Game of Thrones: Crossroads
Chapter 4 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.
Reviews
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)
HarryPotterNut94: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, basically Alyssa was Robert's first wife and they are divorced now, with him now married to Cersei.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, they are pretty close :)
Boris Yeltsin: Yeah, it's pretty hard for him just now.
Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.
Chapter 4
Arya gazed out of the window of Sansa's car as her sister drove them home after school. Sansa was talking about something in her usual random fashion. Yet Arya wasn't paying attention; her mind was elsewhere as she looked out of the window. She was thinking about her old friends.
'Gendry, Shireen…the way they acted.' She thought forlornly. 'They're right to be upset, to be angry. I just abandoned them without any explanation…but I; how could I possibly explain it to them, they wouldn't understand.'
Suddenly she became aware that Sansa was directly addressing her and tried to pick up what the 'conversation' had been about.
"So; we were thinking about Friday night; what do you think?" Sansa was saying.
Arya bit her lip and, deciding not to take chances, asked. "Sorry, I was a little distracted, what's happening Friday night?"
Sansa sighed indulgently and shook her head. "We're going out Arya; all of us, to that new nightclub that just opened. Are you coming?"
"I'd love to but; I'm not old enough to drink or go into clubs remember." She pointed out; but that did not deter Sansa who simply smirked.
"That's no big deal; Marg can easily get you a fake ID by then and you can get inside without any trouble."
Arya managed a laugh and shrugged; she agreed and finally, Sansa parked the car and they got out.
They headed up the drive towards the front doors of their family manor. Once inside they removed their shoes and jackets and prepared to head upstairs to get changed. As they did so Sansa glanced back outside.
"No sign of the bus yet; I don't understand why Rickon refused to let me drive him home." She said. "I mean, sure Bran is going to the Reed's so he needs to take the bus. But Rickon…"
Arya hurried up the stairs; calling back. "Don't worry about it Sansa; remember Rickon's been acting strange for a while now. He'll be alright."
Arya quickly got changed and then; instead of hurrying downstairs to watch TV like she usually did, she stood by the window, looking out into the back garden. Once again she bit her bottom lip. Her thoughts once again went to her old friends and to her current situation.
'It's not fair on them, but I have no choice. I'm sorry guys, I have to do this; it's the only way.' She straightened herself; her thoughts more focused. 'It may not seem like it but it's the right thing to do, the only way I can think of. I will do whatever it takes to fix this; I swear it.'
As those thoughts crossed her mind; Arya observed the Godswood just beyond their vast back garden. While her mother and Sansa followed the religion of the New Gods; her father, older brother Robb, her cousin Jon and the older of her two younger brothers Bran followed the Old Gods; which involved praying to the Heart Tree in the Godswood. Arya knew that Rickon, like her, did not really hold with religion, but if she did, she felt closer to the Old Gods.
Finally however; she was broken from her musings by the door opening. She left her room and headed downstairs; her parents were home. Her father was the head of his own company and her mother was a teacher. This was one of those rare days where they were able to come home earlier. Arya bit her lip; lately things had been growing tense for her with the family; her recent actions had confused them all. However Arya was determined to continue doing what she was doing, for her own reasons.
"Hey mum, dad, good to see you." She greeted them; doing her best to smile.
They both smiled to her, but their smiles were guarded. Her mother replied to her kindly. "Hello Arya; did you have a good day?"
Arya hesitated before replying. "Yeah; it was fun."
Luckily she was saved from further awkward conversation by Rickon finally arriving home. At that point Sansa came downstairs and saw him.
"Rickon, there you are, where did you go, I was gonna give you a lift home?" She asked quickly.
Rickon merely glanced at Sansa, then replying; his voice low, almost growling. "I wasn't coming straight home; I had somewhere to be, alright."
"Rickon, enough, be nice to your sister." Ned warned him sharply.
Rickon nodded and then hurried upstairs, avoiding further questions. Arya could not deny she was curious however; what was Rickon hiding, why was he being so secretive, where had he gone after school?
The family were free afterwards to each do their own thing; until dinner time. While she worked at the cooker; Catelyn pondered her family's current situation. She didn't like it; there were too many secrets; her children were hiding things and it worried her greatly. Just then she heard Ned talking to someone on the phone; he sounded happy. Instantly her curiosity was piqued; she continued to work on the dinner but listened as Ned finished the phone call and came into the kitchen. She turned to face him.
"Who was it?" She asked, noting that Ned was smiling widely.
"It was Robb, he and Jon are coming for a visit a few months from now." He explained.
Cat gasped; smiling too. "That's wonderful news."
She was overjoyed to hear that her eldest son would be coming for a visit; it had been so long since she had last seen him. She wondering how much things would have changed for him; and Jon. Catelyn did not know Jon, son of Ned's sister Lyanna; very well, even when he had been younger he hadn't been home often. He had preferred to spend extended periods of time with his other uncle, Ned's younger brother Benjen.
Despite seeing his wife's happiness at the news, Ned also noted her worry. "Cat, what's wrong, you seem troubled."
She sighed and decided to tell him. "I'm worried about the kids Ned, mostly Sansa, Arya and Rickon. They're all acting strangely, like they're hiding something."
"I know what you mean." Ned admitted. "I've noticed it too; I just…I don't know how best to approach them about it; especially Arya and Rickon; they might take things the wrong way."
Cat knew all too well what he meant, Arya and Rickon's tempers were volatile at best and when they misjudged someone's intentions, the results were often catastrophic.
That night, at dinner, Catelyn observed her children. She noted that Arya and Sansa seemed closer than ever, as of late. Normally the girls were constantly at each other's throats, arguing about everything. While she was relieved the arguing had stopped; Catelyn was worried that something wasn't right about Arya's sudden change. Sansa acted as cheerful as ever, yet Catelyn was worried about her still; something seemed suspicious about her eldest daughter's recent behaviour. She turned her gaze to Rickon; he was acting as normally as ever; except he seemed to be glaring at the two girls whenever he looked at them and, trying and failing to be furtive about it, checking his phone. With all these secrets going around she was relieved to see that her second son; Bran, was at least not acting or hiding his emotions. He really was as calm and happy as he appeared. Catelyn shook her head and focused on her dinner. Whatever was going on, she hoped to find out and sort things out soon; before anything bad happened to any of them.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.