Author's Note: Thank you as always for any and all reviews, follows, and favorites! They are all much appreciated. On another note, I wanted to mention that author Maddie Rose is hosting the Game of Thrones summer awards. Basically, if you have any stories you really enjoy reading about GOT, head to the nominations page and let her know which fics you would like to nominate for the different categories. There's a lot of fics for GOT right now and I think pointing out particular ones could help bring some attention to other authors you really enjoy and stories that are well written. I know there's a lot of lurkers around here, but I would encourage anyone who wants to make a suggestion to go ahead and do so. It would be a good way to get involved and let your opinions be heard:) Thank you for reading my long blurb, and now please read on and enjoy the new chapter!
Sansa's hand felt cold and still in hers. Amarah looked at her cousin's face in the pale moonlight to find it looked much the same. Drawing the younger girl against her to provide whatever comfort or warmth she could, Amarah continued ushering her through the dense forest. She imagined she could feel a faint tremor in Sansa's delicate frame, but she also sensed something else in her aside from the small display of nerves. She could feel her cousin's strength, a mute resolution to brave whatever circumstances lay before her.
"How much farther?" the whispered question came from Sansa.
Gendry answered before Amarah was able to form the appropriate response. It touched her that he had stayed as close as possible since their trek toward his brothers in the woods. She supposed it was his way of attempting to keep her safe. "It's not much further from here my lady," he answered with the most reassuring smile he could muster.
Amarah wasn't certain why that remark warranted a smile of any kind, but she wisely held her tongue. Sansa didn't need her pessimism to make the situation any more difficult than it already was. From the look of her cousin's pale and drawn visage, Sansa already knew the circumstances were dire.
She and Sansa traveled in the center of their little party with Jaime and the head and Sandor Clegane taking up the rear, keeping the two best warriors in the ideal position to protect their small party from harm. Amarah looked back over her shoulder to find Clegane scanning the darkened woods surrounding them for any hint of a threat. Occasionally his eyes would dart back to the young girl by Amarah's side, but other than those few glances, he kept his attention trained elsewhere in order to prevent an attack if the need arose.
Amarah then swung her gaze in front to find Jaime confidently leading them through the forest; though his pace had slowed now the closer they came to the Brotherhood's camp. It wouldn't be long now. Amarah wanted to be by his side, but she knew her cousin needed her more right now. Jaime was a skilled warrior and one of the bravest men she knew. He could take care of himself without any additional fretting from her.
"Will she be glad to see me?" Amarah looked away from Jaime to find Sansa looking up at her with an expression that reflected equal parts curiosity and anxiousness. Obviously she had noticed their slowed pace as well.
Amarah tightened her lips together in a frustrated grimace. She didn't know what reaction they would meet with when they saw Lady Stoneheart, and that ignorance grated on her nerves. She had always made certain never to walk into a situation without knowing precisely what to expect, but here she was. Waltzing right in to something she couldn't even begin to understand and dragging Sansa right along with her.
"We'll see soon enough." It wasn't much reassurance, but it was all she could think of to say.
Sansa nodded her head in understanding before Amarah noticed her eyes focus on a warm, red glow up ahead of them that could be glimpsed through the myriad of branches and limbs, indicating the presence of the Brotherhood very nearby. A tight knot of fear constricted Amarah's breast, but she tried to hide the reaction as best she could. Giving the hand held captive in hers a comforting squeeze, she leaned closer to whisper some last minute instructions.
"Whatever happens, Sansa, you must stay close to Brienne," she informed her softly, gesturing to the tall lady who strode silently beside them.
Sansa looked to Brienne with wide-eyed wonderment. "I'll protect you, my lady," Brienne promised with a grave nod. Sansa's rigid posture relaxed the slightest bit at the lady knight's words, but there was still a palpable air of trepidation and fear surrounding her. She made a supreme effort to keep the uncertainty buried beneath a docile mask, but she could not completely hide the feelings. Sansa might not show it as plainly as some, but Amarah could see that her cousin was terrified of what they might find lurking in the woods. Once again, it frustrated her that there was naught she could do to put her cousins fears to rest.
"It's time," Gendry spoke up in the dark, drawing the attention of the females beside him. "She'll be waiting to see you."
Her face was already pale, but whatever little color had been before there promptly drained from Sansa's face when she realized that there would be no more putting it off. The time to meet with Stoneheart was here. Squaring her shoulders back like the proper lady she had been bred to be, she lifted her chin with a regal tilt of her head and, without hesitation, marched across the dry bed of leaves beneath her dainty feet to meet whatever fate awaited her. Amarah let her get a few step in front before discreetly lifting the roughspun material of her skirts that was caked with a thick layer of mud at the hem after their trek through the woods. Slipping her dagger soundlessly from its sheath, she concealed the weapon in her sleeve before following in the direction of Sansa and Brienne.
"What do you plan to do with that?" Gendry whispered softly enough for only her to hear. He was the only one who had noticed her actions in removing the dagger.
Amarah didn't hesitate in her reply. "Whatever needs to be done."
Gendry looked uneasy in the face of her grave seriousness, but the significance of her words did not escape him. "I'll be with you."
The worried lines on Amarah's brow softened momentarily at the show of loyalty. "I know," she whispered back, pressing a soft kiss to his bristly cheek.
"Save the familial affection for a more convenient time if you please," Jaime's voice broke the comfortable silence between them. "It's time to make peace with the corpse."
From the ironic tone in his voice, making peace with Stoneheart was the least of his intentions, but Amarah didn't address the issue. Instead she moved from Gendry to reward Jaime with another kiss, though this was of a much different variety. Once she pulled away she noticed Gendry was gone, leaving only the two of them in the dark shadows lit by starlight up above. Jaime must have sensed the desperation in her kiss, because despite his order to move along, he took a moment to rub his thumb along the seam of her lips.
A smile that wavered between patronizing comfort and resignation pulled at the corners of his mouth. "What have I told you about imagining the worst, Princess?"
An answering smile managed to break through her morose expression at his reminder. "It's a dreadful habit of mine, I'm afraid."
"Well, put an end to it," he ordered quietly as he pressed his forehead to hers, the hard look in his eyes at odds with the tender gesture. "I don't intend to say it again."
Amarah's smile widened then at his arrogant expectation to be obeyed without question. "As you wish, m'lord," she answered in a voice that imitated young Peck whenever he was trying to placate Jaime's ire.
"If only you displayed such good sense on every occasion, my lady," he rewarded her agreement with another kiss, slipping his tongue between her lips in a quickly intimate caress before withdrawing just as suddenly and snatching her hand up in his to draw her along behind him.
The thought crossed Amarah's mind to dig her heels into the dirt in response to his cocksure reply from moments before, but allowed him to pull her along without resistance. There would be ample time to even the score later. Now, she had to devote her mind to the more important matters at hand. Namely the vengeful corpse that wanted both their heads in repayment of the despicable act committed against the Stark family.
Once they reached the clearing, Amarah's lighter mood from the stolen moment with Jaime abruptly evaporated upon finding the serious faces of the Brotherhood that greeted them. She didn't see Lady Stoneheart among them, but she knew the creature would be joining them shortly. Gendry had moved to speak with one of his fellow brother's while Sansa stood by the fire, all trace of fear and apprehension Amarah had seen in the woods completely hidden from sight as her serene gaze silently absorbed all that occurred around her. Both Clegane and Brienne flanked her on either side but Amarah noticed Sansa seemed to inch closer the Clegane the longer they stood waiting for Stoneheart to make her appearance. If Brienne noticed the gesture, she gave no indication of it and simply continued to stand silent and alert in the midst of the hostile atmosphere.
Just as Amarah and Jaime reached the spot where Sansa and her watchers stood, a rustle of leaves to the left of them instantly drew every gaze in attendance. A hooded figure silhouetted against the glow of the fire, emerged from the woods with a slow, deliberate gate. She made no move to remove the hood that covered her head, but Amarah knew her concealed gaze was riveted on them as she made her way towards the light. Through the sensation of rushing blood to her ears and a hammering heart that threatened to beat out of her chest, Amarah felt five slender fingers reach out to her and clasp her hand in a deathly tight grip. Though the pressure of Sansa's fingers was almost painful in its intensity, Amarah allowed the unconscious gesture. Sansa was simply reaching out for something familiar to grasp on to as a figure from her past made its way toward them.
The silence around them was deafening as the figure slowly approached. She stopped a few feet from the fire and only continued to stand there for so long Amarah began to lose track of time. She had expected Lady Stoneheart to rage and curse at them at first sight, perhaps not even accepting the fact that this truly was her daughter who had been lost to her for so long a time. Sansa had grown much in her time away from Catelyn Stark, her auburn hair slowly returning to its ruddy glory following the removal of dark dyes that Petyr Baelish had used to conceal her identity from those who had attempted to find her. Despite the changes in her appearance, she was clearly a Stark, a child of the North, and it seemed Lady Stoneheart could see that as well.
Finally, a chalky-white hand reached up to cautiously lift the hood from her concealed face, exposing her garish features in the bright glow of the fire. Even though she had been prepared for the ghastly sight from their previous encounter, Amarah could not hold back the horrified gasp that escaped her lips at the visible reminder of all that had been inflicted on the Starks at the hands of their enemies. The scars were still there as visibly as she had remembered. The angry looking welts that had been dug into the skin by Catelyn's nails as she had clawed at her own face in grief and despair. The sunken eyes that had seen more grief and horror than any mother should be asked to bear.
A sob of despair sounded somewhere behind Amarah and she turned to see Sansa's mask completely dissolved away to expose the shock she felt on coming face-to-face with what was left of the woman who had raised and loved her since birth. "Mother?" Sansa's quivering mouth barely managed to form the words.
Amarah had expected hate and venom from Lady Stoneheart. She had expected anger and retribution at the very least. What she had not expected was to find in her the same grief reflected in Sansa Starks eyes. This wasn't the same woman who had so nearly taken her life a mere twenty days before. This was the woman she had lost to the vengeful hands of Walder Frey. The caring, compassionate aunt who had loved and treated a niece as one of her own daughters. Those eyes no longer belonged to a hate-filled corpse bent on nothing but revenge and retribution. The longer those eyes gazed at Sansa Stark in the bright glow of the blazing fire, the more they appeared to be the eyes of the Catelyn Stark that Amarah had loved for so long.
"Sansa?" The name was garbled and almost intelligible despite her efforts to pull together the loose flaps of skin at her throat to form the word.
But Sansa understood. "Mother," she repeated again, but this time it was not a question. This time the word served as the greeting of a long lost daughter to the mother she had longed to see again. Cautiously, Sansa left the shelter of loyal knights by her side and made her way to the haunting figure that remained rooted to the spot as she watched her daughter come closer. When Sansa reached her side, they didn't embrace, but Stoneheart reached her hand out to caress the young girl's face as a thin trail of tears trickled down her ravaged cheek.
As she stood observing the heart-wrenching scene, Amarah felt a drop of moisture leak slowly from the corner of her eye in response. Stoneheart's gaze left Sansa then to focus on Amarah, as if she had somehow sensed her overwhelming sadness. This time Amarah didn't see the blinding rage from before. Now she only saw overwhelming grief, and it left her more heart-broken than any fit of wrath ever could. Anger she could accept, could understand even. This tragic despair was too much for her to bear.
"You brought her to me," Stoneheart's garbled voice broke the charged silence. "Amarah." Stoneheart said the name as if she were remembering it from a dream of long ago.
Amarah moved forward then to join the two women in the midst of silent observers on all sides. Every knight and outlaw there stood riveted by the scene unfolding before them, but the three females at the center of their attention were wholly unaware of their regard.
"You brought her back to me," Stoneheart repeated, running her gnarled fingers over Sansa's delicate features which had further refined in her absence, leaving the mark of a true woman on her beautiful face. Though there was joy in Sansa's eyes at seeing her mother once again, there was sorrow as well, something Lady Stoneheart seemed to sense. They might be reunited again, but things would never be the same. Lady Catelyn Stark would never be the same. That life they had such fond memories of was lost forever, and the thought hit all three of them like an agonizing blow.
Another tear ran down the scarred skin of Lady Stoneheart's face before she reached out to touch Amarah's arm in a motherly gesture. "Return her to the North," she implored Amarah, her hands tightening almost painfully around her arms as she made the request. "The Starks must sit in Winterfell once more. Take it back from those who have stolen it from us. Help make it her home once more."
Amarah didn't say anything, she couldn't manage to form any words around the lump of emotion in her throat, but she nodded her head in understanding. The light of desperation in Stoneheart's eyes dimmed at her reassurance, leaving a resigned acceptance in its place. Releasing Amarah's arms, she moved both hands to cup Sansa's face and bring it closer to hers. "I love you, Sansa," though she held no hand to her throat to help form the words, she spoke slowly enough for her daughter to understand.
Sansa was weeping now as well, but she was able to still her trembling lips long enough to respond. "I love you, too. I've missed you."
"I know," Stonehart responded, removing one hand from Sansa's face as it lowered again to her side. "But you're a strong girl, the girl I taught you to be. You'll retake the North in the name of our family who has perished on the swords of our enemies." Her gaze flitted briefly to Jaime Lannister at those words, though the look in her eyes was more benign than accusing. As if she finally accepted that her daughter's presence here indicated his trueness in fulfilling the bargain they had struck that night in a filthy dungeon in Riverrun.
As soon as her gaze landed on Jaime, it was gone just as quickly, once again locked on the daughter in her embrace. "Promise me, Sansa. Promise me you will do this."
"I promise," Sansa returned tearfully just as Stoneheart's hands slipped away from her face.
She backed away a few steps, taking one last moment to gaze on the face of the daughter she loved so much. "Now I can find peace." As soon as the words left her mouth, Amarah's relaxed senses were put suddenly back on edge.
It was only then that she realized the dagger she had been concealing was no longer in the fold of her sleeve where she had kept it hidden this whole time. With a wave of horror crashing over her senses, Amarah saw the gleam of the firelight on the little blade just as Stoneheart pulled it back to plunge it into her heart. With a shout of terror, Amarah yanked Sansa to her, hiding the girl's face in her shoulder just as the dagger sank home and Stoneheart sunk to the dusk with a sickening thud.
Chaos erupted around them then as one of the brothers rushed to Stoneheart's body, chanting in some strange foreign tongue that Amarah did not understand. When it became clear his words would have no effect in reviving her, the brothers rushed to and fro in a sense of panic, as if they couldn't understand that she was really and truly gone. Amarah could hardly believe it herself. As she looked at the fallen body in the dust and soothed Sansa's cries as the young girl wept in her arms, she recalled the promise that had been given.
It was then that Amarah felt Jaime's hand on her shoulder and turned her face to him. She didn't even realize she had been crying as well until he reached up to wipe away the betraying moisture from her eyes. "We'll do as she asked, Princess," he reassured her before pressing a tender kiss to her wet cheek. "We'll bring the little wolf home again."
R.I.P. Lady Catelyn, for the one final time. Now it's time to retake the North. Jaime says he'll help them, but what about loyalty to his family? How will that play in to all this? You'll have to keep reading to find out! Thanks so much for reading! Reviews, comments, and speculation are always welcome!