When Rhaena eventually rose from unconsciousness, she had no sense of where she was. Her body was wracked with pain and numb from cold. The only warmth she felt was the hot tongue of Lady against her cheek. There was a drizzle of rain which had already soaked through Rhaena's clothing which meant she had been laying there for a long time, the smell of damp earth filling her nostrils as she inhaled deeply. Too numb to feel anything, Rhaena blinked as Lady continued to lick at her face and nudge her head until she was able to open her eyes fully and look around her. At first the light was too bright, causing her to shy away from it but gradually she adjusted and found herself lying in a forest somewhere quiet and isolated. Beside her lay Sansa, their hands still tightly locked together. Lay whimpered, nudging once more at Rhaena's shoulder before then starting on Sansa to wake her also. Clearly the direwolf had decided that they could no longer stay where they were, and dimly Rhaena knew she was right. They would die if they remained exposed like this, so no matter how much it hurt and how heavy she felt, Rhaena forced herself to her feet. She pushed down every emotion which attempted to rear its ugly head and grasped hold of Sansa, making the girl groan at the disturbance as she too began to awaken.
The girl was as limp as a boneless fish but somehow managed to stumble onto her feet, leaning dependently upon Rhaena as she struggled to get Sansa onto her back, pulling at her rather uselessly until she was able to begin dragging her away from the clearing they had found themselves in. Rhaena did not know where they were, unable to recognise anything around them. She staggered with Sansa, walking as much as she was able with Lady beside her until she noted how there was a patch of earth which was completely scorched black. The trees were burned and blackened, turned to charcoal from a fire which had seemingly burned in a perfect circle before suddenly dying out. It was then that Rhaena noticed the scorch marks on her own clothes as well as Sansa's, deep burns having eaten away at their clothing and even singed at Lady's fur. She did not understand what had happened. She did not want to understand. As of that moment, Rhaena felt so hollow she could have lay herself down in that burnt arena and happily turned to ash along with the trees and grass. Only Sansa forced her to keep going. The strong desire to protect her burned within, so Rhaena turned away from the inexplicable scene before her and began to follow Lady who was waiting for her a few paces away.
Lady seemed to know where to go, or at least she had learned enough at Nymeria's side to be able to track scents and find shelter. All the way Rhaena had to carry Sansa who remained unresponsive to anything, not even when Rhaena attempted to jostle her. They needed to get warm and dry somewhere, but the woods seemed endless and Rhaena had no sense of where they were. The dagger she had was now gone and all of her belongings were at the Twins in the guest rooms. Thankfully the gold Tyrion had given her was still at Riverrun, so at least she had the satisfaction that the Freys would not place their traitorous paws upon it. A useless satisfaction in sight of all that had happened. Rhaena did not even know how she was able to move, or how it was she was not crying and sobbing for Lady Catelyn and Talisa. Perhaps it was because she was so numb she had no feeling left and no tears to give. She pushed onwards, dragging Sansa until her energy was spent and she had nothing left in her to give. Crumbling to the ground, Rhaena lay there with Sansa strewn across her, neither able to continue going despite Lady's protests. She whimpered and howled, pulling and even nipping at Rhaena in desperate attempts to get her to carry on moving, licking at her skin to try and warm her up but there was no use in any of it. Rhaena felt utterly weak and defeated. She would die here, no doubt. Everything had been for nothing. Her entire life struggling to stay alive and she would meet her end in a forest where no one other than Lady would mourn her.
Pressing her eyes closed, she began to think of Tyrion and Bronn, of Lord Varys and Robb, feeling ashamed that all their efforts to keep her safe were now utterly in vain. Picturing their faces one by one, Rhaena sighed heavily. Ready to give in and let death claim her, she began to sink back once more into a blank oblivion, willing to succumb and become nothing more than an empty husk to be devoured by the wild. She was ready. More than ready. But Lady, on the other hand, was not. She snarled and bit down on Rhaena's arm so forcefully she drew blood, but the pain caused Rhaena to cry out and convulse. The snarling face of the direwolf looked down upon her, hot breath fanning her face as the intense glowering eyes stared directly into hers. It were as if Lady was commanding her not to give up so easily, to become meek prey suitable only to be feasted upon by lesser creatures. Lady snapped once again with an angered bark, this time grasping a mouthful of Rhaena's hair in order to pull and tug until the roots were screaming to be released. "Stop it!" Swiping out her hand, Rhaena managed to catch Lady's snout which forced the direwolf to let her go, releasing her hair but still she pestered. She snarled and nipped and pulled until Rhaena found herself beginning to be forced onto her hands and knees. "What do you want from me?!" She screeched at the beast as her chest began to feel like it were caving in on itself. Heat flared at her eyes. "What more can I possibly do?! I cannot fight to live every day of my life! I am tired, Lady…tired and in pain, and Lady Catelyn…Lady Cat…she's dead. Talisa's dead. They're all dead. Robb will soon be dead. Bran and Rickon might be dead. Arya is likely already dead. Everyone I come to love is dying around me and Sansa…" With her name Rhaena turned to look at Sansa beside her. Pale as death and unmoving save for a light rise and fall of her chest.
It was then Rhaena realised that she was crying. The heat and sting of her eyes were from her own weeping and now it had begun she could not stop it. Her head seemed like it would split open as she clutched at her head and recalled the horror of the wedding which had become a bloodbath. Lord Walder Frey. This was all his doing, his and Lord Bolton's. They had laid a trap and it had almost succeeded. If Robb had not turned back to take his army to attack Casterly Rock then he would have been killed alongside his mother and his wife. Oh gods Robb…this will break him. Not only had he lost a mother and a wife but his child, the unborn child he'd begotten with Talisa, barely formed in her womb now mercilessly slaughtered. Rhaena wept for them all. Her cries were unheard save for the guarding direwolf who sat before her, watching as she beat her own head and near enough ripped out her own hair as she opened her mouth to release every torturous sound she could conjure to the weeping sky. How could words describe such sorrow? Language was insufficient to explain the depths of Rhaena's sense of despair and uselessness, her failure. She wanted to cry forever and be done with it, but she knew she could not. Sansa still needed her, and although she had no idea where they were or how they had got there, Rhaena had decided that she was in fact not ready to die just yet. She would not die until she had her revenge, and there was plenty of fire and blood still left within her to push her onwards.
Hissing through clenched teeth, Rhaena rose once more back to her feet, murmuring her apologies to Lady as she reached out her hand to stroke her face. The direwolf nuzzled her gently then rose to her feet. Taking up Sansa once more, Rhaena somehow managed to get the girl up onto her back once again but this time across her shoulders, lifting her up so that Sansa was draped across her with her weight evenly distributed, making it easier for Rhaena to walk. First shelter. That was all Rhaena needed to focus on. One objective at a time until they were safe, then she could plan their next move. It was all she could do, and she was grateful not to be so alone this time. They would not have survived without Lady. She somehow managed to find them an easy path to tread and her presence kept any wild predators at bay so they remained undisturbed. She had Rhaena follow her, seemingly wandering aimlessly until finally they came upon a smallholding which seemed out of place in the lounging countryside where nothing else lay for miles around. It did not matter. Rhaena saw the small hut and immediately started towards it. She did not care what she might find or who else was there because she had Lady, and Lady seemed utterly at ease so Rhaena wasted no time in shouldering the door open and dragging Sansa inside with her. Empty. The place was utterly abandoned. Still there were some belongings left behind and furniture, so Rhaena deposited Sansa in a corner and began to kick and break at anything wooden to break it into smaller pieces and toss them into the hearth.
She found flint and spark-stones which allowed her to start a fire, setting anything she could ablaze until it was roaring loudly before her. With so much movement her body had begun to warm up which in turn made her realise just how cold she was, shivering all the while. Rhaena stripped herself down and hung up her ruined gown before doing the same to Sansa, not caring for nakedness when warmth was what they both needed. She used scraps of cloth to dry them both down as best as she was able before using the only blanket left in the entire hut to wrap both herself and Sansa up in it though it did little to help. All the same, it was a thousand times better than they had been before. With the fire Rhaena felt a little life returning to her as she held Sansa in her arms, praying for her to wake soon. Lady lay behind them, her large frame serving as a perfect backrest so that both girls could lay their heads down and rest, Rhaena sleeping intermittently as she occasionally fed more fuel to the fire. Eventually there would be nothing left for them to burn, but Rhaena could not worry about that just yet. Getting warm in the first place was all that mattered, otherwise Sansa might not ever wake up at all.
The rain continued to drizzle even as the sky grew dark, the long hours of the night slipping by unnoticed until dawn came once more, forcing Rhaena to awaken with it. She was alert instantly, but comforted by Lady's continued presence. She had not moved at all, head resting over her paws and watching the now empty and burned out fireplace. Whimpering softly, Rhaena touched her head as it felt tender from so much crying, but otherwise she deemed herself to still be alive. Sansa was warm beside her, the two sharing body heat with one another as well as Lady providing them that warmth they had so desperately needed. Sansa stirred against Rhaena, rising from the depths of her slumber until all at once, her eyes opened. She stared at Rhaena blankly, briefly shining until slowly the light which resided there began to fade, then they were cold, empty and completely unfeeling. She did not cry. She did not wail. She did nothing. Just sat there and did not even seem to take note that she was entirely naked. "Sansa?" Testing her softly, Rhaena pressed her palm to Sansa's cheek but still the girl did not stir. It were as if she had gone back to sleep whilst her eyes remained open. Sansa did not speak or utter another sound for a very long time thereafter.
Not wanting to press her into responding, Rhaena allowed Sansa to grieve in her own manner whilst she set about turning her mind to other tasks. By focusing she was able to push down and ignore her own desire to close herself off from the world or begin sobbing all over again. She could not afford to do so. Not right now. So instead, Rhaena began to rifle through the belongings that had been left behind by whomever had abandoned this dwelling. The gods must have been pitiful to the naked girls because Rhaena found several items of clothing in one of the drawers. They were rough to the touch but clothing none the less. There was a peasant's dress meant for a woman, so Rhaena clothed Sansa in it with a spare shirt underneath, then dressed herself in the clothes which had clearly belonged to a man. They swamped Rhaena but having nothing else other than clothing made for little children, Rhaena made do. She rolled up the britches at the waist and the ankles so that they were not so long and tied a scrap of cloth about her so that they would not fall so easily. She then pulled on the shirt and thick wool jacket, closing them over her front in order to keep her from growing cold again. "Lady." Calling the direwolf softly, Lady immediately rose to her feet and padded over to Rhaena who held her hand open to her. "We need food. Can you hunt something for us?" Lady gazed up at her quietly. "Food, Lady. Go hunt. Make sure we're safe here." Opening the door, Lady slipped through and soon pelted into the open and back in the direction of the forest.
Despite not wanting her to go, Rhaena knew that unless Lady found something to hunt and bring back to them, she and Sansa would soon starve. There was nothing left for them to eat here, though at the very least there was water that could be retrieved from a well just outside. They would die of thirst long before they died of starvation, so that was a small comfort at least. Rhaena managed to coax Sansa to drink a little but the girl remained completely unresponsive to anything. It were as if she were nothing more than a shell. If Rhaena had the energy she would have talked to fill the silence, but she was just as hollow as Sansa seemed so instead, merely sat with her in silence, praying for Lady to hurry back to them. They waited for some hours until finally, there was a scratching at the door. Leaping up from the floor Rhaena ran to the door and swung it open to let Lady back inside, seeing that she had a rabbit grasped in her mouth. "Lady! You wonderful creature, well done!" Gasping with relief, Rhaena took the rabbit then set about trying to skin it with the crude knife she had found in one of the clay pots in the far corner of the room with a single fork and spoon with it. The instrument was barely sharp enough to cut butter but Rhaena did what she could, almost having to hack away the skin after twisting off the head. She had long since lost any sensitivity to such gruesome tasks in her first journey with Sansa from King's Landing to Riverrun. They had learned together, though it had been a difficult process.
Still the rabbit was relieved of its skin and Rhaena set about making another fire with what kindling she could gather, cooking the meat until she deemed it fit for eating. She gave the first portion to Lady to reward her for her hard work, then tried to encourage Sansa to eat but other than tearing off pieces of meat and pushing them into her mouth, Rhaena could do little else. Sansa chewed them, one by one and eventually swallowed but it was more of a reaction to the taste and presence of meat rather than a conscious effort to eat. Rhaena ate what was left. With nothing more to do she wrapped herself in the blanket with Sansa and lay against Lady once more, deciding that they would set off from this place in the morning in order to find a village or a town, somewhere they might be able to ask where they were and what was happening in the world. Listening to the howling wind outside, Rhaena shivered. It was a long night and not even Lady could provide her with enough comfort to sleep well. It was cold and the shutters rattled as the door hammered in its place. None of them slept until the early hours when the wind had exhausted itself, though when the first filters of light began to creep upon the land, Rhaena rose and pulled Sansa to her feet, whistling for Lady before then setting out in the direction of the rising sun as this at least meant she knew she was heading eat. It was her only certainty, so she took it, holding Sansa's hand who drifted like a ghost behind her whilst Lady led the way, once more a sombre party of lost souls wandering aimlessly in the wilds.