Theon Greyjoy

"Up you go" Theon had to fight to keep the scowl off his face when Robb helped Elyssia onto the horse he'd saddled for her. He wasn't even sure what it was, but something about finding the two of them hidden away in an isolated corner didn't sit well with him. It made him irate and frustrated, feelings he wasn't accustomed to dealing with.

Elyssia thanked him as she settled on top of the mare Robb had chosen for her. A light gray thing named Lysp. The horse was gentle in temper, but wouldn't startle at the sound of wolves or men.

"Lord Tyrion expects us to be gone all morning...are you sure the two of you won't be missed?" Elyssia said worriedly, her eyes flitting between Theon and Robb.

"If we are, Robb can always hurry back and leave me to escort you home" Theon practically growled as he swung himself onto his horse, swatting away the hands of the stable boy who tried to hand him the reigns.

"Right" Robb sounded concerned as he too mounted the horse in front of him.

"Your bow, my lord" Theon bent to accept the bow another hand offered him, hanging it on his back as he'd been taught. Next came the small quiver he hung over his shoulder, accompanying the one fitted to the saddle.

"My Lady, the Lord Stark requests that you ride with this, if you are to go with only his son and Theon." A guard, one Theon recognized as one of Jory's new recruits, passed a small leather sheath to Elyssia.

"Thank you...but I don't know how to use weapons" She sounded embarrassed.

"He insists, My Lady" The guard recruit gave a short bow to the three of them. "His Grace's presence in Winterfell has drawn all sorts of rabble from the woods. Wildlings and the sort"

"Quiet yourself before you scare her" Robb said sternly, casting a glare at the man.

"My apologies my lord" The man said hurriedly before turning on tail.

"A dagger? What does he take us for. Sniveling squires using wooden play swords" Theon scoffed as soon as the man was out of earshot.

"My father just wants her to be prepared" Robb said, his tone unreadable. "Elyssia. Tie that to the loop of leather in the front."

"Or better yet, find a way to tie it around your waist." Theon countered. "It's better to have your weapon close by"

Theon watched as Elyssia ran her fingers over the simple sheath. She touched it with hesitation, as if she was scared of the blade within. Theon would bet all the gold in Casterly Rock that it would never be used, even if she were attacked. You had to trust the blade to wield it. And Elyssia would trust a Lannister before she'd draw that dagger to defend herself.

"Can we go now?" Elyssia said quietly as she tied the dagger's sheath securely to her saddle. "The sooner we leave the sooner I can stop worrying that one of the Lannisters' is going to sweep in here and find some excuse to take me along with them when they go"

"We'd just come up with a better excuse to keep you" Robb teased, urging his horse forward.

They fell into a casual formation as they left the gates of Winterfell. Robb and Theon each took one side, positioning Elyssia between them. Typically the center spot would belong to Robb, as he held the highest position among them. But neither Robb nor Theon were willing to risk Elyssia riding along the side of the road, where bandits or cutthroats could easily be hiding.

"Is Grey Wind with us today?" Elyssia broke the uncommon silence as they finally lost sight of Winterfell.

"He's around her somewhere" Robb shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh no reason" Elyssia shook her head slightly. "I just like having him around."

"He used to scare you" Theon intervened in their conversation. "You refused to go near him or any of the others for two weeks after we found them"

"That's true" Elyssia turned her pretty blue eyes on him. "But when he came with me to the Godswood I realized he's not as bad as I thought. As long as you're not Robb's enemy, he's gentle"

"I'm glad you're comfortable with him now" Robb smiled at her.

Theon nearly scoffed at the thought of the direwolf being gentle. It was clear the beast didn't take kindly to him, it hardly liked anyone but Robb, And aside from that, Arya's was as vicious as she was and Rickon's rivaled his in wild temper. Theon had yet to find a reason to hate Lady or Bran's pups, but he was sure it'd come along eventually.

"Where are we riding, anyhow?" Elyssia's voice broke him from his train of thought and drew his attention back to her.

"Around I suppose" Robb was focused on the road ahead of them. "I didn't exactly give Lord Tyrion a specific location"

"Riding aimlessly seems tedious" Elyssia mused to herself. "But I've hardly been outside of Winterfell enough to know where we could go"

"It all depends on you" Theon sighed loudly, feigning boredom. "We could ride into the Godswood, down to the village. Maybe even into the forest lands that lie beyond"

"It would be well past noon when we returned if we were to go to the forest though." Robb reminded them. "It's best to stay close by. Especially with the Royal Party visiting."

"Could we go into the village?" Theon hadn't expected that to be her answer, though he hardly would have expected her to choose the godswood. "I've never been to the ones that surround Winterfell...you know...except for the execution."

The three of them fell silent, each turning away from one another. The execution of the craven crow had been heavy on all of them since that day. As far as Theon knew, Robb had refused to speak to his father or Bran about it. And he'd heard from several of the younger servants that Elyssia had woken from nightmares more than once since the incident.

"Elyssia" Theon's voice drew her attention to him as he'd hoped. "I never got the chance to ask...who is the Lady Livia that the old crow was talking about."

Elyssia's eyes widened for a moment. She studied him closely, as if judging him of his worthiness to be in on the secret. "She was my sister"

"I thought you were Lord Alavane's only child" Theon broke in again.

"I said was for a reason" Elyssia snapped. He'd almost forgotten that her tongue was just as sharp as Grey Wind's bite.

"I'm sorry" Theon said quietly, dropping his voice to a tone only she could hear.

"The village is up ahead" Robb interrupted. "We should hurry there"

Theon looked up just in time to see the dark look on his friend's face. Robb was looking scornfully at him as he stared over Elyssia's head. It was an expression Theon had never seen from him before. Jealousy. But over what exactly.

"Right. We should hurry" Theon agreed.

Perhaps he wasn't the only one looking after Elyssia Thorne.