A/N: Thank you for reading & reviewing, following and making this a favorite. I'm surprised to know some of you are liking this, although I've given the warning that this won't be a long story. Just answering a request for such storyline on Tumblr. Like I've said, I'm still in the middle of another story and I find it hard to juggle more than 1, unless the other's just a oneshot.

But all talk aside, here's the next one. I hope you enjoy this as I enjoyed writing it. More to come soon, I promise (wink! wink!), and again, THANK YOU for constantly reading and reviewing. You guys rock :)


Arya was stirring the rabbit soup she had prepared for supper when Ned walked in. She noticed that he looked more tired than usual, probably because of the swords he had to reforge, lances to sharpen, helmets and armors to fix. She took a bowl of hot soup and placed it on the small table, along with a fresh loaf of bread she made that afternoon.

"Long day at the forge?" she asked him as he took a seat on the wooden chair that looked a bit small for his large, muscular frame.

He tore of a piece of bread and dipped it partly in the hot soup before putting it in his mouth. "As always," came his short reply. "You look quite tired, too. Long day at play?"

Arya saw a hint of a smile on his face and she, too, smiled in return. "Gendry and I went scouring for apples in the tree out back. And he helped me shoot this rabbit we have here."

Ned sighed. "Prince Gendry, Arya. You must remember that he's not like us. He's to be King someday, and it's not fit for a King to be running around and climbing trees, scouring for apples and berries and hunting rabbits for you. For us," he added with exasperation.

Arya's shoulders slumped. "I know, Father. But Gendry-"

"Prince Gendry."

Arya rolled her eyes. "Prince Gendry is not like that! He's different," she adds with a softened tone.

"I know that his company makes you happy, and I can see that you make him happy, too, with your company. But he cannot go on sneaking out of the castle just to play games all afternoon with you! You're not even children anymore. He's turning 17 on his name day, and you're 16, my sweet. You should actually be thinking about finding a man to marry and have babes with."

"You know I don't want to marry when I'm not ready! I won't do it, Father!" Arya strongly protested.

Ned took a drink of water - passing up on ale this night - and signaled to Arya to come closer. She obliged, fighting tears as Ned's arm encircled her waist and pulled her in for half an embrace.

"I won't force you to marry if you're not ready. But you know that someday soon, you shall find a man who would take care of you and have children with you, especially when Mother and I will not be with you in this world forever."

"Stop talking like that!" Arya hissed through gritted teeth. "If I could keep you all alive until the end of time, I would. I'll have none of my family dying, if I could possibly help it," she said sadly.

"But you know that is impossible, my sweet. What are our words back home? The Stark words?" he asked.

"Winter is coming," Arya whispered.

"Aye," he firmly said. "Now, best be ready for bed. I need your help at the forge tomorrow."

Arya's face lit up. "I can help you sharpen swords, Father?"

Ned laughed. "No, my sweet. I need you to tend to those coming into the forge and take their orders and help sell some extra trinkets your Mother has sent from home. I cannot finish my tasks if I keep going back and forth, tending to orders and then picking up my tools. It disrupts my momentum."

Arya resisted the urge to make a face. Her father was right, but she gave Gendry - Prince Gendry - a promise to go hunting with him tomorrow. Upon weighing her priorities, she knew she has a duty with her father to help out as best she could. Playing and dallying with the Prince was not on top of her list. Or at least, it wasn't supposed to be.

"Yes, Father," she answered like the dutiful daughter she should be.

"Good. Now, clean this up and get ready for bed."


Gendry walked towards the forge again but was disappointed to find Arya busy tending to a few customers. She was seeing to a horse as her father was fixing two of its shoes, but he noticed how glum she looked. He did not understand why she had to be there, when they could be out riding in the fields or hunting rabbits in the forest. But seeing as Ned was the only trusted blacksmith in the kingdom, he was most likely swarmed with work and had to ask Arya to help out.

Maybe I should suggest an apprentice for him, he thought. I should ask Father tonight.

"It's the Prince!"

Gendry was alarmed to hear that he was recognized by those in the forge. He was not so quick to turn back, so he decided to acknowledge them with a nod.

"Are your guards waiting outside, M'Lord? You shouldn't be out parlaying with the lesser folk for it isn't safe for the Heir," said a man he recognized as Mikken. He was the old smith until he passed the duty on to Ned Stark because of old age. He lives in the village but now only tending to his vegetables and pigs and running after his grandsons and granddaughters. He seemed happy to be retired from working at the forge after a few decades of being in the midst of the furnace.

"They are out there waiting for me," Gendry lied, not wanting to give away the fact that he had sneaked out from the castle to see the blacksmith's daughter.

Arya gave him an apologetic look when she noticed him looking at her. He raised his brow, as if throwing the question if she could meet him out in the fields today. She must have read his mind because he could only give a small shake of her head and a crease to her pretty brows. Gendry's shoulders slumped, and the action did not go unnoticed by her father.

"Arya," he softly called out to her. "Why don't you take a break and let me handle that for now? I feel like having freshly baked apple pie at supper tonight. You might want to pick some red, ripe, juicy ones from the tree out back."

Arya's face lit up and so did Gendry's.

"Thank you, Father!" Arya all but squealed in delight. She signaled to Gendry that she'd be out in the back, waiting for him before leaving in a fit of excitement.

"But don't be too long, my sweet," Ned called after her, before turning to raise his brow at the Prince.

Gendry understood that they did not have much time to dally this afternoon, and so he nodded in acknowledgement of Ned's hint and bid the others farewell. He had to go out front and full view of everyone, since he could not just rush out where Arya went, lest he'd give away his little secret. He calmly walked out, taking a few quick steps forward until he was out of the forge's view, before finally breaking into a run.

"There you are! What took you so long?" Arya asked as she gathered the hem of her skirts so she could crawl up the tree.

"I had to leave as calmly as I could, silly girl," Gendry replied. He got ready to climb up after her but she stopped him with a raised hand.

"No! You stay there because I need someone to catch these apples."

"I don't want to be the one to catch the apples! Why don't you catch them?"

"Because I'm already up here, stupid! Now get on with it!"

"No!" he protested, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance. "Your skirts would be best catch all the apples that I would throw at you. Now, come down here this instant!"

"I know you're a Prince and the heir to the throne and blah blah blah blah, but you can't order me around like you do your castle guards!"

"Your father will be eating worm pie instead of apple pie for supper if you don't start shimmying down that tree so I could pick those apples. Get down here!"

"Don't be stupid! Now, hold both your hands out and start catching apples!"

"You're not 11 years old so stop being a brat! Get…down…here…NOW!"

And he started climbing the tree, only to be thrown back by a sharp pain in his forehead.

"Arya! Why'd you throw an apple at me? What kind of girl throws apples at other people?"

"The bad kind!" she shot back. "Now, hold your hands out and start catching these or I'll shake a whole branch until all the apples here come raining on you!"


"Oh dear! What happened to your head?" Queen Cersei touched the red bump on her son's forehead. She had a frown on her beautiful face as she inspected his slight injury.

"I'm fine, Mother," Gendry replied as he gently pushed her hands away. "It's just a stupid bump and not in any way life-threatening."

Cersei made a soft tutting sound as she backed away from her son. "Is it bad that a mother only fusses her concern for her son? I am hurt that you're pushing me away, my love."

Gendry sighed. His mother was good with making him feel bad and guilty over trivial things, but if he would admit it to himself, he likes the attention she gives him. It makes him feel like a little boy still.

"I'm sorry, Mother," he said, softer this time. "It's nothing to worry about. I bumped my head on the desk, that's all. It's stupid, I know."

Cersei gave him a small smile and pushed his black hair away from his eyes. "Where have you been this afternoon, anyway? Your Father left early to hunt and I was merely bored from having tea and cakes with the ladies and every other busybody in this castle. I wanted to talk to you about your name day," she finished, hooking her arm into his as they strolled into the courtyard to watch the men train at swordfighting.

"I…I'm…ah…I was just…" he stuttered, trying to search quickly in his head for a good answer. He was saved by Ser Yoren, of course, when the guard walked towards them with Gendry's horse, Swiftfoot.

"My Lord, it is time for you to take Swiftfoot out today. He has been restless, I've been told by the stable master."

Gendry looked happy and relieved to be able to go out riding today, especially if it meant he would be seeing Arya for the second time today. "Thank you, Ser Yoren. I lost track of time. Mother," he turned to Cersei. "I apologize, but I need to take my horse for riding today before it gets dark. I will be back shortly."

He quickly took the reins before his mother could question him further. He heard Ser Yoren tell the Queen that he would accompany the Prince on his ride, leaving Cersei standing there with a glint of mischief in her eyes.


"Again?" Ned said as Gendry stood outside the door to their cottage. He realized how rude he must have sounded to the Prince and mentally shook his head to clear it. "I apologize, M'Lord. I would call for Arya-"

"We'll be back before dark, Father!" Arya said as she squeezed her way between Ned and the door.

Gendry was grinning widely at Ned and waved farewell to him. The older man could do nothing but stare at them as they rushed to Swiftfoot, with Gendry getting on first before holding his hand out to help Arya get behind him. With one last wave, Gendry steered his horse towards the open field where he led them into a full gallop.

They rode at full speed until they reached the top of a small hill. Gendry heard Arya laugh behind him, loving the rush and adventure of being out where no one was most likely to tell them that a Prince and a lowborn were not supposed to be acquaintances, even more so, friends.

Gendry got off first before helping her down next. She reached for his hand but apparently, he had other ideas. Arya blushed the moment his hands went to her small waist, picking her up and letting her off the horse. She blushed even more when he deliberately pulled her close to him, her body sliding down his as they looked at each other without batting an eye.

Gendry felt his heart skip as soon as he put her down, noticing that she looked even prettier up close, with her dark hair getting loose from its braid, her startling gray eyes shining up at him, her lush lips begging to be kissed. He must have groaned when her pink tongue darted out discreetly to wet her lower lip, and Arya gasped in surprise.

He couldn't help it. He bent his head towards her and captured her mouth in a soft, sweet kiss.

If froze in surprise by the action, it was only for several seconds until she reached up and wound her hands around his neck. He growled deep in his throat and pulled her even closer to him; glorying in the soft feel of her breasts on his chest and the small of her back in his hands. He then moved down to her small waist, before ending up on the curve of her hips. Her hands, too, were doing a little exploration of her own. She moved her hands to his chest before crawling up his broad, muscular shoulders, before ending up back on his neck. It seemed like it wasn't enough for her, so her fingers crawled up his nape where she raked nimble fingers through his soft, dark hair. He must have loved the feel of it because his tongue, which was doing indescribably incredible things to her tongue and lips, delved deeper in a more erotic dance with hers.

"Gendry…" she whispered, as she leaned her head back and let his lips kiss a path down her neck.

"Gods, Arya…so good…so good…" he growled in response, continuing his foray from her neck to her ear.

"More…" she hummed in approval, as he playfully bit her lobe before sucking on it.

She shivered when she felt him chuckle before going back to devouring her sweet mouth. When she felt him pull her thighs up and wound them and her legs around his lean waist, she locked her ankles to keep her in place. She heard Gendry groan again, until he finally leaned her back on the trunk of a nearby acorn tree. With less of her weight on him, his hands started running down from her thigh to as far down her leg as he could reach without letting go of the kiss. It went on and on and on until he noticed Arya started whimpering and gasping. He opened his eyes and found her staring at him; her steel grays boring into his steel blues, and realized that he was grinding his hips into her soft center. She moved with him on instinct; her soft center grinding deeper and harder into his hardness until Gendry couldn't take any more. He quickly unwound her legs from him and let her feet touch the ground before he walked a short distance away from her. He felt guilty for leaving her standing there with a puzzled look on her face, so he gathered his wits as quickly as he can before returning to her.

"Gendry…" she whispered, a questioning tone to her words.

"I'm sorry, it shouldn't have gone that far," he replied. "I'm not sorry for kissing you, though, but I'm sorry that I forgot myself and took advantage of you."

"You didn't," she said with an annoyed tone. "I was kissing you back as much as you were kissing me."

"I still shouldn't have-"

"Shut up, stupid! I liked kissing you. There, I said it. I liked it and I'm glad my first kiss was with you."

Gendry looked shyly down at her, a smile slowly creeping across his face. "You liked that I was the first?"

"Shut up."

He threw his head back and laughed. "You weren't bad yourself."

It was her turn to blush.

"Come now," he said a moment later. "It grows dark. We must get you back to your father and I must return to the castle before supper."

With a final peck on her lips, he helped her up Swiftfoot and they rode back towards the village.


"Can you confirm that it was him?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Who was that girl he was with?"

"She is the blacksmith's daughter."

"Are they seeing each other?"

"I have heard the cook and her staff gossip about the Prince sneaking out of the castle grounds to see the smith's daughter."

"How often?"

"Every day he can, Your Grace."

"I shall seek the smith out on the morrow. Do not tell my son we saw him this afternoon."

"As you command, Your Grace."