"So what is she like, the Lady we are going through all this trouble for?" Aila asked her as they walked happily chattering away their day. The weather was kind on them today, the sun was out and it made the air around them considerably warmer.

"Hm, it's hard to say as I haven't seen her that often yet," Sylene told the group. She had expected for them to ask her about Alayne some time as she was the only one to have had contact with her with her supposed home and job at the Eyrie.

"They haven't been around for such a long time yet and I descended the Eyrie before they did. I know she isn't really a Lady though, she was born a bastard. The marriage will assure Petyr Baelish of a better claim of the Vale."

"But isn't the young Robert supposed to be Lord of the Vale?" Teala chided in.

"The boy is weak, everyone to have a look at him would know," Gretha told sincerely. She had visited the Eyrie and met the boy before. "He may very well not survive the winter."

Sylene silently nodded in agreement.

"Do you think she's still innocent though? She's a bastard after all," Mea contemplated.

Sylene quickly hid her face behind her shawl at that as to not show them her expression. She had to expect talk like this amongst the women; still it angered her that they questioned Alayne in this matter.

"The girl is still innocent, I have seen enough of her to know that much," she curtly answered.

"So who was yours then?" Aila grinned a wicked smile at her as she asked the question.

This caused her to turn completely red and she was glad for her shawl that still covered most of her face. She had no experience on this subject, she had been married yes but as it was not consummated she was still mostly oblivious of the ways of men and women.

She knew the smallfolk had their own ways and didn't care to go into a marriage without the woman's innocence assured. It was more real compared to all the arranged marriages between the highborn people. She liked the idea of it better, yet all her highborn instincts told her it was wrong.

"No man has had me, they may try but they won't get very far," this was Sylene speaking. Although there was some truth in it for Sansa too now, she would not let herself be ruled again even if she somehow found herself thrown back into the lion's den.
Cersei Lannister had once told her a woman's weapon was between her legs, and she wanted to be nothing like Cersei.

"A man kissed me once, but he left after that," that wasn't a lie either.

Mea gave her a look. "Do you think you'll ever get to see him again?"

"No," it came out softer than she intended to, "he's gone forever."
They walked in silence for a while after that. But she had no time to think on it any further for long. A sharp sound shot through the air as an arrow hit the ground. The companions all turned to look supposing Cato had seen something in the trees and was hunting for it. He wasn't, his look was a confused one and just as he opened his mouth to speak a second arrow shot through the air and hit Gretha in her belly. The older woman immediately lost her footing and fell to the ground, her cane dropping beside her and rolling away. She was shaking, spams running through the old woman's body.

Sylene's first instinct was to rush towards her but she was suddenly held back by two arms.

"We can't Sylene, we have to run!" Aila shouted as she tried to drag her away.

It was chaos now. Cato took out his bow in one swift motion and was already shooting arrows in the direction the first ones had flow from mere seconds ago.

She could see blood gathering around Gretha's body, her eyes were becoming dull. No, she thought, no please, not now, not these people. Please. Someone help!

But no words left her mouth and no help came. Her sight became hazy. Suddenly she found herself thrown back in King's Landing, back in the middle of the riot. The skin of Sylene slipped off and she was back to being a scared little bird. She could smell the reek of its streets and feel the hands of an unknown man pulling at her. Sansa felt the intense burn of the man's hatred towards her and she could do nothing to prevent him from hurting her. She shut her eyes tightly. I am not that girl anymore. That girl was saved by a Hound and there are no Hounds here, only Sylene.

When she reopened her eyes again the world seemed to move around here. She noticed the pulling on her arms she had felt before were only Aila and Mea trying to hold her back. She was still trying to get to Gretha who now lay completely still.

Suddenly Teala came into view. She was waving her dagger around. The gesture made her mind clear for a second, just enough so she could make out the words Teala yelled at her "Run! We'll hold them off! Just go!"

There were men streaming from the bushes now, their eyes bloodshot and most of all hungry. Hungry for the food they had been saving and more.

One of the mountain clans, she thought.

She saw one of Cato's arrows pierce a huge man running towards him. Teala turned around and sliced the throat of another coming up quickly behind.

There was no more time, they were running now. Running so fast she didn't even know if she hit the ground. It seemed like she had grown wings.

A single man made to purchase them, he was fast but the three of them were long of leg and ran even faster. The purchase seemed to last forever and she was beginning to find herself short of breath.

"You're a pretty one, I'll be sure to keep you," he emphasized the last word. The man seemed to notice her struggle to keep up too and suddenly he leaped forward and grabbed for her leg and with it tripped both her and himself as they fell on the cold hard ground.

She screamed then, a scream to throw him off and for aid to come. There was no sign of Aila and Mea; they had disappeared when she fell to the ground. The contents of the sack she had carried with her lay scattered about them. The man was upon her now. She tried to claw at his face but it only made him grip her tighter. As she struggled for her freedom she saw something glimmer on the right side of her face, she wildly grabbed at it and plunged it towards her attacker. The dagger struck him in the neck just above shoulder. He howled and fell off her. She wasted no time in getting up and flew towards the man again, this time she stabbed straight at his throat. Blood sprayed from the place the dagger had hit. She could hear the man gurgling and choking on his own blood before he went completely still.

She collapsed on her knees then while hot tears streamed down her face. It was all too much, just when she was growing accustomed to a better life she was plunged back in the middle of danger again. Death always seemed to find her. Maybe I am cursed.

She was still clutching the dagger in a bloodied hand. I just killed a man. She turned away and retched up the meal they had shared amongst her group. The realization that she was alone suddenly hit her then. She had no idea which direction they had fled. Teala and Cato had stayed behind and Aila and Mea had run along but her orientation had vanished somewhere when she was running and she had no idea how to turn to either of them now.

But she was Sylene now, and Sylene could get out of this, no would get out of this.

She wiped her hands and cleaned her face in a puddle of melted snow. The cold shock of it helped her think clear at least. With as much courage as she could muster she turned to the dead man again. He was grey in the fading daylight except for the red that covered his face, upper body and the ground around him.

It felt weird looking at the corpse. Just minutes ago the man had shouted at her and she had felt his hot grabbing hands upon her, now he was reduced to being nothing more than an empty shell. And it had happened by her hands. The sight still frightened her but it also gave her an assurance. She could indeed take care of herself. She had been more lucky than she was skilled at surviving, she knew. But she had to hold on to something to give her courage to make it to the world of the living.

She wasted no more time and gathered the contents of the sack she had carried previously together. She was lucky they all carried their own bedroll and shared the load. She had to come closer to the dead man one more time to retrieve the dagger that had fallen from her hand. She knew the man might have valuable goods on him but she couldn't bring herself to rummage through a dead man's clothes. As soon as she grabbed the dagger she turned around and took to a light sprint. She didn't know where she was headed to, she only knew to get away as far as possible before it went completely dark.