WELL FLAYED [Game Of Thrones: The Boltons]

8. The Maidens

MIR FLEW ABOVE THE MOSSY FOREST of Dreadwoods. The mist over the leafy canopy was thick; it was hard to see what's below. For this reason, Mir wasn't able to properly hunt for any prey.

Although as she passed by the towering trees and reached the rocky hills, she spotted with her sapphire eyes a black snake slithering on steep rocks. Mir's white and silver wings prepared for a quick dive through the air, lunging down like a speeding arrow. With her silent flight, the snake was surprised by her attack that it didn't have the time to defend itself.

Mir's talons curled around the snake's body, immobilizing it to wriggle free. The snake opened its mouth then flashed its fangs to bite Mir's legs, but she was quick to adjust the grip of her claws to its neck. Then, with her sharp beak, she clamped and clamped until the serpent's tranchea broke.

The chamber was getting cold as the hearth was dying. The flames ate away all the embers, now they were nothing but warm ashes. It failed to drive away the passing cold breeze through the window, and it made Lady Nisha Umber to shiver.

Although she was wearing a surcoat made of deer pelts, the harsh cold of the North still found its way to bite her skin. She could see her breath in the air, and she could feel her lips trembling. But she remained by the window, continuing to stare at the vast plain of snow before the forest of Dreadwoods. Nisha was waiting for her owl who flew outside to be with her freedom for awhile.

Somehow, Nisha envied Mir. She could go wherever she wanted, while she was stuck behind closed doors in her new private chamber. What she did during her supper with Ramsay three nights ago was something that got on his nerves; she did not go to their shared chamber to spend the night with him, instead she went to Myranda's and hid there.

Her rejection was something he did not favor; and although he was calm throughout the whole ordeal, his hidden abhorrence was unveiled when he ordered his guards to drag her inside to another quarter far away from their original chamber. They locked her in, then guarded the doors. The only time it opened was when Myranda and other maidservants served her food and bath.

Lady Nisha could remember well how they barged into Myranda's chamber at dawn. They had caught them still lying and sleeping on the bed. One of the men had grabbed her arm then harshly pulled her up, waking her. She tried to jerk free, but two other men held her still, clutching her shoulders and waist. They chuckled as they noticed her nakedness behind the thin sheer fabric of her nightgown. Suddenly, she felt conscious, then tried to cover herself; but the men kept on tugging and pulling her. One pulled aggressively, that he tore away her shoulder straps. Her ample teats were exposed for them to view, and she shrunk in shame. Hot tears brewed in her eyes; she never felt so violated and humiliated by other people before.

She glanced at Myranda who was now alertly sitting on the bed. Nisha's eyes were begging her to save her. However, all that Myranda could do was stare at her helplessly. Her handmaiden was wise enough to know that it was no use resisting three guardsmen. The look on her face was apologetic, and accepting; it told her to not fight them anymore.

And now, there she was in the highest keep, like a prisoned damsel in distress guarded by a dragon; but in her situation, it was not a fire breathing creature, but the flayed men with sharp knives ready to skin more of them. Her isolation kept her thinking disturbing things, one of which was jumping to her freedom out the window. The tower was eight storey high, and it could crack her head open if she leaped; though at that dire moment, she didn't care anymore.

But she shouldn't give in to that tempting thought. It was selfish. She still had to save her friend. She made a promise to herself, that she would not discard him again. She'd do everything in her power to keep him safe.