Her Blacksmith, His Princess

Arya

Kaallih's word was true and in four days they reached King's Landing. It was obvious war was on the way before they even made port. War galleys were anchored just outside the bay and more docked in the Blackwater. They were ready for battle.

The familiar Hell sent a shiver down Arya's spine. She hated this place most in all the world. They had killed her father here. They had killed everyone she had ever known and cared for here. They imprisoned her sister here. Arya couldn't wait to get out.

Kaallih docked the ship. She had told him the day before that with the war, he may not get his gold right away, but she had promised him a lordship when the war was won.

Arya got a horse at one of the inns and hung Ice from the saddle. As she rode through the Mud Gate into the city, she thought of Gendry. I wonder what he's doing now.

Then she started seeing soldiers. She couldn't see their colors yet and they carried no banner. Off to the alehouses and brothels most likely. As they got closer though, she saw the familiar colors of House Frey, gray and blue, on their cloaks and doublets. Fucking Freys. Arya rode past them.

Arya was riding up Muddy Way when suddenly, she felt like she could not move one more step. Stay, a voice whispered. Please, stay. It was a familiar voice, one she often heard in her dreams. Gendry.

When Arya turned around this time, she saw only one thing; a gray direwolf on a white field. The huge banner flapped high and proud on the Red Keep beside the Twins of Frey and the Trout of Tully. Arya couldn't believe it.

"It can't be," she whispered to herself. She almost whispered his name, too, but she didn't. She couldn't.

When she reached Traitor's Walk, the main gate into the Red Keep, she almost vomited. The guards at the gate were Stark, which is the only reason she didn't.

"Who commands here?" she asked. "The northern men."

One of the guards smiled a small smile while the other answered, "Ser Gendry Waters."

Arya couldn't breathe. She unsheathed Ice.