Arya

Arya hung Needle from the strap at her waist and couldn't help but give a little bit of a smile. She was finally going to be taken seriously. But she would be foolish, extremely foolish, not to be afraid. There was a very good chance she could get herself killed trying to take down Lord Tywin; all she had was the element of surprise, and not for long. But she would have Nymeria by her side and ten men, and they had a plan. Her mother would pretend to hear Lord Tywin out, and while they talked, Arya would sneak up behind him and take him out.

"I don't understand," said Edmure. "You know it's a trap. You said so yourself. Why are you going?"

"Because," her mother said. "We have a plan."

"We? You're involving Arya in this? She's only a girl!"

"A girl who beat you at swordfighting," Arya said with a smirk.

Her mother smiled at her.

"What are you going to do? Duel Tywin Lannister?"

"Of course not," Arya said. "That would be ridiculous."

"Relax, Edmure," her mother said. "We'll be back before you know it. Take care of Bran when he arrives."

"Of course I will, but it's you he's coming for."

"And he can wait a short while."

"You'll be safe, won't you?"

"Of course we will. And remember-"

"I know. Don't tell Bran where you're going."

She nodded and gave her brother a hug, then turned to Arya. "Are you ready?"

Arya nodded. "Let's go get those Lannisters."

As they rode out of the gates of Riverrun, Arya asked, "Do you think there's any chance I could get Cersei too?"

"Don't push it. You'll be very lucky if this plan even works, I doubt it more and more by the minute."

"What other alternatives do we have?"

"Ignore him, and Robb will beat his troops back in a matter of days. Their forces have already started to scatter around the land, picking off farms."

"And how many farms and livelihoods will continue to be destroyed? How many Northmen die beating back the Lannisters and Boltons? How long do Father and Sansa remain in danger in the capital? As long as Tywin Lannister lives, he is a threat."

"Did Lord Tywin die, in your original timeline?" her mother asked.

Arya nodded.

"How?"

"His own son shot him with a crossbow."

"Not Jaime?"

"No. Tyrion. His own father, then serving as Hand to King Tommen, sentenced him to death. Jaime helped Tyrion escape, but on the way out he killed his father on the toilet."

Her mother looked shocked. "Not a very dignified way for Tywin Lannister to go."

"No, it wasn't. Then Lord Tyrion fled the country and became advisor to Daenerys Targaryen, because I suppose it was the least Lannister thing he could think to do."

"Daenerys Targaryen? What would she need advisors for?"

"She was trying to conquer Westeros."

There was fear in her mother's eyes, something she didn't often see. "Did she?"

Arya paused. Did she dare answer that question? Now that her mother was in on her secret, she felt that perhaps she should tell her more information. She was very smart, she could probably analyze the information better than Arya herself could. "She conquered it. She only ruled for about a minute though. She'd gotten a bit too much like her father for most people's taste."

"Burning people alive?"

"Half a million of them. She rode her dragon over King's Landing and turned it to ash." Arya gripped the reins tighter. "I was there. In the streets of the city. I watched those people burn. Children, dying. Because they wouldn't love this foreign invader who ruled by fear."

"So who killed her, then?"

"The man she loved. He loved her, too. But he did what he had to do."

"Why so vague, Arya? Who killed Daenerys Targaryen?"

She looked at her mother for a moment, then looked away. "Jon."

Sansa

She entered her father's room with a smile, but he was frowning at her. "What is it, Father?"

"According to Lord Renly, you insinuated that the two of you should be married."

"Oh! I don't know where he could have gotten that idea."

"Spare me the lies, Sansa. What game are you playing?"

"The same game as everybody else. The one we all must play. Political alliances. Houses Stark and Baratheon were meant to be allied through marriage. And if the cards are played correctly, they still can be."

"You can't go making your own marriage alliances. And besides, you're just a girl."

"I'm not just a girl. I've got quite a mind, and none of them know it. They're pawns on my board and I need to pick a pawn to wed."

"You're too young for marriage."

"But not for betrothal. And we need to make strong alliances, Father, to move up in the world. If not Renly, then maybe Loras Tyrell. Or perhaps a Martell, if we really wanted to think outside the box."

"Sansa, don't you want to marry someone you love?"

"Want? When do we get what we want, Father? If you had had the choice of any woman in Westeros, would mother have been your pick? Would you have been hers? Not then. But your marriage won the Rebellion. And then you fell in love after all."

"And Robert and Cersei did not."

"Cersei is an evil woman."

"That's rather beside the point, isn't it? What if the man you choose isn't a match for you?"

"Then as long as he's kind, and treats me well, I'll have done fairly well for myself. Better than most." After all she had experienced, Sansa had given up on any notion of marrying for love; the best she could hope for was someone who would be kind to her.

Her father sighed. "I do wish you would consult me before making political moves like that."

"I'll try to remember to do that in the future." She smiled. "My next political move is to make sure that I befriend Lady Margaery. Or Queen Margaery, as we are soon to be calling her."

He nodded. "That's a move that seems wise. Good luck."

She nodded and left the room, walking around until she found Margaery in the gardens. "Lady Margaery," she said with a smile.

She turned. "Oh, hello, Lady Sansa. What brings you out here?"

"Oh, I've just been wandering around. It's a bit quiet and lonely since Bran left. I'm the only Stark child left in the capital."

Margaery smiled sympathetically. "That must be difficult. Well, at least there's always the beautiful gardens to enjoy."

"Indeed." Sansa smiled. "Are you excited for your marriage to the king?"

"Who wouldn't be excited to be queen?"

"A fair point. You'll be the most powerful woman in Westeros."

"An opportunity to do good in the world." She smiled, and Sansa smiled back. She was making a good start, but Margaery surely still saw her as a child. Somehow, she would need to change that.

Bran

When they finally got to Riverrun, Bran looked around the castle. It wasn't as exciting as Winterfell, but he was sure he could find something to climb. He greeted his uncle Edmure, who gave him a smile and told him that his mother and Arya would be back from a trip soon. He wondered where they had gone; probably somewhere exciting, he thought with a twinge of jealousy.

He was shown to his room and unpacked, and went down for dinner, Summer sitting beside him. That, at least, was an advantage this place had over the royal court.

"So, how are you liking Riverrun?" his uncle asked.

"It's nice," said Bran. "Will I be able to continue squiring?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

When we went to bed that night, he had trouble getting to sleep. But once he did, the voice returned.

You know what you have to do, Brandon.

No I don't. I don't even know who you are.

You will. If you come find me.

But where are you?

You already know that. Or you did. In another life.

He rose suddenly from his body, looking at Riverrun castle down below. He could see all of Westeros laid out below him, could see his father sitting in the small council chamber and Sansa talking to Maergary Tyrell. He flew north, knowing somehow it was right. He passed the road where his mother and Arya traveled, headed towards the west. Towards the Lannisters? He flew over Winterfell, where Robb stood over a map and Rickon played with Shaggydog. And then he went further north still. To the Wall, to the brothers of the Night's Watch, and then beyond it. Jon stood in a snowy landscape with a woman with red hair. But he didn't have time to stop. He kept going north, to the Land of Always Winter, and the voice spoke again.

Winter is coming, Brandon Stark. And you must find me. Fix the timeline, and fulfill your destiny.

And if I don't want to?

It doesn't matter what you want.

Arya

She looked ahead of her. "So that's it? Casterly Rock?"

Her mother nodded. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I killed the Night King," said Arya. "I can handle Tywin Lannister."

They rode on towards the castle, and Arya gripped Needle's hilt. She was going to do this, for her family.