CHAPTER 15:

"You sure you can't stay longer?" Lya whined as her new friends were gathering in the grand hall the day after the party.

Chopper was back in Heavy Point with Bran on his shoulders and the boy shook his head. "We're supposed to meet with my older brother Jon..."

"Jon Snow of the Night's Watch?!" The girl shouted excitedly. "He's really nice and he holds the ancestral weapon of the Mormonts. He sent us a letter when my uncle Jeor was betrayed, then he went and killed the assho- I mean, uh traitors who did it."

The girl came close to cursing again and Harrick looked at her sternly. "A Lady should not sw-"

"I know I know," she shouted apologetically. "I didn't swear, I came close but I didn't!" Her friends all over the island weren't under the same rules as her and cursed all the time so she had to be careful not to pick up on it too much.

"It was great meeting you Lya," Nami said with a small bow of her head to the young Lady.

"Yow!" Franky posed with his arms over his head and the girl posed the same way. "Stay Super Lya!"

She nodded at the bigger man. The others all said their goodbyes except for Luffy. "I won't say it," the pirate in the Straw Hat said and the girl looked down feeling a little sad. He smiled at her and added, "We'll see each other again, so I won't say goodbye."

The girl's smile spread across her face and she nodded at the pirate in front of her. "Richardson!" The girl spun around towards the bottom of the stairs and one of her advisors stepped forward.

The pirates figured they were excused and started heading for the door. Behind them they heard the girl say, "I have a new job for the sculptors. We'll ask Dennis and Orlo because they were at the feast last night and will remember their faces." The pirates stopped and turned back slowly as the girl continued to her advisors, "Let's decorate the sides of my chair," she pointed at the large throne with the polar bear head at the top, "with five statues each. I want to immortalize the Starks and their funny men."

"We're getting statues made of us?!" Usopp exclaimed as they turned and walked out the door. Guards were escorting them back through town and they were all pretty excited by the concept.

"I want mine made completely out of bronze," Luffy stated and imagined a huge bronze statue of himself, causing his eyes to sparkle.

Zoro was smirking too but he was looking forward to something else. Let's see how good the sword Jon made really is, he thought. He'd been looking forward to it for a while. This time I get to name my own blade, he smirked at the concept.

As they walked away from the castle, it felt like a much different atmosphere than the day before. On the way there, the people had avoided the strange pirates surrounded by guards. Now though, even the people that weren't at the feast had heard from friends, or friends of people that were at the festival.

Citizens crowded the streets of Urzan and were smiling and waving at the group. "Look Mommy, it's Lord Stark!"

"Lord Brandon! Lady Arya!"

Arya had a light shade of red on her face, but nowhere near Bran's. The two of them were used to hiding, staying in small groups, and lying about who they were. Their childhoods were much different from each other's, but similar in that they hadn't been treated like Lords and Ladies normally were for ages.

"The King of the North!" Someone yelled and a few seconds later, the whole crowd joined in, chanting it over and over.

Luffy turned to the boy sitting on top of Chopper's shoulders. "King of the North?"

"I'll explain on the ship," the boy said quickly. He hadn't mentioned to Lya much of his plans after saving his sister. She knew Luffy planned on taking the Iron Throne, but he asked her to try and keep it a secret since her advisors would most likely be against it.

The Northerners seemed to think he wanted to be the so called, "King of the North," but he wasn't his brother. Even if Robb's armies abandoned the Boltons and Stannis, he wouldn't want to rule the North. Warden of the North was enough for him, and even then he didn't know if he could do it. Though if Luffy failed, and the Lannisters continued to rule, he didn't see how he'd be able to avoid becoming the King of the North. I won't bow to the people who killed Dad, Mom, and Robb. Luffy would make a good King, even if he doesn't know it yet.

The crew made it through the excited crowd and back to the docks where their ship was floating. The Thousand Sunny looked so out of place with the boring, ugly fishing boats and the larger Mormont ships. "There aren't many of them," Usopp commented as he looked at the ships with the Bear sigil on their sails.

"It's not a very big island," Robin replied.

"But they're very motivated," Sanji said. The crew climbed up on the ship and Summer was waiting for them on the grass. Chopper put Bran on the wolf as it bowed its head in front of him.

Bran agreed with Sanji and then pet his direwolf who missed them for the night. He had a connection with Summer deeper than with other animals he took control of. Even before he was a warg, Summer would come to his rescue if he was in danger, somehow sensing it from far away.

"Jon should be arriving at the coast tomorrow," Arya told them when everyone was on the deck. She was excited for her new sword as well, but more to see her half-brother again. Bran was much more nervous than her in that aspect and wondered how Jon would react to seeing him.

"Another mouth to feed," Sanji stated with a nod of his head. "I feel bad demanding so much out of Lya-chan." The girl accepted that she wouldn't be sending an army with the Starks to take Winterfell, Luffy showed he was capable enough to do that on his own. Besides sending Gendry though, she demanded they accept supplies and Nami was happy to accept the free food.

They still had a very large, hefty sum of money from the Iron Bank, but they had to repay that someday and she'd rather not spend it all while they had no way to pay it back. "I still don't know why you needed so much food," Gendry said as they started readying the sails. "Do you have some hidden army on the mainland you didn't mention?"

The question was serious and caused the majority of the crew to laugh at him. He didn't know what was so funny since he was talking to Arya most of the night and not watching Luffy eat half the feast.

"Did they already fill up the fridge?" Luffy asked casually and started walking towards the kitchen.

Everyone except Gendry dropped what they were doing and tackled the captain. "I'll check!" Sanji growled and walked into the kitchen.

"If anyone sees Luffy acting suspicious, go guard the fridge," Nami ordered.

"Roger!" The rest of the crew responded.

"Have a good voyage," one of the guards called up to them as they untied the boat from the dock.

"So long Ser Gendry," another man yelled up.

Robin stopped working and walked to the side of the ship. A lot of the guards there were sneering and she heard a few mutter, 'good riddance.' The older woman turned from them and walked to the other side where Gendry was pulling a rope with Arya to unfurl the sails more. "Gendry-san," the younger man turned to her, "how well are you accepted by the other knights of Bear Island?"

Robin was right on the mark with her guess and the man in front of her froze up. He frowned and removed his bull helmet, holding it in his armpit. The man started, "Not well. Ser Harrick took to me quickly, just like Lya. However, the others weren't too happy about a commoner becoming a knight."

"But that's stupid..." Arya began.

Robin shook her head, "It's actually very common. When someone who's been in a lower position as you suddenly jumps up to your rank or higher, it breeds jealousy."

"Exactly," Gendry stated. He tied down the rope and Franky started sailing the ship. "Lya isn't one for following the rules set by her ancestors. She made me a knight without any of the normal procedures. I had none of the qualifications needed."

"I bet you're a great knight though," Arya quipped since he seemed to be down on himself. "When we were attacked back with the Night's Watch you were the first to fight back when Yoren was killed."

The man started laughing and put his arm around her head, putting her in a headlock, "Of course I'm a great knight! The best on Bear Island."

"Oh," Robin mused, "so in a fight with Frowny-Face-San, you would win?"

Gendry's face turned a little pale, "I wouldn't scratch his armor," the knight admitted and scratched his head. "Ser Harrick is the best fighter I've ever known. He easily puts Yoren to shame, and Yoren could've taken a dozen of those soldiers at the same time if they didn't shoot him with a crossbow." He and Arya chuckled again, but Robin could see it was a strained laughed.

The older woman smiled at them and then walked away to see how the others were faring. I would've liked to meet Yoren-san. Robin walked over to get a bearing on how long Nami predicted it would be to the Wall.

Arya pulled Gendry's right arm after he finished tying down the rope. She said in an excited voice, "Time for the tour."

The girl led her old friend into the kitchen and had Sanji make them snacks. The blonde haired chef dropped what he was doing and got to cooking them balls of squid meat covered in special sauce. Gendry said it was amazing, and Arya replied, "It should taste good, that's the Drowned God we're eating."

"Huh?" Gendry said and took another bite of the fantastic food. Arya went into the story about the kraken on the other side of Westeros, which just led to Gendry asking how they made it to this side and still had some left.

Arya explained how Sanji had a thing called a fridge that could store food, and she talked about how they traveled around the north of Westeros instead of going south. The two of them thanked the chef and Arya led her friend around the the different rooms. She finished in the boys' room where there were hammocks all over the place.

"Other than Bran, the boys all sleep in here. So this is where you'll be," she smirked thinking about how much nicer the girls' room was.

"What about the captain? Doesn't he have a captain's quarters or something?" Gendry quesioned.

Arya laughed, "I don't think Luffy would enjoy being alone in his own room do you?" The man scratched his chin and then laughed as he shook his head no. "You'll see he doesn't really act much like a normal captain, but he's strong and has what it takes..." She stopped and said in a softer tone, "to take the Iron Throne."

Gendry chuckled and then saw the completely serious look on Arya's face. He lowered his bottom lip a few inches and then closed his mouth. "He can do it," the knight began, surprising Arya. He continued, "But what does he know about the Seven Kingdoms? Does he know the problems they face? Would he try to fix them?"

The girl was stunned that Gendry was taking this seriously. Then again, he did see Luffy turn his fist gigantic the day before. It was hard to imagine someone like him existed, and once you knew he did, you started to believe he could do anything.

Arya nodded her head after a long pause, "He's a good person. He says he doesn't want to be a hero, he's a pirate, but I know he likes saving people. Nami cares a lot for children and Robin's well-learned about all the lands and families of Westeros." She grinned, "We're also in debt to the Iron Bank, so we're halfway there already."

The boy laughed and started putting his armor down near a hammock that looked unused. He unbuckled his chestplate and removed his spaulders, placing them down next to his bull helmet. "You don't have to worry about anyone stealing it here. Even though, we're on a pirate ship," Arya said, thinking her friend might be worried.

"I think I trust everyone on this crew enough," he said, though he glanced back down again, wondering if his helmet would be safe. Arya was still amazed that the boy in front of him was one of Robert Baratheon's bastards, but it made sense now why he was visited by her dad before he died. "You said your brother doesn't sleep in here?" Gendry wondered out loud.

"He prefers to sleep with Summer," she replied, forgetting what she was thinking about.

"The direwolf," Gendry muttered, still amazed by the huge creature. It seemed to have taken to him quickly, but the first look the beast gave him still gave him chills when he thought about it. "I've never seen one before."

Arya grinned, "I used to have one of my own," she said. "Nymeria," her mind wandered to the time she spent with her wolf and she smiled.

Gendry could see through her smile though and the fact that there was no second wolf on the ship. "I'm sorry," he said.

"It's okay, she's alive," Arya assured. "I just haven't seen her, for a long, long time."

"Must've been before you met me," the man said and walked towards her, "I think I would've remembered a twenty foot tall wolf following you around."

"Summer is not twenty feet," Arya said in a mocking tone.

Gendry held his hand flat above the girl's head as he got to her and whispered, "He's still taller than you."

She frowned and tried smacking him in the chest but the older boy hopped to the side and slid past her into the doorway. "Rrggh, no he's not!" She yelled and chased after him, well, maybe by a little bit, she accepted as she thought about how big Bran's wolf was.

Meanwhile on the deck, Usopp and Nami were steering the fast pirate ship towards the distant coast of Westeros. Bear Island was getting smaller and smaller behind them as they sailed away.

The sniper was turning the wheel while Nami navigated. Both of them looked over and watched amusedly as Gendry shuffled out of the cabin without the armor he walked in with. He grinned at them and held up a finger to his mouth as if telling them to shhh. He grabbed the wood and climbed up the wall next to the door so he was crouching right above it. "What is he-" Usopp started.

Arya busted out of the door to the cabin and snapped her head left and right. Gendry was hovering right above her and he grabbed the opening below him and swung himself inside the cabin as the door closed. The girl didn't notice him swing in behind her and then she finally looked up but he wasn't there anymore.

Where did he... Arya looked across the deck and saw Nami and Usopp cracking up at the wheel. "Did you see-" she started and both of the pirates stopped laughing and shook their heads 'no' quickly. "Too fast!" She yelled at them, both having obviously seen her friend.

The girl ran off to look for the knight, in the wrong direction, causing the two on deck to start laughing again. The young man with the long nose scratched his chin for a few seconds with a large shit-eating grin on his face. The teenager had some facial hair for the first time in his life and he took every opportunity to scratch his chin with a thoughtful look.

"What are you grinning about?" Nami asked the man who kept scratching his thin stubble beard while he answered.

"I've discovered something..." He started in a smug tone. Nami sighed and pat him on the shoulder before whispering in his ear. "You did?! Robin too?" He frowned and his hand moved away from his chin, disappointed that he wasn't the first to see it.

The woman looked at Usopp's left hand as it moved back to the wheel. "Well," Nami began and grinned at him, "you're definitely the first of the boys to notice it, including him." The sniper smiled smugly again and Nami smiled too.

How do you do it? Nami stared at Usopp as he turned the wheel a little to stay on course northeast. Two fingers, your face, your chest, the orange haired girl wasn't smiling anymore. She had a hurt look in her eyes and kept staring at her friend's back. I left you behind. I got in the boat and left you to die, but you never mentioned it once. Zoro, and even Luffy, came and talked to me after, said what I did was what was best. But you never said a word, her heart was pounding as she stared at his hand.

"Nami," Usopp started without turning his head. The woman looked up from his hand to the back of his head. "I think we should show our new member what the ship can do. Lya stocked us up on Franky's substitute cola right?"

Nami nodded and a smile reappeared on her face. "Hey Arya," she called over to the girl climbing down from the crow's nest. "Gendry's back inside the cabin, get him on the deck for a Coup de Burst."

The girl originally looked annoyed that they knew where her friend went, but then a smirk spread on her face as she envisioned his surprise. Arya nodded and ran inside to go find him.

Usopp cast a quick glance behind him and saw Nami running off to get Franky. His smile faded and he looked down at his hand, It's not your fault Nami. I just wish I was brave enough to tell you.

A/N Hey everyone! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. This time I swear, we're out of Bear Island. I had fun writing it, and it may have been a little out of their way on the way to get Jon, but now they've got Gendry on the crew and I've got plans for him too, and hopefully Lya later on since I like her character so much. Next time we get Jon Snow!

thunder18

Great chapter Update soon

Thanks! Probably my latest update as of yet, but that was mainly because I have been working on other projects again. I still had this chapter and two more written out though so I figured I'd update since I finished a chapter of One Piece Tourny and had twenty minutes to edit before I wanted to start editing that one. I'll try to update again this week!

Bobboky

Very nice

Thank you!

Guest

So it's into Jon next huh? Will he have warg abilities or not, plus who will be the next lord commander? Not to mention what'll happen to Sam and Gilly are they already headed to the citadel?

Sam and Gilly are already heading out. I originally had Jon writing a letter to Sam apologizing for why he couldn't tell him and ran, but then the tenth episode came out and I fixed the chapter. Jon Snow died in the show before he got any powers, but now he's alive so who knows, perhaps he'll be a warg, or a Conqueror... ;)

GR

gah, when will they be at Winterfell?
The trip to the North was quite short, from the wiki I thought they could at least do some exploring there.

Promise, last Bear Island chapter! Trip around the north was mainly shortened because there aren't a lot of people up there. Most of those chapters were just time skip to show that the OP characters and their new nakama were getting stronger, and that they really weren't going to make it back in time for the War of the Best, or Thriller Bark or anything like that.

Darksnider05

Really hope Gendry gets left behind can't stand him.

Gotta say I totally disagree. He was one of my favorite, and most underappreciated characters. He had one of the best blood claims, much better than Joffrey or Tommen, and he was friends with Arya! Ned liked him, died because of him probably, and then Stannis and the Red Witch went out of their ways to hunt the boy down. Speaking of the Red Witch... and Kingsblood... and Gendry... XD!

thewhitedragon1993

when Luffy takes takes iron thrones, will his small council be compose like this?
King: Monkey D. Luffy, Queen: Daenerys Targaryen (if you decide to make that paring), Hand of the King: Tyrion Lannister (if he join the crew), Lord Commander of the Kingsguard: Roronoa Zoro, Grand Maester: Chopper, Master of Coin: Nami, Master of Whisperers: Nico Robin, Master of Ships: Franky, Master of Laws: Ussop, Master of War: Grey Worm(if the straw hat & Dany army joins forces), the six Kingsguard: Arya Stark, Brienne of Tarth, Gendry Baratheon, Jorah Mormont (if you cure him of grey skin), Daario Naharis & Podrick Payne (if he was being trained), the king personal cook Master of Food: Sanji (il defiantly see Luffy making something like this).
& wouldn't be great if Zoro third sword be Brienne Valaryan steel sword or another Valaryan steel?

I don't know yet if Dany is going to be a major protagonist, or if her huge army and dragons are going to be a major enemy in the story. If the two factions don't meet each other and just hear things from others, they might wind up getting in a fight even though we want to root for them both, but I feel like Luffy meeting Daenerys would make them instantly be friends... hopefully. I like the Kingsguard, and the curing Jorah of greyscale, I just hope Chopper comes up with a cure! Love the ideas and thank you for reviewing! Till next time everyone!