Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/2667014.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Underage
  Category:
      Multi
  Fandom:
      A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire_-_George_R._R._Martin, Game_of_Thrones_(TV)
  Relationship:
      Arya_Stark/Gendry_Waters, Joffrey_Baratheon/Sansa_Stark, Catelyn_Stark/
      Ned_Stark, Talisa_Maegyr/Robb_Stark
  Character:
      Arya_Stark, Gendry_Waters, Sansa_Stark, Ned_Stark, Catelyn_Tully_Stark,
      Jaqen_H'ghar, Willow_Heddle, Hot_Pie_(ASoIaF), Lommy_Greenhands, Margaery
      Tyrell, Bran_Stark, Rickon_Stark, Robb_Stark, Theon_Greyjoy, Jeyne_Poole,
      Talisa_Maegyr, The_Waif_(ASoIaF)
  Additional Tags:
      Depression, Angst, Romance, Forbidden_Love, Underage_Sex, Alternate
      Universe_-_Modern_Setting, Psychologists_&_Psychiatrists, Angst_with_a
      Happy_Ending, Suicide_Attempt, Self-Harm, Bullying
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-11-24 Updated: 2015-02-28 Chapters: 9/? Words: 19461
****** Loved Me Back to Life ******
by GendryandAryabelongtogether
Summary
     Based on the song Loved Me Back to Life by Sia.
     When the last straw breaks the camel's back for Arya, she has nothing
     left to lose...except her life. After an attempted suicide, she is
     sent to King's Landing Home for Angry and Troubled Teens and there
     meets counsellor/PhD student Gendry Waters, who may just be her
     saving grace.
Notes
     This story is dark as that is all I seem able to write at the moment.
     If this is a sensitive story for you, you have every right to not
     read it because there are some graphic scenes. Yes, Arya is sixteen
     in this one too as it's my favourite base age for her and Gendry. Due
     to Gendry being a psychologist, I've made him older. He is twenty-
     four in this story and it is his first year working in the field.
     Any questions you may have, comment them and I'll answer :)
     I'd like to point out that this is a work of FICTION that stemmed
     from my imagination with borrowed characters. In the real world,
     there is no circumstance that makes it okay for a patient/counsellor/
     doctor to have a relationship and that it is highly unethical and
     illegal. This is a fictitious work and I'm not basing any of this on
     anyone, but on a song during a late night music-listening session
     while being sleep-deprived.
***** Welcome to My Life *****
Arya Stark groaned as her alarm clock buzzed at six thirty on Monday morning.
She felt the now-familiar weight settle in her chest as she fought the urge to
lie in bed all day and avoid contact with everyone she knew. After what seemed
an age, but was in reality a few seconds, Arya crawled out of bed and stumbled
to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and felt her usual
loathing towards herself as she undressed for the shower, trying to force her
mind to stay away from thoughts of them.
As the hot water scalded Arya’s skin, she woke up fully and contemplated what
her day at school would be like. Probably no different to what it usually
is,she thought, bleak, dull and full of fuckwits.Arya washed her hair and
soaped her body up, her heart panging at the sight of her scars on her arms,
stomach and thighs.
Arya swore that when she started being bullied at the age of eleven by the very
same people who bullied her now that she wouldn’t let their words get to her.
Joffrey Baratheon, Mykaela Frey, Elmar Frey, Verity Lannister (a third-cousin
once removed of Joffrey) and even to an extent her sister Sansa and Sansa’s
best friends Jeyne Poole and Margaery Tyrell had started out by ridiculing her
for her rebellious haircut at the age of eleven – a short cut that in hindsight
looked absolutely horrible and made her look like a boy, but the bullying had
grown more intense as the years passed on. Arya surmised that they had simply
enjoyed tormenting her.
Arya was sick of constantly looking over her shoulder at school, wondering when
she was going to have sauce thrown onto her uniform, wondering when someone was
going to trip and ruin her schoolbooks, wondering when she would be humiliated
in other ways that she hoped her sister’s group would never think of…
Arya shuddered as she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower to dry
herself before dressing in her Riverrun Private School uniform – a royal blue
pleated skirt, black tights and shoes, a white blouse with a royal blue blazer
and matching necktie, all with the seven-pointed star of the Seven embedded
into it.
Arya had never wanted to go to Riverrun Private School – she didn’t believe in
the Seven, but much rather preferred the Old Gods like her father. She had
wanted to go to Winterfell Private School, but the children’s education was
something that Catelyn had put her foot down on and, seeing as she was a
previous student at Riverrun Private School, she felt it would be the best
place to straighten her unruly, wild daughter out.
Arya ran a brush through her hair and frowned at her reflection – pale, with
dark shadows under her eyes, colourless, bland and not at all like her
beautiful mother and sister. Arya knew she was jealous of Sansa for her fiery
auburn curtain of straight hair and beautiful sky blue eyes, but her pride
would never let her admit it. Arya truly didn’t find anything about herself
that she liked – where Sansa’s face was heart-shaped, hers was long and solemn,
where Sansa had gorgeous straight hair, Arya’s was a dull dark brown and wavy,
where Sansa had gorgeous blue eyes, Arya had boring dark grey eyes, where Sansa
had a healthy weight-height ratio, Arya was tall, skinny and looked in
desperate need of feeding and where Sansa was talented at almost everything she
tried, Arya had to work thrice as hard to get decent grades. She felt that all
the good gifts had gone to Sansa and Arya was left with the leftovers.
These dark thoughts penetrated Arya’s mind and her hands shook as she fought
against grabbing a razor from the drawer and running the blade along her skin,
feeling her stress leave her as she focused on the satisfying burn that
followed slicing her skin.
Taking deep breaths, Arya stared for a moment longer before losing it; her mind
went blank as tears spilled from her eyes and she grabbed the razor and
unbuttoned her blouse, slicing her skin over the scars that had recently
healed. She gasped as the razor hit her skin…You deserve this, you’re weak and
good for nothing, you’re jealous of your sister and for good reason…what do you
have compared to her…these thoughts slowly left her as she continued cutting
into her flesh until her head cleared. She washed the razor in the basin and
put it back in the drawer before using toilet tissue to clean the blood on her
abdomen.
Arya closed her eyes at the burn that followed her session and she flushed the
toilet tissue before doing up her blouse again and heading downstairs to get
some breakfast.
“Joffrey and I have been going out for a month now,” was the first thing Arya
heard when she went downstairs. She rolled her eyes and helped herself to
cereal, forcing herself to eat though it tasted like cardboard in her mouth.
She knew that if she skipped breakfast, her mother would instantly be on her
like a hawk and while Arya loved how caring Catelyn Stark was, she was not in
the mood for overbearing-mother mode. Swallowing her food, Arya smirked at
Sansa.
“Opened your legs for him yet?” she asked.
“Arya,” Catelyn gasped.
“I’ve lived here for sixteen years and you’re still not used to me?”Arya asked
Catelyn. Sansa glowered at Arya.
“Just because no boy would ever look twice at you it doesn’t mean you have to
express your jealousy in such a manner,” she snapped and Arya was stung. Sure,
she enjoyed ridiculing Sansa for her embarrassing crush on Joffrey, but she had
feelings too and she had liked people in the past.
“Just because I’m not a total slut it doesn’t mean I haven’t been noticed,” she
shot back and Sansa’s eyes flashed angrily.
“I’m not a slut,” she spat. “At least I’m not an ugly little bitch.” Arya felt
her stomach sink – while she didn’t care what she looked like when she was a
young girl, she did care what she looked like now and for her own sister to
call her ugly…
“Girls!” Catelyn snapped. “Clear the table and get to school, and I’ll hear no
more of this ridiculous fighting, You’re sisters; you should be closer than you
are.” Arya and Sansa silently cleared the table and left as Bran and Rickon
came downstairs. Arya envied them their nine o’clock starts – she and Sansa had
to be at Riverrun by eight thirty.
Arya put on her leather jacket and pants and put her helmet on before getting
onto her motorbike which she had fondly named Needle – the only thing she had
from her dead cousin Jon, who had died being betrayed by his fellow soldiers in
Sothoryos. Arya kicked the bike to life and outstripped Sansa’s Porsche,
leaving it in the dust.
As Arya drove the familiar route to Riverrun, she wondered how she and Sansa
had grown so distant. Sure, they had never been the closest of siblings, but
they did have occasions where they got along splendidly. Arya remembered more
than a few incidents where she snuck into Sansa’s room with lemon cakes and hot
chocolate and they would talk into the night about nothing and everything, but
that had all stopped when Sansa befriended the people who had started bullying
Arya and defending them and denying that they ever did anything to her,
effectively calling her a liar and an attention-seeker.
Ned and Catelyn didn’t know about the bullying – Arya felt she was handling it
the best she could and she reminded herself that as of next year, the gang
would be gone from that school and they would leave her and her friends at
peace.
Shireen Baratheon, Willow Heddle, Hot Pie and Lommy Greenhands were Arya’s best
friends and had been since they each joined the little gang. Each and every one
of them were bullied – Shireen had had a large scar on her face from a rare
disease she had as a baby and Arya was disgusted that Joffrey, who was
Shireen’s cousin, gave her grief for it every day.
 Willow was at Riverrun on a sport scholarship for track and field and she and
Arya had been in a relationship two years previous, something Mykaela Frey
found out about when she caught them kissing behind the school one day and the
next thing they both knew, they were being made fun of for being lesbians. Arya
clenched her jaw furiously – she and Willow couldn’t help being bisexual and
having feelings for each other.
Hot Pie had been chosen for a baking scholarship when he was and his family
owned the Hot Pie baking business. According to Hot Pie, his mother had been
high when she named him and therefore his full name was Hot Apple Pie,
something he was given grief for – that and the fact that he was a scholarship
student and overweight.
Lommy Greenhands had an art scholarship and was therefore judged as a pansy and
not a proper man by – surprise, surprise – Joffrey. His work was amazing and he
wanted to pursue his career in King’s Landing, but he had low self-esteem due
to the bullying.
Arya pulled into the school and shut off her motorbike and took off her gear.
She headed to the cafeteria where she knew her friends would be and braced
herself for another day in this deep pit of the Seven Hells.
“You okay?” Shireen asked softly as soon as Arya sat down. Being best friends
since their first day as primary school students, Shireen knew Arya better than
anyone, so of course she picked up on Arya’s mood straight away.
“Just sick of everything,” she said quietly, not noticing her friends sharing a
worried look. “Sansa and Joffrey have been together for a month and she was…”
“Being her usual self?” Lommy suggested and Arya forced a smile.
“Pretty much,” she said. “Anyway…it’s just hard to deal with them when I
constantly live with one of them at home. Never mind that Jeyne is there
practically every day and soon Joffrey will be too if he has his way…”
“You can always crash at one of our houses,” Shireen said kindly. “Dad likes
you even if he doesn’t show it.”
“Thanks,” Arya said with a small, but genuine smile. The bell rang for class
and they all stood and went their separate ways – Hot Pie and Lommy to History,
Willow to English, Shireen to Biology and Arya to advanced maths.
If there was one thing Arya prided herself on, it was that she was brilliant at
maths. She remembered many a time where she helped her father with calculations
for his business and she loved the challenge that the advanced maths class gave
her.
After class in which everyone completed the Linear Equations chapter, Arya
headed to art which was definitely her worst subject. She was too impatient for
painting and she didn’t have the eye for the detailed.
After art, Arya headed to Literature and everyone in the class had their snack
as they copied notes from the board for the text on Visenya Targaryen and were
assigned their assignment – the Dragons helped shape Westeros into what it is
today – discuss. The essay was to be five thousand words which was difficult
but possible.
Arya headed to lunch and sat with Shireen, Lommy, Hot Pie and Willow and found
it odd that only Sansa, Jeyne and Margaery were sitting at their usual table.
Brows furrowing in confusion, Arya looked at her friends and saw they had
noticed the same thing.
“Where’re the dickheads?” Willow asked through a mouthful of chicken and salad
roll. Arya shrugged and stood, taking her rubbish to the bin and walking back.
She stopped short at the three familiar figures around the familiar motorbike
and, horrified, she left at a run, Willow, Shireen, Lommy and Hot Pie following
and she saw what had happened.
It took a moment for Arya to register that the scream that could be heard was
coming from her mouth and she ran forwards to inspect the damages done to her
bike. The paint was completely scratched off and it had been set alight –
nothing would salvage it, of that she was sure.
Arya felt her entire world crumble as the only thing she had of her favourite
person in the world was now ruined and she felt that now that there wasn’t
anything tying her to Jon, there was nothing worth living for. Perhaps if there
was an afterlife of some sort, Jon would welcome her with open arms, mess her
hair and call her ‘little sister’ like he used to…when he hadn’t been betrayed
by those people he called brothers, when he hadn’t run off to war and when she
hadn’t watched his casket be buried in the crypts underneath the ancient manor
house her family resided in. Arya silently held her hand out and, sensing what
she wanted, Shireen dropped her car keys into her hand. Arya went to Shireen’s
Mini Cooper and drove, not stopping until she got home to Winterfell.
Arya lost the fight against Joffrey, Elmar and Mykaela…they won. They weren’t
going to hear from her again; no one would ever hear from her again, she’d make
sure of it. Walking to the bathroom she was in that morning – was it only that
morning – she took out what she had bought off her dealer a year ago and
deduced there was enough. Arya took the pills, not knowing what they were
called, only knowing they made her forget about everything that ever brought
her down…
Arya crumpled to the floor as everything went black.
***** Untitled *****
Chapter Notes
     Wow, to say I'm surprised by the amount of positive feedback would be
     an understatement. Thank you all so much for your lovely comments!
     So I thought I would point out that yes, Arya is majorly depressed
     and the only thing holding her together was Needle because it reminds
     her of Jon who was her favourite person.
     Arya has not told anyone about being bullied because she's too proud
     to get the adults involved. She feels she's handling it to the best
     of her ability and she doesn't feel like she needs her parents
     through this.
     I'd like to add that I've enabled Guest Reviewing, so if you're a
     guest and want to leave a comment, by all means :)
Beep….Beep…Beep…
Arya’s eyes fluttered open and she found herself in a blinding white room on a
hard, uncomfortable bed. She felt disoriented and groggy and tried to push
herself up to a sitting position so she could see where exactly she was.
It looked like a hospital room and her heart leaped as she saw a tall, brown
haired man – Jon! Arya decided that if this is what death is like, then she
should have done it sooner instead of suffering and being a burden on everyone
in her existence.
She must have made a noise because the man turned and after a moment, Arya
realised she wasn’t looking at Jon, but at her father.
“Arya!” he exclaimed, moving forward. “Little Wolf…why?” Arya’s brows furrowed
and she avoided Ned’s eyes, furiously blinking away her tears. “Arya, please…”
Arya’s heart broke as her father’s voice trembled and cracked as he tried to
hold his emotions in. She still refused to answer so Ned sighed and kissed her
head before leaving the room.
I’ve lost the only person who let me be me,she thought. I lost him all over
again when our bike was destroyed by the cunts my sister calls friends. I’ve
lost everything that matters.
Arya felt her tears fall as she realised she had been found out by her family –
she would never be looked at in the same way again. Why hadn’t the pills
worked? Jaqen H’Ghar had told her that if she wanted to end her life, all she
had to do was take…Arya choked back a sob. She had taken eight pills and the
dose that guaranteed death was twelve. She hadn’t taken enough and now she
would be labelled as insane, depressed, crazy, fragile and broken for the rest
of her life. There was just no way that her family would ever recover from
this.
Arya looked at the door when it opened and her mother and father walked inside.
“Arya,” Catelyn whispered, running to the bedside and touching her face, hair,
arms, everywhere she could reach. “Why? What were you thinking?” Arya ripped
her arms from her mother’s hold, feeling an irrational anger mount inside her.
“You sent him away!” she shouted standing up and unplugging the needles
imbedded in her arm. Catelyn took a step back, stunned. “You’re the reason he’s
dead! You hated him all because he was dad’s son and not yours! You murdered
him! His blood is on your hands! How dare you call yourself a mother when the
boy you raised was driven away because you were jealous of some other woman you
selfish bitch!”
“Arya!” Ned said sharply and Arya backed away from him. “Apologise to your
mother this instant! I’m not going to pretend to know what’s driven you to
this…to this state of mind, but taking it out on her is childish and wrong.”
“She-“ the door slammed and Arya saw through the window that her mother was
walking briskly down the corridor.
“It was my fault, not hers,” Ned said quietly, though anger was burning
underneath. “I cheated on your mother and every day I thank the gods she stayed
with me and opened her arms up to Jon the best way she could. I gave her the
option – I would have taken Jon to your uncle Benjen, but your mother told me
she wouldn’t be that cruel as to have my son grow up with another man right
under my nose. Jon always looked up to your uncle and it was for that reason
and that reason only that he decided to join the army. Your mother had nothing
to do with it.” Arya looked down and fought the shame and self-disgust that
filled her body, allowing Ned to gently guide her back into bed. “Tell me why
you did this.”
Arya wished he had shouted. Anger was infinitely better than disappointment and
hurt and Arya couldn’t deal with the fact that she had hurt her father. Taking
a shaky breath, she focused on the blankets as she began to tell the truth for
the first time in five years.
“When I had that terrible haircut when I was eleven, Joffrey Baratheon, Mykaela
Frey, Verity Lannister, Elmar Frey, Margaery, Jeyne and Sansa started bullying
me,” she whispered. “I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t let their words get to
me – I was stronger than that. I could take their verbal assaults. After three
years…Willow and I were in a relationship and we didn’t want to tell anyone
because we didn’t want to make it awkward and Mykaela Frey caught us kissing
behind the school and she spread rumours about us. The bullying intensified;
along with being called a boy and ugly, I was being called a pussy-licker and
Willow was as well and they started making…making noises whenever we walked
into the cafeteria. I had to watch where I was going all the time, because
someone would always stain my uniform or ruin my notes or make it look like I
was on my period…generally everyday pranks.”
“Why didn’t you come to one of us?” Ned asked quietly. “We would have helped
you.” Arya choked back a sob.
“I was too proud,” she said thickly. “I thought things would only get worse if
I became a tattle-tail and I thought I was handling it…”
“By taking drugs and self-harming?” Ned asked incredulously. “Arya, that’s not
healthy. Is this why you’ve lost a lot of weight over the past year?”
“Things got really bad when Jon died,” Arya said, her voice still thick with
tears. “I was being taunted and Joffrey was spreading rumours that I was in
love with him when I wasn’t and then when they destroyed my bike…the last thing
Jon ever left me…” She lost it as she buried her head in her hands. Ned held
her arm and left her to it.
Everyone in the family as well as some close friends of the family had been in
to visit Arya – everyone, that is, except Sansa. Arya was furious at her sister
– not only does her boyfriend cause her to attempt to end her life, but she
doesn’t even have the decency to visit her in hospital. Arya knew that she
would have sided with Joffrey, that it was an accident and that he hadn’t meant
to destroy the bike, only tamper with it a little. She had been in the hospital
for eight days; three of those days she was unconscious as the drugs were taken
out of her system. She could see the hushed whispers and pitying looks her
family members gave her and she was sick of them.
It was on the tenth day that Arya’s parents and the Maester, Luwin, entered on
their own. “We need to talk,” Ned said quietly. Arya listened impassively,
beyond caring about anything anymore. Catelyn stayed back and Arya pointedly
ignored her.
“Arya,” Maester Luwin said kindly. “We have reason to believe you have severe
depression.” Arya snorted sarcastically.
“Wonder what gave you that idea?” she scoffed.
“Arya,” Ned said warningly and Arya grudgingly fell silent, dread settling in
the pit of her stomach. “Listen to what Maester Luwin has to say.” Arya
glowered at the wall in response.
“How long have you been self harming?” Luwin asked.
“Don’t know,” Arya said emotionlessly. “A year, maybe more.  It’s hard to keep
track.” Luwin made a note and continued.
“When did you start taking drugs?”
“Around the time I found out about Jon’s death,” Arya answered. Luwin pursed
his lips and looked at Ned and Catelyn, Arya watching from out of the corner of
her eye.
“Is there anything we can do?” Ned asked helplessly. “We don’t know how to help
her, not when she’s like this.”
“There is a place in King’s Landing,” Luwin told them. “It’s a home for
troubled or angry teenagers. I think that would be the best place for your
daughter.”
“King’s Landing,” Catelyn whispered. “That’s…”
“Three hours away,” Ned said heavily. “If it’s the only place that could have a
chance of making her better then I say we send her there.”
“How long do you think she’ll have to be there?” Catelyn asked Luwin. Arya bit
her lip – it wasn’t enough that her bike was destroyed, but now she was being
forced to leave her home. She was disconcerted at the amount of numbness she
felt, like nothing mattered anymore. The last time she had felt like this, she
had swallowed eight pills.
“It depends,” Luwin explained. “Some kids are there until the end of school
before they move into the adult section of the facility. Some kids are there
for a month before they are safe to return home.” Arya watched Luwin, Ned and
Catelyn walk away and found herself privy to her thoughts.
No way am I going to let them take my home from me as well,she thought. I’m not
crazy and I don’t need to be sent anywhere! They’re doing this because I didn’t
tell them about the bullying straight away!
After what seemed a long time, Arya’s parents entered the room again and sat on
either side of her bed. The looks on their faces told Arya that their minds
were made up.
“You’re sending me away,” she said quietly.
“Arya-“
“I don’t need to be sent away to know that I’m not good for anything!” Arya
cried. “I’m not crazy-“
“We aren’t suggesting you are,” Ned said gently. “But you’ve shaken the entire
family Arya. You need to get better and we can’t help you because we don’t know
how.”
“Send that slut away,” Arya said angrily. “She’s the one who’s crazy about a
jerk who gets off on other people’s pain! She’s part of the reason I tried to
kill myself!” Ned and Catelyn winced and Arya felt a stab of satisfaction.
“Your sister has been given a stern talking to,” Catelyn said quietly. “I know
everything Arya and Sansa is toeing the line-“
“You always take her fucking side!” Arya snapped. “You have another daughter
too you know! I’m not pretty like she is but you don’t need to shove me to one
side-“
“You are pushing me away,” Catelyn said angrily, losing her temper. “You have
been pushing me away for years! I’ve tried everything I can think of to connect
with you Arya but you just won’t let me in!”
“Maybe I should go then!” Arya shouted. She was sick of feeling this angry,
maybe time away from her family would do her some good. “I’d prefer living in a
mental home to living with you!” Catelyn stood and, shaking with fury, stormed
out. Arya calmed down and realised that Ned was walking away.
“Dad…” she whispered.
“That was the last straw,” Ned said quietly. “I will never give up on you Arya,
but you need to go. It’s for your own safety.”
“Daddy-“ Arya fell silent as Ned held up his hand.
“You have greatly disappointed me,” he told her. Arya looked away and wiped her
eyes. “You are going to King’s Landing Home for Troubled and Angry Teens and
you are going to come back a new person or I am going to send you to live with
your Aunt and cousin in the Eyrie. Don’t think I won’t. The way you have
treated your mother is disgusting and I expected better from you. You’ve been
through a lot, but so have we and you need to stop being selfish. It isn’t all
about you.” He left and Arya let her sobs take over her body, knowing she
crossed the line this time.
“I wish you were here Jon,” she whispered. “You’d know what to do.”
Ned and Catelyn arrived home to see Sansa, Robb and Theon in the living room.
“How is she?” Robb asked. “Did she take it well?”
“Not at all,” Catelyn said quietly. “She has a lot of anger.”
“How long do you think she’ll be gone?” Theon asked.
“We don’t know,” Ned said honestly. “We’ll be taking her there in a week; after
that, we can visit her once a month.” He looked at Sansa but she avoided his
gaze. He knew that she was ashamed of herself for not visiting Arya once, but
she was eighteen years old and he couldn’t forbid her from dating Joffrey. “You
know my view on this Sansa,” he said quietly. “I will force you to come to at
least one of the visits. You and she both need closure and after the way you
have treated her these last few years, you owe her.” Sansa nodded and left and
Ned turned to his sons.
“She’s not over Jon’s death,” he told them. “She’s held in her grief and anger
for so long that she has episodes now.”
“We want you to scour her room and the bathroom she uses most,” Catelyn told
them. “Anything sharp, throw it away. Anything drug-related, throw it away.
Anything alcohol related, throw it away. We want none of that when she comes to
pack.”
“Got it,” Robb said. “We’ll start tomorrow.” The two of them left for their
flat and Ned and Catelyn headed to bed.
“I love her and I know why she’s taking her anger out on me,” Catelyn said to
Ned. “I didn’t directly drive Jon away, but my coldness toward him did.”
“That’s no excuse for her behaviour,” Ned said. “Jon had decided years before
that he wanted to be a soldier, ever since Benjen told him war stories. You
didn’t drive him away Cat. His mind was made up.” Catelyn nodded but the guilt
was still eating away at her.
She had never hated Jon, but she had resented him – his existence meant the
possibility that her husband had fallen in love with another woman. Catelyn had
always felt as though she wasn’t enough for Ned, even though he told her
otherwise every night. She had grown to care for the boy, but it was too late
for them both. Jon resented her too, she knew that and she didn’t blame him.
She hadn’t been the mother he deserved, all because she was too stuck on her
pride to open her arms to another woman’s son.
Sending Arya to a facility broke Catelyn’s heart, but anything that would help
her overcome this depression would be worth anything. Catelyn would sell her
soul in a heartbeat to have Arya happy again and she felt that this was a step
in the right direction to helping Arya heal.
***** No Love *****
Chapter Notes
     I was told that this is going a little too fast, but that was
     intentional. I wanted to get Arya's plot going, but this is a filler
     chapter from Catelyn and Sansa's point of views (sorry, I know this
     is the last thing you guys probably want). They'll probably have more
     later, like Sansa's interactions with her friends and Catelyn's
     interactions with her children.
     I hope I made you happy with the bit of Sansa bashing (even though it
     killed me a little).
     I'd also like to point out that Jon is Ned's bastard and I forgot to
     change that in the first chapter. He would be the same age as Gendry
     (24), if he was alive. Robb is 21, Sansa 18, Arya 16, Bran 14, Rickon
     9 and Theon 26. Thanks to Veridissima for pointing that out :)
She arrived home from grocery shopping and found it odd that there was a Mini
Cooper in the driveway, and after a moment she recognised it as Shireen
Baratheon’s. She was confused – what was Shireen doing here during school? She
got out of the car and took the groceries in, unpacked them and checked on the
dogs before coming back inside.
An odd sound reached her ears and after a moment, there was nothing. She
decided to check out what it was and headed to the second level of the house.
All the bedrooms were clear, as was the study and the ensuite, but going to the
upstairs bathroom, she opened it and the sight of her daughter crumpled in a
heap, a bottle rolling away from her…her entire world shattered as she screamed
out in horror-
Catelyn woke in a heavy sweat as she relived the worst moment of her life –
that of finding what she thought was her daughter’s body in the bathroom. She
started shaking with her sobs as she tried to muffle the sound in her pillow
but she knew she had failed in that when she felt Ned wrap his arm around her
waist.
“It wasn’t your fault,” he murmured sleepily. Catelyn wondered how he knew her
so well and she turned to him, feeling him wipe away her tears.
“I should have made more of an effort to connect with her,” she said quietly.
“I should have made sure she was alright-“
“None of us knew what she was going through,” Ned assured her. “She put up a
perfect façade for years-“
“Her body is covered in scars,” Catelyn whispered. “You don’t understand
Ned…the sight of her on the floor, not responding to anything…I truly thought
the worst. I failed-“
“You saved her life,” Ned said gently. “Who knows what would have happened if
you hadn’t been home? The ambulance wouldn’t have been called and Arya could
have died.”
“She’s right,” Catelyn whispered. “I drove Jon away. I never made him feel
welcome and I as good as killed him.”
“The men who betrayed him killed him,” Ned said quietly but firmly. “He wanted
to be soldier for as long as he could remember. He always looked up to Benjen.”
“He went sooner than he should have-“
“He was twenty years old,” Ned interrupted. “He was an adult and couldn’t be
stopped. It was his decision to go.” Catelyn calmed down and leaned into her
husband’s embrace.
“Sansa is not to see that boy,” she said. “I don’t care that she’s an adult-“
“Sansa knows our view on Joffrey and I hope it will sway her decision,” Ned
said. “But Cat-“
“No, Ned,” Catelyn said tightly. “She is not seeing him anymore.” Ned sighed
and nodded.
“Get some more sleep,” he murmured. “You need it.” Catelyn closed her eyes and
let Ned’s steady heartbeat lull her to sleep.
Catelyn arrived home from the hospital, shaken up by the accusations and
resentment pouring from Arya’s mouth and Ned’s word-by-word account as to why
Arya ended up in hospital and Ned followed her in. Catelyn saw Sansa sitting on
the couch, staring into space and walked over to her and pulled her up.
Catelyn’s hand smacked across Sansa’s face, her head turning with the force of
the hit. Robb, Bran, Rickon and Theon were stunned – Catelyn and Ned had never
physically harmed their children in any way. Ignoring everyone but the girl in
front of her, Catelyn let rip.
“You stupid, idiotic, shallow, girl!” she shouted. “How dare you act concerned
for your sister when you’re the reason she’s in there?” Sansa looked between
her and at Ned and Catelyn followed her gaze to see that Ned looked
disappointed, though his disappointment was directed at Sansa.
“Mum, I-“
“Don’t!” Catelyn exclaimed. “You have bullied your sister – allowed your
friends to bully her – for five years! She has self-harmed and she has
attempted suicide! What is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry,” Sansa whispered.
“Sorry isn’t good enough!” Catelyn said angrily. “Your sister almost died
because of you and those people you insist on being friends with!”
“Wait, what?” Robb asked. “Sansa?”
“It started out as being harmless!” Sansa pleaded. “I pulled back later, but I
can’t tell them to stop – I’m not the boss of them! I made fun of her haircut
but me, Margaery and Jeyne never did anything harsh to her-“
“And what of Joffrey?” Ned asked quietly. “What part has he played? What of
Mykaela, Elmar and Verity?”
“They...Joffrey, Mykaela and Elmar destroyed Arya’s motorbike but – but it was
an accident!” Sansa said desperately. “They didn’t mean for it to go that far –
they just wanted to tweak it a little!”
“You’re siding with them?” Catelyn asked incredulously. “Have we not raised you
at all? Family comes first and you have let every member of this family down!”
“What you and your friends have led your sister to is beyond words,” Ned said
quietly, his voice shaky with rage. “I have never been so disappointed in any
of my children as I am with you right now. You are eighteen, so I won’t force
you to end things with Joffrey, but just know that you, he and your friends put
your sister in hospital where she is getting through her attempted suicide. I
look down on those people who hang around such a sickening group. Get out of
our sight.”
“I-“
“I said go!” Ned snapped and Sansa complied hurriedly.
“Sansa did this?” Robb whispered. “How could she?”
“Our focus needs to be on Arya right now,” Catelyn told him. “We need to find a
way to help her heal from Jon’s death and from this depression.”
“We’ll help however we can,” Theon said resolutely.
Sansa was at Joffrey’s house with his friends, or bodyguards as she liked to
call them, Sandor, Meryn and Boros.
“Is it true your sister almost killed herself?” Boros asked and Sansa bit her
lip.
“The stupid bitch said it was our fault, right Babe?” Joffrey drawled.
“Don’t talk about her like that,” Sansa said before she could stop herself and
she felt Joffrey shift.
“What did you say to me?” he asked quietly. Sansa didn’t answer and he pushed
her off him. Sansa looked at him, wondering what was happening. “Take off your
clothes,” he ordered.
“What?” Sansa yelped. “No!” Joffrey’s eyes narrowed in fury and he beckoned
Meryn to him.
“She disobeyed me,” he said. “What do we do to those who disobey me?” Meryn
smirked and walked up to Sansa before punching her in the stomach. Sansa fell
to her knees, winded and gasped for breath. She cried out as Meryn kicked her
and she collapsed onto her side before being brought up again, only to be
punched again.
“Enough,” Joffrey commanded and Meryn stood back. “Sansa, do you know what
happens to people who challenge me?” he asked lazily. Sansa was too busy taking
in ragged breaths to answer. “Hmm…Boros, see if you can convince her to answer
me.”
Sansa felt the hit on her back and fell to her knees with a small cry and felt
the hard slaps on her back as Boros continued beating her.
“Let’s see if she’ll answer this time,” Joffrey said. “Sansa, do you know what
happens to people who challenge me?” Sansa looked at him and nodded. “Good. Get
out of my sight.”
Sansa went to leave but she was stopped by Joffrey’ voice. “Remember, I
have…incriminating videos of Margaery and Jeyne, and I know how to drag you and
your family through the mud, so I wouldn’t tell anyone about these little
lessons if I were you. I’ll be expecting you to look pretty tomorrow for
school.” Sansa choked back a sob and left.
Sansa drove around for a while before settling on going home. When she arrived,
she shut off the engine and went into the house, used to not being acknowledged
by anyone and she went to her room. Her television and DVDs had been taken off
her, as well as her favourite books, her laptop and her phone and Sansa felt
she deserved her punishment.
Sansa was sickened that she hadn’t built up the courage to see Arya in hospital
yet…she checked the time and decided on a whim to go see her. She grabbed her
coat and car keys and headed downstairs, out of the house and into her car and
drove the twenty-minute drive to the hospital.
Sansa found Arya’s room and her heart broke – Arya looked to be sleeping with
needles piercing her arms. She hesitated before entering and took a seat by
Arya’s bedside.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, taking Arya’s hand and closing her eyes. “You
were right about him…I’m so sorry it came to this…”
“Get out of here,” Arya snapped, wrenching her hand from Sansa’s grasp. “I’m
being sent away because of you!”
“Arya, please!” Sansa pleaded and Arya laughed humourlessly.
“It’s too late,” she said angrily. “You bullied me – let your friends and prick
boyfriend bully me – for five years and now you’re saying sorry?”
“I-“
“No, you listen to me for once in your useless life!” Arya shouted. “You knew
exactly what that bike meant to me – it’s the last thing Jon left me before he
went and died and your boyfriend and friends destroyed it! They destroyed the
one thing tying me here and no amount of saying you’re sorry will ever make me
forgive you for your stupidity! You don’t deserve to be in this family! I’m
being sent away when it should be you! You should be sent to live with Aunt
Lysa but no, dad threatened me because the golden fucking child can do no
fucking wrong! You ruined my life and you caused me to be like this!”
“Arya, please-“
“No!” Arya cried. “You fucking idiot, you don’t get it do you? I want nothing
more to do with you! You almost cost me my life! I will never forgive you and I
will never trust you! If you’re at Winterfell when – if – I get back from
King’s Landing, then I will move out myself because you have destroyed anything
we could ever have! Go away, go to your boyfriend or go home, I don’t care!
Just don’t try and talk to me again!” Sansa stood and left, fighting against
the urge to cry.
As she drove home, Sansa realised how broken her sister truly was. “What have I
done to you?” she whispered. She pulled into Winterfell and headed to her room
where she lay on her bed and thought of her encounter with Arya. She wants
nothing to do with me, she thought, she will never forgive me. I can’t blame
her – I don’t forgive myself.
Sansa cried herself to sleep that night, hating her very existence – her
boyfriend turned out to be an abusive jerk who blackmailed her into secrecy and
staying with him, she and her friends almost caused her little sister to kill
herself, she never got the chance to tell Jon she was glad he was her brother
and her entire family hated her.
Sansa vowed to herself that she would make everything right, though she had no
clue how to start.
***** Go Your Own Way *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Arya arrived home two weeks after she had been in hospital. Her brothers were
waiting in the living room for her and she was engulfed in their combined
embrace. She didn’t know where Sansa was, nor did she particularly care – all
she wanted to do was be alone before she was going to be taken to the mental
institution her doctor had suggested.
Arya felt horrible for the way she had been treating her mother – her father
was right; Catelyn Stark was not at fault for Jon’s death. Arya had been
desperate to pin the blame on someone, though she had no clue why. Though Arya
was remorseful of her attitude toward Catelyn, she was still fuming about the
injustice of having her sent away from her home.
Arya was lying on her back in bed, clutching her stuffed wolf Nymeria to her
chest when there was a knock on the door. “Go away,” she said emotionlessly.
“It’s Robb and Theon,” Robb said from the other side of the door. “Please open
up Arya.” Arya let out a shuddering breath before forcing herself to get out of
bed and opening the door. Theon and Robb stepped through and Arya shut the door
behind them before resuming her position on the bed.
“What do you want?” she asked quietly. She was avoiding their gazes, not
wanting to see the pity and sadness in her older brothers’ eyes.
“You know why you have to go to this place, right?” Robb asked softly, sitting
next to her. Theon sat on her other side and Arya pursed her lips.
“What I don’t understand,” she said quietly, “is how they’re letting Sansa stay
with that bastard or how they’re letting her stay here at all. I wouldn’t be in
this mess if it wasn’t for her and those people she calls friends.”
“Sansa knows what she’s done,” Robb said quietly. “She knows that she has to
end things with Joffrey and she knows that we’re all furious and disappointed
in her. But Arya, we don’t know how to help you. We want you to be with the
best of the best-“
“You don’t know what it’s like!” Arya said desperately. “Jon was everything
Robb! He was the only one who understood me!”
“Last I checked,” Robb said quietly, “Jon was our brother too. But we didn’t
insult his memory by swallowing pills and cutting ourselves.” Arya looked away,
stung.
“That was a horrible thing to say,” she whispered. She got off the bed and
leaned against the wall, glaring at Robb and Theon.
“It’s true though,” Theon said. He walked up to her and hugged her; Arya
struggled for a moment before melting down. She clung to Theon as she sobbed
into his shirt and felt Robb encase her in a hug as well.
“It’s your fault too, you know,” Theon told her quietly. Arya sniffled and
looked up at him in confusion.
“How?” she asked thickly.
“No one made you attempt suicide,” Theon explained. “No one made you cut
yourself. You made that decision yourself.” Arya wiped her eyes and sat back on
her bed, Robb and Theon sitting on either side of her.
“But-“
“But nothing,” Theon interrupted.
“I fought for years,” Arya said defensively. She stood and paced, Robb and
Theon watching her every move. “They started bullying me when I was eleven
years old! That’s five years guys and for those five years I fought and fought
and Jon helped me cope and then he went and died and I’ve had no one to talk to
who would try and help me! My friends were in the same boat as me and none of
you would have understood or cared!”
“We do care though,” Robb said firmly. “We’re your brothers  Arya! Sansa is our
sister! Mum and dad are our parents! You could have come to any of us, so why
didn’t you?” Arya ran a hand through her hair.
“I was too proud,” she said thickly. “I have no control when they bully me, but
I can control who I tell. And Sansa would have sided with Joffrey like she
always does. They destroyed my bike…the last thing Jon left to me…” She
collapsed on the floor and shook with her sobs, craving her pills or something
sharp – anything to take the pain and relieve her stress.
“Look,” Robb said gently, kneeling next to her. “You know you have to stay at
this place, but you’ll be out before you know it. You’re stronger than you give
yourself credit for, Arya.”
“We’re going to write you so many letters and call and visit so often that
you’ll get sick of us,” Theon promised, kneeling on her other side. “Just go in
there and show them who they have to deal with and you’ll be back here before
you can find someone cute for me to hook up with.” Arya let out a shaky laugh
and Robb and Theon looked relieved as they stood and left.
Arya felt marginally better after talking with her older brothers and she
walked downstairs for dinner – the first meal she would be eating with her
family for over a fortnight. She made a point of sitting between Robb and Theon
and opposite Bran so Sansa wouldn’t be in her line of vision, but she needn’t
have worried – Sansa was rarely home these days. She could see that her parents
looked surprised but pleased at her presence and dinner, though slightly
strained, went well considering the circumstances.
“Does Arya really have to go away?” Rickon asked suddenly. Everyone stopped
eating and looked at the ten year old. “I don’t want her to go.”
“Rickon,” Ned sighed. “It’s something that has to be done. She’ll be back soon
enough, I promise.”
“But why does she have to go to this new school anyway?” Rickon asked. “Is it
because she was in hospital?”
“Yes,” Catelyn answered. “She has to go to get some help.”
“What sort of help?” Rickon asked. Catelyn and Ned looked at each other, but it
was Arya who answered.
“I hurt myself really badly, Rick,” she told him. “I have to go to get help and
heal. Mum and dad are right; I will be back before you know it.”
“Does this have something to do with Sansa not being here anymore?” Rickon
asked innocently.
“Sort of,” Arya answered. “I’d better go pack,” she added to everyone else
before standing and leaving.
Arya was packing when she heard someone enter her room. “What is it?” she
asked, turning to Bran.
“I’m going to miss you,” Bran said, watching as Arya folded her jeans and t-
shirts into the suitcase. Arya swallowed her tears; those words had been the
last Jon had ever said to her.
“I’ll miss you too, Little Brother,” she replied, turning to him. Bran walked
forward and hugged Arya tightly and Arya returned the hug easily. “Who else am
I going to argue with?”
“You’ll find someone,” Bran answered with a shrug. “You always do.” Arya
laughed quietly; it was short, but genuine.
“Look after Rickon for me,” she said seriously. “And make sure my friends are
doing okay.”
“I will,” Bran promised. “And don’t get into too much trouble in King’s
Landing, alright?”
“Deal,” Arya said. Bran smiled at her and left and Arya finished packing. She
put the suitcase on the floor and went to get ready for bed.
Arya lay awake in bed, hugging Nymeria tightly as she realised that this time
tomorrow, she would be in a strange place with strange people. She thought back
to her conversation with her brothers – the way Theon had unabashedly blamed
her for this situation, the way Robb calmed her down and the way they had both
cheered her up enough to go to dinner. Rickon had been thankfully shielded from
the truth of why she was going and Bran had acted with maturity she hadn’t
noticed in him before. She would miss her brothers and it would be a lonely
time without them while a bunch of professionals in white coats attempted to
get into her inner self and dig out the root of her problems.
After a virtually sleepless night, Arya’s suitcase was packed into the family
car and her parents would be the only ones dropping her off. Arya had caught a
glimpse of Sansa that morning and had pointedly ignored her, though she did
notice how tired Sansa looked.
The ride to King’s Landing was silent and Arya watched passively as the scenes
changed from hills, farms, forests and lakes to the sprawling cities of the
south and, finally, after four hours, the dirty looking, smoggy capital that
was King’s Landing.
Ned parked the car in a nearby carpark and carried Arya’s suitcase, Arya
walking ahead and looking at the large building looming above her. She resigned
herself to her fate as she stood behind her parents at the front desk.
A few seconds had passed before a portly bald man walked up to them. “Mr and
Mrs Stark,” he said kindly in a soft voice. “My name is Varys. I own and run
this establishment and I welcome you and your daughter. I hope her stay with us
will be rewarding.” He shook Ned’s hand and then Catelyn’s. “If you will follow
me, I will give you a short tour on the way to Arya’s room.”
Arya put her hands in her jacket pockets and followed wordlessly as Varys
showed her parents around the prison, as she had deemed it. They were taken
through a wide hallway with doors on either side and lockers. “While Arya is
staying with us, she will attend classes,” Varys explained as they walked. “We
have several clubs as well – a cyvasse club, equestrian club, swimming club and
track club. Arya will be required to sign up for one of these extra-curricular
activities and she will have sessions with our team of counsellors and
psychologists.” Huh. Arya glared ahead; she vowed to herself that no one here
would break down the walls she had carefully constructed around herself for the
last five years. Her parents would know then that sending her away to some
mental place wouldn’t help her.
They exited through a pair of doors at the back of the hall where some students
were hanging out. Arya kept her chin up and looked straight ahead as she felt
eyes on her. Varys opened a door at the smaller building next door.
“Are the kids ever unsupervised?” Catelyn asked as Varys led them down another
hallway. The doors on either side of the hallway displayed numbers and Arya
deduced that this would be where she would be sleeping.
“Hardly ever,” Varys told her. “The bathrooms are not monitored, though they
are inspected three times a day for illicit drugs, alcohol or certain
instruments. The bedrooms, likewise, are inspected thoroughly, but there are no
cameras there either.”
“Who are your staff?” Ned asked.
“I will introduce them to you on the way out,” Varys answered, stopping in
front of a door with the number 43 on it. He produced a key and unlocked it,
entering and holding the door open for Ned, Catelyn and Arya.
Arya looked around; the bedroom was simply furnished with hardwood floors and
white walls, a twin bed, of which the one against the opposite wall looked
occupied, a desk and a door which led, presumably, to the bathroom. There was a
small TV and lamps and a window that looked out over the King’s Landing Railway
Station and the city. Ned put Arya’s suitcase on the bed closest to the door
and Varys promptly led them out, back down the hallway and to the main
building.
At the front doors, Varys turned right and Arya and her parents followed him
down a narrow hallway before reaching the end; Varys opened the door and the
four of them entered the cozy room.
“This is the staff room,” Varys explained to them. “Our teachers and
counsellors can be found here and if not, they have their contact numbers on
the noticeboard if a student needs one of them. Under no circumstances are
students allowed in the teachers and counsellors’ dorm.”
At present, there were two men in the room; one older-looking and the other
quite young. Varys followed Arya’s curious gaze and smiled again. “Syrio!
Gendry! Come here and greet our new guest.” The two men walked over and stood
politely before Arya, Varys, Ned and Catelyn.
“Syrio is our track coach,” Varys explained, pointing to the Braavosi man with
black curls and dark, twinkling eyes. “We have a boys and girls team here. And
this is Gendry, our newest counsellor. This is his first year on the
professional field, but his university marks exceeded what we expected here.”
Gendry was tall and broad-shouldered, with deep blue eyes and lightly tousled
black hair. Arya tore her eyes away from him and looked at her feet.
“A pleasure to meet you both,” Ned said politely. Arya rolled her eyes; no
doubt she would be expected to sit in some seat at some point while this Gendry
guy tried to invade her private life.
“A pleasure to meet you too,” Gendry said in a smooth voice.
“Well, we’d best be off,” Ned said. Arya’s throat felt very tight all of
sudden. Blinking back tears, she followed her parents out to the front doors
where they stopped.
“We’ll come down next month,” Catelyn promised.
“Whatever,” Arya said, forcing nonchalance. “Do what you want, I don’t care.”
“Arya.” Arya looked at her father and he pulled her to him for a hug. “We don’t
want to do this Little Wolf,” he murmured into her hair. “We have no choice. Do
you understand?”
“You had a choice,” Arya said bitterly. “You made it.” Ned sighed and let her
go and Catelyn hugged her too.
“We love you,” she said. Arya swallowed and turned away and heard her parents
leave.
“They’re just doing what’s best for you, you know,” a voice said from her
right. Arya turned and glared at Gendry.
“Let’s get something straight,” she said walking up to him. “Butt out of my
business and don’t pretend to know me or how I’m feeling. In fact, don’t talk
to me at all.” Gendry raised an eyebrow at her.
“How about I have a shot?” he asked. Arya turned and started walking away. “You
feel like you’ve been abandoned,” Gendry said in a rush, causing Arya to stop.
You feel like your family has given up on you. "You’re hurt, but you’re
channelling that hurt into anger because it’s the only way you know how to cope
now that sharp objects have been taken away from you. You’re upset because
someone close to you has betrayed you and you’ve been building walls against
everyone for years.”
Arya was speechless – they hadn’t even had a full conversation! She spun around
and walked back to him.
“That isn’t true!” she shouted.
“If it isn’t true, then why did you stop as soon as I started talking?” Gendry
asked calmly.
“Because you’re stupid,” Arya answered. Gendry’s lips twitched and he took a
step back.
“You should go get settled in,” he told her. “It’s going to be a long day
tomorrow.” Arya glared at him again and left, storming to her room which she
found surprisingly easy to remember the location of.
Arya was fuming as she paced around her room, but she knew her fury was
directed at how right Gendry was. She could see easily now why he had been
admitted to this top facility if he gathered all that about her five minutes
after they met. Sighing, Arya grabbed a towel and her shampoo and conditioner
and decided a hot shower would soothe her.
Chapter End Notes
     I had a total mental breakdown about two weeks ago which is why this
     hasn't been updated. That, and my internet has been restricted on my
     phone so I can only upload during the day as I don't have my phone
     with me of a night anymore. I will continue to update as much as
     possible.
     On a lighter note (though there's hardly any in this fic), WE HAVE
     MET GENDRY! I have changed the summary - he is a counsellor studying
     for his PhD while working as a counsellor. I know some of you think
     some invisible line has been crossed in this fic and I apologise if I
     cause anyone offence.
     Any questions (even if you're a guest), I'll answer them as best I
     can in the comment section :)
***** New Place, Friendly Face *****
Chapter Summary
     In which Ned and Catelyn decide to check on their children and Arya
     meets her roommate and is given the lowdown on the facility.
Chapter Notes
     Hi there. I am a terrible person. I have been away on holiday with no
     internet in bushfire country. But here is a new chapter :D
Ned Stark felt the life he built up for himself and his family slowly crumble
at the edges. His little girl, his little wolf, had been virtually neglected
because he was too blind to see what sort of pain she was going through and the
result: he almost lost her the same way he lost Lyanna – through suicide.
Ned gave an involuntary jerk at that thought and his wife looked at him in
concern. “We’ve done what we can for her,” she said quietly. “That facility is
the top place in the country; it’s the best place for her.” Ned sighed and
pulled over, unable to focus on driving.
“Lyanna was sixteen when she killed herself,” he whispered. “I failed her, and
as if that wasn’t bad enough, I failed our child. I should have known…when Jon
died…”  Catelyn put her hand on his arm and Ned allowed his tears, those tears
he had been holding in since he found out what Arya had done and gone through,
fall. He didn’t care that crying at that moment was an unmanly, childish thing
to do; Catelyn took it in her stride and grasped his hand.
“Listen to me,” she said in a quiet but firm voice. Ned swallowed and looked at
her, though he was still crying. “She is alive. Our little girl is alive, not
dead. She is at the top facility in the country with the top employees from top
universities. There is no way this can fail, do you understand me? We will
visit her every month on visitation days and we will help her forgive her
sister.” Ned wiped his eyes and looked away at the mention of his elder
daughter.
“Sansa will never be forgiven for this,” he said shakily. “She-“
“I know,” Catelyn said soothingly. “But to not forgive her is to favour one
child over the other which is what we don’t tolerate. I know, I’m furious and
disgusted at her too, but she is our child as well and she needs help too.”
“From what?” Ned asked incredulously, rounding on her. “I don’t see her in
hospital, I don’t see her struggling-“
“We didn’t see Arya struggle either,” Catelyn reminded him. “Sansa might be
struggling too, we just don’t know. We’ve made an almost fatal mistake with
Arya; let’s not repeat that with anyone else. The first step is to make sure
that Sansa stops hanging around those people-“
“She’ll never go for that,” Ned said bitterly, restarting the car and driving
again. “She loves Joffrey more  than anything-“
“She’s young,” Catelyn interrupted. “She’ll get over him. There will be plenty
of other boys for her, boys who won’t lead any of her siblings to self-harm and
suicide.”
 “How can you talk about this so…so calmly?” Ned asked her incredulously.
“This is my way of coping,” Catelyn murmured. “Seeing our little girl in that
bathroom…I will never get that image out of my mind. I saw the scars when the
paramedics stripped her…there were fresh ones from that morning, or at least
that’s what they told me.” Ned came to his decision.
“We need to check all of the kids,” he said seriously. “I’ll check the boys and
you check Sansa. I will not have another relative of mine go the way Lya and
Arya have done.”
“I agree,” Catelyn replied.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Arya was pacing in her room after her shower and whirled around when the door
opened, coming face-to-face with a girl with silver hair and violet eyes…Arya
found her striking and quickly averted her gaze, feeling her own insecurities
rise.
“Who are you?” the girl asked warily, though there was no hostility in her
tone. Arya cleared her throat but didn’t raise her eyes.
“Arya Stark,” she said quietly. “You?”
“Daenerys Targaryen,” the girl answered, walking across the room to sit on her
bed. “But everyone calls me Dany. What did you get in for?” Arya looked at her
in surprise.
“What are you in for?” she countered, sitting on her bed. Dany shrugged and
turned around as she got out of her tank top and threw on a band shirt that
clearly belonged to a guy.
“I’ve known Varys all my life,” she murmured. “Almost all my family are dead
and my life was fucked up enough so he took me in for a bit after my boyfriend
died.”
“I’m sorry,” Arya replied. “How…how did he die?”
“Killed,” Dany said shortly. “But when we were together, he was…perfect.
There’s no other word for it.” She faced Arya and sat on her own bed. “So, I
spilled my delightful sob story. What about you?”
“Attempted suicide,” Arya replied; she figured that it was better to be honest
straight away, seeing as Dany had opened up. “My parents found out how
depressed I’ve been and I’ve been sent here.”
“This place is great,” Dany said sincerely. “There isn’t a better place for you
to come to. I usually talk to Varys seeing as he and I are close…he’s helped me
out a lot over my life. Have you met any of the counsellors yet?”
“Apart from Varys?” Arya replied. “One: Gendry Waters. Apparently he’s new. And
I’ve met Syrio Forel.”
“I met Gendry,” Dany said. “He’s really young, only just out of university and
this is his first position. He’s not bad to look at either.”
“He analysed me in the thirty seconds in which we met,” Arya admitted. “And he
was so spot on it was…”
“He did the same with me,” Dany said with a smile. “He was accurate with me
too; it’s what landed him the job here.”
“Wait, aren’t you a patient?” Arya asked.
“Sort of,” Dany answered with a small smile. “I’ve just turned twenty so
technically I shouldn’t be here, but Varys is letting me stay until I’m twenty-
one so I can get on my feet. I’m doing some work here, just administration,
filing, cleaning, things like that and in return he’ll put down some money for
an apartment.”
“That’s good of him,” Arya told her. “So…what goes on here?”
“Breakfast starts at seven thirty,” Dany reeled off. “It goes until eight
thirty and classes start at nine. You’d be in…”
“Year 10,” Arya filled her in and Dany smiled.
“So, classes start at nine and go until ten thirty which is break and resume at
eleven and continue until one which is lunch. They resume at two and finish at
three thirty, but at any point your counsellor could come in and request a chat
with you. Do you know who your counsellor is yet?”
“No,” Arya replied. “When does dinner start?”
“It goes from six until eight,” Dany answered. “Curfew is ten for everyone but
the staff and from three-thirty until six is recreational time, where there is
training for the various sports we have here, for homework, study, or just
general relaxation, or a session with your counsellor. Everyone has a
designated counsellor.”
“Who are the counsellors, apart from Gendry and Varys?” Arya asked.
“There’s Tyrion Lannister,” Dany answered, “Val Wilds, Ygritte Hunter and
Missandei Whitman.”
“Do the counsellors stay here?” Arya asked.
“They have the choice,” Dany told her. “Occasionally some stay, but most go
home after five unless Varys requests otherwise.” She stood up and went to the
door. “Dinner’s about to be served if you wanted anything.” Arya stood and
followed Dany out of the dorm area and five minutes later, they arrived at the
cafeteria.
After getting their food, they sat at a table and ate in silence for a couple
of minutes. “People don’t sit with you?” Arya asked when she noticed no one had
joined them.
“I don’t eat here often,” Dany explained. “Usually I eat in the staff room.”
“I’m not putting you out, am I?” Arya asked.
“No,” Dany assured her.
When they finished dinner, Dany led Arya to the rec room where there were a few
patients, all teenagers. There was what looked like a musical on the
television, a few people playing pool, chess and cards and some people were
just reading. Dany led Arya to the pool table. “Got room for two more, Nephew?”
she asked. The boy turned to Dany and looked at Arya, Arya holding his stare
with a little difficulty. He was beautiful; there was no other word for it:
silver hair that fell neatly to his shoulders, a willowy frame and dark purple
eyes…Arya held her hand out and shook the newcomer’s hand.
“I’m Arya,” she introduced herself.
“Aegon,” the boy replied with a charming smile. “And I see you’ve met my aunt.”
“He’ll be moving in with me next year,” Dany clarified for her. “He’s not an
official patient either.”
“What are you in for then?” Aegon asked.
“Mind your own business,” Arya said testily and Aegon chuckled before turning
to Dany. “Yeah, you and Arya can play,” he said before turning to his
companion. “What do you say Ramsay?” Ramsay looked Arya up and down before
nodding and bending to grab his cue. Arya shivered unpleasantly: that look had
creeped her out a little. She grabbed a cue and the game started.
“So, have you just joined us today then Arya?” Aegon asked as Ramsay broke for
the first move.
“Yes,” Arya answered. “Dany says this is a good place.”
“It is,” Aegon said seriously. “You’ll be home in no time.” He smirked and
winked at her and took his shot, hitting a striped number in the pocket. “Girls
against guys?” he suggested.
“Sure,” Dany agreed and Aegon took another turn.
After the match, in which the boys won narrowly, Dany and Arya said their
goodbyes and went to their room. “Is it just me or is Ramsay a bit…creepy?”
Arya asked as they started getting ready for lights out.
“It’s not just you,” Dany assured her. “Ramsay is a general creep, but just
treat him normally and he won’t harm you.” Arya’s brows furrowed at this
strange instruction but she shrugged it off and crawled into bed, whacked out
by her first day at this strange new place. She longed to be home in
Winterfell, sleeping in her own bed and possibly having Rickon sleep with
her…she felt her first tears fall at the thought of her baby brother, sleeping
in her empty bed without her there to comfort him from bad dreams.
***** This is not a shrink, this is not a shrink *****
Chapter Summary
     In which Arya sorts out her classes, has her very first session with
     Gendry and receives a nice surprise :D
Chapter Notes
     So Arya is going to have her first session with Gendry! Keep an eye
     out for any mistakes Gendry may have made during this and mention
     them if you want.
     Again, if you have any questions or concerns, comment and I'll
     respond as best I can. Guests, I've enabled you to comment too so
     don't be shy :)
     It might be a couple of days before my next update, but I will update
     ASAP.
Arya was awake and ready to go at eight and she followed Dany to the cafeteria
where she was served bacon, eggs, sausages and toast. “Good food,” Arya
commented and Dany smiled in response.
They sat at a table and started eating in silence before Arya broke it. “So
what will you do while I’m in class?” she asked.
“Probably some filing for Varys,” Dany replied. “And I’m looking at
universities to attend as well.”
“Cool,” Arya said genuinely. “What do you want to study?”
“I don’t know,” Dany answered. “Something with children, or something in
politics. I can’t decide.” They were interrupted when Varys came over with the
counsellor Gendry.
“Arya,” Varys greeted kindly before kissing Dany on the cheek. “I’ve drawn up a
rough timetable for you. Gendry will be your designated counsellor. This
morning’s session is for you and he to start talking and then at break come see
me and we will sort out your electives and after school activity.” Arya stared
stonily at Gendry who returned her look calmly.
“I’ll be waiting outside when you’re ready,” he told her before turning and
leaving.
“Are there any questions?” Varys asked.
“When can I get out of here?” Arya said promptly and Varys cracked a smile.
“As soon as we decide you’re ready,” he replied.
“When’s the first visitation?” Arya asked.
“In three weeks,” Varys replied. “You’re parents will not worry at all if you
haven’t progressed – these things take time.” Arya stood and shouldered her
bag, taking the timetable off Varys.
“I’ll see you later,” she said to Dany.
“Good luck,” Dany called after her. Arya waved to show she had heard and exited
the cafeteria before walking straight into something hard. She stumbled back
and was steadied. Opening her mouth to thank whoever it was, Arya immediately
shut it when she saw that the hard thing she had walked into had been Gendry’s
chest.
“Ready?” Gendry asked, pulling back.
“Obviously,” Arya said coldly. “Lead the way Doc.” Gendry raised an eyebrow and
started walking up the stairs, Arya keeping pace with him.
“I’m not a doctor,” Gendry said quietly. “Just a counsellor.”
“What’s the difference?” Arya asked.
“I don’t have my PhD,” Gendry explained, glancing at her. “Just a diploma in
mental health services so I can talk to you, but I can’t prescribe medication.”
They reached room 31 and Gendry held the door open for Arya who walked in and
looked around.
The room was set like a sitting room with four leather couches, a coffee table,
and a desk in the corner which held Gendry’s laptop and a bookshelf filled with
a variety of books. Gendry gestured to the couches and Arya ungraciously took a
seat, her heart hammering with nerves as she watched Gendry take the couch
opposite her. Arya immediately pointed to the couch adjacent.
“Don’t make this a shrink session,” she said. Gendry raised his eyebrows and
leaned forwards.
“Arya,” he said quietly. “Is there anything that you want to talk about?”
“No,” Arya said stiffly and Gendry sat back.
“If you’re worried about this getting back to your parents, just know that this
is one hundred per cent confidential,” he told her. “I won’t even tell Varys if
that’s what you want.” 
“I don’t want anything except to get out of here,” Arya said hotly, standing.
Gendry remained where he was, watching her with interest.
“You can’t get out of here until we get to the root of your problems,” he said.
“So if you want to get out quickly, you’d better start talking now.” Arya
paced, her fury rising at the prick sitting across from her.
“What would you know about any of this?” she said angrily.
“More than you think,” Gendry answered calmly. “Arya, I want to help. I’m sorry
you hate me-“
“Yes I hate you,” Arya snapped. “I hate every-fucking-thing and every-fucking-
one. I’ve had enough. I want out.” She ran a hand through her hair and walked
to the door but before she could leave, Gendry was there holding the door shut.
“Arya,” he said with the closest to anger she had heard from him. “I am here to
help you. I will not judge you no matter what you’ve done. I will not tell
anyone if that’s what you want. Just open up and let me in.” Arya held his
gaze, his blue eyes intense.
“You swear you’ll get me out of here as soon as possible?” she asked quietly.
“Yes,” Gendry replied. “As soon as I think you’re ready, you’re out of here. I
swear.” Arya held his gaze a moment longer and walked back to the couch,
wrapping her arms around her legs. Gendry sat on the couch adjacent from her
this time and looked at her attentively.
“Where do you want me to start?” she asked emotionlessly.
“Who was it you lost?” Gendry asked. Arya swallowed as she felt the familiar
pang and she focused on the opposite wall.
“My brother,” she whispered.
“When?” Gendry asked quietly.
“Two and a half years ago,” Arya answered, looking back at him. “Mum never
liked him because…because dad cheated on her but she took dad back…she drove
him away.”
“Why do you think that?” Gendry prompted.
“She treated him like shit,” Arya said thickly, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Nothing he did was ever good enough and he…he tried so hard to get her praise
but she never gave him anything but cold, hard hatred and then when he was
twenty he…he joined the army.”
“And how did you lose him?” Gendry asked softly.
“He was betrayed,” Arya explained, her voice still thick. “His friends, the
people he called brothers, betrayed him and killed him. I remember being pulled
out of school and I remember the funeral…wanting to be down there with him…”
she gasped as she let herself properly cry for the first time since she had
heard of Jon’s death, Gendry watching her.
“And you resent your mother because you blame her?” he asked quietly. Arya
hesitated at this before nodding and she knew straight away that Gendry
noticed. He sat up straight and stared at her for a few moments. “You blame
yourself, don’t you?” he said softly.
“No!” Arya shouted, standing and backing away. “No, I don’t blame myself! It’s
all mum’s fault-“
“Why did you hesitate before confirming that then?” Gendry asked calmly. “Look,
you were obviously very close to your brother and yes it was horrible what
happened to him but there are only a handful of people who are to be blamed and
they are the people who killed him.”
“But I killed him too!” Arya cried without thinking and she moved back, chest
heaving from her outburst and noticed something flash in Gendry’s eyes.
“Tell me,” he said quietly, standing as well. He moved closer to her; close
enough that she could clearly see his face but far away enough to not scare her
off. Arya took a few more ragged breaths and looked to the door; Gendry noticed
and hastily stepped between.
“Let me go,” she whispered. “I can’t…I…”
“Just tell me why you think you killed him,” Gendry murmured. “And then I’ll
let you go, I promise.” Arya wiped her eyes and shook her head and next thing
she knew, she was attacking Gendry who didn’t react. “Let it all out Arya,” he
whispered as she punched his chest. “Do what you want.”
Arya screamed as she punched, kicked and scratched him, furious that he wasn’t
fighting back. She felt the familiar itch and needed something, anything, to
alleviate it, but of course there was nothing…Arya collapsed against Gendry and
cried, letting the past two years escape her as she let out all her bottled-in
emotions loose. She felt herself being lifted and placed onto the couch and
tried to calm herself.
“Talk when you’re ready,” Gendry told her.
“I need…” Arya gasped and sat up, wiping her eyes and looking at Gendry. “I
need-“
“Do you have a substance addiction?” Gendry asked her bluntly. Arya sat back,
amazed at how accurate Gendry was.
“I…”
“Remember I’m not going to judge you for anything,” Gendry murmured. “You can
trust me Arya.”
“I don’t trust anyone,” Arya whispered. “I met Jaqen through a friend who
bought his stuff and he sold me drugs…I don’t know what they were called but…”
“You told me you had killed your brother,” Gendry prompted gently. “Explain why
you think that.” Arya swallowed and leaned back.
“The last thing I ever said to him was ‘You can go die for all I care,
Bastard.’”
“That must have been hard for him to hear,” Gendry said sympathetically. Arya
noticed he had flinched a little. “But I don’t understand how you decided-“
“It was a horrible thing for me to tell him,” Arya whispered. “We were so close
and I couldn’t accept that being a soldier was what he decided to be because I
was selfish and wanted him home with me for always.”
“How old were you?” Gendry asked.
“Twelve,” Arya murmured. “Two years later, he died. How ironic.”
“You aren’t to blame for his death,” Gendry said gently. “And neither is your
mother. Only the people who turned their backs on him are to blame.”
“But mum-“
“Maybe you don’t know the full story,” Gendry said patiently. “Have you ever
properly discussed things with your mum? Your dad?” Arya’s gaze turned stony.
“You said you wouldn’t judge,” she said coldly, moving to stand. She felt a
shock when Gendry grabbed her hand and it was the jolt that ran through her
more than anything else that made her stay still. Gendry retracted his hand
straight away.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Arya replied, forcing nonchalance.
“I’m not judging you,” Gendry told her. “I just meant that maybe things would
be easier for the three of you if you all opened up. It seems there are a few
feelings of resentment that need to be cleared.”
“They didn’t know what was happening to me…what I was doing to myself,” Arya
explained quietly. “I hid it from them.”
“They’re your parents,” Gendry said. “They should have suspected something
wasn’t right, especially considering someone close to you had passed away.”
“How can they have known-“
“I didn’t say they should have known,” Gendry interrupted. “I said they should
have suspected. If I had a kid that lost someone really close to them, I would
check on them every chance I got.” Arya shrugged and looked away.
“They had a lot on their plates,” she said. “I didn’t want to burden them.”
Gendry sighed and sat back.
“I won’t pretend to understand why things went as far as they did,” he said.
“But they realised on time what the extent of your pain was and sending you
here was probably the best thing they could have done. But when they visit, I’m
talking to them, and to you. Whatever problems you and your parents have,
they’re part of what’s been going on with you and the first step to getting you
out of here quickly is to make sure those feelings are let out.” Arya tried to
find an argument – there was no way that her parents would be okay with Gendry
telling them what he had just told her about their parenting skills, but she
couldn’t think of a valid excuse.
“Can I go?” she asked. “I can’t handle anymore of this bullshit.”
“Come on, I’ll take you to Varys,” Gendry replied, standing up with a slight
wince. “You have a mean kick and punch on you.” Arya stood as well and bit her
lip, embarrassed by her outburst.
“I’m sorry about that,” she told him as they walked to the door. “I didn’t
mean-“
“I know,” Gendry interrupted with a small smile. “I know how hard it is to get
off drugs and I know how difficult it is to control yourself when you’re
struggling with addiction.” Arya reddened and Gendry looked concerned. “I don’t
think any less of you as a person,” he added in a rush. “You’re handling this
better than I thought you would.”
“Really?” Arya asked.
“Yes,” Gendry answered with a smile. They reached Varys’ office and Gendry
knocked.
“Enter,” Varys called and Gendry and Arya entered. “Ah, Arya,” he greeted. “And
Gendry. Do sit down.” Gendry and Arya sat and Varys looked at Arya. “How did
you find the counselling session?” he asked kindly.
“It…” Arya trailed off as she thought. Yes, she had been furious when she felt
she was being badgered by Gendry, but now that she had calmed down, it seemed
she felt a fraction of the weight had lifted off her chest. “It was…”
“Violent,” Gendry supplied and Arya grimaced.
“I’m sorry-“
“I already told you not to worry about it,” Gendry said patiently.
“I don’t feel so…weighed down,” Arya explained slowly. “Like part of the
darkness has been chipped away.”
“It’s a long road to recovery,” Varys told her. “But this is excellent
progress. Now, I have your new timetable almost ready. I want to know if you
want to do track and field, swimming, football, dance or basketball.” Arya
remembered Syrio Forel from the previous day and how it was mentioned that he
was the track and field coach.
“Track and field,” she answered and Varys filled in a few places.
“Good,” he said. “And your electives. Your base subjects are Westerosi, Maths
and physical education and our electives are Braavosi, Valyrian, Literature,
History, Biology, Chemistry, Media, Music, Dance and Performing Arts. Choose
three electives.”
“Braavosi, literature and history,” Arya reeled off; she had done those
subjects at Riverrun. Varys finished filling in her timetable and printed it
off, handing it to her.
“You are on break at the moment,” he explained. “Your next class is
literature.” Arya nodded and, recognising the dismissal, got up and went to the
door before turning to Gendry. “You can tell him everything I told you,” she
said and Gendry inclined his head. Arya left and decided to find her way to
class before checking her timetable. She didn’t have track and field until
Wednesday, two days away.
After classes, Arya tried finding Dany, but had no such luck. She decided to go
around the grounds and try and meet new people.
She arrived at the football pitch and saw people lying around, playing football
and a range of other games and was about to head to a group of girls who were
watching her curiously when she saw Dany run over to her.
“You have a call,” she said and Arya followed her to the side room used for
making personal phone calls. “I’ll leave you to it.” Dany left, closing the
door behind her and Arya picked up the receiver.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Arya, is that you?” Arya felt a sense of relief and gratitude. It was Shireen.
“Hi,” Arya said. “How-“
“We only just heard you’d moved to the King’s Landing Home,” Willow said;
Shireen’s phone must be on speaker. “We’re so sorry; we visited you in the
hospital but-“
“I understand,” Arya interrupted. “It’s not so bad here but don’t you dare tell
anyone else that. I’m rooming with a girl called Dany and it’s pretty much a
boarding school with free periods for counselling.”
“Have you had a counselling session yet?” Shireen asked.
“Yes,” Arya answered. “This morning. We all get designated a counsellor and my
designated counsellor is just out of uni on his first year of paid work, and
he’s hot.”
“Wow, admit me to that place,” Shireen joked and Arya laughed.
“He’s scarily accurate though,” she told them. “Not thirty seconds after we
met, he gave me a perfect summary on what I was feeling and he was one hundred
percent right about everything.”
“How did the counselling go?” Lommy asked, joining the conversation.
“I may or may not have attacked him,” Arya said casually. “He was good about it
actually and did the accuracy thing again. He wants to talk to mum and dad when
they come to visit.”
“We want to come and visit as well,” Hot Pie said. “When can we visit?”
“I don’t know,” Arya answered truthfully. “I think for now it’s only family,
but maybe in a couple of months if I’m deemed stable enough I can ask.”
“We miss you,” Willow said.
“I miss you guys too,” Arya replied. “It’s not the same without you all.”
“You’ll be back really soon,” Shireen assured her. “And we promise, as soon as
you’re allowed visitors that aren’t family, we’ll be down there.”
“I’ll hold you all to that,” Arya said. “I’d better go, my stomach has called
for food.”
“See you,” Shireen said and Arya hung up the phone, realising with a sickening
feeling that she felt annoyed at her friends. Vowing that she would bring that
up with Gendry when she next spoke to him, she left the room and followed Dany
to the cafeteria for dinner.
***** Making Teams and Deals *****
Chapter Summary
     In which Arya meets Syrio Forel and her group, strikes a deal with
     Gendry, talks to Dany and has a dream.
Chapter Notes
     Here is chapter seven! So there was concern raised about Gendry's
     behaviour in the previous chapter so I'll just put this here.
     Gendry not allowing her to leave was a mistake of his, as was the
     promising 100% confidentiality, even from Varys. The way he talked
     about her parents was a mistake on my part, though for character
     development reasons, I'm keeping that in there.
     I know I'm going to raise a lot of concerns with this fic and I'm
     going to take them in my stride.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Arya had never met anyone quite as infuriating as Gendry Waters: the way he
correctly assumed things about her and what she was feeling, the way he never
fought back when she attacked him verbally and physically, how calm he was when
she was a ticking timebomb that would go off at any second and, above all, what
he had said about her parents being virtually neglectful.
Arya was walking around the athletic track, trying to clear her head before
training. Who was that arsehole to say that he thought her parents sucked at
being parents? Arya surmised that from an outsider’s point of view, her parents
could be seen as neglectful, but Arya knew that, despite everything, they loved
her and wanted what was best for her. It wasn’t their fault that she was too
secretive, stubborn and independent to tell them what was happening with
Joffrey and his cronies.
Arya blamed one person in particular for the way things had turned out and that
was Sansa. Sansa, who was perfect, who could do no wrong, who was beautiful,
popular and a perfect little lady…Arya kicked a stone bitterly. She could see
absolutely no way in which to forgive her sister for what she had done and
Theon and Robb could argue all they wanted, but Sansa had given Arya no choice
but to cope with sharp objects and drugs. If Sansa was a better sister and
stuck up for her once in a while, things might have been different.
Arya furiously wiped away her tears as she thought on what Gendry had worked
out. “You blame yourself, don’t you?” he had asked in a soft tone, like she was
too fucking fragile for him to ask it normally. Of course she blamed herself
for Jon’s death. She had sent him away as much as her mother had, had
practically told him she didn’t care whether he lived or died…well, she was
paying that price now. She never wanted him to die but those rash words were
the last Jon heard from her, the sibling he had always been closest to, before
he had died and Arya would never forgive herself for making him feel like she
hated him.
Arya jogged to the starting line of the track when she saw a group of girls and
guys with Syrio Forel and decided that she would see Gendry afterwards and talk
to him about how she wanted the counselling sessions to be.
“You are late, Girl!” Syrio called.
“Sorry,” Arya replied, stopping next to Ramsay; not exactly someone she wanted
to be near but a familiar face at least. She could feel his eyes on her but
determinedly kept her focus on Syrio.
“I am Syrio Forel, former Track and Field Champion of Braavos,” Syrio
introduced himself to everyone. “You will be training in hard conditions, in
the rain, snow, sleet, sun and rain. You will commit yourself to this training
and will come out feeling as though you have accomplished something. You are
all here for specific reasons and this is your outlet.” Syrio put them into
three groups of four. Arya was placed with Ramsay, a girl named Monyka and
another boy named Devan. The latter two gave her a friendly smile which she
managed to return before they began the drills.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Three hours of hard training later, Arya had showered and eaten dinner and
decided to see if Gendry was in the staff room. She knocked on the door and it
was answered by Varys. “Miss Stark,” he greeted, looking unsurprised to see her
there. “To what do I owe this late pleasure?”
“I need to see Gendry,” Arya said quietly, looking at him directly. Varys
looked concerned and stepped out of the staff room.
“I’m afraid Gendry isn’t inside,” he told her softly. “But he may be in his
counselling room, he did say something about finishing some paperwork.”
“Thanks,” Arya said and she walked off without waiting for a reply. She arrived
at Room 31 and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.
“Come in,” Gendry’s voice sounded from the other door. Arya entered and saw
Gendry sitting at the desk, typing something into his laptop before he turned
his head and saw her standing awkwardly in the doorway. “Arya,” he said in
surprise. “Is everything okay?”
“Sort of,” Arya replied, shutting the door. Gendry closed his laptop and stood
tall, crossing his arms.
“Is there anything you need to talk about?” he asked her.
“Yes,” Arya answered. Gendry gestured to the couches and Arya sat in one,
Gendry in the opposite one.
“What is it?” he asked quietly, looking at her with a hint of worry in his
gaze. Arya raised an eyebrow at him and sat back, crossing her arms.
“I have a bone to pick with you,” she said.
“Go on,” Gendry encouraged.
“I want you to know that I don’t like you,” Arya said. Gendry flinched slightly
but didn’t look surprised.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said, looked at his hands. “I didn’t think I
handled that session very well. I told Varys what happened; he told me he
wouldn’t be surprised if the limited trust you had in me on Monday would have
gone. I made too many mistakes.”
“I want to keep coming to you,” Arya continued. “But I want them to be on my
terms. I seem to open up with you, even though I don’t like you. There’s
something about you that makes me want to talk so I don’t think trust is an
issue.”
“Name your terms,” Gendry replied, looking back at her. Arya swallowed and
crossed her legs.
“One,” she said. “When we talk, I want to feel like I’m confiding in a friend,
not a shrink. That means you’re to sit next to me or on the couch adjacent to
me.” Gendry nodded his assent; that he could do for her. “Two, you are to
never, ever have a go at my parents again. They love me and they’re doing
what’s best for me. Don’t assume anything about them because you don’t know
them.”
“Alright,” Gendry agreed. “I’m sorry for what I said about your parents.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Arya said tersely. “Three: if I feel like I can’t talk
anymore, you have to let me go. I’ll come to you in my own time, but you were
part of the reason I had that violent meltdown, the other being that I haven’t
had pills for too long.”
“I promise,” Gendry said instantly. “I know I was too pushy with you Arya and I
didn’t mean to freak you out. Now, here are my terms.”
“Your terms?” Arya asked incredulously, sitting up straight. “I-“
“One,” Gendry interrupted. “If at any point you feel like you need to talk,
come to me. Night or day, it doesn’t matter. I’m worried about you and I want
to help.” Arya was stunned into silence.
“Why are you worried about me?” she asked quietly.
“You’re handling things a little too well to be totally convincing,” Gendry
said. “I mean it Arya. I want to help you as much as I can.” Arya nodded and
Gendry continued.
“Two,” he said. “I want you to be honest with me. Don’t lie about how you’re
feeling, just come out and say it. Depression is difficult enough to deal with
without lying to yourself and those around you as well.”
“Yes,” Arya agreed. Gendry cracked a smile.
“Three,” he finished. “I want to talk with your family members at some point so
that this tension you have in you can just stop. I swear I will be professional
and I won’t tell them anything without your written consent.” Arya opened her
mouth but Gendry cut across her. “It doesn’t have to be the first visitation. I
want to gain your trust and I want you to feel as though you trust me enough to
come to me. I want you to be with me and your family when we chat.”
Arya mulled over this condition. He was giving her time to get used to the idea
so that they wouldn’t have to talk with her family straight away and if truth
be told, she wanted to stop feeling so negative whenever she was around her
parents and sister. She looked at Gendry as she considered. His unwavering
stare and the way he set his jaw as he watched her made her decision for her.
“Alright,” she said. “But I’m doing the talking with my family and you will be
my moral support.” Gendry nodded and they shook hands.
“We have ourselves a deal then,” Gendry told her.  They stood and Gendry walked
Arya to the door where Arya looked up at him.
“I do trust you, you know,” she said and Gendry looked at her in surprise.
“Only trust could have torn down the walls I’ve had since I was eleven.” She
gave him a small smile and left, hearing him close the door behind her.
Arya strolled at a leisurely pace back to her dorm, thinking over what she had
said. She may not like the shrink guy, but she knew she trusted him. He was
different, genuine. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew he was being paid for his
work, but the way he said he was worried about her…
A shiver ran down Arya’s spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
Though not overly concerned, she quickened her pace when she sensed eyes on her
and entered the girls’ dorm buiding and ran into Monyka.
“Arya,” Monyka said with a smile. Arya smiled back – her track teammate was
friendly and bubbly and Arya couldn’t imagine for the life of her why she was
in a place like this.
“Hi,” Arya replied. “Where are you off to?”
“Rec room,” Monyka replied. “Did you want to come?”
“No thanks,” Arya said instantly. “I’m really tired from training. I was just
heading to bed.”
“The training gets easier,” Monyka promised with a smile as she left. Arya
watched her go before going upstairs to her room and found Dany at the desk.
“What are you doing?” Arya asked casually, stripping down to get into her
pyjamas.
“Looking at universities,” Dany replied. “There’s a really good one in Braavos,
but I don’t want to be far from home, and there’s one in the Reach, Dorne, the
North and Pentos. I’m torn about which one to apply for.”
“Apply for the one that you think is right,” Arya said with a shrug, going to
the bathroom they shared with the girls next door to do her teeth. “That’s what
my father said to my brothers when they were applying.”
“It’s too much tonight,” Dany sighed. Arya finished brushing her teeth and came
back to the room, flopping on her bed.  “How was training anyway?” Arya groaned
and Dany laughed. “It wasn’t that bad was it?”
“No,” Arya admitted. “He worked us really hard but it was a good hard, you
know? Like I had something to focus my energies on. I’m in a team with three
other people, Monyka Wiley, Devan Seaworth and Ramsay.”
“Monyka’s lovely,” Dany told her. “And Devan is really sweet.”
“It’s Ramsay I’m worried about,” Arya said.
“Don’t worry about him,” Dany replied. “He’s not a bad guy.” Arya remembered
the feeling of eyes on her and wasn’t so sure, but she was in no mood to argue.
“I saw Gendry as well,” she said, noticing that Dany sat up straighter at this.
“And?” she asked. Arya shrugged.
“He freaked me out a little two days ago in our first session,” she admitted
and Dany immediately looked concerned, which Arya noticed. “Not in a bad way,”
she continued in a rush. “More like, he’s…learning on the job a bit and making
a few errors along the way.”
“What were these errors?” Dany asked.
“I’m not sure,” Arya answered. “He didn’t let me out a couple of times and he
had a go at my parents, but he talked with Varys afterwards and I told him my
terms.”
“Do you trust him?” Dany asked.
“Yes,” Arya said. “I swore when I came here that I wouldn’t let anyone inside
my head and nothing but trust made me open up to Gendry straight away. Anyway,
he’s not having another go at my parents, he’s to sit closer to me and not at a
shrink-like distance when I’m talking to him and he’s to let me out when I’ve
had enough. Then he added conditions of his own-“
“He shouldn’t be able to do that,” Dany said sharply.
“I know,” Arya said with a shrug. “But I think it was more making a deal with
him. Just, whenever I need to, I can talk to him, he wants to talk to my
parents when they visit at some stage and he wants me to be honest at all
times. He compromised and I’m talking to my parents when they come down and
Gendry will be my moral support. I thought it was a fair deal so I took it.”
“As long as you know what you’re doing,” Dany said, calming down.
“I do,” Arya assured her. “I’m not a little kid and I can take care of myself.
Gendry isn’t nearly as smart as he thinks he is.”
“Aegon likes you,” Dany said casually, changing the subject. “He thinks you’ve
got spunk.”
“That’s nice to hear,” Arya replied. “At least someone likes me.” Dany smiled
at her.
“I like you too,” she said. “And so does Ramsay, though he doesn’t really know
how to express positive feelings.”
“I noticed,” Arya answered. “Is he autistic or something?”
“I can’t tell you,” Dany said seriously. “Confidentiality and all that.” Arya
blushed.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Don’t worry,” Dany replied. “It’s all good.” Arya yawned and got under her
covers, falling asleep in minutes.
Twelve year old Arya could hear raised voices from the kitchen, though she
couldn’t make out the words they were using. Her father and her half-brother
were shouting the place down and no one knew why.
Arya was a little frightened – neither her father nor Jon were shouters, that
was her mother, hers and Sansa’s job – but for the argument to reach this
scale…she looked at her ten-year-old brother Bran, her thirteen-year-old sister
Sansa, her six-year-old brother Rickon, her sixteen-year -old brother Robb and
her twenty-one-year old brother Theon and saw that they looked shocked as well.
It was hours later when Arya was in her room, hugging her stuffed wolf Nymeria
to her chest when she heard her door creak open slightly. She looked up at Jon,
dressed in a black shirt, pants, boots, his dark brown hair hidden under a cap.
“Jon?” she asked, watching as Jon knelt down beside her bed. “What is it? What
were you and dad yelling about today?”
“I’m leaving,” Jon whispered.
“Where are we going?” Arya asked instantly; she would follow her favourite
brother anywhere. Jon shook his head, looking pained.
“Little Sister, I’m going to live with Uncle Benjen,” he explained quietly.
Arya’s foggy mind didn’t register at first, but the haze cleared and she jumped
out of bed.
“You can’t!” she cried, leaving the room.
“Arya-“
“No!” Arya cried, her shoulder-length hair swaying with every movement. “No,
Jon! You can’t leave!”
“I’ve wanted to be a soldier since I was a boy,” Jon murmured, following her to
the living room.
“What’s all this noise?” The light switched on and Arya saw that her father,
mother, older brothers and sister were awake.
“No, Jon,” Ned said quietly, instantly understanding. “Think what you’re
doing.”
“I’ve thought about it for years,” Jon pleaded. “I’ve always wanted to be with
Uncle Benjen, fighting…since I was a boy listening to Uncle Benjen’s war
stories I’ve wanted to be a soldier.” He held Ned’s gaze for a few moments
before Ned sighed.
“I can’t stop you” he said resignedly. “You’re twenty-years-old son. Do
whatever you feel is right. But please, leave in the morning so we can say
goodbye properly.” Jon nodded and everyone went back to bed, but Arya lay
awake, dreading the morning.
Jon was ready to leave after breakfast and the family lined up outside the
front. Jon and Ned shared a long hug and whispered conversation, Catelyn
hesitated before pulling Jon in for a quick hug, whispering something in his
ear, Theon and Robb embraced him, Sansa hugged him quickly and kissed his
cheek, Bran hugged him and Rickon jumped in his arms. Finally he reached Arya
who looked back at him stonily.
“Arya,” Jon said, his voice cracking. “Please understand-“
“How can I understand?” Arya asked bitterly. “You’re leaving us Jon. You’re
leaving me.” Jon swallowed and went to muss her hair but Arya took a step back.
“Little Sister-“
“I’m not your sister,” Arya said coldly. “You chose to leave. You can die for
all I care, Bastard.” Jon’s expression was one beyond any pain, any hurt and
Arya felt a stab of remorse for her harsh words before pushing it down. Jon
held her gaze for a moment before standing tall.
“I’ll miss you,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion before walking off.
Arya woke up, realising she was sobbing quietly and she hugged Nymeria to her
ever tighter. Jon had bought her the wolf for her fifth birthday and she had
shown her at school, naming her after the ancient warrior queen she idolised.
Arya lay awake for the rest of the night, the thoughts you killed him repeating
themselves in her mind like a mantra, her nails digging into the sides of her
wrists in an attempt to distract herself from the dark thoughts clouding her
head.
Chapter End Notes
     So now we know what happened when Jon left and why Arya blames
     herself for his death.
     What did you think of the deal she and Gendry made? What did you
     think of Monyka (I'm basing her on Weasel - the little girl who hangs
     around Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie for a bit), though obviously aged up.
     And Devan Seaworth is in there too! :D
     Remember, guests are free to leave comments as well. :)
***** I'll Be Watching You *****
Chapter Summary
     In which Sansa comes clean and Ramsay Bolton has feelings.
Chapter Notes
     This is just a filler chapter sorry to say. The next chapter will be
     longer though, I promise.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Sansa Stark’s life was falling apart and for the first time ever, she realised
the extent of what her sister had gone through at the behest of Joffrey,
Mykaela, Elmar, Margaery, Jeyne and herself.
Joffrey, it turned out, was an abusive asshole who blackmailed her into staying
with him. Sansa would never betray Jeyne and Margaery and that thought made her
wish that she had never betrayed Arya.
Sansa was lying on Joffrey’s bed while Joffrey redressed after having his way
with her. Sansa couldn’t believe she had ever liked him, had ever thought him
handsome and again, the tears of regret were beginning to show. Joffrey had
used a belt on her that time and every movement was painful.
“You’ll go home and hide those,” Joffrey drawled, gesturing to the bruises,
cuts and welts on Sansa’s body. “You’ll tell no one or I’ll-“
“I know,” Sansa said tiredly. Her heart stopped – she hadn’t meant to interrupt
him. Joffrey pulled his shirt on and looked at her angrily before punching her
in the stomach. Sansa gasped in pain and Joffrey shook his head before walking
to his door.
“I thought you would have started learning by now,” he said softly. “But you
always were stupid.” He left and Sansa got up and dressed. She took one look
around the room and left.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......
“Where’s Sansa?” Catelyn asked during dinner.
“Probably at Joffrey’s,” Bran supplied. “She’s always there now.”
“She’s been at his house every day,” Ned said quietly. They were interrupted
when the front door opened and Sansa came in, closing the door behind her.
“Sansa,” Catelyn said, standing and walking to her daughter.
“Hi mum,” Sansa said robotically, taking off her coat and shoes. “I was just at
Joffrey’s.” Catelyn was immediately concerned – Sansa looked like death warmed
up and there was something in her gaze.
“Come with me,” Catelyn said. Sansa obeyed without argument and followed
Catelyn to her bedroom where Catelyn rounded on her. “Is everything alright
with you and Joffrey?” she asked at once, noticing Sansa tense momentarily.
“Everything’s fine,” Sansa replied with a forced smile. “Really mum. He…” she
trailed off and Catelyn knew at once that something was wrong. She would not
let any of her other children go through anything like what Arya had gone
through.
“I will not have a repeat of Arya, Sansa,” Catelyn said. “What’s going on?
You’re hardly home, you spend more time with Joffrey than you do with us and
you don’t seem yourself. I’m your mother, you can tell me anything.” She
watched as Sansa’s eyes welled up and next thing she knew, she was holding her
daughter as she cried. “Please tell me what’s happening,” Catelyn whispered
against Sansa’s hair.
“He’s a monster,” Sansa said thickly. “He’s…he…”
“What has he done?” Catelyn asked, dread filling the pit of her stomach. I’ve
failed three of the six children I raised. I don’t deserve to be called a
mother.
“He tells his friends to beat me!” Sansa cried, letting it all out. “He tells
them to belt me! He hits and belts me and he’s blackmailing me into sex and I’m
so sorry mum! I’m so sorry about everything! I don’t deserve to be in this
family!”
“Hush,” Catelyn whispered, feeling tears of her own fall. She pushed Sansa back
slightly. “Show me what he has done.” Sansa sobbed as she took all her clothes
off, standing naked as her nameday while Catelyn looked in horror at the
bruises, welts and cuts that covered her body.
“He never goes for my face,” Sansa whispered. “He likes it when I’m pretty.”
“Your father must know,” Catelyn told her. She made for the door but Sansa
stood in front of it.
“You can’t!” she pleaded. “Joffrey has…videos of Jeyne and Margaery and if he
finds out I’ve told anyone, he’ll expose them and-“
“Sansa Stark,” Catelyn said firmly, scared out of her wits by what she had
discovered. “Your safety is much more important than your friends’ honour. I
will tell your father about this and Joffrey Baratheon will be punished for
this.” Catelyn pushed past Sansa and went to the dining room, wiping her eyes.
“You need to come with me, now,” Catelyn told Ned shakily who stood and
followed her back to Sansa’s room, looking concerned. Catelyn knocked on
Sansa’s door. “Sweetheart, open up.” There was a moment and Catelyn thought
that Sansa was going to refuse, but the door opened and she and Ned stepped
through. Sansa had her bra and underwear on and Ned looked in fury at the
bruises.
“Did Joffrey do this?” he asked quietly, his voice shaky with rage. Sansa
nodded and Ned ran a hand through his hair.
“Don’t do anything,” Sansa whispered. “Please. He’ll…”
“He will do nothing,” Ned promised. He pulled Sansa to him for a hug and felt
her cry into his chest. “I swear it Sansa. You will not see that boy again, are
we clear?” Sansa nodded against his chest and Ned kissed her head.
“I know we have been cold toward you lately because of what happened to Arya,”
he said quietly. “But you are as much our daughter as she is and we love you.
Why did you not come to us straight away?”
“He…he told me he would leak videos of Margaery and Jeyne,” Sansa whispered. “I
couldn’t betray them…I don’t want to ever betray anyone again.” Ned sighed and
released her. “I’ll tell Robert about what Joffrey has done to you first thing
in the morning,” he said softly. “Go get something to eat and relax. You’re
safe and he will never come near you again.” Sansa nodded, more relieved than
she thought she would feel. “How long has he been doing this to you?”
“A month,” Sansa said. Ned and Catelyn both felt the same – that they had let
down another of their children.
“Go on,” Ned told her and Sansa left.
“That’s three,” Catelyn whispered. “First Jon, then Arya, now Sansa.”
“I know,” Ned said heavily. He kissed Catelyn’ head, lost as to what to do.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Arya Stark. The name sent a shiver through him. This last month at the Home had
been brightened by her presence and he knew, just knew in the depths of his
soul that they were meant to be together. He had been watching her: eating,
walking along the grounds with her friends, talking to the counsellor…
At the thought of her counsellor, Ramsay was filled with an all-consuming rage.
That counsellor…Ramsay knew Arya was starting to fall for Gendry Waters’ charms
and it was only a matter of time…unless he got there first. Ramsay had never
felt this way about anyone before…except the last girl who had landed him in
this hellhole. He supposed he should be thankful to Becky…without her, he would
never have met Arya Stark, would never have gotten the chance he had with her.
He saw it in her eyes…the slight fear and it turned him on. There was nothing
like a hot, scared girl to get his blood pumping and Arya, with her long dark
tresses and her dark grey eyes the colour of a pre-dawn morning…he grew hard
just thinking about them.
He was sitting in a tree and was about to climb down when he saw the beauty
that had captured his mind walking with said counsellor. They were strolling
side by side, talking about something Ramsay desperately wanted to know. He saw
the looks Waters was giving to Arya and his anger increased. Something had to
be done about him so he and Arya could be together with no threat.
Ramsay waited and saw they stopped right under the tree and he shrank back so
they wouldn’t see him.
“You’re sure you can handle something like this?” Gendry asked.
“I’m sure,” Arya replied quietly. “I’ve felt it for the last month.” Ramsay’s
anger reached an all-new level when Gendry gripped Arya’s arm.
“I’ll be here for you, day or night,” he murmured. “You’re not alone Arya,
remember that.” Arya smiled at him and he released her arm, both of them
walking away from the tree.
Ramsay glared after the two of them. Yes, he thought. Waters definitely needed
to be out of the way.
Chapter End Notes
     Ramsay gives me the creeps, just saying. So yes, this was very much a
     filler chapter. I know the Starks were meant to visit the week
     before, but Sansa came clean the night before they were due to go so
     they rescheduled the visit through Varys. They'll be meeting Arya and
     Gendry in the next chapter.
     Arya's and Gendry's conversation can be taken way out of context and
     the full conversation will be featured in the next chapter.
     Remember, guests can comment on this if they wish :)
***** Let's Call This Filler *****
Chapter Summary
     In which a month has passed and Arya confides in Gendry.
Chapter Notes
     I'm sorry! Life has been so hectic and I have had zero time to write.
     I'm going out tonight but I'm posting this now and posting another
     chapter when I get home. This one is just another filler and I'm
     hoping the next chapter will be at least double.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Arya had been at the Home for one month. In that month, she had caught up in
her classes, become fitter in Syrio’s training sessions, made good friends out
of Dany, Aegon, Monyka and Devan and had progressed in her mental health so
that now she almost – ALMOST – forgot about the seemingly consistent slight
tremors in her body from the lack of drugs and almost – ALMOST – didn’t want to
self-harm.
There were two drawbacks though. The first: Ramsay. According to her group, of
which he was a part of too, he was a naturally quiet person. This didn’t bother
her as much as the constant staring. Every time Arya glanced at him, he was
suddenly finding his shoes interesting and he barely spoke two words to her.
Arya thought it could have been because he was shy, but she couldn’t deny that
something about him seemed…off. She didn’t want to say anything; she wasn’t
willing to risk her friendship with everyone else over a feeling.
The second: Gendry Waters. Her handsome, kind, caring, sweet, slightly stupid
counsellor was making her feel things and, though the feelings she had weren’t
unpleasant, they unnerved her. She liked him, that much she could tell, but she
was forced to keep her emotions bottled up lest someone find out and make her
change counsellors. She and Gendry had formed a bond of trust and Arya wasn’t
willing to risk that. More often than not, she found herself in their usual
room with coffee, talking to him about nothing and everything. It was these
surprise sessions that helped her more than anything, giving her the feeling
that she was just meeting a friend for coffee instead of seeing a shrink to
unload her anxiety onto.
Arya had been disappointed and more than a little furious when Varys had called
her into his office last week:
“I’m afraid something has come up with your family,” Varys told her when she
sat at his desk. Arya straightened up, fear flashing through her.
“Are they alright?” she asked quickly.
“They’re fine,” Varys assured her. “They’ve told me that Sansa wasn’t well and
that they have to sort some things out, but they will be here next Saturday to
see you.” Arya sat back, her fear turning to anger.
“So,” she said shakily. “My entire family didn’t come because of my darling
sister?” She stood and left, Varys watching her go and she stormed to the first
place she thought of: Gendry’s office.
The door was open, signifying that he wasn’t having a session with anyone and
she stormed inside, slamming the door behind her. Gendry was reading a textbook
on one of the couches and he looked up in surprise when Arya walked to the
couch next to him and sat down.
“What happened?” he asked as he set aside his textbook. Arya had been ready to
bash her parents to him, but seeing that he was probably busy studying, she bit
her lip and ran a hand through her hair, feeling guilty for disrupting him.
“Are you busy?” she asked, gesturing to the textbook. Gendry shook his head.
“My homework will still be there,” he said. “You’re more important.” Arya was
thankful her face was already hot from rushing to the office; it would have
made things awkward if she was to blush at Gendry’s comment. “What happened?”
Gendry asked softly.
“My parents aren’t coming today,” Arya whispered, drawing her knees to her
chest. “Because of my fucking sister.” Gendry exhaled and watched her.
“That sucks,” he said sympathetically. “Did you just find out?” Arya nodded and
felt her throat burning up.
“It’s just hard sometimes,” she murmured. “I’m finding it really hard without
the drugs…I have these constant tremors and I’m fighting so hard right now to
not go to your desk to find something sharp.” She felt her tears fall, but she
was no longer embarrassed by them.  Gendry just watched her silently but she
knew that he was ready to spring if she so much as looked at his desk. She took
a shuddering breath and grasped her hair. “I hate her,” she whispered.
“Do you?” Gendry asked. “Tell me why.”
“You know why,” Arya shot at him.
“Tell me again,” Gendry told her. Arya rolled her eyes but complied.
“She can do no wrong,” she said for what she felt was the thousandth time.
“She’s dating dad’s best friend’s son and no one cares that he’s a raging
psycho who landed me in this hellhole and she…” Arya trailed off, unable to
think of any other reason but Joffrey. “I just hate her,” she settled on.
“Perhaps that’ll change when you next see her,” Gendry suggested. “A lot of
your animosity with her is based on her boyfriend from what you’ve told me. Do
you think you could get along with her if she wasn’t with him?”
“I don’t know,” Arya said. “She wants to marry him and have his children and be
the perfect little wife to him and while she has that ambition, I’m not going
to have anything to do with her.” Gendry sat back and wiped his hand over his
face and Arya noticed the thick stubble he had and how tired he looked. She bit
her lip guiltily.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I shouldn’t be unloading my problems when you
have enough on your plate.”
“Hey,” Gendry replied.  “It’s my job Arya. Come to me whenever you need to, you
know that. I’m here to help. Is there anything else that’s bothering you?” Arya
deliberated telling Gendry about the feeling she had that she was being watched
and decided to tell him. He may not believe her, but she couldn’t keep it to
herself any longer.
“Walk with me?” she asked, standing up. Gendry stood as well and followed her
out of his office.
Ten minutes had passed in the grounds when Arya found a secluded spot under a
tree. She started leading Gendry to it, Gendry keeping pace easily. “I feel
like I’m being watched,” Arya explained, looking at him to gauge his reaction.
“Why do you feel like that?” Gendry asked, no emotion on his face. Arya
swallowed and looked straight ahead; she knew this would potentially make her
sound crazy, but she had the familiar tingling feeling even now.
“It’s just a feeling I get,” she explained. “It happens especially when I’m
alone and it…” she trailed off, reluctant to admit the feeling frightened her.
“It what?” Gendry asked quietly. Arya looked at him again, trying to convey
without words that she was scared. Gendry’s brows furrowed in response. “You’re
scared,” he said quietly. Arya looked at her feet and Gendry sighed.
“I don’t want you to do anything about it,” Arya told him. “I’m handling it…I
just wanted you to know.” They stopped under the tree and they faced each
other.
“You’re sure you can handle something like this?” Gendry asked.
“I’m sure,” Arya replied quietly. “I’ve felt it for the last month.” She felt
the warmth of Gendry’s hand as he gripped her upper arm, a slight shiver
running through her.
“I’ll be here for you, day or night,” he murmured. “You’re not alone Arya,
remember that.” Arya was relieved that he believed her and she smiled at him.
Gendry returned her smile and led her back to the building.
Chapter End Notes
     So Arya is developing feelings for Gendry. The next chapter will have
     more than one point of view in it so it will be longer to make up for
     this shoddy attempt. Until tonight all x
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