Back To Winterfell || Arya Stark

How Did A Ghost Get Back To Winterfell

Arya simply stared. There in front of her was Sansa, her mouth accidentally fell open as she felt speechless. Sansa was staring at her too, like Arya was a ghost. For a while they stood still, looking at one another. Arya noticed Sansa had got much taller and her hair was just as red as when she was but thirteen. However her eyes looked more sunken and her expression was lifeless apart from shock at seeing her supposed dead sister. By this point the guards had disappeared and for a moment it was just the two of them.
      Suddenly Sansa walked over and embraced Arya. Arya did the same and they stayed that way for a while. It didn't make Arya feel much better, but it was comforting to know she was welcome. At least for now anyway, she thought. Slowly their arms fell to their sides and Arya looked back at Sansa to find tears collected in her eyes.
      "Come inside," She said with a wobbly smile. "We have much to talk about." Arya followed her through the courtyard and watched as life at Winterfell danced around her. She watched as the women gathered their crops into baskets and as the men hacked and sawed at logs of wood. She smiled as she watched the children play just like she used to do. And as they walked into the Great Hall for a second she thought that maybe life could be the way it used to be. No. She thought. It can never be.
      A sense of relief and exhaustion overcame her as she entered Sansa's chambers. She looked at the feather bed and wondered how long it had been since she had last slept in one. Sansa motioned for her to sit and immediately Arya slumped into one of the chairs. She closed her eyes and breathed a heavy sigh as Sansa sat down at her chair.
      "How did a ghost get back to Winterfell?" Sansa asked curiously. She wanted to know how her sister had survived and who she was. Arya was about to launch into her life's story, but decided against it. The game had begun.
      "It's easy for a ghost to move around unseen." She answered.
      "I thought you were married to the imp." She said, locking Sansa with a stony stare.
      "I was," she replied, "For a time. But I escaped thanks to Lord Baelish and he brought me back to Winterfell." Sansa decided there were some things she would not tell her sister, for she too wished them to be forgotten.
Lies. Arya thought, she was annoyed, but decided not to press the matter.
      "Where have you been?" Sansa asked. Arya picked at arms on her chair.
      "Here and there." She said calmly, thinking about where she had actually been. Sansa would never believe me anyway, she thought coldly. "You say Littlefinger helped you get back here. So where is he now?" Arya asked, she didn't trust him and wanted to know he was at a safe distance. Sansa glanced away for a second.
      "He is here, he is declared for House Stark." Arya was angry, how could Sansa be so stupid as to let Littlefinger into our home, she thought, though her expression remained blank.
      "So the 'Lady of Winterfell'." Arya said, changing he subject. "It suits you, you always dreamed of being a lady."
      "No," Sansa replied, "I always dreamed of being a queen, but that turned rather into a nightmare." She smiled, but looked at the ground. Arya knew who she was talking about.
      "Joffrey," She said coldly, "I heard he was murdered at his own wedding." She stared back at Sansa with a smirk, "Did you do it?" Sansa laughed a dark laugh.
      "I wish I had. The moment his choked voice was silenced was the happiest moment of my life." She stared into the abyss with a pale face.
      "So did I." Arya spoke again, "I was angry when I heard someone else had done it, I even said to The—" she stopped herself suddenly. "I said to myself that I would have killed him with a chicken bone if I had to." Sansa laughed, a genuine deep laugh. Arya smiled too. "No matter how long my list got he was always first." She faded off, thinking back to her sacred list of names.
      "Your list?" Sansa remarked, confused.
      "Of people I'm going to kill." Arya finished.
      Sansa stopped, she suddenly realised this was not the little sister she had grown up with. She laughed nervously. But Arya stayed quiet.
      "Who else is on your list?" She asked, half expecting her own name to crop up.
      "Most of them are dead already". Arya's thoughts trailed off again. She thought about when her list was so long, The Hound had asked whether she was listing the names of every person in Westeros.
      Sansa got up and walked over to the window, she looked over at the old rickety tower. Suddenly her mind clicked.
      "Arya." She said turning to face her. "Bran's home too." Arya's face lit up as she smiled. However Sansa could not bring herself to smile. The Bran she knew was dead.