Vickon
He woke in a daze, unsure of where he was but he remembered how he got into this predicament.
It was a fairly calm day as they finished there journey to get to Myr. The captain of the Golden Company met them and it seemed this would be a lucky day without trouble, then one night while he was talking in revelry with his men, then out of nowhere he and his entire crew was under attack.
He fought with as much effort as he could, fighting these swords in the dark.
"Where did they come from?!" He demanded of Arya who was no slouch and glared right back at him.
"I don't know. I killed the Waif, the House of Black and White must still want my life. And now yours, I believe." That's great, it was bad enough that they have to fight an army of the dead, but now a group of highly lethal assassins? This all too much.
He looked around at the dead, his crewmates that didn't die when his father ambushed them during the war for the Iron Throne.
These assassins have to die, every each one of them.
Because in their attack, they took something precious from his ship, his most prized possession other than his ship and ax.
They took his daughter, they took Alissa.
Hours Before...
They were celebrating, the Golden Company had agreed to be bought and taken across the Narrow Sea. It was a victory for him and for his allied Queen.
The first sign of attack was black balls of smoke, he remembered that only the Braavosi used them. Hearing the loud stomping of a party, he called for everyone to get their weapons ready for combat.
These men and women had faces he'd recognized, but were dead, meaning these people are Faceless Men. He snarled and attacked the first man he saw, these people think they can defeat an Ironborn King and he will make them all pay for their ignorance.
In the fighting, he discovered that these people are a slippery lot. They know how to evade his strikes, but not Arya's it seemed.
The girl was battling two at a time, beating them back with little effort and he found himself a little envious, but still fought hard.
Using pure strength, he battered the man he was fighting until the bastard lost his weapon and he dug his ax deep into the fools shoulder. His cried out suddenly and turned back to whip a younger assassin in the face with a closed fist and stabbed the dead man a dozen times.
He was bleeding, but it could be bound and he can move right in a day.
After a few moments, the assassins retreated, jumping from the ship and into the sea. His crew jumped for joy, but they'd lost eight of their crew in the attack.
Only a moment later he found out his daughter was taken, Alissa was gone.
Hours After...
It took almost an hour but he and the other's buried the dead beneath the sea, to join the Drowned God in his halls of mermaids. After that he began walking towards his cabin and readying for a witch hunt, hearing footsteps he turned to face Arya Stark, she was worn, a bit of blood still on her cheek from one of the assassins.
"You're going after them?" She asked him and he wanted to shout, of course, it's his only child. After her, he, Theon and Aeron are the last of their line, bastard or not.
"Why, are you going to try and stop me?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm, yet the girl's face didn't change in expression.
"No... I'm going with you." He scoffed and she didn't budge, not once.
"Absolutely not! If you are killed then your bastard brother will kill me, or try to, anyway." He uttered the last bit humorously, mockingly even, as if he'd let himself be killed by boy younger than himself.
Arya refused to stay behind, so he sighed in defeat and readied a wide search party, these assassins might be able to change their faces but they can't hide his daughter so he'll be finding every child within this city.
Alissa
She can't see where she is. She can't see who has taken her.
They keep speaking in a strange way, referring to themselves as 'A man' or 'A woman'. She doesn't understand it at all and is terrified of these people, so much that she is shaking so bad that one would believe she was cold or wet from water.
She wants her daddy, wants him to come to save her from these men who killed friends she'd known since she was born.
"A girl is crying." One of the men said to her, hearing her low sobs and the wet tears coming down her cheeks.
"Take me home... I want my papa!" She wept as he took the blindfold from her head and she saw a man dressed in a Greyjoy's armor, a silver streak in his hair.
"The Faceless God has debt for your father, a man and a girl must give their lives for your return." The man said to her and had the blindfold placed back over her.
Moments later, she was tied to a post and forced to sit down. The last thing she heard was the shutting of a cell door, then she openly cried and shouted for freedom.
Arya
"This is impossible! There are 10,000 soldiers in this camp and thousands of children in the city. How are we supposed to find them?" Arya asked and huffed when Vickon ignored her, his eyes were on every child and girl Alissa's age.
She hasn't seen anything like this since he snapped at her the other night, and his drive is something she understands all too well.
After her father's execution. She searched high and low for her family, she went looking for Robb and her mother only to see them die.
She has to make sure history doesn't repeat itself, Alissa will be saved even if she has to kill Jaqen to make it so. A sigh escaped her lips and continued to follow Vickon through the camp and heading into the town, and behind them is more than 400 Ironborn soldiers which then split up into groups of twenty to look through the settlement, the townsfolk began running in fear.
She would have too, long ago.
Three hours pass by, still nothing on Alissa. She saw a child running with a cloaked man and gave chase, they ran down an alley and cut into a secluded area.
The shuffles of feet caused her to take out Needle, she gasped a little when her eyes landed on the man she was looking for.
Jaqen H'ghar.
"Is a girl 'no one' or is she who she has been? A man is confused." He didn't speak like he was, and he was smiling. She narrowed her eyes on Jaqen, eyes of fury.
"A girl is Arya Stark." She said, waited a moment and continued, "You sent the Waif to kill me. Knowing I wanted no part in the House of Black and White. You knew I would die or become what I never wanted to be." She added, emotion spilling through on the last friend she has, mainly because everyone she's known is dead or became a traitor.
Gendry, taken by the Red Woman. Hot Pie, she never truly expected to see him again, not after the Red Wedding. Her father, brothers, mother, they are all gone. Jaqen is- No, was her friend until she refused to kill Madam Crane, he betrayed her as so many had done to her family.
Now there is Alissa, Baelor Blacktyde, Vickon Greyjoy. Half of the crew on the Silence became close to her over this voyage to pick up the Golden Company, many died the night Jaqen and his assassins attacked. That act of aggression made Jaqen an enemy, just another person on her list to send to death.
"The Faceless God took your name, a man cannot change that, no more than one can change that list of yours." She glared at Jaqen for using that against her, hated him for it, actually.
She decided to get to the point of this, stepping forward she pricked Jaqen's chest ever so slightly with Needle's edge.
"Where. Is. Alissa?" She demanded slowly, he looked at her with zero change of expression.
"A child is safe. She is not the Kraken we want." It took her a moment to realize before she was gone, running up the alley so she may find Vickon.
All the while, Jaqen watched her leave and gave no notice of following.
Vickon
He is getting anxious, panic is setting in as he seems to look at every child as if they were his own.
Alissa is somewhere, cold and crying and waiting for him to get her but he is failing in that regard. His is failing as a father, a father should be there for his little girl.
"She should be here!" He snarled and looked through another abandoned house, "Search for her!" He roared at his company.
They were afraid, and they should be. He will draw and quarter a hundred men for their failure to find their Princess, and send them to the Drowned God. His breathing became hard as he felt even more compelled to find his father, but another half of him cannot wait to find the Faceless Men who took her.
He will tear them apart, make them feel his rage and tear their false faces from their heads. He'll bring the full might of the Iron Islands on the House of Black and White and bring an end to the Faceless Men.
"Your Grace!" He turned and saw one of his men aboard the Silence, Felius was his name, "Come! I think I've found her!" He didn't hesitate and followed with his men.
The man led him and ten others down a narrow street, it was a quiet place no one, not even a street animal was seen as they entered a wider area. He assumed that this was a slum of sorts, where the homeless and the whores make their business.
Yet his daughter was nowhere to be seen, he narrowed his eyes on Felius and raised his ax on the fool.
"Is this some sort of joke? Where is she?" He demanded of Felius and the bastard turned to him, a smile grew and kept on growing as he pulled out two daggers.
"No, this is no 'joke'. King, Vickon." No more words were said before six assassins came from the shadows and came at them.
They were caught by surprise, but he wasn't going to let it bother him. He took out his dirk and began doing battle against the fake Felius, trying to keep up with the quickness that these assassins have. He grunted as his wound from earlier started to bother him, it was itching pain that he was in now but his daughters well being meant more to him than his health.
Hearing cries of pain, he turned to see four, no, now five of his men being laid to waste by just three of the Faceless Men. Out of the six attackers, only two have been killed in return of the five lives he lost just now.
Blinded by his rage he threw down hard on Fake Felius, knocking the mans two dirks from his hands and using his own dirk to stab into his chest five times and sent the man to his death. His victory was short, he turned an was stabbed in the stomach twice, would have been a third if he didn't kill the bastard first.
His men were dead, he was wounded and bleeding a surrounded by four Faceless Men after a fifth was slain by him. He sighed, is this really how he is going to die? By the cowardice of shadows in the dark? He groaned and readied to give his best fight, that he could.
"Vickon!" He heard a woman's cry, turning left he saw Arya running toward him.
"Saved by a girl half my age, the Drowned God must not favor me." He jested and coughed, she didn't look at him, but he did see the smile on her lips.
"Oh shut up, and stay behind me. I'll deal with them." Arya said to him with such conviction, he was reminded of his cousin's bravery when they were children.
She moved with such ferocity, her moves fluid and agile as she practically danced around the assassins and when one was getting too close, they were quickly cut down and he'd finish them off with his ax. There was one more left when out of the alley, Baelor and Zolar along with forty men entered the slum and reversed what the assassins had done to him and his fallen comrades.
"Come on," Arya told him and extended her hand, he smiled and groaned while pulling on Arya's extended hand, closing the distance slightly and he stared into her eyes.
"Thank you... Arya." He said huskily, either from his wounds or the closeness he was, she blinked and nodded.
"No thanks needed, Vickon. Any warrior would do to the same." She said to him and he found him looking at the Little Wolf in a new light.
This wasn't some runaway looking for a quiet place to be forgotten, as he found her back in Braavos.
He sees it clearly, now. This was a girl, no, a woman who wants to make a name for herself. She wants to be greater than her ancestors or family had been, he sees a girl who doesn't want just vengeance for her fallen family, she wants to make a difference and defend those she cherishes.
"Nonsense, if I were a more 'Kingly' man, I'd possibly knight you and name you to my very own Kingsguard." He offered, she looked at him like an idiot and he chuckled.
"The Ironborn don't believe in knights." She pointed out, "Nor do they keep a Kingsguard, that would make them look weak." She pointed out again, and he nodded.
"True, now." He turned away from this conversation, still holding on to his wound, though Baelor had a few men begin patching him up, meaning Arya made him sit.
He sighed and stared at the bound assassin, looking at him with eyes and a face that wasn't his own.
"Tell me... Where is Alissa." It wasn't a question, but a command. This man's life is his and WILL end it, once he has what he needs.
"I'll tell you nothing!" The assassin said, and he snarled.
"... Fine."
Arya
In the past, she would have abhorred torture.
Yet this man knows where Alissa is, so did Jaqen if Vickon wasn't also in danger because the Faceless God chose him.
First came the fingers, and the assassin cursed and laughed at them. Next came his ears, Vickon left one so the assassin could hear him, but the fool still held on to his silence. Viskon lost his patience a little, taking a tool and gouging out both of the assassin's eyes, after that, however, the man finally started to yell for mercy.
She couldn't see any more after that and climbed the upper deck. She can handle torture, aye, but to see it at that point becomes too hard to bear for her, for anyone for that matter. Anyone except for Vickon and Zolar, it seems. She won't be an idiot and say she doesn't understand him or the pain he is going through.
A father will do anything to protect his children, her father had done the same shortly before they were betrayed by spies who reported to the Queen. She regretted not leaving home that very night with her family, to abandon the King and the South to their own chaos. If only she- She turned suddenly to see Vickon climb out of the lower deck, his hands and stomach, and knees bloody with red that wasn't his own, Zolar followed behind.
"Get some horses, we ride out immediately!" He gave the command, she followed and stopped him.
"Wait!" He turned to her, his face red and wet, dried blood across his left cheek, "You are wounded, walk any more and you risk of an infection." He surprisingly calmed down, and she almost thought he was going to listen to her, but then he frowned and eyes narrowed.
"Then let me. So long as my daughter is safe, I could care less about my health." He walked away and off the ship, she sighed and followed and twenty others.
They rode out in minutes, the location was a small place not far from Myr, it was used for wine and poison trafficking. Vickon rode his horse hard, whipping it to its flesh when it started to slow down. When they arrived, she saw him hop from his horse and march right up and throw the door open.
She gasped slightly, seeing that Alissa wasn't here, but the Kraken Pin Vickon gave her was on the ground. The Kraken King knelt slowly, picking it up and closing it in his hand. She felt pity for him, and anger at Jaqen, it was her fault for not killing him when she had the chance, but if she had? They would be putting a King to rest and there is no doubt that the Ironborn would abide by the pact between Houses Targaryen and Greyjoy.
Fury showed in Vickon's eyes, pure rage and despair and wet tears fell from his eyes.
The Faceless Men have begun a war with a man clearly capable of bringing an end to Dynasties, given he destroyed his father's fleet, defeated the Lannister's, took Volantis and brought the Slave Fleet to heel. On his ship, she was told of his accomplishments, that and his years spent on Sothoryos, a place she might never want to visit.
A War of Annihilation has begun, and she knows of one who will win.
But another War calls them, it is calling North.
Miles North From Myr
A little girl, asleep and unknowing of where the strange man is taking her.
Alissa wants to go home, but the man says she cannot. She asked why and he told her that his god has plans for her, given to him when his people were sent to the Stranger. She asked where he was taking her, worried about her fate and if she will ever see her father again. The man looked at her and named the place they were going, and she frowned in fear.
"Braavos, girl. To the House of Black and White."