Game of Gendrya

You Will Wed a High Lord

In the morning, just before dawn, Gendry awoke to a missing Arya. Her wool had made a strong imprint on his chest, meaning she couldn't have been gone for long. "Arya?" He softly called. His voice was groggy and rasped from a comfortable nights rest. He looked around trying to find his small friend. "Arya?" He rasped again. He hadn't gotten a response. Where was she? He walked around. The smell of the burnt out fire made his eyes water and his throat sore. He heard rustling in the bushes behind him. When he turned around, a rock hit him square in the face. "Ah! What the hell?" He put a hand to his forehead and heard soft laughter. Rolling his eyes in distress, he walked towards the bush to find Arya picking some ripe blue berries. He grabbed her by the wrist as she hysterically cackled. "S-sorry.. Sorry Gendry." She laughed in between breaths, trying to catch her own. Gendry's face was serious, but seeing her so amused made his expression soften into a slight smile. He let go of her wrist where blueberries were held. Softly rubbing his forehead where a small mark was left, she quickly changed the subject. "I found a bush. They're delicious!" She said still amused by her own doing. "Okay, but are they safe to eat?" He asked questionably, now sounding concerned. After all she had ingested berries that may make her sick. " Yes, my Septa used to give them to us when our work was well handed." He had forgotten she had a Septa. He even forgot she was a girl sometimes, although that one was much harder to forget. When he didn't say anything she decided to fill the silence. "Which for me.. wasn't too often." They began to laugh in unison. How can such a noble woman be so.. Arya? He found himself asking this question more than he wasn't. He had heard stories about girls like Arya, but this small girl was the person who made Gendry believe the stories to once be true. "How much farther will we be to Winterfell?" He asked questionably. "Not.. Not far. No. Not far." She sounded insecure about her own answer. "It's okay not to know." He smiled. She glared up at him, even more insecure about his genuine smile. "You don't always have to be right." He began. "But-" she started protesting, but Gendry shot back. "But nothing. Arya, you don't have to. You especially don't need to be right in my regard." She looked at him as he continued on father. "No.. Especially you" she thought. Her feelings for this particular man began to become stronger. Last night, while asleep on his chest, something had sparked inside of her, even faster and warmer than before. She wanted to be near him. To touch him. To impress him. She just nodded in response, and continued on wearily. She wasn't too sure on what she was feeling, and neither was Gendry.

By mid-noon Arya was already feeling tired again. She woken earlier than Gendry. When her eyes opened she only saw his bare skin under her cheek. She had stayed out on his chest for more time awake than she should have, but when she felt as if she needed to escape she did. She went to find the pair breakfast, taking needle with her. At the time in the early dawn, no creatures were about. Arya groaned as she spotted the small bush of beautifully snow kissed berries. Stuffing some into her mouth first, the familiar taste brought her home.

Sansa was stitching a small rose onto a garment her mother had made for her. "Beautiful work. Just beautiful." The Septa praised. Sansa would smile bright and sweet, earning a plump berry from the ceramic bowl Arya often gazed over. When Septa would look at her stitches, however, she would only get looks and taps of disapproval. Arya would roll her eyes, and when not looking, she would escape from the cramped room of giggling girls praising each other's stitches. She'd remember upstaging Bran while arching, hitting the perfect bulls eye she knew he longed to achieve. Jon would laugh and-

"Arya?" Gendry had broken her soft memory. "Are you alright? I've asked like.. a million questions." He teased, smiling his bright smile. "Yes. I'm fine. I just choose to ignore you!" She shot back, sending a playful punch his way. "When you aren't running your mouth, what're you thinking about?" She asked Gendry in a questionable tone. "The Wall. Winterfell. Food and sleep, where we will find it." And you he thought. Always you. "What do you think about?" He asked in a more serious and quiet tone. "My brothers. Mother. My father, even Sansa. Sometimes I think about Syrio." Gendry's eyes widened. Syrio? Was that a boy she was interested in? "Syrio? Who's Syrio?" He asked quickly. "My dance teacher." She looked up at him. Gendry was taller than her, but not by much. She began smiling and cocking her brow. "How come you care so much?" She teased. "I..Don't. I just.. Never heard such a stupid name before." She shot a glare his way instead of a smile. "Syrio taught me everything I know. He was a knowledgeable teacher, I looked up to him." He saw he had offended her. "Sorry." He said waving his hands in a sarcastic voice. In truth he had felt bad, but he didn't want to show how vulnerable he was to her feelings.
Some time later, when most anger had subsided, Arya found her hand reaching towards his. Owls hooted and wolfs howled, usually something that would comfort her. Now they just seemed a distant memory that had scared her. She stopped her self from reaching too far, but when Gendry swung his hand further, her hand touched his. His hand was as big as two of her own, calloused, and patched with dirt and scrapes.. Yet it was the most comfortable feeling hand next to her father's. She quickly pulled her hand away.. Gendry looked down and smiled at her. He reached for hers, taking it into his large palm. She looked up at him in complete horror. Had he wanted to hold her hand, too? Surely he was not scared of some forest creatures. She looked up at him with huge, innocent, eyes. "What're you, scared?" She asked in a mocking tone. He just smiled larger. "Must keep m'lady safe at all times." He said in an almost drunken voice. He wasn't patronizing her, it was almost like it was an excuse to touch her. She looked at him in a confused state of mind. Just as she was about to open her mouth, another wolf howled. She squeezed his hand tightly and squinted her eyes, flinching. "It's alright. It's just another sign of reaching Winterfell sooner." He comforted. "Usually I have a horse. I want to ride my horse.." she whispered. She sounded like a whining child. "When you reach home, you can have anything you want." He offered. She smiled at him as he pulled her closer, keeping her safe and stuck to his side. "Gendry?" She began. He looked her way and raised his eyebrows the way he always did, wrinkling his forehead in the process. "What do you think will happen when I.. go.. home." Gendry thought about it for a second. She looked at the hard, snow littered earth, waiting for an answer. "Well. I think.. I think that your brothers will welcome you with open arms. Your mother will be there, too. You will have a huge feast in the honor of your return, and gifts will be sent your way from everyone in the village," he smiled, looking at Arya's small smirk. " A huge sword, forged with the best steal available, will be honored in your name." When he opened his mouth to continue, Arya budded in. "And you'll forge it for me." She said as if it were a matter of fact. "Well.. we'll see about that.." he whispered back. "What about when I'm older?" She asked, hungry for more of the imaginary perfect life. "Well. You'll wed a high lord, right in Winterfe-"
She scowled at him. Still holding hands, he looked down at her. "I will never wed. Especially someone my family chooses for me." He looked. At her and smiled. "But you will.." he whispered. "I'll kill em' before he tries anything!" She squeezed his hand once again. The thought of Arya killing a man she did not want to be with was not as far fetched as it seemed, and it seemed to make Arya smile. "You're an odd little lady." He teased. Arya thought for a minute. "So are you." Gendry looked down at her in a confused and curious matter. "I'm a lady now?" She giggled and let go of his hand, now sweaty with her own sweat. She ran farther above in the path. "Arya! Get back here!" He laughed as he ran after her.
Arya had never felt so free with the snow hitting her flushed face as she ran. "Catch me. Catch me and hold me.. don't let me go." She thought to herself. She had held hands with him. Why did it feel so right? Why was she so nervous? She was not Sansa.. So what was happening?
Gendry managed to catch up and jump on top of her. "Gendry! Gendry! Stop! The snow! It's so cold!" She laughed. He pinned her down and looked straight into her eyes. "I'm not a lady!" He said almost mocking her, like the first time she said it. She just laughed as his hands grasped around her wrists, held tightly to the snowy ground. "Gendry I'm cold! So cold!" She said breathlessly. "Kiss me. Kiss me, please kiss me." She has surprised herself with this thought. He stared straight into her eyes. He looked at her chapped lips, suddenly having an urge to combine his with hers. He began to lean in and.. HOOWL
A wolf boldly sounded from the forest. She turned her head away from his, looking to where the sound came.
Slowly he got up off of her, holding a hand out to help her up.
"It's getting late, the area is covered in wild wolves." He said awkwardly.
She just nodded in response. Slowly they carried on throughout the path, thinking to themselves.
" What the hell did I just do? She's only a..No. She's Arya Stark of Winterfell. Far too good for Gendry Waters, a smith in Kings Landing." Gendry thought solemnly
"Stupid wolf.." Arya thought, once again surprised by her own thoughts.