Day 11: Small Talk

Arya

Arya was joining Jaqen on her first heist.

Sandor didn't want her to help the others with stealing but eventually she had managed to get her way.

She had noticed that there weren't many members of the Forgotten Fellowship who dared to stand up to Sandor.

She had learned that that had to do with the fact that a lot of the members had joined the Fellowship so they could avoid the Mountain's gang.

The Mountain was Sandor's older brother and he was the one who was responsible for his facial scars.

The Mountain had gotten his name during his time in juvenile prison and he had earned it because he was taller than anyone they had ever seen and also more muscular.

There were only two ways to deal with Gregor: fighting or fleeing and if you valued your life fighting wasn't an option.

The members forgot however that Sandor probably hated his brother even more than they did and he was also the reason why he had fled home.

He hadn't told her this though but she was certain she was right.

Sandor didn't have any friends among the Fellowship and the only thing he talked to her about was leaving.

"A man wonders what a girl's plan could be" Jaqen said while he inspected the large supermarket.

Arya had convinced Jaqen to steal from a supermarket which belonged to a large chain instead of a small convenience store since they were more likely to be able to miss the money.

Arya took the bobby pin she had clipped on the strap of her bra and put it in the lock of the store's backdoor.

She knew exactly how to open a door like that since it was the way she opened the Direwolves' kennel every time her mother forbid her to go see them because she was grounded.

She moved the pin around until she heard her phone sing one of her favourite songs.

Arya didn't read the name that had appeared on the screen and immediately pushed the green button even though she had been avoiding doing that for the entire day now.

"Where the fuck are you?!"

Arya's heart sank and she wondered if there was still time to hang up on Gendry.

"Why are you calling me, I'm busy?" she just said and she hoped that he would hang up on her because she had been so rude.

"Because I was just at your house and you weren't there and your mother told me that she hadn't seen you yesterday either" he said still sounding angry.

"Shit, what did you tell her?" Arya asked quickly because she didn't want her mother to come looking for her but she also didn't want her mother to worry about her.

"I made up some bullshit story that I forgot that you were supposed to come to my house and not the other way around, but I'm not covering for you again" Gendry said "So I don't care if you're busy, you're coming home right now!"

"I can't" she said biting her lip.

"Then I'll come and get you, where are you?"

"I can't say either" she said and she noticed that Jaqen was growing impatient "I have to go"

"Arya, you can't do this to me or your family" Gendry said "we're all worried sick"

"You guys are the ones who abandoned me, okay?" she said getting angry "My mom is running off to King's Landing, Sansa is busy with Joffrey Lannister, Jon is always at Ygritte's house and you won't even come to our rehearsal if Jeyne isn't around!"

Jaqen raised his eyebrows at her as if he wanted to ask her if everything was all right.

She made a vague gesture with her hand telling him not to worry about it.

"The only time I skipped practice is because this man came to talk to me about my real mother and father and it had nothing to do with Jeyne, why would you even think that?"

"So you don't like Jeyne?" she asked softly.

"No, I like... I like..just tell me where you are, okay?"

Jaqen pointed at his watch and Arya realized that they only had a few minutes left until the first employees would show up at work.

"I've got to go, but I'll talk to you soon" Arya said and she quickly hung up on Gendry before he could protest.

"Okay, let's do this" she said looking at the door which Jaqen had managed to open with the bobby pin.

Theon

Theon was walking down the street with his hands in his pockets and his faded black hood pulled over his head.

He still couldn't believe what had happened yesterday at Sansa's party.

Several guests had to be taken to the hospital and they had to call the fire-fighters to put out the flames which were busy consuming the DJ booth and the wooden dance floor.

Luckily the fire didn't damage the house.

Theon knew that the police had asked everyone to testify what they had seen but he had decided that he wasn't going to go to the police station.

He didn't know anything the police hadn't heard a dozen times already by now.

He checked his phone to see if Jeyne had returned his call but she hadn't.

Theon didn't trust Ramsay with Jeyne and he had never done so.

He just hoped that she was smart enough to get as far away as possible from him after what had happened last night.

Suddenly he noticed that a car was driving slowly next to him.

The driver rolled the window down and he saw that it was Stannis.

"Get into the car" he said.

"Sorry, my father told me not to go with strangers" Theon said with a cheeky smile.

"I wouldn't be trying so hard to be funny if I was in as much trouble as you are" Stannis said "now stop fooling around and get into the car, Greyjoy"

Theon sighed and got into the car.

Stannis pushed a little button and the tinted window closed again.

"Are you stalking me or what?" Theon asked while he put his feet up on the dashboard.

"I was going to visit you at home actually" Stannis said "and get your dirty feet of my dashboard"

Theon could hear Stannis grind his teethe while they kept driving.

"So what have I done this time?" Theon asked after he removed his feet from the dashboard.

"You know what you did" Stannis said "it's always the same stuff you pull, Theon, but this time you've really gone too far, I don't care if you were angry at him or not this is unacceptable"

Theon couldn't think of anything he had done that could have pissed Stannis off this much.

"What are you talking about?" he asked him.

"The attack on your friend's house" Stannis said "that's why I'm taking you to the police station"

Theon could feel his panic level rise.

"I didn't do that!" Theon shouted "who said I did? Let me guess it's that bastard Ramsay Snow, right?"

"I can't tell who accused you" Stannis said but his tone gave away that Theon was right.

Theon held his head in his hands while he tried to comprehend what was going on.

"I've done a lot of stupid things but this I didn't do" Theon said "you've got to believe me!"

Stannis shook his head but Theon could see that he wasn't as certain as he had been when he had commanded Theon to get into the car.

"Several people testified that they saw the attackers wearing shirts with the KRAKEN symbol on it" Stannis said.

"Exactly, why would I be stupid enough to give them t-shirts with KRAKEN on it if I was going to pretend that I knew nothing about the attack?" Theon asked Stannis "believe me, if I did do it, and I didn't, you would know! There wouldn't be any masks and I would be the first one to start the fight!"

Theon could hear Stannis grind his teeth again.

"Maybe you're right" he said after a little while.

"You wouldn't turn me in for something I didn't do, would you?" Theon asked him.

Stannis sighed and pulled the car up to the sidewalk.

"No, I wouldn't" Stannis said "even if you deserve it for all the other things you've done"

Theon smiled and opened the car door.

"So what are you going to tell the police?" Theon asked Stannis before he got out of the car.

"Oh nothing" Stannis answered with what he would consider a smile but what just looked like he was frowning less deep "I already told them this morning that I would make sure the culprit would be punished myself. The Starks aren't going to press charges after all and the school can't afford bad press"

"So you were just trying to scare?" Theon asked.

"It worked, didn't it?" Stannis answered before he drove off.

Jaime

Jaime was standing on the football field while a watery sun shone down on them.

His team and the boys who were trying out to join the team were stretching on the grass.

He gave Brienne an encouraging smile but her nervous expression didn't disappear from her face.

Jaime could hear some of the boys talking to each other about the fact that a girl was trying out for the team too.

They didn't seem too worried about her though but Jaime knew that was a mistake.

They had trained very hard for this moment and she hadn't disappointed him once.

He told them to start running two laps and he was pleasantly surprised to see that Brienne had no problem keeping up with the fastest members of his team.

He could see that the attitude of the new boys changed while she passed them and he hoped that they would start to respect her more now.

For a moment Jaime thought she was going to surpass every member of his team but Loras decided that that wasn't going to happen and he started sprinting.

Brienne was powerful but big so in the end she couldn't keep up with Loras who was a bit more light-footed than she was.

"Go, Loras!" he heard someone shout.

Jaime turned around and he saw that Professor Renly was approaching them.

He was wearing green jeans, a white t-shirt and sunglasses even though it wasn't sunny enough for those kind of clothes.

"Hello, professor, are you going to watch the tryouts?" Jaime asked.

His coach had told him that there would be some kind of supervision during the first tryout even though he wouldn't be there himself.

"If you don't mind" Renly said smiling "your coach asked me to"

Jaime nodded.

"Did you play football yourself when you were in high school, professor?" Jaime asked him.

"I was" Renly said "but I wasn't near as good as my older brother Robert, he was the quarterback in his time and they called him the "War hammer", stupid right?"

Jaime had to admit that he would rather be called "War hammer" than "Kingslayer" any time of the day but he smiled to give Renly the reaction he was looking for.

Jaime rubbed his stubbled chin while he thought about his next move.

Cersei hated the fact that he was growing a beard which was exactly the reason why he wasn't going to shave.

"Okay, guys, let's split up into two teams and start playing" Jaime said "don't worry too much about it and just play, okay? I'm just going to see what position would suite you best"

"Let's do shirts versus skins" Osney Kettleblack said after looking at Brienne.

His brothers and some of his other team members laughed at that.

"Are you sure, Osney?" Osmund, the oldest of the Kettleblacks, asked "we don't want to over stimulate Loras here"

"Don't worry about that, Osmund, I'm not into men who are half carpet" Loras said with a disgusted expression on his face.

Jaime knew that Loras was right because Osmund had clogged the shower drain in the locker-room more than one time already.

He didn't envy whoever had to clean that up.

Eventually the boys split up into two teams that were more or less fair and they started to play.

Come on, Brienne he thought while he watched her struggle to get involved in the game.

Apparently the boys in her team had silently decided that they weren't going to pass to her which led to her looking a bit lost.

Jaime knew that he couldn't comment on this because his team would never really accept Brienne if he had to constantly protect her.

"Come on, Brienne, you can do it!" Renly shouted.

The girl turned around and her face immediately turned bright red when she noticed that it had been Renly who was cheering her on.

Loras, who was in the opposite team, turned around too but Jaime couldn't really place his annoyed facial expression.

Eventually Brienne managed to get the ball and she started sprinting towards the end zone.

For a second it seemed like Osmund was going to tackle her but she avoided him a lot more graceful than he could have ever imagined and she crossed the goal line.

"Touchdown!" Renly shouted "Brienne, Brienne!"

A smile appeared on Brienne's face while some of his team members complimented her.

Loras was the only one who didn't congratulate her and for a second Jaime thought he was glaring at Renly.

Robb

His mother was picking up the garbage from last night and putting it in a large trash bag while Robb was helping her clean up.

His eye was swollen and his arms were covered in bruises from the fight.

"I knew it" Cat said while picking up some plastic cups "I knew it from the moment I saw Cersei Lannister's smug face"

Robb didn't comment on his mother's conspiracy theories.

She had been accusing different people from the moment they had started to clean up the enormous mess.

"This reeks of the Lannisters" his mother said while waving with an almost completely burned piece of wooden dance floor "I told her not to trust that girl, but does anyone listen to me? No, of course not because apparently I'm talking to the walls around here!"

"They say the attackers were wearing KRAKEN shirts" Robb said softly because he felt the need to help his sister.

Catelyn dropped the piece of wood and for a second he thought she was going to start laughing.

"Of course, it's Theon!" she said "of course it's the same kid who pressured you into smoking and drinking and who completely wrecked your car! I hope Stannis expels him and that you never have to see him again. Oh I really regret not pressing charges now!"

Robb felt horrible.

He didn't want to believe that Theon would do something like that but he couldn't ignore the facts either.

"By the way, have you heard from Arya yet?" Robb asked his mother so they didn't have to talk about Theon anymore.

"Yes, she's with that friend of hers Gendry" Catelyn answered and she seemed to have calmed down again.

"Maybe I'll pay him a visit" Robb said smiling "They're always spending time together"

Cat shook her head with a vague smile on her face while she continued cleaning.

"Leave the poor girl alone" she said "I'd be happier if you were spending that much time with a nice girl, how's Roslin?"

A blush immediately spread across Robb's face.

His mother had set up a date for him with Roslin Frey a little while ago but he had called Roslin to tell her that he wasn't going to make it at the last moment.

His mother didn't know that he was already dating Talisa and he hadn't dared to tell her yet.

"Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about" Robb said carefully.

"What is it, dear?" his mother asked when she noticed that he was going to tell her something serious.

The doorbell rang before Robb could say something and he knew that that was going to be Talisa.

"I'll get it" he said but his mother followed him to the front door.

He opened the door for his girlfriend and he noticed that she was starting to show a little due to her tight dress.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend Talisa" he said awkwardly and he wrapped an arm around the girl.

"It's nice to meet you" Talisa said with a warm smile.

Catelyn seemed to be very surprised but she managed to smile at the girl nevertheless.

"Nice to meet you too, Talisa, even though this is not the best of times" she said "Robb, I thought you were dating Roslin Frey?"

Robb could easily detect his mother's accusing tone and he turned red.

"I never went on that date with Roslin, mom, I already love Talisa" he said and the brunette smiled at him.

Catelyn sighed and she rubbed her forehead.

"Walder won't be too pleased with that" Catelyn said "Do you think those kids from last night could be her family?"

"If they were working for Theon then they couldn't have been" Robb said but he didn't want to stray too much from the original subject.

"No, but Cersei has an aunt who married a Frey" Catelyn muttered and she bit her lip.

Talisa gave him a confused look.

He hadn't told her about the attack yet but that would have to wait a little longer.

Robb put his hand on Talisa stomach and he gave her an encouraging smile.

"Actually there's something else we have to tell you" Robb said.

"What is it?" his mother asked looking from Talisa to Robb.

"Talisa is pregnant" he told his mother with a huge smile.

Catelyn hadn't never looked so angry before in her entire life.

"How could you two be so stupid?" she asked them with clenched fists "how are you guys going to go to college with a kid?"

"Actually I'm already in college" Talisa said softly "I'm studying medicine but my parents kicked me out of the house"

"Can she stay here?" Robb asked his mother carefully "it's my responsibility after all"

Catelyn rubbed her forehead again and Robb couldn't remember ever disappointing his mother before.

"Of course!" she said "because apparently Winterfell is an inn now! Lannisters can stay here, Greyjoys can stay here! What do I care?"

Catelyn noticed that Talisa was close to tears and her facial expression softened.

"I'm sorry, this is just the worst time ever" Cat said in a softer voice "of course, you can stay here"

Tyrion

Tyrion noticed someone singing in the dining room and when he walked in he noticed his sister singing and dancing with the plates while she was setting the table.

The dining table was large and luxurious just like most rooms in Casterly Rock but they barely used this one.

It was too much of a hassle to eat here when it was just him and his siblings so they usually ate in the kitchen.

"Hello, little brother!" she said happily and she kissed him on both cheeks.

He could smell the alcohol on his sister's breath but that wasn't a strange thing.

The strange thing however was that she had just kissed him on his cheeks while she normally refused to even touch him.

"Why are you smiling so much?" he asked her and he couldn't deny that it was creeping him out.

Cersei was never this happy unless she was hurting someone somehow.

"Because I'm happy!" she said laughing while she twirled around and put the last plate down.

"And why are you happy?" he asked her "except from the fact that you've been drinking but that isn't an unusual thing"

She laughed again and it sounded like the tingling of little bells and Tyrion wondered if this was the Cersei she used to show exclusively to Jaime.

"You're funny, aren't you?" she asked while she picked up her wine glass again "you've always been oh so funny"

"It's a gift" Tyrion said while he sat down at the dining table.

Cersei sat down across from him and she looked at him for awhile while she swirled her wine in her glass.

"I'm happy because I've won" she said and her green eyes burned like wildfire "The Starks' party was a disaster and no one will be able to blame me for it"

"Are you sure?" he asked her.

Tyrion had heard of the attack his sister had planned with the Freys and Roose Bolton's son.

She thought it was very clever of them to blame it on Theon but everyone with half a brain could see that he didn't do it.

Sure Tyrion believed that the boy was jealous of the Starks especially if you considered how horrible his own family was but if he had attacked the Starks then they would have known it.

Theon had always liked bragging about his accomplishments.

Tyrion had seen him do just that many times before during P.E.

"Yes, I'm sure" she said and her smile disappeared from her face "and now she will never be crowned Prom Queen and I will be, just like things are supposed to go"

"And you're willing to destroy a girl's life for a stupid title?" he asked his sister.

Cersei laughed again but it sounded nothing like little bells anymore.

"You win or you die, little brother, there is no middle ground" she said.

Tyrion felt sick hearing his sister say something like that.

Sansa Stark might be a naive girl but she didn't deserve what Cersei had put her through and he knew that his sister would do it all over again if she got the chance.

"You're a horrible, spoiled, little brat" he told her.

"And you're a dwarf" she said before finishing her wine "by the way, how is Shae?"

He wanted to strangle his older sister until her smug smile disappeared from her face for good.

She had always enjoyed the misfortune of others and it was time someone ended her tyranny.

"I will hurt you for this" Tyrion said "I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid."

He didn't wait for Cersei to reply and he left the dining room.

Tyrion knew that his sister wouldn't rest until she was crowned Prom Queen again but he would make sure that that would never happen.

But how?
Margaery was as power scheming as Cersei even though she made a bigger effort to hide it and there was no way Sansa would still want to actively run for Prom Queen after this, besides the southern kids would vote for Margaery and the northern kids for Sansa so there was no way to be sure that one would succeed even after his effort.

Tyrion needed to find a neutral person.

A girl who wasn't from the north or the south and a girl no one had a strong opinion of yet.

A girl who could inspire people to vote for her.

Tyrion didn't know anyone like that but there was something he had to do first if he wanted this girl to be nominated he needed to find someone from the AV club to do so.

He checked his phone to see if he still had Jon Snow's phone number and a smile appeared on his face.

Cersei would never know what hit her.