Summary: Arya has a conversation with Summer.
Arya
It was the day after Bran's accident. Arya had dragged Gendry and Jon into the forge, the only place she felt that she could talk to them without being overheard. She had described to her cousin exactly what she thought had happened, yet both of them stubbornly refused to acknowledge the truth behind what she was saying. Gendry still thought that Arya was in shock at finding her brother, lying broken on the ground.
"Are you sure?" The prince asked again folding his arms across his broad chest. His eyebrow rose at her as his mouth twisted in a look of disbelief. Jon shared the same expression. It would have been comical if she weren't so annoyed.
"Yes. I know my brother Gendry. He's a better climber than all of us put together. He's never fallen." Arya insisted, continuing to look into his sapphire eyes.
"Arya, you're upset. It's-" Her cousin started but she scowled at him, ending his protest in its tracks.
"I am way beyond upset Jon. Someone hurt my brother." What made it worse for Arya was that they were still walking around out there. In her home. They could do it again and she had no idea who it was. She couldn't stop them.
"Who would want to hurt Bran? In his own home no less?" He asked watching her face carefully as he rested against the bench. She felt her fists clench at her sides in frustration.
"I don't know! If I did then I would stick them with the pointy end of Needle." Arya was trying to wrack her brain as to think who would harm Bran. And to do it in such a way that it looked like an accident… it was cunning.
She prayed that Bran remembered everything, but with the knock to his head she doubted he would. Because of the fall he had slipped into a deep sleep over the past two days and nothing could wake him. Maester Luwin said it was his body's way of healing.
"Obviously it wasn't any of us. No-one in Winterfell would dare to harm a Stark. And why would they want to?" Jon offered his dark eyes drifting between his cousin and his best friend. Arya shrugged. They had been here for a while and so far she hadn't been able to come up with an idea of who would intentionally hurt Bran. Her head was starting to ache with their lack of progress.
"What about the Frey?" She proposed biting her lip. He was the only one who fit. He wasn't a Stark, nor was he their friend. In fact Arya was certain that she could name a few people who hated him with an enthusiasm that equalled hers.
"He wouldn't Arya." Gendry said stiffly, shaking his head. Arya sighed, feeling more and more tired.
"I know his reputation but he wants to create an alliance with us, not completely demolish it." Jon sniggered, trying to make light of the situation. Yet his jibe only made her anger soar. She didn't need to be reminded of her betrothal to the Frey. Due to the accident, her plans to speak to Lord Rickard had been postponed. Arya couldn't bear the thought of announcing her engagement. It was disrespectful if nothing else. And unimportant in light of everything that had happened. Gods be good, Bran had almost died!
"Yes, thank you for reminding me." She growled before leaving the warmth of Mikken's forge. The cold air assaulted her senses and prickled her skin, making her shudder.
"Arya, wait." Gendry called and grabbed her hand before spinning her around to face him. "Maybe what happened to Bran was just an accident."
"But it wasn't. I know it wasn't. Why don't you believe me?" She asked, wide eyed and desperate as she looked up at him.
"It's not that I don't believe you Arya. But you're making a serious accusation without any proof." She was damned if she admitted he was right so she refused to.
"Then I'll get some." She retorted.
"Just... wait until your brother wakes up before attacking anyone with Needle. Alright?"
"Fine! Though I doubt that if it was Edric you would be acting so calmly!" Arya yelled, her voice dripping with acidity.
"Of course I wouldn't. But it's not my brother who was hurt was it? Nor would he be." He added, speaking almost to himself.
"How stupid of me to forget that Baratheon Princes are above getting harmed." She muttered sarcastically. Gendry narrowed his eyes, annoyance flickering in those blue depths. Arya yanked her arm from his tightening grip and stormed away. He let her go without argument and she was glad.
Arya didn't want to fight with him but her temper was becoming shorter and shorter as time passed. She would apologise to him when everything had calmed down but right now she just wanted to hit something.
Why does no-one believe me?! She asked herself again.
On her way back to the Great Hall Arya saw Elmar. The cold Northern air had done little to soothe the bubbling fury within her, and seeing him only made it worse.
She glared at him from across the hall. But that was all she did, glare. Though Gendry had annoyed her, she still listened to his advice. She did need proof in order to confront the Frey otherwise everyone would think that she was making erroneous claims. Arya sighed, wishing that she could just set Nymeria on him. She was grinning at the idea as she took a gulp of the lemon water from her cup. The bittersweet taste lingered on her tongue for a moment before she swallowed, lost to her own thoughts.
Right now the Frey was talking amiably with her father though Ned looked as though his mind was far away. His grey eyes were distant and dark, tired looking as dark smudges rested beneath them. Arya knew that he probably hadn't gotten much sleep since Bran's fall and she empathized with him. She knew that her father was probably just as worried about her mother as he was his son. Lady Catelyn hadn't left Bran's bedside once. Not for food, nor to make water. Nothing could pry her away from him.
Rickon didn't understand the full situation and Arya couldn't bring herself to tell him. So he constantly followed her around as if he was lost. Sometimes he would just cling to her, his Tully eyes confused as he looked to her for answers. Answers that she didn't have. All Arya could do was hold him and whisper words that she wasn't sure she believed in. Things like 'he'll be okay, I promise'. How could she promise him such a thing? Bran may never wake though she prayed otherwise. Life in Winterfell just wouldn't be the same without her brother.
It was then that Summer, Bran's direwolf entered the hall. His eyes were wide and bright as he trotted over to her. Though as he passed the Frey the wolf snarled, a deep threatening rumble that had the boy backing away. She saw the rage burn in those golden depths as he studied the Frey. Summer then came to stand by her, brushing against her legs gently. Nymeria rose from the floor and whined at her sibling. The high noise was backed by Summer who circled her again and nudged his head against the back of her knees. He started to walk away, looking back and urging her to follow him. With another hateful glance at Elmar, the direwolf loped off towards Bran's chamber.
Arya frowned and looked at the Frey. It was then she realised that Summer had confirmed her fears. Without words the wolf had told her who had harmed his master.
You did it. She thought towards Elmar. You tried to kill my brother. For a moment Arya was unable to move as the revelation hit her. Her body felt strangely numb, as if she had been standing in the snow for too long. As if her booted feet were fused to the floor. For the life of her she couldn't move. Arya couldn't break her eyes away from him either and it didn't go unnoticed. The boy bowed his head mockingly and she knew that he knew.
Shaking herself, Arya strode from the hall, Nymeria easily keeping pace beside her.
Before Arya began to walk towards Bran's chambers, she visited her own and changed clothes. She adopted pants and a long wool shirt that had once belonged to Jon. She grabbed Needle from the chest at the end of her bed and tucked it into the waistband of her breeches, feeling safer just by having it with her.
She hadn't seen her brother today and though she was expecting to find him in the same state, she wanted to be there to support him anyway. Besides, she wanted to see Summer again, ask him if Elmar had indeed hurt Bran. The direwolf was connected to her brother as she was to Nymeria. The wolf blood was strong within all of the Stark children, yet more-so in the three youngest members. Nymeria always knew what Arya was feeling and sometimes she could have sworn to the Gods that she understood what she was thinking. Yet it never unnerved her. Quite the opposite in fact; it was a great comfort.
Arya entered her brother's chambers, being careful as she made her way to the bed. Lady Catelyn had fallen asleep in a chair, her head resting against the high leather back, long Tully hair draped over one shoulder as she slept. Still clutched in her hands was an effigy, several figurines to represent her Gods, The Seven. She was making it to put above Bran, Arya was sure, to watch over and protect him. It wasn't finished and Arya gently pried it from her mother's hands, placing it on the table next to her. She then covered Catelyn's legs with a spare throw. Though Bran's room wasn't cold, he didn't have a fireplace either. And Arya didn't want her mother to become sick on top of everything else.
Summer rose his large head from his paws and their gazes met. His eyes, so similar to Nymeria's watched her, showing a deep grief that only seemed to match her own. Arya carefully sunk onto one edge of the matress and continued to stare at her brother's direwolf.
"Did the Frey hurt Bran, Summer?" She asked in a voice that was almost inaudible yet the male direwolf heard her.
Yes. He replied, a glimmer of his previous rage in his eyes, a low snarl forming at the edge of his muzzle. Arya's heart lurched as she tried to contain the tears that threatened to spill over.
"Why?"
This time Summer didn't reply, he just turned to regard Bran with large sad eyes. His pink tongue lolled out of his mouth as he licked his masters hand, whining softly. Nymeria lowered herself to the rug near her feet, her golden stare never moving from the door as she kept watch. Arya leant over and patted her direwolf on the head, earning an appreciative growl. Arya grinned and itched the wolf's ears, getting a small measure of contentment from the simple act.
It was the scraping of feet across the floor that warned Arya that she and her mother were no longer alone. Her head snapped up to see Elmar's amused expression from the doorway as he passed. All her former anger twisted into rage, a searing flame that washed through her body. It burned brighter than anything she had ever felt before.
Arya didn't hesitate as she bolted from the room. She didn't feel guilty or leaving Bran. Summer was with him and would guard her brother better than she ever could. Nymeria ran after her as she left, golden eyes blazing with a fury that countered hers.
She soon caught up to Elmar.
Nymeria leaped onto an unsuspecting Frey, pinning him with her weight. Her roaring muzzle was inches away from his white exposed throat. She snarled fiercely while he wriggled helplessly beneath her. His coal eyes were wide and scared as Arya pointed Needle at him.
"You dare come into my home and hurt my family. You dare." Arya said low, knowing how her silver eyes burned. Nymeria snapped at him angrily, lips pulling back to reveal her long fangs. Arya pressed the sharpened tip of her sword harder into his pounding pulse.
"You hurt my brother because you wanted to marry me, why?" Elmar answered with a high pitched squeal. Her direwolf barked threateningly in response. Arya knew then she wasn't going to receive any answers from the boy. Not now. "It doesn't matter. You will not get to me by hurting my family."
"Go back to the Twins Frey. And I swear to the Gods if you ever come near Winterfell or any Stark again, Needle will be last thing you see. Understand?" He barely managed to nod. She sheathed her blade and backed away calling Nymeria after her. With a final growl, the direwolf complied and released the Frey. He rolled over and scampered off. Arya sensed a flutter of satisfaction as she saw the terror in those dark eyes.
She knew that it was bad of her but she was pleased. Now he knew how it felt.
I probably should have posted their ages earlier... sorry!
Arya 19, Gendry 22, Jon 23, Bran 18
