Wow... really? Thank you for all the reviews and for the more of 900 alerts! You make me nervous because I don't want to disappoint you (I certainly hope I won't)
BTW, who are you Ser Anonymous? Are you reading my mind? You were right about the reasons behind this and soon we'll see more about the consequences.
Chapter 35 : Black Wedding, Pt 2
Weddings and parties were not really something she was fond of. They generally meant boisterous people drinking and laughing, things she really did not want to do at the time, since Gendry and Hot Pie hadn't even been invited; it was obvious why they could not sit at the table with ladies and lords, though. Still, when she saw her mother, there was nothing she had loved more than to meet her again. The first thing Arya had done was wrap her arms tightly around Catelyn's waist and let herself breathe in the essence of her mother and feel her hands smoothing the short dark hair.
It felt so good to be with the ones she loved, she could not help but to ask everything about everyone, from her siblings to their servants. She missed Winterfell and everything that meant.
Her mother laughed even as tears still trickled down her face.
Only kissing Arya's cheeks seemed to ease her wild heart. And even if Arya did not like to be touched that much, she let her because they were supposed to make up for all those goodnight kisses she had missed until then.
"Go," her mother murmured, smoothing a hand down her back. "Go with your friends."
Arya's eyes blinked at her mother and the gentle smile. She soon grinned and dashed out of the hall before her mother could regret her words. She knew she had only been excused because of the circumstances and not because her mother had finally accepted she was not meant to be a lady, or at least not like her. Besides, she was quite entertained talking with people and the man she learned was Ser Jorah Mormont, the new Master at Arms of Winterfell and an apparently old friend of Dany.
Deciding that her dress was extremely uncomfortable, and that if she happened to ruin it her mother would not let her hear the end of it, Arya ran her way to the chambers where she was sleeping to change.
"Careful, She-Wolf," Irri warned her in a teasing voice as Arya ran past her. "You're too quiet."
Arya smiled to herself. It was good her feet were light and that she hadn't forgotten her training; Syrio Forel would be proud. What became a problem was the noise she heard as she walked outside Robb and Dany's chambers; it was Grey Wind whining. How could she let him in there alone?
After it had been perfectly clear that Drogon and Rhaegal wouldn't be able to stay with them, Dany had agreed to let them stay in the stables, away from the horses of course. That meant Grey Wind had been left locked in so he wouldn't cause trouble.
Stealthly as she could, she sneaked into the room, grinning when Grey Wind approached her.
"Shh," she warned him, gently brushing his fur with her hand. Just like with Nymeria, she and Grey Wind did not need words to speak; he understood clearly what she meant and so followed her silently down the hall.
The music still echoed through the wall of the Twins. Arya had smiled at the sight of her brother and Dany dancing, since she doubted Robb had ever had the chance before; their wedding had been nothing like that. The happiness in both of their faces was something she wished lasted for a long time, especially now that everyone was safe.
While looking for Gendry and Hot Pie, she stepped outside and into the courtyard. What she saw at that moment reminded her that they were still playing the game of thrones, and until one player finally destroyed his oponents, no one could be safe and happy.
Frey's and Robb's men were fighting each other, and no thanks to the alcohol induced haze. Since weapons had been taken away during the wedding, her brother's men were almost defenseless. She had to do something and stop the bloodshed; she had to help their people.
A hand grabbed her by the shoulder, and she was about to take Needle to stab whoever it was. Luckily for Gendry, she realized it was him before she could attack.
"It is an ambush," he panted. "We've been ambushed!"
"What, what are you talking about?"
"I've heard the men talking. Drunken men and their loose tongues. They said Lord Frey was not happy with the deal he made with your brother, he did not know he was married to Daenerys or that he wanted to be king."Arya frowned at him, waiting for more. "Tywin Lannister offered him the North and the Riverlands in exchange of your brother's head. He wants the dragons."
Feeling the disgust, the bile up her throat, Arya clenched her jaw. "We need to release the dragons. It's the only way to save everyone. I'll go for Dany and you go set them free."
Gendry nodded at her and swallowed hard, as he studied a path to reach the stable without being noticed while the men fought and killed in the courtyard. "Be safe."
"We'll be fine," she whispered before dashing back into the castle, with Grey Wind leading the way to the Great Hall. It was almost as if she said it loud enough, someone could hear her… and make sure her wishes would not come true.
A guard was closing the doors when she tried to enter the hall. She fought him but the man was many times her size and weight. It was Grey Wind who distracted him by snarling, long enough for her to sneak back in and him to follow, but no one noticed them over the music and laughter.
Even so, Arya frantically scanned the room for Dany and Robb. She doubted one moment, one fraction of a beat of her thumping heart. They looked so happy. Robb hadn't worn that big grin of his when he was guiding his army and Dany had never looked like the candid young woman she really was while around outsiders. She blamed that hesitance for everything that happened after. It was her mistake.
"Dany!" she shouted as loud as she could. It was also enough for Frey men to unsheathe their swords.
The musicians stopped playing and instead used daggers to slit the throats of guests. Instead of wine, blood started to pour generously onto the floor. They were supposed to be unarmed, but Arya realized it had all been a trick.
Of Robb's men, the only one who had kept his sword had been Jaime.
Arya ran, dodging men and letting Grey Wind jump on them, tearing apart arms, legs and throats. His snout was soon dripping with blood but she also saw Dany throwing her scale-knives away, inflicting as much damage as she could while Robb and their mother fought with anything at arms reach.
"Do something!" Arya demanded once she reached the Young Lion, the Kingslayer. He seemed conflicted for the first time since she had met him. "She could have let you die. My brother could have your head adorning walls. Are you going to let them die like this?" She shoved him hard and it was then that he made a decision.
Jaime's sword cut through the air right over her head. She thought for sure he was going to kill her that she would join her father and was thankful for at least seeing her mother one last time. Closing her eyes tightly, Arya waited for the pain.
"Run," Jaime hissed instead.
Turning around she saw a dead man behind her. He had saved her.
"Now!" he pushed her away as he swung his sword to fight off a couple of men whose force and finesse was not even close to the Kingslayer's.
Soon Jaime had retrieved a sword that landed in Robb's hands, but it was not soon enough for Dany not to run out of her small knives, for her to be left defenseless and only protected by Robb, as the same did Ser Jorah with Lady Catelyn.
Everywhere Arya looked, dead people fell to the floor; blood bathed everything. And when the noises dwindled down, when Jaime, Ser Jorah and Robb seemed to finally be gaining the upperhand with the few men left, everything turned for the worst.
Robb moved Dany so she would stand behind him while he fought, to shield her, but no one ever saw Lothar Frey approaching from behind, stabbing her with a dagger. Robb felt his wife's hands gripping his upper arms one second and then slackening as she crumbled down to the floor.
Arya shouted and the moment Robb turned around, she saw it. The ire fueled by the wolf's blood.
The King in the North held his beloved wife and queen with one hand while his other held the sword. "Dany," he whispered through clenched teeth.
"I'm fine," Daenerys gasped as her hand reached for the table to stop herself from falling. She tried to cover her wound, to pull out the knife still lodged in her back's right side. "I'll be fine," she muttered before Arya could catch her as she passed out.
The young girl felt her eyes stinging, welling with tears.
As she worried for Dany, her mother had time to grab a knife and take Lord Frey's young wife as a hostage. Catelyn put the knife to the throat of the woman but Walder Frey only looked at the daughter of Hoster Tully with pure disgust.
"Kill her. I'll find another one. Younger," he dared her.
"What have you done?" Robb demanded in a growl just as Jaime let the body of Lothar Frey fall limply to the floor after stabbing him through the heart.
"You lied to me, Young Wolf!" the old man retorted. "You never told me about your wife or the dragons!"
"I gave you what you asked me!" Robb walked back to Jaime, snatching the sword from the hands of the Young Lion.
"You gave me nothing," Lord Frey spat. "You'll be king. Your brother will be warden of the North. Your uncle Lord of the Riverlands and I'm left with nothing more than I had. Do you know what Tywin promised in exchange of his son and your heads? The North and the Riverlands. Lothar was to become Master of Coin!"
Robb glanced at Dany's weakened form, at her unfocused gaze looking for him, and he clenched his jaw.
"Here in sight of Gods and men I, Robb Stark, as King of the Seven Kingdoms sentence you, Walder Frey, to die."
They could only hear the muffled sounds of thunders and screams outside the castle, as Arya thought the dragons fought the enemy the best they could.
"Would you speak a final word?"
"You will never be king, Wolf. You never were."
With one scream, one cry of a wounded wolf, Robb lifted the two swords in his hands and crossed them with a strength fed by pain and fury. He cut off Walder Frey's head and watched impassively as it rolled to his feet.
He looked at his mother. "Find the Maester and keep her safe for me. I have an army to lead. Hopefully some men are still alive and able to follow me."
He knelt on one knee next to Dany and touched her cheek softly, with a tenderness that gave Dany enough energy to look at him.
"Fight well," she whispered before he leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead.
"Wait for me," Robb asked as his thumb brushed against her cheek. "My Queen needs to see my victories."
"I'll be here," Daenerys breathed out.
Arya was forced to stay inside the castle as she heard the fight outside, as she saw the fight Dany was putting to stay alive and keep her promise to Robb. She peeked through a window and saw the fire, the blackened spots and Robb leading the men who had fought bravely against the enemy, even without weapons.
It had been Ser Barristan Selmy the one leading the men in the King's absence, the one who had avoided a massacre by ordering the men not to drink more than what he deemed enough, and knowing perfectly well where the weapons had been hidden. He saved them, and Robb finished the job.
Reaching for Daenerys' bloodied cinch, Arya realized that the back of it still had some scales left. She touched them lightly, feeling them cold under her skin. They were not made of metal like the ones within reach when it was worn.
Irri sat next to her, waiting for the Maester as he finished his work, promising Daenerys would live. The handmaiden looked extremely sad and worried.
"She's strong," Arya said and plucked a scale. Mikken must have done it thinking about the meaning behind the material; she smiled.
"What is it?"
"Obsidian. Dragonglass," Arya muttered adding another word that she vaguely remembered from her scarce Valyrian vocabulary. "Frozen fire." She noticed a few shards still stuck to the cincher and realized that they had somehow protected Dany by not letting the dagger go deeper. "She'll live and take her seat next to Robb. They are the King and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Nothing will stop them."