Alysandra Targaryen- The Dragon in the Shadows

Chapter 4- Arya

The rest of my stay at Winterfell went quickly. I had developed a friendship with Aria. She had fire within her, a passion of upsetting her Septa and joining her brothers while they were fighting. She usually wasn't allowed, but Alysandra would take her for rides in the woods, and set up targets for her. Alys herself was a master archer. She hit the bulls eye every time, and she could see that little Aria idolised her. She told her stories of dragons and walkers, and stole swords from the armory to practice with . She knew she would miss Aria, and her boyish nature. She liked Sansa as well, but she reminded her too much like Myrcella. As much as she liked Myrcella, she was weak, and too sweet for her liking. She sensed something else in Sansa though. As much as she was blind, she would eventually come to her senses, unlike the little princess. They sewed together, and Sansa asked her endless questions about the Kings Landing. Alys tried her best not to get irritated, but sometimes she had to leave and go sit by the Weirwood tree. One day, while she was cooling herself, she ran into Lady Catelyn. She quickly stood up.

"Im sorry My Lady, I will leave now" she said, hurriedly picking up the ends of her blue coat. She had been give money to buy a coat for Winterfell. Cersei had in spite given her half the money needed for a good fur coat, expecting her to come grovelling for more money. But Alysandra didn't. Instead she bought a sapphire velvet,and came up with a coat in her mind. She described it to her handmaiden, and she sewed it to perfection (see picture above). Though a normal person may have been cold due to the short sleeved and lack of fur, but she had fire in her veins. She would not be affected by the cold. " It is fine my child, I have just come to sit" she smiled at me. I moved slightly to the end of the rock, and Catelyn sat down beside me. " Why are you here, Lady Targeryon?" she asked me. " I come here to clear my head, Lady Stark" I answered. She nodded. " As do I." I could sense anxiety in her eyes. " What is worrying you Catelyn". I could see she was suprised about me calling her by her first name, but didn't object. She sighed. " Ned wants to send the girls to Kings Landing with him, as he will become the Kings Hand, and Sansa will marry Joffrey". I was suprised. I knew the danger of the Capitol, and I expected an intelligent man like Ned to know to. The girls wouldn't be safe, especially not Sansa in Joffreys grips. But he could not refuse his King. But I had to warn Catelyn.

" You must change his mind Catelyn" I whispered, worried about being over heard. " Kings Landing is a place for Lions, not Wolves. Being the Kings Hand is even more dangerous. You do not want him to end up like Jon Arryn." Catelyn looked at me, clearly confused. But the truth dawned on her. " They say Jon Arryn died of a poisining. Do you know why?. " All I know, is that he knew to much". I stood up and left the tree and Catelyn. I hoped she would speak to Ned, but it may not make a difference. I knew I would have to look out for Arya, Sansa's fate would not be in my hands. But I would be Arya's guardian angel, protecting her in times of need.

Bran fell from the tower that day. Lady Catelyn wouldn't leave his bedside. It was a dull time, and I was glad to be leaving soon. I didn't want to see little Bran die. I spent even more time with Aria, trying to take her mind off her brother. But there was a spark missing, so I decided to play a game with her. " Arya, we are going to play a game. I will blindfold you and throw things up in the air. Every target you hit with throwing knife I will buy you a pastry from the bakers" I instructed. Arya looked excited, and I was glad that I had cheered her up. I wrapped a scarf around her eyes, and handed her a knife. " Remember, this is about instincts. Listen to everything around you, and be constantly alert. Ready?" I said. She nodded, and I shouted go. I threw the first thing up into the air, a piece of fabric Arya had been attempting to embroider. She missed it slightly, and I ran to go retrieve the knife. " Did I hit it?" she asked. " Close, but not quite there. Try again". This item was one of Sansa's fabrics, something I'd stole from class. This time Arya nailed it, hitting it right through the centre. She gleefully threw her blindfold off, laughing at the items I had chosen. We played for a few hours, and Aria had hit 12 items. "You owe me" she said, " But I'll make you a deal. I'll throw up the fabric 12 times, and every time you hit one, you will minus that pastry from my winnings". " Deal" I grinned. I turned to face the tree and Arya blindfolded me. Little did I know, there was someone watching in the shadows. " Go" Arya shouted, and threw the first item. I stabbed it through the center, and threw with such force it pierced itself into the tree. I did the same for the next 11 goes. " No fair" said Arya " I didn't know you were this good". I giggled. " Don't worry, i'll still buy you something if you throw away these targets. The Septa would kill me if she found out I was using the needle work. I'll look for the last knife." Arya ran off, and I headed to behind the tree to search for the knife. Suddenly hands siezed my waist.