Valar Dohaeris

King's Landing had changed a lot since the last time that Arya had been inside the walls of the Red Keep. When her father had been Hand of the King, the castle had been full of handmaidens, and courtiers. It had also been full of life. King Robert had still been alive. The whole castle seemed brighter and full of light somehow. Arya stood now, facing the wall in the Queen's rooms. Her rooms were dark even during the day. There were hardly many people even inside the castle. She was a part of a small group of four guards. The other three guards with her formed a barrier outside the Queen's room, and they faced the hallway as Qyburn examined the Queen.

She is very pregnant. Arya thought to herself. This was a complication. She had promised the many-faced-god one life. She looked back to see that the Queen was grimacing in pain, her eyes closed. Qyburn looked worried. He was dressed like a Maester, but he wore no Maester's chain. Cersei seems to trust him. She observed. He can get closer to her than anyone else.

She heard Qyburn send a servant to fetch honey, hot water and lemons. It seemed that there was nothing that he could do for the Queen, to ease her pain, save for letting her sleep.

"Guard," he addressed them now. You three stay here. He pointed at Arya now, his blue eyes looked tired, his was face wan, and his grey Maester's robe, seemed to hang off of him shabbily like excess skin.

"Follow me," he said to Arya. She followed him closely as they walked through the labyrinthine halls of red stone, and down into what appeared to be Qyburn's laboratory. It seemed to be the same one that Maester Pycelle formerly occupied. Like much of the castle, it too seemed darker, and quieter than before. Everywhere that Arya went within the Red Keep, the halls felt like they were filled with ghosts.

"Stand by the door," he told her, without even glancing back. She stood inside the laboratory, just by the door watching him. She lifted her lion helm, her eyes scanning the room. The laboratory was well stocked. The shelves were filled with bottles of potions and tinctures.

"You must be new to the capitol," Qyburn spoke to her now.

She looked at him, "Not new...exactly. "

"Hmm...well," He said curiously. "I've never seen your face here before?"

"I usually patrol the area outside the keep." Arya caressed the handle of her dagger.

"Here," he said, thrusting several bottles towards her. "Hold these." She grabbed them, and immediately put them down on a nearby table.

He's mixing up some kind of potion for the queen. Arya thought, her eyes still scanning the shelves. She watched as Qyburn flitted from shelf to shelf, grabbing ingredients from his stores. Behind Qyburn the shelf was filled with glass jars of dried herbs, and semi-translucent glass bottles filled with liquids and sealed with stoppers and wax. One, in a neat handwriting was labelled "Tears of Lys." She knew this poison well. She had made it herself in Braavos, while studying with the faceless men. The bottle looked to be filled with water. The Tears of Lys were clear and deadly.

She took her helmet off completely now, and sat it down on the table. Qyburn had his back turned towards her. She grasped the dagger that hung at her hip and walked silently behind Qyburn, pulling the red cloak from her shoulders. As quick as a cat, she grabbed him from behind, deftly and silently slicing his throat. He barely made a sound. She shoved the cloak into his mouth, and wrapped the remainder of it around his throat to slow the bleeding. She pushed a heavy chair up against the door, and began to strip off her armor. Once she had fully removed the armor, she put it haphazardly into a trunk that sat at the center of the laboratory. She stripped Qyburn of his Maester's robe and began the process of removing his face.

Once again, she started the process by making a small incision behind his ears, and then she endeavored to slowly and carefully separate his skin from his flesh. She reached into the pouch that she had stowed beneath her overly large armor and removed the poultice so that she could prepare the face for her sacrifice to the many-faced-god. She rubbed the poultice of herbs onto the skin, feeling it dry in her hands. She removed the face of the soldier from her own now, slicing it carefully at the edges, her own blood loosening the skin of the face. She then took it and placed it into the bag that she wore around her waist. She took out the small, blue bottle of clear liquid from the bag, and placed a few drops of it onto the skin that she had removed from Qyburns' face, and watched as it came back to life. She slipped on the robe that he had been wearing, and closed her eyes. Valar morghulis. She whispered into the dimly lit room, as she slipped Qyburn's face onto her own.

She grabbed a bottle of Sweetsleep from the shelf behind her. Looking behind her, to check the state of the laboratory, she pushed the chair away from the door, and walked out, closing the laboratory door behind her carefully. Purposefully, she walked back up to Cersei's apartments, stopping in her solar, to call for the maids to bring more hot water. The Queen was fidgeting now, on a mountain of pillows.

"Qyburn," she called out.

"Yes, Your grace," Arya heard herself say. "I'm making you a tea. This should help you sleep."

Arya took three pinches of sweetsleep from the jar, and tossed them into the silver goblet. She slid the bottle up her sleeve. She placed the lemon and honey onto the table, rolling the lemon against the table with the palm of her hand. Once the servant brought the jug of hot water to her, she poured the steaming liquid into the goblet. She took the small knife that lay on the table and cut the lemon into slices, taking care to squeeze some into the water before pouring in a few spoonfuls of honey.

The handmaiden stood by the Queen's bed, watching as she writhed in pain. Arya called out to her, "What's your name child?" She heard Qyburn's voice, from her mouth, and it sounded strange to her ears.

"Lanna, Maester," she said.

"I'm no Maester child. Come, the Queen is in pain, give her this tea." She thrust the goblet towards the girl.

"Yes...Mae...Yes, Lord…" she stumbled.

"Yes. Yes. Your grace needs her rest." With that, Arya walked from the room, and through the castle. She wondered if she should wait, to watch the Queen drink the potion, but she didn't want to take the risk of someone finding Qyburn's body before she had the chance to leave the castle.

As she walked down the hallway, looking at the Lannister crimson banners, she smiled, before quietly whispering "Valar Dohaeris."