The lady and the bull
NB: There the link of one of my videos on YouTube. A friend told me it could fit this fiction. watch?v=8HDgbH0RNe4
As usual, Gendry went to the forge before the sunrise. Once again, his nightmares have woken him up and he had been unable to go back to sleep. Quickly he lighted a fire which enlightened and warmed the forge. Winter was finally here and seemed ready to stay… Gendry was born during the long summer and never knew about winter and starvation and death, all these things the cold bring. He chilled and sat down next to the fire, watching the flames. And he closed his eyes. Soon, pictures of his nightmare came to him again. The she-wolf. Arya Stark. She haunted his dreams and his nightmares since she disappeared few weeks ago. He often wondered where she was, if she was alive or if she found her family. Sometimes, he deplored he had not followed her. He perfectly knew she was able to get herself out of difficult situations but he did not like the fact he did not know for sure if she was alright. He was repeating himself it was only gratitude: after all, she saved his life and instead of running away, she followed him to Harrenhal.
He sighed and remembered their first meeting. Just in front of King's Landing's gate, surrounded by men and orphans recruited by Yoren to join the Night's Watch. When he first saw her, he thought she was a weird little boy… But he quickly understood she was a little girl. He swore he will keep her true identity secret. Then she revealed her name. Arya Stark, from Winterfell. King's hand's daughter who had been sentenced to death for treason. She did not look at all like a highborn lady as he imagined them. She actually looked like a tomboy able to fight, hit and insult, no matter how big the enemy could be. She was a nasty kid.
He laughed a little.
In his dreams, she was here, she was laughing –it did not happen a lot and Gendry often wondered how it'll sound like- and she was calling him "stupid" or "bull-headed boy!" He'd replied calling her "milady" and bowing. In his nightmares, she was disappearing in the night. His brothers from the Brotherhood without Banners supposed she ran away –she already tried after all! He did not. She left the room and he followed calling for her but she did not turn. She was angry because he was leaving her, her pack, like Hot Pie already did. Why was she unable to understand he just wanted to be useful?
He lifted up and began to smith. A sword. Just like she wanted him to do for her brother, the king in the North. But it was her sword he was forging. She never said a word about it but he noticed she was very careful with it. It was taken from her in Harrenhal and she had some difficulty using the ones she stole when they escaped. He was about to forge the twin of the one she had lost when she disappeared. She-wolf could not wait… Anyway. He was still forging it. He will give it to her when they'll meet again. He could not consider the fact he may never see her again. He could not explain it but he just knew –or desperately hoped- it was not the last time…
So he kept on forging. Hours passed but he did not want to stop. The Sun had risen for a long time now and Gendry guessed it should be about midday. His stomach began to rumble but still he did not stop. Tirelessly, he waved his hammer and cut down until he gave the blade the shape he wanted. He loved forging, giving some shapes to the metal… For a second, he regretted the loss of the great helm he had forged for himself before he had to run away from King's Landing. It was because of this great helm he was called "bull". It was stolen from him in Harrenhal. This thought angered him so he pursued forging, more decided than ever.
He did not hear someone opened and closed the forge's door but he ended up noticing someone was staring at every move he made so he stopped. The blade was finished. It was just like in his memories. As skinny as a needle. He will manage to make the hilt later.
He turned and saw Jeyne, sat next to the fire. She was taking care of the orphans who lived at the Crossroad's Inn, under Dondarrion's protection. She smiled at him.
"I brought some food." she said. "You've been here for hours and you ate nothing since last night."
He thanked her and sat. He began to eat.
She was still staring at him.
"You look tired.
- I am.
- Don't you sleep?
- Not for long."
She kept quiet for few minutes. Gendry glanced at her. She was a little older than him –no more than a year or two- but smaller. She was a slender girl, pretty and nice and he was not naïve or blind enough to not have noticed she liked him very much –even if he pretended the contrary. She was a brown-haired and a dark-eyed girl and she had some freckles on her cheeks.
"Nightmares?" she asked.
He nodded.
"About the she-wolf?"
He looked at her with surprise. Jeyne never met Arya; Gendry never thought she even knew about her existence… Except if Lim talked to her about the wild child who broke his nose… Or maybe it was Harwin. He knew Arya since her childhood after all. Sometimes, he came here et told him about Arya' s past in Winterfell and about her family, especially her bastard half-brother, Jon Snow, the one she preferred.
"How do you know?" he asked.
"You screamed her name once, she softly answered. Not too loud but my bedroom's next to yours so I heard. Arya, that's it?"
He nodded.
"You loved her?" she said all of a sudden.
Gendry choked himself with the bread he was eating and Jeyne had to hit him in the back.
"She was a kid, he mumbled. Just a kid… Well, not a real kid… More a she-wolf to speak the truth… With such a damned temper. But she saved my life sometimes. She was pretty wily for a highborn lady… Look like she was afraid of nothing. A real boy-wolf."
"I see…" Jeyne said with a comprehensible smile.
"I did not like her!" he strongly assured.
She kept on smiling and anger was invading him. To speak truth he had a bad temper as Arya's. If he told he did not like her, it was the truth! He worried for her and wanted to be sure she was alright. That's all. Moreover, as he already said, she was a kid, barely ten. And she was a high woman, a lady. Or she was supposed to be…
"She was like a sister, he said. Or a little brother. Something like that."
Jeyne had a little laugh stood up and went to watch the blade he had forged the whole morning.
"So skinny…" she murmured.
Gendry bite his lip to not reply "as her!"
"Will you give it to me? Jeyne asked. I always wanted to have a sword!"
He frowned and simply said no. She said she would buy it when she'll have money, he still refused.
"That's for her?" she asked coldly. This she-wolf… Still her, always her!"
He clenched his fists but did not answer.
"You're wasting your time." She said gently. "She left and she won't come back."
"You do not know her!" he replied with a glare.
It did not impress her; she stood in front of him, hands on her hips.
"Whether she left or she was stolen, she is not here anymore. Now you are a knight, Gendry. You have to think of the ones who need you and who are there."
He grumbled something beyond understanding and she left the forge. For a moment, he stood still gazing at the blade he spent the morning to forge. Was Jeyne alright? Was Arya lost? Should he forget her? He was reluctant to do so. They lived many important things together after all! A she-wolf was not a thing he could easily forget. She accepted him in her pack; can he leave her all alone? Hasn't he already done that?
He frowned and grasped the hammer.
Forging a sword for a girl he would never see again was totally useless and stupid, right?
"Stupid bull-headed boy!"
He jumped with surprised and looked around him. He was all alone and then he would have sworn he had just heard her voice! He stopped, raised his hammer, ready to knock out any enemy who would dare to approach.
"You could have made swords for the King in the North! You could have helped my brother! Stupid bull! Bull-headed boy!"
He laughed. He could almost imagine her, standing in front of him, screaming and about to hit him.
"You were my pack and you left me! You could have helped me!"
He stopped laughing when the voice stopped shouting. How stupid he was… How did he ever think, even for one moment, she was gone forever?
He raised his hammer and hit the metal.
"As milady commands!" he murmured.
Gendry forged without any break until the sun sets. When it disappeared behind the mountain, Gendry had finished his sword. He waited for the metal to cool down but he was so impatient to handle it! He could even try the weird positions Arya took when she thought nobody was watching. Stand on one feet and immobile for example. He tried, in the darkness of the forge, but managed to keep the balance only two seconds. He fell and cursed. He was barely back on his feet that the forge's door was opened. He was ready to send Jeyne away but stopped when he saw Lim and Harwin. They left with lord Beric and few others few weeks ago, Gendry did not know why. Nobody knew when they were supposed to go back and Gendry did not expect them to be back before few months. The blacksmith had to admit that without Lem, the meals at the Inn were boring and without Harwin, he had no more tales about Arya's childhood.
"I did not know you were coming today." he said bowing the head.
Harwin nodded. He seemed to want to smile but his lips did not obey. Even Lem seemed to be different.
"What's going on?" Gendry asked.
"It's pretty cold here, sir Gendry, Harwin said. Don't you want to talk at the Inn?"
It always sounded awkward to Gendry to be called "sir". But it was enjoyable… He glanced at the fire and moved some branches rekindling the flames.
"I'd rather stay here."
"As you want."
Lem and Harwin came closer and examined the sword Gendry had been forging the whole day.
"Don't touch it!" he shouted. "The metal hasn't cooled down yet."
"That's a really good work, sir Gendry." Lem said. "You're a good blacksmith."
Gendry was wondering why they came to see him. Probably not to talk to him about his work…
"Perfect for a little girl's wrist…" Lem noticed.
Harwin seemed to wake up and looked right into Gendry's eyes.
"Arya-Underfoot?" he asked.
Gendry nodded. Lem looked away from the sword and his eyes went to Gendry.
"I guess she would have been happy."
According the tone he used, it was clear he was still mad at the little girl for having broken his nose.
"She will be happy." Gendry swore.
Then, he understood Harwin's look. He clenched his fists.
"We just came back from the Twins." Harwin said. "It was proven the Hound took her with him. They were seen on the roads. The Hound wanted to rob her to her family at the Twins. Arya's uncle was supposed to marry a Frey girl…"
"What happened?" Gendry asked.
He did not recognize his own voice.
"It was a trap." Harwin pursued with a cold anger. "It was a miserable trap to get revenge for the Young Wolf's wedding… All of them were murdered."
Those words were simple yet Gendry did not seem to understand them. They were resonating in his mind but too hard to understand… He felt just like someone violently punched him right in his stomach in slow-motion.
"Was Arya there? Have you found her?"
"They were all killed, Gendry."
"Did you see her?"
"No." Lem admitted. "But we do know they reached the Twins…"
"If you haven't found her, it's because she's still alive!"
He was sure about that. He could not explain how, but he just knew. Probably because they lived so many adventures together and he saw her manage to get herself out of trouble. This was just another adventure.
Lem shook his head and Harwin murmured "I wish you were right…" They went to the door.
"That's not over." Lem said. "We brought lady Stark back with us and lord Beric is dead. I mean really dead this time. Harwin asked Thoros to give her life back the way he did for lord Beric but Thoros said no. According to him she was dead for too long. So lord Beric kissed her. And she came back to life. And Beric died. We'll leave in few days to look for some Freys. Our lady Stoneheart wants revenge."
The blacksmith heard every word but it was like those words did not want to mean something. It was just nonsense. The only thing he understood was that the she-wolf disappeared once again. He realized that he had hope lord Beric and his men will find her and bring her back.
They closed the door behind them. Gendry chilled and realized the fire was almost extinguished. Some little sparks were burning on the wood, but there were no flames anymore. Anyways… As long as they were sparks, fire could live again.
He came closer to the sword. Metal was shining. He seized the hilt. The metal was cold now. He judged the balanced and the weight and was satisfied. He did some moves Arya used to do and rip through the air. He smiled.
"My lady." he murmured. "I'm sure you'll be satisfied with this sword."
He bowed.
He laughed out loud when a draught came to whisper "stupid bull" in his ear. He will find her. Someday. Or she will find him. He was certain.