Arya was carefully making her way to Old Anchor, which was the seat of House malcolm in the Vale of Arryn. It was located east of Ironoaks where the river flowed into the narrow sea. Longbow Hall was north, but it wasn't right by a port. It was south of the Fingers and was in the foothills between a mountain range and east of the valley. She needed to buy passage on a ship to get to Braavos, one of the Free Cities on the content of Essos. From her history lessons, Arya knew it was the northern-most, richest and maybe most powerful of the Free Cities. It was made up of hundreds of tiny islands connected by small sone bridges. The rulers of Braavos also controlled the surrounding lagoon, a portion of the southern coastline towards Pentos. A giant status of the Titan of Braavos guarded the harbour entrance to the city. She knew too that it had been founded as a secret city by escaped slaves and refugees from the Valyrian Freehold. But once Valyria fell, it rose up to become a major trade and banking centre. The perfect place for her to hide and learn to become an assassin or a sword woman.
The coin Jaqen H'ghar of the Faceless Men had given her, was safely tucked under her clothing. She remembered what he ahd told her; show it to a bravos and recite the words 'Valar Morghulis' should she ever decide to visit Braavos. When she at last rode into the port, it didn't take long for her to find someone to sell the horses to. The buyer was surprised that this dirty boy could margin so well, he lost a little, but would sell the horses for more later. He watched the boy walk towards the boats, then refocused on the horses. Once Arya could no longer feel the horse merchant's eyes on her, she bought some food with the coin. Next she went to buy passage on a ship.
Approaching a ship's caption she said, "I want to book passage to Braavos."
"Go away boy, I don't have the time for you," Captain Terys said gruffly.
"Are you going that way?" She persisted.
"Ay, that's my home city."
She pulls out the coin and motions him to move closer. "Valar Morghulis."
Startled, Terys responds, "Valar Dohaeris." He rubs his chin and then promises, "you can have a cabin. We leave port before sunset, don't be late." He pointed at his ship.
Arya thanked him and headed towards it. The captain nodded to a shipmate and he showed the way to a cabin. Once inside and alone, she hid her pouch of food under a pillow and lay down. Dozing off, she didn't wake until the ship's creaking and the shouts on deck, told her they were leaving port. The surrounding bunks had bags on them, letting her know she was sharing a cabin. Going topside, she went to stand by a railing, careful not to get in the way of the ship's deck hands.
"Until next time," she said good-bye to her home continent. "I will return and find you Gendry." Arya's whispered promise floated on the breeze and was lost in the crashing waves.
Not wanting to talk to the other passengers, she returned to the cabin and lay on the cot, facing the ship's wall. Needle was lying beside her, but covered by the bed's cloth. After chanting the names, Arya finally fell asleep. Some point at night she woke and ate some of the food bought in port. She heard snoring around her and rolled on to her back. Other than getting to Braavos, Arya had no plan of what to do next. Not knowing what or where to find Jaqen or even if he was still calling himself by that name, she didn't know where to find the Guild of Faceless Men. But if he could be found, did she really want to become a faceless person? No, a hunter of evil men, an assassin and skilled sword woman is what she aimed to be. Only then could she return to Westeros and check names off her list. Taking care of herself, being self reliant, able to fight and kill, would be the only way she could search for Gendry. Her heart ached when she thought of him.
On the sea, she mostly stayed in the cabin, only coming up for air at night. Arya didn't know how long it took them to get to Braavos, but she was just as glad as everyone else to come into port. The city was nothing like she'd imagined, but that just meant more exploration. With only a few coins left, food selection became a priority. A hunk of cheese and two buns, was all that Arya could get.
"Better than nothing," she sighed.
Back in Kings Landing, Gendry was thinking the same thing. He was use to working hard, long hours and receiving little. Slowly he was making his way deeper into the city, with odd jobs here and there. He wanted to find a place where he could work as a smith again. But until then, anything would do. Having worked as a smith in the past, he was very capable with horses. That got him a job with a horse trader. Gendry got to sleep in a barn on the hay bales, which meant he was dry and comfortable. The company of the beasts, was fine with him. When the owner-trader found out he could shoe a horse, that elevated his status and he no longer had to clean up after the horse waste. He was eating enough that no muscle was lost, but he was lean and becoming chiselled. The local women and girls were beginning to take notice, but there was only one girl on his mind and he had no idea where Arya was. Gendry remembered what had happened to him when he'd given into temptation. Sure he'd lost his virginity, but he'd also been tortured. The girl at the pub down the street, he flirted with, but that didn't mean he trusted her enough to be interested beyond that. She was up for the challenge and knew how to draw a man in with food. The pub girl's persistence eventually paid off and Gendry went on a date. Unlike his first union with a woman, this time he was the one in control. Even so, she taught him things he couldn't even imagine. A part of his mind, felt like he was betraying Arya, but the rest of him enjoyed every minute. They met on a regular basis, but as he expected, she found someone new after a few weeks and moved on. She made it up to him, by getting him a position with the local smith. The man was a regular at their pub and was getting old. He was having problems hammering out the metal. Once he met Gendry, both of them were satisfied.