A Dance With Death || Arya Stark & Daenerys Targaryen

Empty Eyes

DAENERYS

She breathed out and waited for Arya's outrage. But the girl did not begin to rebuke her saying she was an idiot like Daenerys had played out in her mind. Instead she walked closer to her and took up one of Daenerys own hands in hers and looked down at them before saying.

"I think...you're right." And she looked up at Daenerys with those stoney grey eyes, a sad look in them which pierced Daenerys heart. She swallowed and and looked at the sky, shutting her eyes tight, so as trying not to let any tears fall.

But then she heard it. SNAP. A twig broke behind her she jerked her head down and opened her eyes wide, Arya was already tense and alert, listening carefully. A bush in front them rustled very slightly. She gasped and looked around again. She saw a dark shape flash between two trees.

"Are they wolves?" She whispered under her breath.

"Worse." Arya replied, "They're people."

Just at that moment there came an almighty shout. "KILL HER!" Suddenly five different shapes came out of the growing darkness swinging swords or knives, one had a wood axe. None of them wore any armour Daenerys noted, but all were filled with rage. Daenerys' heart stopped. She was going die, she was going to die. But almost in the same moment the Stark in front of her whipped out her tiny sword and held it firmly in front of her.

As the first man came wildly at Daenerys with a look of death in his eyes Arya ducked under his lousy swings and slashed viciously at his throat leaving a red streak across the side of his neck. And for a moment the others stopped to see their man shudder and fall onto the floor gurgling and clutching the red flood which was coming from his neck. But soon the moment was gone and they turned back to face her and Arya only this time they were facing the young girl in front of her.

Another man with a sword charged angrily at her shouting insults as he did. There swords kisses for a second before Arya spun around a stabbed at his stomach making a small circle of blood leak out onto his clothing. He clutched his stomach as another two men them drove forward, one with a sword and the other an axe while the one at the back slowly crept behind them towards her. Daenerys didn't know what to do, she was Queen and yet powerless. So she watched as Arya carefully locked her blade in the way of the swordsman pulled her dagger out, slicing down on the man hands so it then lay on the floor. She then took her blade quickly away and rolled out of the way of an incoming axe swipe. Standing behind him she stabbed him in the back, the man cried out in pain before swing his axe round again and narrowly missing Arya's nose.

Daenerys prayed someone would come soon, but did not hold much hope.

Arya then slowly tried to make her way round so that her back was facing Daenerys blocking and parrying blows as she did. At one point she saw an opening and trip up one of the men so he landed on his back. Before another attack could be made she slit his throat with her dagger and stood up quick before blocking the fourth man's slashes.

As the fight went on Daenerys started to shake she was feeling so many things, she was terrified that one or both of them would die, she was in awe of the skill and determination the Stark girl was showing and irate at the actions of the five men who came upon them like predators.

She saw Arya duck again as a man swung at her wildly and lurch backward as another swing came. She parried a few blows and avoided others although one slash caught her arm and Daenerys saw her wince and stumble backwards. The man with the axe had managed to amble up behind Arya and tried to knock her feet from under her, but Arya must have heard him and managed to pivot around skewering him through the heart.

As fast as lightning she then turned back to face the man with the sword who unfortunately now looked to have the advantage. Daenerys could see a dark red patch spreading on Arya's arm as the girl regained her stance. Their swords clashed again however the shear force of the man's sword managed to knock the tiny sword out of the girls hand. However she was quick to replace it with the dagger and moved in on the man like a wolf does to its prey. She flipped it around just like she first had when Daenerys had been watching and jabbed it into the man's neck. He slumped to the ground right away and lay motionless face down.

Arya was breathing heavily and clutching her arm. Daenerys looked around and saw the bodies strewn on the ground one of them was moving but they were all dead anyway. Arya turned and looked at Daenerys with blood spattered on her face and her hair sticking to it.

Daenerys smiled at her in relief. "Thank you." She said softly. "You have saved my life." She expected Arya to say something back but the look in her eyes was wild and suddenly they widened at her. Arya lifted her dagger and in a second threw it as hard as she could at her. Daenerys jumped and all breath left her body as the dagger whistled past her head. She heard it hit something behind her and a cry of pain. She whipped around to see the man with the knifes standing behind her, a dagger was now sticking through his shoulder, Daenerys tracked down the man's arm to where a knife was positioned to kill her. The man grunted and stumbled back grabbing at the dagger embedded in him, he wrenched it free and surged forward at Daenerys. Just as he was about to plant the dagger into her Arya came sprinting past and tackled him to the ground. There was a struggled but Daenerys couldn't make out what was happening, she felt frozen to the spot, her legs unable to move, her mind unable to think.

Suddenly she heard a gasp of pain and saw the man lying lifeless on the ground with Arya crouched over him. She became unstuck and ran over to her. Her mind was a mess "Thank you. I...I'm so sorry. I was so foolish. You could have been killed." But the girl did not reply. She stood up very slowly, clutching herself and turned to face Daenerys but before their eyes met she collapsed onto the ground with a whimper of pain.

Daenerys heart stopped and she flung herself next to the girl on the ground. "No." She cried, "What happened? What-" the girls eyebrows were knitted tightly and her teeth were set her was shaking ever so slightly. Daenerys put a hand on her chest to where Arya's hand was and discovered she was gripping a knife implanted deep into Arya's chest. A small cry left Daenerys' lips. "No, please no."

A breath caught in the girls throat and then she lay still.

"No!" Daenerys shouted, shaking the girls small body. Time stood still and she felt numb. She stared at the girl's empty eyes and buried her head in her hands. Tears rolled down her perfect cheeks. "Why? No." She mumbled in her sleeve. She looked at the Stark girl's small body and wept. A life cut short, her happiness felt like it had been shattered and thrown away. She trembled the words she knew she should have said before. The ones Arya would now never hear her say.

"I loved you."