The wolves of Castle Black - Book 2 - GoT

The larder

The man was bigger than her. Stronger, most likely with far more battle experience than she would ever have, but Ylina was quicker and her movements were well-thought. Ever since she first grabbed a weapon she knew, there were few people she would ever defeat with brute force, so she needed something else. Something other than strength and violence to keep her alive, so she usually resorted to smarts. She knew she had the disadvantage in that fight, especially considering her right wrist, the one she used to fight, wasn't entirely healed yet. But every time a cry came from Gilly or little Sam or Embar, she knew she had to endure. If not for her, then at least for them.

As she dodged every blow the wildling man threw at her, she saw from the corner of her eye Daria fighting off the second wildling. Her attacker had a sword and was good with it, but just like Ylina, the wolf was smart, dodging the blows she should be dodging and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Looking back at the man in front of her, Ylina managed just barely to block an attack of his axe with her spear and the impact of metal with metal shook her bones to the core. There was a loud crack and Ylina could feel her wrist breaking in the same spots it had just healed days before. She cried out and the tears in her eyes caused her vision to go blurry, the pain running up and down her arm fogging her thoughts, making her lose balance fall down to the floor.

"I thought the crows weren't allowed women." The wildling smirked, walking over to Ylina as the girl quickly scrambled back to her feet. "But I guess a pretty one like you would have a place at any man's table, huh?"

As Ylina spun the spear in her hands, getting the pointy end to point straight at the wildling, she let out a low growl before rushing toward him. Bending over slightly as she ran, Ylina managed to avoid one blow from the axe, but the second one she didn't see coming. She yelled when the cold metal hit her face, sending her flying across the room while an incredible stinging pain started to grow on the left side of her face. Thankfully, he hadn't hit her with the sharp end of his axe, opting for only inflicting pain on the girl without killing her straight away, hitting her with the flat part of the axe, instead. Embar screamed when his mother hit against the wall and fell down, her spear rolling over away from her as she groaned in pain, trashing against Gilly as the woman tried to hold him back.

"Mama!" He yelled, the broken sounds coming from him only serving to break Ylina's heart into several pieces. "Mama, no!"

"That's your Mama right there, boy?" The wildling man asked as Embar lifted his grey eyes from Ylina to him. "I will kill your Mama. But maybe, I'll kill you first and make her watch it. That will make for a good show, don't you think?"

And as soon as Ylina realized the amount of danger her son was in, she pushed aside any pain she had in her and pushed herself up from the wall, grabbing her spear as she ignored the throbbing pain in her cheek.

"Don't you dare touch him." She said, her voice low and threatening.

"Or what?" The wildling man turned to her, smirking madly. "What will do to me, huh? You can barely handle me in a fight. If I touch your precious little son will you kill me? With that spear of yours? Try it."

And just as Ylina was about to pounce on him, an agonizing scream was heard and everyone in the room took a moment to look at the second wildling man, who was still struggling to be set free from Daria's grasp. Finally he had, but not before the direwolf had managed to bite down on his sword arm and, pulling back her head, she ripped it off his body easily. As the man cried out in pain and bled out on the floor, his blood pouring out of the huge open wound in his arm in jets near him, Daria walked away from him, standing beside Ylina as she dropped the arm by her feet and then lifted her head to look at her owner's attacker. As soon as her icy blue eyes pierced through him and she bared her teeth at him, with all the furs around her mouth covered in blood, Ylina saw a shiver run through his body.