Reunite and Reign

There was a certain sort of irony in everything that Rhaella did. The biggest one of all was the fact that she was a woman, she had grown up on the Wall despite it not being a place for women. Shortly after her birth, her mother who she was named after, sent her North without alerting her husband to the act. Their uncle resided at the Wall and as dangerous as the journey would be, the woman had hoped her baby would survive. Survive she did and once she reached the wall, with a trusted companion carrying her, Maester Aemon did something that he likely should not have done. Agreed to take the girl in, understanding that there was nowhere else for the baby to go because he had already received news of his nephew's death. His niece had disappeared with her other two children.

Day in and day out, Ray wore a leather chest binder to conceal her small breasts. She was thankful for their size - large ones would have meant certain doom. There had been a few close calls when someone nearly walked in on her taking a bath but up until this point, Ray had been lucky to never be discovered. The Maester was nothing more than a mentor to her, just as he was to the rest of the Watch.

Breakfast had been served and once Ray was confident that she was full, she stood and made her way out of the hall. She made her way down to the stables, intent on feeding and grooming the beasts. Ray had grown up loving them as if they were her own kin - she viewed them as being as close as she would ever get to the dragons her family was known for.

---

Few faces were in Arya Stark's possession but the ones she had were very carefully chosen. Each meant to bring the worst outcome for the members of her exclusive list. Briefly, Arya had let herself for the smallest of joys when she first connected with her long lost sister, Myla. Arya hadn't truly thought she would see any of her family again, even on the return trip from Braavos. She wasn't meant to, she had no clue what the state of Westeros was, and when she asked around, another name was added to her list just like that. Ramsay Bolton had taken her home and that was not something that made the youngest Stark daughter too happy.

"You shouldn't be here with me," Arya muttered to Myla. They were hidden well amongst the trees surrounding the Crossing, Arya was simply waiting. Waiting for an opportunity to strike and the moment that it came, she would be on the move. "You could get hurt." Arya was truly concerned for her sister's well being but unfortunately, she was also concerned because Myla was a potential weak spot. If Myla ended up captured or hurt, Arya would be between a rock and a hard spot.

Bran sighed as he watched his Uncle Benjen leave the two of them. He wanted to wave goodbye to him until he lost sight, but this wasn’t a situation in which he had the luxury. His heart was still broken from the loss of his most loyal companion and caretaker, Hodor. Or, rather, Wylis. Bran had no time for farewell gestures or to grieve for those he had lost. He had made a huge mistake by warging without the help of The Three Eyed Raven, and now had to deal with the consequences. “Meera, do you think you have it in you to carry me from here?” His cart had been broken and lost when they had fled from the cave protected by the Children when the White Walkers had attacked them. He needed to get to several people but first, to Jon. To tell him of what had happened and was yet to come. Of Daenerys Stormborn and her fleet filled with horses and soldiers, Greyjoys and Sand Snakes, and of the tragedy that had been forced upon King’s Landing leaving its public open to swinging its allegiance. Bran had been dependent on people for his entire life, and he still was because of his crippled condition, but for the first time he had the ability to sway history to his family’s favor and that was exactly what he intended to do.

---

Myla and her ever present shadow, Remus, stood stiff as Arya spoke in low tones to her. “Oh, Arya,” she almost laughed. “I just got you back, what makes you think I’m going to let you rush into danger alone even with all the training you endured?” Myla watched as one son of House Frey almost finished his walk along the bridge to the watchtower and entrance to the castle. The other stood watch, with just one person stationed as guard House Frey appeared cocky to Myla. Like they were flaunting their assumed safety all because of an alliance with the bloody Lannisters. All they needed to do was take out those two and then make a run for the main door inside. With dusk upon them moving from both their current coverage in the surrounding forest and down the bridge shouldn’t prove too much as issue if they could swiftly take out the two sons in the watchtower. It was nearly dinner time so the servants and daughters would be busy with meal prep and the sons would surely leer and watch the women as they slaved away leaving not many out in the halls for the three of them to run into. “Say,” mumbled Myla as a wicked and twisted idea popped into her head as she watched her most faithful friend’s jowls drool as he locked sight on the brothers ahead. “What do you say we bake Lord Frey something special…” Her own eyes locked upon the unsuspecting men, mirroring the Direwolf’s ferocious glimmer. “Something, something to die for.”

Meera's heartstrings were tugged on as she stood by Bran, watching now Benjen ride away. She had no clue what Bran felt, not really, but she could imagine well enough the pain that the boy was going through. She wanted to offer a shoulder, a hug, anything to ease Bran's discomfort but they didn't have the time. Her thoughts were so far away that Meeea jolted as Bran spoke, half alarmed by the sudden voice. She looked down to her companion and gave a tense nod. Meera wasn't so sure that she had it in her to carry him, he was easily her size. There was no choice though, they needed to go to places and without the use of Bran's legs, Meera would be carrying him. "Course," Meera answered with a hesitant smile. Few things really worried her, she didn't see the point in sweating the small things. But that was the thing - now it was only Bran and her. No Jojen, no Benjen. Their safety largely relied on her because Bran would only be able to defend them so much. She took a deep breath as she knelt down beside him, "Our journey is not over by any means but a plan would help. Winterfell is far but," she paused with a shrug of her shoulders, "So are most other places."

---

Arya counted the movements, the steps that each son of Walder Frey took. Neither saw the danger lurking just beyond the walls of their castle and that made Arya very happy. Ultimately, their father was her target but if she managed to take another Frey or two, she was unlikely to complain. To serve Walder Frey the same pain that she had carried for the past three years of her life, would be mouthwatering. Her eyes flickered to Myla, mind coming back to the present as her sister spoke. If Arya had cared, at all, about the men they watched, she would have been alarmed by Myla's suggestion. But the longer she thought, the more appealing the idea sounded. A sick little smirk settled itself onto her face and she gave a nod of her head. Her eyes lowered to Remus before back up to her sister. "Remus should remain behind. Less likely to be suspicious if there's only two girls here to serve Frey." Arya refused to call Walder Frey a lord, he was nothing more than an old coward that would soon meet his end. "We'll bring him back a piece of the pie?" She suggested, trying to ease the blow of wanting the direwolf to remain behind.

---

Free, Ray felt like she was so incredibly free after her admission to Sam. She had been hesitant, knowing full well that the Maester would hate for her to reveal the secret. She had debated it for a long while and thought that she finally would, until Sam was sent beyond the Wall. That thought dwindled away to nothing as months went by, she thought she would never see Sam again and had resigned herself to the fate. When Sam returned, with a woman and child in tow, Ray had never felt so much relief in her young life. One of her closest friends had returned, he was safe. It was only a matter of time because the weight of her secret on Ray's shoulders was becoming far too much. Time wore on and it wasn't until Ray had a weak moment, kneeling before the weirwood trees in the Haunted Forest, that Ray revealed her secret to Sam. Refused to look up because she wasn't sure whether she would see horror, shock, astonishment, fear. So many different reactions could have been sparked but Sam only smiled and brought Ray into a hug - promised the secret was safe. As far as she knew, Ray was still safe as she stood in the stables, continuing about the task of brushing the horses.

Bran looked up at Meera, he could see in her eyes that she wasn’t too particularly happy about their upcoming trek. “Winterfell is far, but right now all we need to focus on is getting to the Wall.” He then turned his eyes to the sky, the sun was hard to see for clouds always seemed to hang in the sky north of the Wall, but he could feel that they had plenty of time before the White Walkers would catch on to where they were. As happy as it would make him to see his brother Jon again, the gloom of the journey before them was too apparent. So much time had passed since he had been with Rickon, it had been even more of a lifetime since he had seen Jon. He could only pray that they would be able to make it before the White Walkers decided to move South as well.

---

Myla’s wicked smile immediately faltered at Arya’s request to leave Remus behind. Sure, the Direwolf could be absentminded when there was nothing for them to do, but he was her shadow. Since the moment she broke him free from the stables at this wretched place they hadn’t left each others side for even a fraction of a moment. “You.. You want to leave him behind?” Remus’ gaze was still locked onto the brothers, he was thirsting for blood and there was no stopping him. Myla shook her head, “He seeks revenge, the same as us, for Grey Wind.” At the name of his brother, Remus’ ear flicked toward Myla. It was without question that Remus knew what had happened in this blood stained castle and it would be wrong of the sisters to be the only ones to take their revenge tonight. “Let him kill one of the sons, then he can stand guard in the towers shadows. Howl, if he senses danger from the surrounding lands.”

---

Sam had an unmeasurable amount of respect and admiration for Ray when she told him of her secret. Before, when he thought her a man, he admired her bravery during training, but now know he respected her for not only having the courage to trust him with her secret, but her ability to keep it so for such a long time. He wished he could tell Gilly so then she and the baby might not feel so alone, but Sam knew better. The words of Ray’s true sex would never leave his lips after that moment. As he gazed upon the old Maester Aemon’s seat within the library, rest his soul, he heard a disbelieving set of whispers.

“I heard them talking ‘bout it the other day. They didn’ wan’ anyone to hear but I did,” said the first voice. It was harsh, a quickened tone and sweaty words as they slipped from the man’s mouth.

“Two women at the Wall, one under our damn noses,” raged the second, not bothering to keep his voice as low as the first man. “I’ll bet som’body’s fuckin’ them both right now. That Wilding bitch an’ that bastard stable boy, or should I say girl.”

Sam’s chest tightened, Ray.

Wasting time was the very last thing that they could do. Meera gave a nod of her head and readjusted the small bag on her back so that it would rest low enough that she would easily be able to carry Bran on her back. Once she was seemingly satisfied with where it sat, Meera turned around and backed toward Bran so that he could wrap his arms around her neck. She gripped his legs close to her body before standing slowly, taking longer than she should have to get back on her feet. No time to wait. Meera was quiet as she set off on the trail south, wanting to make as much progress south as they could before the night came. "If you need to stop at any point for food, let me know," she was quiet now, taking on a more serious attitude than she was normally did.

---

Arya gave a nod of her head. "How much attention do you think a direwolf would catch? The only known wolves beyond the Wall are ours, they belong to the Starks. Which means a Stark is nearby, if there's a direwolf. Raises an alarm right away," she tried to reason with her older sister. Eyes flashed to the direwolf at the mention of Grey Wind, Arya realized the wolf was intent on his own revenge. To rob any being of something so important would have been wrong and Arya certainly wasn't going to do that. Not when it came to something so personal to her - her brother's wolf was nearly as painful as the loss of her brother himself. "Fine." Arya raised to her feet, slowly moving out from behind the tree she had been leaning against. "Let's go. Their feast will be served in a few hours and if Frey's to get his pie then we don't have a lot of time to make that happen."

---

Once Ray was satisfied with one horse, she moved to the next. She finished as quickly as she could before going about cleaning out the halls. Some of the others didn't care to do it every day but it was something that irked Ray - the horses will still living beings and to live in their own filth had to be unsettling, even if they weren't intelligent enough to even realize what it really meant. At the sound of approaching footsteps, Ray peeked out of the stall she stood in. She caught sight of Sam and gave a slight grin, only for it to drop at the look on his face. "Sam? What's up? Did you forget that breakfast is in the hall?" She teased, turning back to the work in front of her.

Bran nodded, trying to make himself as light as possible, as if it were possible. The two of them had a long journey ahead and the trials of their fate were only just beginning.

---

Myla nodded thankfully and followed her sister; the direwolf's footfalls were as silent as the snow that laid in his natural northern home. He was just as ghostly in his movements as Jon's Ghost was in appearance. As the three of them neared Myla signaled for Arya to hold back. They could hear the voices of the brothers. They were talking about stupid nothing's of Jaime Lannister the King Slayer. She couldn't care less for the incestuous knight, her most present driving factor was the magnified blood thirst racing through herself and her direwolf. She and Remus held a special bond, when she slept and he remained awake, Myla could see through the eyes of her kind and fierce protector and she felt that it was the same when she remained awake and he slept. She did not know which of her siblings' direwolves remained alive, but she intended to ask if the others felt the same connection because of their Stark blood. Three steps more.... Two... Now! Remus sprang forward in a feral blur and immediately took one of the Frey's between his jaws and made a corpse of him within heart beats. Myla stayed back, watching the bridge and letting Arya take this kill. Myla was no fighter, she was a hunter and an expert in medicinal and poisonous plants because of her time on the run. Remus was her only offensive asset.

---

Sam grabbed Ray's dominant arm, forcing her to focus on him, "They know." His tone was urgent and harsh, not something that was usual for meek Samwell Tarley. "I overheard two of them talking in the library just now. One overheard us, I don't know who but we need to tell Jon before they come for you and get you out of here." Sam very well knew Jon had finished his morning routine and was in his office area, they needed to catch him before he went out to start the morning training.

Arya wasn't keen on staying behind, even if it was only a few steps as she let Remus take the first kill. The moment the wolf's jaws closed on the man's neck, Arya was rushing forward. There was no room for the other brother to shout for help - that would be their downfall. Moving through the shadows, Arya pulled Needle from its sheath on her belt, knuckles whitening as she leapt from the shadows. The sword was through the brother's gut and as he stumbled forward, Arya yanked it away, to slice at his neck. Silence. Arya was quiet as she watched the man fall to his knees and then slump over to the side. A sick little sense of relief washed over her, that much closer to another name crossed off her list. Arya turned to Myla and raised an eyebrow. "The pie?" A question that Arya hoped her sister would be able to figure out. Arya had no idea how to go about feeding Walder Frey his sons and since it had been Myla's idea, she figured she could leave the glory to her.

---

Ray's blood ran cold, sending a shiver down her spine as she heard Sam. Her heart skipped a beat and it took a moment to respond because she suddenly felt overwhelmed, like she was ready to faint. But she couldn't. Not now. She turned to face Sam, her face all serious as she nodded. "Sam, can you do me a favour? Go fetch my sword, I will go to Jon's office. Meet me there, alright?" She knew she wouldn't make it out of the fort before she was stopped, even with the aid of the Lord Commander. Jon barely knew who she was and she liked to keep it that way. While she excelled at her training, Ray tried to keep to herself. Ray wasted no time in closing the stall she had been standing in and didn't linger long enough to see what Sam's reaction was. She all but ran toward Jon's office, trying not to seem too suspicious. Ray reached the room and knocked urgently, hoping that she had at least caught Jon before he left. It was a conversation that needed to be in private, she hoped it would be. But if the brothers of the Night's Watch demanded answers, Ray would have no choice but to give them answers.