A/N: So, the Gendry in my head...yes people, I talk to these characters, lol...is pretty pissed at me at the moment. See, I wrote this wonderfully, heartbreaking POV chapter for him, but decided to wait to publish it. Arya still had a few more things to say before we get to him, so now he's pissed, because he's going to have to wait a few more chapters. I'll be staying with Arya for this chapter and the next, then we will see what Gendry's up to! As always, thank you so much for the reviews! You people have no clue how much I appreciate them. And of course, GRR Martin owns it all and I make nothing. My earnings are you guy's reviews and that's good enough for me! Now, on with the show...
"I. Am. Not. Going. To. Wear. It!"
Arya had argued with the plump woman standing in front of her for half an hour now. In her hands, she held a horrible thing, something that Arya did not want to come close to her. When the woman inched forward, she stepped back. Her eyes darted around the tent, looking for the closest exit.
"You will wear it, milady, because it is only fitting for one of your status to dress the part! You cannot think it is okay to walk around in that horrible outfit all the time now can you?"
"Yes!" Arya said, her voice rising in pitch.
She looked at the woman, as if she had lost her mind. Still, the woman held the hideous thing out for Arya to take. Instead of reaching for it, she crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. She turned her nose up and looked away from the woman, who, by the looks of her face, was becoming very upset.
"You will put this dress on, milady, otherwise I will hold you down and put it on for you! You are not in Winterfell, my deary, and we do things a little differently here. Lord Beric is throwing a feast in your honor tonight and you will dress appropriately, otherwise it will look very rude!" the woman spat.
For a few moments, Arya and the woman stared each other down, daring the other to make a move, but neither moved an inch. This was a nightmare. Arya's eyes traveled to the dress the woman wished her to wear and she felt her face grow hot with anger.
"It has...acorns on it!" Arya seethed.
The woman smirked. "Of course, milady. You are in the forest amongst men, who call the forest their home. Now, put it on like a good little girl, or I will have one of the men come and hold you down while I do it for you!"
Arya's eyes grew wide for a moment, wondering if the woman would actually do it, or if it was just an idle threat. With a groan of displeasure, Arya snatched the dreadful dress from the woman's hand and held it up to look at it. Her eyes closed as she sighed deeply. It was even more horrible up close.
"Acorns?" she whined softly.
"The acorns will look lovely, milady, just you wait and see. You will be the envy of all the ladies present tonight and have the attention from all of the men!"
Arya gave the woman a death look, wanting nothing more that for Jaqen H'ghar to be present. She would name this woman her third and final victim. As it was, she had no choice but to put the stupid thing on.
"Acorns," she said again. "What? Do you have a shortage of pinecones?"
The woman had humor enough to snort at Arya's snide comment. But when all was said and done, Arya stood in front of a large mirror, staring at the acorn dress. She hated it, oh gods how she hated it. Hot Pie would have a great big laugh and Gendry...well she would die of embarrassment once he saw her. The woman was staring at her wrist, at the bracelet. Arya didn't know why, but she reached over and covered it with her hand.
"That is quite a bracelet, milady. Who gave it to you?" the woman asked.
"A friend," Arya answered.
The woman studied her for a moment, looking down at the covered bracelet, as if she could see right through Arya's hand. The woman smiled softly, raising her hazel eyes back up to Arya's face. "May I?" she asked, holding her hand out to see the bracelet.
For a moment, Arya didn't move. Finally, she decided there would be no harm done. She walked slowly to the woman, feeling the stupid acorns moving as well. The woman took her wrist and held the bracelet up to better inspect it. Arya watched her, but the woman's face showed nothing of what she was thinking.
"A friend made this for you, you say?" the woman asked softly.
"Yes."
The woman smiled, as if she knew a secret Arya did not. She released Arya's wrist and stood to her feet, her smile never faltering. Arya watched her walk towards the exit, thinking the woman would just leave, but she stopped before disappearing.
"No friend would make such an extraordinary gift. That, milady, is a sign of someone's true devotion to you."
With that, the woman disappeared from the tent, leaving Arya to mull over her words. She raised the bracelet up to look at it again. The work Gendry had done on the bracelet was amazing. The detail was flawless and she could not imagine in the week it took him to make it how many hours it actually took him. She felt her heart swell with pride at what he had done. Truly, it was amazing.
She paced around the tent feeling the acorns moving along with her. The more they moved, the angrier she got. The dress itself was not so bad, but gods, the acorns. Feeling frustrated, angry and downright pissed, Arya exited the tent. She made eye contact with no one, fearing what she would see. This is stupid, she thought. She could feel every pair of eyes upon her, feel her face turning beet red. If she wasn't so far away from the tent, she would run back in and hide till the feast was over.
"Arya?"
She raised her eyes, finally, seeing that she had reached the forge. Hot Pie was gawking at her, and she did not have the courage to look at Gendry. There were other men around. They also were gawking.
"One word, Hot Pie! I dare you to say just one word!" she whispered vehemently.
His gawking turned in to a full-blown smile. After the smile, came the burst of laughter. "It's too easy," Hot Pie chocked out through the laughter.
Arya thought about nothing but wrapping her hands around his thick throat. The acorns be damned. If they all fell off one by one it would make no difference to her. She lunged after him, seeing red. Arya never made it to him as strong arms came out and grabbed her by the waist. She fought against Gendry's hold, trying her best to get at Hot Pie. She could hear Gendry laughing as well and rounded on him.
"You think this is funny?" she seethed. "You think my embarrassment is funny?"
At once, his laughter died away, but his smile remained. He inclined his head towards the exit and lead her away from the gawking men and a laughing Hot Pie. She turned and stared at the boy just before walking out. If looks could have killed, Hot Pie would have been her third victim instead of the woman who made her put the damned dress on to begin with.
Gendry walked her away from everyone and into a thick growth of the forest. When he stopped, he turned towards her and watched her for a moment. Again, she crossed her arms over her chest in a show of defiance. The acorns dug in to her skin, causing her hate to rise.
"I look like an oak tree," Arya whispered. She chanced a glance at Gendry, seeing a thoughtful look on his face. His head was nodding ever so slightly as his eyes roamed from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet.
"A nice oak tree. A beautiful oak tree," he said softly.
His words seemed to ease some of her anger and tension. The thoughtful look was Gendry showing his approval. Though she still hated the dress, it made her situation a little better. He stepped towards her, engulfing her in his musky scent. His hands clasped her hips, holding her still. She held her breath as he leaned in to her, his nose burying in her hair.
"You smell nice too," he breathed.
Arya closed her eyes, taking in his close proximity, feeling her stomach flip in excitement, but then Gendry had to go and ruin everything. She should have known it was too good to be true.
"Although, I'd say the acorns were a little bit of an overstatement," he said, laughing.
Her anger came back in full force as she heard his mocking tone. She reached up, pushing against his chest. He moved back without much effort on her part, but his smile remained.
"Well you don't," she bit out. "You stink!"
"Oh yeah?" Gendry said, grabbing her to hoist her over his shoulder. He should have known not to do it. He had used this move on her before, and if he had known anything about the water dance, he would have known that she would have been expecting it. Instead of him hoisting her over his shoulder, Gendry was falling to the ground. Arya had reached her leg out and tripped him. What she didn't expect is that he would pull her down with him.
They began rolling around on the dirty ground, Gendry tickling, Arya swinging. She tried not to laugh, tried to stay mad at him, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. His laugh was infectious, his smile beautiful. Soon, she found herself smiling and laughing as well. When everything was over and both were spent, they laid on the ground, huffing. Arya's head was laying on Gendry's arm as they tried to catch their breaths. He picked his head up, looking at the dress and burst out laughing again.
"Looks like you won't have to worry about the acorns anymore!"
Arya picked her head up and looked at the dress as well. A bubble of laughter escaped her mouth and would not stop until she was balled into Gendry's side as tears of mirth ran down her face. As it stood now, the ground had defeated the acorns as all of them were crushed.
"I don't think it matters much," Arya said through her laughter. "I think the woman has a pinecone dress for me next."
A rumble of laughter left Gendry as he grabbed Arya and hugged her to him. She listened to his laughter and breathing, finding herself feeling content. It should always be like this, me and him, she thought.
After the laughter died down, Arya turned her head to watch him. His eyes were closed, enjoying the cool day. One eye popped open and looked at her. His mouth twitched into a smile. The sound of music drifted towards them and Arya sighed. She knew the feast would soon start. She thought it was stupid for them to be throwing a feast in her honor anyway. They listened to the words of the song as the singer began.
"Do you like it here, Gendry?"
He did not answer her at first. His eyes were still closed and she wondered if he had fallen asleep. He finally took a long breath. "I like it well enough," he answered. "I like their beliefs, you know, protecting the ones that cannot protect themselves. They have a fine forge, one that I feel most at home in. When I'm in the forge, everything just kind of melts away."
"You could work in Winterfell's forge. You can still smith for my brother Robb if you choose. I—I would like that a lot," Arya said softly.
Gendry shifted, pulling his arm from underneath her head. Propping himself up on an elbow, he stood over her. His eyes watched her carefully. What he was looking for, she had not a clue. "What do you think this is that's going on between us, Arya? Do you think that this is something that will pass, as leaves pass in the wind? Or do you think this is something that neither of us have the strength to ignore? I know exactly how I feel, but I need to hear how you feel as well," he said quietly.
"I don't know how I feel," Arya said, laughing. She was nervous and when she was nervous, she laughed.
She knew it had been the wrong thing to say once she saw Gendry''s face change from peaceful to angry. He began to get to his feet and she reached out to stop him, but he snatched his arm away. She had embarrassed him. Gendry had put his feelings out there for her, showing her how he truly felt, but she had repaid him with not being able to confess what she was feeling.
"Gendry, where are you going?" she called to him.
He stopped, but did not turn around. "Going to get ready for your feast, milady."
Arya watched him walk away in anger, wondering how in the world she could have screwed this up. Everything had been going wonderfully, and then she had to go and embarrass him. Gendry was stubborn, prideful and strong. Gods, why did I have to laugh, she thought as she slammed her hand down on the hard ground. She got to her feet and stormed towards the tent. She was covered in dirt and mud and another bath was in order.
When Arya was washed and cleaned, she stood before the long mirror and stared at her reflexion. The acorn dress was out of the question now. Thank the gods that dreadful woman wasn't around, for Arya grabbed a pair of brown pants and matching shirt. She would be more comfortable in this anyway. She knew the moment the woman saw her, she would skewer her alive, but Arya didn't care.
Her mood was darkened considerably once she headed out of the tent and towards the growing fire. The men were already gathered around, talking and laughing. She searched around for Gendry, but he was no where to be found. Arya spotted Hot Pie and started to make her way over to him. A loud gasp erupted to her left and Arya turned to see the dreadful woman staring at her with large eyes. Her face was the color of red, her mouth hanging open. Arya gave the woman a huge smile and a wave.
"Disrespectful!" the woman hissed. Arya rolled her eyes and continued to walk towards Hot Pie.
"You sure pissed in that woman's soup," said a voice in the darkness.
Arya stopped walking and looked for the owner of the voice. At first, she saw no one, but knew someone was there watching her. She could feel their eyes upon her and it made her feel uncomfortable. The dreadful lady was forgotten. Hot Pie was forgotten.
"Although, it is quite entertaining to watch the woman's face change colors like that."
It was then that someone stepped into the light of the fire. Arya turned fully towards the boy walking towards her. His good looks were visible immediately, even with the small light shining on him. He looked a few years older than she, but younger than Gendry. His hair was pale blond. It was too dark to see his eyes, but she could tell they weren't light like his hair. He walked towards her with an air of confidence. When he reached her, his head bowed low as he reached for her hand. She jerked it back right as his fingers brushed her skin.
This did not seem to deter the boy as his smile grew wider. "I can only assume that you are Princess Arya Stark, no?"
Arya did not answer him, but watched him closely, looking for any sign of his intentions. He looked too slick, to well put together to be harmless. He wasn't like the other men. To Arya, he seemed well-bred, maybe of noble blood by the way he carried himself and the confidence he showed in his actions.
"And what if I am?" she asked. "Who wants to know?"
Finally, the boy looked up at her, his smile still present. "You are a feisty one, aren't you?"
Arya rolled her eyes and walked passed him, but the boy would not be swayed easily. She heard him walking closely behind her.
"Why are you following me?" she hissed at him.
"Because, I find you intriguing!"
Arya rounded on him then. At least he had sense enough to step back. "Leave...me...alone," she warned. Arya turned and began walking again. "You've known me like, what, five seconds and you use the line that you find me intriguing?"
"What if I told you that I found you beautiful? Would that be better?"
Arya laughed despite her anger. "At least tell me that I will get the privilege of a dance, milady!" the boy called to her.
"Not a chance in seven hells!" Arya shouted without turning around.
The boy did not follow this time, and Arya continued to make her way towards Hot Pie. Her steps slowed as she saw that Gendry had joined him. He was watching her, his face a mixture of embarrassment and slight anger. Hot Pie sat, unaware of the looks passed between Arya and Gendry. She had to make this right with him.
As she opened her mouth to ask to speak to him, the boy from earlier spoke behind her again. "So, about that dance, milady."
"Listen here," Arya said as she turned abruptly, ready to strike the boy down if she had to, but she gasped instead. Beric Dondarrion was standing beside the boy, his hand lying gently on the boy's shoulder. The boy was smirking at her. Up close, Arya could see his eyes now. The were the darkest blue she had ever seen, so dark they looked purple.
"Arya, may I introduce my squire to you, Lord Edric Dayne of Dorne," Dondarrion said.
"Shouldn't you be calling her princess?" Edric asked.
"She doesn't like it," Dondarrion, Gendry and Hot Pie said all at once.
The boy made a silent oh with his lips, as his eyes watched her with amusement. He reached his hand slowly towards her, a smile growing on his face again. "May I have the pleasure of a dance?"
"No," Arya said instantly.
Dondarrion chuckled softly, squeezing Edric's shoulder. "It will take more than flattery to win this little lady's affection. Perhaps, you can tell her about a certain family member of hers that you are linked with."
Now this did raise Arya's interest. She looked from Dondarrion to Edric, waiting for one of them to explain.
"Your father's bastard son Jon and Edric were milk brothers."
At the very mention of Jon's name, Arya felt her heart tighten. "Jon," she whispered.
"Come, milady. Let me tell you of my home," Edric said, his arm outstretched for her to take. It surprised her that she did not hesitate to take his arm. Even if this boy didn't know Jon, due to them being babies at the time, just the thought of being able to talk to someone who was connected with him was enough.
For the rest of the feast, Arya sat with Edric, listening closely to his stories of Dorne. He told her the rumors of who Jon's mother was, though he looked uncomfortable with the topic. Arya hung on his every word, missing her brother more and more terribly with every passing second. She relished the sound of Jon's name coming from Edric's mouth. The entire night had been so fascinating, and it wasn't until the wee hours of the morning that Arya remembered Gendry. The last time she remembered seeing him was when she was walking towards Hot Pie. She had been so absorbed in Edric's stories, and talking about Jon, that she had completely forgotten him.
When her head turned to look in the direction of where he was sitting earlier, there was no one there but a man asleep. She looked around the camp and noticed that most of the men had retired or slept right where they sat. Edric continued to yawn, showing his fatigue as well. She realized she had to find Gendry and tell him everything, knowing how this must look to him. She had spent the entire feast with someone else, someone other than him.
"Thank you for the talk," Arya said, standing.
Edric inclined his head, a tired smile on his face. "May I call on you tomorrow, milady?"
"Erm...perhaps, I will call on you, if I can find time," she said, embarrassed.
Edric chuckled. "I get it it. That is fine, milady."
Arya sighed, "If you keep calling me 'milady', you will wish I wouldn't call on you ever again."
He laughed, standing to his feet. Edric grabbed her hand before she could stop him and placed a gentle kiss on her skin. She waited for the butterflies to appear in her stomach. She waited to feel lightheaded like she did when Gendry would do things like that, but she felt nothing. There were no butterflies, just a fondness for the boy. He was a link to Jon, but that was all. In a way, it made her feel relief.
Excusing herself, she hurried towards where Gendry slept during the night. It was complete silence around the area, as though no one was awake. Perhaps, he did not think anything of it and had gone to bed. Arya could only hope, but as soon as she heard the slurred voice behind her, she knew she wasn't going to be that lucky.
"Well, if it isn't the princess. Did you come to check up on me, milady?"
Arya turned to see Gendry half-standing, half-leaning against a tree. His thick, black hair was a mess, his face flustered. In his hands, he held a large wooden cup. She could feel his anger radiating towards her. At first, she felt guilty, but then realized she had nothing to feel guilty for. She had done nothing wrong, and rather enjoyed her conversation with Edric.
"What are you doing Gendry? Are—are you drunk?"
She had never seen him drunk before, never seen him anything but level-headed Gendry. He stood up, swaying slightly, before walking towards her. She could smell the stale beer on him before he was upon her.
"Thought I would unwind a little bit tonight since I've had to face death everyday since meeting you," he said, none too gently.
She flinched at his words, his anger. The smartest thing for her to do was to walk away, but she couldn't make her feet move.
"Lord Edric Dayne. I guess you finally found people who are worthy of your time."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she seethed.
Gendry began laughing, yet no humor could be heard. The wooden cup fell from his hands, spilling the beer onto the ground. He looked down at it, smacking his lips. "Oh well, just my damned luck tonight, I guess," he said, walking the rest of the way to her.
For the first time that she could remember meeting him, Arya watched him approach her warily. He stopped, inches away from her and just stared. She met his stare with an angry one of her own.
"Did you kiss him?" he slurred.
"D—did I kiss him? It's none of your business if I did or not! But for your information, no I didn't!" she said heatedly.
"But you wanted to, didn't you?" he snarled.
Arya took a long, deep breath, reminding herself that it was the drink that was speaking on Gendry's behalf. If he would have been of his own mind, he wouldn't be talking to her this way. Her head understood that, but her heart was having a harder time believing it.
"Never mind...I already know the answer. It just affirms my belief is all," he said, low.
"What belief is that?" Arya asked, crossing her arms across her chest.
Gendry chuckled, running his hands through his thick, black hair and messing it up worse than it already was. All at once, he looked so tired. Arya took a step towards him, but when he spoke, she froze.
"Tonight just reminded me of the line that is between us," he whispered.
"There is no line between us!" she said, exasperated.
His eyes stared at her, as clear as she had seen them since this conversation started. All at once, it seemed to Arya that Gendry had completely sobered.
"No line? Last time I checked, you were of noble blood and I was just a bastard, or have you forgotten!" he said sharply.
"No," she said, walking straight up to him and pointing her finger in his chest, "you seemed to enjoy reminding me whenever you can!"
He grabbed her hand away from his chest. Arya struggled to break free, but he would not let her go. His anger intensified. As much as she tried not to let it creep in, she felt fear creep its way in to her mind. "Let me go," she whispered.
Gendry seemed to come to himself then, releasing her and taking a step back. He turned from her, his shoulders hunched. She could see the tension in his body, see the veins straining in his neck. She had never seen him this furious before, all because she was talking to Edric. He didn't understand, didn't see that it was nothing but her reaching out to someone that had ties to Jon. There was nothing else.
"Perhaps, when it is time for you to leave this place, Lord Dayne can accompany you instead," Gendry said, his voice barely above a whisper, yet it struck Arya straight through the chest.
Anger rose up within her at his threat, or perhaps it wasn't a threat at all. Maybe he meant his words. Maybe he meant to leave her too. For him to even say it made her want to punch him until her hands ached. "Fuck you, Gendry!" Arya snarled.
He whirled on her, his face red with anger again. "I am fucked, Arya. I'm fucked because I allowed you into my heart, knowing there wasn't a future in it. I know who and what I am, and it will never be good enough for you! It will never be good enough for your king brother! I am fucked...I am so very fucked!"
She stepped towards him, ready to wage war with her words, but something flew over his head, missing him by mere inches. On instict, Arya and Gendry fell to the ground. Looking past where he was standing, to a tree, an arror was sticking out. Gendry had come to within inches of that arrow being in his skull. As soon as that sunk in for both of them, their conversation was completely forgotten. He reached out, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet, shielding her with his body.
Another arrow came at them, this time swirling past Gendry's arm. It came so close, Arya heard the wind brush past them. He threw her on the ground, falling on top of her to keep her from being hit. It was then that the camp exploded with arrows and shouts from past the tree line. It was then that Arya realized that danger had caught up with them once more.
A/N: So, I thought I would show a little bit of that Baratheon jealousy. Afterall, he is a lot like his father and I envision Gendry being just as jealous, though maybe he can hide it a little better than Robert did and not start a war over it...but who knows! Also, to tell you the truth, I wasn't really sure if the acorn dress actually had real acorns on it, so I decided it would be funny if in this story it did! Hope you enjoyed it. Anyway, get those reviews coming. Next chapter up shortly.