The sun shone brightly on the paved stone path. The weather in Braavos was much different than in Westeros. Dry and hot some days, wet and cold on other days. It stayed fairly warm most of the time, though, only cooling in the evening.

Arya walked quickly across the hot path with her dirty bare feet. She had been working extra today. Her fingers ached from the use of her dagger. Ten men today. That was more than she had killed last month.

The door of the small house creaked as she opened it and walked inside. The room was warm, not as hot as the outdoor air, and Arya liked it. She had recently gotten enough coin to buy her own home. It wasn't much. It was made up of two rooms, separated only by a thin hanging fabric. There was a small outhouse just around the back of the house as well.

A sound of cooking pots clanking together made Arya jump, but when she looked up she just saw her cat.

"Niah, down," Arya walked forward, nudging the cat off of the small counter where she cooked her meals. Nothing was clean, she noticed. Heaving a sigh, she looked down at her cat, who was now sitting on the floor, staring back at her. "If only you could learn to clean."

The next few hours were spent cleaning. First the cooking area, then the small table, which was littered with parchment and crumbs from stale bread. When Arya had finished cleaning, she pushed the fabric back that closed off her bedroom from the front of the house. She sat down on her bed and then looked over at the window. The sun was starting to set outside.

"Another year," she muttered to herself. Tomorrow was her nineteenth nameday. She had not seen any of her family since she was a young girl. It had been so many years. She had gone through being blind, to seeing again, only to move from place to place.

On the eleventh year of her life she had come across the narrow sea to Braavos. She stayed in various places until she found her way to the House of Black and White. She became one of the Faceless Men, and as part of her training, a priest had struck her blind. Her sight returned quite a while later as her training progressed. She even got a side job working in a tavern as a method of getting coin. Things had gotten much better in her life since she arrived.

Meow! Arya looked on the bed beside her. The grey striped cat purred gently, nuzzling at her arm, then meowed again. "Hungry?" the cat's ears flipped forward at the way Arya had said the word, which made her laugh. Arya stood and opened her window, then picked up Niah and sat her outside on the ground. "Hunt, Niah." The cat eyed her, then stalked off behind the house.

Arya felt unclean. Mud was dried to her feet, dirt on her arms and face. She heaved a sigh, standing up and walking into the other room. She grabbed a metal pitcher from the cabinets and made her way outside.

The air was cooler now as the sun hung low in the west. The stone path wasn't hot anymore, so she walked slowly along, taking in the lovely sights of Braavos. She made her way to a secluded area where a three-foot deep stream ran quietly across the land. She stripped out of her white shirt, then out of her worn brown leather trousers. When she got down to her smallclothes, she looked around to make sure no one was around, then stripped out of those. Submerging herself into the warm stream she pulled a small tie from her hair, letting it fall loose against her back. Her hair had grown well passed her shoulders now, which she liked.

The water stayed warm for a long time, letting Arya clean herself and leaving her time to relax in the warmth until it got too cool for her liking. By now the sun was almost gone on the horizon and the stars were coming into view. Arya climbed out of the water and dried off with her shirt, then put her clothes back on. She grabbed the metal pitcher and walked back towards her house, stopping at a well to fetch some water. As she filled the pitcher, she heard quiet footsteps behind her. If she hadn't been trained well, she wouldn't have even heard the sound. She sat the pitcher on the edge of the well and put her hand on her dagger, ready to attack this quiet on-comer.

"A girl hears well," the voice made Arya's stomach tighten. She hadn't seen him since she was a young girl. His voice sounded the same. "A girl will not hurt a man."

"A man will not sneak up on a girl," Arya mocked his way of speaking, a smile playing on her lips. She wanted to turn around, to look at his face, but she didn't yet. "A man could get hurt for doing so."

Jaqen H'ghar let out a low, vibrating laugh. "A girl mocks a man."

Now seems well enough, Arya thought, then turned around to face him. He had the same face that she remembered. His hair was the same white and red, no different. "You haven't changed at all," Arya said, sounding surprised.

"Ah, but a girl has changed," Jaqen nodded towards her, a smile tugging at his lips. "A girl is no longer a girl. A girl has grown."

Arya looked at down at herself, remembering that her shirt was quite wet, then crossed her arms in front of her chest. She raised her eyebrows at Jaqen, then narrowed her eyes. "Where have you been all these years?"

"A man has been many a place," Jaqen said, taking a moment to quickly scan her body with his eyes.

Arya felt slightly uncomfortable, but she couldn't let him know that. Nothing bothered her, ever, but seeing the way Jaqen looked at her at that moment made her turn pink with embarrassment. She ignored the feeling and grabbed the pitcher of water, walking back towards her small house, Jaqen following not too far behind.

"A man has heard many things about a girl," Jaqen said quietly, looking at the ground as he walked. "A girl has found a home, a way of making coin, a few friends. Yet, a man has heard nothing of how a girl is faring by herself."

Arya smiled, wondering why Jaqen insisted on calling her "girl" when he could perfectly see that she was now a woman. She reached her house and opened the door, walking in. Jaqen walked in as well, followed by Niah who had been sitting by the door, waiting to be let in.

"I'm doing well on my own," Arya sat the pitcher on the counter, then turned to light the lantern that hung on the wall. The dim light filled the room, letting her eyes adjust. Niah was sitting on the table, cleaning her paws.

"A man can tell," Jaqen said, looking around the small room, then at Arya. The way his eyes stared at her made her feel like a little girl again. Her protector was back, but she protected herself now.

Everything was quiet for a long time, only broken by the sound of children laughing in the house next to hers. Jaqen sat in a chair and Arya pulled up a second chair across from him. They looked at each other for a long time. Jaqen could be silent for hours, Arya knew, so she decided to break the chilling silence.

"I've missed you, Jaqen H'ghar," her words were quieter than she had expected, but she knew he heard her. She could see the hint of a smile on his face.

"A girl misses a man she has not seen in years," Jaqen quipped, now petting Niah, who had perched herself on his leg. "A man has missed a girl as well. A man has seen a girl when she could not see, has watched over her even when she fared well enough on her own. That was many years past. A man has now seen a girl as a woman."

Arya could see his smile growing as he said those last few words, which made her cheeks turn a darker shade of pink. She couldn't help but smile herself now. She hadn't smiled in a long while.

Her shirt had pretty much dried now, and she was getting quite tired, so she stood and looked down at Jaqen, who was still sitting. "A girl is tired," she said, smiling at him. "A man will return tomorrow?"

Jaqen grinned now, letting out a laugh. "A man will return," he said, standing up from his seat. Arya realized that he stood nearly half a foot taller than her, so now she was looking up at him. He quickly looked over her face, then brought his hand up to her jaw, placing a light kiss on her cheek. "A man hopes a woman will sleep well."

Arya looked down at her hands as he stepped outside into the cool air and walked away. She closed the door and then leaned her back against it, grinning like a child who had a bag of sweets. Jaqen H'ghar gave me a small kiss and called me a woman!

Arya locked her door, then went to her bedroom. She smiled the whole time she changed into some lighter clothing and climbed into bed. She drifted off into a dream-filled sleep, the smile still vaguely visible on her lips.