Game of Thrones: A Name Doesn't Make a Person

Chapter 3 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

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Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.

Chapter 3

It was a good few hours later; the party was beginning to wind down. Pod was exhausted; yet he didn't feel as nervous as he had at the start. He was starting to feel at ease amongst the people present. Apart from Sansa he found himself becoming good friends with Bran, as well as Tommen and Myrcella. His conversation with Arya was amiable although he still felt slightly intimidated by her. Rickon Stark, he soon realized, was a typical hyper kid; unable to sit still long enough for a conversation to develop. As for the others, the adults; he did his best to socialize with them, despite how intimidating he found them. It wasn't much later that people had to leave and before long it was just him, his new parents and the Starks. He had to admit, it felt strange; yet he found it easier to socialize with the Starks than the other members of his new family. He guessed it had to do with them seeming much more open and friendly. He also didn't feel the need to try as hard to make a perfect impression as he did with the Baratheons and Lannisters. In the end however it was time for them to go as well.

"Well, thank you for inviting us Tyrion." Ned said with a smile. "We had a wonderful time."

Tyrion grinned and nodded. "I'm glad to hear it; it was no trouble at all. Thank you for coming."

Pod said goodbye to them all too and stood with Tyrion as they watched the Starks leave.

Finally they closed the door and headed back through to the living room. Shae looked up and smiled widely.

"Well, that was a nice party.

Tyrion nodded in agreement. "Indeed it was. Pod…I'm proud of you, son."

Pod felt the heat rise to his face, he still wasn't used to being addressed as such. "R-really?"

"Yes." Tyrion replied honestly. "You overcame your shyness and you were very polite and nice to everyone."

Pod smiled lightly at that; feeling his face heat up even more.

Tyrion then continued. "Even your grandfather was impressed, believe me, he isn't a man easily impressed."

"Tyrion is right; you should be proud of yourself. For that if nothing else." Shae added kindly.

Pod nodded; suddenly overwhelmed by the fact that he had somehow impressed Tywin Lannister. Finally however; realizing just how tired he felt, he politely excused himself and headed upstairs. He entered the bedroom, he was still adjusting to the fact it was now his, and got changed into his pyjamas. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked out of the window.

'This is it, this is the beginning of my new life.' He thought to himself. 'I'll always be grateful to them, I just hope I don't let them down.'

He shuddered as he remembered what his alternative to being adopted by Tyrion and Shae was. He had only ever met Illyn Payne once before; the man had terrified him. As he lay down to sleep; he swore he would do everything he could to ensure Tyrion and Shae never regretted their decision to adopt him.

As the Starks returned home they all chatted about the party. They had all enjoyed a good time and had got to know Podrick rather well, forming their thoughts on him as they did so.

"Well, that Pod guy seems nice enough." Robb remarked with a grin.

Jon nodded and added. "Tyrion's always had a soft spot for people like Pod; it's his big heart."

Cat sighed. "If what we've heard is true, Pod is very lucky and very deserving of Tyrion's kindness."

The others nodded in agreement. Soon they were inside and in the living room, still talking about the party.

"So, what did you all think of him?" Ned asked casually.

Robb and Jon had already given their opinions, the others still had to reply however.

"Well, I must agree with Robb, he was very nice." Sansa replied. "I'm sure he's very grateful to Tyrion and Shae for what they've done for him."

Arya nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's true…He's a little quiet, but I guess that's natural. I mean, we were told he was shy and, well, this might've been a bit much for him.

"Maybe you scared him Arya." Bran teased, laughing at Arya's mock glare before adding. "I thought he was pretty nice too. He seems to forget his shyness once you get him talking though."

Rickon nodded; clearly agreeing with his siblings. Cat smiled and then added.

"Well, he's still going to need time to adjust; so if you see him…Be nice; help him feel at ease, okay."

They all nodded and soon began heading to different parts of the house.

Arya headed to her room and flopped down on her bed. She checked her watch, it wasn't too late. So she picked up her phone and dialled her best friend. The phone rang a few times then he answered.

"Hey Arry." He said, using the nickname he had developed for her.

Arya grinned. "Hi Gendry, what's up?"

Gendry replied and they began talking back and forth, about any random subject that came to mind. Gendry was one of Arya's three closest friends; her parents were slightly wary of him, as he was five years older than her, as well as being much taller and physically stronger. But Arya knew Gendry was a decent person and they got along brilliant, having a similar sense of humour; in truth Gendry, despite being the only one of her friends too old to be at school with her, was the friend she was closest with. There was an unspoken level of trust between them; something that went a little beyond the whole being friendly enough to insult each other without getting offended. As such Arya, normally a very private person, even with her parents, was able to talk to Gendry about any problems she had. Yet this wasn't one of those times; in fact, she actually didn't have any problems to worry about at this time. She told Gendry of their visit to Tyrion's, told him about Podrick. In fact they stayed up late talking, only hanging up when they were both too tired to stay awake.

While Arya spoke with Gendry, Sansa had got herself ready for bed and lay down. She thought about the party; how it hadn't gone as bad as she feared with Joffrey there. She also thought about Pod and what he faced now.

'He's got a whole new life ahead of him. I wonder…would he be at our school, it'd be nice to see him again.' She thought quietly to herself. 'Maybe I could help him out; that would be nice.'

With those thoughts still lingering in her head, Sansa drifted off to sleep.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.