The wind howled through their sails, pushing them faster and faster through the cresting waves. Arya had Mansel by her side as they practically flew across the water, they were discussing when the sails would need to come in as the storm hit. So far they'd had good luck and traveled many leagues since they'd spotted the squall, but Arya didn't believe it could hold forever.

Gendry was sick as a dog in the captain's quarters, and she'd ordered him to stay there after checking on him earlier and he'd been too weak to argue with her. Now she stood alone on the deck, watching as the black clouds finally caught them and the ship began to pitch and roll as the sea became more and more agitated.

Arya turned and gave the order to batten down the hatches and secure the sails. Mansel gave her a heavy piece of rope and told her to lash herself to the foremast so that she wouldn't be swept over. Arya decide to tie the rope around the mast and the other end around her waist, which allowed her to still move about the deck, shouting orders to her crew.

She looked towards Mansel, who had followed her lead and tied himself to the mast. The man had sent orders to the crew to get the ship prepared and Arya could still see them scurrying through the rigging. She wondered what it would be like up there and remembered how much her brother, Bran, had loved to climb when he was young. If only he still could.

As Arya paced the bridge, she felt there was something electric and beautiful about the storm, even as it tried to pull them apart. It made her feel more alive to be fighting for her life and the lives of her crew.

Arya stayed the night on the deck, while most of the crew huddled below. She was soaked through and freezing and every once in a while her teeth with give an involuntary chatter but she was determined to see them through. The storm had howled and tossed them, but ship had stayed steady, not taking on too much water and thankfully it hadn't turned cold enough to freeze the rain on the rigging and sails.

As a greenish light broke through the clouds, Arya realized it must be dawn. She swept her wet hair out of her face and turned to the first mate. He'd come to check for orders, as the rest of the crew scampered here and there keeping the ship from going down.

"I think we're going to make it," Arya said with a grim smile and the big man gave her a toothless smile back.

Just as a few minutes later, a wave hit them and the ship pitched to the port side. Arya fell towards the railing, the rope around her waist drawing taught and keeping her from going over the side. She should have been terrified, but she only felt alive. She wrapped the rope around her arm and began to haul herself back towards the center of the deck, it was like climbing up a slick hill.

The light from the dawn was flickering as the clouds moved around it and Arya looked up in horror to see the first mate cutting through the last tendrils of the rope holding her, she only had time to brace herself as she slid backwards and hit the railing hard with her back.

She flailed for a moment almost toppling over the side, but she had good balance and was able to cling to the wooden rail. She looked back up deck and saw that the first mate had disappeared. Arya wondered if he was going to alert the others that now was the time to attack.

Gendry had stayed in the cabin through the night, his head permanently stuck in a bucket as he retched his guts out. When he had nothing more in his stomach, he dry heaved, his eyes swimming with tears. He'd finally fallen asleep, hunched over on the floor, but he'd been awakened by a loud crashing sound and the ship had dipped. He no longer felt sick, but he was dizzy. His first thought was for Arya and he stood, trying to get his balance back. He nearly fell over twice but was finally able to walk across the cabin to the door, even as the floor seemed to shake and dip.

His first step outside was shaky but he soon found his balance as he moved across the deck looking for Arya. He assumed she would be up near the helm, helping to steer the ship, but he didn't see her on the bridge.

A crack of lightening flashed and the ship gave a huge heave as it rolled down the side of a steep wave. Gendry clung to the mainmast for a moment so as not to fall down. The rain was dripping into his eyes and made it hard for him to see, but suddenly he saw Arya, a tiny figure squatting by the rail of the ship. He couldn't tell what she was doing at such a distance, but his heart stopped beating so hard and he felt relief that she was there.

She seemed to hear something and turned. The big first mate came lumbering towards her and for a moment, Gendry thought he was going to help her up the deck. But instead, the big man picked up Arya like she was nothing and tossed her over the side.

Watching her disappear, Gendry's heart stopped.

When Arya went over, Gendry saw his whole future flash before his eyes and all he saw was red. Somehow, he'd marched back into the captain's cabin and pulled out his armor and sword that he'd stashed away under the bed. He didn't bother with the armor, but he needed the sword.

With a roar like a wounded bull he burst back onto deck, just as the storm started to ebb away. The rain now was just a soft patter on his face, rather than a torrent. The man who had tossed Arya over must have heard Gendry because he looked up suddenly, his small cold eyes taking in the sword in Gendry's hand.

The first mate reached down, taking up a harpoon that had been hidden in some ropes on the deck. He raised it at Gendry in challenged.

Gendry rushed the man, only seeing red, and usually this tactic would have been foolhardy, but the first mate wasn't much of a fighter and he stood no chance as Gendry pushed him back with the point of his sword towards the edge of the ship.

The first mate lowered the harpoon and tried to charge Gendry, but Gendry was used to such attacks after fighting for so many years and he turned the harpoon aside with his arm and duck closer to the man to swing at him with his sword. He cut the man's arm nearly clean off and he gave a brutal grunt. He'd reached the railing and Gendry pressed forward, kicking the now discarded harpoon away from the big man's reach.

The man's little eyes finally registered that Gendry was going to kill him and he tried to move to the side, but Gendry kicked at his legs while slamming into the man with all of his weight. He rolled gracefully over the rail and landed with a muffled splash in the icy water below. Gendry watched his head sink under and then he turned around.

Further up the deck, Mansel was leaning over the rail where Arya had gone over and seemed to be struggling with something. Gendry went to the man's side, ready to through him overboard too if he'd had any part in hurting Arya.

When he reached the man, he saw that he had a rope in his hands and he was bracing his feet against the balustrade and pulling with all his might. Gendry didn't dare to hope but he glanced over the side. Hanging by her waist, Arya looked up at him with fearful, large brown eyes in her pale face.

When they'd gotten her back onto deck, Gendry had pulled her into his arms and wouldn't let her go. She hadn't wanted to let go either, as Gendry helped to ease the violent shivering, as her teeth where fully clacking together now.

He finally let her go so that they could go into the captain's quarters where a fire had been started in the grate. Gendry silently thanked whatever squab had seen to it. Arya went behind the wooden screen, intent on shedding her soaked clothing, but she was shaking so hard she couldn't undo any of her buttons.

"Gendry," she called softly.

"Yes?"

"Can... can you help," she said her voice shaking as she tried to control her body's vibrations.

Gendry came around the screen and saw her struggling to undo the button to her tunic. He undid the buttons for her and helped her to slide it over her head. He kept his eyes only on the task at hand, but couldn't help running his warmer hands down her arms, which were ice cold.

"Thank you," she said and he watched her naked back as she sidled over to the bed and got in, pulling the covers to her chin.

Gendry came to sit beside her. He didn't want to let her out of his sight, not a bit. His heart was still running too fast in his chest after seeing her go over and fighting with the first mate.

"I thought you were gone," he said softly, brushing her sticky hair away from her forehead and out of her eyes. She breathed in deeply her eyes like liquid silver as she looked at him.

"I thought I was too," she said, "But I had enough time to tie my rope to the rail before he came for me. I was lucky."

Gendry leaned forward and kissed her softly. She brought her arms from under the covers and wrapped them around his neck, trying pull him closer.

He pulled back after a moment, reluctantly.

"I wish I could crawl inside your skin right now," she chattered out.

Something curled in the pit of Gendry's stomach at the thought of getting under the covers with a naked Arya. He felt bad because now wasn't good timing, but he loved her and wanted to show her.

"Better not, my lady," he murmured going to the chest to find more furs to pile on top of her.

She smiled despite herself. Gendry was not his father in the slightest. He'd always treated her with courtesy, even before he'd known she was a highborn lady, but better than that he'd always treated her as a person, no less or more than him. Although right at that moment, she'd been okay with a slip of his honor if it meant having his warm body beside her, but she knew him well enough to know he wouldn't go for it.

Once Arya was feeling warm enough to leave the bed, Gendry had a servant bring them dinner. It some kind of roasted fowl in a creamy sauce and Arya devoured it without a word to Gendry. As she ate and he picked at his good, a thought that had been plaguing Gendry finally escaped his lips. "What happened to your sister... and your brother?"

Arya kept on eating as if she had not heard and so she startled him a long moment later when she said, "Jon died first at the Wall. He was Lord Commander by then and his sworn brothers killed him. A friend of his, a Samwell Tarly, sent me a raven after it was done. He was good enough to release Jon's direwolf into the wild before the brothers got any ideas.

I went to Highgarden to see Sansa as soon I heard she was there. They'd married her to the heir, Willas. I got to see her a few hours before the childbed fever took her and her little one. Willas and my sister had affection for each other, but it wasn't love and all I could think of was my sister as a girl; always dreaming of falling in love with a lord and being happy in a castle. She got none of that. I know that's a horrible and silly thing to think." Arya's voice was hard as she told him this and he could see any grief she had had been pushed far down inside herself.

"It wouldn't be like that between us," Gendry said softly. He had a wild idea in his head that this might be part of why she refused to marry anyone, but he wasn't sure.

"I know it's not," she assured him.

"What does that mean?"

"I know you love me," Arya said with a bit of a smirk.

"And you?" Gendry asked. His heart was fluttering in his chest even though she was teasing him.

"How do you not know?" She said giving him a look he'd never seen before, as if willing him to read her mind.

"You've never made your feelings very clear," he said and she snorted.

"You're an idiot," she said in the same way she'd always called him that, but he heard it this time, it was her way of telling him she loved him too.

Once the storm had passed they encountered a vast ice field, the icebergs butting against the hull of the ship at times, as they jostled in the water, but Mansel navigated them carefully through it and soon enough Arya could see the island of Skagos standing hard and cold against the slate grey sky. Somewhere on the island was her brother, she could almost feel him.