fear cuts deeper than swords

“I don’t recommend it. But if you need any recommendations for biding time in a jail cell, I can give you some ideas.” Gendry knew that he wouldn’t be waiting more than two days to be released as they couldn’t legally without having something on him. But he thought about the night before leading up to the events, how he dodged the police when they arrived, and how he made himself a suspect without meaning to. He couldn’t even look at Ned without thinking about Arya and instead was drowned out by the noise his father made in the cell. “I am crossing my fingers that you do. I may or may not be equipped with some as well, but you the good stuff up North. King’s Landing couldn’t compete.”

“I strive to receive as many compliments as I can from you,” Gendry remarked with humor in his tone, turning his face with a wide grin. There was nothing more innate than driving his bike through traffic at night and feeling Arya pressed against him was a feeling he couldn’t put into words. The noise of the city and cars were replaced with the ambiance of the woods. Gendry removed his helmet and looked around at a place that hadn’t been affected by time. “Used to come here almost every day. You were smaller.” They both were and had changed since the last time they were there. “If it is, it’s all yours. That stash is from years ago.”

“Bran has actually started growing his own. He is incredible at it. I don’t know how he does it so well. It’s like he has a sixth sense for it.” Arya laughed as she began the arduous process of getting to the ‘stash hole’. Everything in the little fort had gathered dust and dirt on it. The wave of nostalgia made her a little sad. Under two planks of wood, wrapped in a scarf and tucked into a backpack, Arya produced a very, very cheap looking bottle of wine. This was the best they could do back in the day. She used her teeth to pull the cork out of the top. The Stark girl collapsed onto her usual spot in the corner of an old mattress. She coughed at the dust that dispersed into the air. She grinned. “Your loss then.” Arya took the bottle and turned it upward. It tasted painfully sweet and strong.

“It’s a little hard to believe there was a time when I was smaller than this.” Sansa had grown to be gorgeous and tall. Arya hoped that she would share those genetics with her sister, but that never seemed to be the case. No. Arya, on the other hand, remained a short, stout girl. What she wouldn’t give for just a few more inches of height. “Let’s stay here tonight.” She said suddenly. Once upon a time, Arya had spent many a night in the fort. Sometimes it was by herself, other times she had a sibling or friend along. More often than not, Gendry managed to find her there. He had a knack for showing up exactly when she needed a ride. “It’ll be good to have a spot where no one can find us for a night.”

Sansa listened to her sister complain as she rummaged through her medicine cabinet searching for something antibacterial and a band aid to place over her sisters red covered knees. She rolled her eyes a few times but kept it to herself until she’d finished her rant. Collecting the first aid supplies Sansa walked back into the living room and place the lot on the coffee table. “Arya. Dad got wrongly accused of murder. There is a slight difference between that and you being accused of spray painting the towns historic buildings.” Sansa was a big fan of art no matter what form it came in and she’d much rather her sister putting her efforts into something creative than getting high in a back corner with Gendry. “They only blame you because you’ve become someone easy to pin the blame on. Maybe if you laid low for a while you’d fall off their radar.” Sansa didn’t know if her suggestions fell on deaf ears, but it wouldn’t stop her from giving them.

She took a look at the contents of her medicine cabinet once more than back at her sisters knee. “Right let’s clean you up before you stain my sofa or your leg gets so infected it falls off.” Taking a cotton round and soaking it in hydrogen peroxide she handed it to her sister to apply. The last thing Sansa wanted to do was place it on her sister herself and when the burn kicked in risk getting a kick to the face.

Arya crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Not when we’ve both been wrongly accused, and for the record, I have been wrongly accused. I didn’t do anything this time. I didn’t even have paint on me. Those cops were profiling.” They had all been more strict since the chaos of Balon’s party and had kept a particularly close eye on her. She supposed that wasn’t a huge surprise considering who they’d arrested the night of. It wasn’t only her father, but Gendry as well. More than once now she’d spotted them tailing them both. “And I never paint historic buildings anyway. Only the new gaudy ones. Nothing constructed since Robb’s birth is historic... just tacky.” She sighed. “I was laying low. Well, as low as I can. You can’t expect me to sit inside doing nothing for weeks on end. They’re only trying to pin something on me because they can’t pin it on anyone else. Ow-” Arya hissed as the hydrogen peroxide soaked into her injury. 

“What do you think about Dad getting arrested anyway?” She asked, looking down at the road rash. It didn’t look like there was any gravel hidden under the skin. Fuck’s sake. It looked pretty bad. She pressed the cleaning pad to it again. “I mean, it’s all bullshit right?”

Robb shrugged. He’d heard more than enough rumors about the younger brother of the king to worry about their sanity. Still, they were just rumors and he saw no need to remark on them to Arya. “Maybe,” he agreed with her, his lips twisting as he considered what Arya had to say. “Depends on how bad it truly is, I guess.” He shook his head, his lips thinned as Arya mentioned the Lannisters. “They’re all snakes,” he agreed. “But some of them are pretty ones, which makes it even more worrying.” He wondered just how influential the Lannisters were behind the scenes. “At least they haven’t gotten too far into politics lately. Can you imagine one of them in the royal family?” The last couple of words were said with a snarl, as Robb hoped the royal family would become redundant with the new legislation presented.

He supposed his comments were bound to worry Arya and Robb’s head turned. His eyes met his sister’s and he was careful in his next words. “Of course not,” he murmured. “You know how honorable he is. Always going on about things being done the proper way.” But though he said the words to Arya, she’d made him wonder.

“Worse than that.” Arya grumbled. “They’re not snakes, they’re lions. Ambitious lion shits who would love to see everyone else burn at the stake. Don’t call them pretty.” The mere idea had her sneering. “They’ve not been into politics publicly. Tywin Lannister has his hand in every pot. I wouldn’t be surprised if the plan was to install one of their lot into the crown.” While everyone in their family had wildly varying opinions of most of the major families in Westeros, at least they could agree on how shit the Lannisters were. “They saw that the royals were about to be knocked back down to plebeian status and so they offed the perpetrator. It scares off nearly everyone else who would have the balls to propose the bill, allows them to lead the cops to arrest anyone not scared of them, and everyone else falls into chaos which is very easy to control when you anticipate it. They could easily use it to their advantage.”

“Exactly. He wants things done the proper way, but he didn’t get booked. That doesn’t add up Robb.” And besides, Arya could tell that her brother wasn’t so sure. “Have you talked to him about it yet? I tried this morning, but no luck. Mum kicked me out of the room before I could say more than three words.”

After a photo shoot in the morning, fresh air was exactly what Margaery needed, before attending a lecture in the evening. Life barreled on, no matter what was going on behind the closed doors of politicians, and Margaery was set to continue with it. The collision was entirely unexpected, and before she knew what was happening, she was on the ground, entangled with someone - was that a dog? She began to pull herself up, looking for any damage to her clothes or person, but besides a rather ugly looking scrape on her arm, she seemed rather unscathed. Still, something like that could put her out of work until it healed properly. 

Her eyes focused on the culprit, and she quickly recognized Sansa’s younger sister standing before her. “I’m fine,” Margaery looked the other girl over, keeping her own emotions hidden behind a well trained facade, “You have nothing to apologize for. Simply a case of being in the wrong place a the right time. Are you okay? Your sister wouldn’t be happy with me if I let you walk away injured.”

Nymeria immediately came over and began to nuzzle her nose against Arya’s leg. It was impossible to stay mad at her. Arya reached over and scratched the obscenely large dog’s ears. While Margaery said she was fine, the gnarly gash on her arm lead Arya to believe otherwise. Arya scoffed. “You obviously don’t know my sister that well.” She pulled her bag off of her bag and began to pilfer around inside of it. It dawned on her that she should really clean it out. There was so much unnecessary shit. “Nine times out of ten, she’d be the one wishing injury on me.” Not so much since Sansa had moved out of the house, but once upon a time she was constantly out for Arya’s throat. From her backpack, Arya produced antiseptic, as given to her by her youngest brother, and a roll of bandages given to her by her oldest. She suspected it was because they were both tired of her bleeding on things. “But I’m fine. I can handle a fall.” She handed over the supplies. “You should clean that out so it doesn’t scar, though.”

From all the times that Arya rode on Gendry’s bike, it felt natural and free. Still, the sudden press of her pressed flush against his back, made all other senses fade. “I’m sure none of those were for murder though.” Gendry knew about the misdemeanors and they all about matched his own. The times he had been arrested were only for petty crimes and could only predict the incident a few weeks ago wouldn’t be scrubbed away on his record. None of it had phased him before, but it was something to worry about now with everyone eyeing his back and wondering if he did it. “Never did thank you for sharing it with me. We can always smoke again with less stress of fancy people around. The Gods know that I deserve that much peace.”

“Your friend Theon got a good punch in with Viserys too. I was the least violent person there, though punching any of the cops was tempting. I was on my best behavior, you should be proud of me,” Gendry added with sarcasm lacing his tone. As soon as they were both comfortable, Gendry veered out of the bar’s parking lot, and pressed forward in the direction of where he had in mind. Gendry drove the bike through traffic, twisting through other cars on the road and turning sharply off of the main road down a more worn path. What they needed now was a place they could be alone and the place that Gendry thought of was the abandoned fort in the woods they came across when they were much younger. The headlights on the bike beamed at the ground surrounding the fort and Gendry switched off the engine, everything fading to silence. They were away from the city, the ambient noise and chatter from people. He balanced the bike on the kickstand before removing his helmet. He twisted around to grin at Arya, hoping that this place was appropriate for them. “It’s been a while since we’ve been here. Thought we should give it some love.”

“No, no murder. Not even suspected murder which is saying something given my particularly gnarly streak of violence which incidentally has landed me in some pretty serious trouble." Even Robert had known not to attempt to stop Cersei when she insisted on pressing charge against Arya when the whole Joffrey incident happened. No amount of her own Mother’s fury could cause the lioness to drop the charges either. It ended up being a plea. Arya had to do so much community service just to make sure that it wasn’t going to follow her around for the rest of her life. The little shit head deserved it though. “Funny you should mention that. I may or may not be equipped to do just that.” Arya chuckled.

“Oh so proud you.” She laughed again. “A little bit more proud of Theon, but still so proud of you.” Her voice was rolling in a teasing humor as she reached up and pinched his cheek. The cars flew past them as they weaved in and out of traffic. As they pulled onto a side road, Arya realized exactly where they were going. It had been years since she’d been to the fort. The smell of the woods surrounding it brought back years of memories. “Brilliant.” She couldn’t help the smile that spread over her face to see the hold place. Arya swung her leg around and hopped off of the bike. “Seven Hells. I haven’t been here in years.” She exhaled wistfully. It was maybe the one place in King’s Landing where you could actually see the stars. “D’you reckon the rest of our stash is still here?”

“Why would I make something like that up?” Myrcella covered her face with her hands although she was giggling as well. “I thought I was over seeing things like that when Tommen grew out of his gross boy stage but apparently the boys at university aren’t much better.” Rolling her eyes, she took a bit of her salad and wrinkled her nose. “I honestly don’t think I can explain it because every time I try to remember how it happened, it blurs a little more. I think my brain is trying to protect me from the trauma of disgusting boys.”

“I don’t know.” Arya shrugged. “For the sheer hilarity of it, but there’s no possible way that it’s true!” Her tongue stuck out in disgust. “I’ve got a mountain of brothers. Four brothers and not once have I seen nor even heard of them doing that and thank the fucking seven for that.” She laughed again and shook her head. “Tommen? Really?” For a minute, Arya thought that she wasn’t going to be able to catch her breath again. “But you see if I don’t get the full story then I’m going to be traumatized, and we can’t both be traumatized or no one will be able to fly the plane.”

Whatever happened between Myrcella and Arya, Renly didn’t think anything would get better if he stuck his nose in it. One did not maintain ‘coolest uncle’ status by sticking their nose where it didn’t belong. Getting in between two feuding women in general didn’t seem like a good idea. Best just let it drop.

He huffed a laugh and took a drink. She certainly knew her own merit, he’d give her that. Could hardly fault her for that much. Though possibly he could fault her for the trouble she got his nephew in, but that wouldn’t help things at the moment.

“Baratheon’s are all stubborn asses, it runs in the blood.” He said mildly, keeping an eye on her carefully. “Which is why I hope that you’ll be more stubborn that he is. The only thing more stubborn than a Baratheon’s a Stark.”

Sighing, Renly rubbed a hand through his beard and sighed. He’d been right, she was perceptive. “Things between Gendry and I aren’t great, I know. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about him. It’s never meant that, it’s just…” He shook his head. If he was going to explain it someone, it shouldn’t be Arya. “Complicated. In ways that aren’t his fault.

“Stannis thinks jail would calm Gendry down, I’m fairly certain it would do the opposite. They’re picking on Gendry because he’s low-hanging fruit. That’s hardly very fair, wouldn’t you agree?”

Renly had the tendency to babble, Arya realized. “Historically speaking, that’s untrue, or rather, it’s not exactly what you’re wanting. The last time your brother and my father butted heads, they were both stubborn assholes, but my Dad didn’t change Robert’s mind. He just sequestered himself until it was forgotten. So if you’re looking for someone to influence any of Gendry’s decisions, it’s not me. I’ll do what I want and so will he. He already thinks about the consequences more than I do anyway.” Despite how annoying it was to have to listen to Renly Baratheon condescend to her, Arya must admit that she had the habit of being a bad influence. Gendry never listened to her, of course, but she did have a reputation.

“Complicated?” Aka- an answer which was both disappointing and uninspired. There were no details or clarification to follow. Apparently complicated was not only a complete bummer of an answer, but the only answer she would get for the moment. “Well, complicated or not, I’m sure he doesn’t know that you’re here and that you’re actively attempting whatever this is.” She said gesturing between the two of them. “Cause I don’t think he’d appreciate it, no matter what it is.”

To her surprise, Arya was a touch angry that they’d gone after Gendry to begin with. Of all those in attendance, they managed to find the one who couldn’t afford his own lawyer to come after. It didn’t scream coincidence to her. “Stannis probably thinks jail and the military is for everyone.” Her eyes rolled to the sky. “Any chance you’ve talked to Gendry before all this? Because it seems like maybe talking to him is a better route to keeping him out of trouble than talking to me.”

The whole operation of this march madness was coming together and Mira wasn’t expecting the overwhelming numbers that showed. She had overheard there were people outside of the college in attendance and Mira was proud of the work she and Robb had accomplished leading up to the event. “Perhaps the next march I will have pins,” Mira humored Arya, giving a sweet knowing smile. She didn’t know if this was the last march and if there would be another. She had hope this march would spread the message back to the capital and back to the cell Jon Arryn was locked in. 

Mira had heard about Arya’s boldness through Sansa which was why she asked her for this favor. She didn’t expect Arya to fully deliver through her powerful voice causing Mira to blink suddenly and snap her head around to look at the crowd. They seemed to be listening attentively more than they tried to give to Mira. She nodded minimally, feeling her own voice leave her. “Yeah, five more minutes. And more signatures please!” Mira waved her signature above her head, knowing it was all some could see. 

Arya nodded, but still said. “Hopefully, we won’t have to go through this bullshit again.” She sighed. Uncle Jon should be home with his family, the same as her father, Robert, and Gendry. Why they’d chosen him to pin this on, she didn’t know, but it was certainly all politics that she didn’t understand the purpose of. You’d think that there would be more important things to do than backstab and accuse one another in order to clamor for power. She turned her attention back to the crowd, her voice coming out loud and clear. 

“Listen up!” She snapped. “Everyone needs to sign one of these.” Arya held the clipboard aloft so that it was easily visible from every direction. “Find someone with a clipboad and put your name on it! If you don’t see anyone with a clipboard, come here. I obviously am holding one. If you don’t sign your name, it’s almost like you weren’t even here so do it.” She dropped the hand with the petition and took another deep breath. “Start getting in a good place to walk. We’re starting in five minutes with or without you.” She said with finality and hopped with both feet back to Mira’s level. The crowd, now knowing that she was finished with what needed to be said, returned to their conversations. Arya had never been a particularly loud person. Chaotic? Yes. Outgoing? Definitely. Outspoken? Painfully so. However, loud wasn’t usually on the description list unless someone really pissed her off (which in all fairness wasn’t too hard to do). Yet she had never had difficulty grabbing and keeping people’s attention. In high school, she’d even been elected for student counsel without campaigning. Apparently the student body all agreed that she would do what she honestly believed was best with no more ambition than that, and that she would vocally defend the student’s best interest. She wasn’t sure what it was that contributed to that image. “Anything else I can help you with?”

Gendry wasn’t anxious about returning to work, knowing that where he worked wouldn’t care about criminal records. They had already dealt with some of his past misdeeds before and barely gave a second glance. It was the customers and the general public that caused him any worry to lead him to think it would affect the business. Gendry enjoyed every moment at work as well as away, especially with the most recent events. He snatched his helmet before leaving the bar and murmured under his breath at Arya’s defense. “If they knew I had been smoking, they would have more to arrest me over. It is stupid, but you saw how they arrested my father and yours without a reason. I sincerely didn’t want to you to start your own record yet.” He couldn’t imagine them arresting Arya, but he wanted to be safe than sorry. It would be on his conscience if they layed a finger on Arya. Gendry was more ready to accept the consequences of that evening over letting someone find Arya out for irregular reasoning. “I disagree. Any night is interesting when everyone is dressed to the nines and trying not to appear as inebriated as they actually are.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts his days with a tequila shot.” Gendry didn’t associate with his father generally on regular terms. It was often only when it benefited one or the other or they saw each other at family dinners. That was the only case he tried to be decent towards the rest of his family. The only ones he could sensibly tolerate were Shireen and Myrcella. He believed they had good intentions and would never be as dramatic as the rest. Renly, on the other hand, was possibly the uncle he admired most and it was hard to remember he, Stannis, and his father were from the same breed. “Yes, and I don’t doubt there would be more broken things if someone didn’t detain him.” Gendry twisted the helmet into place, making sure it was secure before straddling his bike. “Maybe someday, princess.” Gendry always said the same thing any time he was prompted with when he would let Arya ride it. It wasn’t a matter of trusting her with his bike but trusting his bike with her. It was hard at first to get control of the bike and know its functions before taking it at full speed on the roads. He lowered his visor and kicked the brake, his hands stirring the engine on the handles. “Anywhere it is then. Hold on tight. We might be going off road.”

There was no hesitation as Arya threw her leg over top of the bike and sat down behind Gendry. The revving engine drowned out about half of what she could hear. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his middle to keep her balance and to be able to hear what she says as they rode. “It’s cute you think I don’t have a record already. You know I’ve been in the system since I was fourteen right?” She could still remember her mother’s sheer hysteria at having to come pick her up from the jail. They’d held her there for a few hours, but eventually decided to release her to her mother because of the Stark’s ‘good name’ or something. “Besides, what I was smoking was perfectly legal.... in Winterfell.” She shrugged. 

Arya laughed. “I’ve heard of worse ways to start off a day.” While she might not have ever understood or agree with Robert Baratheon, she had to commend his dedication to impulsive violence. The man could throw a punch. “That’s fucking brilliant. They totally deserved it. Pricks. Did they ever give you a reason as to why they suspected you to begin with?” As they began to pick up speed, Arya buried her face into his back so that the wind wouldn’t whip her hair into her eyes (it had happened before and was surprisingly painful, and she couldn’t imagine twice dyed purple hair would be softer than before). There was a familiar spark of excitement in her chest at the promise of going off somewhere. Arya had always loved to travel and explore. As a young girl, she told her father that she wanted to see everywhere. “Off-road is perfect. Let’s just get there fast.” She grinned.

He shook his head and gave her a grin that was less guarded than most. Of course he’d miss Arya – though they weren’t the closest of their siblings, there was an ease and understanding between them that few outside truly understood. Perhaps it was the wolf’s blood that their father had always said the two of them had, though Robb had learned to temper his a bit better over time. “I’m not certain the Targaryens have ever…” he paused, wondering if he should phrase his comment in a way that was more politically correct. In the end, he decided Arya wouldn’t mind. “Been completely there. Aren’t there still stories of the madness? And desperate men do desperate things.” He supposed the Lannisters were also likely culprits and ran his hand along his jawline. “You have a point.” But he didn’t feel like dwelling on it, not when he felt that Uncle Jon’s incarceration was the more pertinent issue. Robb nodded as he thought about the Greatjon. “Government’s hushed it up. I think there’s a gag order.” He looked Arya in the eye. “But he was found dead in the Prime Minister’s home, too. It was…strange.”

He didn’t agree with her assertion about the Tyrells, but Robb saw no reason to argue over it unnecessarily “Maybe they’ve never had the opportunity,” he pointed out before he exhaled heavily, finishing his grooming for the day as he searched for shoes in his closet. “I don’t know. It was weird and happened with Dad down at the precinct that morning. He wasn’t even booked; Rhaegar himself came and after they spoke, Dad was set free. It was…bizarre.”

“They’re all fucking loons, sure, but they’ve never been stupid. You know? Their craziness is almost carefully constructed and has been on a short leash for years. It’s just- I don’t know. Out of character?” Though saying that murder was particularly in character seemed a bit dark. “Yeah, well. It’s usually a safe bet to not trust the Lannisters.” Arya grumbled. She still hadn’t forgotten how much troubled she’d gotten in when Joffrey ratted on her when she was seven. Snot-nosed ass hat hadn’t gotten much better since. There had been no inkling of what had happened to Greatjon. That was a little terrifying. How much more had she missed even being present? “Fuck...” His poor family. Arya made a mental note to check in on them when she had a free moment. 

“We’ve all had the opportunity.” Arya said, defiant of his dismissal. She began to fiddle with a loose string hanging from one of his blankets. Their father wasn’t booked? That was odd. Ned Stark was a meticulous rule follower. He didn’t believe in special exceptions. He was fiercely honorable. Nothing about what Robb said added up to that. “Robb, there’s no way that Dad did anything, right?”

“Why does everyone assume that it’s my fault?” Arya said indignantly. She collapsed onto the sofa that Sansa had in her apartment. It was resplendently clean- quite the opposite of anything Arya owned. Her own room was cluttered with books, records, blanket, skateboards, and half empty spray paint cans. Not to mention the fur that Nymeria managed to spread to every corner. The chalk wall (which incidentally was Sansa’s idea) was constantly having equations thought out in chicken scratch handwriting and reworked until they were perfectly balanced. However, that left chalk and eraser littered about the floor near the work space. Sansa’s place seemed to have everything in order. Probably because her swanky job kept her out at all hours. There was no time left over for her to actually occupy her living space. Then again, Sansa and Arya had always been opposites, and quite often ended up at each other’s throats because of it. But that’s the nature of sisters. Especially those as different as the sun and the moon. It had been better since Sansa had moved out, but now it seemed like she was too busy for any of the family. Momentarily, she worried that she might stain the furniture merely by sitting on it. Paint still clung to her fingers from her morning activities, and her knee had only just scabbed over from her wipe out that morning. “I didn’t do anything wrong- at least not this time. I mean if was dad who got arrest. Why can’t we just focus on that?”