Game of Thrones: A Wolf Comes Home
Chapter 20 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.
Reviews
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
Marina Ka-Fai: Yeah, she sure did, just to clarify BTW, this chapter starts before Arya's but finishes after hers, as such Ramsay is still alive; until the point he goes back into the castle, that's him going to the confrontation with Arya.
Boris Yeltsin: A bit unlucky yeah, but compared to what could have been, she's got a bit of a chance.
Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.
Sansa
Sansa could swear her bottom lip was bleeding; but it was nothing compared to the pain in her back and the cold that chilled her to the bone. The whippings didn't stop, neither did the snide comments about her body. She had passed out at least twice, she always awoke, fearful, but found that she had not been touched. She remained strong however; as strong as she could, biting back screams and hiding her tears. The lash came again, the pain as a new wound opened on her back, Sansa refused to scream, a coppery taste filling her mouth as she bit her lip again and tasted the blood. She waited for the next lash, but it never came. She listened carefully, for some time her world had shrunk to just the whipping post. Now hearing beyond it she could hear Ramsay's voice.
"That'll do for now, we don't want to give Robb Stark any idea of what we've been doing." He was saying. "Keep her quiet while I conduct this little…negotiation he's got planned."
Sansa could hear footsteps and then suddenly her head was pulled back and a rough cloth was rammed into her mouth. The man who gagged her smirked and suddenly squeezed her breast before stepping away. The sudden action drew a shocked muffled squeal from Sansa, yet he had done nothing else. She waited, trembling, wondering what was going to happen next.
She was certain her face was as red as her hair; she was freezing and the cold wasn't helping the pain in her back from the whip welts either. She tried frantically to listen, she had to find out what was going on. She could Ramsay, loud and clear as he gloated to Robb, yet gave no actual indication of what he had being doing to any of the prisoners. She could hear Robb's voice too, it was less distinct yet she could just make his words out. He was trying to bargain for the release of the hostages. She moaned into the gag, Robb didn't know about Jeyne Poole, he thought there were only four hostages. She wished desperately to scream out, to hopefully tell him, but couldn't get the rag out of her mouth in order to do so. She struggled slightly as she tried, but a sharp slap to her buttocks made her stop. She wasn't alone, someone was still nearby and guarding her. She waited, tense, fearful; listening. She couldn't make out what was being said but it sounded like a decision had been reached, some form of agreement. She was shocked when she heard Theon's name being mentioned, wondering what he had to do with this.
'What is going on; why are they talking about Theon?' She thought to herself. 'Ugh, I can't think straight with it being so cold…I need to, there has to be something I can do, but what?'
Her thoughts raced but nothing came to her; she was too distracted by the pain and the cold.
She could hear Ramsay's cold voice; but it was too low for her to catch the words.
Her thoughts spiked in anger. 'That monster, he's doing all this to us for his own sick enjoyment. I can only imagine what he has in mind for poor Arya.'
Her anger caused her to make an exclamation, strangled by the gag. This caught Ramsay's attention as those he spoke to, headed down to the dungeons.
He laughed. "Too bad Princess, your brother didn't see fit to free you. He's asked for someone else."
Sansa froze but refused to reply; she wouldn't give Ramsay the satisfaction. She knew Robb would only do something like that if he had a plan. She had to stay strong for Robb; he wouldn't let her down, she was sure of it. Suddenly she saw the men emerge from the dungeon, forcing the bound and gagged Brienne along. To Sansa's surprise she saw them also escorting Jeyne Poole. Her poor friend was gagged and bound too and as Sansa watched hoods were put over their heads to cover them. She was confused, what was going on; were they the ones that were being released. But Robb didn't know Jeyne Poole was here. Suddenly, thinking that, a feeling of dread came over Sansa, could it truly be what she feared.
She waited fearfully; listening as the prisoner exchange took place. Glancing over her shoulder she saw Roose Bolton, regaining his composure in the middle of the courtyard. His pale eyes turned and saw her, he briefly frowned and then turned away. Then, her fears were confirmed as she heard Robb's voice.
"You violated our agreement!"
She heard Ramsay's laugh and reply. "I didn't, you never said which Jeyne you wanted me to free."
It was as she feared; Robb had exchanged Roose Bolton for Brienne and Jeyne. He hadn't specified that he wanted Jeyne Westerling freed, as a result Ramsay exploited that loophole. He released Jeyne Poole instead. A few minutes later Ramsay joined his father in the courtyard. Sansa listened carefully; wondering what was about to happen now.
"Father I…"
Roose cut his son off. "You idiot, you should never have agreed to their terms. Still; it doesn't matter now. Also, that is no way to treat a princess; so I expect you to give her the respect she deserves."
She could see Ramsay's glare as Roose headed inside. He growled some commands to the person next to him before heading inside himself. Sansa turned back to keep her face hidden. She rested her forehead against the post, trying to ignore the cold.
She trembled as she thought to herself. 'Please Robb, be quick, before it's too late.'
She remained still; focusing all her hopes on her brother's plan working.
She couldn't tell how much time had passed; however she heard footsteps nearby and tensed, wondering if she was about to whipped again. But that turned out not to be case, in fact it was worse than that. The man suddenly grabbed her and yanked her head back.
"You're dead bitch." He growled as he held a dagger to her throat.
She let out a muffled squeak as she found herself staring death in the face. Suddenly the man gave a strange gurgle before falling out of sight, the dagger disappearing too. A few minutes later, the gag was removed and Sansa found herself free. She was startled by this as she suddenly found herself being covered by a cloak, she immediately wrapped it tightly around herself. She savoured the warmth as it returned to her; trying to ignore the stinging from her whip welts.
"Careful little bird, we can't let your wounds get infected." Sandor remarked as he stepped back from covering her with the cloak.
She looked up at him, blushing. "You…You saved me again, Sandor."
He smiled, actually smiled. "Of course…Looks like everything worked out well. We saved your brother's wife from the dungeons too."
Sansa looked over to where Sandor indicated and saw a small group of Northern soldiers, crossing the courtyard and opening the door. Robb's army poured in, taking the Dreadfort men by surprise.
"We were directed to a secret passage, the one your brother Bran, escaped from when he and Crannogmen girl were here." Sandor explained. "We used it the opposite way and worked our way inside, now we've let the army in, it's over for them."
Sansa nodded, relief flooding her and allowed Sandor to lead her out of Dreadfort and to the safety of Robb's camp.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.