Arya hardly dared to breathe as she met Tywin at the top of the hill. Only meters away sat the tent where her fate would be decided. In less than an hour, she would either be dead, or given away as a hostage to the Lannister families. There were no good options for her. She knew it. Tywin knew it.
He studied her as she came to a stop in front of him as if searching for her fear. She raised her chin and clenched her jaw in what she hoped looked like defiance. The corners of his mouth barely twitched. It was the closest he ever got to a smile.
"Come on, girl. Let's hear your brother's choice."
The tension in the tent was almost suffocating. Arya's mother and brother stood on one side of the table, tense and stern. Tywin stood on the other, his grip tight on the back of her collar. In the initial silence, Arya could not read Robb's decision. She did not know what he had chosen. She could almost hear her heart slamming against her chest, trying to escape.
What do we say to the God of Death?
Not today. Not today.
Robb exhaled at last and looked up at the Head of House Lannister. "I accept your terms… Lord Tywin. All of them."
Arya let out a shuddering breath. All at once, her future became clear. Perhaps not a good future, but it was better than a knife and the shadow of death. Tywin's grip loosened just slightly on her collar. It seemed even he had relaxed just a bit at the words.
"You're a smart man, Robb Stark. It will serve you well as Warden of the North."
"We'll discuss the terms again," Robb muttered. His anger was clear, but also his defeat. "First… let me speak with my sister alone."
For a moment, Tywin did not answer. Then he released Arya. "Very well. I will be outside."
There was a warning in his voice. A warning not to try any tricks. Robb seemed to hear it and he nodded. Then Tywin left the tent.
Arya released a breath and ran for her mother. She caught her up in her arms, hold tightly. "Oh Arya," she murmured. "Sweet girl. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
Arya fought tears as she clung onto her mother. It had been far too long. "No, I'm sorry. He used me against you. If I hadn't gotten caught…"
"Don't apologize for that, Arya." Catelyn pulled back, brushing her hair from her face. "It wasn't your fault."
"No it wasn't," Robb agreed. "I blame Lord Tywin for this. Not you."
"It was though," Arya said. "I escaped the Red Keep, mother. I was disguised as a boy and was well away from them when my group was caught and sent to Harrenhal."
"You had escaped?" Catelyn looked to Robb. "That must be why we never heard anything about her from the keep."
"How did Lord Tywin discover you?" Robb asked.
"Lord Tywin took me as a cup bearer," Arya said. "He didn't know who I was. Just that I was a girl disguised as a boy. I think he could tell I was high born but… but he didn't know." She swallowed hard. "Until Lord Baelish arrived. He told Tywin who I was."
Her mother's face twisted with rage. "Damn him to all the seven hells. He claimed to be on our side and he lied."
"Lord Baelish is on the side of the highest bidder. Nothing more," Robb said. "We can blame him for your discovery Arya. Truly. It wasn't your fault."
Arya looked up at Robb. "You're not angry with me then?"
Robb shook his head. "No. Gods no, Arya."
Arya rushed to hug him and he caught her up in his arms, holding her close. She had missed her older brothers-Robb and Jon both. The only thing that she liked about being small was that they could easily pick her up. She used to love feeling weightless.
"I'm sorry we can't take you home with us," Robb murmured. "Your place is at Winterfell. I'm sorry."
"I'm alive. Don't apologize," Arya said. "I'll be all right. I can be smart and quick."
"You already are." Robb sat her down on her feet. "But I hate to leave you in Tywin Lannister's hands."
"I can survive him. I've survived him for two months now," Arya said. "It's Joffrey I'm worried about."
"If that boy harms you, I will raise my armies again the next day," Robb said. "I promise that."
"Don't," Arya said. "Don't let anyone else in our family get killed. Not for me. Besides, you need to save Bran and Rickon first. I'll be all right."
"Oh, Arya," her mother murmured. The heart break in her voice weighed heavy on Arya's shoulders. "You've always been so fearless. You left the worrying to everyone else."
Arya forced a smile. She did not say how afraid she truly was. She did not want to worry her mother anymore.
"This is not goodbye," Robb said. "You'll return to Winterfell someday. I swear it."
Arya nodded once. "Yes. I'll see you again."
It was a promise that neither of them could keep. Robb would not have the authority to bring Arya home and she would not have the authority to leave.
Her fate was entirely in the hands of Tywin Lannister now.
Tywin Lannister and Robb Stark discussed the terms again. It was a short meeting, because Robb knew he had little room for debate. The only real question was the timeline of the terms.
Robb Stark swore loyalty to the crown in that tent, but it would be some time before he made it to King's Landing to bend the knee. First, he would secure the north by crushing the Greyjoy rebellion. Once the Greyjoys were brought to heel, Tywin could install someone there without a tendency for stupid uprisings. He would kill all the Greyjoys. They had already had one chance for peace and they had ignored it.
Once the final rebellion was crushed, the war of five kings would be at its end. Stannis on the run and Renly and Balon in the grave. Robb Stark would then ride to King's Landing to bend the knee to Joffrey, officially.
Meanwhile, the Lannister armies would return home, Tywin would take Arya Stark with him and send Sansa Stark back to the North. Robb would send trusted men to King's Landing to escort her.
It had all worked out rather well, which was a welcome change from the past few months, and it cemented Tywin's legacy. He had ended many wars and rebellions in his lifetime. He crushed the Reynes and the Greyjoys. He helped Robert's Rebellion to success and gave him that bloody iron throne. And now he ended the War of Five Kings. History would remember the Lannister name as one of strength.
The lords of the present would not feel the same. The Starks, the Greyjoys, the remaining rebel Baratheons… they would all hate him and curse his name. He was used to such things. What truly mattered was the bigger picture. Even if every soul on earth hated him-including his family and his children-it was the future that mattered.
Arya Stark hated him too. He supposed she always had. He could see rebellion in her eyes when she stepped from her brother's tent. She looked up at him with a challenge.
I'm your ward now… and you will have to deal with me, she seemed to say. I am still a wolf.
She was a wolf. In some ways, Jaime was right. Sansa would be an easier girl to handle as a ward. She would do as asked with little resistance. But a ward was associated with the family name, and Tywin had no interest in a docile girl.
If he was going to take a ward, he preferred one with a bite.
Arya had travelled this road before. The King's Road had been her first major journey from Winterfell. It had also been the first place where she saw the cruelty of House Lannister. Joffrey and Cersei had proved themselves monstrous that day, and Lady and Micha suffered for it. That was the beginning of the end. They should have turned and left for home at once after that night.
But they didn't. And her father was dead because of it.
As they drew nearer to King's Landing, they naturally passed through the same villages, including the site of that awful incident. Arya still remembered meeting Micha outside of the butcher shop and asking him to spar with her. It felt like an innocent request, and they had a grand time fighting by the river. But then Joffrey… and the Hound…
Arya's jaw clenched as she caught sight of the butcher shop. It was because of her that a man lost his son.
"You look as if you're plotting to kill, Lady Arya," Tywin observed.
Arya sighed. Was there ever a moment when he didn't notice a shift in her expressions? Perhaps she was too easy to read.
"I'm not plotting to kill. Just thinking about it," she said, urging her horse forward. She did not want to look upon the village anymore.
"Explain how plotting and thinking are different."
"Plotting involves a plan. Thinking is… less solid."
"Insightful of you," Tywin said dryly. "And what has you thinking of killing?"
Arya stared down at the reins, grasped tight in her hands. Though she was a captive, her wrists were not bound. She could almost imagine she was free. "Did you ever hear the story of what happened between Joffrey and me on the King's Road?"
"I heard the story from Cersei, yes. She was furious about it," Tywin said.
"You heard the wrong version then," Arya said. "Cersei is a liar. It didn't happen at all how she said it."
"You don't even know what she told me."
"I know it was a lie."
"I suppose you better give me your version then," Tywin said. "Or else I'll have to accept hers as fact."
He was baiting her. It was hard to tell sometimes with the Head of Lannister house because his very grim expressions. But Arya was beginning to learn the slight differences in the cadence of his voice. She had been near him for nearly three months now, after all.
"I was sparring with a boy named Micah," Arya said. "My brother Jon had just given me a sword, and I wanted to get good enough so that I could use it. No one from our group would ever practice with me, so I found him. While we were practicing, Sansa and Joffrey walked by. Joffrey wanted to fight Micah next." Her grip tightened on the reins. "Only he had a real sword. Micah didn't want to fight him. Of course he didn't. Joffrey was a prince with a real blade, and he only had a stick. Joffrey started cutting open his cheek. So I hit him with my stick as hard as I could."
"You were less worried about fighting a prince it seems," Tywin observed.
"It wasn't a smart decision. I didn't have a real sword either," Arya admitted. "He nearly killed me. I only avoided his blade because I was quick. But when I got in trouble, Nymeria came to help me."
"Your wolf?"
"Yes. She bit his wrist until he dropped his sword. Then I threw it in the river and we ran." Arya shook her head. "I didn't make it far. Lannister soldiers found me quickly. But Nymeria escaped at least. Maybe she's still alive somewhere. I don't know."
"Hmm," Tywin said. "Cersei insisted that you maliciously set your wolf on Joffrey."
"She's a liar . Nymeria was only defending me," Arya said. "Joffrey and Cersei both lied to everyone. Worse than that, they brought Sansa out and made her lie too. She was there the whole time but she pretended she didn't see what happened. She saw. I know she did."
"So Joffrey told one story, you told another, and your sister refused to confirm either," Tywin said. "And which opinion did the king listen to?"
"He wanted to leave the whole incident behind," Arya recalled. "But Cersei… Cersei wanted some sort of punishment for my wolf. Only my wolf was gone. So instead…" Arya swallowed. "They killed Sansa's wolf for no good reason. Lady wasn't even there. She'd never hurt anything in her whole life, but Cersei wanted her dead." Arya felt a fresh wave of hatred rising up inside of her. "And Micah… they killed Micah too. He hadn't fought Joffrey at all."
"Cersei wanted something or someone to blame," Tywin said. "And she couldn't very well kill you, so the wolf and the boy would have to do."
"It wasn't fair," Arya said.
"Of course not. And when is the last time you experienced the world as fair?" Tywin asked.
Arya fell silent. He was right of course. The world was cruel and often did not make sense. If fairness and justice reigned, her father would be alive and the Lannisters in the dirt.
"I'm more inclined to believe your story. Cersei told a fantastic lie in her letter," Tywin said. "She's been telling fantastic lies since she was a child. Whenever she did something wrong, she always had someone else to blame for it. A maid, a stable boy, her brothers. She always came prepared with a story. She could get away with it with the septas and the guards and most of her family. But not with me."
Arya studied him. "But she kept lying to you? Even if it didn't work?"
"No she did everything possible to make sure the issue never came to my attention," Tywin said. "I was hand of the king at the time. I was trying to run a country. It was easy enough for her to convince others that I did not need to become involved. Every successful lie she told, the more overconfident she grew." He shrugged. "Now, she's a transparent liar, but she's powerful enough that no one can question it."
"You can," Arya pointed out.
"I do. When she attempts to lie to me," Tywin said. "Her dishonesty with others does not worry me."
"Why not? A lie is a lie," Arya said.
"Yes. And a lie can sometimes protect the family or serve the family's interests," Tywin said. "I'm sure your father told a lie or kept a secret for the good of his family."
Arya shook her head. "No. Never."
"A rare man then. Most men are not so honest." Tywin looked down at her. "But remember, girl, that honesty of his is one of the traits that cost him his life. Don't make the same mistakes as him."
Arya's jaw clenched and she looked away. Yes, her father was honest in a world of liars. Arya was not as good of a person as him though. She had lied plenty of times and disobeyed and cheated.
Maybe the worst parts of herself would help her survive in King's Landing.