For disclaimer see chapter 1.

A/N: Ok guys, I was worried that the first version of this chapter scared people off as I got no reviews and the traffic on this story dropped greatly. So I rewrote some of it. Please don't give up on my story. If you don't like it, review why you don't. If you don't, I will never get better.

The halls of Winterfell were dark, except for the shadows from the torches, when Sansa was returning from the feast. She let out a loud yawn and rubbed her eyes. She was drop dead tired and was late for a date with her pillow.

She rounded the corner and continued on her way. Suddenly, Sansa tripped over something in the middle of the hallway. She felt her body hit the stone floor hard and it made an awful sound. Holding her head, Sansa sat up slowly. Pain flooded her and she thought her head was going to explode.

The door to her left opened a moment later. Robb came out into the hallway and helped his sister up. "Are you alright?" Concern was written all over his face.

"I think so..." Sansa trailed off, looking for whatever tripped her. Her eyes became wide when the outline of a human body came into sight.

Robb pushed her to the side, up against the wall. He didn't want his sister in harms way. Leaning down next to the body, Robb could see it was clearly female. He flipped her over slowly, being careful not to jerk her.

Her face was horribly bruised. Blood caked her face, hair and clothes. It was obvious someone wanted to hurt her to the point that they almost killed her. "Isn't that Arya's maid?" Sansa asked.

Robb looked closer and realized that his sister was right. It was Alia. "Daeryssa!" He yelled.

Daeryssa came out of the same room Robb did. Sansa heard her gasp as she saw the scene in front of her. "She must have tried to get away," Daeryssa gulped, trying to keep down her dinner. "She wasn't here when we came to bed, so it must not have happened here or we would have heard it."

Robb nodded in agreement as he checked for a pulse. It took a moment to find, but when he did, he could barely feel it. "Go get Master Luwin," Robb told his wife. "Then find my father. He has to know about this."

Daeryssa nodded and took off down the hall. Robb picked Alia up and took her into his room. Sansa followed, unable to look away from the scene. It was disgusting, but at the same time she couldn't look away. Robb set her down on the bed and looked at Sansa. "You may want to get Jon."

000

Hours passed and the night turned into morning. Most of the Starks had been up all night. Robb was seated on the floor against the opposite side of the hall from where his room was. Daeryssa was curled up on his lap, finally asleep. Ned Stark was leaning against the wall to his son's left. Next to him, Arya sat poking at the floor with her shoe, trying to pull up the stone floor. The fear they had for Alia, for Jon was passing between them like the oxygen in the air.

Jon had been pacing all night. Master Luwin had kicked him out of the room hours ago and he had been restless ever since. He felt like a horse kept kicking him in the chest. He couldn't breath. The thought of losing Alia was too much. He wanted to rip Winterfell apart until he found the person who did this to her. He wanted that person to feel pain until the very moment they departed from the world of the living.

Finally, the door opened and Catelyn came out. She looked tired and her hair was a mess. "She will live."

Jon finally let the breath out that he had been holding since he was kicked out of the room. He was about to ask about Alia, before his father spoke over him, "Does she remember anything?"

"She isn't conscious yet," Catelyn told him. "There is no telling what she will remember when she does. She had terrible blows to her head. Three of her ribs, two of her fingers, and her right arm were broken. She fought back Ned."

Jon felt hate fill him up again. He wanted to kill whoever did this. "If that is all, why did it take so long before I could see her?"

Catelyn glared at him as Master Luwin joined them in the hall. "We were trying to save her life" she spat at him.

Jon was stunned. He couldn't speak and he felt numb. Alia had been there for him as long as he could remember. When he got hurt, she dragged him to Master Luwin and stayed by his side until he was released. He didn't do that for her.

"How long will her recovery be?" Ned asked. He was just as worried as his son. Injuries of this sort took months to overcome. Ned had seen it first hand when he was still fighting alongside Robert.

"It will take weeks for her bones to heal," Master Luwin answered. "The gash on her head may take a month to heal, longer if it should get infected."

Jon pushed passed his stepmother and into the room. He had to see Alia. This all felt like a horrible dream and he prayed every step that he would wake up and Alia would be asleep next to him, perfectly safe. Those prayers and thoughts vanished very quickly as he laid eyes on her.

Alia lay as stiff as a dead body. Her beautiful blue eyes were hidden under her closed eyelids. Bruises and gashes tainted her beautiful face. As his eyes traveled down he saw the purple flesh of her right arm that was in a sling, lying against her chest. The blood sheets had been stained, no doubt from her head wound which had been stitched.

Jon fell on his knees by the side of the bed and laid his head on her stomach. "I'm so sorry...Alia...I should have been there...I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE TO PROTECT YOU!"

Arya buried her head in her father's cloak. She felt his hand pet her hair gently as the tears started flowing. Arya was afraid for her maid's life. The maid had always been there for her, even when she was trying to be difficult.

Jon got onto the bed, next to the woman who would be his wife. He gently pulled Alia over to him and held her against his chest. All he wanted was for her to wake up. He didn't care if she remembered. He just wanted her, safe and with him again

000

Sounds of a door slamming filled the suite that was given to the Stonehouses. A young black haired girl came stomping into the living quarters. She saw a slightly older woman on the lounger, reading. Anne looked up from her book to see her sister in law; Janyce came storming over to her. "Where is my brother?"

"Sleeping or at least he was before you came storming in," Anne sneered, before going back to her book.

"Alia was beaten last night," Janyce spat out at her.

"So?" Anne didn't look back up. "She is a bastard, why should we care?"

"BECAUSE SHE IS OUR SISTER!"

"No dear sister," Rodrik came out of his bed chamber, in just his trousers. "She is not our sister. She is a product of our father's infidelity."

Janyce couldn't even look at her brother. It was happening again. She feared for Alia even more now. Their father wasn't here to ensure her safety any longer. Rodrik's hatred of Alia had been unleashed and she was lucky to be alive. "You hit her again, didn't you?"

"What proof do you have to prove that I did?" Rodrik touched his sister's face.

"That is why she left home...I saw the bruises and I heard her begging for you to-"

Rodrik grabbed his sister by the throat, cutting off her air. "If you ever breathe a word of this to anyone, it will be the last time you ever breathe again! Do you understand?"

Janyce nodded and he released her. She fell to the floor coughing. Rodrik didn't miss her moving away from him as she recovered and it made him chuckle. The fear running through her eyes wasn't lost on him.

"We will go to the meeting Lord Stark called and you will both keep your fucking mouths shut," Rodrik ordered.

"Yes husband," Anne agreed.

Janyce stayed silent from her place on the floor. Rodrik gave her a moment to answer. "Do you understand Janyce?"

"Yes...Brother..." Janyce whispered.

Rodrik nodded. "Now get cleaned up, the both of you."

000

Winterfell's main hall was silent, even though it was packed by almost everyone who had access to the castle. Word had traveled around about Alia's attack rather quickly and everyone knew about it. Ned Stark stood from his seat and cleared his throat.

"Last night, there was a brutal attack on Alia Stone, a maid to my daughter Arya and the fiance of Jon Snow," Ned's voice was dark and it bounced off the stone walls of the hall like a gunshot. "If anyone has information on the attack, I invite you to speak now. If you say nothing and we uncover any involvement in this plot by anyone here, the consequences will be severe."

The hall was silent except for the sounds of snow from outside. Ned Stark's eyes seemed to look at everyone in the hall, looking right through them into their souls. The silence was very uncomfortable.

Rodrik looked at his young sister, who was standing next to his wife. He was sure she would do something stupid before this was all over. For some reason he could not understand, she wanted to protect their bastard sister. He was sure she would turn him in if she was given the chance.

Janyce could feel her brother's eyes on her, almost like a warning. She knew if she betrayed him, there was a good chance she would never see the next morning. After gulping to keep the truth from escaping her lips, Janyce stayed silent.

Lord Stark gave everyone in the hall a moment to reconsider their choice before sighing. "An investigation will take place over the next few weeks. You will all be questions and your rooms may be searched if it is deemed necessary."

Rodrik watched Ned Stark step down from his throne and walk into a hall that led to here Alia was. He couldn't help but smirk to himself. He knew that even if Alia awoke and remembered everything that happened, she would never tell the Starks what truly happened. That bastard is mine, and she knows it.

AN: Ok so it is getting a little dark here now. I wanted to take the time to thank my reviewers. Tomking asked about the Jon/OC/OC. No, Jon and Daeryssa do not fall in love. The OC for that love triangle will be later on. I also wanted to add that I will be putting up a poll and OC pictures on my profile so check that out. Ok guys! Review please and I will see you next time!

A/N2: Ok so this is the redone version. PLEASE REVIEW! I hate begging for reviews but it is the only way I know people are actually reading this story. I love what I have in store for this story and I think you guys will to. So please review and keep this story alive.