Well hey guys! I guess I'm back. I'm sorry it's been years since I updated this story. Life has been crazy and hectic and kind of a rollercoaster. Things have settled down a bit and I should be writing more. So bear with me as I get back into the groove. My writing might be a little messy at first, as I get back into the story's frame of mind. This chapter is kind of leading into the next major phase of the story. I'm going to tell you right now that there's going to be a lot of stuff that was inspired by the books for me rather than the show. I hope that's okay. I hope I haven't lost too many readers and again I'm really sorry about my lack of updates! At first the updates might be a bit slow, like maybe a week or two as I get back into a writing habit. But it won't be years.

Chapter 10

It was early afternoon the next day when Sallan, sitting at the front of the wagon, grunted that they could see the city. Theon cast a sideways glance at Arya, it seemed she had been right, they would soon be entering a city, a city that could only be Pentos. She gave him a knowing smirk and shrugged her shoulders, thankfully she refrained from saying 'I told you so.' Then the smirk faded away into a questioning look, and Theon knew exactly what was on her mind.

Theon shook his head slightly, and lowered his voice into a whisper that only she would be able to hear. "I haven't come up with a sound plan of escape. You know that we are close to our destination, they will not let us out of our chains. The person who hired these men have coin and a lot of it. These aren't normal thugs. Don't you think that person will have a secure location in which to hide us? Perhaps a large estate, with large walls and heavy gates?" The questions were rhetorical. "Have you noticed how they have been keeping an extra close eye on us since yesterday evening? They know that if we are going to try to escape, we would do it now. So unless the Faceless Men taught you how to pick locks, I'd say our chances of escape are slim." His tone was grim, and he felt as if he had let her down in some way.

She looked like she wanted to argue, that she did indeed know how to pick locks. She also knew that it wouldn't work, the three men had been watching them closely. She let out a defeated sigh, "I haven't thought of anything for those exact reasons as well." Her hands distractedly petted Mouser who was sitting on her lap, "and I see no way out of this without the use of weapons. And, they guard them too well for us to even get a decent look at them."

"Perhaps when we get to where we're going, we'll be able to slip away a bit more stealthily. Keep in mind the only belongings they took from us was our weapons. And they have been far more accommodating than any other jailers would have been. They give us a fair amount of freedom and they chain us simply to keep us from wandering off. Perhaps when we reach our destination, it will be more of the same." Theon said hopefully.

Arya didn't believe that for a moment. She felt like she needed to be doing something, anything to escape. "I don't like it."

"As of right now, I don't think we have much of a choice, and as I have said before, it would be nice to know who went through all this trouble just to bring us here." Theon tried to sound as if he believed what he said, but even he could not see how things would turn out in their favor. After a few moments of silence he added. "We'll get out of this somehow."

Arya just gave him a small, patronizing smile, but said nothing. She was a woman of action, this waiting to see game did not suit her and restlessness increased as they crept closer to Pentos.

—

When they reached the city, the men had to take their wagon through a carefully planned route through the bustling streets. When they were questioned about their two prisoners they had a well thought out story about Arya being a runaway daughter of a moderately successful merchant. Theon was the good for nothing sellsword who wooed her away from her family. The girl's father was well connected. The men had been hired to bring her back by a Magister of Braavos, who was a good friend of the merchant, and was doing the man a favor by bringing back the daughter. They even had papers confirming their story.

They made it through the city with surprising ease. Arya guessed that the papers they had were given to them by a Magister. When they were stopped at the city gates, they were waved through fairly quickly. Only a Magister would have that kind of clout. She wondered if the papers were real, and if they were what Magister would be interested in her and Theon. It was a small clue about where they were going and who they were about to meet.

Finally, the wagon stopped in front of what appeared to be a back gate of a large estate. They were greeted by several men at arms who seemed to be expecting the prisoners and their captors. Seeing the men there to greet them made Arya's heart sink a little. She was also discouraged that the estate was surrounded by high, stone walls. Their chances of escape never looked so bleak. She was beginning to regret that they hadn't tried to escape somewhere on the road between Pentos and Bravos, even if it meant leaving their weapons behind. It would have broken her heart to leave her Needle behind, but at least she would have been free.

The wagon rattled slowly through the gates and her heart shuddered a little when the gates clanged shut behind them. Theon must have noticed her apprehension because he tentatively reached forward and rested his hand on hers. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "we'll think of something."

She looked from where his hand rested, she was unsure of how to react, the same as when he had held her hand the day before. It was an odd show of comfort coming from the boy she had known at Winterfell. She doubted that boy would have ever offered her anything in the way of friendship. It was odder still that she accepted it and even welcomed it. It gave her a sense that she wasn't alone, not anymore. She remained silent, staring at his hand on hers for several seconds, and he must have sensed her discomfort. He started to take his hand away, but before they fully lost contact she surprised herself by grabbing his hand. It wasn't him that made her uncomfortable. What made her uneasy was the was the fact that she wasn't bothered by his touch. And even more disconcerting was that on some level she even wanted the comfort of his hand linked to hers. When she looked at him, she saw his eyes wide with shock at her acceptance. He wisely chose not to say anything about it.

Instead he just looked at her intently. "We will find a way out of this. Walls can be scaled, and locks can be broken." He found that even if seemed impossible, he needed to help her to escape this place. Not just because he owed it to her, but because he hated seeing that trapped look in her eyes.

To her surprise, the look in his eyes told her that he firmly believed what he was saying, that they would find a way out. She gave his hand a quick, friendly squeeze and nodded her head. She wasn't sure she believed it herself, but she appreciated that he was at least trying to ease her mind. Mouser also must have sensed her unease because the cat slinked out of her hiding place and rubbed her head on Arya's knee.

Moments later the wagon came to a stop. Gyllan turned from his seat at the front to look at them. His eyes casually glanced at their linked hands and an amused smirk started to spread across his lips. "Guess the story of our ill fated lovers wasn't too far off the mark." He let out a hearty chuckle when the two of them quickly snatched their hands away from each other. "We're here. Haren will undo your chains, and I'm sure soon enough you'll be introduced to the man who paid us to fetch you."

Arya scowled at Gyllan's words as Haren quickly undid the chains. Mouser eyed Haren suspiciously as Arya and Theon stood up. The man bent over and scratched around the cat's ears. "Don't worry kitty, I'm sure you'll be welcome to. The cook will eager to use your special talents to keep the mouse population down in the pantry." When he straightened up his eyes caught something up and behind Arya and Theon. "Looks like he came out to greet you himself. It seems you two really are important."

From their standing position on the open wagon the two captives turned to look where Haren's attention was. The wagon had stopped at the foot of a rather large stairway cut into a hill, that led up to large manor. At the top of the stairs stood a tall and very obese man. He was dressed in rich garments and it confirmed that, even though the story the men had concocted about Arya and Theon had been false, the part about a Magister of Pentos being involved was true. Her brow furrowed. What in the Seven Hells would a Magister want with them? The only people who would want anything from them would be from Westeros. Did this man have Westerosi ties?

She took her glance away from him only when she turned around and jumped off the back of the wagon. Theon followed suit, the frown he wore, told her that he was just as confused as she was about why they were here and who this man was. The cat also jumped down, but instead of running off to explore her new surroundings as she did every time the wagon stopped, she stayed at Arya's feet.

Haren shuffled them along. "Go along now, best not keep him waiting. I'm sure the three of you will have plenty to talk about and only he can answer any questions you may have."

One of their other captors took over for Haren and started to lead them up the stairs while the other two moved to take care of the wagon. The climb seemed to take forever, but Arya never took her eyes off the man. As they neared him, his looks only became more unpleasant. His beady, pig like eyes watched them carefully, as if he was taking stock of expensive merchandise. He was a highly perfumed man and it was all Arya could do not to wrinkle her nose as they drew nearer.

"Ah, welcome." The large man smiled, revealing crooked yellow teeth. "I hope my men haven't put you at too much of an inconvenience." His voice was cultured and his words polite, but his voice for some reason put Arya in a state of discomfort.

She did nothing to hide her resentment toward this man who had them kidnapped, and she did not return his pleasantries. "Who are you?"

To the man's credit he showed no displeasure about Arya's hostility, in fact he seemed to expect it. He let a small sigh escape his lips, but the smile never slipped from his lips. "Very well, we'll forget the pleasantries then. I am Illyrio Mopatis, Magister of Pentos. Come-"

"What do you from from us Magister?" Arya asked bluntly before he could continue.

At this the smile slipped a little. He was growing uncomfortable from standing for so long and the girl was proving to be just as impudent as he had been warned. Still he could understand why they would be a little angry about being dragged away from Braavos against their will. He lifted his massive shoulders into a shrug. "Simply to talk, dear girl. Which I suggest we do now in a more comfortable place. Now please, I would…" he started to turn toward the house.

This time it was Theon who spoke up. "You had us poisoned, knocked unconscious and dragged halfway across Essos," he paused a moment and his brow furrowed in confusion, "just to talk?"

The man heaved another great sigh, "I suppose it was a bit dramatic. But you see my associates in Braavos weren't completely sure about your identities and they thought that you were going to leave the city before they could confirm who you were they had to act quickly. They had no time to waste on trying to convince you to come to Pentos in a civil manor. They knew I would want to talk to you and the young lady." He said speaking directly to Theon. "So They made it impossible for you to refuse." Illyrio could see that Arya was about to say something more, when he held up his hand to forestall her words. "You don't have to believe me, in fact at this time I don't expect you to trust me. All I ask is that you hear what I have to say. After that if you choose to leave, I can send you on your way. I will not keep you here any longer than you wish. I will even pay for passage back to Westeros as…compensation for any ...inconvenience I caused in bringing you here. However once you leave my care you will no longer be under my protection. There are even those here in Pentos that would recognize a Stark daughter and a son of Balon Greyjoy and those people might not be as pleasant to deal with as me." With that said he turned around completely and started walking into the house. He called behind him, "come, I've had a meal prepared, and there is someone else that I wish for you to meet. Another…guest of mine."

Arya scowled as the man waddled into the house. "We can take care of ourselves," she muttered to herself.

Theon let a grim smile touch his lips. "Come on my lady," His hand touched her elbow and reluctantly she let him lead her in the wake of the fat man. "Maybe he isn't lying and he will let us go after we hear him out. The only thing we can do right now is to accept his….hospitality."

It didn't take them long to catch up to the fat man. Illyrio must have sensed them following, because he said to them without turning is head. "I hope my men treated you fairly. I know the whole ordeal must have been unpleasant and if time wasn't an issue I would have gone about the whole thing differently."

Arya had no interest in chatting with the large man. As they entered the main building of the estate. She left the task of talking Illyrio to Theon. His voice was rigid and the hand that held her elbow tightened its grip. He was trying to control his anger and perhaps a bit of fear, Arya could hear it in his voice when he spoke. "Yes, for being held captive we were treated especially nice. The food was good, we were comfortable for the most part, except for the chains that held us in place."

Illyrio chuckled. "You could hardly expect my men not to take the risk of your escape, their payment would have suffered if they had brought neither of you back. Although I see you are both uninjured, so perhaps a bonus is in store for them."

"You said that your people in Braavos weren't certain of our identities. Are you certain now?" Theon asked woodenly.

Illyrio shrugged his shoulders, "you answer to Arya and Theon. You didn't blink when I said your family names. I have no reason to question you now, but I do have a way to find out the truth."

After this last statement there was silence for several seconds, and Arya craned her neck around to see if Mouser had followed behind. It seemed the cat had been beneath Illyrio's notice, or if he had noticed her the man said nothing about the cat. Arya saw that she had stopped several yards behind them as they continued down the hall. Mouser seemed interested in a passage that branched off from the main one Illyrio was leading them down. Arya did not mind if Mouser darted off on her own, in fact she welcomed it. Perhaps she could use her unique ability of borrowing the cat's eyes to explore the fat man's manor if she had a moment alone. It could help when she and Theon made their escape.

Illyrio halted, thus forcing the two of them to stop, he must have noticed Arya's momentary distraction. He too looked down the hall, and saw the animal, but he showed no surprise. "I did notice that the men brought me an extra passenger." Arya frowned, he had seen Mouser and knew that she belonged to her. "Don't worry," he continued, "the cat will be fine." He said as the cat darted down the other hallway. "I dare say she's hungry, she's headed for the kitchens. The cooks will feed her well. I'm sure it will find its way back to you. I find such animals always return to their masters."

Again, Arya said nothing to the man, she just gave him a stony look. He didn't seem offended, he didn't expect the two of them to be friendly towards him, no matter how polite he was. They were meeting under stressful circumstances. Only time and explanations would turn their opinions of him and he doubted they would ever be friendly towards him. "Come on then, we are almost there."

It was only moments before he led them into a dining area. Arya's eyes took in the sheer size of it. There was one long table that was set with a very fine supper. It was hardly the sort of food that would be wasted on prisoners, rather it would be given to honored guests. Arya's eyes moved from the table to the one lone creature that sat at the end of the table. Her face twisted first into fear, then horror and finally anger. "What is he doing here?" She hissed to their host.

Before Theon could even look to the other person in the room, he felt her body go rigid beside him, instinctively he turned to look at her. Hearing her words and seeing the expression on her face his eyes followed her gaze to the person she was looking at. His heart thudded as it became crystal clear who Illyiro's Westerosi ties were and it did not bode well for either of them. His face also became a mask of anger. Despite the hideous scar that graced the man's face, Theon instantly recognized the blond hair and short, stubby stature.

"Tyrion Lannister." Theon managed to angrily spit out.