Cassandra scrambled to her feet, holding her arms out as she saw Arya stood before her. A fresh set of tears fell down her cheeks as she wrapped Arya into her arms, holding her little sister tightly to her. Arya was the one who rarely showed affection. She was a strong, young girl. She didn't need to hold anyone. But she could have fooled Cassandra.

"Arya...oh...Arya, where have you been? What has happened to you?" Cassandra whispered.

"A lot," Arya said; her small arms wrapping around Cassandra's waist as her sister picked her up in her arms. She held her with closed eyes, Arya looking over her shoulder to the sight of Theon Greyjoy on the floor. Rage filled up with her then. She pushed herself out from Cassandra's grip and glared at Theon.

She had heard news of what Theon had done. The entire South had been speaking about it. Tywin Lannister had mentioned it whilst she was serving for him. How could he be in the Twins? How could he have been holding her sister?

"What are you doing here?" Arya roared at him, her anger completely uncontrollable as she glared at Theon. He had killed her brothers. He had placed their burnt bodies on the gates of Winterfell for all to see. He was sick. He had always been an acquired taste whilst she had lived with him. She had never truly liked Theon, knowing what he did during the days in the town, and then for him to come back to Cassandra and pledge how much he cared for her.

"Arya," Cassandra sighed as Theon stood up tall. "Arya, calm down."

"No!" Arya roared, her hands balling into fists as she hit against Theon. The heir of Pyke stood firmly against the wall, wincing slightly as he felt her hit him where he was already bruised. He would give her that, she was strong.

"He killed Bran and Rickon!" Arya roared.

"No, he didn't," Cassandra said, taking hold of her sister's arm and using all the force she could muster to pull her back from Theon. She wrapped her arms around Arya's waist, keeping her firmly to her. "Theon didn't kill them, Arya. Bran and Rickon ran away...I saw them go...listen to me..."

Arya stopped her thrashing after a few moments, her glare still set on Theon as Cassandra dared to release her from her grip. She waited a moment before bending down to Arya's level and resting her hands on her shoulders.

"I will explain everything later," she promised her. "You need to come with me now, Arya. Mother and Robb are inside...but...you need to understand what has happened. Robb married-"

"-He married a woman named Talisa," Arya said, leaving Cassandra to wonder where she had gained all of her information from. "He was promised to one of Lord Walder's daughters. You married one of the sons."

"I did," Cassandra agreed. "But...Talisa...she is dead, Arya. The Freys killed her ...Robb..."

She didn't know what to say to Arya. She didn't know what the young girl should do when she got in to see Robb and mother.

"I'll be gentle with him," Arya declared, and Cassandra nodded. That would do.

The maturity of Arya was something which Cassandra had not expected from her sister. She hadn't really expected to see her again, if she had to be honest. None of this seemed plausible. She was gaining her family again. She just needed to find Sansa, Bran and Rickon. The war had to finish soon, only then would they all truly be safe.

"Come along," Cassandra said, holding her hand out for Arya to take.

The young girl gripped tightly onto her sister's hand as Theon remained mute, too drained to say anything to anyone. All he wanted was a bed to rest his head on for the night. He needed to sleep and recover.

He walked alongside Cassandra back to the main hall. Bodies lay strewn around, but they didn't seem to faze Arya. She looked at them as if it was a normal occurrence in her everyday life. Cassandra looked in as Robb sat on a bench with Catelyn next to him, her arm wrapped around him as he drained a goblet of wine.

"Mother," Arya was the first one to speak.

Catelyn looked up before turning her head around to see her youngest daughter stood before her. It took her a good minute to recognise that it was Arya before she moved to stand up. Robb followed suit, his red rimmed eyes focused on his youngest sister. Catelyn rushed forwards, her arms open as Arya bolted into them. Tears formed in her eyes as she kissed the top of her daughter's head. Even Arya managed to shed a small tear.

She had wanted this for so long. She had travelled by the Hound's side long enough.

"Theon," Cassandra whispered his name as she took hold of his hand. "You need rest."

He nodded in agreement with her on the front. She looked at her family for another moment, catching Robb's eye. He nodded at her as she wrapped her arm around Theon's waist. She helped him to limp out of the main hall again, content with knowing that Arya was safe with her mother and brother.

"Only three more to go," Theon commented on the amount of Stark children left to find.

"Aye," Cassandra agreed. "Hopefully Bran and Rickon have made it to the Wall...and Sansa...Dear Gods, I have no idea what has happened to Sansa."

"She'll be safe in King's Landing," Theon said as they came back out to the cold air of the evening. "You would have known about it if she wasn't."

"I suppose you're right," Cassandra agreed weakly with his analysis. "I just want them all to be safe now."

"They will be," Theon said. "If you avoided a massacre, then they will be."

"Anyway," Cassandra said, changing the topic, "we need to tend to your wounds."

She walked him to a tent, helping him to sit on a spare bed before assuring him that she would go and find some medicines and a jug of water. Theon sat on the bed, grateful for the weight to be taken from his feet. He took deep breaths, thinking back to what had happened to him. He didn't think any of it had been possible before. He thought his end would come in the torture chamber.

"I managed to salvage a bread roll," Cassandra spoke, tearing a small bit off and eating it for herself. She passed the rest to Theon who devoured it. He should have left Cassandra a small amount, like a gentleman would have done. But he didn't.

She helped him to change out of the rags which Yara had provided him with, running a wet cloth over his dirt covered body. She could make out the outline of his ribs and the curve of his cheekbones. He had lost far too much weight. She looked at his fingers and the nails which had been torn from them. He winced as she ran the cloth over those cuts.

"You don't need to do this," Theon said as she moved the cloth over his chest. "I can manage."

"I want to," she said. "Like you looked after me in Winterfell. It is no bother."

"If you insist," Theon said. "What will happen now?"

"I don't know," Cassandra answered honestly. "The war still continues. I imagine Robb will keep fighting for it."

"I'll be by his side," Theon told her honestly. "If he will keep me, that is."

"Just get some sleep," she urged him. "We'll talk more in the morning."

"Where are you going?" Theon wondered as she stood and straightened out her skirts. She washed her hands in the jug of water and turned her head over her shoulder to look at him again.

"To find Robb," Cassandra said. "I should have offered him some comfort before. He may not want it, but he is going to get it."

"Don't be long," Theon urged her, turning onto his side as sleep came over him.

Cassandra smiled softly at him, watching him for a moment as he began to fall to sleep. It didn't take long for his snores to be heard, only then did she move to go and try and find Robb. She didn't have to wander through the camp far, for Robb was already on the way to find his sister.

He looked at her as she stood still before him. He said nothing for a moment, content at just making sure his closest sibling was safe. She looked malnourished and drained. But a new surge of life ran through her as she launched herself into Robb's arms. He held her to him, his arms wrapping around her waist as she rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"Robb...I am so sorry...about everything..."

"It is not your fault," Robb told her. "It is my fault, Cass. I should never have married her. I should have known...I should have kept her safe from this..."

"You were not to have known," Cassandra said. "No one could have foreseen them betraying you. You are supposed to trust those who go into battle with you. "

"She was pregnant," Robb blurted out, pulling back to look at his sister. She wiped his eyes after a moment, pushing the tears away from them. "She was going to have my baby, Cass."

Shock radiated through Cassandra at that sudden news and she pulled Robb back to her. How could she believe that the Gods wanted harmony after this? They were vicious, and cruel. Robb's body shook against her for another few moments as she closed her eyes, wondering how this could have happened to her brother. What had Robb done to deserve such a fate?

"Robb," Cassandra whispered, "I am so sorry."

"How could they have done this to her? I loved her, Cassandra. I love her more than anything." Robb spoke.

Cassandra held her tongue. It didn't matter about love if an arrange marriage had already been agreed to. Robb should have known that. He should have realised that there had to be consequences for his actions, but not like this. No one deserved to die because of it.

"I know," Cassandra said. And she did know. She understood completely how he felt. She never thought that it would be possible for her to fall in love with Theon Greyjoy, but she had done. She loved him more than she thought possible.

"Theon," Robb suddenly spoke, pulling himself together and running a hand under his nose. "I need to speak with him."

"He's sleeping," Cassandra said. "Leave him be for tonight. He has been through enough so far, Robb. So have you. You can yell at him tomorrow."

"I'm not going to yell," Robb promised her. "I'm going to thank him for saving my life tonight. I know what he did. I know that he stopped the sword from going through me...maybe...I don't want to fight with him, Cassandra. He was like a brother to me."

"He still is," Cassandra promised Robb. "You know that he still is family. He made a decision which went against you, because he came for me. He did what he thought was best. Yes, he made mistakes in Winterfell, but he...he is sorry..."

"The bannermen want his head," Robb muttered as some men moved past them. Robb took hold of his sister's elbow, steering her to stand in between a gap of two tents. "I will need to tell them the truth of why he did what he did."

"If it keeps his head on his shoulders, then fine," Cassandra spoke. "Do what you need to."

"I will think further about it," Robb muttered. "I don't know what to do, Cass...I don't know what to think at all..."

"It is understandable," Cassandra spoke, running a hand over his cheek. "You need to get some sleep, Robb. You look drained and tired."

"I feel nothing, Cassandra. I should be crying, shouldn't I?"

"We all deal with events differently," she decided to reply. "Come on, I'll walk you to your tent before going back to see mother and Arya."

...

Cassandra had spent a good hour explaining everything to Arya. She had not been happy about what she had heard. She had understood why Theon had done what he did, but she didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit. She had groaned when Cassandra said that she was pregnant, and Catelyn had asked who the father was.

She didn't need to lie anymore. She'd told them that Theon was.

Arya had rolled her eyes, whilst Catelyn pursed her lips. She supposed having a Greyjoy sounded a lot better than having a Frey at that moment in time.

It was the next morning when Robb came to speak to Theon, dismissing Cassandra from the tent. She had stood outside, wondering what Robb was saying to Theon. She couldn't listen in for their voices were hushed and harsh. She contemplated going back in to find out.

Robb left the tent with an incline of his head. "We leave for Riverrun as soon as possible."

"What did you say to him?"

"Go in and find out," Robb grunted out and walked away.

She did as he had said, standing tall as she saw Theon stood in Stark armour. A cloak draped over his shoulder as he held a sword in his hands.

"What did Robb say?" Cassandra asked.

"We are to go to Riverrun. You and your mother shall stay there with Arya."

"And you?"

"I...I am to go with Robb and prove myself. I think he believes I will ram a sword through his back at the first opportunity."

"I doubt that," Cassandra frowned at him. "And the Freys?"

"To be held in the cells at Riverrun. Robb was on the way to speak to your husband...he thinks that he can be redeemed for what he has done."

"He intends to take Stevron to war?"

"I do not know," Theon said, sheathing his sword after a moment. "I do not pretend to understand what your brother will do. His actions have always taken me by surprise."

"Stevron will be no use in battle," Cassandra said. "If anything he will be a burden."

"We'll wait and see," Theon said. "Besides...you need to rest now."

"I'm a few weeks pregnant, Theon," Cassandra said. "I'm not even showing yet. I will take it easy when the baby is kicking to come out. I assume it will kick hard...what with it being your child..."

A small smirk tugged at his lips as he heard her say that. He reached out to take hold of her hand, not knowing when he would see her again. He would have the journey back to Riverrun with her, but he doubted that would give him as much time as he would have liked. He only hoped he returned in time to see her give birth...to hold his child in his arms.

Theon snapped himself out of his thoughts. Since when had he thought like that before? Since when had Theon cared for children? When had he changed during this war?

"Try to be safe," Cassandra whispered. "Promise me that."

"I promise," Theon assured her before holding her close to him once more.