Chapter 1.
The Dark wolf.
She looked out into the sky through the windows. The air has a happy hymn to it and she felt it in her heart. It faded quickly as she saw her reflection on the window and turned back. She hated mirrors. Quickly discarding the dress her sister sent her, she picked up her usual white shirt and brown tight pants and began to dress swiftly. Just are she slid into her dress she ran a hand over her chest and thought she should increase her shirt size. It showed too much, she doesn't like it. The thought that at least there would be another woman in the hall that wouldn't mind being like she is, she smiled. Finally the touch of woman, she adjusted her lady like cloak over her which covered almost her entire body except her shoes and she knew all the highborn's in the room wouldn't look down. Slowly she closed the door behind her and composed herself as what she has to be. She can hear the excited conversations, clattering of plates and cups. As she walked around the corner, she saw the door to the dining hall she whipped her hair so that it would cover half her face, is that all little too much to not show she mused. If one would see her now they would see a young lady, her body betrayed, with shoulder length hair covering half her face.
While giving a quick nod to the guard she saw surprised look he was trying to mask and asked."what?".No masks.
"Nothing, lady stark" he answered quickly giving a look toward the other one. She remembered him from the day she came to Winterfell.
"I am going to tell my brother that you told me to fuck off, and stop calling me a lady, just answer drew." she knew the answer but was having fun while she can.
"You just look different today and you are wearing a cloak". She knew what he meant by 'cloak', it's a woman's cloak.
"It's fucking freezing, isn't it?" and he just said sorry and she walked past him.
There was no reason that she wore it today. She just felt that this is what her brother wanted to see. And she wanted him to see her as his little sister and not as a scarred girl with knife attached to her leg under her cloak. She considered taking the knife off but it just wouldn't go away. He will find out sooner or later but just for today. He doesn't need more sadness after watching his crippled brother. Bran didn't yet fully talked to Jon about himself. Changes should come slow. Just for today she wanted to feel this. Its been six long years since she ran into some ones hands , she came close once , but today she skipped without any doubt into Jon's hands. At least she didn't cry like her sister. Tears won't come. Looking down on her cloak she knew Sansa would be happy to see her like soon as she walked into the door she knew that the cooks are impressing the crowd and she passed the tables giving a smiling to no one in particular. She was like this and no one cared, she was not good at holding a respectful face to anyone and they accepted it. They know she didn't mean any disrespect to anyone, at least she hoped they didn't. The first person she noticed was the queen with her silver hair with her back to her. Nearing the tables she saw for certain someone to sit with and was surprised to see that her placed was saved for her. Oh god, she thought the last big feast meal she attended didn't go well, at least to the hosts.
She was about to move that way when she felt eyes on her and looked in that direction. She saw Jon sitting between Sansa and Daenerys and beside her she saw Missandei, the very curious one. And to the opposite of that sat the the Lannister Tyrion and beside him sat the Brienne whose eyes were staring at her with pleasant surprise, sadness and fluster all at once.
"...peter was committed for his crimes" her sister ended the story of what she was saying. And all were listening with interest.
"Who swung the sword?" Jon asked looking somewhat down. Is he thinking the woman of his family won't lift swords, Arya thought. She knew he will come to know her and he will eventually see her that her sister was not all smiles like today but just today.
Sansa lifted her head to answer but seeing the look from Brienne stopped her. She felt the hand of her sister on back and knew what Arya wanted. Not today.
All the faces turned to her and Jon beamed and said "Come on, sit down. I want hear more of your voice". She just smiled and looked around other giving them all a joint nod.
Jon looked at the expression of Daenerys and the Lannister brothers. "She is shy in her tongue" he said.
"It wasn't your bad, it was your good". The voice came from Brienne and everyone looked at surprised. When she saw Arya walking towards them she wouldn't have recognized her if not for her usual hairdo. Although she should be not the person telling Arya about how she dresses but seeing the whole face everyday she knows that beauty was going to waste. She just smiled and looked around her eyes dropped to her food.
"I can teach you in seven languages" Missandei said. Sansa knows that she meant her no offense but that statement hurt her. Arya just returned her a smile and the lady was amused that she didn't open her mouth to say any words yet.
"She can do what she wants" Sansa replied with some malice and everyone felt that. It wasn't directed to anyone but she just couldn't bear someone judging her sister.
"Come sit with us" this time the queen spoke. She always knew how to calm down others. She trained dragons. And somehow she felt Arya needs a little help from her and also she wanted to hear her voice if possible.
Arya always kept to herself in public until necessary and now it became necessary. She just wanted to stop her sister from telling the truth but she never knew that the interest in her would go this longer and that the queen would speak to her. Queen commands it. If she hadn't already made up her mind she would have sat there but now she has to decline the queens offer. She took off her cloak and saw the broad range of expressions across the table even though they had seen her in something closer to this just this morning. "I don't have the manners to sit here",She replied to the queen who was trying to understand her.
Daenerys was happy when she saw Arya taking off her cloak to sit but she watched in amazement at what lied underneath. She thought Arya looked like a character from children book, some sort of children's hero with her tight shirt and a chain with some sort of small sword locket at end of it. And she wasn't wearing a skirt but rather pants which made her legs look strong and a belt which was pitch black contradicting her shirt. Her young body looked hard but she cant make up her mind about what she was going for wearing something like that but when she looked at Sansa, she knew that it wasn't uncommon at all. Even the adjacent tables which perked their concentration see this aren't surprised. She looked once again at her and saw a warrior.
Missandei just sat there in shock but raised her eyebrows at the girls belt. She knew she saw in somewhere, somewhere associated with something dark but couldn't place it.
Tyrion always appreciated the starks for their hard features but looking at Arya he thought of her mother and can see how Catelyn features flowed into their daughters. He looked at Sansa and thought the same again. And he looked down at Arya's pants.
Jon just looked happy on her sister dressed herself and that she finally was at least was caring now how was presentable. He didn't feel an inch of embarrassment, which surprised Daenerys, that her sister was wearing something like that. He saw the chain on her neck and saw the hand made relic and felt there should be a reason behind it. But looking down her he felt his hear sank, she is no longer a little girl. Why did she grew taller, he thought, she was still shorter than Sansa but still she wasn't what he remembered.
Everyone felt the tension in the air as others in hall now seem to notice what was happening at the table. The lack of 'respect term' in her sentence threw Daenerys off and she felt intimidated by this young girl and felt temperature drop around her chest and feet. Luckily her hand responded in her place.
"Who cares" he mumbled warmly at took the moment and looked down saw Ghost looking up at her as if it wants to say something. He slowly raised and walked under the table without a sound or rustle and she looked up to see Arya's face to see her reaction to the sudden beast emergence from beneath her, But even her eyes didn't waver as if she was always aware of the direwolf's presence. Tyrion gave a start but seeing it gently rubbing against Arya they didn't move much. As if to calm them down Arya reached out on the table and took a piece of meat and fed Ghost.
"You are family" finally Daenerys said something realizing that because of the ghost and looked at Jon as he smiled at her for saying that. When she looked back at her, Arya was still looking at her and slowly looked back at Ghost.
"I can be your family", She remembered saying these words to a certain someone but it was long ago. She gave up on family but here she was. She is going to tell the queen her reason and lifted her hand up to brush her hair away.
Suddenly there was a sound of some clatter and all the people at the table looked away to see someone breaking a plate and when the looked back everyone was surprised to see Arya without her face blocking half her face. She looked like a different person when both her eyes are exposed. Due to Ghost making an entrance more than a few people are looking this way and now a soft murmur grew at the sight of her face which makes it evident that she covers her face all the time.
Tyrion felt his father watching him. He always felt that when something incredible and dangerous was around him. He felt that when he saw the dragon. It was as if his father was seeing his react to it. Seeing how he would react in the face of different. But there is something in eyes that felt more connected with his father. He doesn't know why.
Missandei felt sweat on her hands and she was afraid but that was just for a second but then she saw the smile on Arya's face.
Daenerys felt what Ghost's eyes on her once again and looked down at him and saw a warning in his eyes. She thought it was protectiveness but this was different. Her back felt cold and cursed the last person looked at her back.
Jon heart sank lower and once again and he wanted to apologizes to her for not finding her sooner. He saw the darkness and he knew somehow that she saw death of someone close to her. But whose was it? Whose death did she saw? He looked down at Sansa. Ask her later, he thought. When he looked back up Arya was smiling, all his pain gone.
Slowly lifting her hand up to her hair, Arya stopped at her forehead. Touching the small little scar on her face she said "when i got this there was a man standing beside me killing two of the three kingsgaurd, he paid for my many meals with him and finally it was time for me to repay that a little". She smiled once more pulled her hair back as it used to be and walked away.
No one stopped her as she was leaving but all their eyes followed to see whom she meant and see the tables eyes following Arya the people around the table too joined in. Jamie and Jon thought about what happened to the third kingsgaurd? Jon wouldn't think the possibility, Arya can't kill someone. Daenerys saw how Ghost followed Arya leaving her and shivered, Thankfully no eyes were on her.
"Don't tell me you saved this for me?" they heard as Arya asked the hound three tables away. This surprised everyone at the hounds table. Now most of the conversations stopped at that sight Ghost walking between them and behind Arya and when finally she spoke to the roughest looking man in the hall there was total silence. Feeling the silence she looked up and gazes moved away and small chatter started.
"Thought you would be fucking dead by now" hound said as Arya slid down beside him. It was not silent but the whole room tensed hearing this.
What did he say? everyone in the hall thought the same but they know whose matters to meddle. The guards were looking at one another. Sansa looked shocked. Jon let out a small "Oh" and when they all looked back at him surprised,"it's fine cause he saved her life" he said. Everyone at the high table realized what she meant before. No one knew why and how but it seemed that hound and arya already knew each other. The only other person who seemed not so surprised is Brienne for which she makes up the expression of bitter sadness in her face.
Hound slowly turned to look at Arya and looked surprised "what?, did you loose a fucking eye? You shouldn't cover it girl". All the other lords looked at each other not know what to do. Some of them were looking at Jon for something but Jon didn't say anything. They all know that Arya is no girl by looking at her and hound just called her that right in the Winterfell. A guard gave a start but stopped when hound looked up and with a smirk "Got a problem boy" he asked. Slowly the chatter began to die at the other tables again now but then they heard Arya laughing "More wine", she said.
Everyone looked away and the common chatter broke up after that so no one heard Davos saying "Good friends, eh?". Arya looked up and saw the man before nodding to which he replied "Davos seaworth, my lady".
"Arya stark, call me Arya", she said.
"She could have killed me in sleep" Hound muttered to Davos. "Your way of making friends" is the new man replied. Arya thought Davos will be a nice person to her for some reason.
Sansa eyes were almost crying cause it has been so long she heard her sister laugh with other and in public and that Clegane somehow helped her sister keep alive just as he did with her and her painful past flashed and in between all that how he helped her.
Brienne fairly remember her fight with the Hound and feared that it might have been her that drove her to this. Maybe Arya could have been normal if she didn't fight hound that day? and she was just so happy to see her happy.
Tyrion saw at the unusual pair and thought where else to who else was was she friends with all these years? and somehow felt someone he knew rubbed on her.
Missandei made a mental note to know herself to stop by ad get to know Arya.
Jon felt so bad that he wasn't there for her and felt maybe he should have been more. Somehow he remembered the chain around her neck and the small sword locket, who made it for her, he thought?
Daenerys knew that this exchange meant she should be wary of Arya but what was ghost trying to say to her?.
"Is that a knife attached to her leg" Tyrion finally spoke. No one saw that and what was surprising was even Sansa didn't know. Brienne seems to be the only other one to notice.
"They wear it like that, those people, I knew I saw her belt somewhere and the knife to her leg made me remember" Missandei said looking at Daenerys and Jon.
"What people?" Brienne asked before anybody. All she got was a 'no one' when she asked Arya about who trained her. "They don't have a name but stories say they trade with lives and the people call them the face less men cause you don't see a person twice in their house but no one walks twice into that house" was the answer they received.
Jon already numb from the mystery around her sister when he heard Missandei answer and just lifted his cup to drink more wine.
"She is the one who swung her sword", Sansa slowly put down his glass and considered the comment for a moment. He felt sad and wished that she didn't do that but then what is the other option, have Sansa do it?. And the sadness came back to him about how they can't go back to days where they can carry their pups with a single hand.
Daenerys was shocked that Sansa let her sister do something like that but Jon just seemed to be clam and sad but along with a bit pride. "why did she do that, someone can do that for her, ain't it?" she asked.
"In north the one who passes the sentence has to swung his sword" he told the table with his chest coming up in pride.
"Don't worry ,she is not new with swords." Sansa answered smiling at his brother and the others. And he began to explain how he gave her the sword and conversations skipped past.
Tyrion raised to walk before as he walked away looked at her from afar and thought why her eyes showed nothing? what has she seen? as in response to that she looked back straight at him without waver as if she knew where to look in this entire hall and her eyes showed the first emotion .Anger.