SNOW
Chapter 3 - Another (Arya POV)
"Again!" Called the voice of Jaquen H'ghar from the far end of the room I was training in. I extended my arm in the direction I mentally envisioned my training opponent had fallen.
"Master H'ghar, we've been at this all day. I still don't see how fighting an opponent while blindfolded, will teach me anything but how to take a hit. It's hardly fair. Would it be possible to first learn with my eyes, before I can try the blindfold again?" Another trainee asked with indignation, causing me to roll my own eyes under the blindfold I too was wearing.
"If a boy wishes to only see a fight with his eyes, then he may remove the blindfold. But he should only do so, if does not wishes to learn to fight. Learning is more than seeing." Jaqen replied to the trainee, much as he'd done with me when I first started.
"A Faceless Man is more than seeing what the opponent might do. Eyes can be useful, sure. But, the eyes can be tricked, after all. A Faceless Man sees with his mind what the opponent truly intends, rather than rely on eyes or fall for tricks. Eyes can also be impaired, can they not?" Jaqen asked us, so we replied.
"Yes, master." We all called out.
"If one's eyes get injured in battle, would one lay oneself to die because one could not see?" Jaqen asked us, so we replied.
"No, Master." We called out.
"Eyes may be helpful, but they are not a weapon. True power comes when one learns to rely on one's mind, before the other senses. A person's mind can be forged into the most valuable tool against any opponent. If a boy limits himself to only using his eyes, then a boy is not properly learning to fight or survival as a whole. A boy would have a weakness and would surely die, as all men do." Jaqen lectured.
"Does a boy want to learn to fight and survive, or does a boy want to see?" He asked the trainee.
"I want to learn, Master." The trainee answered.
"Then, I will teach." Jaqen replied to him before addressing the rest of us.
"Everyone, turn towards my voice. Stretch your arms until you can only feel the fingertips of your opponent, then face them. Visualize where they stand, as if they were your mirror image. We'll start with a right-hand assault and left-hand block, followed by a left kick and a right leg block. See the moves in your head and anticipate them. If the hit lands, then counter them in reverse. On my word … Now!" He called.
I pictured the hits coming and blocked them, I heard the same happening all around me. That went on for several minutes until Jaqen announced he would take on his best trainee for a one-on-one, hand-to-hand drill. I was successful in all my blocks and even landed several of my hits.
"A girl has done well. Will a girl go up against her master?" Jaqen suddenly spoke beside me.
He might have startled the old me, but I had already learned to feel the presence of people in my proximity without using my eyes. After escaping the attack against my family, I eventually found the Faceless Men. They allowed me to stay with them as a servant girl for countless months before ever being allowed to train. Eventually, Master Jaqen saw for himself what Master Syrio had seen in me, and I formally began my training nearly four years ago.
"Yes, Master." I'd barely finished my reply when I felt the air around me shift with incoming movement that I was able to block.
We moved quickly from there, has he continued his relentless assault. I hadn't landed any hits on him, but I had blocked every single one of his attempts by anticipating them, as he'd taught.
"Like the water that comes ashore before washing back out to sea, a girl has learned that every move has a counter move and reaction. The hand or leg that extends, must also retract. Every movement sends ripples in the air, as they would if we were in water. This comes with practice, and a girl has had much. A girl has learned to fight and survive with her mind. A girl has learned that death one day, everyone. And a girl has also learned all the ways to bring death upon an opponent or enemy." Jaqen was lecturing the class during our drill, as we sparred.
"Yet, a girl can only be a Faceless Man when she can land a hit against a master. Who are you, Girl?" Jaqen asked addressing only me.
"No one." I answered, blocking another assault and trying to land one of my own.
"A girl with a lost fortune is not no one. Who are you, Girl?" He said launching a hit that I blocked.
"No one."
"A girl with a murdered family is not no one. Who are you, Girl?" He almost taunted while sending another hit, that I also managed to block.
"No one." I said, though I felt my voice strain.
"A girl with a thirst for revenge is not no one. Who are you, Girl?" He spoke again, and again was able to block his assaults, but I was growing tired and I knew he could tell.
"No one." I grunted.
Suddenly, he was grabbing me from behind, so I struggled to free myself from him.
"A girl whose soldier brother is not dead like a girl was told, is not no one. Who are you, Girl?" At Jaqen's words, I almost missed blocking a hit he intended for my abdomen.
"You lie!" I exclaimed instead of my usual reply while I struggled to fight him off.
Whether I could believe his words or not, they'd surely affected me. My movements had slowed and my mind was at war with itself, trying to keep up with the drill, versus the onslaught of thoughts regarding Jon. My pulse pounded in her ears, and I was losing control.
I put off trying to contact Jon for over a year, after my supposed death. I didn't want to risk anyone intercepting my message, and discovering I was still alive. A year turned into more. When I finally tried to reach out, I was told he was on a black-out mission, which meant no one could tell me where he was or get any messages to him. When I tried again some time later, I received the worse news I'd never thought to consider. My training only became more intense after learning that Jon had been killed in action, overseas.
"A man does not lie and a girl with a brother is not no one. Who are you, Girl?" Jaqen asked, hovering above me after managing to get me on my back.
My heart hammered away in my chest. A warm feeling spreading throughout my body at the thought of Jon possibly being alive. I used my renewed energy and both hands to block his foot, as it descended towards my chest. Quickly, I swung my legs around, kicking Jaqen to the ground. I stood up and removed the blindfold after having landed my hit.
I realized all the trainees had already removed their blindfolds, peobably to watch Jaqen and I sparring. They were all staring at me in awe. Despite all that, my eyes only looked down at Jaqen's eyes. In them, I saw that he'd spoken the truth about Jon being alive, just as I saw his pride in me.
"WHo are you, girl?" He asked one final time, and I took a shuttering breath.
"I'm Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I have a brother I need to get to." I responded with finality, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod.
"It was a pleasure to know you, Arya Stark. You are not no one, but you are a Faceless Man. Never forget all you have learned here. Kill with Purpose and Fight to Survive. Remember what the great Syrio taught us to say when Death comes for us." Jaqen told me after he stood up.
"Not today." I responded. "I won't ever forget. Thank you, Jaqen." I told him, then walked out of the training room.
I went to pack a bag with just a couple sets of clothes, since I didn't keep any belongings at the training compound. However, there was already a bad sitting upon my bunk. I looked inside and found two different but fully functional Faceless Masks. The tech on these things were priceless, and I couldn't imagine I'd ever own one... much less two. Jaqen knew, of course he knew what I would decide. And these masks were the proof that he also believed I would finally complete my training. With one final glance at the small room that had been my home for years, I left to get the one thing I kept from my previous life.
I'd hidden Nymeria, the small pistol Jon gave me years before, underneath some rocks near the shore about a quarter mile away. I only survived the attack and my time on the road in search of the Faceless Men, because of it. I could never have parted with it, even if shedding everything from one's formal life was imperative upon joining the Faceless Men.
I reached the rocks and pulled them apart, I realized there was a leather pouch in that gap, along with my gun. In it, I found some cash and a burner cell phone. There was also a note from Jaqen, wishing me well in my second life as Arya Stark. Jaqen really did know all along, that I'd never fully let go of my former life. He knew I would eventually for Nymeria eventually. And yet, he still took me in and trained me.
The Boltons had attacked and killed my family, on orders from the Lannisters and with the help and support of the Freys. I was sure there were other Families involved that stood to profit from the extermination of the Starks. They'd succeeded for the most part, but none of them anticipated that I would be armed or even make it out alive. I was merely a child then, but as a properly equipped and skilled Faceless Man, they wouldn't stand a chance.
I caught the ferry to Pentos, and paid my way onto the soonest ship leaving for Westeros. I had enough cash to buy a plane ticket, but I needed to stay under the radar. Jon was bound to be a target for those that sought to end our family, just as I would be if they learned I was alive. Once in Westeros, I would seek out Jon's whereabouts and get to him as soon as possible.
I couldn't wait to see him again, hug him tightly, and tell him that I missed him fiercely. We wrote each other countless times after he left for the Army, but that ended after the attack and I had to go into hiding. I couldn't wait to tell Jon about all my adventures. I'd show him that I still had Nymeria, and tell him how the gun he gave me had saved my life.
Of course, I had no idea what condition my brother was in, if he was hurt or able-bodied. I'd protect him if need be, and not let anyone close enough to try something. If he was okay, then maybe I would share my plans to destroy the Lannisters, Freys and the Boltons, along with anyone else that conspired to hurt our family.
However, if that wasn't in the plans for him, or if he was unable, then I'd be Stark enough to avenge the rest. Without anyone being the wiser, I would use everything I learned, in order to make each of them pay the debt they owed Jon and I, for their crimes against our family.
A/N: Finally had a chance to update. SOOO sorry it took me so long. Real Life has a nasty habit of getting too complicated and out of hand at times.
I hope you're all not too mad and that the edits & corrections 6yI made to previous chapters make up for my absence.