It's taken me a long time to come back to this story but with this week's episode I feel quite justified in coming back (no pun intended). Thank you to all the people who followed and favourited, please let me know what you think if you can.

Esther felt like she was swimming against the tide as hordes of people tried to get as far away from the bay as possible. She shoved and pushed her way through until she came to the palace… swarming with soldiers. She backed against the wall as a squadron marched through the gates and slipped through unnoticed behind them.

Inside was pandemonium; soldiers, horses, servants, clerks, high and low born all rushing without any semblance of order. Esther smiled at the perfection of this.

She headed towards Sansa's room or where she thought it was but realised she had no idea if she was going the right way.

"Hey you! Get back to your lady. Why are you walking about? Don't you know there's a war about to happen?"

Esther turned to see a steward staring at her; she'd been about to cut him down to size but realised he could be useful so dropped her eyes and managed a sort of curtsey.

"Sorry sir, I got turned around with all the soldiers. I am looking for the Lady Sansa."

"She's with the others in Maegor's Holdfast, get there quickly now." the steward saw Esther look down the corridor and then look the other way and raised his eyes to ask the gods for patience, he had no idea where they got these servants from but it wouldn't be a bad thing if some of them were killed by Stannis' soldiers and no mistake.

"Go through the main yard and they're in the Queen's Ballroom. The Red Keep!" this servant must be simple. The steward was just about to berate her even more but Esther ducked around a group of lancers and was lost in the chaos.

Later, when the steward was lying in a pool of his own piss and blood with an arrow in his belly, he was sure he saw the eyes of this servant just before the darkness came.

Esther moved through the shadows and came to a balcony that overlooked the dark sea. The moon emerged for a moment and she saw the darker dots of Stannis' ship. She blinked and saw a lone ship heading to the giant fleet like a flea to a dog. She saw a flaming arrow fly from a tower and then the whole of the sea and sky lit up with pain and fire and death. She flung herself to the floor and covered her head trying to stop the screaming.

When she opened her eyes the sea was on fire. The anguished cries of the burning men filled the air but there was nothing she could do…a thread that couldn't be cut. She thought back to the throw away comment she had made to Tyrion only a short while ago but she had no time to think about her role in this.

"Fuck the King"

Esther finally found the right place as the battle raged outside. She searched the women in the room who were singing a fucking hymn as men murdered each other only a few feet away. None of them were Sansa.

Panic rose in Esther's chest; she'd lost.

"You have come for Lady Sansa?" said a voice and she turned to see the small, dark haired maid and Esther nodded knowing she couldn't do this without help.

"Go back the way you came, turn right and follow that corridor, her room is on the left, down the stairs."

"Thank you." Esther stared hard at the woman in front of her and saw what was coming for her, "don't torment the lion or it will end badly for you." The maid frowned at her but Esther was already gone.

She pushed open the bedroom door and Sansa turned with a small cry.

"No it's me, it's only me. Are you hurt?" and Sansa shook her head.

"I…I thought you were the Hound come back." she whispered.

"The Hound? He was here? What did he want? Did he try to hurt you?" again the girl shook her head.

"He wanted me to go with him but I refused." Esther raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

"You are leaving with me, now." and Sansa nodded and began to pack a box.

"What are you doing? There's no time for that! We go NOW!" Esther hissed and grabbed the girl's arm but not before Sansa had grasped a smaller bag.

Esther dragged Sansa through to the kitchens that were empty and through to stables where she hoped there were horses but they too were empty. They would be going on foot.

Out in the streets the chaos reigned more ferociously than even the Mad King had. Esther ducked and weaved, never letting her iron grip of Sansa slip; she grabbed a knife from a dead soldier and kept moving until they got to the Street of the Tanners. Fire was burning in the thatch roofs up and down and people had formed haphazard bucket chains to try to save what they could. Sansa couldn't breathe and the screaming of the animals and people paralyzed her but Esther was relentless. They came to Rellet's house that was already burning. Sansa watched as her aunt raised her hand to the fire and saw it part like peasants for the king; the girl could feel the heat from the fire but for Esther it simply moved. She found the bag she had hidden when she first arrived and they headed for the nearest gate.

Sansa didn't know if she was more afraid of staying or leaving with her aunt.

"No one is leaving." said the guard in a cracking voice that betrayed his youth and fear.

"Open this gate now." Esther said quietly but the boy remained resolute.

"No one is to leave by order of the King." he repeated like a mantra. Sansa watched as Esther drew a handful of pebbles from one of her pockets and covered them with the other hand. Something strange happened as she opened the palm to show the boy, now it was not pebbles but nuggets of gold that shone almost bright as the Wildfire that still burnt on the sea.

"Open the gate and this will be yours." she said and the boy could do nothing but stare at them. Eventually he nodded and unlocked the small wooded gate that would ultimately lead them to the North Road. Esther poured the fairy gold into his eager hands and pushed Sansa through.

Once they were out of the city, Esther moved into the treeline. The pace she set was punishing, Sansa was soon out of breath but her aunt refused to lessen her grip. Even when her gown got caught in the undergrowth or she said her feet in the fine shoes hurt, the pace remained the same. Sansa began to cry but her aunt ignored her. Just when Sansa was about to sit down and refuse to move any further, Esther suddenly stopped and yanked her to the ground.

The group of 4 deserters were on the other side of a rough ditch; they were drunk and scared and very dangerous. Esther put her hand over Sansa's mouth and pushed her further into the undergrowth, pulling her cloak over the fine silk dress. If they were very lucky they would not be spotted.

"What the fuck is that over there?" slurred one of the men and Esther sighed as they headed towards her. She gripped the knife she had taken and stood up with one foot on Sansa's back to keep the girl down.

"Keep moving and you might live to see the dawn." she said, hoping against hope that the men would listen to her. They didn't.

Sansa kept her head down but she heard everything. She thought the first scream had come from Esther but when the bubbling sound of torn gristle reached her and a second scream echoed she knew differently.

Esther did not need to use any power to defeat these men. As one grabbed her arm, she cut him to the bone with the knife in her other hand. His scream sent the other men running towards her with their swords raised. She grabbed the injured man to her chest just as one slashed with his sword but he only succeeded in killing his compatriot. She dropped the body and slid the knife into the other's belly. He fell to the floor, clutching his stomach as the insides saw the outside for the first and last time. Another, less drunk than the first two, feinted to her left but she was ready for it and spun on her right foot and rammed the knife into his neck as he raised his sword to split her head. The blood fountained as she pulled out the knife and faced the final man. He had his sword raised but hesitated and Esther moved in for the kill.

"No!" screamed Sansa and Esther turned to look at her, "Please stop!"

Esther saw the fear in her niece's eyes, the weakness for the man who was giving up the fight. Esther moved forward and slit his throat before he could lower his sword. Sansa screamed as he fell, clutching the rip in his neck.

"He was giving up!" she screamed at her aunt who was covered in the gore of the four men she had just murdered, "he was surrendering and you killed him! You're a monster!"

Esther turned to face Sansa and the girl froze at her expression and watched her like a mouse watches a cat.

"Yes, I am a monster." Esther whispered, "I killed a man who was surrendering to me. If I hadn't he would have told anyone who would listen about us. He might have got more men and hunted us. He could have followed us and slit our throats in our sleep. He and his friends would have raped and killed us without a second thought this night. I killed to save us. And I will always make that choice…always."

Sansa was breathing hard and fast. She remembered a story she heard about her grandfather who had once been dragged off his horse and nearly mauled to death by a female Direwolf, it was only the arrival of the hunting party that had prevented his death. Sansa thought that her aunt was like that Direwolf, entirely animal and without pity. She should have stayed at the palace; Stannis might have allowed her to go back home. Now she was stuck in the dark with a person who was more dangerous than anyone she had ever come across.

"No wonder my father sent you away." she said with the very last remnant of her anger. Her aunt's expression made her cower like nothing before.

"Your father sent me away because he feared I would hurt his children and subjects…and he died because he refused to see what was really happening. You are alive because I don't refuse. Which would you rather be? Now get up, stop crying and follow me, we need to keep moving."

Miserably, Sansa got to her feet and followed her aunt.

"I hate you." Sansa thought.

"I know." said Esther out loud as the girl gasped, "but I'm all you've got at the moment."

Esther looked back at the city that was lit with fire and blanketed with smoke.

"I hope you lived, Tyrion." she thought but had very little hope he had.