Game of Thrones: Crossroads

Chapter 3 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

Reviews

Marina Ka-Fai: Yeah, it's pretty rough for them :)
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, it's hard for her.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.
HarryPotterNut94: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, well, he's not going to give up easily.
Guest: Yeah, things have become messed up.
Tyrion: I'm guessing that's a good thing, thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.

Chapter 3

Gendry remained distracted; wondering about the strange incident with Arya as he drove home after school. Apart from that one incident at lunch Arya had ignored and stayed away from them; it drove him to distraction, he still couldn't figure out why. Arya offered no explanation and stayed away from her old friends, despite their attempts to reason with her and find out why.

"Gendry…Gendry."

He blinked and turned his attention to his brother Edric; he had, without realizing it, had driven home and parked.

"You okay?" Edric asked; worried. "You were kinda spaced out?"

Gendry cleared his throat. "Y-yeah, everything's fine; sorry, I was distracted."

Edric observed his brother carefully and shook his head; it was obvious what was bothering Gendry. "By Arya and what's she's done?"

Gendry looked at him sharply but Edric shook his head.

"It's obvious; don't bother denying it. Look, we can't change what's happened, if Arya doesn't want us to know what's going on, we're not going to find out." He explained.

Gendry however glared. "So what, we just give up on her!"

Edric raised his hands defensively. "Hey, it's not like that man, she's given up on us remember."

"No, there's a reason behind this." Gendry replied quickly. "I can't just leave it; we need her back, I intend to find out what's going on and do whatever it takes to get her back."

Edric sighed and shook his head but offered no reply. They both got out of the car and headed inside.

Gendry and his family lived in King's Landing, but in Flea Bottom, the poorest part of the city. Their home was only just large enough for them all to live in; but compared to some people living in Flea Bottom; they had enough to survive. They headed inside and immediately through to the kitchen; there they found their older sister, Mya, sitting working at the table. Mya was twenty years of age and, like her siblings, had black hair and blue eyes. Traits inherited from their father; in fact, physically they all resembled their father, but not their mother, Alyssa Waters, who had blonde hair and brown eyes. Mya looked up as they entered and smiled.

"Hey you guys, welcome home." She greeted.

She seemed cheerful as usual but Gendry noticed there was something strained about her smile. Likewise; Mya noted the tension in Gendry's expression and realized something was bothering him. She stood up from the table and, as Edric hurried upstairs, she walked over to Gendry.

"Something bothering you brother?" She asked as casually as she could.

Gendry sighed and shrugged. "Just some trouble at school."

"What kind of trouble."

Gendry shook his head. "I don't really want to talk about it Mya…Although you'll probably hear about it from Edric anyway."

Mya raised an eyebrow. "Now Gendry, you should know better than that. If you're having troubles, I want to hear about them…from you."

"Maybe so." Gendry replied but then reaffirmed. "But I'm not ready to talk about it yet, I need to think about it first; if I need help then I'll tell you."

Mya sighed; knowing she wasn't going to get much more out of Gendry, not when he was like this.

Finally, as Edric returned to the kitchen Gendry then asked.

"So, what's got you all worked up Mya; not trouble with Lyle I hope?"

Mya; as usual, blushed at the mention of her fiancée's name, Lyle Stone. However she shook her head.

"No, Lyle and I are great; it's just; remember what today is, Gendry?" She warned him.

At that Gendry went rigid; anger clouding his expression. Yet Edric's face lit up; he gasped.

"Dad's coming; great."

He quickly rushed out of the room and Gendry sighed.

"How can he be so happy to see dad; after everything he did, after he abandoned us." He growled.

Mya was still tense but she gently put a calming hand on Gendry's shoulder. "I know but; remember Edric was only two when he left mum, he's too young to know or remember everything dad did; he doesn't understand why they aren't together anymore. Come on now, we better get ready."

"Yeah, I guess; let's go."

So with that they went and began to prepare themselves for the visit. As they did so, Alyssa came into the house, having just returned from the shops. She noted their expression and knew right away what was going on.

"Remember to behave you three." She said softly; yet her expression showed she shared Mya and Gendry's sentiments regarding their father. "I'll be back soon."
With that she left out to the back garden; determined not to be around when her ex-husband arrived.

Not much longer afterwards there was a knock at the door. Edric immediately was on his feet and hurried to answer the door. Gendry and Mya sat on the sofa; both tense and edgy as Edric returned; with him was their father, Robert Baratheon. Gendry fought to keep his anger hidden as they came in, Robert sat down with some difficulty due to his tremendous girth. Gendry remembered a thinner, muscular man, one who he was said to greatly resemble; now hair and eye colour were the only similarities between them. Robert smiled widely as he greeted them.

"Gendry, Mya, it's good to see you again."

They nodded; doing their best to stay calm, despite their anger at seeing the man who abandoned them sitting in front of them. Robert spoke to them normally for a while before he once again veered off into one of his stories about college and hunting days. Unfortunately there was nothing they could do so Gendry sat, silently seething while Mya remained indifferent; Edric listened attentively. While this went on Gendry reflected on how; despite his parents' divorce, Robert fought bitterly in the court for custody of the children. However his drinking became an issue and in the end, Alyssa was appointed primary custody of the children, although Robert was permitted visitation rights; visits which his older children loathed as they knew about the issues between their parents.

In the end, finally, just before dinner, Robert left. Edric turned to his siblings.

"C'mon you guys, what's wrong with you?" He asked. "You didn't say a word to dad while he was here."

Mya sighed. "Sorry Edric, it's…complicated anyway, it's nearly dinner time, we better go wash up."

At that point Alyssa entered and immediately got to work in the kitchen; beginning dinner. As Mya and Edric headed upstairs; Gendry was about to follow them when his mother called to him.

"Yeah?" He wondered what she wanted.

He noticed that his mother's expression indicated how worried she was. "Are you okay Gendry; you look rather; worried."

He paused, knowing what his mother had noticed. "I'm fine mum, really, everything's alright."

He could tell she wasn't convinced, but thankfully she allowed him to go without any further questions. Alone with his thoughts he sighed; he really had to get thinking, he needed to work out just what was going on with Arya.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.