Game of Thrones: Crossroads

Chapter 13 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

Reviews

Boris Yeltsin: Thanks :)
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, she is, it's a bit of a messed up situation.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Well, it's doubtful, this is Sansa after all.
rubini25: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, we now have some answers. Well, to be fair, he is frustrated by this; Arya practically never hides anything from him, yet here she is doing so. He's simply trying to explain a point, the same one Gendry is trying to make, Arya is basically not herself anymore.

Now onto the story.

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

Chapter 13

Rickon smiled as he headed towards the park; it had become something of an unofficial meeting place between him and Shireen now. He was still angry that, after all this time Arya was still with Sansa's friends and still showing no sign of wising up and coming back to where she belonged.

'She apparently has some reason for doing what she's doing.' He thought in regards to what he had overheard about her actions. 'Well; she sure is taking her sweet time about it; just what is going on and why the hell won't she tell anyone?'

He was still fuming but soon calmed down, as soon he saw Shireen sitting on one of the benches waiting for him. Rickon noted she was dressed in her usual style, a casual knee length skirt and button up blouse, simple shoes, he also noted that over the blouse she wore a simple, V-necked purple cardigan. He had to admit, the colour looked good on her. He also noticed that she was wearing her hair tied back in a simple ponytail; which prevented it from hiding her burn scars. He was glad to see she was finally gaining confidence and no longer ashamed of her appearance. He sat down next to her; she smiled widely and they kissed; they finally pulled back for air and Shireen rested her head on Rickon's shoulder. They sat in companionable silence; Rickon worked his mouth a few times, trying to get the words out, he was curious and wanted to ask her something.

Finally; he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Shireen I…I was wondering; if it's; not too personal. How did you get burned?" He fumbled worried about how she would respond.

To his surprise she simply let out a quiet sigh before actually answering. "My mum's fault; she's a convert to that R'hllor religion. She tried to convert me, showed me one of their fire rituals…It got out of control and, I was burned. It was horrible, hurt so bad; I; as if having my face burned wasn't bad enough, I'd already lost faith in the Seven, but now found myself despising R'hllor too. My mother didn't like that at all, called me, ungrateful, saying she was offering me something good"

She sighed softly, Rickon was stunned by this; he immediately embraced her.

His thoughts went to Selyse at that point. 'I always thought her mother was crazy, but this, there's no excuse for this.'

He forced himself to calm down; he didn't want to get so angry he might do something he would later regret. Luckily Shireen provided a distraction for him at that moment.

"You know, I've been thinking, we can't keep a secret for much longer. We're going to have to tell the truth sooner or later." She remarked suddenly.

Rickon nodded slowly, she was right, but, after what he heard, he doubted the wisdom of going to her house and talking to her parents.

So he finally made up his mind. "You're right; maybe, I think it will be easier if; maybe we should talk to my parents first."

She agreed and so together they left the park and headed back for the Stark's manor.

Catelyn smiled; she loved Fridays. Ned got to finish work early and she had no classes to teach in the afternoon. So they usually spent the afternoon together sometimes working together in the study or enjoying themselves elsewhere in the house, watching a movie or other such activities. Today however Catelyn had papers to grade while Ned worked on a few reports, so they were both in the study. Just then they heard the front door opening and closing and then footsteps approaching the study, there was a knock on the door and then it opened.

"Mum, dad?" Rickon called out as he entered.

They both smiled at their youngest son.

"Yes Rickon, is everything okay?" She asked, noting his expression.

Rickon nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine, actually, there's someone I want you to meet."

They both stood up and followed him through to the living room. There they saw someone familiar sitting on the couch.

"I guess you remember Shireen." Rickon said softly as he walked over next to her.

They both stopped and smiled, nodding. They both knew Shireen well; not just as Robert's niece but also as Arya's best friend, before things began inexplicably changing, it had been some time since they had last seen Shireen.

Catelyn glanced over at her husband and guessed from his expression that he too had noticed Shireen no longer hiding her burns. They also noticed she was a lot more confident than she had been the last time they had seen her. Catelyn couldn't help but be impressed by this. However there was one thought nagging at her.

Ned then voiced her thoughts, showing his were the same. "So, why is Shireen here, you said you wanted us to meet?"

Rickon nodded and then revealed. "Yeah; the reason is, well, Shireen's my girlfriend."

They were both stunned by that; suddenly, to Catelyn Rickon's strange behaviour lately made sense. They couldn't help but feel amazed, even proud, their youngest had a girlfriend.

"Congratulations." Ned stated with a smile. "We're happy for you; I hope you weren't offended by my asking Shireen, you're always welcome here."

Shireen nodded.

"I know, thanks."

Finally Catelyn spoke up. "Well, how about I make you two something to eat while we wait for your brothers; they'll be dying to meet your girlfriend."

Rickon and Shireen both nodded with equal enthusiasm and, holding hands, they following Ned and Catelyn through to the kitchen. Both of them were relieved that things had gone well, they knew it wouldn't be so easy when they revealed to Shireen's parents after all. Still it was comforting to know that at least one of their families would be supportive.

While Rickon and Shireen ate, Cat hurried upstairs and quickly changed into more presentable clothes than the ones she had been wearing, a pair of yoga pants and one of Ned's old shirts. Donning a pair of jeans and blouse she headed downstairs and heard, from the kitchen the sounds of her sons; they had already got back. As she approached she could hear Robb's voice.

"So, young Rickon finally has a girlfriend." He was saying jovially.

Cat had entered the kitchen at that point, she could see the young couple blushing and Rickon patting his hair down, presumably after Robb had messed it up.

"Robb." She chided gently. "Don't tease your brother."

"So, how exactly did you guys meet?" Jon asked; politely interested.

Shireen fidgeted slightly as she replied. "Well, I am, or was…I'm not sure, best friends with Arya."

Everyone became tense at that; Arya's behaviour perplexed them all.

Then Jon spoke up. "Just what is going on with Arya, I tried to get her to tell me, but she wouldn't."

That was when Catelyn really started to worry about Arya; if she wouldn't tell Jon, who she usually never kept secrets from, then it must be serious. It must also be frustrating for Jon; knowing that Arya is hiding things from him, something she never did before.

Rickon scowled and shook his head.

"Honestly, Arya, she's being a bi... stupid." He quickly corrected himself before explaining. "She stopped hanging out with Shireen, and Gendry, Hot Pie, Lommy - the gang and she's now hanging out with Sansa and her friends."

Cat shared a look with Ned; this didn't make sense to them. They knew Arya had been spending more time with Sansa, but this. It didn't seem like arya, she didn't like Sansa's friends at all. But still, they couldn't fathom it.

Cat however called Rickon out on what he said about Arya. "Rickon, don't call your sister that."

"Hey, mum, maybe Shireen can come to dinner with us?" Bran suggested, wanting to dispel the tension. However the young couple seemed a bit nervous, until Rickon explained.

"I know Jon and Robb are home and everything, but I had planned on taking Shireen out on a date today."

Shireen shook her head, smiling kindly. "Rickon, there's no problem; you should spend time with your brothers." But Robb immediately cut across her; shaking his head.

"Ah we're boring. Let Rickon take you out."

Smiling at this his parents agreed, so they stayed talking for a bit while, until it was time for dinner and they left the house together, having the girls promised to meet the family at the restaurant, while the young couple took another route.

After walking some distance Rickon turned to Shireen.

"So it went okay, right?" He asked

"Yes, I always liked your family. They didn't treat me any differently just because I'm now your girlfriend either." She replied taking his hand and Rickon squeezed it back, before kissing her cheek.

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