Game of Thrones: The Direwolves in the North

Chapter 17: The Blackwoods of Raventree Hall

The following morning, they gathered in the great hall to break their fast. The men of the Brotherhood sat in tables long tables with Blackwood soldiers.

Arya sat with Lord Tytos Blackwood and his five children by the long table on a raised dais at the end of the great hall. The rest of them namely: the men of the Brotherhood, the rest of the Blackwood household, the soldiers and servants ate with them by the many long tables in the great hall.

Tytos Blackwood sat at the center. To his right, were his three oldest sons, Brynden, Hoster, and Edmund. To his right, sat his youngest son, Alyn, who was probably just a year older than Arya. Next to him was Arya, and then Bethany, Tytos' youngest child and only daughter.

Arya obviously didn't want to sit on the high table, but Lord Tytos had insisted, stating that she's a princess, an honored guest, and the one who had liberated them from the Freys and the Lannisters. But he had refused to let the direwolf to even sit by Arya's foot the entire meal. Arya, with respect to their host, reluctantly led Nymeria out in the godswood with the rest of the Wolfpack.

To Gendry, that seemed fair enough, but what bothered him were Alyn Blackwood's gestures towards Arya. He would always lean towards her and always get too close to the point that he's invading her personal space, in a similar way Edric Dayne used to do. Now, he remembered why he never liked that lord of Starfall.

Gendry glanced at the high table. Arya had just shut off Alyn from whatever he was going to say. She just rolled her eyes in annoyance and managed to look his way.

Arya smiled and waved at him. Then her next facial expression clearly said like, please get me out of here.

Gendry simply snorted and shrugged. I can't do anything. Sorry. He seemed to say.

At the same moment, Beric, who was sitting next to him, and Thoros and the Hound across from them, caught him staring. They all had their eyebrows raised at him.

"What?" Gendry asked in confusion.

The Hound turned to Beric. "I told you before," He said, taking a bite from a chicken leg. "He had some affection for her. You never listened to me."

"What?" He shrieked. "No, I don't!" Gendry said in defense.

Thoros jabbed a finger at him. "Don't lie to us boy," He spoke up. "We're not blind!" He drank from his tankard.

"Well," Beric said. "You're not the first Baratheon boy who took a liking to a Stark girl."

"I'm not a Baratheon!" Gendry corrected.

"Please," Beric smirked. "Don't change the subject." He elbowed him teasingly. "You like her."

"She's my friend!" Gendry insisted. "Nothing more."

"We're not saying in what way, boy," Beric pointed out. "Maybe you don't even know it yourself. But anyone paying attention can see it."

"Aye," The Hound agreed. "No one stares at a girl that long with a smile on his face." He added.

At that point, Gendry felt his face turn red from embarrassment.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Gendry," Beric assured. "It's normal."

It may be normal, Gendry thought. But it's not going to happen. She's a highborn lady, a princess, and he was just a lowborn bastard.

. . .

After the briefing, Arya went to the godswood and stood before the colossal Weirwood tree. The sun shone the same way it mostly does in the North, which meant the winds have gone colder and snow had fallen. Winter is here.