Part Nine
Mina and Prycella very subtly squeezed both of their hands as they tended to their wounds. Arya was covered in bruises and the black eye she sported was very bad. Gendry's nose was broken and judging from the way he moved around his torso was just as bad as Arya's. Griffin shoved their bruised and broken bodies into the cage and began to gather their things. Gendry fell onto his back and winced when he tried to get comfortable.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Are you?" he replied without missing a beat. It was enough and she settled down next to him. She stayed close enough to that neither Griffin or his men could get angry about it but she was starting to get worried. Arya knew she wasn't "ruined" but if these men found out that she was no longer a maiden they might think that it was okay to touch her. Gendry was getting weaker each time Griffin and his men took their fists to him and it was only a matter of time before they damaged him permanently. They were traveling to King's Landing and there didn't seem to be any getting around it. She was going to have to face Cersei and she needed to keep them safe until then.
Mina and Prycella watched them roll away without a word and Arya wished she could tell the women that they were going to be okay and not to worry about it. It was safer that she didn't though and it was a miracle that Griffin hadn't burned any villages as they made their way south. However, Arya knew that their luck couldn't hold and late at night, as Gendry held her close and they still shivered because their blankets weren't warm enough, they talked about how they could keep each other safe. The sun was coming up several days later and when Gendry went to move away from her when Arya stopped him. The bruises from his broken nose were molted green and he was healing. She didn't want him to move away from her and it was time to take the risk. Gendry stayed close and dozed back off even after there was movement in Griffin's came and one of the soldiers came up to them.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" one of the soldiers yelled. Gendry snapped awake and blinked down at her. They were curled up close together and there was no denying it. This was one of her other nightmares. "I said, what the hell do you think you're doing bastard? Your daddy might have been a king but that doesn't mean you get to put your hands all over a highborn lady."
"What's going on?" Griffin asked as Arya sat up and glared at her captor.
"We were keeping each other warm since someone has denied us our furs," Arya snapped.
"That looked like more than that if you ask me," the man said and Griffin narrowed his eyes. She was ready to argue against these men when Gendry reached over and took her hand in plain view of the mercenaries.
"I'll put my hands wherever I want," he said without a hint of fear in his voice. He ran his thumb along with her wedding band which drew the attention of Griffin. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at it.
"So that's how it is," he said.
"It is," Arya replied because if he wasn't afraid then she wasn't either. She was sick of hiding the fact that this man was her husband because there wasn't much they could do to make things worse for them. They were already near starving and almost froze every night. She specifically was of no use to the Lannister's dead.
"What makes you think you can get away with this, boy?" Griffin asked Gendry who smiled pleasantly. Arya imagined this was the smile he would use against highborn's that were trying to buy something from the forge back in King's Landing.
"Because you're not going to kill or maim us," Gendry said.
"And how do you know that?"
"Because you need me whole and alive," Arya said. "The Lannister's can't exactly ransom me to my brother if I'm half dead. If you maim him I will find a way to maim myself and I have a feeling that Cersei Lannister wouldn't exactly be forgiving to those that brought her damaged goods."
This was a gamble but one that her and Gendry had whispered to each other for several days now. They both knew it was only a matter of time before Griffin and his men realized that they were married. They needed some way to combat that and this was the only way that Arya could see. Gendry linked their fingers together and stared these men down. He was a warrior and judging by the expression on several of the mercenary's faces they forgot that. Arya smiled and she made sure they could see the promise of violence behind it. The Wolf and the Bull hadn't killed countless of Lannister soldiers by accident.
"Lady Stark, I would like to remind you that you're not in charge in this situation," Griffin said.
"And I would remind you that the Lady who is in charge, technically, would have no problem stringing up a nobody like yourself," Arya replied channeling all of the power into her voice that she could. Gendry was staring Griffin down and despite the bruises, he looked like he was daring the mercenary to try something. Griffin laughed to himself and he walked up closer to the cage so he was out of earshot from the rest of his men.
"Do you really think I'll let you get away with challenging me in front of my own men? There are other ways I can make you hurt that won't leave a bruise on that body of your highborn," Griffin snarled. "As for the Queen, she'll just be happy to have the two of you regardless of what state you're in. She's going to kill the bastard and I think you should come to terms with that now, Lady Stark." He took a step back and looked at the two of them. "The Lady seems to think she has us beat," Griffin said, louder now so his men could hear. "Let's remind her who's in charge. Bastard, get out of the cage."
"I warned you-" Arya said but Gendry squeezed her hand. '
"I'll be fine," he said to her softly. Gendry looked at the men watching them and ignored the way they all reacted when he leaned forward and kissed her. Arya admired his bravery and she knew that she had to follow through with the threat if they tried to hurt him. Griffin opened the cage door and roughly pulled Gendry out.
"You must think you're the luckiest bastard in all of Westeros to trick a highborn lady into marrying you," Griffin said.
"She asked me actually," Gendry replied and Arya could tell he enjoyed the way all of the men looked like they didn't quite know what to do with that information.
"Let's see how lucky you are when you have to walk the rest of the way to King's Landing," Griffin said. They tied Gendry's hands and then attached a long rope to the cage so he was being dragged along. Arya moved so she was right at the door and the only space between them was the length of rope. The cage began to move and jerked Gendry forward so he was forced to walk. He watched her and Arya refused to look away. She might not have a weapon in this cag but if these men harmed Gendry she would find a way to keep him safe. He was letting himself get dragged along like this for her so she would do what she could for him.
Griffin and his men forced Gendry to spend the next week walking instead of in the cage with her. The first few days didn't seem to bother him but as time wore on Arya could see that the walking was starting to get him. Dark circles formed under his eyes and he looked exhausted. They were days away from King's Landing and Arya didn't want to think about that too much. Instead, they stumbled upon one of the many villages they had helped over the years. She was thankful that no one admitted to accepting their help and Griffin had no way to prove it. It was wrong to think about the fact that she was a little happy that they were almost to King's Landing because then the villagers would be safe.
The cage came to a stop and Gendry nearly collapsed to the ground. He was pale now and Arya knew they hadn't given him enough food or water to counter all of the walking they were forcing him to do. They weren't actively hurting him though so she wasn't sure what she could do about it. Arya managed to pass him some of her food which Gendry took without protest which proved to her that he was in a bad state. He was leaning against the cage so they were close enough that Arya could reach through the bars and touch his hair. She ran her fingers through it and could feel Gendry relax into her touch.
"Do you remember traveling with Yoren and the other members of the Night's Watch?" she asked softly as Griffin and his men demanded supplies from the various villagers.
"Yeah, you were a tiny little thing who still looked like she wanted to take on the entire world," Gendry replied. "I'm pretty sure half the reason Yoren got you out of there is because he was worried you'd try to fight all of the Lannister armies single-handedly."
"He wasn't wrong," Arya said as she thought back to those days. "I was miserable because I missed my family and all I wanted to do was go home but it was a relief when you revealed to me that you knew I was a girl. I knew I could trust you; you were different." Gendry hummed and shifted so she could continue to touch him.
"You were the first person who cared about me since my mother died," he confessed. "Your father was kind when he met me, complimented my work, but you cared about me in a way no one had in years. You were different too and it meant everything to me. It still does."
"We'll be in King's Landing in a few days," Arya said and Gendry nodded. "I'm going to do everything I can to figure out a way to get you ransomed with me. I want you to make me a promise though." Arya tugged gently on his hair so he looked up at her. "Don't give up no matter what happens."
"We're going to the black cells m'lady," Gendry said. "Hope dies in those cells."
"Promise me that you won't give up," she repeated.
"I won't give up on you until I draw my last breath and that is a promise." There was a commotion as the villagers didn't seem to want Griffin and his men there. While they were working for the Lannister's they weren't Lannister soldiers despite how much they were boasting. One of the mercenaries angrily walked over and cut Gendry's hands-free. They forced him to his feet, opened the cage, and practically shoved him in. Arya wasn't sure what was going on but she didn't care. She pulled Gendry into her arms and held onto him tightly.
Arya arranged Gendry's long limbs so his head was lying in her lap and within moments of him lying down, he was asleep. She ran her fingers through his dark hair and looked out at the mercenaries are they argued with the villagers. These people lived near the city and they were used to bullies like Griffin and his men. They wouldn't take this abuse lightly and Arya just hoped she wasn't going to have to watch them slaughter these people.
Arya saw someone moving out of the corner of her eye and noticed a young woman inching toward them. It took a moment but she recognized this woman; this was someone they had helped in the past. Arya shook her head to try and get the woman to keep away but she got close enough that they could whisper and she was hidden out of sight.
"Wolf, is it true? Are you Arya Stark?" the woman asked. Gendry opened his eyes and narrowed them as he looked at this young woman. "I was one of Lord Vary's little birds before I got too big. I know all about sneaking around the Lannister's so no one sees me."
"Yes, I'm her," Arya said and decided that it was time to take a huge risk. "I need you to do something for me after we leave. I need you to send a raven to Winterfell and tell my brother and sister that I'm alive and that I'm going to need help escaping. Tell them that I'm not alone and that I have someone special with me that is going to need help. Can you do that for me?"
"You helped my village," the young woman said. "You gave us food and helped us rebuild. It's the least I can do." She got up and vanished into the shadows and Arya hoped that no one had seen that. Griffin seemed like the type that would make a huge deal about finding an excuse to burn everything to the ground and that young woman was the perfect one.
"Was that wise?" Gendry asked.
"Probably not but I need to do something. If Cersei tries to ransom for me I want Jon to know that he needs to ask for you too. I need them to know I'm not alone and the person I'm with is important," Arya replied as she began to run her fingers through Gendry's thick black hair. "Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when they bring us some food."
They didn't stay in the village long and began to make their way toward King's Landing until nightfall. Arya heard them mention that they would reach the city by the middle of the next day. She didn't know how to react to that. Arya thought that she should be terrified but she was tired and she was angry above all else. She had always wanted revenge on Cersei for what she did to her father and in the back of her mind, Arya wished she could take advantage of the close proximity. She looked down at Gendry, still asleep in her lap, and knew that she had to maintain perspective. She wasn't the only one that needed to get out of the city safely.
The sun was down and Griffin had just fed her and Gendry when the sound of approaching horses made everyone lookup. Arya glanced at Gendry as they watched Griffin get to his feet. It was a group of dozen gold cloaks and they looked a little amused by the sight in front of them.
"What do we have here?" the leader of the gold cloaks asked.
"We were hired by the Queen Mother to find these two outlaws. We're here to turn them in and collect our payment," Griffin said. Arya noticed that all of the gold cloaks had their hands on their weapons and they looked ready for a fight.
"When the fighting starts we need to lay as flat as possible," Arya whispered and Gendry squeezed her hands in acknowledgment. The gold cloak leader looked at the cage where Arya and Gendry were and nodded.
"The Queen thanks you for your service but we'll be taking the prisoners to the city," he said.
"We need our payment first," Griffin replied. "We were hired and we expect payment for completing the job."
"You found them but we'll be delivering them so you didn't complete the job," the gold cloak leader smirked and his men laughed. Now Griffin's men were on their feet and they seemed to know something wasn't right.
"Then we'll deliver them ourselves in the morning," Griffin said slowly.
"I'm afraid that is no longer acceptable and the Queen Mother apologizes for the misunderstanding." Somewhere, someone fired a crossbow and the bolt lodged itself in Griffin's chest. He stumbled, blood on his lips, and all hell broke loose. Arya pressed herself flat to the cage and held onto Gendry's hand. It didn't take long for a dozen gold cloaks to slaughter Griffin and all of his men. The gold cloak leader rode his horse up to the cage and looked at the two of them. He saw their clasped hands and smirked. "Well, well, look at that," he said. "That information wasn't known and is very interesting. The Queen Mother is expecting the two of you."