"I am leaving this harbor
Giving urban a farewell
Its habitants seem too keen on god
I cannot stomach their rights and wrongs"
-"Wanderlust", Björk

Arya walked into the kitchen and sat two bowls on the counter.

As if going through the motions, she opened the fridge and randomly grabbed several cans of pop that she stuffed in her sweatpants pockets, which were pretty large and could fit a few fans. She then went to the cabinet designated for the junk food and pulled out a bag of chips and some candy. She filled one bowl with chips and the other with candy. After she put away the food she took out, she sat one bowl on top of another, and then made her way back to the game room.

It'd been her turn to make the food run as Ned and Mycah battled each other on Xbox.

Carefully Arya sat the bowls down and took the cans out of her pockets and sat them on the table as well.

"Finally," Ned jokingly remarked.

Arya pushed him. "Shut up."

"Hey, hey! I'm playing here," he protested.

"Hey, hey, I'm playing here," Arya, mocked as she flopped on the couch beside him. As soon as she leaned into the couch, her phone rang. At the name, Arya grinned. "You losers can play another round."

Ned and Mycah didn't really hear Arya or look at her as she answered her phone and walked out.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," Gendry parroted. It was obvious by the tone of his voice that Gendry was tired. "I'm sorry about getting back to you right away…I've just been working a lot and I'm always drained when I get home."

"No, I understand," she softly replied, as she sat on the stairs.

Although Gendry's GED from Wholistic Core made his prospects a bit better, it still wasn't much in King's Landing without a college degree. The city was both ruthless to those with and without a degree. Overall, it was super competition and very much expensive, especially if you were poor.

Despite Gendry being far more educated when he left, he'd come back to the same environment: working non stop to help pay the rent and eating the bare minimum amount of food to survive. Gendry held three jobs and got a total of six hours of sleep on a good day. He didn't have any days off due to juggling his jobs and didn't have any free time. Arya didn't understand how he could live or even function like that for that matter.

"I can't come to your thing," he remarked. At her silence, he continued, "I can't take the time off, Arya; they told me not to come back if I did."

"Can they do that—is that even legal," she said in quiet outrage.

"This isn't Winterfell, this is King's Landing," Gendry pointed out. "It's filled with corruption. No one gives a shit about laws and if it's legal, especially when it comes to Flea's Bottom. They count on us willing to work for anything in any condition because we don't have any education or other job opportunities."

Arya silently thought, 'But you're not like them.'

As if reading her mind, Gendry said, "I can't leave my foster dad to fend for himself. He's not the warmest or kindest man, but he's always looked out for me and is the only family I have. Maybe if things get better, I can see if the Core still has some things lined up for me."

Forcefully, Arya bit down on her lip in disappointment.

She really wanted to see him.

"Yeah, hopefully."

"I'm really sorry, Arya," he said sincerely. "I did want to go to your welcome back-graduation party thing."

"Next time," she mumbled. She heard some shuffling over the phone. "Are you laying down?"

Gendry yawned, "Yeah. I'm tired."

"You're always tired," she quipped as Gendry deeply chuckled.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"How was work?"

Arya could hear the smile in Gendry's sleepy voice. "The usual: my boss is a fucking douche and he can die at any moment; my coworkers are idiots, and the customers are fucking annoying and stupid. I wanted to bash this guy's face in," he admitted. "The entire time he was telling me how to do my job and, when I asked if he wanted to do it he said, 'if he fixed his own car, he'd put people like me out of a job because it's not like we had much going for ourselves anyway."

"That fucking cunt!" Arya didn't see how people could be so rude and look down on others. "Gods, why do people like that have to be such fucking douchenozzles? I bet he can't even fix his car, let alone change a tire," she ranted. As Arya took a breath, she heard faint snores on the line. Gendry fell asleep.

For a few minutes, she listened to his light snores as her chest tightened with how much she missed Gendry.

Reluctantly, Arya hung up and went back into the game room.

~*~*~

Arya wasn't one of those girls: she didn't pine over boys.

Yes, she cried once (okay, twice), but that was because she was going to be separated by thousands of miles from her best friend—the only person whoever TRULY got her. That was it. But, she didn't get sad or mopey or upset about it.

Arya wasn't like other girls.

She didn't pine over boys.

There were other guys out there and it wasn't like it would've actually worked out with Gendry, especially with his work schedule. There wasn't any time for him to be a boyfriend—hell; he didn't have time for himself.

Why get upset over something that was doomed to fail?

Besides, Arya had a life: when she wasn't hanging out with Ned and Mycah—Ned visited a few times and Mycah hung out with her, but he had work, her siblings (the ones staying at home and that she got along with), her parents, and tons of games, books, and other shit.

The first few weeks after Arya's graduation, she spent time with her youngest brothers before they left. Bran was a camp counselor at some science camp and Rickon was with their uncle Benjen at the Wall. The Wall was a decent sized city with a great college, but that was the only attraction the Wall had going for it. There weren't any notable restaurants, stores, or businesses located there. But, that wasn't why Rickon was with Benjen further up North.

At heart, Rickon was a good kid, but he just got into too much shit. Too many times the school called their parents about the mischief Rickon gotten into and so did the cops and the neighbors. Initially, Ned and Catelyn tried brushed off his behavior as boys being boys, then "just a phase", before finally understanding that Rickon needed his issues addressed hands on before he found himself in jail. The Wall was also housed recent parolees and tried to rehab them for reacclimation into society. Benjen wasn't a criminal nor did he ever take part in criminal activities, but helping former criminals rehab themselves appealed to him. He believed that everyone deserved second chances and wanted to ensure that as many of them as possible could get it, but that his goal was that all would. Benjen convinced Ned and Catelyn that the wall would be good for Benjen—it'd be a scared straight of sorts, but they'd also get down to the motivation behind Rickon's behavior.

Although Arya had decided to go to the University of Winterfell at the Wall, she was undecided on what she'd major in. Somewhere along the line, her dream of being a cop faded away and now she was just…lost. As a suggestion, her dad told her she could intern at his job and see how she liked it. It would only be a month and she'd assist some of the mid level workers and eventually shadow a few positions. The opportunity would give her somewhat of an idea of what it was like to work in a corporate environment and she could also see if it was something she wanted to do.

As tempting as it was to say no, Arya figured her father was right and agreed to intern at his job. She'd get a little experience and she'd get to see her dad and Robb everyday. She saw her eldest brother from time to time, but not as much as before he started dating his girlfriend Jeyne.

After she started, occasionally, Arya ran into some of her dad associates and old friends who remembered her from when she was an infant or toddler. She'd chat with them for a bit before doing her coffee run, filing papers, making copies, or shadowing someone for the day. Every once in a while, she had lunch with her dad, Robb, or both, but mostly, she had lunch with other interns. Although she enjoyed the little she did, it wasn't something she could see herself doing for the rest of her life, which included the jobs she shadowed. She couldn't muster the passion both her brother and father had for their work.

Shortly after the internship ended, Arya immediately departed for the Wall. The plan was: she'd visit Jon while he was on leave as well as get a feel of the city before she moved. Then the following week, her parents would join her for summer orientation, and then they would drive back home together.

As Arya ate cereal and watched 'Adventure Time', she heard a knock at the door. She frowned. It couldn't be Jon. He said he'd be gone for a few hours and she knew he didn't drive back home that quickly.

"Jon Snow, I know you're in there," a loud, feminine voice said as she continued knocking. It sounded familiar to Arya. "I can hear the TV."

Arya sat her bowl down and went to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw a redheaded woman…Ygritte.

"Hey, Ygritte," Arya greeted the older woman after she opened the door.

"Arya," Ygritte greeted in warm delight. She tightly hugged the dark-haired girl. "I wasn't expecting to see ya here; I thought your idiot brother was lying when he said he was busy."

"Jon's not an idiot," Arya said defensively.

Ygritte grinned, and then an arm around Arya's shoulder. "You're right, he just knows nothing."

"Are you coming by to see, Jon," Arya inquired. "Because he's not here."

"Well, just my luck," she stated, without irony. "That makes it easier to get my stuff."

Arya noticed the box that sat outside the door as Ygritte walked over to pick it up.

"How long will he be gone?" Ygritte quickly walked to Jon's bedroom and threw her left over items in a box.

"All day," she answered. "He's helping Sam and his girlfriend…"

"Gilly," Ygritte provided.

"Yeah, Gilly. Well, he's helping them move," she explained.

"Good." Ygritte continued packing. "That means I won't run into him."

Silently, Arya watched Ygritte pack. The redhead packed efficiently as she expertly moved around the room to make sure she collected all of her things.

Sure, Arya had seen Ygritte on video messaging, but this was the first time she'd ever seen the woman in person. She was even more vibrant and stunning in person—she had a presence about her. The woman didn't come off as bitter, but determined and, despite calling Jon an idiot, Arya didn't think it was to be malicious. As Ygritte packed her things, she was silent herself and didn't destroy or mishandle any of Jon's stuff. From what Jon told her about Ygritte that was unusual. Well, he didn't say that she liked to destroy things, but rather, things tended to be destroyed if she was upset.

"Why did you break up with Jon," Arya asked suddenly.

As Ygritte was about to speak, she abruptly stopped as she picked up a sweater, and then smelled it.

Silently, Ygritte folded it. "That's a story for another time," she remarked, and then placed it back in the drawer.

Arya intently looked at Ygritte; the redhead exuded vulnerability. Admittedly, Arya didn't know that much about Ygritte, but based off of video chat, the woman seemed madly in love with Jon—she still was. But, it was clearly a sore subject based off of Ygritte's body language: tensed shoulders, gnawed on lip, and avoidant gaze. Breaking up with Jon deeply bothered Ygritte and she wasn't an emotional space to talk about it freely.

"I'm leaving in a few weeks," Ygritte remarked.

Arya furrowed her brows. "Huh?"

"In the army, you go a lot of places, but you don't really get to enjoy it," she explained. "I'm at a bit of a crossroads and haven't decided if I want to extent my career with the army or get out." She sat on the bed and absentmindedly rubbed the comforter. "I never gave a shit about traveling," she admitted. "Home was enough, but…the place I lie my head at at night became unbearable and I just had to escape. Some people join the army due to patriotism, others to pay for college, but I joined to escape—something Jon and I had in common; one of the very few things we had in common. And the army…it exposed me to so many different regions and cultures, but I never got to enjoy it. So…I don't know, I figure while I find out my next move, why not travel? Why not explore all of the places I never got to, and then some?"

"That sounds fucking awesome," Arya said. She leaned against the doorframe as she looked at the other woman. "I've always wanted to go to Braavos or some shit and travel new places...just disappear into a crowd, instead of someone recognizing me due to my dad." She gave a small laugh. "Just for a little but, I don't want to have a name or a face….that sounds weird, right?"

"No, no," Ygritte remarked. "I get it. I can't explain it, but I get it." In a companionable silence, the two stared at each other. Ygritte then advised, "Do it while you're young. And if you don't want it to interrupt your schooling, you can apply for some study abroad program, so you'll be learning and travelling."

Arya turned the idea over in her head. That sounded like a great idea.

"Where are you going to first?"

"Westeros," she answered. "I might as well, there's a lot of shit I haven't seen because it's so fucking huge and diverse. I'll check out a few major cities and landmarks, and then go to Essos for a while. If I have enough funds after I go there, I'm going to Sothoryos."

In shock, Arya's jaw dropped. "You're going to Sothoryos?"

"I might," Ygritte stressed. "We'll see what happens."

Not that many people traveled that far south, so not much was known about Sothoryos or other parts of their world. As developed as Westeros and Ethos was, they didn't care to explore the world, which baffled Arya. She loved Winterfell and it'd always be her home, but she also liked visiting other places and seeing how their cultures differed.

""I'm so fucking jealous right now," Arya grumbled.

Ygritte laughed. "Like I said, look into your school's study abroad program." She checked her watch. "It was nice talking you and actually meeting you face to face."

"Yeah, same." Arya watched as Ygritte stood up, and then grabbed her box before she looked around one last time. Arya followed her to the front door, and then locked it before her.

After she sat down, she flipped open her laptop and searched the study abroad program for The University of Winterfell at the Wall.

~*~*~*~

Catelyn smiled at her daughter and said, "Thank you."

Carefully, she rested two wineglasses on the counter, and then filled each one.

Curiously, Arya stared at her mother as she took her glass. "For what?"

"Tonight," her mom answered. "I know you hate dinner parties and the conversation that comes with it, but you really took it in stride tonight."

"What? All I did was smile and ha ha'd at the right moment," she quipped.

Catelyn playfully rolled her eyes as mother and daughter both sipped their wine.

"If that's the best I can get, I'll take it," she said. "All of my associates and friends gushed about how intelligent, witty, and charming you were. They all wanted to have lunch with you so that they could speak to you again and, oh, said they might have some job and opportunities that might interest you—it seems to me like you did more than smile and ha ha'd."

Arya chuckled. "You're right, I also complimented the hostess and the chief."

Catelyn pursued her lips and dismissively waved a hand. "Where did you learn to charm and woo?"

"You attract more bees with honey…" She shrugged.

"And just what are you trying to attract?" Catelyn's tone wasn't accusatory, but rather, curious.

"Honestly, nothing," she admitted. "Just figured that a poor attitude guarantees a poor night."

Her mom was going to respond to the comment, but left it alone. "So, you enjoyed yourself?"

"Gods no," she declared. Arya then reconsidered her statement, "A few times, but my feelings about these shindigs you insist are fun, hasn't really changed."

Her dad walked into the kitchen and looked at his wife and daughter.

"There are two of the three of my favorite ladies," he proclaimed. He and Catelyn exchanged a firm kiss before he placed one on Arya's forehead. "Little wolf, you look absolutely beautiful."

"Thanks, dad." Arya drank her wine to hide her blush.

"And you," Ned began as he stepped behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her. "Are downright stunning. If the Gods one day struck me blind, your beauty I'd still see."

Catelyn widely grinned at her husband's compliment and pulled him in for another quick kiss.

"I'm glad other people don't get to see this side of you," she stated. "Because I get to keep it all to myself."

"There's no other way I would have it, my love." Ned grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth.

"Blegh." Arya covered her mouth. "I guess this is my cue."

Her parents rolled their eyes at her.

"Hold on, Arya," Ned said. "Earlier you said you wanted to talk to your mom and I about something."

"Like what," Catelyn inquired. "Nothing was ever mentioned to me."

At the reminder, Arya walked back to the table and refilled her glass of wine. "So, before you say anything, hear me out first."

Her parents looked at each other. "Okay," they both reluctantly agreed.

Arya slid onto her stool and collected her thoughts. "I want to postpone college to travel. I know you're thinking I haven't thought this out, but I have—a lot. I'm not quitting school altogether; I just can't go back right away. Hell, I don't even know what I want to major in." Nervously, Arya looked at her parents as she spoke, "I don't know how long it'll be, but it's something I want to do—something I need to do. I know was just away at Wholistic Core for two years and you guys want me close to home, but I rarely ask for anything. And it's not as asking if Mycah's dad could get a better job and that you wouldn't snatch me away from my friends my senior year in high school are huge favors. And that was after you two forced me to go there to calm political waters rather than defend and protect me."

Visibly, her parents flinched.

"Look, I know how I sound right now," Arya, sighed. "And I don't hold these things against you two anymore, but I need the both of you to understand why I need to do this and not stand in the way. For once in your lives, I need you to be supportive of me NOT just when I'm reacting to shit that was out of my control, but even when I'm actively making decisions about MY life. I know the both of you love me, but you don't understand me…you try, which I appreciate, but I need you to support me on this." Tears glistened Arya's eyes as she finished her proposal."

Arya saw her mom's mind racing as she digesting her daughter's words. Her dad was a bit loss for words, but Arya saw him thinking as well. They were both silent for a while as they gathered their thoughts. It was unusual to see. Usually, either her mom or dad already knew what they were going to say and allowed the other to lead before giving their thoughts. But, it was clear that both wanted to give Arya's request some careful thought, especially because her request threw them for a loop.

Catelyn was the one to speak first, "Okay."

"Okay?" Ned looked at his wife questioningly.

"Yes. Okay," she repeated. "I have a feeling that Arya's request is more of a courtesy than actually asking her. Am I right, sweetheart?" Catelyn's voice was mostly neutral, but it had a hint of warmth to it.

"Yes," Arya admitted.

Catelyn nodded. "And if we say no and don't support you, which I presume is both emotional and financial, you'll find other means, correct?

"Correct." Arya nodded as she stared at her mom.

"Then there was only one choice for me to make," Catelyn replied. "Don't take this to mean that I don't support you, Arya, because I do and I love you immensely, but I can't have you on the other part of the world upset with me. I can't sit home and not know where you are or if you're safe. I won't. And I refuse to be ignorant about whether or not you have enough money for food and shelter. So, whether or not I like it and understand, I'm supporting you."

Ned slid his hand across the table and grabbed Catelyn wineglass. He finished the remainder of the wine, and then refilled the glass and finished that as well.

"I can't say that I like it," he admitted, referring to Arya's plans. "But, I agree with you mom. And I know we've talked about the situation with Robert and his family, but it doesn't change the fact that we didn't hear your side and forced you to do many things you didn't like. So, you're right: you should be allowed to actively make decisions that impact your life with support from us, which you have." Ned pinched the ridge of his nose. "A thousand sorries will never erase the regret I feel about what happened back then, but I do hope that you traveling gives you the freedom that was robbed from you these past few years."

Arya jumped out of her stool and eagerly hugged her parents.

"Thank you," she whispered as tears pooled from her eyes. "Thank you."

~*~*~*~

Arya waved her hand in the air.

"Hey, Arya," Ygritte exclaimed once she spotted her lunchtime companion.

"Hey," the Stark girl replied. "How you've been?"

Ygritte shrugged. "Pretty good—I can't complain. How about you?"

"Figuring my shit out."

At this, Ygritte smiled as she sipped her coffee. "When you get done with yours, can you help me with mine," Ygritte joked.

"Sure, the first session is on the house, but I don't offer family or friend of family discounts."

Ygritte laughed out loud.

The two women order their food and conversed about various topics.

"So, why did you want to have lunch with me," Ygritte asked as she chewed her food.

Arya smiled as she thoughts about how appalled her mother would be at the sight. Catelyn was firm on etiquette and instilled in all of her kids at a very young age. She'd even make them practice until they got it if she felt it was necessary. Robb, Sansa, and Bran learned right away and had the perfect table manner. Arya and Rickon, on the other hand, were a different story.

Catelyn would make them practice after school, before different, and/or after dinner. Sometimes it was once a day, and other times, it was multiple times.

One run through wasn't enough; she'd make them do it over and over until she saw slight improvement—until it became automatic. Although it took Arya a bit longer than her other siblings, it wasn't as long as Rickon, but he eventually got it as well.

Now, as she looked at Ygritte, it reminded her how silly the etiquette rules were. She supposed she could understand it if it were formal setting, but in a café or having dinner with family and friends? Nonsense!

"To thank you," she admitted. "Because of our discussion I've postponed college to travel instead."

"Really?" Ygritte excitedly smiled. "I'm glad I inspired you. Where're you going?"

Arya shrugged. "Well, I figured I'd just travel the continents like you…. Explore cities as I work my way south. I've made a rough draft of the cities I plan to visit and when."

"That's a good idea," Ygritte complimented. "Aimlessly traveling only works if you're in a city or a small region, even then, there are various hazards. Overall, it can be very dangerous." Arya nodded as she recalled her parents expressing similar sentiments. Her plan was never to aimlessly travel, but she did understand why they voiced their concerns. "So hos is it set up so far? What places do you have in mind?"

At Ygritte's question, Arya pulled a satchel from underneath the table and grabbed a notebook as well as a travel book from her bag. She opened the notebook and showed Ygritte a sketch of the continents Westeros, Essos, and Sothoryos as arrows and quick notes indicated which routes she believed was best.

Due to how the countries were set up, Arya didn't want to visit each country one at a time after leaving The North, but rather, traveling southeast. Her plan was to cut through Riverlands to get the The Eyrie, and then go back into Riverlands to get to the Crownlands before swopping back up in a The Reach, and travel The Reach-Dorne border to Storm's End, and then take off for Essos for the second leg of her travel.

Offhandedly, Arya explained her logic for going through the Riverlands twice and why she preferred that route to others. She said visiting the countries one at a time, planning wise, was a nightmare and actually wasted more time than saved, especially since she was driving. There wasn't any sense of traveling through one country just to get to another, and then go back to visit them in some arbitrary order.

Carefully, Ygritte studied the notes and sketches as she randomly asked Arya about certain points in her trip, her lodging plans, as well as what form of tourism she was going to do—self explore or paid tour guides. Her food was virtually untouched due to how engrossed she was with the notes. Deep in thought, Ygritte quickly flipped through the pages, and then looked at Arya.

"We should travel together," she suggested.

Arya stopped chewing her food. "What?"

"Yeah," she continued. "Look, as you mentioned yourself, the first leg of the trip is a nightmare when it comes to navigating and your idea is way smoother than mine. I'm still going to cover my own expenses, but we we could take turn driving, which means we won't have to stop as much and get to our destinations quicker; sure, we're both responsible, kick ass women, but there's nothing wrong with the buddy system; also, you'll get someone to talk to rather being alone," she explained. "There are a shit ton of reasons why this could work. I know we don't know each other that well, but just think it over and get back to me. I'd really love to travel with you."

Ygritte then flipped to a blank page in Arya's notebook and explained her own traveling plans as she wrote some of her plans down to give Arya a better picture.

Intently, Arya stared at Ygritte notes and inwardly compared them to her own.

It did sound like a good idea.

~*~*~*~*~

It didn't take much for Arya to convince her parents that travelling with Ygritte was a great idea. They were all for it, especially because it meant that Arya wouldn't be travelling alone.

They invited Ygritte over for dinner a week before the two ladies were supposed to leave.

As dinner was prepared, they sat in the living room and conversed.

"Arya said that you know each other through Jon," Catelyn inquired.

"Yes," Ygritte replied. "Jon and I hung out from time to time and he'd skype Arya when I was around, so we chatted a few times. She actually reminded my of myself, to be honest, so I came to kind of think of her as a long lost sister."

Catelyn narrowed her gaze, Arya coughed, and Ned looked to the ground.

Wrong thing to say.

Ned cleared his throat. "I can see that Arya made quite an impression on you."

"Most definitely," Ygritte recovered. "She's a really remarkable young woman, it's hard not to be impressed. She's definitely more mature than I was at my age, but the army really did straighten me out."

As Ygritte spoke, the doorbell rang.

Confused, Catelyn stood up.

"I wonder who that could be," she wondered aloud as she looked at her husband.

After Catelyn exited the room, Ned asked Ygritte questions about what Jon was like from the perspective of a person who served along Jon. Ygritte gave glowing answers and cracked a few jokes about how morally upstanding and righteous Jon was and is. Ned smiled proudly and explained that he taught Jon the importance of honorable character, but the rest of that he picked up on his own.

Ygritte politely asked where the bathroom was and Arya got up to show her.

"Who was it," her husband inquired when Catelyn came back.

Ned's question was answered when Jon and a woman appeared.

"Jon," Ned said in shock as he got up to greet his son. Lovingly, they embraced and patted each other on the back a few times.

"And how is this lovely young lady," Ned asked as he smiled at the woman.

She extended a hand and said, "Val."

"Nice to meet you, Val," he said in a deep, gracious voice.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Stark." Val's handshake was firm and confident.

"Just call me Ned."

As Arya and Ygritte both entered the room, they stopped.

"Jon," they said at the same time.

"What are you doing here," Arya questioned.

Jon plastered a fake smile on his face as he answered, "I was just thinking the same thing about Ygritte. I wasn't expecting to see her."

"Well, mom and dad wanted to have dinner with her before we left," Arya explained.

"Which is quite understandable," Ygritte added. "We'll be spending a lot of time together for a year or so, what parent wouldn't want to meet their child's traveling buddy?"

"Yeah," Jon bit out. 'What parent wouldn't?"

Dinner was served shortly afterwards. The dinner was originally planned for seven, but was extended to eleven. There was more than enough food made for the extra guest and Catelyn accommodated everyone at her spacious dinner table. Rickon and Bran weren't required to join them in the living room, so Bran exited his room and Rickon came from the game room during dinnertime. Sansa arrived home just in time for dinner from the mall and, as previously mentioned, Jon and Val were unplanned guest. Robb and his girlfriend Jeyne also stopped by unannounced and, of course, Catelyn was going to accommodate him.

As they ate, Sansa eagerly talked about her internship as Arya disinterestedly stared at her food. In interested, Ygritte asked Sansa about specific aspects of her internship, which Sansa eagerly explained while Ygritte, listened. If Ygritte was any other girl, Arya might had been jealous of the attention her new friend was paying to Sansa, but she wasn't. Although Arya had a poor relationship, basically nonexistent, with her sister, that didn't mean that other people couldn't like her.

Besides, Sansa and Ygritte were too different for that to even happen. Not only was Ygritte incredibly personable, she was also interested in hearing about the things people were passionate about.

Arya was surprised that Ygritte turned her table manners on when she ate with the Stark family; she didn't even know that Ygritte had table manners. She didn't mean it in a rude, offensive way, but simply as an observation. It was only a plus that Ygritte ate properly in from on her mother—Arya didn't need to see her judgmental eyes all because Ygritte used the wrong fork or slouched.

Jon awkwardly introduced Val as his girlfriend as he tried not to pay attention to his ex girlfriend on the other side of the table. He stuttered a bit when Ned asked how they met and how long they've been together. Val held her composure as she spoke a bit about herself before handing the conversation back over to Jon.

Arya supposed it was Jon's fault he was dealing with this awkward situation. Beside herself, the man in question, his ex girlfriend as well as his current girlfriend, no one else knew that Ygritte and Jon had previously dated. Well, honestly speaking, just the family, other than her, didn't know that they had dated. It was well known at work that Ygritte and Jon had been a thing, but it wasn't something his family had been privy too.

Arya and Ygritte decided that she was better off being introduced to her parents as a friend of Jon's rather than an ex.

Jon distractedly spoke about his job as he tried to ignore Ygritte's stare before he asked Robb about he and Jeyne.

Robb announced his engagement to Jeyne as the family happily congratulated them and Jon tried to become as one with his chair. Arya could see that dinner was extremely uncomfortable for him and felt bad for her favorite brother. Robb and Jeyne happily smiled as they accept congratulations and explained that a date hadn't been set yet.

Robb smiled and looked at his brother. "I always thought Jon was going to get married first," he began. "Even as a kid, he was so serious." There was laughter around the table. "I just knew he was going to marry the first girl he dated—guess I was wrong."

Jon gave a tightlipped smile and looked at his lap, which Robb interpreted the wrong way.

"Are you jealous because I'm engaged first," he said, not maliciously.

"No," Jon answered.

"He's probably embarrassed because you just insulted his girlfriend right in front of him," Sansa said in shock.

Robb frowned. "How? I didn't insult Val?"

Sansa looked at Robb as if he were crazy. "If I recall correctly, 'you just said you knew he was going to marry the first girl he dated, but you were wrong.'"

"Oh," Robb laughed, as he looked at Sansa than Val. "She's not his first girlfriend."

So, Robb knew Jon had been involved, but not who.

Val agreed, "I'm not Jon's first girlfriend. So no harm, no foul."

No harm no foul against Val, but Arya knew it stung a bit for Ygritte, despite the fact she was the one who broke up with Jon.

"Oh…" Sansa looked embarrassed.

"Why didn't we ever meet this other girl," Ned questioned as he stared at Jon.

Jon opened his mouth, but words eluded him.

Helping his brother, Robb explained, "Jon was serious about her, but he never saw a future for them—they were too different. Ironically, she broke up with him and never told him why."

"Ygritte did you meet her," Robb said.

"Robb," his mother chastised.

"What?" He shrugged. "He only mentioned her once by accident; I'm just curious is all. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all," Ygritte answered. "I did meet her and, I have to agree with Jon, they weren't compatible, especially if he was wasting her time the entire time."

"Hey, that's not fair. Besides, she broke up with him," Robb statement.

"But, isn't it," Ygritte retorted. "How would you feel your if one your sisters was in a serious relationship with a guy who saw no future with her?" Ygritte's façade of personal detachment was slipping. "You'd feel like he wasted their time, especially if he's known for a while he had no intentions of ever marrying her."

"He cared about her, but he was just conflicted," Robb argued.

Ygritte narrowed her gaze. "He cared about her, but he wasn't honest about the fact that he didn't see a future with her—how much did he really care?" Her statement shut Robb up for a moment. "You're only defending him because he's your brother. But, if a guy did that to Arya or Sansa, you'd want blood," she pointed out.

"And aren't you supposed to be defending your friend?" Robb directed a pointed looked at Ygritte.

"Just because he's my friend, doesn't mean I can't point out when he's being an idiot," she explained. "If Jon was so serious about this girl, why did you only find out about her by accident and no one else in the family knows about her? Why is Val the first girl he brought home, yet; he supposedly cared about this other woman. How serious could he have really been—I mean, do we blame her for breaking up with him?"

"Maybe she wasn't serious about him either," Robb speculated. "Maybe she expressed reservations about meeting his family and marriage."

"Ygritte…" Jon regained his voice as he tried to steer the conversation back on the right course. "Just—"

Ygritte cut him off. "She was serious about him and interested in meeting him family as well as marriage."

"You don't know that," Robb contradicted.

"This conversation started because you asked if I knew her." Ygritte laughed at the ridiculousness of Robb's stance.

"Robb, just leave it alone," Jon reasoned with his brother. "What's done is done."

"Jon, I know I may be biased because you're my brother, but you're one of the most stand up guys I know and, friend or not, I'm not going to let someone accuse you of stringing anyone along, especially if she broke up with you. I don't need to know the specifics to know that you aren't that kind of guy."

"Okay, wow…" Ygritte sipped her wine as she bit back a response.

"The way you defend this girl, one would think it was you he was involved with," Robb said as a way to imply she was being too defensive.

Jon's jaw dropped as Arya stared wide eyed at Robb, and then Ygritte and Val sat composed as she looked at the table.

"Ygritte…"

A Cheshire grin appeared across Ygritte's face. "That's because I am."

Catelyn's fork dropped as Bran choked on his food. He recovered quickly as the family stared between Robb, Ygritte, Jon, and Val.

"Jon knew that I loved him—that I was in love with him and wanted to get married," she stated. "Hell, everyone MINUS his family knew, well, Arya knew we were together, but Jon knew that he didn't want to marry me and allowed me to believe that we were on the same page. If that's not stringing someone along, then I don't know what is."

"Ygritte," Ned said, as he tried to intervene. Ned and Catelyn allowed Robb and Ygritte to continue their conversation for so long partially out of curiosity as well as the fact that their tone had been civil for the most part, until the end.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stark, thank you for the lovely dinner, but I'm afraid I have to get going," Ygritte excused herself.

Arya stood up to go after Ygritte. Just Arya began to walk Ygritte reappeared in the room.

"Jon, you broke my heart long before I ever broke yours; you were the last person I expected that from." Her eyes watered as she stared at him. "You really do know nothing, Jon Snow."

Ygritte wiped her fallen tears and left the room.

~*~*~*~

Despite the dinner fiasco, Arya and Ygritte's travel plan remained in tact. Arya's parents both had a talk with the young women as well as Jon—well, Ned had a talk with Jon. They agreed that, although the discussion got heated, it was handled maturely and didn't spiral out of control.

They were also still sold on Arya traveling with someone, especially a soldier who had many contacts in various continents. Jon did as well, but Ygritte was traveling with Arya not Jon.

Arya loaded her bags into the SUV that was bought specifically for the truck and kissed her parents goodbye.

"Have fun, little wolf," Ned whispered in her ear as he gave her a big hug.

"I'm going to miss you too, dad," Arya said into his chest.

Catelyn then pulled her youngest daughter into a hug as she repeatedly kissed her head and made Arya promise a million times to be safe.

After had to pull herself free of her parents as Ygritte said her goodbyes and Ned and Catelyn walked the two young women to the car.

Thirty minutes into the drive, as Arya's hair whipped in the wind, she never felt as free in her life as she did that moment.

Yes…this was the right choice.