Game of Thrones: Crossroads

Chapter 32 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

Reviews

Wolfgirl2013: Thanks.
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, they are, it's a pity about the blackmail though.
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

Now onto the story.

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

Chapter 32

Arya was deep in thought as Gendry drove her to his home. It was early afternoon and as they had agreed following their date, she was coming around to spend time at his house. This would mark the first time she was there as his girlfriend, she noted and briefly wondered if the Waters would react differently to her now, because of that. She wondered briefly if any of them knew about the blackmail but then quickly dismissed it; Gendry wasn't stupid, no matter how much she called him it, of course his family didn't know. She mentally cursed herself for adding fuel to that fire; when Gendry had picked her up, she had been at her dance classes. She couldn't be certain, but she felt she was still blushing due to that. Finally Gendry pulled up outside the Waters house and they got out the car. Gendry looked at her strangely.

"What?" She snapped.

He shrugged. "I just thought you'd wait for me to open the door…"

"I don't need any of that polite crap; I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself."

He just laughed at that and replied jokingly. "Yes, Ma'am."

She scowled. "I told you not to call me, now can we go inside already."

Still laughing Gendry nodded and they headed inside. Arya resumed her neutral expression; wondering what sort of welcome she'd receive inside.

As it turned out, her concerns were for nothing, the Waters treated her exactly the same way as they always had. Perhaps Alyssa was a little more guarded around her, but otherwise, everything was exactly the same. After some talk she soon settled down with the family to watch some dumb movie. She wasn't really paying attention; she was still trying to think of some way to escape her current situation and to regain the trust of Sansa's friends. She needed to work her way back into the group, it was her only hope to complete her plan and save Sansa. She was sitting on the couch with Gendry, Edric was also in the room while Mya was in the kitchen, studying and Alyssa was out in the back garden. Just then the doorbell rang. Arya sat up straight, curious. She noticed immediately that Gendry had tensed, while Edric seemed happy as he hurried off to answer the door.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Gendry did not relax, instead he scowled and replied. "Dad's come to visit."

It was then it clicked, Robert Baratheon had come. She recalled all the stories her father used to tell her about Robert, and also how Gendry spoke about him. He sounded like two different people from these views. But their father had admitted that Robert had changed in recent years. The one her father knew had changed, becoming the one Gendry knew and despised. She wasn't looking forward to seeing how this would turn out.

What happened however was not what she expected to happen. Robert had entered the house, greeting Mya as he passed the kitchen and entered the living room with Edric. Edric continued heading back to his seat but Robert had stopped in the doorway, frozen; his gaze fixed on Arya.

"Lyanna…" He whispered.

Gendry stood up immediately, cursing himself for forgetting how much Arya resembled her dead aunt. He recalled the stories he had heard from Robert about Lyanna Stark; aside from his drinking, and the cheating, it was one of the many things responsible for the break-up of his parents' marriage. Robert had been, and always seemed to be, unable to let go of Lyanna Stark. Always he clung to her, despite now having two ex-wives and six children, three really if the rumours about Cersei's children were true. The look in his eyes now spoke volumes; he could see the way his father was thinking, thinking that Gendry was going down the same route. Yet Gendry knew that wasn't the case, he had sworn not to let that happen and he fully intended to ensure that remained the case. But clearly his father thought different. Bracing himself he shook his head.

"Dad, don't start…" He began.

Robert quickly cut across him. "Don't take me for a fool boy, this is me and Lyanna come again, I'm not blind!"

It was just as Gendry feared, he wondered, just how far his father would go.

Gendry shook his head, before he could respond however, Arya spoke up.

"Listen you; it's not like that at all!" She yelled. "Gendry and I aren't like you or Lyanna, we won't…"

"Oh, you have no idea girl!" Robert yelled, stepping closer.

Gendry acted on impulse, putting himself between his father and Arya. The yelling had brought Mya through from the kitchen and Alyssa from the garden. Mya was glaring as she advanced.

"Dad, that's enough, leave them alone!" She warns.

Edric looked on shocked; he wasn't used to seeing his father like this, ranting and raving furiously at them. Suddenly everything his siblings said about his father made sense, seeing him like this, he could believe their stories. This wasn't right, he couldn't let this stand; it was then he heard his siblings imploring him to leave. Robert glared at them angrily, shocked that they would dare say this to his face. Then suddenly, the last thing he expected.

"Dad, they're right, you should leave." Edric said suddenly.

He spun around; all eyes were on Edric now as he shook his head sadly.

"I thought I knew you dad, but now I've seen what you're capable of and…I don't, I don't know you anymore." He explained.

Robert growled his annoyance and, bellowing at them for not appreciating him and what he did for them, he stormed out of the house, swearing they would never see him again.

Arya stood stunned in the silence that followed. This was not what she had in mind when she asked to come over to Gendry's house. She looked around, Edric had slumped onto the couch, he was staring at the wall, without really seeing it; clearing in shock. Mya sat down next to him and hugged him, talking quietly. Alyssa looked over at Gendry who shook his head. She then joined Mya and Edric while Gendry turned to Arya.

"Well, this isn't what I thought would happen." He said somewhat lamely.

Arya nodded slowly. "Yeah, you and me both."

There was some awkward silence before Gendry offered. "Would you like me to take you now?"

Arya nodded and they left the house, Gendry told his family what he was doing and that he would be back soon. They then left and drove back to Winterfell. As they did so Arya sighed.

"Gendry, about what I said, when you showed me the recording and how I said you were like your father…I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." She said finally.

Gendry however shook his head. "No, in that case, you were spot on; that's the sort of thing he would do. But, I'm still not gonna let myself turn out like him, I swear it, I will never be like him."

Arya remained silent; not sure how to reply. They spent the rest of the car journey in silence.

A few days later Arya was lying on her bed, she still couldn't get the incident of what happened at Gendry's house out of her head. Just then her phone rang, she quickly answered it,

"Hello?"

"Hey Arry." It was Gendry.

She sat up. "What's up, have you guys…?"

Gendry replied quickly and she could guess he was shaking his head. "Nothing bad happened; just, dad's kept his word, he doesn't plan on seeing us again, so the visitation has been removed, but he has to keep paying child support. Bet that surprised him."

Arya nodded slowly.

"Yeah, probably; I just can't believe he'd be so angry." She explained.

"Turns out he was drunk, again." Gendry explained. "Mya, mum and I are taking it pretty well. It was hard on Edric, but he's accepted it's for the best, he should be okay."

Arya smiled; angry as she was with Gendry, she was happy that his family issues had been sorted out. "That's good, well, see you later."

With that they both hung up. Leaving Arya to ponder, once more, how she could escape and resume her plan, before it was too late, before all she worked for was completely undone.

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