A Dance With Death || Arya Stark & Daenerys Targaryen

The Sound Of Singing Steel

DAENERYS

She was not loved at Winterfell, the Northerners had made that perfectly clear. Wherever she turned looks of distain met her. Jon has warned her about their stubborn attitudes but she hadn't quite believed him. Everywhere else she had gone she was greeted by warmth or admiration, yet here it was quite the opposite.

She had noticed when they arrived that Jon's youngest sister had not even been there to meet him let alone greet her. She wondered why that was; Jon had been telling her on their journey here how much he missed her and how much she meant to him. Both Tyrion and Jorah stood warily at her side. She realised they were wondering why she wasn't going anywhere now that everyone else had.

     "Your Grace?" Tyrion questioned. She turned to Jorah, ever at her side and asked him.

     "Where is the younger Stark girl? The one Jon thought to be dead."

     "Your pardons, Khaleesi, but I do not know." Daenerys thought for a moment before walking over to the smithy. An old man looked up from his work wearily.

"My Queen." He said bowing stiffly.

     "Where is the young Lady Stark?" She asked firmly, trying to produce a commanding voice from within her. "Not Lady Sansa-" she started.

     "Lady Arya?" The man interrupted, "Well she'll be over in the yard doing her sparring she will, your Grace." For a moment Daenerys was lost for words at the suddenness of his reply.

     "Thank you." She said quickly before walking briskly away. Tyrion and Jorah gave him each a curt nod before swiftly catching up to her. "How imprudent." she whispered under her breath to them as they walked on. "I am their Queen. They should show better respect don't you think?"

     "They do not know you, Khaleesi." Jorah replied.

      "Give them time, Your Grace" Tyrion added "Soon they will come to see you for what you are, rather than what you are called. To them, you another Targaryen come to strip them of their lands and burn their houses. I fear your ancestors did not leave a good impression. But there is still time to remold that."

     "Time I haven't got." She returned sharply. "Now, where is this 'yard' that was spoken of?" Jorah lifted his head to the sky and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards slightly before looking back at her again.

      "Follow the sound of singing steel Khaleesi." So they did.

      Round the wooden walkways they went, up stairs and down again, the great stone ramparts shielding them from the bitter northern weather. Winter was here, Daenerys thought to herself as she shivered, and the dead with it. The sound of swords clanging became slowly louder as they rounded each corner until Daenerys came upon a scene below them she had not expected to see.

      A broad shouldered, blonde woman in blue grey armour was facing off against a considerably smaller woman. Their swords still and ready. The big woman held her sparring sword defensively in front her whilst the smaller had her tiny sword upright behind her back. It was so thin Daenerys had to blink twice to see it properly against the girl's dark leather clothing.

     "Who are they?" Daenerys asked cautiously.

     "That one, Your Grace," Tyrion said, motioning to the big lady, "Is Brienne of Tarth. And the other Arya Stark of Winterfell." Daenerys tilted her head slightly as she looked at them.

     "Why does Lady Stark hold her sword behind her back so?" She asked Jorah next to her.

     "Your guess is as good as mine, Khaleesi. We shall both have to find out."

Daenerys watched as the two women suddenly came alive. Brienne swung her sword down heavily but the small girl spun sideways, letting the sword hit the ground. She then went to strike Brienne's side but Brienne brought her sword up quickly to block the incoming blow. The Stark girl spun around and sliced at the other side but Brienne angled her sword downwards to stop the strike in its tracks. Brienne then twisted her sword around, freeing them from their positions, allowing her to swing at the girl's middle. However the Stark quickly leaned backwards to avoid the massive blow making the sword slide past her face and Daenerys could have sworn it had skimmed her nose in the process.

It went on like that for a while with Daenerys growing more and more in awe of these warriors who could do so much more than her. She only had her dragons and one, she remembered was dead. Occasionally she glanced across at Jorah to read his reaction but his face was still, though his mouth was slightly open. Just when Daenerys thought it would never end Brienne managed to disarm the young girl and send her little sword skittering away across the ground. Daenerys thought that was it but the little Stark still had a trick up her sleeve, or rather, in its sheath. Brienne immediately went to seize her arm but the Stark girl was too quick and flipped the dagger into her other hand.

Though it would seem that this had happened before as Brienne then quickly pulled away and brought her sword up in front of her face ready for the wolf's next pounce. But this wolf moved like a snake. In a flash she had slid under Brienne's blade and flipped the dagger back to her other hand before holding against the older woman's throat.

      They lingered in that position a few seconds until both pulled back, broad smiles on their faces. Both were breathing heavily but still seemed full of fire. Daenerys was simply amazed and stood as still as a statue, processing exactly what she had just seen. Tis young girl seemed no older than a child yet she possessed abilities seasoned warriors could only dream of. She looked over to Tyrion who glanced back at her and she wondered if he already knew, he was good at hiding his true feelings.

She looked back down into the yard again and watched as the two women talked.

     "She's incredible." She said out loud still staring down at the girl.

     "She is well skilled with a blade, Your Grace." Jorah agreed. "Although she does not fight like a Westerosi," he continued. "I have only ever seen swordplay such as that across the Narrow Sea."

     "She has been to Essos?" Daenerys questioned suddenly.

     "I regret I do not know." Jorah replied.

     "Perhaps you should ask Jon." Tyrion interceded. "He is her brother after all."

     "Perhaps." Daenerys repeated, though she was not sure that would help at all. On the boat their way there Jon had only ever talked of her as a little girl, she did not think he had seen her since he left for The Wall, gods, even now. Had they met yet, it struck Daenerys as odd given how much they loved each other.

      She was quickly dragged out of her thoughts though when she looked down again to see the young Stark girl staring up at her. She froze momentarily, not quite knowing what to do. She wanted to speak to this girl but she seemed unable to form any words, so she merely nodded and walked off with Jorah and Tyrion close on her tail.

ARYA

Arya watched as the Dragon Queen turned and walked away. Had she been watching her? If she had, why? Arya did not know, but she needed to find out. So she decided to follow her round the castle and see what she did, whom she talked to, what her true intentions were and where her loyalty really lay. Arya wanted to get a feel for the Queen they'd invited into their castle. Perhaps at some point she might accidentally run into her and ask her if she'd been watching her later. So she thanked Brienne for her time and whisked herself away into the shadows, for in darkness she felt most comfortable.