AN: This was supposed to be one of those cute Arya/Aegon drabbles, but somehow the moment I started writing, it turned into... THIS. (You'll see what I mean when you get to the last part of the chapter.) I'm sorry, my brain totally betrayed me XD
Also, I almost forgot to mention: this is a prequel of sorts to Chapter 4 (Closer to the Edge), with a few tweaks.
For the prompt: Aegon meets Arya in the woods while she's traveling with her wolves
The air was chilly that day, and by the time Aegon got separated from his men, he was shivering. He wrapped his cloak tightly around himself and exhaled, his breath steaming in the cold air. Winter is coming; that's what Jon would say if he were here.
Aegon dismounted. He tried to retrace his tracks, hoping it would lead him back to camp, but the snow was pouring heavily now, and it made it impossible for him to see anything beyond the white vastness of the field and the towering trees overhead. He was well and truly screwed now.
He silently cursed himself for his foolishness. All he had wanted was a few minutes alone away from his men and Jon's near-permanent somber mood, but now with the way things were going, he would be lucky if he ever made it through these woods alive. It would be dark soon, and with it came the terrible things men could only speak of when in front of an open fire, a warm mug of ale safely in their hands. For the night is dark and full of terrors, Aegon thought to himself, reciting something he'd heard one of the new recruits say.
He walked for what seemed like hours. The cold seeped into his bones and stole whatever warmth was left in his body, and several times he almost stumbled and fell. But finally, by some miracle of the gods, he reached a clearing. And in that clearing, he came across a most unusual sight.
There was a girl lying asleep in the snow – with hair as dark as the night sky and skin as white as honeyed milk – and by her side was a direwolf. They looked like something straight out of the pages of a fairy tale, Aegon couldn't help but think, and without meaning to, he stepped forward.
At the sound of twigs snapping, the girl's eyes flew open. Both girl and wolf stared at him, and something about the way they did so gave him pause. The she-wolf – the one who looked so much like Ghost – growled upon seeing him, but one touch from her mistress and she immediately stilled.
Aegon swallowed. "P-pardon the intrusion," he began to say. "I was just passing through... I mean you no harm. Truly."
The girl assessed him with cool grey eyes (why did he have a feeling he had seen those eyes before) and said, "Are you lost?"
"I… Well, I'm…" Aegon licked his lips, his cheeks turning pink in a way that had nothing to do with the cold. "That depends on your definition of lost… But... what about you? What's a girl like you doing out here in the middle of nowhere? The war is far from over, my lady, and it isn't safe to travel in these woods alone."
She smiled at him, a smile that chilled the blood in his veins and froze him in his tracks. "Who says I'm traveling alone?" she whispered.
As if on cue, dozens of eyes shone in the empty space behind her, and before Aegon knew it, there were wolves all around him – wolves of every color and size, some with blood on their muzzles, some with fangs bared, their sharp teeth gleaming like knives in the surrounding sea of forest grass and winter snow. And somehow, they were all staring at him as though he was about to be dinner.
Goosebumps prickled his skin. With eyes wide and his heart in his throat, he asked her, "Who are you?"
She shrugged. "I'm just a girl trying to find my way back home," she murmured. "Who are you?"
"I'm…" He paused. "I'm a sellsword. From the Golden Company. And now…uh…if you'll excuse me… I must get back to my companions…"
Aegon slowly backed away. He didn't care if he ended up wandering around the forest in circles, hungry, alone, and with no way to get back to camp. Even that would be preferable to getting mauled to death by a rabid pack of hungry wolves.
Before he could get much further though, the giant direwolf leapt and landed on his chest, knocking him backwards into the ground. When he looked up, the girl had unsheathed a mean-looking dagger and was pointing it straight at him.
"You're a foolish man," she told him, "if you think you can lie to a girl with an army of wolves at her back and get away with it." She pressed her blade against his cheek and whispered in his ear, "Now let's try this again, shall we? Who are you?"
"I… I…"
"I've no wish to harm you," she said, almost regretfully. "So please, do not give me cause to do so. I've killed enough men as it is. But first… I must be certain. If you are who I think you are…"
"Wait, stop! Stay right where you are and drop your weapon!"
The girl whirled around, her face a blank mask of indifference, but when she caught a glimpse of the man who had addressed her, her composure broke. She gasped and with trembling hands, dropped her weapon.
What happened next was a complete mystery to Aegon. With a sudden burst of speed, the woman ran and crossed the field in half, heedless of the arrow pointed at her chest. "Jon!" was all the warning she said before she threw herself in the stranger's arms and burst into tears. "Oh, Jon. It is you! I thought I'd never see you again!"
At the sound of her voice, all the confusion left Jon Snow's face. Within moments, he too, quickly let go of his weapon.
Aegon watched the scene in disbelief. The girl was laughing and crying and hugging his half-brother with all her might, and to make matters even more absurd, Jon was not pulling away. In fact, he looked – dare he say it – happy. Happier than Aegon had seen him in months. And… Seven Hells, were those actual tears in Jon's eyes? Since when did his brother cry?
"What… What in gods' name is going on?" Aegon wanted to know.
The girl smiled through her tears and spared him a glance. "I told you I was trying to find my way home, didn't I?" she said. "Well, it seems like my quest is finally at an end."
Aegon frowned. "But I don't… I don't understand…"
"Can't you see?" she replied, tightening her grip on Jon. "I am home."
