Hello readers. Here is chapter seven for you. Arya is back at the gym, and Jaqen is learning a little more about her. Sandor arrives for his first appointment, and he and Sansa have a moment or two :)
This chapter ends sort of abruptly. I realized about half way through, that this chapter was going to be far too long if I kept going. Therefore, I ended it where I did, and will hopefully post another chapter before the morning comes. The next chapter will start right where this one leaves off.
I only own the plot and anything that sounds original. Anything you've heard before, belongs to George R R Martin.
Thanks guys!
Please read and review!
xoxo
Chapter Seven:
Arya groaned as she opened her eyes, that Friday morning. Her legs and arms were very sore, and she really didn't feel like getting out of bed. "Stupid Lorathi." she said to herself, as she shook her head. She knew though, that she would have to get out of bed eventually. She had to go to her first lesson in self defense. Hopefully today, he would actually let her hit something.
As she climbed out of bed, she thought back to the previous day. She wondered why Jaqen had been so worried about her. Sure, he did save her from a horrible situation, but surely he didn't think he would see her again. How much would someone think about someone that they didn't know, regardless of the situation? She wasn't sure how to feel about it, but she knew she had to put it out of her head, and focus on the physical aspect of her training, and not on her trainer.
She changed into a clean set of workout clothes, put her hair in a ponytail and soon enough she was out the door.
When she arrived at the House of Black and White, she found Jaqen immediately. He had been spotting for a young man, probably about her age, as he was bench pressing what looked like a large amount of weight. Jaqen smiled at her, to acknowledge that he did indeed see her, and helped the young man place the bar back on its rests. He said a few words to the young man, clapped him on the back, and made his way over to where Arya was standing.
"Good morning Arya Stark. How is a girl feeling today?" he said to Arya, bowing. It took all she had in her, not to roll her eyes at him. "I'm sore." she answered, "But you knew that already." He smiled at her when she spoke. "Yes. A man knew that was to be expected." he said to her. "So, what are we doing today?" Arya asked her trainer. "A man thought Arya Stark should learn how to throw a punch." he replied, as he began to lead her to the matted training area. "I know how to throw a punch, thank you very much." She told him, offended that he thought so little of her. "Could a girl demonstrate?" he asked of her. She stood in front of him and threw her left fist out in a punch. She smirked at him then. "See. A perfect punch." she said, proud of herself. Jaqen's lips became a straight line. "A girl's form needs work. And a girl could hurt herself if not taught how to throw a punch safely." he said simply. He grabbed her waist after he finished speaking.
"Whoa! What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, when he put his hands on her. "Does a girl not wish to learn how to fight? A man was simply showing a girl the proper stance." he said, looking down at her. "Well…you could have warned me." she said, as she narrowed her eyes at the Lorathi. He smiled then and asked, "Should a man always tell a girl when he wishes to put his hands on her?" He was clearly amused by this situation. She didn't understand why, but for some reason, his comment and smile, brought a flush to her cheeks and a strange sensation to the bottom of her stomach. "Well…no. But, this time would have been nice." she said, unsure if she actually meant the words. "A man apologizes. May a man place Arya Stark into the correct stance?" he asked her. She nodded, unable to come up with a smart comment to reply with.
He put his hands on her hips once more, and this resulted in a quiet gasp to, involuntarily, escape her lips. She prayed to the gods that he hadn't heard. He had heard her, but he didn't let her know that he had. Her reaction caused him to smile, though he wasn't sure why, he just knew that he liked the sound.
Once he turned her body, to stand in an almost side facing position, he grabbed her arms and raised them so her fists were at the level of her eyes. "This is where a girls' fists should be when ready to fight." he told her, grabbing her fists to emphasize the point. "Would a girl please throw another punch?" he asked her, stepping back to get in a better position to observe. She did as he asked, while he stood back, watching her carefully. "Again." he said. "Continue until a man says otherwise." He began to walk around her as she threw her punches.
"A man will put his hands on Arya Stark once more." he informed her, before he place one hand on her stomach, while placing the other on her lower back. "You don't have to tell me every time, you know." she told him, turning her head to glare at her teacher. He laughed again. He seemed to enjoy laughing at her. "A man was just being thorough." he replied. "A girl needs to stand straight. Her punches have to come from her core and not her arms." he said, while slightly pushing on her stomach to clarify. She straightened her back at his words. "Better." he said.
He continued to walk around her for the next 10 minutes before stopping her to ask her to shift her position, so she could start to use her right arm instead. It took a little adjusting, but she got the hang of it fairly quickly. "So, a man has met a girls' brother. Is he the only sibling a girl has?" Jaqen asked her, as he stopped his circling. Arya spoke between her punches. "No. I have two older brothers and an older sister." she told him. "And what of a girls' parents?" he inquired. She stopped then. "My…my parents died. Them, and my two little brothers." she informed him, looking down, with an ache striking her heart. "A man is sorry. He did not mean to upset Arya Stark." he said, with a regretful look appearing on his face. "No, its fine. It happened a couple of years ago. Just sometimes, when I think of them, it still hurts. You know?" she said. "A man understands." he answered. "A man thinks it would be a good time for a water break." He said to her, sitting down on the mat. She followed suit, grabbing her bottle and taking a long drink.
"So, I never did thank you for what you did. Saving me, I mean." Arya turned to Jaqen saying. "It was nothing. A man was glad to have been walking by." he said to her, nodding once. "But, you could have just kept walking. Anybody else would have." She said, before asking, "Why did you stop?" "A man simply knew he had to." was all he said, as he reached up to touch the bruises on her eye, she shuddered at the contact. "A man is glad that Arya Stark is going to be okay." he told her, removing his hand. She was quiet for a moment, unable to respond. After what felt like a life time, she spoke. "Yea, I'll get there." she told him, smiling weakly. "Just so." he said, standing and offering her his hand, so she could also get up. "We should begin again." he told her, allowing her to get into position. Arya was glad to continue, if only to focus her mind on something else.
xxxxx
Sansa had just finished taking out her inks and arranging her station the way she preferred it, when she heard her newest client's booming voice, announcing his presence to the shop. She went to her work room door, to call him into her room, only to nearly bump into the man. "Sorry!" she said, backing away from Sandor, while trying to avoid making eye contact. She was usually such a composed person, and she couldn't understand why she was so clumsy around this man.
Sandor sat on the tattoo chair, and Sansa went to grab the two sketches from the counter, so they could discuss the tattoo.
"So, these are the sketches I designed. If you like one of them, we could start today. If there was something about them you didn't like, we could change it, or if you don't like either of them, I can start fresh." she told him as she handed him both sketches. He couldn't help his eyes from widening, as he looked at both drawings. They were both beautiful. He couldn't begin to understand, how she managed to do these amazing pieces, in only two days. He would never be capable of creating anything, even half as beautiful, as these. He knew he was going to have a hard time deciding.
He looked at the one his left hand held first. The woman was beautiful, far more beautiful than he ever deserved. She was looking to the left; he saw that she had tattoos on her neck and hand, and her hair in a braid that went down the opposite side of her neck. Beneath her were two hounds, much in the style of the pit-bull on his forearm, looking in both directions. Underneath the hounds, was a single rose, pure and untouched. Surrounding the entire work, was a filigree frame. Sandor loved it, but he felt that there was something missing.
He then shifted his attention to the sketch in his right hand, and the second he looked at it, he knew this was the one. There was a hound on the left, with its teeth bared, snarling. On the right was a wolf. He didn't ask for a wolf, but he knew there was no way he could part with it now. It was amazing. In the centre, the main focus of the tattoo, was his woman, clutching a skull. She was looking down at the skull. She had a smile on her face, as if she had just been victorious in battle. Her hair was flying wildly around her face, as if it wasn't hair at all. If it had been red, you could have said it was fire. It was then that he realized, he had seen this face before. It belonged to the woman, who was kissed by fire, standing in front of him. Did she realize that the face she had drawn was her own? He certainly wasn't going to call attention to it. If he could have a woman as beautiful as her on his body, in any way, he would take it.
"They're both…they're both beautiful." he told her, having trouble getting the words out. She looked at the floor then, so he wouldn't see her blushing. "Thank you." she responded. "Was there one you liked more than the other?" "Umm…yea, I'll take this one." he answered, handing her the drawing that was in his right hand. "Is there anything you wanted to change? Anything to add?" she asked. "It's perfect." he answered. She couldn't help the blush from forming on her cheeks again, she had never had someone react to her work the way that this man had. It gave her a strange feeling in her stomach, one could even call it butterflies.
"How is the size?" she asked. The sketch was around 14 inches wide and about 17 inches tall, she guessed when she saw his size initially, that this would be a nice fit for him. "The size is great." he told her. "Can we get started?" "Of course! I'll just go print this out and I'll be right back. If you wanna take your shirt off and take a seat we can get right to work." she told him, walking out the door.
"Alright, I just need to shave…you" she said walking back in the room, the last word coming out in barely a whisper. She had never seen a man with a body like this. She should have known by looking at him, that he would surely be very muscular. She had really underestimated what was underneath his shirt. He was heavily muscled. He had more muscles than Sansa thought a man could have. They suited him very well. She wondered to herself, what a body like his, could be capable of. She flushed at the thought. He noticed.
"What? Never seen a man before, Little Bird?" he asked her, laughing. This brought her attention back to the task at hand. "Of course I have." she answered, clearly not amused that he had been laughing at her. "I just haven't seen someone so hairy before! You're practically a beast." she quipped, smiling at the man. 'There, let's see what he has to say about that!' she thought to herself, proud of her witty response. He looked at her, with a mask of fake shock on his face. He clutched his hands to his chest, in the area over his heart and said, "You wound me Little Bird!" clearly amused with her jape. She was glad to see that he wasn't offended. She did not want to see this man's temper.
She smiled at him and got a fresh razor and some shave gel out of the cupboard. "Could you please straddle the chair? I think that'll be the most comfortable for you, we're gonna be at this for a while." she asked him. "Oh, is that what ye want me straddle?" he asked her, leaning towards her, with a smile on his face. She was speechless. She had just met this man, and he was already making jokes like this? She knew she was in for a long afternoon.
"I…um…I…"she stuttered. "Oh, don't get yer panties in a bunch. It was just a joke." he said, turning in the seat, so that he could lean forward against the backrest of the chair. She shook her head at the man, now that his back was turned, and looked up to the heavens above, praying for the patience to deal with this man today. Once the area on his back was completely shaved, she laid the stencil, and asked him to look in the mirror she had on the wall, to see if the positioning was alright. He was happy with its location, so he sat back down, straddling the chair. "Well then, here we go." she told him. She pressed her foot pedal down, dipped her gun in the black in, and began what was going to be a very interesting experience.
