"Come!" Arianne whispered as they sneaked out of the Palace. Doran Martell had put every guard he could find to defend the castle at night since they were surrounded by war in all directions and they could easily be attacked.

"I thought you said that the soldiers had been taken care of," Lilia said. She could not recognize herself anymore when she looked at her reflection in the water. In Dorne, their architecture was like nothing else and they even had some sort of pools in their gardens, right by the exterior halls. She touched the water with her hand, watching the very image of herself dissipate. It was ironic how that moment corresponded to what she felt at that moment.

Her dark hair was gone and so were her typical clothes. Her hair was auburn and she had some sort of veil to cover her hair in order to make it easier for travelling. And she wore a dress unlike any other she had worn in the past. Her dress was blue and also gold, which gave the illusion that she was the bastard daughter of a Tully of Riverun.

"We don't have all night, hurry up and leave your melancholy to another time or to the journey, somehow it gets to look even more gracious" Arianne pushed Lilia towards the stables where a young man was passed out on the floor with a cup of wine in his hands. The wine had been dropped on top of him, staining his clothes. The way was dark and there were no torches to guide them, the only thing Lilia could see was someone standing there.

"Wait, what about Winter Rose? I can't just leave her behind!" Arianne rolled her eyes at the Stark girl, getting her gaze straightly directed to her.

"We'll get your wolf pet once you are safely married at Highgarden. Think about her as a reassurance that people will have for your return"

Lilia was unsure, she didn't want to leave Winter Rose behind. After all, the wolf had been her companion through the hardest of times. Leaving without her seemed unnatural and unacceptable though she knew that, deep down, Arianne was right. Winter Rose had to stay as leverage and Lilia promised she would come back for her.

As they walked closer to the person, her identity was revealed.

With three horses ready, Tyenne was waiting for them. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were different from her father's. Lilia had learnt that Tyenne was the daughter of a Septa, which came to her as a surprise. On the other hand, she had to admit that Oberyn Martell was not a man who was determined and could easily seduce a woman. In fact, she herself thought he was extremely attractive though he was too old for her and far too unstable.

She had learnt that The Red Viper of Dorne was an unpredictable man and that she could never know what his next was going to be, which intrigued her a bit. They shared the same prospects about the other – they both thought of the other as an interesting enigma that they could not solve no matter what they did.

Tyenne didn't share the same physical appearance, yet she had the same look on her eyes as her father. In fact, Lilia had come to realize that all the Sand Snakes had that look, though they were very different. Personality wise, she had come to realize that Tyenne wasn't as much of a fighter as her sisters. Obara and Nymeria were all about fighting, but Tyenne... she reminded her of Sansa. She didn't dress as luxuriously as Nym, but she was as sweet as the Stark redhead. She was very kind and thoughtful, and not as simple as all the others. And then, the relationship she kept with her cousin, reminded Lilia of herself and Sansa. She missed her and she feared that her little sister had gotten a worse fate than what she herself got.

"I'm sorry but we had some trouble on the way" Arianne excused herself. Tyenne touched the veil Lilia had on as well as the auburn hair falling towards her back and smiled approvingly. "Have I not done a wonderful job?"

"You have! Willas Tyrell will fall on Lilia's knees when he sees her" Tyenne pointed out with an excited expression. Then, as Lilia was starting to think that the blonde girl had gotten lost in her own fantasies, her smile widened even more. "You'll have to allow me to take part in the organization of the feast"

"If it depended on me, I would. Yet, do not forget that we have a huge journey ahead of us and that if I end up getting married to Willas Tyrell, it will be a private and quick ceremony only with enough witnesses to make it valid" Lilia explained as she was reminded of Sansa. "Had the circumstances been different and you and my sister would get a chance at organizing a great part of it. There are going to be many weddings and perhaps you'll be able to plan a huge party in your cousin's. Now, we must go before he wakes"

"You mustn't worry about him, he will not wake up so soon. I've given him enough poison for him to wake up by the morning when we will be long gone" Lilia widened her eyes as the girl said that as if it were the most natural thing. She guessed that the rumours were indeed true and that there was no girl more qualified than Tyenne Sand to know how to poison someone and how to achieve our purposes. Yet, she decided not to ask any questions since, in part, she was scared to know the answer. "Do you know how to ride, Lilia?"

She smirked at the question as she was reminded of the times where she would race with Robb or when she would show off, earning a disapproving look from her mother. How many times had she not interrupted Jon's and Robb's swords fighting... how many times had she not sneak out in the middle of the night to meet Theon outside of the Stark fortress...

The thought made her hold onto the letter that she had decided to bring with her, hiding it inside her corset. She had decided not to burn it, mainly because she could not bring herself to do it. She could not destroy the only familiar words she had left, nor could she throw her past away like it had been just a dream.

Hodor knew. She knew it was safe to have him help her, though he didn't know why she would sneak out. Lilia realized that, just like everybody else, Hodor probably knew but she never asked him straight away... not that he would truly reply to her...

The truth was that the main reason she would have him helping her was that the boy definitely couldn't go and tell someone else. Everything he could say was Hodor, and even if he said it with different tones, that was as good as being mute.

She remembered the cold nights where she could see her breath in the air and she would do her very best not to breathe when she would sneak out. Then, she would take off with her horse to the woods near the hills, where she would meet her lover. Sometimes, they would lay against a tree and they would talk. Once, they carved their initials on the tree, so that it would become their tree. She could still remember the exact location, she didn't have to look at the TG + LS.

The memories of the night where he promised her they would get married. Unlike every other night, they didn't just leave separately. That night, he had gotten his own horse ready and he had carried Lilia to the horse.

"What are you doing?", she asked as she tried to keep her giggles silent, which was hard to do around Theon Greyjoy, who was the lad that took everything as a joke. "Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see", he said as he carried her to the stables. Her eyes widened as she got nervous. It was night, there was no one awake at the castle. Why would he drag her to the stables?

"You're not considering what I think you are, are you?", she asked a little shocked as he smirked at her. The thing about Theon Greyjoy was that she never knew how to read his smiles or even smirks since he was basically doing that all the time. To him, everything was motive enough to joke about and she honestly thought it was a little childish, yet she loved him anyway. "You're not going to have me in here, are you?"

"No, I'm not having you in here", he cleared out which made her sigh in relief. Then, Theon approached her ear and with the same smirk he had on just a few seconds ago he whispered "Not tonight anyway"

Even now, the thought of it made her palms feel sweaty as well as the feeling of a burning skin in her face. It felt as if he had put ice against her skin and then taken it off. Her cheeks burnt and she felt something inside of her twisting at those words.

He placed her on the horse and he climbed on it after, making her uneasy. Then, he looked at her once again and met her disapproving gaze with the same facial expression.

"You'd better hold onto me", he suggested teasingly earning an appalled reaction from her, which made his smirk go wider. The wolf pup could not believe what she was hearing. How dare he take her as a conquest, placing her on his horse and selfishly making suggestions of what she should and should not do.

"Who do you think I am? I'm...", before she could finish, he began the ride which made Lilia's hands wrap around his waist in an instinct of protection. Little bastard, she muttered to herself. He had outsmarted her with ease, which made her feel stupid. How could she always fall for his sweet words and easy-going attitude?

The truth was that even now, Lilia knew why she had fallen for him back then, just like she was aware at that time. He was a good lad, he had his charming looks and he didn't care about what everybody else thought of him. She admired him, and she also desired him. As much as she didn't admit it back then, the truth was that Lilia Stark loved Theon with body and soul.

When they stopped the ride, Theon got off his horse, and grabbed Lilia's waist, helping her out of the horse. Their bodies were pressed together as he placed her back on her feet, making her heart gain a life of its own.

They looked at each other's eyes and for the first time, Lilia saw something different in Theon's. Something about them was odd... in a good way and as she noticed their breaths mixing, she felt hers speeding.

He put his hands on her cheeks in order to catch her full attention.

"You asked me if I was going to have you back in the stables and I told you that I wouldn't. And there is a reason other than the usual you're not married or you deserve better than that. The real reason is that I don't want to push you to do something you don't want to do, especially with all the risks that you're taking. And maybe it's stupid of me to say these things but I really, really love you and though you are not the exact perfect Lady at everybody else's eyes, you are in mine. I want to make things right and I want you to feel special about it... on our wedding night..."

She let the weight of those words fall on her shoulders as she realized what he really meant and in an impulse, she pressed her lips against his. The warmth of his lips brushing against her made her body feel warmer and she could not hide the strong desire she had to make his wishes come true, for they were hers as well.

That kiss was bolder than the ones they had shared previously and Lilia didn't know how to feel about it. She had commented with Sansa that Theon had asked her to meet him that night, not exactly mentioning the fact that they had been seeing each other. Of course, Sansa knew all about Lilia's first kiss, but the rest of the story was still a mystery to the young girl.

The thing was that she didn't know how much longer she could keep the relation she had been holding with Theon for much longer. She needed to tell someone at last because the secret and the fact that she had to keep her feelings locked inside were a burden heavier than the one she could carry.

When they were to head back to the castle, she stopped him before the horse, climbing on it in the front. Then, from the top of it, she smirked at him.

"I lead the way this time and perhaps the ride will be much better since..."

"I'm half horse", she replied with the same words she had said that night, and just like that she jumped on the stallion that she had been given and she rode off with melancholy taking over her heart.

So, hey there! You got to see more of Lilia and Theon and how cute they were (in case you're wondering they are my OTP).

In any case, in this chapter we see a squad going on an adventure and it will lead them places that will change forever Lilia's life so... stay tuned ;)