The cold air around her was filled with laughter and songs. Hera was currently sitting with some of the Stark men on a couple of logs, an ale in her hand as she listened to them sing a song. She lifted the cup to her lips and took a small sip of the liquid. The men around her clapped their hands in a rythm as one of them sang the song. His voice was very nice, and it had a certain sound to it that made it seem more unique. She smiled slightly as she listened to the lyrics.

"The Dornishman's taken my life

But what does it matter?"

"Hera! You should join!" the youngest man present exclaimed as he thumped his feet to the rythm of the song.

Hera shook her head with a small smile playing on her lips. "I'm not a good singer."

"For all men must die

And I've tasted the Dornishman's wife, I have

I've tasted the Dornishman's wife."

She drank the rest of her ale just as the song finished, grinning with the rest of the men. "You have a great voice," she complimented the singer, whose smile grew.

"Thank you, my lady."

She smiled back at him, before she stood up. She bid them goodbye, before she walked in the direction of the horses. She wanted to go for a ride to clear her head, but it seemed like fate had other plans for her. "Hera! Where are you going?" She turned around at the sound of Robb's voice, her green eyes settling upon his face. Her mood instantly grew more somber, as she did not wish to speak to him. But, he was her king and she couldn't ignore him.

"I'm just going for a ride, your grace." He frowned at her courtesies, and reminded her that she didn't need to call him that when no one was around.

"You shouldn't go for a ride alone," Robb told her. "The kingsroad is a dangerous place for a woman alone."

She scoffed, which caused him to furrow his eyebrows. "Excuse me, but I can take care of myself." Her voice was sharp. and there was no warmth left in it. She hated how everyone seemed to underestimate her. She hated how she was seen as weak just because she was a woman. At her answer, Robb grew more confused.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hera answered without hesitation. She sighed softly as she realised how rude she was being. "May I leave?" Her body practically ached to go for a ride, and to get some time alone. Robb, upon realising that she wanted to be left alone, reluctantly nodded his head.

A while later, Hera was riding her horse down the Kingsroad. The horse was walking in a light trot and she finally felt relaxed. She was still alert though, just in case something were to happen. The road was quite muddy from the rain that had poured down a short while ago. It was completely quiet, except for the occasional chirping of birds.

But as always, all good things must come to an end. One second she was riding peacefully, and the next, men were charging at her from the woods. She was so shocked, that she didn't even realise they were there until one of them grabbed her leg. She gasped as he tried to drag her down from the horse.

Her horse reared, causing her to lose her grip on the reins, and therefore being dragged down. She landed in the mud, gasping at the pain that shot through her arm. One of the men roughly hauled her to her feet, forcing her to look at him. He was ugly, was the first thing she thought. He had a long scar running from his temple to his chin, and one of his front teeth were missing. He had a chubby face, covered in a yellow beard. He shot her a toothy grin as he held her by her hair, forcing her to look at him. But the look she gave him was anything but kind. It was filled with so much hatred that other soldiers would piss their pants by seeing it.

"My," the soldier exclaimed. "You're a pretty one!" He chuckled then, as he traced his finger across her cheek. "What is a pretty lady like you doing on the Kingsroad by herself?"

"Go to hell." She spat at him, causing his grin to grow.

"Aye, you're a feisty one!" She heard laughs coming from behind her, and a short while later, two more men came into view. They were even uglier than the first one. Okay, so there were only three of them. She could surely take them out, right?

"You know what we're going to do?" the man who held her by her hair asked her. She didn't answer, which caused him to sigh. "You're no fun! Anyway, we're going to take your things, including your horse." He laughed when her expression turned deadly. "Well, I assume you already suspect the rest."

The man's face suddenly dropped, as if he realised something. "Wait a minute, you're that Nyvell bitch who escaped!" The two other men's faces suddenly lit up, as if they had recieved a wonderful present. The man who had her in a grip laughed loudly. "Gods, I never thought I would meet you again! I hardly recognized you." She flinched as his grip became tighter. "I was there you know, the day your family died. I wanted to be the one to kill you, but you were nowhere to be found. But now I finally can."

Her whole body became rigid as she stared wide eyed at the man. They were there. They were a part of the men that killed her family and took her home. Suddenly, it was as if all of her rage exploded out of her. She only saw red, and she wanted them to pay. With a murderous scream, she kicked the man in his groin, causing him to gasp and fall to his knees.

She quickly unsheathed her sword and held it out. Three against one wasn't fair, but she could take them. At least she hoped that she could. While the man laid on the ground clutching his private parts, the two other men charged at her. She swung her blade wildly, as well as ducking away from their blades. She managed to cut one of them across the chest, and he screamed in pain as he temporarily staggered backwards.

She suddenly felt a sharp pain on her leg, and realised that the other man had sliced her. It wasn't deep, but it stung, and blood seeped out. She gritted her teeth and stabbed her sword forward, running the man through his stomach. He gasped and fell to the ground while groaning.

She didn't have time to rest, because the two other men had recovered and were charging towards her. The one that she had kicked had a wild look on his face. He was out for her blood, and he intended to take it. As they came for her, she quickly pulled out the knife she always had strapped to her waist. She never went anywhere without it. With a sword and a knife in each hand, she charged at them.

One of them smacked her across the face, busting her lip open. She suddenly heard a rear, and a couple of seconds later, her horse's hooves came crashing down on one of the men's skull, crushing it. He fell to the ground dead.

Now it was only her and the one who had held her by her hair left. He screamed and charged at her, throwing himself at her and dragging her down to the ground. She gasped as her back connected with the ground, and stars danced in her vision. The man grinned as he had her pinned to the ground, with a dagger to her throat. The blade dug painfully into her skin, drawing a small amount of blood. "After all these years, I finally get to kill you."

He didn't realise that she still had her knife in her hand, and with that thought in mind, she plunged her knife into the side of his stomach. He cried out in pain and fell off her. They switched places, and suddenly she was the one who had him pinned down. She held the knife to his throat, a glare set on her face,

"Where is your leader?" she roared. He laughed then, as if she was a failure.

"Wouldn't you want to know." he grinned.

"Tell me where he is, or I'll slit your throat!" she exclaimed, her body shaking in anger.

"Guess you'll have to kill me then." With an angry shout, she dragged her blade across his throat. He gasped as the blood filled his throat, slowly choking him. She wiped the blood on her dagger onto his clothes.

She slowly stood up on unsteady legs and placed her knife back in the holster strapped to her waist. She wiped the blood on her face off with the back of her hand as she looked at the dead bodies.

They had tried to kill her, but they had failed. And now they would be left for the wild animals to eat.

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