I originally posted this on my tumblr at post/58718643413/i-wrote-a-thing. I've since decided to continue it because I've got loads of ideas in my head, so here it goes. Another Stark girl, another tourney, another mystery knight, another war. AU in which Rhaegar, Lyanna, Aegon, and Rhaenys did not die. Aegon is crown prince, betrothed to Arya of House Stark, Jon Targaryen's half-cousin. Jon is prince, and Rhaenys princess.
Arya Stark never wanted this life. She never wanted to be betrothed to a prince, especially if that prince was in love with her sister. And she never thought her sister would be in love with their cousin, the prince's half-brother. She never intended to leave Winterfell, let alone incite another war. Then again, they never truly ever get what they want.
The blacksmith's hands are large and calloused and warm and he's not afraid to touch her, to bend her, to break her, like Aegon is. His mouth is hot on hers and she moans against it. He pushes her back flush against the wall of the small forge, his work forgotten. Her hands rake through black hair and his hands find their way beneath her damned dress, to her smallclothes.
They meet upon her arrival to King's Landing. She is glad to be near Jon, her cousin, and her Aunt Lyanna, but she mislikes the King and his son. Rhaenys is far more pleasant to be around, at least. Arya is to be sold to the Iron Throne as Aegon's bride, and there is nothing she could do about it. She threw a fit at Winterfell. She threatened to run away, to hang herself, to kill him in his sleep on their wedding night. She was never meant to be a queen, and she wished Sansa had been the one to go in her place. But she is already in King's Landing, with her septa and the Tyrell girl, looking for potential suitors.
She meets Gendry in a smithy somewhere in the middle of King's Landing. The sword Jon had gifted her for her tenth birthday is too small now that she taller at the age of sixteen. She expects an old man at the forge, and instead she sees a young man with broad shoulders and large muscles and the bluest eyes she has ever seen stare back at her.
He calls her m'lady and she calls him stupid, wondering what this oaf of a man can do with his hands. She later finds that in addition to those hands belonging to the best apprentice smith in King's Landing if not the whole of seven kingdoms, those hands also know how to make her weak in the knees and turn into a silly little girl.
As the Queen's niece, she is given a great deal of leeway in the Red Keep. She roams free without guards, though Daenerys sometimes accompanies her to the training yard. She finds herself creeping into the streets of King's Landing, towards the smithy, more than once. What starts as light-hearted conversation while he works turns into subtle glances. Those glances turn into intense stares, and those stares turn into a touch on the shoulder here, a hand on the back there. Those in turn become fervent kissing and touching and panting when she sneaks away at night and comes very, very close to ruining her reputation.
The first time she and Gendry kiss, they are in the forge and meet in the middle. His lips are chapped and his grip on her waist loose. She grips the thin fabric of his tunic and pulls him closer to her, greedily, and his hold around her tightens. He pulls away, full of apologies until she silences him with more kisses.
She thinks it foolish to continue seeing him in daylight at his place of employ. Being the resourceful girl she is, she sneaks out of the castle in the middle of the night, bypassing the guards as quiet as a shadow.
He panics upon seeing her in his small room in the middle of the night, but she silences him with a finger to his lips before she starts kissing him.
"Have you kissed anyone before?" he asks between nips against her neck.
"No," she says, flushing at her inexperience, "you?"
"No," he answers. She does not know if he's lying, but a smile breaks out across her face nonetheless.
With each visit, the kisses become more fervent, more rough and fast. By the fifth week, they find themselves in his small bed, pressed against each other. Arya rests her head on Gendry's muscular chest, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. She bites her lip when he reminds her of her upcoming wedding. She tells him to shut up, that she would sooner run away than marry Prince Aegon. He looks at her with deep blue eyes and asks her if she would run away. With him. She remains silent and he tenses beside her.
"You're a lady, Arya. You have a duty to your family, I understand," he says quietly.
"No," she shakes her head and lifts herself up to lean over him.
"I don't have a family, but you do. Go to them," Gendry says, brushing his thumb over her cheek.
"I can be your family," she says.
He smiles, "You'd be m'lady."
"Shut up," she chuckles, punching him lightly.
"Make me," he says in a low voice, nearly growling.
She kisses him hard and fast, settling herself on top of him, hips moving in time with his. He is hers as she is his, and she swears to him that she will never be anyone else's. As they drift off to sleep, he kisses her shoulders and she promises again. He grins at her fondly and simply holds her, knowing Arya of House Stark could never marry him, but he can love her, and she can love him back.
Aegon is polite. Aegon is courteous. Aegon is half in love with Sansa Stark. His lovely Martell and Targaryen features are marred whenever his half-brother spends his time with his cousin. Arya knows the mess Jon and Sansa have gotten themselves into. She knows it will never end well. Jon has always doted on her like a little sister, and was the same with Sansa up until the elder girl's twelfth name day. After that, something changed between them, and now they steal away into secluded corners when they think no one is watching. So she ends up a sacrifice to appease Aegon while Jon and Sansa sneak off and do whatever it is they do. She is happy for her sister and cousin's happiness. She only wishes Aegon would cast her aside for Margaery Tyrell as Lyanna hopes. While Aegon is polite and courteous and half in love with Sansa, he is also possessive and prone to madness, especially if left with his uncle Viserys. Arya is too Northern, to brash, too hot-headed to deal with Aegon for the rest of her life, this Lyanna knows all too well.
Daenerys, Rhaegar's younger sister, is Arya's only saving grace at this point. She is everything a lady and princess should be, but she also likes to train with Arya at swords and they are both tired of life at court and the pageantry of it all. Arya thinks had Daenerys been a man, she would not mind marrying into the Targaryen family.
The wedding nears closer and the blacksmith becomes quieter, more withdrawn. Arya pokes and prods and finds herself near tears when he can't even bring himself to look at her. He calls her m'lady and tells her she should go back to her fancy fiancé and fancy castle. She doesn't know what to say. Had she imagined swearing she would never be anyone else's?
She can't find the words, so she punches him and storms out.
It's a tourney for the Prince's name day, and the princes (Aegon and Jon both) are competing, though in different lists. Aegon has resigned himself to the fact that he is marrying Arya, and she hates him for it. He tries to spend more time with her, to get to know her. She avoids him whenever possible. Aegon makes an effort, but Arya cannot force herself to like him, let alone love him. He would make any other girl (but a Stark) happy. Tyrell, Lannister, Frey, anyone but her or Sansa.
She sits high in the stands with the royal family. Rhaegar Lyanna, Daenerys, Rhaenys, Viserys (who chose not to compete), along with Sansa, sit near her.
She watches as Jon and Aegon destroy each of the competitors, and in the end, Jon wins the jousting tournament. He says he chose not to compete in combat so that his older brother will stand a chance at winning as it is his name day.
Aegon is the final fighter, he and a mystery knight with a bull's helmet. Arya knows that helmet anywhere. She has seen it enough times to know it's him.
Her heart catches in her throat and she holds onto the railings as Gendry slams his war hammer against Aegon again and again. Aegon is a strong fighter and skilled, but Gendry has brute strength while Aegon is willowy like his father. A spectator may assume Lady Arya is concerned for her betrothed. Sansa eyes her and knows that she is not.
Aegon crashes onto the ground, yielding. He takes the helmet off of his head, his dark skin and silver hair a contrast. He takes the mystery knight's hand and raises it in victory and congratulations. He tells the man to take his helmet off, so he does. He lifts the bull's helm off and tosses it onto the ground. The crowd bursts into applause for this stranger who bested their prince. His eyes meet Arya's, only Arya's, and her heart beats so rapidly she's sure all of King's Landing can hear. From beside her Lyanna lets out a breathy Robert so quietly only Arya hears.
He is given a wreath—blue roses—and must choose his queen of love and beauty. He walks slowly towards the royals, and lifts the flower towards Arya. He's so incredibly stupid Arya wants to hit him upside the head with the damned roses. Next to her, Lyanna stares at the boy, though he has eyes only for her niece.
"M'lady," he inclines his head towards Arya, who takes the wreath with shaking hands.
"What is your name, ser?" Queen Lyanna asks him.
"I am no ser, Your Grace," he replies self-deprecatingly, "I'm just some tavern girl's bastard."
Lyanna openly stares at him and Rhaegar's eyes narrow at the young man who bears a striking resemblance to the young Lord of Storm's End (the youngest of three brothers, for his eldest brother incited a rebellion and the second-eldest disobeyed his King, while the youngest was too young to do anything, hence his ascension to his position as Lord of the Stormlands).
Gendry bows his head once more and disappears from the arena, and Arya stands, watching him leave. The flowers are crumpled in her hands that she fists at her sides. Aegon sends her a questioning look, and she sits back down before arousing suspicion.
She finds Gendry during the feast. He is outside of the Great Hall, bottle of ale in hand. Arya itches to touch him, but she instead speaks quietly.
"Will you still be my family?" she asks.
"If m'lady commands it," Gendry bows his head.
She shakes her head, "You have to want it, too."
"I will be your family and anything you ask of me, forever and always," Gendry leans into her ear, whispering. She takes a sharp intake of breath and smiles gently.
"When did you become such a romantic?" she teases.
He smiles at her, the foul mood from days before gone, and takes his leave after pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. She is a fool, but she is a fool in love.
The next morning maids find Arya's chambers empty, with the blue roses on her perfectly made bed, making it clear she hadn't spent the night in her chambers.
Lyanna Stark sinks onto her niece's bed and gingerly picks up the wreath, running her fingers over the petals. Sansa sits with her, not looking surprised. Aegon is in a rage and Rhaegar and Jon try to calm him down, but the Crown Prince vows to find her, his so-called-beloved. They all know Aegon does not Arya, but he is possessive and he is brash, with a hint of Targaryen madness.
Sansa wraps her arm around her aunt, and Lyanna weeps. She should have known Robert Baratheon would come from the grave to try to steal her back, as if she were a prize, not a person. What she didn't expect is the note Sansa hands her, written in Arya's hurried scrawl.
Aunt Lyanna, I'm sorry to run away like this, but I have to. I don't want to be a princess or a queen. I love Gendry and won't be sold like some horse. Give Sansa and Jon and Daenerys and Rhaenys my best. Tell Father and Mother I am sorry to have shamed my House. Please don't try to find us. Promise me, Aunt Lya, please. Don't try to find us. Promise me.
Queen Lyanna speaks to her King and Rhaegar halts the search party. Aegon flies into a rage, demanding that if he cannot marry Arya, he'll have to marry Sansa as he originally wanted. Jon punches him in the jaw at his brother's audacity. Those girls are not to be traded like currency, they are people. Aegon unsheathes his sword and Jon laughs.
"Brother, I will not hesitate to run you through if you dare lay a finger on Sansa," Jon says solemnly, so like a Stark.
Rhaegar tells Aegon he'll marry Margaery Tyrell (the beautiful, clever girl), and Aegon turns on his father. Jon is his favorite, he knows now. He has suspected it for some time, but Rhaegar has just proven his love for Lyanna makes him give Jon everything, despite his insistence he loves his children all the same.
Aegon begrudgingly accepts Margaery as his bride (for she is sweet and charming, and skilled at the game) despite the bad blood between the Martells and Tyrells, or perhaps, in spite of them. Jon and Sansa are wed and happy, and Lyanna keeps her unspoken promise to not find Arya and Gendry. But the relationship between the princes is forever strained and nothing is the same again.
The next chapter back tracks to Jon being fostered at Winterfell, and it's already up on tumblr. Please review if you liked it, or didn't like it, even.