She couldn't breathe.

Time seemed to stop as she stared at Ramsay stumble towards her; his eyes a glossy shade of blue and his dark hair seemed to be wet with sweat. She tried to fish her cellphone out of her purse but because she's Arya Stark, the inside of her purse is a jumbled mess: tissues, receipts, make up, wallet, hairbrush and God knows what else.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

She mentally cursed herself and resumed watch over Ramsay as he slowly approached her. She's trying so hard to stay calm lest she brings out an aggression in the guy that she's not ready for. If their first encounter has left her uncomfortable, this one definitely takes the cake. Arya was nervous and scared and she wished Gendry or her brothers would come rushing in to rescue her. But since she hasn't sent a message nor does anyone know Ramsay's with her, she doubts anyone will come save a damsel in distress.

Should I scream? No, no, no, no! That'll only make Ramsay angry. I don't want him angry. Gods! I don't want him angry right now!

Arya checked her surroundings - the bed was in front of her, a desk was to her right, the closet and dresser behind her, bathroom to the opposite side of the room, a 2-seater couch at the far end, and the door several steps on her right. It would be her saving grace, this door, but she would have to be cunning about making a run for it.

"What do you want, Ramsay?" Arya asked, trying to keep her tone calm and unaffected.

Ramsay laughed; a creepy sound that made the hair on Arya's arms and nape stand on end. She knows he's high and not in his right mind, so she decides not to anger him. Despite her knack for self defense, he's still taller and heavier that physically fighting him would be stupid.

If at times you find yourself in danger, it is best to be ready and alert. It would not do you good to panic.

Ned Stark's voice spoke in her head, reminding her how she should keep a presence of mind during dangerous situations. She took a few small steps to her right, towards the door that would lead her to safety, but Ramsay kept advancing in on her that Arya did start to panic.

"You're so pretty, Arya Stark," Ramsay said, his words slurring. His movements were sluggish, but Arya still kept her guard. Anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol would still be strong, if not twice as aggressive, despite the lethargic state. "I just want to fuck you so bad…no strings attached…you know…"

Arya's nervousness went up to a record high; her heart beating so fast inside her chest and her hands were shaking so bad. She didn't know how else she could get out of there except to make a run for it and pray that Ramsay was so high that his reflexes weren't as fast as when he's sober.

"Come on, Arya," he said as he crossed the distance by going over the bed. "I'm a better fuck than Gendry, at least that's what Jeyne says."

Arya watched as his weight dipped the bed and due to his state, he couldn't get across as fast as he wanted.

Wrong move, you pervert!

Arya took that opportunity to run but apparently, Ramsay is the devil's spawn because he leapt for her as she rushed to the right. He caught her left ankle, making her crash to the floor with a loud and painful thump. Arya cried out in pain, her eyes filling with tears as her vision blurred and spinned. Ramsay's hand moved from her ankle up to her leg, and Arya tried kicking him between his legs. She wasn't so successful, though, seeing as she was pinned facedown and Ramsay's hands were already at her thighs before giving a mighty pull. Arya could only scream and cry at this point, although she still struggled to get free with what little strength she had left.

Suddenly, she felt hands pulling her to her feet and away from Ramsay. She opened her eyes and saw Theon behind her, holding her up. She glanced to where Ramsay was, curled up as Gendry and her brothers beat him to a bloody pulp. Ramsay fought back; adrenaline being the only thing that kept him able to fight back. Finally seeing sense, Robb and Jon pulled back, leaving an outraged Gendry sitting astride Ramsay and still throwing punches. Robb tried pulling Gendry away from Arya's attacker, while Jon pulled Ramsay's beaten body away from their friend but not loosening his grip one bit.

"I'm going to fucking kill you, Bolton! You're dead, you hear?" Gendry shouted as Robb held him back.

"Yeah, yeah! I want to see you try, Baratheon! You're a no-good fucker and I'm going to kill you before you kill me! I'm going to flay you! All of you! I'll strip your skin off your fucking corpses and feed it to your fucking wolves! I'll flay you! Just you wa-"

Gendry landed a punch on Ramsay's mouth before he could say anything more. Ramsay fell on a heap on the floor, his unmoving form splayed out like he was making snow angels.

"Gendry…" Arya croaked out, her throat feeling raspy that she cringed in pain. Gendry seemed oblivious to everything because his anger was clouding his better judgement, but Arya tried one more time. "GENDRY!"

Gendry looked up at her with glassy eyes before finally realizing she was okay. He got off Ramsay and rushed over to Arya, taking her in his arms as if that would erase the last ten minutes. She heard Robb tell the others to take Ramsay in another room and to find the others, until the cops get here. She realized she's only clung to Gendry for support at this inopportune turn of events, and she owes her brothers her life too, not just Gendry. So she disentangled herself from Gendry and rushed into Jon's waiting arms. After a while, she moved to Robb and then to Theon, who took this chance to murmur I'm so sorry and I was so stupid in her ear. She held on to Theon longer than she did for her brothers, maybe because she realized he needed their forgiveness for not listening to them and the assurance that he's still very much part of their family.

"You did the right thing, Theon," said Arya a while later. "You listened to Sandor and told us. That's what's important, too."

"Come on, guys," said Joffrey as he rushed into the room after Robb and Jon took Ramsay to the next room. "Cops are here already."

He was looking at Arya like he wanted to hug her too. Arya laughed through her tears and said, "Come here, you dork!"

Joffrey laughed too before taking her in for a hug. "Good to know you're still in fighting form, squirt."

"Shut up!"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Gendry asked when they were back home.

The cops came and took Ramsay, Ilyn, Raff and Polli to the precinct to answer for drug charges and attempted assault. Unfortunately, Arya had to tell her story before they could all leave for home. Robert and Cersei were not in town at the moment, and Arya was thankful for that bit. She didn't know how things would turn out if both the Baratheon parents were home at that time. And unfortunately for Ramsay, his father had to be alerted by the authorities for all the charges being pressed on his son.

After another round of hugs and brotherly kisses, Gendry walked her back to her room so she could get a much-needed rest. She noticed that he hasn't spoken since their ride home; he only has that frown plastered on his face and his mouth was a grim line the whole time.

"Hey," Arya said as they stopped in front of her door. She tugged his hand to get him to move closer to her, to which he willingly obliged. "I'm okay, Gendry. Now that I think about it, it wasn't as traumatic as you guys think it was. I mean, Ramsay was petrifying but at least nothing as bad as rape happened."

"What if we got there minutes too late? Do you still think everything's fine?" he said with a slight anger to his voice.

"I'm not saying I wasn't scared, Gen," Arya pointed out. "But I was lucky that you guys came on time before that perv could say or do anything else. Don't beat yourself up too much about it. My brothers are surprisingly calmer than you right now."

"Well, they're doing a good job of hiding it," he answered. "Because Robb and Jon looked like they wanted to beat Ramsay up by themselves."

Gendry turned the knob behind her and gently pushed her inside. "Go on, you should rest. Just call when you need me."

Arya rolled her eyes. "Okay, enough being a drama queen. There's only so much cheese and drama I can handle for one night."

Gendry took her face into his hands and pressed feathery kisses from her forehead down to her lids, her nose, her cheeks, the corner of her mouth...and when he felt Arya grip the front of his shirt in frustration, he chuckled before finally giving in to plant a kiss on her mouth.

He kept it sweet and comforting; not pushing Arya for something more after all she had been through tonight. She sensed this but did not fully agree to it - she wanted his kisses to turn hard and deep and insanely arousing that he would have to drag her away from him afterwards.

He sensed it too, this urgency she wanted, and pulled back with his last remaining restraint. "Arya…you should rest. We have time for more kisses tomorrow."

Gendry wanted to turn his back and walk away before he could do anything else, but he was finding it hard not to stare back at her. She looked at him with those arresting eyes of hers without wavering one bit, her lips looking plush and red and swollen from their kisses. He would have walked away but Arya whispered, "Stay with me, Gen. Just…just till I fall asleep?"

And Gendry realized that he did not have the heart to walk away.

"I'm so fucking stupid! I should have listened to you guys!" Theon ranted at breakfast the following day.

They were all gathered in the kitchen except for Arya, who was still asleep. Gendry said she had slept peacefully through the whole night, and her brothers resisted the urge to ask how he knew that. There would be more time to interrogate later, but for now, it was important that they help Theon get over his shock and disappointment for not listening to the others when they warned him about it.

Joffrey patted him on the back for support. "It took the hard way before you realized it, but at least we're done with the Ramsay problem for now. Serves him right for being an irresponsible brat!"

Gendry laughed. "Takes one to know one, bro!"

Everyone laughed, except Joffrey who pretended to look hurt.

"Where's Sandor now, by the way?" Theon asked.

"No idea," answered Gendry. But he's some sort of hero, don't you think? His friends would probably flay him, as Ramsay said, once they find out he's the one responsible for calling the cops. You think he's in hiding?"

"I could try calling him. Maybe he'd pick up if it were me," Theon suggested, to which everyone agreed.

"So!" Robb said while dramatically rubbing his hands together. "What do we have planned for today?"

"I have to hit the gym. Haven't been there for days now, I feel lazy," Gendry said.

"Let's hit the gym first then plan something later. I'm sort of pissed with my old instructor, we could try the other gym near Doughnuts of Dorne," Jon replied.

"I'm not really in the mood to work out today," Joffrey complained.

Everyone laughed as Gendry grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and threw it to his brother. Joffrey caught it just in time, before it knocked the glasses and plates off the table.

"You prick!" Joffrey shot the apple back to his brother, who easily caught it before taking a huge bite. "What kind of guy throws apples at people?"

"The bad kind," Gendry replied with a smirk.

"Drogo's. Huh," Theon said, his head tilted to one side as he stared at the signage.

The guys were looking up at the sign that said Drogo's Fitness Center. It was a couple of blocks away from Doughnuts of Dorne, and it looked pretty new in the area although there were a lot of people coming in and out of the gym.

"Come on," Jon said as he led them inside and to the reception desk. "We won't build muscles just standing out there staring at the sign."

After talking to the receptionist, they were led inside where a huge man greeted them with a nod and a grunt. They learned that this is Khal Drogo, the owner. They would have been happy to chat awhile with the owner, except that he was speaking a different language and they just stood there staring at him as he grunted and growled words as he waved his hands around and laughing occasionally.

"Ahhh…what the hell is he talking about?" asked Joffrey, who looked to be a bit intimidated by the man's ginormous size.

Robb was fake-smiling as he replied, "I have no fucking idea, but I sure hope it doesn't translate to Me, Drogo! You, dog food!"

Joffrey wasn't able to control his laughter and Robb had to elbow him on the side to make him stop. Drogo stopped talking for a while, looking as confused as the others were, until Joffrey just waved his hand to apologize.

Moments later, two men walked towards them and introduced themselves as Jory and Jorah, the instructors.

Joffrey laughed again. The guys glared at him this time, but Joffrey only shrugged and whispered, "What?! You don't find it funny? Jory and Jorah, the instructors? I'm kind of resisting the urge to ask where Dora is."

Khal Drogo started talking to Jory and Jorah, who seemed to both be fluent with the language as well. They were nodding and responding to Drogo's queries (at least that's what they sounded like) and laughed when necessary. Afterwards, they turned back to the five of them and literally checked them out from head to toe.

"I feel like a prostitute," Jon said with a grimace.

"I'm sorry if you feel so," said Jorah (yes, the instructor). "The Khal just wanted to know what kind of work out suits each of you."

"Do you wish to be as big and muscular as Khal Drogo here?" Jory (yes, the other instructor) asked.

All five of them shook their heads.

Jory, Jorah and Drogo grinned. The latter gave a few more instructions before the instructors spoke.

"Let's do a muscle building workout routine," explained Jorah. "We'll be working out about four times a week, since you all look quite past the beginner's stage, based on your muscles…"

Jorah's eyes squinted at Joffrey. "Well, almost all. You look like you haven't been working out as often as they do. You're fit enough, but you need more muscles like this guy over here," he explained, patting Gendry's back.

Gendry sent a mocking grin at Joffrey, to which the latter responded with a curl of his lips.

"Alright!" Jory said with a clap of his hands. "Upper Body work out is chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. Lower Body workout is for quads, hamstrings, calves and abs. On Monday, it's Upper Body A work out. Tuesday, it's Lower Body A. We're off Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Thursday, we're doing Upper Body B and Lower Body B on Friday. Any questions?"

The guys shook their heads.

"Good!" Drogo exclaimed in a very thick foreign accent. "Drogo's Fitness Center…very good? Yes? Me nem nesa!"

"What?" Robb nudged Jon in question.

"Me nem nesa means It is known," explained Jorah.

"Ahhh," all five guys nodded in understanding.

Drogo stood in front of Joffrey, who looked about ready to pee in his gym shorts. He pointed to him and exclaimed loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Yer affesi anna! Shieraki gori ha yeraan!"

Jory laughed. "The Khal said he doesn't like you, probably because you're easily intimidated compared with these guys. And he said the stars are charging for you, which is a sort of battle cry in their language. They believe that when a warrior dies, he becomes a star in the sky."

"I came here to work out, not to be killed in a battle and become a fucking star!" Joffrey shot back, to which the guys started snickering.

Jorah laughed. "I would say it means you should approach this work out as some sort of battle. And when you succeed, you'll be a star in everyone's eyes. I think."

"I just want to work out, not study languages or philosophy or even get killed in a battle," Joffrey said again.

"Let's get you guys warmed up," said Jory and Jorah, going all Doublemint twins again.

Khal took another step towards Joffrey and shouted, "Shieraki gori ha yeraan!"

"Oh sweet jesus, help…" Joffrey muttered.