Author's Note: There will be point of view changes later on to show the effect Alara has on certain people. There will also be information used from the books because there is not much about the House Dayne in the tv show. I am planning to keep it mostly canon but it may go AU later on. Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows.

Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones, I own Alara and her mother.

Chapter 3: The start of the journey.

Alara's p.o.v

Once night had fallen Alara made her way out of the brothel and on to the streets of Kings Landing. She had to see Gendry before she left, she needed him to know she didn't mean to be so foolish. Alara had spoken to her mother about the chance to be a handmaiden and her mother was pushing her to do it. Alara did not want to leave her mother, but she kept insisting she would be alright without her. She was sure her mother would be alright, but Alara wondered if she could really leave the only home she had ever known.

When she reached the bay he was already there standing with his feet in the water. She stood there for a moment watching him, she would have to leave him as well. She would not only lose her mother, but the only true friend she had outside of the brothel. Gendry was the only man outside of Lord Baelish who ever looked upon her with kindness, she would miss that.

"Gendry." She was quiet, she did not want to yell.

"I didn't know if you would come, I have been very foolish Lara."

"You? I am the foolish one, I should have done that to you."

Gendry stepped from the water and met her halfway in between. She just kept looking at him, she wanted to memorize his face in case she left. She wanted to never forget her best friend.

"I should not have dismissed you so easily, I am your friend. I am here to help you, so if you need me to.."

"No, no. I was wrong he isn't selling me as a personal whore, he wants me to be a lady's handmaiden."

"So you will go from bastard daughter of an unknown Lord to a handmaiden of some highborn Noblewoman?" Gendry laughed as she said it.

"Yes, exactly that. I just don't know if I wish to do it, I would have to leave."

Gendry took Alara by her shoulder gently and lead her over to the bay so that both of them were getting wet from the waves. Alara tried to move away from the water but he held her there, forcing her to stare out at the water before her.

"Lara, you are never going to find out who your father is here. Lord Baelish will never tell you, your mother is forbidden by him to tell you, you need to do this for you." She didn't look at it that way, she didn't even really think of her father. "Look out there, look at the world you have never seen before. You're getting the chance to see the Seven Kingdoms, someone will be bound to know who you belong to."

"I belong to my mother, whoever my father is it doesn't matter. He is dead and my mother is right here and alive." She turned to face him with a sad look on her face.

"You have violet eyes, someone somewhere will know where they came from, you could have family. Do you not want to find them? Have adventures and freedom?"

"You know I want nothing more than that, freedom and family is all I want. I want to be with people who will accept me for who I am, not what they can use me for." She did not want to be used as a bed warmer, she feared being pretty was all she would be good for.

"Then go and find that family. If your mother won't help you, and Lord Baelish won't help you, than help yourself Lara."

"What about you? You realize I may not come back for sometime, we would not see each other."

To her surprise Gendry pulled her into a hug, that was not unusual, but the way he held her felt odd to her. He held her body so tight against his own and Alara could not help but hug him back even tighter.

"I will always be there for you, and I will always be your friend. Whether you are gone four days or four years, you are the closest thing I have to family."

As they let one another go Alara got a bright idea, well it wasn't bright but in her head it sounded good.

"That's it, I don't have to go away with her. We can get married and save enough gold until we can find out fathers together."

"Alara, that is crazy." Gendry began to laugh thinking she was joking, so she joined in but she wasn't joking.

Alara really would marry Gendry, not out of some great love for him but for the family they could build together. He accepted her, loved her and they shared a similar past it would make sense. She could work in the whore house, while he worked as a blacksmith until they saved enough to move away and find who fathered them.

"I am just being foolish."

She wasn't being foolish, she could marry him. Alara would just have to leave and the more she thought of the idea the scarier it became to her. Sure she would have the chance of seeing new people, people who would not be afraid to tell her who she looked like. She would not be locked away and hidden from the world. She was just unsure if the family she could find would match the small one she had built on her own.

"If you wish to be foolish, then let us be foolish."

Alara looked at Gendry with surprise as her friend began to strip of his clothing just as she had the night in his chambers.

"What are you doing." She looked around the beach making sure no one else was around.

"I want to swim, come in with me."

"I can't swim Gendry."

"I will help you, we will only go where we can stand. Come on, are you afraid to take your dress off?"

Alara just stood there not understanding what had come over her best friend, she had never seen him act so irrational. Gendry stripped himself down to just his breeches before he began to step into the water. He held his hand out for Alara, and she took a deep breath before slipping out of her dress.

"I can't believe we are doing this." She took his hand as stood there in nothing but her small clothes.

"It isn't too cold."

Alara was alarmed by the way the water felt on her bare skin with each step she took deeper. She had never gone in further then the water just touching her feet. She had never really seen anyone swimming the Blackwater bay actually. She held on to Gendry's hand tightly as he led her deeper into the bay.

"This is good." The water came up to her waist when she dug her feet in, not wishing to go deeper.

"Alara, this is okay, I got you."

She trusted Gendry but she was terrified. She had no clue how to swim, or even how to act in water so deep. He moved closer wrapping his arms around her waist pulling her close against him. Alara looked at him confused as he walked them both deeper into the water. He stopped when the water was just covering her breasts, and as he held her Alara felt the panic leave her.

"It's not too bad, right?" He had not let go of her waist and she was just staring at him.

If she had been in that moment with any other man she would no doubt have found it sexual or even romantic but with him it wasn't. She felt like Gendry was teaching her how to let go, how to let herself be free. She took a deep breath and stood strongly.

"It's alright."

He let go of her and for a moment the panic swept back over her. Alara tried to regain her self as Gendry began to move around her. He seemed so at home in the water, and she began to wonder where he had learned to be so comfortable. He always seemed more at ease doing new things than she did, but then again he wasn't locked inside a brothel most days.

Alara stood in the water as her friend continued to walk around her, speaking with him still on the issue of leaving. She was still unsure of what she wanted, if she wished to truly leave with as woman she didn't know. She would have return with her to a place she had never even heard of, her mind was a mess. They were in the water a while when suddenly Gendry picked Alara up in his arms and carried her back onto the beach. When he set her down she looked at him, with the water glistening on his skin and even then she still felt nothing. She wished she did, she wished she wanted him it would make staying easier.

"Come lay down, we can talk about all the fun you are going to have in Winterfell."

"I don't even know where that is." She laid beside him in the sand not caring that it stuck to her body.

"It's in the north, Winterfell is the seat of the Warden in the north Lord Eddard Stark."

"And you know all this how?"

"Little things I pick up, mostly overheard someone talking about how he was to be the new hand of the king."

Alara thought back to the man who had entered the brothel yesterday she never caught his name but she did not doubt he was Lady Stark's husband. It was clear he was not like any man she had seen walking about the city. Alara began to wonder about the north, and how different it would be from the place she called home. She was used to the sun, the warmth and the crowded streets of the city, she could only imagine the north was cold. Alara had once overheard a woman speak of a place far north called the wall, and all the unspeakable horrors it held.

"I wish I knew more. Why do you think Lord Baelish never taught me about the other realms, or anything else?"

"Because he is an ass."

"Gendry, Lord Baelish has been nothing but kind to me."

Alara knew that Gendry was not fond of the man who ran the brothel, but he was the closest thing she had to a father.

"I know, I just will never understand why he keeps you locked away and sheltered so much. I don't get why our friendship has to be a secret."

"I know." Alara took his hand in hers as she looked up at the sky.

"Well one day we will both be free of here, and no one call tell us that we can't be friends."

She knew he was right, she knew that one day everything would be different. She knew if she left with Lady Catelyn, she knew if she went north everything would be different for her. She could find people who knew her family, and she could learn about them. Maybe if her father still had family they would want to meet her, and maybe she would get to know them. There was so much hope for the future she just had to take the first step.

The pair laid there, still devoid of most their clothing, just talking about the future. Gendry had so much hope, and Alara knew she would have to borrow some of that hope. She was so afraid of the rejection of finding her family, only for them not to want her. She was just a bastard after all, no one wanted a bastard on their family tree. She could only hope that they would want her to meet her, just to get to know who she was. If she had no family then she would return to her mother, and take her place beside her in the place of business.

As they spoke Alara felt herself slowly slipping away, drifting to sleep. She forced herself to keep her eyes open, she knew she would have to get back to the brothel. Lord Baelish had told her that she would have to let Lady Catelyn know of her decision at dawn, and she knew what she must do. As Gendry spoke Alara slowly just let the feeling of calm wash over her, he always knew what to say to her.

"Lara, Lara, you need to get up."

Alara had not even been aware she had fallen asleep. She had felt herself slipping but she had thought she caught herself. As she opened her eyes Gendry was leaning over her, now fully dressed, and the sky was getting brighter.

"Is it almost sunrise?"

"Yes."

Alara stood up quickly almost falling over in her haste. She was still in her small clothes, and she did not have long before she would have to meet Lady Stark. Alara was a mess, covered in sand and smelling of bay water.

"I have to get back."

"Let me help you get the sand off."

Gendry pulled her once more to the edge of the Blackwater bay, once she was in waist high he began to take the water rinsing off the sand. She was in a panic, she knew her absence would no doubt be noticed, she had never stayed the night away from the brothel before. She worried what Lord Baelish would say, she worried what Lady Stark would think of her.

Alara was grateful that the sand had been rid of her body but she was once again wet. She knew she did not have time to worry about the water dripping down her body and she just slipped into her dress. She stood there looking at Gendry with sadness. It would be the last time she would see him for some time. He had convinced her to go, he had made the choice for her so convincing.

"Gendry." He pulled her into a hug. "I am going to miss you."

"Lara, I will always be right here for you. If you hate it with her, if you hate the north, come home and I will be right here for you."

"Don't be sitting here waiting for me, if you get the chance to go you must."

"I will, I promise."

They kept each other in the embrace a little longer, but each second that past was a second closer to dawn. Alara knew she would be in trouble.

"I love you Gendry, and I will miss you."

"I love you too, Alara. Be good."

She ran away from him, she ran through the streets of Kings Landing thankful it was not crowded. Only a few fishermen were walking the streets, and it was easy for her to dodge them as she ran past. Alara just kept her head down as she made her way through the streets, she did not wish to get in trouble. She would have to explain where she had been, and she was not allowed to be out with anyone let alone a boy.

Alara was not paying attention to where she was going and she ran straight into a man in covered in armor. She caught herself before she fell, but she looked up at the man who she bumped into. He was older, his hair grey and his face sullen. When their eyes met she saw held a similar look to the one the man in the brothel held. It seemed like she was a ghost to more than one man.

"I am sorry, Ser." She recognized the symbol on his armor as that of the Kingsguard, another group of men she was never to speak to.

"It is alright, miss." She looked down, careful not to let him linger on her for to long.

She made a move to walk past him and back on her way to the brothel but the man grabbed her arm lightly. Panic bubbled inside her, Alara was not scared of the man, she was afraid of what he could say to her. Lord Baelish had always warned her to stay away from the men associated with the Red Keep.

"What is your name?" His voice was kind, but it sounded distant as if he was thinking of someone else.

"Alara Waters, Ser." She was hoping he would let her go.

"I see. Run along now girl, no doubt you have somewhere to be."

Alara did not need to be told twice, she took off back in the direction of the brothel. Something in her head told her to look back and as she did the man still watched her as if she was a fleeting memory. She was beginning to feel worry over the amount of people who come to look at her as if she was a ghost. Alara was no ghost, she was a living breathing woman.

The sun had still not risen when Alara crept into her chambers but her mother was pacing around their chambers. When she saw Alara the worry seemed to leave her face, she pulled her daughter into a tight embrace.

"I thought you were going to run away. Alara you worry me so much."

"I am sorry mother, I was with Gendry and I lost track of time."

Her mother hushed her, she knew of Gendry but it did not mean her mother approved of her spending all night with the boy. Her mother ushered her to the bath that she had no doubt set up for her, and Alara entered the water than since gone cold. She bathed as quickly as possible, knowing soon she would need to speak to Lady Stark.

"Alara, Lord Baelish is not giving you a choice any longer. You must go with Lady Stark north as her handmaiden." Alara was foolish to think she would really have a choice.

"It's alright mother, I am okay with it."

Alara was ready to accept the new prospect in front of her. Like Gendry had told her, if they were not going to tell her who her father was she would do it alone. She dressed quickly as her mother spoke to her, she was to meet Lady Stark out front soon. She was becoming nervous as she dressed, she had never been apart from her mother before.

"Lord Baelish will not be here to say farewell but he sends his regards. He really cares for you Alara, and wanted me to tell you that you will be hearing from him."

"Mother, I am going to miss you." Alara did not care about Lord Baelish not being there, she worried about her mother. "Will you be alright without me?"

"I will be fine, my dear. Take care of yourself, and in time I do not doubt you will know about your father. I am sorry I never told you of him, but I want you to know this he would have loved you and he would have been so proud of the woman you are."

"Who is he? You can tell me now mother."

"You will know in time,love. I love you Alara, be strong."

The two women shared an embrace and Alara did not want to let go. She had only known the walls of Kings Landing, she had only known the small family she had built. She was not ready to let go of them, to let go of the family she had, but she needed to find her other family as well. Her mother kissed her head with a promise of seeing her soon before she pushed her daughter of the room sending her on her way.

Alara found Lady Stark standing outside with the man from the brothel and she no longer had any doubt he was her husband, Lord Stark. She watched the two say goodbye and she felt a pang of sadness in her heart, they spoke of children and she could see Lady Stark would miss her husband. She did not wish to intrude but she stepped from the shadows of the brothel as they finished speaking.

"My Lord, My Lady." Alara bowed her head to the pair.

"Good morning, Alara." Lady Stark was polite but still her husband looked at Alara like a ghost.

She smiled at him, trying to ease the tension between them but he still just stared at her. Alara was used to men staring but his gaze held pity and memories that did not belong to her. She was not the girl he was seeing, but she knew whoever that girl was she held a place in the man;s heart.

"Ned, we will be going off now. Take care of the girls."

"I will, goodbye Cat."

Alara felt uncomfortable as she watched the two, she felt so misplaced. She did not know them, and to watch them share such an intimate moment felt wrong. Before long the Lord was gone and Alara stood there beside Lady Stark.

"I was told you can not ride, is that true?" Alara cast her eyes to the ground.

"I can ride, M'lady, Lord Baelish does not know of it."

Alara was brought back to the day Gendry taught her to ride. He had taken a horse from the old hand of the King, he told Alara that the man would not mind. He taught her to ride over three days, and she was not the best at it but she knew enough to hold her own.

"I see, well I have a horse for you in that case." Alara was ashamed, she knew the woman was a friend of Lord Baelish.

Alara mounted the horse given to her and she kept her head up as they rode. She was silent for the most part, she was introduced to the man in their company but even then Alara was most quiet. She felt out of place among the two, she was a stranger being thrust into their world and she could not imagine that being pleasant for them.

"Your mother gave me a book of yours, she said you would no doubt forget it in a rush." She had forgotten it, the book of poems her father had gifted upon her.

"Thank you, M'lady, I had forgotten."

"I am glad you shall have it, we all need reminders of who we were."

Alara did not want to be reminded of who she used to be because she would not change. If the point of her joining Lady Stark's service was for her to change then Lord Baelish would be disappointed. Alara was fine the way she was, she did not want to change just because she was off on a new journey. She was still the same girl raised in the brothel and if she found her father's family she would still be the same woman. She was a bastard, and no amount of traveling and self discovering would change that fact. Her father was dead, she was child born of wedlock and her mother was a whore.