A/N: The final main chapter is here. And I will be posting the Epilogue tomorrow. Essentially, Of Gold and Iron is almost at a close. Emotional thoughts to come on the epilogue tomorrow, but enjoy for now!

Chapter 65: The Night Everything Ended

Once Tywin was sure that Arya was safely pulled back from the ledge of the abandoned skyscraper, he immediately put in a call to the president of the Iron Bank. Considering the late hour, he did not expect him to answer. And yet he did, which told him that the president had been waiting up to see the results of this trade.

"Well, Mr. Lannister," Tycho said. "Do you have the girl as promised?"

"Technically speaking," Tywin said. "Though I may not have if it was up to your man. It seems you don't have as much control of the Faceless Men as you claim."

"Well, I said before we are not their masters," Tycho said.

"Still," Tywin said. "You were relying on them to carry out this deal. And Jaqen H'ghar very nearly killed me and the girl."

"But you are both alive and well?"

Tywin glanced over at Arya. She sat a few meters away, clutching the coat he had wrapped around her shoulders. He had no idea what sorts of health effects would linger on her after this night. Even if the physical trauma was minor, he imagined the emotional damage would stick with her.

"We're alive, yes," Tywin said. "Fortunately for you."

"Then there is no problem."

"Oh, there's a problem," Tywin said. "If left to you and your people, the deal would have fallen through. So I feel inclined to renegotiate."

"Of course you do," Tycho said. "Well, I suppose for the inconvenience of an attempt on your life…I can reduce the remaining debt by 25%."

"60%," Tywin said.

"50%," Tycho said. "And you are still required to resign. No matter how much you negotiate, that aspect won't go away."

"Very well," Tywin paced from one column to another. "Then I have your word? Once the amount is paid and my resignation complete…our quarrel is at its end?"

"Yes," Tycho said. "You have my word. The past will remain in the past hence forth. We shall no longer be enemies."

"And you have my word," Tywin said. "That if you break that promise I will see to it that your bank is dismantled down to the last stone."

"A frightening prospect indeed," Tycho said. "Have a pleasant night, Mr. Lannister."

He ended the call and Tywin exhaled, lowering his phone and slipping it back into his pocket. Then he went to join Arya where she sat staring at one of the lanterns.

"You're sure you're not hurt?" he asked.

"I've had worse," Arya murmured.

"Based on my experience, that doesn't mean you're not hurt," Tywin replied.

The corner of her mouth twitched. "I'll be okay. Thanks to you." She swallowed hard. "What is it…that you promised them? The Iron Bank?"

"A great deal of money," Tywin said.

"And your resignation?" Arya asked. "I…overheard some of the phone call. This place echos."

"Yes," Tywin said. "Before you ask 'why' you should know that it bought my life as well as yours. This was a debt left long unpaid and the Iron Bank always has its due."

"Maybe," Arya said. "Only…you almost traded your life for mine. I was sober enough when that happened. I saw what you were about to do."

Tywin was silent for a long moment. "If one of us was going to pay the price for Braavos…then it certainly shouldn't have been you."

"Right. Braavos," Arya said. "Oberyn Martell told me about what happened during the war. Or at least about the rumors. I had hoped to ask you more about it but…then Jaqen found me. So…I suppose the rumors were true."

"Likely yes," Tywin said.

"I thought they might go after you. I was going to warn you. But then…"

"Then they went after you instead," Tywin finished for her.

"Yes." Arya studied her hands, picking at the edge of one of her nails. "You know…it was one of my early assignments, back when I was still Beth Rivers…to get close to Tywin Lannister. Jaqen asked me after he took me…if he thought I succeeded. But I realize now that was a rhetorical question. He was confident I succeeded…or else he wouldn't have taken me at all. He would have just killed you."

Tywin inclined his head. "I suppose he recognized the easy way you have with people. You're actually quite difficult to dislike, Arya."

Arya smiled a little. "Really? It feels like lots of people have disliked me over the years."

"Foolish people, I imagine," Tywin said. "Or anyone that has earned your rage. I suppose I'm lucky that I never did."

"No," Arya said. "Now you just have my thanks."

"And you have mine," Tywin said. "You made sure that I did not have to pull that trigger."

Arya shrugged. "Couldn't let you die. I like you too, you know."

"I know," Tywin said. And he did, though it was a truth that greatly surprised him. Being liked by Starks was still such a bizarre thing.

Tywin extended his hand to her. "Come. Let's get you back to your family."

Arya accepted his hand and let him pull her to her feet.

She went one more time to the ledge of the skyscraper, looking down into the darkness, as if reassuring herself that Jaqen H'ghar was truly gone. Then she joined him, and they walked together from the building.

It was one of the longest nights of Catelyn's life, and that was surely saying something. She had passed many a long night over the years, usually waiting to see if a loved one would live or die. The night of Ned's accident. The first nights after the various disappearances of her daughters. Every one of those times had pushed her right to the brink of her sanity.

This was one more long night to add to the pile. She could not sit still in the parlor. She paced back and forth, checking her watch every two minutes. She reminded herself that it hadn't been too long yet. That it would take Tywin time to get to the location. It would take him time to get Arya back.

Soon. Soon. Just a little bit longer.

She went from one window of the parlor to another. And there she was stopped by Cersei, passing her a very full glass of wine.

"You need this," she said.

"I probably shouldn't drink," Catelyn murmured.

"Maybe not. That's not stopping any of the rest of us," Cersei said, pushing the wine glass into her hand. "Drink. Before you work yourself into a heart attack."

Catelyn accepted the wine, drinking deeply. She did not know if it would settle her, but at least it gave her something else to focus on besides her watch.

"I'm sure your daughter will be fine," Cersei said. "She's a resilient one. I got a taste of that when she was playing Beth Rivers."

Catelyn glanced at Cersei. It was strange to hear her speak fondly of Arya, even if it was in her usual tone of disdain. "I do sometimes forget that you knew my daughter when she was playing another part."

"Indeed," Cersei said. "I happened to like Beth."

"But not Arya?"

"Arya is…more complicated."

Catelyn understood why, considering Arya's history with Joffrey. But even Cersei couldn't protest that history at this point. Not after what Joffrey had done.

"See, Beth was a personality curated to make me like her," Cersei continued. "Arya isn't, because she had no need or interest in making me like her. But I enjoy her honesty. And her continued protectiveness of my daughter." She let out a breath, raising her glass. "And I suppose I'm going to have to get used to her. Considering."

Catelyn tilted her head to the side, confused for a moment. She glanced from Cersei back to Myrcella who was perched nervously on the edge of the couch, talking with her younger brother. It donned on her then what Cersei meant. "Ah. So you know."

"I know," Cersei said. "For better or worse, our families really are entwined now. In business and…otherwise."

"More than you even know," Tyrion said from a few feet away, raising his glass. He had a particularly mischievous look on his face and Catelyn wondered if she was going to have to bribe the man into secrecy about her and Tywin.

"Well. In any case," Catelyn said, choosing to distract Cersei from Tyrion's offhanded comment. "I happen to find Myrcella a lovely young woman. And I'm getting used to the idea of our families being entwined."

"Who would have thought," Cersei said, tilting her glass slightly toward Catelyn.

"Who would have thought," Catelyn agreed, clinking glasses with her.

It was as close as they might ever get to a truce or forgiveness. But after everything that had happened, Catelyn's anger toward the woman had dulled. She had kept a terrible secret for her son and had raised her eldest to be a monster. But at the end of the day, it was Baelish pulling the strings. And Cersei ended up as much a victim of his schemes as the Starks when she lost her son. It was a pain Catelyn wouldn't wish on anyone.

So she could accept the woman. She'd have to. They were going to be working together much more frequently when Tywin stepped down from his position.

Catelyn's phone buzzed in her pocket. She almost dropped her wine glass in her haste to reach for it, but Cersei was quick to pluck it from her hand as she fumbled for the device. She checked to see a single text from Tywin Lannister.

We're on our way back. Arya is fine.

Catelyn shuddered. She almost lost her feet entirely and had to brace herself on the wall. Robb was at her side in a second, grasping her arm.

"Mother. What is it?"

Catelyn turned to face the rest of the room, a relieved smile spreading across her face. "They're on their way back."

And just like that, the tension in the room eased from tense fear to pure and undiluted relief.

The first time Arya lay eyes on the Lannister manor, she was Beth Rivers. No one from nowhere, entering into the Lannister family with the purpose of obtaining employment. And beneath that, she had been Arya, terrified of failing. Terrified of being discovered. Terrifying of running into the family she had left behind again.

In this manor, she had been unmasked by Tywin Lannister. She had faced the Waif, her waking nightmare, and come out the victor. She had fallen in love with Myrcella Baratheon. And she had found Arya Stark once again.

Pulling through the gates now, she realized that she never had to return to Beth Rivers again. That she could truly leave that past behind her. And yet, it was not so easy as all of that. Beth Rivers would remain apart of her, as would every scar and wound she endured from the Faceless Men. All those parts of her that had been 'no one'…they had just been different shades of Arya Stark. Different pieces of one complicated whole.

So she didn't say goodbye to Beth Rivers or the nameless girl as the car slowed to a stop. Instead, she offered up an apology. An apology to the girl she used to be. An apology to the child she left in the rain at her father's graveside.

I am sorry. But we made it in the end. And we're going to keep making it.

It was that thought that rang out in her soul as she stepped from the car and turned toward the front of the house. The door crashed open, and she saw her family crowded together on the porch. Her siblings. Her cousin. Her mother.

Tears filled her eyes, and she raised her hand, managing a weak little wave. "I'm back."

They rushed her. It was hard to say who reached her first or which arms embraced her. Arya was simply caught up in a tangle of limbs that unmistakably belonged to her family. She feel Robb's arms wrapped around her. Smell Sansa's hair as she pressed her cheek against hers. Feel the nudge of Bran's wheelchair against her boot. Rickon's tears soaking into her shirt. Jon's worried but relieved voice, saying how glad he was to see her. And her mother's fierce grasp on her hand.

Arya let them hug her for as long as they wanted. It was for the best. If they pulled away too quickly, they would see what a mess of tears she was.

When they did eventually pull apart, Myrcella was there to greet her as well, practically flinging herself into her arms. She kissed Arya's cheek—then her lips—with no care at all about who might see. And Arya could not bring herself to care either.

"I'm glad you're back," she murmured. "Don't scare me like that again."

"Promise," Arya murmured.

"You've promised that before," Catelyn said, resting a hand on Arya's shoulder. "Do you mean it this time?"

"Yes," Arya said. "It's done with it. It's over. Really this time."

Catelyn nodded then pulled her into another warm hug. Arya let herself fall into it.

Over her mother's shoulder, she caught sight of Tywin standing amongst his own children, watching them. She offered him a small smile—one of gratitude and relief. And reflected that expression back at her.

It was a funny thing. That day in the cemetery, Arya came across a Braavosi coin. That little coin had set her life on an astonishing path. She thought it was a chance encounter, but it was actually a prop carefully placed to nudge her in the right direction. A piece of bait laid out by Petyr Baelish.

But he had not expected her to meet with Tywin Lannister in that cemetery. That was the true chance encounter, and it had created a powerful butterfly effect. Tywin may never had recognized Arya three years later if not for that little conversation. And because of it, Arya still had her name, and Tywin had his life.

What a funny thing it was—that so much could be changed by a two-minute conversation at a graveside. By an umbrella and a bus fare.

And a moment of shared grief in the rain.

A/N: This chapter is shorter, but I hope you guys don't mind since it is paired with the epilogue tomorrow :) It's a good feeling coming to the end of this story and I hope its good for you too even if you're sad to see it go. Review, subscribe and I'll see you next time!