Hey, lovelies! I'm so sorry for the major delay! I really wish I could update more often, but I've been so busy lately that it's nearly impossible... But I'll try my best, I promise!

As always, thank you SO much for the feedback, you guys are great! :D

Now on to the new chapter! ;)

"Seven hells," Gendry muttered under his breath as he tossed for the hundredth time on his bed. He had gone straight to his chambers after the awkward conversation he had just had with his father.

Father.

It was still so strange to think of King Robert as such. Everything was so new to him, and he was still struggling to take everything in when his father came up with yet another matter to trouble his poor mind even more…

"Gendry, there's something we need to talk about."

"What is it?"

"Your betrothed."

"My WHAT!?"

"Your betrothed. You will marry Lord Eddard's daughter. We always planned to join our houses, and the girl Sansa was about to marry Joffrey before I discovered the little shit was not my blood. Now I want you to marry-"

"Do you want me to marry Lady Sansa?" Gendry asked, mortified.

"No, not Sansa. She was my initial idea, I admit, but I talked to Ned and we decided Arya would be a better match for you. You two seem to be getting along well enough."

"But I only know her for a few days and-"

"So what? I barely knew the Lannister bitch before I married her, and the same happened to Ned and Lady Catelyn. Consider yourself lucky, lad."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. I'm the king, you're my son and you will do as you're told. Everything is settled. We will wait until Arya is six-and-ten, and then you will marry her. As far as I'm concerned, you'd marry her as soon as she had her first moon blood, but Ned asked me to wait a few years. He's her father after all, and my friend, so I decided to grant his wish."

Gendry had been so shocked that he felt lost for words. He had left as soon as King Robert dismissed him, feeling a mixture of shock and rising anger inside his chest. When he entered his chambers, the only thing that had prevented him from slamming hard the wooden door was the heaviness of the damn thing.

He couldn't deny the relief that washed over him when he learned it was Arya and not Sansa he was going to marry. But still... It was horrible to have someone else deciding his future, deciding who he would have to spend the rest of his life with.

As for Arya... She was his first and only friend in that castle, and he was about to see this friendship ruined. He had a strong feeling that she wouldn't be happy with their betrothal either.

He wondered if she already knew about it.

Gendry suddenly felt like suffocating, as if the walls of his own chambers were making him feel trapped. Well, he was trapped. He was trapped in a strange new life he didn't even ask for. And, as far as he knew, he couldn't do anything about it.

He left his chambers and desperately searched for some fresh air. He wandered around the outdoors of the castle and ended up in the godswood. He decided he liked that place. It brought him peace and it was the only place in the Red Keep that didn't make him feel like a prisoner.

A prisoner. That was exactly how he felt, he realized. Now he was a prisoner of this new life, and this betrothal was only the first proof of that. He wondered what would come next.

Later in the afternoon, Gendry was getting ready for his reading lessons when there was a knock on his door. He opened it to see Renly, a wide smile on his face.

"Congratulations, nephew! I heard about your betrothal to the Stark girl. Are you happy?"

Gendry stepped aside, signaling for Renly to enter, and then closed the door.

"I don't know, uncle… It's all so soon…"

"No, it's not. Believe me, that's how things work in our world."

"Our world? This is your world, not mine…"

"This is your world too. You are a Baratheon now."

"I wish I wasn't..."

"You despise Lady Arya so much?"

"Despise her? No! I don't despise her at all, she's my friend. She's been my only friend since I've been here…"

"Ouch, I do not count as your friend? You hurt my feelings, nephew," Renly said playfully.

"No, I didn't mean you're not my friend, but you're also my uncle, and my family, and-"

"I know, I know what you meant, it was just a joke," Renly said, waving his hand as if dismissing the idea. "But if you are friends, why are you unhappy?"

"You know, I always wanted to have my own family… I hoped someday I would find a good girl, a girl I really loved, and have children with her. I was born in Flea Bottom, I didn't have many choices in my life, but at least I was free enough to choose the person I would want to spend my life with. And now, even this was taken from me."

Renly nodded sympathetically.

"I can see what you mean, Gendry… I understand that all of this is very new to you, but that's how it works. Marriages, in our world, mean alliances and political interests, not love. But, mind you, it is possible to find love in an arranged marriage. I hear Lord Stark and his wife love each other dearly, and they barely knew each other when they wedded. And from what I've heard of your friendship with little Arya Stark, you two get along very well. This is a good sign. You can learn to love each other in time."

"Do you think so? I can barely imagine her as my wife, she's so young…"

"But she will grow up in no time. And as far as I know, you won't get married until she's six-and-ten, right? I bet she will look like a proper lady by then, and a beautiful one at that," Renly said, winking at him.

Gendry smiled weakly, thinking of what to say next, but Renly spoke again.

"But we will have plenty of time to talk about this. Now on to our lessons! You have a lot to learn today!"

Gendry was thankful when Renly finally finished his lessons for the day. He struggled to concentrate, but it had been very hard to pay attention when there was so much going on in his head. He wandered around the castle again until his legs brought him back to the godswood.

He was just approaching the heart-tree when he heard quiet sobs coming from somewhere behind another tree, that stood a little ahead, and that made him stop.

Suddenly, he remembered that Arya was supposed to be there for his reading lessons, but she hadn't come. Suddenly, something was telling him she was the one crying behind that tree.

Gendry took a deep breath and walked slowly towards the tree. He tried to be as silent as possible, but failed. He had already been noticed.

In a blink of an eye, Arya was right in front of him, facing him defiantly, and her eyes were full of tears and hate.