In which confrontation happens and new information is brought to light.
*Year 304 After Conquest (AC) - New Future*
The older woman's tone of saying her family's name almost felt like an insult making the young girl frown in confusion. She held her gaze then.
"Yes. As much as you're a Targaryen and he's a Lannister." Arya said back, nudging her head towards Tyrion who is making his way towards her.
"Ah, so you remember me?" Tyrion asked suddenly, raising both eyebrows. Arya shifts her attention at him who is standing beside the silent Daenerys now.
"It's hard to forget a Lannister face." She stated as a matter of fact. Tyrion let out a smirk, amused.
He raised his goblet of wine towards her as if to salute before gulping down the whole content. "I suppose so. I am the most famous of the bunch, after all. Don't you agree?" he asked lightly. Arya pursed her lips in a straight line as flashes of Cersei and Jamie Lannister came uninvited.
Tyrion having senses the sudden tension in the air chanced a glance at the silver-haired queen. Her violet eyes seem distant as if she was in deep thought, mirroring the younger girl in front of them. He poured another wine as he focused on Arya again.
"I can't believe it was you who our Queen had brought back. If I had known, I would come by for a visit during your recovery." He said with an apologetic smile. "It's a small world for us to be meeting each other like this." he finished, before taking another sip from his filled goblet. Arya focuses her attention back at the dwarf. Before she can reply, someone interrupts.
"Indeed." Daenerys suddenly speaks. Her voice still cold and rigid as her eyes focus back on steel grey ones. "You know who I was the moment I entered your cell, did you not?" she asked. Arya studies her expression. It was mixed with anger and hurt. She didn't understand one bit of it.
"Yes. I heard you talking to the guards." She answered calmly, don't know where this is going. Daenerys let out a chuckle, though her face doesn't look at all amusing, only the opposite.
"Of course." She drawled. "It all makes sense now. Are you trying to end me now, Stark? Just like your family did with my husband?" she asked, gritting through her teeth. Arya's frown deepens.
"What?" she asked, confused. The others from the room are already on their feet, gathering close by the queen, but Arya paid them no heed as violet eyes intensely seek her own.
Seeing that the young Stark makes no plan to say anything else, Daenerys continues.
"The Baratheon, Tully, Arryn and the Stark had inflicted me and my family nothing but pain and sufferings. Endless of it. They overthrow the crown which belongs to my father, chasing me and my brother exiled. But, you didn't stop there, did you? No…" she trails, walking closer towards the confused wolf.
"You go and assassinate my husband too. Stealing away the one thing that I have come to love. Tell me one good reason why I should not return the favour. Tell me why I should not send your head over to your traitorous family." She threatens, beseechingly.
Arya blinks hard at the silver-haired queen. The older woman's words are struggling to sink into her system as her voice still lingers at the back of her mind, trying to put two and two together.
She recalls her saying about the overthrow of the crown who she assumed was the Mad King Aerys. It naturally leads to the famous Robert's Rebellion. Sure, her father had aided in this battle, but it was not without a reason.
And then, the Queen said another thing that baffles her greatly. She was accusing her family had been responsible for the assassination of her husband. It was the first new piece of information that she got of her family since she had escaped the enslavement. She doesn't know whether to be enthralled or terrified of it.
It gives her hope that perhaps her remaining family members were all alive still during this time, but then the assassination came into the picture. They would have never approved something like what Daenerys had accused of. They had no reason to do so in the first place. Do they?
She shoves away that thought as she realized that the dragon queen had threatened to take her life too. It didn't bother her that much as compared to calling her family a traitor. Arya clenches her jaw tightly.
"My family is not a traitor." She said sternly, finally finding her voice.
"The Stark is the Usurper's dog, among the others," Daenerys replied simply.
"No."
Daenerys cocked an eyebrow at the younger girl.
"No?" she echoed.
"Yes. No." Arya replied back.
Silence fills in the room as both women eyed each other pointedly. The others seem to be affected by the tension surrounding them for they stood their ground, not knowing what to make of the scene.
"You deny the fact that your father helped the rebellion against my own?" Daenerys asked with a quiet and dark tone.
"No. I don't." Arya answered. Daenerys looks at the young Stark, incredulous. But, before she can say anything about it, Arya continues. "Even so, that does not make my father a traitor. He is one of the noblest and loyal man I have come upon. And he only did it for justice when King Aerys murdered his brother, Brandon and his father, Rickard Stark; my uncle and grandfather in a horrific and unjust way."
"Your father burnt the Warden of the North with wildfire, claiming it as his champion when Lord Rickard demands a trial by combat. And all the while, he forced Brandon to watch it, before he strangled himself, unable to reach for the longsword the King purposely place out of his reach, for he had thought that he can save his father's life from the raging fire." She counters. Daenerys eyes flicker with uncertainty for a moment before the cold mask was back.
"Do you expect me to believe anything that comes out from your mouth, Stark?"
"Whether you believe me or not, that is the truth."
The silence surrounds the room again as the tension grows. Tyrion who had enough of it already, clears his throat intentionally, trying to get their attention.
"Your Grace, if I may speak?" he asked timidly. But Daenerys doesn't seem to acknowledge his presence.
"The truth?" she asked mockingly towards the girl in front of her, dismissing the dwarf. "And what about the assassination of my husband? Do you know about the truth behind that too?" she taunts dangerously. Arya frowns.
"No. But, my family would never do something like that. They don't have any reason to." She bit back. Daenerys let out a dangerous smile.
"Reasons? Why, they have plenty." She trails. "One; being that my husband, Khal Drogo, was the warlord of Dothraki Khalasars of forty thousand warriors whom all are willing to cross the narrow sea for me. He promised me the iron throne and seeing that as a threat, the usurper and his dogs decides to put a stop to it before it even begins." She finished. This time, it was Arya who had a look of doubt across her face.
She ponders over the possibility of the accusation. After all, her enslavement through the past years has kept her in the dark and she had no way of knowing if it is the truth.
"I heard that you have been asking for my return impatiently." Daenerys continues, breaking the young girl's train of thoughts. "Clearly you have waited long enough. Well? Here I am now. Kill me then." She said, daring the young assassin. Arya looks back at determined violet eyes.
It was confusing and hurting at the same time what the silver-haired queen was implying. Indirectly, she had thrown away the trust that they had built during those days being imprisoned by Qazlas and she thought the older woman knew her better.
Arya put on a cold mask of her own, keeping her emotion secured far away inside her mind. "Believe me, Your Grace…" She trails. "If I wanted to kill you, you would be long dead and we won't be having this conversation as of this moment. I would have torn you apart when Qazlas men brought you in my cell, eaten your flesh even. I would have let the slaves have their way at you, back in the pit and I would have left you and escape by myself. Or, I would have used this dagger instead, stick it through your heart when I first came in here." She finished calmly while pulling out a dagger from behind where she hid under her cloth.
Almost instantly as Arya displayed the sharp steel that she borrowed from the armoury, the sound of metal unsheathed echoes around the room. Two daggers and one longsword unanimously pointed her way while successfully blocking Daenerys from any harm.
"You dare threatened the Queen." one of the men suddenly declared. Speaking for the first time. Arya looks down to his sword, inches away from her face before finding its owner.
The man looks old though he was not that old. His grip on his sword seems firm and his stance alone proved that he knows how to use the blade.
"Did you not hear me, old man?" Arya asked. Her features still calm despite a pointed blade at her face. "I wasn't threatening her. I was explaining different ways that I could kill her if I wanted." She finished. The man narrowed his eyes down at her, irritated.
"Enough of this. Ser Jorah, would you please escort Arya Stark back to her chamber?" Daenerys voice suddenly cut through from behind the wall of the men. Though her tone nothing but ordering rather than asking.
Arya chanced a questioning look at the Queen who ignored her completely.
"Of course, Khaleesi." The man, Jorah which actually was the one that she had been calling 'old man' answered. His longsword still held against her face. Arya tightens her grip on the dagger as she clenches her jaw.
She cannot help feeling trapped and all the more as a hostage, once again. She wanted to know more about her family and clear their name from Daenerys doubts. But, the silver-haired queen seems to have already made her mind. When Jorah made a move towards her, Arya growls unintentionally.
"Take one more step, old man, and I would gut you up through your throat." She threatens menacingly. Her dagger twitching for release.
It took only those words for all hell to break loose. Jorah ignored her threat with a smug look on his face. Still with his sword in hand, he tried to reach for her arm but Arya backs away not before gifting him with a slash at his sleeve. He hissed in pain as he backs away, gripping the torn flesh.
In a matter of seconds, he lunged forward with his sword. Arya took another step backwards and turned to her left as Jorah's sword nearly missed her shoulder. She ducked and rolled around the floor, dismissing the slash of sword her way, not caring that she stumbles upon a few things in the room, making a mess along her trail.
At the corner of her eye, she can see that Grey Worm and some other guy – who she assumed was Daario – standing protectively in front of Daenerys. Their own daggers at the ready. Their stance made her groan inwardly. This was not how she planned the event to turn out. She had nothing against the silver-haired queen, but the older woman was too stubborn to listen. And then, this man, Jorah had to ruin everything.
She stops then, wanting to end this once and for all. As he takes another step towards her, he swings his sword again where Arya ducks successfully. But, instead of backing away like she had been doing all this while, she sprints forward and landed her kick below his region. His breath caught in his throat as he grunts in pain. The longsword fell down the floor with a loud clatter as he stared wide-eyed at the young girl. He kneels down, grabbing his manhood while cursing under his breath.
Arya paid him no heed as she turns around, facing the others. Missandei was looking at her with shock, her hands at her chest. Beside her, Tyrion cocked an eyebrow, his mouth twitching to form a smile. Daario looks at her with interest while Grey Worm just stares back with his famous stoic face.
She glanced towards Daenerys last. Her panting breath deafening to her ears as violet eyes calmly stare back, void of any emotion. She didn't like it one bit.
"You promised me that I can go back home. To Winterfell." Arya started. Waiting for the older woman to tell her otherwise.
"And I will. Have no fear Arya Stark, I will get you back to where you came from." Daenerys answered back. Her eyes are still cold and hard.
"Release me then. Let me walk out of here, unharmed." Arya demanded.
"That wouldn't be necessary since I have decided that I should join you and asked your family myself to confirm these truths you were saying." Daenerys counters. Arya looks at her with her mouth slightly open, not knowing how to react. "We will leave as soon as the ships are ready." She finished, leaving no argument behind.
"Now, I'm sure you want a well rest before our journey began. Daario and Grey Worm can escort you back to your chamber. And if you refuse, I have many other guards to do the task." The silver-haired queen threatens at the last part. Arya grips her dagger tightly contemplating on what to do. She can't beat all the Queen's guard now, can she? The only way out was through the open veranda, but she would like to stay alive when she got out of the pyramid. So, she dismissed that thought immediately.
Before Daario and Grey Worm made a move, complying to their Queen's wishes, Missandei suddenly sprints forward, beating them to it. She stands in front of the young assassin with her back against her.
"Your Grace, let me escort Arya back to her room," Missandei asked politely. Daenerys looks back at the Naath with a frown, not believing what she just said before locking with grey eyes. Missandei turns around then, facing the young Stark silently. But her eyes screaming for Arya to comply.
Seeing that there is no other escape than jumping off three and thirty levels of the pyramid without injuring herself – possibly dying – Arya decides to give in. Furthermore, she prefers taking Missandei with her over any guards. Missandei let out a small smile as she sees a flicker of acceptance in the young girl's eyes. She turns to Daenerys and sees that the queen saw the resigned look of the young girl too.
Earning consent from both parties, Missandei reached for Arya's arm, the same one that Jorah had intended to take and guide her through the door where she came from.
"Wait." Daenerys suddenly speaks. The two women stop their track and turn around to the Queen.
"Leave the dagger." She orders, eyeing the weapon that Arya still hold. Violet eyes against grey ones.
A huff escaped Arya as she looks down to her dagger in her grip. She tries to contain her rage and hurt but it was becoming rather hard by the seconds. She takes a step forward to the Queen then. While doing so, she turns her dagger so she was grasping the tip of the knife and lift her arm, swinging the dagger forward. The knife turns in great speed in the air before landing perfectly down the floor, across the room, a few inches between Daenerys feet. Where it had planted through the floor and her dress.
Ignoring the shock and incredulous look of the silver-haired queen and the others, Arya turns back towards the door, walking past a stunned Missandei who later followed her in a hurried step.
*
As she stood by the open window in her room, the cold breeze greets the young girl, caressing her face with its force, gently. Arya looks past the horizon of the beautiful starry night as her mind recalls back what happened earlier this day.
After her act of defiance at the Queen of Meereen, she was surprised nothing had happened to her yet. Missandei had already given her an earful when she escorts her back to her room earlier. And Arya had tuned out most of them. By the time they finally arrived in her room and Missandei had finished with her nagging, Arya decides to ask her the one thing that keeps bugging her mind.
"Do you know if my family still lives?"
Missandei looks at her with a sad smile and for a while, panic grew inside the young Stark as she waits patiently.
"Yes. They are. Your brother, Robb rules the North along with your mother and little brother." Missandei answered.
"Do you mean Bran and Rickon?" Arya asked at the last part. Missandei shook her head.
"No, just Rickon. I heard that your brother Bran is still missing – like you were – after the Kingsroad attack." She trails. Arya looks past the older woman as her thoughts drift to Bran. He can still be alive and she wanted to hold onto that possibility. "As for your father and sister, they were – "
"I know." Arya interrupts, shifting her gaze back at brown eyes. "I saw them," she said calmly earning a horrified look, turning to pity from Missandei.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Arya."
"Me too." She said with guilt. She looks up to Missandei remembering that she hadn't spoken about the one person that she missed the most. "What of Jon?"
Missandei blinks a few times, gathering her thought before speaking. "The bastard? Your half-brother, you mean?" she asked.
"Yes. Is Jon alive and well?"
"I believe so. Yes."
Arya released a breath she didn't know she held at those answers. A smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
They are fine. Jon, Robb, Rickon and mother. They are alive. And Bran, please be safe wherever you are, brother.
Just then, the door suddenly burst open. Two Unsullied guards came in speaking with Missandei with a foreign language. Arya studies from the older woman to the guards who were secretly glancing at her during their conversation. When they finally finished, Missandei turns back to Arya.
"I have to go now, the Queen is asking for me." she started. "You are to remain in this room, Arya. Please don't try anything reckless again?" she pleads.
"Reckless? Like trying to escape?" Arya asked nonchalantly. "I assume those two are for me?" she asked again, nudging towards the two Unsullied guards.
When Missandei just gave her an apologetic look, she had her answers then. With one last plead from the Naath that Arya must remain in the room, she left to answer the royal call, leaving Arya with her own guards. The men left the room soon after and closed the door behind them as they guard from the other side.
Her trains of thought from before got interrupted when a sudden knock can be heard. Arya turns around and walk away from the open window and into the middle of the room. All the while eyeing the door that the sound came from. Creaking sound echoes as the door being pushed open. She saw the same two Unsullied guards still at their post and when she looks down, her face automatically frowns upon seeing the head of a pale blond which belong to the Lannister dwarf.
"Lady Arya," Tyrion said by a way of greeting. He smiled as he waved a bottle of wine and two goblets in his hands. "Would you like to have a drink?" he asked casually, closing the door behind him.
Seeing that the young Stark just stands across the room, eyeing him silently, Tyrion decides to move towards the small table at the corner of the room. He takes a seat, making himself comfortable before pouring the wine for him and the silent occupant. He raised his goblet then, urging for the young girl to do the same.
Arya strides closer to him but gave him no satisfactory in joining him. "What are you doing?" she asked pointedly. Tyrion cocked an eyebrow.
"Having a drink, of course." He said making an obvious show of his goblet. Arya narrowed her eyes at him.
"Surely you can find some other comfortable place in these three and thirty levels of pyramid to have that drink of yours, Lord Tyrion." she counters. Tyrion let out a small smile.
"I can. But, there is only one place that held the infamous Arya Stark of Winterfell." He replied. When the said person only stares back scornfully, he continues. "Please, have a seat. I promise I won't bite."
Silence engulfs them both as they eyed each other. Cold grey eyes against mismatch green and black ones. Seeing that the dwarf will not leave until she did so, Arya let out a soft sigh as she plops herself on the chair across him, wanting to get whatever this is over with. Tyrion let out a victory smile as he takes the first sip of his favourite wine.
"It has been six years since we last met, has it not? You were so little back then. Look at you now, all grown up." He commented behind his goblet. Arya looks down to her own full goblet which Tyrion intended for her, ignoring him completely.
"You've grown to be a delightful person, I must say." He continues. Arya looks up at him then with a frown trying to see if he was mocking her but instead a genuine and sad smile crosses his lips before it was replaced with a raised goblet.
Delightful? She was sure she was none of that.
"Why are you really here, Lord Tyrion?" she asked, crossing her arms against her middle.
"Just thought you needed some company." He shrugged. "And to see if you wanted to ask anything, I'm willing to answer any of your questions. I know the past years have not been kind and it had kept you in the dark."
Arya didn't know what to make of his statement. There is no trace of a lie in his features and he looks like he meant every word. Perhaps he was a good actor. She decides to play along then.
"I want to know what happened after the Kingsroad attack."
Tyrion decides to pour another filled before speaking up. "Perhaps I should begin from the start." He said with a tired sigh, even though he just about to begin. "After my sister's trial and untimely death, I tried to go back to Casterly Rock with Jamie. Knowing that Robert held no love for the Lannister even before he lost his Queen, I made a decision. The luck was at my side as I managed to free Jamie of his confinement and we ran away before they started looking for us. I tried to take the children too, but time was not our friend."
"Jamie didn't act like himself after Cersei's death. During our journey back along the Kingsroad, he kept saying that he will avenge Cersei's death. He wanted blood. And when we heard that Robert and Ned were going back to Kings Landing, Jamie saw that as an opportunity. He gathers as many men as possible, and wait for an ambush, for he knew that the royal escort would cross path with us. And when they finally did, he attacked. I tried to stop him. But he was a man on a mission."
Tyrion chance a glance at the young Stark across him. She was looking down at her untouched goblet. Her face voids of any emotion and she didn't seem to be wanting to join the conversation. But, he knew she was listening, so he decides to move on.
"Robert got away though, along with some of the Kingsguard. They continued on to Kings Landing then and when he was safe within his city, he declared war against the Lannister. Saying that we commit treason against the crown. We didn't even stand a chance. Almost all of Westeros was against the Lannister and here I am, the last living heir to my line."
He finished softly before gulping the whole content of his wine. Noticing that Arya had looked up at him again with confused and questioning grey eyes, he continues.
"Jamie was killed in Lannisport, trying to withstand the attack from the North. It was your brother, Robb who ended him. And my father, well, he was too proud to surrender and that was his downfall. I'm sure he learned his lesson now, though it was rather too late." He explained, holding his gaze but the young girl breaks it soon after, looking down at her goblet again with a frown.
Seconds go by and then minutes as neither said anything. Only the sound of pouring wine and the dwarf gulping it down accompanies them. By his seventh cup – yes, Arya had counted them – she decides to ask something else that had bothered her as much.
"Is she going to kill me?"
Tyrion arched an eyebrow, confused. "I beg your pardon?"
"Daenerys." She said back.
The dwarf looks at her incredulously, before barking a laugh. He controls himself when the young assassin glares at him threateningly, finding nothing at all amusing.
"My apologies. You are serious," he confirms. Arya gave her a pointed look. "You don't realize how important you are in this 'Game of Thrones' do you?" he asked. When the young girl just frowns back, he continues. "You're the key to the North. Daenerys needs allies and right now, the North has the biggest and strongest army in Westeros. Robert would not have kept his throne for so long, until today, if not for the Starks keeping the crown in place for his thick skull."
Arya's frown deepens. "But, she hates me. According to her, my family was responsible for her husband's death." She counters.
Tyrion takes another sip of his wine then. "Your family, among others whom she will be governing upon once she gets the crown." He shrugs. "Whether she likes it or not, you're the only thing that can secure her success to the throne. And I strongly suggest you use that to your advantage."
The dwarf takes the last sip, emptying his cup before getting up. The chair scrape against the floor loudly. "You know, after throwing a dagger at the Queen of Meereen, most men wouldn't be able to walk away unpunished, let alone having a pleasant quarter. When I first came here, she threw me straight to the dungeon. A bit unfair if you asked me." he mumbles, while casually walking towards the door.
Reaching for the handle, he stops and turns around, finding the young Stark gaze firmly planted onhim. He let out a small smile then. "You have a week's time before we set sail to Westeros. I suggest you used the time productively. I thank you for your company. Sleep well, Lady Arya." He inclined his head as a goodbye bid.
Without waiting for a reply, he walks out of the room, leaving Arya to her thoughts. The young Stark stares vacantly in front of her as Tyrion's words keep juggling inside her mind. Reaching for the filled goblet on the table, she gulps it down in one shot. A throbbing pain was starting to make way inside her head, but it had nothing to do with the wine she drank.