No Dream Better
Disclaimer: I've just checked and I'm not George R.R. Martin or HBO. Enjoy!
Day 4:
Dream: an aspiration or goal or a person's mind during sleep
Dreams are normal. Everybody had dreams. Dreams they remember, dreams they forget, dreams they hide away, confusing dreams, happy dreams, sad dreams. Dreams that they tried to bury deep, deep down in the catacombs of their soul. Nightmares.
And everyone had this dream. Well, not this specific dream, but a dream like it. The dream that was spoken of in whispers. Everyone, once in their life, when they needed it most, would have this dream.
The dream where they came face to face with their true self.
-A&G-
She was in a forest. But not just any forest, she was in the Godswood at Winterfell. Even after all this time, Arya still recognised it. It wasn't just the look of the forest, it was the feeling that came with it. She felt safe and calm, wrapped up in comfort between the trees.
The last thing she remembered was falling onto her small bed in an inn in Braavos. She had been tired and cold.
But now she was warm and fully alive for the first time in months. She knew what this dream was. Everyone knew what dream it was when it happened. When she asked her mother, all she had said was that 'you just knew'. Arya had thought that was complete rubbish until now. She knew exactly what this dream was.
She hadn't expected it though. She had been fine in her life. Was fine with being alone and travelling through Braavos, learning quicker, faster, deadlier ways to kill someone. The Gods must have disagreed. It was 'their will' that decided what happened.
Instinctively, she moved forward, into the middle of the forest. She was compelled to, a force pushing her towards the heart tree. She took in her familiar surroundings, the weirwood trees, the leaves on the ground, snow falling, direwolves foot prints in the snow. It felt like home.
She was just a small way from the heart tree when someone walked round from the other side of it. It took a few seconds for Arya to realise that she looking at herself. She halted to a stop and brought her hand to where Needle should have been. Except it wasn't there.
Her other self looked the same as Arya now. She wasn't any taller or shorter, any fatter or thinner. Her hair wasn't longer, shorter, still the same old rat's nest. Needle at her side, she was wearing her normal trousers and tunic, not a dress. They were dirtied, she had clearly been adventuring. The only thing different was the smile painted onto her face. A genuine smile, kind and wide, full of happiness, not her usual smirk or sneer. This smile was sincere.
Before she had time to move forward anymore, closer to her 'true self' and question her, someone else also came round the tree and stood by her side.
Gendry.
The realisation it was him, knocked the air out of her, gasping in disbelief and she stumbled backwards. His name was continually playing over and over in her head, that she started to think that maybe the trees were whispering it to her.
And Gendry hadn't changed either. Not taller or shorter, not fatter or thinner, same black hair and blue eyes, a hammer at his side and the same clothes on his back. And he was smiling. By her side and smiling a bright smile that she rarely saw before. That he only wore after she had something really funny, making him laugh so hard his sides hurt and he'd fall over. Afterwards he would just look at her and smile so bright like she was the best thing he'd ever seen. Every time he did that she felt like the most important thing in all seven kingdoms and beyond.
This was what she saw. This was what the Gods wanted her to see.
They wanted her to see her standing in the Godswood with Gendry by her side. Together, side by side, flushed against each other. It was only now that Arya realised that their hands were tightly intertwined.
Everybody could ask questions in these dreams. Question what they were being shown. Ask what it meant. Beg for guidance. But no words came out of her mouth when she opened it to speak. Nothing.
And they did nothing either. Just kept standing there, holding hands, smiling, looking back at her.
Time just stopped.
Arya wanted to ask everything, but the words wouldn't come out. It was hard to think that her true self was just her, standing in a forest with Gendry. The idea was so simple. Arya always knew that was the person she wanted to be. She wanted to be having adventures in the forests with a sword just for her and not being forced into a dress and being 'lady-like'. That wasn't her. But apparently, her true self was with Gendry.
Several minutes had passed when her other self finally spoke.
When Arya heard them she was even more confused. She had only said three words and they were probably the simplest words out there. Nothing special. But this sentence seemed so special. It was like a key unlocking a giant secret. Seeing her confusion, the other Arya repeated herself.
'Here with him'
They kept smiling at her, even when Arya felt like they were being pulled away from her. The distance between them was growing and her feet were stuck to the ground on which she stood. Further and further away, this was what the Gods wanted her to see and now they were taking it away.
'Here with him' her other self kept saying.
Arya turned around looking for a way to move towards them, get more answers, finally ask some question, beg to know what they meant, but there was nothing she could do. Only stand there, listening to the same three words.
'Here with him'
The trees around her started to go back, as if they were being stretched away from her, leaving Arya in the centre of a circle with nothing to do. But the three words kept on repeating.
'Here with him' the wind whispered.
'Here with him' the heart tree sang.
'Here with him' her other self called out again, shouting it loud and clear, and despite the distance it felt like she had shouted it inside her head.
'Here with him'
'Here with him'
'Here with him'
'Here with him'
'Here with me'
-A&G-
Arya woke up panting.
She immediately sat up gasping for air. Her hair was sticking to her forehead with sweat and her chest was heaving.
The dream repeated in her head and the words came back to here again. 'Here with him' they had said. 'Here with me' Gendry had said.
The Gods had shown her, herself in the Godswood at Winterfell with Gendry by her side. Was she meant to go home? Go to the north? Or was it just any forest? Did Needle on her waist mean that she was going to complete her list?
But there was no denying one thing, it was plainly obvious- whatever she was destined to do, she was meant to do it with Gendry.
Question was, what was she going to do now? Where does she go? Does she go anywhere? The dream only comes once, it can't pester you. Once you are shown the dream, it is yours to do what you want with it. You could ignore it or spend the rest of life grasping at straw to try and find the way for it to be real.
What was she going to do?
Did it really matter about what she did? Maybe the point was to find him? Maybe it didn't matter what she did, but rather who she did it with?
Steadying herself, she got out of bed, grabbed her things and left the room. Going down the stairs and out the door of the inn, quickly and quietly swiping some gold coins off the bar, she had one thought in her mind.
Find him.
-A&G-
Years later, in what felt like another life, Arya was tucking her young daughter into bed. It wasn't a featherbed but it was much more comfortable than the hard ground. The little girl was only five, but had such curiosity, that it shouldn't of surprised Arya when she asked about the dream.
'Mama' she asked from her place, cocooned under the blankets 'What's the dream?'
'What dream sweetheart?'
'The dream everyone has from the Gods' she innocently replied.
Arya looked at her daughter in surprise. 'Who told you about that?' she inquired, giving her daughter a look.
'I overheard some people talking about it in the inn' she sheepishly muttered.
Arya smirked. Like mother, like daughter. 'Well' she started, shuffling further up the side of the bed 'when the Gods want to, they send you a dream where they show you your true self. The person you're meant to be'
Her little daughter just looked up at her mother in awe. Eyes sparkling a grin on her face she looked to her mother.
'What did you see mother?'
That surprised her too. She had never asked her mother what she saw in her dream, her mother had just told her. She had never thought to tell her daughter that story, and she never thought that of all questions her daughter would ask that would be the first one.
'I was in the Godswood at Winterfell and I looked exactly the same as the real me did. But then, some else came round the heart tree and stood by my true self's side.'
'Who Mama?! Who?!' her daughter excitedly begged.
'Me' came a voice from behind them.
Her daughter gasped and her smile doubled and brightened at her father. Gendry walked in and sat down on the bed beside his wife and daughter and smiled at them both.
'You Dada?!' she giggled happily.
'Yes' Arya replied 'And I was told one thing. Just one thing.' Arya paused, watching her daughter's eyes widen with anticipation. ''Here with him''
And her daughter just smiled and laughed. Gendry tucked their daughter in a bit tighter and kissed her forehead whispering goodnight. Her eyes began to droop and Arya kissed her daughter's cheek.
'Night Mama, night Dada' she mumbled sleepily.
'Night Lya' Arya whispered.
When they left their daughter's room, Gendry put his arm around Arya's waist and pulled her into him. She gladly fell into him and put her arms over his, her back pressed firmly against his front.
'So tell me then, Mrs Waters' Gendry jokingly whispered in her ear 'Are you glad that you're 'here with me'?'
'I wouldn't be here if I wasn't Mr Waters' she answered.
Gendry chuckled and turned her around in his arms bringing her to look at him. He swept down and kissed her soundly and Arya quickly deepened it. They quickly and quietly made their way to their room.
-A&G-
Dreams are normal. Everybody had dreams. Dreams they remember, dreams they forget, dreams they hide away, confusing dreams, happy dreams, sad dreams.
But for Arya and Gendry, there was no dream better than the one they were living in.