The Lost Winter Rose

Chapter 3

Over the years, things change, its a harsh but undeniable truth, there are big changes and small, and then there are the things that don't change at all, that no matter what happened throughout the years, as long as they are stored safely, then they are safe. For as long as Lyanna could remember, one of the floor planks in her room had always been loose.

When their father had found out about it and had wanted to repair it, Lyanna begged him not to; she told him that she had made it into a hiding place for the things she cared the most about. Like her grandmother Lyarras's wedding ring that the woman had wanted her oldest grandchild to have. A dagger that had once belonged to her uncle Brandon, an old blue rose that she had found when she was younger and had it pressed, and a few loose papers with drawings she had made without her family noticing it.

Some times when she had been lying in the dark and cold room, she would often think back to the hidden place in her former bedroom, wondering what happened to it. Had someone found it and claimed possession of it, or worse, had Ramsey found it and given her grandmother's wedding ring to his other whore? Perhaps if she was lucky, the loose floor plank continued to lay unnoticed in her room, gathering dust and waiting for its rightful owner to find it.

A few days after Lyanna had woken up, she was, much to Sansa's dismay, wandering around the room and insisted that she was perfectly able to go outside. However, her sister, who would have preferred that the older girl got as much rest as possible, wasn't quite pleased and had watched her like a hawk. Lyanna finally had enough when she was about to get dressed and hurried the younger girl out of the room. As she closed the door, she turned and leaned her back to it as she let out a deep sigh. All though she was beyond happy to see her siblings again, for she was, however, the girl had not had one moment to herself after she had woken up.

It still felt like a dream, like any minute she would wake up in the cold dark room, with Ramsey staring down at her, wicked pleasure written all over his face as he violated her. Although she was happy to be alive and with her siblings, some part of her, some sick part, wished that they would have just left her there in that room. Two days after she had woken up, just as Sansa had left the room for a moment, Lyanna had managed to gather enough strength to lift herself from the bed and wobble over to the small mirror on the wall. Letting her eyes rest upon her reflection for the first time in– well, ever since around the Red Wedding.

Her dark hair, one of the only things Ramsey had let her keep due to his fondness of pulling it whenever he would visit her, had grown too long for her liking; what had once rested just above her mid-back now dangled awfully near her bottom. Her grey eyes that had once been filled with light and fierceness now seemed dull and void in comparison, apart from a small silver streak of joy that somehow managed to shine through the pain from her body. The old bruise resting upon her left eye had healed nicely, almost gone save the soft difference in color. The split on her lip didn't seem nearly as bad as it had felt.

She let her eyes wander from her face and down her pale neck where they stopped. Slowly she raised her hand and pushed the hair covering her neck behind her shoulders, letting a nasty bitemark come into view. As she had laid in the room, she had often traced the mark gently with her fingers, feeling the soft bumps that had marked his teeth.

Ramsey had once contemplated on branding her, saying that every pet should carry their owners mark. However, one day, or had it been night, he had been furious when he had come to her, his eyes dark glinting with a look that sent a streak of terror rushing through her. That time Ramsey had been more brutal than usual, and when he came, he had bit down harshly on her neck, like a dog or a wolf going for the killing blow. The look on his face was one she would never forget. The satisfied grin splattered on his twisted face as his eyes lingered almost hungrily on the red mark.