Chapter 25: Death and the Faceless One
The halls of Winterfell was awakened that night with screams and wails from Arya Stark's room. It was a shrill and angry howl that rang through the whole castle, making Rickon rush to his sister's side. He found her sitting her bed, clutching the furs, in tears and wailing. He sat beside her an embrace Arya, whispering words of comfort on to her ear. "Hush sister, I am here," he repeated over and over until she calmed a little. It was rare for Arya to cry, that much he remembered of her- let alone cry like this. She began pounding onto his chest, as she spoke inaudible curses at something he could not make out what. Rickon tightened his hold on her and began stroking her long brown hair. She calmed for a moment, enough to push him a bit to look into his face. She had a dazed look with her eyes filled with tears as she continued to sob. "Robb," she said, "how does it feel to die?"
Rickon could not answer. Arya was delirious and he did not know what to do.
"Does it hurt? Or does it feel good to die?" she kept on asking in between wails and bursts of tears.
"Are mother and father with you?" Arya was getting more inconsolable as Rickon refused to answer any of her questions. "Father! Mother! Robb! Syrio! Jory! Micah!," she shouted as she pounded strongly into his chest. She was strong and Rickon felt it with each blow. She continued to murmur names, most of whose he did not know and then she stopped and whimpered. "Gendry… Gendry…" she said softly before wailing once more.
"Hush sister, we're still here with you. It's me Rickon," he begged her as he held onto her tightly. "Bran, Sansa, Jon and I are still alive. Please stay with us Arya! Don't give up on us," he begged with all his heart. Rickon felt like a 6 year old boy again, desperately praying for his loved ones to return home even though he knew though would not.
Then suddenly, Arya stopped sobbing and mindlessly began repeating names. "Sansa, Bran, Rickon, Jon, Dany, Aegon, Blackfish…" and she went on ending it with "Valar…" and screaming instead of proceeding. "I refuse! I refuse to be no one!" she whispered to an unknown being.
"You are Arya Stark sister, you will never be no one," Rickon replied rocking his sister back and forth, trying to lull her back to sleep. She went on with the names for another good deal of time before she fell into exhaustion. Rickon tucked her back in bed and held her hand.
"Don't worry sister, we'll make it through this," he promised her.
As Rickon stood and made his way to the door, he found Summer waiting for him at the door. He knew Bran was calling for him. Rickon nodded and then commanded Shaggydog to stay with Arya as he went with Summer.
Arya had calmed down when Rickon left. Her consciousness had drifted into a place in between her body and Nymeria's- a limbo where wargs get lost. She felt cold and filled with anguish. It was no longer emptiness or numbness that predominated in her heart but a deep, searing pain.
"Robb's gone," she said as she continued to whimper. "Everyone leaves."
"Valar Morghulis… Valar Morghulis…" she kept on repeating, not expecting anyone to respond. Then she heard a coin flipping in the distance but coming towards her.
"Valar Dohaeris, Arya Stark," replied a deep familiar voice.
"Jaqen H'aghar," she said, raising her head to see her visitor. But instead of the man she knew, a figure dressed in the kindly man's clothes came before her holding the golden coin.
"No, I am no one, but at some point in time I was known to you as Jaqen H'aghar."
"What do you want? Have you come to take me?" Arya dared her old friend. She did want anything more but to die or at least to be lost in nothingness.
"I can do that, but I shant. If you wish to receive the gift, you must do it yourself. I am merely here to give you an option."
"An option?" Arya stood up, intrigued by the proposition.
"Yes, Arya Stark. You were, up to the time you left the order, a good servant of death. But you have used your skills for you own vengeance. As you have delivered all the names you wished to offer to the Stranger, it is time that we collect payment."
"So Gendry's life was payment for all the lives I took?"
"The life of your friend is of no concern to us, what we wish is your life, Arya Stark."
"But I thought you weren't here to kill me."
"No I am not, I am here to ask you a question to which you know the answer to," Jaqen paused and lifted his arm, and took a cup from its sleeve. "Who are you?" he said as he handed her the cup.
"I am…" Arya was about to answer, but she could not. She felt a snout nudging on her face- a direwolf, one of her brother's.
"I'll leave you know with this cup, Arya Stark. Valar Morghulis…" and he disappeared, leaving only the cup in her hands, and a coin in his place.