Chapter Six: A Hunting We Will Go
xoxoxox
Arya
Arya watched the whores as they danced through her company while delivering food and ale, each making sure to touch each and every man, not necessarily inappropriately, though some were that brash, there were others who simply would place a hand on their arm, or brush their hand with their own. She didn't understand the appeal of the women who sold themselves to any man with the right amount of copper or gold. She had never understood any dealings between women and men other than friendship and fighting. She was told time and time again she would understand when she was older but she had yet to understand. Sometimes she wondered if her mother was supposed to have given her some secret of womanhood that she hadn't been old enough for before she left with her father to King's Landing.
She sighed and took another drink of the wine she had gotten past Lord Beric. He never let her drink, and though she didn't usually care to drink wine, when he had forbidden it she had made it a point to drink when she could, just out of spite. They had stopped here to rest and so she could have "a proper night's sleep and bath as a Queen deserved", as Lem had said. She knew it was a lie. The men wanted to see the women of the Peach, it had been a while since they had seen them, so when they came passing any excuse was good enough for them to stop.
Gendry hadn't wanted to stay at the whore house and opted instead to head to whatever forge like building he could find, and Lord Beric had gone with him. It wasn't that she was upset that Gendry didn't want to stay at a whore house, but by not staying at the whore house he wasn't staying with her and that annoyed her. Lord Beric had insisted that Arya stay at the Inn with Thoros and Anguy as her watchers. Some watchers. She thought to herself as both were ears deep in the tits of their own whores. She knew why Beric had made her stay here, well two reasons really. He could never seem to get over her sleeping beside Gendry. He always thought it inappropriate and took any opportunity he could to force Gendry to separate himself from Arya every chance he could. At least that is how it seemed to Arya.
With a sigh she took the last sip of her sour wine and continued just watching her men act like fools. Many had spent all their money on the women before they had even lifted their skirts, and wasn't that the whole point? The whole scene didn't make any sense to the girl.
A woman chuckling turned her attention to her left where she saw a woman who had eyes that looked very close to Gendry's color, bright blue and framed with heavy dark lashes. She was indeed laughing at Arya. "Find something funny did you?" the wolf snapped, glaring daggers at the woman.
The whore was unfazed, smiling prettily at Arya as she put her hands in front of her heavy chest as if in surrender. "No m'Lady, not funny, adorable is all. You are so innocent it is sweet to see, especially in a place like this."
One of the other girls chimed in before being captured by one of the men again playfully, "Oh Bella, she ain't no Lady that one. That one is a Queen the men say."
Bella raised one dark eyebrow and looked at Arya again with a look of disbelief. "Begin' your pardon then, your Grace. I wasn't aware we were serving royalty tonight." She dipped into a small curtsy that was better than any Arya had ever managed.
"Don't call me your Grace or my Lady. Just call me Arya." The wolf child snapped, not wanting to deal with being a Queen without Gendry there to help her. She didn't feel like a queen, sitting in a whore house surrounded by strangers and the drunken brothers. She felt out of place and lost more here than when she was in the forest.
"As you wish. Where are you queen of anyway if you don't mind me askin'?" Bella casually slid down into the seat next to Arya, her expression and body language open. There was something about Bella that put Arya a little more at ease than the others. She was different.
"The North they tell me." Arya looked at the woman next to her and saw that she was what most men chased. Pretty face, long, black hair, a full chest and wide hips. She was what femininity was.
"Ah. You're the Stark girl they thought dead so long. They say you're risen from the dead when your family was wronged at the Red Wedding, like a demon." Bella reached out and brushed the girls short hair behind her ear. "But you're much too pretty to be raised from death. You've been alive this whole time I reckon."
"Do not make fun in calling me pretty. You're right though, I was never dead." Arya rolled her eyes at the compliment. She'd never been pretty.
The woman next to her raised an eyebrow at her and then looked from her to her companions, scattered in the tavern. Not one woman was among them. "You don't have a hand maid? Not even one?" she asked skeptically.
"I don't need any maids, I am more than capable of caring for myself."
Bella turned again to the girl and looked at her fully. She was young, not yet a woman. She was small and she was boyish. "I don't mean to offend you. I am merely asking because you are approaching an important time in a young woman's life. To deal with that change with only men would be…." she didn't know how to finish her thought. It was obvious that the girl did not have any female influence presently. She could tell by how unkempt the young queen was, with wild, rough hair and dirt on her face. She was being raised by men and expected to become a queen. "Oh poor child. You haven't a chance." Her voice held humorless laughter. She reached out her hand again and cupped the girls face gently, almost maternally.
Arya could see that Bella was comfortable with touching strangers, it was part of her job description after all, but Arya had only been comfortable with Gendry now that Hot Pie was gone. She did not touch others unless it was to hit or hurt, and Bella's easy touches made her uneasy. She pulled her face out of Bella's grip. "Why do you keep touching me?"
"I dunno. Jus' wanted to I suppose. I have always been a grabby thing, ever since I was a wee little babe." The woman snickered and continued to fuss over Arya, brushing fingers through her hair, and petting her back softly. "Come on. You need a proper bath. I'll take care of you." She stood from her spot next to Arya, looking at the young girl with something Arya hadn't seen in a long time. She is looking at me like my mother used to when she wanted to be nice. Arya thought sadly.
"I am capable of bathing and caring for myself, thank you." Arya said sternly, not standing or even turning toward Bella, only looking at her from the corner of her eye, keeping her walls firmly in place.
Bella laughed again, surprising the Northern girl. "Aye, I am sure you can, and I am also sure you've been takin' care of yourself for a long time. But," she paused, and placed a hand on Arya's shoulder, wanting to convey what she felt before continuing, "That doesn't mean you should've had to so young, child." Arya sat rigidly, trying to ignore her words but Bella continued on. "Come with me. Let's get you cleaned and fed properly."
Arya sat still a moment longer before turning and looking at Bella fully. Her eyes were what drew Arya's gaze though, they were bright blue, like summer sea and full of honest intent. She wanted to help her, even in this small way. She was different than the others. She reminded Arya of Gendry the way she was looking at her.
Finally, after a moment of silence between the two, Arya stood. She followed the patient Bella up the stairs to the room she had been given for the evening, chewing her bottom lip anxiously the whole time.
xoxoxoxo
Gendry
He had missed the sing of the steel, the heat of the air, the weight of the hammer. He had missed the feeling of truly accomplishing something that could be seen immediately, not pouring over cryptic scrolls dully written by Maesters long since dead. Gendry let his hammer fall against the sword once more before setting it down and moving the weapon to the water. With a swift thrust the sword was fully submerged and steam filled the small room.
The forge here wasn't large and was a good distance from the rest of their party, but it was peaceful in comparison to the loud tavern and brothel. Gendry hated that Arya had been forced to remain at the inn rather than just staying in the forge with Lord Beric and himself. He couldn't understand why Beric was so against the two staying with each other throughout the night. Arya was a child and he was little more than one himself, no matter how large he was it didn't change his age. Nothing had happened and as far as he knew nothing would.
He couldn't lie to himself and say he didn't care for Arya in a way that would be considered improper. He would never be worthy of her, born of not only noble blood, but some of the oldest noble blood that could be found. She was also only a girl, a child still and his sinful nature shone through his thoughts, with his unsuitable desires of her. He wondered at times what he really felt for her. He didn't want her as a man wants a woman, not really, not how it had been explained to him by other men. What he wanted from her felt deeper than what he felt for a girl he thought easy on the eyes, it felt different than how he had loved his mother or Master Mott's wife and daughter. No, it was something he had never known. It had grown slowly over the years the two had been together. It had grown from sorrow and strife and blood. They had survived more than many had lived through and they did it together.
When she lost her family, after he had nearly abandoned her, he felt a pain deep in his chest and realized that he was feeling her pain. He wanted to help her, to keep her safe and give her whatever she needed. He had meant his promise to her, that he would be hers. He thought back to that day when she had come to him with the revelation that he was the bastard heir to the Iron Throne. "We will survive and we will fight for us. We are family." She had been very pretty that afternoon, hair and skin still damp from their swim in the creek, her face clean of any dirt.
He shook his head as if to shake his last thought free. Those were the thoughts that would get him into trouble. He didn't know how to stop them though. She was his most trusted friend and she looked out for him better than even he did or could. She would never let anything happen to him if it was in her power to prevent it. She had killed for him before and he had no reservations that she would again. Her loyalty was one of the many qualities he admired in her, along with her bravery and sense of self.
There was one thing he would protect Arya from completely throughout this mess of a war. He would not let anyone use her as a pawn. He would not let her be married off. He knew that was what she most feared and he could understand why. For her marriage would be nothing but a slow death sentence. She would be forced into a dress, into a castle which would be no better than a cage to her, and into some man's bed to give him brats. The thought made Gendry's blood run hotter than the air in the forge. No, as long as he would somehow be addressed as king, none would make her wed, none would make her change at all. She would remain as she was, as she had always been, a fierce wolf of the North. He liked to pretend that this act was all for her, but deep down he knew better. He knew he was buying himself more time.
He took a drink of water from the flagon sitting beside the door, as far from the fire as it could be. It wasn't cold but it was cooler than he had expected and was refreshing. He had work to do and sitting thinking wasn't getting any of it done. He had a present to make and only two days to do it.
xoxoxoxo
Bella
The girl was skinny, far too skinny in Bella's opinion. She didn't look starved but she did look like she had been starved not long ago. She had little scars littered across her skin, some fresh some old. She had never been a damsel it seemed. Her hair was unevenly cut and not taken care of and her nails looked like a blacksmiths, covered in dirt and grime. She was short for her age and fairly undeveloped, or maybe she was younger than she acted. Bella would guess she was close to fourteen based on how she spoke and held herself, but her lack of womanly knowledge gave the impression she was younger. "How old are you your Grace?" Bella asked as she watched the girl climb into the water. Though she was uncomfortable with touching she didn't seem to mind her body. She was truly confident, or perhaps she didn't care what she looked like at all.
"I'll be twelve in a moon or two I think. I'm not sure anymore. And do NOT address me by any titles." Arya said sternly, sinking into the steaming water. She did not relax as the hot water washed over her dirty form. Her shoulders were high, and her eyes flicked across the room, never staying in one place long.
"What're you lookin' for?" Bella asked, honestly curious about what those strange eyes were seeking in the shadows of the cozy room. The woman lifted her skirts and settled herself on the ground beside the small tub that Arya sat in. She grabbed the small rag and bar of soap that lay in a smaller, separate tub made of clay, almost like a basin.
"Nothing. Not really, anyway." The girl replied, sounding quieter than she had down stairs. When she wasn't trying so hard her voice had a raspy tone to it. Her voice would be alluring as she got older.
She was stiff and suspicious and Bella needed to calm her. The same techniques worked on all people to calm them, and children, no matter how suspicious and jaded, were the easiest to comfort, even more so than amorous men. They needed the softness of love and kindness, so they were more willing to accept it. With soft hands she dipped the cloth into the warm water of the bath and gently ran the rag down her back, from her shoulder to the small dimples above her hips. "When I was a lass my mother used to wash me back and hair and I always loved those memories the best." Bella said openly, her voice the only sound besides the water gently splashing. "She would sing to me too. All kinds of songs. She heard a lot of them working here."
"Your mother worked here too?" Arya asked, turning her head a little to look at Bella. She had curious eyes, dark and light at the same time, like the clouds of a thunderstorm and she sounded shocked.
Another chuckle escaped Bella, she had always laughed a lot. "Aye, me mother was a whore here same as I am. There isn't much else for the daughter of a whore to do, unless she can get some man to marry her and take care of her." All the time she began working the soap to a lather and onto the rag to wash the grime from the Northern Queen. "It isn't that way for most highborn's I know but it is the same principal. You can marry a Lord and have his babies or you are a disgrace, but free. Same here, but I have to earn a living somehow."
"Why do you do that?" The girl questioned, turning to see Bella a little better. She was opening up, probably because of Bella's blunt honesty. The woman paid no mind and continued cleaning the child.
"Why do I do what?" she replied coyly.
Arya's voice fell flat. "Why do you fuck men for money?"
It took her a moment to regain her composure from Arya's direct questioning. She laughed openly, and fully and had to wipe tears from her eyes after she regained herself. "I suppose it's all I've ever known. It's easy money too. Sometimes it's enjoyable as well."
The girls thick brows furrowed and she looked confused. "I thought it hurt the woman."
Bella smiled prettily again at Arya. "I think that they tell that to young highborns so they won't ruin themselves before they can be sold to the highest bidder. Yes, the first time and a few after hurt but eventually there comes a pleasure and when you're lucky, a deep satisfaction that can't be replaced by any other feeling." Gently she put pressure on Arya's shoulders, forcing her to lie back to wet her hair in the tub.
When the girl rose again she looked even more confused. "What do you mean?" She demanded rather than asked. She was royalty all right, that much was certain.
"Why don't we start at the beginning rather than the end, aye? What do you know about the change you'll have soon?" Bella redirected, wanting to prepare the girl before she was back on the road again with the outlaws.
She seemed to think about it for a moment, truly considering what she knew of what was going to happen to her then she said, "I know I will bleed."
Bella looked away from her scrubbing and raised an eyebrow to the Northerner. "Where will you bleed?" she challenged. Arya didn't know, that much was obvious by her silence and the small blush that crept up her neck and into her cheeks. So it was then Bella explained what would happen to Arya in the coming moons. She explained the pains she had in her legs and breasts, the changes her body would have as well as her moods. She explained that with this there are both powers and consequences as well.
"What do you mean? What power comes with tits?" Arya asked skeptically, having always thought them to be strange and needless, never understanding the allure.
Another barked laugh. "Oh girl, I have not laughed so in ages. You're darling, you are. There are GREAT power in tits, for you though it will probably be more from your bum, and that is something you must learn if you are to be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms."
Arya shook her head then, water splashing about and speckling Bella. "I am only the Princess of the North. Not the Seven Kingdoms. Not the Queen. My sister is elder and was always much better at being a lady than I ever was."
Bella shifted, standing and grabbing the thick towel to dry the girl with, She motioned for Arya to stand and began drying her before helping her out of the slick tub. "I had been told that you were the Queen."
Bella looked upon Arya and saw her face take on a softness that she'd yet to see in the girl, and in those grey eyes a pain so deep it would hit the bottom of the sea. No tears fell, no, it looked to Bella that she had not cried in sometime. "They tell me my sister is dead, taken by the Hound in the Battle of Blackwater. But I know she is alive. I see her in my dreams sometimes. So until I have proof that she is dead I will have them call me Princess, if they must call me anything at all."
Bella finished drying Arya and helped her into a soft robe that was actually Bella's own. It was to large for the girl but it was clean and would do until her clothes could be cleaned or replaced. "You seem to care deeply for your sister."
The girl's face spread into a smirk that held no real humor behind it. "No actually, I hated her even, for a time. But now, all that seems small. My father told me we were two sides of the same coin, despite all out differences."
Bella smiled. "A father is something not all have or had to guide them. It seems he taught you well while he was with you sweet."
Arya's eyes flashed with a warmth before they turned back to being emotionless as steel. Bella only had to wonder what had brought the change in her for a moment before she figured it out.
"From what I understand, the Bastard King, beautiful man he is, is quite taken with you."
"We're friends, Gendry and I. And don't call him The Bastard King. He is a great man and cares more for the people than any other noble." She defended Gendry, all the while, the same confused expression from before came over her features.
"Yes girl, and he loves you more still is what I understand. Or that is what it was made to be by both you and his Grace's men."
"A jest, I am sure. They always tease him for his affection for me." Arya fidgeted slightly, obviously uncomfortable.
"Well, it may become something more with time. He is quite the strapping lad I might say. And you'll see the power of tits when you fill out a bit and he won't leave you be." Bella chuckled and sat Arya down on the bed before sitting behind her. "Have you no luggage?" she changed the subject then, not wanting Arya to become distant again because of her obvious discomfort in speaking on the King.
"I have only what was on my back." Bella's fingers wound into Arya's short unruly hair and began to untangle it gently. The woman looked at the clothes that lay discarded on the floor, ratty and tattered not befitting some one of her station at all.
"I must say, it's strange to meet a noble who has less than a common whore to her name." Bella's voice was gentle when she said it, not wanting to cause her to become defensive. "My mother once told me that only true royals have nothing."
The queen seemed confused, obviously thinking she had meant something different when she brought up her lack of possessions. "You see sweetling, a Queen, a Princess and even a King can have nothing, for they must give everything to their people. Even their life if need be."
"Every royal I have known has been a proper twat." The girl raised a brow at Bella as she questioned her summary of a royal.
Bella snorted again, deciding then and there that she would follow this little Princess to the ends of the Earth . "Well, we ain't had a good royal in sometime. But you and that bastard boy are giving me a fair amount of hope little wolf."
xoxoxoxo
Lord Beric
"I don't understand why I am to remain here while the rest of you run off to hunt down the people who killed my family." The girl argued fiercely as she followed him out the front door of the Peach. All the men were already mounted up, waiting for their commander to join them, if only he could escape the little royals screams.
"It is not safe-" he began but, as was normal when dealing with Arya, he was not allowed to finish.
"My life hasn't been safe since I left Winterfell Lord Beric. If I am the Queen as you say, then I demand to be on this ride." She stomped furiously, her voice holding pure venom.
"I am sorry Arya, you are the Queen in the North but this is the South. I follow King Gendry and he is not here presently so I will use my best judgement." Lord Beric argued.
Her eyes narrowed further. "You know for a fact he would want me there with him, in any battle."
Lord Beric said nothing else and instead, bowed, mounted his horse and began off before the girl could say anything else. They would be gone for three days and he would be free of the child for three days. She would remain at the inn, with Anguy and Harwin to protect her.
"I won't forget this Beric!" Came her furious reply. He was sure she would not forget it either, and she would find some painful way to make him pay. She was always a spitfire.
It wasn't but a few moments later he made it to the forge that Gendry had been held up in for three days and nights. He was standing outside beside his great black horse, huge and fierce waiting on their arrival. When he saw them approaching he mounted his horse and met Lord Beric at the front of the party.
"Where is Arya?" He asked, already knowing the answer when he saw Lord Beric initially. He had been clutching a parcel rather tightly in his lap as disappointment washed over him. Lord Beric never let her come on raids, and Gendry was determined to change that when she got a little bit older. He had to be able to show the men that she was more than capable of handling herself.
"Your Grace, it is not appropriate for a Queen to ride into battle with her men." Came his stiff reply.
Gendry chuckled. "Understand something my Lord, if I am King than I decree that Arya is able to do as she will like. Be it riding into battle with me or sitting by the fire knitting. No one, including you, can tell her not to." He didn't sound angry, only matter of fact toward the whole situation.
Lord Beric wanted to pull out his hair. "Your Grace, I apologize but it is not proper or safe for her in battle. Think of her safety."
"You've never seen her fight. I have. You've never seen what she becomes." Gendry didn't sound angry, though he did sound annoyed. Beric thought of Arya as he saw her, a small girl who had a big mouth and a bad temper. Gendry knew Arya and knew what she became in battle. He had never seen someone so small or so young cause as much damage as the men fighting beside her. She was smart and quick and fierce as a wolverine. "She may be small but she is vicious and wild. She is better with a sword than many men when it is small enough for her to truly lift it. You never saw her with her Needle." The goodnatured smile returned to the young man as he thought on the well made sword the girl had loved so.
"I understand your feelings for her your Grace, but please-" Lord Beric had began but Gendry chuckled lightly, stopping him mid sentence.
"If you do not believe me then you should think back to when you saw the men she killed at the Twins. Or better yet, ask Thoros what he has seen of Arya in the flames." The King of the people said before he turned his horse from Lord Beric and was off toward Anguy. He stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder at the Lord, still grim. "And please Lord Beric, do not presume you understand at all just how deep my feelings for Arya actually are." He then turned and was off again.
xoxoxo
Bella
She had seen the men coming down the road before the others had but not before the tiny princess had. "Lannister colors." She whispered, more to herself than anyone else. Her left hand twitched at her side, as if searching for something.
It had been eight days, five days too long, since the King and his band of merry men had gone off into the Riverlands to catch and kill Lannister me. Arya had been furious when they had left but during that time Bella had gotten close to the girl and learned that was just her way. She was fond of her royal majesty, no matter how big a pain in the ass she could be. They had grown close in the time Arya had been stranded there, since Harwin and Anguy had left yesterday, to track down their missing party. She had to protect her.
Without another thought Bella grabbed the Princess by the arm and began dragging her harshley back to the Peach. "You must be hidden. If they find you they'll do far worse than kill you." She said to the girl as they tore up the stairs of the tavern, up to the working girls rooms. She pulled Arya all the way to the end of the hall and into the last room on the left. The room she had taken her to every night since she came and saw her that first night. "Do not come out, no matter what you hear, no matter who you hear, do you understand?" The girl nodded but finally looked her age as she stared up at Bella with wide fearful eyes. "No matter what."
"I can help you." She whispered, tears welling up in those grey orbs. Bella realized then that the fear in the girls eyes was not for herself but instead for Bella.
Bella smiled sweetly at the Princess. "I know you can. But right now, please love, let me help you." She cupped the wild girl's face gently, and pressed her lips to her forehead. It was brief and it was small but it was all the comfort she had to offer the child. She pushed her further into the room and pulled away. "Hide yourself." Was the last thing the woman said to the girl before shutting the door and running back down the stairs.
As she stepped on the first floor the Lannister men were walking into the tavern, loudly shouting for ale and cunt. She pretended to laugh, just as the other girls did. Just as they would for any other man. There were about six men total in their party. A scouting party rather than an actual force to be reckoned with. She gracefully sauntered toward who appeared to be the man in charge. A skinny man with an even skinnier sword in his belt. He say surrounded on each side by his men, laughing as one of the bigger men tossed about one of the smaller working girls.
Without invitation she plopped into his lap, letting her round bottom press firmly into the front of his pants in a way she knew he would enjoy. Men like him were all the same. "Can't say we've seen you all here before, stranger." She used her most sultry tone, the one she typically reserved to seal the deal. If the boss was distracted then the men would follow in suit. She pressed her full chest into his and slid one finger suggestively down his chest. "What brings you to us lonely girls?"
He grinned up at her, crooked dirty teeth spread in a sick smile. She didn't pull away, nor did she wretch as she wanted to, instead she pretended to love his attention. "We're hunting a wolf that has been supposedly seen in this area, by order of Lord Tywin. Seems this is a place the the traitorous Brotherhood frequent." His voice sounded dark and twisted, as he reached down and pulled her more fully onto his lap.
She laughed, playing her part flawlessly. "Many men frequent here Ser, most because they enjoy our services. Then there is always the odd duck here for Jack's cooking." All around them the other girls laughed as if on cue. It was all well rehearsed, all the same dance they were used to doing. The men all joined their laughter, all except the man between her thighs.
"Funny girl." He said, moving his hand up her thighs, to her hip, where he squeezed almost painfully. "So where's the little she wolf hidden whore?" He asked Bella directly, looking at her with dark eyes.
It was in an instant the air shifted from laughing and playful banter between the men and the whores to brutal and forceful. Bella could hear the other girls cry out as they were snatched up by the Lannister men. "I don't know what your talking about Ser." She answered meekly, feigning fear as he gripped her hip in a way she knew would leave a mark. She refused to cry out. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. Search the place, find the girl." he stood then and pulled her up roughly. Bella bit down on a cry of pain. If she cried out Arya may hear and knowing that head strong thing she would attempt to rescue her. Please stay little wolf.
"I'll search upstairs with this one here to show me around." All around the Peach was torn to pieces as they searched for Arya. They searched everywhere downstairs as she was dragged upstairs by their leader to search the second floor. He stopped suddenly and turned to two of his men, shouting, "You two help me upstairs. I'm sure they'll be lots of places to hide in an establishment like this one here."
xoxoxo
Arya
She sat on the roof of the Peach, just outside of the window. She listened carefully, as the girls began to shout and scream. She squeezed her fist as tight as she could, feeling her nails straining against the callouses on her palms. She felt like a coward, hiding on the roof while the women who had housed her time and time again took abuse at her expense. She heard dishes being broken and tables being toppled over. Fabric tearing soon followed and cries poured out of the once happy tavern. All Arya could think was that she was the cause of all of this.
Then everything got worse than she could have ever imagined. There was the sound of the door in the room Bella had brought her to slamming open with a bang. She heard the soft cries of a very familiar voice. Not Bella… Arya bit down on her bottom lip to hold in her cry. She heard someone being thrown into the room and crashing into the small dresser in the room. "We've run out of rooms love. Now is the last chance that you will get to give up that little wolf bitch and save your own fine ass." She knew that voice.
Her heart skipped a beat. She peaked around the corner into the room and she saw him standing over a beaten and bloody Bella. Polliver. Her face was bruised and there was a cut on her right eyebrow. Her dress was torn and now all that was left was part of her skirts and the corset that had been beneath. She looked up at him with blue eyes bright with a fury Arya had only see in one other pair of eyes. "So you can open up that pretty mouth and tell me what I want to know, or-" he stopped and began to undo his trousers and moved in front of Bella. He dropped his belt to the ground to his right, a skinny sword falling with it. "You can do what you do best with that mouth and open up wide." He laughed as he reached out and grabbed the woman by the back of her head, fingers gripped in her long black hair.
Arya couldn't watch and do nothing any longer. She could not hide herself away, not now, not when Bella was here being assaulted by Polliver, a man that had been on Arya's list for sometime now. Silently she crept back through the open window. Luckily, his back was turned to her as he continued to batter poor Bella. "It's not like it's nothing you ain't done before you filthy whore." He said callously.
Arya caught Bella's eye as she approached the two slowly, like a predator approached its prey, her mind focused and mouth watering in anticipation. Blue met grey for but a moment and upon seeing the look on Arya's face Bella knew what she planned to do. She smiled and began to laugh at the man as he took his cock from his pants and shoved her face towards it none to gently.
"You stupid fool." She laughed her big laugh that echoed on the walls and all around them. "You don't even know what you've done."
Polliver was instantly enraged, thinking she was laughing at his manhood. His hand left the back of her head and moved to her throat instantly. "You think something is funny do yah, yah fucking whore? I'll teach you a lesson of humor. When I'm done, I'll give you to the boys, and when they're done, well let the horses have a go." He was too close to Bella's face and finally, Arya saw red.
She bent down and grabbed her Needle, discarded on the floor with his belt. Quiet as a shadow she unsheathed the sword, savoring the weight of it in her palm. She had missed the tiny blade so. "Allow me to teach you something Polliver." She said then, her voice scratchy and hoarse from biting back her rage. She then flicked the sword out and swiped behind both of the man's knees before he could turn around, effectively bringing him to the ground.
Arya could hear Bella gasping for breath, coughing loudly from the pain in her throat. She would deal with Bella soon, for now though she had to finish this sick little twat. "You think you can prey on women? On the weak?" Her eyes had become cold, as cold as the ice in her homeland. Her voice sounded alien even to her own ears as she stepped forward, wanting to finish the man slowly.
"What's the matter boy, something wrong with your leg?" She mocked stepping toward him again as he backed away fearfully staring up at the Northern girl.
"You psychotic bitch. Men!" He started shouting only to have a piece of fabric forced into his mouth, muffling his scream. Arya looked past him to see Bella, a strip of cloth in both her hands fighting the man. Arya grinned and moved forward quicker.
"Can you walk? I've got to carry you?" She looked frightening now she knew. She could feel the change in her. She could feel the beast, the devil that lived inside of her body, whispering to her about vengeance and blood. She knew her eyes looked frightening, she knew the smile that crept onto her face was fearsome, she could see it all in Pollivers wide, frightened eyes. Bella held tightly to the strip in his mouth as he lashed about, agonized from the wounds to his legs. The woman watched the girl in both awe and fear.
The Wolf raised Needle and looked at it as if seeing it for the first time. "Funny little blade." She said as she looked up the length of Needle and for once, rather than seeing dear Jon's smile, she saw blood and death. She turned her ice eyes back to Polliver, her smile turning savage and toothy, like the snarl of a wolf. She lowered the blade and said "Maybe I'll pick my teeth with it." As she drove her blade through the man's throat, in the same way he had killed Lommy what seemed like ages ago.
Arya watched as the blood poured from both the wound in his neck and mouth. Bella let go of the fabric stood up, grabbing onto the wall for support as she too took in the scene. Arya glanced at Bella and there she saw horror at what had just happened. She looked down at the dying man, drowning in his own blood and saw her revulsion at the sight. The woman immediately moved across the room, behind the Wolf as she reveled in her kill.
Only watching a moment longer, just long enough to see the light fade from the man's eyes and his body to become limp and pale, did Arya stand there. She turned quickly to Bella and said, "I have to help the others."
Bella sobbed. "No! No, no. You can't Princess. Already, this, is horrible." She reached out and gently grabbed Arya's cheeks. "Please hide. Please."
Arya's eyes were still hard as steel and still she felt the demon clawing at her insides, begging to be sated in only one way. With blood. "No. That's not me." She pulled away from Bella as she continued to cry, the blood from her wounds mixing with the tears that fell from her eyes. "I have to fight Bella."
She didn't say another word as she turned from the woman and stepped over the corpse that was once Polliver. She made her way into the hallway and heard another man searching a room two doors a head and on the left. She made her way to the door and gently pushed it open. The Wolf saw the man brutally beating another of the girls that worked in the Peach. She felt the devil within her hum with need as she drug her bloody blade toward her next victim.
A/N: This one was a little quicker to get out. Let me know what you think and as always, reviews are always a welcomed treat. And again, I am needing a Beta so if anyone is interested just shoot me a PM.