Arya

Arya sat on the river bank for a long time, watching the water move slowly, carrying debris and silt. There were some fish in the water, she caught one with her bare hands, and it reminded her of one of the men that were with them when she was under Yoren's protection. She couldn't seem to remember his name. Memories…

The memories were behind every tree, under every stone. They passed through Harenhall on their way here, and the god's eye, and the Trident. Faces, dead faces, floated on the river surface like little ripples. Gendry saw them too, she could see him look at the water with horror, and he looked at her, showing her that he knows, that he sees. She hated every moment of that journey; she couldn't wait to go back south. The only thing that kept her going was the thought of seeing Frey men hang, or perhaps beheaded, but Aegon took it all away. She splashed the water angrily.

And he wanted her to go and visit Sansa! Was that supposed to be some kind of treat? How can she face her sister now, when the Frey man are laughing and drinking merrily at their tables, telling stories of how they have vanquished the evil king in the north and his crazy mother. No. She can't face her family yet. She should go to the Twins anyway and carry out her plan, in disguise. Even Aegon won't recognize her when she'll wear a new face.

She didn't even notice that it was getting dark. She'll wait until Aegon leaves tomorrow morning and slip away. She'll be done with it before they will even notice she was gone.

She walked into her tent to find Cunnington sitting on her bed, sipping tea. Great.

"What?" she spat at him irritably.

"Is that the way to greet a lord, Lady Stark"?

"I'm no lady, problem solved. What do you want of me, my lord"?

"You're not coming with us to the Twins",

"That's right"

"And you won't be going there on your own as well, Arya. These are the prince's orders. Please obey".

"I will".

"Do you think me for a fool, Lady stark? You're a skilled woman, and smart. And you are driven by revenge. I understand. But you cannot ruin this for him, for the sake of the realm."

"I don't know what you're talking about".

He smiled wryly at her, "of course you don't. Tell me, how will you do it? I was guessing… poison fumes in their bedrooms, and leaving the Lord Frey to watch his entire household dead, his son's body desecrated, was I close"?

He was very close. She would slip poison to the main course that evening, it will take a few days to work, and some people may be resistant to it if they ate the right things. She already gave Aegon and the men the antidote that morning, so they would eat the same food without being hurt, and nobody can blame them of poisoning. She will kill some people herself, the ones that were at that party, she got their names from Varys before they left Kings Landing. She actually liked Cunnington's idea about desecrating the boy's body, maybe she could find his mother too…

He was looking at her, victorious. "I was close. Let it go Lady Stark. Stay here, enjoy the woods, and play with your blacksmith bastard. Don't ruin this for Aegon". When she didn't reply he came to stand right in front of her, forcing her to look at him.

"Do you have any idea what you mean to him? If you betray him with this he would be devastated. Your friendship will never be the same."

"I thought that's what you wanted, to get rid of me. I seem to annoy you."

He smiled, "you are pretty annoying. The most annoying thing about you is that you look so much like your aunt. Your aunt stole away my best friend and got him into a war he had never returned from. And who is your lost friend? A man who looks just like young Robert Baratheon. Can you see how this is bothering me?" He sat down on her bed, his gloved hands on his knees. "As much as I hate to admit it, Aegon needs you. You give him confidence and you strengthen his resolve. He does everything better for you. And you can be his best protector, if you just put him before of your need for vengeance. Please, Arya. You make him so much stronger, protect your prince, I'm sure your father would have said the same to you".

Arya was speechless. She was sure that Cunnington hated her because he didn't like Aegon giving his attention to anyone else but him. She didn't even think about her aunt and Reghar and how it affected him. And she never thought that she meant that much to Aegon. Sure he was attracted to her for some reason, but was there something more? She thought that they were just playing, he can't be with her, he is to marry a Dornish princess and live happily ever after. She was just the prince's secret assassin.

Cunnington was waiting for an answer. She nodded slowly, "alright then, I'll stay. For Aegon".

"And I promise you lady Stark, he will do justice. For you".

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She had a wolf dream that night.

She was searching for something in the woods. Someone. Someone that was lost long ago. She ran and ran, alone, the full moon lighting her way. As she got to a clearing in the woods she smelled something entirely different, something she had never smelt before, it was not what she was looking for but she was attracted to it like moth to a flame, she followed the scent and it lead her to another clearing. The dragon's big silvery eyes looked back at her, recognizing her. Arya.

Arya woke up with a jerk. She hadn't had those wolf dreams for three years. She sometimes had cat dreams, and once a wonderful dragon dream, but the wolf in her was gone with her name and soul, back in Bravos.

She got up and dressed hurriedly, hoping she hasn't missed Aegon. They were just about to leave when she reached them. When Aegon saw her approaching his big smile appeared. "Came to see us off Lady stark"? He asked her, quirking his eyebrows. She reached her hand to grab his, "I understand why I should stay. Have a safe journey Dragon Prince, and send the Freys my regards". She gave him a meaningful look and waved goodbye.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0

They were eating porridge. Again. Arya hated porridge.

Her wolf dream left her hungry for meat. And she could cook very well, they taught her to cook meals that tasted so good that you can hardly feel the poison in them. Hmmm… rabbit stew, or maybe pheasant if she could find any here. She got to her feet taking a crossbow with her and headed cheerfully towards the woods.

"Arya, where to"? Halden asked her as she passed his tent, whistling to herself. Gendry was there, as always.

"Getting some real food!" she lifted her crossbow to show him. He smiled at her.

"Can I join you"? Gendry asked her but looked at Halden for approval. Arya just shrugged. Let him come, maybe she'll hunt something big and he'll help carry it.

"Alright then, just this once. You need some good exercise". Gendry leaped to his feet and grabbed his sword, then he came to join her.

"We're not getting the horses"?

"No need, they make too much noise, and we won't go far".

They walked silently for about 20 minutes. Gendry was making too much noise, she couldn't bare it any longer, "would you stop doing that!"

He jumped in surprise; clearly he was concentrating on something else "What? What did I do"?

"You're making too much noise! I can't hear anything"

"Sorry. I guess I'm not a good huntsman. I'll go back to camp". He turned. What was with him?

"och, you're so stupid sometimes. Come on, and move quietly"!

"As m'lady commands" she punched him for that. Stupid bull.

They started walking again, and he made even more noise trying to be quiet. She gave up. "So, why did you tell those kids that I was the leader of a pack of man-eating wolves?"

"Oh, that" he smiled sheepishly "well, it's based on a true story, you know. You used to howl and growl in you sleep, and there was a pack of wolves that ate people. I couldn't tell them you were dead, like I thought you were. I needed something to give them hope".

"Oh", they walked in silence for another minute, "I do not growl in my sleep!" He laughed at that, "Sure you do, and it's really scary too, like this:" he growled at her clawing his hands like a furious cat. She punched him again, and he attacked her with his mighty claws growling fiercely at her, and releasing a fearsome howl. She laughed so hard that she had to stop beating him and yield.

"Since when do bulls howl? Aren't you supposed to go mooing or something"?

"I'm not a bull anymore, remember? I'm a stag now, thanks to you". He said bitterly

"Would you rather be a dead bull"? He just seemed sad. "What? You're not happy being a lord? I thought you wanted this. Isn't that why you became a knight? Ser Gendry of hollow hill!" she said mockingly, remembering that night when she realized that he too was going to leave her, like all the others.

"I didn't get knighted because I wanted to be a lord, I asked it because…" His face got red, almost purple, and Arya didn't know if it was because he was angry or because he was embarrassed. "Well, spit it out already! You were sick of me and were going to make it on your own".

"Sick of you? I was heartbroken! You were going to go and join your family and become a lady, no, a princess! And they would have married you to some high lord, or some fat perfumed lord, or… or that idiot Edric Dayne! And I was to be your loyal blacksmith always watching you from afar, seeing how you become just another lady, worrying about dresses and babies, and you would forget about me, the lowborn bastard who was once your friend. I would have lost you anyway, so I decided to leave first. I regretted that choice everyday when I thought you were dead, I realized I would prefer seeing you wed and alive every day than not seeing you ever again. You were my best friend, Arya. I died the day you left. I missed you so much…" they reached a clearing in the woods that looked familiar. She just looked at him, not knowing what to say. She hugged him, as tight as she could "I missed you too, you stupid bullheaded boy". He pressed her to his chest so hard she could barely breath. She closed her eyes and it was like she was looking at them from the side, she could smell fresh meat.

Suddenly, Gendry froze. "Arya? I don't want to scare you but there is a giant wolf staring at us". She let him go and turned to face her old friend. Nymeria was looking at them, two dead rabbits in her mouth. Arya walked over to her dire wolf. "What are you doing?" Gendry whispered, trying to grab her arm. "It's OK", She shrugged him off her, leaning towards the giant wolf, her fur was soft and warm, "we're old friends".