ARYA'S QUEST FOR A MAKEOVER
It was a cold and dreary day in Winterfell, as was the norm in such a place. Arya Stark, spirited and tomboyish young daughter of Lord Eddard Stark, was feeling bored that day. And for someone like her who was always getting into some sort of adventure, this felt uncharacteristic. Arya rolled over on her bed and let out a deep sigh. She needed to do something to liven up the day. Something that would make staying awake today worth while. And then, a bright idea popped into the girl's head. Why not do what she did best: go bother her older sister, Sansa? Though the sisters had next to nothing in common and shared opposite interests (the ever prim and prissy Sansa was so fixated on fantasies and being a proper lady, while tomboy Arya could barely even stomach the thought of sewing and wearing dresses), Sansa was available to speak to at the time, so bugging her about something might be the only way to get something interesting or amusing out of today, Arya figured. Arya's eyes lit up mischievously and an almost manic grin spread across her face. It was time for some fun, even if it was at her sister's expense.
Sansa Stark was tossing her hair around and combing it while looking in the mirror when Arya entered the room. Through the mirror, the elder Stark sister saw Arya come in. She immediately rolled her eyes and let out a groan. This was not a time where she wanted to be bothered by her obnoxious, improper, horse faced little sister. All the same, she didn't want to be too rude to her: that would be most un-ladylike. So she cleared her throat after groaning and said "Yes, what is it, Arya?", trying to hide her discomfort as much as she could. It took a moment for Arya to answer, and then she said "I just thought I'd come in here 'cause you're one of the only people who's not tending to some stinking boring matter on this stinking boring day." She then added "Though I doubt what you're doing right now is all that interesting either." Sansa rolled her eyes again and scoffed "If you must know, I'm in the middle of grooming myself over. Making sure my hair is combed, my nails are polished, my dress is clean, you know?" It was Arya's turn to roll her eyes. "I figured you'd be up to something like that." she said "Honestly, Sansa. Sometimes I wonder why you don't just stay indoors forever. That way you won't risk messing yourself up any." Sansa made a "hmph!" sound and replied with "Oh, you know nothing about a girl's life, Arya. You never did! In all honesty, I would be pleased if you decided to stay indoors forever rather than me. That way you'd never embarass me out in the open again!" "But it's gotten so boring indoors!" Arya whined. "I don't care." Sansa snapped "You deal with it in your own way, dear sister. Just...please leave me alone?" With that, she promplty returned her attention to the mirror.
Arya wished she could find her father's knife and use it to cut Sansa's hair. Or even her dress! That would get her attention! Then Arya noticed Sansa take a jar from the counter, stick her hand into it, and then rub some sort of gooey substance on her face. Arya had never seen this be done before, so she found it strange. "Eeew." she said "What is that gunk you're putting on your face?". Sansa scoffed again and replied "It's Cosmetics, Arya. It keeps my skin pure and pretty." Arya shrugged "It don't look very pretty to me." She could tell she was getting on her sister's nerves now because the older girl was seething. "For your information, it's a requirement for ladies when they want to look their absolute best!" she snapped. "But what exactly IS it, anyway?" Arya asked in all honesty "What's it made of?" Sansa tried to calm herself as she explained to Arya "It's made from beeswax, olive oil, and rosewater. It creates a special blend that soothes a person's skin and keeps it in good condition. If you don't use it, along with wearing a lovely dress, then you'll never be a true lady." "Glad I'm not going to, then!" Arya responded in her most saucy tone "These lady procedures are stupid! These days, I bet a girl can make her face up with any of that stuff you listed. I bet they could make a dress made of nothing but leaves and flowers! Clearly, Sansa, this shit is overrated!"
About an entire minute passed with Sansa saying nothing. Arya grinned cheekily: she was sure she got her.
But then, a smirk played across Sansa's lips. Her eyes showed clear amusement, and she let out a low, throaty chuckle. Arya was confused. She hadn't said anything funny, had she? Why was her sister amused rather than angry all of a sudden? Sansa spoke up "Sorry, it's just that...I could imagine you doing that." "Doing what?" Arya said, the irritation in her voice clear. "Making up your face with a bunch of unblended rubbish and making a dress with nothing but leaves and flowers." Sansa responded, a sly grin on her face as she spoke "Given how little you care for lady-like procedures, I'm sure you'd rather do that sort of thing. Maybe it's because I know you so well that I find that particularly amusing." And with that, Sansa turned back to the mirror and continued to apply her Cosmetics. Arya felt angered, offended, and patronized by her sister's words. It was as if she was daring her to try doing her own makeover just to see how it turned out. And Sansa's tone implied that it would not turn out well. But Arya was going to show her! "Oh? You wait and see, Sansa!" Arya declared boldly "I WILL give myself a makeover with just the things you talked about, and I will look splendid as a result!" Sansa rolled her eyes and gave another cheeky smirk "Splendid is a rather odd way of putting it." she retorted shrewdly "I would probably die of laughter at how you'd look!" The girl giggled and shook her head a little, which only angered Arya even more. "Oh we will see who has the last laugh, dear sister!" she snarled "I'm doing giving myself a makover and that's final!" With no more words left to say, the younger sister stormed out of the room. "Good luck with that, dear sister!" Sansa called out to her as she left, and then she turned her attention back to the mirror. She was smiling from ear to ear now: Arya's befuddlement and subsequent challenge upon herself had certianly made her day. Her sister was so impulsive and immature, and though Sansa hated to admit it, that might be one of the things she loved most about her.
Arya put her boots on and ran outside. She had found what she wanted to spend the rest of the day doing: finding the means of giving herself a makeover and rubbing it in Sansa's face. And it wasn't going to be a particularly "pretty" or Heaven forbid "lady-like" makeover either. It would just be good enough to show off to everyone and prove that one could make a bunch of leaves and flowers and unblended rubbish look good. Arya giggled to herself with maniacal glee, imagining how envious and ashamed of herself her sister would be once she pulled this off! Before she started looking for the material to make the dress, Arya determined that she'd find the Cosmetics substances first. What was the first one that Sansa had mentioned? Beeswax? Arya wasn't entirely sure what that was, but it had to come from bees. But where could bees be found in this land of perpetual winter?
Eager to find out, Arya checked every tree she could spot. She eventually found one where flowers grew beneath. A bee was flying down the tree towards the flowers. Arya grinned to herself, feeling triumphant. The only problem was...how do you extract Beeswax from a bee? Arya didn't have to think about it long before she came to a simple solution: by killing it, of course! Thinking fast, Arya grabbed a pointed stick that was nearby. She then crept up towards the bee until she was ready to strike. When she was, she thrust the stick forward...and the bee flew up into the air. "Damn! Why do these things have such quick reflexes!" Arya thought. With a determined glare and a scowl, the brave Stark girl ran towards the bee where it landed and swung the stick again...only to be met with the same result. But she was not about to give up. On the third try, she finally wacked the bee with the stick. Once it was down on the ground, she stabbed it with the pointy end of her stick and stepped on it for extra measure. When it became apparant that the bee was dead, Arya smiled, picked it up, and put it in her coat pocket. "That's one down" she said cheerfully. But her mood was spoiled when she heard a buzzing sound. More bees were flying down the tree, no doubt seeing Arya as a threat, so they were all coming after her! "YIKES!" Arya yelped. She quickly threw the stick down and ran like mad, the bees in close pursuit.
The Stark girl eventually ran far enough to escape the angry bees, but hadn't been able to escape getting stung more than once. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow..." she pouted as she collapsed on the ground. The stings had hurt, and the running had made her sore and exhausted. There were now bruises and swells on her from where the bees had stung, and they still hurt. Arya started to wonder if a makeover was worth this trouble. "Bet Sansa would be rolling with laughter if she saw me now.." Arya grumbled as she had this thought. She swore she could even hear Sansa laughing at her in the back of her mind. Arya clenched her teeth: she was not going to let her sister win this one! She had two more Cosmetics ingredients to go before she could make herself over. What was next? Rosewater? Again, Arya didn't know what that was. She assumed it must be water with rose petals mixed in it. That would be much easier than Beeswax, she thought optimistically. So she got back on her feet and ran to find the nearest rose bush. When she found it, she hastily picked a rose from it. So hastily that she didn't watch out for it's thorn, and she pricked her finger on it. "OUCH!" Her hands were bleeding now, and that added to the bee stings made her pain worse. "It figures that I can totally handle alot of things, but something I really hate like a flower is what hurts me!" Arya moaned. Still, she had to look on the bright side again. She had a rose: all she needed to do with it was to shred it's petals and mix them into warm water. She would do this right after she got the last ingrediant for her Cosmetics: olive oil.
This one was by far the easiest. Arya just went to the kitchen and took a handful of olives. She'd just have to squeeze them to get the oil out, right? No pain coming with this one! Arya sighed in relief, and then gave a smug smile. She was feeling proud of herself...until she remembered that she still needed the material for her dress. Slapping a hand to her forehead and groaning, Arya trudged back outside to go gather the right amount of grass and flowers. She was not looking forward to this part. Once she had the materials, she would need to sew them together in order to make a dress. And there was nothing on Earth that Arya hated doing more than sewing! She'd find it fine if she was a prim and proper lady like Sansa, but she wasn't. In her blood, she was a Stark warrior! But in this case, it seemed it was a nessecary evil.
After Arya had gone through the pain of sewing the dress together, she took out a bowl she had taken from the kitchen. It was time to make her Cosmetics. First she poured in warm water. Then she shredded the rose petals and threw them in. Then she squeezed the olives so that their juice went into the mix too. (At one point, the olive juice got on her swollen skin and made it hurt even more. Arya had to bite her lip in order to keep from yelping in pain.) Finally, she tossed in the dead bee. It was done! Arya busted out into gleeful laughter. She could now give herself a makeover for the first time ever. Oh how Sansa was going to fume when she saw her handiwork! Dipping her hands into the bowl, Arya slapped the mixture onto her face. When she was done, she felt the need to show someone, anyone, how she looked now.
And as luck would have it, her favorite brother, Jon Snow, walked in at that point. Arya could not contain her eagerness. "Hey Jon! JON!" she shouted, catching Jon by surprise. "I've made myself over! How do I look?" Jon turned to look at his little sister. What he saw seized him with fright. Arya was wearing a terribly put together, almost revealing dress made from grass and flowers. Her hair was a total mess, she smelled terrible, and a strange looking liquidy substance was oozing down her face. Her face, which was bruised and swollen by bee stings, had shredded rose petals and olives all over it, and even dead bee guts right beside her nose. Jon had never seen any human being looking like this before, let alone his sister, and he felt himself getting nauseous just looking at her! "Arya" he spoke, his tone sounding breathless and almost dizzy "Did you look in the mirror while you were doing this?" "Shit!" Arya realized she hadn't. She looked for the nearest mirror, and when she found it, she saw herself reflected in it. "HUH?" She gasped out. And that was all she could say before the horror of her current appearance sank in and made her faint from both nausea and shock.
Somewhere, Sansa was laughing her prissy ass off.