The girl kept to the verge as she walked. The moonlight made uneven patches on the road merge together, so although she could see well enough to know where she was going, she kept stumbling on unexpected bumps and dips.

Everything was silvered by the mist, and the trees cast stripy black shadows in her path. She found herself stepping over them, jumping the wide ones. If only I don't tread on a shadow then... she thought, before stopping herself. Then... what? Everything will work out? Sooty will come back? She's probably half-way home to Goldgrass by now. The girl's thoughts flicked to Jaime. Then Jaime will stay with me?

She hadn't consciously realised what it was she actually wanted, until just then. But as soon as the want crystallised itself in her mind, she smothered it like a runty whelp. Let's try and stay somewhat in the realms of reality, shall we? she chastised herself.

She walked for over half an hour when the sound of hooves came from up ahead. Two riders emerged from the veil of fog wisping across the road, and reined in when they saw her. They wore chainmail and leather armour, with dark blue coats and smooth grey helmets. Their shields bore the sigil of a snarling wolf.

'Hold, girl,' one of them called out, as she made to walk past. She halted, looked up at them blandly.

'A moment of your time,' the soldier said. His tone made it clear that this was not a request but an order. His horse shifted restlessly and tossed its head, the bit clacking against its teeth. 'A late night for a lone girl on the Riverroad,' he observed.

'Yes. I was unfortunate enough to lose my horse, and all my belongings.' She gestured up the road. 'Is it far to the Inn? I've been walking for hours.'

'Not far,' said the soldier. He studied her. She felt uncomfortable, having spent most of her life avoiding the attention of soldiers, lawmen and all persons of authority.

'We heard a clanging noise earlier, coming from this direction. Any idea what that may have been?'

'Yes, I'm afraid that was me. My horse had lost a shoe and I was trying to bang it back on. She didn't take kindly to my amateur farrier skills, and took off on me.' The girl smiled. 'Damn horses.'

'I see. Well that would explain the noise we heard from our camp. So, girl. Do you live around here?'

'In, ah... RedHollow. My family live here and I'm visiting them.'

'What's your name?'

She hesitated fractionally. 'Robberta.'

'Well, Robberta, if you're from the Hollow then you'd know there has been a cordon of soldiers there since last night, searching for an escaped prisoner. We're sending out patrols throughout the Riverlands, and everyone is being questioned as to who they may have seen on their travels.' The soldier regarded her closely. 'This man is very dangerous. He is travelling alone and shouldn't be approached in any circumstances.'

'Oh,' the girl said. There was a silence. 'Well, thanks for letting me know.'

'You haven't run into anyone of that description?'

'Of what description?' the girl asked innocently. 'It's just, 'dangerous' 'escaped prisoners' don't tend to wander around advertising that fact. In my experience.'

The soldier looked stern. 'Have you seen,' he emphasised curtly, 'any lone man, unkempt, acting suspiciously, in these parts?'

She pondered the question, then snapped her fingers. 'There's a dead body over the bridge, that way.' She pointed. 'I think maybe attacked by a wild animal or something... my horse shied at it when we crossed. That's probably your fellow. You should check it out,' she smiled helpfully. 'As long as you don't need a head. I think that was... absent.'

The soldiers looked at each other, then at her. She waited.

'We will check that out come the dawn,' the main one said.

She nodded.

The soldiers swung their horses' heads around and began to ride back the way they'd come.

'Wait!' called the girl, hurrying up to them. 'D'ya think you could possibly give me a lift?'

The Stark soldiers dropped her near their camp further up the road, and she thanked them, wished them luck in locating their missing prisoner. She headed on along the Riverroad until out of sight, then cut through the bush towards the river. She was only about a mile now from the Crossroads Inn, and long-forgotten landmarks rose at her out of the darkness. A gate, a corner, a cluster of willow trees. Her pulse began to race. Despite the chill night air, sweat dampened under her arms and she felt short of breath.

Seven hells but I hate this place, she swore, then reminded herself that Jaime was expecting her back soon, with tools. Jaime, who had nothing to do with the bad memories taunting her here, who was right now being hunted by soldiers and she his only help. Something melted inside of her at the thought of him; his wry smile, the way his fringe fell into his green eyes. It's nothing, I'm just fond of him, is all. She pressed on.

Making her way along the riverbank, she stared out into the swirling current. Despite her best efforts, with each step closer to the Inn more bad thoughts tormented her. Was this where you died, little brother? Here? Besides the water, or further over here, among this copse of trees? Is this where you ran for your life? You were a fast runner. I was so proud of you. Were you scared at the end? Were you in pain? She felt cold fingers grab at her heart and squeeze it. Am I walking over your bones, now? Is this the soil fed with your blood?

The girl stopped, shaking, unable to go on. The Inn was close, she could smell the smoke from its chimneys, but she needed to compose herself. She sat down on the bank and looked across into the far distance, imagining for a brief moment that she saw Sooty running through the trees on the other side. She knew it was only the shadows that clouds made as they drifted across the moon, but she whistled anyway. In the still air, the sound seemed to hang, reverberating across the black water.

She whistled again. After several minutes had passed, she picked up some pebbles on the ground beside her and skipped them onto the river. They leapt lightly across the surface, kicking up little white splashes that caught the light. I could only ever get four skips, little brother, she thought, you once got seven. Caught up in her memories, she didn't hear the footsteps until they were directly behind her.

'What are you doing?'

The girl jumped up and spun around, her heart thudding. 'Fuck!'

The boy stepped back. 'Sorry I... we heard whistles. What are you doing?'

The girl put her hand to her chest, feeling a stab of adrenaline from the shock. 'What the fuck are you doing sneaking up on me like that? If I'd had my bow with me you'd have an arrow in your neck by now!'

The boy didn't look intimidated at her outburst. Instead, he scowled. His slight frame was semi-shadowed, shaggy brown hair falling in his face. Aged about 13, the girl thought. Here I am in the very place where my own brother died, yelling at another boy his same age. What is wrong with me?'

'Sorry,' she said, in a more normal voice. 'You startled me.'

'Do you always swear so much?' the boy rebuked her. His accent, unlike her own, was well-bred.

'Yeah, unfortunately I do.'

'Are you lost?'

'No.' The girl pulled a face at that ridiculous notion. 'I'm on my way to the Inn. I need to buy an axe. Or, a sword. You wouldn't have, or know where I could get one, would you?' She stuck her hand in her pocket, pulling out her moneypouch. 'I can pay you.'

The boy shook his head, his fierce expression charmingly at odds with his long-lashed grey eyes. 'We need ours.'

'We?' The girl laughed. 'Who's this we? Are there more of you kids running around out here at night? It's not safe, you know. Ghosts haunt this place.'

'I don't believe in ghosts,' the boy said, scathing.

The girl grinned. 'Well aren't you just the fearless Knight.' She bowed dramatically. 'I'm so glad you're here now to protect me, brave one.'

The boy smiled a little, and without the scowl he looked even younger than she'd first thought. 'My friends and I are having a rest, something to eat. We're on our way somewhere too. They're watching me, there in the bushes,' he pointed. 'In case you were, mad or something. Tried to bite my head off.'

The girl looked into the bushes but couldn't see a thing. She didn't like being spied on. 'Are they satisfied now that I'm not the head-biting type?'

The boy ignored her question, and glanced around, before fixing her with his intense stare again. It was cute, but unnerving, at the same time. He narrowed his eyes. 'Why were you whistling? Did you lose your dog?'

'Not a dog. A horse.'

'You taught your horse to come when you whistle?' The boy looked impressed. 'I had a... um, a dog once who came when I whistled. But I never tried to teach a horse.'

'It's easy, just start them young,' the girl advised. 'My horse protects me and everything.'

'I lost my dog, too. Around here... she was protecting me too but, she ran off.' The boy's eyes glazed over no doubt at the memory of his own, similar, loss. Then he shook himself out of it. 'Where's your horse, now?'

'She's gone. Scared off by a big -' The girl stopped herself, not wanting to terrify this kid with tales of monster wolves lurking nearby,' - a big badger. It was growling and... yeah. You know horses. Scared of their own shadows.' She shrugged.

'Oh. I'm sorry. I guess it was carrying all your stuff too. What happened to your hands?'

The girl regarded her open palms as if only just noticing them, oozing blood and pus and criss-crossed with their many abrasions. 'I fell over.'

The boy looked unconvinced. 'On what, a pile of knives? Hey. Why don't you come and have something to eat with us? 'Cause you lost all your stuff and we have food. We've got bread and cheese, and my friend caught a fish. Come on.' He turned and vanished into the darkness of the trees like a sprite. The girl's mouth watered at the mention of food, and she paused, then followed. Remember Jaime is waiting for you, and he's hungry too. Don't stay too long.

In the thick scrub, it was hard to see further than an arm's length in front of her. She smelled smoke, and then the glow of a small fire appeared, hidden by a thicket of brush. The boy led her into a campsite where another shorter, fatter child sat on a fallen branch by the fire, chewing on a hunk of cheese. The girl stopped so that he could see her clearly. 'Hey,' she said. 'Your friend said I could, share some of your food?' The scent of cooked fish and toasted bread filled her nose, and her empty stomach spasmed.

'Arya is always givin' away stuff,' the fat boy grumbled. 'We aint even got enough food left for us.'

'Well if you hadn't eaten it all on the first night, we'd have more, wouldn't we?' said a man's voice behind them. It sounded vaguely familiar and as the girl turned, a huge smile broke across her face.

'What the fuck are you doing here?' she asked, delighted. 'Gendry!'