Author's Note: This one was hell to write.
Arya
Arya grinned at the wind blowing through her hair as she ran through the long grass that surrounded the the edges of the Trident. She and Mycah had left the camp hours ago to play, despite the protest of her sister. Sansa seemed to have grown doubly irriatiting ever since they had left Winterfell. She was being fueled by the praises of Prince Joffery and Queen Cersei, and ever since they had passed The Neck Sansa seemed to spend almost all of her time surrounded by Lannister knights always hanging off of Joffery's arm. When the Queen had invited both, Arya and her sister to spend the day in the royal carriage and she refused, Sansa had almost dragged her to them, but Sansa was a Lady and would never do such a thing.
So instead, Arya had taken Mycah and Nymeria up to the Ruby Ford, where King Robert had slain Prince Rhaegar. It was there that Arya had challenged Mycah to a duel with sticks. As it turned out Mycah, for all his weight and ragged clothes, was quite agile and had sent Arya in to retreat and she was now on the run, Nymeria at her side and Mycah on her heels. She ran out into a clearing next to the river and turned back to Mycah her stick held out in front. Mycah pressed the attack. His stick a flurry of wood and bark, but Arya was matching him blow for blow. Finally, she lunged out at Mycah, but he caught her stick with his own, swept it aside, and slid his wood down hard on her fingers. She cried out and lost her weapon.
Over by some trees, on the edge of the clearing a voice laughed out. Mycah looked around, wide-eyed and startled, and dropped his stick in the grass. Arya glared at them, sucking on her knuckles to take the sting out, and saw her sister, Sansa and Joffery on horseback. "Arya?" her sister called out."Go away," Arya shouted back at them, angry tears in her eyes. "Leave us alone." Joffrey glanced from Arya to Sansa and back again. "Your sister?" Sansa nodded, blushing. Joffrey examined Myca, his nose upturned. "And who are you, boy?" he asked in a commanding tone. "Mycah," he answered. He recognized the prince and averted his eyes, "M'lord." Arya glarred at the prince "He's my friend," she said sharply. "You leave him alone."
"A butcher's boy who wants to be a knight, is it?" Joffrey swung down from his mount, sword in hand. "Pick up your sword, butcher's boy," he said, his eyes bright with amusement. "Let us see how good you are." Mycah stood there, frozen with fear. Joffrey walked toward him. "Go on, pick it up. Or do you only fight little girls?" Mycah had tears welling up in his eyes,"She ast me to, m'lord," Mycah said. "She ast me to." Ayrya could smell the stink of wine coming off of the prince "Are you going to pick up your sword?" Mycah shook his head. "It's only a stick, m'lord. It's not no sword, it's only a stick." Joffrey lifted his sword and laid its point on Mycah's cheek below the eye, as the butcher's boy stood trembling. "That was my lady's sister you were hitting, do you know that?" And bright blood blossomed where his sword pressed into Mycah's flesh, and a slow red line trickled down the boy's cheek. "Stop it!" Arya screamed. She grabbed up her fallen stick. Sansa's voice trembled as she told her sister, "Arya, you stay out of this." "I won't hurt him . . . much," Prince Joffrey told Arya, never taking his eyes off the butcher's boy.
Arya laid into him.
There was a loud crack as the wood split against the prince's head. Joffrey staggered and whirled around, roaring curses. Mycah ran for the trees as fast as his legs would take him. Arya swung at the prince again, but this time Joffrey caught the blow on Lion's Tooth and sent her broken stick flying from her hands. His head was all bloody and his eyes were on fire. Sansa was shrieking, "No, no, stop it, stop it, both of you, you're spoiling it," but no one was listening. Arya scooped up a rock and hurled it at Joffrey's head. She hit his horse instead, and the animal reared and went galloping off after Mycah. "Stop it, don't, stop it!" Sansa screamed. Joffrey slashed at Arya with his sword, screaming obscenities, terrible words, filthy words. There was brown blur that swept passed Sansa, silencing her cries. Arya raised her hands as the prince swung his sword down to her face, but the strike never came.
The clang of metal striking metal vibrated in the air around them. Arya looked up at her savior, the Prince Bruce astride his horse looking down at them both the lion head drooped over his brow. His sword was held out holding Joffery's in place above Arya's head. He pushed against the prince sending him staggering backwords and dismounted his horse, placing himself in between Arya and Joffery. "What's this Joff? I thought you got the Hound to take on innocents for you?" Joffery growled at his brother, spitting fire and venom "Get out of here, Bruce! I'm teatching her a lesson." Arya's betrothed narrowed his eyes and smiled, "I can't let you do that Joff. It's my duty as your brother to stop little girls hurting you. Especially their wolves."
Arya looked down to see Nymeria's head poking out in between Bruce's legs, fangs beared and growling. The Crown Prince's legs seemed quiver and he swung out in fury at his brother, he knocked the strike aside with ease and delivered his own slash catching, Joffery's shoulder. The elder prince yelled out clutching at the shallow cut and swung out again harder, Bruce batted it away again and cut down through his brother's thigh. Joffery had tears in his eyes and swore violently at his brother, this time he tried to swing down at his brother's head. His blade was caught and rather than forcing it away, Bruce ducked beneath their blades and stepped behind his brother and shoulder him to the floor, his head landing at Nymeria's feet. Arya looked to the younger prince; a grin of satisfaction on his face, the large black welt beneath his eye had turned a more greenish yellow. He had scarcely broken a sweat where as Joffery now had a red face to match his father's. Though he wore a smile Arya could see the purley loathsome energy blazing from his eyes. He had waited a long time for this.
Tears now streamed down Joffery's face in bucket loads. Arya giggled at what the future king had been reduced to. He seemed to notice when he pushed himself up and spat, "You think this is funny?!" and slashed out at her. The point of Joffery's sword tore through Arya's chest catching ribs and bone as it went. Arya yelped and Sansa screamed out at blood glithering through the air. Nymeria looked back to her mistress as she fell down backward and jumped up and latched herself to Joffery's sword arm.
Arya did not see what happened next, as she hit the soft earth but she did heard enough to tell it wasn't good. She made out the screaming of Joffery and the growling and barking of her direwolf. Her sister was screaming louder than Arya had ever heard her do before. She regognised the loud swearing as that of the younger of the two princes and the wailing of scared horses.
Then there was a deafening silence. Arya looked up to catch a final glimce of Sansa and Joffery fleeing the scene. Bruce stood looking to see them run, then he turned and stroe toward her, casting offhis lion head cloak. "Where did he cut, you?" Arya's hand ran across her chest till she felt the stick, damp of her blood and showed it to the prince. He began unbuttoning his leather jerkin and Arya frowned at him "What are you doing?" her voice shook as more blood began to seep out. The prince pulled the white wool shirt over his head, "I need something to stop you bleeding out." and with his hand leaned her forward as he began to tie the shirt around her chest. Arya was blushing hard and struggled to speak, "Where's Nymeria?" the prince didn't answer, but instead walked away from her and whistled for his horse.
As the animal began to approach he pulled back on his leather jerkin, she asked him again and he continued to ignore her as he walked the horse over to her, picking up the lion cloak as he did. She demanded an answer from him as he picked her up and placed her on the horse. As Bruce mounted the horse behind Arya she caught sight of the direwolf pup laying in the soft grass. Her mouth was bloodied and fangs dripping red, she whimpered softly looking at Arya with sad eyes. Arya tried to go to her but Bruce kicked off as she move, he kept his arms locked around her to stop her from jumping off , but she kicked and screamed anyway. Bruce kept on riding.