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The things we love destroy us every time, lad. Remember that. Jeor Mormont
•••
Laila Ryswell had close to nothing. Born into a house that was frequently loyal to the Starks, she never truly had a place within their walls. Her mother and father weren't the wealthiest in her house; not to mention that she never knew her mother anyways, due to her dying in childbirth. Laila and her father had no place living in the Rills for most of her childhood, so they headed North and found shelter with the Starks of Winterfell.
Ned Stark, the recent Warden of the North, quickly trusted the Ryswell father and daughter, and agreed to letting them stay within their walls if they pulled their way. Laila's father agreed to steward for Lord Stark, while Laila, at age seventeen, became the handmaiden of Catelyn Stark.
Ten years later, Laila sits by her father's bed and watches him die. A fever had overtaken him a week prior, and at his old age, Maester Luwin had only predicted the worst. Laila was heartbroken that she officially had no family left, but the Starks welcomed her as one of their own, and for that, she was grateful.
Finally, at age twenty-nine, Laila was informed by Lady Catelyn that Robb was calling the banners of House Stark, and that he planned to start a war with House Lannister over them imprisoning Lord Stark after he left for King's Landing with Sansa and Arya. She accompanied Catelyn on her journey to war with the other hand maidens, and Laila got her first glimpse at a life of war.
The War of the Five Kings was hard to bear, and she hadn't even fought in it. Laila had to look at the strewn corpses after every battle, as she walked past the encampments with Lady Catelyn. She wouldn't ever be able to endure a life such as this, which is why she admired those in Robb Stark's company, like Freya Greyjoy.
After taking on the likes of Brienne of Tarth when visiting the Stormlands, Catelyn Stark certifies a small group of women to serve as her counsel. She trusts both Laila and Brienne more than she should and this leads to an odd alliance. But when she theorizes that releasing a certain prisoner may help her get her daughters, Sansa and Arya, from the clutches of the Lannisters, Catelyn may send the most unlucky duo on a mission to return him to King's Landing.
CAST
NINA DOBREV AS LAILA RYSWELL the dutiful handmaiden
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