Because of Arya and her bold move as to spare me from being sent to the Brothel, I was now working for Lord Tywin in mending the tunics, pants, and other pieces of clothing for his soldiers at Harrenhal, where we were located. I was so thankful that I wasn't going to be sent to the Brothel down the road, although it pained me seeing the girls being filed down there, knowing their fate. I wished I could save them, since out was no place for any of them at all. They were meant for something more fulfilling, but they were given this. I tried to picture myself there with them, but it was too much for me to bear.

Everyday I would get a pile of clothing to mend and fix, most of them filled with so many holes it made me wonder why they were still fighting in them. But who was I to argue or question, since I was already in thin ice to begin with and the last thing I needed was to say something wrong and lose my head, or my maidenhood, in the Brothel.

Some of the captives that were in the caravan with me would see me, still calling em Lady and Ava the Sincere. I was still Ava in the eyes of everyone else here, except Gendry and Arya. But they kept up with the show, and even some of the men still bowed to me slightly as I walked by. That was new, both new and frightening. I didn't want them to loose their heads for doing something like that. But they were fine doing it, almost as if they would rather bow to me as I walked and call me,"milady" and take the punishment than be cowards. Would they?

Gendry worked in the forge, making swords and improving them for Lord Tywin's men, Hotpie got a job working in the kitchens since he was rather good with making food, and Arya was Lord Tywin's personal cupbearer. I would watch her disappear into the large fortress, not to come out several hours later. What as she seeing or saying? I had no clue at first, but when she would come down, she would only tell me a few times once or twice. Mostly it was of her brother Robb, whom started a war because of what happened to her, Sansa and their father.

I was in shock from hearing the news, even Lord Tywin as trying to find a way to killing him, so it must have been a struggle on their part. Robb, the once polite young man from Winterfell whose smile could light up a room, was now going under the alias Young Wolf and was calling himself the King of the North. It made me remember how Catelyn Stark mentioned to me when I first met the family that Robb and I were the same age. I couldn't picture myself going into war with the South at my age now, so I found him very brave.

One of the days there I was sitting on a stool in the forge, Gendry was working on a sword and his hitting on the anvil was the same melody that I head back in King's Landing. The shirts that were supposed tome fixed that day were in fact fixed, I finished them early, and since I did I had more time on my hand to be with my friends and see how they were doing.

"How many swords does that make?" I asked him aloud, sitting indian style on the stool and watching with him fascination. He looked at the sword in his hands, his black hair was getting longer now and was sticking to his forehead, the grime from the forge was covering his face as he looked to the pile behind him and I looked as well.

"10." he replied, tossing the sword onto the pile and then going to the next broken sword in the pile. As he moved, I saw that the back of his shirt was damaged, having me see that there was a burned hole in it to show his bare skin.

"Your shirt's burned." I said to him, seeing him pause and look at me.

"So?" He asked aloud, as if it was nothing.

"I doubt you wanna work in that shirt if you get hurt, that could hurt you badly." I explained to him, seeing him look down at the damaged hole on his back near his shoulder-blade and sighing.

"It's fine, Nora." He said to me in a low tone, having me roll my eyes and hold out a hand to him. He was being too stubborn for me now.

"Give it Gendry. I can fix it quickly for you." I said to him in a low tone, seeing him eye me for a moment before caving in. He stripped it off, now standing shirtless in the forge and walking over to hand it to me. His fingers against my own as the shirt was transferred, though he was wearing his smithy fingerless gloves. But my eyes went to his chest and stomach quickly, and I immediately flushed, feeling it go through my body. Gendry was built, that much is for certain. I saw the muscles under his skin move as he did, the sweat on his tan color and the grime. If there was ever a time I hated being a girl, it was now. Since I was looking at him and I lost my breath and thought. He was handsome, very handsome to the point of beauty.

"Thank you." he replied in a gruff as he walked away to grab the new sword. I snapped back to reality as I looked down at his shirt, feeling the warmth since it was in his body not day minutes ago. I placed it on my lap, grabbing my purse and shuffling through until I got the thread and needle.

"How did you still have that by the way? Didn't they find it?" He asked me aloud, having me look up at him as he took the sword over to the fire.

"They did, but they found nothing useful in it." I explained to him.

"And your silver?" He asked me aloud, having me eye him and see if that he was in fact curious.

"I hid it well." I replied in a shrug. It was true, since being a girl and it's perks of wearing a dress that was slightly big and filling the upper chest area with the bags of silver I had. It was tight enough to not make noise when I moved or walked, so no one dared to look there without me showing my dagger to their throats.

"Fair enough." He replied in a grin, moving to the fire and placing the blade there. I went to work on his shirt, threading it over and over and seeing someone coming into the forge. Looking over I saw it was Arya, seeing her hop on the counter across from me and was holding some food in her hands. She tossed me some cheese, having me grab it and take a bite before I talked to her.

"Did you go and see Lord Tywin yet?" I asked her aloud in wonder.

"Not yet, but I doubt it's going to be anything special, one again he's talking to the men about the war." She explained to me, moving the short hair from her eyes.

"Any news on your brother?" I asked her, even seeing Gendry look over his shoulder to see and hear her answer.

"Nothing yet." She replied, having me look down at the shirt in my hands, threading some more as Gendry dipped the sword in the bucket and I heard it hiss. I prayed to whatever Gods were listening for Rob and his safety, since he was kind to me I wanted nothing bad to happen to him. Sure I would pray for myself and hope that I would live when I went to sleep, but that was far from my mind now. I had to adapt to where I was now: working for a Tyrant of a Lord and may be living for another day.

"You should stand side face." I looked up as she said it, having me see her look at Gendry who was holding out a sword in front of him as if to practice.

"Sideface?" he asked aloud, confused.

"Sideways." She said back to him, having me smirk as I was about to be finished with his shirt on my lap.

"Why?"

"Smaller target." She knew her combat, must have been from Syrio. I peeked up, seeing him look around himself in frustration and annoyance.

"Am I fighting someone?" he asked in a shrug, having me clearly see that he was getting annoyed with her. Almost like siblings fighting, I couldn't help but smirk from his frustrations with her. She was clearly not noticing his stubbornness since she shrugged from her spot, throwing another piece of food in her mouth.

"You're practicing for a fight. You should practice right." I giggled from my spot, hearing the tone in her voice that sounded like she really didn't cared about what he thought. She never cared about what anyone else, her own mind was what she really needed. But that was short lived, since we heard a piercing scream and being rushing over to the area in panic. Arya and Gendry walked over, me following them and staying behind Gendry to see who it was and what happened. But once we saw, I cringed and looked away. Someone fell from a high point, a solider and his neck was broken and twisted. It was morbid to look at, but both Gendry and Arya looked on. I realized then who it was, the same solider whom was interrogating us mere days before, the one who almost killed Gendry.

Arya was looking up but I was looking down and away, feeling sick again. Death was somehow finding it's way around me, and the more it was there, the more I wanted to empty my stomach. Some would be sued to it by now, but not me. All it took was Gendry taking my hand in his smeared ones, feeling him squeeze my hand to silently tell me that it was okay and I shouldn't worry. That was a small feeling of warmth, but it was still small.

I was sitting alone near the other side of the area, finishing up a pair of pants a soldier gave me before giving me a dirty look. They were given strict others not to touch me, since Lord Tywin saw me more as a seamstress than someone who gives pleasure, but that hasn't stopped them from staring at me as if I was a piece of meat in front of a starving dog. I hated it, but I had to grin and bear it as I saw Arya rush through the area, determination in her step as I looked in worry. Placing the pants on the stool next to me, I rushed after her, seeing that someone was on her mind.

"Arry?" I asked aloud, seeing her shrug me off as she was heading to the Forge where Gendry was with Hotpie. I just followed her, knowing something was wrong.

"Where's Jaqen?" She asked aloud to him.

"How would I know?" He snapped back at her, clearly irritated as I stood back behind her.

"I need him now!" She said in a desperate plea, "Lord Tywin's marching tonight." I walked around her over to Gendry, seeing him hammering away and not talking to her. But as soon as she said she needed him, his face looked more annoyed and a hit of….maybe it was but I had no clue…jealousy.

"You need him?" He asked in disbelief, having me see that it sounded a bit painful for him to say that aloud.

"He's helping me." She explained to me, though I was still confused as to who this was and why this mysterious man was being needed.

"I saw him." We all looked over at Hotpie, but Gendry's look was more of a glare and mine was of surprise.

"Where?" She demanded him, but he said nothing at first. SO Is aw her walk over and grab his ears in a death grip, seeing his face twist in pain.

"Arry!" I said in protest, talking towards her a bit as Gendry grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Where?!" She said louder than before, something in her mind was set in motion that I couldn't even undo as Hotpie caved in.

"They were riding out the gates hours ago! On patrol!" He explained in a gasp, "Let go of my ears." She released him, turned on her heel and walked away. I wanted to follow to see what was happening, but Gendry's hand on my arm was stopping me. She needed to do this her own, Gendry saw this, and I realized that she needed this for herself.

"What do you want with him anyways?!" Hotpie called out, but she kept walking on as I looked at Gendry with confusion in my eyes.

"Who's Japen?" I asked him aloud.

"He was one of the prisoners in our caravan." Hotpie explained to me, since Gendry released me and went back to work, "Arry freed him when we were captured."

"What does she want with him?" I asked him aloud, seeing him shrug as I looked back out to the open area in confusion. Since when was Arya needing someone? It didn't make sense, not to me. And especially if that someone was not one

"Who cares." Gendry grumbled next to me as he went back to work, having me eye him from my spot as a couple of the caravan people walked by, seeing me and bowing slightly as they passed.

"Lady Ava." they said together under their breaths, having me see Hotpie look at me in confusion.

"Why do they still call you that?" He asked me, clearing interested since he had no clue what was going on.

"Leave it Hotpie." Gendry warned him as he hammered on another sword.

"It's nothing, pay no mind." I reassured Hotpie, seeing him eye and look down at his spot, seeing sighing and walking away from us.

"I'm going back to the kitchen, maybe the pies are ready." He said in a hopeful tone, as if none of this happened. I couldn't help but some as he walked away, seeing that he had no care in the world and was so optimistic about everything around him.

"You'll get caught." I heard behind me, having me look around and see Gendry place another sword on the ground next to him.

"What?' I asked him aloud.

"If they still call you Milday, you'll be caught one of these days." Gendry said aloud to me almost a soft warning, his eyes were on me now.

"You think I haven't tried to make them stop?" I asked him aloud,"They still think I'm Lady Ava from Thedra Ascent."

"Well they should stop before you loose your head." Gendry said to me in a concerned tone, having feel a sense of protectiveness from him. He was stubborn with Arya, annoyed with Hotpie, but with me? Ever since we came here to Harrenhal, I would see him look at me longer than usual, the look was of fear that something was going to happen to me and he feared for it. He didn't need to fear for me, it didn't seem like something he would do. It made me see him in a different light. I wanted to bury the feelings I had for him, since now they were intensifying everyday I was with him. I and to bury it, since the last thing I wanted was to hurt him. Or for him to hurt me. He would never, would he?

"I made something for you." I looked over at him, seeing him walk away from me to a dark area in the back of the forge, coming back after a moment or two before he handed me something wrapped in cloth. I took it, feeling that it was heavy in my hands as I looked down at him. The thought of him making something for me was beyond amazement and too much. I was a merely a friend to him, and now he made something for me. No one ever gave me a gift that took my breath as I pulled away the cloth and saw it was a dagger.

My dagger.

It was shined and sharpened, looked so beautiful in my hands and I saw the curve of the dagger, the slight curve and the iron in the light. It was radiant, having my breath leave me as I also saw the handle, having me pull it close and see what it there were vines wrapping around the handle and on the blade itself, looking so delicate and beautiful that me made me want to cry. He did this, for me, without even asking me permission.

"Just in case…you know…" He said aloud, having me look up at him finally. I felt a tear coming down my face, not just for what he did, but for all that was going on in my life. Being far from home, knowing that people I grew close to had died, and having no idea if I was going to make it home in once piece, but it all came over me seeing the blade. He made something beautiful in a moment of darkness in my life. A small shed of light made everything I was going through worthwhile.

"Nora?" He asked me aloud, using my real name and having concern in his voice. He thought he did something wrong since he saw the tears and I shook my head with a smile on my face.

"It's beautiful, Gendry." I said to him aloud, seeing him look at me with a small smile on my face. Something else crept up in my mind, something that I forgot up until this point. All it took was of Arya mentioning Robb some days before and I then knew that day it was: my name day. I was now ten and seven, a year older and still alive.

"It's my name day." I said to him in realization, having me feel him gently take my spare hand in his and smell warmly at me, the firs time he should a true smile since we came to Harrenhal, I've missed that smile. It brought back another wave of warmth in this bad of a situation.

"Happy nameday Nora."