7) Going places.

Arya

For the first time in a long time Arya was able to enjoy breakfast.

"Slow down, the food is not going to run away" her brother teased her.

"How's you back?" she asked him in between bites.

"Better. The arrows have been removed and the wounds cleaned. My leg's been sewn up as well. How about you? You've been on the run for a long time. All alone."

"I wasn't alone. I had friends."

"Where are they?"

"I had to leave them behind."

"We were worried about you."

"I know" she replied chewing a piece of cheese.

"Mother was very worried about you."

"I know."

"Nymeria helped her."

"I know."

"So I see. Not only did you lose weight during these months, but you've also lost your words."

"I'm eating."

Robb laughed at his sister's childish behaviour.

"It's good to have you back, but I guess some things never change."

"Well, some have. You got married."

"I did. And I almost lost everything for it."

"So, what's the moral of the story? Never get married?"

"No. Never break an oath."

"I made a promise…to someone. That we'd all be together soon. How can I not break that promise when Father's dead, Bran and Rickon are missing, Sansa is being kept in the capital and Jon is beyond the Wall?"

"How do you know Jon is beyond the Wall?"

"Ghost. You know it too" she challenged him

"And Bran and Rickon are alive. You know it too" he returned the challenge.

Arya took another bite of cake and said nothing for a few seconds.

"You're going out to Moat Cailin, aren't you?

"Yes. And you'll be returning to Riverrun with Mother" he warned her before she could get any ideas.

"GreyWind rides into battle with you. I saw him. Maybe you can take Nymeria with you too next time."

"What if we give her another mission?" Robb suddenly suggested and his eyes glowed.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're safe with us. You found us. But Bran and Rickon are still out there."

"Do you mean to send her to find Shaggydog and Bran's wolf?"

"Summer. He named him Summer" Robb nodded.

.

.

.

Catelyn

She felt safe back at Riverrun, but she felt empty. They had left the Twins behind, that accursed place. She had returned with her brother Edmure, Arya and Robb's wife. But her son had continued on with the war and had taken her uncle with him. She had gained a daughter but lost a son – momentarily, she reminded herself. And as much as she would prefer to deny it, she really missed Nymeria.

"She's on a mission" Arya had told her. And she really wanted Nymeria to succeed. Every day she asked Arya if she had had any contact. And everyday the answer was the same: she could sense them, but she had not caught up with them yet. The North was a vast and unforgiving territory.

But their eyes were not just turned to the North. News kept coming in from a different part of the realm: another wedding, another plot. King Joffrey had married but he had been killed that very same day. That could have been Robb.

"What does this mean for Sansa?" she wondered. But her daughter could not give her an answer. Without Sansa's wolf she had lost all connection to her sister. Edmure was always very supportive and kept promising they would rescue her. One day. Somehow. But it all remained an empty promise.

The reports they kept receiving were confusing and vague. Sansa has fled the capital. Sansa has been accused of Joffrey's death and imprisoned. Sansa and her husband, the Imp have escaped. Sansa and Tyrion Lannister have been executed for kingslaying. Who could make heads or tails of such mass of misinformation?

Yet, there was one letter that caught her attention. The wax seal was a mockingbird and it was addressed specifically to her, begging for an audience with her. It was the news she had been praying for. The message was the best news she had received since Arya had been returned to her. It was the messenger she feared: Petyr Baelish.

He claimed he meant well, but he had done that before. He claimed he only wanted to help, but he had done that before. He claimed to be a friend, but he had done that before. He claimed he still loved her, but he had done that before. She had believed him once and it had led to nothing but grief and sorrow. She had always prided herself on her good judgement, but Petyr Baelish had made her second guess that feeling. Nymeria and GreyWind were good at sniffing people for more than just their scent, and she could really use their input now. But neither was here.

Whatever her instincts and fears said about Petyr Baelish, it was his actions that mattered at the moment: he had come here and brought Sansa with him. That was all she needed to know about him. That was all she needed from him.

He pleaded with her to let him stay. He swore his eternal love for her. He insisted he only wanted what was best for her. But she took from him only what she wanted and nothing else.

"You lied to me, you betrayed me, you betrayed my husband and led him to his death. I can't prove any of this but I know it. I know it in my bones. You should rot in a dungeon for your crimes. Yet, you've done me one act of kindness and that is your only saving grace. Get out before I change my mind."

Those were the only words she had for him. She wasted not a single more minute on him. Her time was not for him but for her daughters. Plural, for the first time in a long time.

We'll all be together soon, a little voice inside her head kept promising.