bolton. He was awake but looked...well rather like shit. His face was scared and he hadn't even been washed yet. But he wasn't dead. That was the good thing wasn't it? That he wasn't dead. She put the bread by his bed, hoping not to wake the new lord, but fate had a different idea.
"Thank you." The words were simple, but he said them and that was more than enough to lift anyone's day. For someone like him to thank someone like her...yeah, it was special...made him special.
"No need to thank me, my lord. It seems the gods have not forsaken us with returning you back here." That sounded much more cheesy than she intended. She sounded like the damn Maester. "You know what I mean."
"That I do. It's good to see you."
"As you, my lord." She gave him a curtsy before walking towards the door. There was something that made her stop from exiting the room. Perhaps it was Rodrik's kindness. He had to be in great pain. "...May I draw you a bath."
"That is not your job, Jane...but I appreciate the thought." Ah. Rejection. He was right though. It wasn't her job to draw baths, clean halls or anything like that. Her job was to cook the sweets, bread and anything else. The only reason she even knew the family a bit was because of Talia's coming down to the kitchen and delivering some food. It also did help that she was right between the ages of Talia and Rodrik. Rodrik was at least 25. She was probably closer in age to…
"Say it." He taunted. Jane grimaced as he used the tree for support. Her back was marred in scratches from the bark. That didn't stop him though. Ramsay almost gleemed gleeful over the state she was in. Jane was exhausted. Absolutely exhausted and it showed. It showed in the most complex and simple ways. The simple way? How her limbs were actually using him for full support or how he had to coax her to talk. When Jane didn't answer he just laughed. "We're going to have to work on that pain tolerance of yours. It's been tiresome going easy on you."
Her eyes wandered up towards him. They were mostly dead, but he had got her attention. No words, just looks and grunts. But, she didn't need them and neither did he to know what it meant. Ramsay just looked down at her with the biggest smile. "Don't look so surprised Jennifer. I couldn't have you fainting on me could I? What fun would that be?"
Jane let out a grunt of pain as quickened his speed on her. Concious. He wanted her to be conscious so he held back? Fucking….bastard. Jane could remember relling obscenities at him at first. He broke her down bit by bit. Each bit of pain and each taunt broke her down till she finally snapped. She was sure it'd be the end. He'd kill her. He'd definitely kill her for that. But no...Ramsay just had his smile and said 'finally'. Finally. "Say it. Who is your lord?"
"R-"
"Rain...of course it would rain." Jane snapped her head to the woman standing beside her in the kitchen. The funeral had been yesterday. It was a nice funeral too. But that was yesterday...the same day she talked to Rodrik for a bit. Ana...that was her name. Ana was new to the kitchen. An apprentice. 12? No too young. 13? Yes. 13 maybe 14. She was talking about the Miller's boy last week.
"Rain helps the trees grow." Jane responded.
"But Tom was going to take me on a walk." Ana whined. She was pretty girl. Blond hair in a bun. Blue eyes bright as the sky itself. Her mother was a nice lady as well. Plump with child though. This would be Ana's 5th sibling. It was no secret that the family was praying for a boy.
"There's always tomorrow. Ana. The world's not going to end tomorrow. Just relax."
"But he was going to make sure the Whitehills weren't going to bother us." she whined more. Jane would give her a comment about she was being a teenager, but...she wasn't wrong. The whitehills were become more than a problem. A menace was probably a better term. They hadn't improved their behavior from the little party they had. Sure Rodrik had them kicked out of the Great Hall...at least until bloody Gryff Whitehill arrived. He was assertive and an ass to put on top of that. An unpleasant mixture. But it was his right hand man that bothered Jane. He was the goddamn muscle and if Griff wanted something, that damn man made it so. How the Miller's boy was going make sure they weren't bothered was a question onto it's own. Bribery maybe?
"Tell you what. I give you the day off if you can finish this batch of bread on your own." Ana still groaned at her. Such a spoiled child. It was clear that she didn't even WANT to do this for a living...well for the rest of her life. No, Ana was more the housewife type...then again everyone usually was. Find a husband and you will be set. Even /her/ mother told her this.
"I can't do it like you do, Jane!"
"And that's why you're the apprentice here. But you won't get better if you don't work at it.
"But no one makes it like you do. Not even the senior baker does." Ana pouted. At this Jane just smiled. She was right...and that was a fact she was proud of.
"Maybe day I'll tell my secret…."
Ramsay Snow sat in Dreadfort sipping some wine. The trip had not been a total waste. He got to both fuck and kill someone. Not a bad trip indeed. Even flay someone on the way. Still, it was not someplace he wished to visit again. Not even for that bitch. Much too bright for his tastes. The north was supposed to be cold and bitter….not….that. The only upside that it had a woods. He couldn't help but smirk at the thought of her trying to leave that damn place. A secret like that is not something you'd want to get out. And if he did ever have to go back to that shithole at least he would be guaranteed entertainment. But now onto more important matters like waiting for his father to return from wherever the fuck he went to. In the meantime...there were a thousand things to do, including Myranda. His grey eyes look up at Reek. The poor servant seemed to be shivering. Hm. Maybe that's what not having a dick does to a man. Makes them shiver all day long. He tossed Reek his messenger bag. Reek didn't seem to know what to do with it. Poor boy. "Eat."
And Reek for once didn't act as dumb as he was and actually opened to see some bread. It would be stale, dry and maybe even molded if Ramsay was lucky. Still Reek ate it and said something that did surprise him.
"Theon missed Sera's bread."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing! Reek said nothing! Reek did not-" Ramsay was already up and Reek could not stop rambleing. Fucking idiot. Ramsay grabbed the back of the boy's neck forcing him to look him in the eye.
"Reek did forget, didn't he?"
"Didn't mean to…"
"Now why would Reek forget?"
"Bread...Sera's bread is the best."
"And who the fuck is Sera?"
"Sera...the baker in Winterfell. Would know her bread anywhere." At those words Ramsay just smirked. The fucking bitch was a better liar than he thought.
