"How is he?"
Ned looked up from washing his hands in the stream behind the forge to see Arya approach, carrying two buckets
for fetching water. He whisked away the excess water from his hands, wiping the last of it on his breeches before
getting on his feet.
"The young king has definitely surprised me. The boy must have been born with a hammer in his hands," Ned said
with a chuckle.
Arya's eyes widened. "You mean…you mean he's doing the blacksmith cover pretty well?" A grin split across her face
now. "Wait! I have to see this!"
Ned kissed her on the forehead. "Why don't you bring his noon meal and see for yourself?"
As soon as Arya was done fetching water for her mother - it took her two trips to and from the river - she asked
Catelyn if she could bring Gendry his meal. Catelyn regarded her with wary eyes; watching the smile brightening
up her face and the pink flush on her cheeks as soon as his name was said. Ned had already warned Catelyn about
Gendry and Arya, making her shake her head in both disbelief and amusement.
Catelyn sighed deeply. "Why can't you even remember your courtesies, Arya? That boy is King now. You mustn't call
him by his name. It isn't proper!"
Arya huffed. "You know full well, Mother, that there is no proper bone in my body! And aren't we supposed to keep
his identity whilst he's here? I can't keep calling him King Gendry if we're to keep his being a king a secret."
Her mother placed her hands on her hips and faced her fully now. "Do you see anyone here with us, hmm? When we
are alone, you must call him by his title, young lady."
"I'm not a lady either."
Catelyn threw her hands up in surrender. "Take half the loaf of bread on the table and this stew, and put it in the
basket over there," she said, pointing to the wicker basket hanging with the pots and pans. "And bring him ale or
water with honey if he wishes. I'm not sure what Kings are supposed to eat but I'm certain it is not what we're
having," she said with another deep sigh and a hand to her forehead.
"Gendry will eat anything you make, Mother," Arya said, putting stress on the name. "He's not stupid to make choices
now that he knows he doesn't have everything he wants. Everyone thinks he's some spoiled brat who would demand
anything out of everyone, but he's not."
Arya took the basket and filled it with the food, before approaching her mother to press a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Gendry's different."
Arya heard Edric's laughter as she approached the forge. She rolled her eyes, bracing herself for another one of
Edric's taunts directed towards Gendry. She would have smacked him upside the head if she only could, because
Gendry was too gallant to do it on his own.
She slowly walked through the door, quiet as a shadow, and paused to place the basket of food on the work table
nearby. It was extremely hot in there; the flames roaring in the hearth where Edric was heating some piece of metal
for shaping. He was laughing as he worked; sending taunts to Gendry, who appears to be busy with something at
his work table. Arya could see his brows furrowed in concentration; ignoring Edric's annoying jeers and insults and
keeping to himself as he worked. She couldn't see exactly what he was doing, but it seemed small and intricate
otherwise she would have seen it already.
"You have royal hands. No one expects you to come up with anything half decent as this dented armor I'm fixing!"
Edric said, pounding the hammer over the metal and anvil. "Your hands are probably as soft as Arya's!"
Gendry's ears perked at the mention of her name. "And what do you know about Arya's hands? Have you touched
them?"
"No, he hasn't," Arya stepped in to interrupt the brewing argument. It was already hot in the forge; she didn't want it
to get more hot because of some stupid fight.
She carried the basket over to Gendry's table; smiling when he looked up to give her a bright smile. The thing he
was working on was now tucked safely inside his apron pocket, making Arya wonder why Gendry's suddenly so
secretive. With a half shrug, she started taking out the food from the basket, placing them in front of Gendry and
almost laughing at his delighted expression.
Edric looked over at the food on the table and realized that there was only half a loaf of bread, a bowl of stew, a
mug of ale and three pieces of lemon cakes. It wasn't even enough for all three of them.
"The food's not enough for three," Edric said, peering inside the basket to check if anything else was inside.
"Mother said you should have your noon meal with them," Arya said. "Oh! And call from Bran and Rickon, they're
somewhere out here playing with Summer and Shaggydog."
"Aren't you going to eat?" Gendry asked, smelling the heavenly scent of freshly-cooked stew and bread. His stomach
grumbled in both hunger and excitement, but trying his best not to grab everything laid out in front of him.
"I'll just have a piece of this lemon cake," she said, taking the smallest piece and biting on it. She mumbled in
delight. She looked up to see Edric still standing there, his forehead creased in the middle. "Go now, or my mother
will whack your bum with a wooden spoon if you keep them waiting for long!"
He trudged across the forge with heavy feet; muttering under his breath about hogging all the time with Arya and
stupid noon meal meetings in the forge.
"I told you he gets in my nerves," Gendry grumbled in between bites of the bread and spoonfuls of stew. "Every
single day, we come in here, and he insults my skills at being an apprentice! I have to bite my tongue to keep
from shooting back an insult! You should try staying in the same room with him," he said, his cheeks puffing with
mouthful of food. "He gets so annoying, I just want to throw this hammer at his head and laugh! Your father's
presence keeps me calm, though."
Arya laughed softly. "My father has that effect on people, in all honesty."
"You do, too," Gendry said, pausing from shoving food in his mouth to give her a shy glance.
"I do what?"
"Your presence keeps me calm, too," Gendry muttered, half embarrassed and half annoyed. "And don't make me say
it again!"
Arya took a small pinch of the bread and threw it at him, bursting out in laughter when he caught it in his open
mouth. When the teasing mood passed and a comfortable silence passed between them, she felt his large hand
crawl on top of her small one; sending shivers from her fingertips straight up the entire length of her arm. She
fought the urge to shiver, although she knew he must have felt it anyway.
"What were you working on earlier, anyway?" Arya asked, stealing half of Gendry's lemon cake.
"Nothing," he muttered, touching the thing inside his apron pocket.
Arya wondered if he even knew he was unconsciously touching his pocket, but Arya sighed and just let the matter
go. "Are you eating this?" she asked, pointing to the other half of the lemon cake she half-stole.
Gendry laughed. "Go on, then. You could probably eat all three pieces if only I didn't beat you to the other one."
He watched as she devoured the last half piece; humming happily as she licked the crumbs off her lips, making
Gendry groan almost inaudibly.
"Do you still want to meet by the lake tonight?" he asked, raising hopeful eyes to her. He noticed her blush before
she nodded.
"Go on, then," he said, placing the bowl and mug inside the basket. "I can't be distracted by you and I have tasks to
finish."
Arya stared at him but he refused to catch her eye. With a smirk, walked up to him and placed a soft kiss on his
cheek before heading out the door, leaving a laughing Gendry in her wake.
"Sssh, Rickon! They mustn't hear us!"
Bran put a finger up his lips to keep his youngest brother quiet. They were crawling behind a bush near the lake,
spying over their sister and the king.
"What are they doing now?" whispered Rickon, as he tried to nudge Bran into giving him a better view. Bran moved
a little to the right to make way for his brother, before sitting back down on his haunches.
"They're swimming!" Rickon whispered excitedly, bouncing a bit in place until Bran pinched his arm. "Ow!"
"I told you to keep it down, stupid! We can't let them know we're spying on them!"
"I just want to know if Arya and Gendry are swimming naked!" Rickon hissed back, giving Bran another little nudge.
They watched as their sister and the young king swam to and fro in the water, playfully splashing each other and
laughing. Arya was wearing her smallclothes, thank the gods, Bran thought. Gendry, however, was bare at the top.
Rickon laughed quietly. "Father and Mother would have her hide if they find out Arya's playing in the water with
Gendry!"
"Then we can't tell them that, can we?" Bran said, his eyes still following the other two's every move.
They were so close to each other now; Gendry seemingly teasing Arya by wading slowly towards her in the water.
Arya had a stupid grin on her face that Bran recognized so well. It usually meant she was up to something; usually it
put her in trouble.
"Seven hells! Bran! Look! They're kissing!" Rickon exclaimed almost loudly.
Bran stared as Arya and Gendry kissed; something he hasn't seen his parents do before. It was a different kind of
kiss. It was like the one Robb gave this girl Jeyne several moons ago, and that almost got her pregnant.
Almost got her pregnant.
"Rickon! The king might get Arya pregnant! We have to stop them!" Bran exclaimed, pinching the little boy's arm
until he gave a little squeal.
"Ow, Bran!" Rickon said, pulling his arm away. "I know! I know! Remember when we were spying on Robb and
Jeyne and we saw them without their smallclothes on? Remember when she almost had a baby before her father
took her away?"
Bran nodded. "Right! We need to keep Arya from having a baby! You know what this means, right?"
Rickon nodded enthusiastically. "Operation save the sister from sinning!"
