When the sun rose they were on the move. Theon kept his mouth shut and stayed close to his sister, running the best he could with them. He understood the stakes, if they got caught it would be death for them, and for all the men that supported his sister.

They made it without incidence, and he worked hard to do what he knew he was supposed to. He stayed in line, he helped everyone climb up, and once they were on the ship he slid into place along with the other men without Yara telling him too, he remembered her words about him not working.

He didn't think she noticed but as he was pulling the rope, getting ready to set sail, she passed by him, her hand dropping to his shoulder for a moment with a squeeze. He glanced at her quickly, hoping for a smile, but she was already moving past him and yelling for everyone to move faster.

Fading away into the background is exactly what he had wanted to do, but it left him feeling alone. He pushed it down, reminding himself that however thin it may have been his orders had been to work, to pull his weight, and he would do that.

Theon had planned on taking a cot anywhere he could, finding somewhere to curl up when it came time to bed down, or the floor even, it didn't really matter. He could sleep anywhere. It had surprised him when he tried to slink away to do just that, that Yara had grabbed his arm and brought him with her to the captain's quarters.

It didn't feel right and he stayed pressed against the wall, his arms wrapped tight around himself while he kept his eyes on the floor.

"Theon?"

"Let me go sleep somewhere else." He cringed at his words and nearly whimpered out, "I'm sorry, please. Please let me."

"You're safer with me."

He hadn't realized he wasn't safe on the ship, and he peeked up at her trying to understand what she meant. "I don't belong in here, I should be out on the floor somewhere..."

"You can sleep on the floor in here if you want, but I want you nearby. My men..." Her voice hardened, and a note of mocking slipped into it if only to break up the tension, "By morning I'd hate to find out someone had taken you as their saltwife."

Theon didn't know if she was serious, if that was really something he had to worry about and he tried to keep his sniffling down, he knew it would only bring more mocking words. He wouldn't share the bed with her, not if she didn't make him. He edged closer and she kicked a blanket at him, "Curl up on the floor then, if that is what you want. I don't care."

He reached out to take the blanket, not looking at her as he headed towards the corner of the room and sunk down to the floor, wrapping the blanket around himself. He wasn't Yara's pet, she didn't want to be his master. He wasn't one of the men, not sleeping in here on the captain's floor. He didn't belong anywhere here.

Things went smoothly as they sailed, and the days went by without seemingly any pursuit from their uncle. They headed North, though she still wasn't sure exactly where they were going. They were traveling dangerously close to enemy territory, but Yara wasn't worried. They never looked to the sea for enemies.

After another uneventful day, one where her nerves were wearing thin because honestly she wasn't sure what they were going to do she had looked forward to retiring to her quarters and getting some sleep. Trying to talk with her brother was useless, the longer they sailed the worse he seemed to be, and maybe the salt was gone from his blood. She fell asleep with an eye on him, curled up in the corner where he always slept, and the weight of the fate of her men on her mind.

Yara wasn't sure what had woken her, but something had. She sat up, struggling to see in the dark and finally her vision focused on the form near the door, and she recognized him instantly.

"Theon, what are you doing up?"

It looked like he was moving, shaking, but a torch from the hallway was the only illumination and it was hard to tell. She heard the words though, "Not Theon... Reek. My name is Reek." His voice sounded clearer, more confident, than it had since he arrived home, but the sleep wasn't clearing enough for her to understand.

Her brother still slid back sometimes but nothing had happened that should have made him do that. He knew better than to call himself that and a sinking feeling hit her stomach. "Theon, what is going on?"

She could hear it now, from far off there was yelling and screams and she was out of bed on her feet before she thought about it, grabbing him by the shoulders. "What have you done?"

There was only a flicker of light but Theon looked up at her, and she could feel the trembling in his body from where she touched him and his eyes were terrified, but he answered her. "Master is here."

By the time the words registered she realized there was a shadow moving in to the doorway, and she went for her weapon by her bed but it was too late. Two men grabbed her and dragged her forward and now with the door fully open there was enough light to see and there he stood. She remembered him from when she had tried to rescue her brother, and she put every ounce of rage she had into the glare she focused on him.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her brother move towards him, Ramsay's hand going out automatically to pull him close, rubbing a hand through his hair like his favorite dog, and she felt her blood boil. "Don't touch him!"

"Don't touch him? He's mine. I can do whatever I want with him." The words were sharp, angry, and Theon's whimper was almost drowned out by them. Ramsay nodded to the men, "Bringing her up top on deck with her men. Clearly a lesson needs to be learned."

They dragged her out screaming until it was only Theon and Ramsay and he couldn't stop shaking, knew that tears were pouring down his face. The hand that had been gently petting his hair suddenly fisted it hard, yanking his head back. "You ran away. You are not a loyal Reek. You are not a good Reek."

"Please master, please, m'sorry." The sobs ripped at his throat and he dropped to his knees, sure that his master was going to rip out large chunks of his hair until he relented and let him slip to the ground. Once he was there he pressed forward, nuzzling against Ramsay's leg, trying to wrap himself around him.

This was home. The emptiness that had been all he felt since he had escaped was filled and when Ramsay's other hand came into his vision he pressed kisses to his palm, licking it frantically, trying to show how sorry he was.

"You left me Reek. You weren't supposed to ever leave me."

He would never mention it, never say anything, but the hurt in Ramsay's voice was clear. He wailed, beyond him how to fix this. The hand in his hair fell away completely as he dropped down lower to lick Ramsay's boots, the tears falling down his face spilling freely on them. "Please master, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll do anything."

Ramsay leaned down to grab him by the hair and pull him up, continuing to pull until he shakily climbed to his feet, nerves making him stumble against his master. Ramsay's hand went to his neck and he hesitated, but then wrapped his fingers around the collar there. His voice dropped, he probably hadn't been able to see it in the dark, but he could feel it. "You still have your collar on."

Frantically he nodded, "Yes master, I wouldn't let her take it off. I'm Reek, Ramsay's reek. Always."

Ramsay fingers dragged across the collar for a moment longer and his touch gentled, "My stupid simple pet." He gave him a tug forward by the collar. "Let's go see what your iron island soldiers have managed to do up there, and then we will talk about your disobedience."

Normally Ramsay would have simply gone ahead of him, expecting him to follow, but an arm slid around his shoulders instead, pulling him close enough that he was flush against Ramsay, and he tried to push further in to him, wishing he could hide under that arm. Hide against Ramsay and never have to make any decision again, never have to disappoint anyone again.

On the deck it was lighter by the moon and Reek realized that Ramsay looked a little pale, probably not used to being on a boat, and he hesitantly slid an arm around his waist, trying to help steady him. Ramsay shot him a sharp look, a look that had the ability to cut him as deeply as any knife, but when he seemed to realize what Reek was doing he looked back towards the others waiting for them.

Theon only had eyes for Ramsay though, and when they came to a stop even though he heard his name, no, he heard the other name, he stayed curled against Ramsay's side, looking at him. The hand slid to his hair again, grabbing it painfully, "Get on your knees, pet."

He slid to his knees next to Ramsay, leaning heavily against his legs once he was sure that he was allowed to. The hand stayed in his hair, twisting painfully and turning his head to look at the iron soldiers kneeling on the deck. His sister was looking at him, trying to get his attention and he wanted to look away but Ramsay's hand held him still.

"Theon!"

He cringed at his name as Ramsay's grip tightened. "That isn't his name. Maybe you are as dumb as he is."

"His name is Theon Greyjoy." Yara's eyes left Theon's to look up at Ramsay and she spit on the ground in front of him. "And you can go fuck yourself, bastard."

Ramsay was grinning at her, "I understand why you think he is Theon. He is very good at pretending when he is told to. Did you tell him too?"

Yara's gaze wavered for a just a moment as she glanced at Theon, unsure, but turned the glare back to Ramsay. "What do you want?"

"Ah. You did." He nodded like she had just told him a secret, "He has pretended to be Theon Greyjoy for me before as well." Ramsay let go of Theon's hair to touch his chin and tilt his face up to look at him, "Did you tell her how you pretended?"

Shame curled in his stomach, but it was only an echo of what it used to be. No, he hadn't told his sister how he betrayed them, not all of it. "No, master."

Glee lit up Ramsay's face, that pull of his lips that wasn't a smile, that didn't always mean he was happy and Theon hunched his shoulders. "Why don't you tell her pet?"

He licked his lips, "Reek-"

"No, look at her." When he was slow to do it rough fingers grabbed his jaw and jerked his head towards her. "Apologies, Reek. You know how it works."

He opened his mouth to speak, Yara staring at him like he disgusted her. Slow though, he was slow but that made me realize something and even though he had been ordered to look at her he fought against the grip to look up at Ramsay. Ramsay looked surprised, and Theon rushed to speak before the smile slid off his face. He met his eyes and squeaked out, "I'm sorry I left you master."

The smile on Ramsay's face softened for a moment before it hardened and he yanked Theon's face back to Yara. "You're already facing punishment Reek, don't make it worse."

He was sure he had earned at least another flaying but it had been worth it if it pleased his master. "Reek pretended to be Theon Greyjoy at Moat Cailin."

Yara had been glaring at Ramsay but her attention jerked to Theon, stunned. "What?"

"M-Master told me to bring him Moat Cailin. Reek..." He trailed off while his sister stared at him in shock.

"You what?" Her words shook with anger, with scorn and Theon leaned in closer to Ramsay.

"Reek convinced them to surrender the castle and told them they would be spared."

He wanted to look away, the way that Yara was looking at him there was no coming back from but he knew what Ramsay wanted, "I told them I was their prince and they could trust me."

Ramsay laughed, startling them both. "Yes. Perhaps they could have trusted Theon Greyjoy, just as you could have, but sadly, that isn't who he is, is it pet?"

"No master."

"And who are you?"

He wasn't looking up but he knew that Ramsay was looking at his sister, smug and victorious, "I'm Reek. Always. Forever."

"Traitor." She hissed out the word and if she thought it would upset Theon, that it would sting him, she was wrong. He was too far gone for that.

Ramsay only made a tsking sound though, "He belongs to me, how could he betray you? He betrayed me when he left..." His hair was fisted suddenly so he was looking up at Ramsay, "How should I punish you for that? I could remove your feet, you wouldn't make it very far then, would you?"

Fear wound up in Theon at that, a finger... a toe... those he could get along without, however slowly or painfully. The thought of his feet being gone though, he knew that tears were welling up in his eyes at that. Ramsay saw it, of course he did, and reached out to wipe away one of the tears, "Or maybe I will just take your eyes. You wouldn't be able to make it far and you'd still be able to perform your duties, wouldn't you?"

The background noise of his sister and her men shouting curses, threats fell away and he muttered out, "Whatever pleases you master."

"Don't worry pet, I wouldn't take your eyes. They are too pretty, too pretty to be in a little wretch's face like yours." His hand let go of his hair to stroke it, "We'll discuss it later pet, after I decide how much you have to make up for."

For the first time Ramsay turned his attention to something other than his pet. "Where is the soldier that Euron said would be on board?"

"Here, Lord Bolton." Yara's head spun to the side to see Cayle move into view, moving past the Bolton soldiers until he stood in front of Ramsay. "Euron sends his regards, and looks forward to his alliance with you."

"Yes, of course." Ramsay waved his hand and suddenly his men grabbed Cayle and dragged him to the side of the boat.

The man's eyes went wide, "We are on the same side."

"Your iron island king," the scorn was clear in the word, "is delusional if he thinks that he and his army will do anything other than die at my hand." Ramsay laughed as his men produced a knife and slit Cayle's throat, letting him fall over board. Everyone watched for a moment before Ramsay looked back to Yara. "You're welcome for that. See? I'm not all bad, I killed a traitor for you."

"Go fuck yourself."

"Why would I do that when I have Reek for that?" Yara immediately looked enraged by that and gave away a sore spot. Ramsay pet Theon's hair, "I could have him suck my cock right here in front of all of you if it would prove the point to you, he would. He'd do anything I tell him to, because he's mine."

"When I get out of here, you'll regret this bastard. You can't keep us all prisoner forever, and I'll make you pay for everything you have done."

A small voice inside Theon recognized that she was talking about what had been done to him, that even now while she stared at him like she hated him, like she might kill him herself given the chance, she still wanted vengeance for him. Or maybe not for him, for the brother she had. Theon was dead though, and all that was left was Reek.

Ramsay must have picked up on it as well because he glanced down, an amused smirk on his face. "You are still going to avenge your brother, yes? You realize that you tried that once and it didn't work, he chose me." He had pulled out the knife on his hip, almost distracted by the pitiful sound Reek made next to him but he pushed on.

"Watch bitch, and understand that you lost." He turned towards Reek and though his pet cringed away he only pressed the knife into his hands, forcing his hands awkwardly around the hilt before he moved away, standing between Reek and Yara.

He motioned his men farther away and met Yara's eyes. "There you go. He's at my unprotected back, holding a knife, maybe you can convince him to use it?"

She didn't take the bait. Her eyes slid to her brother, kneeling there with the knife in his hands resting on the floor between his knees, still staring up at Ramsay, and she recognized the look. It was just as she had told him, like he was staring at his God and she knew it was a useless endeavor. She wouldn't give Ramsay the satisfaction. He looked back to Ramsay with her mouth set.

"No? Well, at least we are on the same page." He stepped back and took the knife from Reek, ruffling his hair as he did so. "But you should know, I have no intentions of taking prisoners. I've already got plenty of those and no room. I could keep you though, take you back with me to winterfell, maybe we could play a few games."

"I'd rather die."

"Yes, you probably would." He looked down at his pet, "What do you think Reek, should we kill her now or bring her back to play a game with her?"

Theon looked to Yara, and met her eyes, and for a second there was something there. An apology maybe. A warning. He looked back to Ramsay's shoes. "Whatever would please master."

"Look at me Reek."

He looked up at met Ramsay's eyes, and managed to not flinch. He shouldn't be afraid of his master, not if he was being a good reek. He had been bad, very bad, but not anymore. He was good Reek, loyal reek. "Do you think I should kill them?"

He bit his lip but didn't look away and finally forced out the words, "Yes master, if it will please you."

"You heard him." He motioned to his men and they advanced on the kneeling men, the sounds of resistance breaking out.

Ramsay grabbed his head and he was sure he would be forced to watch Yara killed but instead his face was turned in against Ramsay, pressing in against his hip. "Hush pet, you don't have to watch this."

He huddled against Ramsay, listening to the screams, and it was easy to pick out Yara's since she was the only female. Ramsay's hand stayed on his head, petting his hair, while he made a soothing sound but it wasn't necessary. It was beyond what he could do, and simply knowing that Yara would meet her death and not be brought back with them, that she wouldn't be subjected to Ramsay's games, was enough to calm him. There were fates worth that death, he was intimately familiar with them, and he was sure Yara had seen it in his eyes when he looked at her. A quick death now was a gift, the last one he'd ever be able to give his sister.

It seemed to take a long time, and when Ramsay moved away from him he tried to follow but he was pressed to the ground and told to stay there. There was more screaming, the kind that comes when someone is losing skin, but he covered his head to block it out, repeating his rhymes over and over to himself so he wouldn't forget. Not ever again.

"Come along, pet." When he was pulled to his feet by Ramsay he wasn't startled, only pressed against him, and even the thought of the punishment that awaited him couldn't dissuade him from being happy he was back with his master.

He nuzzled against the hand by his face, licked it when it stayed there and managed to mumble out, "Can we go home now, master?"

He could feel Ramsay grin against him, even as the hands on him tightened painfully, hard enough to bruise. "Always pet. You'll always come back home, won't you?"

Theon nodded, unable to avoid glancing at the blood and bodies as they moved towards the side of the ship. He could make out Yara's body and he felt nothing. There was nothing for him to run to, nothing else out there for him, all that he had left was Ramsay. "Yes master, Reek will always come home."