The trip down the White Knife was taking longer than she had expected. It had been four days and they had only just reached the fork of the river, one way went north up into Long Lake and the other west into Cerwyn, towards the King's Road. They made camp, like they did every night; Arya was paying them generously for their service so they didn't complain about the long journey.
"Be excusing me miss. But what does a woman such as yourself want to go down the Knife for?" asked the old man, whose name she had learned was Oaf. She thought that name was well fitting
"A woman such as myself has a man that needs to die" she replied coolly
"Murder? That there is a crime miss"
"It's not murder Oaf, its justice" she said
"In my life miss, I learnt that justice is not all that important. Giving them justice after they done the crime, doesn't change that they did it, that girl they raped or that man they gutted, they still dead. No matter what justice you bring, they still dead and they not comin' back" With that he walked off
'Maybe he wasn't so stupid after all' she thought. But she disagreed with him whole heartedly, killing the Hound may not bring Mycah back, but it would be ever so sweet to see the look in his eyes as her Needle pierced his neck and he choked on his own filthy blood.
She lay in bed, ready to say the one name that plagued her mind when she heard a howl that chilled her to her bones. It was a wolf, but it was unlike any howl she had ever heard, well unlike any howl from a common wolf, and that howl was from no common wolf.
'Nymeria' she thought. But, no, it was impossible, how could Nymeria find her? She finished the prayer that she was about to begin "The Hound, Valar Morghulis" and drifted off to sleep
She was bounding through the woods, she smelled blood, and it was close. Her feet padded lightly on the leaf strewn forest floor. She was quick, gods, she was quick. Her heat beat faster, she knew what awaited her, she could smell the scent of death, her hunger would be quenched tonight. She found it, the source of that toxic smell. A lion, lions rarely strayed this far into the north. She sniffed the ground, smelling the lion and trying to smell any other signs of life. She couldn't, she approached it slowly, ready to pounce if it jerked. But the lion was dead; an antler in its neck and it had been seared as well. It was as though a stag and a dragon had combined their efforts in killing this lion. She tore at the flesh.
Arya woke up sweating, it was Nymeria, she knew it, no common wolf could be that big. It wasn't just the size of the wolf, she could feel it. She couldn't explain how, but in the pits of her stomach something was tugging at her, telling her this was Nymeria.
The men were shocked, to say the least, by the image of their leader coming back from his talk with Howland Reed covered in blood with a dinted helm and breastplate. Lem came rushing up to him.
"Gendry" all of his formalities forgotten, for that Gendry was glad "By the gods, what happened to you?"
"Outlaws, Lord Reed, he's…he's dead Lem" Gendry winced as Lem put his arm on Gendry's shoulder. He would suspect there would be a bruise there, considering he did not leave the battle completely unscathed
"And whose blood is that?" he asked, eyeing Gendry
Gendry looked down at his armour. There was a lot of blood "Not mine" Gendry slipped out of Lem's grasp. "Get two ravens ready, I wish to send a letter to Jon. And I will write a letter to the Crannogmen offering our condolences; I didn't quite get a chance"
"As you wish" Lem bowed and hurried off
"Jed" Gendry called once he reached his tent
"Yes Ser?" Jed called; he was out of his armour and sitting on his sleeping furs
"Help me out of this armour, I think I popped my shoulder out" Jed got to his feet and at once started helping Gendry. He took off the leg guards first, and then the arm guards on his left, uninjured arm, then the breastplate came off. The only thing left was his arm guard on his pained, right arm. Jed gingerly removed it, pulling gently at the armour until Gendry's arm was free from its constraints.
The shoulder had definitely been popped out of place. It was at least 6 inches too high; the top of his shoulder was now just under his chin.
"Jed, I'm gonna need you to do something for me"
"Anything Ser" Jed said; eying Gendry's mangled shoulder wearily.
"I need you to go and get Anguy, Lem and Torros"
"Torros?"
"Yes, Torros, he's a strong man, I'm gonna need him" Gendry ground his teeth together. Gendry didn't want to brag about his strength, but he doubted Jed, Anguy and Lem would be able to hold his arm still while he yanked backwards. That's why he needed Torros.
Jed returned very soon, but for Gendry, it felt like a lifetime. Lem had his two ravens that he requested. They all stood in the doorway observing his shoulder.
"What have you done now?" asked Anguy "If only Tom were here aye, he could write up a song 'bout this in no time"
"Shut it" said Gendry glowering
Anguy just chuckled
"I need you to pop it back into place" he said, through gritted teeth
"Aye, that's gonna hurt Ser" said Torros
"Aye, it will" Gendry agreed "Jed, get me a rag or cloth, something to bite down on, I don't wanna bite off my own tongue"
Gendry bit down on the cloth Jed gave him
Anguy, Lem and Torros all grabbed his arm and were ready to pull it down, back into place.
"Ready, on the count of three we pull lads" Anguy shared a meaningful look with the other two "One…" They yanked, hard.
Gendry let out an almighty roar of pain that he was sure could be heard from the Wall. But they did it, his shoulder sat where it should.
He doubled over, coughing, feeling that he was going to vomit. It felt much better, but the pain had been extremely intense. He gripped his shoulder, trying to numb the pain. Anguy, Lem and Torros caught him.
"Get him to the bed" said Anguy
"You're lucky Tom isn't here Gendry" said Lem "He'd have sat by your bed and played you a song, and you would have had no choice but to surrender your maidenhead to him"
They laughed while Gendry ground his teeth. He didn't think his bruised ribs could bear laughter.
"Aye" he said as they laid him down "But Tom needn't have sung the song for me to surrender myself to him"
Anguy and Lem burst into more Laughter and even big Torros grinned.
"Leave me be. I just need some rest and I'll be fine"
"Aye, rest Gendry" said Lem. They stood and departed the room.
"Here Ser" It was Jed, he was holding a small vile of what looked like milk "For the pain, it'll help you sleep too"
Gendry gulped the small vile down. The pain dimmed and his head felt heavy.
"Thankyou Jed, you're a good man" he said as sleep took him.
When he woke the pain was all too real. Jed fed him a tiny bit of the milky substance, which he assumed to be Milk of the Poppy. He had said that he didn't want to give him too much in case it made him fall asleep.
They put his arm in something that Anguy called a 'sling'. It held his arm in place. It felt better in the sling. It hurt to breath; he had taken more than one hit to the ribs from those damned blunt swords. Worst of all was his armour, he had spent months hammering that armour to perfection, and now there were dints covering the breast plate and a smaller dint in the golden helm. He would ask Jon if he could use the forge at Winterfell to repair his damaged armour.
He summoned Lem, and asked him to write the letters for him. Gendry now had an excuse as to why he couldn't write the letters, he didn't want them to know he couldn't read, let alone write. But he explained to Lem that he was right handed and wouldn't be able to write the letters, so he needed Lem to write them. The letter to the Crannogmen was short
'I, Ser Gendry of Harrenhal offer my sincerest apologies for the loss of your great Lord, Howland Reed. If you have any need of me, ask and I shall do my best to abide by your needs'
The letter to Jon was even shorter
'Lord Reed dead, shot by an outlaw archer, he died before he could tell me about the Tower of Joy. I'm sorry Jon. Ser Gendry Waters.'
The next day they packed up their tents and their belongings and got ready to leave. For three days they rode, they rode from dawn till well past dusk. They stayed, for a night only, at Moat Cailin. The men needed a break, and so did Gendry. His ribs still pained him and his arm was still stubborn, he could barely move it let alone fight so he hoped to find no more trouble along the King's Road. Two weeks passed and finally they were nearing their destination. Jed had taken to training with Lem, but jogging on his own. Lem complained that he was too old to jog.
Jed was becoming stronger and stronger with each passing day, he no longer tired when fighting with Lem, and occasionally he won the fights. Gendry was only ten and eight and Jed only ten and four. Still Gendry had at least two to three feet on Jed and at least five stones on the boy. He wondered; if Arya was still alive, how big would she be? She'd be about the same age as Jed. She would probably weigh no more than seven or eight stones. He would bargain that she'd still be short and flat-chested. She would probably come up to his nipples in height. Maybe one day he would find out
'No' he thought to himself 'Arya is dead, it's no use fretting over a ghost, my father did it, and look what he became.' Gendry knew exactly who is father was, he wasn't stupid. The way that the Hand had looked at him, the way that Lord Beric and Harwin had looked at him. Even Thoros could not hide his amazement at the likeness between Gendry and Robert. He was nothing more than a bastard, and the only person that made him feel like he could be more was gone and she was never coming back.
They reached a small river. The White Knife. It had to be. The bridge that crossed it was sturdy and they had no trouble crossing, but it was nightfall, they needed to rest in Cerwyn before continuing to Winterfell. The Lady of Cerwyn greeted them graciously.
"I have been wondering when you were going to come begging at my door" she said, her tone dripped with sarcasm and Gendry smiled
"Lady Cerwyn, ever the pleasure" he said. Lady Cerwyn had always been taken with him, ever since he and the Queen's army had overthrown Roose Bolton's men at Cerwyn.
"My noble knight, do you come bearing gifts?" she asked slyly
"Alas, my lady no, I am but a poor smith who was lucky to serve the true Queen of Westeros and receive a knighthood for my troubles. But I did come bearing these" He handed her five of the countless dragon glass swords they had brought from Harrenhal.
"Ah" she said, stroking one of the swords "You do know how to charm a lady Ser Gendry"
He simply smiled "My men and I would be most gracious if you could…"
She cut him off "Of course you can stay the night, a feast shall be arranged. If it was anyone but you Ser Gendry I may have had to decline them entrance into my castle"
Gendry knew Anguy and Lem were sniggering behind him. But he needed to do this, to flatter and flirt with Lady Cerwyn otherwise his men would not receive the hospitality they deserve.
"You are far too beautiful, and kind my lady of Cerwyn" he said kissing her hand
"Oh" she blushed, slapping his good shoulder, for that he was thankful "Enough, come inside, by the fire, it's far warmer"
She let them in.
"We do have another guest, a young girl riding for Winterfell. She's a sweet thing Gendry; I would appreciate it greatly if you take her with you. The King's Road is no place for a young woman to travel alone" she said opening a pair of great wooden doors that lead into the hall. "Sit men, I'll have some kitchen hands bring up food and ale"
Gendry smiled "Thankyou my lady"
"Anything for you Ser" she replied
Arya had finally reached the small bridge that ran over the White Knife. She payed Oaf and the young boy more than she probably should have and set to walking north down the King's Road. It was dark; she wasn't going to make to make it all the way to Winterfell. She decided she'd have to stop at Cerwyn.
The lady there was kind enough. She let Arya in and gave her sleeping chambers. She looked disappointed when she opened the gates to find her; it was as though she were expecting someone else.
"And what business does a young girl having wondering the King's Road at this time of night?" she inquired
"I'm making my way to Winterfell my lady" she replied, she might as well be courteous "I just, made bad time and couldn't make it before nightfall. If I could just come in, and just sleep, I would be most gracious. I wouldn't bother you, an Inn would do"
"No, for a lady as pretty as you I would bet you'd get molested at an Inn. No young one, you may stay inside the castle for tonight. But only for tonight mind, I am expecting a large party of um… guests" she blushed
Arya smiled. The ladies flattery seemed mocking; no one had ever called her pretty before, except Gendry. The thought of him made her throat go dry.
"Well are you coming in our not?" she asked. Arya realised she had been standing at the gates looking blankly at Lady Cerwyn for a while. She nodded and entered the safety of Cerwyn's walls.
After no more than hour the gates opened admitting a party of men all clad in armour and riding horses. After they had been invited into the hall she heard footsteps approaching her door. She grabbed at the hilt of her dagger as someone knocked on her door three times
"Who is it?" she asked
"It's Lady Cerwyn my dear" she replied "May I come in?"
"Yes, you may" she said
Lady Cerwyn entered the room followed by a tall knight clad in black with a small painting of a wolf over his heart, he held his right arm awkwardly and in the other he was holding a golden helm. He looked somewhat familiar
"Well, this is a knight of Harrenhal" She gestured at the man "Ser Waters; he has agreed to accompany you to Winterfell"
The man bowed slightly "My lady"
That phrase, it tugged at her memory. It was an odd thing to say but it was the only thing that came to mind "Why is your armour black? If you're a knight why aren't you clad in silver?"
Lady Cerwyn looked shocked but the knight just grinned "Because I am no true knight. Where I go I don't bring hope and light like those who wear silver. I bring death and darkness to those I visit. Therefore I clad myself in black. Best be true to yourself instead of trying to fool yourself into believing you're someone you're not"
"Well said" Arya looked at the knight, she couldn't quite place him.
"Lady Cerwyn" said the knight "If you would be so kind as to grant me access to a forge, to repair my armour, I would greatly appreciate it"
"Oh my poor knight" she said "You're arm, you're armour, oh how those blows must have hurt" she traced his arm guard from elbow to fingertips.
The knight looked uncomfortable. "Yes my lady, it hurt some"
Lady Cerwyn seemed to come back to herself "Of course you can. Go back out the door of the hall and go down the alley directly to the right. Follow it and you'll find the forges, they're impossible to miss with all that racquet they make"
He bowed stiffly "Thankyou my lady"
There it was again 'My lady' she knew it. But she could not quite match the phrase to a name or a face.