A/N: I don't think there's anything in here that isn't explained, hasn't been explained, or will soon be explained, so no plot notes. As expected, since Sandor, Sansa, and Arya are all in Dawnstar at the moment, there's some overlap. Also, Solara is based off of my second player character in Skyrim, just so you know. Anyway, enjoy reading. Many thanks to my beta reader (and sister) GrowlingPeanut. Reviews are appreciated.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bethesda Softworks and George R. R. Martin except for Solara. She is mine.
Rating: M for language, sexual references, and the consumption of alcohol
Arya remained in her room at the inn for the next few days, drowning the memories of Vaermina's control in solitude and as many bottles of mead as she had the gold to buy. Erandur had stayed in the Tower of Dawn as he said he would and it was only when Arya sat alone in her room, crying herself into a fitful sleep that she wished he was there for company and comfort. Destiny or no, she had no one in this strange city, and she had never felt more alone.
As another night fell, she remained huddled on the corner of the lumpy mattress in the room she had rented, grateful that the light from the twin moons filtering in the window above her head was keeping her from being swallowed by darkness. The dreams only got worse when it was dark, and she knew that the nightmares were hers alone, and no longer the machinations of Vaermina.
Even if she had wanted to sleep, the couple in the next room would have made it difficult. What had started as a whispered conversation had quickly escalated and by the sounds she could hear through the wall, she was fairly certain she knew what was occurring between them. It made her miss Vilkas even more.
The voice of the woman sounded vaguely familiar and Arya absently tried to recognize it as she finished off another bottle of mead, letting her curiosity distract her from the memories of her own lover. It was only when she heard the woman's name in the deep rasping voice of her companion that she realized who she was and quickly scooted away from the wall.
As if Vilkas' death, the waking nightmare she had lived through, and now her maddening solitude weren't enough, she was forced to sleep in the room next door to where her older sister that she hadn't seen for five years was being fucked. She certainly had no doubts that the gods had it out for her.
Leaving her empty bottle with the others on the table beside her bed, Arya got up and quietly slipped from her room, making her way out in the city and breathing in the cool autumn air with a sigh of relief. She let her feet carry her along the shore of the Sea of Ghosts and she watched the reflection of the moons on the water with trepidation. In a few weeks, they would be full again and she would be forced to hunt for the first time without Vilkas by her side. She wasn't sure if she was ready for the pain that would bring.
It wasn't until she glanced over her shoulder at the city that she realized how far she had walked and she turned back with a heavy sigh. She was about to return to Dawnstar when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she cautiously approached the rocks along the shore.
Fitted smoothly into the face of the cliffside was a door, made of polished black stone and something that looked suspiciously like human bone. At the top there was a skull with a black handprint in the center, and at the bottom a skeleton and a pile of skulls. Drawn to it, she reached for the ring that opened it and nearly jumped out of her skin when her touch was met with an ethereal voice that seemed to come from the door itself.
"What is life's greatest illusion?" it hissed, the question fading as it waited for her answer.
Suddenly, it all made sense. The murder she had witnessed at the Bannered Mare, Jaqen H'ghar's cryptic message...it was all meant to lead her here. This was her destiny.
"Innocence, my brother," Arya whispered, her heart pounding in her chest as she said it. The door gave no response, but after a moment, when she tried to open it again, it yielded to her touch.
When the door shut heavily behind her she found herself in a dark hall and as she stopped to let her eyes adjust, a shadow stepped out from the wall and she saw the flash of white teeth in the blackness.
"A man knew that a girl would come, but he did not think it would be so soon."
Arya smiled to herself. Jaqen...
"I was planning on spending a few days exploring the city," she responded, "But when the gods saw fit to put me in the room next door to where my sister was being bedded quite loudly, I decided that it would be best to come straight here."
Jaqen laughed and she could just make out his slender form as he took a step toward her, his blue eyes shining with amusement. "Come. A girl must meet her new family."
She followed him down the hall to an open dining area, quietly admiring her surroundings as they walked. When Jaqen landed gracefully on the lowest level after descending the stairs, the Redguard sitting closest glanced up and appraised Arya for a moment.
"Is this the one you were talking about?"
Jaqen nodded. "Yes. Arya of House Stark." Turning back to her, he gave an apologetic smile and then a shallow bow from the waist. "A girl must forgive me for being rude. A man's companions are Nazir, our eldest and wisest member," He gestured toward the Redguard and Nazir snorted.
"Babette, an alchemist," The little girl smiled, revealing sharp fangs.
"Aventus Aretino, assassin in training," A young boy that looked no older than twelve waved and then returned to sharpening the dagger in his hand.
"Cicero, our Keeper and jester," She was rewarded with a cartwheel and a fit of spontaneous laughter.
"And Solara, our Listener."
The latter stepped forward and offered a hand to shake. She was a pretty young Breton with long dark curls and green eyes that reflected maturity beyond her years. She looked to be a few years older than Sansa. "Welcome to the Dark Brotherhood, Arya. Jaqen told us that you would be arriving shortly. He seems to see great promise in you. That being said, let me formally introduce you to Jaqen H'ghar, master of illusion, and, your trainer."
He gave a sweeping bow and Arya raised her eyebrows. "My trainer?"
"There is much more to being an assassin of the Dark Brotherhood than many seem to believe. A man is honored to teach you of our ways."
Solara smiled in amusement. "He's very eager to begin your training. If you have no objections, he will show you around our sanctuary. Once he shows you to your quarters, you're welcome to rest. You seem tired."
A bit embarrassed that it was so obvious, Arya nodded self-consciously and thanked the Listener before turning back to Jaqen and gesturing vaguely at their surroundings.
Solara stopped them before they left the room. "Jaqen, when you're finished, come speak with me. We have a contract that I think will suit you."
"A man will return, Listener," Jaqen replied, his thickly accented voice smooth and courteous.
"So this is my destiny?" Arya mused as she walked by his side down a long dim corridor. "What is it that you saw in me?"
Jaqen shrugged slightly and looked down to meet her gaze. "A girl has lost all that she cares for. All of us here also have nothing to lose. It is what makes us strong."
"So none of you are married?" She wasn't entirely sure what made her ask the question. Perhaps she hoped his answer would be 'no' so that she had some sort of excuse for rejecting Vilkas' attempts at asking for her hand. A girl destined for the Dark Brotherhood would have had no room for marriage.
He hesitated for a moment. "No. Solara and Cicero are lovers, but as our Listener, she understands that her commitment to Sithis and the Night Mother comes before her feelings for our Keeper. If Sithis decided it was time for Cicero to join him in the Void, she would honor his wish and only mourn after. That is the way it must be."
Arya nodded and looked away. No one, god or otherwise, could have ever made her kill Vilkas, but now that he was gone, she was more than ready to serve the will of Sithis if it meant she could get vengeance for his death.
"Anger is dangerous," Jaqen said quietly, as if sensing her thoughts. "A girl must learn to control it or it will consume her."
They stopped in a large circular room with sword racks and training dummies along the walls. Arya took the opportunity to change the subject. "The training room, I presume?"
The handsome Breton nodded. "Yes, but not ours. Cicero is teaching Aventus Aretino the ways of our Brotherhood just as I am with you. This is where they train. A man prefers to fight beneath the sky. When a girl must fulfill her first contract, it will not be in the comfort of our sanctuary. You must be prepared for what is to come."
They continued on and Jaqen gestured briefly toward a tome on the wall before explaining its purpose. "A girl must learn and follow the Five Tenets: never dishonor the Night Mother, never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets, never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior, never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister, and never, under any circumstances, kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do any of these things is to invoke the wrath of Sithis."
"Have they ever been broken?" Arya asked, glancing briefly into the torture chamber they passed. The image of Vilkas' mutilated corpse flashed before her eyes and her stomach turned uneasily as she hastily looked away.
"Yes. The leader before Solara was punished for her disloyalty. She is now with Sithis in the Void."
He walked into a small room off of the hallway they were in and she followed close behind. "These will be a girl's quarters. With our numbers growing, space must be shared." He nodded toward the bed on the far side of the room. "That side is yours."
"And this side?"
His lips curved into a playful half-smile and one of his thin eyebrows rose slightly. "Is mine."
Arya nodded and Jaqen leaned against the doorway as she took in her new home. "A man must go speak with our Listener. A girl is welcome to rest if she wishes." He smiled. "I will return shortly and we will begin your training."
Nodding again, Arya hesitated and then looked over at him. "Could I go out? Into the town?"
Jaqen shrugged. "A girl may do as she wishes. A man will find her wherever she chooses to go."
Without further ado, he retreated to go find Solara and Arya was left alone in their room. Jaqen's side was clean and organized, with scrolls and spell tomes stacked neatly in piles across the dresser beside his bed. Arya knew that despite her small number of belongings, her side would be a mess before the end of the moon. Despite Vilkas' best efforts, their quarters had always remained disorganized and after several failed attempts to fix the problem, he had just given up. It had remained that way ever since.
Taking the long way to the exit so as to avoid any of the others, Arya opened the door and walked back onto the seashore, heading back in the direction of town. She briefly considered returning to the inn to pay for her room, but decided against it and instead found a rock to settle on apart from the town that overlooked the Sea of Ghosts.
It was there that Jaqen found her hours later, her cheeks streaked with tears as she wrapped her arms tightly around her knees and cried.
"A girl is troubled." There was concern in his voice and Arya sniffed, wiping at her face with the back of her hand.
"A girl is alone," she murmured quietly, resting her chin on top of her knees and watching the waves rise and fall with the tide.
"Lonely, yes, but not alone."
Arya was silent for a moment before looking over at her companion. "How did you know about Vilkas?"
Jaqen shrugged and moved to dangle his long legs over the edge of the rock, supporting himself on his hands. "A man knows many things."
"Such as?"
"The Imperial Legion is setting a trap for Ulfric Stormcloak. The Targaryens are thinking of reclaiming their rightful throne in High Rock. Your sister's lover is Sandor Clegane."
"The Hound?" Arya asked in disbelief. "But..." She hesitated as she remembered the rumours she'd heard at the Bannered Mare. "They say he took her from the Lannisters. She's his hostage isn't she?"
"Perhaps. Whether she considers herself such is irrelevant. She loves him."
Arya snorted and shook her head. "Even the gods favor my sister." Although she muttered it more to herself, Jaqen raised his eyebrows and looked over in her direction.
"Favor?"
She sighed and angrily tossed a pebble onto the beach below, choosing to ignore his question.
"Because she is everything that a girl is not?" Jaqen asked, looking back out toward the water. "Carefree, happy, beautiful..."
When Arya caught the teasing lilt to his voice, she smacked his knee and then sighed again. "It's not that," she replied. "It's just...she's everything that everyone ever wanted me to be. Proper, polite...she's a lady. She's probably never held a sword in her life, and I could never live like that. I hated her for being better than me in everyone else's eyes."
"Not everyone's."
She turned to look at Jaqen, but he refused to meet her gaze, looking out across the sea instead with a troubled expression. Arya briefly wondered if she wasn't supposed to have heard his reply.
"What contract did you get?" she asked in an attempt to break the semi-awkward silence that had fallen over them.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. A desperate gambler had a contract put out on the man that he owes a debt to." His tone was somewhat sarcastic and Arya made the assumption that he had been sent out on similar contracts often enough to have developed a sense of distaste toward the men who ordered them.
"If it's nothing out of the ordinary then why did Solara say that she thought it would suit you?"
Jaqen smiled slightly and turned his head to look at her again, the white side of his hair falling down across his cheek as he did. "The man he owes is expecting something like this to happen and so has made to sure to stay in heavily occupied areas for his own safety. A man's talents are well suited for such a situation."
She thought back to what Solara had said. "So you're a master of Illusion...what exactly does that mean?"
"It means that a man can create illusions made to alter one's perception. It is a very difficult school of magic to master, and one that is studied by only few since a man's departure from the College of Winterhold."
"What do you mean, 'to alter one's perception'?"
His lips curved into a smile and when Arya blinked, it was Gendry Waters sitting beside her.
Her hand immediately traveled to her dagger, but before she could reach it, the assassin had returned and was looking at her in amusement. Troubled, she slowly took her fingers from the hilt and regarded him through narrowed eyes.
"How do you know about Gendry? He left before you arrived in Whiterun."
"Did he?" Jaqen shrugged slightly. "A man has been watching a girl for longer than she realizes."
"Why? Why me?"
He gave a barely audible sigh and his deep blue eyes searched her features for a moment before he responded softly."A man was drawn to such a lovely girl."
Arya could feel herself blushing and she tried to hide it with a scowl. She had never been called lovely before. Sansa was always the lovely one. Vilkas had told her she was beautiful before, but, perhaps because of the context in which it always occurred, she had never found herself believing it. Something about the way Jaqen said it made her feel as though it were the truth.
"Will you be leaving for Windhelm then?"
Jaqen nodded and turned his gaze away, breaking the spell between them. "Yes. But not right away. A girl must begin her training first." He smirked and added in jest, "The Night Mother can wait."
Arya snorted in amusement and shook her head. "That's blasphemous."
Jaqen laughed, a genuine laugh. "Perhaps. But a man is not concerned for his own safety. When Sithis decides it is his time to join the Dread Father in the Void, then he will go without resistance."
"You don't fear death?"
"No. And once a girl learns to control it, she will not either."
Arya wasn't so sure. Whenever she closed her eyes, it was images of death that she saw. The image of Vilkas' lifeless body was permanently scarred into the backs of her eyelids.
"It is not a girl's own death that she fears," Jaqen said, removing one of his black leather gloves and inspecting his immaculate fingernails.
Arya frowned and gave him a somewhat distrustful look. "How do you do that?"
His eyebrows rose slightly and he smiled. "A girl wears her emotions on her face." He used his bare hand to turn her face toward his, his fingers lightly grazing the line of her jaw. "It is not hard to decipher her thoughts from such."
She stared into his eyes for a moment and her heart lurched when she noticed that their hue had changed. Instead of the dark color she was used to, they had turned a pale shade of blue that was almost white. They were eyes that were all too familiar.
When she jerked away, Jaqen sighed and then got to his feet, extending a hand to help her up after him. "A girl has too much pain. A man will help her."
He started walking down toward the beach and Arya followed. "Where are we going?"
"To your first lesson," he responded curtly, his footsteps silent as he walked across the sand. Arya's own boots crunched loudly with each step.
"Which is?" She vaguely recalled the lessons she had received from her 'dancing master' in Solitude, Syrio Forel. Even more clearly, she remembered the things that Vilkas had taught her in Jorrvaskr's training yard. As much as she had learned from both of them, neither had trained her to be an assassin, and she couldn't help but wonder what things Jaqen would be teaching her.
His voice was more steel than silk when he spoke again, the words harsh and unemotional to her ears. "A girl must learn how not to feel. Emotions will only interfere with your gifts." He stopped and turned to face her, his features blank and unrevealing. "I will make sure that you never love again."