It was quiet; all but the sounds of snores from the boys and men could be heard. Arya sat on her mat that she was to sleep on. She twirled her sword in her fingers. Just looking around into the dark trees.
Then she heard a twig snap and she froze. Someone was watching them; she could feel the hairs on her neck stand up. She reached over with her foot and poked Gendry.
Who cracked an eye open to glare at who ever had woken him.
"Someone's watching us" she whispered so quietly she barely heard herself utter the words.
She turned her head and saw two gleaming eyes in a bush. She pointed inconspicuously towards the eyes to show Gendry. They were close to who was watching them, for some reason they had slept on the edge of the boys that night.
Gendry gasped as the eyes came closer and what was watching them stepped out of the bushes. It was a wolf, and not just any wolf, a direwolf.
It stood there staring at Arya as if it was trying to make sure it was her.
"Grey Wind?" Arya whispered. The wolfs ears perked up and it stepped forward.
"It's me, Arya you silly wolf, I just have short hair and don't smell the nicest" Arya said standing from her bag and taking no caution in approaching the wolf.
"Arya" Gendry said in protest
"Don't worry" Arya said turning to look at him, "all of the Stark children were given a direwolf pup to raise, this is my brothers wolf" she said as she scratched between his ears. Grey wind leaned into it.
"My brother must be near" she said with excitement creeping into her voice, "I'm going to wake Yoren" she said walking towards the tent off to the side where Yoren slept. Gendry stood and followed her keeping his distance between him and the wolf that seemed the same height as Arya.
"Yoren" Arya said quietly outside his tent. Inside, rustlings could be heard and then Yoren appeared out of his tent, not happy about being woken.
"What are…" he trailed off when he realized he was looking into the face of a Direwolf, a full grown one.
"Arya?" he asked trying to remain calm
"Grey Wind, come" she said and the wolf stepped back to sit at her side
"My brother is near, he has to be, Robb never goes anywhere without Grey Wind" Arya insisted "we must go find him"
"Hold on" Yoren grumbled grabbing his cloak and sword "I have to wake some of my men to watch the camp while were gone"
Yoren walked off to some of the men surrounding the boys. He woke a few while Gendry stood with Arya.
"He's huge" Gendry said
"My brother trained him as battle wolf" Arya said "but if he knows you or likes you he's just a gentle giant" she said as she pet the wolf between his ears.
Yoren came back then "alright, where too?"
"Grey wind" Arya said "where's Robb?"
The wolf stood and looked at her, then licked her face and proceeded to walk west out of the clearing.
"Well come on" Arya said following the wolf, both Gendry and Yoren looked at each other before following the girl.
They didn't have to walk too far because as soon as they followed the wolf up a large hill and stood at the top, they were silent.
It was amazing that an army that big could have been maybe a mile from where they were camping and they didn't hear them.
Gendry and Yoren turned to Arya, she had a huge grin on her face "the northern army" she said in excitement as she saw the banners.
"Grey wind where is Robb?" she asked again the wolf let out a soft playful bark and then led them down the hill. As they approached the center of the camp there were noises. Men laughing loudly. Arya broke into a run and Yoren and Gendry had to run to keep up.
Arya was excited it had been many moons since she had seen her brothers or her mother. And Robb was here. She stopped when she entered the dining area of the camp because it got silent really quick.
There he was, Robb. Sitting at the head table.
He looked up when he heard his wolf bark and his men go silent. There were three men, well two boys and a man of the night watch it looked like. But then the wolf licked the scrawny boy and he realized it wasn't a boy at all, it was Arya covered in dirt with short hair.
He stood so quick his chair toppled over backwards.
"Arya?" he asked, confusion and joy covering his face
"Robb?" she asked, there was a pause and then ran at him and launched herself into his arms. He gripped her tight. The two that she had come with walked closer but at a slow pace.
He set her down then. "Come, let's go to my tent" he said to the three of them and to his army leaders.
They walked in silence to his tent, which wasn't too far from the dining area and once inside Robb turned to face them, knelt and pulled Arya into another hug.
"What happened?" he demanded still kneeling, as the other men in the room stood watching
"To dad?" she asked
"And to you, where is Sansa?" Robb demanded "and where is Nymeria?
Arya looked around at the men in the tent and then turned back to her brother
"Gone" she said "she attacked Joffery when he tried to kill me"
"What?" he demanded
"On the way to Kingsland," Arya stopped and took a deep breath, "Jon gave me a sword and I wanted to learn how to use it so I asked the butchers boy to fight with me, with sticks of course, but then Joffery came across us and he attacked the butchers boy so I hit him with my stick, and then he tried to kill me with his sword but Nymeria nearly tore his arm off to save me." Arya said in a rush. "I made her leave, they were going to kill her, but then Joffery and the queen had Sansa's wolf killed instead"
Robb held her face in his hands, "and of dad?" he asked
"he learned the truth about the queens children, that none of them were the king Roberts" Arya said, "but then the king was attacked by a boar so dad didn't have time to tell him so they could find someone to be his successor" she looked over to Gendry, and then back to Robb "Robert died and when Joffery was made king and dad tried to tell everyone that he had no claim to the throne, they killed his men and threw him in the dungeons."
"They killed Sirio" she said anger seeping into her voice "he saved my life, he was teaching me how to use a sword, dad hired him to teach me, and when they seized dad they came after me and Sansa. Sirio held them off and I ran. One of the stable boys tried to grab me and take me back but," she stopped and looked down "I killed him with the sword that Jon gave me, and then I ran from the castle to the streets"
"No one noticed me, I looked like some dirty street rat because I wasn't dressed like a lady" she said and turned to Yoren "even a baker who I asked for bread thought I was a boy" she said with a smirk.
"I lived on the streets for days, I didn't dare go back because I knew that they had gotten Sansa and that dad was locked up, but then I heard that the trial of the kings hand was about to happen so I ran for the castle."
She turned to Yoren again.
"Sansa was there" Yoren said, "she stood beside the queen, when they brought out Lord Stark he must have seen Arya kneeling on the statue because when the guards walked him past me he told me to get her." Yoren said grimly "he lied for Sansa's sake because she had begged Joffery to reconsider, he said that Joffery was true king and that he had committed treason by saying so and he was wrong. Joffery said that his mother and advisor thought it was time for mercy and he could join the nights watch for his treason, but he then said that he was king and he wouldn't show mercy for treason."
"I ran for him" Arya said " I wanted to kill Joffery right then more than ever, I had my sword, I don't know what I thought I would do but I ran for the stage, but Yoren grabbed me, he wouldn't let me go and he told me not to look"
"And they cut off your fathers head" Yoren said grimly "I grabbed her then, called her boy, and said she was coming with me"
"Sansa fainted" Arya said, "she had been screaming at Joffery to stop and she was right there watching when they cut dads head off, she fainted"
"I took her down into the servants quarters and chopped her hair off, told her I was taking her north with the rest of the boys and men I had to take to the wall, figured we'd stop in Winterfell or something" Yoren said "your uncle was like a brother to me, and your father was a good man" he told Robb "I couldn't leave her there to be snatched up by the Lanisters"
"Thank you Yoren" Robb said "I am in your debt"
"And who is this?" Robb asked turning to Gendry who stood quietly next to Yoren.
"King Roberts's last living bastard and his only remaining child" Yoren said
"This is Gendry" Arya said "he's my friend"
"I thought it may be better to leave him in Winterfell with Arya and you, the gold cloaks will come looking for him again, and the first place they will look is the wall"
"He's a blacksmith apprentice, and he's good, please don't send him to the wall, he would be more useful still in the realm" Arya said.
"Ah you mean the north, my lady" said one of Robb's army leaders
"What?" she asked,
"We've claimed independence from the south, and named Robb king" he said
"Congratulations Robb" Arya said throwing her arms around her brother again, she pulled back and smirked "king Robb"
"oh shut it, you" he said smirking back and pinching her on the cheek
"hey" she said "I do have a sword now don't make me use it"
"little lady, I do believe that makes you a princess of the north" the man said
"Please tell me you're not going to make me wear a stuffy dress" Arya demanded from Robb.
Gendry, Yoren and Robb chuckled at that.
"No you can still dress as you please" Robb said with a smirk.
"Good" Arya said "Gendry and I should go get our things from the other camp and then we will be back"
Robb stood and turned to Yoren.
"I can't thank you enough, we were all worried sick, Sansa wrote but there was no mention of Arya, we've gone weeks not knowing what was going on or if she was even ok. Thank you for bring her back to me." He said and reached out to shake his hand, "you will be welcome in the north anytime and treated as an honored guest." Robb said
"thank you, king Robb" Yoren said
"Yoren" Arya said
"yes little lady?" he asked
"can you tell Jon I said thank you, the sword he gave me has saved my life many times" she said giving the man a hug "tell him I miss him and that I'm ok, I'm sure he's been worried sick as well" she added looking up at the man
"I will" Yoren said, "and there is no need to worry about your brother, I hear that Direwolf of his found some white walkers and is quite useful"
"Ghost may have been the runt but he's smart, maybe even smarter than Grey wind" Robb said
Grey wind growled at that
"Oh shut it you" Robb said to his wolf "I said maybe"
"I do miss Nymeria" Arya said looking at grey wind.
"Hey" Robb said kneeling again "when all of this is over, well go find your wolf" he said lifting her chin with his finger.
"good" she said with a smirk "otherwise I was going to take yours" she walked over to grey wind and gave him a hug "he likes me better anyways" she added as grey wind licked her face again.
"Get some guards to go with them to gather their stuff" Robb said to his men.
"Off you go Arya, hurry back" Robb said shooing her out of the tent with the others.
"I will" she said and walked off with Yoren and Gendry.
"Thank you again, Yoren" Robb shouted after them, Yoren waved back at him accepting his thanks.
AN…Just another snippet, idk if I'll write more but it was just stuck in my head the idea of Yoren and the others meeting up with Robb's army….so now that it's out of my head I can have some peace of mind…that is until another scenario starts to bug me lol