Author's Note: Wow, I got some great reviews! So great to hear. I even got answers to some of my questions, surprisingly, and that's great because it gives me some feedback. A special thanks go out to…

IrishJessy- You're currently the best, your reviews are insightful and specific. I do wish I'd though about Bella going with them, but no, it's a new character. Don't worry though; Gendry will meet Shireen eventually, so that will happen. He needs more family.

Shelly- You know what's what. Good on you.

Tam & Jax get special mention for consistent reviewing.

Okay, light scene, I'm also going to include a flashback, another experiment for me, so let me know what you think about that. This chapter got away from me; so continued sexiness will have to wait until next time. I think this story was missing another girl to talk to. Let me know if you like her.

Girl Talk

Arya

She dreamed of falling, and when she woke she was, she felt her self slipping down only to be stopped by strong arms. As she came to her senses she realized she had fallen asleep on Gendry's lap and against his bare chest in the main room of The Peach, a few others passed out around them on the floor. While she should have been uncomfortable, she wasn't, and found she quite liked the feeling.

She also felt her husband poking into her backside, and while she wasn't squeamish about it like she had been the past few times on the road, she still thought it was bad timing given their current lack of privacy. Typical, their last chance of a featherbed for quite some time and she'd wasted it. While he was still sound asleep, and seemingly nightmare free, she was also quite stuck in his embrace, and had to urinate badly. She did manage to free herself, but ended up in an undignified heap on the floor. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but no one stirred. Still, he didn't wake. Damn he was a heavy sleeper, but she had decided it was adorable, so that was that.

She had to step over a few people to get back to the room, and actually sighed in relief as she finally got to use the chamber pot. She didn't see her clothes anywhere, but wasn't too concerned. Last night had felt like a good omen of things to come, and she wasn't about to dwell on her lack of attire. Given the minimal light in the sky, she judged it was still quite early. She wondered what exactly she could do with herself. She decided the first order of business was to say goodbye to Merilee. She had been a godsend last night, and she wanted to say goodbye personally.

*Flashback*

"Merilee, see that our guest has everything she needs." Delia instructs as she pulls the striking girl aside.

"Of course." The curly haired girl agrees and motions for Arya to follow her upstairs.

"Hi." She says, turning her head around but continuing to walk. "I'm Merilee." She has a bit of an accent, but Arya could not place it.

"Hi, I'm Arya."

"She called you a guest, so I guess that means you get the good room." She says good-naturedly.

"Anything will do. As long as I can wash this stink off me, I don't really care about what else." She snorts in the way of laughter, and Arya feels more at ease.

The room they enter is nice, it reminds her somewhat of her room in The Keep. The tub is already in the room, but it needs to be filled. Without complaint, Merilee starts the long, arduous process of bringing in bucket after bucket of hot water from a heated tank to fill up the bath. Arya joins in, as much to speed up the process, as discomfort with watching another work in her stead. Merilee flashes her a toothy smile in response, and they work in companionable silence for a few minutes until the their task is complete. Only, now the water is too hot, so she needs to wait for it to cool a bit.

"So, travelling with The Brotherhood. You must be tough." She says, a small smile on her lips. Up close, Arya gets the chance to study her. Merilee really is a beauty; curvy in a way Arya will never be, with tan skin that suggests a more foreign origin.

"I'm not travelling with them exactly, they're helping me get home."

"Still. Four? Even I have my limits." She looks flabbergasted.

"No, I'm not…" Arya sputters at the insinuation.

"I might have taken you for green, but that's no small feat. You must be good."

"Uh. It's not like that. And I am green." She admits.

"Well, what's the deal? They're good men, but they're not gonna go out of their way for free."

"I, I'm with Gendry." Merilee raises an eyebrow over a perfect hazel eye at this.

"Gendry? The big one? How'd you manage that?"

"I have no idea." Arya says honestly. This earns her a warm smile.

"See, I was right. You are good. The girls have been trying for years with that one, but never got too far. Now he's dragging you along, settin' you up nice and sweet, like a special guest. You'll have to give me some helpful tips." Arya is pleased to find out he had told her the truth. And amused at the idea that a seasoned whore was asking her for tips, even erroneously. Although, it did leave her wondering whom the mystery woman or women from his past could be. If he'd loved them.

"Uh, basically the opposite. I feel completely like a fish out of water." She scrunches her brows in confusion at that, but smiles in response.

"Well, wait a minute and you can hop back in." Merilee motions to the bath. Arya laughs at that, and though she doesn't know what to say next, she feels very comfortable in that moment. "Where'd you meet him?" Merilee prompts.

"King's Landing. It… Just happened."

"Uhuh." Merilee says in understanding, although she clearly doesn't.

"I have no idea what I'm doing." Arya admits sheepishly, biting her lip. Merilee watches her closely.

"Well, what do you want to know?" And she sits on the chair, getting comfortable.

"I…" Arya becomes shy, but isn't willing to give up this rather unique opportunity. "Everything."

"Ooookay. That's easy enough." She laughs again. "Well, how is it? How's he?" Arya grimaces involuntarily, and Merilee sucks in a breath in sympathy.

"Yeesh. Sorry. Is he too rough? 'Cause you don't have to put up with that you know? Delia doesn't accept that shit. You can always stay here. I'm sure she'd be happy to take you on. You'd make plenty here." She says, eyeing her up and down.

"No. No." Arya is quick to clarify. "No, it's just, new. I don't really think he knows what he's doing either." The girl raises both her eyebrows at that, and nods.

"Yeah, I can see that. And how big is he?"

"Uh… He's tall. I don't really know…" The girl laughs again, but puts her hand over her mouth to try and stifle it.

"No, that's not what I meant." And she looks down pointedly.

"Oh." Arya responds, her mouth forming an actual o. "Uh, big?"

"Yeah. And it hurts?" She asks with compassion. Arya only nods.

"Well, there are things you can do."

"Really?" And she's hopeful at that. Merilee smiles at her reassuringly.

"Sure. Do you like cucumbers?" She asks seriously.

"What?" Merilee shakes her head.

"Never mind. Here." She puts her fingers in the bath to test the temperature, nods in satisfaction and gets up. "Just wait. I'll be right back." And she's gone. Arya is floored by the conversation. While she still hasn't received any constructive advice, she feels understood, and it was good to voice her troubles. It seemed like her difficulties, her discomforts, were rather normal. She dips her toe into the water. Still a bit too hot. The girl returns quickly, smiles and walks forward. She has a pouch in her hands, and takes some crushed up peppers and sprinkles them onto the surface of the water.

"What's that?" She asks curious.

"Capsicum peppers, they relax your muscles and relieve pain. It'll open you right up." She explains.

"Oh."

"Well, go on." And Merilee motions towards the tub. Her new friend doesn't make a move to leave, and she realizes it's a bit silly to be self conscious in front of a whore. She strips under her watchful eye and gets in all at once. It's still hot, but it feels amazing.

"Well?" She asks expectantly.

"So good." Arya practically moans out.

She smiles in response. "Here." And she hands her a bar of soap. It's delicious, it smells like the lemon cakes she used to eat as a child, and she almost cries, instead, she scrubs herself raw. "I brought you some tea too." And she hands her a cup, careful not to spill it. Arya smells it, and grimaces at the scent.

"Uh, no thank you." Again, the girl laughs.

"It's not meant to taste good. It's meant to protect you against having a child." Merilee explains patiently. While part of her might have wanted to take it, she knew it would be a mistake. And she considers how to politely refuse without giving a reason why. Instead of answering, she distracts her.

"Merilee, where are you from?"

"I'm from The Arbor."

"The Arbor. That's not far." And Arya puts the cup down without being too obvious about it.

"No. I meant to get farther. Actually, I wanted to travel the world, but only made it as far as here." The girl does notice, but says nothing.

"Still, you've seen more than most, I expect."

"I'm the first to make it out of The Arbor."

"And…" Arya starts to ask.

"What?"

"Never mind." And she studiously goes back to scrubbing her hair.

"No, what?"

"I mean, how did you come to be here exactly? Doing this… type of work?" Merilee eyes her curiously, but answers anyway.

"Family business. My mother did the same. Her mother before her. You might say I'm a legacy." Merilee doesn't sound ashamed, but she isn't proud either.

"Well, it seems to me, being good at what you do, whatever it is you do, is the most important thing." Arya states reasonably.

"I do try. I could show you if you want. If you stay here, I could teach you." And she looks shy as she asks, intent on Arya's answer.

"Thank you. For the offer." Arya says respectfully, almost choking up at this unexpected kindness. "But I need to get home."

She nods in understanding.

"You know. If you're trying to trap him, it won't work."

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't drink the tea. Gendry may be one of the better ones, but that doesn't mean he'll marry you." She drops the soap at that. Merilee picks it up and hands it back to her. "But do what you want. It's up to you. You'll see though." Arya changes the subject once again.

"How old are you?"

"I dunno. Twenty something. And you?" Why does no one know their own age? Strange.

"I." Wait, she wasn't quite sure either. "Eighteen, I think."

"I was much younger when I started."

"I'm sorry." Arya says, then immediately wonders if that was insulting or condescending. But Merilee doesn't seem offended.

"Well, it's not exactly my dream job, my dream life. But it keeps me fed. I still want to travel."

"Where would you go? If you could go anywhere?"

"Bravos, Essos, Lys. I want to visit the Isles, all of them. I don't know. Everywhere. Where's home?"

"The North. Winterfell."

"The North. I never really thought much about it. What's it like?" And she runs her fingers through the surface of the bathwater, displacing peppers in her wake.

"Cold. But clean, crisp, pure. It smells different too. And there aren't so many people; you can go a long while without seeing anyone. It's just you and the land. People live there, but it's nature, the Old Gods you need to deal with, to make peace with."

"It sounds nice. Maybe I'll put it on my list."

"Please do." And for a moment, to Arya, it feels like spending time with a beloved sister.

*End Flashback*

Her advice, kindness, and friendship had helped her immensely. And she wanted to say goodbye personally, perhaps reward her in some way. Merilee was not upstairs, so she went back down. She wasn't in the kitchen, although Bella was. She was preparing breakfast, and with a rather cold blue look, fixed her a plate. She ate quickly, thanked her, and moved on. She found Merilee in the laundry room, curly hair bouncing as she placed sheets in a large washbasin.

Arya clears her throat to get her attention. As Merilee turns around and sees her, she has a blank expression on her face.

"Uh. Hi. Good morning." Arya greets warmly.

"Morning." She says back.

"Listen, uh, we're leaving today, so…"

"Oh yes, I have your clothes ready, they should just about be dry."

"Merilee, I…"

"You know what? Let me ask you something. What was that last night? Were you just playing with me? Making fun of me?"

"No. Of course not." Arya is shocked.

"Really. Then why didn't you tell me you were a Lady? The things I said…" And she rubs her palm across her forehead.

"No no. I didn't tell you because… because you treated me like a person. You were honest, genuine. It's been a while since someone just said what they meant, told me the truth. You helped me, and I can't tell you what it meant to me." Merilee's face softens. "I wanted to give you this." She has one of the newly found precious stones in her palm and tries to hand it to her. Merilee clasps her palm, but doesn't let go.

"Did you mean what you said?" She asks sincerely.

"Of course. I just said it, didn't I?" Arya answers.

"No. Last night. Did you mean it when you said all men were welcome, would have a place in Winterfell?" Her hazel eyes are intent. Arya doesn't hesitate to respond.

"Of course."

"Did you mean women too?"

"Of course." Merilee nods and hands the jewel back to her.

"Let me come. I have many talents besides whoring. I can cook, clean, sew, I do hair. And you already know I have a talent with herbs. My mother taught me the ways of remedies and…"

"Wait, I thought you said your mother was, a, ummm…"

"We do both." She says dismissively. "I can serve you. If you let me come with you…" Arya interrupts.

"Merilee. Go get your stuff." She looks surprised and then when it dawns on her, she breaks into a giant grin and runs out on a mission. "Thank you, My Lady." Oh no, she'll have to nip that right in the bud.

Arya makes her way out back to find her clothes hanging on the line. For some reason she chooses the dress again, and she can't explain why. It's hanging high on the line, and she has to stretch up on her tiptoes to reach it. She then feels arms wrap around her middle and screams loudly.

Immediately the arms let go, and she sees it's just Gendry. He looks guilty for scaring her.

"Sorry."

She hits him on the arm. But he doesn't even flinch, so she hits him again.

"Ow." He says smiling.

"Don't do that." She says, hand on her chest, laughing, trying to keep an angry look on her face.

"I won't then." He says and kisses her sweetly.

"Good. Don't." But she's smiling too.

"I won't." He agrees.

"Don't." And kisses him lightly once more.

"I've been looking all over for you. Are you almost ready to go?" He still has sleep in his eyes.

"Yes, I just need to get dressed. Gather the others. Oh, and we're gonna need another horse by the way."

"Wait. What?"

A/N- Okay, the next chapter we're back on the road. Please tell me if you like Merilee. I do. Arya and Gendry aren't jumping each other's bones every minute, but they're getting comfortable with each other. Until something gets in the way, like The Brotherhood, or a certain undead leader… dun dun dun.

Also, shameless self advertising, if you're bored between chapters please check out my other fic called For Want of a Better King which is also Gendry/Arya but different so you won't be bored. That one stays with the timeline of the book, but definitely veers off-course. I'll try to update each alternatively.

I found new cool art for the cover, so that's cool too.

Review please.