Game of Thrones: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Chapter 8 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

Reviews

Boris Yeltsin: Thanks :)
Marina Ka-Fai: Yeah, it was rather sweet :)
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
wazzup11: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, Bran is finally able to speak his heart and is rewarded :) Glad you liked Tommen and Robin too.
Veridissima: Thanks; glad you enjoyed it; glad you liked them all :)

Now onto the story.

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

Chapter 8

Catelyn sighed as she sat down in the living room; she had been worried about Arya, given all she heard previously. But to her relief, when she came home from work, she had found that there had been no real bullying issues for Arya today. Sansa's apology seemed to lack substance, yet she seemed rather distressed.

'Something is going on, but what?' She thought to herself. 'I just wish Sansa could talk about it; maybe then, she'll be able to give Arya a proper apology…At least she's stopped tormenting Arya.'

She shook her head; despite dealing with the girls who had been tormenting Arya, Arya was still not quite happy.

Catelyn thought sadly on that. 'She's taken such a blow to her confidence; this won't be easy for her to recover from.'

She still couldn't believe that her youngest daughter had been treated this way; she was sickened by the behaviour of those bullies, especially since one of them was her eldest daughter. She wished there was something she could do; but after so long favouring Sansa, things weren't close enough between her and Arya for her to do so.

She sighed again. 'Gendry is doing what he can; but I can't help but feel that what Arya needs is a…female perspective, to help her recover.'

Even as she thought that she heard a knock at the door and went to answer it.

When she opened the door she saw it was Bran, he wasn't alone either; Meera Reed was with him, both of them were smiling.

"Hi Mrs. Stark." Meera greeted her.

Catelyn smiled. "Hello Meera, Bran."

Bran nodded. "Hey mum."

They entered the house, Catelyn closed the door. There was a brief pause before Meera spoke up again.

"Well I um, I…I heard about Arya." She said.

"Oh?" Catelyn replied; worried.

Meera nodded. "Yeah; I'd, I'd like to talk to her; I think I may be able to help."

That immediately perked Catelyn up. "Oh, please do."

Meera smiled and nodded before heading upstairs; Catelyn and Bran headed through to the living room.

She noticed something. 'Bran's a lot happier now, I wonder. Did he…?'

She bit her lip, recalling the conversation she had with Bran on the same day she discovered Arya was being bullied. Bran had problems too, but she had encouraged him. He certainly looked a lot better.

She was hopeful. "So, Bran, I was wondering, did you talk Meera?"

"Yeah; I…I told her, about how I felt." He explained. "She; she felt the same."

Catelyn gasped. "She did?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she, she loves me too."

Catelyn smiled and hugged her son, happy for him.

Meanwhile, Arya was in her room, she was seated on her bed, while she noting things seemed a little better at school; she still felt terrible.

'It's still; despite what they said, I still don't feel…' She thought sadly.

Glancing over at the mirror she shook her head; she still couldn't bring herself to look at it properly. Still too unhappy with what she saw; she was jolted out of her thoughts by a knock at the door however.

"Come in." She said; standing up.

The door opened and to her surprise; it was Meera Reed who came in.

"Meera?"

The older girl grinned. "Hey Arya."

Arya was confused; wondering why she was here. Meera got right to the point.

"I um, I heard about your…recent troubles." She explained."

"Yeah?" Arya replied, suddenly feeling awkward; she knew only one person could have told her too. 'I swear Bran; I will get you for this.'

Meera nodded and Arya sighed. "I um…"

Meera shook her head however and smiled. "Listen, I know how it feels; I was teased and bullied because of how I looked…If you ever need a friendly ear, I'm here."

Arya started at that but then smiled; realizing that Meera understood her. She should have guessed; she knew after all that Meera certainly wasn't traditionally beautiful. She grinned and happily accepted Meera's hug.

"Thanks." She said at last; then, curious, knowing it would help her, decided to ask. "Say, when did you, when did you realize it didn't matter what people said? When did you know that just because someone called you ugly didn't mean it was true?"

Meera smiled. "One day, I looked at myself in a mirror and I told myself I wasn't that bad. I kept saying it every day and I came to believe it. You can too. And you won't be lying. You are pretty."

Arya laughed at that and then sighed happily.

"Thanks, I needed that." She said softly.

Meera nodded and Arya smiled; feeling somewhat better now.

Later on; Arya was surprised by another knock at the door. Confused she stood up.

"Come in?" She called out.

The door opened and a stunningly pretty girl of sixteen entered, she had long curly blonde hair and green eyes, as well as lightly tanned skin. It was Myrcella Baratheon, her oldest brother Robb's girlfriend.

"Hi." She greeted Arya cheerfully.

Arya was surprised; not expected this visit at all. "Hey Myrcella, um, what's up?"

Myrcella sighed and shook her head. "I've heard about what happened to you; it's just terrible!"

Arya sighed and nodded; guessing Myrcella would easily have been able to find out, given that Joffrey was her brother.

"Listen; I was wondering, if you'd like to go shopping." Myrcella remarked.

Arya blinked at that. "Shopping, why?"

"Sometimes, to feel better, you need some changes." Myrcella explained. "Changes that you approve of, not ones imposed on you. I know some pretty cool stores nearby that have clothes you'd love."

Arya bit her lip. "I don't know."

"C'mon, it might be fun." Myrcella replied with a soft smile.

Arya sighed and gave in; getting herself ready and following Myrcella out, deciding to give things a chance.

Later, Arya was back in her room, checking the mirror and grinning. She didn't mind what she saw this time. She noted that Myrcella had been right; while not the kind of girl to go crazy over shopping, Arya had enjoyed herself. Myrcella was great company and they had found clothes that Arya certainly approved of. This included the clothes she was currently wearing, trying them out.

A pair of black skinny jeans which accented her legs, she no longer viewed them as being too skinny, a grey long sleeved T-shirt and a pair of silver flats. While certain a little different from her usual style, it still suited her and she certainly thought it looked good. She left her room and headed downstairs, deciding to see what was for dinner.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a knock at the door. She went to answer it and was surprised when she saw Gendry standing there. He was dressed up well too I blue jeans, a white casual shirt and white baskets.

"Gendry?"

He smiled; eyes wide. "Hey Arry, wow, you…you look incredible."

She actually felt herself blush at that. "Oh, thanks. Why are you here by the way?"

"Oh yeah." Gendry gasped, remembering. "I thought I'd come and ask if you wanted to go on a surprise date tonight."

Arya gasped at that, before grinning. "Wow, I…sure."

Gendry grinned and kissed her; she eagerly returned the kiss and, after calling out to her parents, telling them where she was going, she headed out with Gendry for the date.

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