Game of Thrones: A Second Chance

Arya I

A/N: in case you missed it, here's my drawing of Jon's Targaryen garb above. it took an hour of my life

As Arya stood outside of the gates to the Great Pyramid of Meereen, she pondered how she had gotten there.

It had been a long trip, made longer by the needs of the babe. Her babe, she reminded herself. Her flesh and blood, pushed out of her body. Arya was admittedly glad that she wasn't pregnant and fragile anymore. She had spent a lot of time on the journey honing her skills with Needle, and trying to shed the extra weight she had gained, with different levels of success.

Little of her time was spent with little Ned, which she felt awful about, but it truly wasn't in her nature to be a mother. So, she had Gendry attending to almost all of Ned's needs, the only time she held him was when she was feeding him. She loved him though, for he was her son.  She just couldn't be the mother she had hoped to be.

Nymeria whined at her side. Arya smiled, running her fingers through the fur of her shoulder. The wolf had returned to Arya's side a few days into their trip. She came from the Riverlands, which is where Arya had last seen her all those moons ago, with the threat of the dead still looming.

Long story short, they had been camping in the woods when Nymeria approached, alone. She sniffed out Arya and little Ned, and hasn't left their side since. Perhaps she was protecting her family, the way Arya would do the same. Which she was, by being here in Meereen. For Jon.

At first Gendry was scared shitless of the giant direwolf, but as the days passed and Nymeria showed him she meant no harm, he began to grow accustomed to her. Nymeria loved Ned. She hardly left Gendry's side while they traveled, keeping a close eye on the swaddled babe as she walked nearly shoulder to shoulder with Gendry's horse.

With Nymeria around, food also came easier to them. The she-wolf hunted all sorts of game, big and small, and brought it back to their small family to be cooked. 

Arya huffed, growing impatient as she stood outside the gates. It's been ten minutes, and the only company she received were the burly guards. Sellswords, she gathered, by the broken sword stitched into the leather armor of one of them. She was familiar with the Second Sons.

She sighed, wondering if she should've brought Gendry and Ned along, instead of leaving them at a shabby old inn. She wished for the company of a person, since the company of a wolf was only fun for so long.

Her stomach rumbled, she hadn't eaten in so long. She had mutton this morning, and it was quickly becoming dusk.

Her head turned at the sound of footsteps scraping on stone. Someone was coming. Finally. She couldn't see through the gates from where she was forced to stand, in between guards.

The gates creaked open, and Arya squinted as her brother stepped out into the open. At least, she thought it was Jon.

He looked like a completely different person from the last time she saw him. His hair was pulled back into his usual tie, but that's the only familiar thing about him. His clothes were what had her at a loss.

He was dressed head to toe in black leather, the only other color present being his red belt and the red sleeves and collar that poked out of his black coat. The glint of gold caught her eye, and she saw the three headed dragon pin he wore on his chest. The man she looked at wasn't Jon at all. He was Aegon Targaryen.

Jon stared at her, and she met his stare as they gazed at each other, unmoving for what felt like minutes. His eyes were void of emotion, and she wondered where her brother went. But then his eyes softened, and he offered her a smile.