"I just wish we were able to do something against him!"

Elle slowed her movements, the carrots resting in the basket beside her. Her open hair fell into her view, the golden-brown strands glowing in the sunlight. Dirt coated her hands.

She had heard the talk in the town over the past few days. Under the pretence of war expenses, the lord had raised the taxes once again and immediately sent his men to collect what he was owed. And everyone who couldn't pay was arrested on the spot.

"And what, Will? We aren't fighters, and we have no coin to hire someone to fight him for us. Our dear Lord Toadface saw to that."

This was the fifth town Elle stayed in and yet it seemed to become the first where she could do something besides build and farm.

"And what if you took your coin back?"

The men looked at her.

"What?"

"I said, what if you took your coin back?"

She stood up and faced the men properly. They were in a group of three, and although they all shared the same light complexion, none of them seemed related, which was odd for a town of this size.

The one on the left, Will, a tall and lanky guy, spoke up. "And how would we do that?"

She was too bored not to convince them of this.

"It has not been too long since the sheriff last came here, correct? Meaning he must still be on the road - with your coin. If you want your money back, then go and take it."

The men shared glances between them.

"It would also send a message to this Lord Toadface."

"It sounds like you already have quite the plan," the man with the ash-blonde hair said. "What's in it for you?"

"I simply do not like tyrants." She grinned. "And I have a weakness for good adventures."


Luckily, the men agreed with her proposal quickly, their need for revenge too big.

Elle got handed a green cloak by the man with the blonde hair, who had introduced himself as Tuck, with the justification that he could not possibly allow her to venture around in nature without one. The cloak covered her neck in its entirety, and she was grateful for that.

Before they set off on their journey, Will's sister, Maria, had come up to them and demanded to join. Her brother had tried to dissuade her, telling her it was too dangerous for a woman, but she would have none of it.

"Elle's coming with you, why shouldn't I?"

Finding the sheriff and his entourage was neither difficult, nor very exciting.

They had chosen the most direct route to their lord's castle, one which wound through the lush woods of Tauernberg Forest. Their carriage had left noticeable tracks in the still wet earth - easy to follow and even easier to intercept.

Elle sat on a branch high above the ground. Her cloak was lighter than she had expected, which she greatly appreciated, having made her climb that much easier. Tuck and Maria had hidden themselves not far from her tree, while Will and John had stayed next to the tree they had felled.

It felt strange having her hair back into its normal half-up style. She had not worn it that way since she had left Sunspear, having relied on a simple braid the way Nymeria had always done it. Now having her - uncomfortably short - hair back how it was before... She did not know how to feel about that.

The sound of hooves trampling on the ground could be heard before anything else. Soon, the carriage, accompanied by two riders, turned around the bend in the road and drove directly into their little trap.

The driver, whom she assumed to be the sheriff based on Maria's descriptions, brought the horses to a standstill before her tree. This was going so much better than she could have ever anticipated.

She took a deep breath, and jumped.

The drop was deep, but nothing she was not already used to. Even hitting the roof of the carriage she managed, though the crack that sounded made her a bit concerned.

The men whipped their heads around, the soldiers on the horses swiftly drawing their swords. Elle smirked.

"In the name of the people, your money has hereby been seized."

The sheriff's hand went to the sword at his side as well, but just then an arrow flew past his head and hit the carriage with a loud thud. Will and John finally came running towards them, the latter already nocking another arrow into his bow.

One of the riders charged towards them, while the other turned his horse around, attempting to come to the aid of the sheriff. He, however, was quickly taken care of by Maria who had thrown a rock at his head, distracting him and leaving Elle alone with the sheriff.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, his hand in a tight fist around the sword's pommel.

"As I said-" Elle leaned forward- "This money does not belong to you. We shall return it to its rightful owners."

"Lord Vypren will not stand for this!"

Ah, so that was his real name.

"If he wants to punish me, he is free to come and find me."

The sheriff jumped up, drawing his sword, but she quickly kicked him in the face with as much strength as she could muster, causing him to stumble backwards and fall off the carriage. She hopped down onto the seat, and when he got up and lunged out with his sword, she repeated her move from before. The sheriff screamed out as he stumbled away, clutching his nose.

Elle laughed out in glee. She had not had this much fun in moons. The only thing that came close was her beating of that one brother of the Night's Watch after he had insulted Jon, though this was real and therefore so much better.

Tuck came from behind the sheriff and brought his club down on the man's head, leading to him tumbling to the ground. Maria ran past the unconscious bodies and jumped onto the carriage seat, pushing her to the side and grabbing the reins.

"Let me handle this," she said.

Elle gladly obeyed.

Maria swiftly turned the carriage around, before spurring on the horses to make their escape. Luckily, they had chosen a wide part of the road to mount their ambush.

Tuck jumped on the wagon's side beside Elle, holding on to it for dear life. Her gaze went past him to Will and John, who had mounted the soldiers' horses and had made their run after them.

The carriage shook at the speed it drove over the uneven forest ground. Elle's hands gripped whatever she could to hold herself down. She could not contain her laughter.

"I cannot believe this actually worked."


The celebration started the moment they returned to the village. Wine and ale flowed in abundance, and the musicians played without pause. After all, they had done what no other had been able to achieve - go against Lord Vypren.

"And it would have never been possible," John shouted over the people, a cup in his hand, "without the help of our dear friend Elle."

Cheers erupted amongst them. She jumped up from her table and made a mocking bow.

"First of all, I would like to thank Lord Toadface, without whose idiocy I would have never been able to achieve my historic victory."

More cheers and laughter.

Elle was barely able to keep it together. The rush she felt having done something good, something that would have an impact on the world around her, was difficult to describe. Due to her these people had something to celebrate. She was the reason these people had hope.

Her smile was genuine.

Later on, when the dancing and cheering and drinking had died down a little, Tuck sat down beside her. He stared down at the table, the tension in his jaw clear to see.

"Quite the face to make during a celebration." She took another swig from her cup. Her mother would be appalled, and somehow, it made the ale taste even better.

"He will punish us for this," he whispered in response. "Maybe not us us, but the townsfolk he rules over. Lord Vypren is ruthless, he will not let this slight go."

She had not considered this. Too caught up in congratulating herself for one good deed, she had failed to see the bigger picture.

One robbed nobleman would not end unfair taxation. One patch would not heal a wound. And one battle would not win a war.

"You are right." She put down her cup. "I am sorry for pulling you into this. I should have never come up with this idea."

"Don't apologise. I am glad we stood up to him for one day, you see how much joy it brings to everyone." He waved his hand around. "But the sheriff knows who did this, and these men are many things, but forgiving isn't one of them."

The mention of the sheriff made Elle cock her head.

Tuck raised an eyebrow. "What?"

A smile started to form on her face.

"Yes, you are right. The sheriff knows who robbed him. After all, he saw the woman's face up close."

"Elle?"

"The soldiers might have seen your faces, but I was the only one who talked to the sheriff. He must certainly think now that I was behind all of this. And he will report this back to his lord."

"I don't like where this is going."

Neither did she. But this was perhaps the only way to help these people in the long run.

She straightened her back.

"Someone needs to take responsibility for the attack, and that someone will be me."

"No, Elle-"

"He will send his riders out, but it is much harder to catch a single person than to burn down villages indiscriminately. Especially while House Stark rules over these lands." She tried not to think of who she had left behind at Castle Black. "I will, of course, send him one final message before I leave. Something big. Something he cannot ignore."

"And what would that be?"


She tried not to bump into people, but with the masses assembled that proved to be difficult. Breathing deeply, taking in as much cold air as possible - something that usually helped her in these situations - showed no effect on her mind.

Up the steps and down the wooden path. The onlookers were too occupied with what happened before them to pay much attention to her. All the better.

She had contemplated putting on a mask, or at least wrapping a scarf around her mouth to conceal herself a bit. But then, being recognised was the entire reason for her being here in the first place.

The green cloak swayed around her legs. It should not get in the way once she jumped on the parapets. That would only bring needless stress.

Her gaze slowly wandered across the attendees. How so many people could ignore the violence happening around them just to gawk at this spectacle was beyond her.

Then, she focused on him. He stood a comfortable distance ahead of her, not too much to not see her properly, but enough to give her time to escape. And she needed both of those.

He looked… strangely normal. Black hair, darker skin, well-built, clothing in the colour of his house. And even though he stood amongst the other archers, there was no mistaking him. She wondered if he knew of her.

He drew his bow. Cheers resounded all around.

The sheriff sat on a platform, lifted off the ground, amongst the most important nobility in attendance. One woman did not look too different to Lord Vypren, and one shared her own blonde hair.

Perhaps this could have been her life had she stayed. Tourneys, marriage, obliviousness to the plight of the people around her.

The dagger held almost no weight in her hand. It was not hers - not that that ever stood to question - but it would do its work.

The arrow flew through the air as she climbed the parapets. It hit bullseye, and the crowd cheered. He had been their favourite, missing no shot, despite the ever-increasing distance. The man himself revelled in the attention.

Watch this.

She took aim and let the dagger fly. On and on, further and further, until it hit home. The bullseye. Splitting the arrow in two.

The tourney did not go quiet at once, as she had hoped. Rather, it was a slow build-up, one group after the other realising what had happened, shushing their friends and turning to her.

She stood high above the rest, smiling, her golden curls swaying in the wind.

"That is the woman who robbed me!" the sheriff screamed.

"Arrest her!" Lord Vypren had not hesitated one moment. So they had talked about her.

Elle grinned and started running. That she was good at. Over the parapets, past the shouts, then down on the grass, past the soldiers. On and on she ran, feeling the wind in her face, and laughing hysterically.

Let Lord Vypren blame her. Let him think she was responsible for what his people would soon do to him. Let her be the face that haunts him at night.

Tuck and his brother had gone out and started redistributing the stolen coin, giving it back to its rightful owners. He had promised he would tell them of her, and of her bravery.

She had warned him not to use her name in his stories. What she had told him as a reason was to keep at least a part of herself hidden. What she feared, deep down, was Oberyn hearing her name and coming to find her. She was not ready for that yet.

(Perhaps she might never be.)

Elle ran into the forest, wishing she had thought of buying a horse.

Will had started spinning stories of her adventures - real and imaginary - as soon as he had heard of her final plan. He had promised to accompany Tuck on his journeys. Songs would stay with people easier than tales.

The soldiers were far behind her. She might have already lost them in the thick bushes of Tauernberg Forest.

Elle wondered about the stories people would tell of her. And of the name they would call her. Hopefully something good. Something far removed from her past. Something she could make her own.


a/n: the """"plot"""" is slowly starting to take form, hope you're ready to wait four weeks for another crumb of it lol

visit me on tumblr ( siravalondulac) if you wanna :)