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Chapter 24

Arya

The rush she was feeling was unlike anything she had experienced before. It was a mixture of adrenaline, fear and excitement multiplied by a thousand. She had felt so weak before, so tired and drained from everything that had happened just moments before, but now she was alive. Awake and ready to see to her sisters escape. The light was bright and she could hear the muffled cries of Sansa in the background. She didn't realise that she had somehow managed to separate herself from Gendry's hold and soon found herself standing before the man who had inflicted so much pain onto her sister. "Hello, little bitch," he sneered.

She froze. He was a lot bigger than she realised and he was wearing that same evil smile she saw before, sending chills through her body. Fear cuts deeper than swords she thought. She remembered her fencing instructor's words as she prepared herself for what she was about to do. You can do this. As quick as a snake she darted around the hulking figure blocking her way from her sister. His bulk made it harder for him to move and meant she was able to slide past him easily enough. She pulled out the small hunting knife Jon had handed her and made a clean cut across his right calf muscle. She grinned as she heard the gasp of pain erupt from the Mountain's lips. "You'll pay for that you fucking cunt!" the man roared. He let off a couple of rounds of shots that seemed to hit the ceiling above, making her jump a little.

"No she won't," she heard a gruff voice from behind her call out. She craned her neck upwards to see Gendry swing the metal bat he was holding with full force at the Mountain's ribs. She heard a loud crunch as the object collided with the man's body and saw him clutch at the wounded area. She then saw her brother and father join her boyfriend as they formed a circle around him, like a pack of wolves cornering their pray. Joffrey had been handcuffed to one of the steel railings behind them and looked like a traumatised child ready to hide behind his mothers' skirts.

"Lie face flat with your hands behind your back," her father barked at the man. He growled in response and made a move to lunge at them but her father was too fast and had pointed the gun he was holding at the Mountains leg, shooting him point blank.

"You fucking son of a bitch!" the man bellowed. He was on the floor, both hands trying to stop the pool of blood beneath him growing wider. "I'll get you back for this you sack of shit!"

"Arya grab your sister, Jon and Gendry help me cuff him and bind his wound for him. We can't have our friend here bleeding to death. He'll make a valuable witness against the Lannisters."

"You honestly think I'll fucking talk after you just shot me in the fucking leg? I'm no snitch and I'd rather sit in a nice comfy cell than do anything to help you or that piece of shit family of yours."

"I may not be able get you to talk but I know someone who might."

"Oh and who in the hell would that be?"

"You'll find out in due time." What the hell is dad going on about? She moved away from the confusing conversation her father just had with the Mountain and moved towards the door where she could hear her sisters' cries coming from. She turned the knob only to find that it was locked. She softly knocked on the door.

"Sans," she called out. "It's me Ar-," she didn't have time to finish her sentence as the door was wrenched open and she was forced to the ground as her sister barrelled towards her for a hug. She could feel the wet of Sansa's tears soaking into her dress as her sister nuzzled into the crook of her neck. "Sshhh, Sans it's ok, we're here now. We have him, he won't be able to hurt you or anyone else ever again," she said as she stroked what was left of her sisters long auburn locks. She heard Sansa hiss in pain as one of Arya's fingers got caught in a strand of hair that must not have been pulled out all the way. "Shit sorry," she mumbled over and over.

"It's ok," her sister waved off, finally lifting her head to look her sister in the eyes. "Thank you for coming for me, I'm so sorry Arya, I have no idea how he found out." Her sisters' once radiant blue eyes were dull and full of so much sadness and hurt. "I thought I was being so careful but he must have had me followed without me knowing. I'm so so sorry," she repeated again. Her wounds looked worse close up and she had to hold back the sobs that were trying to burst out of her at the sight. It brought back the anger she felt for Joffrey for doing this to her family. She looked at the cowardly lion and wanted nothing more than to cut off his manhood with the knife she had in her hand. She waved off those thoughts, brought back to reality by her sobbing sister.

"Don't worry about any of that now. You did it Sans. Because of you we're finally going to be able to lock up Joff and his entire psycho family. You're the bravest person I know Sans, so don't for one second doubt that."

"But…I didn't do anything. I got caught. You Arya, you're the brave one. It's because of you not me."

"Don't be stupid Sans. This is all you. It may not have gone the way you planned originally but if you hadn't stuck around and at least tried to do something about it none of this would have happened." Sansa opened her mouth to argue with her sister on the compliment but Arya shushed her. "Come on, let's get out of here. You'll need someone to take a proper look at those bruises of yours. Plus dad and Jon are worried sick about you."

She helped her sister up and they both walked towards the rest of their family. She couldn't control the tears that flowed as she watched both her father and brother break down at the sight of Sansa. There was something about seeing a man cry that always brought out the emotional side in her. Gendry stood awkwardly in the corner, looking like he was unsure of whether he should leave or not. Striding towards him she threw her arms around him, thanking him over and over again for everything. He always made her feel safe and once again she was wondering what on earth he saw in her to put up with all this mess. She heard Joffrey snigger in the corner and without thinking picked up the bat Gendry had used on the Mountain and slammed him hard in the balls. He made a gurgling sound and was keeled over, his body coiled in the fetal position. "You're lucky I don't grate your balls with a grater you fucking prick," she seethed, before kicking him in the side.

"Come on Ar let's go," she felt Gendry's strong hands tug at her as they made their way out of Joffrey's torture house. It felt good to finally be out of that building. They had called the police and both the Mountain and Joffrey were detained without bail. There were also warrants being placed for the arrest of Cersei, Jamie and Tywin Lannister for their involvement in Joffrey's sick hobby. As much as she missed Gendry she needed to be with her family tonight, most importantly her sister. She gave him a deep kiss before he left and grabbed back the Agent Provocateur bag she handed him earlier. "I'm not going to get a wink of sleep tonight without you with me," he confessed. She knew he was still worried about her and she didn't blame him. After everything that had happened they were all still on edge. Their security was beefed up and even Gendry found himself surrounded by a ring of ex-military types.

"Me neither," she told him truthfully. "I'll be around in the morning I promise." He grabbed hold of both of her hands and kissed them.

"And I'll be waiting." Once they were safe on Stark land, she took a long hot shower. She scrubbed her skin till it was pink, trying to erase the feel of Joffrey's tongue and hands on her skin. Once she was in her PJ's she hopped into her bed where she found her older sister already waiting patiently.

"I don't want to sleep alone tonight," Sansa announced. "Is it ok if I stay with you tonight?"

"Of course it is." She pulled her sister in closer. She was never really one for public displays of affection but something in her had changed and now all she wanted to do was let people know how much she cared about them. "When I saw you on the screen Sans, I thought…I thought I might not be able to see you again. It made me so sick that he could do that to you. Let that thing do what he did."

"It's strange, I thought I would feel better about ruining his family, taking everything away from him…but I still feel as numb as ever, because no matter how much I hurt him, it won't bring Sandor back." Sansa was openly crying in her bed. Her body heaving with each heart wrenching sob she released. It was as if her confession was the first time she had said it aloud and the weight of her words finally provided her the vessel she needed to mourn the loss of her 'friend.'

"I'm so sorry Sans, I really am, I wish there was something I could do." She hugged her sister tighter and rubbed her back to help calm her as best she could. "Maybe dad will let you see him since Joffrey isn't a threat anymore," she offered hopefully.

"I don't know if I could face seeing him like that Ar. All hooked up to different machines with tubes going in and out of him everywhere. It would just…just make it all real you know?"

Arya nodded. She tried to picture Gendry in a similar state and the thought only made her want to break down in tears alongside her sister. But she knew that if anything like that ever happened to him she would be by his side in a heartbeat, no matter how difficult it was for her. "It's up to you Sans. I mean you don't have to go straight away but do you think you could be ok with yourself if you didn't try?"

Sansa shook her head from side to side. "No, I wouldn't. I'm just scared," she sighed. "What if when I get there something terrible happens? What if he dies Arya? What do I do then?"

"You remember him. You remember everything he did for you and you hold onto his memory but you keep living. That's what he'd want you to do."

"When did you become so wise and all knowing?"

"Shut up," she giggled to her sister. "You should get some sleep. It's been a crazy day and you need your rest."

"Goodnight Arya," she gave her a peck on her cheek and the two sisters fell asleep to the sound of the other breathing.

She woke to the feel of her sister curled up next to her. She grimaced at the sight of her. The bruising around her face had a yellow tinge to it and the swelling seemed to magnify in size. She looked much worse, now that the light of the day highlighted every injury she endured. As quiet as a cat she snuck out of the bed, leaving her sister to enjoy her sleep in. It was just after six in the morning and she headed downstairs, the smell of waffles drifting through to her nostrils. Her tummy grumbled in response, she was starving and her mouth watered at the smell that seemed to surround her. "You're up early," a voice called out from behind her. She turned to see her father smiling at her. She would never grow tired of seeing her father smile. He had dark circles under his eyes indicating he hadn't slept yet.

"I was hungry. What's your excuse?"

"I'm always up at this hour, bad habit I suppose."

"You don't look like you've had an ounce of sleep Dad." She walked over to him and gave him a hug, burying the side of her face in his chest.

"You've got me there kiddo," he ruffled her hair like she was a child again. "I'm just so grateful that you and Sansa are ok, but there's still a lot of work to be done before we're safe from the Lannisters."

"Like what?"

"Don't worry, it's not anything you need to concern yourself with. Robert and I are taking care of it."

She pulled away from him and gave him a look that said are you serious? "Dad we've been over this already. I'm not some child you need to protect. I've been involved in this whole thing right from the start so I'm not about to back away from it now. Whatever it is you can tell me, I can handle it."

He sighed. "You've never made it easy for me to say no to you. Your aunt Lyanna was the same. Come into my office, I don't want to talk about it out here." She followed her dad and watched as he locked the doors behind them. He slumped into the large chair behind his desk. He looked exhausted and weighed down. "The Lannisters have already started working on their defence against the charges. They've even managed to steal Robert's legal team right from under his nose."

"But how? We have a confession and that book with all his victim's hair, how could they possibly argue that?"

"They're saying that we manufactured the whole thing. That both you and Sansa lured Joffrey in and manipulated him into saying those things."

"You can't be serious? What kind of idiot would believe that?"

"More people than you think I'm afraid but it's ok, we've got something up our sleeve in case things take a turn for the worse."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't tell anyone Arya and I mean it. Nobody else is to know, especially your sister."

She paused for a moment before nodding in agreement. "I swear, she won't hear it from me."

"You know Joffrey's ex-bodyguard?"

"Yea, the one in a coma?"

"He woke up a few days ago. He still isn't at full strength but he remembers everything and will prove to be a valuable witness. He'll also be able to help make the Mountain testify against the Lannisters."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" she demanded, angry that he had kept it from them.

"I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up in case he fell through. We didn't think he would wake up Arya, let alone able to remember everything. But we won't involve him if we can avoid it. We don't need another person for the Lannisters to target, especially someone they thought was dead."

"You have to tell Sansa Dad, she has a right to know, he was her friend."

"She's already under a lot of pressure I don't think she needs to know about this on top of everything else."

"She'll be fine, she's a lot stronger than you all give her credit for and I think she deserves some good news don't you?"

He eyed her suspiciously but finally yielded. "I suppose you're right. I'll tell her after she's woken up. So what are you up to today?"

"I'm going to head to Gendry's after breakfast and spend the day with him. Why did you need me for anything?"

"No you go be with Gendry just make sure Jory takes you there." She rolled her eyes at her dad.

"I will." She got up and gave him a kiss on his forehead before heading into the dining room to fill her stomach with the delicious treats the house chefs had prepared for them.

"You got up early," she heard her sister say.

"I was starving sorry. I didn't want to wake you so just left you to sleep."

"That's ok, I needed it. I'm still tired but didn't want to waste such a beautiful day in bed. So what do we have for breakfast?"

"They've gone all out today. There's waffles, bacon, scramble eggs, danishes and some fruit."

"Let me guess you had the waffles?"

"You know I have a sweet tooth and they just smelt so good I couldn't resist."

"Well I might have them too, they do smell divine. Are you going to see Gendry today?"

"Yea I'm just gonna get cleaned up then head over. I can stay if you want me to though…"

"No you go have some much needed alone time with your man. It will be good to have some time to myself."

"Umm…ok but if you change your mind just let me know and I'll come right over." She had only taken a few steps before she turned back to her sister. "Oh and Sans, I think dad wants to talk to you later about something."

"Oh, ok. Do you know what about?"

"Yea but I think it's best you hear it from him." She left her sister to eat and headed back to her room. She took a quick shower and brushed her teeth, feeling refreshed. She spotted the Agent Provocateur bag Margery had given her and emptied its contents.

"Holy shit," she gasped aloud. It was so flimsy and she couldn't understand the point of the contraption before her. She stuck her fingers through the crotch less panties and swallowed hard as the thought of Gendry doing the same thing to her filled her mind. She dropped the white towel she had covering her and proceeded to put on the black lacey get up. It was all straps and see through material and her breasts were completely exposed, save for the two strategically placed dots that were designed to cover the nipples. She looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but blush at the sight. She looked like a fucking porn star minus the giant fake tits and awful fake tan. She turned to see how her back looked. She only ever wore g-strings if it was 100 per cent necessary. They were so uncomfortable and she was in a constant state of fear that it would ride so far up to never return. But this didn't feel too bad and well it actually looked good. She bit her lip, thinking about how Gendry would react. That familiar desire started forming in her stomach again. Not wanting to waste any more time she rushed over to her wardrobe and picked out a pair of short denim shorts and a tight fitting black singlet. She grabbed a patterned scarf that was a mixture of blue, white and grey and wrapped it around her neck, before finishing her outfit off with a black leather jacket that had studs on the shoulder pads. Leaving her hair down she ran a layer of eyeliner on the bottom of her eyelids and dabbed on some strawberry flavoured lip gloss to give her lips a simple shine. She slipped into a pair of black knee length boots, to make her legs look longer and leaner and packed an extra pair of underwear in case she decided to spend the night.

She picked up her phone and sent Gendry a quick text letting him know she was on her way and all but ran down the stairs. "You look hot little sis," Sansa smirked as she gave her approval for her choice of outfit. "Gendry is probably going to blow his load as soon as he sees you," she laughed.

"Sans!"

"Oh stop blushing. You know it's true."

"Whatever, I'll see you later, I've got a boyfriend to seduce," she winked.

So I guess you all know where this is heading. I thought there was enough drama for now and I thought you all deserved some much needed SMUT. So for all you smut monsters, expect the next chapter to be full of it. Please leave a review if you have the time xx