The next day found the trio walking through a forest. Arya no longer needed to be carried and although her pace wasn't as fast as it originally had been, she was still doing well. With the extra food they had been given as payment for working in the field, no one had to go hungry. Hot Pie suggested they sell the swords they carried, for money. Arya said no, that they needed something to protect themselves and that ended the conversation. As they walked away from the farmer's fields and out onto the grassy plain, Hot Pie stuffed his pants and jacket with corn husks. Gendry and Arya were none the wiser of his theft, as they were walking in front of him. They'd appreciate his thoughtfulness in the days to come, knowing this made Hot Pie smile.

"I don't like us so out in the open, with no rock or tree to hide behind." Gendry was anxious. He didn't know if the Gold Cloaks were around still hunting for him or Arya. He also worried about running into unaligned men.

"Well we have no other choice. The grass is tall enough in some places, if we lie flat, no one should see us," Arya reasoned.

"No one cares about us," Hot Pie said simply. "I'm hungry let's stop."

Gendry rolled his eyes at Arya, who grinned in response. In unison they said, "you're always hungry."

Arya added, "we're not stopping. Gendry's right, we're too out in the open." That said, she picked up the pace.

Eventually they reached forest and this is when they stopped for a break. They rationed out the bread and water, Gendry making sure Arya got just a little bit more than he and Hot Pie. As they ate, he noticed the fat boy looked a little more bulky than normal. "What's in your pockets Hot Pie?"

"Nothing," the fat boy lied.

"Hang him by his ankles Gendry and shake him. Whatever's in there will fall out," Arya said.

Not wanting that done to him, Hot Pie confessed. "I stole some corn as we left the field."

His two friends shook their heads, but smiled. "Since we'll be in the forest tonight, I'll make a fire and we'll cook them."

The three companions got up and continued on their way. A few times they had to clear a path with their swords, the underbrush was so dense. As it began to get dark, they look for a place to make camp. A very large uprooted tree that had left a crater where it had once stood, provided satisfactory shelter. Not wanting to sleep on the dirt, Arya began gathering leaves to cover the ground. Gendry had Hot Pie help him gather sticks and logs for the fire. Once done, they settled down to watch the corn roast. Hot Pie used some of their water to soak the corn, so the husks wouldn't burn up too quick.

"It's really hot, so don't eat them yet." Hot Pie warned his friends, as he removed the corn from the fire.

"You'd make a good cook in some kitchen," Arya complimented the boy.

Gendry already was eating and just nodded.

Once their bellies were full, Arya took first watch. She wasn't worried about wild animals, but of wild men. Hot Pie was asleep and snoring in seconds, Gendry put more logs on the fire, before lying down too. As the two boys slept, she realized they'd become something like family to her since they'd been thrown together in the previous months. She watched Gendry sleeping, her brothers would like him. Her brother Rob would probably ask him to join his army, to work on the armour. Like any girl, she daydreamed about watching him work shirtless over a forge. A smile played on her lips.

"What are you grinning about?" Gendry asked, waking up to take his shift.

Embarrassed, Arya said, "nothing, there's something in my teeth." She picked at her tooth, to show him it wasn't a grin, but a grimace.

He wasn't sure he believed her, but let it go. "Time for you to get some sleep."

She nodded and lay down where he'd just been. It was a good spot to capture the warmth of the fire. As was her ritual, she listed the names of the people she wanted dead. Then staring at the fire, she eventually slept. Gendry looked at her, the fire light danced on her face. He wondered what she had looked like in a dress and without the boyish hairstyle. He shook his head, as if to rid himself of those thoughts. She was noble born, he was a bastard. He'd never be more than just her friend and protector, it was not allowed. Yet, once in a while, something she did or said, made him respect her and endear her to his heart. The sound of breaking branches ahead of their camp, made him kill the fire. He did it with dirt, so there was no smoke. Then he went and put his hand over Arya's and Hot Pie's mouths.

"There's men in these woods, don't say a word, don't even sneeze." Gendry whispered in their ears and watched their wide eyes to make sure they understood.

They pressed their bodies as deep into the crater of the tree as they could, quietly pulling branches over their bodies to hide them. Arya was squished between Gendry and Hot Pie, even in the dark she felt the difference in their bodies. No one moved and barely dared to breath. Straining their ears they could hear men, thrashing in the bush.

"We'll make camp here, by this stream. At first light we move on," a gruff voice boomed over the forest.

A woman pleaded with the men, "just let me go, please let me go."

Another man's voice growled, "shut your bitch up or I'll take her from you."

"You'll have to fight me for her. I haven't had a woman in a while. Little boys just aren't the same."

The men laughed together and then made camp. Arya and Gendry could hear horses too. They tried to count how many men were in their forest, by the voices that spoke. On her arm Gendry pressed five fingers, she nodded slightly. Tensely they waited, scared to be discovered. The sounds that drifted to them in the night, made Arya tremble in fear, then stiffen with hate. They listened as the woman was raped repeatedly. Her pleading words turned into squeals of pain and then eventually to whimpers. Gendry hated that Arya could hear what those men had done. He knew her imagination would make it worse, than if they had seen it. When they only heard snoring, she moved against him. Had it been under different circumstances, his body would have reacted to her squirming in a way that would have embarrassed them both. He scooted his body backward, away from hers and then quietly moved to the side on his knees. She did the same, but used her hand to signal that Hot Pie should stay where he was. Their eyes had adjusted to the dark and she could see his face register relief. She pulled Gendry's head down and put her lips close to his ear.

"Do you think we can take a horse?"

He shook his head negatively.

"Let's see if we can free the girl," she whispered.

Her lips were tickling his ear, but again he shook his head no. It was his turn to whisper in her ear, "no way, she's lost now. We need to get out of here or that will happen to us."

She knew he meant her and Hot Pie, not himself. She mouthed without words, "how?"

He shrugged and peaked around the side of the ball of roots and dirt. She did the same on the other side. One man sat by the fire, the others slept. The horses were not by the fire. Gendry guessed that they were probably hobbled, but by some grass. The horses wouldn't give alarm, unless they went close to them.

He pulled Arya close to him, his face inches from hers. She couldn't help it, but her eyes dropped to his lips, just for an instant. He turned her head, exposing her ear. "We slowly go backwards and once far enough, make a big circle around them. Or we dig this hole deeper, cover ourselves in dirt, leaves and branches and pray not to be found."

If it was just her and Gendry, she'd flee. But there was no way Hot Pie could move stealthily through the forest. She made the motion of digging and he nodded. Hot Pie understood too and went to work. Quickly and quietly they dug into the damp earth. Arya would go in first, Gendry covered her as best he could. Then he and Hot Pie did the same. This time Gendry was in the middle. He lay with Arya's face on his chest and his arm over her protectively. None of them slept, not even Hot Pie, they were too anxious. Even after they heard the men rise, with daylight cresting the horizon, they didn't move. Finally when no horse, nor man could be heard and the forest animals made noise once more, then they came out of hiding. They were sore, stiff and dirty, but all were glad they hadn't been found and were alive.

All three wanted to get out of the area, so they ate a cold breakfast quickly. As they went to leave, Arya went to where the men had made camp. Tears sprang to her eyes but didn't fall, when she found the dead body of the woman. The woman was completely naked, her bruised body told it's own story of abuse. The neck was slashed, almost to the point of decapitation. Arya closed her eyes, as the boys came to her side.

"We should bury her or something," Hot Pie said sadly.

"The animals will just dig her up. There's not enough rocks to keep them off her," Gendry said.

Hot Pie knew Gendry was right and said a quick little prayer. He still dragged some branches over top of the body, covering it slightly. The whole time Arya said nothing. They continued on, carefully alert to anyone who might still be around. No one said another word for hours.

Arya broke the silence, "I wish I had seen those men's faces."

"Why?" Hot Pie asked.

"So that if I ever saw them again, I'd kill them."

The look in her eyes almost stopped Gendry, but he still spoke his mind. "I hope that one day when you're older, Arya, you'll find out for yourself that not all unions between a man and a woman are so brutal and bad."

"I know that. I've walked in on my brothers with their whores. The whores seemed to enjoy whatever they were doing."

Hot Pie grunted, "a whore acts like she likes it to get more money."

"How would you know Hot Pie?" Gendry challenged.

The fat boy grinned, "I've seen things."

"Sure you have," Arya said. "Next you'll say that you've been with a whore."

"I didn't say that," the boy protested. Then he asked, "what about you Gendry, have you been with a woman?"

"I'm a man aren't I?" Gendry replied.

Arya harrumphed, "that doesn't mean anything. I bet you haven't been with a girl yet."

"I have. I doubt someone noble born like you would've even have noticed her."

Hot Pie was interested in knowing more, "who was she? Did I know her?"

"Doubt it. She was a bar wench from the tavern where I grew up. Her red hair was long and curly. She was older than I and more experienced. She did this thing with her lips and tongue…."

Arya was jealous and snapped, "oh shut up! We don't want to here about your toss in the hay."

"I do," Hot Pie said, only to receive a smack in the back of the head from Arya's hand. "Hey, what did I do?"

His question met silence. From her body language both boys knew she was angry and for once they left her alone. Arya didn't know why she was suddenly so angry or why she cared about who Gendry had bedded. She should feel bad about thinking such things, after what that woman had been through. But learning that Gendry had been with a woman simply bugged her. Would anyone ever desire her? She mentally kicked herself, now she sounded like her sister Sansa. She didn't have time to daydream about boys. That type of thinking was silly and could get them all killed.