ᴀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ꜱᴏ ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ, ᴀ ꜱᴜɴ ꜱᴏ ʙʀɪɢʜᴛ

vii. oh, to be saved by a beautiful knight in shining armour

┌─── ∘°❉°∘ ───┐

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."