The Dragon & The Wolf (Daenarya)

chapter 8

Cersei Lannister was one of the meanest bitches to drawn air, noble or common. Born to a powerful, prominent family she'd lied, cheated and killed to rise to a level not even her scheming father could have predicted. Yet it still wasn't enough to change the hearts and minds of the men in Westeros. Even with a ruthless Queen atop the Iron Throne most men and certainly most soldiers still viewed women as little more than window dressing. There were exceptions of course, a single glance at Brienne of Tarth could make even the most hardened commander wary and a few minutes with little Lyanna Mormont and Arya doubted anyone could doubt her authority, but such examples were few and far between.

"Exploit the weaknesses of your enemy." She heard it first while avoiding the Septa, hiding nearby while her father and Ser Rodrick educated her brothers.

Her time with Syrio took the principle one step further. "The eyes can be tricked," he'd say. "They see only what they want. This makes them stupid."

Like most things she began in Westeros she finished in Braavos under the tutelage of Jaqen and the Kindly Man. She'd been a good student and that's why she was able to walk right past the guards in the Red Keep after murdering Ellaria Sand and barely get a second glance. They didn't think of her as a threat and as a result, when they looked, they only saw what she wanted them to, another nameless servant.

"Took you long enough," Brandon complained.

"She kept talking," she explained, working to sound applauded by what she'd experienced. It wasn't all that difficult. "I was startled."

"She's mad," Brandon said. "The Queen stole her mind."

"Why not kill her?"

"And end up in the cell next to hers? No thank you. She'll die when Queen Lannister demands it and not before."

In the safety of the stairwell leading up Arya knew she was only half finished. She still needed to escape. Almost immediately she saw a flurry of activity, the guards that had been simply standing at their posts when she arrived where now moving, swords in hand, searching. She knew what they were looking for and why. Myrans's unconscious woman had been discovered and they now hunted for Lanna. She would have been more comfortable with a weapon, any weapon but that couldn't be helped. She'd just have to hope that the change of clothes would be enough.

She avoided the main areas, the spots where several hallways converged. She knew from experience that that was where Cersei would station guards. She also knew that for every well-decorated, clean hallway used by the highborn there was another passage meant for the staff. Gods forbid Cersei had to see the woman who emptied her chamber pot actually doing so.

Three more turns if her memory held true. Three turns and there'd be an exit she could make use of. There would be guards surely, but she was confident she could talk or fight her way through. Once she was outside it wouldn't be too much of a challenge to get herself lost in the crowded streets of King's Landing. She'd done it before.

"What do you mean you can't find her?" Jaime Lannister shouted at someone from just up ahead. "She's one woman. Double the guards at every exit and seal every window. Find her!"

She should have known her luck couldn't hold out forever. Turning abruptly, she walked back the way she'd came as quickly as she could without running. A new plan would be required. Sealed gates were more than she could defeat before reinforcements would arrive. Without a weapon it'd be a death sentence. She didn't fear death, but that wasn't rushing to meet it either. In a small alcove holding a potted plant she closed her eyes and thought back to her time spent in this place. Where could she connect to the tunnels?

R-C

They were a party of five when they reached land. Jon, Davos and three of his most loyal men. The ship's crew, and everything containing a Stark sigil was left on the boat. They needed to blend in now if they were going to have any hope. "Two hours," he said to them. "We meet back here in two hours. Anyone who isn't here has to make their own way back to Dragonstone."