If Arya was honest with herself, she really did enjoy fighting and the thrill of it, but there was something lovely about going through the Riverlands with Gendry and knowing that they were going to be okay. There was still a chance that bandits could attack them, of course, but they had more allies here than they had enemies, and it was such a nice change that she didn't really know what to do with it. It made everything so much easier.

They made their way north and didn't spend the entire time looking over their shoulders. Gendry didn't worry about whether or not her family would accept them by the time they got to Winterfell or if him being a bastard would be a problem. Arya didn't worry about whether or not her siblings were safe because she knew they were. It was strange and lovely, and it still took all that she had to trust this new normal. It was a world that she didn't know if she could ever get used to, and it still kept her awake at night.

They were a week away from the Crossroads when Nymeria found them, and Arya smiled to herself as she watched Gendry play with her wolf. She often found herself pondering what would have happened if her father had survived or if she had made it to Winterfell sooner but seeing the pure joy on Gendry's face when Nymeria tackled him to the ground for the third time almost made the pain of her life worth it.

"Your wolf is going to smother me," Gendry said after Nymeria pinned him down by lying down on him. It was her favorite was of keeping him where she wanted him, and despite Gendry's complaining, he was scratching Nymeria behind the ears.

"I'll be sure to avenge you," Arya said without getting up as she prepared their dinner. Nymeria had already brought them some fresh meat for the night, and this was relatively normal as far as their travel routine went. By the time the food was ready, Nymeria had let Gendry up, and then three of them sat around the fire. It was quiet, and Arya leaned against him as she looked up at the stars. She knew that now wasn't the time for them to travel, that Westeros was too fragile, but she hoped for a time in the future when the world felt secure enough that she let go of some of her responsibility and be a little selfish.

When Gendry took her into her arms to sleep, Arya hoped that they continued to make good time.

She was standing in the middle of the forest, and something was incredibly wrong. Nymeria was nowhere to be seen, and people were holding her back. Arya didn't know who they were, but she didn't care because they were keeping her from something. She looked up and realized that someone else was dragging Gendry away from her. He was fighting against those that they were trying to take him away from her, but there were too many of them. They were saying things that Arya didn't understand, but no matter how hard they both fought, no one was listening.

"I need him," she screamed. "He's my family, and I need him please don't take him away from me." Arya didn't know who she was begging, but whoever it was, they weren't listening. They just kept pulling Gendry further and further away from her and into the darkness. The hands-on her arms were tight and bruising, why wouldn't they let her go? Why wouldn't they let them stay together? Arya hadn't fought against the Lannister's, the dead, and the very class system of Westeros only for someone else to take Gendry from her. They earned their happiness. They earned the chance to be together.

"Give him back!" Arya screamed as he vanished into the darkness, and the world around her shattered.

"Arya, wake up!" Gendry said, and Arya sat up so quickly she nearly smacked her head into Gendry's. It was the middle of the night, and they were in the Riverlands together. No one was trying to take him away from her, Nymeria was whining close at her side, and it was just a nightmare. Arya placed a hand over her heart as she tried to slow her breathing. "What happened, are you okay?"

"It was a nightmare," she whispered, and Arya swore she could feel the phantom weight of the people holding her back as Gendry was taken away from her.

"What did you see?" he asked. Gendry worried about her, Arya knew that, and her nightmares tended to set him on edge. He had his own demons to fight as they tried to settle in these new times. She knew he still dealt with the guilt planted in his mind by Melisandre that if he had sacrificed himself, more people would have survived the battle against the dead. He had his own things to deal with, and Arya didn't want to burden him with hers, not when they were just someone trying to take him away from her again.

"I can't remember," Arya lied and let Gendry pull her into his arms. He held her for the rest of the night, and neither of them got much sleep.

Arya didn't like lying to Gendry, but her dream was strange enough and bothered her enough that she didn't want to burden him. At least not right now. Maybe when they got back to Winterfell, they could talk about her nightmares, and she could speak to him about how the idea of losing him nearly paralyzed her, but she didn't think that conversation would go over well. The last time she got was afraid of losing him; she pushed Gendry away, and by doing that, she nearly lost her marriage, and Gendry almost lost his life. He still had scars on his wrists from Melisandre cutting him open, and the way he looked at her when he told her that he was removing himself from the situation haunted her. So Arya decided it was best to keep it to herself for now.

They continued their journey north, and Arya loved it. They stopped in small towns and helped people the way they used to. They found new people that recognized them, which made her smile. They kept saying that they couldn't believe that a princess and a knight would have spent so much time helping the small folk like them. Arya knew that Edmure was doing his best to take care of the people of the Riverlands, but there were still those that kept falling through the cracks. She didn't mind when they had to stop to help plant crops for a day or when Gendry had to spend a day smithing nails.

They were several weeks into the journey when Nymeria suddenly took off down one of the side streets in the middle of the Riverlands. She stopped and turned around to look at them as if she was waiting to see if they would follow.

"Come on, Nymeria," Arya said. "We need to keep heading north." The wolf growled and didn't move an inch. Instead, she kept on the small path that leads further into the woods, and Gendry frowned as he looked around.

"Don't tell your uncle I said this, but almost all of the Riverlands looks the same to me, so I have no idea if I'm supposed to recognize where we are right now or not," Gendry said. "We haven't passed the Twins yet, and that's all I know for sure."

"Nymeria," Arya tried, but the wolf growled and stayed on the side path. Arya had a feeling if they tried to leave her behind, it wouldn't end well, and her wolf was one of the most stubborn creatures she had ever met in her entire life. Gendry said that Nymeria got it from her. "It looks like we're taking a little side trip."

"Which of your siblings is going to kill us first for taking so long to make it back to the Winterfell?" Gendry said as they turned onto the side path and began to follow Nymeria into the woods. "I think it's going to be Sansa."

"Sansa is a pretty good guess, but Jon is a lot more bloodthirsty than you give him credit for," Arya said. "Also, the longer we're not around, the more the Northern Lords like to notice that Jon isn't married yet. If Bran is married and I'm married, then Jon can wave off his own responsibility and say that it's going to be fine."

"I'm not sure how much longer that plan is going to work," Gendry said. "We've already told him we don't want to be heirs to the throne of the North, and even if we are we're going to be behind Bran's kids, Sansa, Bran, anyone else I can throw in the way if I can get away with it. I didn't weasel my way out of a lordship in the south only to get saddled with a crown in the north. We both know I'd be shit at it." Arya knew that Gendry wanted her to agree with him and tell him that he would make a terrible king the same way he wanted her to tell him he would have made a terrible Lord of Storm's End, but the truth was she didn't believe either of those things. Gendry was like Jon; they both had a strong sense of empathy, strength, they both instilled loyalty in people wherever they went. Gendry would make a fine King in the North the same way he would have made a fine Lord of Storm's End.

It wasn't what he wanted, though, and it was absolutely the last thing he wanted to hear, so Arya didn't say anything.

They continued along the path with Nymeria leading the way mostly in silence. The two of them made some small talk, but Arya didn't trust where they were or what was going on to keep making too much noise. It wasn't until a small house with a clearing came into that looked all too familiar that Arya realized that Nymeria was doing. Arya frowned because there was no way that was what was she was looking at. The door to the house opened, and two old women with kind eyes and warm smiles walked out.

"Well, look who it is," Mina said. "The last time we saw these two, I could have sworn it was going to be the last."

"Mina, Prycella," Arya whispered as she climbed off of her horse and walked quickly over to them. She wasn't typically one to hug people like this, but these two were different. These two saved her and Gendry's lives all of those years ago, and for that, they earned hugs. She turned around and gestured for Gendry to come over and join them.

"M'ladies, it's good to see that you're both doing well," Gendry said with a slight bow to both of them.

"Look at that," Prycella said. "He even sounds a little like the knight he is now even if you're both still covered in dirt." Mina made a sound of surprise, and both of the sisters were staring at Nymeria, who was sitting on the edge of the wood watching them. "That's the wolf that came and found us when you two were hurt all of those years ago."

"Yes, she's mine," Arya said. "I thought she might be the one who came to find you when you told us about her all of those years ago, but I wasn't sure. It seemed she wanted us to come by and say hello because she damn near bullied us off of the path so we could come here."

"You're both always welcome," Mina said as she gestured to get them both into the small house.

"Now come in, and please tell us everything. The last we saw the two of you, things looked rather dire, and the now we hear that you're a princess and a knight. There must be stories behind all of that, and you know how much old ladies like us love stories."

"We also insist that you stay the night here," Prycella said as she pushed Arya and Gendry into the sitting room. "We have the opportunity to tell people we helped a princess and a knight, and we want the chance to house you under much better circumstances."

"We really need to get going-" Gendry started, but Mina waved him off.

"Hush, boy, and let us take care of the two of you again," Mina insisted. "We did it once and saved your lives. I would think we are worth a meal and a good night's sleep." Arya glanced at Gendry, and this was one of those moments that she knew neither of them was going to win this fight.

"We would be honored to sit with both of you again," Arya said as they settled down in the sitting room. Mina and Prycella both beamed as they began to move around the house. They talked over one another, and once again, Arya wondered if this is what she was going to be like with Sansa when they got older. They didn't argue with one another, and they seemed to finish each other's sentences. Arya was so glad that these two managed to make it through yet another war with their lives. She thought about how she should pass their names along to her uncle and tell him about the two healers that saved their lives all of those years ago.

"Ah, here we are," Mina said as she pulled a bottle of wine out from the back of a trunk. There appeared to be dust on it, but when she opened the bottle, it didn't smell bad. She poured four glasses for them, and they settled down in front of the fire even though it was only the middle of the afternoon, and there was still plenty of daylight left.

"You knew, did you," Arya said as she drank the wine and the sister's looked a little confused. "You knew who Gendry's father was when you met us. You mentioned it to me when we were first leaving and how you thought it was better if we didn't have that information."

"Aye, we knew who your father was, boy," Mina said. "And we knew who you were too little lady. There isn't anyone who looks like a Stark, but a Stark and you look like a Stark. I figured you both had your reasons for not wanting anyone to know who you were, so we didn't say anything to either of you."

"We were delighted to hear that you got both home safely," Prycella said. "And we were happy to hear that the north accepted your marriage even though we know you were lying to us that day when you told us you were married."

"I had nothing to do with that," Gendry said.

"I needed to know he was okay," Arya said as she blushed, but the two sisters laughed at them. "Thank you for taking care of us that night. We would have died if it weren't for you, and I don't know if we can ever thank you enough for that."

"Of course, my dear," Mina said. "Now, tell us about your adventure. We've heard rumors about the Wolf and the Bull, but we want to know about Arya and Gendry. We want to know about the lives we helped save."

For the rest of the day, Arya and Gendry spoke with the two healers about their lives. They told them about their time in King's Landing with the Lannister's and how they escaped with their lives. They told them about meeting Daenerys for the first time and how they thought they were going to get burned alive. Gendry told them about how afraid he was that Jon was going to cut off his head for daring to touch the little sister of the King of the North. Arya told them about the fear she felt the moment she realized how Gendry meant to her and how that made her act so rashly. Some of the things they talked about were things they hadn't discussed since they had happened. Arya knew that Gendry had forgiven her for betraying his trust, but they hadn't ever talked about it.

Gendry smiled as he told them about Arya slaying the White Walkers, and Arya clenched her fists when she told them about Gendry spilling his own blood to defeat the Night King. They told the sisters about going around Westeros to find Gendry's siblings and how the Baratheon's were back in Storm's End. They talked about the Battle of King's Landing, and Arya said, out loud, for the first time how she chose to be with Jaime Lannister as he died instead of watching Cersei Lannister bleed out. She hadn't ever said the words out loud before to anyone.

"You didn't choose revenge or justice in the end," Mina said.

"How can you be sure?" Arya asked. It was well into the night, and they had finished the bottle of wine and another. The sisters had cooked them a great meal, and now they were lounging near the fire. Arya was curled up in Gendry's arms, and she could feel him tighten his hold on her. She knew he always worried about her mission of revenge and what it meant to her not to be the one to kill Cersei in the end.

"You weren't the one who killed her, Ser Jaime was, and whether or not you stood there and watched her die or held the hand of a good man as he died wouldn't matter. She was going to die regardless," Mina said. "You chose empathy, princess, and that is more important than anything at all."

They continued to speak, and Gendry began to talk about Melisandre for the first time to someone other than her.

"I know she was wrong," he said as picked at the loose thread on the rug on the ground. "We would have lost the war against the Night King if I had burned myself, but I just can't get it out of my head. I just can't let it go that if I had burned myself, some of those people might be alive still."

"You have a good heart," Prycella said. "A better one than the man that sired you that for damned sure. You could carry that guilt for the rest of your life, and nothing I say or Mina says, or your wife will say can get rid of it. You're going to have to learn to carry the burden."

"What if I can't?" Gendry asked in a voice so soft that Arya wasn't sure he asked the question at all.

"You will," Mina said. "You're both much stronger than you give yourselves credit for. I don't think you realize how close to death you both were that night. You shouldn't have survived. Prycella and I are talented healers, but we shouldn't have been able to save you. You both should have succumbed to your injuries before we even got you let alone either of you lasting the night. Yet you both lived, and not only did you both live, but you both also thrived. You have gone on to do great things, and you'll continue to do great things. So whatever burdens you both believe you aren't strong enough to carry? I promise you; you are."