384 EXECUTIVE DECISIONS

Catelyn Stark had let her youngest brood that night and the next day. She knew Arya would be upset about her favorite person leaving her behind and she let the maid deliver her meals all day and didn't demand she attend to her or her lord father. However, only a single day was allowed for her to grieve and she had to suck it up and accept that the bastard had forgotten about her and left her behind.

She made her way to the girl's room and opened it, only to see the food her maid left for the meals hadn't been touched. She sighed at the girl wasting it and refusing to eat in protest for letting the boy be sent away, even if it was for the best for everyone in Winterfell. None of them needed the distraction, especially with all the people arriving for Sansa's nameday in a couple of days.

Catelyn walked over to the bed and grabbed the girl's shoulder and shook it. “Arya, get up. You need to stop...” She paused when the shoulder seemed a little squishy. She looked at the Arya-sized bumps under the blanket and frowned, because her daughter was not one that could ignore her when she started talking. “Arya?”

She pulled the blanket off of the shape and gasped, then she screamed when she saw the face of the bastard instead of her daughter's. Several soldiers and maids arrived after hearing the scream, then everyone immediately left as quickly as they could, because Catelyn continued to scream, only she was cursing the bastard that had left almost three days ago.

Ned Stark arrived, summoned by one of the soldiers, and saw the plushie of Jon Snow in Arya's bed that everyone thought was the girl, because it was the same size as her. He let out a sigh at the evidence the boy had taken the girl and again regretted only sending the minimum number of soldiers with the carriage.

Ned hadn't told anyone that it was at Catelyn's recommendation, because she thought that no one wanted to lose their life to protect the boy. He didn't have the heart to tell her that half the keep's soldiers had volunteered for the duty and the four that won were pledged to keep Jon safe.

“You need to send someone on our fastest horse to get her back.” Catelyn said to him as she lifted the thing and turned to face him.

Ned opened his mouth to agree, then he sighed again. “We can't spare the men with the celebrations starting.”

Catelyn almost growled at him as she strangled the plushie. “What did you say to me?”

Ned thought about how to say it, then closed his eyes briefly before telling her the truth. “Only sending one man on a fast horse, wouldn't do anything. Sending two horses would only get him about halfway to wherever they are right now and it would still be several days if he survived long enough to safely reach them.”

Catelyn's arms twitched and her thumbs dug into the neck of the plushie. “Then send more men!”

Ned gave her a sad look. “We can't. There are too many obligations...”

“Are you going to stand there and tell me that our daughter is not important enough for you to send another group of soldiers to hunt down the bastard that kidnapped her?” Catelyn asked, her voice low and full of danger.

Ned knew he was treading on thin ice with her and he needed to say something to placate her before she went behind his back and ordered the men needed for the keep's protection to head out and look for Arya. They also didn't have the extra horses to spare for yet another rushed trip away from the keep.

“In less than two weeks, they will reach the Crossroads Inn and the men there have to come back after the exchange. Arya will have been found by then, assuming she did go with him.” Ned said, even if he didn't believe it himself. “They will have to come back with her then.”

Catelyn gave him a glare full of loathing that he wasn't going to forget for a long time. “Send a raven. No, send a dozen! I want all the stops along the way to ask about her and they are to send her back immediately, under pain of death.”

Ned sighed and nodded. What he didn't tell her was that no one but Maester Luwin knew how to use the ravens to send messages and he was currently with Jon on his way to the citadel. He didn't have an assistant or someone he taught to handle the ravens while he was gone. Also, Jon's idea meant they weren't going to stop along the way for the night and there would be no way to reach them.

Catelyn let the thing she held go and left the room. Ned looked down at the strangled plushie of Jon Snow on the floor . If the mangled thing was any indication, the next time Catelyn saw the real thing, there would be blood and gore and he had no way or desire to stop her. He followed his lady wife and didn't see the young Jeyne Pool slip into the room, grab the plushie, and slip back out.

*

My plan had worked even better than I thought it would. Because the slight crisis of the wheel replacement at the break of dawn had completely distracted Maester Luwin and the soldiers from asking too many questions about the how and why of how two girls had suddenly appeared.

None of them wanted to abandon their sworn duty to protect the carriage and spend the next three days alone on horseback to bring Arya all the way back to Winterfell. Also, they didn't want to face Lady Catelyn's wrath or Lord Stark's condemnation for it. They were going back to Winterfell in two weeks anyway and would suffer both things then, because they knew they would.

The best part was that no one asked about why Dany was there after I introduced her as Dany Waters. They all assumed I was bringing her back to Kings Landing to drop her off and she was a bastard of one of the highborn families there. Her disguised honey blonde hair made her stand out among the smallfolk and even Maester Luwin thought she had been kidnapped for that alone.

Dany was surprised her normally white hair had changed after she 'woke up' and somehow missed an entire night. She also didn't have a lot of questions because she felt really tired, so I tucked her under one arm to let her sleep and Arya tucked herself under my other arm and also dozed off.

The carriage wheel was replaced and I promised to work on it after the midday meal, thanks to my experience working with the blacksmith and bringing repair supplies with me. Both the drivers and Luwin looked really relieved about that, because there weren't many wheels they could get at such short notice and they had a month or so of travelling left in the carriage along roads that were not kind to wooden wheels.

As we rode, I weaved a slight notice-me-not over both Arya and Dany, just so they wouldn't gain as much attention as they should have. It would also let the soldiers relax about having three children along on such a long trip and not only the one they had been told would be their responsibility.

I had been a little surprised to learn Danaerys was about my age, within a few months, which meant my Targaryen grandparents had been getting it on at around the same time as my father and Lyanna Stark. It made me wonder if it was as consensual as my own parent's relationship.

In any case, I now had two girls to take care of, for as long as I could pull it off, and I needed to modify my plan slightly. I was sure Catelyn would be incensed over Arya getting away with me. If we stopped anywhere, for any reason, we would be mobbed and Arya would be taken away from me and sent back to Winterfell.

Arya's own thoughts were aout her being on an adventure from Old Nan's stories and she was with me, which made it that much better than if she had gone by herself. That meant I would need to keep it as a fun adventure and not let her get bored along the way to the Crossroads Inn. By then, I figured she would be tired enough of the adventure to want to go home without fuss.

My eyes dropped to her happy face as she slept and I didn't believe it for a second. She was going to want to stay with me for as long as she could and her puppy-dog eyes when she begged were some of the best I've ever seen and couldn't be refused. Dammit. I needed to modify my plans again.

*

Sansa was in heaven as she was showered with attention during her nameday celebration. Everyone had shown up, except for that creepy Bolton bannerman, and she couldn't have been happier. Or so she tried to convince herself.

It was during the evening meal in the keep's courtyard, that was barely big enough for all the tables and people attending, that the Karstark Minstrels played her nameday song and the other songs Jon had written for them. Sansa felt sad that her little sister wasn't there to share the special day with her and then they played The Song of the North and everyone's spirits rose, even hers.

Talk turned to Jon Snow and how he gave up his rights and then was sent away, which made people talk even more about how he was treated by their family. It gave Sansa a new perspective on how other people saw her actions and she felt something she never felt before. Shame. The presents were given and she thanked everyone with decorum, like she was taught, and everything felt a little hollow.

Sansa was soon ushered to bed by her lady mother and didn't protest, changed with Jeyne's help, and they both climbed into bed. She wasn't sure what she felt about things, then her best friend did something amazing for her. Jeyne pulled out a huge plush Jon Snow from underneath the bed and handed it to her as she said it was found in Arya's room and fixed the neck.

Tears came to Sansa's eyes as she hugged it, then she thanked her for saving it from her mother and she hugged Jeyne as well. The two of them cuddled with the pillow-like Jon Snow between them and the both of them secretly wanted the boy back in their lives. It had only been a week and it felt like he had been gone forever.

*

Arya was having the best time of her young life! She was with her favorite person, her lady mother was nowhere to be found, and she had fun lessons every day! She did wonder why he included the blonde girl in his teachings, then he showed her the small wooden training sword he made for her and she LOVED it!

When they randomly stopped to stretch their legs, Arya swung the thing around like Jon showed her and they even fought! She won! It. Was. GREAT!

As they travelled, Jon kept sending a soldier ahead to buy more food for everyone and warned them to not say who they were or what they wanted the food for. It was a good precaution, because even if they didn't know who they were, one of the soldiers had been followed by a couple of bandits one time and they were ambushed.

Well, they tried to do that. Jon was waiting for them, as were the soldiers, and the bad men were slaughtered and their heads were brought back to where the soldier had bought the food. They were paid for them, too! It was funny and neat and they wee given even more food to eat and share. The soldiers were really happy, too.

They would be at the Inn next week and Arya did not want to go back home. No, she did not. She was having too much fun being herself and she would hide just before reaching the place, like she had before, and her burlap sack always succeeded in hiding her. She would use it again until the soldiers left and then Jon would have to let her stay! It was the best idea EVER!

*

Dany Waters was only a little confused about how she looked different, then Jon Snow explained that everyone usually ignored bastards and that was why he gave her an adopted name, too. She couldn't have felt more grateful if she tried. No one asked her who her parents were, because no one cared about that, and she was mostly ignored by the soldiers, the drivers, and Maester Luwin.

The lessons Jon gave her were a little odd; but, they were also full of necessary information that no one had ever told her before. She was also included in the play sword fighting, something she never thought she would ever do let alone enjoy. However, she was particularly good at it, thanks to her lithe body and her quick movements.

Plus, it kept her busy and Dany hadn't had so much to do during the day. She earned her sleep every night and she slept very well, her body exhausted and her mind afire with everything she was learning. She didn't question why he was including her in te little girls lessons and she didn't care. She was starting to like the little girl, only it wasn't as much as she liked Jon.

Dany fought hard to not blush every time he looked at her or talked to her, then he would smile at her and her face flushed red against her will. She thought he was doing it on purpose a few times, because he would give her a knowing look before he grinned at her and she couldn't stop her reaction.

The urge to hit him for it had faded over the last few days and all Dany wanted to do was hug him like Arya did all the time and she wanted to tell him to keep smiling at her, even if she did blush every time. Instead, she kept it a secret and continued paying very close attention to him as he taught her the things she needed to know to survive.

*

By the time the carriage reached the Crossroads Inn, the soldiers, drivers, and Maester Luwin had almost forgotten there were three children onboard. They hadn't fussed, or drew their attention, or made any kind of disturbance that kids usually did during long boring rides across the countrside.

When they met the group of soldiers from Old Town and another maester, sent by the citadel to meet the carriage, there were only two children to hand over during the exchange and the third had somehow either run off or disappeared.

The Winterfell soldiers received the small chest of coinage, Maester Luwin counted it, and handed it over to the replacement maester. The man tucked it into his saddlebag, promised to get it to Lord Stark as soon as he could, and he and the four soldiers left on fresh horses with the horses that had pulled the carriage.

Fresh horses were attached to the carriage as well and the new group made the decision to continue on their journey to Old Town without stopping for the night. It was going to be another two weeks and a day or two of travelling to reach the citadel, so Jon's lessons with the female bastard continued and both she and the third child were ignored completely by the new soldiers.

Maester Luwin noticed Arya that afternoon and sighed in resignation at seeing she hadn't gone with the soldiers. There was nothing he could do about it now, though. The soldiers were long gone and neither he nor Jon were going back to Winterfell anytime soon. The consequences could be faced when they eventually did, assuming they were allowed to return, and Arya could be brought back home then.

Until that time, it was best to keep going forward and hope for the best. They were of the North and survival was what they did best, after all. The old man hummed the song and both Jon and Arya smiled at him and started humming it, too.

*

Two weeks later, all the way back at Winterfell in Ned's office, Catelyn screamed, and yelled, and cursed the name Jon Snow. She ordered the soldiers be flogged for leaving her daughter behind and Ned finally stepped up and used a coiled whip to tightly tap each soldier on the back, nodded to them, and sent them back to the barracks to recover from the arduous trip.

The glare Catelyn gave him would have melted him if she had heat vision. Ned turned her around and used the same coiled whip to whack her across the backside. Catelyn yelled in surprise and tried to turn to shout at him, only he held her there and whacked her three more times. Tears came to her eyes at being hurt and humiliated, then he let her go. She turned to berate him and stopped at the look in his eyes.

“It's your fault she willingly left.” Ned said and dropped the whip onto the floor. “I'm sorry I let you treat Jon like you have for as long as you have.”

Catelyn felt like he had slapped her in the face with his words.

“He is a good boy, much better than we raised him to be. He treats her like a princess and all you do is berate her for not living up to your expectations of what a lady should be.” Ned told her. “Is it any wonder Arya prefers to be with him instead of you?”

Catelyn frowned. “She is a lady! She needs to learn...”

“She's four, going to be five in a few months, and is only a child.” Ned interrupted her. “If you had let her be one, she wouldn't think that running away with a bastard with no prospects for the future was a good idea.”

Catelyn opened her mouth to argue and he raised a hand to stop her.

“As soon as the new maester settles in, I'll have him send a raven to the citadel and ask about her. We can only hope she hasn't been found by some well-meaning family and chooses to live a normal life instead of what she has here.” Ned said and walked out of the office.

Catelyn stared at the door and wasn't sure what to do. She knew she was right and she also couldn't defy her lord husband, not after him disciplining her like he had. She sat down on the high stool she didn't realize was the same one that Jon had used and wondered what she was going to do with one of her daughters being lost nearly a full continent away.