Game of Thrones: In the Heart of the Storm

Chapter 9 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

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Marina Ka-Fai: Ah yes, but how embarrassing for Arya when she found out :)
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Now onto the story.

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


Reunion

Winterfell was a flurry of activity, something which confused Bran as he had been in the library, unaware of anything going on. He still had fond memories of his and Meera's actions in the Godswood, still so fresh in his mind. But this made him temporarily put them to the back of his mind. Overcome with curiosity he began moving his chair, trying to find someone.

"Hey, Rickon." He called out, seeing his brother as he was running past.

Rickon stopped and turned, eyes wide, grinning. "Bran?"

Bran looked around. "What's going on?"

Rickon's grin widened. "Oh, you haven't heard, Father's coming back, with Robb, the army...they've got Arya and Sansa with them!"

Bran froze and then grinned, finally realizing. "They're all back, they're all safe..."

Rickon nodded and Bran quickly moved to try and join his brother, the feelings of joy filling him were almost indescribable. His smile only widened when he saw Meera who nodded too him, blushing faintly. Bran was sure he was too, but tried to remain calm and relaxed. Before long he was out in the courtyard, next to Rickon and his mother, the rest of Winterfell was present too.

"Mother..." Bran began, unsure what he was actually trying to say.

She just smiled at him. "Bran, everything you probably just got told is true...They're all coming back."

Bran could only grin; he knew how much that meant to his mother, meant to all of them in fact.

Standing there, waiting, was hard on Catelyn, she wanted so much to hurry out and just be reunited with her family, especially her daughters who she had not seen in so long.

'No, restrain yourself.' She told herself firmly. 'Try to maintain some decorum...leave that until, later.'

Still she smiled widely as the gates opened and her heart soared with joy as her beloved husband rode in through the gates. That joy only grew as she saw Robb riding alongside him, she also spotted a young man who, based on the letters Ned had sent her, telling her about what was going on, had to be Ser Gendry.

Of course the rest of the army was also riding in, but in that moment, Catelyn's eyes fell on them and her heart soared once more, there were her daughters, Sansa and Arya, both alive and well, and home, they were back home. As she welcomed her family back warmly, all the while maintaining her composure, she could see the rest of the family all struggling to do the same as much as her.

She knew they would have time later, after that, she hoped to have some private time with her daughters, if only to bask in the joy of having them back at last for a while. One thing did surprise her however.

'What is Arya doing...wearing those clothes, carrying a weapon and, those men...she's leading them, like a commander?' She couldn't help but wonder.

But her joy at having Arya back overshadowed her curiosity. That was all that mattered to her now, the family was together again.


Arya bit her lip, thinking to herself, she was wondering how she and Gendry could continue to hide things from her family. They had been back in Winterfell for a few days now and had settled back into life there.

For Arya, it meant more Winterfell adjusting to how different she was now, for no longer did she find herself having to act the way she had before. She was free, free to be herself, to practice her swordplay and such, dress how she wanted. What was more, after some initial surprise, she found her mother, all her family, accepting of this.

'Mother, after we all spent time together privately, she took Sansa and I somewhere else, it was just us...We all cried, and held each other, just so happy to be back together.' She reflected with a fond smile.

She couldn't deny however, she was still wondering about how to go about revealing the relationship that had formed between her and Gendry, how deep it was, yet how careful they were being. But right now, she had other things on her mind.

"Septa...Amarda?" She began hesitantly.

Following her previous experience with Mordane, she was wary. But the Septa smiled at her.

"Yes Lady Arya, I saw you training earlier." The woman replied.

Arya grimaced. 'Here we go.'

But Amarda's response surprised her. "You were very impressive."

"What?"

Amarda laughed. "Surprised; I don't hold such...narrow views. I feel ladies should be allowed to defend themselves, properly, not with some knife of dagger, although those are easier...your way is, impressive to say the least."

Arya gaped, not expecting this.

She had been so used to Mordane's ways she expected at least one person to challenge her, for there to be some small battle for her to maintain her new way.

Amarda's expression changed slightly however. "There is just one thing, if you are truly serious about becoming a better warrior, you need to do more than just train with a weapon, you must train your mind too."

"Oh, I...I had heard that, strategy, tactics...It's not my strong point."

Amarda then produced a book as she then said. "All the more reason to study it then, ensure you have no terrible disadvantages and, perhaps even prove yourself, beyond what you are doing just now."

Arya took the book, surprised and a little confused, her surprise only grew when she saw the book, it was 'The Art of War', a book all about military tactics, strategies and formations. Realizing the chance placed before her, Arya agreed with Septa Amarda and prepared to begin study of the book immediately. Watching all this from a distance, Bran couldn't help but grin, he had been right, Arya and Septa Amarda got along very well indeed.


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