Game of Thrones: An Uneasy Return
Chapter 4 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 4
The stillness of the night at the Stark house was broken, shattered, by a scream. The rest of the family was awoken by the screaming, all instantly gripped with fear, yet also recognition. It was Arya who was screaming; she was in the grips of another nightmare.
These nightmares had been a regular occurrence ever since her return, nightmares about her time as a prisoner, the things that were done to her. Beforehand, despite their wishes, the family sadly had been unable to do much to help Arya; mostly out of fear of her once again lashing out at them.
But this time, Sansa was undeterred. While the others all exited their rooms and lingered, uncertain, Sansa immediately, to their surprise, made her way to Arya's room and hurried inside.
Arya was thrashing on the bed, still screaming, her eyes were screwed shut and she was flailing out with her hands, as if trying to ward someone away.
'Gods, Arya...' Sansa thought sadly.
Her mind flashed briefly to the scars she had seen on Arya's back, as well as her thighs, the night they got her home and she went to clean herself. She was always afraid of asking about them, but knew them for what they were, partial signs of the abuse her sister had suffered at the hands of her captors.
Avoiding Arya's flailing hands, Sansa managed to get close and gently grabbed Arya's shoulders.
"Arya, wake up!" She cried. "It's just a nightmare, it's just a nightmare!"
With a loud yelp, Arya's eyes snapped open, not that it made any difference to her, being unable to see. But for Sansa, it confirmed that her words got through.
"Arya…"
Arya was breathing heavily as she tried to speak a few times, until finally. "S-Sansa...I..."
Sansa pulled Arya up into a sitting position, gently brushing some of Arya's hair back from her face.
"It's alright, it's alright now, you're safe...you're home." Sansa replied softly.
Arya bit her lip, nodding, trembling slightly. Sansa pulled her into a hug and continued to soothe her. Arya responded to the hug, returning the embrace before speaking again.
"I...I'm sorry." She muttered.
Sansa shook her head. "It's alright Arya, I told you..."
Arya replied quickly. "No I mean, I woke everybody up."
Sansa glanced back at the door; the others stood there but smiled; clearly not worried about something like that.
"It's okay; so long as you're okay, that's what we're worried about."
Arya nodded softly and finally; after some time, was able to drop off to sleep again. Sansa made sure she was lying back down, comfortable and then quietly left the room.
She nodded to the others, confirming Arya would be fine and, relieved, they were all able to return to bed and get back to sleep themselves. It certainly shone new hope for them, a chance for things to get easier.
At breakfast the next day, Arya bit her lip; she could still hear Sansa's words echoing in her mind. It was clear Sansa had spoken to the rest of the family too. So it was that, while still a little awkward, the atmosphere was certainly less tense than it had been.
Arya shifted awkwardly but managed to smile; she knew Sansa was right and was glad that, hopefully, things could be better, she only had to ask.
"Mum, could you pass the pancakes?"
Catelyn smiled and replied as she did so. "Sure, here. Oh, what do you want to drink, tea, milk, coffee?"
Arya smiled and replied. "Coffee please."
She heard her mother move through to the kitchen and relaxed a little; while it rarely inhibited her eating, being blind did make actually using the knife and fork somewhat awkward.
"Anything else?" Her father asked.
She let out a soft sigh as she replied. "Nothing else to eat or drink, but, could you help me with the knife. I'm not used to it yet."
"Of course."
So he did so and soon her mother set the coffee cup down, Arya found it easily and took a sip, smiling. It would probably take a while for this to simply feel natural; but at least it was a start.
Sansa's words resonated in her mind, she wasn't helpless, but she would still need help in some things and if she didn't want help, she only had to say. It was just a question of communication.
Later Arya was seated in the back garden, smiling as she relaxed on one of the lawn chairs. It was then she heard the back door open and the sound of approaching footsteps. One thing she had noticed about being blind was that her other senses had all sharpened.
"Hey Arry." Came the delightfully familiar voice of Gendry.
Smiling she turned, following the direction of his voice. "Hey."
She waited as he too grabbed one of the lawn chairs and sat down next to her.
"So...how are you?" He asked.
She smiled and shrugged. "Alright...Better I guess."
He paused for a moment before echoing. "Better?"
"Yeah..." She trailed off before sighing. "Gendry, listen, I'm really sorry..."
He shook his head and replied quickly. "Arry, I understand, you were angry, I don't blame you."
Smiling she nodded; feeling relieved and they hugged. After breaking the embrace and sitting in silence for a few moments, Arya considered how she really felt and made up her mind.
"We can, start over you know." She said. "We've not yet really...got back together if you think about it."
"Are you…?" Gendry replied; surprised.
She grinned. "Yes, I'm sure, I'm ready."
Also grinning Gendry moved in closer and replied. "Alright, great...Um, I'm going to kiss you."
Arya nodded; now prepared and they kissed.
Amongst the happiness however, Arya did have one lingering doubt. 'I just that this, Gendry and me, it's the one thing my blindness does not affect.'
She knew after all that it meant one thing, there was a slight change in the dynamic of their relationship.
It was later on Arya overheard something.
"You're sure?" Her mother was saying; Arya couldn't hear a reply so guessed she was on the phone. "Yes…Yes..."
Arya paused, wondering what was going on. 'What is this, who is mum talking to?'
She soon got her answer when she approached her mother after the phone conversation was over.
"Arya." She said, the moment she saw her. "I have news, that was the police. There's been some progress from the investigation."
"What?"
Catelyn smiled as she began to explain; Arya bit her lip as she listened.
"They…?"
"Yes, it's not much but..." Catelyn replied.
"Arya just nodded. "It's a start.
They both smiled and, for the first time in a long while, Arya felt hope.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.