A Dance With Death || Arya Stark & Daenerys Targaryen

The Wolfswood

ARYA

Arya could feel the dragon slowly shifting beneath her and knew they were landing, her face was frozen from the bitter weather but the rest of her body was tingling with energy. She had been flying on a dragon with a Targaryen Queen! All her childhood dreams had come to life and she had not felt this elated since... well it must have been since Jon had given her Needle all those years ago. As the dragon's feet touched down and it slowly came to a stand still she could not help but beam up at the sky where she had just been, soaring among the birds and high above the clouds. Winterfell had looked so small from up there and Westeros, for once in her life, had been beautiful.

She then heard a slight cough from in front of her saw Daenerys staring at her expectantly. She suddenly realized her arms were still wrapped around the Dragon Queen and shot them away, embarrassed. Daenerys then gracefully slid down the dragon to the snow below and offered Arya a hand again. She took it and rather less gracefully landed with her feet on the ground too. She turned to the great trees now towering next to them.

"This is the Wolfswood." She told Daenerys. "In there it is said there lives many a wolf pack."

"Is that where Jon found his direwolf?" Daenerys asked curiously. Arya's mouth twitched.

"No. They found our wolves much closer to Winterfell."

"Our?" Daenerys questioned.

"There were six pups found. One for each of the Stark children and Ghost for Jon."

"You didn't tell me you had a wolf." Daenerys said, looking suspiciously at Arya. Arya lifted her chin to face the Targaryen properly.

"I never said I didn't have one."

"Did you give it a name." Daenerys asked.

"Nymeria." Arya replied, without hesitation. Daenerys paused momentarily and gave a hint of a smile. "I named her after the warrior queen Nymeria, the Princess of Dorne." She raised her eyebrows at Daenerys. "You didn't think I was lying about all that did you?"

"No!" Daenerys answered immediately, "I...No. I believed you."

"It's alright. I know you did." Arya said more quietly. "You haven't lied to me." Daenerys' shoulders relaxed again and she looked at Arya in a curious way before turning to face the great forest.

"Let us see then what lies in this forest." Daenerys said excitedly.

"I'm not sure we should." Arya said solemnly, eying the trees closely. She knew what a wolf could do to a human if they were to be caught by them.

"But I have never been in a forest." Daenerys remarked. "All I have ever truly known are dusty roads or desert sands." Arya pursed her lips. "And I would have you there." She added.

Suddenly Arya felt a spark of energy inside her again. Her head then nodded quickly, as if of its own accord and Daenerys smiled like a little child before entering the great wood. Arya tried to think rationally about the choice but found her mind muddled and crowded. So followed closely behind.

DAENERYS

The hours Daenerys spent in that forest had been the most tranquil of her life. There was a frost that covered the forest floor outlining each brown leave with a silvery outline. There was a cold sunlight shining through some of the leaves in the trees making dappled patterns in the air where there was a light mist. For most of the time the Stark girl had stayed silent but Daenerys didn't mind, in fact she was even grateful. Daenerys turned around and looked at her. Her pale face and dark hair with those deep grey eyes.

"You look so much like your brother." She remarked quietly, almost to herself, but Arya still somehow heard.

"We both look a lot like our father." Arya replied. "It's the Stark look."

"Well clearly there's something about that look that makes a good impression on me." She said with a laugh although she cursed herself silently for how stupid it had sounded. Daenerys slowly walked over to the girl, heart started racing and she clasped her hands together nervously. What she about to say was ludicrous, but she realized, true.

"But maybe." She paused to take a breath, Arya stood listening, calmly waiting for what she was going to say. "Maybe I fell for the wrong one."