"What is your name..?"
". . ."
"I asked for your name. It's rude not to respond when you are given an order."
"Th-Theon."
A loud cry was ripped from the man by a figure with dark hair, as he slowly slid a knife along the man's foot, which was gushing blood from two missing toes, flaying the skin there.
"Your name is Reek. Say it." Smiled the dark haired figure as he glared up at Theon, waiting patiently for him to obey.
"Stop.. Stop!" Came the gargled response as the man kept cutting into the flesh of his foot, peeling the skin back slowly to expose tendons and muscle. They twitched in pain as the man glided the sharp blade against them teasingly, before taking off another toe and watching how the muscles snap and convulse greedily.
"Tell me your name." He replied enthusiastically as the smile broke into a maddening grin as he stared hungrily as his blade, contemplating were else he could cut him open to make him give the answer he wanted, but he was dashed away from his bloodlust as a loud knock came from his chamber door, and a guard entered with a raven.
"My lord, a raven from your father." Spoke the guard as the message was passed over to Ramsay, who opened it eagerly, his fun momentarily forgotten as he scanned the message, before his glee turned to one of distain. He turned to Theon, who went quiet from blood loss and lightheadedness.
"It seems that my father has married a Frey girl.. I have a mother now, Reek." He said absently as he stared up at Theon. "How do you suppose we should celebrate?"
Theon did not respond as he was struggling to keep consciousness, but somehow, he'd given Ramsay an idea as the look of glee soon returned to the dark haired boy as he received inspiration from his blade.
"I know, we could send your family the news! Maybe they will leave moat Cailin, and I will have it to present to my father as a wedding gift."
Theon was barely listening as Ramsay closed in upon him. One moment, his focus was hazed over, then the next, everything went black, the last thing he remembered, was his own screaming as the scent of blood became unbearable...
. . .
"Pass over the sausages, ya'fat bastard." Demanded Lord Frey as he glared at one of his sons, hoarding the tray of food. "You've grown fat enough, look to your wife and babe, as skinny as a broom, and you stuff your face like a pig while they starve. Get out." Snapped the old man as the tray was passed over to him, which he proceeded to stab viciously with a fork, and brought it over to his plate, were he tore it into smaller pieces before eating.
Another son returns, as pathetic as the last. Thought Walder as he glared over at the staving mother and child, who was feeding her babe a soup or sorts carefully as she cooed softly. His son had married into a lowly house, and in one year, ran it into ruins as he taxed the small folk excessively to the point that there was no means to farm, and the house fell into a state of famine. Food was scarce, and it seemed that all the food that was available was for his son while the rest of the house and people starved, including his wife and child. When the food completely vanished, his son made his trip back to the twins in a commoner's wagon, pulled by a sickly horse, so ill that its ribs poked from its hide as it nearly fucking died on his steps, pulling his fat bastard of a son back to the twins. He held more respect for the horse then the son that dared return like a coward.
Lord Frey helped himself to some sausage, fumbling it around in his mouth as he tried chewing it with his gums, making a wet squishing noise as he swallowed the hardy piece of meat down with some wine. At the exact same time, a raven was brought to him by one of the guards, who whispered quietly to Walder, and not a moment later, the wine was spat from his lips as Walder nearly choked at the news, his face distorted into outrage.
"WHAT!?"
. . .
"Walda! Slow down!" Snapped Lord Bolton as he followed a blur of pink.
"I can't!" She screamed back as the mad horse carried her off the trail into the trees. She ducked lowly, trying to avoid getting her head knocked off her shoulders by the low branches as the horse charged on, spooked by a wolf that came from no were from the bushes. It was put down swiftly, but the horse had already taken off with its lady in tow as Roose followed after them, getting close enough to grab onto her reins, but the horse did not register as it continued running, even when Roose pulled at it harshly to stop it.
Having no other options, Roose instead grabbed one of Walda's arms, and pulled her towards him with all of his might, stopping his own horse at the same time as Walda slipped from the saddle, and crashed into Lord Bolton, sending the both of them off his horse and onto the ground with a loud thud and a pained shout.
Walda let out a loud gasp as she immediately rolled off of lord Bolton, getting onto her knees as she looked for any injuries she might have caused him as she gently guided his head to her lap.
"Oh my goodness! Are you hurt?!" She squeaked as she tried to brush his hair away from his face frantically as the sound of hooves neared them, bringing the men that had followed Lord Bolton into the trees after his lady wife.
Roose was grunting in pain, his eyes squeezed shut as he clutched his left arm. Walda feared that if she tried to help, she might make things worse if she tried to look at it, so a Maester was brought to their side immediately as Roose slowly sat up, wincing as Walda gave him some space while the Maester Checked things over.
"Only a sprain, you will recover quickly, my lord." Spoke the balding Maester as he rolled Roose's sleeve back down.
The words had relieved Walda, but guilt still lingered within her as she watched Lord Bolton slowly get to his feet, slightly struggling before brushing the Maester aside as he touched the arm lightly, testing it out. This action caused him to wince again, but only slightly. Then, he turned to one of the guards to fetch his horse.
Walda hesitated in going near Lord Bolton, feeling like she would only upset him with her presence, but as she watched him saddle his horse, she realized that she no longer had a horse. She stood there for a moment, and when Roose turned his horse towards her, she looked shamefully down at the dirt as she followed the guardsmen by foot. This action displeased Lord Bolton as he brought his horse over to Walda.
"What are you doing?" He said steadily as he stared down at the patch of gold upon her head.
"I.. I don't have a horse anymore." She said quietly as she scuffed the dirt under her feet, still refusing to look at him.
Roose furrowed his brows at her, wondering why she didn't just take a horse from one of the guards, but realized she probably would not find the idea too appealing, so instead, he offered her his good hand.
Walda saw the gesture, but only raised her head high enough to stare at his hand.
Roose remained silent as he watched her contemplate, before he felt her soft, warm hand in his. Gently, he helped her saddle in front of him, and when she was secured, he acknowledged the horse to continue on their way.
For the next few hours, their ride had been a comfortable silence. Every now and again, Walda would turn her head to look at something interesting, and unbeknownst to Roose, he would also turn to find what ever had caught her eye. When they passed a great tower, Roose took this opportunity to break the silence when he saw how transfixed Walda was with the structure.
"You seem to be very bewitched by that tower."
Walda turned to him in surprise, seeming to forget that she was not alone as her cheeks turned a light pink.
"Y-yes, I was just admiring the flowers that were growing on the vines.."
Roose had turned to the tower at the mention of the flowers, and indeed, noted the pink flowers that were in full blossom, dotting the tower, and seeming to disappear into the windows as it intertwined with the moss and ivy.
Walda seemed a bit reluctant as she turned to look at the tower again, seeming to contemplate her question. "Is that the tower of Joy?"
This question caused Roose to look back at Walda as he studied the top of her head for a moment before he carefully replied in a steady tone.
"No, the tower of Joy was torn down after King Robert's Rebellion, and was turn into a grave for the men that had died while trying to enter the tower to Prince Rhaegar and Lyanna."
"Oh.." Came the quiet reply as Walda looked down at the saddle of the horse, seeming to retract back into her silence.
Roose said nothing for a moment as he continued to study the top of her head before once again, breaking the silence.
"That tower had once been a watchtower, but it was abandoned years ago, and its name had been lost along with its history."
His words seemed to have an effect on Walda as she turned back to the tower, but he noticed she had a look of sadness in her eyes.
"It Deserves a name.." She said quietly as she fiddled with the fabric of her dress. Roose only replied with a small 'hm' as they rode past the tower.
Later that night, Lord Bolton decided to set up camp near a small stream were some of the soldiers fished for their dinner. Walda, like her trip to the Dreadfort, was given her own tent to stay in while Lord Bolton was once again, in another tent, quill and ink scribbling away on future battle plans, treaties, and crucial Intel on the enemy, or at least that was what Walda assumed as she got ready for bed, already in her night gown and letting her hair down from the tight but messy bun she had some how managed to keep up during an entire day's worth of travel. She was in the process of detangling her hair with her brush before a mirror when Roose entered her tent. She glanced at him in the mirror before placing her brush down quickly and bowing her head to him in greeting.
"M-my lord?" Came her unsure voice as Roose stood at the entry of the tent for a moment before he entered her tent completely. Walda noticed that he was still in his travel clothes, and he seemed to be holding something by his hip, out of her view.
"Walda." Came his even-toned reply as he watched her eyes on him, seeming to become threatened at what ever he had in his hand out of view. He remained silent until Walda spoke again.
"Did... Did I do something wrong..?" She said quietly as he started noticing the fear in her eyes. She looked like a cornered animal to him.
He took a step closer towards her. "No.."
Walda took a step back when Roose took a step closer. She was intimidated for some odd reason by him right now, and she wanted to keep her distance, but by doing so, her actions caused Roose to pause for a moment as he stared at her with his brows furrowed, like what she was doing was unnatural and wrong.
"I... I.." Walda didn't know what to say under his seemingly cold gaze as he continued to stare at her. He stepped closer towards her until she was pressed to the wall of the tent, trapped.
Roose continued on with his silence as he stared at her, then seemed to stare at some part of her head that interested him. Slowly, his hand came forward, and Walda could see what he had been hiding out of view. It was one of the flowers that had been growing on the tower they had passed.
She watched him wearily as he carefully tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and placed the flower in her hair. He then pressed his palm to her cheek, so softly it tickled her, but he didn't smile, he just kept his plain expression as he stared at her face.
His staring caused her to blush wildly as she averted her gaze to his chest, but her gaze was brought back to Roose as he tilted her face up again, and after a reluctant moment, he slowly pressed his lips to her temple, keeping it there for a moment, before he finally looked down at her again.
"What were you afraid of..?" Came Roose's steady voice as he studied the roundness of Walda's face, secretly finding pleasure in how he could make her cheeks turn color.
Walda didn't know how to respond, shaking her head as she tried to find her words. "I.. I was just.. Shy my Lord.."
This didn't seem to convince Lord Bolton as he continued to stare at her, before he placed a cool hand upon her cheek, brushing his thumb softly over her skin.
"I know you are still fearful of me. I can tell by the look in your eyes. You thought I came to kill you, didn't you.."
Walda stared into her lord husband's pale eyes for a moment before she averted her gaze to stare at his chest again, a sad frown on her lips as she laced her fingers together, trying to appear small.
"I.. I am sorry.. I have displeased you... I know I was not fit to be a Lady of a house.. I am too naïve and foolish to be the Lady of House Bolton.. It would have been in your best interest to do away with me silently and find someone more fitting for this role.."
Roose didn't respond to her words, but instead, he took her hands in his, holding them securely as Walda returned her gaze to him, her own expression confused and curious.
"You are Walda Bolton. You are the Lady of House Bolton. You are my wife, and possibly one day, you will be the mother of my child. I have sworn an oath to be by your side until our dying day, and I have sworn to protect and honor you as my equal. These are oaths we have sworn before our gods, and we are now bounded until death. I will not allow any harm to come to my flesh and blood, let alone my wife. What kind of Lord would I be if I cannot protect my Lady..?"
Walda was speechless as she was awe trucked by his words, so instead, Roose brought her closer to him as his arms found their way around her waist while he rested his chin on top of her head lovingly, a slight smile on his lips as he held her for what seemed like years to Walda.
"I will not harm you, I promise you that.. I am far too fond of you.."
His words caused a flood of warmth in Walda, and slowly, but surely, her arms found their way around her lord husband, and soon after, their bodies found their way to Walda's bed..
HEYYYYY! I'M STILL ALIVE. VERY LAZY BUT VERY MUCH ALIVE. SORRY ABOUT THE VERY LATE UPDATE, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET OVER SOME SERIOUS WRITER'S BLOCK. AS ALWAYS, ENJOY. -STRANGE DEMISE.