"Allison."

I groaned loudly at the male voice. I tried to roll over, but I was pulled onto my back again.

"By the gods, Allison! Are you awake? Open your fucking eyes!"

At this tone, I obeyed him and opened my eyes. I nearly screamed in pain when the light hit me. It felt like I had been out for days.

Now, Theon was leaning over me, looking extremely worried. "How the fuck are you alive?" he practically shouted. He turned around and stood up. "TALISA!"

"Oh, gods, not so loud," I groaned, putting my hands over my ears. It seemed like all my senses were amplified.

Theon's eyes met mine. "What's the last thing you remember?" he asked quickly. His expression was panicked.

"Waking up," I joked, giggling weakly. I gasped when it hurt. Why did it hurt to laugh? I looked down, and that's when it hit me.

My armor had been removed. I had a giant, gaping wound in the middle of my stomach. Blood was pouring out of it. I suddenly got super nauseous, and I turned my head to the side as I started to vomit. There was blood everywhere... including my vomit.

"Allison?" a female voice called from my left. I cringed and looked at her. The image of her was blurry, and I didn't recognize her.

She knelt down beside me. "Do you remember anything that happened?" she asked, looking at the wound in my stomach. She was staring into it so closely, and I had to give her credit for not vomiting like I assumed most women would.

I racked my brain, trying to think. "Uh..." I lifted a hand to my head, which had massive bruises on it. Or so it seemed. I had a huge headache. It was hard to think about anything. I closed my eyes and let my head fall limp onto the grass. I was still conscious, just exhausted.

"Allison!" Theon yelled, shaking me. "What the fuck? Wake up!" I could hear the panic in his voice, but I didn't react to it. I was too tired. It hurt too badly. I didn't want to get up.

I had too many excuses.

The woman grasped my wrist in her hand, presumably feeling for a pulse. "Can you hear me?" she asked quickly. Her voice was also starting to pick up a panicked tone.

"Y-yes," I whispered. It hurt to talk - it even hurt to breathe. For a split second, I wished I was dead, but I quickly took it back. I had to live!

"Okay, good," she said, and I felt her hands moving around my stomach. It was extremely painful, and I let out a yelp when she hit a spot that was too close to my wound. My hands instinctively raised to block hers, but then, they flopped back onto the ground. I felt like I could fall asleep at any second.

"Sorry," she apologized, speaking quickly. "My name is Talisa. I'm a nurse. You're very hurt, Allison."

"Really?" I replied, unable to control my sass. "I had no idea." I gave her a weak smile. My eyes were still closed, and I was still limp on the grass. By the way I was talking, I sounded like I was drunk.

"What do you remember?" Talisa repeated herself, stroking my hair to calm me down. I sighed and leaned into her touch. It was a nice distraction from the pain.

I just wanted to slip into unconsciousness. I wanted to escape reality. I wanted to escape this pain. And I could.

But not before my duties were done.

"I was... fighting," I offered weakly. "Running out of energy... ready to give up. Ready to die." I sighed again. "Kind of like right now." The last phrase slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"You're lying," my brother snapped. "You're not ready to give up. You're not ready to die." I could hear the anger in his tone. He was probably glaring at me.

"But I am," I said honestly. "If I die here, I die with honor." I kept my eyes closed. I was about to fall asleep. I could feel it carrying me.

"Fuck that!" Theon shouted, startling me out of my state of mind. "If you die here, you die a coward!"

His words didn't make any sense, but I believed them. My eyes flew open, and I grimaced against the light. I studied Theon and Talisa's faces.

"I will not die a coward," I declared. I put my hands on the ground and pushed myself to a sitting position. Did it hurt? Yes. Did I care? Not anymore.

The thought of dying a coward was disgusting to me. I couldn't disgrace the Greyjoy name like that. Looking back on the incident, if Theon hadn't said that, I may not have survived. I may have lost the will to live.

"Take it easy," Talisa said, letting me lean against her. She started to wrap a bandage around my stomach. I groaned in pain and clenched my fists, but I could handle it.

When she was done, she looked me up and down. "Do you need milk of the poppy?" she asked worriedly.

I shook my head. "No... that shit is for cowards." For some reason, this statement was extraordinarily funny to me, and I burst into laughter. This laughter became painful after just a few seconds.

Theon put an arm around my back and laid me back down on the ground. I relaxed immediately. Just because I was determined to live now didn't mean I shouldn't sleep. My eyes closed immediately, and within seconds, I was out.

I woke up a long time later in my tent. I stretched, then groaned. It still hurt. But pain is just a part of life.

After a minute, I tried to stand up, but I ended up falling back onto the ground. I cried out loudly in pain. It felt like my muscles were on fire.

Only a few mere seconds later, Theon was by my side. He had a small tray of food with him, and smelling it made me realize I hadn't eaten since the night before the battle. How long had I been out?

"Eat," Theon commanded, holding the tray towards me. "You'll feel better."

I didn't know what kind of food it was. I didn't care. I shoved it into my mouth without a second thought. I almost moaned with how good it tasted.

"How long was I out?" I asked in between chewing. I watched Theon's expression change from a worried one to a sad one.

"Four days," he replied, looking down. My head shot up, but Theon didn't let me talk. "Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?"

I reached up to run my forehead. I was exhausted, and my headache hadn't gone away. I barely processed what my brother was saying. "Just tell me."

"We captured Jaime Lannister," Theon informed me.

I gasped, and my eyes widened to the size of golf balls. "Wh- are you serious?" My face broke into a wide grin. "That's great!"

Theon nodded, but his face was still sad. Slowly, my smile faded. The bad news. I was instantly worried again.

"Lord Stark confessed his treason," Theon said quietly. "He was promised mercy, a life banished to the Wall, but..." He breathed out deeply. "He was beheaded for his crimes."

My heart stopped. It crashed to the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

Just like with Carl, I'd only had one conversation with Ned Stark. But just from that one conversation, I knew how loyal and trusting he was. I knew how sweet and moral he was. He didn't deserve to be executed.

Then, another thought struck me like lightning. Robb.

"Robb must be devastated," I whispered. I couldn't even imagine what he was going through. He was willing to go to war for his father. He was willing to kill every last Lannister, even if it cost him his life, for his father. He loved his father unconditionally.

"He is," Theon replied, nodding. "So is Catelyn."

My heart broke for the second time. Catelyn had loved him unconditionally, too. I could tell from the way she talked about him, and the way she worried him.

And Arya... poor, sweet, stubborn Arya. She must be a captive in King's Landing by now. She never even wanted to go, and now she was stuck in that awful place with that awful king. The longer I thought about it, the sadder I got. I felt myself struggling not to cry again. Damn it, I was so weak.

"What's going to happen now?" I asked, my voice shaking with sadness. Theon reached out to take my hand. He bent down to my eye level and looked me in the eyes.

"We're about to find out," he said. He helped me sit up, making me groan in pain. When I stood up, I almost fell back down again, but Theon caught and steadied me.

"I'll carry you if I have to," Theon tried to joke, but his tone was still sad.

I smacked him weakly in the arm. "You'll do no such thing." I leaned against him, putting all my weight on him. He lifted my arm around his shoulders and helped me walk. It was a struggle, since I was still weak, but with his help, I was able to move.

Theon led me to the place where Robb and his bannermen were gathered. When we arrived, everyone stared at us, and I realized Robb had been waiting for us before he started. His eyes met mine, and I quickly looked away. It was too painful.

"You all know by now what great tragedy has occurred," Robb announced in a strong, firm voice. "The Lannisters are monsters, and an immature little boy does not belong on the throne!" His voice rose at the end of this statement, and men shouted out in agreement.

"The question that we have to answer now is which of the Baratheon brothers to side with," Robb continued. My head tilted to the side in confusion. I was clearly behind on the politics of Westeros.

"Stannis Baratheon has a better claim to the throne." Robb looked around at all of us as he spoke. "He is the oldest, now that our great King Robert has passed. But although Renly is younger, he has more troops. He has the better fleets and armies." Robb looked directly at Theon. "Theon Greyjoy, what say you?"

Theon seemed surprised to be called out like that, but he cleared his throat and stood up straighter. All the bannermen turned to look at him when he spoke.

"Whatever your decision may be, I will stand with you unconditionally," Theon swore. He didn't really answer Robb's question, though, and everyone knew it.

"Theon makes a good point," Robb said loudly. "I suppose I have made the assumption that you will fight with me, no matter what. Is that assumption correct?"

I smiled when I heard everyone yelling, "YES!" Men were cheering and throwing their fists in the air. Some even drew their swords out of respect.

"Robb!" a voice shouted above the noise of the crowd. The bannermen went silent as they all turned to face him. I recognized him as the one who'd called me a traitor. My eyes narrowed.

"Why should we let the men of the south tell us what to do?" he yelled, his gruff voice making itself heard. "The North was an independent kingdom before the War of Conquest! I say we are independent once again!"

The men cheered again. Their yells of joy were almost deafening - they were so loud. Theon was cheering, too, and I couldn't help but agree with them.

Once the cheering died down, the man spoke again, this time even louder than before. "There is only one king worthy of my respect and allegiance." He drew his sword and hoisted it in the air. "The King in the North!"

Soon, all of Robb's bannermen had their swords out. They were screaming his name over and over again. "The King in the North! The King in the North!"

I had never seen so many men agree on something unanimously. They'd all agreed so easily, too, and they were all right to agree. I agreed, too.

So, I drew my dagger, and Theon drew his sword. And together, we screamed it, too.

"The King in the North!"