Helena had been sitting tied to the tree since the men who had taken her had set up camp, and she was starting to have troubles seeing her situation in a positive light.

Every mile they rode they distanced themselves further from her home, and from any possible help. She wasn't even sure if they were still in the Riverlands.

The men were Lannister soldiers, of that there was no doubt, even if they didn't wear their pompous gold and red armour. She was surprised they hadn't touched her inappropriately yet. Perhaps women did not interest them in that way. That would certainly make them the perfect candidates for this kind of mission.

She shifted around awkwardly once again. Her first time travelling her own lands should not be this uncomfortable. She was supposed to be sitting in a nice carriage, in clean clothing, with her ladies by her side. Not in the mud with who-knew-what crawling around the forest floor.

She was so cold. All her cloaks lay safely back at her castle, and the heat of the fire the soldiers had started did not even remotely reach her. Now, with night having fallen, her situation was unlikely to improve.

The soldiers didn't even pay attention to her. Sure, one sometimes looked over to her as if to make sure she was still there, but that was about it. At least they remembered to bring her water from time to time.

It was almost as if the orders they were given meant nothing to them. Just another day in the war, just another lady captured, just another-

"Stay calm."

The voice sounded from behind her tree. It was low and hushed, but she could faintly make out that it likely belonged to a man. Perhaps a knight of her father's, finally here to rescue her.

"I will cut you free now, but you must not move yet."

The ropes around her body loosened.

If she was being honest, this wasn't quite what she had envisioned her rescue to look like. She had wanted a grand spectacle, a whole group of brave knights galloping in and slaying her captors, before the most handsome of them helped her onto his horse and brought her home.

The man behind the tree, however, seemed to work alone. An assumption that proved itself correct when he next spoke up.

"I will create a distraction. As soon as their attention is diverted, you run."

Helena had about a thousand questions. What distraction should she look out for? Did it count if the soldiers simply turned their heads away from her? Where to should she run? (Not in the soldiers' direction, that she knew at least.)

Something told her the knight had not thought this rescue attempt quite through.

A quiet rustle sounded from the other side of the small clearing they were in. Then another. One of the soldiers stood up and put his hand on his sword hilt, while even the others faced away from her.

That would likely be her sign.

She threw the ropes on the ground, jumped up, and ran in the opposite direction.

The forest ground was uneven, littered with roots and stones and small bushes that pulled at her dress. She stumbled several times, hitting her shoulders on the trees she ran past and brushing her hands against things she did not want to know the origin of.

Shouts rang from behind her. The soldiers had noticed her disappearance, and were now coming for her.

A hand wrapped around her right wrist. She was about to scream when a voice whispered, "Hush! It is me." The knight pulled at her arm. "This way."

They continued running through the woods together, the voices growing louder every step they took.

She had hoped to get a glimpse at her saviour, yet he had the hood of his cloak drawn over his head, concealing his face. Hopefully it wasn't because he was ugly.

The man pulled her towards a white horse, where he let go of her and instantly swung himself up. He held out his hand for her.

"Quick, before they catch up."

Luckily, a stray log lay directly next to the horse (as if he had anticipated this), which helped her get on behind the knight.

"Hold on tight."

And before she even had her arms wrapped around his middle properly, they had taken off.

She had never sat upon a horse, and she realised that riding at full speed through a thick forest was likely not the best idea for one's first time. So all she was able to do was cling to the man's woollen shirt and pray she would not fall off.

Branches pulled at her dress and the wind whipped her hair around. She buried his face in the man's neck so that at least a part of her was protected.

They rode like this for longer than she might have liked. Yet she also felt that when they slowed down and eventually came to a stand still, they had not brought enough distance between the soldiers and themselves.

The knight jumped off with ease, and then helped her get down.

Rising before them was a small yet steep incline, with a willow standing on top of it, its branches falling down far enough that anyone hiding on the bottom would be easily overseen.

"We are too far away from any villages or castles, so this will have to do for tonight," the man said, leading his horse towards the willow.

She followed hesitantly.

"You may go to sleep, my lady. I will keep watch."

She certainly was tired, very much so, but did she trust this man enough to watch over her? And would she pass up this opportunity to finally ask him who he was?

"Rest," he repeated. "We have a long way ahead of us tomorrow."

If he wanted her dead, why would he have saved her? And something about his presence calmed her. She couldn't say why, but she trusted the man, and her instincts had never betrayed her yet.

What was life without a bit of risk?

For a single moment after waking up, she wondered where she was.

Then she remembered.

The willow's branches swayed in the breeze above her, letting soft rays of sunlight break through to her. A green cloak laid over her body.

The ground hadn't been much of an improvement as a bed over being tied to a tree. And her yellow dress had now certainly been ruined beyond repair.

It had been beautiful, before all this. Billowing sleeves and floating skirts, made out of the finest silks her father's money could import, the seamstresses had copied the style from one of her mother's gowns she had taken with her from Yi-Ti. Helena had been gifted quite a few of those as well, but this one had been only hers. And now it was destroyed.

She slowly got up from the ground, cloak in hand, and stepped through the leaves.

A small campfire had been lit. The horse was grazing in the distance, its saddle lying over a stone, with a bag resting next to it. A river ran a few metres ahead, gently pattering about. And in its middle stood a woman.

A woman with golden curls that seemed to glow in the sun. With the same woollen shirt that the man from last night would have worn. Who stood in the water with the grace and certainty that only a knight could muster.

Was that who had saved her the night before?

Her mind wandered to the songs she had heard back at home; tales of a woman, valiant, daring, beautiful, who stood up for those in need, who didn't back down even when it got difficult. A woman with hair as golden as her heart.

She had thought her to be a myth, a way to bring back hope to the downtrodden people of the Riverlands - gods knew they needed it with the war. And yet… here she stood.

The woman suddenly shot her arms downwards, pulling out a fish from the water. It wiggled around as she carried it to land, and Helena hurriedly looked away before the woman brought the stone down on the fish's head.

Silence, for a moment. Then steps sounded across the grass, drawing nearer, and making her gaze move forward again.

The woman was even more beautiful up close. The upper half of her hair was drawn back, accentuating the sharp lines of her face, while the rest of her golden curls cascaded down her shoulders. And her eyes…

Gods, her eyes seemed like they had captured the colour of the spring sky, bright and blue and hopeful.

"My lady," the woman said with a smile. Her voice was the same as the one the previous night, and yet even now Helena couldn't quite see how it belonged to a woman. Perhaps because she had imagined a different face to it every time she had heard it.

"I hope you slept well," she continued.

All she could do in response was nod.

Helena couldn't quite grasp how a person could be this pretty. Perhaps she had died last night and entered one of the Seven Heavens, and had now encountered the Maiden herself.

"Oh, how rude of me," the woman laughed, holding out her hand. "I am Elle."

"Helena."

Elle took ahold of her hand and brought it up to her lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

Oh, gods!

"I have always wanted to do that," Elle giggled before skipping away and sitting down by the campfire.

She shook her head, trying desperately not to think about how soft the lips had felt on her skin, and joined her on the ground.

Elle started preparing the fish, the dagger she used seeming entirely too valuable for this task.

She handled the dagger like she was born to. Like she could hit a target over thirty metres away.

"I apologise in advance if the food is not quite what you are used to, my lady," she said with a laugh. "I am afraid I am not quite-"

"Are you the Golden Paladin?"

Elle blinked, then cocked her head. "The what?"

What a stupid question. Of course she was, everyone who looked at her would realise it.

"The Golden Paladin," she said as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "I've heard the songs about you, you're a hero!"

She had halted her movements. "What- What songs?"

"Have you never heard them? Strange, considering they are all about you. "Golden Paladin and the Sheriff of Vypren", "Golden Paladin's Chase", "How A Dagger Embarrassed A Frog" - that one is my favourite - or "Golden Paladin and the Flowers of High Heart"." She looked at Elle's face, her eyes lowered to the ground, something akin to… hope in them. "Are you sure you never heard them?"

"I have never even heard the name Golden Paladin before."

No, this was not right. She had to be. Everything about her fit - the hair, the dagger, the bravery, the cloak, the ease in which she laughed.

"So it's not you?"

"Yes- I mean no- I mean-" Elle paused, and took a breath. "The events those songs describe all sound like things I did, I simply have not been aware that people have assigned me a name over it. And then, I mean I am not even a knight, nor do I stand in service to a lord, why would anyone call me a paladin?"

"You could find someone to knight you!" Helena called excitedly. "Someone as legendary as you should have no problem with that."

"No one would want to knight a woman."

"You are a fairy tale come to life. You save people at no benefit to yourself, you are so focused on your task that you did not even realise people worshipped you. If anyone deserves a knighthood, it's you."

Elle stayed quiet. She took her dagger back into her hand, and continued her rudimentary cooking.

She was… strange, and not at all what Helena had expected of the Golden Paladin. But then again, songs never told the full story.

Helena watched her turn the fish over the fire for several minutes, before she spoke up again.

"Did my father send you?"

"Not me, specifically." Elle kept her gaze on the fire. "He sent out a plea to all the knights in the land to find you. And I took on that challenge."

"So you have never met him?"

"No, but I will once I bring you home." She looked up with a smile, and Helena skipped a breath seeing her mesmerising eyes again. "He seems to love you a lot, based on how desperate his beg was to find you."

"He does." Then she laughed. "But not as much as he does my mother."

"Your mother is not from Westeros, is she?"

"No, she was born in Yi-Ti. By all accounts, my parents should have never met, least of all fallen in love, which makes the story all the more romantic."

Elle didn't say anything, only smiling and sometimes flicking her eyes towards the fish, so she saw this as permission to continue.

"My grandmother was a merchant on a grand ship called "Brave Maid". She saw everything there was to see in the world, and once she had my mother she took her with her on her journeys. And then, one day, they ended up on the shores of Westeros.

"My father was in King's Landing to swear allegiance to King Robert at the time, and when he wandered the city he encountered my mother on the docks. He always says it was a meeting of happenstance, but I know better. It had to have been destined by the gods, how else would a merchant's daughter from Yi-Ti and the Lord of Cherrycross have met?

"They only spent a week together, yet the Gods did not want them parted. Soon, my grandmother's work led her to Seaguard, where my mother happened upon my father once more. And that was when both knew they could not spend their lives apart. My mother accompanied my father back to his castle, where they married on the shores of the Tumblestone. And then, a year later, they had me." She sighed happily. "I love telling this story."

"I can tell," Elle answered with a chuckle.

Helena could have sworn Elle was about to say something else, but she must have convinced herself otherwise. Instead, she simply handed her her food.

Helena ate the cooked fish, as well as some berries and an apple, and washed it all down with cold river water. Eating without cutlery was a strange sensation, as well as having to endure the fish without any sauce or seasoning or vegetables, but she made do.

She didn't talk, as it was bad manners to do so while eating, and even though they were sitting in the dirt, she was still a noble woman. So she stared at Elle instead.

Her clothing wasn't really anything a proper lady might wear. A dirty white linen shirt under a dirty brown woollen tunica, paired with a pair of dirty dark brown pants and dirty worn-out boots. None of it seemed to fit together, and she wondered when the last time was when any part of it had had a proper wash.

And yet she still felt unnaturally drawn to her. Perhaps it was because Elle was so unlike every other lady she had ever interacted with - and there was no doubt she was a lady, not with the way she held herself (and called her 'my lady' instead of 'm'lady').

Which made her being the Golden Paladin all the more exciting! A noble woman giving up a life of comfort to help the downtrodden, all under disguise and with no benefit to herself. Now that was a story worth telling.

"What did those men want from you?" Elle suddenly asked.

"I am my father's heir, unmarried, and not betrothed," she answered. "Our keep lies upriver of Riverrun. If one were to use the Tumblestone to get to the castle, they would have to pass us, making undetected invasions from the Westerlands near impossible."

"Who would they have married you to?"

"I'm about as wise as you are on that. The soldiers didn't really want to talk to me." She pulled at the hems of her sleeves. "Perhaps some Lannister cousin or uncle or whatever, they seem to have those in spades."

Eventually, Elle stamped out the fire and went to saddle her horse. Helena took the time to wash her hands and face in the river while refusing to further inspect exactly how badly damaged her dress was.

Once she returned, Elle draped the green cloak over her shoulders and helped her up on the horse.

"Do you not want to ride as well?" she asked as they set off.

"I have been walking on my own for over three moons now, I think I can manage." She smiled up at her. "But thank you for your concern, my lady."

Helena blushed at that.

Their ride back to Cherrycross took five days, much shorter than what it had taken the soldiers.

She tried to get things out of Elle - where she was from, who her family was, what had led her to the Riverlands - yet she masterfully evaded all her questions.

And if she was being honest with herself, that was part of the allure.

The only thing she did draw out of her was the name of her horse - Starlight. After Nimue Starlight, the heroine of legends.

The sun stood high in the sky when they finally reached her keep, and Helena couldn't be happier. She was sore from all the riding, tired of sleeping on the forest ground, and hungry for real food.

The gate was opened as soon as they were spotted by the guards and Helena could have sworn Elle started walking just the smallest bit more upright as they crossed into the courtyard.

Shouts rang, and people came running towards them.

Elle helped her down the horse like she had done the past few days, and took a step back as soon as the first person threw themselves around her neck.

"I am so glad you're alright!" Hue shouted in her ear.

She embraced her sister tightly. "As am I."

"We were all sick with worry, I think father was close to falling unconscious at several points. But not me, I stood on the walls waiting for your return every day. There was not a chance you would have had to wait outside the gate. How did you escape, anyways?"

Hue had, even at four and ten, never quite grown out of her stormy demeanour, and there was little chance she ever would.

"I was saved by the Golden Paladin," she grinned, nodding towards Elle.

Her sister whipped around, eyes wide, mouth open.

Elle stood by her horse, smiling politely and bowing her head.

"Oh, you have to tell us everything!" Her sister grabbed her hand and pulled her after her. "Let's go find our parents."

They ran across the yard and up the main stairs, past the servants going about their business, through the old wooden door and then right into the great hall.

The room was bustling with activity. Petitioners lined up before the seats at the back of the hall, guards standing against the walls and on the dais, each wearing coats emblazoned with the golden Terrick hawk, while a soft breeze drew in from the opened windows.

Her father sat beside her mother on the dais, their chairs marking them as true equals. A man stood before them, likely one of the farmers asking for assistance or reporting on the harvest. She started making her way through the crowd, eyes trained forward, waiting for the moment either of them noticed her.

It ended up being her mother. She grabbed her husband's arm, standing up from her chair, staring at her in disbelief. Her father looked first towards his wife, then towards what she was staring at. He jumped up, and they both started running down the dais, ignoring every other person in the hall.

Helena met them half-way, and threw herself into her parents' arms.

"I've missed you so much," she whispered in the space between them, pressing them even closer to herself.

It look them far too long to seperate themselves from each other, but she did not care about the court's opinion.

Her mother moved back, eventually, yet cupped Helena's cheek in what could only be described as disbelief over having her back.

"My daughter Helena has returned," her father called out to the room. Cheers sounded at his proclamation.

Her mother pushed a strand of Helena's hair behind her ear, inspecting one of the fading bruises on her cheek. "How did you escape?"

She smiled, and turned towards the door. There, next to a guard and seemingly trying not to attract unneeded attention, she stood.

"Mother, father," she said with a raised voice, to ensure the entire room would hear her. "May I present to you the Golden Paladin."

A murmur went through the crowd. Elle stepped forward and bowed deeply, her golden hair falling over her shoulders, catching the light falling through the windows.

"My lord, my lady."

"Is it true?" her father asked. "Are you the figure the singers praise?"

"Yes, my lord. Though the truths of my accomplishments are likely much more mundane than what you have heard."

He nodded absentmindedly. "Do you have a name?"

"Elle, my lord."

"Elle who?"

She hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "Nothing. Just Elle."

"Well then, Elle." Her father let go of her and took a step forward. "Despite my… personal feelings on your "accomplishments", you did save my daughter and brought her back to us. For this one thing, I ask, how shall I repay you?"

"You really do not have to repay me for anything, my lord. I help because I want to, and because I can, not for any kind of compensation or reward."

Elle sometimes seemed too good to be true, as if someone plucked her from one of the tales of chivalry and righteousness and dropped her in the real world. Helena knew she was correct for ignoring everyone who had ever told her true knights didn't exist.

"There has to be something I can give you," her father said.

Elle tried to say something, but Helena interrupted her.

"I have an idea."

She smiled. Yes, she did have one. And it was a good one. One worthy of the history books.

"Father, how would you reward Elle if she were a man?"

He raised an eyebrow, contemplating. "I would knight her, if she hadn't been already."

"Then why aren't you doing it?"

"Because she isn't a man, Helena."

"But-" She stepped forward with a raised voice, conscious of their onlookers- "Elle encompasses the virtues of a knight more than any man I know. She is brave and kind, she puts herself in danger to protect those who cannot protect themselves, she confronts those who harm and abuse others, no matter how powerful they are. If you ask me, Elle is the truest knight of all."

Her father seemed taken aback. He cocked his head, his gaze switching between her and her mother. "It has never been done before."

"Actually-" Elle suddenly said. "There have been quite a few female knights over the centuries, most of them Dornish. Several of House Martell's daughters after Nymeria were knighted, or Ser Allyria Dayne, who became a Sword of the Morning and defended Starfall against northern invaders. House Gardener had a habit of knighting every heir to their kingdom, which resulted in a handful of lady knights as well. Only since Jaehaerys I have there been no female knights." Her eyes flickered around the room, a light blush spreading on her face. "My apologies for speaking out."

"Never apologise for speaking your truth," her mother said. She then looked at her husband with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "They both make quite the case."

He frowned at her mother. "Liên, you know I cannot knight the Golden Paladin. Of all people! She has already caused such an uproar, and who knows what ideas a knighthood will put into her head."

Helena's gaze darkened. She had known, of course, that her father had never lost a positive word about the Paladin, but she had to convince him of this. She could not let Elle leave without a knighthood.

"But father," she tried once more. "You have nothing to fear from her. Do you support House Lannister? Do you mistreat our people? As you said, if Elle were a man you'd knight her. You are the one always talking about changing the order of things to make room for the ones not like us." She smiled at her mother. "This is your chance to prove you stand behind your words."

The look on his face shifted, from being offended to looking proud. Then he smiled and clapped his hands. "My daughter is right. It is about time something changes in these lands. Someone bring me a sword!"

Helena wanted to scream in joy. A lady was being knighted right before her eyes, and she was the cause for it! And there were so many people watching - it wouldn't take long for this story to spread.

She grinned at Elle, expecting her to share in her happiness. And she did, mostly.

Her face seemed a whirlwind of emotions - shock, hope, fear, euphoria, but also unease.

"My lord, I am not sure I deserve this honour. Most of my time is spent rebuilding towns, not fighting-"

"Nonsense!" he called out, accepting a sword from his guard Hektor. "Now, on your knee."

Elle looked towards her. Why was she still dreading this? Didn't she want this?

Helena nodded with a wide smile. Elle looked around the room once more, before she took a deep breath and knelt before her father, eyes fixed on the ground.

"Elle." He touched the sword to her right shoulder. "In the name of the Warrior I charge you to be brave." He lifted the sword and touched her left shoulder. "In the name of the Father I charge you to be just." Back to the right. "In the name of the Mother I charge you to defend the young and innocent." The left. "In the name of the Maid I charge you to protect all women, in the name of the Crone I charge you to be wise, and in the name of the Smith I charge you to be diligent in your duties. I charge you to fulfil these oaths until the Stranger comes for you." He removed the sword and took a step back. "Rise, Ser Elle of the Riverlands."