Some people say that war never ends. They say that men always find a new reason to start a new one. Everywhere people are always fighting, against their selves, against friends, even against their own families. It's like they are always craving for pain, for more loss.

War is often...a mass discharge of internal rage where the inner fears of mankind are discharged in mass destruction. Thus war can sometimes be a means by which man's own frustration at his inability to master his own self is expressed and temporarily relieved via his unleashing of destructive behaviour upon others.

Mankind always finds a new way or reason to start a war. It's in our nature.

Robb knew that the moment he was galloping towards the forest. His men were dying around him, the screams of anguish filling his senses. In that moment Robb grew desperate and hopeless, afraid that the war would never end.

Afraid that he would have to fight until there was no one left. What made him continue though, wasn't honour or bravery, it was hope. Hope that someday he would free Elena from both Ramsay and her promises to his father.

Hope that someday everyone would be at peace.

So Robb kept on riding towards the forest with his men following him. The Boltons chased them into the forest where the trap awaited them.

There were two high walls Robb's army had built where no horse or man could climb over, right in between those two walls was a small gate, large enough for ten horses to drive through at the same time.

Robb led his army through that gate with the Boltons on their tails.

"Now!" Robb yelled when his last man drove through the gate.

The gate fell shut immediately. The men on the wooden wall dropped more than 40 trees down, smashing Roose's army. Immediately archers that were either hiding in the tree or standing atop of the wall began to shoot at the army.

"Aidan!" Robb yelled, hearing the screams from the other side of the wall of wood that had blocked his way towards the enemy.

"Your grace?" Aidan landed right in front of Robb's horse, wrapping his cloudy grey wings behind his back as he looked up at the Northern king.

Robb smiled at him, knowing the trap was working even better than he had hoped. "Give them hell."

~

"Ramsay?" Abigail ran towards him when she saw him dragging Elena away from the dungeons. Abigail frowned as she looked at his blue eyes. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Ethan said that she was to stay in the dungeons!" Abigail protested, pointing at Elena.

"Did he?" Ramsay smiled while walking up the stairs towards the wall and pulled on the chains in his hands again, causing Elena's weak body to fall to the ground.

"Yes?" Abigail frowned at Ramsay while following him.

"He hasn't been very honest with you, now has he?" Ramsay pulled Elena towards the top of the wall where they could see smoke coming from the forest.

"What are you talking about?" Abigail's face grew pale, knowing this wasn't good news.

"He wants them all dead, all of the prisoners." Ramsay smiled, knowing of the relationship between Abigail and Louis.

"No, he promised me he would live." Abigail grew even paler than before, her hands starting to shake uncontrollably.

"Just like he promised you he was telling the truth about your father?" Ramsay's smirk grew even wider, enjoying the look of fear in her eyes. "He's called the Dark One for a reason, sweetheart."

"No." Abigail's eyes widened, her heart stopping for a moment. She leaned against the wall for support, her mind processing everything. She clenched her jaw and let a single tear escape from her eyes. She couldn't stand the look Ramsay was giving her so she ran away, towards the dungeons.

"Good, now that that's handled..." Ramsay smiled and turned around to look at Elena, enjoying the way she was limping and breathing heavily, her eyes fighting against the urge to close.

"Maybe I will keep you, I see no use in killing such a defenceless little puppet." Ramsay smirked and laid his hand on her cheek, looking into her empty eyes. "It'd be a shame to destroy such beauty."

"Ramsay!" Both their heads shot up towards Damon, he landed right in front of them on the wall. He folded his wings behind his back and extended his arm towards Elena while glaring at Ramsay. "Let her go."

"No, no, no." Ramsay chuckled and pulled on the chains again, making Elena tumble to the ground. In fact Ramsay was a bit startled to see the dark look in Damon's eyes, the danger that was lingering in them. Ramsay knew though that Ethan was near and that he was watching every move he made. "She doesn't want to go with you, now do you puppet?"

"Ramsay, stop with your tricks. Let her go." Damon threatened and took a step towards him again. His eyes lingered on Elena's, not recognizing the look in her eyes.

"Now, Now." The Dark One landed behind Ramsay, laying his hand down on Elena's shoulder. "Why so serious, brother? Why can't we just sit down and talk about this, I'm sure we could come to an agreement."

Damon's eyes widened when he saw his brother, seeing the resemblance between him and Ethan. Somewhere it scared him how much they were alike, knowing that he could also turn into whatever his brother had become. Damon clenched his fists, fire licking his knuckles while doing so.

"If you came for our dear sister, I'm sad to tell you she won't be coming with you." The Dark One smiled while looking at his brother. "She's gone completely mental, I tell you. I think it's better for her to stay here, where Ramsay can take good care of her."

"Elena?" Damon looked at her pleadingly.

Elena looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes as she did so. When she saw him standing there, she knew that he was her brother. He was her family together with the Dark One behind her. Elena remembered the fact that Damon had kept the truth from her, the truth about her family even though he had had numerous different chances to tell her.

"She's not Elena, not anymore." Ramsay smiled. "She's a puppet, aren't you?"

Elena looked back down at the ground, the words stuck in her mouth. She let a single tear escape from her eyes, her body shivering in the cold. Don't ever give up. Gillian's voice rang though her head. No matter how hard he makes it.

"And who pulls your strings?" Ramsay asked while smirking at Damon, provoking him.

"There are..." Elena's voice was deep and low like a wolf's growl as she slowly looked up at Ramsay. Her eyes were as dark as ever, there was only a glimpse of green in them. She balled her fists just like Damon did before, letting everything she ever had go like it was nothing. It felt like nothing at that time, she didn't remember Robb or his family, making it easy for her to let everything go. She could feel the darkness slipping into her mind, crawling towards her heart at a fast pace.

Elena's dark eyes narrowed while glaring at Ramsay threatingly. "No strings on me"

For a moment everyone was startled, seeing the fire licking Elena's pale knuckles and the black of her irises. Everyone was frozen to the core until Elena fired at Ramsay, sending a fireball towards him with all the strength she had left.

Damon immediately took action after that, jumping towards Elena to try and get her out of there. He knew she couldn't possibly control the darkness. Another body stopped him though. The Dark One had known Damon would do that before he even did it, blocking his way and pushing him off the wall.

"You're so damn predictable." The Dark One jumped after his brother, unwrapping his wings from behind his back as he dove from the wall. With a furious growl he attacked him, colliding his fist with Damon's jaw while still falling to the ground.

Before his body could hit the ground Damon unwrapped his wings and with a single swing he was flying up again, forming another fireball in the palm of his hand as he did so.

"Really?!" The Dark One laughed while flying after his brother. "We've done this before, you know who's going to win this."

The Dark One was faster, his wings stronger and his powers more powerful. He hit Damon whilst in the air, sending him flying towards the wall again where Damon fell down on the ground.

"We could've had it all." Ethan growled after he had landed, slowly walking towards Damon who was still trying to get up.

"You wouldn't have been a great king." Damon groaned as he stood up. "You lack conviction."

Ethan growled even louder than before and launched at his brother, transforming into the black panther in the air. Damon smiled and transformed himself too, engaging in yet another endless battle.

~

Elena crouched away from Ramsey, all of the strength she had left gone. She had used it all on that one fireball. Soft whimpers fell from her lips as she was slowly nearing the edge of the wall, trying to end all of this once and for all.

After all of the effort that she had taken, she had accomplished nothing. She was lying on the ground again, hopeless and weak while Ramsay was there standing. Just like when he captured her and Louis, only now Louis was gone.

Elena looked at the field behind the wall, seeing the numerous dead bodies lying on the ground. She also saw Robb's army charging towards the castle from the forest and Steve's familiar light brown wings flying towards her. It was supposed to give her hope.

But they were miles away.

Elena felt her mind darken, her body not completely in her control anymore. She knew she had made a mistake by letting it in while not knowing if she could control it.

Of course she couldn't.

"Going somewhere?!" Ramsay's voice mocked her. He turned her body around with his foot, making her look up at him while her hair was dangling off the edge.

"I'm not done with you, not yet." He smirked, grasping for the chains again.

Until his eyes widened and a yelp fell from his lips, his body suddenly collapsing onto the ground with a loud thud.

"Take that you-" Sansa's eyes widened while still holding the brick she had used to hit Ramsay with in the air, her hands shaking.

"Sansa?" Elena's heart was thumping wildly when she finally saw a familiar face, finally someone who brought back memories from the past.

"What are you doing here?!" Elena sat up, knowing she couldn't possibly stand up with her broken leg. She grasped Sansa's shoulder after she had crouched down next to her, forcing Sansa to look her in the eye.

"You need to get out of here, now!" Elena commanded, her eyes filling with the not so unfamiliar fear. She pushed Sansa away when the girl tried to help her up.

"I won't leave you here." Sansa's voice was determined as she handed Elena her bow and quiver she had obtained in the dungeons.

"Sansa, listen." Elena took the bow and quiver and laid it down next to her, grasping Sansa's shoulder again. "I don't care if I live or die now, I'm done with anyway. But you, you're not."

"Elena-" Sansa protested.

"No!" Elena yelled. "I've seen enough people out of your family die due to my actions. I won't let that happen again, ever. You hear me?! I'd rather die."

"Elena, please." Sansa begged, tears escaping from her eyes.

"Look at me." Elena whispered. Sansa did and saw the unfamiliar dark look in her eyes, the exhaustion and pain where once was determination, happiness and wit.

Elena felt the last bit of her conscience slip away. Just before it happened she sadly looked up at Sansa. "I'm already gone."