The trip to Winterfell was really taking a long time. They were on the road for almost two weeks and they have just managed to join with the Kingsroad at Cerwyn. The freshly fallen snow made the trip much harder and that, paired with the vastness and infiniteness of the North, resulted in a voyage that sometimes didn't advance more than a few leagues a day. That Lord Manderly took with him almost all bannermen also didn't help the matter much. But Sansa didn't mind it. She was comfortable in her carriage with lord Manderly, gazing at the wide outside with joy. When they finally reached Cerwyn, she was beside herself with excitement. That didn't escape lord Manderly's eyes.

"My lady, we're not far anymore."

"I know, lord Manderly. I will finally see Winterfell again, I'm so excited!"

"That's quite natural. It is your home, after all. And I think I'm not wrong in thinking you never really wanted to leave, am I?"

"Oh, I wanted to leave. I was a naïve girl back then, in love and betrothed to a crazy man who enjoyed in seeing others get hurt. But I didn't know that back then. I was just glad I could go south, to see the majesty of King's Landing in its unspoiled glory. But my joy turned to ashes not long after."

"Excuse my curiosity, but what happened with your family down there? I mean before lord Eddard's death, I know what happened afterwards."

Sansa looked down in her lap and it pained her to remember those things. "You can't imagine the horror when I arrived and thought I was safe. If Joffrey didn't torture me in one way or another, I nearly got raped. If I wasn't under a threat of rape, Joffrey ordered some of his Kingsguard to beat me up. They made me annul the betrothal, marry the imp and even then I wasn't safe from Joffrey's torment. On my wedding feast he threatened me to come to my chambers and rape me while two of the Kingsguard would hold me down. Luckily he didn't do it. And the imp, however ugly and rude he was, was the only one who treated me like a human. I entered his bed a maiden, but upon realizing I didn't want him, I left his bed a maiden as well. And now he's probably dead, accused of a crime he didn't commit." She started silently crying.

Lord Manderly sat there with a look of disbelief on his face. "This imp husband of yours, is he a Lannister?"

Sansa nodded, then spoke through tears. "He is. Queen Cersei is his sister, but she hates him even more than she hated me. When Joffrey was poisoned at his wedding, her first words were 'Get the imp, he did it!' Luckily I managed to escape before she could frame me as well. But Tyrion is innocent. He didn't kill Joffrey, though he wanted that, I could see it in his face. But he took the blow for it nonetheless. Undoubtedly, he must be lying somewhere without his head now while Cersei rules the kingdoms."

"Did you like the imp?"

"No, I didn't. But it seems so unfair to me that he took the blow for something he didn't do while being the most honourable of the whole family. He was the only person in King's Landing that listened to what I said, that respected me somewhat. As frightened as I was of him at the beginning, he was the most human in the whole town, other than old lady Tyrell and her granddaughter. They even offered me to help me escape to the Reach with them, but then I was forced into this marriage."

Lord Manderly nodded. "I see. Well, my lady, I promise you my sword and oath of fealty. Doubtless the Umbers, Mormonts and others will do that too."

"I am most grateful for that, lord Manderly. But I couldn't help but notice something. I never saw the Frey banner leaving with us."

Lord Wyman chuckled. "Let's just say they had an… Accident. Yes, that's what happened to them. If the Freys can have their fables, I can have mine too and they can bugger off if they don't like them, pardon my language, my lady. They were the first part of my revenge plan, my lady. But I promise, you'll get your revenge against the Freys and Boltons alike."

Satisfied by the answer, Sansa smiled and nodded. She just couldn't wait to see what lord Wyman had in store. She looked out again and she saw the thick clouds over their heads. There won't be rain in the North for a long time now, she thought. Winter is coming. The family words echoed in her head and this time they brought her joy.

It was another two days before they finally reached Winterfell. Upon arrival, Sansa saw that Manderlys weren't the only family that brought most of their forces. She saw a large amount of tents in the court with all possible banners she ever read about. Lord Bolton truly wanted to make this faux wedding a thing to remember. Sansa could just hope the world would remember it for reasons different than what lord Bolton was expecting.

Roose Bolton himself greeted them when they descended the carriage.

"My lord, what an honour to be greeted by the Lord Paramount himself." Wyman bowed as low as he could and Sansa followed suit with a perfect lady curtsy, albeit she had to battle some angry thoughts while doing it. She could only hope they wouldn't show on her face.

"Lord Manderly, always a pleasure to see you here. Might I ask who this beautiful young lady is?" His gaze turned on Sansa. Lord Wyman quickly regained his wits.

"She is my ward, Alayne Stone."

"Stone? How does a Northern lord receive a ward from the Vale? And a bastard at that?"

"She's from the Sisters, my lord. Her father couldn't be bothered to go to the Eyrie and said to me that it's easier to get upstream than to that unimaginably complex fortress. Can't really blame him for that, he has a point. That fort is simply too difficult to get to. And since she's a baseborn daughter of the Sunderlands, he wanted a powerful family to foster his child."

"I see," lord Roose said with a cold voice that Sansa didn't like one bit. "Well, always a pleasure to meet such a lovely lady, even if baseborn," he continued and took Sansa's hand in his own. He kissed her fingertips afterwards. Sansa could barely keep back the look of disgust as he did that. She would have to wash her hands for days now and they still wouldn't be clean, she thought to herself, playing the part of a lady very well with not a glimpse of her thoughts resonating on her face.

When Roose let her hand go, Sansa noticed a man coming closer to them. He was similar to those three Freys.

"Lord Manderly, pleasure to see you and all that stuff. Let's get to the point. Where are Rhaegar, Symond and Jared?"

Wyman stood there, blinking with surprise. Sansa had to admit he was a very good actor. "They haven't arrived yet? They rode ahead of us two days ago, saying they can't wait to be reunited with their family."

"Gods know they aren't here yet, why else would I ask you where they were?"

"Lord Hosteen, I told you where they are supposed to be. If they hadn't arrived yet, then they must have suffered some kind of accident. They could have also strayed from the Kingsroad as we haven't seen anybody coming up here. I do have one question for you, however: Aren't you Freys of the Riverlands? What in seven hells are you doing so far away from your bloody fort?"

Lord Hosteen was steaming. "Do you think I like it here? I got here to reunite with my blood that was to come with you."

Lord Wyman laughed heartily. "You expect me to believe that? I counted your tents, Hosteen. You have at least a thousand men here. That's way more than just an escort, surely?"

The rage building inside Hosteen was immense. Even Sansa could see that he hates Wyman and would like nothing more than to strike the fat man down. Luckily for her, he was too smart to do that. The conversation between the two men would undoubtedly continue for a long time, but Roose stepped in. "There, there, my lords. This is neither the time nor the place to settle your petty differences. When the feast is over, you have my leave to settle this in whichever way you deem just."

There was just something about the man that made Sansa hate him before she even heard him speak. Was it the icy cold voice or his icy eyes, she couldn't tell. And when will I be able to settle my differences with you? I'd watch my back if I were you, she thought. She excused herself to Wyman and went walking around the court. She had to see some places before the night fell.

As lord Wyman said, she would not make a step without two guards close to her, so she knew she was safe. Nobody really paid attention to her anyway. She was dressed in an inconspicuous white dress and with her hair dyed black and falling freely on her shoulders and back, she looked more like a snow fairy than a highborn girl. Beside her, two Manderly guards walked in their white armours.

As the night loomed large, they turned back towards the Great Hall, where they would be served supper. Sansa expected a small feast since the wedding was not to occur until several days later. But an unexpectedly lavish feast awaited her when she entered the Hall. She quickly scanned the room for Wyman and hurried to him, the guards right behind her.

"Lord Manderly, what's this? I thought the wedding is not yet to happen."

"And it isn't happening, Lady Stone. Lord Bolton just thinks he should not have small feasts. Though you don't have to worry, Winterfell's storage is quite full and every lord brought quite a lot with them. So, eat and be merry, child! This might be the last great feast in quite a while. As the Starks used to say, winter is coming. And judging by this autumn, it's going to be a long one."

Sansa obeyed him, but she couldn't make herself eat much. Roose stood up. "Dear bannermen of the North! I have received words from Deepwood Motte. Stannis Baratheon, who claims to be the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms, has sacked Depwood Motte and sent the ironborn out of the North with the help of the Mountain Clans of the North and some renegade houses that refused to come to this feast. He is rumoured to start moving this way. It appears we are going to have a large battle not too long from now. I must express my gratitude, since most of you brought quite a lot of your own bannermen. Stannis commands an army of about ten thousand. Here, we must have at least that number and we have an advantage, so his cause is not likely to succeed. But I need every able man to fight, should it really come to it." The hall started talking loudly. Sansa noticed that Wyman was surprised, but thrilled at the same time.

Soon after she excused herself and went to sleep. Lord Wyman agreed with her. "I shall go to sleep early today as well, Lady Stone. Though you might want to come visit my tent just before you go to sleep, my lady."

Sansa followed him to his tent and upon entering she saw a familiar figure tied to the post in the middle of the tent with his mouth tied so he couldn't speak. There were three men in the tent other than him and in the middle of the tent there was a table full of weird instruments that she hadn't seen before.

"My lady, while all Freys look the same to me, I know for a fact that this is Walton, third son of Stevron, who is himself the heir to the Twins. He is all yours."

Sansa nodded and bowed to lord Wyman. Then she stepped towards the middle of the tent. "Do you have any idea who I am?" Walton shook his head with fear. "Good. You don't need to. Not yet."

Another week, another chapter. Thanks for reading!