So, I had some wonderful suggestions via the reviews and it gave me a lot to think about so here's the next chapter! :) As I say in every fic I write, the story is for the readers so what you may want to read in my stories, I enhance the idea. It's for my readers to enjoy what they read so I thank that reviewer for giving me a great idea. Thank you all so much.
Sansa could hear her heart beat loud in her ears as she stepped closer to the club. It was pounding with music even though it was early in the evening. Well, for her it was early. She would normally start her second job at half past seven.
Smoothing down her sparkling dress, she tried to casually enter the club but was stopped by the bodyguard.
"You're not getting in, kid."
"Excuse me?" Sansa screeched, wincing when she sounded like a spoilt childish brat. "I'm not a child. I'm twenty-two." She dug into her purse and got her ID. "See? Isn't the legal age eighteen? I'm pretty sure I surpass that."
The bodyguard glanced over at the ID card. "Alayne Stone? Sounds fake to me."
"It's real," Sansa gritted out. "Ask the owner of this club, he knows me."
"Baratheon knows everyone these days(!)"
Sansa sighed, glancing down at his own ID lanyard. "So..., Sandor, is it? How about you let me in and I won't tell my godfather, Robert about this little encounter, huh?"
Sandor Clegane chuckled loudly, shaking his head. "You're a funny one, kid. Go on, get out of here."
Then the beautiful Irish accent saved her, making her thank God for her mentally.
"She's with me, Clegane Number 2, you idiot."
Sandor raised a bemused eyebrow at Ygritte. "Alayne Stone is with you, Ó Brádaigh?"
Ygritte narrowed her eyes, almost pursing her lips. "Yes. Is that so hard to believe?"
"Don't remember you having any friends, Ó Brádaigh."
"Don't remember you being judge, jury and executioner, Clegane Number 2. Now, let us in and I won't tell her godfather about this."
Clegane laughed. "So, you are one of his many godchildren? Bloody hell, go on in then."
Glaring at him, Sansa followed Ygritte inside. They passed endless of dancing, drunk bodies and up the stairs to a hallway of private rooms. Ygritte led her to the final one, opening it up to reveal other redheaded models with blondes, brunettes and blackheads segregated.
"You can guess which section you belong to." Ygritte smiled coyly. "So, your persona's Alayne Stone?"
Sansa nodded. "I can't let Jon find out. At one of the places I work at, I sing under that name."
"You're a natural already." Ygritte complimented her.
The young Stark female smiled nervously. She looked around at the many models, managing to spot Robert chuckling with a group of blondes. There was no denying which ones he was choosing personally.
He clapped his hands, gaining everyone's attention. "Right, I need two blondes, two blackheads, one ginger and one brunette."
Robert looked around at the room mostly full of women, his eyes finally landing on Sansa. To say he was surprised would be saying the least. Jon had made it adamantly clear that she was not going into modelling. Ned Stark had been lenient though, allowing his daughters to choose their own paths. They were his little princesses, he would serve them until his death or until they got married and lived their own lives. His sons, however, he had to mould into perfect young men to steer them away from trouble.
Catelyn Stark had not been lenient. She begrudgingly agreed with Jon not to allow Sansa into a world of vanity over sanity. The stupid motto Robert had created for any models he took on. She was not going to allow her daughter to become a spoilt diva but her death meant that she could not steer her eldest daughter on the right and sensible path. Nor her youngest either.
"I have already chosen my ginger and blonde models. But I will require those two groups to perform a catwalk and take photos. I may need you for another project." He loved to recycle models, it saved time.
Ygritte nudged Sansa, noticing that Robert was looking at them. "Go and sign up. I'll speak with Mr Can't-Keep-My-Eyes-Off-You. Remember to use 'Alayne Stone'."
Sansa swallowed deeply and got in line to sign her name as she watched Ygritte speak with her godfather from the corner of her eyes. She was already sick with nerves and knowing that he had already chosen a ginger model made her heart sink. Then why was she here? She should have listened to Jon. Kind and sensible Jon who would forgive her for going against him and her mother.
After signing her name, it became more real. She was going to do this. The one thing she had wanted to do since she was ten. But making it more real made it scarier and she suddenly noticed her heart beating loudly in her ears again.
She needed an out.
About to go to the door, she was stopped by the Irishwoman.
"Going so soon? You haven't had your turn yet, love."
"No, I was, uh, looking for the toilets."
Ygritte chuckled. "Sansa...," she started with a low voice as she leant in closer to Sansa. "I can notice a bundle of nerves from a mile away. I was exactly the same." She cleared her throat and leant back. "Alayne, let me show you the way to the toilets, you won't be called up until later. They're doing this alphabetically with your surnames."
Ygritte led the way back downstairs where the music was louder, through the sweaty, dancing and drunk bodies into the female water closet. Sansa was relieved to see it was empty and went to the sinks.
"Why are you so scared and nervous about this? You've sung in front of people at work before, why is this different?"
Sansa's eyes watered as she sniffled. "It's different because I know I will fail. I know that Jon will find out and... he'll be right. I won't be Sansa Stark, daughter of Eddard Stark anymore. I'll be Alayne 'Vanity Over Sanity' Stone. I won't be my parents' daughter."
"But you've sung-"
"To about twenty people give or take. I never do it when we're full, I leave that to the professionals and serve people their drinks. But modelling could lead to travelling and millions of people knowing who I am. Or my persona. I can't do that to my family... We've suffered enough."
"But what about what you want. Sansa Stark, what do you want? What have you dreamed about since you were a little babe?"
Sansa looked at Ygritte through the mirror and blinked slowly. "A model..."
"And what has Jon dreamt about since he was a child?"
"Following Dad's footsteps."
Ygritte chuckled softly. "Exactly. Following your da's footsteps. And what did he do?"
Sansa hesitated. She knew where the Irishwoman was getting at but she couldn't do it. "Follow our father's footsteps and become a doctor."
"Is he happy?"
"Yeah. Loves it."
Ygritte leant against the sink beside Sansa and crossed her arms. "Now, come on, tell me what the children of the Stark da wanted to be when they grew up."
Sansa smiled softly. "Bran, he wanted to go into anthropology before everything happened. Loved History and Religious Education. I don't know what he wanted to be but he did once say he'd love to travel the world and help less developed countries. By the time he was three, we'd already gone to Japan, Mexico, Spain and South Africa with our family."
"The girl I met when I came over. Arry?"
"Arya," Sansa corrected. "She only allows people who are close to her to call her that."
"Ah," Ygritte clicked her tongue. "So, what does your sister want to do?"
Sansa shrugged. "I don't know. She's good at all sorts. Like a virtuoso, I guess. She loves dancing and she's good at fencing and horse riding too. Dad once said that she could go to the Olympics but Arya was too shy to do so. Rickon... before he died... he wanted to do whatever Robb or Jon was doing. They were his role models."
Ygritte checked her watch and looked up at Sansa. "Come on, Miss Stone. It's nearly your turn."
They weaved past the thick smell of alcohol and sweaty body odour and returned upstairs to see that the room was less fuller than before.
She noticed that the blonde models had been chosen, the other ones had left. Same for the brunette model and blackheads. Only the redheads remained.
"Stone. Alayne Stone?"
Sansa stepped onto the catwalk and smiled. "I'm Alayne Stone and I am twenty-two years old."
"Your best catwalk, please." The photographer said, getting ready to take shots.
Swallowing her nerves down, Sansa walked up and down with her head held up high and her face neutral. When she got back to the front, she did a sultry pose and narrowed her eyes slightly before walking to the middle of the catwalk and turning back around.
"Good. Okay, if you'd stand where it marks 'X' and I'll take your headshots and full body shots."
Sansa moved a little back and stood naturally, keeping her posture and pose casual but straight.
"Good. You can go."
Sansa stepped off the catwalk and joined Ygritte who was talking to Robert. She had been the last redhead to audition and Robert was in the process of choosing his model.
Once he left to speak with his colleagues, Ygritte turned to face her.
"You did well. Kept your poker face good enough. Not as well as the other models but you did well for a first-timer. It's likely you won't get this gig but you might be considered for the next one. Robert was surprised to see you here."
"I hope he doesn't tell Jon."
"Forget about Jon. Think about the money you could make to help your family. No offence but where you guys live... it's a dump. Not as nice as the place Jon took me back to."
Sansa swallowed deeply. "It's home. All we can afford right now to pay for Arya's school."
"I'm sorry. That was insensitive. Look, I'll drop you off home after Robert makes the announcements. Might even buy you some dinner to take home."
Their conversation was cut short when Robert announced the model who was taking this gig. It wasn't Sansa.
But, she was being considered for shots on the website itself. Just not on the TV advert.
It was past nine when they finally left after celebrating with the other models and Robert. Clegane had given her a short nod in acknowledgement.
"Seems like you got it, kid. Guess I was wrong about her, Ó Brádaigh. You got a good eye for talent."
Ygritte chuckled before giving his cheek a kiss, leaving a red stain. "Never doubt me, Clegane Number 2. Say 'hi' to Number 1 for me, yeah? Come on, Alayne."
Sansa followed Ygritte dutifully to her Mercedes and got in, swallowing deeply. It had been ages since she had ridden in one before. When she was attending secondary school, private of course, her parents had given her her own driver. He came every morning to drop her off and after school to pick her up in the Mercedes car. Life was different once she turned eighteen. She had got her driver's licence and drove her own BMW.
After her parent's deaths, she and Jon had to sell their cars and settle for a small Vauxhall which Jon drove and she, sometimes. The money had gone after they died. They couldn't get their money until at least one of them turned thirty-two years of age. Their parents had stressed that in their wills as by then, they would have been able to stand on their own two feet and earn a decent amount of money for themselves, leaving the money left for them to be spent leisurely on holidays or whatever they wanted.
Unfortunately, Jon was only twenty-eight.
"What are you thinkin' about, love?"
"How long it has been since I've been in a car as classy and expensive as this."
"Don't worry. You'll get all that fortune back. I promise ya."
...
Arya took her time. Her tongue curling in anticipation and concentration.
Then it was done.
"Ah, damn."
"Thought I was going to fail?" She asked Jon, placing the Jenga block on the table.
Jon shook his head. "'Course not, Arya. You're so precise in everything you do, it would have been a shock if you did."
She smirked. "Ah, you flatter me. Did you see how I did that, Bran?"
Bran turned to her, glanced down at the block and back up to her before blinking and turning to face the wall.
"He's on your side, I can tell because he didn't do that with me." Jon grinned. "You do see he's getting better, right? He's more responsive than he had been in a long time."
Arya grinned back. "Soon, we'll be a proper family."
They heard scratching in the keyhole and looked up to see Sansa opening the door and stepping in, closing the door quickly to not let the heat out.
"Partying?" Jon asked her.
"Oh, no... Friend's birthday. Hadn't seen her since school..."
Sansa undid her hair, taking out the pins that held her curls and ran her fingers through it. It immediately began to straighten.
"Have you eaten?"
"No."
Sansa smiled brightly as she lifted up a takeaway bag. "Friend gave me some money to treat ourselves. When was the last time we had Chinese?"
Arya gasped, standing up to grab the bag from her sister as Jon went to get plates and forks.
"I've got chopsticks in there for you, Jon."
"Thanks. How much was this? I'll repay your friend-"
"No. She was blowing through her money. She doesn't care. Honestly."
Satisfied, Jon laid out their dishes and forks and began portioning the food. He even did a plate for Bran whose hand was reaching for the Jenga block that Arya had placed down earlier.
"Sweet and sour chicken, prawn noodles, barbeque pork strips, seaweed... How much did you get?" Arya asked excitedly.
"I know. I went all out. I was thinking we could watch a movie while we eat. Just have some family time."
"What did you do this time, Sans?" Jon joked.
But that made Sansa's heart skip a beat. "N-Nothing. My friend gave me enough to buy a lot so..."
"You normally treat us when you've done something you're not supposed to..." Arya sang teasingly before stuffing a piece of chicken into her mouth using her chopsticks.
Sansa chuckled nervously. "Honestly. I've done nothing. My friend was just being more nice than usual. How about we go out next week? With Sam, Gilly and the baby. My treat for once."
Jon looked up at her with a small smile. "Yeah. Okay. I'll give him a bell later. He's on a shift right now."
"I'll feed Bran. You guys just eat and enjoy the food." Sansa sat down with a smile.
...
Arya spotted Hot Pie heading her way. His mother must have informed him of her arrival.
She sat at her usual table, once again always reserved unless they had a busy day. They rarely had any busy days.
"It's Sunday. You never come on Sundays," frowned Hot Pie. "Are you here to hide again?"
"No, Hot Pie. I'm meeting Gendry."
Hot Pie's face brightened. "He came in yesterday! You weren't here like usual but he came for once. He never comes in on Saturdays. What were you doing?"
She was curious. Why was Gendry here yesterday? Why didn't he call or text her to come?
"Bran was home. So, Jon and I decided to stay home and do family stuff. Hey, why was Gendry here?"
"Looking for you at first but then he said that you would still be mad at him so he went. He didn't leave though. Helped my mama's boyfriend fix his car and tools. Then he left after I gave him a new pie. This one is sweet! I saved a slice for you. It has cherries but a secret ingredient that I can't tell you."
As usual, she handed him a pound coin that she found after digging into the sofa at home. She knew she'd need it for today. She almost thanked God but then remembered she didn't believe in God. Hadn't since that fateful day. She wondered if her siblings still believed.
Taking the coin, Hot Pie went out back and retrieved the pie on a small plate. He gave it to her with an expectant smile.
"Well?"
"I haven't even taken a bite yet, Hot Pie."
He laughed and gestured for her to take a bite, sitting in front of her like an overexcited puppy.
She took a bite and smiled approvingly at it. "Wonderful."
"As usual?"
"More than usual. You should do more sweet flavours. I'm sure your mum will appreciate it."
Hot Pie nodded excitedly. "Mama did say that. She loved it too!"
"Arya."
Arya turned around to see Gendry standing behind her.
He situated himself beside Hot Pie who smiled widely at him.
"Gendry," Arya finally responded in kind.
"I better return out back. Mama's boyfriend could only spare me for a couple of minutes. Bye, Arya. Bye, Gendry."
The couple both waved Hot Pie away as Arya handed Gendry her fork.
"Try some."
"I did. Yesterday when I came looking for you. I wanted to tell you that I've considered running away. Dad got back with Cersei."
"Oh. Crap. I'm sorry."
Gendry shook his head. "It's fine. They realised divorcing would cost more than staying together. My stepsiblings are gaining from this. I'm more or less their personal driver now."
"Just like I use Jon." Arya chuckled. "But the bus is okay. And walking."
He cleared his throat. "Anyway, if we were to run away, where would we go?"
"Braavos. I've always wanted to go back there. I was somebody there."
"Then that is where we will go my princess."
Arya glanced down, blushing but she smiled nonetheless.
"Hey, yesterday... I was at one of my dad's gigs and well, I saw your sister."
She glanced up, shock written on her features. "Why was she there?"
"She didn't see me. I was undercover scouting for my dad but she auditioned for an advert gig on TV. She didn't get it but she did get the online gig. What was weird though, is the fact that she said her name was 'Alayne Stone'."
"She used that name once at a pub she works at. She was looking after me and she got up to sing under that name. She's going against Jon."
"What are you going to do?"
She shrugged. "Nothing. In my opinion, it will help us actually feed ourselves for a month rather than a couple of days... I'm just hoping she knows what she's doing because this 'Vanity Over Sanity' BS is just a way to ruin girls who have so much potential. That's why Mum and Jon never wanted her to go into modelling. She's got the selfish part done so I guess it would come easily to her."
"Don't say that. Your sister would die for you guys."
"Sorry?"
"Sorry, the wrong choice of words but she would do anything for you. Maybe this was the only way."
Arya shrugged. "I'm not saying I'm against it. I'd rather her not lie to Jon's face. He does everything for us just so we don't sell our bodies or do something as stupid like modelling. I hope she knows that the truth would come out sometime."
"Yeah, I hope she does too."
She finished the remaining pieces of her pie and wiped her mouth with a tissue. "I'll meet you tomorrow morning before school starts. Sansa will borrow Jon's car to drop me off before going back home to give him his car bar. But if it's Jon dropping me off... he would literally stay there, ignoring cars honking at him, to make sure I enter the building. So, don't be late as I have tricks up my sleeves for the both of them."
"Wouldn't you carrying a suitcase be obvious?" Gendry asked.
"No. Because everything I need will be in my PE kit. Mondays are fitness and health mornings before lessons start. It's a new regime to get us rearing to go for A Levels. Sansa nor Jon will be none the wiser."
Gendry drew a short breath before releasing it. "We're doing this."
"We are." Arya swallowed deeply. "I-I lo-"
"You don't have to say it if you're not ready. I've told you before, Arry."
She placed her palm on his cheek and he leant his head into it lovingly. She had known him for most of her life. He was four years older than her, Sansa's age, but she fell for him. Hard. He was her first boyfriend and the excitement scared her. They started dating when she was sixteen and he was twenty. If anybody knew, especially her older brothers and father, they'd kill him. His dad would kill him too. But they couldn't help falling for each other.
"I love you." She whispered to him. "So much but I... I can't say that to you ever again."
Gendry's heart stopped when he placed his own hand over hers on his cheek and turned his head to kiss her hand. He just gazed into her eyes lovingly and she blushed, refusing to break their connection.
"Why can't you?" He finally asked her.
"Because if I do. I'd lose you."
"You won't."
Arya chuckled lightly. "You don't know that. Hey, maybe we will meet Nymeria when we leave. We've been looking for her for months, maybe we'd reunite again. That reminds me, I have to get home to feed Ghost. Knowing Sansa, she'd forget."
They both stood up and Arya placed a long kiss on Gendry's lips, pulling him closer to her. She was glad that the café was nearly empty.
"I love you, my princess."
"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."
She pulled away from him and left, pulling her coat tighter around her body. It was colder than earlier and she could even see her breath take shape in the cold air. She loved Winter though. She was born in Winter. So was Jon. That allowed them to have a special connection.
She could hear her footsteps crunch into the snow. It wasn't deep at all. Just a few inches tall, enough to leave sludge. She still loved it.
As Arya crossed the road, she heard a car honk. When she safely made it to the other side, she turned back in time to see the window wind down.
"Arya! Do you need a lift?"
Arya smiled softly as she saw the person turn back to coo at her baby.
"Oh, I don't want to give you any trouble. I'm fine, the bus should be-"
"Come on! Jon would kill me then Sam would kill me. Get in." Gilly waved her over.
Hesitantly, Arya made her way over to the small, blue Toyota Prius and got in, her distaste for the warmth showing on her face.
"Sorry, is it too hot? I can't have little Sammy being sick. Babies are the worst during Winter." Gilly breathed out as Arya put her seatbelt on.
"No, it's fine. Hi, Baby Sammy."
The baby gurgled back, making Arya smile.
"Sam's got a long shift today so I'm all alone with Sammy," Gilly started as she drove off. "I can't wait to go back to work though. How is school?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
The car came to a halt as Gilly pressed on her horn loudly. "Idiot!"
The other driver glared at her as he drove off, allowing Gilly to continue on.
"Sorry about that. Thank God that Sammy doesn't take notice."
Arya laughed. "Don't worry, you get stupid drivers on the road. That's what Dad taught me before he died."
"Have you got a driver's licence then?"
"Yeah, I passed two months ago. But we can't afford another car anyway so..."
Gilly clicked her tongue. "I get you. I'm only borrowing this car from Sam's sister whilst she's away. She's a lifesaver, honestly. How is Bran settling in? Sam told me he was in the hospital a couple of days ago."
"He's fine."
But he won't be when I leave...