Warning: Triggering content ahead

Song: The Way by Zach Hemsey

Fianna had been sound asleep, finally catching up on the hours of sleep she lost when they were riding.

Her slumber didn't last long, of course, when the dark figure entered her tent.

He had slit the ties that enclosed the flaps to her tent by shimmying his dagger up from the bottom and cutting through them, sawing at it with his blade.

The man had seen her hound shoot towards the woods minutes before, probably for a hunt. He knew this was his only chance to catch her without the dog's protection - while she was asleep and without her armour she would be particularly vulnerable.

She lay there peacefully, her long, dark hair fanned out behind her and a hand resting over her stomach.

He almost licked his lips at the sight of her. He had heard stories of her beauty throughout the camp, but finding her was like a needle in a haystack. The sheer size of the camp meant it was hard to find anyone, let alone a Lady who rode with the Lords.

He was a simple foot soldier, who had no business being any where close to where she was positioned.

Yet when he finally laid eyes on her some three days ago, he knew he had to have her.

The worst thing was, the man knew well he could get away with it. There were almost 20,000 in this camp and it was dark inside her tent, save for the slight leaking of bright moonlight through the fabric of the walls and roof enclosing around her. Any features she'd be able to identify about him could be said for dozens, if not hundreds, across the camp.

She would be ruined forever, but he'd have his fix. That was all that mattered to him. The man was driven by his sexual desires, and when he hadn't the money or access to a whorehouse, he would take what he wanted from whoever he wanted it from.

He loomed over her now, debating on what to do first. Bind her? Cover her mouth to hold back her screams? Or just get right to it?

Maybe if she woke up to it, she'd be in such a daze from her sleep she'd actually be into it. Maybe she'd be into it none the less. He didn't think himself too ugly, his figure was lean and he was only 25 years of age.

He had been debating over his actions too long, lost in his own sick fantasies because she had stirred in her sleep - feeling the sensation of eyes on her.

Her eyelids fluttered open to reveal her grey orbs. Her eyes opened widely, an expression that made her look so innocent it almost drove him insane.

They widened even further as her eyes focused on the figure above her, opening her mouth and preparing to scream when he shot his hand out and covered her mouth tightly, catching her wails in his palm.

Fianna's natural instincts kicked in, her limbs shooting out to fight against him immediately. She let out small grunts as she hit his body with her fists relentlessly. He put a stop to it when he grabbed both her wrists together in his free, clammy hand, shifting to move his entire body to cover hers. The weight of his body pressed down on her and she was unable to move. She wriggled violently in his hold, starting to sob underneath his hand, which only drove his desires even more.

While he loved to see her whimper beneath him, he knew he couldn't escape having to bind her and gag her. Which would be difficult to do with her fighting back so hard. He didn't mind though, he loved a challenge and he knew she would give him one.

With her mouth covered, she screamed internally. Fianna hoped the mental bond between her and Chroi would bring him to save her, or Robb, or even bloody Greatjon Umber. Anyone.

She closed her eyes and desperately tried to think of a way out of this. She thrashed her head back against the pillow, bringing it forward and throwing it back again and again. She repeated this until his hand slipped down slightly from her mouth, that was all she needed. Opening her mouth wide and stretching her upper lip over his hand, she bit down hard on the side of his palm until the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

He grunted in pain, lifting his hand off her mouth. Now he was pissed off. His face reddened with his anger, sputtering as he wrapped his hand around her neck instead, cutting off her air supply to silence her that way.

She would still be a body to him if she was dead.

Panic shot through her instantly, the very real possibility of death nipping at her heels. Her panicking only restricted her chest even more.

She used the concentration he had on choking her against him, managing to wriggle her right hand out of his grip on her wrists. She balled her hand into a fist, lifted it into the air and landed a solid right punch to his jawline, sending him flailing to the side with a shout.

She coughed violently as the air filled her lungs, the dark spots that appeared in her vision starting to disappear. Taking no time at all to catch her breath, she let out a blood curdling scream so loud it was sure to be heard at the Wall.

He looked back up at her with a furious look on his face, instantly reaching for his dagger from a sheath on his calf and gripping it. Fianna scrambled backwards on her bed, keeping her eyes fixed on the man and trying to determine his next move.

He was slowly inching towards her, his dagger angled at her body. Her eyes scanned it quickly before an idea struck her. She was acting on basic instinct now, the fear of the situation had thrown away all of her thoughts and memories of battle training. She relied on her muscle memory.

Fianna inched her hands downwards slowly, still not taking her eyes from him and dug her fingers into the once comforting furs of her bed. She waited until he moved again, before she lunged towards him, taking the furs with her. She shoved the furs around his hand that contained the dagger that was about to impale her.

Fianna used the momentum of her jump to knock him over onto the floor, ensuring the knife was covered by the furs. She straddled him now, a sight he had hoped to see when he entered, yet in a different manner entirely. Her retaliating and punching him in the face was not something he fantasied of.

She was hitting him in the face again and again until the skin over her small knuckles split open. She felt no pain. Her entire body and her actions were running on pure fear, adrenaline.

While he was in a daze from the hits to his face, she wrestled the furs off his hand and reached for the dagger, ripping it from his grasp. She didn't give herself even a second to think, she just brought down the knife to his chest. Repeatedly. Again and again as splatters of blood shot up and covered her face and her white bedclothes. Until blood spurted out of his mouth. Until she was sure the only colour she'd see for the rest of her days was red.

She didn't stop her dagger from hitting him until her mind was sure he was dead. And when she did, that's when the reality of the situation hit her - she dropped the dagger in horror, scrambling backwards to get off of the dead body until her back hit the wall of the tent.

That was how they found her. Covered in blood, her assailants body on the ground, Fianna with her arms wrapped around her knees.

Ser Mick was the first to enter, his tent being the closest to hers. A few other nearby men flooded into her tent, many were her own - desperate to protect their lady.

"My lady!" Ser Mick gasped, rushing towards her and surveying the scene in front of him. The rest of them were speechless, taking in the view and trying to figure out what happened.

Yet there was no one who could deny what obviously happened. A strange man in Lady Fianna's tent, her blood curdling scream, it didn't take a genius to determine what could have urged her to defend herself to the point she killed a man.

Fianna's chest rose and fell quickly, the wild look on her face would be imprinted on the minds of every man there to witness it. She dropped the dagger in her hand, her hands shook violently.

Lord Robb was the last to arrive, shoving his way through the crowd to reach the centre of the commotion. His breathing almost stopped when he seen her, the little warrior woman. An all consuming surge of anger began to course through him. She was a Lady of her house, here to fight his war and one of the men here for him had attempted to defile her.

He took his cloak off and stepped forward slowly, desperate not to scare the trembling girl, who looked more like a fawn at that moment than a ferocious wolfhound, before he draped it around her shoulders.

He dropped down to a crouch next to her, placing his hand tentatively on her shoulder.

"Fianna? Are you okay?" He murmured in a soothing tone. She finally broke out of her dazed state to look at him, her lower lip shaking.

"He tried to-.. he tried.." she choked out, tears filling her reddened eyes and spilling over to fall down her red splattered cheeks.

"Shh," he hushed her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Come, you can stay in my tent tonight." He stood, encouraging her to stand with the intention of helping her walk but she lifted her hands up and shoved his grip off.

A determined look came across her face, her eyes narrowing and her expression looking deadly all of a sudden. As if she had flipped a switch and was no longer broken.

She stood up, throwing Robb's cloak off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor behind her. Everyone looked on in bewilderment as she bent down and reached for the hair on the head of her attacker.

Fianna gripped his hair tightly between her fingers, and using the leftover adrenaline flowing through her, began to drag the dead body out of her tent as everyone looked on in horror. No one dared to stop her or ask her what she was doing.

When she couldn't keep a firm grip on his hair, she reached for the shoulders of his clothes instead and used that to drag him along, one of her fingernails breaking clean off from her tight grip on his clothes. She didn't even flinch. She didn't even notice.

When she reached the entrance to her tent, there had been a few men standing in her way.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" She screamed at them, instantly sending them veering off in every direction that wasn't hers.

A crowd had gathered outside, curiously looking on and asking each other what was going on. The murmurs in the crowd quietened at the sight of the Lady of Baelfort dragging a dead body from her tent.

Fianna let go of the man and let him slump to the ground, his head hitting the grass harshly. She whipped around to face the crowd as Robb came out of the tent behind her, with the intention of following her. But he stopped to let her do what she needed to do.

They all stared at her, stunned into silence and waiting for her next move.

"This man, right here, tried to attack me!" She began to shout, ensuring everyone there could hear her clearly, a finger pointed at the man. Her voice was hoarse because of her ordeal, but it only made her sound stronger. "Tried to defile me! Tried to rape me! Tried to kill me! And now look at him!" She shouted louder and in a burst of anger, lifted her foot and swiftly swung it into his face.

"If any of you fuckers think that because I am a lady I will lay there and let you do what you like with me, I will not give you a quick death like your fellow foot soldier here! I will tear the limbs from your body one by one and make you watch as I feed it to my hound!" She delivered another swift kick to the body, Robb heard the crack of broken teeth that time, before marching forward into the crowd, everyone instantly separated to let her pass through. Like a boat through a river. "I am the Lady of Baelfort, I am not your whore, I am not beneath you, I am Fianna fucking Bua and I came here to win a fucking war!"

With that, she turned around, fresh tears still glistening on her face yet not a man there would ever think it made her weak again. She marched forward until she reached Lord Stark, who was rendered utterly speechless.

He felt many emotions at that minute- fear, for what could have happened. Horror, that he hadn't even considered men would try to attack a Lady of the North in their own camp. And as much as he hated to admit it, pride. Pride that she truly was a warrior, pride that she had defended herself.

"I'll be needing another tent." She stated to him quietly, her voice even more hoarse from her screaming and shouting. She looked down suddenly to notice the blood coating her hands and bedclothes. It had already began to dry. "A bath too." She added quietly.

"Consider it done, my lady. Come with me to my tent and I will see to it these are fetched for you." He forced out, placing his hand on the middle of her back gently, scared she would shoot off again. Robb turned to Ser Mick who was standing there, staring at his Lady with abject fear.

"See to it that she has a new tent, close to my own. And have someone draw her a bath. I want a guard at her tent at night from now onwards." He commanded, Fianna wasn't listening. She was in a complete daze, her senses dulled.

"I'll guard her tent myself, my lord. Myself and Ser Padraig will see to it this never happens again." Robb nodded in response, turning back to Fianna who now had her eyes closed - exhaustion hitting her as the adrenaline wore off. Using his hand on her back, he led her towards his own tent.

He encouraged Fianna to sit down on his bed by gently pushing her shoulders down, his heart ached as he watched the tears still flow unrelenting down her cheeks. Robb sat next to her, resting his elbows on his knees and looking to her worriedly.

"My lady..." he began, being cut off when she shook her head.

"Please. I don't need formalities right now. It's Fianna."

"Alright, Fianna. Are you okay?" He hesitated before asking, fearful of her reaction which was immediate. All of a sudden her stony composure broke and sobs began to wrack her body, which shook violently. Her cries echoed around the fabric walls of his tent.

"I- I don't know what I was more scared of. Being k-killed or raped. Either one seems pretty horrific. He t-tried to rape me and when I fought back he started to choke me and-" she cut off as cries began to fall from her lips again, her head tilted down. She lifted her hand up to her neck in memory, her fingers brushing over the pain.

"But you fought back, my- Fianna," Robb corrected himself, she didn't need formalities right now. "You fought back and you stopped it. Many women wish they could have had an outcome as fortunate as yours." He placed a hand on her forearm, desperate to soothe her.

She didn't respond to this, not having anything more to say. She surprised him completely when she leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder, desperately seeking comfort from someone. Even if she knew that said someone was on particularly bad terms with her before the incident.

He responded by wrapping his arm firmly around her, holding her trembling form to him.

Robb didn't know how long he held her there, but he was willing to hold her for so much longer until the rustling of his tent flaps caught their attention.

Chroi trotted in, smelling where his master was and going to find her after his hunt. He began to whine when he noticed her distressed state, immediately padding over to her and sniffing at her feet. He lifted up and placed his paws on her knees, so he could get to her tear stained face and lick her cheeks.

Fianna pulled away from Robb, he noticed his side felt cold without her. She bent over, still seated on the bed and wrapped her arms tightly around the hound.

Robb could see the connection they had, it reminded him much of the one he shared with Grey Wind. It was unique to them.

"You can lay down here, Fianna. You need your rest after that ordeal." He placed his hand on her shoulder, standing from the bed.

"Are you leaving?" She looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes, her broken expression breaking his heart.

"No, I was just going to sit over there. I swear it to you, I won't leave you alone tonight." He squeezed her arm comfortingly as she nodded once in response, her eyes following him as he sat down in a chair on the other side of the tent. He was fully intent on watching her all night, if not to ensure her safety, which she had clearly assured herself, to soothe her state of mind.

She lay down in the bed, drawing the furs down and then lifting them over her so they hugged her body warmly. She patted the bed so Chroi would lay with her. He lay down beside her, his warm body moulded against hers as she wrapped her arm around him. Quiet whimpers fell from her lips again and lasted until she cried herself to sleep.

Chroi had been there for her when her father died, comforting her at night, and it seemed fitting now that he would be there when a small part of Fianna died too.


Robb

Robb had been fighting against sleep, desperate to keep his eyes open. He knew he should be resting because tomorrow he would be riding for the Twins. But that was the last thing he thought of now.

When Ser Mick entered the tent, he stood up and walked to him, not wanting to wake Fianna. It had taken over an hour of her cries before she fell asleep.

"My lord, we've set up a tent and a bath is being run for her as we speak." He told Robb with his hands behind his back respectfully.

"Lady Fianna will sleep here tonight. I don't wish to disturb her rest now. Bathing can wait."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, my lord? With respect, the others in the camp may have a thing or two to say about a lady staying in a Lord's tent over night."

"I could care less what any man says tonight. They can approach me and see if they are brave enough to say it then."

Ser Mick nodded, leaving the tent again. Robb sauntered over quietly back to his chair and sat down again.

He began to read through his letters then. Few had been directed to him, few had been from ravens sailing for the Twins that Theon had shot down.

He read them over and over again, with no real strategy behind it. He was just desperate to stay awake and keep a watchful eye over Fianna.

In truth, he didn't know why he was being so protective over her. He had been so angered by her before, and although he hated it to admit, truly hurt by her accusations.

Fianna was a beautiful lady, and he had no doubts she'd make a fine wife, if a Lord could handle his Lady to be as outspoken as he was. But Robb didn't come to this war to find a Lady to marry, every minute of every day he reminded himself he was here to get his father and sisters back. It plagued his thoughts daily.

Yet still, Robb found himself utterly intrigued by her. They only had a handful of conversations since first meeting, yet he was absolutely enthralled by the manner in which she carried herself. The anger, the amusement and the lust she aroused in him.

He was most definitely attracted to her physically, that he couldn't deny, not even to himself.

What worried him most was the fact he was intrigued enough by her to want to know more. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know about her childhood, what Baelfort is like, her likes, her dislikes, what drives her.

She completely insulted him when she suggested he had only intended to bed her. Because although the thought crossed his mind, above all, Robb wanted to get to know the Northern Lady. The she-wolf.

His anger had almost dissipated completely at the council meeting, she was the youngest person in the tent yet when she spoke of a plan she alone had devised, she sounded older than them all. More experienced than them all. Maybe it was in her blood, or maybe Cillian Bua had taught her well.

Robb decided at that moment that he had to know her. Surely he could still fight this war with, if not his lover, his friend?

He didn't care that she so obviously cared for her reputation, he didn't know much of what loneliness felt like but he knew for sure that Fianna Bua was lonely. She had no family, no friends, only a wolfhound for company and a Knight who was obligated to stay with her by oath.

Robb was going to change that.


This was such a hard chapter to write and I debated writing it at all, but I needed to show how vulnerable Fianna was at war in a world like Game of Thrones, her little spectacle was her angry side and also fueled a little by her obsession with not appearing weak.

I hope you liked it! Well, not liked, exactly. It was kinda dark.

Otakugirl1996 – Thank you! I'm so glad you like her character, I hope you enjoyed this chapter x

Jessie – Thank you so much! Fianna's practically obsessed with proving herself, which is quite unfortunate for Robb aha x

L – Aww thank you! I'm glad you see that it's her personality coming into play rather than just a stupid storyline, don't worry they won't be at odds forever! x

Evangeline Carter – I'm so glad that you do! I hope you liked this chapter! x