A/N I'm sorry this chapter took so long. It did not agree with me. Anyway, slight tw for the end of this chapter for blood and battles.
Tywin, luckily, had agreed with what Arya had said about leaving. So they left early the next day, the sun on their backs as they rode hard, once again, towards King's Landing. Arya and Gendry were once again forced onto horse back, but as they were closer to the capital the heat felt warmer than moving south had the rest of the time.
The fact they had left a day early allowed them to arrive a day early for the battle. The men and their horses rode through the city with the city fall away and parting to lead them directly to the Red Keep - their eyes fixed on the constant movement of the buildings around them, the fearful looks cast towards them by the every day men in the streets. Seeing the red and gold as a sign to fear and not celebrate - signify blood and death, not success and victory.
Arya gulped hesitantly, their horse loyally following the Lannister Lord to the gates of the Red Keep. She narrowed her eyes at the back of the Lord's head, hoping that they would find a way to escape the oncoming madness that was already swarming at their horses' feet. The men rushing to and fro to repair walls and buildings to prepare for the crazed blood-thirst of battle.
Gendry bristled behind Arya, clinging to the reins of the horse for dear life when the walls of the Red Keep met his eyes. He saw that Arya was just as tense, her shoulder's raised and frozen in place as the horse turned to an abrupt stop behind Tywin's - the gates to the Red Keep opening for them so that they could enter.
Behind the gates stood the red and gold clothing of Lannisters and the King, the bald head and well dressed Master of Whispers, the cunning grin of the Master of Coin and the long beard of the Grand Maester - Arya narrowed her eyes at all of them, glancing hopefully that her sister would be there, in the welcoming party. But she saw no sign of her.
Tywin turned in his seat; nodded to her as if to say get down. He began to himself - swinging himself off of the side of his stallion. Arya turned her head to glance at Gendry, who prepared to copy what Tywin did. However when he did so he stumbled messily on his feet, causing Arya to laugh slightly and grumbled "Stupid bull" to him once again. He let out a small laugh himself before 'helping' Arya from the horse, as he did he sent a testing glance towards the group - his eyes met with the questioning and observing gazes of Lord Baelish, Varys and Tyrion, those were, at least, the only members of the group before them that he could see.
Gendry allowed Arya to take the first weary step around their mare - Tywin turned to send a warning glance towards the duo when she did so, causing them to stop in their tracks next to their mare. "I will not take up my role as Hand until after the battle has being won, we do not have time for a ceremony now, your grace." Tywin spoke, motioning towards Gendry and Arya to move forewords after he finished. They moved hesitantly - Gendry staying as close behind Arya as he could, not at her side, but behind her.
None of the other members of the welcoming group spoke, except for Cersei suggesting that they moved into the great hall - which they did. Arya and Gendry trailing behind the man who had 'fostered' them in fear of the other members of the council. Arya remembered them all, she remembered what happened - every second, every drop. A snarl reached her lips as glared at the back of Joffery's head, she glanced towards the dagger on Lord Tywin's belt - her hands grasping towards it as she glared towards Joffery once again.
She was cut from her thoughts when Gendry grabbed her wrist, Tyrion stopping behind the others as he also noticed what had just transpired. "Do not do it Lady Stark." The imp warned her, his eyes fixed on the young girl before him whose wrist was still been held by the blacksmith. "It would not be worth your head, or yours Gendry." He turned to the boy before following the others to the Throne Room. After a few moments, Arya and Gendry followed - frozen by the words of advice the imp had just given them.
Gendry released her wrist and jogged to catch up with the group, Arya soon following his lead when she noticed how far ahead they had got. When she reached the Throne Room, when she was stood on the great aged stone floors and glaced up towards the Iron Throne did she finally realise that she had willingly come back. Willing now stood where her father was betrayed and where her fathers men were slaughtered. She glanced down at the floor, noticing how blood still set in the cracks.
"Lady Stark?" Lord Baelish had turned the attention of the group before her to her, she glanced towards Lord Tywin - hoping that the expression of the man she had been 'cared for' by would aid her. It didn't.
"Yes, Lord Baelish." She said, carelessly forgetting to avoid hissing out his name. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Tywin widen his eyes - not out of shock but out of expectation, as if he knew that was what she would do. Tyrion smirked but quickly covered it up once again. Gendry stepped back from her slightly, feeling incredibly awkward in the vast expanse of the room - just wanting to observe and marvel at the room rather than stand before them.
"Who is your, friend?" Lord Baelish asked the young girl, Gendry's eyes widening slightly at the question. It was defiantly something he hadn't expected. Arya tried to find the words to speak up and respond to the man before her - she just held her breath and said no words.
Gendry glanced towards her, before turning slowly towards the man. Straightening his shoulders and clearing his throat. "M'names Gendry, m'lord." He said, finally looking the man in the eyes. He looked him squarely in the eyes - his gaze unwavering as he spoke. "I'm no one important." Lord Baelish raised his eyebrow at that remark, so did Lord Tywin and a few of the other men in the room. Joffery grumbled out his annoyance at how he didn't understand what the irony was.
"In any case: it is odd to see the two of you in Lannister colours." Lord Baelish said, his eyes as level with the young man before him as the boys had being. Arya still stood before him steeled to their gazes. "Especially when you are both so obviously not Lannisters." Joffery made a retort about that comment that Arya had not heard, that Gendry had not bothered to hear either.
"Lord Tywin?" Arya spoke up once again. She felt all their eyes turn to the duo once again, she had disrupted a conversation she knew she shouldn't have but she hadn't cared.
"Yes, girl?" The old lion raised his eyebrow, rather annoyed at her. She could tell he was annoyed, but didn't care. She didn't want to be in that room whilst it was so empty. She didn't want to be in that room again. She just wanted to leave the room as quickly as possible.
"I know your men and you have also being travelling the same length as I, but I'm dreadfully tired…" Arya stumbled over her words, carefully crafting the sentences in ways that mimicked the small council before her. She slowly said her words, emphasising like how she had heard Varys and Baelish do in the short amount of time they had spent in each others company.
"You are dismissed girl, same to you boy - there's no use you being here without her." Twyin said, dismissing them quickly without noticing their confusion of where they were to go. They hesitantly glanced towards the door, unsure of where they were to go.
"Podrick, Bronn?" Tyrion turned to the men beside him, motioning towards the girl. Bronn made some remark the others in the room could not hear, before Tyrion could continue. The imp berated him with his eyes and continued. " Can you show the Stark girl and her friend to the tower of the Hand - there'll be a suitable room in there - wouldn't you think?" Bronn nodded stiffly and walked towards the girl and boy. He looked down at the two of them, noticing how worried they looked. He didn't say anything to them, he just motioned towards the door and waited for them to follow his lead. Arya did.
"Thank you, Lord Tyrion." Gendry spoke up his thanks, proudly projecting his thanks to the younger Lannister Lord before quickly following Arya, the sellsword and the squire out of the doors.
—
"What are you planning, father?" Tyrion spoke up after the Stark girl and the bastard boy had left the room. Once again disrupting the flow of minuscule battle plans to talk about the Stark girl. As had happened many times already through either other people's confusion of the girl's own butting in. "She is just a girl."
"And next you shall tell me that he is just a boy" Tywin didn't look towards his son, he read over a letter that one of his own squires had given him - lingering on the time periods and the numbers.
"He is." Tyrion said blatantly, staring his father down until the man looked him in the eyes. When his father did, Tyrion spoke darkly once again. "But then they all were just children, the ones who were like him."
"What are you on about?" Joffery spoke up, his voice cutting over the tone of the Lannister conversation between father and son. "Who is he?" Joffery insisted after they did not answer him straight away, his anger becoming more and more president with every second. After no member of his small council responding, he turned to his mother. "What is he on about, mother?
"That boy, your grace, is the late King Robert's last bastard." Varys folded his hands together as he turned to the King.
"I ordered them all dead! He should not be living! I want him dead." Joffery yelled out, glaring towards his grandfather who had brought the boy into the castle. He snarled slightly at his to-be Hand and continued to glare even after the Lannister Lord began speaking with his grandson.
"You will do no such thing." Tywin yelled back to his grandson, his voice echoing in the hall. He was sure that many of the men surrounding the hall had overheard. "We need swords and he can make them and we need the Stark's discredited." At Tywin's last words the others in the room exchanged an eye contact of confusion, Baelish and Tyrion turning to each other as Baelish seemed to be proving a point to the imp. Varys raised an eyebrow glancing towards
"This is my kingdom! I am the King! I order it!" Joffery yelled out, sounding to the Lannister Lord more and more like a petulant child than the king he was meant to be.
"And he is my man." Tywin growled, promptly shutting up the boy-king with his words.
"Your Grace, if we kill him we may have a worse problem with her in the city."
"He has no claim to the throne, your grace." Varys assured Joffery, his eyes checking with Tywin as he spoke. Tywin nodded, it wasn't in his plans for the boy to become King, so it wouldn't be in the plans of the others. "He is nothing to worry about."
"Here you go m'boy, m'lady." Bronn stopped outside of the wooden slab doorway, pushing on it slightly for the boy and girl to prove his point. These were the first words exchanged between the group during this silent journey, Bronn was fine with it. He hadn't cared as he just wanted to be done with the job, get to an alehouse with women, drink and singing - but he still looked over the boy and girl, they wanted to be there less than he did.
"Thank you, ser…" Arya said, hesitantly saying 'ser' as she was unsure of who he was. He wasn't there last time she was, so she assumed he must have joined the area lately. But then she hadn't being paying attention to the men and women in King's Landing when she was chasing cats and practising the water dance.
"I a'int no ser, m'lady - name's Bronn." Bronn said to the girl before him, the boy beside her raised his eyebrow but he didn't speak up. The boy started to laugh slightly before Bronn realised that the little girl before him was angered at what he had said.
"And I am no 'lady'." The girl snarled, causing the boy behind to laugh more. She turned to him and punched him squarely in the chest muttering the word 'stupid' to him when he continued.
"Are you sure of that, girl." Bronn joined the boy's laughter with a little laugh of his own, noticing how unaffected the boy was. "They do call you 'Lady' Stark."
"My sister is a lady, my mother is a lady - I am no lady." Arya insisted, growling towards the sell-sword as she stood her ground. Hoping that the man understood that what she was saying meant the most to her.
"I like you girl." Bronn let out a sharp laugh, before nodding lightly and pushing the door open a little more. "Now go on before your Lannister Lord realises that you were lying."
Gendry and Arya exchanged a look of worry before Gendry faced the man before them and spoke up. "He's not our Lord…"The words rang true in his voice, but the boy still sounded hesitant - as if someone unreliable was going to hear - like the man before them.
"But you follow his orders all the same?" When Bronn's question remained unanswered, he assumed he was correct. He raised his eye-brow and posed another question to the duo. "What he paying you?"
"He's not." Arya said, the words feeling bitter on her tongue - as if they weren't true. She knew that there were plenty of true answers she could have iterated out, that they were paid in freedom, life, air… any of those would have worked, would not have being a lie.
"Then he's your Lord." Bronn said harshly before leaving the duo outside the rooms, Podrick following the sell-sword promptly.
The duo stood outside the rooms for a few moments before they pushed their way into their rooms. They wandered around the Lannister draped rooms, the gold and red filigree patterns that annoyed Arya with their symbolism and easily forgotten roots. Gendry walked to the edge of the first bed, sitting on the feather down of the mattress and running his hands over the edges of the blankets - as if it was not real.
Arya continued to wander the room, running her hands over the stone walls and drapes until she came to a window, She leant against it, glancing out over the area around before murmuring to herself. "These were my rooms…"
"What?" Gendry hadn't heard her, her voice had been barely above a whisper when she spoke and he had been sat way away from him.
"When I was here with my father, stupid." Arya snapped at the boy beside her - her eyes narrowing towards him. He fidgeted slightly and stood up, approaching Arya on soft feet with a careful worried gaze.
When he finally reached where she was stood, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "m'sorry Arya," He murmured, allowing her to follow him to the edge of the bed so that she was seated.
"I hated it the first time." She spoke, her eyes fixed on the burgundy and gold silken drapes and bedding - her hands ripping at the area where they sat in annoyance and anguish."I hate it more now." Her voice sounded empty to the blacksmith who watched her begin to claw at her arms.
He grabbed her hands, pulling her lightly so her palms were facing upwards in his. "Don't." He said, glancing towards the doorway as a noisy group of people passed the room, clatters and shouts passing the door.
"They killed Jory. They killed my friends. They killed my father." She whispered, her eyes fixated on the material at his knees - glazed over and showing no emotion. It was an expression Gendry has seen before. "And now I wear their sigil." She raised her hands and tried to pull at where the golden lion was stitched on her chest. "I sit in their rooms." She looked up at Gendry's face, motioning to the room with distaste. "I pour their wine." Arya turned to look at the shut door, a glare returning to her eyes.
"Then lets not any more." Gendry broke her thoughts with what he said. Her eyes darted to him in confusion and almost excitement.
"What are you saying?"
"Why don't we go?" Gendry rephrased what he had said, Arya's eyebrow raising. "It's not like they'd notice." He smiled reassuringly at her, glancing towards the window before he stood. his feet tapping over the limestone flooring to the window. Arya joined him as he murmured his words. "There's a battle about to take place." The two looked out of the window to see the renewing of defences and protecting of the city.
When Bronn returned to his employer's side, he was shocked to find that they were alone. Tyrion had returned to his room to prepare for the battle alone, a flagon of wine sat half-full on the table near where he stood. Shae was not in the room, but the sell-sword could only assume that was because of his Lord Father's return. When he entered, Tyrion turned towards him and posed his question. "What did you think of the Stark Girl, then?" Bronn grabbed a second goblet and poured himself wine as he spoke, before promptly lounging back in the chair
"She's brash, and that boy with her will do anything to protect her." Bronn answered, nonchalantly. He hadn't really put much thought into the wellbeing of the girl when he was taking her to the rooms - but he had noticed that she was easily angered and believed herself to be not under Tywin Lannister's control.
"It's no surprise." Tyrion remarked to himself, walking over to the table where Bronn lounged and took a drink of his own wine. He turned to where the open windows opened onto the balcony and view of Blackwater Bay. His eyes beholding the beauty that would hopefully withstand the battle.
"What does your father intend to do with two children?" Bronn asked freely, taking a long drink of his wine as the Lannister Lord sat down beside him. He frowned slightly at the idea and placed the goblet back on the table.
"Hopefully, nothing." Tyrion remarked, agreeing with his words sincerely. "But then he probably has some plan which involves the family legacy."
"And marrying 'em together 'll do that 'ow?" Bronn asked, drinking his wine as he spoke and placing the goblet down on the table messily. Hearing it clank oddly against the wood as if it was empty.
"Undermine the Starks? Cause the Frey agreement to fall apart?" Tyrion suggested, frowning and taking a long drink of his wine before continuing. "I don't know what my father is up to, and I don't want to."
"Well I need a drink before this battle starts - and a woman." Bronn stood and left, leaving Tyrion wishing that he could join him. That he could escape what his father would have put in place and join his friend in an ale house with a strong drink and Shae.
He missed Shae - he missed her already.
Nightfall took too long for the two Lannister-clad 'children'. They had redressed in new Lannister clothes, red padded shirts to act as some sort of protection as they planned to flee the city.
Gendry and Arya escaping through the city - both admitting they didn't know the ways out of the city as much as they may have liked.
It only took a matter of moments from the leaving the Red Keep to the green flames of wildfire to lick the air. They turned towards the bay with shock, frozen where they had felt their feet stop in awe and fear. Green light casting down over their faces and burning so bright that it looked unnatural against the night sky. No. It was unnatural against the night sky.
Screams echoed through the streets from the bay, fire cackled and laughed at their fear as they ran from the gates of the red keep and into the city - but it wasn't long until they came face to face with the 'enemy'.
He'd seen red and assumed them to be undertrained squires or underprepared solders and charged towards the meekly armed duo. Arya darting out in front of Gendry and striking herself down into the water dance stance, fluidly prepared to attack the man. Gendry did all he could to stay out-of-the-way of the clash of swords and barrage of weaponry aimed at the duo.
Arya darted between swings with an elegance that almost betrayed her Bravosi training as the armoured man continued to block her attacks effortlessly. At least, it was effortless until she darted to his other side and had not felt the blade sink through the fabric at her side until it was too late.
When the man noticed he had hit the girl, he paused - hearing a girl's scream over a boyish yelp. At that, Gendry saw his chance. He arched forward, sword and dagger in hand and slashed unknowingly at the armoured man. He watched the man fall before darting towards Arya, his knees hitting the floor beside her with a speed that he almost recoiled.
Gendry ran his left hand over his brow - his eyes fixed on the bleeding wound in Arya's side. His hands pressed against the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He held her to his chest - the girl's eyes fixed on his face, blue eyes meeting grey as she continued her shallow breathing.
The clash of swords against armour, flesh and bone as the battle continued above their heads, their Lannister clothes blending into the blood stained ground. The boy's hands shook with worry as the blood stained through her shirt and over his hands.
Tears blurred his vision as he felt his hands tremble, his mouth murmuring out "Don't leave me Arya." He felt his voice shake, the sound of battle easily heard over the worried words of the boy. "Don't leave me!" The shake in his voice increased as his murmur became a shout. "You can't leave me."
Gendry hadn't noticed the stopping of hooves behind him, or the pull on his clothing by a hand for a few moments until after he was stood holding Arya's weak form. Before him, on the white stallion Gendry was becoming too familiar with was Tywin.
"I don't care what you tried to do." He said abruptly, his eyes watching the solders around him with unease. "Just get her back to the Red Keep." As Gendry was about to retort with a no, or a why - Tywin stopped him. "Or she will die."
With that, Gendry took off towards the Red Keep on foot - entering the way he left with annoyance and regret. His hands still pressed against the wound as they forced their way into where the women were hiding and soon he was engulfed in cries and yells of worry and help. It was a red-haired girl, not much older than the one he held that noticed who the girl in his arms was. "Arya?"
"Need. maester." He panted out, soon finding that someone was trying to take Arya from his arms. When he looked up he saw a nurse, young and quite pale looking, holding a jug of water - he looked confused at her before the woman ripped away Arya's red over-shirt and began to clean the wound. Two girls tried to pull him away from Arya. Insisting that he shouldn't be there, but he managed to get out of their grip and back to her side.
"Bastard." Gendry heard a distinct voice yell - it was aimed at him and he couldn't help up turn to where it had come from. He saw the Queen Regent sat where it had come from, drinking a goblet of wine. She seemed to want him to approach, but he didn't want to move from Arya's side - even as her sudden gasps of pain filled the room.
"Yes, your grace?" He faced the Queen Regent but kept his hand in Arya's grasp, not wanting to move from where he was sat for her sake. He knew that he was looking her directly in the eye, he was forgetting his pleasantries and every word he said shook like his hands did.
A snarl reached her wine addled mind. "Who sent you here?" She asked, not paying attention very much to the commotion caused by Arya's bloodied side. The red-haired girl was crouching beside the boy, staring down worriedly at Arya.
"Your father" Gendry said bluntly, sitting down on his heels and taking Arya's hand into his as she looked drowsily at him and the girl beside him.
"Boy please, we need you to leave." Another silent sister approached the group, the girl beside him stood, but he did not move.
"I travelled with her for a year - seeing her in a blood stained undershirt is no worse than what I haven't already seen." Gendry said sharply, causing the woman the step back slightly as if she had seen a ghost.
"Eggs whites, turpentine, rose oil." Another nurse was counting the substances in her basket quickly, mixing the substance together so that a cloudy clear substance was in the small clay bowl she held. "Allow us to work and you will get her back." She sat down beside Gendry, lifting the shirt and exposing it to the air.
Arya flinched as the substance was painted onto her wound, her cut was dampening with the substance and the freshly seeping blood. Gendry held her hand as she crushed his in agony. His eyes watching her face and the hands of the as they worked away at Arya's wound.
But he never left her side, throughout the turmoil and constant questions. Through the looks from the red-haired girl and the glares of the yellow-haired queen. He just stayed by her side and watched her until the troops came back.
And beyond that.