Dragons and Thrones: An Unusual Union

Chapter 14 of my crossover story, enjoy :)

Reviews

Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, yeah well, that's Varric.
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, glad you liked them, BTW it's Varric.
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
wazzup11: Thanks, glad you like him.
mr I hate znt nobles kill em: Not strictly true; not all nobles are the same, tell me truthfully, do you see the Starks treating Elves badly, because I don't? Also, consider Solas' dream that he mentioned, a young man from Westeros, now who has been having strange dreams of an Elf talking in the Elven Language?
UmbraVenator: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, ironic, but still, it's problematic and worrying that Red Lyrium is appearing at all, if you recall Varric's thoughts.

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin. Dragon Age belongs to Bioware.

Arya

Arya sighed as she left Redcliffe Castle with Syrio; they were all prepared and had been given packs with supplies, as well as their map. They were now ready for their journey to Denerim; yet in spite of this and the thought of going home and finding her family again, Arya couldn't help but feel something wasn't right.

'I just feel like, something terrible is going to happen.' She thought to herself before looking down at Redcliffe Village one last time. 'It's a nice place, not only that; nobody raised any issue with me there. It's a shame home is not more like that.'

Still, despite her thoughts she knew she had to get home; it was home after all. She made sure she had everything, including the whetstone she had been given for Needle and the dagger she had also been given, made of some metal she had never heard of, Veridium. Syrio was also checking his equipment and soon nodded.

"That's everything; let's see now." He remarked.

Arya nodded, confirming she too had everything and joined Syrio in examining the map they had been given; from it, they could see and trace the route from Redcliffe to Denerim. Despite offers from Arl Teagan they had politely refused escorts, not wanting to make a scene.

They planned to walk there themselves; following the route they had been given.

Finally satisfied, Syrio put the map away and turned to her.

"Well, let's get started." He said. "This isn't going to be easy; the countryside is dangerous, not just with those Mages and Templars fighting."

Arya bit her lip. "So, how are we going to do this?"

Syrio smiled. "Well, use what I've taught you; see if you can figure it out."

"Oh; um; well, considering everything and the fact we're walking…I say we stick to the path for now, but stay out of sight at night, when we stop to rest."

Syrio nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

Arya smiled and that and they began making their way across the bridge and from there out of the village and into the Ferelden wilderness. As they did so; Arya looked around, amazed at her surroundings; everything she saw around her was fresh, the trees, cliffs, everything was so pure; it reminded her of home again.

She smiled as she thought of that. 'It's like the scenery you see at the North, or in the Riverlands…Only without the snow from the North.'

Smiling she followed Syrio as they walked onwards; following the route and directions they had planned out beforehand.

"You are rather quiet, Arya?" Syrio commented.

Arya started but then replied. "I'm just, still trying to take all this in. But, these surroundings, I just…It's remarkable."

Syrio laughed. "It certainly is yes; I've rarely seen such beauty myself."

Arya grinned and they continued, keeping their eyes and ears open for trouble, while still enjoying the scenery.

They had walked some distance, it was starting to get dark now and so they planned to stop for the night.

"Syrio, I'm not too sure about this." Arya remarked. "I get the feeling that there's…danger here."

Syrio nodded slowly; they had stepped off the path, into a nearby forest. They had set down their packs and set up a makeshift camp for the night.

"I know; it feels wrong…But we've got no other choice." He remarked. "This is the only reasonably secure place we can find…it's already too late to find somewhere else."

Arya nodded in agreement, understanding what he meant. "I guess so. Well, how far have we come?"

Syrio checked the map in the fading light by the small campfire they had.

"We've still a ways to go…I'd say we'll reach Denerim in a few days; but it'll take some walking."

Arya sighed but nodded and soon they settled down for the night.

'I wonder, what's happening back in Westeros…Father must surely be worried about me?' She thought to herself. 'What about everybody else; do they know…Sansa would know I'm missing, would she…? Urgh, what am I thinking, despite our differences, we don't really wish each other harm, of course she misses me.'

Still thinking about her family, Arya drifted off to sleep.

She was awoken by Syrio's shout.

"Arya, wake up, we're under attack!"

She jerked awake, leaping to her feet, trying to disentangle herself from the blankets while also drawing Needle. She froze in shock however as she saw what was attacking them; spiders. Not your typical spiders either; these ones were large, huge, everything about them was much bigger than it should have been and they were hissing angrily.

Arya was still in shock, yet the spiders had no such impediment and were already attacking. Letting out a yelp, forgetting everything Syrio had taught her due to shock and, from the shock, fear, Arya lashed out with Needle. The spider shrieked as her strike got lucky, and caused the spider to stumble and fall, twitching.

Unfortunately, another Spider made its way towards her; she quickly rolled underneath it, thrusting with Needle and yanking it free. The spider hissed but survived and turned to attack her. She leapt back and heard a ripping noise, yet she felt no pain.

'Did I…?' She looked down quickly.

She had got lucky, the ripping noise had been her tunic; caught on its mandible, luckily her skin hadn't been damaged. She relied on the one direct piece of advice her panicked mind still remembered, stick them with the pointy end.

She thrust Needle directly in between the advancing spider's eyes and yanked it out, the Spider shrieked and finally fell dead. Arya looked around and saw Syrio had killed a couple too.

She turned just in time to see a third spider spit a web at her and before she knew it, she had fallen to the ground, her legs tangled in the web.

She struggled to recover, trying to reach Needle which had fallen from her grasp. The spider was advancing closer. Acting on pure instinct she drew the dagger and again thrust it between the spider's eyes.

This spider didn't die, but instead pinned her down. She acted desperately and thrust again and again with the dagger. The repeated damage did the trick and the spider fell to the side, dead.

Arya let out a sigh of relief it didn't land on top of her and quickly used the dagger to free her legs. Once she cut the last of the web away she leapt up, grabbing Needle.

'How many are left, I…' She thought desperately.

She reacted at once to the spider that lunged at her, killing it. She then finally saw the last one fall dead at Syrio's hand. Arya fought to catch her breath, cleaning and sheathing her weapons, it was over. Syrio approached her; sheathing his blade.

Arya bit her lip, recalling her less than stellar performance in battle. "I'm sorry Syrio; I…I let my guard down I know, let fear take over. I…"

"It's alright Arya." Syrio replied. "I let my guard down too; seeing those spiders was a true shock. I see what Arl Teagan meant about Ferelden being dangerous and not just from human threats."

Arya nodded, relieved and swore to do better if there was a next time. Syrio agreed and they rested as best they could after their encounter. The morning after, they would resume their journey, yet being much more cautious from then on.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.