Arya had planned to sleep in as late as possible. She didn't have much in the way of clean clothes until Sansa finished them off and laying in bed with Gendry all day knowing that they were both safe was exactly what she wanted more than anything. It seemed that luck wasn't quite on her side because it was mid-morning and someone was knocking on the door. Arya wanted to ignore it and for a little while she did until she heard Sansa calling her name. Gendry, however, didn't move a muscle to the noise. The exhaustion and injuries seemed to have finally caught up to him and he didn't so much as twitch when Arya climbed out of his arms and out of bed. She pulled on Gendry's cloak and opened the door to glare at her sister.
"I thought you told me to stay in bed and relax," Arya said.
"We need to talk about something and then you can do exactly that," Sansa replied. Arya didn't want to leave Gendry alone, she didn't think he would react well if he woke up and she wasn't there, but Sansa seemed serious about something. Arya sighed, pulled on her boots, and followed her sister up to her solar. "So, I woke up to the most interesting rumors."
"Let me guess; it has something to do with the mysterious and handsome man that came with me into the castle," Arya said. "I had a feeling those chambermaids were going to tell everyone about what they heard."
"You've put me in quite a difficult position," Sansa said as she sat down.
"I'm not going to hide him," Arya said. "All we've ever heard from people is how he's unworthy of me, how it's wrong that we're married, and how they are going to make him suffer despite the fact that I'm the one who asked him to marry me. I wanted to bring him here because I thought we'd be safe here. I thought we could live here. I'm not ashamed of him, Sansa. I thought you approved anyway."
"Arya," Sansa said as she held up her hand. "I do approve. I can't believe you managed to find the one good man in all of Westeros. We all approve of him because we want you to be happy above all else. That doesn't mean, however, that anyone else is going to. I wanted to tell people about it slowly and formally so they couldn't second guess you or me or Jon. This has nothing to do with anyone disapproving as it does the game. I know neither of you wants anything to do with the game but that doesn't mean you aren't going to be involved. You're a Princess, Arya, it was always going to come up one way or another." Arya wanted to disagree with her sister, tell her that neither of them wanted anything to do with politics and that was the point, but there wasn't any avoiding it. She was a Stark and the Stark's controlled the North.
"I used to tell Gendry that I wasn't a lady," Arya said as she sat down at the table with Sansa. "I used to rage against the title and used to give him so much grief whenever he would call me "milady". The first time we decided to be together physically he stopped me and told me that he was afraid. Do you know why?"
"No, I don't," Sansa said.
"Because if anyone ever found out they would blame him. It didn't matter that I wanted to be with him or that I was a willing participant. All they would see was a high born lady and a raping bastard. Ever since then multiple people have threatened to kill him just because we are together," Arya explained as she looked at the table. "Do you remember Mycah? The Butcher's boy I made friends with?"
"The one that Sandor killed," Sansa said.
"Yeah, the one he killed because of something I did," Arya replied. "It made me realize that I could fight against being a lady or being a princess all I wanted but in the end, it didn't matter what I said or did. I would always be a Stark of Winterfell which meant I was always going to be a lady to some degree." Arya sighed and thought back to the night before. She had even thought about keeping quiet and Gendry certainly made an attempt but in that moment she hadn't cared. That kind of carelessness, even in her own home, was not the right way to go about this. "I'm sorry Sansa. I didn't mean to put anyone in a difficult position. I just wanted to be with my husband in a safe place for the first time in a long, long time."
"I know," Sansa replied. "I'll do my best to take care of it but there is a good chance that Lord Baelish knows. All of the people were talking about Gendry as a handsome man with blue eyes and black hair. There are a few people that managed to catch his name as well and if I know Lord Baelish then I can only assume he knew the names of the bastards."
"What if he sends a raven to someone?" Arya didn't know who Littlefinger could message but she knew that she didn't want it to happen.
"I have people watching him," Sansa said. "He won't be telling anyone but we need to make sure he's taken care of before the dragon queen gets here because he will tell her. He wants the iron throne for himself and I believe he wants me to sit on it with him. Gendry, like Cersei told you, is a threat and that means taking out any threats against the throne. For now, I want you two to remain close. If you must leave him then make sure Meera stays close as we planned. I'm sure we can figure something out or I'll speak to Jon. He wants Lord Baelish gone as much as I do." Arya nodded and pushed herself to her feet. She turned to leave the room but paused.
"I'm sorry I left you behind," Arya whispered and Sansa blinked. "I should have gone back to the castle and found a way to bring you with me when I escaped. Will you ever forgive me for leaving you behind?"
"Arya, I don't hate you for escaping," Sansa said as she stood up. She walked over and took Arya's hands in her own. "I never could have managed to hide among the men like you did. We would have gotten caught immediately and we'd both be dead. I was naive back then and I probably wouldn't have gone with you anyway. We both had our own paths to walk. Never blame yourself for me having to walk mine." Arya nodded and pulled her sister into a tight hug. "Now, go back to your room and rest. I'll go see how your new clothes are coming along. Maybe we can get you two out and about for the day. Everyone knows so there's no point in hiding."
"Won't someone say something?" Arya asked.
"No," Sansa said shaking her head. "I've told everyone that I will be dealing with it myself. Don't you worry about it; it's my problem to deal with as the Lady of Winterfell and not yours. If I get your clothes ready today you should seek out my sworn shield, Brienne of Tarth, and see if she'd be willing to train you. You told me you tried to learn from everyone and anyone who could fight and I can't picture anyone better to teach you than Lady Brienne. She served Renly Baratheon during the War of Five Kings so you won't have to explain who Gendry is to her. She'll know and she is discreet."
"Thank you, Sansa. Thank you for everything and especially thank you for accepting him and us. It means the world to me," Arya replied.
"I told you; you're my sister and I just want you to be happy, home, and safe," Sansa said which was very similar to what Jon told her as well. Arya never thought she would be drawing comparisons between Sansa and Jon but it seemed like they really just wanted the best for her. Arya nodded and Sansa walked with her back to her rooms. Sansa nodded, kissed her forehead, and walked down the stairs into the castle to do the things that ladies did. Arya crept back into her room, locked the door behind her, and kicked off her boots and Gendry's cloak. She was thankful that it looked like Gendry's hadn't moved an inch in the time she'd been away. Arya climbed back into bed and he hummed happily as he pulled her back against his chest. Arya closed her eyes and let herself fall back asleep.
The sun was high in the sky the next time Arya woke up. The fire in the hearth had completed burned out and despite the amount of heat that Gendry was giving off the room was a little cold. Arya removed herself from his arms again and tossed some fire on the stack and relit it. As it began to burn she heard Gendry stir for the first time in many hours.
"Well look who decided to wake up," Arya said as she climbed back on the bed. Gendry blinked heavily as he looked around the room.
"How long have we been asleep?" he asked.
"You since last night. I had to get up to talk to Sansa a few hours ago," Arya explained. She knew that this conversation wasn't going to go well but he needed to know that they were found out.
"Oh? What did Sansa need?" Gendry asked as he rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his messy hair.
"Apparently the chambermaids heard us last night so now the entire castle knows about us," Arya said as she decided that the direct approach was likely the best way to go about this particular conversation. Gendry froze and paled a bit.
"They know about us," he said but he didn't make it a question but a statement.
"There is even a chance that Lord Baelish knows who you are since apparently everyone is talking about my handsome blue-eyed, black-haired lover," Arya said and reached forward to take his hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so obvious last night but Sansa has assured me that she is going to take care of it. We can trust her. We're just going to do the same plan we agreed on yesterday only now you don't have to stay out of sight. Now we just need to make sure someone stays with you at all times." Gendry sighed as he removed his hand from hers and pushed himself to his feet.
"I knew I should have stayed somewhere else," he mumbled.
"Gendry," Arya said as she watched him start to move around the room. She knew he was going to be upset but she didn't predict that he would react like this.
"Has Sansa dropped off our new clothes yet?" he asked without looking at her. Arya pressed her lips together and decided that it was probably best if she didn't push him too much right now. Instead, she got up and walked over to the door and unlocked it. There were two bundles of clothes and two pairs of warm boot sitting outside her door. She brought them inside and watched as Gendry silently pulled on the new clothing and laced up his boots. "I'm going to take a look at the dragonglass that Jon gave me and see if I can figure out the best way to make it work for weapons."
"Gendry, I need you to talk to me," she said.
"You're never going to really understand what it's like to have people looking at you like you're the worst possible person in the world. You're never going to understand what it's like to walk around and have people judge me for the fact that we're together," Gendry said softly as he shook his head. "I thought maybe I'd have a little time to walk around Winterfell and not have to worry about people wanting to take my head off. I thought I'd have just a day or so when no one looked at me and wanted me dead just because we decided to be together."
"I swore to you that no one would ever hurt you," Arya said. "I made you that promise and I'm not going to break it. I'm going to keep you safe and so will Sansa. She won't let anything happen."
"I believe you but that doesn't mean you can stop people from talking about me. That doesn't mean you can stop the looks." He met her eyes and Arya could see just how hurt he was. She wanted to comfort him but there wasn't anything that she could do because he was right. While she could keep someone from physically hurting him she couldn't stop people from talking. She couldn't fight every person that looked at Gendry like he was less than because then she'd be fighting everyone all of the time. Arya just wanted to be with her husband and not have to worry about other people judging her for it but she was a princess again. There were always going to be people who were going to judge her. "I'll make sure Meera stays close. Have a good day, Princess Arya." Gendry nodded his head to her, grabbed the bag with the dragonglass and his tools, and walked out of the room without another word.
Arya looked at the door for a long time and closed her eyes. Nymeria walked over and pressed herself against Arya's leg.
"Go watch him and keep him safe," Arya said as she opened her eyes and opened the door. Nymeria huffed but walked out of the room and in the direction that Gendry had gone. She guessed that, on some level, she thought that all of their problems would be fixed if they just made it to Winterfell. That as soon as she walked through the gates everything else would just cease to be an issue. She was even more convinced of that when Jon, Sansa, and Bran all seemed to accept that she was in love with Gendry and nothing was going to change that. Arya hadn't played the game of thrones since she was a child and even then she hardly understood any of it. Now there were men that were going to be angry that she wasn't getting married off for an alliance.
Arya pulled on her new clothing, strapped Needle to her waist, and made her way through the castle. She was angry at a lot of things like right; Gendry for reacting the way he did because he had to know that she didn't mean for any of this to happen. She was angry at the chambermaids who decided to broadcast her business all over Winterfell. She was angry at herself for being naive enough not to care if people heard her with a man.
She walked out into the cold and could see that there was smoke coming from the forge. Arya knew that Gendry wanted space but she also knew he was stubborn and wanted to make sure that he actually kept Meera close. She crept close and glanced around the corner. Gendry and Meera were both looking at the dragonglass with critical eyes and Arya could hear them softly talking about weapons. Nymeria was curled up near Gendry's feet and her ears twitched as Arya looked into the forge. That was all the proof she needed that he wasn't alone at the very least.
When she got out to the training yard she saw one of the tallest woman she had ever seen fighting with a younger man with dark hair. This could only be Brienne of Tarth and despite how unhappy she was with how things were right now she nothing would clear her head faster than a quick spar.
"Lady Arya," Brienne said when she saw Arya approached. "Your sister told me that you would be coming to me today."
"I'll call you Brienne if you call me Arya," Arya said.
"Very well. This is my squire Podrick Payne and we're both very happy that you and your husband made it home safe," Brienne said.
"Thank you," Arya said as she tried not to glance over her shoulder at the forge. "I'm told you're quite the warrior and I want to learn more about fighting. Can you teach me?"
"I'd be honored," Brienne replied. "I'd like to see what you know already. Do you mind sparring with Podrick?"
"Sounds good to me." Arya pulled Needle from her belt and faced Podrick. They were both hesitant to start the fight but Podrick was apparently impatient enough that he wanted to take the first swing. Arya learned very quickly in all of the training that she did that being fast was the most important thing when fighting someone bigger than her. She ducked out of the way of Podrick's first strike and moved quickly on her feet. The snow on the ground was something she wasn't used to anymore and she felt a little unsteady. Podrick swiped at her again and Arya threw up Needle to deflect.
She knew she was weak from captivity but the pain in her arm from the force of Podrick's attack worried her. He didn't look like much but he was stronger and bigger than her. In her current state, with the bruises and the cracked ribs, Arya knew that she wasn't going to last long. If she was going to win then she needed to end this quickly. Arya ignored the pain in her ribs as she ducked one of Podrick's attacks and swiped a foot out. She nearly fell from the snow but Podrick seemed even less steady on his feet from the slick ground. He hit the ground hard and Arya pressed her blade against his throat.
"Well done," Brienne said. Arya glanced around and realized that there were people staring at her. Gendry and Meera were both standing just outside the forge and watching her carefully. Meera was smiling but Gendry looked completely blank. Arya glanced around and even realized that Sansa was standing up where her parents used to watch them train and the whole thing was a little too surreal for her. Gendry said something to Meera that was too quiet for Arya to hear and the two of them began to walk the opposite direction with Nymeria at his heels.
Arya wanted to call out to him, to tell him to come over here and talk to her, but a knight in armor from the Vale slammed into Gendry's shoulder hard enough that he stumbled. Even from where she was standing she could see him wince and grab at his ribs. The knight didn't even stop to see if he was okay or to apologize and Arya saw red. Nymeria was already growling but Arya wasn't going to stand for that type of passive aggression. She knew that this would probably make Gendry madder at her but she needed to stake her claim. These people needed to know that he was hers and there wasn't anything they could do about it.
"Gendry!" she called as she walked across the courtyard. Brienne and Podrick were following a few steps behind her as if they knew that something was about to happen. Both Gendry and Meera stopped to look at her and Arya could see him still rubbing his shoulder. That knight was wearing armor and there was no doubt that that was going to leave a nasty bruise. Arya was not going to tolerate someone hurting him because there were rumors going around. It was time to confirm some rumors.
Arya grabbed a handful of Gendry's shirt and yanked him down into a kiss in front of everyone. She could feel how stiff he was against her but Arya didn't pull away until after a moment or two.
"Why would you do that?" he whispered but he didn't pull away from her. Arya considered that to be a good thing.
"I'm a wolf and it was time for me to stake a claim," Arya replied. His lips were a little swollen and she had to fight down the instinct to bite down on his bottom lip in front of everyone. That was probably not a good idea. Arya released his shirt but didn't take a step back. Meera was smirking and looked like she was about five seconds away from bursting into laughter. Sansa was still watching them from above but Arya could see her older sister looking a little smug. She glanced over her shoulder and realized that Brienne looked like she was about to faint.
"Renly..." she whispered but Brienne seemed to realize that she said that out loud. She glanced at Arya but didn't say anything else. "Would you like to train some more, Arya?" Brienne asked.
"Gendry and I were going to talk spears anyway," Meera said, "Would you like us to join you in a little while for a late lunch?"
"That sounds perfect," Arya replied. She stepped close and rested her forehead on Gendry's chest as she wrapped her arms around him. "Please don't be mad at me," she whispered. She could feel him sigh as he pulled her into a tight hug despite the audience they had acquired.
"I could never stay mad at you for long no matter how much of a pain in my ass you are milady," Gendry replied. He kissed her forehead and Arya watched him and Meera head off in another direction with Nymeria staying close. Everyone was watching and Arya was fine with that. It was time for the North to know that there was another she-wolf in Winterfell and she would not tolerate attacks against her pack.