Rescuing the Direwolf

On the fifth day of riding, Owen, who had been riding ahead the whole time, easily found Robert and Eddard's party.

After all, such a large group traveling along the King's Road had left far too many tracks.

Theon, Little Jon, and Blood Wind followed from a distance, waiting for them to stop at the inn at the crossroads.

Without the influence of some unexpected force, the power of fate was so hard to resist.

The playful Arya was playing at sword fighting with the butcher's boy using sticks by a tributary of the Trident River.

Joffrey, who had been taught by Cersei, had once again become a sunny, golden-haired young man. He strolled along the riverbank with Sansa, who was infatuated with him.

Theon, Little Jon, and Blood Wind were dressed in hooded cloaks, their faces wrapped in scarves, and were secretly following Arya, who had Nymeria with her. They were hiding nearby.

Events unfolded quickly. When Arya sadly tried to send Nymeria away, Theon knew their chance had come.

He reached out and patted Blood Wind on the head. Even lying down, the direwolf was almost too large to hide behind the bushes.

Clever Blood Wind understood what he meant. It rose and silently crept toward Nymeria in a hunter's crouch.

Before long, Blood Wind had brought Nymeria, whom it had tamed into perfect docility, over to Theon.

"Half the task is done. Go meet up with Owen!"

Theon tried to scratch Blood Wind under the chin as a reward, like Robb would have. But Blood Wind dodged him, giving him a look of disdain.

Without the slightest embarrassment, he immediately turned to Little Jon.

Owen had been keeping watch over Lady, who was staying obediently at the inn at the crossroads.

But she never wandered off, leaving Owen no chance to enter the inn, which was guarded by soldiers of the Golden Lion and the Crown Stag.

After Theon and the others met up with him, they continued waiting for an opportunity.

Night gradually fell, and torches were lit at the inn.

Suddenly, a commotion came from the direction of the inn. As an archer with excellent eyesight, Theon spotted Arya at once, being escorted inside by Lannister soldiers.

Once they entered the inn, a crowd of knights and guards poured in, wanting to see how the king would deal with the incident.

Seeing that most of the soldiers' attention had been drawn away, Theon nodded to Owen, then patted Blood Wind on the head. They crept toward the stables behind the inn, where Lady was tied up.

Theon and Owen could have managed this on their own. They had brought Blood Wind because they were afraid they might not be able to control Lady. She had always been docile, but she was still a direwolf.

Lady was chained to a post beside the stable with a thick iron chain. Her innocent eyes showed no understanding of what was about to happen.

To make his position clear, Eddard had sent all the northern soldiers with him out to search for Arya, leaving only Jory at the inn to report any news to him.

So, quite naturally, Lady was being watched by two Lannister soldiers wearing Golden Lion armor.

Clack!

A small stone hit the stable post with a sharp click.

The two Lannister guards instinctively turned to look.

Rip!

"Mmph, mmph..."

Two black-gloved hands, each holding a short dagger, reached out from the darkness and covered their mouths, swiftly cutting their unprotected throats.

Only after the guards stopped struggling did Theon and Owen release them and begin searching their bodies for the key to the chain.

Tap, tap, tap!

A rush of light footsteps approached. After seeing Arya escorted before the king, Jory had grown anxious and decided to ride off to notify Eddard.

But as he rounded the corner behind the inn, he saw two masked men searching the Lannister soldiers lying on the ground.

Clang!

Jory instinctively drew his sword and was about to shout an alarm.

"Blood Wind!"

Theon hadn't had time to get up. Damn it! he thought, then urgently called for help in a low voice.

Whoosh!

A gray blur flashed past Theon. Blood Wind clamped down on Jory's sword hand, knocking him heavily to the ground.

Perhaps because Jory was someone it knew fairly well, Blood Wind didn't attack his throat outright—and even held back with its bite.

Otherwise, Jory would have either been killed instantly or ended up an one-armed swordsman like Jaime would later.

"Cough, cough! Blood Wind?"

Jory's shout turned into a cough, but he immediately recognized Blood Wind by its distinctive appearance.

"Captain Jory, I don't want to kill you. Let me take Lady away. This is Robb's order!"

Seeing that they had been discovered, Theon pulled off the scarf covering his face and spoke quietly to Jory, who was pinned down by Blood Wind.

"Robb's awake? Your target is Lady? Cough... Get Blood Wind off me first!"

Jory turned his head and saw Theon's face. He relaxed a little, then coughed and spoke, apparently finding Blood Wind's weight uncomfortable.

"Easy, Blood Wind."

Having known Jory for years, Theon trusted that he wouldn't sell them out to the Lannisters, so he called Blood Wind off.

"There's no time to explain. Seeing Blood Wind here, I'm sure this is Robb's order.

Take Lady and go now! Then have Blood Wind give each of those two guards another bite on the neck."

As soon as he got up, Jory clutched his badly bleeding right hand and spoke to Theon.

"Oh, and have Blood Wind bite my leg too. That'll make my excuse for not being able to chase you all the more convincing."

Theon said no more. He nodded to Blood Wind, and the direwolf lowered its head and bit Jory on the thigh.

"Gah!"

Jory clenched his teeth and sucked in a breath from the pain. When Blood Wind let go, he slumped to the ground and said to Theon,

"Go, quick! I'm going to call for help!"

Owen had found the key and unlocked Lady's chain. At Jory's words, Theon nodded, wrapped his scarf back around his face, and quickly led them into the darkness.

Jory, drenched in cold sweat, watched them disappear, then finally stopped holding back and shouted, "Ah! Somebody, help!"

What happened afterward was largely the same as before.

But when Cersei discovered that both direwolves had disappeared, she had no one to vent her anger on. She buried her hatred for House Stark deep in her heart, waiting for the day it would finally erupt.

"Jory, don't come with us to King's Landing tomorrow. Find a merchant caravan heading to Winterfell and go back with them to recover."

At the inn, Jory lay in bed with his wound bandaged by a physician from the King's Landing party. Eddard stood beside him and spoke.

"Yes, Lord Eddard!"

Jory nodded in reply.

Eddard suddenly opened the door and looked outside. After confirming there was no one there, he went to Jory's bedside and said quietly, "They may not be able to tell the wounds apart because the blood obscures them.

"I'm certain your wounds and those on the two Lannister soldiers could not have been caused by Lady or Nymeria.

"Was it Blood Wind?"

"Yes! Robb has awakened, and Theon was ordered to bring Lady and Nymeria back!"

Jory naturally wouldn't hide the truth from Eddard. He had meant to find a chance to tell him, but Eddard had seen through his lie right away.

"Mm. Thanks for the effort. Go back and get some proper rest."

Eddard gave Jory a thoughtful look and a word of concern, then turned and left the room.

When Eddard returned to his room, Arya was sitting by the bed, waiting for him with a sorrowful expression.

"Father, I want to go home! Do you think... Robb and Bran have woken up?"

After everything that had happened that day, Arya was heartbroken. She threw herself into Eddard's arms and spoke.

"Robb has awakened. I'm sure Bran will be all right too, with Robb looking after him!"

Eddard stroked his daughter's smooth hair and gazed north, his voice firm.

What had happened that day left him wondering whether Robb's plans had coincidentally anticipated the trouble, or whether he had foreseen it.

Either way, deep down, Eddard was certain his son Robb would protect House Stark.

There'll be another update tonight.