Arya Snow and Gendry Waters: Just Two Bastards

The Touch

Arya Snow. Arya could hear these words in her head. Only, they weren't her words. It was Melisandre. Arya Snow. She turned around, hoping that she wasn't imagining it.

"Arya Snow," This time it was real. This time it was Melisandre. "Arya Snow. The bastard of Winterfell. It's been a while since we last spoke."

Arya turned around. "You said we'd meet again. Why? Why me?"

"You have the touch. Ah, you do not know," Arya did not. "You, Arya Snow will bring the dawn." Melisandre said, touching Arya's cheek.

Arya furrowed her brow and parted her lips. "What does that mean?"

"It means you will shut many eyes forever."

"I already have." Arya was getting annoyed.

"There are more yet. Brown eyes, green eyes..." Arya nodded, "... and blue eyes."

Arya was about to say something else when she heard a loud bang coming from behind her that pulled her eyes away from Melisandre. When she turned back around to speak, the red woman was gone.

Arya made her way back to her rooms and changed into her night's clothes, a small, silk dress that barely covered her knees. She made her way to the window and looked down at the godswood and smiled. Before she could turn and climb into bed, she saw a strange shadow dancing on the snow by the heart tree. She narrowed her eyes to see if she could make out what it was, but she couldn't from just the shadow.

Arya quietly left her rooms and ran to the godswood, where she hoped to find the shadow. When she stepped into the snow, she realized she wasn't wearing shoes. She looked up at her window and thought it was too late to go back. By her fifteenth step, she could hardly feel her feet anymore.

She stood where the shadow had been. It was cold. Really cold. And colder than that. But she could endure. She looked up at the castle, and a few windows down from her's, she could see Gendry, smiling at her.

"What's milady doing in the snow with her nightgown on?" He laughed. She looked down to see that, my gods, I'm barely wearing anything!

She tried to cover herself with her hands, Gendry took this gesture as her telling him that she was cold. So he left his window to bring her his cloak.

She smiled when she thought that he had gone to bed, but the smile she wore only cracked her lower lip that was turning blue. Must be colder than I thought. She spun around five times and on the last spin, she came face-to-face with a giant mouth with giant sharp teeth. An icy breeze passed between their faces. Arya's lips were bluer than before.

Gendry had just passed through the doors leading to the godswood when he heard a howl. His eyes widened and he ran as fast as he could to where he had last seen Arya. He stopped when he saw the side of her and the side of a giant wolf, staring at each other.

Gendry was terrified for her. He began to creep towards the wolf when Arya smiled. He paused. Why the hell is she smiling?

Arya held her hand out to the beast and whispered, "Nymeria." The wolf smelled her palm, and then licked her palm. Arya smiled wider and a tear froze on her cheek. This time, when she smiled, a drop of blood fell from her frozen lip. She wrapped her arms around the big wolf. She was warm, she had always been warm. But she wasn't warm enough. Arya shivered. This time, it was her hands that she couldn't feel. Gendry began to approach them when he stepped on a twig and made the wolf turn to him and snarl. She was about to take off when Arya stumbled in front of the thing, shaking like a kicked pup.

"Nymeria, no." She commanded. "He's a friend. Do you hear me? Friend." The wolf sat, but she did not trust Gendry just yet.

Gendry was shaking, "What the fuck just happened? Arya, I- what is that? I nearly pissed myself just then. I hope you know that."

Arya giggled and coughed once, but Gendry wasn't kidding. "This is Nymeria, my direwolf."

"You have a direwolf?" Gendry said with his mouth hanging open wide. And just like that, a surge of icy air came rushing past Arya's pale face, and her mouth opened to scream, but it was too late. When the white wind calmed, Gendry saw Arya laying on the ground, her direwolf nudging her.

He ran to her and knelt by her, not sure if he should touch her or not. When he looked down at her blue lips and pale face he thought, fuck it, and took her in his arms. He wrapped his cloak around her, but her eyes were closed.

"Arya?" Gendry shook her a bit, but her eyes stayed put. He picked her up and rushed as fast and as quietly as possible to his rooms. The direwolf's howls could certainly be heard throughout the castle, but Gendry didn't care.

He laid her down on his bed and rubbed her arms, trying to warm her. He tucked her in tight and lit candles, but nothing seemed to wake her. He felt so guilty, he should have been there sooner, he should have given her his cloak the second he found her. And he wondered what came over the godswood, the ice wind, the white air... he hadn't the slightest idea. He felt so guilty that he started to cry.

He didn't want her to die. And it wasn't because they had been friends in the past, although that was part of it. She meant something new to him. After all this time, they found each other. He remembered when they parted, and she told him they could be each other's family. He couldn't see it then. He saw now. She was the only family he had.

"Arya," he croaked. He lowered his head to her chest and sobbed into her.

Arya's eyes opened and she looked down at Gendry, crying. Arya... Arya, please... he kept saying. She lifted her hand weakly and held his. He jumped when he felt the coldness of her colliding with the warmth of him.

He looked at their hands in disbelief, and then up at Arya. He held her hand with both of his tightly and pressed his lips to it. She smiled and reopened the cut on her bottom lip. Gendry used his thumb to wipe the blood off her chin.

Arya's smile disappeared. She was confused then. "What happened to me?"

Gendry looked concerned. "You went to the godswood-"

"Yes, I know that bit. I meant, what happened to me?" She looked around the room. She recognized this room. Tears formed in her eyes. "Why are we here? Why did you bring me here?"

Gendry was the confused one now. "You- there was a gust of wind, and you- you just fell. What do you mean why are we here? Why are you crying?"

"This room belonged to my brother. Rickon." She tried to adjust her position but fell right back down. Gendry helped her to sit up. "Gendry. I saw... something. In the ice storm. A man."

Gendry looked scared. "A man?"

Arya shook her head. "His face was blue and he looked cold. He touched me; grabbed me." She lifted up her nightdress to show him. There was a handprint on her waist. A black handprint.