AN: I'm hoping I haven't stuffed up with character names. It is tricky trying to think of who might form alliances. I'm trying to avoid any who wouldn't plausibly join Aegon's cause (yet). I know you are all busting to know about responses to the letters but these things take time. While we are waiting for the ravens to deliver the letters and the responses to come back, here is the reason for the M rating :-)

Chapter 10

If Arya thought the letter was going to earn her a reprieve from the lords vying for her hand she was sorely disappointed. The suitors become more insistent. It became particularly trying when a contingent of men arrived from the Reach to swear fealty to Aegon. A feast was held to honour the occasion and Arya was forced through a bath in preparation. Her handmaids put rosewater in her hair, laced her into her dress so tightly she could barely draw breath and fussed over her, applying gems and styling her hair so that it was piled on her head with wisps framing her face.

Her mood was foul when she made it to the hall but she forced her features into a pleasant façade. Connington had warned her that these men were important and she wasn't to risk losing their support by doing something reckless like stabbing one of them if their attentions weren't wanted. There had already been one incident when one of the knights became too grabby and she had busted one of his fingers with a tourney sword. She had promised to behave tonight and Connington had actually smiled.

Along with the lords and knights came a number of ladies too. Arya consoled herself that Aegon didn't have it any better than her. They fawned over him, desperate to catch his eye. She watched discreetly, trying to make sure that there was nobody there who shouldn't be. Aegon was his charming best, smiling and nodding but he moved on quite quickly and she could see his smiles were forced. When the dancing began he spent almost no time in his seat. Arya wasn't spared either even though she was a terrible dancer. The only dancing she was good at was her water dancing. After a few difficult turns around the floor she was rather tempted to invite the rest of them to a water dance instead. It took everything she had to hold herself back.

She was relieved when she was given a rest from dancing but that was replaced by other attentions. Lord Ashford was very attentive, Lord Elwood was worse but Lord Shermer was the worst. They all wanted to kiss her hand and gush about her supposed beauty but Lord Shermer kissed her more than the rest combined and insisted on her taking his arm and walking with him so he could regale her with tales of the valour of his House. When she finally escaped him she threw herself down in between Haldon and Lemore. When a knight began to approach she held up her hands.

"Please, a little mercy. I am out of breath and in need of a rest".

Haldon shook his head at her but his smile was sympathetic. "They wore you out did they?"

"Ugh that was awful" she complained. "Lord Shermer kept on and on about the size of his harvests and the magnitude of his holdfast. He was fixated with how big everything is in his part of the Reach. It made me think he was trying to overcompensate for something".

Haldon laughed and Lemore scolded her with a smile. "You are most wicked Lady Arya".

Arya sighed. "They drive me to it. They never stop"

"You'll have to blame his Grace for that" Haldon replied. "Lord Connington is quite wroth that he has refused to make any match unless you give your consent".

Arya was dumbfounded. She had no words to respond. She looked for Aegon in the crowd but she couldn't see him. She rose to her feet and felt a little dizzy. Her lacings had become too much. She hurried from the hall to her quarters. When she returned to her chambers, Aegon was there. He had shed his guards again. Arya began to lecture him but stopped when she saw his erratic behaviour.

"Have you been drinking?" She couldn't smell it but he was being so strange.

Aegon's reply was abrupt. "No but I wish I had"

She shot him a puzzled look and stepped into the next room to loosen her corset as best she could. She couldn't stand it a minute longer. The relief was instant as she sucked in a decent lungful of air. "Finally, I can breathe!"

Aegon didn't laugh. "I get harassed just for looking at you" he said bitterly. "Lord Shermer and his like get to kiss you and touch you and that is not only condoned, he encourages it!"

Arya didn't need to guess to know who the he was. She had seen Connington and Aegon murmuring in low unhappy voices. Every time they saw she was near they went quiet. "He is worried because of your father and my aunt". She began letting her hair down.

"I am not my father! My father is dead! You are not your Aunt. We are our own people".

Arya heard him behind her and tried to adjust her gown. In her rush to undo her lacings it had sagged in front. When she began to cover herself he caught her wrist. "Don't".

She looked into his face and felt her colour rise at the way he was looking at her. His grip on her wrist loosened when he saw she didn't try to escape. He ran his thumb down her cheek and the gap between them shrank. Arya didn't take her eyes off him. This time she kissed him first. Aegon almost sounded as though he growled as she slipped her arms around his neck. When his hand pushed inside her bodice and he palmed her breast she mewled.

Arya knew it was wrong but she had given up the fight. She had been relentlessly pursued by men wanting her just for her claim to Winterfell. She wasn't sure why Aegon wanted her but she knew he didn't care about taking her home. She also knew she liked him. He was her friend. She trusted him and gods, it felt good when he touched her.

Aegon pressed his body close to hers and she felt the bulge in his breeches. She broke the kiss. "You want to fuck me" she observed.

He flushed and she was bothered to realise he was even attractive while blushing. "That is a blunt way to put it". He didn't say anything more but Arya could see his answer written all over his face.

Arya bit her lip and brought her hand up to trace his jaw. "I want to let you".

He stripped her down to her small clothes faster than she would have believed. She guessed that he was worried she would change her mind. She had no intention of it. He tumbled her onto the bed, ripping off his tunic. When they were skin to skin he paused. "Are you a maiden Arya?"

She didn't know how to answer. He has probably been with so many women. She didn't want him to stop so she just gave a small nod. "I know how things work" she said indignantly, "I spent lots of time in whore houses in Braavos".

He grinned the widest grin and gave her a lingering kiss. Just when she thought he wasn't going to do anything, he ran his hand down, brushing past her breast and over her stomach. She gasped when he slipped his finger inside her. "I'll be good to you" he whispered in her ear.

The feeling was like nothing she could have imagined and as it overtook her whole body she cried out unashamedly. He guided her legs around his waist and murmured an apology as he penetrated her. A single tear fell from her eye and Aegon wiped it away, whispering soothing words until the pain subsided. When he moved again, his face was a mask of pleasure and after he spilled his seed and she lay in his embrace, Arya didn't think she'd ever felt closer to another person. Connington is going to want to lock me in a tower if he finds out she thought with a shudder.

Aegon didn't want to go but she insisted. The last thing they needed was to be found together and she knew his absence would have well and truly been noticed by now. When he was gone, Arya retrieved a pouch from her belongings. She went to the kitchens and brewed the tea, drinking it as fast as she could to avoid detection. She had always made sure she was prepared. No matter her training she always knew she was at risk. There were rapers on the ships and so far she had probably been lucky. She hadn't anticipated it being her choice.

Arya swore it would only be the one time but Aegon weakened her resolve within a week. He kept finding ways for them to be alone in his quarters. Arya had to sink her teeth into his shoulder so that the guards outside couldn't hear her cries. She desperately hoped nobody could see the mark she left. It was clearly teeth marks. She was fussing over it when he began to give her an intense look again.

"They still want me to marry my Aunt. I don't want to. I don't love her".

Arya sat up and pulled her tunic back on, giving him an irritated look. "You don't have to love her stupid, you just have to marry her". Her or somebody else you need.

She could see him thinking about it, looking doubtful and she knew he wanted to argue. She grasped his chin in her hand, forcing him to look at her.

"Sansa thought she loved Joffrey, that ended badly. Robb married somebody he loved and it helped get him killed. Love in a marriage is not everything. Do what you need to do".

She thought wistfully of her parents. They had loved each other, she knew that but they were both dead now. Aegon nodded slowly and began getting dressed. When Duck returned they were both seated playing Cyvasse. Arya was losing but her thoughts were elsewhere. Her thoughts were on Daenerys.

Whoever wanted Daenerys on the throne they were willing to go to great lengths to achieve it. The House of Black and White would not have given up. They were waiting, Arya wasn't sure what for. If they thought she would get complacent they were wrong. Arya was even more determined now. She would not be caught off guard.