He felt like hell.

A month had passed since he returned to King's Landing with his mother and the rest of the royal entourage. With the help of Ser Yoren, his most trusted knight, they had restored peace and order by taking down every last Frey responsible for the late King Robert's demise. All those who were and remained loyal to House Baratheon bent the knee for the new Baratheon king. He struggled with this new responsibility of his, and no amount of preparation could ever make one ready for a duty as big as this.

"Your Grace?"

Gendry was startled out of his thoughts by his Uncle Renly's voice. He looked at his father's brother and nodded once. "My apologies, Lord Renly. Where were we?"

Renly held his stare for a little longer before moving on. "The men have started to rebuild part of the holding that was destroyed by the fire. The structure won't be completed until another moon, but it is backbreaking work and there aren't enough men working on it right now."

"Have you found able bodies from the village?" asked Gendry.

His uncle shook his head. "It crossed our minds, which is why we need your permission to do so."

"Then do it."

"Certainly, Your Grace."

As soon as the council ended and only uncle and nephew were left in the hall, Renly thought of confronting him about his behavior since he came back from Winterfell.

"You seem distracted. Is anything amiss, dear nephew?"

Gendry leaned back on his chair and sighed. "I don't know if I'm doing the right thing...making the right decisions."

"You are doing well, Gendry. It will be a long, hard road up ahead but you'll get there, eventually."

"I will never be as good as my father."

"There will be a minority who would expect you to rule like your father did, but the majority knows you are a new king with a different view of things. Trust me when I say that the smallfolk believes in you."

Gendry smiled a little. "I am happy that you are here, Uncle Renly. Sometimes I don't know who to trust within the council."

"Ahh. I'd say be careful about Varys. He has eyes and ears everywhere."

"I do know that," Gendry said with a laugh.

"But do you know that the Master of Coin runs a brothel in the next town and his best whore manages it?"

"That I do not know!"

Renly grinned at him. "Would you care for a visit and see if we could make a man out of you yet?"

Gendry snorted. "I care not to lie with whores."

"Do you still miss him?"

The shift in subjects made Gendry blink.

"Yes, I still miss my father."

Renly was giving him a long, hard stare that made him a little uncomfortable.

"And do you miss her?"

Gendry's eyes shot back to his uncle's and saw the beginnings of a grin. Gendry could only roll his eyes and Renly laughed at the gesture.

"So you do miss her?"

Gendry turned his head to look out the window, a forlorn look replacing the smile that was there earlier.

"Everyday, Uncle. Every single day."


Ned watched as Arya moved about the kitchen; chopping vegetables for the rabbit stew meant for supper. She seemed distracted; having nicked a finger while peeling potatoes and burned herself with the pot lid as she stirred the stew.

"Are you alright, my love?" he asked, when Arya muttered a curse under her breath.

"It's just a cut, Father. I'll live," she replied as she stirred the potatoes into the stew.

Ned nodded slowly but kept on watching her. Arya felt conscious of his gaze, and so she turned to face him with her hands on her hips.

"Why do I feel like I'm being watched all the time?"

"We all worry about you," Ned answered. "You haven't talked much and even Nymeria feels your sadness. Don't you feel the sadness of her howls?"

"No. I'm a little occupied with being too sad."

"Arya."

Arya heaved a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Father. Yes, I hear her sadness."

"She feels your pain."

"My pain? My pain? Who says I'm in pain?" she said, her voice rising a little.

Ned watched as her movements turned angry. "I am not in pain!" she said as she went on banging pots and chopping the carrots like she were trying to kill someone. Poor carrots.

"First, he comes here and turns this home upside down with all his royal glory. Second, you taught him how to smith and he ends up being really skilled with those hands! I bet they're no longer soft as a king's hand should be!"

Ned noticed Arya's hand clutching the wolf trinket at her neck. She had tied it with a thin leather string and kept it around her neck all of the time. He found out through Sansa that Gendry made it for her and knew it was a special gift. He wondered, though, if Arya knew she touched it often just as she was doing right now.

"Third, he wasn't supposed to leave before I could tell him-"

Arya's voice trailed off when she realized what she was about to say. With pained, tearful eyes, she looked over at her father and saw his equally pained expression.

"It's okay, my sweet Arya. Love isn't supposed to be happy all the time."

Ned was able to reach her before she started sobbing. He held her small form within his arms and placed soft kisses on top of her head. Arya didn't make much sound, but Ned felt her entire body wrack with sobs.

"I didn't know it would be this painful," she mumbled as she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Why does it hurt this much, Father?"

"Oh, sweet. If it didn't hurt this much, then it wouldn't even be considered love at all."

"That's stupid."

"We all become stupid because of love. Imagine if love was just happy and carefree the whole time, then nothing would be worth cherishing and nothing would be worth keeping because that's all it's ever going to be...not worth keeping because it's easy."

"Maybe I don't want it easy, then."

"Neither do I, my love."

Arya laughed amidst the tears. "We're stubborn, then. Stupid and stubborn."

"We are Starks, after all. We're stubborn because we fight for what is ours, even if it meant hurting ourselves in the process. Our words, Arya. Remember our words. Winter is coming, and us Starks prepare ourselves for the difficult times and we emerge as victors. I do believe that loving someone should not be any different."

Ned pulled back and placed a kiss on her forehead before finally letting go. "Now go on. I don't want my stew to taste like salty tears."

Arya laughed as she went back to cooking.

"Do you think, Father, that I could-"

He interrupted her before she could say the rest. "Yes, my love. You need not ask."

"Thank you!" Arya said, a smile finally emerging on her face.


Gendry found her sitting on one of the branches.

"Arya, get down here. I need to talk to you."

"What's there to talk about? Your Grace is leaving on the morrow for King's Landing. Your royal ass must be itching to sit on the throne."

"You know it isn't like that! As much as I hate to return home, I have a duty to people whose lives are depending on me."

"Why did I even bother to be friends with a king? I'm too bloody lowborn to be friends with your royal ass!"

"We need to talk and I can't talk to you when you're up there. Now get down here!"

"Go away!"

He knew Arya would be too stubborn to listen, so Gendry decided to climb up the tree instead.

"What are you doing? I said leave me alone!"

"Shut up and don't move!"

"I'll throw this apple at you if you don't leave me alone!"

"I'm not listening to you ri-Ow! Arya!"

"Would you like more apples? Here!"

"Stop throwing apples at me, you brat!"

"Fine! Here's something else, then!"

Gendry felt something hit him on the shoulder but was lucky enough to have caught it before it fell to the ground.

The trinket.

He looked up and saw Arya glaring at him, although he swears there were tears in her eyes.

"Go find someone else who would wear it."

With one last look, he shimmied back down the tree and started towards the house without a backward glance.

Gendry woke with his heart pounding fast. He dreamt the same thing every night, although it wasn't really a dream. It was his last memory of Arya. He could still feel the trinket as it hit his shoulder, just as if it happened only minutes before. He recalls leaving it on the pillow Arya was using, so that it would be the first thing she finds when she opens her eyes. He remembers tasting the saltiness of her tears when he placed one last kiss on her cheek, and it took great effort for Gendry to turn around and leave.

When he could find sleep no longer, he got out of bed and got dressed. It was almost light out anyway, and his duties would be starting soon. Taking advantage of the next hour all to himself, he padded quietly down the stairwell and straight to the back where he usually took the secret passage. He had to stay away from the kitchen staff and guards who were already about to start their day, just so he could get some privacy as he snuck out of the castle grounds.

When he was finally out, he tilted his head up, closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. For a minute, he wondered where he'd go. But instinct made the decision for him. He started walking faster; his feet leading him to where his heart most wanted to be.

He took the quickest route to the forge.


"I'm glad to have you back, Ned," Tobho Mott said as he pounded on the dented armor one of the knights had delivered the afternoon past. It was too early to be working, but Tobho had a ton of work to do for the day, which is why he was grateful that Ned Stark had returned to King's Landing to fulfill his duty as blacksmith. "I fear that I can no longer smith as hard as I used to, and I am happy that you have returned to render your services."

"I have a sworn duty to the king and the people. I only see fit to fulfill that duty," Ned replied.

They worked in silence for a while, before someone else entered. Both men looked up in surprise at the early visit, but were even more surprised to find their king standing there with an equally surprised expression on his face.

"Your Grace!" Tobho exclaimed, and he and Ned both bowed to his presence.

"I apologize for the early visit," Gendry said as he looked from Tobho to Ned. "I merely wanted to come visit the forge. I find myself missing the feel of a hammer and tongs in my hands," he said as he smiled at Ned. "I didn't know you were back, Ned. The kingdom would be happy to have use of your services again."

"I am honored to fulfill my duty, Your Grace."

"Would you please excuse us, Tobho?" Gendry said without further ado. "I must speak with Ned, now that he's back."

Tobho nodded once. "I shall return when summoned."

"What can I do for Your Grace?" Ned asked once they were alone.

"Arya," Gendry said without hesitation. "I need to see your daughter."

Ned waved his hand towards the cleanest workbench in the forge, and motioned for Gendry to sit before taking a seat himself. "If I may ask, what does the king need from my daughter?"

Gendry took a deep breath. "You know, maybe it is not Arya that I really need to talk to. Maybe it is you."

Ned's brows furrowed. "Me? But what can I do for Your Grace aside from my services as a smith?"

"I need your permission."

"For what, Your Grace?"

"Arya's hand in marriage."

Ned swallowed the lump in his throat. He must have heard wrong, he thought, but the young king was looking at him as if he was as nervous about the answer as Ned was at the request.

"I'm sorry, Your Grace. But I must have heard wrong when you said you're asking for Arya's hand in marriage?"

"You heard correctly."

"My Arya?"

"I'm sorry, Ned. But do we need to be like parrots repeating every word?"

"My apologies, Gendry, but you want my Arya's hand in marriage?"

Gendry noticed how Ned said his name instead of his title. Maybe the father in Ned was starting to realize what Gendry was asking of him, and Gendry suddenly became nervous.

"Yes, sir."

"I do understand why my daughter would love you, but I do not know if it would be wise for a king to take a lowborn smith's daughter's hand in marriage."

"Arya loves me?"

Shit! Ned muttered under his breath. It should have not been his place to tell Gendry what Arya felt, but in a moment of pure surprise, he'd said it. Stupid! "It is not right, Your Grace," he said instead.

"The king can do as he likes," Gendry stubbornly said. "And the king wants to ask Ned Stark for his daughter's hand in marriage."

Gendry knelt on the dirty forge floor and looked at Ned without wavering. "I, Gendry Baratheon, the first of my name and ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, would like to ask for your permission to give your daughter's hand in marriage. Titles and birthrights are not deemed important under my rule, and it would be a great honor to take your daughter's hand in marriage, where she sits and stands beside me and not behind me, as is her rightful place to be. I swear an oath to make and keep her happy, and beget happy and healthy Baratheon brats who would run me ragged. If you will, sir, entrust your daughter's life with me, I shall do nothing else but to keep her happy."

"I hope you've not turned daft, Gendry. Arya will run you ragged first before those children of yours would."

Gendry laughed. "So I have your blessing?"

Ned nodded before pulling Gendry to his feet and embracing him. "You have my blessing."


A/N: Just the epilogue left now. Thank you again for reading/reviewing/following & making this a favorite. It's been fun writing this one, but at least there's still Leaving Winter, although that one's close to the end too.

Thank you again :)