The ship rocked gently beneath them as they sailed northwards, the wind favoring them, speeding their journey north. Still, already there was a bite to the air that hadn't been present in Kings Landing or Dragonstone…the chill of winter. It was enough to make Davos pull his cloak a little tighter around himself as he walked along the deck, his gaze fixed on a solitary figure leaning casually against the railing, gazing northwards.

"Are you going to explain to me why you were so quick to join this fool's errand?" Davos asked Gendry as he drew level with the younger man, leaning against the rail in an identical manner to Gendry.

Gendry shrugged, "I told you in King's Landing, I needed to do something that wasn't making Lannister weapons."

"Uh huh, and what else?"

"Isn't that enough?"

"Why didn't you do as I told you, about leaving your identity a secret?" Davos enquired. Gendry shrugged, before looking back over his shoulder, towards where Jon was standing.

"You've never met him before, he's never been to Kings Landing before, what sort of loyalty do you owe Jon Snow without you ever having met him?"

Gendry sighed, returning his gaze northward, and Davos couldn't help but notice that the younger man's gaze seemed slightly clouded over with tears.

"I owe you my life, I would be dead if I'd stayed at Dragonstone with the Red Woman. You asked me for help, you were one of the only ones to show me any kindness my whole life, of course I would do anything you asked."

"Alright," Davos allowed, "that explains why you're here, now why did you tell Jon the truth about who you are?"

Gendry looked down at his hands and took a shaky breath, "because I couldn't bring myself to lie to a Stark."

Davos frowned, "What have the Starks ever done for you? Especially to inspire that sort of loyalty."

"The only other person to ever show me kindness…my best friend. I abandoned her, and now she's dead. Ever since I heard about what happened, when I was back in Kings Landing, I've blamed myself. Chances are I wouldn't have been able to save her, but every day I think of the look on her face the last time we saw her, as the Red Woman had me taken away. She knew we were never going to see each other again."

"In Stannis' dungeon you said you'd never talked to a woman," murmured Davos, remembering his short conversation with Gendry, reminiscing about growing up in Flea bottom.

"She wasn't a woman…not yet anyway. At first I just found her annoying…that was before I knew who she really was. I was the only one that realized she was a girl, I confronted her on it, and she told me who she was. I couldn't believe we'd all been pissing in front of her…cussing in front of her. She'd never let on that she was highborn."

"Who?"

"Arry…Arya."

"You…you know Jon Snow's sister?" Davos choked out in surprise.

Gendry nodded, "After Ned Stark was executed there was a group of us that were supposed to go and serve at the wall. Yoren, the man of the Night's Watch that was supposed to take us up, was going to drop Arya off at Winterfell along the way to the Wall, but we were ambushed by Lannister soldiers, and Yoren and some of the others were killed. The rest of us were taken to Harrenhal. I won't go into much detail about what happened there, but Arya arranged our escape. The three of us headed north, heading towards Robb and his army, or, failing that, Winterfell itself, and failing that, the Wall, where Arya hoped to find Jon. She was always talking about him, her favorite brother, she said. Anyway, we were taken in by the Brotherhood without Banners…they had no idea who she was, until the Hound was captured, and he recognized Arya. They decided that they were going to take her to her brother Robb Stark, and Arya asked me to go with her, serve her brother, as a Blacksmith is the Northern Army. I said no, that with the brotherhood I would have a chance at having a family, where nobody would care that I was a nobody from Kings Landing. She said that she could be my family." Gendry chuckled and shook his head, "I told her that she couldn't be my family, she'd be M'Lady."

Davos stood in silence, watching Gendry's face, the emotions warring across the young Baratheon Bastards features.

"Then the Red Woman came, and the Brotherhood sold me to her…they were no different to all those other highborn bastards. Arya watched as Stannis' men carted me away…alone…scared…with the Brotherhood without Banners. When I got back to Kings Landing I heard about the Red Wedding, how all the Starks had been killed at The Twins, betrayed by the Boltons and the Freys…and I knew that she was dead, and that I should have stayed with her, tried to protect her. She saved us by getting us out of Harrenhal, and how did we repay her…by abandoning her."

"Arya Stark is alive, Gendry," Davos offered in a gentle voice. Gendry's arm slipped off the rail in shock and he stood bolt upright.

"What!"

"Aye, Jon received a letter just the other day from Winterfell. Lady Arya is back at Winterfell, safe and sound, or, well, as safe as sound as anyone can be with what is beyond the wall."

"She…she's alive?"

"Aye," Davos nodded, "And let me tell you, Jon very much wanted to visit Winterfell on his way North and see her."

"She…she made it back home to Winterfell. It's all she wanted," Gendry smiled, "well, that and to kill the people on her list

Davos frowned at the comment, but chose to ignore it, guessing there was some sort of story or inside joke there, "so, that was why you were so quick to trust Jon, because you'd heard his sister talk about him."

"And to try and make up to her and her family for how I abandoned her, even when she asked me not to."

"If it makes you feel better, I know the Red Woman…even if you had chosen to stay with Arya, she wouldn't have left you roaming the country. She wanted you, Gendry, and nothing would have gotten in her way. Baratheon blood was getting increasingly more difficult to find. Even now, from all accounts I've heard, you might well be the last Stag left."

Gendry looked at his War Hammer with the antlers marking it as his, "I never wanted to be legitimized; I know that I'm a bastard, I don't need some name of a man I've never met."

"And yet you let Jon Snow know right away who you were."

"I wasn't going to lie to Arya's brother," argued Gendry,

"No, and I respect you for that," Davos agreed, "What I meant was…don't feel bad about what happened between you and the lass. Even if you had chosen to stay with her the Red Woman would have still taken you away from her, and any sign of loyalty shown by you to Arya may well have put her in more danger than she was in already. If she'd been taken to there is no guarantee that she'd be back at Winterfell right now."

Gendry nodded, visibly relaxing, and going back to gazing northwards, "Do you think I'll ever see her again?"

"Assuming we survive this mission, it is a possibility. I must admit, I would like to see Lady Arya myself. Jon was quite shaken to hear she was alive, and your own story paints her in a favorable light."

"If you do get to meet her, don't call her 'm'lady,'" Gendry advised with a chuckled, "it is likely to get you pushed over…at the least. She's small, but she's got a short temper, and she knows how to hurt someone."

"I'll remember that," Davos replied, "I just have one more question."

"Nothing good ever came from asking questions," Gendry sighed, and Davos had a feeling it was somthign Gendry had said to someone before.

"Why haven't you told Jon about knowing his sister?"

Gendry coughed, and looked sideways at Davos, "are you mad? Tell him, the King in the North, that I a Bastard Blacksmith, was friends with his sister, that I traveleld with her, slept beside her…not like that…" gendry quickly added, although his cheeks tinged pink, and Davois blinked.

"You…you were in love with her."

"No..it wasn't love. We were both too young for that…especially her."

"But…now?"

"I….I don't know. I think about her every day, every night….she way she used to call me names, the way she used to try and bluff us out of situations…her stubbornness…her bravery."

"You admired her, and it might well have one day turned into love, once you were both older," Davos summarized, 'it doesn't make you a criminal, and I daresay that Jon would be happy to hear some stories about his sister. Besides, it's a long voyage to Eastwatch…how else are you going to fill the time, gaze broodingly out at the sea?"

"Maybe."

"Or you could tell Jon…and why, here he comes now, no time like the present."

"What" Gendry almost yelped, whipping around to see Jon Snow approaching the pair of men.

"Your Grace," Davos greeted with a respectful bow, "excuse me, I was just going to check on some things below deck. I'll leave you with Gendry here," Davos clasped Gendry on his shoulder, before he walked away, leaving the two younger men, the bastard of Ned Stark, and the bastard of Robert Baratheon, to discuss their shared connection…the young Lady Arya Stark.