Arya breathed deeply as she silently slipped through the palace halls following the small shadow. The cat was sneaky for sure, but she knew she would not get another lesson from Syrio if she did not catch the damned thing. She had been following the small animal for most of the day already, completely ignoring the far-away sounds of the tournament taking place. She had gone yesterday after the Septa had squeezed her into another dress, but she did not enjoy it as much as she thought she would.
Especially after the Mountain slaughtered that poor Vale knight.
She pressed the morbid thoughts from her mind as she watched the feline stop on a darkened step near the lower staircase in the hallway. Her father wanted her and Sansa to stay away from the catacombs under the palace, but after hearing Myria's stories of her exploring them in her youth it was all Arya had been itching to do. And if she was doing as her water dancing instructor asked how would she be in the wrong?
She carefully stepped closer to the cat and smiled when it jumped down the stairs to escape from her clutches. Ayra rolled up her sleeves before she bounded after the poor animal, smiling as she flew down the stairs. The young girl paused at the edge of the stairwell and took in the lower hall. The walls were sparsely scattered with torches creating a mass of shadows along the floor, small liquid dripping could be heard throughout the entire area, and a strong putrid smell wafted through the air.
The cat sprinted out from one of the shadows and Arya leaped after the black-furred beast. She threw her arms out attempting the latch onto the hind legs of the creature, but it evaded her well. The wild girl's attention was so focused on the animal she missed the obstacle in her way and crashed into a painfully hard object.
Her temple throbbed as her vision flickered in and out of focus as she glanced up at the wall, but the large cream-colored entity was not the wall at all. It was a giant dragon skull. 14 no 15 feet in size, with a sharp row of teeth half the length of herself and curved horns resting at the top of the cranium like a regal crown. Ayra took a deep breath as she glanced to the side and saw a matching sized skull on either side of the one she ran herself into and she knew exactly what these skulls used to be.
Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes. Aegon the Conqueror's dragons.
The Northern girl beamed at the sight of them. Myria had told her about the mass of dragon skulls hidden within the Keep, but she never thought she would ever be lucky enough to come across them.
"He's found one bastard already," Arya's head snapped to the left side of the room and caught the sight of a body shaped shadow moving across the wall and quickly hid within the skull to avoid being caught. "He has the book, the rest will come."
"And when he knows the truth, what will he do?" The small girl froze at the sound of two men approaching closer to her hiding spot.
"The Gods alone know. The fools tried to kill his son and what's worse, they botched it. The wolf and the lion will be at each others' throats," The man sighed. "We will be at war soon."
"What good is war now? We're not ready. If one Hand can die, why not a second?" The brunette girl tensed at the threat aimed at her father.
"This Hand is not the other."
"We need time. Khal Drogo will not make his move until his son is born. You know how these savages are."
"I am well aware, but in the meantime, I need you to deliver this letter to our knight as swiftly as possible. He will know what to do with it."
Arya peaked her head between two teeth to see one cloaked man pass a small scroll to another. She squinted to try to catch any defining features of them but was unsuccessful.
"I will be as fast as my ships are able, but what if he is still not ready?"
The taller man smiled, "I may have a solution for that issue in the making, this is no longer a game for just two players."
With his words, he led his companion from the room, locking the gate at the end of the hall as they went. Once they had walked far enough out of her hearing range and line of sight Arya jumped up and ran to the gate, attempting to open the locked area. She huffed when the bars refused to move, but stalled when she heard a small 'meow' come from the other side of the room. She glanced over to see the black cat from earlier watching her before turning and heading down a small hidden hallway. The Stark girl chased after the cat and breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed light coming from the end of the tunnel.
She ran to the end of the way to be met with the light of the sun and the smell of the ocean's water. People glanced at the tunnel's opening as a girl's laughter rang from inside of it and went back to their own business once catching sight of the dirty child. Arya quieted her laughing and climbed out of the tunnel and across the small cliff until her feet were safely planted upon the sand of Blackwater Bay.
She then started to sprint back towards the castle. She had to tell her father what she just heard. His life may be in danger!
Before she was able to get very far at all she once more crashed into a hard object and swung her head up when she felt calloused hands gently grip her upper arms. Her grey eyes met with deep ocean blue eyes and she blushed at the fact she crashed into some poor sod.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah," She awkwardly pulled away from the tallboy. "Sorry for crashing into you, but I'm in a bit of a rush."
"Oh yeah?" The blue-eyed boy smiled at the small girl. "Where you off to?"
"The castle, I have to speak with my father immediately." Arya started to move swiftly through the crowded streets
Before she could rush off again, however, a voice sounded from close behind her, "I'm heading to the Keep too. Could give you some company so you don't get crushed."
"Are you calling me small? And why would you go to the palace?"
Arya silently fumed as he chuckled at her, "An old friend is in town and requested I come visit her. That's about it." She groaned but nodded at the boy and then continued on her way with her tall escort following behind. They quickly reached the lower gates of the Red Keep and stalled when the guards by the gate swung their spears in front of them, halting their movements.
"Off with you two, no begging," Ayra took a step back at the harsh tone of the palace guard.
"I'm not a beggar." Arya pushed her shoulders back and raised up her head. "I live here."
"Do you want a smack on your ear to help your hearing?"
"I want to see my father," The boy next to Arya placed a hand on her shoulder as he eyed the faces of the armed men.
"I want to fuck the queen for all the good she does me," The pair laughed at each other, but stopped when they noticed the children were still present. "You want your father boy? He's lying on the floor of some tavern, getting pissed on by his friends."
"My father is Hand of the King. I'm not a boy, I'm Arya Stark of Winterfell and if you lay a hand on me my father will have both your heads on spikes." The boy behind the small girl raised his brows at her serious tone. "Now, are you going to let us by, or do I need to smack you on the ear for your hearing?"
The two men glanced at each other then glanced back the child, but before they could tell her off again a voice sounded behind them, "Arya, Gendry. Strange to see you two together." Everyone turned their heads to the voice of Myria Stark, and Arya cracked a grin at the sight of her favorite sister and brother walking toward her and her new friend.
"Lady Dayne, odd to see you back in the capital."
"It's Stark now, Willam. And I am visiting my husband's family, one of which you are detaining at the moment." The castle guard reddened at the clipped sound of the highborn lady's voice and quickly shoved himself and his partner out of the children's way. Gendry and Arya slipped past the guards with ease and the eleven-year-old girl flung herself into Jon's arms while the black-haired boy shook hands with the Dornish woman.
"It's lovely to see you again, m'lady," Gendry muttered while attempting to hold in a chuckle.
"Oh please, you know I am far from a proper lady and thank you for escorting my sister in law back to the castle. Her father has been incredibly worried."
The thirteen-year-old shrugged his shoulders, "Didn't even know she was your sister, Myria."
The Woman smiled and sighed, "Well she is and now I must escort her to her father before he passes from worry. If you wouldn't mind waiting in the gardens for me?" He nodded his head and walked towards the inner courtyard of the Keep. Myria nodded at Jon and he reluctantly released his little sister. The trio then walked swiftly through the keep and stopped when they reached the door to Lord Stark's solar. Jon lightly knocked on the door and they waited until Lord Eddard muttered a 'come in.' When the three were inside the room the couple stood back as the daughter and father hugged each other tightly.
"I had half my guard searching for you," Arya frowned at the disappointing tone of her father. "You promised me this behavior would stop."
"They said they were going to kill you!"
The three adults shared a sharp look, "Who did?"
"I didn't see them well, it was dark," Myria gently placed her hand onto the girl's back. "I'm not lying!"
"Where did you see them, Arya?"
"In the dungeons, near the dragon skulls. They said you found the bastard, and the wolves are fighting the lions and savage. Something about the savage."
Jon glanced at his father, "What were you doing in the dungeons?"
Arya shrugged, "Chasing a cat."
A knock sounded on the door and the Stark family members turned their heads to see a man with long dark hair and Northern armor stepped into the room, "Pardon my Lord, there's a Night's watchman wishing to have a word, says it's urgent."
"Thank you, Jory, please take my daughter to her room and give us a moment." The Stark vassel bowed and led the small girl from the room.
"What can you make of her words, Myria?" The Dornish woman sighed at Lord Eddard's question.
"Chaos is coming. She most likely witnessed a meeting between Lord Varys and one of his contacts across the Narrow Sea, hence the 'Savage' she kept hearing about. But the Lion and the Wolves most likely pertains to our family and the Lannisters. Varys knows about what happened to Bran and how Lady Catelyn not-so-secretly followed us to the Capital," Lord Stark opened his mouth to deny the statement, but Myria's raised hand halted the words in his mouth. "Don't try covering for her, many of the spies in the city saw her entering Lord Baelish's brothel. I told you and her not to trust that snake of a man."
"They were childhood friends, and he offered to help us in the search for the attacker. He even identified who owned the blade." Myria rolled her eyes at the words flowing from the liege Lord's mouth.
"Father, Myria told Lady Stark and Robb who owned that blade back in Winterfell, and I trust her word far more than this Lord Baelish." Eddard raised his brows.
"So you agree it was Tyrion Lannister who won that blade?"
She snorted, "Heavens no, Tyrion would never bet against his own brother. He wasn't even at that tournament. The king bet that knife and lost it to Lord Baelish."
Lord Stark brooded over the accusation set out, "If what you say is true, then why would he offer to help?"
"The people who offer help but have no reason to are always the most suspicious when a crime takes place. Ser Barristan Selmy told me that long ago, and I know he wants to keep tabs on what you know so he can cover his own tracks."
Jon scoffed, "Simply speaking he is pulling the wool over your eyes and he used your wife as bait. She trusts him far too much even though the last time she saw him was over 20 years ago."
"No," Ned sighed as he reclaimed his seat. "Your right, Jon. He had no reason except his overly obsessive devotion to my wife. How should I solve this then?"
"Let him think you still need his help, but collect evidence and bring it to the King. Even he can't ignore Baelish's plot to turn the Starks and Lannisters against each other." The Lord of Winterfell nodded at the confident tone of the newly married woman.
"Alright, but for now I will see to this present issue. Jory." The couple turned as the young man walked into the room. "Please send the Night's watchmen in, I can help with his issue now." The brunette man nodded and opened the door wider for a grim-faced man to step through the doorway before reclosing the door. "Your name, friend?"
"Yoren, if it pleases you, Lord Stark. This must be your newly wedded son."
Jon shook Yoren's offered hand, "Did Benjen send you?" Ned asked.
"No one sent me, my Lord. I'm here to find men for the Wall. See if there's any scum in the dungeons I might fit for service."
"We'll find recruits for you."
Yoren nodded, "Thank you, my Lord, but that's not the only reason I disturbed you now. Your brother Benjen, his blood runs black. It makes him just as much as my brother as he is yours. It's for his sake I road here so hard I damn near killed my horse," Myria furrowed her brows at the nervous tone of his voice. "Others are riding, the whole city will know by tomorrow."
"Know what?"
"It's your wife, she's taken the Imp. She took him prisoner on the King's road and is riding him to the Eyrie as we speak."