The journey which should have taken months was over in a mere matter of little more than a week. Rhaegal was the fastest of the three dragons and he did not tire easily. Mostly he would simply spread his wings and glide upon hot air as it rose in the mornings, flying over the vast plains and mountains of Essos and the vast Dothraki Sea. Rhaena steered Rhaegal towards the North, wishing to avoid the sight of King's Landing and intending to stop first in Braavos. It was time she retrieved Arya, whether she was ready to leave or not. After collecting Arya, Rhaena intended to aim for White Harbour and then continue the journey to seek out Robb and Jon, hoping that they might still be together at Castle Black on the Wall. Behind her Sansa gripped onto her tightly with Lady sprawled across Rhaena's lap, whimpering softly but remaining still as not to slip from Rhaegal's neck. Unexpectedly, Lady and Rhaegal seemed to get along rather well. Each time they landed, the two would sniff at one another and Rhaegal would nudge at Lady gently, even sharing his hunt with her though she preferred her meat raw. When Rhaegal seemed to understand this, he would bring back kills fresh and uncharred, leaving the raw meat for Lady and cooking his own share to his own liking. Lady as a direwolf had no fear, not even of a dragon like Rhaegal. Sansa believed it was because she and Rhaena were close, it seemed logical that their companions would also be friends. Rhaena liked the thought and smiled whenever she saw Lady curled up against Rhaegal whenever they slept.
When they were not resting, they were flying, and soon enough Rhaena began to recognise the city of Braavos in the distance. She had Rhaegal land as close to the city as she dared before telling him to take shelter elsewhere until she called for him, preferably out of sight and if men came too close then he was to fly away far beyond their reach. Rhaegal chittered softly as he accepted Rhaena's instructions, looking at her with what Rhaena could only describe as affection. Smiling to him, she kissed at his snout before leaving Sansa and Lady in Rhaegal's care. They would be safe with him. Who would dare attack a dragon, in any case? Rhaena was satisfied to go alone down into the city which took her the most part of a day to get there. Perhaps she would buy horses to ride back then simply turn them loose afterwards. Keeping her hair covered, Rhaena moved through the busy city as the late afternoon set upon them, moving quietly through the thick throngs of the crowd. She intended to go to the docks in order to hire a rowboat to take her to the House of Black and White, to ask to see Arya and convince her to return to Westeros with her. As it happened, Rhaena came face to face with the girl herself as if the gods had designed their paths to cross. There, in the middle of the market, was Arya, bleeding.
At first Rhaena had been too stunned to react, staring at Arya as the girl stared at her. Finally it was the blood that forced Rhaena awake, rushing to Arya in order to take her face in her hands and demand to know who had hurt her. "No one." Arya told her cryptically, hiding something in her arms. Frowning, Rhaena pulled back the cloth that covered the item to discover flesh in the shape of a face which had been taken from a person. She almost vomited. "She was no one."
"Arya…what have they done to you?" Lamenting for Arya who seemed to have endured a great deal of hardship since their passing, Rhaena shook off her shock at the peeled face and instead, marched Arya away from the marketplace. She wanted to take Arya to a healer but the girl refused, insisting that she returned to the House of Black and White in order to settle things. Knowing better than to argue, Rhaena at least managed to convince Arya to let her bind her injury before she could bleed any further. Once the wound was secure, Arya took Rhaena back to the unchanged House of Black and White, leading her inside where it remained as dark and dismal as before. It was seemingly empty, no one appearing to challenge them as Arya brought Rhaena down to the catacombs where she found herself surrounded by faces. She swore quietly to herself, staring wide eyed.
"Most of them are offered. Some are taken. Faces given to the Many Faced God are there for the use of his children." Arya explained in an empty, toneless voice Rhaena was not accustomed to hearing.
"Call it what you will, Arya. This is something that should not exist. Once a person has passed into death, they should be left in peace. Here their faces are laid out like wares in a market, to be taken and used by those who shed further blood for the right price. How can a person's spirit rest if their face still walks the earth?" To this Arya had no answer, looking passively over the faces as she set the Waif's face upon one of the empty slots where her empty eye sockets and mouth still held blood. There she left it for Jaqen H'gar to find, watching from the shadows with Rhaena as he approached it. Anger flared through her. Jaqen H'gar, to her, had been a friend, and yet he had still sent the Waif to kill her. She felt betrayed, and so when she appeared behind him and pressed the tip of Needle's blade against his chest when he turned to face her, Arya considered running him through there and then.
"You told her to kill me," she accused, still considering simply pushing Needle a little further and piercing Jaqen H'gar's heart with her blade. She had killed before, but never a friend. Would she feel differently about taking his life compared to the others? Would she later regret it? How could he have done this to her?
"Yes," Jaqen H'gar did not deny that he had given the order, for it was true. The girl had not taken the life she had been required to take, and since a life must be paid to the Many Faced God, he had had no other choice but to allow the Waif to seek her out to take that life. "But here you are, and there she is." Looking at the girl before him, however, Jaqen H'gar could finally see the result of all her training. She had bested her opponent and had done so by becoming one without identity. "Finally, a girl is no one." All the while Rhaena had observed them from out of sight, though now she stepped forwards as she watched Arya's body tense before relaxing, still fixated upon Jaqen H'gar before her.
"A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell," she declared quietly but adamantly, "and I'm going home." There was nothing more that needed to be said, Arya deciding to simply walk away and leave this part of her life behind her. She walked to Rhaena who lifted her hand to place it upon her shoulder as her eyes slid past Arya to look upon Jaqen H'gar, who recognised her. He tilted his head in greeting and acknowledgement. Rhaena felt a strong urge to burn the entire house down around them, to put these faces to the mercy of her flames and burn Jaqen H'gar with them. Despite the strong temptation and the roaring flames in her gut, Rhaena stilled them. Instead, she turned aside and left with Arya, for it was not her place to take revenge against those who had harmed Arya. She had decided to spare him, and so she respected Arya's choice and instead, took her away to a place where they could rest and properly tend to Arya's wounds. "Why did you come back for me, Rhaena?"
"Because your sister and I are returning west. We wanted to bring you with us. Will you come?" Rhaena asked as she delicately dressed Arya's wounds, stitching up the one which had opened before placing a salve over it which she had bought in the market. "We are going back to your brothers, and intend to take Winterfell from the Boltons who are currently occupying it. The North is in pieces, houses split in their loyalties…it is near the brink of complete destruction." After the salve came the dressing, fine silk bandages which would help to keep the wounds from becoming infected and catch any blood which might seep through.
"I will go back to Westeros, but I am not going with you. There are things which I must do myself first." Rhaena's hands stilled in their work and looked to Arya carefully. It soon became clear to her.
"You intend to begin taking the names from your list." Silently, Arya nodded. "I can take you there faster than any ship. Rhaegal is my dragon mount. He can easily carry three women and Lady. We will take you wherever it is you want to go first…as long as it is not King's Landing. It would be folly to fly there on the back of a dragon. I expect Cersei will have mounted the walls with scorpions and ballistae by now. We would be knocked from the sky." Resuming her task of binding Arya's wounds, Rhaena did so as gently as she could before securing the bindings. "You have become strong, Arya. Even with wounds such as this, you do not flinch."
"They will heal."
"Yes, but until then you must go carefully. You may still take infection, or they may open and bleed you to death. Despite all you may have learned about death, it is life you should concern yourself with. Death is final, being alive offers numerous opportunities. Stay alive, Arya Stark. Stay alive and ensure that you do not die so easily." For the first time, Arya finally smiled to Rhaena and there, deep behind the many layers which now covered her expression, lay the girl Rhaena remembered from Winterfell all those years ago. She was there. Deeply hidden, but still present. This was more than enough for Rhaena, who smiled softly back at Arya and touched her hair, thinking how long it had grown since last they saw one another. They slept soundly side by side and rose in the morning only to part ways once more. Arya was adamant that she would make her own way from now on and Rhaena did not have the heart to take her independence from her. Instead she embraced and kissed Arya upon the head and made her promise once more to take care and reunite with her family once she was able. Despite not wanting to let her go, Rhaena did so, leaving the city of Braavos in order to return on horseback to Sansa, Lady and Rhaegal who were waiting for her. She turned the horse loose before approaching, the frightened creature bolting away from Rhaegal who yawned widely to bare his wicked fangs as Sansa worriedly hurried forwards. She was understandably upset that Arya had chosen not to go with them, but was persuaded to let Arya do as she willed. "She has always been a wild little thing, that sister of yours. A wild wolf…but she will always return to her family. Of that I am certain. Come. Today we cross the Narrow Sea. Soon, we shall be in Westeros once again." Allowing Rhaena to lead her away, Sansa climbed back onto Rhaegal once more and called Lady to her.
Lady was now so large that she stood at the young woman's chest, easily jumping up onto Rhaegal's back in one leap. Rhaena wondered how much Grey Wind and Nymeria had grown. Would they be larger even than Lady? Most likely, Lady had always been the more delicate of the direwolves. What about Robb and Jon themselves? Rhaena could only imagine that they had both grown taller and their beards denser now that they were men full grown. What expressions would they wear when they see their sister and her friend arrive on the back of a dragon, come to help them in whatever it was needed doing. Even if it were to root out the Boltons from Winterfell and set them to the flame, Rhaena would willingly comply. Winterfell belonged to the Starks. It was their home and Rhaena understood the pain of having one's home taken from them and to be left with nothing. No one could understand better than her, and so Rhaena was determined to help them take back what was theirs. After all, she was no longer the same powerless being she had been before. She had Whitefyre and her dragonbone bow, her magic fire abilities and the skill to utilise them in combat, but greatest of all, she had Rhaegal. With Rhaegal beside her, Rhaena felt she could conquer all Seven Kingdoms as her ancestor once had. With Rhaegal…Rhaena did not fear for anything.