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Chapter 16

Gendry

They were placed behind two of the knight's horses. Arya looked somewhat furious about having to share with a man and not being allowed to ride alone. Gendry on the other hand was too relieved to finally remove all pressure from his injured leg and did not mind. They had been walking for days, and his strength had been completely drained from his body. The only thing that had kept him going was Arya's promise that they would soon see their destination, but her words had been just as empty as his stomach.

They did not reach the castle before darkness surrounded them, and Gendry was close to sleep where he sat behind the youngest ranger.

"Wake up, Lommy, we're here. You are to be taken to the lord commander at once."

Gendry forced his eyes open, but as he was about to climb down from his horse he lost his balance and fell to the ground. His wounded leg twisted around in the fall, and Gendry cried out in pain.

"Careful, stupid, he's wounded," Arya yelled to the ranger from her horse and jumped down next to him. "Gendry, can you walk?"

He nodded quietly, and with her help he managed to get back on his feet. The knight's escorted them into the dark castle, through a corridor and up several stairs. Arya remained by his side the whole way, carrying most of his weight on her shoulders. He was yet again hit my how strong she was, but was too tired to tell her so. When they finally stopped, one of the rangers knocked on a door and entered.

"Yes?" a voice said from inside.

"We have your sister."

Someone crossed a floor in hurried steps and the door opened even wider. Gendry looked up to see a lean figure in the doorway, staring at them. His dark-almost black- hair stood up from his head and danced as the man approached them.

"Arya," he finally said, his voice stern but filled with affection. The man embraced her sister so violently, Gendry was knocked away. He watched as Arya was lifted up into the man's arms, a wide smile on her lips.

"Jon," she sighed and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. "I've missed you so."

They embraced for what felt like hours before they finally broke free. "You may leave," Jon told the rangers. "Follow me." He led them through the door and closed it behind them. "Sit."

Arya helped Gendry to the nearest chair and sat down next to him.

"He's injured," Jon stated, staring at Gendry's bloody breeches.

Arya nodded. "A wildling spear," she said quietly. "He needs a maester as quickly as possible."

"Of course," Jon nodded. "And he will have one as soon as I am done with you."

The lord commander seated himself behind a large wooden desk and folded his hands. He looked from Arya to Gendry and back to Arya again, his eyes serious.

"Jon-"Arya started, but her brother lifted a hand to silence her.

"Bran's worried out of his mind. He sent me raven after raven asking if I had seen you. Unfortunately, I did not send out men to look for you until yesterday. I believed you had gone south to see father." He stopped and took a deep breath. "What you did-"

Arya jumped to her feet and paced across the floor, rolling her eyes. "Was irresponsible and childish. I know what you are going to say, Jon, and you can save it. I did not come here to be reprimanded. I came to see you."

Jon scratched his beard and sighed. "Why did you do it, Arya? Are you aware of the dangers you put yourself in? The dangers you put your new friend here in?"

"They want me to get married, Jon." Arya said, her fists clenched by her side. "They want me to marry Dickon Tarly. It doesn't matter what I say, they refuse to listen to me."

"Perhaps you ought to get married and put an end to all these adventures of yours," Jon said sharply, making Arya back away from him.

"Jon-"she looked at him, her eyes gleaming of hurt and betrayal. "I thought you would understand."

The man rubbed his temples and motioned for her to sit back down. "I do, Arya, I really do, but that doesn't justify what you did. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"I would rather die than marry that man," Arya said, crossing her arms. Jon shot her a dark look.

"Don't say that," he told her.

"It's the truth."

Jon glances over at Gendry and pursed his lips. "And the blacksmith? What's his part in this runaway?"

Arya met Gendry's gaze and gave him a reassuring smile. "He came to bring me home, but I persuaded him to join me instead."

Gendry snorted under his breath. What choice had he had with an injured leg? He would never have made it through the woods on his own, but then again, he would have followed her even if his leg had been completely healthy.

"I bet you did." A small smile erupted on Jon's serious face, making him seem much less intimidating. "It's good to see you little sister."

Arya smiled back. "So you're a lord commander now? That's impressive!"

"May I speak with your friend alone, Arya? I'll have my steward escort you to the maester."

Arya shot Gendry a skeptical look, but nodded and disappeared through the door after Jon. When Jon returned, he placed himself only inches from where Gendry was seated. Gendry met his eyes, trying to remain calm. He was much bigger than Jon, and had his leg not been hurt, he could easily have knocked him to the ground. He had no reason to me intimidated by this man.

"If I find out you have placed a bastard inside my sister, I will have your head for it," Jon said through clenched teeth. Gendry struggled to his feet and stood half a head taller than Jon, giving him courage to smile reassuringly.

"Don't worry, lord commander. As far as I'm concerned, your sister's still a maid."

Jon nodded and backed away to let Gendry pass. "Good, good," he muttered. Gendry was halfway through the door when Jon coughed.

"Thanks for looking after her," Jon said. "She might seem tough, but she's only a girl."

Gendry nodded and forced a smile. "I'd die for her," he said. "I almost did."

Jon looked down at Gendry's leg and chuckled. "Then we better get you patched up and ready to escort her safely back to Winterfell. I'll have Luke help you down to the maester."

Gendry limped after the man while deciding that Jon and Arya was definitely the two who resembled each other the most among the Stark children. Both in appearance and personality.

Arya

The maester was clensing a small cut on Arya's left arm when Gendry came limping through the door. When the old man noticed the state of her companion, he wrapped a piece of cloth around Arya's arm and tended Gendry's leg immediately. Arya watched as they cut his breeches open, and was taken aback by the nasty color of green and yellow the wound had turned throughout the day. Surely it had not looked that bad the day before! The maester called for two more men to hold Gendry down while he cleaned the wound and cut away the infected flesh. Gendry was offered a bottle of wine, and he drank hungrily. By the time the maester brought his knife out, Gendry had emptied his first bottle.

"Bite on this," the old man told him and handed Gendry a stained cloth. Gendry obeyed, and as the maester started flaying his wound, the blacksmith squirmed in pain, but no sound escaped his lips. The two men struggled to hold him down, and Arya jumped to her feet to help.

"Gendry, look at me," she commanded him. His eyes flickered toward her, but then the maester cut another piece of flesh away, and Gendry's face wrenched in pain.

"Look at me," she repeated. "Gendry, look at me. It's okay. Just relax. Here, you can squeeze my hand if you'd like." She placed her hand against his just as he wriggled on the table, sweat running down his face. His fingers grasped around her hand so tightly she gasped, but did not pull away. She stroke his face sympathetically, wiping most of the sweat away with a rag. Gendry groaned tiredly before his eyes locked on her. She continued stroking his face, his hair, his hand until his breathing decreased and his chest rose and sank steadily.

"You did great," she told him. Gendry forced a smile, obviously putting a brave face on. Although the worst pain was done, the maester still had to cleanse his wound with alcohol. Arya could only imagine how much it hurt, but Gendry lay perfectly still, staring at her.

She stayed by his side until the maester was done bandaging him. The wine made him fall asleep from time to time, but he always woke up with a startle.

"Arya," he would whisper, and then the sleep would overpower him again.

"I'm here," she assured him, running her fingers through his tangled hair. "go to sleep, Gendry. I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."

He did not black out before the maester gave him a sleeping potion. She wanted to follow when the two men carried him to the chamber he would be staying in, but the old man stopped her.

"I believe I never finished cleansing your cuts, my lady," he said politely. Arya sat down reluctantly, staring after Gendry as the men carried him away.

"He will be sleeping for the rest of the day, my lady. He will not even notice your absence. Now, I know you are aware of your current location and what danger it is for a young maid as yourself at a place like this. Therefore I would suggest you keep wearing men's clothing and have the others call you by a different name."

Arya did not understand at first. Jon was the lord commander. She did not have to hide while she was here. Her brother would protect her!

"Not all of my brothers are as honorable as your brother, my lady. A woman is a rare sight on the Wall; they might exploit the opportunity."

Arya just looked at him. She was so tired she struggled to keep her eyes open. Exploit what opportunity? The old maester sighed by her lack of understanding.

"You could get raped, my lady."

Arya snorted and shook her head. "No. Anyone stupid enough to rape me would walk away a eunuch."

She did not know how long she had slept, but when her eyes finally opened she was staring up at a dark ceiling. Turning, she noticed a man lying on the bed next to hers. When her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she saw other beds too, but all were empty. It was not a large room and she was surprised that so many beds could even fit. She looked over at the man again. He slept peacefully with his mouth open and a straw of hair dancing over his face by every breath he released. Arya sat down next to him, stroking the hair away. Gendry rubbed his cheek unconsciously from her touch and turned in his bed. She stood up and tucked the covers tighter around him. Her clothing was neatly folded by the foot of her bed, and she put them on quickly. Her stomach was growling with hunger, and as she tried to find her way to some sort of kitchen, she bumped into one of the rangers that had found them in the woods.

"My lady," he said in a hushed voice. "I mean Arry. The lord commander told us not to reveal your identity and nor have I. How is your friend? Still asleep? One would think you'd both wake up after three days."

Arya gasped. "Have I been sleeping for three days?"

The man nodded. "Lord Snow's been checking up on you frequently. Even though the maester told him you were both perfectly fine, he could not sleep."

She was about to answer when her stomach gave another loud howl, and she hurried to put her hands over it. The man looked knowingly at her. "You must be hungry. Let me escort you to the kitchen."

They walked through another corridor and down a pair of stairs before the man – called Pyp- led her into a small kitchen. It smelled deliciously of fried eggs and bacon. Pyp exchanged a few words with one of the cooks who looked suspiciously at her.

"Now lad, come here and help yourself to some eggs," he told her in a husky voice. Arya obeyed and threw herself over the best food she had ever tasted. Or at least that was what it felt like. It seemed as if her hunger never stopped, and the man's eyes grew sharper and more hostile. When she asked for a fourth portion, the cook shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Times are hard, young man. I have already given you double of what is allowed. There are other mouths to feed here as well."

Arya nodded and pushed the plate away. Perhaps it was for the best. Gulping down the rest of the wine, she asked politely if she could bring some food to her friend who was too weak to come down and get some. The man scowled at her, but put a spoonful of eggs onto a plate and handed it to her. She snatched a flask of wine from behind his back and thanked for his hospitality.

When she returned, Gendry was still fast asleep. He had kicked his covers off and used them as a pillow instead. She smiled by the sight and put the plate with food down on a table between their beds. Perhaps the smell of food would wake him up. She wanted to stay by his side when he woke up, but she had too many questions and knew only Jon had the answers. At least Gendry did not need to limp around the castle, starving.

She found Jon in the lord commander's tower. He sat with his arms crossed in the large chair behind the wooden desk, but smiled when she entered.

"You look so different," he stated, standing up. Arya crossed the floor and gave him a hug, taking in everything about him; his height, his width, his scent. "a woman grown," he sighed, pulling away.

"Look at yourself," she told him, brushing her fingers over his beard.

Jon gave her a smile and seated himself on the desk. "I sent a letter to Bran telling him you are here," he said. Arya's look darkened.

"I didn't want you to do that," she said through clenched teeth.

"I know you didn't, but I did it anyway."

Arya crossed her arms. "We'll run again, you know."

"No you won't, and if you do, I will have my men hunt you down and bring you back. I had a talk with the maester. He said your friend would have lost his leg had he not been treated when he were. There is a risk he'll always limp, though."

Arya bit her lip. Gendry could have lost the use of his leg. He could have been a cripple like Bran, only because of her.

"I hope you realized what a folly your escape was. You're not a child anymore, Arya. Behavior like this is not taken as lightly as it was before."

Arya groaned and sank into a chair. If she wanted a reprimand she would have stayed at home with her mother. "I'm not marrying that loathsome fool."

"How about talking to father about it instead of running away?" Jon asked dryly. Arya shot him a dark look.

"You really think that would have made a difference? I want to be a knight, not a lady!"

Jon looked at her. "What about Gendry?"

"What about him?" she met his gaze and glared daringly back at him. She had expected some support from him, not him telling her how foolish she had been.

His lips twisted into a small smile and he dropped his gaze. "You know what I mean, Arya."

Arya narrowed her eyes at him. What did he know? Had anyone seen the two of them together? And quite frankly, she did not know what would happen to her and Gendry once she became a knight. And if Gendry really wanted to marry her, wasn't she against marriage? She hated everything about it. But then again, the idea of living the rest of her life watching Gendry with some other girl was unbearable.

"You like him," Jon stated with a smirk. "You really like him! I didn't think I would live to see the day when Arya Stark, the young wolf, fell in love with a man."

Arya grimaced at him. "It's nothing," she said quietly. She could not lie, not to Jon. It really was nothing. Yet. Only a few kisses from time to time, that was all.

But Arya knew when she went to check up on her blacksmith friend that 'nothing' was not enough. She wanted Gendry by her side, now and forever.

A little mushy there at the end. He-he. But whatever. I just want to inform you that I haven't finished reading A dance of dragons yet, so I don't really know how Jon turned out after he became lord commander, so if there is any obvious error, you'll have to excuse me. But this is a fanfic after all.