Arya
The Twins seemed to have a more peaceful setting now that all the Freys that meant a damn were dead. The Riverlands were just starting to receive a greater part of the Winter. When Arya left them, the lands were only covered in a thin layer of snow and frost. Now the lands resembled the North in the summer, thick snows, and cold waters. The water around columns of the Twin's bridge started freezing, forming a second bridge of ice. Had the Freys been alive, many might even choose to use it rather than pay a toll. The skies were clear, but the sun burned cold, giving no heat to those underneath its light.
Since all the Frey men were dead, save some baby boys who held the family name, the castle was occupied by the women, under the watch of Tully and Lannister soldiers. Edmure acted as the Lord and operated the dealings of the Riverlands from the castle. From what Arya had heard from the people in taverns she stopped at during her travels, her uncle was still practically a prisoner. As for why, she reasoned that it was to keep him far away from his wife and son, reminding him about his situation.
As she approached the Eastern Twin on her horse, she was stopped by two Lannister at the edge of an encampment made just outside the castle. It consisted of maybe a hundred men, but Arya wouldn't need to fight her way through.
"Halt!" One of them said. He was in full armor, hiding almost all detail to identify him. The only thing Arya could tell was that he was at least middle aged. The soldier with him was a man, barely twenty, carrying his helmet under his arm. "If you wish to cross, you'll have to pay a toll to the Lord of the Twins."
"I'm not here to cross the bridge, I'm here to bring a message for Lord Edmure Tully from the North." Arya pulled out a letter, sealed with wax stamped with the Stark Direwolf.
"If that's all, then give it here. We'll deliver it." The older soldier reached for the letter, but Arya pulled it out of his reach.
"I'm afraid my instructions are to deliver this directly to Lord Edmure."
"No one is allowed to see the Lord unless we allow it."
"Then it seems we have a problem. I need to follow my instructions, but I can't see the Lord."
Before the older soldier could spit out some useless argument to her, the younger one tried to handle things. "I know that being from the North, you probably have absolutely no trust in men with the Lannister colors. Regardless, we have our orders, but if you'd find it acceptable, I can ask our captain if he'd allow one of the Tully soldiers to deliver the message when he returns."
"He isn't here now?"
"He's gone for the next two days, but if you have the time to wait, there's a tavern we use sometimes that's not far from here you could stay at."
'Perfect,' Arya thought.
The two soldiers looked at each other, the older one shrugging to the younger one. "That works for me," the older one said, obviously tired of lazy. He turned to head back to his post as the younger soldier bowed his head, smiling.
"That would relieve my worries quite a bit, I'll make sure to repay you somehow."
"There'll be no need for that. Safe travels little lady." He rejoined his companion as Arya started back down the road she came.
She took a path leading east about a mile down the road and followed it for nearly the same distance until she arrived at a small gathering of buildings. What was here used to be the makings of a village probably years ago, but there was much damage done and the only building that had the least structural damage was the tavern.
After tying the reigns of her horse to a post outside, Arya entered the building, amazed at the quality. Most of the taverns she visited tended to have a gross atmosphere, but this place felt warm and at home. Arya took a seat at a small table and order a pie and an ale. As her food was brought to her, she scanned the room for any Lannister soldiers. Her eyes caught the flash of a bright red cloak and the man it was attached to. He was sitting at a table hidden by a wooden beam. His helmet rested next to his food as his sword up against his chair. His back was turned to Arya which gave her the best opportunity to observe his actions. He was going over some documents while he ate, taking an occasional drink of his ale. It wasn't until a young woman brought him a replacement mug of ale did he seem to try and woo her, placing his hands on her thighs. She quickly escaped him, showing no interest in him. 'Now I know how to get close.' Arya finished her meal and left some silver for the server. At her horse, Arya filed through a satchel and found the face of the girl who fed pies to Walder Frey.
The Lannister soldier was almost through writing his letter requesting for more supplies from King's Landing. He sat back in his chair, exhausted and unhappy. He'd been in the Riverlands for three years and hadn't been inside a woman the whole time. When he fought in the War of the Five Kings, all he had to do was flash the Lannister red and girls would submit to him, but now that they were ordered to keep the peace and the Tully forces were fierce and ever watchful.
His attention was redirected to a young women's dress that brushed his body as she walked him. He looked up and lusted after what he saw. The lady who wore the dress was the prettiest he'd seen in the Riverlands. She sat down at the table across from him, setting down a basket filled with kindling she carried. She only had an ale brought to her and she took notice of the eyes that watched her. She cracked a tiny smile as she took a drink of her ale.
The soldier got up from his seat, bringing his mug with him and approached her table. "I've come to this tavern every day for the past six months and I know everyone's face here except yours."
"I'm here to find work. The Westerlands are growing dangerous with those foreign savages in the Reach. All of our soldiers aren't there to keep us ladies safe anymore." Her voice was seductive and soothing to hear.
"Can't be much better here. Now that the Wildings are passed the Wall, it's only a matter of time before they come down here."
"Then it's a good thing that the Riverlands are filled with brave lions to protect us. What name does this lion have the pleasure of being?"
He smiled at her, enjoying the conversation. "Trysten Hills. What kind of work are you looking for?"
"The kind that can keep me warm through the winter and in my bed. The only problem is I can't find a single brothel anywhere."
Trysten's eyes widened with excitement. "You're a whore?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Whores will fuck anyone that flashes money at them."
"And you don't?"
She stood up and brought her head to his ear, whispering softly. "I don't fuck for money, I make men lust after me like they've never even touched a woman before relieving that desire, something I can assure you have never felt, not even in your dreams. But I can fix that if you'd like." Trysten's free hand moved on its own as his felt the warmth of her hip. His hand was suddenly slapped lightly as she leaned back from him, looking into his eyes. "When the first stars light the sky, come back and find me here." She smirked at him as she walked past him and out of the building with her kindling. He'd never been as hard as he was in his life. Trysten drank the rest of his ale and gathered his things, leaving for his camp.
As twilight darkened the sky and the stars appeared, Tyrsten returned to the tavern, but before he got to the entrance, he heard the lady's voice calling to him. "My brave lion!" He turned his head and saw the lady in the doorway of one of the abandoned buildings. The second floor of it flashed the light of a lit fire. She smiled at him as she went inside.
He practically ran after her into the building. The first floor was a destroyed mess, but when he reached the second floor, it was cleaned and almost refurbished. A fire was lit in a makeshift pit and there was a table with two mugs resting atop it. "Wouldn't it be better if we had a bed? I'm sure the tavern has a spare room."
"It does," she told him, "but we won't be lying down." She removed a shawl from her shoulders, exposing her cleavage she protected. She picked up one of the ales and handed it to him. Wine and ale make everything taste better, wouldn't you agree?"
"Such a thing has never been wrong." He took the mug and took a long drink, ravishing in its contents. "It's wine, the best I've ever had."
"It's an Arbor Gold."
"It's amazing, where did you get such a drink?"
"I had some left over."
"From what?" Trysten finally noticed that she hadn't had any of hers.
"The last feast of the Freys."
Trysten looked down to the wine in shock, realizing what he just drank. He dropped the mug and grabbed at his neck, feeling a sting arise in it. He fell to his knees as he felt a burn erupt from his stomach and seared his throat. The woman knelt down time him and leaned him forward.
"Careful now, I can't have that armor stained, my lion." He coughed up his own blood and choked on whatever didn't exit his mouth. His head pulsed and buzzed, feeling utter agony as he collapsed to the ground and losing his vision. Then he was nothing, he was no one.
Arya had never worn a full suit of armor before, and considering it was men for a grown man twice her size and felt like someone was sitting on her shoulders, she didn't like it very much. She would have to get Gendry to make her a suit that fit her. She would want something light, but also resembling the traditional Stark armor.
All the problems she felt disappeared when she put on her new face and became a Lannister soldier. He strapped his sword around his waist, retrieved the letter for Edmure Tully, and headed for the Twins leaving the faceless body in the woods to rot.
As he walked passed the camp, the Lannister soldiers gave no attention to him as he walked passed them. Making his way through the castle, he finally arrived at the door to Edmure's solar. He knocked and waited for a response.
"Come in." Trysten opened the door and saw Edmure Tully sitting on his bed. He looked like he was deep into his thoughts about something. He was dressed for bed and barefoot on the cold stone floor. He turned his head to Trysten, puzzled at his presence. "What do you want?"
"A letter from the North arrived this afternoon." Trysten held out the letter to the lord as he got up and walked over to him.
"It's nice to finally get a letter that's seal hasn't been broken for once." He said as reached out for the letter. When his hands tried to pull it, Trysten resisted and tightened his grip making Edmure look up at him, puzzled.
"Follows these instructions to the note, Lord Edmure, and everything will work out for the better. The North remembers." Trysten released the letter to Edmure and walked out, leaving him speechless. With the letter delivered, it was time to free the aunt and cousin of Arya Stark.
Being part of the Lannister army, Trysten was free to cross the bridge at will. After he had made it to the west side of the Twins and gotten far away from the castle and the camps, he removed his face and returned to who she was. Arya then disposed of the Lannister armor and gear, but kept Trysten's face with the others. The moon was high in the night sky and she had a long journey to Riverrun.
After three days riding, she only had one day left. The snows weren't as deep this south in the Riverlands and the Tully soldiers were scarcer. Arya was on her horse, trotting down a path, enjoying the light snowfall and the smell of the trees in the winter. It was much different than when she traveled with the Hound to the Eyrie. Things felt more peaceful and she didn't have to be on the run.
As Arya approached a small wooden bridge over a creek, she decided to refill her water pouch and let her horse rest for an hour. She dismounted and pulled on the reigns, guiding the horse to the water. As it lowered its head and drank, Arya retrieved her water pouch from the saddle and went a bit upstream and filled it up. She took a drink herself, enjoying the coldness of the flavor. When she exhaled after drinking, her throat felt like it would freeze instantly. Feeling refreshed, Arya returned to her horse and place her water pouch back onto the saddle. She then reached into a satchel that hung over the horse and pulled out the piece of shattered steel and a metal file she swiped from Gendry's forge before she left. Before she left, it was just an odd shape, but spending some time filing out jagged points and smoothing the edges, the piece of steel was starting to take shape.
As she ran the file up and down on the steel, she could start to hear to sound of horses approaching from the south. She looked up and scanning through the trees, she could see four Lannister men on the road heading north. She stooped her filing and put away the steel and file before mounting her horse to continue her travels. She crossed the bridge and began to hear the soldiers in a conversation, laughing and enjoying themselves. As she was about to pass them, they paid her no heed and she kept her gaze away from them on the road. In the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the soldiers' smiles vanished and turn into a scowl at Arya's hip. "Oy! Girl!" he called out. Arya stopped her horse and turned to face them, not saying a word. The soldier who called to her stopped his horse and dismounted, his companions doing the same, and approached her but kept their distance. "What are you doin out ere?"
"Heading south to Kings Landing." Arya lied.
"Where you from?"
"I'm returning from visiting my family near the Twins." As Arya looked at this man, she couldn't help but feel she's seen him from somewhere.
"That sword you have," he pointed to Needle, "where'd you get it?"
"It was a gift from my brother. He's a smith."
"It's quite a nice looking little blade, the design must be one of kind. But it's such a coincidence, because I've seen one that looked just like that. My friend Polliver had a sword like that when we at Harrenhal. Told me he nicked it from a boy in a Night's Watch caravan they captured."
"Are you sure it's the same sword?"
"Don't know, I only saw it once at Harrenhal before I left for Kings Landing. But then I heard that Polliver was killed at an inn with my other friends by the Hound." His hand crept to the pommel of his sword. "And a little girl he traveled with."
Arya sighed and dismounted. When her feet touched the ground, the soldiers drew their blade and pointed them at Arya. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Arya asked, removing her cloak from her shoulders.
"I've been in seven ba'les, I'm pretty sure a girl who thinks she can fight will be easier than them."
"I don't think so, considering you were probably at the back of the army, waiting for everyone else to do the fighting." Arya's provoking wasn't the best, but it was enough for the soldier to run at her, his sword held high and attempt to slash her. Arya easily dodged and ducked when he swung his blade again at her. His movements were horrible and slow enough that anyone could evade them. Having enough fun wearing him out, Arya drew needle and redirected his blade away and fluently cut at the back of his knee, waiting for him to buckle before sticking the pointy end into his eye and quickly pulling out, waiting for him to drop. She twirled needle around and kept it behind her back, waiting for her next opponent. The other men stared at her in shock before two of them rushed at her at the same time. Since the dagger was hidden on the saddle, Arya would have to kill them one at a time. The weak parts of their armor were at the joints and the neck. Sliding to the right, Arya spun around and planted needle in the shoulder of a soldier, cutting an artery and his blood began to empty from the wound. He fell to his knees, turning pale and dazed. He fell into the blood-stained snow moments later before Arya parried two strikes from the other soldier and managed to stick Needle into the man's mouth and out through the back of a head. He remained standing, but he was frozen in place and shaking. When Arya removed her sword, he fell to the ground next to his comrades.
Arya looked up at the last soldier who was the youngest of them all. He panicked and dropped his sword, running to his horse. He mounted it and rode as fast as he could to the north. Arya scoffed as she wiped the blood from Needle with the cape of one if her victims. The furthest Lannister camp she noticed during her riding was at least a day ahead so she had plenty of time to get away. As for the bodies, the wolves could have them.
