ARYA

By the time the battle of Blackwater is decided Arya, Gendry, and Jacqen make it to Braavos. After disembarking the ship Jacqen takes them to the House of Black and White to be trained as Faceless Men. Arya starts off by sweeping the floor for the first three days. Then she is given the duty of lighting the candles and braziers everyday. She rarely sees Gendry, "Excuse me..." She says one day to a man walking by, but is ignored. During the second day of the week Arya witnesses a man enter the main hall and speak with another man. He hands him a bag of gold and leaves.

The next day she sees a man enter the main hall carrying a child. Arya pauses to watch as the man is met by Jacqen H'ghar. She had not seen Jacqen since arriving at the House of Black and White. Jacqen and the man walk to the pool and then Jacqen gives the child in his arms some of the water from the pool. Then Jacqen takes the child and walks away.

"Wait! Jacqen…"

He stops and looks at her, "Who is Jacqen?"

She frowns, "You are Jacqen…"

"A man told you before...I am no one...If you wish to be one of us you must become no one...Does a girl understand?"

"No not really..."

Jacqen nods to a woman passing by and hands the dead girl to her, "Who is Arya Stark?"

"I am Arya Stark..."

"Then how can you become no one if you are Arya Stark...You are wearing Arya Stark's clothes...You carry Arya Stark's money...Jacqen H'ghar is just one of many names this one as no one chose to use..."

"At least tell me where Gendry is..."

"Who is Gendry?" He asks and walks away.

Later Arya ties her clothes to a rock and throws them in the bay and continues to do her duties. Some days Arya is allowed to leave the House. One day she wakes up to find a young woman sitting by her bed. She sits up, "What do you want?" she is holding a stick.

"Who are you?"

"No one." Arya replies, but the girl hits her, "Ouch! What the hell!"

"Why are you here?"

"To become a Faceless Man." She hits her again. "Stupid Cunt."

"Where are you from?"

Arya rubs her arm, "Westeros..." She just stares at Arya. "Winterfell of the North...House Stark."

"Did you come alone?"

"No I came with Gendry..."

"Why did you come with Gendry?"

"He's my friend."

"Is that all?"

"What else would it be?" The girl stands up and leaves. The next day Arya is directed to clean the dead bodies of the people who drink from the fountain. "Excuse me, but what do you do with the bodies after you clean them?" The question is ignored. Two days later Arya awakens to find Jacqen sitting beside her bed. "You!" He is holding a stick. Arya looks at the stick, then she looks at him.

"Who are you?"

"I'm not answering any questions until you tell me why."

He nods with a smile, "It is called the game of faces...The purpose of the game is for a girl to know her true self. To know truths from lies...To know when a lie is spoken and the truth revealed...Who are you?"

Arya thinks about the last time she played. "Arya Stark...I wish to become no one..." He does not hit her.

"Why did you come here?"

"I..." She hesitates, "...I want revenge. I came to learn to kill like a faceless man." Arya glances at his stick.

"Why does a girl want revenge?"

"My father was killed on Joffrey's orders...I want to kill him."

"Go on...Who else do you want to kill?"

"The Hound...He killed my friend Mycah...The Queen...She ordered the death of my father's Dire Wolf Snow and she was standing there as Joffrey called for my father's head...Illyn Payne he killed my father with his own sword...Polliver...He killed my friend Lomi and he took my sword...The Mountain...he likes to torture people."

"Is Arya Stark in love?"

She frowns, "No!" He hits her, "Ouch!"

"If Arya Stark cannot admit the truth however will she become no one?" He gets up and leaves. As Arya performs her daily duties she thinks about the question. She thinks about Gendry. A few days later Arya is sent to the Market. As she is walking through the Market she spots Jon. Arya freezes and suddenly she finds herself walking towards him. As she walks Arya contemplates the consequences of making herself known to Jon. "Jon!"

He turns and starts running towards her and she to him. Arya leaps into his arms. They hug, "Jon where have you been? How did you get here?"

"Me...What about you coming here to be a Faceless Man..." He replies putting her down.

"How do you know about that?"

While Arya goes through the Market buying what she had been sent to get they talk. Arya tells Jon everything that happened since he left, but he already knows a few things. He in turn reveals everything he had been doing and why. "Why would father lie?"

"To protect me. If Robert knew the truth...There was a strong possibility he would have killed me."

They start walking back towards the House of Black and White. "So how long will it take to build an army?"

"I have been here a month so a few more days and the Golden Company will arrive..."

"Save Joffrey for me..."

Jon smiles and messes up her hair, "I will little sister..."

"So...You're not going to make me come with you?"

Jon smiles, "I couldn't even if I wanted to..."

When Arya returns Jacqen is waiting for her. "How is your cousin?"

"You know?"

"There is nothing our recruits do that we are not aware of..."

Instead of cleaning bodies the next day Arya starts training with the quarterstaff. Jacqen stands by watching as she spars with a girl often referred to as the Waif. The same girl who played the first game of faces with her. Some days she spars with Jacqen or she practices identifying poisons. Some days she carries buckets of water across her back. When Arya isn't training she is sent into the city to listen. On the fifth trip into the city Arya stands on the docks as Jon boards the ship to return to Westeros.

"Do you wish you were going?"

Arya smiles at the sound of Gendry's voice, "Yes I do...But my place is here for now."

"I wish I could have met your brother slash cousin."

Arya hits him on the arm, "So do I..." They stand watching until the last ship has vanished from sight.

Arya is sitting on a pillow in front of Jacqen, "Tell me..."

"The man sold his daughter as a slave to pay off a debt...She grew up giving pleasure to men...Eventually she seduced a rich man...Killed him and took all his wealth...She now lives in Braavos and seeks revenge against her father."

"The man has been tricked into coming to Braavos...He is staying at an inn...Can a girl tell a man what this is?"

Arya smells it, "Eternal sleep..."

"Why is it called the Eternal Sleep?"

"When a person drinks it...The poison does not take hold until the individual falls asleep...They never awaken again..."

Arya gets a job at the inn bringing food to people in their rooms. One day she is assigned to bring food to the man by the name of Ballard. She slips the poison into his food and then leaves the inn covering her head with a hooded cloak she stole. When Arya returns to the House of Black and White the Jacqen is waiting. "It is done..."

A few seconds later the Waif arrives and nods, "A girl has done well...Now she must see without seeing..."

"What does that mean?"

He hands her a cup, "Drink..."

Arya takes the cup and drinks. "What is happening?" She asks as she loses her ability to see.