Jon wanted some time to get his head on straight. It wasn't every day that he had to stare down a woman with three dragons and try to convince her not to burn two people alive. He was glad to see Arya and Gendry exchange their rings again because seeing the two of them so miserable was making him miserable. Sansa looked like she wanted to throw Daenerys out of Winterfell which was going to be a fun thing to deal with but she seemed to be calming down as she spoke with Tyrion. When Jon first met the man he thanked Tyrion for treated his sister with as much respect as he could considering their situation.
Bran had blinked twice when everything started to settle down and looked at Meera with an odd expression on his face. Meera didn't smile a lot these days and when she took Bran's hand in her own Jon could see their knuckles turning white they were holding onto each other so tightly.
"Jon Snow," Daenerys said softly. "I'd like to speak to you alone for a moment."
"Of course," Jon replied. He ignored the looks that everyone was giving the two of them as they walked up through the dark halls of Winterfell up to his solar. When Daenerys walked in she looked a little pale and Jon did his best not to look at her hands that were shaking.
"I don't know what came over me," she whispered. "When Jorah told me about Gendry and that you were keeping things from me all I could see was betrayal. This was the proof I needed that coming here and trusting you was a mistake. I could barely think straight despite Tyrion and Varys telling me it wasn't a good idea. I met that young man, I met your sister, they were good people and it didn't matter to me."
"These are strange circumstances for all of us," Jon said as the two of them sat down in front of the fire. He offered her a glass of wine but Daenerys shook her head. "I just got Arya back and when she told me about Gendry the first thing I wanted to do was introduce you to the two of them. Then Arya told me that Cersei thought she could use him as a bargaining chip to you and that if she offered Robert's son you would grant her mercy. We'd exchanged some words by then and I knew how much you loathed the Baratheon's. I didn't want to risk Arya running off on her own after I just got her back. I couldn't lose my sister again."
"I wish I had such fond memories of siblings," Daenerys said. "But I know what it's like to love and what it feels like to want to protect someone above all else. I didn't want to come here and burn people, I didn't want to be my father, yet when I attacked the Lannister army I did exactly that. How am I supposed to break the wheel if I'm repeating the mistakes of the past?"
"Before I left to go see you Sansa told me that I needed to be smarter than my father or my brother or I'd end up just as dead as they did," Jon replied. "I'm trying not to repeat the mistakes of the past either."
"Do you think they'll ever forgive me?" she asked.
"Gendry probably will but Arya might not," he replied honestly. "Look, the two of us have armies to lead against a threat that could kill everyone. It's going to be tense from here on out and we need as many allies as we can get. The people in that room tonight know that talking about what just happened will make things harder for everyone. That being said if we win against the dead I can see what just happened being used as an excuse for the north not to help you in the south. I don't want that to happen so, from now on, we need to show a united front. If we don't show unity despite being crowned for different kingdoms we'll never convince our armies to work together."
"It's been a long time since I had to work with someone I consider an equal but I think I'll enjoy working with you Jon Snow," Daenerys said. "I don't have many people I consider friends and I'd like to count you as one of them." Daenerys held out her hand and Jon took it without hesitation. This woman might be a Queen but she was still a person, just like him, and they were going to make mistakes. He just hoped they were a little less public going forward.
"My friends call me Jon," he said.
"And mine call me Dany," she replied with a small smile.
If Arya had it her way she would have pushed Gendry into the bed, locked the door to her room, and refused to see another person for at least two days. Time, however, was very much not on her side. She did drag him into the room and lock the door but as she kissed Gendry within an inch of his life he pulled away to press his forehead to hers and remind her of the reality they were currently living in.
"I need to be up at dawn to work on the dragonglass weapons," he whispered. "So as much as I would love to stay awake with you I need to get some sleep."
"Look at you being all responsible," Arya said as she held him close. "I knew there was a reason I love you." Gendry smiled and she let him push him back onto the bed and climb on top of him. He was staring at her like he never thought he would get the chance to touch her again and the little cracks that had formed in her heart from this fight splintered again. She did that, she was the reason he looked a little unsure right now, and Arya hated herself for that. Arya leaned forward and began to press soft kisses along Gendry's jawline and neck as she whispered apologies into his skin.
Eventually, Gendry pulled her up into a proper kiss and Arya let herself get a little lost in it. She was still afraid as she held the man that meant so much to her in her arms but she was willing to face that fear if it meant being with him. Gendry broke the kiss and held her in place so she had to look into his eyes.
"I'm not going to lie to you and say that I completely forgive you or that I'm not hurt anymore," he said. "But, I'm here with you right now and we're wearing our rings again, so I'll get there eventually."
"I'm not going to lie and say I'm not terrified anymore but I'm here and I meant it when I said a world without you isn't one I want to live in," Arya replied. Gendry kissed her one more time and they both stripped down to their sleep clothes. Gendry had spent the better part of the day working and was asleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow but Arya was having a harder time chasing sleep down. She watched him sleep and every breath he took the stranglehold her anxiety had on her lessened a little bit.
The evening turned into night as the entire castle went to sleep and Arya was still awake. She thought about what Daenerys had said about why she thought burning Gendry was a good idea and how Jorah must have told her. There was no doubt in her mind that Melisandre knew what she was doing when she named Gendry's king's blood and said that he needed to die for the good of the realm in front of the sworn shield of the woman who hated Baratheon's and had dragons that could burn people. Meliandre thought she had found a way for Gendry to burn despite her being behind bars and Arya wanted her to know that she failed.
Gendry slept like the dead when he was tired and he didn't twitch as Arya climbed out of bed. She pulled on a cloak, slipped a dagger into one of her boots, and crept quietly through the castle to the dungeons. The guard let her walk by when they saw who she was and Arya walked toward the cell. Melisandre was sitting on the floor, her legs tucked underneath her, the single candle was given was burned nearly to the ground and in front of her. She opened her eyes when Arya walked up to her cell.
"Princess Arya, I was wondering when you were going to come see me," Melisandre said.
"Your plan failed," Arya replied. "You wanted Danerys to burn Gendry with dragonfire and it failed. She isn't going to hurt him."
"Yes, I suppose that is true, which is a shame. I would hope that the Queen would look at the good of the realm compared to the life of one boy who could be her enemy but," Melisandre said and she shrugged her shoulders. "In some ways, I suppose I did fail but if you think, Arya Stark, that I lost then you are wrong."
"You're locked in a cell with several people here waiting for the day they could execute you. In what world do you think you haven't lost?" Arya snapped.
"Your husband is one of the few good men left in the world, the flames have shown me that, and they have also shown me that his good heart will be the very thing that breaks him." Melisandre stood up and walked toward the bars of her cell. Despite the fact that she was a prisoner not a hair on her head looked out of place and her dress was somehow still clean. "He was going to give himself up to the Lord of Light willingly. I had him all but convinced before you came and stopped me. I'm going to guess that, if you hadn't stepped in, he wouldn't have fought against the Queen burning him. Now, when the battle comes, he is going to look at every single loss of life as his fault. It's going to be in the back of his head, as he looks at the many people you will lose in the fight against the Night King, that if he had let himself get burned they wouldn't have died.
"He's going to spend the rest of his life thinking he has blood on his hands," Melisandre continued and now they were standing so close, only the bars between them, that Arya could feel the heat coming off of this woman. "So yes, Arya Stark, you might have saved his life but the guilty he will carry is going to eat him alive for the rest of his life. I wonder how long his good heart can handle that."
"I'm going to enjoy watching your execution," Arya managed to say. She kicked some dirt that was on the ground so the last of Melisandre's candle went out and did her best not to run out of the dungeon. Her heart was pounding as she walked back to her room. It was still the dead of night and Gendry looked like he hadn't moved. Arya took off her cloak, kicked off her boots, and climbed into bed. Gendry pulled her to his body in his sleep and held her close. She tried to sleep but instead, she watched the sunrise and pretended to be asleep when Gendry kissed her cheek and left to work for the day.
For the next several days everyone was a little nervous around each other. Jon and Daenerys spent a lot of time going over strategy and exactly how they were going to attack the dead once they broke through the wall. Arya didn't like Jon spending so much time with her but they were both leaders and it needed to be done. It made her feel a little better that Davos was almost always nearby. Sansa looked like she wanted to string Daenerys up personally but she also spent lots of late nights talking to Tyrion and whatever he was saying seemed to be putting her at ease. Sansa didn't trust easily these days but, three days after the threat, Jon told her that he didn't think Daenerys was going to be an issue.
"I want to trust your judgment and I will but if she harms a hair on the head of anyone I deem worthy of my affection she will find out why people call me the Red Wolf," Sansa said. Arya raised both of her eyebrows and was again reminded that for all her sister looked like their southern-born mother she was a woman of the north now.
"You're properly terrifying when you want to be, sister of mine," Jon replied. Bran, on the other hand, seemed further away than ever. He would spend entire days in the godswood and wouldn't even talk to Meera at times. Jon had Ghost staying close to him and Meera was working on carving arrowheads out of dragonglass with Gendry instead.
Edmure and Roslin had a long meeting with the woman that wanted to be their Queen one day and Arya wished she could have been there to make sure that they were okay. Medgar was a good little boy and Edmure even let Daenerys hold the little boy at dinner one night. There was something in the way that Danerys held the baby and the sad look she got in her eye that Arya recognized; that was a woman who had lost a child. Jon confirmed it to her the next day and Arya learned small bits of information about the woman that brought dragons back into the world.
She could see how she inspired so many people to follow her but she still didn't trust this woman. Whatever she said must have been good enough for Edmure because he pledged the Riverland's forces to House Targaryen at a feast. When it was time to go south Edmure would leave ahead of everyone else with a small group of warriors from Daenerys' army to take back Riverrun and march south to help take the iron throne. Right now, however, there wasn't time and everyone needed to focus on fighting the dead instead.
Arya, however, kept her distance. Gendry was working himself to the bone and would often skip dinner to keep working in the forges. She would bring him meals and drag him up to bed where he would barely have the energy to eat before passing out for a few hours. Arya didn't mention her talk with Melisandre to anyone but she watched her husband carefully. She didn't want him to work like this but Gendry wouldn't stop. He insisted that this is what he was meant to do and they needed weapons.
On the fourth day of Gendry working himself to the bone Arya went out to the forge with some lunch and insisted that he take a break. She took him to the godswood but they didn't go to the weirwood where Bran was. Instead, there was a small corner where they could be alone and Arya just wanted him to stop for a moment.
"I really don't have time to do this," he said but Gendry didn't put up much of a fight as Arya pulled him down to sit.
"You're of no use to anyone dead," she replied. He relented and she wanted a quiet lunch where they could relax. What Arya wasn't expecting was Jon and Daenerys approaching them before they were even halfway through their meals. Gendry scrambled to his feet so he could bow but Arya narrowed her eyes and stood slowly.
"Princess Arya, Ser Gendry, I'm very sorry to interrupt your lunch," Daenerys said. Out of the corner of her eye, Arya saw Gendry wince a bit at the title.
"It's no problem, Your Graces, but I'm afraid I'm not a "ser" either," Gendry said. Daenerys nodded briefly and watched the two of them for a moment. Arya wasn't sure what she was expecting but the woman who wanted the iron throne, who commanded armies and dragons, dropping to one knee in front of her was not it.
"I'm here to beg your forgiveness," Daenerys said. Arya looked up at Jon who didn't seem surprised by this moment at all. If anything he was smiling a little bit. Gendry looked like he was about to fall over and he took Arya's hand as if to steady himself. "I pre-judged you both far too harshly and I made a terrible mistake when I first arrived here. I not only insulted you both by doing that but I also insulted all of House Stark and the north who had agreed to be my allies in the fight for the living and the Iron Throne. I was wrong and while I do not deserve it I am humbly here begging for it nevertheless. I will not make excuses for my actions; I can only swear that my armies and my dragons are friends of House Stark and both of you until the end of my days."
Arya had met a lot of nobles in her life and she knew many of them could be good people. Her father was a good man, Howland Reed was a good man, but Arya couldn't even picture them getting down on one knee in front of someone like Gendry and asking for forgiveness. To her, yes, but the fact that Daenerys was here for both of them spoke volumes. Arya didn't know what to say, what to do, and if she was even the one who could give Daenerys the absolution she wanted.
"Please, Queen Daenerys, stand up," Gendry said and he sounded a little afraid.
"I'm afraid I cannot do that," Daenerys said as she looked at the two of them. "Not until I know you have both forgiven me."
"You were a stranger in a strange land and someone with power told you that all you had to do to get rid of a threat to your throne and save everyone was to kill one nobody. You were putting the realm before one man you didn't know. I can't fault you for that," Gendry said.
"I do fault you for it," Arya said and Daenerys looked at her like she was expecting this. "But, we all need each other to get through these wars and there isn't enough time left to waste it on grudges. I forgive you." Daenerys smile and even Arya had to admit it was a beautiful smile. She stood up and didn't seem to care that there was mud on her white furs now. Jon grinned and nodded to them both.
"Thank you for giving me what I don't deserve," Daenerys said.
"And as for you not being a "ser" we need to fix that and soon, Gendry," Jon said.
"Gendry," Daenerys said and he jerked a little when she addressed him. She was smiling again and it looked soft. "Did you know that we're related? Your great-grandmother was Rhaelle Targaryen. You and I are cousins if distantly. Your father railed so hard to kill Targaryen's yet their blood ran through his veins. Perhaps it is the dragonfire in your blood that makes you such a talented smith."
"I'm afraid I don't know anything about my father's family, Your Grace," Gendry said.
"Please, I just told you we are related, so you may call me Daenerys in private. You may as well, Princess Arya," Daenerys said.
"Please, call me Arya," Arya replied.
"Very good. I was going to take Jon out to see my dragons, would you both like to come with us and see them up close?" she asked. Gendry opened his mouth like he was going to say that he needed to get back to work but Jon beat them to it.
"Gendry's been working very hard to get us weapons for the battle. I think he should take a break for a bit, what do you think, Arya?" Jon said. Arya wasn't sure what to do since she didn't really want Gendry near those dragons but also just told Daenerys that she forgave her. The little girl inside of her also wanted to meet the dragons she read about in books and she couldn't ignore that impulse. If Jon was there she knew he would keep the two of them safe.
"You're right, he has been working hard, let's take a break," Arya said.
"I believe you have been overruled," Daenerys said. "Now, will you escort your cousin out of the castle?" Gendry blinked and glanced at Arya as if he needed her permission. She nodded once and he offered her an arm covered in dirt and soot. Much like the mud now on her white furs Daenerys took Gendry's arm and didn't seem to care that she was getting dirty. The two of them began to walk out of the godswood as Arya walked with Jon close behind.
"Thank you," Jon whispered when they were far enough away from Daenerys and Gendry that they couldn't overhear their conversation. "I know it wasn't easy for you to forgive her."
"It's not like I have a very high horse I can sit on these days when it comes to making rash and emotional mistakes when it comes to Gendry," Arya replied as she watched Gendry and Daenerys quietly talk together. "Are you in love with her?"
"What?" Jon said a little louder than he probably intended. Both Daenerys and Gendry looked over their shoulders at him but Jon waved them off as they continued out of the gates of Winterfell. "Why would you ask me that?"
"You spend a lot of time with her and you've been smiling more," Arya replied.
"No," Jon replied without hesitating. Despite the many years they were apart Arya knew when Jon was lying and right now he wasn't. "No, she's a friend, an ally, and nothing more. I gave my heart to someone several years ago and I still miss her terribly. Her name was Ygritte and she was one of the Free Folk. She died a few years ago but my heart still belongs to her. Besides, there is a war on the way that the two of us much fight in. This wouldn't be the time to start something anyway." Arya reached over and squeezed Jon's hand; she couldn't imagine what it must be like to lose someone like that.
"I'm sorry," Arya said and Jon squeezed her hand back and now they were a decent distance from the castle. Daenerys called out some words in High Valyrian that Arya didn't recognize and the three massive dragons landed nearby. The ground shook as they landed and Arya felt her mouth drop open. They were massive and they looked so different from each other. The biggest one was black with red markings followed by two smaller ones; one was green with bronze and the other was creamy white with gold. Gendry startled when they landed and took several steps back.
"The black one is Drogan, the green is Rhaegal, and the white one is Viserion," Daenerys said. "I call them my children and I am their mother."
"Drogan let me touch him on Dragonstone," Jon said.
"He did which I believe speaks of your character," Daenerys said as she reached forward and placed a gentle hand on Drogan's nose. "Will you let Gendry and Arya touch you?" The massive dragon grumbled and Arya had no idea if that was a good thing or not. Daenerys, however, smiled. She walked over and took Gendry by the arm as she slowly approached Drogan. Arya held her breath and wondered if she was about to watch her husband die but even Jon didn't seem that worried. Daenerys took Gendry's hand and gently placed it on Drogan's nose. For a moment it was like everyone was holding their breath and after a few beats, nothing happened. Gendry let out a nervous laugh as Daenerys took a step back and smiled. "As I said you do have Targaryen blood in you Gendry."
"This is absolutely insane," he said. Gendry looked over her shoulder and Arya suddenly felt a little breathless. She couldn't remember the last time she saw Gendry so happy. He was grinning from ear to ear and it made his blue eyes sparkle like sapphires. He looked back at Dragon and Arya could hear him quietly thank the dragon before taking several steps back to join her.
"Arya? Would you like to meet him?" Daenerys asked.
"Yes, what sort of fool wouldn't?" Arya said. Daenerys took her arm and together the two of them approached Drogan. He seemed more on edge with her than he did with Gendry but he still let her press her hand to his nose. He was warm and the scales were rough against her hand. Arya could understand why Gendry was smiling when he touched the dragon because Arya couldn't stop smiling either. Unlike with Gendry Daenerys stayed close until the two of them stepped away.
"Pretty incredible, aren't they?" Jon said and Arya could only nod enthusiastically.
"Thank you for this, Daenerys, it was truly incredible," Gendry said. "But I really need to get back to work now. I've already taken far too much time."
"Thank you both for forgiving me," Daenerys replied. "The least I could do was introduce you to my children as a sign of peace. You and Jon are the only ones I've done this for."
"Thank you," Arya said as she took Gendry's hand. The two of them began to walk back to Winterfell hand in hand but when Arya looked over her shoulder she saw that Jon and Daenerys were still talking to each other by the dragons. While Jon looked easy and smiled with Daenerys it was the same smile he gave her or Sansa or Bran. Her brother was not in love with Daenerys but Arya was glad that Jon had found another person he could consider a friend.