They sailed along the Mander for several more days, before marching a few more, until finally sailing into King's Landing. The first time they came to the capital, they had come along the King's Road. The Red Keep was much more formidable from the depths of Blackwater Rush. Even worse, it was very easy to spot a ship sailing into your harbor, and there were several golden heads of hair waiting for them at the port. Even from the distance, Arya could spot Loras Tyrell among them. He looked less shiny than he had at her father's tournament, but he was certainly alive.
Sansa had realized several days earlier what was happening. She learned things rather slowly, but she did learn them. She was holding back tears best she could as the sight of House Lannister came into view, but they were streaming down her cheeks all the same. Arya felt a different urge entirely as she felt the eldest Tyrell step up beside her. "The day will come when you regret this," she told him.
"I already regret it, Arya," replied Willas. His voice was as even tempered as it always was, despite the situation they found themselves in. He was sailing into the lion's den and still his face was impassive. Arya wondered if he truly felt nothing, or if he had learned to hide it in a way that she would never be able. "This isn't what I wanted, this is what it had to be."
"I'll tell you the same when the day comes," she assured him before stepping back further into the ship. There was no avoiding their destination, but that didn't mean she had to stand there and watch as it grew closer.
The younger Stark sister was in shambles as she was helped off the ship, her face red and splotchy and her cheeks damp. Arya appeared considerably less moved. Mostly she just looked mutinous, as if she wanted nothing more than to hurl each and every Tyrell overboard to see how well they could swim. His hand flexed instinctively at the sight of her, hovering over his ribcage.
The wound she'd given him had healed. Or at least as well as a wound from a Valyrian dagger could. He'd bear that scar for the rest of his years and he would think of her every time he saw it. It seemed to make Cersei think of her, as well. He suspected that was why she asked to see him less often now.
He felt himself moving closer as she stepped onto the dock, the cripple close behind her. He was too far away to hear anything they might say to one another, and he wanted to hear every last syllable. It was a wonder how they had gone from what they were last he saw them to how they were now. The boy had loved her, he knew he had, but he had betrayed her all the same. What had changed in the months since he'd seen them last?
But she didn't seem to care about Willas Tyrell. Her eyes had landed on Sandor Clegane instead, on the way he seemed to favor one leg over the other, and she smiled. Her eyes searched for him next, hoping to find him as damaged as the Hound.
She seemed disappointed to find him whole, but not so disappointed she needed to avert her gaze. In fact, she seemed quite content to stare at him. A look in her eyes as if he had been the one to betray her instead of Willas Tyrell. Her attention was only stolen from him when his brother approached her. "Lady Stark," he greeted. She appeared less sure of how she felt about him, her eyes darting warily between Tyrion and the pin on his chest. The pin that had been her father's not so long ago. "Shall I escort you into the castle?"
"That hardly seems wise," Cersei said, observing the pair just as closely as he was. "You've seen what that little beast can do with a blade. What do you expect she'll do to a man of your stature?"
Tyrion turned his gaze from Cersei to Arya. "I'll take my chances," he said. "With both of them," he added, beckoning Sansa to follow.
"The King and his betrothed have many things to discuss," his sister interrupted, halting the younger Stark girl with no more than a glance. Tyrion looked as if he just might try to contest her on that. "Be grateful I'm letting you take that one."
Deciding to take a win where he could, Tyrion glanced at Arya again before walking away, expecting her to follow. What annoyed Jaime the most, out of everything, was that she did. She didn't hate Tyrion, not like she hated him. His little brother had somehow managed to weasel his way out of that one, despite being the one to have orchestrated the entire damn thing. The Tyrells had refused to even receive the envoy Cersei sent to Highgarden. Oh, but they had received Tyrion's.
Jaime wondered distantly if his brother would tell her the truth. If he would openly admit that he was the reason she was back in King's Landing. Likely not, he thought. Not for as long as the Stark girl favored him.
Her eyes were on him again as they passed by. Or rather, on the dagger at his hip. Her dagger. He could still remember the first time he saw her with it, her hands cut to shreds after protecting her brother from an assassin, and yet she had been practicing. Every hurt is a lesson, he could hear her telling him. And every lesson makes you better. He wondered if she still believed that.
And then she spoke. Her first words since arriving in King's Landing, and they were just for him. "Someday I'm going to shove that through your eye and out the back of your skull," she promised, her eyes flashing from the dagger up to his.
"Why wait?" he heard himself asking. He pulled her dagger from its sheath, and handed it towards her, hilt first.
"Jaime-" his brother protested, undoubtedly giving him the most disapproving look he could manage. Jaime didn't particularly care, and neither, apparently, did Arya. She lunged for it, desperate and angry, but he had expected this and moved it quickly out of her reach with a laugh.
That didn't deter her in the slightest. Instead she grabbed the hilt of his sword, getting it nearly halfway out of its sheath before Bronn had her three feet up in the air, doing what little he could to keep her there without hurting her as she kicked and flailed against him. There you are, Jaime thought. This was Arya Stark, not the calm, quiet girl that had stepped off the boat.
"Let me go!" she all but snarled, throwing her elbow up and back, straight into the sellsword's temple. Cursing, he dropped her, but caught her again before she could get too far. Jaime could hear Tyrion urging him to take her away, to get her as far from the source of her anger as possible, to get her away from him. "I'll kill him," he heard her say. He smiled as he watched them go, ignoring the tightness in his chest. "I'll kill him, let me-"
It was no easy thing to climb the many steps up to the Tower of the Hand. It was considerably more difficult when carrying a screaming, manic girl who had not stopped since they'd left the docks. She kicked against the walls, hurling Bronn backwards into the opposite. She threw her head back into his, leaving him with a bloody nose and split lip. Her nails tore into what little exposed skin he had. Had it been any other girl in Westeros, Bronn may have thrown her out one of the windows on the way up. As it were, he was thrilled to finally toss her to the ground in the Hand's chambers.
"That will be all," Tyrion murmured, dismissing him. Bronn gave him a look. The girl was clearly mental. Even now, she raged through his room, grabbing a pitcher of wine and hurling it at them. Bronn ducked, letting it shatter into the wall behind him as she moved to flip over his breakfast table next. "Go," he insisted.
Even without Bronn's presence, she did not calm. Perhaps, he thought, bringing her to Father's old chambers had not been the wisest step to pacify her. She continued her path of destruction until there seemed to be little left for her to destroy. Still, she was not satisfied, and instead turned her fury onto the very castle walls, hitting them again and again and again until the stones were stained red with her own blood.
Strength seeming to finally fail her, Tyrion watched as she slid down to the ground, her body concealed by an overturned armchair. He couldn't see her, but he could hear her. Her tiny, sharp gasps for air called to him and, against his better judgments, he followed them.
Her hands were slick with blood and they covered her face as she sat in the corner of his room, her body curled up as small as she could make it. She flinched as he put a hand on her shoulder, but did not immediately make to strike him. Considering this a good sign, he knelt beside her, letting his hand slide from her shoulder to her wrist, pulling her hands away from her face so he could replace them with his own, his thumbs wiping away the dampness on her cheeks.
Two words from his brother had been all it took to take the stoic girl on the ship to the mess that sat in front of him now. What, he wondered, would it take from him to put her back together? As she leaned into him, burying her face in the crook of his neck, Tyrion thought he would be willing to give just about anything to find out.
A/N: Kind of a short chapter, but it was quick and it's got a fair bit of content to it. Yes, feel free to ignore me justifying my short chapters. :P
Casual question for you guys reading: how do you feel about ships? Like … does it bother you when a character has too many ships going on, how many do you consider too many, are you a hopeless romantic and enjoy all of the ships? I have so many characters I want to write Arya with, but I don't want to overload. Tell me your thoughts! 3
Special thanks to:
Indigo Cain: I love Sansa too! :'( Sometimes I feel bad making her do dumb things, but it was very in character for her in the beginning. Now I feel like I need to write a Sansa story to give her redemption from this one! :P
Andi: Lmao at reluctantly … I guess I'm glad you liked it? Thanks for the review!
Lauren Bull: Don't you worry one bit about it! Of course I love your reviews, but I completely understand needing to put work first. Trust me …. I really know. :'( This is why my chapters take so long hahaha. I hope everything is going awesome for you with that stuff!
As for Willas … don't worry. Arya Stark doesn't forget a grudge. :P
Mirrormarie: You are so right - King's Landing chapters are always my favorite to write. The Lannisters are just naturally dramatic people, so they make for the most exciting characters. Thanks for the review, hope you continue to enjoy!
RedSabbath: Noooooo I won't kill Sansa! I need to write her doing something smart soon so you guys stop wanting her dead. :P Jaime/Arya is the BEST ship! Thank you for the review! :)
372259: Hahahahah your review had me loling. I love that you take things that happen in the story so personally. I also love that the Tyrells being shitheads surprised you! I didn't want it to be too predictable that it was coming. And don't worry … Arya is all about that vengeance. Even in an AU, it wouldn't feel right to not let her want that. She will get some down the line.
I'm so glad you also want Aegon to just take over because like … same. :P I feel you about wanting Tyrion/Arya as friendship only, but he's definitely a ship. I'm on a weird Tyrion kick lately and my poor boy deserves some proper love, damn it! Thank you for the review, I hope you continue to get angry about what the characters do! :P 3
Arya xD: What a nice freaking review! Thank you so much! 3 Ned is … unfortunately … so easy to write in character. You just gotta make him do the dumbest thing possible. :P
WhiteDragonWarrior: Heeeeyyy thank you for joining the story! I'm glad you're finding things interesting so far, and hope you continue to! :)
FavFan: Here is your answer for how things go! :P I hope you continue to enjoy!