Author's Note: Hey everyone, I know I owe all of you one huge apology. And I am sorry. A couple of years ago I lost someone very close to me in the month of April, and I didn't realize it would still affect me the way it has this year. So, in all honesty, I haven't been in the mood to write as much as I usually do. Hopefully I'll be back to my normal self in a couple of days. I'm sorry this isn't that long of a chapter and there's no real Theon/Arya interaction, or any real action really. But I felt it was a scene that needed to happen. I was originally intending it to be part of the next chapter. But this was all I was able to write over the past few weeks and I wanted to get something up to assure you all that I have not abandoned this story. Again, I am sorry about the wait! I hope the next update will be up on Friday or Saturday.

Chapter 21

The days passed slowly as they traveled the toward the Eyrie. The road had become more and more difficult to traverse as the terrain became rockier as they made their way into the foothills. And as they had left the dangers of the random patrols of Frey men in the Riverlands, they were coming to a place where wild and scattered hill tribes liked to harass travelers on the road. They were all on high alert and Theon found himself happy for the extra two people who had joined their little group. He just hoped that Brienne of Tarth could use that fancy sword she wore at her hip and that Podrick could swing the ax that he carried.

But that didn't mean that Theon trusted them. He knew that Arya and Olyvar felt the same way, they had whispered about their misgivings to each other when they thought Brienne and Podrick were out of earshot. They had all come to the same conclusion, that their new traveling companions were hiding something.

"I know that you must find it difficult to trust us." Brienne said to Arya out of the blue. "After what you have been through, I cannot say that I blame you."

It was on the fifth day they had all been traveling together. Arya and Brienne had been walking side by side. Podrick and Olyvar were ahead of them, walking the horses and talking quietly amongst themselves. Theon walked behind women, most of his attention was focused on spotting any potential threat along the road. But his ears picked up what Brienne had said to Arya and his interest was piqued, perhaps the tall woman was about to open up.

In response to Brienne's question, Arya just lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "You're right," was her simple reply and kept silent for a few moments as they continued to walk forward. "Trust has to be earned. As yet, you have done nothing to earn mine."

"Your mother trusted me." Briene commented.

"Just because you had her trust, does not mean that mine would be given to you freely." Arya said.

Again there was silence as Brienne allowed herself to process what Arya said. "And what must I do to earn this trust?" She finally asked.

Arya couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Well, you could start by telling me the truth."

"I have never lied to you," Brienne started to protest.

Arya turned her head slightly so she could give Brienne a pointed look, while still being able to pay attention to where she walked. "No, perhaps you haven't. But you aren't telling me everything either. I'm not stupid. You have spoken openly about your time on Renly Baratheon's King's guard, you even admit that you saw, what you think was a shadow that bore Stannis's face, kill Renly. You also don't mind talking about most of what you did in service to my mother. But whenever we ask you about your time on the road with Jaime Lannister and your time in King's Landing, you're hesitant to give too many details. I'm also observant. Don't think I haven't noticed that you carry a Valyrian steel blade and that the hilt just happens to have a lion's head on it. There are not many houses that can afford such a fine weapon, but the Lannisters can. You'll have to forgive me if I cannot believe this is all just a big coincidence. So you can see why it might be difficult to believe that you have, mine or my sister's, best interests at heart."

The young Stark girl had a point, Brienne couldn't deny that. "If you don't mine my asking," she said with just a hint of frustration, "why is it that you allowed Podrick and I to travel with you, if you don't trust our intentions?"

Ayra lifted her shoulders in a causal shrug. "Like you said, my mother trusted you, that's why you get the benefit of the doubt. It also lets me keep an eye on you, we're both looking for my sister, and I don't want to take the risk of you finding her first."

Brienne nodded her head, obviously agreeing with Arya's logic. "If I answered some of your questions, would I earn a bit of your trust?"

"It would be a start." Arya said.

Brienne fell into a silence, she knew she would have to choose her words carefully. It was several moments before she said anything, and Theon, who had been listening to the entire conversation curiously, wondered if she would even open her mouth again. Finally Brienne abruptly stopped walking, forcing Arya to do the same. Theon walked the few steps forward so that he could stand next to Arya. He let out a loud whistle to get Olyvar's attention.

When the Frey boy looked back and saw that the other three had stopped, he brought Podrick and himself to a halt as well. Olyvar looked at Theon, the unasked question, 'is everything alright?' written plainly across his face. Theon nodded his head in reassurance and Olyvar knew that when the three of them finished their discussion, they would make there way to him and Podrick. So while they waited, he would continue to engage Podrick in small talk.

After the silent exchange with Olyvar was over, Theon and Arya looked expectantly at Brienne. There was a brief of tension, when Brienne reached for the hilt of her sword and then slid the blade out of its sheath. But before Arya could even think about reaching for Needle or Theon the dagger (taken from a dead Frey man back in the Riverlands) that he wore at his belt, Brienne simply held her sword in front her, the blade parallel to Arya and Theon. It seemed like she wanted to give them a chance to really look at it.

"Do you know what I named this sword when Jaime Lannister gave it to me?" Brienne asked the obvious rhetorical question carefully. She did not expect an answer, but she knew that the name of the gift bearer would cause them alarm, and she was not surprised when they took their attention away from the sword to look up at her sharply.

"Jaime Lannister gave you this sword?" Theon asked, his voice dripping with suspicion. "Why?"

"He hoped I would be able to use it to defend Sansa Stark." She answered truthfully.

"Do you mean to find her and then bring her back to King's Landing?" Arya asked bitterly. "Were you going to present Theon and I as an added bonus gift when you gave Sansa back to the Lannisters?"

"I have no intention of taking anyone back to the Lannisters." Brienne said truthfully. "Jaime knew I would never bring Sansa back to King's Landing. I made an oath to your mother, that I would keep Sansa safe, he also made an oath to look after her safety. After Joffrey was killed, Tywin Lannister and the Queen were adamant about finding her because they thought that she had something to do with the murder. He knew she wouldn't be safe anywhere near his family."

"So he gave you a sword to find her and keep her safe?" Asked Theon full of disbelief.

"Among other things, but yes he did give me the sword for that reason." Brienne answered as she lowered the sword and returned it to its sheath.

"Why would he do that?" Arya snapped, she had hard time reconciling the man Brienne was talking about and the man who she had met so long ago back at Winterfell. The man who had pushed her younger brother out a window in order to keep his disgusting secrets.

"When your mother charged me with the task of seeing him back to King's Landing, we were captured by some of Roose Bolton's men, and as punishment for having a loud mouth, Jaime lost his sword hand." Brienne didn't feel the need to go into more detail. "I think he thought when that was taken from him, he lost the best part of himself and he was forced to really look at who he was. He did not like what he saw. I think he asked me to go looking for Sansa so he could restore some of the honor he lost over the years."

"Is that even possible?" Arya spat out.

Brienne let out a small sigh, "I'm not asking that you believe him to be a changed man, ultimately this is not about him. It's about me, and to some extent Podrick, and whether or not you can trust us. I told you who gave the sword to me, I could have come up with a story about how I got it, I did not have to tell you the truth. But I did."

For a few moments no one said anything. Both Theon and Arya seemed to be contemplating her story. They could not bring themselves to accept what she said about Jaime Lannister turning over a new leaf. However, it did cross their minds that maybe she believed him to be a changed man. While that might make her a terrible judge of character, it didn't mean that she was a liar and they found themselves believing her when she said she was looking for Sansa to fulfill an oath that she gave Lady Catelyn Stark.

Finally, Theon was the first to speak, "what did you name the sword?" He asked, bringing the conversation back to her rhetorical question. "I would have thought that most Valyrian steel swords that fine would already have had a name."

Brienne shifted uncomfortably. "This one is a fairly new blade, given to Jaime by his father." She said quietly.

Arya's eyes narrowed, she knew that Valyrian steel was rare, and no one alive knew how to forge a new Valyrian steel weapon. But she did know that there were some smiths who knew how to reforge the steel. "And where did Tywin Lannister get the steel to make this 'new' sword?" The pit that had formed in her stomach told her that she had a suspicion of what the answer might be.

Theon must have guessed, too. "Ice." The name of the Stark's ancestral sword slipped out of his mouth in a bitter whisper. No one had ever told them what might have happened to the great sword that had been the in the Stark family for hundreds of years. He could feel Arya's body stiffen next to him.

Brienne wore an apologetic look as he nodded her head to affirm what Theon had said.

"Ice was much bigger." Arya said, her voice seemed void of any emotion. "Did Tywin have another smaller weapon made?"

"I believe he had another made and gave it to Joffrey as a wedding present." Brienne answered reluctantly. "I would assume that it was passed down to King Tommen now."

"Of course." Arya responded mechanically. She knew she should be furious, that her blood should be boiling. Instead she felt herself go numb. She couldn't even bring herself to be surprised that Tywin Lannister would destroy anything that was dear to the Stark family.

Theon looked at her, concern written across his face. "Arya…" he started as he reached for her hand.

"I'm okay, Theon." Arya answered him. She turned to look him in the eyes, hoping to give him some reassurance. "I…I just need some time." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before she pulled away from him. Without so much as another word she started to walk towards Olyvar and Podrick, who were patiently waiting for the rest of them.

Before Arya got too far, Brienne addressed her. "Arya, Jaime Lannister thought it would be fitting that a weapon forged from the sword that belonged to your family for generations would be used to protect your sister. I named the sword Oathkeeper." She said finally revealing the swords name. "I will use this sword to keep my oath to your mother to keep your sister safe. And now I'm extending that vow to you. I swear that in my hand this sword will keep you and your surviving family safe, even if it means I have to give up my life."

Arya turned back to Brienne as she spoke to her. She managed to give the woman a small smile. "Thank you."

Theon frowned as he watched her walk away, not sure if her lack of emotion was a good thing or a bad thing. For now he would give her her space. With a sigh, he looked up at Brienne, who also seemed concerned for the Stark girl. "She'll be okay." He couldn't tell if he was trying to reassure Brienne or himself.

Author's Note:

To danceegirl92: My plans for Sansa and Baelish will be coming out in the next couple of chapters. I don't want to give away too much though.

To ConsistentlyRandom21: Thank you, always good to know I can offer a few surprises now and then. :)

To jean d'arc: No Hound, at least not in this particular story. I would like to write him at some point though.

To Suzy87: Thank you very much. Some of that stuff you hope happens… well… you'll see. Hopefully sooner rather than later, I will work to get these chapters up faster.

To LocalXmusicXjellybeanX: I thank you profusely for all the reviews you've left.

To Manu Ventimiglia: Thank you you for reading! I love that you love it!

To emilystark713: Thank you, I'm so sorry update too so long. I hope you didn't lose faith that I would get another chapter out. Another one will come shortly. I'm feeling my itch to write come back.

To my French Speaking reviewer: Olyvar is completely part of Arya and Theon's pack! I have one more little small part of a chapter with them on the road, so they won't have to worry about the dangers of the road for very much longer. If it helps the actor I kind of picture as Olyvar, is Logan Lerman, so you can reference him rather than Loras's Olyvar.

To the two anon guests: I'm sorry I waited so long to update. I will try my hardest to not let it happen again! Thank you both!