I twisted in the saddle, attempting to find some alignment for my spine. I could not help but think of Sansa's incredible ability to sit perfectly straight on her horse. Granted, she rode slower than any person I knew, but I was certain her back felt comfortable.

"You can last one more day," Theon commented. "Stop complaining."

"I haven't complained at all!" I exclaimed.

"Your eyes—"

"—Stop looking at my eyes."

Theon stared at me, trying to hold back a smirk as he raised his eyebrows at me, "Where do you prefer I look?"

I sighed, "I shall choose to ignore that."

"Of course, my lady," he returned with a false sweetness.

I was tired of casting my eyes skywards, but Theon seemed to elicit that reaction multiple times daily. Looking towards the horizon, I wondered how long until I would see Robb. I expected him to ride out to meet us, particularly given the fact that I had delayed us in Plenair a bit longer than anticipated. Instead, I saw something else far off in the distance. It appeared almost as a centaur that disappeared just as quickly as I saw it.

"Did you see that?" I demanded.

Theon let out a loud sigh, eyeing me with disinterest, "This again?"

"There was something over there."

"Yes, probably a deer. Shall we go hunting?"

"My lady," Hal, one of our guards, spoke up. "I would be happy to ride ahead for a look."

"Take some men with you," I replied. "Safety in numbers."

It was one of the last statements my brother said to me before I left. He had sent some additional guards on our journey after determining my six were entirely too few. Apparently, Lord Whyte's comments had put him on edge as they did to me.

"I'm not as smart as I'd like to think."

I sat in my chamber with my elder brother and my mother on my last night at Plenair, thinking upon what the older lord had said.

"Obviously," Will agreed.

I whipped my head to face Willem fully. My eyes were daggers, but he merely shrugged, "Nor am I. We have a hell of a lot to learn. That seems more apparent every day."

It was my mother, who laughed first. I could only imagine she had been waiting years for Willem and I to realize this. I had seen that look more times than I cared to count, most recently from Lady Catelyn after Bran's fall.

My mother's laugh was true enough but it was the softness in her eyes and the small shake of her head that gave away her true feelings: I had said as much, but I wish I were wrong.

"Unfortunately, no matter how wonderful of a teacher your father or I may have been, or Lord and Lady Stark for you, Ana…there are many things you must discover on your own," she added.

"Such as calling upon the powerful friends of Father all at once might raise suspicion?" I asked. I shook my head, staring out the window as my eyes stung with tears of frustration. "You should not have to teach that."

"Oh, these things can be explained away convincingly enough to much of the world, Ana, though obviously not all. And, the attacks have already come to your home. Our actions here did not start them," she returned.

"No, you simply stoked the fire," Will replied with a tone that suggested this was trivial.

"We both stoked the fire," I reminded him.

Will nodded with a rueful smile. He did not seem to want to admit that he also did not think clearly.

"Well, I better send you with a few extra guards," Will replied.

"I think we will be fine."

"Just in case. Safety in numbers."

In the end, he added four to our company. I had insisted upon traveling light so that we could make quick time, but the whole journey, I kept looking over my shoulder or peering ahead, convinced we were being watched. This time, however, it was more than paranoia – there seemed to be a sickness growing in my stomach as we rode onward.

I retreated into my mind, closing my eyes as we rode onwards in an attempt to block out the known sounds of my company. The steps of our horses faded along with the quips of the men. As they fell to nothing more than background noise, I could begin to focus on the sounds just off the road. There was nothing of note, just the continual uneasiness growing inside of me. Then, a snap of a branch.

My head whipped to the left side of the road, but there were only trees to see.

"Ana?" Theon asked warily, his eyes squarely on me.

I shook my head but my furrowed brows gave away my uneasiness. Theon kicked his horse onwards to ride next to me. And then again, two quick snaps in the distance.

"Move!"

Our horses raced down the road, but as the swish of an arrow shot by my ear, I realized racing these people to Winterfell was nothing more than a dream. My heart began to pound in my ears as five men appeared not far in front of us. I didn't have to glance behind me to know at least as many were bringing up the rear.

I reached for my bow and quiver as another arrow passed by my leg, sending Chimera one direction in terror, before another arrow pushed him back the other way. With a third in quick succession, my horse reared.

"Chi!" I cried, losing my grip.

I grasped hopelessly at the saddle before falling hard onto my back. All air escaped from me as the pain shot in tendrils up my spine, stinging and burning. Breathing in just made the pain worse but as the yelling grew louder and the arrows increased, I pushed myself to my feet.

"Ana, move!" Theon cried, stepping in front of me, pushing me to the ground.

I sucked wind through my teeth as the pain jolted through my spine yet again.

"The Others take you, Theon!" I swore at him.

Theon opened his mouth to speak, but his breath was stolen from him an instant later when an arrow lodged in his shoulder.

"Fuck!" he screamed. He started to ready his bow, but the pain stopped him, causing him to yell out again.

From the ground, I pulled one of the few unbroken arrows from my quiver, readying my bow. Almost as soon as the arrow was in my hand, I had released it, hitting the man in the neck. Blocking out his screams, I took another arrow and stood up again, letting it fly into another assailant.

"Stay on the ground, damn you!" Theon yelled at me.

"You aren't dying for me!" I retorted, and as the man got closer, I let fly one more arrow before grabbing my sword that had fallen when Chimera threw me off.

The men were close enough now that the clashing of swords came from all sides. I gave one look to Theon, who was already staring at me anxiously, and took a step towards the nearest man.

I raised my sword, blocking the first thrust, parrying his attacks and finding myself forced to absorb a great deal of power with each block. I began to feel it in my back, each thrust sending another shock of pain. The sounds of men fighting and screaming plagued my ears, calling my attention as the man I fought pushed my sword to the earth with his.

A quick turn sent my spine screaming, but it freed me and allowed me to knock the man's shoulder with the hilt of my sword, forcing him to fall forward and giving me access to slice my sword across the back of his neck. The blood spray and gutteral screams suggested he would not pose much more of a threat, but for safety, I brought my sword against the front of his neck when he fell to his knees and then ultimately on his face.

The screams of other men and the smell of blood grated on my senses. The pounding thump of hooves and frightened whinnying from horses mixed with the pleas of men, gripping at my intestines, as the pain in my back continued to threaten me, but there was no time. All I could think about was steady breathing.

I had to push everything away, forcing tunnel vision to only what was in front of me. I saw Theon fighting someone nearby. Pain etched across his face with each move of his sword. I ran to him and helped him finish the man before going after another, who had wounded sent one of my brother's men to his knees.

With my renewed focus, it was easier to see the tells in the assailant's approach, wrong-footing him, seeing his eyes glance just beyond me with hope. But his distraction was my opening and within a moment, his sword and sword arm had fallen to the ground.

I turned and raised my sword in time to block the man coming from behind me, but the moment the steel clashed, his face twisted horribly. I suddenly realized the silver tip of a blade protruding from the bottom of his chest. The man's sword dropped first to his side and the blade lodged within him vanished.

As the man fell to the ground, I saw behind him stood a handsome man with curly hair and blue eyes that looked equal parts worried and hopeful. His face glistened with sweat and his breathing was erratic. For a moment, we stared at each other in shock.

"Hi," he ventured.

"Robb!"