Hey guys,

A new story from me. The focus will be Arya and Tywin. Wanted to put my own spin on a modern AU version of Tywin and Arya meeting as I feel the whole discovered at Harenhal plot has been done really well by other authors.

In this modern AU the Monarchy remains at the centre of power with the Hand of the King position still acting like a Prime Minister.

Enjoy everyone.

Chapter 1: The Wolf in the Shadows

Westeros 2019 AU

Annual Banquet, Lannister Manor, King's Landing

Arya stared out the window of the moving limousine. Clouds had covered the sky and it had started to rain softly. Opposite Arya, Robb and Sansa were eagerly discussing who to corner at the gathering. The Annual Banquet had started out as a celebration of Robert taking the throne from the Mad King but in practicality it had become the ideal gathering to make new business deals and alliances and Stark Industries were in need of some serious cash inflow to ensure they stayed afloat this year.

Since the death of Eddard and Catelyn Stark in a tragic plane crash a few years ago, Stark Industries had been led by Robb and Sansa Stark who normally attended the Annual Banquet every year. Arya had not handled her parents' deaths well and as soon as she had graduated high school she set off for Essos to get away from anything that reminded her of her parents. She ended up joining the notorious criminal enterprise known as the Gang of Black and White, training under the tutelage of the master thief and assassin Jaqen H'ghar, becoming well versed in the art of stealing and killing herself. Arya had returned to the family fold when she found out that her brother, Bran, had fallen while climbing and was in a coma. Arya had always been close to Bran and she wanted to be there for him as he recovered. A year later Bran was still in a wheelchair but was a skilled hacker.

Arya and Bran had come up with a way to keep the family business afloat. Whenever the business was in need of a cash injection they would rob the competition. It was easier than it seemed. Arya targeted their business rivals' homes stealing mainly jewellery, cash and business information while Bran went after their bank accounts. But tonight Arya was after information pertaining to her parent's plane crash. Specifically, information to prove that her parents had been murdered.

Bran had been scouting out the Lannister's security system for a future heist when he had come across correspondence about an investigation into the Stark's plane crash and that the evidence was safely stored in Tywin Lannister's personal safe. Bran had been booted out the system before he could infer more information. All he knew was that Tywin Lannister was the current Hand to King Joffrey and would have immense security around his personal safe so getting into that safe let alone the Lannister Manor would require some good planning.

This was why Arya had forced herself to attend the Annual Banquet as it was held in the Lannister's Manson where all the Lannister family lived, including Cersei since the unfortunate death of her husband Robert to a heart attack. This would give her an opportunity to locate the safe when the Lannisters and their security were preoccupied with the Banquet and all the guests.

Arya glanced at her siblings Sansa looked stunning in a figure hugging dark blue dress that highlighted her flowing red hair. Robb was in a three-piece suit looking dapper. Arya had convinced herself to wear a black jump suit that fitted with the occasion but allowed for quick movement and comfort.

The limousine came to a stop and Arya faced her siblings. Time to put a smile on my face and remember my etiquette.

"Is that what passes as a smile for you?" Robb joked.

"Arya you sure you want to be here; it is your twenty first birthday shouldn't you be out with your friends?" Sansa asked.

"All my friends are in Essos, besides it's time I joined the family business don't you think?" Arya said.

"We could use all the help we can get," Robb admitted while shaking his head.

"Mmmm yeah we could use help I am not sure that is what Arya will do though," Sansa said with a playful smile.

"Hey, not fair we all can't go to business school and be little miss charming," Arya replied in a mocking tone.

"I'll take that as a compliment but seriously please try not to offend anyone we need these people's money," Sansa cautioned.

"You won't even notice I am there, I will just observe and watch you two maestros reel the rich fish in." You two save the business while I figure out who murdered our parents. Cool.

With the conversation ended. The Stark siblings exited the limousine and entered the Lannister manor with their battle faces on ready to stage a charm offensive on all the people inside.

The Stark siblings entered the main hall and finalised their plan of attack. Sansa would go charm the Tyrells while Robb would cosy up to Renly and Stannis Baratheon, well as much as one could cosy up to Stannis. Arya decided to watch all the smooching from the balcony.

"Bran you there?" Arya asked quietly while touching her ear.

"Yup, loud and clear," Bran replied in Arya's ear.

"All the arse licking here would make you sick," Arya said while observing a clearly drunk Tyrion Lannister waddle his way towards the bar. There was a man who didn't know when to stop or thought this life to boring to remain in it sober, thought Arya.

"I can imagine," giggled Bran.

"Right where am I going," Arya inquired focusing her mind.

"Okay so the safe is located in Tywin Lannister's study which is on the fourth floor. There should be stairs to your right. Go up them to avoid the security at the lifts. Ignore the private sign. Not that that normally stops you," Bran murmured.

Bran proceeded to direct Arya through the Lannister Manor avoiding the Lannister henchmen on patrol with ease. She slowed her approach to Tywin Lannister's study until the room itself was around the corner. She creeped along the wall and peeked around the corner. She quickly retreated her head and touched her ear.

"Houston we have a problem, the door to the study has two big ass guards in front of it. Didn't you say no guards were supposed to be on this level."

"That is a problem," Bran acknowledged.

"Thanks captain obvious, do you have a solution?"

"Give me a second." After some rapid tapping on his keyboard Bran announced, "there is another way in but I don't think you will like it."

A few minutes later ….

Arya was dangling outside a window a level above Tywin's office. I don't like this, thought Arya. She preceded to climb slowly down to the window that would allow her access to Tywin's study. Once in position on the window sill she pressed her hands on the window and slowly pushed up. Eventually the window started to slide up and once there was a big enough gap she used her hands to pry the rest of the window open and slid into the room gracefully.

Arya scanned the room. Opposite her were two huge armchairs adjacent to a crackling fire. To her left was the door and on the other side of that door two muscle stacked guards she had seen earlier. Arya turned to her right to focus on her objective. The safe would be near the study desk for easy access Arya summarised. She approached the desk to see piles of paper organised in a system that was a mystery to Arya and a well-used ink fountain pen placed near a map of Essos with what looked to Arya as having random circles drawn on it. A phone line on the top right of the desk was blinking indicating a message had been left.

Arya took a deep breath. If I were a rich asshole where would I hid all my important secrets, wondered Arya. Her eyes fell to the painting behind the desk. She made her way around the desk to stand directly opposite the painting. It depicted the famous destruction of the Castamere family, drowning at sea on their battleship after Tywin Lannister ordered the ship be torpedoed, despite the women and children on board. No survivors had been found. I wonder, Arya mused to herself.

Arya pushed the painting to her left slightly and smiled. Behind the painting was the safe. Arya rolled her eyes, typical. Arya removed the painting from the wall, which was no easy task with the painting being quite large and her being quite small but her wiry and lean frame took the weight and transferred the painting to the floor in one controlled motion. She set about breaking into the safe. It was an old school safe, no high tech gadgets required to break in just very good hearing and patience. Arya put her ear against the safe and started rotating the lock until she heard the clicks she needed to open the safe. After a few minutes of intense silence, she had the combination and opened the safe.

Too easy, Arya thought smugly. She started to search the contents of the safe. There were a lot of ledgers detailing accounts and letters marked as confidential but she was after a USB stick or a CD. Something that could transfer information onto a laptop otherwise Bran wouldn't have found it. It seemed that Tywin Lannister hadn't allowed the twenty first century to reach his study yet. Arya was growing impatient while searching until she spotted what she came for. Just beneath a particularly old looking letter was a small USB stick. Bingo. She pocketed the USB stick and turned to leave through the window. She froze.

Staring at her with a thunderous look in his eyes was none other than Tywin Lannister, Hand to the King Joffrey. His piercing stare wasn't the thing that Arya focused on though. In his hand was a sleek looking handgun and it was pointed straight at her. Arya scolded herself. He had clearly been sitting in one of the armchairs as indicated by the now visible brandy glass on the table between the armchairs. He had watched her as she had cracked his own safe.

Tywin took a step towards her. "If I were you, I would put whatever you took back in my safe."

Arya took a step towards the open safe but hesitated to return the USB stick. She had worked too hard to obtain it and it might be the key to confirming that her parents' plane was sabotaged and who might have done it. It only dawned on her now that the man with the gun on her might be the one responsible.

Tywin who had been watching her movements closely interrupted her desperate thoughts. "Girl, put it back I won't ask again," he threatened.

Arya turned back to face Tywin "did you do it?" she asked.

"Did I do what," Tywin snapped, growing annoyed at Arya's refusal to do what he wanted.

"Did you murder my parents?"

Tywin blinked slowly. Murder? Parents? Who is this girl. Then it hit him. She looked like a younger scrappier version of Eddard Stark, the man that had been the previous Hand of the King and unfortunately died in a plane crash a few years back. Tywin had set up a secret task force to investigate the incident to make sure there was no foul play. If someone could murder one Hand of the King what would stop them doing it again. This must be Eddard's youngest daughter Arya Stark. He couldn't very well shoot a Stark of Winterfell in his study. That would lead to an all-out war that no one wanted. Everyone was still recovering from the last one.

Tywin lowered his gun. "Put the USB stick back and I will let you leave through the door, instead of chucking you out the window," he paused for a beat, "Miss Stark."

If the reveal of her identity bothered her she didn't let it show. "You didn't answer my question Lord Hand," Arya said acidly.

Tywin was about to shout for his guards when there was an almighty bang sound followed by what felt like an earthquake tremor. Arya looked to Tywin who seemed as confused as she was. He suddenly looked at the ceiling between them and shouted for Arya to back away and get under the desk. Tywin had shouted the order with such vigour Arya immediately ducked under the desk as the ceiling collapsed around her.

Author Notes:

So this story will contain multiple chapters but won't be super long (less than ten chapters) unless I get massively into it. But I do have another story on the go (Dance of the Falcon - please check it out!)

I have already written half of this story and will release each chapter when I have reviewed them.

This idea kept rolling around my head so I just had to write it :)

Let me know your thoughts please. Do people like modern AUs of Game of Thrones?

Cheers,

R.M