Arya sat in the Great Hall of Winterfell, moving her food around her plate and thinking of Gendry. She hadn't seen him in years now. He may well be dead, but somehow, she knew he wasn't. He was somewhere, alive. She wondered where. Maybe he was still in the Riverlands, or else he went back to King's Landing. For all she knew he could be in anywhere in Westeros from Dorne to the Wall. Except for Winterfell, he wasn't there. She'd asked and looked around for him, but no one seemed to know who he was.

She hoped he was safe, and she hoped even more that he was looking for her. But that would be a stretch, since he left her for the Brotherhood all these years ago. For him, it would be easy to find her. Everyone knew Princess Arya Stark of Winterfell was home. If she could, Arya would've been looking for Gendry all over Westeros and even Essos, but her sister wanted her at her side as her heir. Since Bran and Rickon were dead, Sansa and Arya were the last two trueborn Starks. Sansa had become much more accepting of Arya's interests since she came back. She let her wear her sword and wear tunics and breeches.

Even though Sansa had become a much better sister, Arya still missed Jon a lot. She had not seen him since she was nine and now, she had already been seven years without her dear brother. Sure, they had seen each other on the battlefields, but it had only been briefly and she and Jon had gotten separated in the battle. Afterwards he had had to go back to the Wall as soon as possible, as his friend Sam said. She thought it was time for him to come home, but he had felt the need to help his former brothers of the Night's Watch repair what they could after the war with the Others.

Arya herself had stayed back home, in Winterfell, to repair the mighty castle after all it had been through. Winterfell was a strong place with big walls, but even a place like that couldn't survive both an Ironborn and an Others attack without being repaired.

Arya still had nightmares of those creatures. They had killed her brothers and even two dragons of the Queen. Bran and Rickon had reappeared after Theon was executed by Arya herself. He hadn't struggled, because he knew what he had done was unforgivable. Arya hadn't found the task easy, but some things had to be done. He had betrayed the trust her brother had put in him.

After that traitor was dead and burned, Bran and Rickon had returned home. Bran had gone beyond the Wall and figured out his greenseer talents there. Rickon had gone to Skagos and refused to say a single word about anything that happened there. The Wildling who had taken him there, Osha, had revealed a little more. Judging from what Osha had told her, Arya thought she regretted taking a child there. After her brothers had returned, the Others had attacked. Arya had fought against them and their wights. She had killed countless wights, one Other and helped with taking down one of the ice dragons the Night King had created. Her brothers had wanted to see what was happening, but Arya had told them to stay in the crypts with the other children and the women who couldn't fight. They listened to her and only came out when Arya came to get them. When they came out, a group of wights attacked them. The wights were part of a last attacking wave of the Others. Arya had completely missed them. Bran, Rickon, a little girl and a woman died in the attack. Arya couldn't help but blame herself for their deaths.

Sansa had been down south to broker peace with the houses that betrayed them. Arya had killed most of the leaders of the houses already and left it to Sansa to figure out how to deal with the new leaders. She had returned home a month after the last Other was killed. She said she managed to get peace with most houses. House Frey had, surprisingly, been the easiest house to deal with.

Suddenly, she heard someone walking towards her. She looked up. A servant came towards her. He bowed and straightened his back.

"Her grace Queen Sansa wishes to see you in her solar immediately, my princess," he said.

Arya stood up and went to Sansa's solar. She found her sister waiting there for her.

"I received your message. What do you need to talk to me about, dear sister?" Arya asked. Sansa looked a bit worried.

"I got word from the Wall, Arya. It is almost completely destroyed by those damned Others. I cannot understand why they would do that. They also found the second dragon, dead. The Night King did not turn this Rhaegal into one of his slaves. Again, I cannot understand why they would do that. That is a dragon, for the Gods' sake! Wouldn't you want to turn one into your servant?" Sansa said. She held her heads in her hands and rubbed her face.

"Sansa," Arya said. "It will be alright. It is not necessary to build the Wall again, but if we wanted to, we could. That dragon will also be taken care of. Daenerys will fly here on Drogon and take her dragon with her back to the South. If she doesn't, I will take care of him." Arya hugged her sister and comforted her. Sansa knew she could cry and she did. The two sisters stayed together for the rest of the night. They cried together about their lost family and they laughed together about their youth of which they had wonderful memories. They remembered a time in which they were happy and safe. A time with their father and their mother, a time with Robb, Bran and Rickon. A time with direwolves and a time with a peaceful realm. That night, Arya went to sleep peacefully for the first time in a long, long time.

The next day, Arya woke up next to Sansa. She quietly stood up, because her sister was still sleeping. She walked down to the great hall and had some breakfast. She was done very quickly and then went to the training yard. There she found Meera Reed training with her daggers. Arya watched her for a while until Meera noticed her.

Meera saw who was staring at her and invited Arya to train with her. Arya accepted the invitation and got ready. While training, they chatted a bit, but that only distracted the two, so they went back to silence. After an hour, they decided to stop because they both had other things to do.

Arya went back to Sansa, who had woken up while Arya was outside. Sansa was dressed in one of her usual grey, yet formal dresses. The two sisters went to the throne room, because Sansa had her own duties. This week, many lords and ladies had arrived in Winterfell for an audience with the Queen, so every day had been a court day. Arya already saw many of them waiting. They went into the throne room and Sansa sat down on the Throne of Winter. Arya stood next to the mighty throne as Sansa's advisor. A herald opened the door and let the nobles in. The room was full within seconds. The herald announced Sansa's name and everyone bowed to their Queen and their Princess. The first lord came up to the front of the crowd and kneeled. The herald told them this was some minor Vale lord. Arya sighed. This was going to be a long day.

After the court, it was time for some food. Sansa let some come to her rooms and ate her lunch with Arya. Arya was very tired and knew Sansa was too, so they ate in silence. It had been a long morning and the afternoon wasn't looking any better. Thankfully, Sansa knew Arya wasn't cut out for this life, so she let her off for the afternoon. Arya decided to go for a ride on her horse. It was a beautiful spring day with a thin layer of snow covering the new, green grass. Arya was happy and couldn't feel more at home. She rode and rode until she knew that if she didn't turn around now, she would be very late for the feast that was being held that night. Now, she was just a bit late. Arya knew Sansa wouldn't be too happy about it, but Arya couldn't care less about this feast. It was just for some lords wanting to marry Sansa.

Everyone wanted to marry Sansa and happily give up their lands for her. It was harder to find a husband for her. She might have been a princess, but no queen and as the heir to the Queen in the North, her husband would have to give up his lands as well. When Sansa got a new heir, Arya would no longer be the heir and she and her husband would have no lands to go to. Arya knew Sansa would be willing and able to give her a castle, but most lords didn't.

Arya arrived at Winterfell from her trip and she knew she wasn't too late for the feast yet, as there wasn't much sound coming from the Dining Hall. She ran to her rooms and pulled on the tunic she had picked earlier. This way, she wouldn't look like a savage and still be comfortable. Sansa's words, not Arya's. Arya walked to Sansa's room, to see if she was still there, but there was no guard there, so Arya went to the Queen's solar. There, she did see guards, so she went in. Sansa was there, reading some report. Arya greeted her sister.

"Are you almost ready for the feast?" Arya asked. Sansa nodded and put down the report she had been reading.

"I am. Let's go."

They walked down the stairs, Sansa following Arya. Arya looked over her shoulder. Sansa was acting a bit weird, like she was hiding something. Arya entered the Dining Hall, where by now, most of the lords and ladies had gathered. The whole room fell silent. The sisters walked up to the main table and sat down. Sansa nodded and everyone sat down.

"My lords and ladies. I welcome you all to Winterfell and I hope you will enjoy your meal." Sansa said with her Queenly voice. People cheered and all started eating.

Sansa and Arya spend to night talking together. Sansa told Arya about the reports she had been reading and she apparently had gotten a letter from Jon, saying his services were no longer needed up North and he was preparing to go back North, so he would be home within a moon. Arya couldn't wait. Arya told Sansa about her riding trip, even though it wasn't a very interesting trip. They kept talking until the end of the feast, even though they were interrupted by some lords a couple of times.

That night, Arya went to bed peacefully for the second time in a long, long time.