To Germany11, thank you for your sweet review.
And to jazu10501 and to ilovetoplan for your reviews, I hope you'll like this chapter too.

She walked alongside the river, aware that her dress was collecting dirt and mud, but she didn't care. Everything around her was silent, the faintest noise around her coming from the stream, and the horses in the distance.
The entire trip to the Dreadfort had been straining for her petite figure. The journey to and fro the Riverlands taking a toll on her. Her mind was just as tired, she had spent the entire journey plotting and establishing her moves, her words. The lady had realized the importance of being careful, she needed to think fully of her actions in order to survive there. She had only twenty men and two handmaidens, against the entire Dreadfort and an unpredictable bastard.
"My lady" Reila walked tentatively towards her "We need you to change in your good dress".
Annalys sighed, of course she couldn't meet her betrothed while covered in mud, not that she cared.
"We're already at the Dreadfort?" she asked, annoyance seeping through her voice, the lady scanned the landscape searching for the silhouette of a castle.
"Not yet, my lady" said the young woman, offering Annalys her arm "but this will be our last stop".
The lady nodded slightly, feeling her entire body go numb, everything around her seemed to had all withered into nothing. She stared at her men as she walked to the quickly built tent, they all seemed to her so far away from all the highborn lords' games, blissfully unaware.
Once in her tent, her body started undressing mechanically, making movements that her mind didn't want her to, her hands unlacing the corset of her brown dress.
Annalys saw her handmaidens take out a beautiful dark green and silver dress, her house colors, and she watched silently as they start assembled it on her body.
"Raise your arm my lady" she obliged, her mind still running through the different conversations she could have with Snow.
"Could you turn around, my lady?" she obliged, staring at her image in the quickly set up mirror. Seeing her body clothed with those intricate designs representing her house colors sent a jolt of realization through her, plotting and scheming had been a good distraction, preventing her from dealing with the crude reality of it all.
She wanted to scream and run away, grab her horse and gallop back home, to her sisters. She wanted to give up, pack her things and leave her titles to someone else. Her entire life she has fought to get what she wanted, to prove her worth and now that a chance had arisen, she was terrified.
Annalys stared at herself in the mirror, her facial expression crunched up in a hurt demeanor, she hated feeling helpless, but she wasn't strong, her entire life's preparation had not taught her how to act in situations like this, she didn't know how to behave, she hadn't been prepared to the real world outside of the Woodsteep.
"You look great my lady" cooed Reila, the other handmaiden agreed. As if by magic, Reila's voice had snapped her from the fear induced state she had cowered into. Slowly she stood straighter, forced her facial expression to turn emotionless.
"Thanks" she managed to get out, her voice sounding coarse from the week she spent silent, she had only muttered a few words only when needed.
And it was in that moment, watching her two handmaidens smiling at her, that she remembered the promise she had made to herself two weeks prior.
Enough of being scared, she had told herself.
The young lady looked down at her feet covered by the gorgeous dark green gown and then let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
The worst that can happen is that I get killed, she naively told herself, and he cannot kill me for I'm his only hope.
She smiled the faintest of smiles.
Ramsay Snow cannot kill me. My surname and title are his only hopes.
She walked out of the tent.
"Ser Olivar" she called aloud, her voice creaking a little, a new confidence finding its way to her.
The knight rushed to his lady, worried.
"I want you to be by my side at all times, be sure to be as intimidating as you always are".
The man chuckled in his low voice.
"Sure thing, my lady" she nodded.
"And everyone" she called to her men "We will be staying here for less than a month so don't get yourselves too comfortable".
"That won't be a problem, my lady" someone shouted, she smiled.
In the distance they could already see the gloomy Dreadfort and it sure didn't look appealing.
Annalys could even spot the shape of some woods, she smiled remembering her Woodsteep.
"We need to represent our house as best as we can, so no fights, no rapes, I don't want to hear one single bad thing about my men" she made sure to look each of her twenty men in the eyes before going on "For if something were to happen, there would be consequences for me and for you, we're not at the Woodsteep, we don't know how these men think and act, we have to be careful".
Her men agreed noisily with her, chanting her house motto.
"Conquered by none" she screamed, making them shout it even louder "now let's go!".

"Who would pass this gate?" a Bolton man shouted from a tower in the Dreadfort, the building looked gloomy, misshapen and unkept. Nothing like the elegant walls of Winterfell or the welcoming ones of Woodsteep.
"Annalys Woods, daughter of Rodrik Woods, lady of Woodsteep and bannerman to the King in the North" she shouted back, sitting straighter on her grey horse.
"You're lying, lady Woods is to be expected in a few days" he shouted back, Annalys turned to her men with a smile gracing her lips. She remembered all the tales her father would tell at feasts, of how they would always arrive prematurely thanks to their horses, the fastest ones in the North, horses that could only be outran by the ones in Dorne.
"Shame we got here now" she answered, turning to point at their banners, flailing in the wind "Can't you see the coat of arms? What do you think it is?" she sassed, growing impatient.
The guard disappeared for a couple of minutes, giving the lady and her men time to laugh.
"Every damn time" said one of her men, he had been one of her father's most trusted.
The heavy gates in front of her opened slowly, she could hear the commotion inside the fort as she put on her warmest smile. Their horses started to move forward, entering the fort.
Annalys tried to sneakily look around, everything looked sad and dark, not that she expected differently. She couldn't help but notice that even the courtyard looked gloomier and was smaller than hers and Winterfell's.
Only a few people, maidens, a few soldiers and stable boys, were waiting for them, standing messily at the sides of the odd-colored yard. They were probably the first people that had been fetched in a sad and quick attempt of a welcoming party.
In the middle of the yard stood a young and fierce man that was awaiting in a put together manner. His toned body was covered in dark leather, and Annalys soon spotted the belt full of daggers, a shiver shot through her spine. His dark hair was messy on his forehead and almost reached his studying eyes, she instantly noticed that they both shared an icy blue stare.
He was handsome, with his dark wavy hair and his charming eyes.
Silence filled the air, tension building up between the two young lords, they locked eyes, analyzing each other.
Her squire was quick at her side, waiting to help her descend from her horse, she leaned towards him, eyes still locked with the lord in front of her.
Once on her feet she grabbed her gown like a proper lady and walked to the boy.
He took a step in her direction, but she stopped, bowing her head, fingers gripping the ends of her skirt, her right leg laying behind her left one as she curtsied.
A glacial silence fell into the courtyard, then someone started to murmur and then other whispers that turned into a full uproar.
She was a highborn lady, he was a bastard, he was the one that had to show her respect, not the other way around. She knew exactly what she was doing, she knew that a man's ego was the easiest way to gain his favors.
As she raised back from her curtsy, she looked at the man before her who seemed baffled, the noises around them stopping when he raised an arm in the air commanding everyone to stop.
She smiled warmly to him as he took a few steps, closing the distance between the two, her insides churning as his gentle eyes turned into angry ones. She had embarrassed him in front of his subjects.
She offered him her now trembling hand as he took it and brought it to his lips the stubble tickling her skin.
"It's an honor to meet you, Lord-" she stopped for a second, uncertain, feeling extremely self-conscious "Ramsay".
"Welcome to the Dreadfort, my lady" he answered, smiling, she studied his face, the anger that has passed through his eyes just moments before seemed to be gone.
His voice was different than she had imagined, and so was him; after all the stories she had heard, all the awful stories, she had expected to meet a monster with scars and a deep voice, but there he was, an handsome young man with a normal fitting voice.
"I presume you must be tired after the long journey" he said, offering her his arm.
"Yes" she grabbed the inside of his leather coated arm hoping that he wouldn't feel her hands shaking "We are".
"Well then, my men will show your men their rooms" he announced, staring a few of his men down.
"What about my room?" she asked, cheekily.
"I'll show it to you personally" he smiled, once again.

Annalys wandered helplessly through the gloomy corridors of the Dreadfort, her maidens following her; they were trying to find the main hall, but somehow they would always find themselves in the dungeons, except that time they had somehow managed to get back to their own rooms.
It had turned into a game, every time they would catch a glimpse of another corridor they would place bets on what they would discover, every time someone would choose the main hall as an option and every time that someone would be wrong.
"Seven hells no one will ever escape this place" commented Reila with a laugh as they entered another wrong corridor.
"This is probably the purpose, Reila" answered Cerlina, her other maid, Annalys felt shivers down her spine as the feeling of being trapped downed on her once again.
"Forget the damn hall" she said, stopping in her tracks "I want to go outside".
The two maidens nodded, understanding that their little game was over.
In the meantime, they had found themselves in front of a flight of stairs, they climbed them down with caution.
As soon as they got on the last step Reila started laughing Cerlina joined in and so did Annalys, their laughter echoing through the wooden walls of the great hall.
Annalys grabbed the fabric of her skirt, bending her head slightly trying to stop her laughter, her maids mimicking, savoring the sweet enjoyment of laughter for the first time in what felt like months.
Although, hilarity wasn't long lived as a pair of boots came into Annalys' vision, she raised herself to face none other than Ramsay Snow standing right in front of her, with an unreadable expression.
Annalys wiped a tear from her eye and muttered a feeble apology.
"What is the reason of this commotion?" he said it the same way her father would, back when she was still a child and she and her friends would roam the fort destroying it.
She smiled genuinely.
"Whenever you search something you never seem to find it, but the moment you stop that becomes the first thing you find" she said pointing to the great hall "we got lost".
"Oh yes" he said, a clearly fake smile spread on his face "I suppose it is easy to get lost in here".
"My lord" she had decided to ask him the easiest way to the yard "would you care to join me for a walk outside?".
"By all means, my lady" he was clearly not expecting her offer, she turned to her maidens and shooed them away.
"Then please, my lord, lead the way". Annalys took ahold of his right arm, clothed in leather.
He guided her skillfully through the many corridors and finally they reached the courtyard, the lady breathed in, her lungs filling with the much needed air.
"My lord" she exclaimed after a while, they were circling the walls of the castle "I meant to ask you earlier, but it didn't seem the right time".
"Please, my lady, is there something that bothers you?" he stopped, concern showing on his face, she knew it wasn't genuine.
"No, my lord. I wanted to inquire as to when we could leave for the Woodsteep" she locked eyes with him "I need to get back to my subjects".
Ramsay shook his head in confusion "Won't we stay here?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Your father assured me that he would find someone to rule her-"
"That's not going to happen" he gripped her arm roughly, she gasped, forcing her fear to morph into determination she tugged her arm with as much strength as she had, enough to free her arm from his grasp.
"It will happen indeed, my lord" she spat "because it is what your father, the King in the North and I agreed to" her arms folding on her chest.
"Well then" he smiled falsely "We will leave in a week… anything to make you happy, my lady".
His smile sent shivers down her spine, she hadn't met many shady men in her life, but she was sure he would be one of the worst in all Westeros.
They kept ambling in the garden, her arm went back to her place in the crook of his elbow as her heart was still thumping in her chest, screaming at her to let go and run. The way he had gripped her arm had shaken her to the core, nonetheless she powered on, walking at his side, nodding to the servants' courtsies.
She had spent an entire week devising a plan that was anchored in the simple idea that the bastard would have been fine with becoming the lord of Woodsteep, but she understood only now that what Ramsay desired was to be legitimized and become a Bolton.
And she was standing in his way.
Annalys stared at Ramsay out of the corner of her eye, he had a stern and calculating face and as they kept walking she tried not to panic.

I'm back!
Sorry for the wait but I've been binge-watching Outlander (I got to the end of the first season in a few days) and now I'm dwelling in the pain. Also Ramsay, compared to BlackJack Randall, is a cute little lamb.
But enough of me, we've finally met Ramsay, poor Annalys she's in for a ride.
Let's place our bets, how do you think the story will end?
Hope you liked the chapter even tho it's a lil bit longer than usual.
Tell me if you found some mistakes.
Love you,
Nicole.

[This chapter has been re-edited on 1/05/19]