The sudden impact caught her off guard, causing her steps to stumble until she was kneeling on the ground, clutching at her face. Her eye stung and ached; while she had been struck several times in the black cells, it had only been on her back, arms and head. She hadn't experienced pain like this before and the shock of it was enough to pull her out of her hysteria and panic.

She could hear Ygritte retorting to her accusations, some of them justified and true. For all that was said about the Wildlings, there were still just as many stories about soldiers and common men that would rob and rape without discrimination. The horror of her ram's death had stripped her of reason and sympathy, plunging her back into that place of discrimination and prejudice that so many of her people followed. It was easier to blame the enemy you didn't know than the one you did and she had fallen into that trap.

But apology wasn't something she was capable of, not yet and certainly not now. Her pride had been wounded and she still felt angry. She grit her teeth, forcing herself to keep from replying and making the situation worse.