A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they are always appreciated :-)

I'm not sure I'm satisfied with this. I will have to look at it and decide whether to tweak it tomorrow. It won't change a lot, I just need to check for inconsistencies and errors. I was to a point where I wanted to move parts of the story along and to tie up a few things in this chapter but it was tricky to pull things together.

NOTE: I have edited a little to try to address my error in geography re strengths and weaknesses of Moat Cailin.

Chapter 44

They made for Torrhen's square first. Maege Mormont had joined them and Arya saw that the Lady of Bear Island rode close by her. Arya often caught the She-Bear studying her. She pretended she did not notice, talking with Duck and Robett Glover at intervals as she usually would, sometimes conversing in the old tongue with the Skagosi in the group and interacting with Lady Maege only when it was clear the She-Bear wished it.

She doubts me as a leader. She is judging me against Robb and Jon.

Arya did not blame her though it still bothered her. She knew that Lady Maege and her daughters had grown up as warriors. The She-Bear did not yet know what Arya was capable of. She would find out with time.

Arya had put the Blackfish in charge of the scouts. She knew it was a duty he had when Robb was in command and he had looked pleased when she said for him to resume it. There was little for him to report until they got close to Torrhen's square, then he advised that the Ironborn were still holding the castle but their numbers did not look to be many.

She knew that the bannermen thought her to be a foolish, soft-hearted woman for allowing Asha Greyjoy to join them. They did not understand what she saw and they did not trust the Greyjoy woman. Asha had not taken part in the taking of the Dreadfort. Torrhen's Square was to be her test.

Despite the protests, Arya ordered for Asha to go into Torrhen's Square with the few men she had. Asha had insisted that they would yield. After she and her men left, Maege Mormont questioned the decision in a rather terse tone.

"What will you do if they join with the Iron born already in the Square, my lady?"

Arya met her gaze, seeing the question for the test that it was. "I'm not stupid my lady. I have her brother in Winterfell's dungeons".

The She-Bear smiled. "I see".

Arya did her best to hide her impatience at how long it was taking. Night had fallen before Asha Greyjoy returned to them.

"They will yield if they have assurances they will not be harmed".

Arya nodded her assent amidst murmurs of surprise. Asha Greyjoy must have had a way with words, the Ironborn had been expected to fight to the bitter end. Even with Asha's confidence beforehand Arya had doubted her chances of success.

Torrrhen's Square was taken bloodlessly and the remaining Tallharts were found intact. They were most pleased to be liberated. Arya scowled to see that the eldest was not much older than her. A light garrison was left to hold the keep.

Asha Greyjoy was swearing that Dagmer Cleftjaw, the man behind the sacking of Torrhen's square, would fight with them as one of her men. The Northmen would not hear of it and Arya knew they were right. Asha Greyjoy had passed her test, the other men were unknown. She had half a mind to send them back to Winterfell to the dungeons. Instead they were kept under guard, unarmed and unharmed but watched. Arya questioned them and from what she could tell they did not intend to harm anybody in her host now. Whether they would remain that way was the question.

Arya wrote Rickon and gave the parchment to the maester to send to Winterfell. He seemed flustered when she approached him. It was not the maester from Winterfell, he had remained in the castle. This man was one of the maesters travelling with the lords bannermen. She had not talked with him before and she watched him carefully as he sent off her letter. His agitation seemed more than what she would expect and she decided to keep a watch over him as carefully as she could without raising suspicion. She also confided her concerns to her advisors and to Duck.

From Torrhen's square they went on to Castle Cerwyn then followed the Kingsroad towards Moat Cailin. As they got closer Arya noticed Asha Greyjoy keeping close to her. She muttered often about bog devils and when Arya asked her what she meant she found out it was another name for the crannogmen. She let the Greyjoy woman speak and couldn't help an urge to smirk when she heard of the tactics used against the Ironborn. Arya may not have lingered near swamps but the use of poison darts was something she was quite familiar with.

Maege Mormont was on hand as they neared the Moat. She had been advised of ways to get around Moat Cailin through the bogs and marshes. It was how she got through to Winterfell from Greywater Watch. It was determined that part of the host would split off and approach the Moat from the West while the remainder came from the North. Arya had been told that was Robb's original plan though he had much larger numbers in his host and he was trying to attack from the South rather than the North. Moat Cailin was better defended from the South therefore even with much fewer numbers Arya's army was in a good position.

"My lady, I think it is wise for you to come with me" the She-Bear said.

There was something in her expression which told Arya not to question her. She nodded. She took advice on how to split the company and left her uncle and Robbet Glover jointly in charge of those who were to attack from the North. She also left him with archers. Some of the men Aegon had left with her were renowned archers from the Golden Company and it was agreed their skill could be put to good use.

Arya tried to appear calm as she followed Maege, Nymeria close behind her. It was like the Dreadfort all over again only this time she was even more uncertain. They did not get far before Lady Maege spoke.

"It will not be so difficult".

Arya was surprised.

"Why not my lady?"

The She-Bear smiled. "The crannogmen have been very busy. They do not usually attack Northmen but once they heard of the Bolton's part in the Red Wedding" she paused and gave Arya a pointed look "and once they heard of the imposter, they decided Bolton men were as much an enemy as southron invaders. I expect their numbers have dwindled".

They did not get far into the swamps before Arya saw movement. She was vulnerable in this unknown environment, even with her training and her heart thudded in her chest. Fear cuts deeper than swords. The crannogmen revealed themselves to her and when she saw them giving a nod to her banner Arya felt relief rush through her. They were still Stark men. She had hoped, she had known they had been her father's men but she had been failed by so many.

They had to travel by boat through the bogs and swamps. When Arya's company emerged headed towards the ruins of the Moat it was a scene of chaos. There were men who had clearly fallen victim to the archers. They had fallen from the towers as those to the North began their attack. Her uncle had not led them into a full force assault, as agreed. They had picked off men as they came into view. Arya knew from Connington that the range of their bows was amongst the longest possible. Robett Glover gave the signal to attack when he saw the banners emerge from the swamp.

When the defenders in the towers of Moat Cailin saw they were to be attacked from two directions they panicked. Arya saw a division. There were men who emerged shouting that they yielded while others wanted to staunchly defend the castle. Arya herself was forced to watch the assault. She had to command rather than attack. She had been given the role partly she suspected to ensure her safety but she refused to be simply an onlooker. She took the command seriously and made them listen to her. She made up for her distance by involving Nymeria. The wolf took down as many men as any of the other soldiers and allowed her to see what was happening in the middle of the action, helping her to be a better commander than otherwise.

Her efforts were praised afterwards though she did not feel as though she had done much. She was told (in rather surprised tones) that she made a fine commander. She would have liked to retort back about her experience in planning the deaths of men but that would have required revealing to them her time in the House of Black and White and she knew that would not be received well.

She was grieved to know that their losses were heavier than when they took the Dreadfort (though they had lost so few there that it was unsurprising). It was what had been expected but that did not make her feel better. She could tell herself that all men must die but it was harder when she commanded those men. At least the number of dead was much less than originally expected and she was told that in terms of battle, the outcome was very good. The crannogmen were largely to thank for that.

Arya took the Gatehouse Tower as her seat, just as she had been told Robb had. She wrote again to Rickon as well as to Jon and Connington, handing the letters to Duck to take to the maester and instructing him to watch and make sure they were sent.

He returned later than expected, his face twisted in fury and holding the writhing maester in a vice grip. Duck was a big man, far bigger than the short and wiry little maester. The sight would have been funny if not for the expression on Duck's face.

"Tell the little lady what you've done" he said in a thunderous voice.

It was the maester she had seen in Torrhen's Square. Arya took one look at the man and knew they would get nothing. He had soiled himself and he was blubbering but he would not speak.

"What did you see Duck?" she asked, trying to be calm.

"He's sending letters off he's not meant to" Duck roared. "I saw him, trying to be clever. I couldn't find out where it was going, I was too late for that but when I asked around nobody had told him to do it".

Arya immediately felt stupid. She had questioned lords, petty lords, knights and even men-at arms trying to find the traitor. She had not thought to question the maesters. She had thought to make sure her letters were sent off unread but she never thought to make sure the maester was not sending unauthorised letters.

"You were contacting Roose Bolton" she said.

Even without speech the expression on the maester's face confirmed it. Roose Bolton was dead though. The man clearly was not serving the Boltons. She tried to think who else it could be. She tried to ask about the Lannisters but got nowhere with that. In the end she summoned her advisers and told them what had been discovered. They were predictably outraged.

Arya let them take the maester off to be questioned knowing it was unlikely to be useful. She was right. Maege Mormont and Whoresbane Umber returned some time later to say he would not speak. The She-Bear looked like she wanted to strangle somebody.

"All the fool will say is that he serves and he will not betray that".

Arya sighed. "I expected as much".

They did not even get any last words from the maester. He stayed firm until the end. Arya found Duck afterwards. He was still bothered but he smiled when Arya clasped his hands.

"Thankyou"

Duck shook his head. "I never would have known if you hadn't already been suspicious"

Arya clenched her jaw. "Let me thank you anyway. If you had not caught him we might not have known for some time".

She had not known what she would do next after they managed to remove the Bolton men from Moat Cailin. Their aim had been to secure the North and as far as they knew, they had now achieved that. Arya expected she would now need to return to Winterfell. Part of her wanted to go back, to be near Rickon and closer to Jon but a large part of her felt unfulfilled.

Just as she was feeling undecided Lady Maege darkened her doorway.

"My lady, you have an invitation".

Arya looked at her, puzzled. "What invitation?"

"The crannogmen" she She-Bear said. "They were watching you, my lady. You are invited to attend at Greywater Watch".

Arya was suspicious and she remembered the She-Bear's insistence that she be with the group travelling through the swamps. "You were acting on instruction earlier".

"Yes my lady" the She-Bear confessed "Lord Reed wished to see you. You needed to go through the swamps to take Moat Cailin so it seemed to serve the purpose well".

"Howland Reed?" Arya asked. She could remember her father mentioning the name. Lord Reed had not been to Winterfell since the Rebellion. "He was watching me?"

"He was my lady" Lady Maege replied. "He wishes to speak with you".