AN: Did you guys like the new episode? I'm excited for the next one. Arya, of course. And Jaime/Brienne. Maybe we'll finally meet the Reeds?

In the last chapter, I totally forgot that Beric's sword actually broke in half. Sorry about that.

Thanks to those who reviewed/followed/favorited. It's always appreciated.

Arya was woken gently by the pitter-patter of rain. She sat up in the bed, wrapping the blankets around her shoulders. She rubbed her tired eyes, sure they were red and puffy.

She was in a spacious tent, one that could fit more décor than it currently held. There was just a mattress on a rug, and then some surrounding candles to light the room.

She was alone. Where had Gendry gone? She remembered he had carried her off to bed sometime during her breakdown the previous night. He had been there when she had fallen asleep…

Someone appeared through the back entrance of her tent, sopping wet, dripping onto the floor. He seemed to be expecting some kind of exclamation from her, maybe another death threat, but it didn't come. She was too tired.

The Hound spoke first. "I want my gold back."

"I don't have it."

"Who does? Your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," she corrected. "Thoros has it, most likely."

He turned to leave.

"When was the last time you saw my sister?" she found herself asking.

He stopped. "What?"

"My sister, Sansa. When did you see her last?"

"At the Battle of the Blackwater."

When was that? She was still at Harrenhal then, wasn't she? Yes, she remembered Ray was rather talkative about it. "Was she… okay?"

"She's with Joffrey. What do you think?"

Arya did not think she was capable of more tears, but her eyes watered anyway. Sansa, gentle Sansa, with that monster.

"She's surviving," The Hound told her with a surprising softness. "She's stronger than you think"

She nodded to him her thank you, suddenly feeling determined. She knew what she had to do now.

He nodded back before disappearing through the back of the tent.

Gendry walked in through the tent entrance literally seconds after the Hound left, carrying a tray, his hair damp and unkempt from with rain. Even after all that happened last night, he still took her breath away by how beautiful he really was.

"You're awake."

She simply nodded in response.

"I got you breakfast," he said whilst sitting across from her, placing the tray in between them on the bed. He lifted the lid that was used to protect the food from the rain and revealed a glass of water, a biscuit with honey along with some grapes and also a few slices of bacon.

She didn't make a move to eat it. It just didn't sound appetizing.

"Come on, you haven't eaten in a day."

What? "I had dinner last night."

"No, you had dinner the night before last night. You slept all day yesterday."

That was surprising, but she still didn't want to eat. "I'm not hungry."

"Arya, please?" he asked, eyes pleading with her.

She stared at him for a moment, and then let out an exasperated sigh. She tore off a chunk of the biscuit and took a bite. At that, she realized she was hungry and finished off the piece of bread and had a few of the grapes.

"Happy?" she asked before taking a sip of the water.

The corners of his lips quirked up. "Yes." He then noticed the puddle that the Hound had left in her tent. "What happened there?"

"The Hound came back, dripping all over the place."

"What? Why?"

"He wanted his gold."

"So much he might start killing everyone?"

"He won't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"We should tell them."

"Fine," she stood from the bed, untangling herself from the blankets. "I need to ask Beric something anyway."


"We're not killing him," Beric announced.

"The Lord of Light is not done with him yet," Thoros told the surrounding crowd. Arya spotted all of her travelling companions in the mass of people.

"But—"

"He didn't hurt anyone," Beric interrupted one of the men who Arya didn't know. "And we don't know where he is. That is the end of this." The people began to disperse with that.

Arya and Gendry walked through the rain, which had slowed generously, and over to Beric and Thoros, who had been joined by Harwin and Tom.

"Good, you are safe," Harwin told her. She felt a pang of guilt at voice, remembering how she pulled a knife on him. "We were about send someone to check on you."

"The Hound has paid us a visit," Tom explained.

"Everyone is okay, then?" Gendry asked.

"Yes," Thoros answered. "He just made some empty threats that have shaken some of our men."

Well, this was as good a time as any. "When can we leave?" Arya blurted.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked her.

"You told me to wait until we got to Beric. And I did. You said you were going to ransom me. And now I'm waiting, again. I'm tired of it. I've been away too long. I need to be with my family. It's time for me to leave for Riverrun."

Beric agreed, nodding his head. "I think we can leave in a few days-"

"Tomorrow," Arya said, surprised by how demanding she sounded . "I want to leave tomorrow."

Beric looked to Thoros, who shrugged, and then to Tom and Harwin, who also didn't have anything to say.

"Then we leave in the morning."

Soon, she would be with one of the two brothers she had left, and her mother, too. And she would help however she could, with Sansa and the war. Arya vowed to herself that what family she had left would be reunited.


The arrow hit the target, but, of course, only on the very edge. Arya was rusty.

"Dammit."

"Relax," Anguy told her while he readjusted her elbow. "Try again."

She took his advice, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She shot the arrow, and it hit the target, this time in exact center.

"Good," he praised.

Arya beamed, and turned to Gendry to share her smile but he had that look in his eyes again.

She had caught him giving her this look a few times since they had arrived back at Acorn Hall, where they were waiting for a raven from her brother to agree to ransom her.

Arya didn't know what the look was. Sometimes she thought there was a hint of sadness to it.

"What?"

"It's nothing," he said, finally smiling. "Could I try?"

She handed him the bow as her answer and watched as Anguy taught him how to work it.

That look was not nothing. What did it mean?


She snarled, circling her prey with her pack. She could smell the fear off of them.

She growled before leaping onto one, narrowly avoiding a spear, and tore out its neck, blood rushing down her throat and flesh in between her teeth.

Arya woke with a start. She had not dreamt about Nymeria in so long, not since before they said goodbye.

She killed a man. She could still taste his blood on her lips.

It was just a dream, though, right? It wasn't real.

She slipped out of her bed and out of her chambers. She tiptoed down the hall, headed for Gendry's room.

Beric had brought almost all of the Brotherhood to Acorn Hall with them, which Arya was against, as a bigger party brought more attention to them, but there was nothing to do be done about it. Lady Smallwood was not happy, either, to have to play host to so many men. There were so many people that most were sharing rooms. Not Arya, though, as the Brotherhood seemed to seriously lack women, and Lady Smallwood would not let her share with a boy.

Arya would have snuck into Gendry's room by now, but he was sharing with Lem, Harwin, and Tom.

She couldn't exactly just drag him away from them and use "I'll sleep better" as an excuse. Plus, it would probably get back to Lady Smallwood, and so far she had not been forced into a dress and she wanted to keep it that way.

But that dream had her shaken.

She opened the door as quietly as she could. There were two beds, two sleeping lumps in one, and another in the second. Gendry sat at the foot of the second bed, having just removed his shoes and shirt. When he saw her come in, she motioned for him to come outside into the hallway.

"You're up late," she whispered once he joined her.

"I was in the forge, lost track of the time."

She smiled, happy that he was able to do what he loved again. She wished she was able to, too, but she no longer had a sword.

"Are you okay?"

"I had a—a weird dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." She looked down, suddenly feeling nervous. "I, just- can you come back to bed with me?"

For a moment, Arya thought he was going to say no, but then he got that look again, whatever it meant, and took her hand and began to lead her to her room.

They crawled into bed together before wrapping themselves around each other. Arya sensed something different, like this moment was important, though she didn't know why. Arya pushed the strange feeling away and soon she was falling asleep.

She didn't notice that Gendry held her just a little more tightly than usual.


The next day, Arya was walking through the courtyard over to the table where the Brotherhood sat, having lunch.

She could hear Tom singing a song in the distance, a sad melody Arya hadn't heard before.

"Hey."

She smiled at his voice. Gendry, she knew. She hadn't seen him since the night before. When she had woken alone, she assumed he had gone back to his room early that morning so his roommates wouldn't notice his absence.

He came up from behind her and easily fell into sync with her steps.

She turned to look at him, sensing his gaze. He was staring at her, and with that look again.

"What?" she asked while coming to a halt. "And don't say 'nothing', or I swear to the old gods and the new you won't be able hammer any of your precious swords for at least two weeks."

He gave her a sad smile. She didn't understand. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."

For what? What was he talking about? She searched his face for answers, but all she saw was the look.

He then bent down and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. What was happening?

And then he was walking over to the Brotherhood. Very confused, she followed.

"Lord Beric," Gendry started, the song finally finishing. "I've been thinking, and I've decided I want to join the Brotherhood as a blacksmith."

Her heart stopped. He meant to leave her.

"Are you sure? So many are after us, the Lannisters, the Bloody Mummers—"

"I am sure."

"May I ask why?"

"I've got nowhere to go. And I like that you're trying to do something good, protecting the Riverlands and it's people…"

No where to go? You could have gone with me, Arya wanted to tell him. You could have been a blacksmith for Robb.

"Very well." Beric stood and unsheathed his sword. She watched as Gendry got down on his knees. "I, Beric Dondarrion, knight you—"

Arya couldn't hear the rest. She was running, running as far away as possible.

An emptiness crept itself inside her. She was alone, so alone. She couldn't breathe. She stopped at a tree, her hands grabbing at a branch for support, feeling like she might topple over. When had she gotten into the woods?

She tried to even out her breathing to no avail. Tears pricked at her eyes. She heard footsteps behind her, loud enough to only belong to him.

As soon as Gendry's hand touched her shoulder, she spun around, a rage erupting within her, and slapped him hard across the face. His hand instinctively reached up to touch the spot where she hit him. She saw the glint of hurt in his eyes, but she didn't care. He had lied to her.

"You said!" she screamed, remembering the day she found out about her brothers, unable to hold back the tears now. "You said you wouldn't leave!"

"Arya, please—"

"Why?" she sobbed to him. "I want to know why!"

He didn't answer.

"Why?" she demanded, again.

"Because I'm in love with you!" he suddenly shouted, his own anger beginning to show.

The tears stopped. In love?

"I can't go with you, Arya," he continued. "I can't hear them tell me no. I can't watch you get married off to some lord. I can't do it! I can't—"

She shut him up by quickly closing the space between them, grabbing his face and bringing it down to hers, their lips crashing together.

Arya was no longer aware of the rest of the world. It was just him; his lips, his hand that tangled with her hair, the other along her waist that desperately pulled her closer, his body that pressed against hers..

When they finally parted, they kept close, their foreheads pressed together. "I don't care," she breathed to him. "I don't care who my mother wants me to marry. I don't care. I promise we'll find a way. I promise, okay?"

He nodded before meeting her lips for another kiss.


"It's why I've been in the forge so much."

Arya held the blade in her hands, looking it over. It was perfect.

It was similar to Needle, skinny and suitable for Arya's size, but the biggest difference was the hilt, where a metal direwolf was carved in. "It's mine?"

"Yes. How's the balance?"

Her eyes shot up at that, remembering Jon's words. "Good, I think," she repeated, lost in the memory. She didn't even realize there wasn't even a way to tell as she wasn't holding it properly.

"I was going to give it to you when we said goodbye, but now we don't have to, so…" The combination of old memories of Jon and this being possibly the nicest thing someone has ever done for her was causing her eyes to water. "Hey, why are you crying? If you don't like it-"

She cut him off by jumping on him, throwing her arms around his neck, careful not cut him with her new sword, and then her legs around his waist. He caught her easily like Jon had.

"I love it," she whispered into his neck. She pulled back to look into his eyes.

She knew, now. She was in love with him. Arya Stark was in love. She would have laughed if it wasn't such a serious moment. Who would believe it?

"I-I love—" The words were caught in her throat.

"You don't have to say it if you don't want," he told her.

He leaned in, and let his lips gently brushed hers, his tongue meeting hers briefly, sending shivers down Arya's spine. That was new. Wanting more, she pulled him back in to a mess of clashing lips and tongue.

Arya was so caught up in him and this newfound desire she barely even noticed she was being backed against a wall.

Well, this certainly had gone in a completely different direction than it had with Jon.

She gasped into his mouth as she felt his hardness pressing into her. Her instincts taking over, she ground against him, a low moan escaping her at the unexpected sensation.

Gendry groaned, and then she was back on her feet and he was running out of the forge without a word to her.

What just happened? Had she done something wrong?

She realized she had dropped her sword during all of this. She went to pick it up and put it in her belt. All of the best swords have names, what would she name this one?

Arya stepped out of the forge, and almost immediately unfamiliar arms grabbed her from behind. His hand muffled her screams. She struggled to free herself, her hand stretching to reach her new sword. His arm was in the way. She panicked when she saw no one else was around.

Not today. Not today.

"Stop fidgeting, will you?" She recognized the voice. It was the Hound. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Then there was a blur of grey fur and then she was knocked down on the ground, and the Hound was screaming in pain.

"Nymeria, to me."

Her direwolf suddenly leaped off of the Hound and onto Arya, licking her face. Arya smiled and hugged her old friend. "You got so big!"

The Hound's howling brought her back to the situation. She scratched Nymeria behind the ear before standing up and going over to her attacker. His leg was bleeding badly where Nymeria had bit him. He needed help.

"Give me your sword, hilt first, and slow, or your Nymeria's dinner."

The direwolf growled for emphasize.

The Hound looked at Nymeria before reluctantly doing as she asked.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so." He attempted to get up, but had trouble so Arya helped get him on his feet. She started to the castle with him leaning against her for support and Nymeria at her heels. "You need to see the maester."

"They'll hang me."

"They won't. The idiots think The Lord of Light has some special reason for keeping you alive. "

"The gods couldn't give a shit about me," The Hound told her with a dry laugh. "And what about you? You aren't going to try and kill me? To avenge your beloved butcher's boy?"

Arya purposely bumped her knee into his bite, which caused him to let out a satisfying yelp of pain. "Don't talk about him or I swear I will leave you here to bleed out." He stayed quiet after that, the only noise being Arya's erratic breathing from having to carry half his weight. "Were you going to take me to the Lannisters?"

He was laughing that humorless laugh again. "You'd think that, wouldn't you?"

That sounded like an insult to her. "What does that mean?"

He didn't answer as they were interrupted by a woman's scream. She saw they had reached a more populated area.

"Wolf!"

She saw some men pulling out their swords, and Anguy readying his bow.

"Don't shoot!" Arya panicked. "It's fine! She's with me! She's with me! Watch. Sit, Nymeria."

When she obeyed, the people lowered their weapons, but still looked uneasy. A few, she saw, were looking questioningly at the Hound's clearly bitten leg.
He was getting difficult to support. Why was he so heavy? "Can someone help me with him?"


Arya watched as the maester gave the Hound stitches. She almost felt a little guilty at his hisses of pain, but he had tried to kidnap her after all.

Beric and Thoros were in the corner, arguing quietly about how they had let the Hound follow them. Well, that's what happens when you travel with so many people. It draws too much attention. She told them that before they left the Brotherhood camp, but they didn't listen. Arya was tempted to tell them "I told you so", but she bit her tongue.

Gendry came in then, almost knocking her over with his hug. "Are you okay?"

She blushed, remembering the last time they had seen each other. Why had he run away?

"I'm fine, really," she assured him into his chest.

"How sweet, the little wolf and her lover, reunited after a brush with death."

They pulled apart at the Hound's comment. I'm not going to hurt you. His words echoed through her head. Why did the Hound want people to think all he was was a murderer?

"I should have let her cut your throat!" he rounded on the Hound with a sudden burst of anger.

Gendry started towards the Hound, so Arya grabbed him, thinking he might attack him. "I'm okay. Nymeria found me in time."

He finally noticed the direwolf at her side, his eyes widening. "I didn't expect her to be so big."

"I didn't, either," Arya smiled, patting her furry companion's head. "She grew since the last time I saw her."

"Can I..?" he trailed off as he outstretched his hand to Nymeria.

Arya nodded. She watched as Gendry cautiously reached out to stroke Nymeria's fur. Gendry smiled as he scratched behind her ear, causing Nymeria to lean into his touch.

Arya was relieved, and a bit proud of her choice of… well, to be honest she didn't know what to call him. But the point was that Nymeria approved of Gendry.

"Lord Beric, there was a raven from Riverrun."

She spun around to Edric Dayne carrying a rolled up piece of parchment. Arya held her breath as he handed it to Beric.

For the first time, she had doubts that her family would pay her ransom. Maybe they did not want her back. Arya knew this was possibly the silliest thing she had ever thought in all her life. They were her family and they loved her, of course they wanted her back. But what if the price was too high? She didn't even think to ask how much the Brotherhood was demanding.

The wait was killing her. "Did they agree?"

Beric looked up from the letter.

He nodded. "You leave for Riverrun in the morning."


Only Harwin left Acorn Hall with Arya and Gendry. Beric thought this would be better since both her mother and Robb knew him.

She considered the five others that found her and Gendry to be… Well, maybe not friends, so to speak, as they had kidnapped her, but she had still been sad to say goodbye. Arya had to admit that maybe she wouldn't be going back to her family if they hadn't found her.

Thoros and Beric had decided that the Hound would be held captive at Acorn Hall until Arya was safe in Riverrun, in case he still had the urge to kidnap her. After she was successfully ransomed, the Hound would be free to go, again. It was getting ridiculous.

And now, she was sitting alone by a pond, looking at her reflection in the water. Her hair was getting longer, almost passing her shoulders. She decided maybe she would let it grow out. Her mother would like that.

Arya was nervous. So much had happened since she had last seen her mother. So much had happened to her. She went from an innocent girl with braided hair who rebelled by ditching scheduled needlework with her septa to a killer in a little more than a year's time. She wasn't even sure how many people she killed, at least five by her own hands. And if the people Jaqen killed counted, then she had no idea. Three and the guards. How many guards were there? Ten?

A small voice inside her head asked Arya if she really thought her mother would still love her if she knew what she's done.

Of course, she would. She was her mother. Right?

And to top it all off, she was now in love with a blacksmith. It angered her to know that her mother would not approve. So what if he wasn't 'highborn"? He loved her. He was good for her. Gendry could make her forget every terrible thing that has happened with something as simple as a smile. He could be annoying the hell out of her one second and then have her laughing the next. He kept her sane. He made her happy. How could there be anything wrong with that?

Arya wondered if her mother would take it better if she knew that Gendry was Robert Baratheon's son. Probably not, it would only remind her of Jon.

She could see Gendry's reflection approaching in the water.

He sat down beside her. "Harwin says we'll be at Riverrun tomorrow."

Arya tensed at the thought of seeing them so soon. "Tomorrow?"

He nodded. "You okay?"

"I haven't seen them in so long," she whispered, feeling shaken.

His hand was on her cheek in an instant, lifting her face to look at him. "It's going to be okay. They're your family." He brushed a fallen piece of hair behind her ear. "They love you."

Arya had already forgotten whatever had her so upset. The skin underneath his fingertips was on fire. Her gaze was drifting from those eyes she loved so much and down to his lips.

Before she knew it, she had her lips pressed against his. Her hand was in his hair, pulling him closer. When she let her tongue sweep along his lip, he groaned and pulled away.

Arya was getting mad. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"I-I can't have a bastard, Arya."

Oh. She felt her cheeks flush. "Well, kissing me won't-."

"I wanted to do more than kiss you," he told her. Arya was taken aback by the intense desire in his gaze.

"So did I."

Arya wasn't embarrassed anymore. She leaned in once more, losing herself in his kisses. She pulled herself onto his lap. His hands were wandering up her sides, occasionally slipping underneath the hem of her shirt. She let her nails rake though his hair, earning a moan from him. She pushed him down so he was laying in the grass and began to trail kisses down his jaw and neck.

"We can't," his pained voice said. It sounded like it physically hurt him to say no.

She was disappointed, but it wouldn't be fair to him for her to keep persisting. Also, Harwin wasn't very far from where they were. "Okay, okay." She rolled off of him and lay down beside him. "I'll stop throwing myself at you from now on."

He turned his neck to his left to face her. "Not entirely, I hope."

She grinned as she turned her neck in a similar manner. "Not entirely."

They leaned in for a more innocent kiss. But Nymeria suddenly appeared, jumping on top of them, licking Gendry's face.

Arya laughed. "I have some competition for your attention, it seems."

"Come on, we both know Nymeria is the only one for me."

Arya smiled, but rolled her eyes. She noticed how close he was to the edge of pond and gave him a shove. He disappeared under the water with a splash, Nymeria jumping out of the way to escape the same fate. When he broke the surface and she saw his grin, she knew exactly what he was planning. She desperately scrambled to get away from the pond.

"Not so fast, my lady," he said while pulling her into the water with him.

The cold water was a shock, but bearable. She swam to the top, and immediately jumped on him. In attempt to wipe that stupid grin off his face, she tried to dunk his head under the water, but he wouldn't budge. Arya assumed his feet must be able to reach the bottom of the pond.
He was laughing at her struggle, and soon she was joining in.

"Stupid bull-headed boy," she muttered between laughs, finally giving up.

"I'm really glad you're coming with me, you know."

"I am, too."


When the tall sandstone walls of Riverrun were in view, Arya had to stop herself from going ahead.

But when she could see her brother, Arya couldn't help it. She urged her horse into a gallop.

"Arya, wait!" Harwin called after her.

She didn't care. It was Robb.

Arya could already feel the tears swelling in her eyes.

She was so close. She could see his face. "Faster," she whispered to the horse.

He was running over to her. Arya jumped down from her horse and raced towards him.

The direwolves reached each other first, wrestling and licking one another's fur.

And then she was there. She was being lifted into his arms.

"You're here," she said into his neck, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm here," Robb told her, voice strained to keep his own tears at bay.

AN: Maybe not the most king-ly thing, but whatever. He loves his sister.
I almost named this chapter "tears" or something. Everyone's crying.
If you want to help me out, give me some names for Arya's sword. I'm having trouble. Nothing seems to live up to Needle.