Welcome to Edit #626
Ygritte
It was a busy night for The Fist; the pub was crowded with students celebrating the end of midterms. Winter in the North was cruel but if you really wanted to be at the Wall—how some of the students liked to call the prestigious University—you had to bare it. But no one wanted to bare it outside, actually facing the cold, so, everybody generally ended up in The Fist, eating and drinking and whatnot.
Ygritte had managed to get into the Wall thanks to the Mance Ryder scholarship. Mance Ryder used to be a professor at the university until he had managed to make a fortune. After that he decided to start his own scholarships program, following his beliefs that education was not only for the rich. He had dedicated his life to giving scholarships to 'brilliant minds and entrepreneur spirits' as he called them; Ygritte being one of them.
The table of the crows blew up in laughter and Ygritte turned her attention towards them from her place in the bar.
Jon Snow was sitting in what was now his usual table with the rest of the crows. The Crows weren't kids with scholarship like Mance's. Crows was the name for all the kids that had got into the school with help and favours from higher ups. Those were crows. Crows like Jon Snow.
It was a well known fact that Jon's father was a school's benefactor and that his uncle was chief of some department: foreign relations or something similar.
Of course Jon had denied it, he had claimed that he had gotten into the University by his own merits; Ygritte knew he was just a crow.
Jon looked towards Ygritte's direction, probably feeling her gaze on him. Ygritte winked at him with a joking gesture, and the crow turned red as her hair. Ygritte couldn't help laughing at his embarrassment. This had been a little game she had been playing since the day they had met; flirting with Jon in order to embarrass him. For someone so handsome, the black-haired was ridiculously shy with girls.
'Like a Princess from a Fairytale, like Snow White,' someone had said, and since then he had never gotten rid of the name 'Jon Snow'.
Ygritte's attention was caught when she saw Snow smiling to his cell phone, walking outside the pub to answer.
'Uuuh, so Jon Snow has a girlfriend?' she wondered, without knowing why the thought made her throat clench a little.
But what she saw made her feel a little bit worse.
She saw Jon turn pale, and him opening his mouth, shocked, and for a second, Ygritte thought he was going to drop his phone.
"I'll be back," commented Ygritte as she stood up, leaving her place in the bar and walking outside, joining Jon "Hey, Lord Snow, everything all right?" asked Ygritte trying to lighten the atmosphere and Jon turned to her, still looking at his phone and with tears in his eyes, or so it seemed.
"My father died," and then he left his arm drop and stared at the floor.
Fifteen minutes later, Ygritte was opening the door of an apartment that was not hers.
"Wow! Still, boy," exclaimed as she saw the huge white dog was sniffing her. "Is this yours?" she asked
"Ghost," started Jon but left the phrase unfinished, and instead he let himself drop on the couch, soon followed by his dog, "I can't believe he is dead"
Ygritte sighed. She wasn't good with these kind of things: comforting people. Much less in something like that; her parents had died years ago and she had grown up with the idea that dying wasn't so bad.
We all have to die, but first we live, she had recited to herself over and over as she grew up until she actually believed it.
"I'll help you gather your things," and quick as a deer she entered to his room, took a bag and packed some shirts, a pair of jeans, socks, and whatever he was going to need. "We can still get a train," she muttered without noticing that she had just invited herself to the funeral.
As she closed the bag and walked towards the bedroom door she spotted some pictures on the night stand that caught her attention. Snow with a girl that looked like him, each holding a puppy, and she recognized Ghost. In the next one Snow was with two boys his age, the three of them laughing. There was one that looked like his birthday with the boys, the girl and two kids, there was also a redhead girl smiling. The last picture was Jon with his father in what looked like his high school graduation.
'He looked just like him' Ygritte took the bag and walked out of the room. She was relieved to see that Jon had stood up and had now Ghost on a leash.
"Time to go," sentenced Ygritte throwing Jon his bag, who caught it awkwardly "We can still get a train, is not that late.
"...what?" was all that Jon could say. He looked at her confused "You are... I thought you would just... I mean, weren't you just going to drop me by the station?"
"You know nothing, Jon Snow."
.x.
It was a calm trip, but Jon seemed nervous for Ghost
"I don't think he likes this"
"Then you know nothing, Jon Snow," answered Ygritte smiling and she reached her hand to scratch the dog's head, which was resting on her legs.
"You know? I saw the picture of him as a puppy," Ygritte commented, trying to start small talk, "It was a really cute dog."
"Yes, we never thought they were going to grow this much"
"They?"
"Him and his litter, we found them, me and my brothers—Bran and Robb— and Theon, a family friend. I don't even know how we managed to convince my father to let us keep them. One for each kid, but Lady—my sister's dog—died... a car hit her a year ago."
"The girl with the puppy?"
"No, I think you are referring to Arya; my little sister. Sansa is older than her, she is a redhead"
"So... You, Arya, Sansa and Bran"
"Who is younger than Arya"
"So... Robb is the little kid?" she guessed "The youngest?"
"No, that's Rickon; Robb is almost my age..."
Ygritte tried to recall the pictures... the one with the three boys; she had thought that they were his friends but one looked like Sansa, Ygritte supposed he was Robb, and the other Theon.
"Wow, your parents didn't have a TV, right? Six kids?" Jon shifted, obviously uncomfortable
"Well, five kids. I am" he struggled with the words "I am just their half brother" he muttered, avoiding looking at her.
Congratulations Ygritte, you just put your foot in your mouth
"My mom got pregnant but never told my father... who met Catelyn and married her right away." The words were coming out slowly, and in almost a mutter, but Ygritte didn't interrupt, "she got pregnant with Robb almost immediately, but when I turned two my mother got sick and contacted my father, he took me in. Then she died... My mom. Honestly I don't even remember her"
Ygritte was slightly shocked. First, because she was sure that those were not things he told everyone and second because...
"And here I thought you had such a perfect life"
In other circumstances Jon would have laughed.
Jon told her more about his family; how Brann loved to climb trees until he broke his leg, how Arya and Sansa fought. He told her about Theon, who wasn't his brother but used to live with them, and Robb and his long time girlfriend.
He never mentioned Catelyn, who seemed to have a strangled relation with him.
And she didn't dare to ask about his father.
.x.
They arrived to the station and took a taxi to the Stark's house who lived north of the city, almost outside the city
In other circumstances Ygritte would have admired the houses—mansions—or the surroundings that were almost forests but she could not rip her eyes off of Jon who shifted nervously in his seat.
The moment they got out of the cab, Ghost ran towards the door that opened without the necessity of knocking.
A blue eyed man received them
"Robb" greeted Jon, "How is everyone doing?" asked as they entered the house; Ygritte saw a grey dog even bigger than ghost, wrestling with the white dog.
"Arya and Sansa cried to sleep, Rickon cried a little and then locked himself in his room and Bran has barely been seen..."
"Robb" called a voice from what Ygritte supposed was the kitchen "Who is there?"
An older woman with blue eyes and long copper hair walked towards them and Jon stiffened; she was Catelyn.
"I... am so sorry" said Jon, fighting to find the words and look at her at the same time. Catelyn got near him, "I am so sorry for your loss" said Jon with a broken voice
Catelyn placed a hand on his shoulder very softly
"You look so much like him," she answered "like your father"
Jon held her hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. With that, Robb thought it was better leaving them alone, and Ygritte didn't know what to do.
Thank the Gods, Ghost caught Jon's attention.
"Oh, I am sorry, what's your name?" asked politely Catelyn
"I am Ygritte, Ygritte Wilde. I am so sorry for your loss"
"Ygritte is my... classmate" Jon said, unsure on what to call her.
"Oh... I see" Catelyn smiled softly at her "I didn't expect any visitors, so I don't have a room for you..."
"Oh, please don't bother" started Ygritte
"Mrs Catelyn it isn't necessary really"
"I could go to a hotel"
"She can sleep in my room" stated Jon then, quickly, shut his mouth.
Catelyn simply raised her perfect brow.
Sansa
The campus was everything she had dreamed of and more
Sansa Stark was finishing her touristic visit to King's Landing University; that even if it was on the other side of the city was the perfect University in Sansa's eyes
Well, almost perfect.
Her ex-boyfriend, Joffrey Baratheon was studying there.
Sansa had decided to ignore that small detail; at the end of the day he was in a different major and one year above her. She didn't have to see him, or that's what she thought
Sansa was walking besides a green area with tables for students to sit and eat when her cell phone started ringing. It was Robb;
"Oh God Robb, the campus is..." Sansa was already prepared to give her 'this School is so perfect it screams my name' speech when his voice cut her off.
"Sansa, you have to go to the hospital right now, Dad had an accident"
"...what?" for a moment Sansa didn't understand what her brother was saying
"He is not very well Sansa... They don't think he is going to make it"
Robb's voice sounded so scared and tense that while Sansa's brain hadn't yet finished processing the information, she understood it was something serious.
The next second she was kneeling in the ground and she could barely breathe
"Sansa?" the phone fell to the ground; Sansa's hands were shaking so badly she could not retrieve it.
"Damn it, Sansa, what is wrong with you?" a gruff voice asked, and she saw someone kneeling besides her and helping her retrieve her stuff and picking her phone "What the hell is...?" Sansa looked up and saw Sandor Cleagane; a friend of Joffrey's., Sandor hung up and looked at Sansa "Your father"
"I have to go to the hospital" Sansa said, her voice emotionless. She picked up her car keys and managed to stand up.
"You can't drive like this", do you even know in which hospital your father is?" Sandor scowled, grabbing her elbow and supporting her so she didn't fall again.
He pulled her as softly as he could and she followed blindly.
"I'll take you," he offered and Sansa responded with a nod.
Sandor was Joffrey's best friend, or so Sansa had thought at the beginning of her relationship with the blond jerk. Sandor had confessed that he was more of a bodyguard than a friend; his father worked for Joffrey's grandfather and 'one thing had led to another'.
At one point of her relationship with Joffrey, Sandor had gotten a job with Joffrey's uncle, Tyron Lannister, but even though he stayed close by. When Sansa finally managed to be dumped by Joffrey—since he didn't accept the fact that she had tried to dump him—and she stopped going out with that group of 'friends', Sansa still saw Sandor, especially since Tyron constantly needed to deliver something urgently to her father and he didn't trust it to his efficient but clumsy assistant.
Sansa liked Sandor in general, she couldn't call him her friend; but she was slightly fond of him.
If she could use her head she wouldn't understand why he was helping her, but she could only think of Robb's word "They don't think he is going to make it"
Sansa clutched at her phone and pressed it against her chest.
"Is he going to be fine?" she asked in a whisper
"I don't know, little bird, I really don't know"
Sansa knew that Sandor drove as fast as he could, probably even faster then what was legally stipulated but still, the trip felt like an eternity.
Sandor pulled in front of the hospital so Sansa got down the car running. She ran and asked for her father to the nurse in the front desk, then ran to wherever someone directed her, she ran like never, but still she knew she could not be fast enough.
She saw Arya first; she was sitting in the hallway, blank expression on her face but tears running down her cheeks. Then she saw her mother and Robb, she walked to them.
"...Mom?" she whispered and Robb only shook his head "No? No what?" she asked as she felt her lungs begging her for air "No what Robb? Where is dad?"
"Sansa he... he didn't make it"
"No, you are wrong, I... I saw him this morning, I saw him before I left the house... I saw him today" her voice was breaking and she felt something warm on her cheeks "I... I am going to find him, I am going to look for a doctor and find him and I will see him and us..." her voice cracked and she turned on her heels and started walking as fast as she could without breaking into a run.
She was sobbing. She was sobbing and she never noticed she had gotten out of the building until a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Sansa?"
Never Sandor's voice had been so soft, and Sansa turned towards him.
"I saw him this morning, I talked with him on the phone about school, he... he can't be gone"
Sandor guided her back in, where she sat with Arya, Bran and Rickon.
"I could take you home" offered Sandor after a while; her mother and older brother would be held on the hospital for paper work and arrangements for the funeral.
In a moment like this Sansa thought bitterly
Bran thanked the offer, and helped with Rickon, who had channelled all his sadness into anger.
Arya followed silently.
The trip on the car was silent and fast. Her siblings went out of the car and Sansa stayed in the front seat, alone with Sandor
"I don't want to go in"
"What?"
"...I..." Sansa took a deep breath to avoid her voice of cracking and continued "I know him... I know he is not going to be in there but..." she turned and looked at Sandor, directly in his eyes "but I can't help but feel that this is a nightmare, that I am going to get in there, and my father is going to be waiting for us in the table, commenting on how the dinner got cold... how we kept him waiting..." she let out a shaky breath, and tried to calm down, "I don't want to go inside"
"I can wait"
Sansa nodded, avoiding his gaze and looked at her cell phone, which was in her hands
"I want him to call, I want him to call" she whispered Sandor didn't say anything; he just waited, and let her cry. She cried for what it felt like hours, and she wasn't sure but Sandor may have told her soothing words, and may have held her hand. He asked her to call him, if she wanted to talk, and Sansa thought that he only had said that to be polite. But since when did Sandor care about that?
She tried to sleep, but she could hear Rickon's cries, and Bran going out the window. When she heard a car pulling over, she smiled. Dad is home! She thought for a second, for just a second. She was so tired and for just a second she had forgotten what had happened earlier.
So, she grabbed her phone.
"Yeah?" ah low voiced answered on the other side of the line, "what's wrong?"
"I just can't believe he is gone"
Arya
Saying that Arya was the first one to wake up would be a lie; to wake up one had to go to sleep and she hadn't slept in the whole night, but as the sun shone in her room she had jumped out of bed. She took a glance at her hair, that lay on the floor. She had chopped her hair the night before; between the tears and pain. The moment she saw her reflection in the mirror, she knew Sansa was going to kill her.
Without thinking Arya dressed herself with a big hoodie that at some point had been Jon's and loose jeans. She took a hat and noticed that she almost looked like a boy.
Great this is as good as it gets, I guess.
She went out silently and started walking, not caring where she was going. She took a bus and went downtown, before she noticed where her subconscious was guiding her to the bus took a turn in a not so very friendly neighbourhood...
And she got down there.
"Look, the little kid got lost" said a blonde kid who was accompanied by a fat boy, both were her age or slightly older. She had been walking for 10 minutes now and was still very lost, "Is that why you are crying, baby?"
"Leave me alone"
"How brave, what are you going to do if I don't? Cry to your daddy?"
Her fist connected with the fat kid's face in what could only be a new record. The next second the blond had thrown himself at her, knocking her to the ground.
"What the hell is happening?!" a voice boomed and the blond stood up immediately.
"He hit me!" cried the fat boy, pointing with chubby fingers at Arya, who stayed on the floor.
"In what I bet was a well deserved punch, so fuck out before I make you!"Said the voice and Arya saw a shadow looming over her. A face came into view "need a hand?" he offered. He had blue eyes and black hair and he looked Robb's age
"I don't need your help" she spat as she stood up"
"Whoa, sorry my lady" he said jokingly and she stared" "What?"
"I thought I really looked like a boy, they bought it"
"I am not half as stupid as they are" the boy laughed but Arya kept looking at him wearily, "Right... sorry about them; they are not usually such an assholes; I guess they just wanted to show off or something... thinking you were weak or something, but hey! Awesome punch! Hot Pie is probably never going to forget it!"
Arya smiled despise herself "thanks"
"A smile, much better" he smiled at her "I am Gendry"
"I am Ar... Arry"
"Arry?"
"Yes, why not?"
"You know it's obvious that that's a fake name, right?"
"That kid's name is Hot Pie!" Gendry chuckled
"To be honest, I don't know anyone who knows his real name" he confessed "So, what is a lady as you doing in this lowly neighbourhood?" he asked mockingly and Arya stiffened. She didn't knew why she had come here, she had just wanted to be there.
"Mall... I was going to the mall and... I got lost... I wanted to fix my hair," she lied, "there was an accident, with my hair"
"Which mall?" she shrugged "Anyway, I can assure you, you are pretty lost"
Arya bit her lip Well you got yourself into this one
"I took the wrong bus and when I realized it I was pretty far and... and I am out of money" she admitted
"...How were you going to pay for the haircut?"
"I didn't know I didn't have my wallet with me, stupid!"
Gendry laughed
"Well, aren't you something else? You shouldn't insult people who are bigger than you" he said trying not to smile
"Then I couldn't insult anyone, could I?"
Gendry laughed again
"Okay, that's true," he looked at his watch and sighed, "I know someone that can help you, if you want to get that haircut, she won't charge"
Arya bit her lip and finally accepted
"Thanks that would be nice"
"Are you going to tell me you name now?"
"No, I am still Arry"
Gendry took her to a small hostel, not even a block away from where they were. 'Acorn Hall' read on the door, and they were greeted by and older woman, who after hearing Arya's story cut her hair.
"I have to go back home" Arya sighed, Gendry had bought her breakfast and they had been chatting for a while.
"I'll take you home" he offered
"What? No, there's no necessity…"
"How do you plan to go back if you don't have any money?"
"I'll take a cab! I'll pay once I arrive home"
"Don't be silly. I'll take you on my motorcycle"
"My mom is going to have a heart attack" she muttered to herself but didn't made any attempt to change Gendry's mind.
They climbed on his motorcycle and Gendry told her to hold onto him. He turned in a corner in order to take the main road when Arya saw it. The place her subconscious had tried to guide her all along. A light post was slightly bent and there were tire marks but besides that, there was no other indication of what had happened the previous day.
Gendry must have felt her tense because he turned a little, just enough to glimpse at her.
"Everything alright?"
"There was an accident here"
"yes," Gendry answered even if Arya hadn't asked. "He is a good man, I hope he makes it" Arya held on him tighter
"You knew him?"
"Yeah, client of the garage I work in. Nice guy"
Arya tried to hid her face on his back and muttered "Take the King's Road, to the North"
Gendry didn't said anything else, and Arya would only instruct him where to go.
It was not until they got to the very nice neighborhood in which Arya lived that Gendry talked again
"You were really lost, right?" he asked with a chuckle.
The front door banged open, and a stressed looking Sansa ran towards them.
"Arya!" she cried "Oh Gods, where were you? I told mom you didn't want breakfast and I think she bought it but you need to get ready now!" she grabbed her sister by the arm and started pulling her towards the house "Thanks to the Seven Heavens you have your hair done" but as soon as she spoke the words she stopped "What happened to your hair ?"
"I got a haircut, obviously"
"You look…" Sansa started doubted
"Nice" stepped in Gendry "I think you look nice," he said and smiled to Arya
"You look so grown up" finished Sansa, with a soft smile "Finally stopped looking like a nine year old" she turned to Gendry "Sorry, do we know each other?"
"Oh, no, sorry. I am Gendry," he greeted "your sister's friend"
Arya couldn't help to look at him with a raised brow Friend?
"Oh, I suppose you are coming to the funeral?" Sansa asked with a soft smile, but before Gendry answered Arya cut in.
"No, I already took too much of his time, he needs to go back to work" Arya said, finally pulling her wrist from her sister's grip, "right, Gen?" This time Gendry raised an eyebrow at her "Right Gendry?"
"Uh, yeah… I am not dressed to… funeral" he said awkwardly but Sansa smiled
"No problem, we still have some of Robb's jackets, I am sure you will fit in one" Sansa said as she placed herself in the middle of Arya and Gendry and started pushing them both to the house and Arya mouthed 'sorry' to him.
.x.
"So, Arry, care to fill me in?" asked Gendry as they waited outside for her brothers to come down
"My name is Arya, stupid"
"I know, but I like 'Arry'" Arya muttered stupid under her breath and Gendry sighed "Please?"
"It's my father, Ned Stark, the man from yesterday's accident? He didn't made it."
"I'm sorry"
"It's not you fault" Arya sighed "and I am sorry to drag you into this, you really don't have to go"
"No, I want to," he said "No, I mean—I knew you father, he was a good client, I mean, a good man that was a client" he hesitated on what to say next, and stared at his shoes "He was nice, he always asked about my studies and chatted with me"
They stayed silent for a while until Gendry said with a lighter tone;
"And what kind of friend would I be if I didn't go?"