Her Name Isn't Snow

Chapter 18

Sansa Stark once betrothed to a monster, married off to another, almost murdered by her own aunt, married off to another monster and now fleeing for her life from the one place she thought she could call home. She would never shake Myranda's words from her head. 

"He only needs you for heirs, that doesn't mean he needs you all in one piece"

What a wicked thing to say. But Sansa was learning that most of the world was made up of wicked things. Her brothers were dead, the girl she once called sister died during childbirth, her mother, her father. Sansa wasn't even sure if Arya was alive or not, but her only hope now was Jon. Jon who she used to call wicked names, who she only called half brother, but now he was the only brother she had. Despite what Theon told her about Bran and Rickon, despite the fact that he saved her from Ramsey, Theon would only be that, Theon. 

"Come on, we need to keep moving, we'll have the hounds on us no doubt" Theon called to her, walking several paces faster than her. It felt like they had been walking for hours, and there was no way to keep track of the time. The sun was hidden by the trees, with the only light, scattered through the woods by the leaves. 

They walked silently through the woods, and Sansa was doing her best to not leave a trail but the snow made it impossible. Sansa was about to ask to stop for a moment when a low howl echoed through the trees. They both stopped, and look at one another. 

"We need to go, now!" Theon whisper-shouted to Sansa, snatching her hand and pulling her to a run. With her free hand, Sansa picked up her dress haphazardly, almost tripping on the skirts as she did so. 

She tripped a bit when Theon jerked her to a sudden stop. She blinked a bit, not wanting to accept the obstacle that laid in front of them. A river, with chunks of ice flowing down. Theon let go of her hand and slowly started to walk into the river. 

"We can't cross that, are you mad?!" Sansa snapped, quickly glancing behind them. The hounds weren't in sight, but the howls were growing louder. 

"If we don't we'll die. And it won't be quick. I have seen those hounds rip people apart and trust me, drowning would be a mercy compared to that" he says quickly, holding out his hand for Sansa to take. Sansa took his hand and they crossed the river together. The cold from the river shot searing pain through Sansa's body. The instant her legs were fully submerged, Sansa had to hold back the scream from her lips and force her numb legs to continue on. She kept telling herself that the hounds would be worse than this pain. But she wasn't so sure. 

They made it across in one piece, but Sansa wasn't sure if she was happy about that. Life would be so much easier if the river had simply swept them away. But the way her life was going Ramsey would save them before the numbing effects of the water could reach their lungs. After making it across Sansa hoped that they would be able to sit for a moment, but the battle cry of the hounds said differently. 

Theon took her hand once more and they continued to run, but she was starting to slow down. Her legs were beginning to cramp, the stitch in her side turned into a stab, the air wasn't getting into her lungs and when it did it only stabbed her. Any longer and she would faint for sure. She didn't even have the energy to conjure tears to her eyes when she pulled Theon to a stop. 

"I can't run anymore" Sansa huffed, too tired to pant as much as she needed to. Theon took a good look at the state she was in and began frantically looking around for a place to hide. Wordlessly he took her hand and dragged her further still. Until they found a few trees that were angled upwards from the ground. It made for good cover, but not enough to completely cover the both of them. 

They squeezed in, all the same, listening as the sounds from the hounds got louder and louder. Theon took a quick glance at Sansa. Cold, exhausted, terrified. He wouldn't allow her to be taken back there, not if he could do something about it. For once in his life, he wouldn't be a coward.