Gendrya

Departure

Arya walked to find chamber pots, tracing the walls with the tip of her pointer finger along the way, using it for balance. She was a bit drunk and pondering an important question that her mother asked her: What will you do now that you're here? 

As she thought, she found herself lost in the halls of the Twins. What a frightening place, she thought. She poked her nose through an open window to breathe the cool air and feel the moonlight on her face. In that moment, she decided that she liked wandering; she liked being lost. She heard the clinking of a maester's chain, and she asked him where she could relieve herself. 

Arya danced her way back to the dining hall. The music swelled and the lights became brighter as she entered the hall. This place reminded her of home. She walked through the rows of tables where the people of the riverlands ate. Walder Frey stood to make a toast, and Arya stopped to listen. 

"The Starks have been our allies for centuries. We have sheltered them for days, and tomorrow, they will take back their ancestral home from the scum who inhabit it. The Boltons are no friends of mine, and they are no friends of yours." Arya was confused. She wasn't told anything of the Boltons. She looked at her mother, who was looking at Walder with a smile. Walder looked at Robb and lifted his glass of wine. "The Freys and the Starks will fight together to defeat the enemy that holds Winterfell. Tonight, I will pray for your success, the King in the North!"

Everybody around Arya stood and shouted. "The King in the North!" They chanted. Arya weaved through them and made her way to the table, while the room continued to roar. 

"Why wasn't I told about this? I thought Bran and Rickon were in Winterfell."

Robb and Catelyn looked at each other, then back to Arya. "We should talk about this later," Catelyn said. Arya looked at her angrily. "So much has happened since you've been gone–"

"What happened to Bran and Rickon?" Arya interrupted. 

Catelyn struggled to find the right words until Robb spoke for her. "Theon took Winterfell, or, at least he tried to. He burned them."

Arya scrunched her face. "What?"

"Bran and Rickon. Theon burned them and hung their bodies on the city walls, and thats when the Boltons–"

Arya stumbled back and quickly turned and walked to the exit. She made it out of the hall before she let anyone see the tears furiously stream down her face. She ran to the window where the moonlight lit up her face and leaned her back against it. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Her brothers were dead. Bran, aged seven. And little Rickon, only three. She could do nothing but weep for them. Arya was so distraught with the deaths of her brothers that she almost forgot it was Theon that killed them. When she recalled that information, she became more lethal. She put her hand over her mouth to muffle her cries. How could Theon do this? Theon, who Arya considered family, killed his family. 

Arya heard the celebration slowly fade, and she stood, and wandered. Her head was pounding from the crying, and her face was tight from the tears. She reached a corridor that she recognized, and pushed into her room. It was lit by two candles, which Arya swiftly blew out. She took off her ridiculous dress and climbed into bed. 

Arya rose before the sun. She decided that, however mad she was at Robb, she would see him to battle. She used the view from the windows to find her way to the front gate, where the cavalry waited for Robb's command. Her face was puffy, and her eyes were still a bit red, but she paid no mind. 

Reaching the main door, Arya pushed through and walked across the courtyard. Robb saw her, and ran over, with a sympathetic look. He hugged her. 

"I am so sorry," he said. "I should have told you the moment you arrived."

"Its alright, really. I understand," Arya replied. Robb let go, and Arya held his hands. "Will you win? Will we really go home?"

"Yes, little wolf," he smiled, and put his hand behind her neck. "We will go home."

They hugged again, and Robb mounted his horse. Arya approached her mother, who was watching Robb command. "They look strong," she said. 

"They are strong," Arya assured her. Catelyn put her arm around Arya's shoulder and kissed her head. 

After the army left, Catelyn told Arya about breakfast in the hall, and thats where she went. She filled a plate with bread, bacon and fruit. When she sat down, she was followed by Gendry and Hot Pie. Arya was comforted by their presence. Gendry sat across from her and Hot pit sat at the head of the table. They were mid-conversation about knights. 

"I know he was a knight, cus he had armor on," Hot Pie said. 

"Just because he wore armor doesn't make him a knight," said Gendry, with a piece of bread in his mouth. 

"How do you know that?"

"Cause I've sold armor."

Arya rolled her eyes, and Gendry took it as a good sign. He smiled and kicked her boot under the table. She looked up at him with a stern face, but she couldn't keep it up, and began to laugh.