NALIA SPENT ALL HER TIME THINKING ABOUT THE KNIFE. She thought about the weight of it. Figuratively and literally. She thought about why Jon gave it to her. She thought about how much she had been practicing with Ned. She thought of the knife plunging into someone's skin, 

it made her wince every time she did.

She wasn't sure she was born to be a fighter but rather a lover.

"Nalia!" Sansa exclaimed from outside Nalia's bedchambers. She jumped from where she was standing by her window as she looked for a spot to conceal the blade.

"Just a moment!" She shouted back as she placed the dagger back in its box, but Sansa did not wait as she entered the room. Luckily for Nalia, she had already concealed the box from view as she looked at Sansa.

"Look! Look! Look!" Sansa shouted as she bounced towards Nalia. A golden necklace was pinched between Sansa's middle finger and thumb as she showed Nalia.

"Beautiful! Where did you come across that?" She asked, her hands were intertwined behind her back as she bounced on her feet.

"The Prince." Sansa blushed.

Nalia nodded and tried her best to smile, but even as she thought about trying to be happy for Sansa she was filled with a thick heavy substance that just wouldn't let her. She tried, but she just could not like Joffery for Sansa's sake.

"Nalia," Sansa grasped Nalia's hands firmly in hers, Nalia just hoped that the other girl couldn't feel her heartbeat through her palms. "He kissed me." The wide smile grew on Sansa's face as Nalia felt her heart drop.

"He what?" She breathed, barely above a whisper. "He kissed you?"

Sansa nodded, her smile large and full of glee. Nalia couldn't even muster a smile back, she felt frozen in that moment, like Sansa was slipping right between her fingers in front of her.

"Girls?" Septa Mordane knocked on the door, capturing both the girls' attention.

"Yes, Septa?" Sansa smiled, the necklace still pinched between her fingers. That was all Nalia could look at, the golden necklace against Sansa's creamy skin. The constant reminder of how much Joffery had her in his pocket.

"Lord Stark would like to see you in his chambers." Septa Mordane informed them.

Sansa and Nalia nodded as they exited her room and headed towards Ned's chambers.

"I'm sending you back to Winterfell." Ned informed the girls. While Sansa and Arya exploded with exasperations, Nalia let out a breath of relief.

"What?" Sansa all but screeched. Nalia's face fell at the sound. She had wished that Sansa just knew to leave well enough alone, but she never did.

Ned's eyes flickered to Nalia's for a just a moment, but she saw something behind them she didn't see before. They weren't just going back to Winterfell. They couldn't stay in King's Landing.

"Listen." Ned started, but Sansa was quick to cut him off.

"What about Joffery?" Sansa exasperated. It took everything in Nalia to keep her face neutral but she was able to, no one noticed anything about her. Which had taken her a long time to realize, but she was able to use it to her advantage. She was an fly on the wall. No one noticed her, she was young and she was a girl. She had all the power she needed all along.

She clenched her jaw as she thought about everything around them.

"Are you dying cause of your leg? Is that why you're sending us home?" Arya asked, her eyesdrifting down to Ned's leg. Nalia hadn't asked about it; she figured he didn't want her to.

"What? No." Ned scoffed momentarily before he looked back at his girls.

Sansa clasped her hands together as she looked up at her father, "Please, father." She begged. 

She had actually begged. Nalia was no master of her emotions, which was why her mouth fell open for a moment or two before she closed it.

"You can't. I've got my lessons with Syrio. I'm finally getting good." Arya exclaimed.

Sansa and Arya waited for Nalia to outburst with something to try and convince Ned to let them stay, but she was silent. She had hoped that they would go back to Winterfell, where it was safe.

"This isn't a punishment. I want you back for your own safety." Ned's eyes lingered on Nalia when he said 'safe'.

Arya jumped in, "Can we take Syrio back with us?"

Sansa scoffed at her sister. "Who cares about your stupid dancing teacher? I can't go. I'm supposed to marry Prince Joffery. I love him and I'm meant to be his Queen and have his babies."

Nalia was sure she was going to be sick. That she was going vomit, or cry, or scream. But she didn't. She kept her face neutral, not even a twitch in sight.

She was screaming inside though, screaming very loudly inside.

"Seven hells." Arya commented.

"When you're old enough, I'll make you a match with someone who's worthy of you, someone brave, gentle, and strong..." Ned trailed off.

But Sansa never knew when to stop. "I don't want someone brave, gentle, and strong. I want him!" Ned and Arya tried not to laugh; Nalia's face stayed stone cold. "He'll be the greatest King that ever was, a golden lion, and I'll give him sons with beautiful blond hair."

Nalia paused, she looked up at Ned who was already looking at her. The two seeming to put several pieces together.

"The lion's not his sigil, idiot. He's a stag, like his father." Arya corrected her sister.

Sansa shook her head, "He is not. He's nothing like that old drunk King." Nalia had plenty of thing she wanted to say about Joffery Baratheon. She wanted to say that he was the most rotten boy she had ever met in her life. That he was evil and cruel, and that he was going to ruin Sansa if she married him. Nalia would lose her and Sansa would lose herself. It was plain and simple, and right in front of Nalia, but she said nothing. She couldn't say anything. She had no authority.

"Go on girls, get your Septa and start packing your things." Ned ordered. He turned and walked towards his desk.

"Wait!" Sansa exclaimed.

Arya grabbed her sister's arm, trying to pull her towards the door. "Come on." She urged.

"But it's not fair!" Sansa said as Arya pulled her completely out of the room and towards their bedchambers.

Nalia waited until the two girls were gone and the door had closed behind him.

"We're no longer safe here, are we Lord Stark?" Her voice was muttered and quiet, she hadn't wanted Sansa and Arya to hear, but she couldn't help herself from asking.

Ned looked down solemnly; he didn't need to answer her, she already knew.

The young girl let out a deep breath, her mind mulling over whatever she would do. "I'll make sure Sansa packs." Nalia cleared her throat, her hand bunching up the skirt of her dresses as she turned to exit Ned's quarters.

"Nalia." Ned said gruffly, his head lifting to look at her. "If she marries that boy, you don't leave her side. Understood?"

Nalia paused, looking at the man. "Of course, my lord. Why would I ever leave my dearest friend?" Nalia looked down momentarily, the thought of Sansa actually marrying Joffery sending bile up her throat. "He is an awful boy, is he not?" Nalia asked, looking down. She didn't want to sound like Arya, complaining about the lies the Prince tells, or his spoiled deceit. "Surely you don't believe he is good enough for her."

Nalia's hands twirled together in front of her, her nervousness radiating off her as she waited for a response from the man.

"I do have to admit he's not my first choice." Ned sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "But when Sansa decides she wants something, she usually gets it." A small smile dared to pull at Ned's lips, twitching ever so slightly as he thought fondly of his daughter. "Such as you." He looked up at her.

"I'll watch out for her, Lord Stark." Nalia said, her fingers pausing their movements as she looked at him. "I'll always watch out for her."

"I know," He nodded, standing up. "Don't lose that dagger of yours," He walked closer placing his hands gently on the girl's shoulders. "Talk to Arya, go pack, it's a long journey home."

"I fear I will miss you, my lord." Nalia said softly, she'd never say it to him, but he was as closest as she was going to get to father.

Nalia nodded and swallowed, finally taking her leave as she headed towards her chambers, prepared to pack up what little she brought to King's Landing. Soft sniffles sounded from behind her door, and when she creaked it open, a mess of red hair laid upon her pillow.

"Sansa?" She asked softly, looking down at the girl. "I know you don't want to leave," She murmured, gently closing the door behind her.

"It's not fair!" Sansa cried into the pillow. "How am I supposed to marry him if I'm all the way there?" She buried her face further into the pillow, tears sliding down her cheeks and onto the fabric.

"You will marry him when you're older," Nalia assured her as she sat down next to her on the bed, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. "When you're both ready...and when he's grown up a little more."

Sansa sniffled, raising her head from the pillow to look at her friend. "Why do you seem so eager to go back?" She asked, a furrow in her brow.

Nalia paused, sighing for a moment. "This kingdom is filled with deceit and secrets. I can feel it all everywhere. I hear their whispers." She stopped herself, looking at Sansa. "The kingdom does not feel safe." She says quieter.

Sansa paused, looking at her friend. "In truth?" She asked, always trusting her friend's gut when it came to things like this.