I could hear Oswell a few feet behind me, cutting up large chunks of wood for the fire. He had sent me out to gather some more wood, enough to sustain us for the long winter night that was fast approaching. As I was rummaging my hand over the forest floor in search of dry wood I heard a crack off in the distance. I froze and lifted my head in that direction, and soon found that the noise was getting louder. I held my breath and closed my eyes to force my senses to heighten for a moment, and I heard the soft breathing of a horse and a muffled squish as the horse's hooves stepped into the snow crusted earth. I opened my eyes and saw a towering man atop of his horse, his features shadowed by the fading sun. He spotted me, and without a second thought I turned and ran for my life. "Os!" I cried out as I jumped over a fallen tree. "Ooossss!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, the moment the horse rode close to my side, rapidly edging itself closer whenever an opening in the trees appeared.

"What is it?" he shouted, as he ran towards me with his axe in one hand and his faithful sword in the other. "Who's there?"

"I don't know," I breathed, after I fled to his side and hid behind him in trembling fear.

"Just stay behind me, you here?" he growled. Oswell stood upright and stared down the stranger that was fast approaching, it wasn't until the horseman rode into faded light that Os' entire demeanor changed. "Bless my soul! It's good to see you again, Braes!"

Braes, I thought, and took a step forward to get a better look at the man. I noticed there was someone else behind him, once a boy's head popped up to get a quick peak at Oswell and I. The horse halted in front of us and the strange man gave us a whimsical smile before he dropped down to the floor. He helped the boy off the horse, messing up his hair with affectionate, and then guided the boy towards us. "Kettleback," the man said with amusement. "Never thought I'd see you here."

"Well, you know how it is," Oswell said, as he gave the man a hug, as though they were long-lost brothers. "Got to follow the master's orders."

"I hear you," the man said with a sly smile. His dark brown eyes wandered over to me, and he looked at me with a silent appreciation. "So, my brother really was a lucky man."

I looked away shyly, for the weight of his gaze made me uneasy. He looks so much like Dale, I thought, and the realization of it made it harder to bear.

"I heard he fought bravely," the man said softly. "And that he died honourably. I am glad to hear that. I know Dale wouldn't have it any other way."

A small smile graced my lips at the remembrance of him, as a flood of happy memories came rushing back to me. "He sacrificed himself to save my life," I assured the tall gentlemen who stood before me now. He had the same soft brown eyes as Dale, but his chestnut coloured hair was cut short to reveal the sharp lines in his face. He did not have the air of a knight, but it was still imposing as he stared down at me.

"How did you find us?" Oswell asked, as he laid a hand on top of the man's shoulders affectionately.

"I simply followed instructions."

"Aye, we took a little bit longer than I intended. We had a bit of a- well, you know how it is…"

"I wish I could say I'm surprised Carl didn't make it?"

"He lasted more than a few weeks, so you shouldn't be so hard on him," Oswell teased, after he patted the man in the back. "We were just about to have a fire. You and your boy can sit down, and dinner will be ready in no time at all."

"We will help," Braes replied with an air of finality. "It will speed things up a bit."

The three of us worked together to gather the last of the wood, so Oswell could start a fire with his experienced hands. It wasn't until we were all sitting down in front of the roaring fire that Braes took a seat next to me and held out his hand. "Bryden Braes, is my name. Never really told you who I was," he said sheepishly. "I know all about you though."

"Oh," I said with a certain level of surprise. "That seems to be the recurring theme around here. Oswell knows everything about me, but tells me nothing."

"He's just following instructions."

"Who's instructions?"

"Who would send me here to protect you, Sansa?" he asked with raised eyebrows. "Who knew you and I would trust each other instinctively, even if we never met before?"

"I don't know. Dale?"

"No. Who else?" he asked with amusement, bumping his shoulder onto mine to encourage me on.

"Petyr?"

"Yes," he replied, and threw a twig into the fire with satisfaction. "It was your Lord Baelish that sent me here."

I felt a warmth tingle all over me at the mention of his name. How long have I heard the mention of his name till now? Weeks? Months? It feels like ages since another living soul mentioned his name.

"He wanted me to give you this," Bryden remarked, as he pulled something out of his coat pocket. "I kept it safe for you."

A silver mockingbird pin was placed into my hand, and the sight of it made my eyes swell up with tears. I pressed into my heart lovingly, feeling a part of him was with me now.

"He also told me to give this to you," Bryden added, as he got up to dig something out of his inner pockets of his pants. It was a square piece of paper, tightly folded up so that no one could read it aside from myself with a sealed mockingbird pin pressed to the center. "I'll let you have time to read it. I can tell it makes you happy," he said with a lopsided grin, and motioned his son to move away from me so I could be left alone to my own peaceful solitude. I opened the neatly folded letter and read the following:

My sweet Sansa,

By the time you get this letter you will be leagues away from the Vale. Maybe then, will all my worries cease to plague me, once I am certain you and our child are out of harm's way.

Let me begin by saying I'm so, so sorry.

I'm sorry for all of the pain I put you through. I'm sorry that I blamed you, my love, for your Aunt Lysa's death. I'm sorry for putting you on trial, and making you go through that horrible pantomime, that farcical trial that inevitably humbled me as well as yourself. I thought I was like a god, invincible, until the Eyrie's council condemned you to death. It was only then that I realized my own hubris, and that not even I can escape gods judgement forever. I most certainty felt the Lord's wrath that day… I felt it when the guards' dragged you out of the trial room and there was nothing I could do to stop them. I was a fool. I assumed that the council would be merciful towards you because you were with child, and I was wrong. It was a harsh lesson that day, but I learned two valuable lessons once they shut the door on me, ultimately, shutting you out of my life forever. First, even the most dangerous men can be out maneuvered, including myself. Second, I will never risk your life and the life of our child on a gamble like that, it made me realize how important you our to me, and I shall never take a risk like that again.

It has been hard without you, my sweet, not one second goes by that I don't regret the things that I have done to you, as the remembrance of you weighs so heavily upon me. It pains me to imagine the pain I put you through, and I can only hope you can forgive me in time.

I want you to know that the Iron Throne means nothing now. I will never get tired of playing the game of thrones and can only hope our child will be an avid player at it. But for now, the most important thing in my life is you, Sansa, and the child that is growing inside of you at this very minute. With that fixtured solidly in my mind's eye, how can I be in want of anything else?

And I know, I promised you that I would protect you and never leave your side. I have broken both promises much to my dismay. And for that I apologize and hope you will learn to trust me again. After all, who else is there to trust when we are so alike? Sometimes, I feel like we are two halves of the same soul. I was right when I said so very long ago, that I am the darkness to your light, and you are the light to my darkness. I need you, just as much as you need me. And for that reason, I swear to you, Sansa, that I will never let you go.

So many men, they risk so little. They spend their lives avoiding danger. Then they die. I risk everything to get what I want. And what do I want more than anything else in the world? You, my love, that is all my heart desires now. Look to the stars and count the days for I will be with you soon. Stay strong for me and our child.

Forever yours, Petyr Baelish.