Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Ice and Fire Novels, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon TV shows. However, I decided to have a little play around with the characters. I do not earn any money from writing these stories, it is for my entertainment and is something I like to share.

Arya II

In the training yard at Storm's End, Arya had been practising with one of the squires to see if she thought he was suitable for Gendry. Usually she would have a greater advantage, but she had spent the entire night with Gendry fucking in every way imaginable. This had left her tired, aching and sore, which lowered her fighting abilities somewhat, giving any opponent at least one swipe at her before she knocked them down. Arya had also been up early, although Gendry hadn't noticed. She wrote a note and slipped it under the door of Ser Davos hoping he'd gotten it before he left to return to watch Dragonstone. After that she'd returned to Gendry's chambers and pretended to fall asleep until they got up.

Arya had decided the practice yard was the best place to await the arrival of Maester Tarly and Lord Bronn, so she could find out what plots were being hatched. Although she trusted her brother, she knew he wasn't the same boy as before his accident. She couldn't put her finger on what was wrong, other than he seemed completely emotionless, the opposite to the boy she once knew, her gut instinct told her not to trust him. He claimed to know everything, which was another reason she was suspicious of Lord Bronn visiting Gendry. She had disclosed most of what she knew, or as much as she was prepared to tell Gendry, about the dagger, which would be about as much as she would reveal to Sam. Arya often worked on her gut instinct, and today it was telling her the politics of Westeros were changing, whether it was for the better or worse, she wasn't sure if she wanted to stick around and find out, however, curiosity ensured she was at least going to stay and then decide what to do with the knowledge, especially if it was going to affect any other members of her family.

A commotion came from around the front courtyard, distracting Arya sufficiently from her fighting for her to receive a whack on her arm from her opponent. She snapped her head towards the poor young lad, spun around, gave a flick with her wrist on the practice sword, and the squire was on the floor laying on his back and Arya stood over him, the blade at his neck.

"Your dead. You need to do better." she said in her deadliest voice before walking off to see whether the guests had arrived. "And don't bother getting back up to have a run at me, I can hear you." she added, turning around, holding the sword out, stopping the quire in his tracks." Arya grinned and continued on her way to find out who had arrived.

Arya hid behind a barrel to watch the visitors descend from the carriage. Firstly was the grey-robed, large bearded man who had been Jon's friend in the Night's Watch called Samwell Tarly, he was now the Grand Maester of Westeros after Bran had somehow managed to get his Maester education fast-tracked through the Citadel. For this, Sam had given up all of his lands and claims to his homeland and although he had a growing family, they lived on the wages he earned from his job, which clearly wasn't a great deal because Gilly was also working in the Red Keep looking after the small children.

After Samwell, Bronn emerged from the carriage, looking every bit the shifty man he was. Although he'd been promoted Master of Coin, he was also one of the best fighters in Westeros. He had risen from nothing to being one of the most powerful men in the country which was nothing short of miraculous Arya pondered as she watched him unload Sam's things. In fact, after Daenerys had torched most of the Lords of the Reach and the Westerlands when she attacked their food train. Bronn was now the only person there who was ranked a Lord in the Reach, all of the other highborn families had been wiped out. The same applied to the Westerlands, where only Tyrion Lannister was the only highborn Lord to survive. Neither one needed to raise their bannermen to call to arms, as there were none left, all of the people in those Kingdoms were sworn to their high Lord and nobody else. Arya began to feel very suspicious of Bronn's presence, so she decided to follow him in the only way she knew how, with a different face.

Arya placed her hand in her satchel, and checked nobody was looking before she took a face out, one she had found on her travels. The face of the girl was one much older than Arya, a crooked nose and long dirty blonde hair. She hid looked around a spotted a cape, which she threw around her shoulders, hiding the dagger and needle so she couldn't be recognised and quietly followed Bronn into the tower.

Bronn was led up the stairs by one of Gendry's guards, he carried two trunks, one for him and one for Sam Arya guessed, following him from a large enough distance, but small enough to see where he was going. A hint of gold reflected on the wall from his hip as he walked past a window, suggesting he was carrying a sword with a golden hilt. Arya hid behind a wall as Bronn entered the room assigned to him and the guard left the sellsword to his own devices. The door slammed shut and Arya rushed over to it and managed to spot a crack under the door where she could just about make out what was going on inside. Arya heard what Bronn was up to before she saw, the distinctive sound of liquid hitting a pot told her he was taking a piss. She checked nobody was around and put her head to the floor and stared in the room.

The trunks were still closed placed in the centre of the room, and as Arya guessed Bronn was indeed taking a piss. There wasn't much else to see and she was about to get back up to meet Sam when she noticed Bronn had removed his sword and placed it against a chair. Arya froze, she recognised the sword immediately, as far as she was aware the sword had gone missing after the Red Keep had been partially destroyed. The sword was half of her own family's ancestral Valyrian steel greatsword called Ice which had been broken down into two by Tywin Lannister after the murder of her father. Brienne of Tarth held one sword which was called Oathkeeper, this one had once belonged to King Joffrey and was last seen being wielded by Ser Jamie Lannister. The missing sword was called Widows Wail, and now it was in the hands of Bronn.

Arya got up, she'd seen all she needed to see. Bronn wouldn't have come to Storm's End with a Valyrian steel sword unless he was planning to use it. He and Sam had come to make a deal with Gendry, so it was unlikely to be used on him or Sam. Also Bronn wouldn't need a Valyrian steel sword with either of them as they were both pitiful with swords. Bronn would've overcome them both with a wooden stick. He'd brought this to fight someone better, Arya herself. She removed the face, putting it into her satchel and ran down the corridor to the back stairs which gave her entrance into the Great Hall which is where Sam would be by now. To ensure nothing was out of the ordinary, she was going to meet with him and listen to him, then she was going to escape.

When Arya got to the door to the hall, she removed the cape and placed it beside the door, ready for her next move. She took a deep breath and opened the door to greet the smiling face of Maester Tarly.

"Princess Arya." Sam bowed his head.

"I'm not a Princess." Arya grit her teeth. "Just Arya."

"Well technically..." Sam started but stopped, clearly noticing he saw the Valyrian steel dagger at her hip. "As the sister of the King and also of the Queen in the North and heir to both thrones, you can be called anything you want." he added.

"Arse kisser." Arya laughed, trying to break the ice, she was going to need to put on a different kind of face for the moment, the type Sansa wore. "Nice to see you Sam. Have you heard from..." she started but Sam shook his head. He must have guessed she was going to ask about Jon, one he either couldn't answer because he didn't know, of didn't want to answer because he'd been told not to by Bran.

"Did you find everything you needed on your travels?" Sam asked, beckoning his head towards the dagger.

"This?" Arya stroked the hilt protectively. "Not exactly. I need more information. I need a Targaryen who can read High Valyrian." she sighed, deciding honesty was the best policy as there might be a rat scuttling around with Bran inside it. "Gendry can't read Westerosi, never mind High Valyrian. I bet he can't even pronounce any of the words." she laughed before becoming serious. "Can you read High Valyrian?" she asked, not really caring for the answer, she would have other ways of finding out, but it would be useful to have Sam as a backup translator if she needed him.

"A little." Sam nodded. "But Tyrion's the best person to ask for that. He knows a fair bit."

"Pity he's not a Targaryen Prince." Arya sighed. "If only we knew where to find one." sarcasm dripping from her voice as she shook her head.

Sam frowned. "Jon can't read High Valyrian."

"No, but he can see what is written on the dagger. Then he could draw the symbols and someone who can read High Valyrian would be able to translate it. I understand some low Valyrian, but I can't read it and I believe it is different to High Valyrian." Arya said truthfully, a skill she'd mastered in Braavos.

"Oh. I didn't know." Sam nodded. "So why do you need Jon. Isn't Gendry a Prince?"

Arya shook her head. "The wrong bloodline. The person needs to be a descendant of King Jaehaerys II and Queen Shaera Targaryen. Gendry isn't born of their line. The only one left is Jon." she shrugged. "I suppose now we'll never find out, other than north of the wall, we don't know where he is." she pushed, hoping to find some clue that Sam might know more.

"Erm, we might know soon enough. Drogon has flown north. Bran thinks he's gone to find Jon." Sam told her, but it what she already knew, however she knew she couldn't land Ser Davos in trouble so she opted to play ignorant.

"What for?" Arya asked,keeping her face stony.

"Either to kill him or to bond with him. Two lonely dragons." Sam suggested.

"He's a wolf." Arya corrected him.

"He has literal dragon's blood running through him." Sam told her.

Arya shook her head vehemently. "No he doesn't, it's only a stupid sigil." she protested.

"Legend says, back in old Valyria, the dragon lords mixed their blood with that of the dragons which created the dragon bond. That is why the Targaryens are different. They're not fully human. Some of their babies were born with dragon scales." his face twisted in disgust. "It's why they're temperamental and often go mad. The dragon blood is unpredictable. And once Jon has bonded with Drogon, he won't be Jon anymore. He'll be Aegon Targaryen, another dragon rider with the power to kill millions of people with just one word." Sam explained, as Jon was about to turn into a monstrous tyrant like the Mad King or Dany, did Sam even know her brother?

"What are you trying to say?" Arya asked, her voice cold. But before Sam could answer Gendry walked through the door, filthy from working in the forge.

"Welcome Grand Maester Tarly." Gendry smiled, wiping his hands on a cloth. "How are you?"

"Lord Baratheon." Sam bowed his head. "I'm good thanks." he nodded as Arya scowled at being interrupted and Sam's stupid assessment of Jon.

"Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of Arya." Gendry told him. "And call me Gendry. I hate all of this Lord stuff."

"I've come because the King is wanting to make sure that he has the support of the Stormlands should there be any...troubles." Sam smiled.

"What's he offering?" Arya asked, knowing there would either be a catch or Bran was buying Gendry's loyalty, Bran was a King after all and no matter who was sitting on the throne, there were only so many ways to gain loyalty from their Lords.

Sam looked uncomfortable. "That's between the King and Lord Baratheon." he said meekly.

"Like I said, whatever the King has to say to me, can be said in front of Arya." This time Arya noticed Gendry had a slight edge to his voice, making her feel very proud of him in that moment.

"Erm...he's erm..." Sam fidgeted. "He's offering a marriage." he closed his eyes. Sam was acting strange and Arya didn't like his behaviour one bit.

"Who with?" Arya demanded.

"I..I don't know." Sam replied, although Arya didn't believe him for a moment. "It's in this letter, I swear I haven't opened it." he handed over the scroll. Arya quickly ventured towards Sam and snatched it out of his hand, undid the seal and read the letter.

Arya stark

"No fucking way!" Arya cried in disgust. "That is not fucking happening." she threw the parchment down on the floor and stormed out of the room. She grabbed the cape and ran down the corridor, counting the exits until she reached the one she wanted. She quickly changed her face and threw the cape around her before running down the stairs, feeling her way through the darkness. Her training as a blind girl at the House of Black and White now becoming the most useful skill she could imagine. Nobody knew she would be able to run down the steps so quickly without a torch to lead the way, therefore she was less likely to be followed.

When she reached the bottom, she felt her way along the wall until she came to the edge where the water joined the stone. She knew she only had a few minutes before the guards would come down here searching for her.

"Ser Davos, it's me, Arya.." she whispered as loudly as she dared.

The sound of wood clattering on stone made her jump. "I'm here Princess." he whispered back.

Arya took her face off before getting down on her hands and knees and felt the watery edge of stone before finding the boat. "Got you." she said, swinging her legs around and climbing in. as she did, she heard a clunking sound and realised the portcullis was being lowered to trap them in. "I'm in, start rowing." she said as Ser Davos clattered the oar against the wall and began to paddle them away from the castle.

"Duck." Ser Davos suddenly instructed in a low voice. Arya did as she was told, not needing an explanation as to his reasoning as a few seconds later she heard a splash behind her, the portcullis had only just missed them by inches. "That was lucky." he whispered.

They rowed on in silence until they arrived at the entrance of the cave where it was still daylight. "What do we do now?" Arya whispered.

"We wait until the sun goes down and then we set sail. There's a small inlet further up the coast, it's too small for big boats to use. I'll drop you there and you'll have to make yer own way to Sharp Point on foot. Keep yerself hidden until I get there. I need to sail back to Tarth and then to check on Dragonstone. We have been using Sharp's Point to get supplies and listen in for the gossip. It's still loyal to Dragonstone and the Targaryen's, I suspect if yer brother turns up there, they'll be ready to help him if he asked." he told her. "Good places to go to out stuff is Alehouse Alley and Cooks Row. Keep that dagger of yours hidden, there's a lot of thieves and wotnot. You don't want to stand out, I suspect everyone will be on the lookout for Arya Stark." then he added. "Oh, and avoid any trees."

"Don't worry, I won't be found, not even by Bran." Arya smiled slyly.

They waited quietly until sunset before carefully setting off. Arya was lying down under a blanket so not even an eagle eye could see her. Her head poked through so she could make out the face of Ser Davos and the night skies above, where it was fortunately a clear night with a full moon making the journey much easier. Not too far into the distance Arya could see the cliffs of Westeros.

"Not too much further." Ser Davos told her after a couple of hours had passed by.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked. "Aren't your loyal to the King?" she asked.

"I'm loyal to Westeros and meself." Ser Davos replied. "I've seen a lot of things in this world, but the most important one is doin' the right thing, even if it hurts you. Not many people are prepared to do that. Your brother is one of the few men I know who always tries to do the right thing. Yes he fucks up sometimes, but he's only human." he shrugged.

"Not according to Sam." Arya frowned. "He said Jon is part dragon, that dragon's blood does run through his veins."

"That might be true." Ser Davos nodded. "But he's a true and honourable man who always tries to do what's best for everyone else except himself.

"No he doesn't. Otherwise he would have become King." Arya stated.

Ser Davos shook his head. "A Queen slayer can not take the crown." he said.

"Nobody declared her Queen of Westeros." Arya snarled.

"No, but she was a Queen elsewhere. Loved by many so I'm told." Ser Davos reminded her. "Jon hated leadership, but he got thrown into it time and time again. Him becoming King would've caused wars this country had not recovered from and most probably hasn't got the gold to pay for. He did the right thing for the realm by going north. It was the most Kingly thing to do."

"It was a cowardly thing to do." Arya corrected him.

"I don't think preventing thousands of deaths is cowardly." Ser Davos said. "Is he the rightful King in my eyes? Yes he is! Would I fight for him to be King? Only if there is a rotter sat on the throne, but your brother Bran is a good fella, so no I won't fight for Jon to take the throne unless I find just cause to change my mind about him wanting it and Bran being a rotter."

"What if I could give you just cause?" Arya asked. She had been mulling this over as whether to try and talk Ser Davos into replacing Bran with Jon because she had a bad feeling about her younger brother. She knew Ser Davos had been known to change his allegiance if he discovered he was supporting the wrong person, which in her eyes made him the most trustworthy man she could find, although she wasn't going to reveal all of her knowledge, just what was necessary.

"It needs to be a very good reason." Ser Davos laughed.

"I don't think my brother Bran is King. Is that good enough?" she asked.

Ser Davos frowned. "And what makes you say that?" he asked.

"Bran knows me. He would know exactly how I would react to being used as a marriage pawn, a brood mare to give him an heir." she explained. "I'd run, which is why I'm in this boat with you. He also sent Lord Bronn who for some reason has Jamie Lannister's sword with him. What would he need a Valyrian steel sword with him unless he was expecting a tough opponent?"

Ser Davos was quiet for a moment, clearly forming an answer. "You think he was going to kidnap you?" he asked.

"I don't think it was to discuss sewing." Arya rolled her eyes. "Gendry is useless with a sword, the only person he was going to have any trouble with would be me. I have a Valyrian steel dagger."

"Maybe he sent Bronn because he expected you to run." Ser Davos correcting her perception. "Maybe he does know you well."

"No. Bran would never do that. It's not him." she said adamantly. "When he sent Jon into exile I thought it was odd. Then he sent me to search for clues about the dagger, while Sansa was allowed to be Queen in the North. Most of the great houses of Westeros have been destroyed..."

"Thanks in part to the Dragon Queen." Ser Davos reminded her.

"True." Arya agreed. "But the people he has replaced them with are weak or inexperienced. Sam was fast-tracked through the Citadel. He's Grand Maester when he's not even served his full time to qualify as the lowliest of Maester's. Sam was from an old family who could have been Lord Paramount of The Reach, but instead he gave it to a sellsword who he made Master of Coin. A man that can barely read. It makes no sense. His only appointments which make sense are you and Brienne. Why would he do that?"

"I don't know." Ser Davos shook his head.

"He's keeping strong people away from him and weak people close. He has no heirs and his only chance is me or Sansa. So unless he has some big plan that he is not telling a single soul about, he's up to no good!" Arya stated matter-of-factly.

"Ok, let's say yer right." Ser Davos nodded. "And how do you go about overthrowing an all seeing, all knowing man like yer brother?" That was when Arya didn't really know what to say, she hadn't thought that far ahead. "The country is bankrupt thanks to the actions of King Robert, the Lannisters and all of the wars. Going to war with the Dothraki, Ironborn and Unsullied..."

"The Dothraki won't cross the Narrow Sea, the Ironborn are decimated, no threat and the Unsullied are in Naath, where they'll all be dead from the poisonous butterflies." Arya insisted.

Ser Davos raised an eyebrow. "Hmph." was his only response, suggesting there was more but he wasn't prepared to share it instead he changed the subject. "What I'm going to suggest is I drop you at the inlet, we're nearly there. You head north up to Sharp's point and spend a few days there. Blend in, listen for the smallest bits of gossip you can. The families of the old dragon handlers still live in Sharp's Point. They have their stories and will understand more about the comings and goings of Drogon than anyone else." he suggested.

Knowing he was holding something back and she wasn't going to get anything more on the subject from Ser Davos at this point, Arya decided not to push too much as she was unsure of who she could now trust. therefore she was going to have to find out on her own what was truly happening in Westeros. "How long will I be waiting for you at Sharp's Point?" Arya asked.

"I've got to row back to Tarth and then we'll be sailing for Dragonstone and waiting for Drogon to return. He's been gone nearly three weeks, King Bran says he should be back any day soon. We'll see if he comes back alone or not. When you get word Drogon is back, I'll be there the next day." Ser Davos offered. "There's an alehouse called the Rowers Rest. That's where you'll find me. But you need to learn what you can. And keep that dagger safe. We're here now."

Arya lifted her head from under the blanket. "Is there anyone around?" she asked.

Ser Davos shook his head and Arya sat up, stretching her back from being stuck in the same position for hours. "Ouch!" she said, climbing out of the boat and into the water.

"Here." Ser Davos passed her a large bag he'd got with him which Arya hadn't noticed due to the darkness. "I've packed you some things to eat to keep you goin'. Sharp's Point is about seventy miles north along the coast from here. Just follow the sea and you'll find it. We passed Parchments about five miles ago, so you don't need to worry about any castles until you get to Stonedance, but like Sharp's Point the Massey's still owe their allegiance to the Targaryen's. Jon's name will probably be mud with that lot as they likely don't know who he is. Keep yer distance and focus on Sharp's Point. Then we'll meet up when Drogon gets back." Ser Davos nodded.

"And if Drogon doesn't return?" Arya asked.

"You won't need to wait longer than a fortnight. I'll be there and we'll find a way to get you to Dragonstone." the old man smiled as her.

"Thank you." Arya grinned back, taking a few steps towards the shore.

"Yer welcome." Ser Davos called back before turning around and rowing back out to sea, leaving Arya alone to head north. Just as she liked it.

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