The ride to Moles Town wasn't too bad. The most difficult aspect was trying to act like a child around Jory. She knew the guard was desperate to find out why she was accompanying them to Kings Landing, but this was with her mother's blessing, which meant it wasn't Jory's place to ask questions. Of course, the real reasons behind Arya's trip was to kill Littlefinger and use his face for a few days or weeks to find out what was going on in the capital. The shopping list Sansa had given them, was long and extensive. It would require at least a couple of weeks in Kings Landing to acquire everything on it. On top of that was the trip to Dragonstone, where they would mine the dragonglass for the Night's Watch. Arya's main concern was Melisandre. She knew the moment the red witch saw Gendry, she would want to leech his cock, and she couldn't put her lover through that experience again.
They approached Moles Town, which wasn't really that much of a town, or so it seemed upon first sight. There were a few ramshackle houses and a smithy. A noticeable landmark was oddly enough, a privy with a red light above the door. Arya had enough experience to know that a red light above a door meant it was a brothel. Either the privy was the smallest brothel she'd ever seen, or the brothel was underneath the privy. Fortunately, Arya knew enough of Moles Town to know that at least three quarters of the town ran underneath the ground, extending far beyond the visible boundaries. A single storey building, which looked like a small inn, was situated near the privy. The three of them headed that way to get a room for the night and to send a raven to Castle Black, letting Jon know they had arrived.
The inside of the inn was more surprising than Arya had imagined. It looked like any normal inn, surprisingly full, considering they were in the middle of nowhere. What was missing was somewhere to sleep, as most inns had sleeping rooms; or that was what looked to be missing, on closer inspection there was a door to what looked like a cellar. Arya thought nothing of it, except there seemed to be a lot of people coming and going through the door. When the server came over to take their order, Arya was curious to know more, so she asked the obvious question.
"Do you have rooms here?" she looked around confused.
"Downstairs mi'lady. Warmer beneath the ground. Uses less wood to keep the rooms warm." the dark haired boy, who couldn't have been much older than she was right now.
"I'd like two rooms." she said, turning to Theon and Jory. "You two can swap shifts while you keep an eye out for me, one sleeps, the other watches." Arya didn't need watching, she was far more capable than any of her travel companions, but it was to humour them. "I'll have a pitcher of ale for now and send one to my room with three horns."
The serving lad nodded and left to get her order. He returned with two sets of keys, and a pitcher of ale. "Anything else mi'lady?"
Arya shook her head. "No thanks." she replied. She waited until he was gone when she turned to Jory. "You can get some rest first. I'll be fine with Theon. You can take over in seven hours."
"Are you sure my Lady?" Jory looked sceptical.
"I'll be fine." Arya rolled her eyes.
"I promise to look after her." swore Theon.
Jory poured himself a horn of ale and picked up a set of keys. "Right, I'll see you later." he took the ale and made his way to the door to the cellars and disappeared to his rooms.
After about ten minutes, Arya followed him to the door and made her way down the stairs into the cellars, which turned out to be enormous tunnels. She checked the key number, which was five and made her way along one corridor searching for door numbers. Eventually she came to door number five and unlocked it with the key. She checked inside and saw the ale on a table, as well as a fire burning in the hearth and candles lit. she locked the door and made her way back upstairs to the table where she shared with Theon.
Arya and Theon had been sat huddled at their table for about twenty minutes, when she saw a mass of inky black curls enter the inn. The light was poor, but it was just enough to distinguish Jon from the rest of the men in the inn. He already looked older than when he'd left Queenscrown, just two months earlier. The life at Castle Black must age a man quickly, even if he wasn't to take the oath. His beard had now started to grow properly, which was probably what made him age so quickly. Jon glanced around the room and spotted their table. He walked over towards them with purpose and sat down to join them. Arya noticed the look he gave Theon, Jon still hadn't forgiven him for what had happened to Winterfell last time, but this Theon could hopefully repair the damage.
"Arya, Theon." Jon's smiled didn't reach his eyes as he regarded Theon, before turning his attention to Arya herself, his face lit up.
"Theon knows." Arya told him.
"I had a raven from Sansa which simply said the same words." Jon shook his head. "How can we trust him?"
"I'm right here." Theon looked affronted.
"Maybe we should take this conversation somewhere more private." suggested Jon.
"I have a room booked." said Arya. "I've ordered ale to be left in my room. Sansa has got letters for you to sign, and to give to the Lord Commander to sign." she got up and the two men followed her to her dank, dark, underground quarters. She ushered them inside and closed the door.
The room was small, it housed a cot to sleep on, two chairs and a table, with a small hearth for warmth. Candles were dotted around the room to give off a little bit of brightness, but it took a few moments for the eyes to adjust to the darkness in comparison to the relative light in the inn common room. Arya sat crossed legged on her cot while the boys took the chairs next to the fire. Theon poured out three horns ale for the three of them and handed Jon and Arya theirs before sitting back down and taking a sip from his own.
Theon turned to Jon. "I suppose I ought to call you, your grace." his voice had an edge to it Arya didn't like.
"You don't have to bother. Not here." Jon turned to Arya. "Is there anything she didn't tell him?" he looked angry.
"Jon, he needed to know. I've got to get Gendry out of Kings Landing before Robert dies. We don't know when that will happen and we have nobody in Kings Landing spying for us." Arya defended her sister.
"She told me what I'll do and the consequences of my actions." Theon told Jon. "I don't want to be tortured and have my cock cut off. Anyway, Sansa's offered me a good deal, one better than my father could or would ever offer. She wants me to head your navy."
"Did she forget Davos?" Jon pinched his nose.
"Is Ser Davos here?" Arya asked. "We can't wait the years it will take for Stannis to fuck up, that's if he even does. Remember, he will be one of your enemies now. Davos might never side with us."
Jon cast his eyes down. "I know."
"Theon is a Greyjoy, sailing is in his blood. Sansa made a good decision. But he needs to prove his loyalty." Arya smiled at Theon. "Ramsay isn't the only one capable of chopping off mens cocks." Theon blanched and Jon snorted into his ale. "He is escorting me to Kings Landing to get Gendry. I'm also going to kill Littlefinger."
"Now?" Jon's eyes widened. "We'll have no idea of what is happening if he dies. He manipulated so many events."
"He still wants father dead. I can't leave him alive." Arya stated coldly. "Anyway, his face will be useful to find out what is happening in Kings Landing." she smiled at Theon. "And this one is going to put his cock to good spying use."
"I've been asked to fuck every whore in this Littlefinger's brothels." explained Theon. "How can a man refuse an offer like that?" he said cheerfully, which quickly turned sour. "Sansa says my father will never let me inherit the Iron Islands. Yara is his heir, not me. And that my uncle Euron will kill my father and try to kill me and my sister before taking the Iron Islands for himself. The way she told me, it sounded like there was nothing I could do about it. Taking Winterfell would make matters worse. My only choice is a completely different path. I still might end up dead, or without a cock, but at least I've tried."
"What do you want, Theon?" Jon asked. "Do you want to be a King, a Commander, a husband, a father? Make your decision and stick to it. We need to know where your loyalties lie now."
"I want to help defeat the whitewalkers and hopefully live." Theon replied.
"You have just over six years to wait before they reach the wall. What do you want in the meantime? If you align with House Stark, you will also be aligning with my branch of House Targaryen. Your sister will align with the other branch of House Targaryen, my aunt Daenerys, who will soon have three dragons." Jon told him. "Do you want to reave, raid and rape villages? If you do, then you can leave right now." Jon glanced up at Arya, she knew what he was going to do. "If you want to follow our path, I need you to swear fealty to me. If you do, I will ask Lord Stark to release you from the wardship. I will write to Balon Greyjoy to tell him you will be working with me to help re-arm the Night's Watch. I will make sure you are properly rewarded for your troubles. I have the perfect place in mind for you, but you must prove yourself."
"I will." Theon was seemingly eager to please. Despite him not being a knight, Theon got down on one knee in front of Jon. "What should I call you for the oath?" he asked.
"I have not been crowned King, but I was born a prince. You can refer to me as prince Aegon Targaryen." Jon winced.
"I, Theon Greyjoy, son of Balon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands, promise to be faithful to Prince Aegon Targaryen, true King of the Seven Kingdoms, and his wife, the Princess Sansa, and their future heirs. I pledge fealty to them and shall defend them against all enemies in good faith and without deceit. I swear this by the old gods and the new." Theon said, bowing his head.
Jon nodded. "Thank you Theon. Now get sat back down and drink your ale." he sighed.
"I can't believe you're a prince. I mean the proper prince. Rhaegar's son." he shook his head and then frowned. "I wonder if you look like him."
"Everyone seems to think I've got some of his features, but I look enough like a Stark to hide them unless you look closely." Jon replied, frowned and then turned to Arya. "Has Nymeria, Lady or Greywind been acting strange recently?"
"Like what?" Arya asked.
"Ghost knew his way around Castle Black. He knew which were my quarters, despite having never been before." Jon told her. "He keeps acting like he knows things."
"Not that I know of." Arya shook her head. "Where is Ghost?"
"He saw Nymeria and they ran off into the woods." Jon smiled.
"Maybe he's the Three-Eyed-Raven." suggested Arya. "He never came back with us."
Jon nodded. "Maybe." he took a drink of the ale, as did Arya. The stuff was foul, not like what she gotten used to, although the Queenscrown cider was more to her liking.
"Sansa misses you." Arya smirked, Jon glanced up at her, his face was like stone. "She is your wife." she frowned, confused by his lack of response. The last time she saw them, they looked very much like man and wife, yet his response was cold. She wondered if he was still pining for his dragon Queen.
"Aye." Jon put his head in his hands.
"Don't you miss her?" she asked.
Jon looked up, his elbows still on his knees. "Of course I do. It's... just complicated."
"What is complicated about it?" asked Arya.
"Other than she's his sister?" Theon snorted. "I'd call that complicated."
"They didn't act like brother and sister when he left." said Arya as she shook her head, Theon looked at Jon in shock. "They were eating each others faces off."
"We were putting on a mummers farce for Tyrion, remember?" Jon reminded her.
"I do. I also saw you two whispering to one another. Sansa won't tell me what you both said." Arya had been desperate to find out what had transpired, although she had a feeling it might disappoint.
"That is between Sansa and me." said Jon.
"He's going to fuck her as soon as he gets back." Arya tried to goad him.
"She gave me the same message she did when I left for Dragonstone." Jon told her. "Nothing special."
Arya could tell she wasn't going to get any further with Jon than she did with Sansa. She got up and rummaged through her saddlebag and took out three bunches of letters, all wrapped in ribbon.
"These are from Sansa to you." she held up the first one with a red ribbon tied around them. "These are for Lord Commander Mormont."the second pile had a black ribbon. "And these are for you to sign and send from Castle Black." the third pile were tied in a grey ribbon. "We are trying to rebuild the rookery on top of the keep and extend the underground tunnels. But in the meantime, we don't have enough birds, or anyone to tend to them or anywhere for them to stay, because we don't have a Maester. Sansa is getting really frustrated. Robb can't make his northern progress until it we get someone to at least tend to the ravens. She's written to Maester Luwin to see if he can train someone up while we're waiting for the Citadel to think about sending someone." she looked around. "This place is interesting. Building an underground village can be done, so I can't see why we can't extend underneath the keep. We could even extend the village, although I'm sure the trees might disagree."
"I'll get onto it." Jon nodded.
"Are you two going to consummate the marriage?" Theon asked.
Arya could see Jon almost blush. "Aye, probably. It depends on Sansa."
"But she's still a little girl." Theon looked confused. "If you're a man in your twenties, won't it seem strange bedding a childlike version of Sansa?"
"We don't really see the childlike bodies." Arya tried to explain. "I look at Sansa and I don't see the girl she was when we went to Kings Landing, I see the woman she was before we died."
Jon nodded in agreement. "It is hard to explain. I don't see the older version of you, Theon, but I see the older version of Sansa and Arya. Maybe it is because of the daggers we used."
"Could be." Arya nodded.
Theon stood up. "I hope you don't mind, but I need to go outside for some fresh air. Then I'll go back to my room. I'm a bit tired after all of the travelling." he faked a yawn.
Jon stood and held out his hand. "I will see you when I return from the north. Goodbye Greyjoy."
"Goodbye Targaryen." Theon and Jon shook hands, then Theon left, closing the door behind him. Arya moved over to the chair opposite Jon.
"He's gone to the brothel." she said.
"I know where he's gone." Jon laughed. "Where's Jory?"
"Had an early night. Theon promised to look after me." she rolled her eyes. "Are you angry with Sansa for telling Theon about you? Is that why you wouldn't say you missed her?"
"Aye." Jon nodded. "But she had good reason, I suppose."
"She did. Theon is helping us mine dragonglass. He's going to help with the navy. Keep him sweet and happy." Arya insisted.
"I know." Jon sighed. "It's just hard. We never got on, and then..."
"Put aside your differences. That is the making of a good King. You managed it before. You even forgave Jaime Lannister."
"I know." Jon nodded.
"What should I tell Sansa? I'll see her before you. Do you miss her?" she asked him.
"Aye, of course I do. Too much I suppose." he said.
"And what about Daenerys? Do you still miss her?" Arya needed to know. "I won't tell Sansa, I promise."
Jon nodded. "Some. Knowing it'll be years before I see her and knowing that I'll be content with Sansa by then makes me feel better about it. I'm not heartbroken like I was."
"Did kissing Sansa help?" Arya just had to ask. "Or were you thinking about Daenerys when you kissed her?"
Jon shook his head. "I meant to think about her, to make it more passionate. But I..." he stopped and looked guilty.
"Oh." Arya was shocked by Jon admitting that he found kissing Sansa herself was enough to bring out such passion in him. Then she smiled. "I think you'll be more than content with Sansa."
"I hope you're right." Jon sighed. "I hate to do this but, I need to get back. It's already getting dark soon."
"I know." Arya nodded and stood up. "Goodbye Jon." she wrapped her arms around his chest.
"I'll see you soon. I promise." he whispered, before letting her go and making his way out of the room, leaving Arya all alone. Once he'd gone, she took unsheathed needle and began to practice her water dancing.
It had been good to see Jon again, but the next morning, Arya, Theon and Jory set out towards Eastwatch. She remembered Tormund had fled Eastwatch after Viserion had brought the wall down. None of them had come up with a strategy to prevent that from happening again, because there was a chance they would need to use the dragons if the army of the dead managed to breach the wall. In the meantime, they had around six years to come up with a plan, and if moving the wildlings south worked, they might have a lot longer, especially if the Night King didn't have enough men to get past the wall, simply because his army wasn't large enough. That was the intermediate plan, but they would still need to deal with him because he would bring an eternal winter if they didn't.
They were to sail to White Harbor on one of the three ships owned by the Night's Watch, called the Blackbird. When they boarded the ship at Eastwatch, they were joined by thirty men of the Night's Watch. All were dour and gruff. Arya vaguely remembered Jon's friend Edd, he'd been dour, but at least he was funny with it. The men who joined them were not of the same ilk. These men were to mine the dragonglass while they were in Kings Landing. Firstly they would sail to White Harbor, where Jory, Theon and Arya would disembark, leaving the Watch to sail to Dragonstone. In the meantime, Arya, Theon and Jory would meet with Lord Manderly to find suitable shipbuilders. They were building a fleet starting with twelve warships and eighteen longships; which although small, it should be enough for now. Jon would be away for some time, hopefully by the time he returned King Robert would be dead and they utilise Lord Manderly's fleet.
Upon disembarking the Blackbird, they were met by five men, all wearing the merman sigil for house Manderly; four were guards and one of them was a fat bald man, with a silvering bushy moustache, the clasp on his cap had a silver and sapphire trident. Arya knew he was one of the Manderlys, although she had no idea if it were Wylis of Wendel. Fortunately Jory was on hand to help.
"Ser Wylis." Jory bowed his head. "I'm sure you remember Lady Arya, daughter of Lord Eddard Stark and Lord Theon, son of Lord Balon Greyjoy."
"Lady Arya, Lord Theon." Ser Wylis nodded his head. "We received the raven from Lord Stark telling us of your arrival. I hope travelling with the Night's Watch wasn't too uncomfortable."
"A ship is a ship my Ser Wylis." Arya stood with her hands behind her back.
"My father has asked me to escort you to New Castle for the next two nights. A good ship will be arriving on the morrow and needs to be unladen, ready for her next trip to Kings Landing the day after. It was the best we could do as your ship seems to have arrived a little earlier than planned." he turned. "Follow me, we have a cart waiting for you. You must be exhausted."
"Lead the my." Arya said, as she, Theon and Jory followed the knight to his father's castle.