Summary:
Arya get's in an awful situation, and Gendry helps her out.
Notes:
In this story, Arya is 12 years old.
Gendry is 16 years old.
And in this story, Gendry still has no idea that Arry is a girl.
Arya Stark, who called herself Arry, had now been travelling with the brotherhood without banners for two days. Arya had always liked the company of boys and men more than the company of girls and women. Boys and men said exactly what they were thinking, and they did whatever they wanted to do. Arya related to boys more than girls anyway.
The way they did things around here, was so different from what she was used to. There were some complications, though; She had to disguise herself as a boy, and nobody could know that she was actually Arya Stark of Winterfell. She would have to act like a boy all of the time, even when she was asleep. She couldn't risk anyone finding out about her true identity. Arya knew it would be quite the challenge for her, because let's face it, who can control what they do in their sleep? Arya had no powers like that, which meant she would have to hope for the best.
Whenever the boys went to bathe, she would stay behind in their camp and clean Needle. Then, at nightfall, she would eventually sneak out of their camp, and into the forest where the lake was. She would wash off the dirt from the day, and wash away all of her worries and thoughts. Then she would have her night-swim, as Arya liked to call it. The peace and darkness at that time of night seemed perfect for her. Nobody had noticed her sneaking out yet, which Arya appericiated very much. Arya did not want her little secret to be spoiled. Arya did her very best to keep her secret a secret. Arya never felt completely by herself, though.
On the first day, she made two new friends; Gendry and Hot Pie. Gendry was a skilled blacksmith, and Hot Pie was an orphan. It actually surprised Arya, that neither of them had noticed anything odd about Arry. Perhaps she was just good at being a boy, or acting like a boy atleast. The sleeping arrangements were definietly a big issue for Arya and her secret.
She had to share a bed with Gendry, and they had to lay very close to eachother, since the bed was suitsble for one person. Sometimes they had a bed to sleep in, most of the time they had to sleep on the hard ground, in a forest. Arya found herself getting anxious everytime Gendry moved an inch in the bed. What if he accidently touched her body, or felt it some way? Would he feel something was off? Gendry, and all of the other boys always slept shirtless and with their breeches on.
Gendry had started to ask Arya, why she didn't sleep shirtless, now it was so warm out. Arya had just chuckled, and told him that she always got cold during night-time. Peeing was not that easy for her either. All of the boys just went whenever they needed it, Arya had to think about how and when she could go. If they saw her, they would wonder why she was squatting instead of standing up. She would always have to go deep in the forest, hide behind a tree or a rock before peeing.
Arya woke up, the sun shone down on her, from the treetops towering over her. The slight breeze moved her short hair around. They had all slept outside tonight, which Arya didn't mind at all. That meant she had more space for herself, and she didn't have to fight over the blanket with Gendry. Her secret was safe once again.
"Goodmorning, Arry." A voice came from behind her. She quickly turned around, "Goodmorning, Gendry." A small smile appeared on Gendry's lips as she spoke. Arya couldn't deny it; He was pretty good looking, and he was quite handsome. He was rough, but in a good way. Perhaps, she saw herself in him. Arya got up from the hard ground, and looked around; Everyone in the camp had started to wake up, the sound of crispy leaves could be heard everywhere.
Arya secured Needle in her belt, before going with Gendry. Arya and Gendry started walking towards the fire-pit, where they should be breaking their fast. Hot Pie already sat on one of the tree stumps around the pit. "Goodmorning, Hot Pie. Are you already breaking your fast?" Gendry asked, as he sat down beside him. Hot Pie playfully hit Gendry's shoulder, "Aye. The breakfast is quite good today" he answered, looking at Arya. "Goodmorning, Arry." Hot Pie smiled gently, before returning his gaze to his porridge. Gendry grabbed a bowl and scooped some porridge into it. Arya did the same, and then the three of them finally sat down together.
Hot Pie and Gendry ate their porridge quickly, but Arya was a slow eater. Today atleast. She had a weird feeling in her stomach, like it was full but she knew she had not eaten since yeaterday evening. Shrugging the feeling off, she placed her bowl in the stack of used bowls, before returning to Hot Pie and Gendry. Today the whole camp should practice their sword fighting, in case someone invaded their camp. They all had to be ready at all times, and their sword fighting skills should be one hundred percent sharp. Arya stood infront of Gendry. She pulled out Needle, and Gendry pulled out his sword too.
They started practicing, and they both did quite well. The sound of the blades hitting eachother, could be heard miles away. "Not bad at all" Arya teased Gendry as he dropped his sword. Gendry rolled his eyes, "There is a reason why it's called practicing, and not battle, Arry" he sighed and picked up his sword once again. The droplets of sweat on his forehead rolled down on his neck, as the two of them were "fighting". "I'm older than you, i probably know more about sword fighting!" Gendry exclaimed in self defense, as they kept practicing.
"Well, apparently i'm better at the actual fighting." Arya smirked, enjoying the look on Gendry's face. "I'm going to take you down right now!" He yelled playfully, approaching her with the blade in his hand. Arya pointed Needle at him, a smug smile danced on her lips. Gendry himself was smiling now too. "Arry is a great sword-fighting-practicing partner" he thought to himself.
"Dear Gods, Arry! Did you cut yourself?" Gendry's mood changed in a milisecond. He rushed to his friends' side, and looked at her. Arya looked at him, more confused than ever. "What do you mean? We're just practicing, nobody is getting hurt." She tried to tell him, but he shook his head, "That's not what i'm talking about. You are bleeding!" He exclaimed.
Arya looked down at herself, a small gasp escaped her lips as she saw it; Blood. Blood had seeped through her breeches, and it had left a noticeable, crimson red stain. "Did you hurt yourself? Should i tell someone?" Gendry's questions became faint; The panic took over her body. Arya put Needle in her belt, her eyes wide. She started to run, run as fast as she could, away from the camp. She had no idea what to feel, or how to react. Arya could feel the tears build up in her eyes, threatening to spill.
Arya panted, looking down at her breeches, as if hoping the stain would be gone. It wasn't. Infact, it seemed like more blood had seeped through the material. Arya's stomach started to ache again, this time it was a more intense aching. She wated to lay down, scream and cry out in pain. She had never felt this kind of pain before.
The forest was so peaceful and quiet, unlike everything Arya felt at that very moment. She had to wash herself somehow. Once Arya reached the lake in the middle of the woods, she sighed in relief; She was all alone. First, she took off her belt and gently placed it on the ground. The last thing she needed was Needle getting stolen, so she hid her belt under some leaves.
Sighing, Arya gently removed her shirt, and threw it on the ground. She took off her shoes, and then her socks. Her whole body was so sore, as if thousands of swords had gone through her body. Arya removed blood-soaked breeches, and her soiled small clothes as well. Letting the clothes pool at her feet, she looked at the lake, her reflection very clear. She looked at herself; Her hair had started to grow longer, she would have to cut it soon.
Once Arya was completely undressed, she desperately tried to inspect, where the bleeding came from. She looked down, and some fresh blood ran down her inner thighs. Arya started to panic; She was used to see blood, but not from her. Then she remembered; Her mother had once said something about flowering, but it was a long time ago. It was hard enough to disguise herself as a boy at all times. How in the Seven hells would she be able to hide this?
Sighing, she took her soiled breeches and small clothes into the water with her. The water felt cool against her warm skin, a devine feeling spread through her body. The weird stomach ache was definietly still there, but the cool water had a soothing effect. Arya grabbed a rock, and started scrubbing her clothes. The blood was staining the water, turning it a slight pink color. She frowned at the sight, but scrubbing her pants and small clothes, as if her whole life depended on it.
"Come on," Arya growled to herself, getting more desperate by each passing second. This was a horrible situation, and she could do nothing about it. Here she was, standing in the middle of a lake, naked and desperately trying to scrub the blood out of her clothes, and with blood running down her legs.
Gendry couldn't help but think about Arry, and what happened. Without thinking, he ran after Arry, and into the woods. He followed Arry closely, but did his best not to get caught. He had to see if his friend was alright. After awhile of running, Arry had finally stopped. Gendry stood behind a huge tree, not making any noise.
Arry had started to undress, and then he saw it; To his very big surprise, Arry was actually a girl! Gendry's jaw dropped, and his mind kept telling him "This is impossible, this can't be." But there was no denying it. Arry was a girl, and he had just seen her without clothes. Gendry had no idea how to react, so he just kept staring at her. She seemed quite desperate and she was scrubbing her blood-stainedd clothes in the lake. "Dear Gods..." he mumbled to himself, finally putting the pieces together. The girl had flowered, and perhaps for the first time ever.
The girl got out of the water, and sat on the river bank on her knees, still trying to get the blood out of her clothes. She was still naked, which made him blush like a maniac. Gendry felt sorry for the girl; She couldn't help, that she started bleeding and then a boy had seem everything. How embarrassing it must've been for her.
Gendry wanted to take his eyes off of her, but he couldn't. He found himself admiring her. Admiring her strenght and the courage she had shown him. He slowly walked towards her, careful not to startle her.
When he got closer, he could see how big the stain was, and why she wanted it to be gone. Arya looked down at herself, when she could sense someone behind her. She quickly turned around, and hoped it was just her mind playing games with her. "Gendry! Oh Gods, please don't look. It's not what it looks like" Arya covered her body with her arms, a blush appeared on her cheeks. Gendry smiled warmly at her, "Don't worry, i'm not here to hurt you. Even though i'm quite surprised to see you are a girl" He muttered quietly.
"I know. Please don't tell anyone." Arya begged him, looking down in embarrassment. He smiled and sat down beside her, "Don't worry, they won't hear it from me." He reassured her. Gendry took off his shirt, "Here, take this on. Until your clothes dries. I can help you get the bloodstains out of your clothes, if you want." He offered. Arya took his shirt, and pulled it over her head. "You really don't have to-" Arya was cut off, "But i want to. I want to help you, and i will keep your secret safe." Arya couldn't help but smile, this was so nice of him.
"My real name is actually not Arry, it's Arya. Arya Stark of Winterfell" she told him, his eyes widened, "Then you are a real lady. Now in both ways." He chuckled nodding towards the bloodstain on the river bank, where Arya had sat. "I'm not a lady!" She hissed at him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And congratulations, you have now flowered." He teased her, making her playfully hit his shoulder "Shut up, Gendry."