She stood at the prow of her ship, and looked out at the calm sea. The sound of sailing came from behind her, with instructions being called out. The ship cut through the small waves that lay before it, and she tried to concentrate on what was in front of her, not what was behind. They were half a day from Lordsport, having sailed around in a curve, so that they could come at the Botley and Ironmaker ships head on. She knew that her husband and Germund would be her opposition because of what they had found on Harlaw.

She had decided to take her ships to Blacktyde first, where she had found very little. Baelor Blacktyde had left a five year old son as the new lord, with his uncle, Blind Beron, as his advisor. Beron had spoken with her, but all he could tell her was that her nuncle was still missing. Nobody had seen Aeron since the Kingsmoot, or not to his knowledge. Her other nuncles had gone south to fight greenlanders and take their islands from them. They had taken ten Blacktyde ships with them, and most of the island's able bodied men.

She had found similar when she docked at Volmark. Young Maron was away, reaving with Euron in the south, and had left his uncle as castellan. It was his mother's brother, and his mother had been no highborn. She had been allowed access to the castle, but the man could tell her little more than Beron had. The only new news here was that Maron had been given a southern island, and that her last nuncle was sailing around the world on his brother's whim. Asha had never thought Victarion to be so weak that he would serve as the dog of a man that he hated.

She had gone to other castles on Harlaw, asking for news. She had been denied entry at the Tower of Glimmering, and Qarl Kenning had only agreed to meet her under the cover of dusk.

Sigfry Stonetree had happily welcomed her, and told her that Euron had taken the Arbor from the lord's castellan, but that the Redwyne fleet was descending on him. He also told her that her nuncle Rodrik had left old Sigfryd Harlaw, whilst Harras, Hotho and Boremund had all gone south with him.

She liked Harras and Boremund. They were both good men. Harras was a proper Ironborn warrior, no matter whether he used a Greenlander title. He was of the salt and the rock. He was her nuncle's heir, and would make a good Lord of Harlaw.

Stonetree had been the last castle that they stopped at before arriving at the Harlaw castle of Ten Towers. The sprawling castle was larger than any of the other settlements built on the island. Only Pyke and the Hammerhorn stood bigger in the Iron Islands. Underneath the eastern wall of the castle a small town had risen. The locals called it Rodrikston, after her nuncle, who had put the Harlaw money into the construction of the buildings, and had helped secure trade for the workers in Seagard, Lannisport and Oldtown.

The ten towers of Harlaw that gave the castle it's name loomed over them. There was the widow's tower, the one nearest to the crashing sea, then the boom tower and then the cliff tower, which served as the barracks of the castle, where the Harlaw guards slept and trained.

There had been no party waiting for her and her men at the quay. She had left Clayton Suggs and Alysane Mormont with the ships. Neither would be welcomed in the castle. The Mormonts and the Ironborn had never been fast friends.

Clayton had insisted that a knight should go with her, and she had chosen William Foxglove, who reminded her more of Justin Massey. He had been eager to help learn the ways of the Ironborn when they set sail, where Suggs had spent half his time below the decks, and the other half heaving over the side of the ship. This had become a source of mockery for the Ironborn that had come with her.

Foxglove was a good man, if a delusional one. He hadn't embraced the Drowned God, and he still held his fire god as all powerful, but he treated the Ironborn with more respect than his companion. Suggs was blissfully unaware of the way that Ironborn talked about him.

She had left Stannis Baratheon's camp with three of her Ironborn. She had been given Rustbeard and Grimtongue, as well as Tris Botley. They had told her that the other two prisoners were Fingers and Qarl. They had also told her that Eerl Harlaw, Hinga the Horn and Six Toed Harl were being kept at Deepwood Motte by Sybelle Glover. The price that Sybelle would offer for her children, Asha suspected.

They had passed by many abandoned Northern holdfasts on their journey south, and had found one or two inhabited by vile smelling Northmen. William Foxglove had driven most of these men away, until they came to the sixth, and Tris recognised the banner of Botley over the gate.

Inside they had found Tris' brother Symond and uncle Lucimore, who had been amongst the reavers that had sailed with Dagmer Cleftjaw. They revealed that Cleftjaw had separated the Botley forces into two and had taken two holdfasts, with the Merlyn forces, under the command of the Merlyn's son and heir, had taken another.

Symond and Tris were very similar. Where their elder brother had been a warrior and a fighter, they preferred the histories of the Ironborn to the reaving culture. Tris was more a girl than she, but she also remembered seeing him fight near Deepwood Motte. He had been better with a sword than she had thought.

Symond stood a few inches shorter than Tris, but with a long, matted beard of brown hair, where Tris was clean shaven. Lucimore was unlike both of them. A large brute of a man, with a fierce appearance and wild eyes. He stood as tall as Grimtongue, at the very least, and with broader shoulders and thicker arms. He was certainly not as weak as Asha remembered Sawane Botley being.

He had told Asha that he desired more than anything else to return home and take back Lordsport in his brother's name. It reminded her that she wasn't the only one among her company to have a reason to hate their uncle. Germund Botley had given Tris a reason to hate him. Maybe together they could end two backstabbing uncles.

The two Botleys had ridden with them to another holdfast, where they had found another of Tris' uncles and brothers. Sargon Botley was shorter than his brother, but more well built than any of his nephews, who had inherited Sawane Botley's thin frame, as opposed to their uncle's bulky appearance.

Vickon Botley was much younger than Tris. He was barely a man. This was his first reaving away from home. He was handsome though, like Tris, but more excitable and with thicker arms. He had inherited those from his uncles, at the very least.

The four Botleys joined them on their travels south then, insisting that they should stop off at Torrhen's Square, where they said an ally was waiting for them. She was unsure who they meant.

When they arrived she knew. She had never been so happy to see the broken banner of House Greyjoy that Dagmer Cleftjaw had taken as his sigil.

The imposing man had come to meet them himself, and she rode out with a select few of her men. Lucimore and Sargon carried her banners, the golden kraken of Greyjoy, whilst Foxglove carried the stag of Stannis. With her also came Tris and Symond. She left Vickon and Grimtongue in command of the Botley and Baratheon troops, with Corliss sleeping his drunkenness off.

Dagmer Cleftjaw looked no different than he had when last she had seen him. That had been just before Theon set sail. He had come to see her to wish her luck and reminded her to keep faith in the Drowned God. She had looked for him at the Kingsmoot, but he had claimed to be staying loyal to Balon. She hadn't been sure if he would receive her well. She had no reason to be concerned.

"Little niece!"

Dagmer rushed out to her and pulled her from her horse. She let him cradle her in his arms for a few moments. She had missed his embrace. He had been a shoulder to cry on when she was a child, but she was a child no more. The man knew that.

"Not so little now. Battle hardened and paying the iron price all herself. You come with Lucimore and Sargon? I had them out to look for you. I thought maybe you would pass this way with your brother."

Of course. Dagmer had loved Theon like his own. It had hurt the man when he had been taken away to Winterfell. At the time she had thought that Dagmer had cared for her brother more than her father. He would hate to see what Theon had become. Woe betide this Ramsay Snow if Dagmer Cleftjaw ever had him at his mercy.

"Theon could not come with me, uncle. He has other business to do with Stannis Baratheon."

That caused a cloud of darkness to descend onto Cleftjaw's broken face. He was a scary looking man if you did not know him, and she could hear William Foxglove moving his hand towards his sword behind her. He was scared.

"I am aware of this king and his business. We had raven from Winterfell. Little Theon is dead. Burned alive."

She couldn't believe it. She had suspected that it would be true in her heart of hearts. Stannis couldn't have justified keeping her little brother alive. It was then that Asha wanted to cry for her brother, she wanted to hug Dagmer and bury her face in his beard. She was Ironborn, but it was here that she just wanted to be a girl. She had to control herself.

She hadn't known Theon for almost all of his life. He had grown up away from her, him as a greenlander and her as Ironborn. She had learned to pay the iron price, yet now all she wanted was to take the men that Stannis had given them and give them in turn to the Drowned God. Theon was gone.

"'Twas little Theon that sent me here. I have no need for this castle any more. I will lower my flag and follow you back home, little Princess. Back home to Pyke."

She had been relieved to hear him say that. She had lost so much of her family recently. Her father, her cousins, her nuncles, her brother. She was happy to have her uncle return to the Iron Islands with her. They could sail against Euron together, and together they could destroy him.

Dagmer had left Torrhen's Square the next day, wishing farewell to the little Lady Tallhart. The brutish Ironborn warrior was soft at heart, and he loved young children. He had cared for the girl, and the girl had clearly grown not to be scared of her captor. Dagmer brought a Tallhart with him on their journey. The boy went by the name of Beren, and he sailed with the She Bear. Asha wasn't sure why he had chosen to come with them to Pyke.

They had carried on their journey south, passing nearby to Barrowton and then again past another holdfast. Soon they could hear the sea, and she had urged her mare into a gallop.

She reached the edge of the cliff with Dagmer and Tris at her back, then came Sargon and Grimtongue, with Vickon, Symond, Rustbeard and Lucimore the last of her Ironborn leaders. The She-Bear had not been far behind them. She had missed the smell of the saltwater and the sight of the broiling waves as they smashed against the rocks.

It took too long for them to make the descent down a narrow path along the cliffface. Tallhart went first, as he knew the path better than others, and she followed, with Dagmer and Sargon behind her. They could have two horses abreast at the thinnest sections, with three alongside each other when they got wider. At the bottom she found herself with Sargon and Vickon, as they waited for Dagmer, Lucimore, and Alysane to get the Botley, Merlyn and Greyjoy ships over to the coast.

She had never spent much time alone with Sargon Botley, but when she looked at him now she could see that, beneath his shaggy beard, he looked a lot like Tris. He was handsome and had the same large eyes.

The rest of the Ironborn had dismounted their horses and rushed to the water once they arrived on the small inlet. She saw Rustbeard washing out his beard with it, whilst two of the Botley men had stripped themselves of armour and dived in. Here the water was serene, further down the cliffs it smashed against the rock. She would have jumped in too, but she had to seem more restrained than her men.

She saw William Foxglove walking down the edge of the water, watching the men splash and dive around with amusement. She could hear Clayton Suggs scoffing somewhere behind her.

"These Ironborn worship the sea like it was some whore in a cheap brothel. They have no dignity, and no respect for what isn't theirs."

She turned her horse at that comment, and trotted it over to where Clayton was stood, conversing with some of the men that Stannis had sent with them.

Clayton Suggs was no great knight. He had been raised up as nothing. Her father would have respected the man. Everything that he had now he had fought for. He had paid the iron price for his position. She would have disagreed. Clayton had the influence that he did only because he was a cruel beast of a man. She could hear the horses of Sargon and Vickon follow her over to the man.

"You would do well to watch your tongue here, Ser Clayton. Our sea god may be listening, and that climb down was a treacherous one. It would have taken you very little to have slipped and fallen to your death."

"Was that a threat, girl? I should take your head and deliver it to Stannis to be served alongside your little brother's charred remains."

That stung, but before she could think of a response she saw that both her men had dismounted and now stood between her and Clayton. She had not realised how much larger Sargon was than the man before this happened.

"You would do well to watch your tongue, Greenlander. Your king may like you a lot less without it."

"Dirty Ironborn cunt. You will lose your head before you get a chance to come near me."

It was Vickon that spoke up next, standing next to his uncle with his arms crossed. he was more of a height with Clayton, but he was leaner and stronger.

"Two Ironborn could take ten of your greenland knights. We are followers of the Old Way. We paid the Iron Price for our weapons. You are nothing, knight."

Clayton looked at the two strong Ironborn men in front of him. He spent a few seconds weighing up his options, and eventually chose to sheathe his steel. He was too craven at heart for a fight that might see himself die. She had suspected as such. This man was no brave knight as he would have her believe. Justin Massey had called him craven.

"Good dog. Send your men to ready your ships. We sail when our Lady says."

Clayton slunk away at that comment from Sargon. Three of the nastier looking men followed him, whilst the others stayed, looking at the three of them uneasily. Asha turned her horse and had it walk away. She must be aware that the Ironborn and Greenlanders would fight. She had to create harmony between them, if she could.

Dagmer had brought five of his ships to the shore with him. She recognised three of them from the docks of Lordsport. The first, the flagship, was Foamdrinker, who's captain was Dagmer himself. She could see him stood at the prow as he sailed into the bay. He was enjoying the feel of the wind. She knew the feeling.

The two ships to the left of Foamdrinker were the Swiftfish and the Pride of Pyke, the ships captained by Lucimore and Sargon Botley. She had sailed with Lucimore on the Swiftfish once. He had taken her to Blacktyde and Old Wyk on the orders of her father. The rooms had been cramped and small, but the ship had cut through the waves faster than most. Lucimore had captained it during the Battle of Fair Isle, and it had been one of the few ships to escape destruction.

The other two were new to her, however. She had not recognised them when she first saw them, but soon realised that one was the flagship of the Mormont fleet when she could see the black bear on green flying above their sails. She recognised the figure of Alysanne Mormont when the ship pulled up close enough.

The other she seemed to recognise, but she wasn't sure where from. Had she seen it among the Iron Fleet before her nuncle had sailed for Moat Cailin? That couldn't be. If the ship had been part of her nuncle's fleet then it would have returned to the Islands with him.

"The Sea Bitch... Your brother's ship, my lady."

Sargon had walked alongside her, keeping stride with her horse as a result of his long, muscular legs. She realised where he had recognized the ship from. It had been at port in Lordsport when she had first seen Theon after he returned to Pyke. She had played with his emotions that day, but she had been glad to see him, even if the greenlands had made him soft.

Dagmer had brought one of the last things that Theon had before the Bastard of Bolton had broken and ruined him. This was the last thing that had connected her brother to the Ironborn. This had been his.

She had rowed out to the ship with Tris, Rustbeard, and Greydon Merlyn, the Merlyn's second son. Sargon and Vickon went to the Pride of Pyke, whilst Lucimore and Symond took Gormund Merlyn, the heir, to the Swiftfish. Clayton Suggs and William Foxglove rowed half of Stannis' men across the bay, following just behind them.

It had been three days sailing from there to Blacktyde, and then they had arrived at Harlaw. Sigfryd Silverhair had not been there to welcome her, however. None of his sons or grandsons either. Instead the pier of Ten Towers was empty. That was how they found the castle too.

Dagmer had found no guards in the Cliff Tower, and her nuncle was not there when she checked his library. She had hoped he would be. Tris had checked the stables with Symond, and Greydon had gone to the Raven Tower to find old Maester Frester. He was not there.

She had then sent Dagmer, Vickon, Sargon and Gormund to search the town, and bring her back reports of whatever had happened. She herself took Grimtongue and Tris to find her mother and aunt, in the Widow's Tower. That had been when they had found out what had happened to the residents of Ten Towers.

Two guards were laid at the bottom of the stairs, one of them with a broken neck, the other with multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck. Dried and congealed blood laid around his body.

She had rushed up the stairs then, in some way knowing what they would find there. Her aunt was in her bed, the pillow that had smothered her still laid over her face. Her arms were limp, and her skin pale and blotchy. The skin had sagged before death, but now it was tight to the bone.

Her own mother had been worse.

She had been stabbed in both eyes, and again through the stomach. Her breasts had been mutilated and her tongue removed and placed on the pillow next to her. Her hands were covered in her own blood. She had been stripped naked after death, and had then been mockingly wrapped in the kraken of Greyjoy.

Asha knelt at the side of her mother, who had become so unstable after Theon left. She had died. They had killed her. She had died at the same time as Theon. That was fitting at least. She had to know who had done this. In a way she had already known. There was nobody that it could be but him.

When they went back downstairs they had found Dagmer and Sargon with an old man hunched between them. He was dressed in brown and torn rags, but had a grey pendant around his neck.

"Little princess, this was the only man that we could find in the town. He was a serving man under Sigfryd, brought here from Harlaw Hall. I thought you might wish to hear what he had to say."

Asha walked over to the man, as Dagmer dropped him to the floor and he knelt before her.

"Tell me what happened here."

The man's voice was rasping when he eventually spoke. His face was covered in cuts, and when his arms were revealed she could see that they were purple and bruised.

"The ships came fro' Pyke. A ma'. Germu'd Botley. He feasted. I served hi' wine. The' he cut through the me' and took Sigfryd to his ship. There were others. A you'g boy a' girl. A maester. All o' Sigfryd's sons. My brother and wife were killed. They took my sons too. An' my siste'. Back to Pyke. Thas where they sai' they was headin'"

The man before her was broken and old, but he had survived the massacre here. That was worth rewarding.

"What is your name, old man?"

"Gargon, m'lady."

"From now on, you shall be Gargon Greyhair. I name you castellan of Ten Towers in the absence of myself, my nuncle and my nuncle's cousins and nuncles. I will sail for Pyke and return your master. I will defeat Germund Botley and end the reign of terror brought on by my lordly husband. And then, when Pyke is mine, as it should be, the Iron Islands will know freedom from the Crow's Eye!"

Her men had cheered at that. Sargon Botley had beaten his mighty chest, and Rustbeard and Grimtongue had called out to the high roof of the main hall of the Harlaw castle. Asha saw Tris at the side of the room. There was no smile on his face here. Just a frown. Something bothered him. She knew what it would be.

He would tell her that she wasn't being herself. That she wasn't Ironborn truly, and that ruling the Islands wasn't what she wanted, all because he wanted her for himself. He had surprised her at the Wolfswood, but in many ways he was still a coward.

They sailed at the next morn, leaving Gargon behind with two of the Merlyn ships. They were to be his garrison and his defence. She took thirty eight ships with her for the attack. Her nuncle Dagmer had commanded ten and five, Gormund had brought five, and now commanded three, and the Mormonts had twenty ships.

On her ship she took Tris, Vickon, Rustbeard and Grimtongue, as well as Clayton and William. The rest of the crew was made up of Baratheon men. She made Grimtongue her second in command, and quite often it was he that called out orders, whilst she stared across the sea from the prow of her brother's ship.

Sea Bitch. He had named her for a joke that she had made when disguised as Esgred to fool him. She had changed the name to something more fitting when she had taken the ship. She had carved it into the hull, where the ship's old name had been engraved.

She had sent Rustbeard up the mast to look for enemy ships. She had tried it with a Baratheon man on the first day, but he had failed to spot an ambush. They had lost two of the Mormont ships to a dozen from House Wynch, with only one of their attackers sunken. One of the places she stayed had clearly reported to Pyke of her return.

"Ships to starboard, m'lady!"

Rustbeard was calling down from the mast, and that caused her to look to the right. Rustbeard was right. There was a large number of ships sailing in their direction. Even from here she could make out the Botley and Wynch flags flying above them, whilst the three in the middle had some that she didn't recognise.

"Turn the ships starboard. We meet them and show them what it means to fight with Asha Greyjoy!"

She ran to the side of the ship, and called out to the Mormont flagship that was sailing on their port side. Alysanne was marshaling her crew members and soldiers.

"She-Bear!"

She called out to her Mormont companion.

"Take your ships against the Wynches! Dagmer and I will strike at the Botleys!"

Alysanne nodded at Asha, and called out more commands to the men and women of her ship. Asha turned back to her own crew, and found both Clayton and William above deck. William was trying to help the Ironborn, whilst Clayton ordered his men around, preparing the Baratheon troops for the fight.

It didn't take long for them to turn the fleet. Asha, Dagmer and Alysanne led the three flagships, with Sargon and Lucimore behind them, leading the other Botley, Merlyn and Mormont ships.

They clashed with their enemy soon enough. Asha pulled her brother's ship alongside the enemy flagship, one of the three who flew flags that she didn't recognize. She was the first onto the deck of her enemy, her axe out and calling out to her brothers to follow her. They did.

Her child had found it's way into the neck of one of her enemies soon enough, and the man fell before him. He would be squirming in his own blood. She didn't look. She had already moved on.

She could hear the roar of Grimtongue somewhere nearby. He loved the lust of battle, and that meant that he had also picked up his first kill of the battle. She slammed her axe into the head of a second man, knocking him to the ground, before digging her steel toe caps into his stomach.

She ducked out of the way of two men charging at her, and slashed one of the two at the knee, severing his leg from his body. The other soon found her throwing dirk buried in his forehead. She turned to look at her handiwork, and was then covered by a looming shadow. The man that stood before her was massive, and Asha then realised who's ship that she was on. Urek Ironmaker. Her lord husband's eldest grandson, and a feared captain of the Iron Fleet.

He carried in his arms a gigantic axe, the same size of her nuncle Victarion's. He brought it down at her, and she rolled to the side. She went for her dirk, and realized it had gone. She was without a weapon, besides for her trusted axe, but that was not going to be enough to counter Urek's weapon.

She dodged and ducked away from the next few strikes, weaving away from the attacks with a certain grace and elegance. She dodged behind the mast, and bought herself a few seconds as her enemy got the blade caught in the wood. Soon, however, he had sent her sprawling again, and she was forced into backing away along the depth, all whilst on her back. The man loomed over her, a grin of broken teeth as he prepared to bring his mighty axe down on her.

Then a blade went through his face. Blood went everywhere.

The man fell before her, and she was surprised to see Tris stood where he had been, his sword covered with the blood of Urek Ironmaker. Elsewhere on the ship she saw her enemies knelt, swords at their necks. The ship had surrendered.

She heard the sound of battle on other ships, but saw that the other three flagships had surrendered to her men. Elsewhere, ships were on fire, burning into the water. Some were hers and other were the Botley and Wynch ships. Some had even tried to sail away. The battle had been won, and the approach to Pyke was clear.

Tris, Rustbeard and Grimtongue had all survived the fighting, as had Dagmer and the Botleys on the other ships. One of the knights survoved the fight, and she was quite disheartened to find that it was Clayton. It turned out that William had been a victim of Urek Ironmaker's axe before he had picked her as a target.

"Throw the bodies of the dead into the sea. They are the friends of the Drowned God now. They must be sent to his Halls so that they can dine with him for the rest of time!"

She went below decks of the ship, but found nothing. The Ironmaker ships had clearly been sent out at the last minute, not long after the Wynch ships had arrived back at Pyke and reported that they were on the move.

It was less then a days sail from where they met the enemy ships to Pyke, and they sailed that swiftly. She gave Tris, Grimtongue and Rustbeard the three Ironmaker ships, and let them lead the vanguard, as she sailed just behind, alongside Sargon, Lucimore and Dagmer. Alysanne led the ships to their left, with the Merlyn and Botley ships to their right. This was just in case the ships that got away cared for a surprise attack.

The docks at Lordsport were empty when they arrived. The Botley and Wynch ships had clearly decided not to return to where it was clear that her troops were going to go. She docked her brother's ship, and looked at this island laid bare in front of her. She was home.

She turned to the prow of the ship. Before it had been called the Sea Bitch. But no longer. She traced her fingers over the letters she had carved. She had brought him home too.

Theon Greyjoy.