Part 16:

The time dragged slowly, the other ladies seemed nervous of Arya and kept their distance for half of the first day, however they were more bored than she was, one by one they eventually approached and joined in the discussion of the various houses. Most of them were from the Stormlands and slowly the old stories about the Storm Kings started to come out. Although most that live south of the neck claim to follow the Seven many of them were very knowledgeable on the stories about the old gods.

Old Nan had taught Arya much, but there are stories that only the Stormborn are told, just as there are stories that only Northerners are told. For Margaery many of these stories were new. Many stories were told… stories of Elenei, the mermaid that the first Storm King had stolen from the sea… of Argella, brave and strong, and betrayed by her own men… of Dunk and Egg…

After a while Arya turned to Margaery. "The Reach must have the best stories about Gareth Greenhand and his children, will you tell us some, your grace?"

Margery gave Arya a gentle smile. "My Septa never approved of such stories."

Arya laughed. "Nor did mine, but it never stopped old Nan telling them."

Margery's smile deepened. "Never stopped uncle Paxter either. What would you like to hear?"

"Do you have any stories of Rose when she was still Rose of Blue Lake, before Bran the Bloody turned it red?"

If anything Margery's smile grew broader. "Many, she was quite a mischief." Margery settled herself deeper into the cushions, poured herself half a glass of wine and started to tell a story of the demi-goddess that could shapeshift into a crane.

The story telling went back and forth late into the night, many of the ladies had finally retied, Margaery giving over her bed to four of them, cots had been brought in for others, Gendry was softly snoring on the cushions beside Arya, Margaery was awake, as were two of her handmaidens. Arya had drunk three glasses of wine, which was three times what she was accustomed to, she got more comfortable on the cushions and decided to tell one more story.

"Queen Margaery, I have a story about Rose of Blue Lake which I believe you may not have heard, I had never heard it, but I was shown it by a Weirwood, it is the true origin of the blue winter rose, and of House Stark."

That caught Margaery's attention, she leant forward and listened as Arya described the visions that she had seen and explained that Rose was the mother of Bran the Builder, of how Rose's tears in the north had turned to blue winter roses and of how after the child had been born Rose had returned to her now red lake to morn her losses. About how their abilities as wargs and skin-changers came from her, at least in part, about how the occasional red-headed Stark was because of her."

Margaery was fascinated. She pushed Arya for every detail, from the battle at blue lake to descriptions of Rose and Bran the bloody. Once Arya had finally finished Margaery just shook her head and smiled.

"You really are something, Arya Stark, I wish I could talk to Weirwoods."

"It's not about talking," Arya replied. "It's about knowing how to listen. Take me to the Weirwood at Storm's End and I will see if I can teach you."

"That's quite an offer, we'll see." Margaery replied.

~~/~~

Two and a half days later Renly and his army returned, victorious. Arya saw Ser Davos Seaworth chained and bloody amongst the prisoners and knew she had to do something. She grabbed a skin of water and pushed her way through the guards, Gendry struggling to keep up.

"What do you think you're doing?!" One of the guards demanded as he blocked her way.

"Stand aside." Arya replied.

"I don't think so." The guard replied gruffly.

Gendry caught up, war hammer in hand. "That's not how you address a lady, Lady Stark told you to stand aside."

The guard drew in a sharp breath. "Lady Stark?"

"Arya Stark of Winterfell, King Renly's honoured guest." Gendry replied. "She is also known as the Yellow Lady."

"We have orders." The guard replied uncertainly.

"And now they have changed." Arya replied. "Stand aside. This is no way to treat a knight."

The guard scoffed. "Right, the onion knight…"

Arya slapped him as hard as she possibly could. "If not for Ser Davos' bravery Storm's End would have fallen due to the Redwyne blockade, many good men would have starved to death, likely your kin among them, and King Robert might have lost the war. Ser Davos is an honourable and noble man, it is not Ser Davos' fault that Lord Stannis allowed his own mind to be poisoned by a red priestess, now stand aside."

The guard hesitated a moment longer then moved aside. Arya studied Davos as she approached him. He was in chains, badly injured, and his lips were parched. Clearly he had heard the conversation and he watched her as she approached. She unstoppered the water skin and held it to his lips, helping him drink.

"Thank you, mi'lady, you are very kind." Davos replied when he had finished drinking, he gave her a gentle smile. "I see much of your father in you."

"This is no way to treat a knight." Arya repeated. She turned back to the guard. "Those injuries need to be tended, have him brought to my tent, now!" She turned to Gendry.

"I'll find somebody to get bandages and water, mi'lady."

Half an hour later Arya had Ser Davos, still in chains, and a guard at her tent. She and Gendry had seen to his lesser injuries and Gendry had found somebody with more skill to tend to the worse ones. They had set Davos on Gendry's bed. The last injury was just being bound when Renly burst into the tent, Loras and some other guards behind him.

"Stealing my prisoners now, Lady Arya?" Renly asked.

"Protecting your honour, your grace." Arya replied calmly. "I am sure you would not stand for Ser Loras, or any of your other knights, to be treated the way that Ser Davos was being treated. There is a code when one takes a knight as a prisoner, your guards failed you and require discipline for their failures. I interceded before their failure could reflect poorly on you."

"Then I thank you for interceding, but perhaps you could have discussed it with me first?" Renly replied with a tight smile.

"Your grace, there is no room for discussion when it is a matter of honour, any delay would have been a disgrace, both to you and to myself. Besides, a King has more important matters to attend to."

"I see," Renly replied. "And how would Lady Arya Stark suggest we procced with our prisoner now."

Arya smiled. "Well first, we must concede that our prisoner is a war hero who has served House Baratheon well for many years, and who's only crime was to continue to be loyal to a man who was no longer worthy of his loyalty. We must admit that the Targaryen blood in your family's veins does occasionally leave the door open to madness, that Stannis truly believed that he was Azor Ahai reborn, and that his mind had been poisoned by Melisandre and the power she offered him. That shadow demon that she set on you was only a taste of what evils she is capable of. Eventually even Shireen would have been sacrificed to the fire in your brother's attempt to force the prophecy to come true."

"And then?" Renly asked.

"Then, your grace, Ser Davos must be given a choice. Swear loyalty to you, or spend the rest of his days serving at the Wall. As a war hero, his death would only make him a martyr."

"You are your father's daughter." Renly muttered. He turned his gaze to Gendry. "I hope you're paying attention, nephew, you'll get no better teacher than a Stark."

"Nephew?" Davos muttered, really looking at Gendry for the first time.

"Yes," Renly replied approaching Davos. "Nephew, Gendry here is one of Robert's sons." Arya noticed that Renly didn't use the word bastard.

Davos nodded. "Lord Stark said, apparently Gendry and Lady Arya disappeared from the boat before it reached Dragonstone, Lord Stark is quite angry about that."

Arya smiled. "Perhaps a test of your new loyalty to our King could be to go to my Lord Father on his behalf and explain what Stannis was allowing Melisandre to do, explain that I forced Gendry off of the boat to protect him from Stannis, not the other way around, explain the danger that my father put Gendry and his siblings into by telling Stannis about them, and that I got all of them out of Kings Landing before Stannis' men could find them to be used in black magic rituals then murdered. That is, unless you are choosing the Wall."

Renly clapped his hands. "I think that's a marvellous idea, what will it be, Davos? Lord Stark or the Wall?"

"Well, the Wall appears to be the less dangerous option, but I am not a coward." He glanced at Arya. "I assume you will not be joining me for this conversation with your father, mi'lady?"

"No." Arya replied.

"Good, good." Renly replied, taking Davos' question as acceptance. "Ser Davos, you are still a prisoner for now, but since Lady Arya has decided to take responsibility for you I will allow you to remain her guest." He turned to one of the guards. "Unchain him." Renly then turned his attention to Arya. "Lady Arya, I make Ser Davos your responsibility, I will lend you two guards and Ser Brienne to assist, but from this point until Ser Davos is sent north to speak with Lord Stark you are responsible for his actions."

Arya bowed deeply. "I will not disappoint you, your grace."

Renly gave Arya a genuine smile. "I'm sure you won't. Now, I must steal Gendry away from you for a while, do forgive me."

Arya nodded. "I must give one caution, your grace."

"Oh?" Renly asked raising an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

"Should Ser Loras deem it appropriate to raise his hand against Gendry again I will be requesting a trial by combat, and I will be asking Ser Brienne to be my champion." Loras glared at her but she kept her gaze on Renly.

Renly paused for a moment, considering Arya's words. "Understood." He finally replied with a nod, he turned to leave but Davos' words caused him to turn back.

"Forgive me, your grace, Princess Shireen, is she safe?" Davos asked.

Renly expression softened. "Yes, she is safe."

Davos lowered his gaze. "Good, would you… could you…" Davos paused, seeming to struggle to find the words.

"I'll tell her you asked after her." Renly replied gently.

"Thank you, your grace, you are most kind." Davos replied quietly.

Arya's heart broke for the older man, this was a man who had spent his whole life in servitude of one form or another. Even after he had been knighted most didn't consider him a proper knight, he was constantly reminded of his low birth and low education. It was clear that he wanted to ask more, and that he dared not. She decided to ask on his behalf.

"Could he be allowed to see her, your grace, Princess Shireen must be very scared and a familiar face would do her good."

"She is not much younger than you, Lady Arya." Renly pointed out.

Arya nodded. "Yes, but I am a… what were your words, Ser Loras?" She turned her gaze to Loras but he kept his mouth shut.

Gendry cleared his throat. "I believe he called you a bastard loving wild northerner, mi'lady." He replied calmly.

Arya nodded. "Yes, that was it."

"She had just held a blade to my throat!" Loras defended.

"And how good of a knight are you, Ser Loras, that a twelve year old girl can get the draw on you and be able hold a blade to your throat?" Arya asked.

Renly chuckled. "I wouldn't call anybody who can battle and defeat a shadow demon an average twelve year old." Arya raised an eyebrow at his comment. He looked at her for a moment then sighed. "And there you have me, comparing Shireen to you is not a fair comparison. I'll make you a deal, make peace with Loras and I will see if it can be arranged for Davos to see Shireen."

"As soon as he apologises to Gendry, your grace." Arya replied.

Renly turned to give Loras a pointed look. An unspoken conversation seemed to go on between them, then Loras lowered his eyes and shook his head. He took a couple of steps towards Gendry and sighed. "Gendry, some of the comments I made to you a few days ago may have been inappropriate and uncalled for."

Gendry decided to be the better man. "I understand, queen Margaery has explained to me that you were concerned I might be under the impression that I have some sort of claim to stake, I am well aware that I do not, and I have no interest in the Iron Throne."

Ser Loras nodded. "Good."

Gendry turned to Arya. "Mi'lady, perhaps drawing a blade on him was a slight over reaction?"

Arya nodded. "Forgive me, Ser Loras, my first instinct is to protect my pack. It is not your fault that you did not understand that Gendry is pack."

Renly sighed. "Well, those are two of the most insincere apologies I have ever heard, but I guess they'll do. I'll send Brienne along shortly. Gendry, come, there is much to discuss."

Gendry glanced at Arya and then nodded. "Of course, your grace." He started walking towards the entranceway of the tent.

"You know, I think I'd much prefer it if you called me uncle." Renly replied.

Arya watched the expressions quickly flicker across Gendry's face, shock, confusion, awe, hope... he quickly pushed the hope away, eventually he nodded and swallowed thickly. "As you wish… uncle." He drew the right corner of his lower lip into his mouth, an action that he did when he was nervous or uncertain, and followed Renly out of the tent.

~~/~~

Part 17:

It had been three hours since Gendry had left with Renly. Davos was asleep on Gendry's bed, his snores loud and erratic, Arya had been flicking through the book but she couldn't focus. The two guards and Brienne stood calmly. With a sigh Arya shut the book, she stood up and stretched then started pulling the table to the side of the tent. Before she knew it Brienne had the other end of the table. "Let me help, my lady."

Perhaps Brienne was more bored than she was letting on? Arya considered for a moment asking one of the guards to fetch two training swords, but she knew the sound of swords clashing, even wooden ones, would wake Davos so she dismissed the idea. "Help me clear as much space as possible." She told Brienne.

Brienne nodded. "What for, my lady."

"I haven't practiced my water dancing in a while." Arya answered.

"Dancing." Brienne replied, the disappointment obvious.

Arya smirked. "You'll see." She replied and continued clearing the room.

Once there was enough space she moved to the middle of the room, drew Needle, bowed to Brienne and started to train. She had been training for over an hour and a half when Davos woke up but she didn't stop. If she stopped she would have to think, and if she had to think she would worry, Gendry still wasn't back yet. Servants came in with food and Arya finally stopped training, with a sigh she put Needle away. Gendry still wasn't back and it had been over five hours now. Davos and Brienne helped her pull the table and chairs out then Brienne went to setting the room back in order while Arya and Davos sat down to eat.

"That's an interesting style of fighting you have there, mi'lady." Davos observed.

"It's called water dancing," Arya replied. "It's from Braavos."

"I see, and have you ever been to Braavos?" Davos asked.

"No and yes." Arya replied, her answer causing Davos to look up at her.

"Well that's an interesting reply." He remarked.

Arya sighed. "I know you've seen things that you cannot explain, and I know that you're a man who trusts only what his own eyes have seen, have you seen the … things… that Melisandre can create?"

Davos lowered his gaze. "Yes." He replied slowly.

"So you are aware of what attacked Renly a few days ago?" Arya pressed.

"I cannot say that I know what it was but I've seen it, yes." Davos replied quietly.

"And you saw Stannis after I stabbed it twice? The first stab was in the back and the second stab was in the belly, cutting upwards." She pulled her dagger and placed it on the table. "This is what I stabbed it with."

Davos nodded slowly, his eyes on the blade. "Stannis had matching wounds." He whispered quietly.

"I know, I saw them." Arya replied. "Just as I have seen Braavos, yet I have never been there. Sometimes I see things, sometimes I know things, sometimes I can see the path that wasn't taken instead of the one we're on. I knew about the attack over a week before it happened, and I have been to Braavos, but not in this life."

"I see." Davos replied quietly.

Arya sighed. "So now you either think I'm crazy or you are scared of me. Ask Gendry why I made him get off of the boat. As Ser Brienne or King Renly about what happened the night that Melisandre sent a shadow demon to kill him, about the day before, when I told them it would happen. Ask Ser Buckler and his men who were there over a week earlier, many miles from this camp, when I woke up screaming and talking about broken antlers on rose petals splattered with blood. Trust me, none of them wanted to believe me either, but I was able to prove to them that my visons are real, the only person who can't seem to hear my warnings is my father."

"How?" Davos asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Arya asked with a sigh.

Davos shook his head. "Maybe not." He picked at his food.

Arya nodded. "Good, because I'm not sure that I can. I don't claim to be chosen by some special god or to serve some higher purpose, all I know is that terrible things are coming and I know how to stop some of them. But people look at me and all they see is an angry little girl, it's a fight to get them to see past that. Winter is coming and we are running out of time."

"Spoken like a Stark." Davos muttered.

Arya laughed. "Family curse I guess, we keep reminding people that winter is coming but no one ever takes the warning seriously enough." She decided to change the subject. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you." Davos replied.

They continued their meal in silence. Once they were finished Arya settled down on the cushions with her book to read for a while. Eventually she resigned herself to the fact that Gendry wasn't coming back anytime soon. The guards were changed out and Arya relieved Brienne, telling her to come back in the morning. Arya removed her armour and went to bed.

~~/~~

She wasn't sure what had woken her, she listened for a while but she couldn't find the answer. She crept out of bed, quiet as a cat, and picked up her dagger. She controlled her breathing and carefully made her way to the edge of the divider. Gendry was sitting slumped at the table, his head in his hands. Was he hurt?

Arya scanned the room but there was nothing to suggest any danger, both guards were awake and looked unconcerned. She approached Gendry carefully, waiting until she was close to whisper his name. "Gendry?"

Gendry jumped. "You're awake," He whispered. "Did I wake you? I didn't mean to wake you." The smell of wine was strong on his breath and he sounded sad.

"You're drunk." Arya muttered.

"Very drunk." Gendry agreed, his brow furrowed. "Are you disappointed in me?" The tone of his voice suggested that he expected her to be disappointed in him.

Arya pulled up the seat beside him. "Gendry, what's wrong?"

"You should be disappointed in me." He whispered quietly, he went to shake his head then stopped. "It's too much," He muttered. "It's all just too much. I can't play these high-born games." He rubbed his temples. "Remind me why Dragonstone is important."

The question was almost a plea for reassurance and the desperateness in Gendry's voice shocked Arya, she decided to offer the simplest version of the answer. "Strategically it's the best place to launch an attack on Kings Landing, or prevent one." She replied.

"No, no, not to them, to you. Remind me why Dragonstone is important to you." Gendry pleaded.

"Dragon glass, we need Dragon glass to fight the Night King." Arya answered. She had never seen Gendry like this, gods! What had happened?! What did he mean by 'high-born games'?

"I told them that… their fault if they don't listen, their fault if they all die, can we run away now?" Arya was surprised, she'd never seen Gendry like this, he seemed… broken.

"Gendry, tell me what happened." She begged.

"I can't." Gendry whispered. "Even if I wanted to, I can't, I gave my word."

He was really starting to scare her now. "Gendry, did somebody hurt you?"

Gendry went to shake his head again and groaned. "No… I… the Wall will get their Dragon glass. But to get it I had to agree to do something that I didn't want to do, something that I'm not proud of."

"And that's why you're drunk?" She asked. Gendry nodded. A terrible thought crossed her mind. "Who do you have to marry?"

"Not marry… bed." He replied softly.

"Huh?" Arya asked, confused. Gendry just sat there looking at his hands as if they belonged to someone else. He seemed lost in thought. "Gendry," She asked softly. "What do you mean 'bed'?"

Gendry slowly turned his head to look at her and blinked. He seemed completely lost for a minute and just looked at her, finally he looked away. "I need to go to bed." He whispered.

"Okay." She replied, bewildered.

"Ser Davos is in mine." Gods! He sounded like a lost little boy who didn't know what to do! Was he really this upset that Davos was on his bed?

"Share mine." She replied. It was a large bed, plenty of room to share.

"Arya... no, what would people say?"

"Oh please, there are two guards in the room, what's going to happen with two other people awake in the room? I trust you, come on."

"Two other people being in a room doesn't stop anything." Gendry muttered bitterly. "I'm not putting your repetition at risk like that." He went to stand and tried to shake his head at the same time, the combination of the actions and being drunk causing him to stumble, Arya tried to catch him but he was too heavy and they both ended up on the floor.

"I'm sorry." Gendry whispered. "I've hurt you… I didn't want to hurt you… I'm so sorry."

"Gendry, you're rambling." Arya muttered. "I'm fine."

One of the guards had jumped up at the commotion and approached. "Mi'lady, can I assist?"

Arya nodded. "Gendry is drunk and needs his sleep." She gestured towards her bed.

The guard, who had clearly heard the whole conversation, nodded and helped Arya get Gendry to his feet. Gendry didn't try to protest anymore as Arya and the guard led him to the bed. Arya got the guard to help her remove his over tunic, chainmail and boots. The guard paused for a minute at the sight of the Valyrian chainmail. "Guess he really is a Baratheon." The guard muttered.

Gendry didn't reply, he simply lay down on the bed and moved to the far side of it, turning his back to Arya. She placed his chainmail carefully beside her armour and the guard went back to his post. She studied Gendry's still form for a moment before tucking a blanket over him then climbing onto the closest side of the bed. She had been laying there for maybe two minutes before she noticed that there seemed to be a slight tremor to the bed. She turned to face Gendry's back and realised that his shoulders seemed to be shaking, moving closer she realised that he was quietly crying.

She placed a hesitant hand on his back and started to rub it. After a few minutes Gendry seemed to calm down but she rubbed his back until her arm started to ache. She rolled over, trying to give him more of the bed and tried to will herself to go to sleep. Gendry rolled over towards her and put his arm around her waist, resting his forehead against the back of her shoulder.

"Thank you." He whispered hoarsely. "I'm not used to anybody actually caring about me. I'm sorry… I… please don't be disappointed in me."

"I'm not." Arya whispered and put her hand over his. "I wish you would tell me what happened, but I'm not disappointed in you."

"If you knew what happened you would be." Gendry whispered. "I'm sorry… I said no, but they wouldn't accept no for an answer."

"Gendry…"

He hugged her tighter. "Can we just go to sleep?" he begged.

Arya squeezed Gendry's hand. "Sleep sounds good." She whispered. She lay there quietly and listened as his breathing slowly evened out and he drifted off to sleep. She replayed the conversation over and over in her head, trying to piece together what was going on, but she found no answers. It was the early hours of the morning before she finally drifted off to sleep.

~~/~~

Part 18:

The morning didn't bring any more answers. Gendry was snoring soundly and still hugging Arya tightly when she woke up. Every time she attempted to gently move his arm away Gendry responded by hugging her tighter, eventually the need to relieve herself forced her to move his arm away more firmly and get up.

Breakfast came and went yet still Gendry slept. Arya talked with Davos and discovered that he had a son, Matthos, who had been Stannis' squire and that he didn't know if his son was alive or dead. She sent Brienne to find out if Matthos had survived. An hour or so later Brienne returned advising that it was believed that Matthos was alive and that he had been seen aiding Melisandre's escape. Davos seemed more upset than relieved at the news. It turned out that he was quite concerned about the red priestesses' influence over his son. Davos expressed a concern that they would never see Melisandre, and therefore his son, again. Arya however, didn't believe that they would be quite so lucky.

"We will see Melisandre again." Arya said quietly. "The temple of the Red god won't walk away from Westeros so easily. As to your son, he may not be the man you knew when you meet him again."

Davos looked at Arya thoughtfully. "How did a girl so young become so worldly?" He asked.

Arya thought about the answer, and about her memories of Davos from the other life. Her thoughts moved to Brienne and what she may never learn of herself because of what Gendry and Arya had changed. "If I answer you honestly I will need you to hear me out, you may not believe what I have to tell you, but please, hear me out to the end. I trust and respect you, Ser Davos, just as I trust and respect Ser Brienne, what I have to say is not for the ears of the guards though."

Brienne nodded and ordered the guards to station themselves outside the tent. Arya insisted that Brienne sit, explaining that what she had to say would take some time, then slowly she began to explain everything. "I don't expect you to believe what I am telling you at first, but indulge me. I know that neither of you believe in the old gods, but you have both seen that blood magic is real. I do get visions, but most of what I know is because I used blood magic to go back to my younger self and try and change things."

She watched Davos stiffen and move slightly away from her. "Blood magic never brings good things." He whispered.

Arya shook her head. "Magic is not good or bad, magic simply is, people are good or bad. Selfish acts will never lead to good things, this was not a selfish act but an act of desperation. My seventeen year old self gave her own life to give my eleven year old self a chance. I have seen dragons fly across the sky, both living and undead. I have seen the Wall fall and the Night King come, I have seen Winterfell overrun with armies of the dead."

She paused, trying to decide how much to tell them, she decided that they needed to know everything. "I have seen Ilyn Payne swing Ice, our family's sword, down towards my father's neck at Joffrey's command at the Sept of Baelor and watched my father's head roll away from his body, my sister collapsing at the sight. I have seen my brother Robb's decapitated body be lead around on his horse with his Direwolf's head sewn onto his shoulders. I have been told of my sister, Sansa, being forced to marry Tyrion Lannister, then abducted by Littlefinger, then forced to marry Roose Bolton's son, Ramsay. Ramsay is an evil man who took great joy in raping, tormenting and cutting my sister, who cut her in such intimate places that she wouldn't show even me the scars. I have been told of my youngest brother, Rickon, being forced to run across a battlefield to Jon and Sansa, only to be shot down with an arrow and die in Jon's arms. You think it is bad that I have used blood magic? I have seen so much bad, if I cannot change our path the next long night will be the last and it will have no end."

"And do you really think you can change it?" Davos asked.

Arya nodded. "I've already changed much, with Gendry's help. My father is alive, my sister is not the Lannister's prisoner, Gendry and I are not Twyin's prisoners at Harrenhal, his brothers and sisters were not murdered by Kings Guard, Yoren of the Nights Watch was not killed by Lannister soldiers for refusing to hand Gendry over, nor Lommi, nor many others… Renly survived Melisandre's attack… I have even seen acts of kindness from the Hound, a wonder, I assure you. Have I changed enough? No. Do we have a chance? Yes. The Wall needs more men, peace needs to be made with the Wildlings and they need to be placed south of the Wall, Dragon glass weapons are needed to fight the armies of the dead and Daenerys needs to be stopped. But I'm actually getting people who can make these changes to listen to me."

Davos nodded. "I see, and why tell us?"

"Because I have seen you stand there holding the wooden toy that was all that was left of Shireen after Stannis allowed Melisandre to burn her alive, the toy that you gave her, I have seen you stand at Jon's side because he trusted you. And Brienne, I have seen you stand at Sansa's. You are both good loyal people, if I cannot trust you then I cannot trust anybody."

Brienne nodded. "Start at the beginning," She said. "Tell us what was, then tell us what you have changed."

Arya nodded. "If I'm really to start at the beginning I need to start with the day I got my direwolf… The day my father executed a deserter from the Wall who claimed he had seen the others."

They talked for hours. Arya kept nothing from them, not one beating at Harrenhal, not even her time with the faceless men or the nature of her revenge on the Fray's for the Red wedding. It was mid-afternoon by the time they had finished talking, and still Gendry slept.

~~/~~

Later in the afternoon queen Margaery came by the tent with Princess Shireen. "I see you have the guards stationed outside?" She noted.

Arya nodded. "There is truly no need for them." She replied calmly. "Ser Davos is an honourable man and he has given his word, we have talked a lot and he understands that Stannis was no longer worthy of his loyalty."

Margaery seemed surprised by Arya's answer, she turned her attention to Davos. "Is this so?"

Davos nodded. "Yes… your grace, Lady Arya has explained many things to me. I see now that Stannis would have brought death and destruction, not peace." He turned his attention to Shireen. "No offence, Princess."

Shireen nodded. "He was letting her burn people alive." She replied. "I love my father, but what he was doing was wrong. I understand that he had to be stopped."

Davos gave her a gentle smile. "I'm sorry I couldn't work out how to stop him without him being killed."

Shireen walked over to Davos and hugged him. "You tried." She replied.

Margaery seemed satisfied with the reply and her expression softened, she cast her eyes around the tent then frowned. "Where is Gendry?"

"Asleep." Arya replied.

Margaery nodded, a slight smile pulling at her lips. "I guess we all did have quite a lot to drink, I suppose he hasn't told you the news yet?"

Arya's eyes narrowed and she watched Margaery carefully. "He hasn't told me anything about what happened yesterday, your Grace, but he didn't seem every happy."

"Well he should be," Margaery replied dismissively. "King Renly is legitimising him and making him Lord of Dragonstone."

"Perhaps that should have been his news to tell me?" Arya replied. "Besides, a piece of paper doesn't change who he is, the fact that it will change how people treat him only shows that those people are stupid. Gendry is brave, kind and loyal… he may not have the same education as you or I, but anybody who needs to ask his last name to know his worth will never understand his true worth anyway."

Margaery gave Arya an indulgent smile. "You care deeply for him, don't you?"

"He is pack." Arya replied simply.

"It is good that he has your friendship, but he is King Renly's blood." Margaery replied. "House Baratheon is his family, as it is now mine. By not finding and acknowledging him King Robert wronged both of them, he stole many years from them in his selfishness. I know things may be overwhelming for Gendry right now, but in time he will come to see that all that is being asked of him is for the good of the House. I'm sure you understand the importance of putting your house first, you need to take a step back and let Gendry find his place in House Baratheon."

The sound of a throat clearing caused both of them to turn. Gendry was standing looking at them both. "Are you jealous, your grace?" He asked quietly. "Does my connection with Arya threaten you in some way?"

Margaery crossed the few steps between them and rested her hand lightly on his arm. "Sweet Gendry, I am just concerned for you."

Gendry became completely still the moment she touched his arm, he looked her straight in the eye until her hand finally dropped to her side and she took a step backwards. Finally he spoke. "You are not my blood, you are family because you married my uncle. Arya is family because she chose me as pack, because she has earnt my respect and my trust, you have not."

Margaery seemed taken aback at his comment. "Gendry…"

"Your grace." Gendry replied coldly, continuing to meet her gaze.

Margaery blinked and seemed to gather herself. "You sweet silly boy," She muttered. "You will come to see how things are soon enough."

"I doubt I will ever see things from your perspective, your grace, although clearly my opinion means nothing to you when it stands between you and what you want." Gendry replied, anger and pain clear in his voice.

Margaery shook her head. "What I want is what is best for the house, in time you will see that. There are things that are expected, required, of one of high birth. I know these things were not taught to you, but once our King is on the Iron Throne we will get you appropriate teachers to assist in your new role."

"What things are we discussing exactly?" Arya asked.

"Family things," Margaery replied dismissively. "And none of your concern. I leave Princess Shireen in your hands for now, I trust she will be safe."

Arya nodded. "Of course," She replied carefully. "She could not be safer than in Ser Davos' presences. In fact, once Ser Davos has returned from his mission north I believe it would be best for everyone if the Princess was made his ward. Perhaps he could also assist Gendry, since he knows how overwhelming such a change in social status can be? It would be a good way to allow Princess Shireen to stay at Dragonstone without adding any additional burdens to Gendry."

Margaery seemed thoughtful. "It is worth considering, once Ser Davos has proven himself." She replied. "Since you claim the guards are no longer needed I believe it is best that Ser Brienne return to her place in the Kings Guard, I will take the two guards outside as well. Ser Davos is not free to wander the camp, but we shall see if your belief that his honour and his word are enough to bind him is correct. Come, Brienne." With that she turned and left. Brienne bowed to Arya and then followed.

Gendry seemed to visibly relax as soon as Margaery was gone. He avoided Arya's questioning gaze and quickly exited the tent. Arya sighed, she left Shireen and Davos to talk in relative private and took her book to the cushions. Ten minutes later servants came in with food and drink. Gendry returned a few minutes later. He picked up some food and sat on the cushions a little way away from Arya.

"How do you feel?" Arya asked, not looking up from her book.

"Terrible." He replied.

Arya nodded. "Have you ever been hungover before?"

"No." Gendry answered.

"Get plenty of water into you, uncle Benjen says that the alcohol flushes the water out of your body, he says he's seen people die of thirst north of the Wall for drinking only strongwine to chase away the cold."

"Tobho Mott says that only fools get so drunk as to feel like the hammer and anvil are inside of their head." Gendry muttered. "Guess I'm a fool."

"I'd disagree there, lad." Davos said from across the room. "Everybody does it to themselves a few times in their lifetime, the fools are those that do it all the time. If you're a fool then more fool am I."

"I bet you've never felt this bad." Gendry muttered.

"Son, I used to drink with pirates, when you drink with Salladhor Saan you keep drinking or you might just get your throat slit under suspicion of having poisoned the wine."

Gendry swallowed thickly at the thought. "I think it's the same with Kings." He muttered.

Arya sat and pretended to read her book while Gendry ate. She wanted to ask him what the hells had happened to make him so angry at Margaery, she wanted to hug him and take all of his pain away, but she couldn't. She sat and pretended to read, giving him space. Once he had finished eating he put the plate down and moved a little closer to her. "I know you're not reading." He muttered. "You've been on the same page since I sat down."

"Maybe it's an interesting page." Arya replied quietly.

Gendry sighed. "I'm okay." He said quietly. "I'm sorry about last night… you don't have to worry about me."

"You're pack." Arya replied. "And once you tell me who hurt you and how…"

He shook his head. "There are some things you can't protect me from, let it go. I know you don't want to, but I'm asking you to let it go."

"Gendry…" She pleaded.

"Arya, please, what happened has already happened, it can't be undone. Yes, I'm angry, and I'm hurt… but you can't fix it. Some things just can't be fixed." There was a sad finality to Gendry's tone.

"What did she do, Gendry?" Arya watched the expressions play across Gendry's face. Eventually he spoke but he seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

"She… I will always be a bastard, no matter what a piece of paper says. She made that clear, they're only legitimising me because they have something to gain from it. She seems to think that because I come from nothing I should be grateful that they're legitimising me so that they can use me. If the Wall didn't need the Dragon glass I would have refused their offer."

Arya felt guilty, whatever had happened was her fault, Gendry had put himself in a situation he didn't want to be because she had told him they needed Dragon glass to fight the Night King. "We'll find another way." She replied quietly. "There has to be Dragon glass somewhere else."

"The deal is already done." Gendry replied with a finality that scared her.

"What is the deal?" She questioned.

He looked away. "I can't tell you, I'm sorry Arya, if I tell you the deal is off and the Wall won't get one shard of Dragon glass. Please try not to be too disappointed in me, I thought I was helping, but instead I gave them leverage over me."

Arya closed the remaining gap between them and lent against him. "How could I be disappointed in you? I couldn't have changed anything without your help. If we survive winter it will be because of you."

"No, we will survive winter, but not because of me, because of you." Gendry whispered. He put his arm around her and hugged her close. "Promise me that we will always be friends."

"Not just friends, pack." Arya replied, the words her father always said came to mind. "Winter is coming. When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."

"I like that." Gendry muttered. "The pack survives."

~~/~~

Part 19:

They had just finished their evening meal when Renly sent for Davos, apparently the ship was ready to take him north. Davos thanked Arya for her kindness and promised her that he would do his best to make her father understand why she had snuck off of the ship, and that Gendry was not to blame. Davos was still a little weary of her, the description of her revenge on the Frey's had truly disturbed him. Shireen had been allowed to see him off, so Arya and Gendry were finally left alone.

Gendry had been quiet all afternoon and Arya didn't want to push the matter. She had seen people be hungover before, but she had never seen anybody quite as sick as Gendry seemed, although Theon had come close once, she wondered again just how much Gendry had ended up drinking? Gendry excused himself early and went to bed, leaving Arya alone with her thoughts. She hadn't exactly gotten much sleep the night before, what with worrying about Gendry, so she decided to try and have an early night herself.

Getting to sleep wasn't easy though, she was still worried about Gendry and the older self's memories started running through her head. Her last thoughts before she drifted off to sleep were of the other self confiding in Gendry as to who she was by the river. But the memories didn't stop just because she fell asleep.

~~/~~

Harrenhal. Lying in the mud, chained to a post, the smell of death all around them, guards yelling at them to get up…

"That's him, the one who picks." Hot Pie said.

"The Mountain." Arya whispered with a surge of fear, she lowered her gaze and started to turn away. She looked back at Hot Pie who was looking straight at the Mountain. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

Hot Pie glanced at the young man beside him. "He told me he stares at him every day, that's why he doesn't get picked."

The Mountain came closer and Arya turned away, she heard the Mountain walking back and forth, carefully she turned to look at Hot Pie…

"You." The Mountain said, indicating the man that stared at him every day.

Arya was too shocked to turn away again and she ended up being pushed back by one of the guards, Hot Pie pissed himself in fear. The man was wide eyed as he was strapped to the interrogation chair, Arya felt sick as the strap was tightened around his neck, that was the moment that he completely lost hope, the moment that he knew he was dead and she knew that she would be haunted by that moment for the rest of her life. The interrogator, the one they called The Tickler, asked his first question.

"Is there gold and silver in the village?"

"I don't know." The man replied.

Arya could do nothing but watch as the interrogation continued, The Tickler sat there eating a pear and asking questions about the brotherhood while another man pulled a rat out of a cage and placed it in a metal bucket strapping it to the prisoner. The Tickler seemed to be enjoying himself. A torch was placed against the bucket and the man screamed as the rat started to eat him alive to escape. The man begged him to stop but he wouldn't. Eventually the man gave him an answer, as to if it was true or not who knew? Either way the answer didn't save him.

The next day it was an old woman, and the day after that a young boy, every day a different victim, until the day that the Mountain chose Gendry. In the back of her mind Arya knew that Tywin Lannister arrived and Gendry didn't die, but in her dream it didn't happen that way. She watched as the bucket was strapped to him and the torch pressed against it. She heard him yell that he wasn't from the village and he didn't know who the brotherhood. She heard him scream as the rat ate it's was through him and watched as the life drained out of him. His head slumped down and she started screaming.

Suddenly the Night King was there. The Night King touched Gendry's dead body and he sat up, he looked up at Arya with accusing dead eyes.

"You didn't save me." The dead Gendry whispered. "Why didn't you save me?"

"I'm sorry!" Arya yelled. "Gendry, I'm sorry! I didn't know how to save you!"

"You said you were going to save me." The dead Gendry accused. "But you let them hurt me."

"I'm sorry!" Arya screamed. "Gendry I'm sorry!"

~~/~~

"Arya! Arya wake up!" Gendry pleaded.

"I'm sorry," Arya whispered, still half asleep. "I'm sorry I didn't save you."

Gendry shook her and the tent finally came into focus, he was kneeling beside her bed, concern causing his brow to wrinkle. "Arya, wake up, look at me, I'm here."

She flung her arms around him and clung to him sobbing. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry I didn't stop them from hurting you."

"Hey, shh, shh." Gendry whispered holding her close and rubbing her back. "It's okay, shh."

She didn't know how long she cried, it seemed like a long time but she just couldn't stop, and the more Gendry tried to comfort her the guiltier she felt. Sure, the dream wasn't real, part of it was a memory of something that would now never happen and part of it was a nightmare, but something bad had happened to Gendry and it was her fault. Whatever had happened was because he was trying to help her to get Dragon glass to fight the Night King.

Eventually she ran out of tears and just clung to him tightly, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. She felt herself starting to drift off to sleep and tried to fight it but she couldn't, she was almost asleep when he gently lowered her back down to her pillow.

"You really do care about me, don't you?" He muttered, more to himself than her. He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and tucked her in, the next thing she knew it was morning.

~~/~~

Breakfast was already on the table and Gendry was already eating when Arya woke up. She was uncomfortable about her nightmare the night before and she approached the table cautiously, not knowing what he would say about it. But Gendry just gave her that lopsided smile of his and pushed the plate of bacon towards her. The plate was three quarters full which caused her to raise a questioning eyebrow at him. Gendry just shrugged and continued to eat his eggs. She shrugged back and put a few more pieces of bacon on his plate.

"Arya…"

"I need more room for eggs." Arya replied as she reached for a piece of bread. "Maester Lewin says eggs help you grow."

"We're going to need a lot more eggs then." Gendry replied teasingly. Arya just pulled a face and reached for the eggs. Gendry's expression grew more serious. "Arya, I'm sixteen, your twelve, it's not your job to protect me."

Arya looked at Gendry for a moment and considered her answer. "Have you ever heard of Osric Stark?" She asked.

Gendry shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

Arya nodded. "He was Lord Commander of the Watch for sixty years, do you know how old he was when he died?"

"He'd have to be close to eighty at least." Gendry replied.

Arya shook her head. "He died before his seventy-first birthday, he was both the longest serving Lord Commander and the youngest, he joined the Watch at age nine after his brother was crowned King in the North, and was elected as Lord Commander less than two months after his tenth name day."

Gendry frowned. "So what? Because you're a Stark you're supposed to be invincible by the time your age hits double digits?"

"Not invincible… but age isn't exactly an excuse."

"Arya, it's not your job to protect me, if anything I should be protecting you. Look… I know I haven't been very happy the last couple of days, but it's not your fault, please don't think it's your fault… meeting you, it turned my life upside down… I owe you so much. Nobody has ever cared about me the way you do, and I… you are possibly the most important person in my life… the last thing I want is for you to be blaming yourself for things that you have no control over. Because of you my life actually means something. Sure, so much has changed so fast and I'm not handling it as well as I could, but that is not your fault."

"It's more than that." Arya muttered.

Gendry nodded. "You're right, but it's still not your fault, I need you to believe that."

Arya didn't know how to reply to that, luckily they were interrupted by a messenger advising that Renly was holding court in an hour and they were both required to attend.

~~/~~

Part 20:

Less than ten minutes after the messenger had interrupted breakfast Margaery burst in with two handmaidens and insisted on trying to make both Arya and Gendry "More presentable."

Arya was her first target, she had some stupid looking dress with her that she wanted Arya to put on. The dress was flimsy and a light blue colour, matching the dress that Margaery was wearing, Arya immediately started arguing that it didn't make sense for her to wear a blue dress. She pointed out to Margaery that her armour was made of dragon skin, that it was rare and far more valuable than any dress that Margaery could offer. Then Margaery tried to convince her to let them put her hair up in some stupid impractical southern style with silly twists and ridges. Arya again refused, but did agree to make her braids more elaborate than usual.

In frustration Margaery then turned her attention to Gendry. The clothes that she wanted him to wear were ridiculous and every time she stepped near Gendry he stepped away. She had him almost backed up to the side of the tent when Arya hastily stepped between them. She got Margaery to show her the choices of clothing that the hand maidens had brought in for him.

"The boots are a better quality." She noted, picking out the darkest pair. She then looked through the trousers, most of them were leggings or light fabrics with fancy, impractical cuts, but there was one pair of dark coloured heavy trousers. She picked up the trousers and the boots and approached Gendry. "Put these on, loose the over tunic and show off your chainmail, wet your hair and run a comb through it."

"As mi'lady commands." Gendry replied with a smirk and disappeared behind the divider to change his trousers. When Gendry came back both handmaiden's gasped at the chainmail. Arya had to admit that she had never seen the chainmail in a decent light. "I look stupid, don't I?" Gendry muttered.

Arya shook her head. His thick black hair was slightly dishevelled from removing the tunic and there was light stubble on his chin, he was still too young to need to shave regularly, or to grow a decent beard. The dark trousers and boots contrasted well with the brightness of the chainmail.

"You're just missing something." She said thoughtfully. She picked up his hammer and handed it to him, nodding in approval. "You look like a prince." The words rolled off of her tongue before she had truly even thought about them, it was just something that was often said to her brothers, but the moment that she said it she realised just how true the words were about to be for Gendry.

"Still a bastard." Gendry muttered, clearly embarrassed by Arya's comment.

She shrugged and decided to press the point. "So was Orys, but he was also Aegon the Conquer's best general."

Margaery ran a critical eye over both of them. "Well, it's not the high court look that I was hoping for, but we are at war, I guess you'll both do." She muttered, she forced that fake smile of hers onto her face and placed a hand on Gendry's arm, the action causing him to suddenly become rigidly still. "Let's go to court."

Arya decided that was about enough. "You are too familiar, your grace, and Gendry doesn't like it." She said looking pointedly at Margaery's hand.

Margaery laughed the comment off. "Oh Arya, we are not as frigid as the North, don't be silly."

Gendry shook his head and pulled his arm away from Margaery, taking a step away from her and closer to Arya in the process. It was almost as if Arya's words had given him the courage to do so. "No," He said quietly, lowering his gaze. "You are too familiar, and I find it very uncomfortable, please stop touching me, your grace." His brow wrinkled and he bit the side of his lip, seeming to brace himself for the repercussions of his words.

Margaery's arm fell to her side and her gaze moved from Gendry to Arya then back to Gendry. "Sweet Gendry," She said with a sigh. "You have so much to learn. If you want to survive in court you will need to learn to deal with gentle touches and familiarities, otherwise you will end up as grim as Ne-, you will end up very grim."

Gendry raised his clear blue eyes up to Margaery and studied her for a moment. "Were you about to say that I will end up as grim as Ned Stark?"

Margaery seemed to hesitate for a moment then met his gaze and nodded. "Yes."

Gendry squared his shoulders and seemed to draw himself taller. "Sounds good, I'll be as grim as Ned Stark and people will think twice before touching me without my consent." He held Margaery's gaze and placed his left hand on the middle of Arya's back. "Come, Lady Arya, let us go to court… and be as grim as your father."

Arya nodded and let Gendry guide her out of the tent. They walked quickly, leaving a stunned Margaery behind them.

Court was tedious and long, there were many announcements and many things were discussed, near the start of it Gendry was called forward, officially named Gendry Baratheon, and made the Prince of Dragonstone. Renly made a show of calling him nephew and hugging him fondly, Gendry responded awkwardly and fought not to lower his gaze. Two seats were added at the bottom of the makeshift throne dais and Gendry and Arya found themselves stuck there for the rest of court.

Arya could feel Gendry's discomfort steadily growing and reached over to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. She only meant for the action to be quick but Gendry grabbed hold of her hand, lacing their fingers together and rested their joint hands on his knee. It seemed to help him so they stayed like that for the next couple of hours, even causing a snide remark from Loras under his breath about how 'sweet' it was that they were holding hands. Brienne 'accidently' stood on Loras' foot moments after the comment and Arya had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. It was announced that camp would be moving to Dragonstone as a launching place for the attack on Kings Landing, and after court was over the camp immediately started packing down for the move.

~~/~~

Arya and Gendry stood near the bow of the ship as they approached Dragonstone. The Keep was a sight to see, imposing and foreign in design, showing off the sharpness of Valyrian architecture at its prime, as they drew closer however Arya noticed a startling familiarity… gargoyles! She hadn't seen gargoyles since she had left Winterfell! Her mind was quickly drawn back to the first Keep, the one built by Bran the builder. She immediately pointed them out to Gendry.

Her excitement at the sight of them made him smile and she soon found herself explaining to him that most of what Bran the Builder had built at Winterfell was below ground. She explained the multi-layer crypts with their stone statues, guarded by stone direwolves with iron swords laying across their knees, she described the first keep which had now fallen to disrepair. As they talked she found herself describing more and more of Winterfell to him, it seemed to make him happy so she kept talking, but the more she talked the more she realised just how much she missed it. The conflict of emotions left her in an odd mood and she found herself strangely silent as she approached Dragonstone for the first time.

~~/~~

The next week passed by quickly, once Renly's generals had discovered that Arya knew a secret way into the Keep they wouldn't leave her alone. She spent hours in the chamber of the painted table, with men three to five times her age, trying to map out as much of the Red Keep as she could. This lead to her starting to sit in on war council meetings and within a couple of days proven generals were starting to take her opinions seriously. Gendry's knowledge of the lower parts of Kings Landing also proved very useful.

When Arya did get time to herself she would either seek out Shireen, to help her explore the castle, or make her way to Aegon's Garden to practice her water dancing amongst the thorny hedges and wild roses. The tall dark trees didn't compare to Winterfell's Godswood but she enjoyed it all the same. She saw little of Gendry and he often looked tired and stressed, but when she did see him he would always reassure her that he was okay.

To Arya's surprise one of the strongest supporters of her being involved in the meetings was the Lord of the Tides, Monford Velaryon of Driftmark. He often asked her opinion and seemed well satisfied by her answers, especially her desire to strike quickly whilst Tywin Lannister was still gathering his forces. Arya also spoke of the need to divide house Lannister and of the potential rift between Tywin and his cousin Reginald. Whilst many still scoffed at the thought that Renly was taking advice from a girl who had dreams and visions, Monford did not.

On the sixth day after they arrived at Dragonstone Monford approached Arya while she was training in Aegon's Garden. "That armour you are wearing once belonged to my house." He said quietly. "The last person known to wear it was Orys Baratheon, he was given it when he was six. He outgrew it and it got put away and forgotten about." He seemed to hesitate for a moment as if considering his next words carefully. "Have any of the runes revealed themselves to you?"

Arya nodded and gestured towards the rune that had first felt warm to her. "This one is in regards to foresight, it helped me foresee Melisandre's attack… and when the attack happened I…" She shook her head. "I'm not quite sure how to explain it."

Monford gave her gentle smile. "Myth has it that Orys couldn't wake a single rune." He gestured towards a nearby stone bench, a thick slab of stone mounted on the back of two stone dragons. "I would love to listen if you are willing to try and explain."

Arya nodded and they both sat on the bench. She told him about how Gendry had found the armour and where, she told him about the first time she had noticed a rune feel warm, about the visions, she talked about the night that Melisandre had attacked and about how she had slammed the blade into the flame… about what had happened after. Monford was interested in the dagger so she showed it to him. He didn't scoff or appear to doubt anything that she told him, he simply listened. When she had finished talking he sat thoughtfully for a while. Eventually he spoke.

"I believe that you only found that armour because it wanted to be found, I believe that if you had moved away from it without finding it something would have tried to call you back to Kings Landing… It was not the first time that you had found yourself in that part of the Keep, was it?

Arya shook her head. "No."

He nodded. "Were you led there by an animal?"

Arya frowned then nodded. "A cat." She whispered.

He nodded again. "And have you ever seen through an animal's eyes?" Arya nodded. They sat quietly for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally Monford stood, he turned and bowed deeply to her. "When the day comes that the Yellow Lady needs the ships of House Velaryon the Lord of the Tides will answer the call."

Arya was stunned, she quickly pushed herself to her feet not wanting to be disrespectful. "If the call is ever made, the decision will not be made lightly, Lord Velaryon."

Monford nodded. "I know, the blood of the First Men is strong in you, control the armour, do not let the armour control you." And with those cryptic words he turned and left.

Once he was gone Arya sank back down on the stone bench running their conversation over in her head. She didn't quite understand what had just happened but it seemed more important than she could comprehend. She sat there, in the middle of the scared garden built for Aegon the Conquer, surrounded by strange dark trees that she didn't know, by thorny bushes, wild roses and cranberries, yet they held no answers for her and the stone dragons remained silent, keeping their secrets.

~~/~~