Arya got back on the ship with the rest of the crew, and they sailed away from Storm's End just as she heard people talking about how the old maester died in his sleep. She could feel Asha watching her, but Arya didn't want to talk about it. All she could think about was that name, Daario, and Meereen, and the way the maester fought as she killed him. Arya based a lot of her life on death, but most of the time, she was defending herself or others when she killed. Even the stable boy she killed while escaping King's Landing was going to turn her in, so she was defending herself. Arya knew she could have knocked the maester out and gotten away before he was able to call for the guards. She could have hidden in the smuggling compartment of the ship, and no one would have ever known. She could have let him live, but, instead, she killed him, and Arya felt nothing.

Sansa said that she was worried she was going to lose her to revenge, and Arya wondered if this is what she meant. If this lack of feeling is what she would have felt if she was the one who killed Cersei Lannister. If she would have been able to kill someone without regrets or hesitation. Arya thought about the coin that would have taken her to Braavos if she hadn't escaped with Gendry all of those years ago. Would she have become a killer like Jaqen? Would she be killing for him right now? Arya laid in her bed and closed her eyes. It was all too much to think about.

Nearly a moon after the maester at Storm's End died, Arya arrived back in White Harbor, and everyone was acting fine. There didn't appear to be any rumors that war was coming, and the treaty seemed to be holding. Arya turned back to Asha was staring at her with no judgment in her eyes. It was nice not to be judged.

"I need to check on something, and then we need to start searching for anyone who might have information about the ships coming in and out of Shipbreaker Bay," Arya said.

"We can't raid them like we used to, not under Greyjoy colors, not unless you want to start a war, little wolf," Asha crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Tell me what you need to know, and I can start looking for it. Once we know, it'll be a lot easier."

"I can't risk this information getting out. I need to confirm we're right before we can do anything else. Can you stay nearby, and we can head out again once I have my information?" Arya asked. Asha smiled brightly and nodded to her crew.

"They need some time off anyway. I'll come with you to Winterfell and spend some time with that cousin of mine that I don't know very well. When you're ready to ship out again, I'll be there, and we can ship out. Simple as that." Asha turned around and began to give some orders to her crew, who cheered at the idea of getting some time off. They were a good group of people, and they respected Asha in a way that Arya rarely got to see with women in command. No one had a higher rank on the ship than Asha, and Arya wondered what it would be like to command a ship like that.

Everyone at Winterfell looked surprised to see Asha walk through the gates with her but seemed to accept her presence for what it was. Theon actually did look a little excited to get to know the cousin he'd only met a handful of times, and Brienne looked eager to learn how to fight from a woman who could keep herself steady on the raging sea. Arya accepted the hugs from her family and told them that while she was feeling better, she still wasn't feeling great either. It had been almost three moons since Gendry had been taken from her, and while Arya wanted to rush, that could get him killed. She knew nothing of Meereen or this Daario, but there was someone who did. Daenerys was just in Winterfell, but perhaps she would come again if Arya told her about the progress they were making with Rhaegal. She sent out the raven that night and pretended that she was okay with her family.

It turned out that information on Rhaegal was very much the right way to get Daenerys up to Winterfell. Ten days after she sent her raven Drogon appeared in the sky. This time, Arya made sure to forewarn her brother that a dragon would appear in the North's skies soon. Daenerys was alone this time, and she smiled softly as she walked into the castle. She greeted everyone warmly and nodded. Davos and Marya were in their rooms and would be staying there while Daenerys was here because they weren't sure how she would react to them running.

"If you see Ser Davos, please tell him that I'm sorry about what happened," Daenerys explained as they all sat in the Great Hall and had an early lunch. "I was surprised by the will as well, but the maester and others assured me in Storm's End that it was genuine."

"Seems odd that Edric would leave Storm's End to a man like Lord Connington," Sansa said, and Daenerys sighed.

"I don't disagree, but he does have the support of several Stormland houses, including Trant, Ewol, and a few others. I haven't decided if I will let him keep the position for now, but having the support of his fellow Lord's is very important," Daenerys explained. "That being said, the smallfolk have not taken to him the way they took to Edric, but Edric was a unique young man, and I don't suppose we'll ever see someone like him in the Stormlands again." Arya was glad that everyone in the Great Hall knew to keep their mouths shut about Gendry and the others being alive for now. Arya didn't believe that Daenerys had anything to do with this, but there could be spies in the Red Keep, and she didn't trust this information with anyone. They all changed the subject, and the conversation got lighter.

Arya took Daenerys out to meet Edd and Corbin. Edd looked like he fell in love on the spot while Corbin looked her up and down and didn't seem that impressed. They both seemed a bit taken back when Daenerys thanked them both for trying to help her son and bowing. Even Corbin, who didn't know Westeros customs that well, seemed to know that it was a big deal. Edd and Corbin spent the next hour telling Daenerys how they were going to try and get Rhaegal to try again and even told her what she might have to do to keep him flying should they succeed. Daenerys listened to every word and thanked them both again.

She wanted to see Rhaegal, and Arya was glad it could be just the two of them heading up to the caves again because it gave Arya a chance to talk to her without anyone else listening. No one else knew about the information she had, and Arya very much wanted to keep it that way.

"I heard you went sailing with Asha Greyjoy," Daenerys said as they walked along the path.

"I did," Arya replied. "The water is neutral land, and we never even got as far south as the Red Keep. I needed some time away from home. I also didn't leave the ship, so no need to declare war on us."

"I know, Arya, it's quite alright," Daenerys said as she held up a hand to silence her. "Did it help? Getting away from it all?"

"It did, and the men would come back aboard and tell me all sorts of stories from the taverns. So of them spoke about Meereen. You used to rule there, didn't you?" Arya asked.

"I did," Daenerys replied. "I wanted to end slavery there because it is truly a barbaric practice. There was a moment in my life where I thought Meereen was enough, and I could stay there and rule happily. I considered it but decided that coming to Westeros was the best decision I could make. Cersei was in power by then, and I knew I couldn't leave the people here to suffer under her."

"You just left?" Arya asked. "How can a queen just leave her kingdom?"

"I left a man named Daario Naharis in charge along with his army called the Second Sons to rule in my name." Arya glanced at Daenerys and saw an odd expression on her face that Arya had only seen once before; when Daenerys was around Quentyn. A piece of information seemed to slide into place, and she felt a little ill.

"I've seen that look in your eye before, Your Grace, and it was toward your husband. Did you know this Daario intimately?" she said.

"Nothing gets by you, Starks, does it," Daenerys said with a laugh. "Yes, Daario was my lover, and he was quite taken with me and very loyal, but I needed to come here. I know he would do anything to please me, and keeping Meereen safe is what pleases me, so I hope that he is doing a good job." Arya nodded and decided it was probably best not to ask any more questions lest Daenerys start to get suspicious. They visited Rhaegal, who seemed just thrilled to see his mother again, and she spent the night in Winterfell. She left the next morning, and Arya watched her go. Asha walked over, and the two of them watched the dragon fade into the sky and along the horizon line.

"What did you find out?" she asked.

"We need to look for ships heading to Meereen," Arya said. "I think he might have taken Gendry and the other as some sort of present or something he did in honor of her. When he knew her, she hated the Baratheon's for what they did to her family. He probably thinks he is doing her a favor by kidnapping the children of the man that ruined her life and stole her family's crown all of those years ago." Asha nodded, and the two of them stood in silence for a moment, but Asha broke the silence.

"If that's the case, Arya, you should prepare yourself for the worst possible scenario," she said. "If he took them in honor of her, then he might have killed them in honor of her as well." Arya didn't say anything because the moment that she did, she would have to think about the fact that Asha was right. If Daario thought he was honoring Daenerys by taking them, there was a chance they were already dead, but she refused to believe that. She refused to believe that she wouldn't know if Gendry left this world.

They left the next morning for the Narrow Sea and began to try and find ships that were sailing for Meereen. It was taking too long, and Arya kept counting the days as she wondered if she was running out of time. Another moon went by, and it had been four since Gendry was taken. If he was still alive, she didn't want to think about what he was being treated like. She hoped that Daario wasn't an idiot and knew that he had noble prisoners. Maybe he would treat them better, and maybe there was still hope that her husband was still whole and well.

That hope was crushed the day that they finally found a ship with a man that was willing to talk. He panicked as soon as he saw them and assured her that he didn't know anything about anything. He was lying through his teeth.

"I swear, the soldiers, they just wanted to use my ship. I don't usually transport cargo like that. Please, don't tell Queen Daenerys or she might burn me, and I don't want that. Please, they didn't say what they were transporting," the captain begged, and Arya frowned deeply.

"Do you think Daenerys would burn you for transporting political prisoners?" she asked, and the man blinked. He glanced between the two of them and saw Arya fingering the sword at her hip. It was clear that he was afraid of whoever took control of his ship as well.

"No, I didn't know they were nobles," the man said carefully. "They didn't tell me they were nobles; they told me they were slaves. Two men and two women with black hair and blue eyes, that is what they looked like when I saw them. Queen Daenerys banned slavery in Meereen, but those were Daario's men, and I didn't want to question them. Please, you have to believe me, I wanted nothing to do with those slaves." Arya didn't want to hear another word from this man and walked away without another word. She vaguely heard Asha thank the man for his help and passed him some coins that Arya had taken from Winterfell for this exact purpose. Arya stared east and tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"He said they were slaves," Arya whispered. "He said they were slaves because there isn't anything in the world that Daenerys hates more than slavery. Death is too good of a punishment for the enemies of the Dragon Queen. This man made them into slaves."

"We need to go back to the North," Asha said, and Arya stared at her. They needed to go to Meereen, but Asha seemed to be reading her mind. "No, if we go and kick up a fuss, it'll make things worse for them if they are still in Meereen. We need more information, and there isn't anyone with better contacts in the east than your Ser Davos. I don't have connections in Meereen, but he will and let him get us some information. Then, we'll go get your husband back." Arya nodded slowly and then began to sail back to White Harbor.

It took Davos another full moon turn for him to figure out exactly what was going on in Meereen because, apparently, it was chaos. At first, he didn't seem to understand why it was taking everyone so long to get back to him, but Arya kept looking at the days that ticked by. It was five moon turns now since Gendry went missing, and every day it felt like she was closer to losing him. When Davos finally got a raven from one of his contacts near Meereen, Arya thought she was finally going to have enough news that she'd have the opportunity to go and find him. The chance to bring Gendry and his siblings home, but Davos paled as he read the message.

"Davos, please, tell me what's wrong," Arya said.

"Daario is dead. Apparently, a woman with black curly hair tried to take him to bed and killed him. Then she and her siblings fled east. The guards are confident that they will be caught because there isn't a port town that will help them, and if they try to turn around and go west, someone will catch them," Davos explained. "They got away, Arya, but they are being chased across Essos, and no one knows exactly where they are or where they are going to end up. We have no way of finding them."

It was only a few days after the first month that Edric spiked a fever. The wound on his leg was beginning to fester, and they had nothing they could use to treat it. Gendry carried his little brother into every single village he could find and begged for them to help him. He offered them anything he had to help him, but everyone refused. They all told him that there was no way that they would risk the wrath of the Second Sons to help a bunch of runaway slaves. Gendry tried to explain that they were kin of the Dragon Queen, but no one believed them. A man spat in his face and told Gendry that kin of the Dragon Queen wouldn't look like him.

Gendry sat Edric down in some shade and tried to think about what he could do. The infection was traveling, and it appeared that walking funny on the leg had opened up some blisters on Edric's foot as well. The foot was rotting; Gendry knew what a limb that was dying looked like, and it needed to be removed, but the idea of mangling his brother like that turned his stomach. Bella and Mya were back at the tiny campsite they had made, and he wanted to bring them back good news, but he didn't have any. He was so tired, and every muscle hurt, but Edric was barely conscious, let alone able to walk.

"Do you really know her?" a voice asked, and Gendry looked up to see a woman in rags standing just out of reach.

"I made the crown that she wears with my bare hands. She legitimized my brother and me, gave us names, and calls us family," Gendry replied.

"The gold dragon that she rides, I've seen it, and it's incredible," the woman said, and Gendry frowned because that didn't make any sense.

"She didn't ride the golden one, she rode the black one," he said, wondering if maybe Daenerys rode Viserion at some point during her stay in Meereen. The woman suddenly grinned and relaxed.

"You do know her," the woman said. "I was a slave in Meereen, and she helped free me. I believe you when you say she is kin." The woman reached into her pack and pulled out a small bottle. She handed it to Gendry and looked down at Edric. "His foot, it is killing him, you need to remove it if he's going to live. If you remove the site of the infection and have him drink what I just gave you, I believe he'll live. Otherwise, he will die in two days."

"Thank you," Gendry whispered as he looked over the bottle in his hand. When he looked up to thank the woman again, she was gone. He imagined she didn't want to seen with him, and he didn't entirely blame her. Gendry grit his teeth and lifted his brother onto his back and carried him back to the site. Mya and Bella looked sad to see him, but when he told them about his plan, they both looked disturbed.

"Gendry, he-" Bella started.

"If we don't do this, he dies," Gendry said as he tied a cord just above the infection site. They burned and cleaned the swords the best they could and put a piece of leather between Edric's teeth just in case he woke up. Mya and Bella were the ones who had to hold him down as Gendry had to cut through flesh and bone to remove the infected foot. Edric woke up and screamed but passed out again mere seconds later. Gendry was grateful, but that scream of pain would haunt his nightmares. He switched places with Mya, who learned how to sew so she could help healers. They managed to massage the potion down Edric's throat, and they all fell asleep covered in blood.

They couldn't let Edric rest too long, and after four days, Gendry had to carry him again. It had been two months since they were taken from Storm's End, and every time Gendry thought they were getting some distance between them and the Second Sons, more of them would be rumored to be on the way. Edric woke up and didn't say anything about his foot. Instead, he clenched his jaw as they continued to run.

The weeks went by, and the horizon never seemed to end. They were getting weaker and weaker by the day, and Gendry couldn't remember a time when they felt rested. Another moon went by and then another, and before he knew it, it had been five moons since they were taken from Storm's End. Their camps were invaded by soldiers, and Gendry had more blood on his hands. Mya and Bella both learned to sleep with their hands on daggers and would lash out like they were going to slit throats. In some way, the running reminded him of the Riverlands with Arya and Hot Pie. They were miserable, but they were closer as siblings than they had ever been. Gendry never thought he would have this connection with them, yet here they were. It was how he bonded with Arya, so of course, it was how he connected with his sisters and brother.

The sun rose, and Gendry gathered Edric into his arms, Mya and Bella gathered their things, and they continued to go east. Perhaps they would find the edge of the world, and Gendry contemplated just walking off the edge. Maybe then he could get some rest.