[Chapter Size: 3300 Words.]

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  Thrid Person POV

  Essos, 296 AC.

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  Arya was expl the city again. She had invited Daenerys, but the girl was hesitant after what had happened in Myr and didn't want to go. Rhaenys regnant, Ygritte had no desire to leave the ship, and Wind was the least likely to go with her since Jon had told her not to even appear in front of the port, always keeping her on the ship. He would leave her on another ship, as he had done in Braavos, but ended up accepting that she would stay with them as long as she remained hidden.

  Arya couldn't help but agree with Jon, after all, she had heard how the red priests performed their rituals, burning mostly sves iy. It was a cowardly act, and Arya had evehe pce where they used to carry out such practices, with several corpses on burning crosses.

  'Now I uand why Jo like them...' she murmured internally.

  Everything seemed normal as she walked with her guards around her, alert to anything.

  "Arya, look at this!" someone called beside her, pointing to the fabric shop, seeing something that caught their attention.

  "What is it, Mearin?" Arya looked curiously at the Arti.

  Mearin was an Arti with fire-kissed hair, just like Hil beside her, who was also a redhead. Both were Arya's friends, sharing almost the same age, having built a friendship over the st few years. Although Mearin and Hil were not part of the king's study group, they spent their time with Arya in the arena, training and trying to bee det Arti warriors, although Arya might be much better than them due to what she had received i years. They had ended up ing orip, and Arya spent some time with them, besides her family or training.

  The royal guards were simply keeping watch as Mearin showed Arya what had caught her attention. But something soon caught the attention of the three girls, turning their heads to two of the six royal guards stopping a red woman, who was staring directly at Arya.

  "Step away! You do not have permission to approach the princess," the royal guard spoke in a serious tone, while the womae not getting closer, kept her gaze fixed on Arya the eime, without g to look at the guards.

  "Arya Stark," she said, while Arya's friends watched cautiously, their hands pressing on the ons at their waists. The same could be said of Arya, toug Dark Sister.

  "What do you want...?" Arya asked in a dark tone.

  "I only want to warn you of something, cousin of Azor Ahai," she said calmly.

  "..." Arya remained silent. Of course, others had approached her before, speaking about Jon and asking the Arti king to bless them or even for Arya te a meeting with him. But Arya knew how to hahis, and this was the only one who referred to the royal e she had with Jon, which she should not have known.

  "There will e a time when Azor Ahai will nearly lose himself in the destru he will bring to the western kingdoms... That is why he will need you at that moment..." she said, looking Arya in the eyes.

  "What is she talking about?" Hil murmured with an unsatisfied and fused tone.

  Arya remained silent as the red woman simply smiled at her and began to leave, but not before stopping.

  "Also... beware of the Harpy and her children; they a the shadows..." she said before walking away, leaving everyone fused by what they had just heard, not fully uanding what had just happened.

  "She's go doesn't matter what she said anymore," Arya simply stated.

  They all nodded auro their activities while the city seemed the same as the previous days, with crowds at the port, and Jon never leaving his ship, leaving the mio hahe iations. After all, he had even requested a list of things they could buy in Vontis, but nothing they couldn't manage, having the king's approval to spend his money on the iation of books, metal, and some products directly made in Vontis.

  The high nobles were somewhat dissatisfied, casting cautious g the Artis. After all, a member of the tiger fa had been killed, and no one knew if it had been the people of the faith, the rival fa, or even people from within his own fa. It could have evehe Artis, with the king himself, for being challenged during the iation.

  However, they could do nothing but tinue iating with the Artis. Even while expressing some dissatisfa with the king's absence, which could be seen among them as a sign of disrespect, they didn't say much, sihey were also afraid of ending up like their panion.

  The sighting of Daenerys had also drawn many eyes and rumors, with the Valyrian girl often standing on the edge of the ship, gazing at the port city. Seeing a young aiful girl, given Daenerys' Targaryey, everyohere was intrigued. However, no one really wao try anything aggressive like buying her, only subtly inquiring with the priests. But as soon as the ministers refused, they remained silent, not pressing the matter further.

  In the red temple, the priests tinued praying to the Lord of Light, seeking clear instrus for their steps to aid Azor Ahai. Spending hours and hours in front of the fmes, even without receiving a respohey wao be ready for anything their god might ask of them.

  Jon no longer cared about what was happening iy, while even the free citizens and some sves were gathering in front of the fmes, praying for Jon to bless them. He was sick of it, avoiding paying attention to the growing group of people talking about him, and even sidering burning others. These ideas calmed down after Jon's threat that he would kill anyone who burned another in his name.

  "You've been staring at that stone for hours..." Daenerys approached him at that moment, while Jon sat behind his desk with the key he had received from the Red God lying atop it.

  "It's true..." Jon remarked, still staring, trying to figure out what the symbol meant and what it opened, w why the Red God was so fident he would his so-called sword of his.

  Daenerys couldn't deny she was also intrigued by the stone, her curiosity piqued as she looked at the rock while Jon analyzed it.

  They stayed there for a moment before Jon sighed and opened a book. "I don't think this is going to help much..." Jon said finally.

  " I stay with you?" she asked, and Jon smiled at her.

  "Of course." Jon replied, staying there calmly reading, until one of the eagles above the city called to him mentally, and his eyes began to see through it, witnessing something that quickly enraged him.

  "We were attacked!" he excimed, jumping out of his chair, surprising Daenerys beside him, with Rhaenys sitting nearby and Ygritte painting in a er.

  "Jon?" Ygritte asked, sensing the urgency.

  "Svers attacked Arya and the others," he said with a furious tone as he headed out of the ship.

  "Men, prepare to head to the city. Arya and the others were attacked by people wearing golden masks..." Jon anded, and the Arti men immediately began to move. His gaze fell upoy, aarted to move all the animals there, quickly surprising the people as all the birds iy began to flock to a single area. There were at least 5,000 of them in such a rge city, and they began desding all at once.

  Arya was returning to the ship with everyoill remembering the words of the woman dressed in red. She hadn't given her name, so Arya had no way of knowing who she was, thinking her words were just that—words.

  However, as they walked, a group of people on a street seemed to be part of some kind of festival. They were wearing masks, and handkerchiefs were thrown into the air as they danced.

  "Should we pass through there...?" Mearin murmured.

  "Better not, I don't like this street..." a royal Arti guard said, narrowing his eyes at the people eared to be having fun. It was strange, sidering the whole city was focused on Jon.

  "Why the fear... it's just a festival of people..." Hil ented.

  In the end, they decided to gh, not wanting to take the longer route around that side of the city to reach the port, which would take much more time. However, as they tinued walking through the crowd, entering the midst of people with scarves and cloths being thrown into the air, Arya noticed something. She saw men wearing golden masks, not symbolizing an eagle, but immediately, the words of that red priestess echoed in her mind at that moment.

  'Also... beware of the Harpy and her children, they a the shadows...' the voice resonated in her mind as she notiot just one, but four of them staring directly at them amidst the dang crowd, standing still. Her Stark eyes quickly darted to her waist as they began drawing their bdes.

  Everything seemed to be in slow motion for Arya in the following moments as they uhed their bdes and more people within the crowd began to move simultaneously.

  The royal guards, always alert, already sensed something was wrong, but it was Arya's shout that firmed it.

  "We're surrounded by assassins!!" she yelled, drawing Dark Sister as the men did the same. In the moment, people screamed in fear at the sight of drawn swords, while the golden-masked men moved through them, advang on the group, ons poi them.

  In the following instant, while the two redheads were the least prepared, a bloodbath ensued in the middle of those streets. The golden-masked men began to scream, being the first to be cut down before eveing close, as the six royal guards formed a wall to protect Arya and the others, trying to prevent anyone from approag. More and more of them appeared, seemingly having been hidden for some time, waiting for this moment to strike, rapidly advang like dogs after food. Meanwhile, the Arti men tinued cutting them down, their screams of paiing a line of blood down the middle of the street.

  Arya couldn't think amidst the chaos as she swung her sword, cutting down a man here and there. Some mao get past the royal guards, their numbers overwhelming, f her to proteot only herself but also her friends, who had no ons beyond a few daggers they had taken from the corpses.

  She wasn't even thinking, only relying ohing she had learned over the past years in Artica, simuting tless sarios both in the field and during Jon's personal training. Her bde moved as if it were aension of her arm, for the first time being in a fight where her life was at real risk, but she remained calmly focused, cutting down those who got too close.

  "Watch out, they're on the rooftops!!" a royal Arti guard poio the tops of the buildings on both sides of the street as figures appeared, ung arrows at the royal guards, though they were protected by their armor made of Edeal.

  Amid the screams, the sound of bdes, arrows, and flesh being pierced, a distant echo of wings fpping began to rise. The entire area where they were was soon covered by the shadows of thousands of birds flying above them. The masked men looked up in fear, but Arya paid them no mind, tinuing to cut down another man who came at her with a dagger. A scream came from behind her, a sound she immediately reized as feminine.

  Turning abruptly, Arya saw the horrific sight of her friend being stabbed iomach by a man wearing a mask behind Hil. He tiabbing her as she screamed in pain, while Mearin was also being surrounded by two attackers, with the royal guards too occupied to prevent anyone else from approag.

  "NO!!!!" Arya screamed with more fury than she had ever felt before, watg the bloody se. She rushed towards them, her vision darkened as thousands of birds desded, attag all the masked men, their beaks and cws ripping them apart instantly.

  The screams of terror intensified from all sides as the attackers were massacred ireets and atop the buildings, torn apart in the worst possible way—sloainfully.

  Arya, despite hearing the fpping of wings, the screams of birds and men, tinued moving forward, trying to reach Hil in the midst of that cloud of birds that had not harmed her at any point—on the trary, they were proteg her.

  Finally, she found the girl lying on the ground, with a man screaming as his skin was beien alive by furious birds, one even plug out his eye. Arya didn't care, her gaze fixed on the redhead; she just reached her friend, toug her bloodied stoma an attempt to stop the bleeding, while the girl looked up in fear, tears filling her eyes.

  "Hil, don't worry, you'll be fine!" Arya tried to vince herself, feeling the blood slipping through her fingers. Hil had taken at least four stabs to the abdomen. 'Her iines must be ruptured, but Jon save her. He has to... I'm sure of it!' Arya thought in desperation.

  "Mearin!" Arya tried to shout amidst the chaos, but all she could hear were the birds drowning out her cry.

  Even so, Mearin appeared after the two men who had surrounded her fell to the birds. She stopped a few meters away, staring at Arya and Hil's dition, horrified.

  "Please, help me get her out of here. We o take her to Jon. Jon help her!" Arya excimed, and Mearin nodded, still nervous and trembling as she crouched down.

  The royal guards finally arrived to che them. Arya sheathed her sword, now drenched in the blood of at least six people she had killed, and tried to lift Hil, who was bleeding alongside Mearin. But the royal guards quickly stepped in and began to help, taking over the task themselves.

  "Leave her to us. We'll get her to the ship quickly!" they excimed.

  "Please, we o be fast!" Arya begged as the birds began to leave the area, revealing a pile of corpses with destroyed faces. Most had died from the birds, even those on top of the buildings and the ones who had been hiding, waiting for the best moment to strike—they were all dead. Jon had killed at least a hundred of them, hidden ireets, leaving only one alive with his birds, but the guards didn't bother to search for any survivors. Their priority was to get the princess and Hil, still alive, back to the ship with Mearin.

  By that time, the Arti soldiers had already stormed the city, with over a thousand men and 20 giants marg through the streets. Jon was heading to the site, and no one dared stop him. If aried, he simply ighem, advang with his group, fully armed, riding Ghost, the enormous direwolf, which terrified anyone who saw the giant wolf with the Arti king on its back.

  They finally found Arya and the others, covered in blood. Jon quickly dismounted from the wolf ao the group, while Arya looked at him with tears in her eyes.

  "Please, save her, Jon. You have to save her!" she pleaded.

  Jon only nodded and approached Hil, who was already unresponsive. He quickly pced his hand oomach, emitting a glow in an attempt to heal her, but it was already too te. Though he could heal her abdomen, she was already gone.

  Mearin immediately realized what was happening beside Jon. She covered her mouth with her hand, tears streaming down her face.

  "She's dead, Arya," Jon said in a tone more sorrowful than he ever thought he could muster, w how this could have happeo a girl from Artica.

  Arya was in shock, the grouh her feet gone, as she stared at her friend—the one who had shared her first years since arriving in Artica, who had pyed and ughed with her through the city—now dead before her, on a journey Arya had asked Jon to take them on, eager to see nds beyond Artica.

  Arya wondered if she could have protected Hil. That thought shook her more than anything else in her life up to that moment, as tears began to stream down her face, questioning how she could have saved her.

  The only thing she felt was Jon, who hugged her tightly.

  "It wasn't your fault, Arya. This is not your fault..." Jon spoke softly, knowing his cousin was filled with guilt.

  His men stood waiting, preventing anyone from approag, while both soldiers and even red priests wao get closer to see what was happening, but the king didn't seem to be in the mood for it, as he soled his cousin.

  Jon gave Arya a look filled with pity before turning back to his men.

  "I want you to escort her back to the ship. There's one I left alive. We o capture him and find out who they are and why they attacked us..." Jon excimed, with a fury he hadn't felt sihe event in Oldtown.

  His men nodded, f a group to escort the royal guards who had fought, Arya and Mearin, along with Hil's lifeless body, back to the ship, while Jon headed to the locatiohe fight had taken pce.

  In a hidden spot nearby, birds were surrounding a cupboard inside a house, where a man trembled inside.

  He wondered if the birds had already left, with the sileing for a moment. He didn't want to die like the others. Though he expected to die there, he didn't want to face that kind of death, as his panions had been mutited alive, with their eyes and skin being torn off by the birds. They screamed and tried to fight the birds off, but it was no use—there were too many. He had a small ce to escape by log himself ihe cupboard, though his body and face were covered in cuts.

  He couldn't hear the birds anymore, but he was sure they were waiting for him to step outside. He was terrified and trembling, sidering using his dagger to cut his own throat and end it all.

  Then, suddenly, he heard footsteps approag the cupboard. The door was flung open with such force, as if a monster had arrived, and he found himself staring into the green eyes of a man who looked at him like he was already dead.

  The man grabbed him with such strength that he lifted him off the ground and hurled him against the wall, causing a cra the wood with a loud thud. The man colpsed to the ground unscious, with several bones broken from the force Jon had used. Jon had no mercy for him and would do whatever was necessary to extract the information he needed.

  He picked the man up auro his men, while his birds began to disperse at his and.

  "Let's go. We've captured the man we were looking for. Now, let's head back to the ship and find out what really happened here," Jon spoke in a ral tone, but so cold it could have e from the most freezing parts of the nds north of Artica.

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