The Old Bear's Daughter

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Arya had told them of her deal with Jaquen, leaving her friends with a few questions.

"I'm just trying to understand," Gendry told her.

"Would you please shut up about it?"

"Jaquen H'ghar offered you three kills."

"I'm not listening."

"But just explain it to me. He offered to kill any three people you wanted. Dead. All you had to do was give him the names. Anyone. You could have picked King Joffrey. "

"Shut up."

But, of course, Gendry did not shut up, "You could have picked Tywin Lannister."

"Jaquen got us out of Harrenhal, so why are you complaining?"

"But you could have ended the war."

"Where are we going?" Arya asked, stopping.

"North," Gendry told her.

"If we were going north, we should have come to the Red Fork River by now."

"Maybe we already passed it," Hot Pie suggested.

"It's a 100 feet wide. How could we have passed it?"

Juliana groaned, "She's right. We need to find the Red Fork and follow it towards the trident, then we can follow the King's Road on a safe distance and get to Winterfell."

Arya shook her head, "No, we don't have enough provisions and the road is too dangerous. We should follow it west to Riverrun. My mother grew up there. My grandfather is the lord. He'll protect us and help us get to Winterfell so you won't break your promise."

Juliana went to answer as they heard the voice of a man singing.

They quickly hid behind an old stone wall.

"Could be a minstrel," Hot Pie guessed.

"Shut up," Arya and Juliana told him.

"A minstrel's got gold sometimes. We could jump him, tie him up, steal his gold, and buy some food."

Arya shushed him again as Juliana recognized the man's song to be The Rains of Castamere, a song the Lannisters liked to sing.

Suddenly, an arrow swooshed through a hole in the wall, making the friends jump back and press themselves against an undamaged part.

"What's lurking behind that wall?" the singer asked, "A lion? A wolf?"

"Just a dirty little cub, I think," another voice spoke.

"Loose a few more shafts," the first voice replied.

"Don't." Arya walked to where they could see her and Juliana heard a man step onto the wall.

"Put the sword down girl."

"You go down the road. Just keep on singing so we know where you are. Leave us be and I won't kill you."

A few men laughed as the singer said, "Generous. You're a dangerous person. I like dangerous people. Why are your friends so shy?"

"What friends?"

"The fat one to your left, the pretty lady, and the lad beside her," the second voice replied.

Juliana rolled her eyes as she and Gendry stepped forward to stand next to Arya, dragging Hot pie with them.

They could now all see the singer, who was a brown-haired, half bald man in chain mail with a sword strapped to his back.

The singer jumped over the wall, making the friends ready their swords, "Four young ones on the run carrying castle-forged swords. You escape from Harrenhal?"