Arya

"You know the plan?" her mother asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes, Mother. Don't worry."

"Worrying about you is my job."

Arya smiled. "I know."

They rode into the gates of Casterly Rock and were greeted by servants who took their horses to be fed. One of them tried to take Nymeria, and Arya shook her head. "She stays with me."

They were escorted to rooms, and Arya sat by the door, watching through the slit in the frame. Her mother was eventually escorted out of her room by a guard, and she knew that this was her moment. As soon as they were out of sight, Arya slipped out the door, Nymeria by her side. She found the men who had accompanied them and told them it was time, then slipped off alone again, down the corridors to the castle's main hall.

When she reached the room, her mother was standing in front of Tywin Lannister, guards surrounding her closely. Arya stood by the door, waiting for the right moment.

"Lady Stark," he said.

"Lord Lannister."

"I was pleased that you accepted my offer."

"I thought it wise to try and put this feud behind us."

"Yes, quite right. Well, it's unbecoming of a lady to stand for so long. Guards, get her a seat."

The guards started scrambling around the room, and Arya took her chance, running in through the door and crouching behind Lord Tywin.

When her mother sat in the chair they had brought her, she caught Arya's eye.

Lord Tywin shifted slightly in his seat, and Arya held her breath. "Before we begin, Lady Stark, I do have one question."

"Yes?"

"Why were some of your men found to be making their way towards this room?"

"I couldn't say, my lord." Her composure was remarkable; one might not know she was nervous at all. But Arya felt her heart leap into her throat; he was onto them. She had to act quickly.

"It seems they were expecting a fight. And why is that?"

Before her mother could reply, Arya leapt up, aiming her blade at Tywin Lannister's neck.

She couldn't tell if it made an impact or not before the guard's arms were around her. She heard Nymeria growling at the guards, but it was too late. "No, Nymeria," she said. She wouldn't have her wolf die on her account.

His arms squeezed more and more tightly around her, and stars danced in front of her eyes.

Sansa

Sansa put on her best smile when she saw Lady Margaery and her grandmother in the garden. "Hello," she said. "You must be Lady Olenna?"

The Queen of Thorns smiled at Sansa, and she felt a bit of a chill. This woman had used her as a pawn in Joffrey's murder, had set her up to likely die to achieve her ends. "Indeed. And you're Sansa Stark, yes?"

"Yes."

"A pleasure to meet you."

"And you. I assume you've come to the capital for the wedding?"

"That I have."

"An exciting affair."

"Indeed it is. Who would have thought? Robert, getting married again."

"Who would have thought Queen Cersei would do such a thing?"

"It was truly a horrific crime," Sansa said. "I'm glad my father discovered the truth in time to do something about it."

"As is all of Westeros." Especially her and her family, who benefited greatly from this.

"I'm excited for the wedding," Sansa said.

"A royal wedding is an extravagant affair."

"You've been to one before?"

"More than one, in my time."

"You mean the Targaryens?"

"Yes."

Sansa wondered if there was anything she could do with that angle, but then Jory ran up to her. "Lady Sansa! Your father has requested your presence, immediately."

"What is it, Father?" she asked, pushing open the door to his chambers.

"Nothing good." He looked afraid, more afraid than she had ever seen him. It put her on edge.

"Well, you'll have to be a bit more specific than that."

"I received a letter from your uncle Edmure."

"What did it say?"

"It informed me that Bran has arrived safely at Riverrun."

"That's good news, isn't it?"

"Yes, that part is. He also informed me that your mother and sister are no longer in Riverrun."

Sansa didn't like the sound of that, but she kept her face calm. Surely Arya knew what she was doing. "Did it say where they'd gone?"

"Casterly Rock. Apparently Lord Tywin wanted to negotiate."

Sansa felt a chill run through her. "Mother's not stupid enough to fall for that!" And neither was Arya. What was she thinking?

"The letter implied they had some sort of plan. Some way to... well, I don't know. They knew the invitation was a trap, they seemed to think they could get out of it."

Arya was planning to kill Tywin Lannister. That was the only explanation. But why would Mother have agreed to go along with her? There was only one explanation Sansa could see; Arya had told their mother the truth about their journey through time. Arya was a skilled assassin, but could even she pull this off? "You have to ride for Casterly Rock," she said. "You have to take an army."

"I can't declare war on the Lannisters in their home territory."

"If you don't then they'll die!"

"Tywin Lannister is many things, Sansa, but he isn't stupid. If he harms your mother or your sister he knows what it will bring."

"What more could it bring than what he's already done? He's harboring his children and grandchildren, he's attacked the North, if the king gets word of this he'll send an army their way."

"Which is why the king can't get word of any of this. If Lord Tywin is holding them captive, and we march an army to his gates, then he'll kill them. He wants to bargain them. Probably for a pardon for his children."

"Would King Robert pardon the Lannisters for such a grave insult, Father? Even to save Mother and Arya?"

He didn't reply, but she saw the answer on his face.

"What do we do, then?"

"I don't know. But you need to be careful, Sansa. Don't trust anyone."

"Don't worry," she said. "I don't."

Robb

Robb frowned. "That doesn't make sense."

"Our scouts are rarely wrong, my lord."

"But why? Why would the troops just retreat so suddenly?"

"If they'd been ordered to, perhaps. By their lord."

"Why would Tywin Lannister give up?"

"I don't know. But the Lannisters have all gone, and the Boltons are already being beaten back. It appears that Winterfell is safe. The North is safe."

But the North had never been the goal. It had only been the distraction. There was a long game being played, and Robb felt unease creep into him. Something was wrong. Tywin Lannister had gotten what he wanted, somehow. He may not have taken the North, but what had he done to their family?

Arya

She blinked her eyes open, but she was still in darkness. She was sitting against something, though she couldn't tell what. When she tried to move, she felt the hard metal against her wrist, and realized that she was in the dungeon. Glancing around, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, she noticed that the cell was fairly large, large enough for two people, certainly. But she was alone.

"Mother?" she called into the darkness, but there was no reply.

Her mother wasn't here, her direwolf wasn't here, her family wasn't here. And the worst part, she thought ruefully, was that she had brought this on herself.