A Shadow and a Wolf

Arya IV

It was raining. Not that Arya complained about that. She was past caring about things as natural as rain. What bothered her the most was her cell, or more precisely her cage. She was imprisoned with nine other crannogmen, including Lord Fenn. They were all kept in the same iron cage, exposed to the elements of the nature and the weather, rain falling heavily on them. They weren't so bothered by that. The crannogmen were used to live in very rudimentary ways among the swamps of the Neck, and Arya had seen worse. The actual situation was much better than the one she was in at Harrenhal. At least, they weren't tortured. What bothered the most was they could barely move in it.

Arya had spent the last months among the crannogmen, mostly around Greywater Watch. She had liked her time there. She could always find something to do. Lord Reed and the other crannogmen had taught her how to hunt and fish in their own way, and Arya had liked that. Lord Reed himself was surprised that she loved to live in the Neck so much. Sansa would have hated that in her stead.

Thinking about her sister, another wave of rage went through Arya's mind. They had planned everything so well. A little more than two months ago, a few people hunting close to Moat Cailin had warned Lord Reed that Northerners had gathered and occupied the fortress. About the same time, other hunters in the southern swamps had informed them that a great army was following the Kingsroad in the direction of the North. There were banners of House Lannister and House Frey in this army. The golden lion rode alongside the twin towers. They were attacking the North. Arya had wanted to go immediately on the Kingsroad and use her new knowledge of the environment of the Neck to kill as many Lannisters as she could. Lord Reed, however, had forbidden her to do so, but he had allowed her to follow groups of crannogmen in charge of watching the progressing army.

Without any surprise, the army of the Freys and the Lannisters had been blocked on their way to the North when they reached Moat Cailin. Two attacks on the ruined castle failed. In the two months that followed, they kept watching the army camp that stretched on leagues and leagues along the Kingsroad. Not long after the Lannisters and the Freys had arrived, another army had joined them. An army with the sigil of a tower with fire at the top of it. Arya remembered this sigil for being the one of House Hightower. What was very strange however was that there were banners from the other houses of the Riverlands, and what almost paralyzed Arya was that the sigil of House Tully, her mother's family, was among them. She could understand that the Freys and the Lannisters could invade the North. They probably turned against the Boltons in the end. She could even understand that the Hightowers had joined them. After all, House Hightower was sworn to House Tyrell, and the Tyrells were allies to the Lannisters. But the other river lords, and especially House Tully? She couldn't make out what that meant.

However, all that had been nothing to the shock Arya had when she had seen her sister. It had taken three weeks for that, but she had seen her in the end, and not in a situation Sansa would have liked to be found. She was vomiting. Arya laughed when she saw her, but she laughed and cried at the same time. Her sister was alive. She was taller than the last time she saw her, looking more like their mother. Arya also noticed, not without a hint of jealousy, that Sansa had grown more beautiful. She was a woman now. Despite the fact Arya had been happy to see her sister alive and well, there had been a bitter aftertaste to this discovery. Sansa was wearing a red gown with golden lines, the colors of House Lannister. One day, looking very closely to her, Arya had even distinguished a golden necklace. Arya had also seen the Imp, impossible to miss. He hadn't changed much since the time she saw him at Winterfell, except for the fact he had now a huge scar crossing his face. She also saw Freys, almost impossible to miss as well. She had wanted nothing more but to go right now and take her sister away. She may complain about the poor lifestyle at Greywater Watch, but it didn't matter. It would be better than living among Lannisters and Freys. Unfortunately, the other crannogmen had stopped her from doing so. She wouldn't be able to take her sister away from the Lannisters by herself. They needed a plan, and Arya had to agree with them.