The sun went down and Arya pulled Gendry another night time strategy meeting. The dead were marching and they were due to fall upon Winterfell in a matter of days. Bran was acting very strangely and kept secluding himself from everyone else. Arya could see that it was bothering Meera more than she was letting on but they didn't talk about it much. Arya was also glad that no one had tried to slit Theon or Jaime's throats as they slept at night. Brienne smiled more than she ever had now that Jaime was around which was an interesting thing to watch. It wasn't every day that her marriage was considered the least interesting thing that was going on in the castle.
Speaking of her marriage Arya had been working with Jon and Daenerys on a surprise for Gendry which was going to be part of the evening meeting as they got ready for the war. They were all talking strategy as Gendry was once again apologizing for the fact that the weapons were not entirely ready. They were getting ready to go to bed for the night when Jon asked everyone to stay.
"Gendry, I would like you to come before me," Jon said. Gendry glanced at her but Arya pushed him along so he could stand in front of Jon. Everyone in the room, including the Northern lords and all of Daenerys' advisors, were watching like they didn't understand what was going on. "Please kneel." Gendry did as he was told but he looked like Jon was about to cut off his head. "Gendry, you did a great service for not only House Stark but all of Westeros when you choose to arm our fighters against the dead. You are the husband of my sister, Arya Stark, and you have fought bravely for her and for her house in the time we have known each other. As a fellow bastard, I know what it feels like not to have a name. I know what it feels like to have everyone look down on you and I want to do something that can help alleviate that feeling.
"Queen Daenerys and I have spoken," Jon continued. "And while we believe that your Baratheon and Targaryen blood is a powerful thing that should be honored we also believe it is in your best interest not to take the Baratheon name." Jon pulled out his sword and placed it on Gendry's shoulders. "I, King Jon Snow of the North, hereby name you as Ser Gendry of House Stark. You have proven yourself more than worthy of the name of your wife and you have proven you have the honor of a true knight."
"I don't know what to say," Gendry whispered.
"Say that you accept, cousin," Daenerys said. "This is the best way that Jon and I can keep you safe from the people of the south. You have no claim to the Iron Throne as a Stark and this way you can live in peace. No one will try to put you on a throne or in a holdfast that you do not want."
"By doing this I am keeping you safe for my sister and making House Stark all the stronger for it," Jon said. "Both Daenerys and I consider you family and we are doing this not only to keep you safe but because you have earned it. Also, personally, I want my little sister to be happy and the best way for that is to keep you safe." Gendry was looking at the two of them like he couldn't believe that this was happening to him.
"Thank you. Your Grace, for giving me a place in your house," Gendry said.
"Please stand, Ser Gendry Stark," Jon replied with a smile. Gendry stood and Arya didn't waste a second as she threw her arms around him and held on as tightly as she could. Gendry buried his head in her neck and she could feel his tears. While Arya didn't know how much a name meant to someone like Gendry she knew that it meant the world to him. When they got married they talked about him taking her name when it was safe. It probably wasn't safe, not when Cersei seemed convinced that they both needed to die, but giving him this was an easy decision. Jon and Daenerys both clapped while the Northern lords looked a little annoyed about the fact that one of their princesses was wed to a southern bastard. Gendry wasn't a bastard anymore, now he was a Stark, and Arya couldn't be happier about it. The various lords and advisors talked lowly among themselves and Arya was content to pull Gendry into a bedroom for the rest of the night but it was Bran that made everyone pay attention.
"I need to speak to my brother and my sisters alone," he declared loudly. Meera frowned like she didn't know what this conversation was about but didn't make any move to join everyone that was leaving the room. Gendry put her down on her feet but also didn't make for the door and neither did Theon. They were family or at least they were in the eyes of the people that mattered. Bran, however, narrowed his eyes. "Just my brother and my sisters. Samwell Tarly is the only other person who can stay." This time Meera jerked like she'd been hit but she kept her head high as she walked out of the room without a word.
"I'll see you later," Arya promised.
"Gendry," Sansa said as he was getting ready to leave. "Please stay close to Theon. I want him safe."
"Of course, Sansa," Gendry replied and Theon smiled softly like he was grateful that someone was looking out for him. They all left the room and closed the door behind them.
"You know I don't like to keep things from my husband, Bran," Arya said as soon as the door was closed. "Meera and Theon are all but family now so you better have a good reason as to why you just insisted that we make them leave."
"We do," Sam said and he looked a little nervous. Bran, however, didn't look like he was feeling much at all these days. The Night King was almost upon them and that meant that her little brother was rarely with them these days. "Please, take a seat." Arya glanced at Sansa and Jon who both shrugged a little and took their seats at the table. "Bran wanted to tell you this alone, Jon, but I thought it was best if you had time to talk to your family about it. It's very important information and it could change things."
"Sam, the dead are almost upon us, is now really the time?" Jon asked.
"Probably not but considering the implications, I don't think there really is a good time," Sam replied as he took a deep breath and released it. "Jon, I know who your mother was and, by extension, who your father was."
"We know who is father was. That was never in question," Sansa said but Bran shook his head.
"Father lied to all of us because Jon is not his son," he said. "Jon is the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark." The silence that followed was like a living thing and sucked all of the air out of the room. Jon stood up so quickly that he knocked the chair over and he was so white that Arya thought he was going to faint.
"There is nothing funny about that," Jon snapped. "Ned Stark was my father. If you have information about my mother I'd love to hear about it but I won't hear this nonsense."
"I saw it," Bran said.
"And I have proof," Sam replied quickly as he showed Jon a document. "Rhaegar annulled his marriage to Elia Martell and legally married Lyanna. You're not a bastard, Jon."
"Your birth name is Aegon Targaryen as given to you by your mother on her deathbed. She asked my father to protect you at all costs from Robert Baratheon since he would have killed you on the spot. So he passed you off as his own bastard and lied to everyone including his wife."
"You're the heir to the Iron Throne," Sansa whispered. "You have a better claim that even Daenerys."
"Stop!" Jon nearly shouted and everyone in the room fell completely silent. Arya didn't know what to do to comfort her brother who looked like he was about to collapse in on himself. She knew that Jon tied a lot of his own identity in being a bastard the same way that Gendry did. That was the only way to protect himself from the harsh world around them. What Bran and Sam were telling him changed everything about his entire identity. "I'm not the heir of anything and this is how we are going to handle this information. Now is not the time to bring this up. Daenerys is trying to make more rational decisions these days when it comes to threats to her throne but that doesn't mean she wouldn't react to this news badly. The most important thing is defeating the Night King.
"If we survive the Long Night, if Daenerys and I both survive the Long Night, then I will publicly abdicate my claim to the Iron Throne. I will do it in front of other people and in writing so no one can contest it. After that, we will speak with the Northern Lords and they will decide whether or not they want me to continue to be the King in the North. Once that decision has been made we will go from there." Jon paused as he leaned heavily on the table. "Ned Stark was my father regardless of blood and you three are my siblings. We were raised as siblings and I'd like us to continue to live as siblings despite the fact that we are, apparently, cousins."
"You will always be our brother," Arya declared. She walked over and pulled Jon into a tight hug. He wrapped himself around her like he was afraid that he if let her go he would fall apart. "And you have always been wanted and loved no matter what anyone else has ever said."
"Our mother was wrong," Sansa said. "She was so wrong so hold what father did against you and I cannot apologize enough to you for the parts in it that I played. You are our brother and Ned Stark's son. We support your claim as King in the North. We always will." The three of them held each other closely and Arya could feel Jon crying into her shoulder. Arya glanced up and saw that Bran he wheeled himself closer to them. For the first time in days, he looked like their little brother and he pulled Jon into a hug as well.
"I didn't tell you this to ruin your life," Bran whispered. "I'm telling you this because you deserve to know. Father should have trusted all of us with this information years ago and most of all he should have trusted you with it. If you wish to abdicate then you are free to do so with our support." Jon pulled away from the three of them and looked around with tears in his eyes.
"Thank you," he whispered. "We are Stark's and nothing is ever going to change that. I can promise you that. When it's time for someone to sit on the Iron Throne it isn't going to be. I don't want it and I'm going to make sure that no one can contest whether or not it's mine. I'm going to keep all of us safe."
Gendry glanced over his shoulder as he closed the door behind him. It was strange that Bran wanted them to leave. While he was technically a member of the family, even more so now since he had a name he could not believe that he had a name, they always let him stay. Meera and Theon almost always got to stay too and they both looked a little uncomfortable about leaving. There wasn't anything they could do about it right now though. The dead were two days away and they were running out of time. Arya told him that there was no point in making more weapons. He needed to be rested but that didn't stop Gendry from feeling guilty.
There was also something nagging at the back of his head that wouldn't go away. For the last two nights, he had woken up with the sound of an all too familiar voice whispering in his ear. He knew, on several levels, that going was a bad idea but he couldn't get it out of his head. Gendry knew that there was a good chance he wasn't going to make it through the Long Night, he wasn't the best fighter in the world, and that meant he had to take care of everything.
"Gendry? Are you okay?" Meera asked and he realized he had stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. Theon blinked and stared at him too.
"There's someone I need to talk to," he said and he did his best to push past the two of them. Meera knew all about Melisandre and he did not doubt that Sansa had told Theon. It seemed he wasn't going to be lucky because the two of them immediately started to follow him. He was almost to the entrance of the dungeon when Meera reached out and took his arm.
"Do not tell me you're doing what I think you're doing," she warned.
"She said something about this battle and my part in it. I need to know if it's changed," Gendry said. "I need to know if there is anything I can do to help."
"And if she tells you to go light yourself on fire you're going to do it?" Meera asked incredulously. "She wants you dead, Gendry, and she'll do or say anything to make that happen."
"She'll play on your weaknesses," Theon whispered and they both looked at him. "She knows you care and she's going to use that against you. That's what He did. It's why he made me watch-" Theon cut himself and took a steadying breath. "It's a bad idea and you shouldn't go." Gendry knew that they were probably right, that nothing good was going to come from this, but he also knew that this was his only chance. Arya was busy and she would find a way to stop him. Meera and Theon would not.
"I'm going. If you're both so worried about it you can join me," he said and walked into the dungeons. The guards gave him a strange look but didn't try to stop him which he appreciated. Melisandre stood in the middle of her cell, hands folded in front of her, and didn't look like a hair was out of place which was insane. Her dress was still perfect and he couldn't see a speck of dirt on her pale skin. She smiled when he walked and she seemed to only have eyes for him despite the fact that Meera and Theon were close by.
"Princeling," she said. "I was wondering when you were going to come to me again. Were you having interesting dreams? I asked the Lord to ask you to come to me and you did."
"You know something about this battle that you aren't telling me. I want to know what it is," Gendry said. as he tried to ignore the way he felt a little dizzy in this woman's presence. It was like he was remembering what it was like when she was bleeding him dry despite the fact that he didn't have a scratch on him.
"I know lots of things, dear boy, but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell them to you," Melisandre said as she took a step forward. "Your blood is powerful, it could have won this war, but you wouldn't give yourself up to save them. I want you to remember that Gendry Waters, I want you to remember that everyone who dies in this fight died because you weren't brave enough to do the right thing for everyone."
"Shut up before I make you shut up," Meera warned and Gendry could tell that she meant it. He was trying not to think about the guilt, about the people that were going to die because he didn't burn, but Gendry latched onto one specific thing she said because if he didn't he was going to go insane.
"That isn't my name," he whispered.
"Ah, yes, it isn't," Melisandre said with a smirk. "You're Gendry Baratheon, the last son of Robert Baratheon, and heir to not only Storm's End but the Iron Throne."
"No," Gendry said a little louder and he stood a little taller. "My name is Ser Gendry Stark. I'm a knight of the north and the husband to Princess Arya Stark of Winterfell." Melisandre's smirk fell and she looked like someone just kicked her in the stomach. It seemed pretty apparent that she wasn't going to say anything else as she knelt down in her cell and closed her eyes. Gendry turned and walked out with Theon and Meera close behind.
"She's wrong," Theon said. "You aren't responsible for anything that happens in this battle. Don't think that or it's going to kill you and I don't want Arya to be sad. The Stark's have had enough sadness in their lives."
"She was just trying to convince you to commit suicide," Meera said. "Don't let her win. She doesn't deserve it." Gendry looked at the two of them and nodded slowly. It probably was a mistake to go and see her but there was something in the back of his mind that told him it was the right decision. Something felt right now that felt wrong.
"I should have listened," he said because he couldn't explain why he felt like he still made the right decision despite feeling like he was gutted. "It's late so I'm going to head up my room."
"We'll come with you," Meera said and Theon nodded. "We should get some sleep too. We only have tomorrow and they're going to be here." The three of them went to their respective rooms and Gendry spent a good hour or two pacing as he tried to figure out what was bothering and why he felt better and worse at the same time.
He looked up when the door opened and was nearly struck dumb by the look on Arya's face. She was pale and he swore that it looked like she'd been crying. When she met his eyes Gendry seemed to realize that whatever had happened she didn't want to talk about. He also knew that he was also looking a little pale, maybe even sickly, and didn't want to talk about it either. So he didn't ask. Whatever it was Arya would tell him later. Instead helped her get undressed and they both fell asleep in each other's arms without saying a word to each other. They didn't have much time, the dead would be here soon, but this could wait.