"My lady, if you're going to insist that we sleep here won't you at least tell me why?" Kalla asked Arya as they went to bed that night. "I know it isn't my place to say, but wouldn't you rather be with your lord husband?"

"No… no ...I wouldn't." Arya told her as she blew out the candle on her side of the bed.

"I thought you liked Lord Jaime. He is very handsome. Everyone says so. And everyone saw you kiss him in the great hall today." Kalla said, slightly confused and curious.

"It's not as simple as that." Arya said, allowing her tears to fall now that the room was finally dark. "I am a Stark. He is a Lannister. You know what his family has done to mine. I should have never trusted him."

"I know I am only a handmaid, and I have not suffered as you have m'lady, will you allow me to speak freely about this matter?" Kalla asked.

"Of course. You can say whatever you want. If I don't like it I might tell you to shut up sometimes but I won't have you punished or dismissed for it."

"It seems to me that my Lord has been very good to you since you have been here. He executed the men who raped you, he carried you himself while you were injured, he gave you back your sword… and when I have seen you together, it looked to me as if you cared for him." Kalla told her.

"I did…" Arya admitted, her voice breaking.

"I'm sorry m'lady, I didn't mean to make you cry." Kalla said worriedly.

"You didn't." Arya told her but she couldn't hold back her sobs. Kalla's arms came around her and Arya allowed her handmaid to comfort her, holding her close.

"Are you going to try to run away again?" Kalla asked her after a while, she sounded worried for Arya's sake. "Because it would be very dangerous for you here in the Westerlands."

Arya sighed. "I'm not going to try to run away. I said the words...I made my marriage vows… and I can't take them back...Starks are honorable. I won't run away now."

"So do you plan to share a bed with me for the duration of your marriage?" Kalla dared to ask her.

"I will for as long as I can." Arya told her.

"Lord Jaime doesn't seem like the type of husband who would force you to his bed… you could be in this room a long time… and I have no objections to staying with you m'lady… but it doesn't seem like your marriage vows count for much if you never share his bed."

"I know that. I know I'll have to go back to him eventually. I just can't do it yet. Not for a long time."

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The following day found Arya in the yard again sparing with Ser Hiram. The young knight had been in the castle library during the night and had read as much as he could on Braavosi swordsmanship. He was eager to try out some of the skills he had learned with Arya.

Arya sat next to Jaime at breakfast and at the noon meal but she still did not speak to him. He was just leaving the noon meal when he saw Kalla timidly approaching him from her place along the wall in the great hall. She had never approached him or spoken to him before that he could remember.

"May I speak to you m'lord?" She asked.

"Of course." He took her aside into the small hall nearby where they wouldn't be overheard.

"It's about the lady Arya m'lord. I would never want to betray her trust, but I thought you might like to know that she told me she isn't planning to run away again. She told me that because she is a Stark she will honor her marriage vows and will not leave." Kalla told him.

Jaime felt relieved at hearing this. Then confused. "I'm not sure I see the point in calling it a marriage if she continues to avoid me." He stated.

"She knows that m'lord. I believe she just needs time."

"Thank you Kalla. If she says anything else to you, anything that might affect her safety, you will come to me?" He asked. He could have commanded it but doing so seemed too much like spying.

"I will m'lord." She said.

"And Kalla, maybe you can find out how long she thinks it might take her to forgive me?"

"I'll try, m'lord."

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Arya continued to share her room with Kalla by night, to spar with the men and avoid Jaime altogether by day for nearly a moon's turn. Sometimes Jaime would try to speak to her, at mealtimes or as she was leaving the practice yard and she would just pretend she hadn't heard him. After a while he just stopped trying. Some part of her felt a little guilty for treating him like that. He was supposed to be her husband after all and she had resigned herself to staying at Casterly Rock and not killing him. It hardly made sense to not just go a little further and at least try to get along with the man. Then she would think about Bran, about the fact that he couldn't even walk or try to put up a fight when Theon Greyjoy...all because of what Jaime did. And then she found that she just couldn't do it. She couldn't be his wife. She could stay at Casterly Rock, she could refrain from killing him, but she couldn't allow herself to feel anything like she had felt for him before. That's not to say that the feelings weren't there. Only that she focused on her anger and refused to think about them.

One night a month after the wedding Arya had a particularly bad nightmare. The dreams hadn't been nearly as severe since Kalla had been sharing her bed but they still came from time to time. On this night Arya awoke them both with her screams.

"It's alright, m'lady." Kalla reached for her hand. "It was just a dream."

Arya nodded, shaken and tried to go back to sleep. She found she couldn't sleep. The memories of what had happened to her on the ship were clear and vivid after that dream. The arms that were hugging her weren't nearly strong enough either. It made her angry to realize that she was longing for the safety of Jaime's arms. And it made her furious when her mind kept reliving the memory of that night on the beach. She pulled free of Kalla's arms. The handmaid was sleeping anyway. Arya crossed the room and picked up her sword from the table. She needed to fight with someone.

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It was the middle of the night and Jaime awoke to someone knocking loudly on his door. He got out of bed and opened the door only to find Arya on the other side. Her eyes were red rimmed from crying and she carried her sword.

"Spar with me?" She said.