She didn't even know what the bloody hell was going on. Not a lot of people in kings landing could say that. Arya stark however, could always say that. She was three and ten by now, and still running. Bumping into things, knocking down people, jumping over people was what she was known for.
It was her name day, for crying out loud! Her name day and her parents had told her to come downstairs and talk to some family with a son eight years older than she. She was just glad Cassandra had told her that the family was there to see her, as her maid tightened the strings on the snow white dress she wore. And then she'd done something so Arya-like, even Sansa wasn't surprised. She'd run, and her father had sighed at the guests, and her mother had tried to tell them it wasn't how she usually was.
And that's how Arya stark had ended up running while ripping of each fancy shoes and throwing it at her followers, guards of both the red keep and her father. Without thinking, she slipped into the stables, the dry grass familiar on her bare feet. She took a deep breath as she leaned against a wooden door, watching the guards who were chasing her went forth, no one thinking of visiting the royal stables.
As soon as she thought they were gone, she rushed towards the other end, her sight still fixed on the other opening of the room, before she bumped into someone hard.
"Are you bloody blind?!" she yelled, rubbing her forehead.
"Oh, as if I was the one who ran without looking!" he yelled right back.
"You know what? I, unlike you, am busy. Now hush." She said, standing up and brushing off the grass. A pin was stuck at the end of her dress, right next to her shin. Annoyed, she yanked the cloth until it tore off and threw it in the corner like a rag.
"So, no respect for your future king, and no respect for your dressing either." He said, pushing himself up.
Only after hearing him did Arya stark look at him properly. He had the same Targaryan hair, almost silver, the same violet eyes they were known for and as handsome as someone Sansa would squeal about for hours. Wait what. She thought, looking at him from head to toe. Aegon the VI, sixteen years old, and in the flesh. Most people would have fallen to their knees or begged for forgiveness in the least, but Arya Stark was not most people.
"Respect isn't given. It's earned." She said, before rushing off again.
Aegon Targaryan, the sixth of his name, stood there annoyed. What the hell did she mean by saying he should earn respect. One thing was for sure. He would find her.
X
"Arya Stark, I am disappointed in you." her mother told her.
"VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTED." That was Sansa.
"Young lady, you bring shame upon the stark name." that was septa Mordane.
"God knows what you do all the time, running here and there with all kinds of boys, while I and your father try to find a suitable gentleman for you."
Arya stark could be found at the grand table for dinner, the king too busy with his things, his son beside him. Clan Lannister sat alternating them.
"I don't want a suitable gentleman. I don't even want a man." Arya whined, picking at her shoe when she felt someone's shoe touching her shin. Without looking she knew who it was. She kicked bran hard on his shin before he could strike. Only, Robb cried out, his knee thumping at the table. Bran giggled, before septa Mordane continued.
"You don't know how many people consider that you've given your maidenhood already. It's a disaster! An atrocity."
Sansa joined in. "yes, it's a great shame, sister. You know, Jayne was telling me about this girl who was ruined, and now no young man will take an interest in her."
"Well, if something between your legs defines you, then you're probably not going to be interesting at all." Arya replied, annoyed with the entire thing.
Arya hadn't noticed the hall had long become silent, but now she did. You would probably hear a pin drop on the floor.
And then, every one broke into laughter. Robb and Jon had tears in their eyes, Bran joining in. Arya was surprised even her father laughed in his great booming voice. Even the king and his son, Aegon joined in at her response. Sansa looked appalled, her face mirroring that of septa Mordane's.
And then her mother looked around the table at all of them with a stern look in her eyes, and all the men tried to cough their laughs into non-existence.
"Arya! You'll never be a lady if you keep up like this." Sansa said, looking at her sister, upset.
"Well, good. Because I rue the day I become like you." Arya retaliated, standing up, sick of it all. It didn't feel like having dinner, it felt like having three lady vipers set to give you tongue lashing every time you did something.
"I'll be in my room." She said, as sansa whined at their mother to scold her. She walked away. She literally hated her sister, most of the time. Hated her with a burning passion.
The conversation soon started up again.
X
"Your daughter is quite the thing." King Rhaegar said.
He and Ned Stark sat in one of the larger rooms, a quiet environment calming Ned after all the boisterous talking in the grand hall. Two cups of the sweetest wine sat on the table, untouched.
"She is a bit wild, your grace."
"Not too fond on the idea of marriage, is she?" the king asked, sighing.
"No, not if I am being truthful." The stark answered, his grey eyes following.
"Well. That's something my son shares with her." The king answered.
X
Arya didn't even know how any of it even happened. She'd just walked down to the table, royals seated, breaking their fast. As usual, sansa had been pinching her in her abdomen, telling her to sit straight and look like a proper lady before her father and the king had stood up, as all the nobles turned their heads towards them.
And then, they'd sprouted the things that made Arya retch.
Words like marriage, bonds, and stronger, joining forces with their children hit her brain. She glared at the man who was most likely responsible. Aegon, however, looked like he couldn't breathe. He looked appalled, almost like sansa did whenever Arya walked in, clothes covered in dirt.
She'd gone numb at first, not even listening to her sister tell her how angry she was at her getting married to the prince of the seven kingdoms. Sansa was devastated that the king had thought of marrying her sister to his son, instead of her.
And as soon as the table had started to clear, Arya had run, she'd run as if her life depended on it.
All she could think was, did her parents hate her? She'd been telling them for years, and years and years- ever since she'd seen Robb hold a sword- she'd told everyone that she didn't want a man or a marriage.
And now she was sitting next to Cassandra, in a puddle of anxiety, anger and pity.
"So, you don't want to do anything?" her friend asked, brown hair in a loose braid.
"No."
"Do you want anything?" Cassandra asked.
"I don't even know what I want!?" Arya yelled, tired.
"Don't yell at me. I'm trying to help you. You maybe some fancy noble back at the keep, but here you're the same as anyone I know. So stop being so cranky. Now, do you want my help or not?" Cassandra said a feisty look in her eyes.
Honestly, that was why Arya always preferred Cassandra's company over others. She didn't care if she was a lady or of high blood. She hadn't even given her the tiniest bit of respect until Arya had beaten her in a sparring match. Only then had she started considering her strong.
"Yes."
Cassandra smiled a little. "Then we better get going. Fyna and her sisters live far."
X
The room was dark, and things lay scattered. Arya was regretting her decision of letting Cassandra bring her here.
Suddenly the sound of a wooden cane smacking the floor reached her years and she spun round, trying to find where exactly it came from. She couldn't see anything, though. Something pushed her forward, and she lurched, barely stopping herself from falling. She walked forward, her hands out stretched.
And then she touched something. It was smooth, and slightly sandy, as she slowly moved her hand over it.
Think. What do you want. A voice whispered. What do you want most.
Think child, Think. Another whispered. More feminine.
What you want most for you. Your hearts deepest desire. This one was stronger.
Arya felt annoyed. There were so many things she wanted. "How do I do that?"
Think.
Think.
Think of all the things you truly don't want, and then you'll know.
So as she tried to make out exactly what was in front of her, Arya stark thought of all the things she truly did not want.
'I don't want a husband. I don't want a child. I don't want marriage. I don't want to be shut up inside four walls of a stone castle and never see the sun. I don't want to host tea parties and try to get my stitches perfect or invite others and be nice to them.' She recited. 'I don't want any of them.'
Then what do you want, child? The voice seemed to hiss at her.
'I want the sun at my face every morning. I want to wield a sword at any man who challenges me. I want to ride a horse through streets as the rain pours down. I want my heart to beat so loudly I feel like it'll burst. I want a friend. I want to run and laugh for as long as I want to and not have a care in the world.' She thought, as her hands moved with their own power.
The sudden uneven surface of the rock surprised her. She moved her hand further, and realized what it was. A huge crack in the perfect stone. She didn't want to crack like it.
"I want to be free." she said, realizing it.
Well then. The voice was bored.
There you have it. Soft overtone.
Go be free, child. The hissing voice sounded kind now.
Arya rushed to the door, pounding at it.
X
"So, let me fully go through this again." Cassandra said, sitting on her bed. "You're running away."
"Yes. And since you're my friend, I'm asking you to find a ship sailing to the first place out of here." Arya said, looking at her.
"You know I'll help you." she replied, sighing. "Come back tonight, when the night is the darkest."
"Thank you, Cass." Arya said, giving her friend a smile.
As she rushed out, Cassandra fell down on her bed. No way was she letting her go alone.
X
When Arya was sure everyone was asleep, she crept out. The guard at the door was asleep, and so old Arya briefly thought him to be dead. A loud snore crossed all doubts of his death. She slowly went in, careful not to let her bag shoved with a few important things snag on anything.
She kept looking back, trying to be careful of not letting anyone see her when she bumped into someone.
She almost cried out in her misery.
"What in seven hells is wrong with you!?" she whisper-yelled at the man who gave her an annoyed look, his silver hair shone in the moonlight.
"Nothing! What are you doing here?!" he whisper-yelled right back.
"I'm running away! What about you?" she asked, trying to lessen the pounding in her head.
"You can't run away." He insisted. "I'm running away."
There was a pause before she spoke.
"Well- you can't. Because I am! You can stay here with your perfect Targaryan hair and marry my sister instead of me and have tiny children with her and be king. I can run off and do things I want to." Arya said, taking the hand he offered her, standing up.
"Oh, so you're the only one who has things to do then, yes? Maybe I don't want to marry anyone." The future king bristled, annoyed.
"Well, you have responsibilities. You're the heir to the iron throne." She paused before further adding. "You'll actually be missed. So go back to your fancy heir bed chambers and let me leave!"
"Not happening. I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do to stop me." He replied, not budging.
"Fine. Fine. We'll both leave." She tried the first thing she thought would help her.
"We can't both leave! Imagine the gossip trending throughout the seven kingdoms! Oh, I can hear it now; a stark and a Targaryan rushing off again just like Lyanna and Rhaegar." He jested. "No, thank you. You go back and stay with your family and your sister."
"I cannot believe you. You care what people will say behind your back? They'll keep talking no matter what you do." She replied. Noting the fact that there were about five hours till dawn, she realized it didn't matter.
"Well, it doesn't change the fact that-" he'd barely started before she'd interrupted him.
"I'm leaving. Unlike you, I have to leave. I don't care what you say; you're not going to stop me." She said, walking towards the stall of her horse.
He didn't reply. When she was all settled, her cloak ready to be pulled on her head, she looked at him, sighing before speaking.
"Look. You can either escape from the prison that is this castle- now. Or you can stay here and regret that you didn't make a choice just because of what people will think." She said no remorse or pity in her voice. Just plain anger.
And with that she pulled her cloak on, and yanked the reign of her horse and rushed off.
A few moments later, his horse chased her.
X
"You have got to be fucking around with me right now." Cassandra had always had a colorful vocabulary, and she definitely knew how to use it.
"We have three tickets and that's how we'll sell them to you- all three together." The man said, not bothering covering his child's ears.
"Oh, fine." She replied, yanking her purse open to give them the hundred dragons. "Bloody looters."
X
"The god's must be in your favor, dragon." She said, after hearing what both Arya and Aegon had to say. "I have an extra ticket."
"You have two?" Arya asked, confused.
"I have three. As if I'd let you go off on your own all alone. That'd be hilarious. Nobles trying to find their way in a cold harsh world. As if." She scoffed.
As someone gave a signal for the ship's departure soon, she handed each of them their own and walked up from the wooden platform. She knew they'd follow soon enough.
"I cannot believe you actually decided to come." Arya said, her hands slowly starting to turn the parchment in her hands.
"You were the one who told me to." He replied, faking offence.
"I didn't know you'd agree. I thought you'd be too craven to do it."
"Well sorry for disappointing you, m'lady."
"Call me M'lady next time and I'll kick you so hard your mother's mother will feel it."
Arya stark mentally agreed that they're arguing would never come to a stop. Aegon didn't even know how he would slowly become used to her bickering. And Cassandra Hallaway regretted ever joining them people after just a few moments of hearing them talking.
x
Note: Always wanted to write an Aegon/Arya fanfiction. Reviews would be lovely. Constructive criticism will be appreciated. Tell me if I did something wrong, or if I need to make something better. Thanks for reading, love!