DAGGERS TO THE HEART Part 1 - GAME OF THRONES

Arya II

It had taken almost a moon to reach Queenscrown. Rain hampered the speed of the wagon, meaning sometimes they would ride no more than ten miles in a day. Twice it had thrown a wheel, but fortunately they had brought spares and between the three of them, they had managed quite well to fix it. They slept in the wagon as it was covered, saving time having to put up tents and cots, although it wasn't particularly comfortable. Despite the lack of comfort, the time together had allowed them to catch up in ways they had not been able to do before. They had disclosed the full details of their journeys since they left Winterfell the first time to one another. Tears had been shed at their losses, and pain shared. A new understanding was formed, their bonds strengthened by the horrors they'd encountered along the way.

The first sign they were approaching the village was the view of the Queenscrown tower, where the merlons on top of the keep itself could be seen from a distance. Visible and identifiable, even from afar, as they were once painted gold for the visit of Queen Alysanne, some two hundred and forty years earlier. But the village and tower had been long abandoned, and without the care and attention, the paint had since flaked, and faded to yellow.

They came across the village first, where the tumbledown cottages made from daub-and-wattle; had mostly collapsed. The inn was small and made from timber, all that remained of the building was two cracked walls and a stone chimney. The inn was surrounded by apple trees, one even grew through the middle of the common room. In fact the entire village was surrounded by oak and apple trees, making it feel dark, but simultaneously protected, an illusion, because the reason the village was now deserted was due to the wildling raids.

South of the village was a lake with oak trees growing thick along the shore. In the middle of the lake stood a rocky island, which was where the round tower stood. Built not just for defensive purposes, it was also a tower house, although not large enough to house a high ranking lord as it wasn't big enough for a great hall to hold petitions. Arya dismounted her horse, while Jon and Sansa climbed down from the wagon to inspect the route to the tower, which looked to be far more complex than a simple path. Instead a stone causeway three feet wide, started out at the shore then ran beneath the waters of the lake to the island. Eventually leading right out of the lake to where the path comes climbing out of the water and onto the island. There it turned into a short flight of stone steps leading to the door of the tower.

On closer inspection, Arya could just about make out the causeway to the tower. The path was underneath the water and not even straight; instead it zigzagged a third of the way around the island before looping back. The turns looked particularly treacherous, with probable hidden stones on the path which were in all likelihood slimy and slippery from the moss which would have accumulated over the centuries. The water over the path looked to be at least two feet deep, probably more. The long path meant that anyone approaching the tower would be exposed to arrow fire from the slits within the walls. To get into the tower meant they were going to have to get wet, there was no way they were prepared to risk one of the horses, just for the sake of keeping dry.

They wandered around the village to get a closer inspection of the houses and inn. They decided the inn could be fashioned into somewhere they could stay with a bit of work. They needed to get settled into somewhere comfortable to live until the rest of the men arrived. They had tents and plenty of provisions to last them for months but they would still last as the land was fertile for farming. The problem was that none of them had any experience in farming or rebuilding damaged cottages. Fortunately. The men Lord Stark was sending would be experienced in that area. Instead. Arya, Jon and Sansa only had to survive until they arrived, something which they were all acutely experienced.

They cleared out the inn and chopped down the apple tree, gathering the fruit as extra food and firewood. Then they erected a large tent over the roof of the inn to give them a roof. The two walls gave them a small amount of extra protection from the wind and rain, which seemed to be non-stop, as well as the surrounding trees. All in all, they had managed to make the place almost cosy. It helped that the hearth was still standing, and keeping a fire going in the inn-tent was made easier. For the sleeping arrangements, although it wasn't proper, they were all sharing the common room, a dividing line between Jon's area and that of Arya and Sansa, who were sharing a cot. The inn was large enough to provide two bedrooms, a cooking area and somewhere for them to plan the rebuild of the village.