Arya had once sworn she would never forgive Sansa, and she had thought she would never see her again. Yet now Sansa stood at the gates of the Red Keep, alive and well, all in one piece.
Her nose stung, and tears welled up. She could no longer hold them back. Wiping her eyes, she ran over and crashed straight into Sansa's arms.
The impact sent Sansa stumbling backward. Fortunately, Jeyne hurried over to steady her, but Arya hit her with such force that all three nearly fell.
"You've gotten fat, Sansa," Arya said, her voice muffled against Sansa's chest and thick with tears.
Sansa held her, crying too hard to speak. Her hands roamed over Arya's back, touching her leather armor, her short hair, and her thin shoulders.
She wanted so badly to say, "You've gotten thin. Why are you wearing this? Where have you been this past year?" But in the end, she still could not get a single word out. She simply kept crying.
Standing beside them, Jeyne cried at the sight of the sisters' reunion too. She wanted to reach out and stroke Arya's head, since she had grown up with her as well, but she drew her hand back. In the end, she only rested it on Sansa's shoulder, gently comforting her.
Then Arya lifted her head from Sansa's arms, looked at Jeyne, and said, "Jeyne, you've gotten fat too."
Jeyne immediately laughed through her tears. This time, she reached out and stroked Arya's head. "You look like you've grown up quite a bit, Arya," she said warmly.
Sansa finally found her voice too. Gently cupping Arya's face, she wiped away her tears, then smoothed back her wind-tousled short hair. "Arya, why are you dressed like this? And your hair-you look like a little boy."