The redhead was no longer the princess that his father once upon a time made her believe that she was. Just a bastard, and one with a price tag upon her head just in case her last name was not enough. Her once upon a time beautiful dress was reduced to..well, to whatever it was now. After months, the pale blue resembled more a black shade, torn here and there in order to grant her the freedom of movement she never thought she would need. And her hair...let’s not talk about the hair.
It had been months since she first fled from King’s Landing to save her life, leaving behind the burning ashes of the brothel where she was born, where her mother died, and the grave of her King father. Where dozen of her siblings were slaughtered by a mad lion cub.
During that time she learnt how to fight, she learnt how to hunt, and her hands were stained with the blood of more than just a man that looked at her in the wrong way. And it was all worth it. She would have no regrets as long as she finally got to meet the King in the North. Bend the knee before him. Hefzy didn’t want a name, she didn’t want a crown, but fuck, she needed a home.
Flashbacks of that one time when his father decided to visit the Starks with the royal family filled her mind. Of course she was not allowed to go in the main scourt. The others take her if the queen ever got a sight of her anywhere near her cubs. No, she was just a bastard. She could remember sneaking into the soldiers carabine, hiding among them a good deal of the road until one of them found her and brought her to her father. It was too late to cast her back, luckily enough.
She was naught but a child, perhaps only a tad bit older than the redhead beauty of the Stark family. It always amused her the way people narrowed their eyes with suspicious at the resemblance. Odd coincidence perhaps.
But what really left a mark on her was the young wolf. Tall and handsome, not much older than her. The mere thought of him still sent chills down her spine. Now, a couple years later, memories of the welcoming dinner where in a strike of luck she got to dance with him for a minute were the recurrent thought when the night was too cold on the woods and she craved warmth. And hell if she didn’t get it.
Her sand castle dreams came to an end as soon as she arrived though. It was a bloddy mess. Literally. Getting in was easy. All she had to do was stealing a dress from a fine looking lady that walked by. No shame. Her smile and gentle touch to a guard did the rest Thank you, mother. Being the daughter of a whore paying off, at last.
Then she saw them. A couple of soldiers dragging her king like little more than a sack of potatoes. Holding a direwolf head on their hands. What they were going to...no. No, no and all of the noes.
After all this time, she never thought she would be able to risk her life for someone else, but she was glad she could, she still could. The swing on her hips as she walked torwards them was outstanding. The Frey banner on her stolen dress kept her safe.
“They said the wolf couldn’t die” She mused, teasingly running her fingers through the chest of one of the soldiers. How stupid of them to look at her “I bet the men that took his life are beasts through and through. I’d like to witness that” And they took a break. Success. In her defense, they died with a smile upon their faces.
Dragging her king back into the woods was not easy task,but she managed to get him into the cave she had been using as refuge. He was dead, and so were her chances of survival in this cruel world. Once more, kneeling before him, she was a child.
That night she spent it crying, arms tightly wrapped around him. Cuddling a dead body a sick as it might have been. More than once she could feel his breathing on her neck, the faint hints of a heartbeat when she rested her head on his chest. Dreams of a mad woman that wanted something so badly that she thought it true. Thankfully, she knew better than believing herself.