The Iron Thorn | Theon Greyjoy

49.

Massey

The fog had finally broken up enough so that I could clearly make out the structures in front of me. It had been such a rough journey that any land would have been a welcome sight, but this was unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

What stood before me held no welcoming qualities. The Land of Ten Thousand Kings, they'd called it. It didn't seem a land that required any king at all. It felt so dismal, forgotten. The scattered structures were crumbling, the surrounding sea no doubt playing a part in that. There was little green apparent across the land from where I stood, just variants of grey from sky to shore that blended together to make one abysmal shade. What little trees decorated the island were sparse. I hated it immediately.

"It's beautiful," I muttered in Yara's direction when I realized I'd been staring morosely for too long.

From beside me at the bow, she let out a low chuckle. "You're not a good liar."

   If at all possible, the smell of salt in the air was even stronger once I was back on land. It melded with the strong scent of fish wafting off of the waves that crashed against the dock as we disembarked. Yara urged me to follow alongside her, not at all slowing down to cater to my pace until we reached a few horses being held for our arrival. My horse seemed to share my timid nature, but thankfully responded well to me. She trotted behind Yara's steed all the way up to the castle, carefully avoiding the many scattered rocks along the path.

   It was almost as though it were raining, but it wasn't. Everything was just...wet. By the time our ride was over, I could feel the sea spray on what little skin my gown left exposed. My hair was damp, clinging to my face while the ends curled up just a bit more than usual. The view from the castle was much more beautiful than the view of the castle, at least. From where I stood outside of the walls, it was more apparent what exactly the Ironborn took such pride in about their home.

   I anticipated being brought straight to Balon. Truthfully, I anticipated that he'd be awaiting my arrival the way Lord Stark and his family had, but I wasn't surprised to find that my assumption was wrong. The halls were eerily quiet, the sound of our footsteps intermingling echoed off of the stone around us. Instead of delivering me to her father, Yara took me through countless halls until she seemed satisfied with a room to stow me away in for the time being. She had attempted to lead me even further through the keeps, but I refused. Once we exited the first keep, I got a closer look at one of the rickety rope bridges I'd seen from below. As much as I wanted to find seclusion quickly so that I could read Theon's letter, I wasn't willing to risk my life for it.

   Just as the halls had been, the chamber was dark and almost damp. Two large driftwood beams ran along the high ceiling, adding a bit of beauty to the otherwise depressing room. I pulled uncomfortably at my bodice as the edges of the parchment jammed inside poked into my side. I thought it best to keep it close even through the journey to Pyke.

   "You'll need something more suitable for our climate," Yara said, moving into the room to light a fire with a lone torch from the hall as she watched me tug at my gown.

   "Oh, no. I'm alright, really—"

   "I'll have some garments brought to you tonight along with a meal. After I've spoken with my father."

   "I can pay for them," I offered as I took a step toward her.

   She frowned slightly and shook her head dismissively as she returned to the doorway. "I have no interest in your gold. Consider it part of our famed hospitality."

The sarcasm in her voice was thick, but the message was still genuine. Theon had little to say about her back in Winterfell, mostly opting to speak on his late brothers instead. I had half expected a brutish beast of an Ironborn woman, and half expected a meek lady that echoed the tales he'd told me of their mother. Yara was somewhere in between. The only thing that mattered to me at the time was that she had been relatively good to me. She had put herself in the middle of her brother's trouble just to keep me safe.