NALIA SNOW SAT WITH HER SECRET, a small secret, one she was sure would come out at any minute. It had felt good to know something no one else did, she liked the way it weighed down on her chest.

A knock sounded at the door, she was unsure if there was someone really there or if it was simply her heart hammering in her chest.

"Enter." She called.

The curly head of Jon Snow entered her chambers, a sorrowful smile on his face as he looked at her. He held a small box in one hand, a thin pink ribbon over the top of the box.

"You've not left." A breath escaped her as she looked at the older boy.

"I am leaving now." He explained. His hands reached forward and awkwardly pushed the box towards her. "A gift."

"For me? How kind of you." She gently took the wrapped box from his hands.

Her hands pulled the ribbon loose and the top off the box. Inside the box laid a sheathed dagger. A beautiful dagger, she was sure. Jon Snow was not a materialistic boy, but it looked of value.

"I am not sure what I will do with such gift." Nalia took the dagger from the sheeth, holding it up in the light that shone through her window.

"A cautionary gift, you should learn how to use it." Jon suggested.

Echo rubbed against his leg, the puppy whining as he looked up at Jon.

"Thank you, Jon." Jon stood there for a moment, not saying anything. "Truly. Thank you." Nalia reiterated. "I wish you safe travels."

Jon nodded, granted her a smile and left her room.

"What an odd gift." Nalia hummed as she looked down at Echo, the wolf simply tilting his head in response.

It wasn't until later that Sansa finally came to her room to bother her.

"Have you been in here all day?" Sansa asked, Lady trailing after her. The young wolf completely distracted when she saw Echo.

"I've been tired." Nalia whined.

"I assume Jon told you he was leaving for Castle Black." Sansa and Jon's relationship had always been rocky. Mirroring Jon and Catlin's relationship.

"He has." Nalia kept her expressions neutral.

"Is it selfish to admit that I'm happy I'll have no one share you with then?" Sansa sat upon Nalia's bed, leaning close to her. They had always been close, always been touching one another.

"Yes, quite." Nalia shamed her, but let her snuggle up next to her. She even rearranged her skirts so they laid nicely on the bed spread.

"Are you upset Jon's leaving?" Sansa was never one to care about other people's feelings, unless that someone was Nalia.

"I am sad, but not upset per say." Nalia entwined her fingers with Sansa's.

"Bran's hurt." Sansa looked down at her hands as she broke the news to Nalia. Nalia simply stared at Sansa, confused as to what could have happened.

"What's happened?" Nalia took both of Sansa's hands in her own.

Sansa sniffled at the idea of her brother not making it out. "He fell from a tower." She let out a shaky breath. "And he has not woken up."

Nalia pulled Sansa against her, cradling her head against her shoulder.

The two girls sat in bed, holding hands and saying nothing. Nalia found she enjoyed moments like these the most.

Sansa interrupted the silence with Nalia's new least favorite subject. "I promised Joffery that I would take a walk with him, but that you could come." She paused. "If you so wish." Nalia had never outright rejected Sansa, but it was always a fear that she had.

"Do you wish for me to accompany you and your prince?" Nalia whispered, she let her thumb graze over the top of Sansa's hand.

"I always wish for you to accompany me." Sansa whispered back. It was a moment of tenderness that neither of them could truly understand.

"Then I shall." Nalia held her gaze, and moved to stand up

"You truly are my bestest friend." Sansa stopped her, her blue eyes looking up at her.

Nalia stopped and looked at her closest friend. It was the first time in her life that Nalia was sure she wanted to kiss Sansa, but she didn't. She just looked at her.

"As you are mine." Nalia smiled and stood. "We don't want to keep your prince waiting, now do we?"

The two girls walked arm in arm down the hallways of the castle, the sun shining in and igniting Sansa's hair as if it were fire. Nalia found she wanted to reach out and feel if it was hot.

Echo and Lady trailed after them, jumping and nipping at each other.

"Ah." Joffrey found them first. "The sun is shining, shall we?" He held out his arm for Sansa to take, leaving Nalia without her warmth. It wasn't as if she needed it, the warm sun was shining down on them, but she still felt as though she was freezing without the girl by her side.

The three of them walked, Sansa and Joffery exchanging pleasantries and silent giggles. Nalia simply walked by their side.

Arya and the butcher's boy played with wooden swords in front of the trio. Nalia found she was more interested in watching Arya beat the boy than whatever words tumbled out of Joffery's mouth.

"Arya!" Sansa shouted at her sister. The younger brunette froze as she looked at her older sister.

"What are you doing here? Go away!" Arya complained. Nalia had found that both of the sisters took each other for granted. If she had had a sister, they would have been the best of friends. She was sure of it.

Joffrey stepped into the situation, a furrow made its place on Nalia's brow as she watched him. She found she disliked him more by the minute.

"Your sister?" Joffrey referred to Arya, even though he knew the answer. Nalia assumed he was being coy, and she did not find it charming. "And who are you, boy?"

"Mycah, my Lord." The boy bowed as she looked at the prince.

"He's the butcher's boy." Nalia rolled her eyes at Sansa, she quite hated how vain she was sometimes, how privileged she was and she didn't even realize it.

"He's my friend." Arya defended.

Joffrey looked down at the wooden sword that was still in Mycah's gripped hand, and Nalia could already tell she wouldn't like where it was going.
"A butcher's boy who wants to be a Knight, eh? Pick up your sword, butcher's boy. Let's see how good you are." Joffrey held his expensive sword in hand. Nalia was sure his sword cost more than any money the butcher's boy had seen his entire life

"She asked me to, my Lord. She asked me to." He defended himself.

A vein in Joffery's forehead popped out as he looked down at the bpy. "I'm your prince, not your lord, and I said pick up your sword."

"It's not a sword, my prince. It's only a stick." The boy shook with fear as he looked at the prince.

"And you're not a Knight. Only a butcher's boy. That was my lady's sister you were hitting, do you know that?" Joffrey degraded the boy.

Nalia had to look away during the exchange, she was unsure how Sansa could watch him through rose-tinted glasses throughout his degradation.

Joffrey swung his sword at the boy. Mycah pittifully blocked his hit.

"Stop it!" Arya shouted.

"Arya, stay out of this." Sansa scolded her sister.

Nalia gripped onto Sansa's arm as she pulled her back. "Must he? Could you please control your prince?"

But Sansa said nothing as she watched the interaction go down. The only acknowledgement that she gave Nalia was placing a gentle hand over hers, but touching each other had become second nature to them. Nalia was not sure if Sansa was aware that she was touching her, that it was as simple as breathing.

Joffrey pushed the boy to the ground as he held his sword to his neck. "I won't hurt him...much." he smirked.

Arya slammed her sword down on Joffery's back to stop him from hurting the boy. Mycah scrambled away as fast as he could from the prince. For a moment, Nalia envied him, getting to run away from Joffery when she knew she would be stuck with him.

"Filthy little bitch!" Joffery cried out as he swung his sword at Arya. The young girl was able to expertly dodge his hits. If Nalia hadn't been holding Sansa back so much, she would have been more impressed with the girl.

"Arya!" Sansa shouted, she seemed as if she was pulling on Nalia, but she didn't actually want to let go of her. "No no, stop it, stop it, both of you. You're spoiling it. You're spoiling everything!" Sansa screamed at the two as if it would stop them.

Arya fell back on the grass, the sword aimed at her throat.

It was only then that Nalia rushed forward towards the girl, her instincts finally kicking in. She found she pittied the boy more than anything. She wasn't scared of him. She had worse things to be scared of.

"Don't point at her, point it at me." Her voice was surprisingly stable for how fast her heart was beating in her chest. "She can't take it, I can. Point. It. At. Me."

Joffrey Baratheon was never one to back down from a challenge, which was why he pressed the tip of his sword against Nalia's chin.

"You are a pitiful girl. A bastard." He spit the word out.

"Stop! Both of you stop!" Sansa screamed, her voice more distressed.

Nalia gulped as she looked Joffery in the eyes. "Picking on young girls will get you no where." For the first time since she had stepped forward, her voice shook.

The tip of the sharp sword pressed into her neck, just enough to cause a trickle of blood to run down her neck.

"Stop!" Sansa cried.

Nymeria came from the woods, bounding towards the boy. Her jaw open and teeth barred. She bit down on Joffery's hand, causing him to drop his sword against the soft grass.

Arya lept forward, grabbing the sword and throwing it into the river.

"My prince, my poor prince, look what they did to you. Stay here, I'll go back to the inn and bring help." Sansa gushed over the prince's hand wounds as Arya Stark fled from the scene.

It was the first time since Nalia has known Sansa that she has rushed to anyone's aide but her own.

"Then go!" Joffrey shouted as Sansa tried to stroke his cheek. "Don't touch me."

Sansa jumped back, at his outburst. She turned and her eyes fell on Nalia, a soft look of expression on her face.

Nalia gulped as she looked at her best friend, a few tears streaked down her cheeks. "Let us get the prince aide." Nalia turned and started walking back to the castle.

She could hear Sansa's feet against the ground as she caught up with her.

"Come here." Sansa pulled the girl aside, a look of worry on her face. "You are bleeding." Sansa reached out to wipe away the blood on Nalia's neck. The dark haired girl flinched.

There it was. The rejection. However small, it was there.

"Please." Sansa was never this sensitive, she never begged. One hand rested on Nalia's neck as she wiped the blood away from her neck. "Don't say anything to them."

"You want to protect him?" Nalia's voice shook.

"I-" Sansa shook her head. "Of course I do."

Nalia wanted to yell, she wanted to scream at Sansa and tell her that she was being stupid. She wanted to tell her that Joffery was the worst boy she's ever had the misfortune of meeting, but she didn't. Because she loved Sansa more than she'd ever loved anyone in her life.

"As you wish, my lady." Nalia wiped away the blood from her neck and turned back towards the castle.

Before she knew it, they were lined up in front of the king and queen.

"What's happened to you?" Ned asked as soon as he looked down at Nalia's neck. There was that worried tone in his voice he got when one of his children were hurt.

Nalia gulped as she looked up at him. "It was an accident, my lord." she avoided his eye. Nalia did not have a hard time lying to people, most of the time she excelled at it. Not with Ned. He could always see right through her.

"Your girl and that butcher's boy attacked my son. That animal of hers nearly tore his arm off." Cersei accused the girl.

"That's not true ! She just... Bit him a little. He was hurting Mycah." Arya tried to explain. Nalia wanted to back her, to tell them that Arya was telling the truth. But her loyalties lied with Sansa, they always did. No matter how much it hurt her.

"Joff told us what happened. You and that boy beat him with clubs while you set your wolf on him." Cersei rested a hand on her son's shoulder, a pout was present on his face. How Nalia wished she could wipe it off.

"That's not what happened!" Arya shouted.

"Yes it is ! They all attacked me and she threw my sword in the river." Nalia thought Joffery sounded like a small child with all his whining and lying.

"Liar!" Arya screamed.

"Shut up!" Joffrey yelled back.

"Sansa, come here darling." Cersei called Sansa away from Nalia. Not that she minded, she felt so disconnected from Sansa, even when she was right next to her holding her hand.

"Now, child... Tell me what happened. Tell it all and tell it true. It's a great crime to lie to a King." Robert's face was serious as he looked down at Sansa.

"I don't know. I don't remember. Everything happened so fast. I didn't see." Sansa lied.

"It was an accident, your grace. A scuffle between children over a misunderstanding." Nalia's voice surprised even herself. What made her truly shrink was the scrutinizing gaze of the queen.

"I want her punished." Cersei turned back to Arya.

"What would you have me do, whip her through the streets? Damn it, children fight. It's over." Robert pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Joffrey will bear these scars for the rest of his life." Cersei complained. Nalia feared that the night would never end. In truth, she wanted to lay in bed and cry.

"You let that little girl disarm you? See to it that your daughter is disciplined. I'll do the same with my son." Robert was trying his best to appease everyone around him.

"Gladly, your Grace." Ned kept a hand on Arya's shoulder and gently placed one on Nalia's shoulder.

"And what of the direwolf ? What of the beast that savaged your son?" Cersei couldn't stop, it was as if she craved the conflict.

"I'd forgot the damned wolf." Robert sighed.

"We found no trace of the direwolf, your Grace." One of the kingsguard stated in a formal voice.

Robert looked around the room before speaking. "So be it."

"We have two wolves." Nalia's blood ran cold. Surely she wasn't speaking about Lady and Echo. They didn't do anything wrong.

"As you will." Robert listened to his wife.

"You can't mean it." Ned stepped forward.

Sansa's eyes met Nalia's, she drifted towards the girl, craving her comfort.

"A direwolf's no pet. Get them a dog. They'll be happier for it." Nalia was not sure she could do anymore crying. That she could lose something she was already so fond of.

" He doesn't mean Lady, does he? No no, not Lady! Lady didn't bite anyone! She's good!" Sansa yelled, her hand gripping Nalia's hand so tightly it hurt.

"Lady wasn't there! You leave her alone!" Arya tried her best to defend her sister.

"Your Grace, please." Nalia pleaded, her voice weak and her eyes filled with tears.

"Stop them. Don't let them do it. Please! It wasn't Lady! It wasn't Echo!" She yelled through her tears.

"My lord! Please." Nalia begged Ned. Tears in her eyes, she hurt for herself, but she also hurt for the girl in her arms. "She'll be devastated." She whispered.

She turned into Nalia, pressing her head into her neck as she clutched the girl.

"Is this your command...your Grace?" Ned didn't want it to be true. He valued how the girls felt, he valued the sigil of his house. Which was why his face fell so much when he realized the truth.

"Where are the beasts?" Nalia looked at the queen as she spoke the words. Only thirteen years old, holding up another thirteen year old girl. She had never felt such hate for someone in her life. She vowed that she would hate Cersei Lannister till her final breath. She vowed she would hate anyone who made Sansa cry so.

"Chained up outside, your Grace." A soldier replied.

Cersei made eye contact with Nalia as she thought over her choice. She had never seen a young girl so angry in her life. Not that she particularly cared.

"Ser Ilyn, do me the honor." Cersei pulled her eyes away from the girl.

Ned stepped forward. "No. Jory...Take the girls to their rooms. If it must be done, then I'll do it myself."

Nalia let the tears stream down her cheeks as she clutched onto Sansa's dress.

"Is this some trick?" Cersei asked.

"The wolves are of the north. They deserve better than a butcher. The butcher's boy... You rode him down?" Ned asked, a sorrowful look on his face as he thought of the poor boy.

"He ran... Not very fast." Sandor Clegane, the Hound Nalia recognized him as, responded.

Before she knew it, Nalia and Sansa were being pulled from the room and towards their bedchambers.

"Lady Stark." Jory gestured for Sansa to leave to her chambers.

"Let me stay with her, please Ser Jory." Nalia begged as Sansa hazily walked into her room.

"Let her." Sansa demanded, but her voice had no real authority behind it. She was far too tired to have any ruling.

Nalia weakly followed Sansa into her room, shutting her heavy door behind her.

Their nightly rituals left forgotten as they changed into nightgowns and crawled into bed next to each other.

Sansa cried into Nalia's arms in the darkness of her room. She was curled under Nalia's covers, pressed as tightly into Nalia as she could have been.

"The queen is cruel." She weeped.

Nalia could not do anything but hold her and silently weep for all the things she had lost that day. Her fingers worked into Sansa's hair, pulling knots out and scratching her nails against her scalp.

"I'm afraid so." Nalia whispered into the darkness of the room.

Sansa silenced for a minute, and Nalia had figured that she had finally weeped herself to sleep.

"Are you upset with me?" Sansa whispered, her body stilling. Nalia's fingers in her hair stopped as she thought.

She was upset with Sansa. But that didn't matter. None of it really mattered.

"Do you wish for my honesty?" Nalia asked.

"I'd never ask for dishonesty." Nalia could feel Sansa's breath close to her skin as she spoke.

Nalia took a deep breath as she thought about the weight of her words. She knew the power she had over Sansa, she knew how much her words would gnaw at her.

She was unsure if Sansa knew the power she had over her.

"Yes. I am upset with you. For very selfish reasons, I'm afraid." Nalia whispered, a part of her hated herself for admitting such a thing to her.

"A boy has clouded my judgement. You really are my most favorite person, you do know that." Sansa lifted her head to look at Nalia in the darkness.

There was the innocent thought in Nalia's mind again, to kiss Sansa. Such a small thing.

"I know." Nalia nodded.

"You are coming to King's Landing with us, correct?" It wasn't as if Sansa would leave her behind. She would have thrown a fit that would've made Joffery look like a Saint.

"And leave you to the capitol alone?" Nalia scoffed at the idea. "Never. Besides, think of all the trouble we could get into in the city."

v speaks!

i've been waiting on this one for awhile....