A/N: Here it is, as promised! I hope you all enjoy reading it! Especially near the end, *wink wink*. The next chapter will pick up right where this one left off, and I will probably post it within the week.

Also, for those readers out there who didn't like my whole 'Gendry with a few whores' thing, I know. I didn't like it much either. I just didn't want Gendry to be completely innocent and inexperienced, and I also didn't want him to have strong enough feelings for a character other than Arya, because that just didn't make any sense to me. Anyways, Gendry was depressed, and let the Brotherhood talk him into doing something he didn't want to do. We all do things we regret sometimes, and that's what it is for Gendry.

I hope that clears it up a bit and please let me know any other concerns you have! Thank you for reading and commenting! Please keep the comments coming, I love them! :)


Arya couldn't help but laugh as she watched Gendry uncomfortably get up and leave the room. She had only been slightly teasing him, payback for all the times he had teased her on the road. Not that what she said wasn't true, of course it was. Her time as a faceless man taught her to use the fact that she was a woman to her advantage. She wasn't ashamed of it, if anything, it had made her job easier. It was much cleaner to lure a man away to kill him by enticing him as a woman, than confronting him as a man. She had never let it get too far though, as she was not interested in intimate relations with men. They had kissed her and touched her, but she would always kill them in the end, enacting her vengeance. Not that she would tell Gendry any of this. As a man, and a stupid one at that, he probably wouldn't understand, might even judge her for it. She couldn't help but wonder though, if he had finally 'manned-up', as the Brotherhood would say, and bedded a woman. She couldn't quite picture him with other woman, but she knew that other women were drawn to him, drawn to his muscles and kind demeanor. Arya imagined that yes, Gendry had bedded women before. Men were all slaves to their cocks after all. But the thought made Arya angry. She shouldn't care what whores' bells he was ringing, but she did, and that confused her.

As for what he said about the Brotherhood, Arya wasn't stupid, she knew that a lot of the men were enticed by her. A strong female, who was pretty enough, she supposed, amidst a brotherhood of men. They wouldn't dare try anything though, Arya thought, lest they find out what would happen to them if they did.

Smiling to herself, attempting to forgo thoughts of Gendry, Arya stood from the bed and moved to the doorway to call out for her great uncle and Ned to return. She was about to do just that when she heard Thoros talking around the corner, "- Gendry, you're a good lad, we're happy to have ya' around, but ya' have to remember yer place. When this is all over, she'll marry some prissy Lord and forget all about ya'. No sense in getting yer hopes up."

Arya held in a gasp. It was obvious that they were talking about her. Arya was confused though, why would Thoros approach Gendry about such matters? And did Thoros really think that she would marry a Lord? In the past, Arya had always said that she would refuse if someone asked for her hand, and she certainly had not changed her mind! The thought of marrying some high and mighty lord who only had her around to do his bidding and provide children was absurd. She hadn't really given much thought to what would happen afterwards anyway. Assuming that they won their battles and survived, Arya assumed that Rickon would become Lord of Winterfell, or Bran, if he is still alive. As for her, she wanted to complete her list and then be done with the whole thing. She didn't want to live by anyone's rules or expectations, she wanted to be free, like the Wildlings she had heard about. She just wanted to run away, like 'Wenda the White Fawn', possibly taking Gendry with her.

Arya sighed, telling herself not to worry about the future seeing as it was so uncertain. Instead she turned her thoughts to the last thing Thoros had said, "No sense in getting yer hopes up." Did Thoros mean that Gendry was interested in her? What a strange thought! She would admit that they were friends, and that she almost trusted him completely. And she would also admit that she really didn't mind having him around as he often offered a warm, calming presence. Especially when he had calmed her down in the middle of the night when she was continuously having nightmares. He must've thought her still asleep, but as he pulled her against him, she woke, nuzzling further into his bare chest.

Arya felt herself beginning to blush. She bit her lip in annoyance, telling herself not to be privy to such thoughts! Angry at herself, she decided to just wait until Thoros and Gendry had cleared away to yell for Ned. So she stood, listening to hear for Gendry's response. He didn't respond though, instead it sounded like he just walked away. The next thing she knew, Thoros was walking towards her. As he passed, he sent her a questioning look, probably wondering if she had been listening. In return she sent him a glare. She was going to confront him, but was drawn away when Ned approached her.

"Ready to continue, my Lady?" he asked with a smile on his face.

Arya nodded, "Sure."


After a long while, Arya and her great uncle had finally reached an agreement on the contents of the letters, which dear Ned was writing for them. When he finally finished, he handed over the scrolls to them to sign. Arya moved over to the desk, taking a quill in hand, and began reading over the letter.

Lords and Ladies alike,

We are writing to inform you of the return of Lady Arya Stark of Winterfell, Princess of the North. We are looking for the allegiance of the houses still true to the Stark cause to call up their banners and join us. Battle is imminent and looming near, please join House Stark, Tully and the Knights of the Vale in restoring the North to it's true leaders. All those opposed are now enemies of the Starks, and will be treated so.

Regards,

Arya Stark

Brynden Tully

Edmure Tully

Arya had wanted to write exactly what would happen to those opposed, but her great uncle had decided that wasn't in their best interests. Ready to be done with this, Arya signed the letters and then handed them to her great uncle to sign. She then excused herself, taking two scrolls and a quill to go to her guest chambers and write the letters to Jon and Rickon. Once at her room, she lit the candle on the desk and began writing.

My dearest brother Jon,

I am still calling you brother, because despite what people tell me, that's what you are to me. I hope this letter doesn't completely surprise you as I assume by now, you've heard from Sansa about me, as well as about my taking the Twins. You can correctly assume that I will soon make my way North to defeat Bolton. From what I hear, you have your hands full with the threat of the others, but I am asking you to please gather all the men you can in these harsh winter times, and march slightly south to help retake our home. Once it is returned to us, I will take all my men and help you defeat the whitewalkers once and for all.

After writing this letter, I will write a similar one to Rickon, who I hope to reunite with soon. I hope to be reunited with you too, so that Ghost can be with his sister Nymeria, and you may once again rustle my hair and call me 'little sister'.

Yours,

Arya

Happy with her letter to Jon, she folded the parchment and sealed it with a wax seal of the Tully sigil, as it was the only one she had access too. After, she wrote a similar note to Rickon, hoping that he would believe it was her. It would be more difficult to convince him as he was just a young boy, not yet 5 when Arya departed for King's Landing with her father and Sansa. Heck, she could barely picture her young brother, especially not now, as a young man of one and ten.

Sighing, she picked up her letters, blew out her candle and headed towards the maester's quarters. When she arrived, she promptly handed him the letters and told him to send them out right away. She watched as he did it, and quickly thanked him before leaving to go eat supper. As it was already pretty late, there were not many people lingering about the kitchens, allowing Arya to eat in silence. When she finished munching on the bread, she headed out towards the stable to check in with the Brotherhood on preparations, as they had planned to leave the next day, not wanting to patiently wait for houses to respond.

As she approached, she saw all the men bustling about, gathering furs, cloaks and all the food they could find, packing it in saddlebags and carts for their long journey through the harsh Northern winter. To her right, she saw Ned tending to the horses. She went up to him, and gave him a curt nod, when he noticed her approaching. "My Lady, all finished with your letters?"

"Yes, thank you Ned."

He nodded, smiling at her. She offered him a small smile in return before continuing, "How are preparations coming? I want everything to be ready by the morning."

"We've gathered most of our supplies, your great uncle has as well, so now we are just packing."

Arya nodded, "Right. Do you think the horses will be alright in this weather?" she asked as she stroked Ned's sand steed before her.

Ned let out a sigh, "I think they should fare alright my Lady" she refrained from rolling her eyes, "We'll just need to have frequent stops, to give them rest."

"Yes, my great uncle tells me there is an Inn about a day's ride from here. We will stop there tomorrow night."

Ned nodded, "I will let the others know."

"Thank you Ned."

He gave her one last smile before she turned to leave. She went back towards the castle and up to her room. Once there she gathered her things (her extra set of clothes and her daggers) and put them into a small sack. She kept Needle at her waist, and then bringing her bag with her, she left her room and headed to the baths. She gave herself a thorough scrub, allowing her long hair to fall from it's braid, giving it a gentle wash. When she finished, she dressed again and went to braid her hair, but decided it against it, letting her hair drape over her shoulders, already starting to wave. With one last disdainful look in the mirror at the practical stranger before her, Arya gathered her things, putting her furs across her shoulders, and headed down the stairs.

As she opened the doors to walk outside, she was invited with silence, as everyone had long since gone to bed. Clutching her furs to her chest, she made her way over to the forge. When she opened the forge door, she was welcomed with a warm site. Gendry was already asleep in his small cot, lying on his back with one arm overhead. And beside him on the floor lay Nymeria, who rose her head in greeting. Arya smiled at the sight and leaned down, slowly stroking Nymeria's back. After a few minutes, Arya rose to her feet again, and quietly put down her bag. She then removed Needle, and took off her boots before pulling the cot blankets down and hopping in to bed beside Gendry.

He surprisingly didn't wake when she nestled in closer to him, instead just reached out his right arm to pull her closer. Arya welcomed his warmth. The next few days would be sure to test them, with the harsh winter making travel conditions impossible, not to mention the upcoming battle with the bastard Bolton. She would cherish this warmth though, for as long as it was offered, for she did not know when it would be offered to her again.

Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, Gendry shifted slightly beside her. Arya opened her eyes and peeked at him, he still seemed to be asleep. He let out a long sigh before drawing her near, coming to rest his chin on the top of her head, and softly whispering her name, "Arya". Not wanting to give it too much thought, Arya simply closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.


Arya awoke the next morning to a loud clanging sound. She moaned grumpily at the thought of Gendry banging away at something or rather this early in the morning. Groaning, she opened her eyes and stretched her arms above her head. She turned over to see Nymeria sitting beside the cot, and as Arya acknowledged her with a gentle pat, Nymeria wagged her tail.

As she went to get up, Gendry spoke to her, his back to her as he worked away on horseshoes, yet still able to realize she had awoken. "Mornin' m'Lady."

She groaned, "It's pretty early to be blacksmithing Gendry."

Still with his back turned he replied, "Sorry to intrude on your precious sleep, but I had work to do, and you weren't even supposed to be here."

Arya looked at his back strangely, willing him to look at her, "I told you the other night that I couldn't sleep in that place."

He groaned, annoyed at her for some reason, "Doesn't mean you have to sleep here."

Raising her brow, she asked, "Was I taking up too much room?"

Gendry huffed, finally looking towards her, with a bewildered expression on his face, "That's not it and you know it." She couldn't help but notice how his cheeks slightly reddened at his admission.

Arya let out a laugh, "I don't see what the big deal is Gendry, we slept next to each other all the time on the road."

Gendry shook his head, getting angrier he yelled, "You were just a child then Arya!" he paused, turning his back to her, trying to calm down. After a few tense moments he let out a sigh, and said softly, "Yer a woman now, soon to be a proper Lady. You shouldn't be anywhere near a bastard like me."

Arya leaned back in surprise, her eyes wide with shock. She knew he had always been hung up on their class differences, but surely it couldn't still bother him. These were different times, and Arya doubted anyone would regard her as a Lady with everything she had done, and was planning to do. After a long silence, with Gendry just standing before her, back turned, stilled in movement, and her, frozen with surprise, she finally stood from the cot and walked over to him. She gently placed her hand on his left arm, willing him to turn and face her. He didn't though, instead just jumped slightly at her touch. As softly as she could manage, she asked, "Is this because of what Thoros said?" When he didn't respond or look at her, she continued, "Because I don't care what they think Gendry. You are a better man than all of them. Heck, you are probably better than most Lords."

He lowered his head as if he didn't believe her. Shaking her head in annoyance, Arya moved to stand in front of him, lifting his chin with her hand, forcing him to look at her. When he finally met her fierce gaze with his sad blue eyes she said, "And you and I both know that I'm no lady." She offered him a smile and after a moment, his lip began to turn up into a small smile. Not thinking about her actions, only thinking about how she wanted to make him feel better, Arya pulled his face down to meet hers, softly brushing his lips with hers.


A/N: Gah! It's happening! :D