ARYA BEGINS TRAINING IN SECRET
The Gifts Leo Left Behind
Before Arya left Winterfell, Leo had given her three things:
A small dagger of shadow-forged steel (harder than castle-forged, lighter than Valyrian).
A set of silent steps exercises.
And the most important lesson:
"Speed beats strength. Control beats chaos."
She remembered every word.
Now, trapped in King's Landing—a place that felt wrong, fake, dangerous—Arya began practicing the moment the sun went down.
The Secret Place
She discovered a forgotten storage room beneath the Red Keep kitchens—
filled with old barrels, broken crates, and dust thick as snow.
Perfect for training.
Perfect for hiding.
Arya slipped down there every night with a stolen candle, moving through shadows just as Leo had shown her.
She mimicked his stance:
weight low, knees balanced, wrists loose.
She whispered the lessons he drilled into her:
Don't aim for armor. Aim for openings.
Don't rush. Wait for your moment.
See before you strike.
A blade is not your strength—your will is.
Every night she grew faster.
Quieter.
Sharper.
She Improves So Fast It Becomes Noticeable
Soon…
She could move across stone without making a sound.
She could climb walls faster than any servant child.
She could slip behind guards without them noticing.
One day, Syrio Forel watched her during practice and frowned—not with disapproval, but with surprise.
"You move like someone has taught you a different dance before," he said.
Arya froze.
Syrio smiled knowingly:
"Good.
Two teachers is better than one."
He never asked who the other teacher was.
He didn't need to.
But There Is a Cost
The more Arya trained, the more she noticed something disturbing:
She was being watched.
By who, she didn't know:
Spies?
Servants?
The queen?
The queen's little birds?
Every whisper Leo had given her echoed in her mind:
"You are being watched.
Do not trust the Lannisters."
And Arya listened.
She told no one.
Not even Sansa.
Not even Syrio.
Her secret training became her armor.
Her shadow-step became her shield.
New Title Is Whispers Among Servants
Some kitchen servants have begun whispering:
"There's a ghost child running around the keep."
"Some say she walks without sound."
"I saw her vanish into a hallway!"
"A Stark ghost—just like the Shadow who saved her."
Arya doesn't hear these rumors.
But Varys does.
And Cersei soon will.
Varys Hears the Whisper
His little birds bring him a rumor:
"A girl moves like smoke."
"A Stark ghost."
"She vanishes like the Shadow of Winterfell."
"She trains with a secret blade."
Varys doesn't believe in ghosts.
But he very much believes in dangerous children.
So he sends more birds—quiet ones—to watch Arya Stark.
Not to harm her.
Not yet.
But to understand.
Varys whispers to himself:
"If she truly learned from him…
then she is a threat to the Lannisters.
And a potential ally…
to the right ruler."
2. Cersei Begins to Suspect Arya
Unlike Varys, Cersei does believe in threats—
especially ones she cannot control.
She hears two troubling reports:
Arya Stark is slipping past guards like a trained cutpurse.
She's been seen in the lower halls at night.
She carries something hidden under her sleeve.
Cersei's paranoia spikes instantly.
"Another Stark plotting?"
"Perhaps the girl spies for her father."
"Or for that shadow creature Ned refuses to speak about…"
She orders two Gold Cloaks:
**"Watch the little one.
If she strays where she shouldn't, bring her to me."**
Arya has no idea that the queen's eyes are now hunting her.
Leo Feels The Pull
Across the sea, Leo Pendragon is training Daenerys, preparing armies, shaping the future.
But one night
as he sits near the dragons
a strange sensation hits him:
A tug in his chest.
A warning.
A connection.
The Pendragon bond.
Dream walkers gift by the system he can senseArya's fear, her tension, her rising danger…
it echoes across continents like a silent scream only he can feel.
Leo opens his eyes sharply.
"Arya…?
No.
Someone is watching her."
He doesn't know who yet—
but the bond tells him one thing clearly:
Arya Stark is in danger.
And the danger is increasing fast.
He clenches his vibranium fist.
He needs to return to Westeros soon.
THE WEB CLOSES AROUND ARYA
Varys is observing her.
Cersei is hunting her.
Leo is sensing her danger.
And in the shadows of the Red Keep…
Arya is being watched from three directions.
The storm is about to break.
FOUR HUNTERS, ONE WOLF"
Arya Notices the Spies
Arya slips through the courtyard after her water dancing lesson with Syrio.
At first, she thinks nothing of it.
But then…
Footsteps.
Whispers.
Two men in gold.
She ducks behind a tapestry.
Another pair of boots appears near the stairs.
Her heart begins to pound.
"Why are they following me?
Did Father send them?
…No. These men walk like hunters."
She remembers Leo's lesson in the woods:
*"Listen with your skin, not your ears.
When danger follows, the air tightens first."*
And she feels it now.
The air is tight.
Watching her.
Closing in.
She slips into a servant corridor and runs.
Gold Cloaks Try to Grab Arya… Syrio Intervenes
Two Gold Cloaks corner her near the armory.
"Little lady Stark—
The Queen wishes to speak with you."
Arya tries to escape between them—
but one grabs her wrist.
Before she can scream—
A wooden practice sword taps the man's hand.
Tak.
Syrio Forel steps between them like a whisper.
**"A lion should not hunt mice.
Bad for the dignity."**
The Gold Cloaks scowl.
"Out of the way, old man."
Syrio smiles.
"Just so.
But first—
You must catch the mouse."
The Gold Cloaks reach for Arya—
Crack!
A stick snaps into a wrist.
Crack!
A knee bends the wrong way.
Crack!
A helm rings like a bell.
Within seconds both soldiers are on the ground, gasping.
Syrio bows to Arya.
"Run now, little wolf."
She does.
Cersei Confronts Ned
The Gold Cloaks crawl back to the queen bruised, furious, and humiliated.
Cersei's rage is cold as ice.
She marches straight to Ned's chambers.
"Control your daughter."
Ned stiffens.
"What has Arya done?"
Cersei steps forward, eyes like knives.
"She sneaks through hidden passages.
She watches things she shouldn't.
She is spying, Lord Stark.
And next time my guards will not bring her back gently."
Ned feels the old fear knotting in his chest.
Arya.
Arya is in danger.
"Your men tried to seize a child," Ned says, voice low.
Cersei smiles thinly.
"Children can grow into threats.
Ask your bastard in the North—
the one guarded by your 'shadow.'"
Ned freezes.
Cersei studies him.
She has heard rumors too.
Varys Meets Arya in Secret
Arya, still running from the Gold Cloaks, slips into a dark stone hall.
A whisper rises behind her:
"Lady Stark… you are quite difficult to catch."
Arya flinches, dagger in hand.
Varys emerges from the shadows.
No guards.
No threats.
Just quiet curiosity.
"Fear not. I do not serve the lioness you escaped."
"I only wish to understand who trained you."
Arya steps back, gripping her blade.
"I didn't say anything."
Varys smiles softly.
"You didn't need to.
Your footsteps said enough."
"The 'Shadow of Winterfell' has touched you.
Hasn't he?"
Arya's breath catches.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Varys tilts his head, amused.
"Then let me give you a warning, little wolf."
"Spiders, lions, and even kings fear ghosts."
"Be careful whom you trust in this city."
"Even your father cannot see every knife."
"But the shadow that protects your brother…"
"…may protect you as well."
And before she can reply—
the Master of Whisperers is gone.
The Four Hunters Withdraw
Cersei plots harder.
Varys watches closer.
Ned grows more worried.
Syrio prepares for battle.
Leo feels the danger increasing from Essos.
Arya Stark has stepped into the game.
And the game is stepping toward her.