cw / blood
She had been staying in the village for almost a week now. Not that she wanted to do so - it was merely that sudden and excruciating pain would prevent anyone from travelling. Especially those experiencing it along with their first moon blood.
At this point, she had assumed it would never come, and that she would never be able to bear children. And no matter how much that thought hurt, it certainly would have been one way to avoid another betrothal.
Alas, here she was, lying in the grass, wondering how she was supposed to survive this every month. Especially while she was travelling.
Perhaps it was a sign by the gods that she should return home. Perhaps she had helped enough. Perhaps it was time she finally fulfilled her promise to Jon.
Jon.
She had tried her hardest not to think about him, to ignore what she had left behind at Castle Black.
But it was so difficult.
She closed her eyes and saw his face, she tried to fall asleep and felt his lips on hers, she saw a man with dark curls and only thought of Jon. Jon, Jon, Jon. All she thought about was Jon.
With the way they parted she was certain she would never get over him. Even if she fell in love again, even if she somehow found a man or woman worthy enough to dedicate her life to, her heart belonged to Jon.
And she fucking hated herself for it.
"Elle?" The voice interrupted her self-loathing and finally made her open her eyes. "How are you feeling?"
Marcia looked through one of the windows that led to the house's backyard. Her brown hair was tied back and gave easy view to the wrinkles on her face.
She was the one who had taken Elle in, and, upon finding out she was experiencing her moonblood, had given her everything she needed, not a question muttered.
"I am doing better, thank you," she answered, slowly sitting up.
"Would you be so kind, then, to bring some apricots over to Beate? She lives on the other side of the village and needs it for her baking."
"Of course."
The task was quickly done, so Elle allowed herself to wander a bit, all the while playing with her necklace, trusting no one would recognise its importance. Until now she had not had time to explore the village she had ended up in, and she soon realised it was much bigger than she had anticipated.
Which mainly came from the massive farm on its outskirts.
Barns, stables, sheds, fields - but most importantly, a small paddock containing over a dozen horses.
They all looked magnificent, their colourings ranging from the darkest blacks to light browns. Her view to them was a tad restricted, however, as the fence around their paddock was taller than even she was, and each wooden board was wrapped in barbed wire.
One of the horses separated itself from the herd and came trotting right towards her, and Elle wondered how she hadn't noticed it before.
The horse's white hide almost glowed in the sunlight, while the strands of its silver mane seemed made from molten stars. She had never thought a creature this beautiful could exist outside of fairy tales.
All she could do was stare in awe as the mare stopped before her, shaking out its mane and lowering its head to look through one of the openings in the fence.
Slowly, she raised her hand and reached it through the fence, careful of the metal thorns. The horse met her half-way, laying its muzzle in her palm.
"Hey, beautiful," she said with a smile. It whinnied in response.
Elle giggled as she started petting the horse. If only she could get through the fence in some way.
The crack of a whip sounded from directly beside her.
She jumped back on instinct, not taking proper care of her hand's position and cutting herself on the wires as she ripped it back. A low hiss escaped her mouth.
"Who allowed you to touch my property?!"
A bulking man stood before her, whip in one hand, the other pointing at her in accusation.
"No- No one," she stammered, clutching her hand to her chest. Her scar had just begun to fade!
"You are contaminating my ware! Those things are worth more gold than you will ever see in your lifetime!"
He brought his whip down beside the fence, startling the horse and making it flee to the other side of the paddock.
"You have no right to treat them like this!"
He gripped the whip tighter. "What was that?"
She straightened her back, forcing herself to stare in his eyes. "You have no right to treat them like this," she repeated slower.
"I'll show you how I-"
Someone jumped between them.
"Stop, stop!"
The newcomer had his arms raised beside him in a show of placation. He was facing away from her, so the only thing she could see was his mop of blonde hair and his brown tunica.
"Step aside," the bulking man said. "I have something to sort out with this bitch."
"I beg your pardon?" She really, really wanted to throw this man into the fence.
"Look at her, she clearly has no idea what she is talking about," the stranger said. "So why don't we just let this go?"
What the fuck? Who did that man think he-
"Fine," the man grumbled. "But if I see her again-"
"You won't. I'll make sure of it."
The man stalked off, but not before sending one final dark glance at her. She answered in kind.
The blonde turned to her, a strange smile on his face, and was about to say something when she cut him off.
"What was that?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I… saved your life. You're welcome, by the way."
"I did not need your help," she scoffed. "I could have solved this on my own."
"Franz was about to beat you to death."
"Nothing I have not experienced before."
She started walking away, intent on leaving him and the situation (and the beautiful horse) behind, yet he followed her.
"I apologise for bursting in." He fell into step beside her.
Why was he following her? Did he have nothing else to do? What could this man possibly want from her?
"It is alright." Be nice. "You were only trying to help."
"Yes. I am sorry it came across as rude." He smiled down at her again. "I am Holger."
"Elle."
"So, what are you doing here, Elle? I don't think I have ever seen you before."
"Just taking a rest from my travels."
She grimaced as she inspected the wound on her left hand. It wasn't deep, but there was still an unnerving amount of blood welling out of it.
"Oh, that looks bad," he said. "How about you come home to me and I can try to fix it?"
"Thank you, but that will not be necessary." She pressed her fingers on the wound in an attempt to seal it. "I think Marcia will know what to do."
"You're staying with Marcia?" He did not even wait for her nod. "I live very close by. You could come visit."
"Why would I need to do that?"
He laughed. "You don't need to do anything. I just thought we could get to know each other better that way."
Holger was… charming, in a sense. Though a bit too obtrusive for her liking. He reminded her of Arianne in that way.
"Who was that man? You two seem to know each other."
If he was not leaving there was nothing against making the best of the situation.
"His name is Franz and he owns this entire farm. He is more or less responsible for keeping our village standing, so he gets away with a lot of things."
Elle looked back to the paddock. The white horse was unmistakable, even across the distance, and if she did not know any better she might have said it looked at her as well.
"Like mistreating his animals?"
He laughed again. "You're really not letting this go?"
"How could I?" She tried not to raise her voice. "Whipping humans is seen as immoral, locking humans in enclosures that are far too small for them is seen as immoral - why can we not extend this courtesy to animals?"
"You are a strange woman, Elle," he giggled.
Did he think she was joking?
She had apparently not hidden her frown as well as she thought, because he quickly added, "I did not mean to insult you. Actually, I think it is quite noble of you to think like this."
Noble. To extend basic care to the beings around her.
"What does he do with the horses?"
"Sell them to whoever pays the most. He says he is quite renowned with the surrounding lords for breeding the best mounts in the land."
She thought back to the horse's silver mane. He at least made the prettiest.
"A few days back some soldiers in red armour came looking at them. I think it went well, based on Franz's boasting that evening."
Red armour. It didn't take a maester to figure out who they belonged to.
She did not want these horses in the hands of her enemies. Horses meant faster travel, meant easier access to vulnerable villages, meant an advantage in battle. There had to be a way to stop this deal.
(Her own family were now her enemies?)
"How long will you be staying here for?"
Why was he so obsessed with what she was doing?
"I will leave as soon as possible. There are people who need me."
"In the sense that… you have a family you need to return to? Or a, uh, husband?"
A husband! She wanted to laugh at that.
"In the sense," she repeated slower, "that my goal is to help those who cannot help themselves. And the longer I stay here the longer those people are without hope."
He blinked. "But that is what knights are for, not…"
"Scrawny little girls?" she completed for him.
"No! No, I didn't mean it like that! I- I don't think you're scrawny, and you're not little at all, I just-"
"It is alright," she giggled. "I understand what you mean, but the knights of these lands have long forgotten their duty. Somebody needs to step in to prevent further bloodshed."
"But why do you have to be that somebody?" He stretched out his arms to the side. "This life is all anyone could need. You have a home to call your own and a family you chose yourself. It is simple, and quiet, and without danger."
She could disappear from the records in a place like this.
"I have never been one for simple."
Luckily, they had arrived before the house she was staying in. She said her goodbyes to Holger before quickly closing the door behind her.
Marcia chuckled, later on, once Elle had told her the entire story.
"Holger likes you."
She was taken aback. "Why would he? We barely talked."
"You are new and beautiful." The woman set another stitch. "I am surprised no one else has turned up here after seeing you in my backyard."
"I think I would have noticed had he been making advances at me."
Sure, she had not realised Jon's love for her until he had confessed it, but this was different. Much different. For instance, this was not the Night's Watch, and they all were allowed to exercise their emotions freely.
"Besides," she added, "I am leaving on the morrow. And I told him that. So he could never be with me anyways."
"Oh, child." Marcia had cut the string and was now wrapping her hand in a bandage. "The heart wants what the heart wants. Rules and logic have no place in love."
Which she knew all too well.
Elle did not leave the following morning.
She left that very same night, cloaked in darkness, with one goal in mind: free those horses.
The paddock lay out in the open, and there was no telling how vigilant Franz might be after her behaviour today. So, despite her wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible so that she might be far away once the breakout was noticed, she took the long way through the forest on the other side of the farm.
It took some time of stalking around the fence to find a gate. The barbed wire wrapped around it as well, and around the bolt locking it.
Franz had strange priorities, surrounding the entire paddock with a tall fence no one could touch, yet only locking the gate with a simple latch. Perhaps he simply did not expect anyone to be this bold. Or stupid.
The main hut lay right behind her. All it took was one glance outside and she would be done for. So better be quick.
The beautiful white horse approached her again, being trailed by the rest of the herd. Almost like they knew what was to happen.
She wrapped some of her cloak around her right hand, once, twice, before gently pushing on the bolt. It moved without much trouble, though got caught in more of the wires.
Whatever. She could simply-
"What the fuck are you doing?!"
Shit, shit, shit.
She sacrificed a single glance backwards, towards Franz running at her, whip in hand.
Oh, what had she been thinking?
No time to question this now, she had to go through with what she started.
She grabbed the gate, the spikes evident even through the layers of her cloak, and pulled it outwards. Luckily it had not rained in the past few days, so there was no mud to get stuck in, though she still had to fight against some of the wires entangling.
As soon as the gate had opened far enough the horses dashed outside. Franz let out a scream and tried running after them, bringing down his whip several times, yet the horses evaded him in a wide arch.
She should probably leave as well.
Oh, right.
She quickly set off in the other direction, making her way to the forest, where she would be safe behind the treeline. All the while never being able to lose her smile.
The sun had risen not long ago, and it promised to be a hot day. One of the last, she assumed, as she had heard from traders that the Citadel had sent their white ravens. While she did greet the return of the cold, she was not quite ready yet for the memories winter would force to the surface.
Hooves pounded quietly on the ground behind her. She turned her head to the sound, expecting a hedge knight or the sort to ride past her.
Instead, it was the white horse from the farm. Its silver mane glistered in the sunlight just like the day before.
"Hey," she giggled, running her hand down its neck as soon as it came to a halt next to her. "Nice to see you managed to get away."
Hopefully the rest of the herd had equally as much luck.
She turned to walk away, continue with her journey until the next adventure threw itself in her path, and the horse followed her. Confused, she stopped, and the horse stopped. She blinked, took a single step away, and the horse took a single step towards her.
"Are you following me?"
She laughed at the absurdity, yet the mare only whinnied in response. It almost sounded like a yes.
Did this horse feel itself somehow indebted to her? But then why had it immediately come to her the day before when she had turned up at the paddock?
"Being with me can be very dangerous."
The mare only nudged its muzzle against her shoulder. Perhaps this was her way of saying 'Yes, I know. Now let's have some fun.'
Elle laughed again, and set off down the road again, the horse right beside her.
"If you are staying we need a name for you." Her gaze rose to the cloudless sky. "How about Amadeus? No, not that. Brietta?" She looked to the mare and groaned. "I will think of something. We have a long road ahead of us anyways."
She bought a saddle and bridle for her new mount in the first town she came across, sacrificing an entire gold dragon for ones that would likely not last her for very long. But her mare - who still did not have a name - did not seem to mind.
As Elle led her horse past the houses and haggling traders to find a calmer spot to mount her steed for the first time, she overheard something that piqued her interest.
"The reward Lord Terrick has promised for finding his daughter is enough to feed my entire family for moons!"
"The man must be desperate."
"Imma certainly 'aving a go at it. What the worst that can 'appen?"
She did not care about a reward - well, not as much as these men, at least - but finding a lady that has disappeared under mysterious circumstances? Perhaps this was becoming her specialty.
"Sounds like we have our first quest," she whispered to her mare.
a/n: rip elle you would have loved veganism