~:Riverrun:~
Arya jumped to her feet. 'At last' She thought to herself with a broad smile spreading across her slightly grubby face. It may have only been three weeks, but it had felt like an eternity for Arya. She wanted to help the Blackfish retake Riverrun Castle from Walder Frey and return her mother's childhood home to the Tully's so much. It wouldn't bring her mother back, but it would feel like a small amount of justice for the Frey's betrayal at the red wedding. Though in her mind the Frey's still had a lot more to pay for what they had done.
Arya also wanted to rescue her uncle Edmure from the dungeon. It was true that she had never met him before, but he was still family and he had fought alongside her brother Robb during the war. The War of the Five Kings as it had come to be known. Edmure may not be a wolf like Sansa and Bran and Rickon, but he was still family and she didn't have much of that left.
Carefully sliding Needle into her leather belt, she walked over to where the Blackfish was readying some of the men for their march on Riverrun Castle. She knew that it wasn't far and that it wouldn't take that long to reach, but she was still eager to be away.
"I'm going to go ahead with Nymeria and scout the situation." She told the Blackfish, looking up at him. He was so much taller than her, not quite as tall as the Hound was, but still much taller than she was. Arya didn't seem to mind though, almost everyone was taller than her when she was growing up in Winterfell. They didn't used to call her Arya Underfoot for nothing!
Hearing her name Nymeria lifted her head and look over to them before standing and walking over to nuzzle her black, wet nose against Arya's hand. Arya smiled and gently scratched behind her loyal direwolf's ears just how she liked it.
"No you won't." The Blackfish replied firmly with a stern look on his westhered face. "Your mother would never forgive me if I allowed anything to happen to you. You're staying right here." He continued, pointing at the ground.
"I'm going and you can't stop me!" Arya replied defiantly as she climbed up onto Nymeria's back, gently gripping at her thick grey fur. Arya had never been very good at being patient or waiting around and she was determined not to miss out on this.
The Blackfish sighed and shook his head as a wry smile appeared on his face. He knew that was no use arguing with her. "Willful and stubborn, just like your mother." He said, clearly a little amused by Arya's antics. "Just promise me that you'll be careful." He continued, raising an eyebrow as he looked up at her sitting on Nymeria's back.
"No need to worry m'lord, I'll keep an eye on this one." Anguy said as he approached, winking up at Arya. "I'll keep her out of trouble!"
Arya couldn't help but smile as she was pleased to see Anguy again, it had been so long since she had seen him last.
"Fine." The Blackfish nodded in approval before walking of to talk to a few of the other men that were preparing to march.
Arya and Anguy set off for Riverrun together. Arya walking alongside Nymeria and Anguy leading his horse along the icy road, frozen solid after another long cold night.
The sky above was a brilliant blue and clear with not a single whisp of cloud to be seen. Arya's nose soon turned an equally brilliant red from the freezing air, but she was used to that by now. At least her thick fur cape kept the rest of her warm.
Arya and Anguy talked a lot along the way, though truth be told it was Arya that did most of the talking, telling Anguy of her many adventures since she had seen him last. But Anguy didn't seem to mind, though if he was impressed or not Arya could not say.
Once they were close they set up a small camp that was hidden amongst the trees on a small hill that overlooked Riverrun Castle. They could see that the drawbridge was up and they also saw that three Frey guards were looking out from on top of the high stone walls. Frey Banners draped either side of the drawbridge as well as from a few of the taller towers.
A few hours had passed until the Blackfish and the first of the men arrived, followed later by more and more until the small camp stretched all around them and must have been clearly visible from Riverrun Castle.
Arya looked around at the various banners that had popped up around the camp. The Tully banner, a silver trout leaping on a red and blue background, and The Brotherhood Without Banners patchwork shield banner were the most numerous. There were plenty of other banners from the various minor houses of the Riverlands, each opposed to the Freys rule of the Riverlands, though Arya didn't recognise most of them.
Anguy and a few of the other archers spread out along the riverbank and made sure to shoot down any ravens they saw in case they carried any important messages or calls for reinforcements. They didn't want to take any chances.
As they waited for nightfall Arya sat by a small campfire and listened to her great uncle as he told her about the War of the Five Kings and how Robb had become the King in the North. She also frowned a little as he mentioned, tongue in cheek, that it meant she had become a princess. Being a lady was bad enough, but a princess!?
Arya couldn't help but feel proud of Robb and his victories. Though when the Blackfish told her about her Uncle Edmure's wedding, the Red Wedding as it had come to be known, she felt a mixture of anger and sadness.
"I was there too, well, sort of." She told him. "The Hound was bringing me to Robb and my mother for a ransom. He disguised himself as a trader bringing food for the feast, but they turned him away so I sneaked away." She looked up into the darkening blue sky, her breath steaming from her nose as she thought back. It was painful but she felt like she had to share, had to release the pain that still haunted her some nights.
I saw the Stark banners burn and heard the men dying. They killed Greywind with crossbows."She clenched her fists a little, wishing she could have done more. "The Hound found me before I went inside. He saved me and I never really thanked him. I used to tell him that he was on my list." She shook her head and smiled a little, though it wasn't a happy smile.
"Your list?" He asked, taking a swig from his horn of ale. Arya hoped he wouldn't get drunk like the Hound used to do.
"After my father was killed I escaped King's Landing with Yoren, a brother of the Night's Watch. He cut my hair short and disguised me as a boy." Arya looked over to the Blackfish. "He was taking me back to Winterfell, but he was killed along with a friend of mine. That's when I started to make a list of the people I wanted to kill."
"And Walder Frey is on this list of yours I suppose?" The Blackfish nodded slowly. "I can't say I blame you."
"Yes." Arya nodded. "I heard what they did to my mother after they killed her. I saw what they did to Robb and Greywind." She continued, a lump growing in her throat and a tear rolling down her grubby cheek as she thought back to that awful night. She would never be able to forget seeing Robb being paraded around like that as long as she lived, it would haunt her for the rest of her days.
The Blackfish nodded silently, placing a reasurring hand on her shoulder. "So who else is on this list of yours?" He asked, taking another swig of ale.
"Cersei Lannister and the Mountain, Gregor Clegane." She replied, wiping the tears from her face on her sleeve.
"Hah, I should imagine Cersei Lannister will be on many people's list!" He chuckled. "And I've heard many stories or Ser Gregor, none of them pleasant."
Arya smiled and nodded, knowing that he was trying to cheer her up, though her mind was still on the Red Wedding. "So how did you manage to escape?" She asked him, feeling curious about how he had managed to get away completely unharmed.
"Just before it all happened I had to leave to take a piss." He replied truthfully, raising his eyebrows. "I got lucky." He shrugged.
Arya couldn't help but smile. 'If only Robb had to take a piss, maybe things would have worked out differently?' She thought to herself as she looked into the flickering flames of their little campfire. What she wouldn't give to see her big brother again, to hug him and tell him that she loved him and was proud of him. For him to play swords with her and let her win, for him to muss her hair and call her little sister again.
"Everything your mother did was for you and your sister." The Blackfish continued, breaking her thoughts. He then smirked a little as he looked down at her. "She also told me that you and your sister used to fight a lot too."He winked.
Arya nodded, chewing her lower lip. She used to get into so much trouble for fighting and arguing with Sansa. "We were so different." She replied, smiling as she pictured Septa Mordane scowling at her. "She was always a perfect lady and I...wasn't." She shrugged, seeing the funny side of it.
After waiting until the sun had set and the sky had darkened, the Blackfish lead Arya off to the entrance Riverrun Castle's secret escape tunnel. He explained that the tunnel lead under the river and into the wine cellar, deep under Riverrun Castle. All of the great castles of Westeros were rumored to have these escape tunnels, even Winterfell and the Red Keep.
The entrance to the narrow cave was well concealed by thick hanging moss and overgrown grass and they had to crawl through the first twenty feet or so on their hands and knees as it was so low.
Once they were able to stand the Blackfish lit a torch and led Arya through the narrow, twisting tunnel which sloped downwards quite sharply in places. So much so in one place that she shuffled down on her bottom to avoid slipping or falling, much to the Blackfish's amusement.
At the lowest point of the cave Arya felt water dripping from the curved stone ceiling onto her head and heard it dripping onto the stone floor and echoing off the narrow walls. The water on the floor rose to just above her ankles and was freezing cold so she was thankful when they stared to climb again.
Eventually they came to a dead end, or so Arya thought.
"What now?" Arya asked. She couldn't help but feel a little downhearted that the plan to rescue Edmure and capture Walder Frey might have failed. She thought that they must have missed a turn somewhere, even though she didn't remember seeing any other tunnels along the way.
The Blackfish put a finger to his lips and placed the torch in the rusted iron sconce that hung on the wall. He then leaned and started to push against the wall that blocked their path. It creaked as it slowly opened just enough for them to squeeze through.
Arya held her nose as the strong smell of wine wafted into the tunnel from the wine cellar. Some of the wine must gone off and the smell was almost overpowering. It was so bad that it started to make her eyes water a little. Arya had never really liked the taste of wine and she certainly didn't like the smell of wine which had gone off. It almost smelled like vinegar, it was disgusting.
"Come on, we're almost there." The Blackfish said quietly as he lead her out of the wine cellar and down a narrow, dimly lit hallway to the top of a flight of narrow stone steps. "Follow these steps down to the dungeon, then wait for me back at the tunnel." He instructed her. "You remember the way?" He asked as he looked into her eyes.
"I remember." She replied quietly, nodding her head. "What if there are other prisoners? Shall I free them too?" She asked, knowing that Edmure probably wasn't going to be the only person being held captive.
"Only free Edmure, I'll deal with the other prisoners once we have the castle back." He told her before gently placing his hand on her slender shoulder. "Good luck." He said before turning and walking off, leaving her alone at the top of the stone steps.
Arya quietly and quickly made her way down to the dungeon, 'As swift as a deer', wanting to be in and out as quickly as possible. She kept to the shadows where she could, stepping softly onto the hard stone steps and constantly looking around and listening for any guards. The last thing she wanted to was to be seen and raise the alarm.
The stone steps seemed to go down forever and curved to the left in a wide spiral. They were scarcely lit by the occasional rusted iron sconce that hung from the outer wall so the shadows were long and dark to make it easy to sneak and hide.
When she eventually reached the bottom of the stone steps she spotted a guard who was fast asleep on a wooden stool and leaning back against the stone wall. He was sat by a wooden table that had a flagon of wine and a drinking horn on it so he was probably drunk too. Arya could smell the wine from the bottom of the steps, or maybe she still had the smell of wine from the wine cellar up her nose, she could not say.
Arya stopped to look around, looking through the gloom to make sure that there were no other guards nearby. She crouched silently in the shadows on the steps as she scouted the situation for a few moments. 'As still as stone' she told herself, trying to stay calm as she peered through the gloom.
When she was sure that there was only the one guard and that it was safe, Arya made her move. She took a deep breath and sneaked over quietly on the balls of her feet 'as quick as a snake', never taking her eyes from the guard. She gently held the soft leather grip of Needle in her left hand, ready to strike at any moment. 'Fear cuts deeper than swords' She whispered to herself, almost hearing Syrio's voice in her head and remembering back to her training in the maze room at the House of Black and White.
The guard had thinning grey hair and a messy grey beard and Arya could see that he wore a leather patch over his right eye. Sneaking even closer 'as quiet as a shadow' she saw that he had deep scar that ran down his forehead and his right cheek, probably a wound from a fight long ago. He wore faded black leather armor and his green Frey jerkin was also faded and a little dirty with stains of mud and blood. He also had a set of iron keys that hung from his worn leather belt. Arya hoped that they were the keys to the cells as she didn't fancy picking the locks in the dim light.
"Valar morghulis" Arya whispered softly as she moved silently behind the guard and opened his throat with Frost. The sharp, icy blue valyrian blade easily cutting into his throat before she plunged it deep into the old guards heart.
The Frey guard suddenly woke and instantly started to struggle for his life. Arya took a step back and watched as he gasped for air, his now bloodied hands clutched desperately to his neck. After a few moments he collapsed onto the hard floor and stared up at her, choking on his own blood. She watched his life leave his body as his blood poured out onto the cold stone floor.
Crouching down Arya took the iron keys from the dead guard and wiped her valyrian dagger clean on his grubby, blood stained jerkin before returning it to it's leather scabbard.
Unlike some of the other men she had killed since becoming a Faceless Lady, Arya had felt no pity for him. He was loyal to the Freys who in her eyes were traitors and he had probably tortured her uncle Edmure as well as others. Arya could still hear the screams of agony from the people who were tortured at Harrenhal.
Most of the cells were empty as she peered inside them through the gloom. Each were larger than the cell that she was held in at The Twins, but they were also equally uninviting with no natural light and cold stone floor. Some had a scattering of old rushes, but they were all damp and dark and brought back bad memories of her stay in a dungeon.
The next cell she came to was occupied by a man who was curled up in far the corner. His hair was long and matted, the grey rags he wore tattered and dirty. She could see that he wore no shoes and his feet were filthy and covered with sores. His face was hidden so she couldn't tell if it was her uncle or not so decided to try and get his attention.
"Uncle Edmure?" Arya spoke as she gently tapped on his cell door with her knuckles. She wanted to be loud enough to wake the man, but not loud enough to attract the attention of any guards.
The man wearily lifted his head and glanced over at her to reveal his wrinkled old face before laying back down and ignoring her.
He was too old. Five-and-sixty at least, and Arya knew that it wasn't her uncle so moved onto the next cell where a young woman lay motionless on her back. She had dirty blonde hair and was perhaps just a few years older than Arya herself. She too wore no shoes and her brown wool dress was dirty and torn.
Looking closer Arya was certain that young blonde woman was dead when saw that a large brown rat was gnawing at her fingers. It made Arya feel a little sick so she quickly looked away and moved onto the next cell where a thin scruffy man was sat in the corner, leaning up against the damp wall.
"Uncle Edmure?" Arya said as she gently tapped on his cell door with her knuckles, hoping to get the man's attention. He looked to be about the right age to be her uncle, though it was difficult to tell through the gloom.
The scruffy man lifted his head to look over at her. His eyes were sunken into his gaunt, grubby face and his cheek bones clearly visible because he was so skinny. His beard was knotted and tangled and his hair was patchy and matted because of the dirt. The brown rags he wore were ripped and damp and she could smell him even from outside the cell as he was covered in his own shit. He had clearly been a prisoner for a long time. Arya knew that he was her uncle as he had been kept alive for so long for a reason.
Stumbling to his feet Edmure shuffled over to the cell door and weakly gripped at the thick iron bars with his battered hands which were scraped and bruised. Up close she could see that he had lost a tooth and several more were chipped or broken. He had weeping sores on his arms and face as well as scars from where he had been tortured or beaten during years of captivity.
"Uncle?" Edmure said, clearly a little dazed and confused. His voice was cracked and rough, his spirit as broken as his teeth.
"I'm Arya Stark." She replied softly, smiling at him to try and reassure him that she was a friend and not a foe. She couldn't help but feel pity for her uncle, he had clearly suffered greatly. "I've come to get you out of here." She continued.
"That can't be." Edmure replied doubting her, shaking his head slightly. Whether he was just confused or truly didn't believe her she couldn't say. "Is this some kind of sick trick?" He continued as he looked at her through the iron bars of his cell door, studying her face.
"This isn't a trick. I'm here with the Blackfish." She replied as she tried several of the iron keys in the lock before finally using the right one and unlocking the door to his cell. It creaked as she slowly pulled the heavy cell door open on it's rusted hinges. "We have to go, there's no time."
"The Blackfish is alive?" Edmure replied as he nodded his head slowly, realising that Arya was who she claimed to be and that she was telling the truth and that he was finally going to be free. "I should have known the old bastard was too stubborn to die." He continued as he stepped outside of his cell for the first time in years.
Arya smiled and nodded as she pulled Frost from it's scabbard and handed it to Edmure. "Just in case." She said as she drew Needle from her belt and started to lead him up the stone steps and out of the dungeon. She doubted that her uncle would be much use in a fight as he looked so frail and weak, but he stood a better chance with a weapon than without.
At the top of the stone steps Arya crouched in the shadows, as still as stone, and listened and watched for any guards, holding Needle in her left hand and ready to strike any guard they might see. When she knew it was safe Arya led her uncle back down the hallway, as quick as a snake, and into the wine cellar.
Arya listened as Edmure commented that the wine cellar had fallen into ruin under the Freys and that it used to be a finely stocked. Possibly as fine as any of the great castles of Westeros. "Hard to believe it looking at it now." He said as he looked around at what remained.
Arya nodded in agreement, finding it hard to picture how the wine cellar must have looked when her mother was growing up and wondered if she had ever been down there to play as a child. Arya would have been had she grown up in Riverrun Castle. She knew where all of the good hiding spots were in Winterfell, and the wine cellar was one of them.
They waited anxiously for the Blackfish at the entrance of the escape tunnel, wondering what was taking him so long. Arya hoped that he hadn't been seen and captured, or worse, killed. Getting her uncle Edmure back was one thing, but getting out with Walder Frey was crucial if they were going to free the Greatjon.
After a few nervous minutes the Blackfish eventually returned carrying a gagged Lord Walder over his broad shoulder.
"You don't look so bad." The Blackfish said as he looked down at Edmure. "Now let's get out of here before they notice something is wrong." He continued as he stepped inside the escape tunnel.
"You don't look so bad either you old goat." Edmure replied as he followed, flashing his smashed teeth as he grinned up at the Blackfish.
"What did you do you him? He's no use to us dead." Arya said as she followed too, noticing that Lord Walder had a bloodied and broken nose, as well as being unconscious.
"Well I had to shut him up somehow. The old bastard would have called for help." The Blackfish smiled wryly as he closed the entrance to the secret tunnel behind them. "Don't worry, he'll live." He continued as he started to lead them back down the escape tunnel.
"For now" Arya replied with a wry smile of her own as the Blackfish led Arya and Edmure back down the gloomy tunnel and out into the night.
Edmure looked up at the clear night sky, gazing up at the stars and moon and breathed deeply through his nose to breathe fresh air for the first time in years. "Beautiful isn't it?" He said looking over to her.
Arya could see the joy spread across his beaten face. She too felt something similar when she had escaped the dungeon with Jaqen and she had only been captive for a few days. She smiled back at him before looking up and taking in the beauty of the night sky. "Yes it is." She replied softly.
Walder Frey stared at Arya as he woke and mumbled something at her through his gag. "Be quiet." The Blackfish said, carrying Lord Walder over his broad shoulder as they started to walk back to camp. "Unless you want to taste my knuckles again?" He chuckled.
When they finally reached camp the Blackfish dumped Walder Frey unceremoniously onto the floor before chaining him to a tree and ungagging him. The thud when he hit the ground knocked the wind from his old lungs, but Arya felt no sympathy for him.
Arya stood in front of Lord Walder and looked down at him, looking into his beady eyes. Her left hand gently gripping the soft leather handle of Needle, her thumb rubbing against it's smooth pommel as dark thoughts ran through her head.
She couldn't deny that she wanted to bury Needle into his black heart, or to open his wrinkled throat with Frost. Maybe she should let Nymeria feast on his old bones or...
"I should have killed you when I had the chance, wolf bitch!" Walder Frey said, interrupting her thoughts. He looked back up at her and spat at her feet.
Arya glared angrily back at him as Nymeria walked over and started to snarl nastily inches from his wrinkled old face, showing her long sharp teeth at Walder Frey to intimidate him. He was clearly petrified of her and it brought a wry smile to Arya's face she watched him squirm like a worm on the end of a fishing hook.
"Yes you should have." She replied, her wolf blood boiling before she knelt to his level and punched him hard in the face. His nose exploded and his head snapped back to hit the tree with a thud, making his eyes roll into the back of his head.
Watching her knock him unconcious earned her a strange look from the Blackfish. She had never punched anyone in anger like that before, but Arya didn't care as it felt so good "I had to shut him up somehow." She smirked cheekily at the Balckfish before walking away, leaving Nymeria to guard Walder Frey.
"Seven hells, your mother would have been proud." The Blackfish said under his breath with a chuckle.
They rested until morning and after a hot breakfast to warm them after a freezing night they marched on Riverrun Castle. Arya watched from a distance with Nymeria as the Blackfish paraded Lord Walder in front of the drawbridge and commanded that they open the gates and surrender the castle.
At first they refused, saying that they held Lord Edmure in the dungeons and that they will kill him unless Lord Walder was returned to them. After Lord Edmure stepped forward the negotiations ended. The remaining Frey men knew that they had little choice if Lord Walder was to live and the drawbridge was soon lowered.
Under strict instructions of the Blackfish, Arya hung back with Nymeria as the the men entered the castle to accept the Frey's surrender and restored Edmure to his birthright. As much as she had argued with him, he would not have it, so she stuck to her word and stayed back. Once the Frey banners had been replaced with Tully banners Arya knew that it was safe and their mission a success.
That night the great hearth in the main hall was lit with a roaring log fire and they feasted on suckling pig to celebrate. The wine and ale flowed, but Arya stuck to water and had a stomach full of chicken before eventually falling asleep beside Nymeria. Her direwolf had been feasting too by the looks of her swollen belly, Arya couldn't help but smile.
The next morning Lord Edmure decided that the remaining Frey soldiers would be locked up until the road north was clear. They would then be sent to join the Night's Watch to bolster their ranks, unless they chose to be executed. Arya wasn't surprised that none of the soldiers chose the latter.
Word was then sent to the Twins to propose the exchange of Lord Walder for Lord Umber and Arya personally sent word to Sansa in the Vale to tell her that the time had come for the rest of the Knights of the Vale to march.