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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
|Word Count: 15,293|
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩. It had been a day since the delivery of supplies to the Stark loyalists, though the young man's mood hadn't improved since. When the rest of the men learned he was one of King Robert's bastard children, they subtlety treated him with more respect, perhaps because the boy seemed like a spitting image of the late ruler in his youth.
"You've been quiet ever since we've taken you in, Gendry." Geralt muttered, leaning back against the nearby wall while the boy sat on a nearby cot. "I know you're not happy with this..."
"Considering I never had a say in it..."
"Yet would you have agreed to leave if I asked you?"
Gendry didn't answer, only fiddling with the bull shaped helm, the same one Geralt had seen him working on in the past. The boy stared at it before glancing up back to the Witcher. "So what about the others?"
"Others?"
"My other brothers and sisters. The other bastards of my father?"
Geralt didn't answer, gaze drifting off to the small dirty window that just showed the open harbor outside. "Nothing we can do for them. Too many to track down...too many with families and livelihoods here."
"So, you're abandoning them." The boy's tone was accusing, spiteful.
"What would you have me do? Trounce into every damn brothel and poor household that Robert decided to lay in?" The Witcher answered back sternly. "I'd like nothing more then to get them to safety, but the risks are too great.
"Then why bother with me?"
"Because Robert went to great lengths to keep you safe and cared for." Geralt shifted from the wall, pacing closer to the boy. "When I questioned him about you, he showed such regret. Deep down he wanted to properly raise you but couldn't because of the risks it brings." Stopping before Gendry, he'd hold one hand out for the helm, the Gendry hesitating before handing it over for the Witcher to examine.
"I just wanted to stay at the workshop...finish my apprenticeship and start my own blacksmith."
"Life is never simple Gendry. I don't expect you to rise up as the next heir to the Kingdoms...that isn't the life you want. Hopefully you can continue your craft once we're safe with your Uncle or in the North." He'd set the helm beside the boy before moving for the door. "Still, more Kings and rulers could do with your good heart..."
