~*Nymeria*~

It had been nearly two weeks since Arya had left The Eyrie and her sister behind. She had been travelling steadily west, down from the Mountains of the Moon towards the Riverlands. It wasn't easy but she was slowly getting used to sleeping rough, riding a horse and being dirty again after months of relative comfort, warmth and safety at The Eyrie. She lay by her small camp fire on her pine branch and moss mattress and missed the comfort of a real bed. 'I've gone soft' She thought to herself as she watched the fire flicker and listened as the pine trees rustled with a light breeze.

At least it wasn't going to rain that night, the sky was crystal clear with no clouds to be seen. But a clear sky also meant that it would be a cold, frosty night. When she lay back Arya could see so many stars, some faint, some bright, some flickered and some even seemed to glow red or yellow. She thought that it was really quite beautiful and tried to make pictures by linking up the stars. Maester Luwin had once taught her of some real star pictures that sailors used to use when navigating at sea, but Arya couldn't remember any of them so she just made up her own instead.

She linked together a few stars to make an 'A' which she thought was nice. 'A for Arya' She thought with a smile. Next, she linked some other stars together to make a sword, a slightly crooked sword but a sword nonetheless. She shivered a little so pulled her hood up and wrapped her thick cape around her to try to keep warm as she continued to make pictures with stars, trying to take her mind off the cold. She also pulled some of the pine branches and moss over her for extra protection from the cold before gradually falling asleep.

The stone floor of the cave felt cold and hard underneath her strong body as she lay and watched the men walking past her. Some dared to take a quick look at her but none lingered for long. She didn't feel threatened by them, but she could smell the fear in each of them. She sat up and sniffed, watching the large fire in the center of the huge cave and moved closer to it to get some warmth. The men that were sat there quickly moved away, clearly afraid as she approached.

She could smell fresh meat but she wasn't hungry, she felt strong and well rested. The fire crackled as she felt the warmth spread through her powerful body. And eyes, so many eyes watching her. Through the flames the hooded figure watched her but she could not see a face, only a shadow.

Arya woke early the next morning and she felt cold and a little stiff, her nose was red too. Her breath steamed from her mouth and nostrils in the cold morning air. Needing to get warm again Arya sat up and blew at the smouldering embers of her fire, adding a few small dead sticks and twigs to eventually get it going again. Thankfully she soon warmed up and eagerly ate some of the small purple berries that she had collected on her travels. They had a sharp bitter taste that made her pull her face as she chewed on them, but they were better than having an empty stomach. The supplies that she had taken from The Eyrie had ran out three days ago and she hadn't bothered setting traps at night as she wanted to spend all the daylight hours riding to get to her destination as quick as possible.

Arya was determined to start riding as early as possible again that morning, she knew that if she rode all day she might be able to reach the Inn of the Kneeling Man by nightfall. She desperately wanted a proper, hot meal inside her and a real bed to sleep in again after the comforts of The Eyrie. She also hoped to see an old friend while she was there and maybe hear some rumours and gossip of Nymeria or the Brotherhood Without Banners.

Arya was certain that she recognised the cave that she had seen in her wolf dream. It was the cave where she had witnessed The Hound kill Beric Dondarrion during his trial by combat, only to see him being brought back to life by the red priest Thoros Of Myr. Arya didn't know how to get there because the Brotherhood had blindfolded her and the others when they had taken them to Hollow Hill. Arya had a plan though, and the Inn of the Kneeling Man was the perfect place to start.

When she felt a little warmer and could feel her hands and feet again she kicked out her small fire and saddled up her grey horse before climbing up and setting off for the long ride ahead. She soon re-joined the rough muddy track that she had been following and headed west towards her destination, the Inn of the Kneeling Man.

There wasn't much to see for the most part of the morning and it was quite safe in these parts now that the war was over, even for a young female rider like herself. She had noticed plenty of signs of the war along the way with scorched fields and burnt down farms and houses, but they all looked like they had been abandoned for a while now.

Arya stopped by a shallow stream at midday to rest and water her horse as well as resting her own skinny arms and legs which ached slightly from two weeks of riding. She took the opportunity to top up her skin with fresh water and stock up on a few berries. She even managed to catch a fish by cornering it and stabbing it skilfully with a pointed stick that she had cut and sharpened into three prongs. It took a few tries but she managed to catch it eventually.

Arya didn't want to stop long enough to build a fire though so she skilfully scaled and gutted her fish with her finger knife before rinsing it clean in the cold stream to eat it raw. Arya thought that it tasted horrible, but she was hungry and she knew that she couldn't last forever by eating berries alone.

By mid afternoon Arya came to a gruesome, but welcome sight. Two dead Frey soldiers hung from the neck at the side of the road from a large oak tree. Judging from the amount of flies that swarmed over them it looked and smelled like they had been hanging there and rotting for a few days at least. Their necks were broken, their faces were bloodied beyond recognition and their eyes were missing too. The crows that screeched at her from the higher branches of the oak tree were guilty of that she was certain.

Arya probably wouldn't have recognized the soldiers anyway, but the twin towers stitched onto their muddy green jerkins was unmistakeable, they were definitely Freys. 'It's just like in my dreams' She thought to herself, covering her nose and mouth as she slowly rode past them, the smell was terrible. 'I must be getting close now' She thought feeling happy with herself.

Arya rode on until the sun was low in the sky and had turned from white to yellow and then to orange. She passed two more groups of hanged Frey soldiers by the roadside, both as gruesome as the first, before she eventually stopped and she saw the Inn of the Kneeling Man in the distance. The last time that she was here she had waved goodbye to Hot Pie and he had given her some wolf bread that he had made especially for her. The thought of it brought a smile to her face. It didn't really look much like a wolf but it was the best bread she had ever tasted.

Arya looked around to make sure that nobody was nearby, she thought it would be best to play it safe and change her face. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment as she thought about Jayne Snow's face before bringing her left hand slowly down over her face and changed into the blonde haired, blue eyed, dimple chinned Jayne Snow once more. There could be people that might recognise Arya Stark at the inn and she wasn't willing to risk being noticed.

Jayne gently kicked her heels and rode on until she finally reached the inn. She tied her grey horse up securely to a wooden post before entering and looked around. She soon noticed Hot Pie and had to stop herself from running over to him and hugging him. Arya had always thought of him as craven and a little slow, but his heart was in the right place and he was a good friend. She had missed him more than she had realised.

Jayne paid for a room for the night with a few copper stars and sat in the corner at an old wooden table. She looked around to see if she recognized anybody while drinking her water and waited for her food to arrive. She couldn't help but smile as Hot Pie waddled over and placed her meat pie in front of her on a wooden plate.

"Made that myself, best meat pie in the house that." He said as he over looked at her. "Not seen you here before, what brings you this way?" He asked as Jayne took a sniff of her meat pie, it really did smell good.

"I'm just looking for something that I lost a long time ago." Jayne replied, playing it cool. Arya knew that he wouldn't know who she was, how could he. 'He hasn't changed one bit' Arya thought to herself, trying her best not to smile.

Hot Pie sat down opposite her, but Arya didn't mind. She knew that he was just doing as the brotherhood had wanted. Asking questions and finding things out about travellers that came to the inn. "Lots of people lost things because of the war, but that's over now." He added.

Jayne nodded as she picked up her meat pie which had cooled a little and bit into it, some of the gravy dripped down her chin. "The pie is really good." She said with her mouth full. "It'd be better with some bread to soak up the gravy."

Hot Pie looked at her a little confused. "You can't have bread with a meat pie? Nobody has bread with one of my meat pies?"

Jayne smiled and leaned in to almost whisper to him. "I hear your wolf bread is the best bread in all of the seven kingdoms?" She arched an eyebrow as she sat back to eat a little more of her meat pie, waiting to see his reaction.

Hot Pie looked at her as he thought for a moment. "Who are you? You know...her...don't you?" He looked around suspiciously.

Jayne finished the last bite of her meat pie and washed it down with her water before wiping her mouth on her sleeve. She stood and signaled for Hot Pie to follow her. Hot Pie looked around to make sure that nobody was watching before following her. Nobody cared or even noticed them, they were all too busy with their food and ale.

Without a word Jayne led him up to her room and locked the door behind them. Hot Pie suddenly looked a little nervous. "What's going on? Who are you?" He asked her nervously.

Jayne walked towards him smiling and Hot Pie walked back until he fell backwards onto the bed. Jayne put her finger up to her lips. "Shh, you're in no danger I promise, I'm an old friend."

Jayne turned away from him and slowly pulled her left hand down over her face to revert back Arya. She turned to face him and smiled. "It's nice to see you again Hot Pie." She said with a little giggle, smiling brightly at him

Hot Pie looked up at her from the bed, his mouth gaping open. He recognized her immediately, even though she was a little taller and her figure a little fuller. Her hair had also grown back, though it was still as tangled as always. "Arry...Arya...that's impossible? How did you?" He shook his head in disbelief as he sat up. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

Arya sat next to him on the old creaky bed. She spoke quietly as she told him of her wolf dreams and explained everything that had happened to her since they had parted ways. For once Hot Pie listened quietly as she told him her story. "And now I have to find my direwolf Nymeria, I'm sure the Brotherhood Without Banners has her and the hooded figure that I saw in my dreams."

Hot Pie nodded slowly, Arya could tell that he knew something. "That hooded figure would be Lady Stoneheart." He said, certain of himself. "Took over the Brotherhood after Lord Beric died she did. Never seen her myself, but I heard she's hanging anyone who's loyal to the Freys."

Arya turned a little white as her mind raced. 'The face I saw in my dream that night, the scent...but it couldn't be her...she's dead!' She looked at Hot Pie "Do you know where this Lady Stoneheart or the Brotherhood is now?" She asked him, she had to know.

Hot Pie didn't know and shook his head. "No I don't. Last I heard they were west of here. That's where the last Frey men were found hanged two days past."

Arya smiled at him "Thanks Hot Pie, you've been a great help." She patted his back before turning away and changing her face back to Jayne Snow. "I'll head west on the morrow, I should get some sleep."

Hot Pie smiled back at her, staring at her new face in awe before taking his leave. She checked that her door was locked and lay on her bed to think. It was an old bed and it creaked each time she moved. The mattress was lumpy too, but it was still better than sleeping out in the wild on a pine and moss mattress. Even though it was still quite early she was tired from riding all day and eventually fell asleep.

Sniffing at the cold night air she picked up the scent that she had been searching for. It was a scent that she recognised well. Bounding through the moonlit woods, skilfully darting between the trees she eventually came to a large stone man cave. She spotted several horses and they whinnied at her presence, but there was no sign of man. The scent that she had followed was particularly strong here. Slowly she approached the man cave and sniffed at the wooden entrance, the scent was so strong she could almost taste it.

When she heard footsteps approach she turned and fled along the muddy man track, following it past hanging dead men that smelled of rotb and a burned down man cave. She stopped and turned to see if she was being followed but could neither hear nor see any threat approaching.

Onwards she ran, turning away from the man track to follow a narrow stream into the woods. The water felt cool as she splashed through it. She made her way swiftly through the gloomy woods, the moonlight creeping through the trees above to light her way in places. The stream turned and twisted before eventually leading into a cave, flying rats squeaked overhead as she went deeper into it.

The cave was dark so she had to follow her nose until the cave opened out into a large, fire lit space. Men turned and backed away as she approached the large fire that was burning in the center of the cave. She lay down on the cold stone floor as the hooded figure approached, kneeling to gently run her cold pale fingers through her soggy fur.

Arya woke a little later than she expected the next day, she was more tired than she had realised. She lay in her creaky bed thinking of the wolf dream that she had that night. The man cave was the Inn of the Kneeling Man she was certain of it and the familiar scent was her own. Nymeria was close and so was the Brotherhood, Hollow Hill and the hooded figure which must be Lady Stoneheart. But was Lady Stoneheart really...no, it couldn't be, that was impossible.

By the time that she had got out of bed and tidied her blonde hair it was almost noon. Jayne made her way down to the main hall and ordered herself a meat pie and some watered wine before sitting at the same table in the corner. The inn was much quieter than it was the night before. Arya figured that everyone had either gone about their business or had overslept like she had.

Hot Pie walked over to bring her the meat pie that she had ordered and sat opposite her again. "There's wolf tracks on the road, large ones too, maybe..."

Jayne smiled at him and nodded slowly. "I know, I saw it in my dream last night. I know where I have to look now."

Hot Pie smiled at her but she could tell he was sad. "So this is it then? Will you come visit me again sometime?" He asked her, trying to hide the fact that he didn't want her to leave just yet.

Jayne smiled back sweetly at him, feeling a little sad herself. She didn't want to leave Hot Pie just yet either, but she had a mission to do. "Of course I will, whenever I can I promise." She had no idea when that would be, but she really meant it. She was determined that she would visit him again someday, but as Arya Stark next time, not Jayne Snow!

Hot Pie smiled back at her before getting up and going back into the kitchen. Jayne eagerly ate her meat pie and washed it down with her watered wine before getting up and walking out to saddle her horse.

Looking down at the road she could clearly see the large wolf prints in the mud. 'Nymeria's grown so much, she was barely a pup the last time I saw her' Arya thought to herself as she finished saddling up her horse. She still felt guilty about throwing a stone at her to make her run away and hoped that Nymeria had forgiven her. 'I had to, they would have killed you like Lady if I hadn't made you run away!'

"Wait, don't go." Hot Pie said as he came waddling out of the inn carrying something. "I have something for you." Jayne smiled down at him from her grey horse and giggled softly as he handed her some wolf bread. "I know how much you liked the last one."

She giggled even more as she took it and bit a little piece off. "I love it, thanks Hot Pie. Your wolf bread really is the best!" They both laughed before saying farewell one more time. Hot Pie went back in to the inn as she turned her horse to follow the wolf tracks in the mud.

Arya tried to picture her dream in her head as she rode along the muddy track, nibbling on her wolf bread. After a little while she spotted two Frey men hanging by the neck from a tree at the edge of the road. 'That was the first sign' She thought. She looked at them as she rode past them. They weren't as gruesome as the ones that she had seen the previous day but they were still pretty bad. They wore the same green Frey jerkins and the crows had taken their eyes too.

A little further on she saw the burned down house. Probably destroyed during the war, long abandoned and picked clean by looters and scavengers. Arya continued to follow the muddy trail until the wolf prints headed off away from the track. She got down off her horse to take a closer look. She led her horse away from the track, keeping a close eye out for the wolf prints which her harder to spot now. It was difficult but with a little patience she followed them until she heard a stream. 'Nearly there' She thought as she started to lead her horse upstream.

The trees and thick undergrowth made it tough going for her horse, but Arya eventually made it to the cave entrance. She tied her horse securely to a thick tree branch before edging her way into the cave. She could hear bats squeaking at the back of the cave, she really hated bats! 'Fear cuts deeper than swords'

Arya peered into the gloom but she couldn't see where she had to go, it was too dark. She knew that she was going to have to make a torch if she was going to go any further. She had never made a torch before, but she had read how to make one in a book that Master Garavel had given to her back in the Grey Manor. She just had to find the right materials.

Arya walked back out of the cave and hacked off a suitable branch from a nearby tree to make a torch with. Next, she cut off several long thin strips from her cape and wrapped two of them around her branch. She then looked around on the rocks and trees to peel off some dried moss and stuffed it inside the strips of cape wrapped around her branch.

Next she looked for a tree with white bark and dark multi-fingered leaves. She knew from her book that the sap from that tree burnt slowly and was ideal for torches. After a little while she found the tree that she was looking for and started to scrape at the bark with her finger knife until the red sap started to seep from it.

She rolled her torch against it to soak up some of the sap and then soaked some of her spare strips into it too in case she needed more. She knew that if her torch went out in the cave she may never be able to find her way back out again and she wasn't willing to risk it.

Arya inspected her roughly made torch and headed back into the cave, heading as deep as she dared before kneeling down to light her torch. She flicked her finger knife against a piece of flint until the dried moss caught a spark. After gently nursing it, her torch slowly burned a low light. It didn't burn bright enough to see far but it was better than nothing.

Deeper into the cave it narrowed and she even had to crouch down at some points. It was the first time that she had ever banged her head for being to tall. Each time her torch started to fade she wrapped another strip of her cape around it and nurtured it back to life again. She hoped that she wouldn't run out of strips or she would never find her way out. 'Fear cuts deeper than swords'

Just when Arya was beginning to think that she might have missed a turn somewhere she spotted a flickering orange glow and slowly edged towards it. Luckily she reached it just as her torch was about to die out. She stepped out into the large open cave that she had seen in her dreams to see the large fire burning in the center and her direwolf Nymeria stretched out next to it.

"Here she is, took you long enough." A man's voice said.

Arya turned around to see Thoros of Myr. "You knew I was coming? How?" She asked him, a little confused and surprised as she looked up at him.

She smiled as Nymeria walked up to her and sat in front of her. Arya gently wrapped her arms loosely around Nymeria's neck to hug her. "You've grown so much, look at you." She smiled and released her hug to look at Thoros.

"You've grown to m'lady. Such a skinny little thing the last time I saw you." Thoros said as he looked down at her. "You're still quite short though." They both smiled at each other.

"You're wolf friend here has been acting funny for a week now. The Lady says that she has a connection with you, so we knew you must be close by. We had hoped that she would lead you back here so that you could meet...her."

Arya stood next to Nymeria and stroked the thick fur on her neck. "Who is she? Lady Stoneheart?" She asked, not really sure if she wanted to know the answer or not.

"Follow me, I'll take you to her." Thoros turned and walked across the cave so Arya followed him. Nymeria tried to follow but Arya signalled for her to stay and Nymeria turned and went to lay by the fire again.

Arya soon caught up to Thoros and he led her into a smaller chamber where the hooded figure sat. "My Lady, she's here." Thoros said as he placed his hand on Arya's slender shoulder.

Arya looked over at the grey hooded figure, it was just as she had seen in her dreams. She just prayed that it wasn't the face that she had seen that night. Thoros winked at Arya and left them alone.

The hooded figure stood but was careful to hide her face in the shadows. "Arya Stark, you have come for your direwolf Nymeria." The voice was cracked and broken and Arya had to listen carefully to understand.

Arya nodded slowly. "Yes, she belongs to me, we share a bond. How do you know my name?" She asked curiously.

The hooded figure did a broken laugh as Arya's curiosity grew even more, but didn't answer her question. "I know you do, Nymeria led you here through your dreams. You may take her but there is something that you must do first."

Arya didn't like the sound of this, but she also knew that she didn't have much choice. Even with all of her training and Nymeria by her side she couldn't take on the entire Brotherhood. She didn't even have Needle with her, only her two finger knives.

Her mission was to get Nymeria back no matter what it took, so she agreed. "What do you want from me?" She asked as she tilted her head, trying to look at the hooded figures face.

The hooded figure turned away slightly but Arya noticed her pale white hands. "A treacherous man of many foul deeds must die. He is in Riverrun trying to negotiate a peace."

Arya didn't understand and shook her head slightly. "I'll need a name?" She asked, thinking to add it to her list.

The hooded figure paused for a few moments before responding. "Jaime Lannister...The Kingslayer."

Arya gasped as she was taken aback. "Jaime Lannister is King's Guard and one of the greatest swordsmen in Westeros. How am I supposed to kill him? I don't even have my sword with me."

The hooded figure did a little broken laugh once more. "Jaime Lannister has lost his sword hand, half the knights in Westeros could defeat him...and we believe he travels alone or with only a few guards for protection."

Arya thought about it for a moment. "Maybe if I caught him off guard I could beat him? But why do you want him dead?" She asked.

Lady Stoneheart turned to face Arya but her face was still hidden in shadow. "Because he tried to kill my son...your brother...Bran."

Arya's mouth opened wide as Lady Stoneheart lowered her hood to reveal her ghostly white face and a horrific deep red gash across her neck. "Mother..."