Gendrya

Goldcloaks

A fortnight had passed since their first night. Arya was getting used to her new identity and all the jobs that came with it. She cooked and washed the men's clothes in streams. She was respected, and she was desired. Most of the men gave her looks when they held their plates out for food. She stared, straight-faced back at them. They all sat together while Arya made dinner. They talked about Hot Pie, mostly. Arya and Gendry would pretend to be overly interested in his stories. It brought the two closer. 

During their trek, Arya and Hot Pie played a game. Hot Pie would assume something about Arya and she would pinch him if he was wrong, and vice versa. 

"Your mum is a whore," he said. She pinched him. 

"You've never been with a girl," she said. He pinched her and Arya gasped. 

"You're lying."

"I swear it."

Gendry nudges Arya's arm and they both laughed. 

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Hot Pie asked. 

"It's not," Arya said, calming her breaths. "Who was she?"

"She uh... had brown hair and...grey.. eyes. She was very beautiful."

Arya hummed. 

"She sounds familiar," Gendry said, looking at Arya. This made her smile. 

"What was her name, Hot Pie?" Arya asked. 

"A.. Lana," he chuckled. "Yeah, Lana."

"She sounds lovely," Gendry said. 

"Ana," Hot Pie said. "You like to sing."

She pinched him. "You're thinking of my sister. Always singing about love and men and summer," she mocked. 

"Where's your sister?" Hot Pie asked and Arya's brain froze. Shit. 

"Gone," was all she could muster. 

"Right," was all he said. 

They reached camp that night and Arya began to set up for dinner. Gendry and Hot Pie started to wander off to find firewood when two horses came running towards camp. They were cloaked in gold armor and so were the men riding them. Arya knew right away. She ran to Gendry and Hot Pie and hid behind a large fallen tree. 

"Get down" she pleaded. "Now."

"Why?" Gendry asked. 

"They know I'm here," she said to Gendry.

"Who?" Hot Pie asked. 

"The gold cloaks, Joffrey, Cersei," she was breathing heavily. "They're here for me."

"Why are they looking for you?" Hot Pie asked. 

Arya peaked over the log. 

They could hear Yoren talking to the man. 

"Were looking for a girl. She's go black hair with grey eyes. She's short and skinny," he yelled to everyone. 

"We've only got one," someone yelled back. He didn't know Arya's true identity. "She's Yoren's daughter."

The man in gold looked at Yoren, "Where is she?"

Yoren looked around. "She must be somewhere. She's got yellow hair, though. I don't suppose she's the one you're looking for."

Gendry furrowed his brows at Arya after hearing Yoren lie about her. 

The gold cloak looked at his partner, who shrugged. The man growled and smacked the back of his horse. They rode off. 

Arya stood up and found Yoren's eyes. He walked quickly to her. "Let's hope they don't come back around here. But Joffrey won't stop looking. He needs you now more than ever.  If we see them again you better be out collecting wood with these two," he gestured to Gendry and Hot Pie, who were listening intently. 

"Did he say anything of Sansa?" Arya asked. 

"She is still betrothed to Joffrey. I don't know how long that will last though."

Arya knew what he meant. Sansa is just a pup, and pups cannot run with lions. Yoren began to walk away.

"My father," she stopped him. "Are they sending him to Winterfell?"

"I don't know," he looked sad. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," it wasn't. Neither was she. 

She followed the sound of the stream. Gendry followed her. 

She perched herself upon a rock. She knew Gendry was there but she didn't mind. He sat beside her. 

"Your name isn't Ana," he said. 

"No."

"Yoren isn't your father."

"No."

"Your sister-"

"Yes."

"So that makes you-"

"I'm Arya Stark."

"You're a lady."

She sighed. "Can you just pretend you didn't hear anything that Yoren said?"

"No, I can't," he said. "Everything is different now."

"How?" she asked. 

"You're brother is King in the North, and your sister is going to be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms."

"So?"

"So?" he mocked. "You're a lady... you're a princess."

"Don't you dare," she laughed. 

"What? I can't keep calling you Ana."

"You will keep calling me Ana," she commanded. 

"Of course, my princess," he bowed his head. 

She hit him on the shoulder.

"Alright," he smiled. Then he stopped smiling, "You're not a bastard."

"No, I'm not."

"But I am."

"Where are you going with this?"

"I shouldn't be talking to you," he stood. "I should be polishing your shoes. And you cook dinner! You shouldn't be cooking dinner.."

"Gendry," she grabbed his hand and made him sit across from her. "I like how things are. I'm not a lady and I'm certainly not a princess. So please, don't treat me any different."

"As my lady commands," he smiled. 

She gave him a stern face. 

He put his head down, "Sorry."

Arya laughed at him. 

"You're-" he laughed too. "You really made me nervous."

She smiled. "You can't tell anyone."

"I won't. I promise," he was serious. 

"Thank you," she whispered. Their faces were inching closer and closer until they heard leaves being crushed by a certain fat boy. Arya flinched back and whipped around. 

Facing him, she said, "Hot Pie, what are you doing?"

"I've got to take a piss."

Arya was annoyed with herself. She stood and said, "We should head back."