A/N: I can't believe this has been such a long time coming, so I won't bore you with excuses until the end. Happy reading!

"This is a bad idea."

"I don't care," Arya snapped at once before anyone else could say a word. "I'm going."

"Arya..." Willas sighed, and Gendry could tell from his tone that he was trying to be as gentle as possible. "While I appreciate the sentiment and understand, I don't think it's wise. You know as well as I do that your behavior can be...unpredictable, especially when exposed to situations of high stress and aggression."

"I can handle it," Arya insisted earnestly. "She's my sister, I have to go! You can't lock me up—"

"No one would lock you up," Willas clarified hastily. Arya looked further distressed. "Listen guys, please," she begged. "Sansa's all alone in there with those monsters! They killed our Dad and they've been hurting her too!"

"Which is why you can't go," Gendry stepped in firmly. "I'm sorry Arya, I agree with Willas. You have to stay here with Hot Pie."

"Well I don't care what you agree with!" Arya shouted. "She's my sister! She's part of my pack and I left her behind! It's my fault she's there!"

Her eyes were starting to get a fuzzy and shimmering quality to them, and her lip was trembling like her clenched fists.

"Of course it's not your fault," Willas said kindly, but that seemed to make it worse. Arya glared at all of them, and Gendry could tell at once that she was going. Kicking and screaming and clawing. She was going.

"Sansa's been betrayed by everyone she trusts," Arya said in quivering tones, collecting herself. "Do you really think she's going to trust you? Do you just think she'll hop into your van and drive away without a second thought?"

Loras and Renly exchanged looks and shifted uncomfortably.

"The answer's no," Arya said firmly. "The only thing she's going to trust is one of her own, and that's me. I'm going. We all voted on it, remember? You all agreed. You even trained me for this."

Her eyes flicked to Gendry.

"And I don't care what you think," she told him angrily. "Just because we're friends now doesn't mean you get to decide what I can or cannot do."

Gendry felt his cheeks flame hot as she turned sharply on her heel, her tangly hair spinning, and marched out of the room, vampire stake in hand, leaving no pause for argument. She was coming with them tonight, just as they all really knew she was anyway. Besides, how were they all supposed to keep her there? She was the werewolf after all.

"Well," Willas sighed weakly, "I suppose that settles that."

An awkward silence rang between all of them as they stood there, battle plans littered all over the table with nothing else to say.

"We tried though, didn't we?" Loras tried to lighten the mood good-naturally, but Gendry couldn't shake the rotting feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't helped by the sound of the TV coming in from the den where Hot Pie sat, no doubt stuffing his face with a combination of popcorn and M&M's to battle his nerves.

"And yet another strange disappearance up North... Authorities suspect that the perpetrator was the same person involved in the brutal kidnap, rape and murder of Emily Hornwood this spring... Known as "The Fanatic Flayer," for skinning his or her victims..."

"Why are you watching that garbage?" Gendry wanted to know as he stood near Hot Pie, eyes glued to the picture of a woman in her early thirties that was being flashed across the screen. Hot Pie continued to eat his popcorn.

"I dunno," he said through a mouthful. "Helps take my mind off stuff."

Gendry snorted.

"It's sick," he murmured. "Sets my hair on edge."

"Yeah, but this guy's human right?" Hot Pie said. "So how bad can he be? Vampires are much worse."

"Thanks," Gendry snapped. "That's really helpful for tonight."

"SSSH!" Hot Pie said. "I'm trying not to think about it!"

"You aren't even going!" Gendry told him. "I'm the one that might get my head ripped off, quite literally I might add!"

"Nahhh but you won't," Hot Pie tried to reassure him, but he did look a bit green. "You've got Arya."

"She's just a kid," Gendry murmured, feeling cold inside. "She doesn't know what she's getting into."

"Umm yeah I think she does," Hot Pie said. "Dude... She watched her Dad die okay? I think Arya knows exactly what she's in for."

Gendry felt his argument die in his throat. But something very likened to unease clung to the back of his throat. He didn't know what it was. If he was completely honest with himself, he agreed with Arya. It was her sister, her blood, her family. She needed to be there. She needed Sansa.

"I don't feel good about this," he told Hot Pie.

"Very noted," Hot Pie grunted. "Maybe you should write it down, that could really get your point across."

"Oh sod it," Gendry muttered under his breath. Even he knew when he was beaten, and... Well, he was beaten.

It was time to buckle down and get going. He had a sinking feeling tonight was going to be a long night.

oooooooooooOOOOOOOOOooooooooo

They all piled into the van just before sun down. Loras was driving, Willas taking the passenger seat, and Renly stayed behind with Hot Pie. Arya and Gendry were to stay hidden, and when they arrived at King's Landing, were to climb into cardboard boxes just in case the Lannister security tried to search the van. There was a moment, as Gendry was helping Arya climb into the van, where he saw Loras and Renly approach each other for the first time without scowls on their faces.

"Keep an eye on Margaery," Renly said gravely.

"You know I always do."

"Oh when are they going to make up?" Arya muttered as she lent Gendry a hand. "All this angst and tension is going to drive me mad."

"What would life be without a little tension?" Willas asked as he came around the van to hand them their weapons, giving the both of them a wink as he did. Gendry and Arya both blushed, and Arya snapped her mouth shut, looking furtive as Willas closed the back doors to the van. They were alone for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Gendry asked earnestly. For a moment, Arya seemed like she might say something...

"Fine," she snapped curtly. "I'm just ready to rescue my sister."

"Cuz it would be okay, you know, if you felt—"

"I don't," she cut across him with searing finality. "So just drop it, okay? We have a mission to do."

Message very much received, Gendry leaned against the opposite wall of the van, putting distance between them. The tense atmosphere between them was broken as Willas and Loras both got into the van. Loras started the engine, and Gendry felt his heart jump. This was it. There was no going back.

The ride was silent, and it was long. Gendry and Arya divided up their weapons, and both looked over blueprints of the Lannister mansion for the millionth time, but that only lasted so long. It was only a matter of minutes before the whole car lapsed into a horrible, brittle silence that seemed to whisper in Gendry's bones.

His mouth tasted ashy and his hands were sweating. Up front, Loras and Willas's reflections in the rear view mirror looked equally unnerved. The only one who didn't seem scared shitless by the whole thing was Arya. She sat on her side of the van, stony faced, her mouth moving silently to form words Gendry couldn't hear. From the expression on her face, it almost looked like she was reciting a prayer.

By the time they reached King's Landing, the sun had gone down. Silently, Gendry and Arya awkwardly climbed into their perspective boxes. Settled most uncomfortably, Gendry realized that being in a box only made it worse. He felt like he couldn't breathe.

The car slowed, and Gendry's heart jumped, beating hot and fast in his throat. They were there.

"Hello officer," Loras's voice rang out merrily in the dull, beating quiet. "How are you this evening?"

"Names," The security officer grunted.

"Willas and Loras Tyrell," Willas chimed in, equally nonchalant. "Brothers to Margaery. I'm sure we're on the list."

"Identification," the guard said flatly without any form of friendliness.

There was silence. Gendry tried not to breathe or move. It was difficult. He realized with sudden horror that he had to pee. That made things worse.

"I'm going to have to inspect the vehicle. I'm going to open up the back—"

"Surely that's not necessary," Willas said quickly.

"Yes," Loras agreed, sounding appropriately insulted. "You saw our ID's. This is just frankly insulting. What would we have in the back? A pack of angry werewolves?"

Gendry almost fell over. What was Loras playing at? He could almost smell Arya's panic. He wished he could reach out and hold her hand.

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you—"

But there was an abrupt and unexpected silence as the security guard stopped speaking. There was a sound, almost like a sigh, and then Willas started up the engine again and they rolled down the drive without another word. Gendry's mind sprung into confusion. But why were they moving? What had stopped the guard from speaking? Did Willas or Loras kill him?

They pulled to a stop and Gendry dared not move. There was the slamming of doors, and then the click as someone opened up the back hatch.

"C'mon you two! Quickly!"

"What the hell were you doing back there?" Arya hissed, scrambling out of her box. "Werewolves?"

"To throw him off!" Loras was protesting in hushed tones. He tried to help Arya out of the van but she wrenched her arm away, looking absolutely livid. If there was tension amongst the ranks before, it had since exploded.

"Just stick to the plan," Willas said finally as Gendry hopped down as well. They appeared to in the back end of a make-shift parking lot on the grounds of his father's expansive, sprawling estate. No one was about, but still...

"What did you do to him?" Gendry asked uneasily, adjusting his hood.

"Who?" Willas asked.

"The guard."

"Oh. Just a bit of wolfs bane powder. It befuddles the mind when inhaled. He likely won't remember us."

"Wolfs bane powder?" Arya said in a tone that suggested Willas might have given the security officer illicit crack cocaine.

"It's just for back-up," Willas protested hastily, but there was a very mistrustful and angry look on Arya's face.

"Back-up for what?" She demanded. Willas and Loras both shared uneasy looks, but they didn't have to say. It was abundantly clear. Back-up in case you wolf out.

Her fingers curled into fists.

"Just stick to the plan, right," she said with deep disgust, and there was a sort of twisting in Gendry's stomach that made him want to hop inside the van and go back home. Everything about this just felt wrong.

"C'mon," she snapped to Gendry, grabbing him by the front of his sweatshirt and marching him alongside the trees where they fell into the shadows and out of sight.

After looking at blueprints until he thought his eyes would bleed, Gendry had a good sense of where they were going. The parking lot lead to around to the back, away from the festivities and Cersei's prying eyes. Margaery had assured them that there was indeed security, but that they only patrolled in the lit areas, and made rounds every fifteen minutes. Thus, by the time they reached the garden, it was time to lay in wait for the guard to pass and give them their window.

Arya got low, and quickly slunk towards the line of hedges that lined the parameter of the garden. The gap between them, and the neatly pruned variety of bushes was the perfect place for Arya to hide and wait. Small. Low to the ground. Slim.

His shoulders didn't even begin to fit through.

"SSSSHHH!"

"Well I'm sorry I just—"

"SHUT UP!" Arya whisper-screamed at Gendry looking as if she might throttle him. "Do you have a psychotic death wish?"

"No," Gendry grumbled irritably. He could see her hands twitching to strangle him as they gripped at the air. He was glad she refrained.

"Then shut up!" She snarled, whipping back around and then crouching low. "And try not to step on every branch under your foot."

"Noted, Sargent."

He thought he heard a repressed scream and smirked.

They moved silently (well Arya was silent anyways), through the garden, getting closer and closer to the back of the house. Arya stopped and Gendry moved up next to her, both hidden in the bushes. Arya reached in her pack and got out a pair of binoculars. She fixed her gaze on the glass door that Margaery had presumably unlocked for them.

"No one in sight," she whispered, satisfied, and put the binoculars back.

They waited.

It was only a few moments before a man with a dispatch and a flashlight came walking by. Arya tensed slightly as he swung the light back and forth, clearly bored, but did not see them. After a matter of seconds that seemed to stretch forever, he was out of sight. Arya flipped her hood over her head.

She gave Gendry a look that clearly said, 'stay close and don't fuck this up' and then she broke from the bush and raced across the lawn. Gendry followed suit.

They reached the door, and Arya went to open it.

It was locked.

"Now what?" Gendry hissed, adding in a few curse words. Arya glared at him, which clearly meant she had no idea. "Couldn't you just break the door handle?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah that won't really tip Cersei off or anything!" She snarled. "You are worthless!"

She tried the door again and gave a little scream of frustration and he could see that her irritability was a mask for her growing panic. He tried to think of what to do. They could go in the chimney... No that was a bad idea. They couldn't go in the front, people would see them... Maybe Arya could go through the dog door...? No that was a really bad idea. He could imagine what she would do to him if he even mentioned it. Well then, there was nothing for it, they'd have to break in.

"Ever pick a lock?" Gendry whispered.

"No," Arya admitted. "Have you?"

The honest answer was not successfully, but Arya didn't need to know that.

"Yeah loads of times."

"Well then why didn't you say so sooner?"

Gendry pretended to ignore that.

"I'm gonna need a hair clip or a bobby pin," he said. "Do you have either of those?"

"Thank god I do," Arya said, fishing through her hair. She handed him one. Gendry tried to make sure she didn't see the uneasiness on his face. Please work...

He stuck the bobby pin in and tried to remember what he was supposed to be doing... Push that lever up... Then the other... A few minutes passed. He could feel Arya's eyes boring into him, and her agitation.

"I thought you said you were good at this?" She hissed.

Gendry was about to say something snappy, but then he froze. Arya did too, wide-eyed. There were voices of people coming towards them...

Gendry panicked, his hands flying everywhere, Arya screaming at him in a barely audible voice, and then by some crazy miracle... the lock clicked.

"GO GO GO!" Arya whisper-screeched, pushed him inside, shut the door, and dragged them so that they were wedged together between the curtains and the walls. There was a pause. Neither one of them dared to move.

"That's odd, I thought I locked this."

Arya grabbed Gendry's hand. It was Cersei.

Gendry tried not to breathe.

"I'm sure it just slipped your mind," Margaery's voice spoke very close to them, but it faltered slightly. She sounded very nervous.

"Hmm," Cersei was not convinced. Arya gripped Gendry's hand so hard she might have broken it. Absently he stroked his thumb against her fingers to calm her down. He wished he could do something to calm himself down. He felt like he might faint. He didn't know who would kill him first if he did that, Arya or Cersei. Maybe they could bond over his lifeless corpse.

There was silence.

"Shall we go inside?" Olenna's voice sounded. "Or would you prefer it if I froze to death out here in the garden?"

Another pause.

"I smell dog in here," Cersei said coldly.

Arya's fingers were clamping so tight Gendry's hand would surely fall off.

"Do you have a dog?" Olenna asked irritably.

"No," Cersei snapped.

"Then this is utterly pointless. Come, let's go inside and get those useless wine glasses you wanted so badly."

Cersei seemed to have had enough of Olenna's griping because there was a creak as she stepped fully inside. They shut the door. Arya's shallow breathing was rapid. If she kept this up... She was in danger of getting her heart rate too high. If that happened, and she phased, it would be game over.

"I think we should close the curtains," Cersei said unexpectedly. "It's night after all, no use having them open."

Now it was Gendry crushing Arya's hand.

"Oh?" Margaery's voice cracked, as if she knew they were hiding there.

"Yes."

Gendry didn't have time to react because the curtains were snapping back and they were totally and utterly exposed. Cersei stood in front of them, her eyes boring right into Gendry's. We're fucked.

But to his shock, while Olenna and Margaery flinched, Cersei merely frowned, as if disappointed. She closed the curtains, shooting where Arya and Gendry stood paralyzed another disgruntled look, and then turned back to Olenna and Margaery, both recovered and quite normal, and then they went to get the wine glasses. But how... How had...?

He looked to Arya, and she gave him a look that said, "the charm you idiot! She can't see us because of the charm!"

He sighed with relief. With all the suspense he had completely forgotten.

Cersei left, a look of deep mistrust on her face, followed by Olenna, who ignored them completely, and Margaery, who mouthed "soon."

They had to act quickly.

Gendry got out his cross bow, just in case. Arya her knife, though she hardly needed a weapon. Ready and armed, they crept after where Cersei had just left.

They had to be careful because if they were caught by someone who wasn't a vampire, in black clothing with a knife and a cross bow, they would be in deep shit. Gendry followed Arya and she flitted from corner to corner, shadow to shadow. One time an older man babbling about a bladder infection almost caught them, but Arya shoved Gendry in a coat closet in the nick of time.

"Well this is intimate," Gendry joked.

"Would you like to lose a testicle?" Arya snarled, and that had ended that little escapade on a high note.

They reached the place where they were supposed to be, the middle room above the overhang that cars were still passing under, the last few stragglers emerging from their limos to go inside the lavish tents. Setting to work, Arya began to unzip the bags while Gendry locked the door and adjusted the motion detectors under it. There was a snap as Arya cocked what looked like a very large rifle and narrowed her eyes, lifting it so that it settled in the crook of her shoulder.

"What's that?" Gendry demanded.

"Back-up," she said, flicking open a small wooden box and pulling what looked like a bullet out. She held it up between her thumb and forefinger so that he might see.

"It's made of wood," Gendry frowned.

"Exactly," Arya said, snapping it into the rifle.

"So it's like a stake," Gendry said slowly. "But a miniature one."

"Good job Sherlock Holmes you've cracked another," Arya said sarcastically, unlatching the window and peering out the curtains into the tents. "Turn on your earpiece."

"Arya..." Gendry whispered, and he could feel his blood running cold as the pieces were slowly starting to fall together. "You can't use that."

"Oh and you're going to stop me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Arya you promised—"

"When?" Arya demanded. "When did I promise?"

Gendry opened his mouth, but no sound came out. She was right. She hadn't promised anything. They'd been duped.

"Give that to me," he ordered. "Give me the gun."

Arya scoffed.

"Arya listen," Gendry said seriously. "This whole plan, the holy water... It'll all go to shit if you use that on Cersei. We can't think about revenge right now, we have to get Sansa out safely."

Arya sighed.

"You're right," she said, handing the rifle to him. "We have to get Sansa out."

Suspicion flooded every pore of Gendry's body as he took the weapon. There was no way in hell that Arya Stark gave up that easily. She was planning something, and he wasn't so easily fooled. But why use the gun? He wondered. A stake that tiny might hinder a vampire, but killing them was a whole other matter. For the first time in what felt like a while, Gendry felt an old stab of something deep within him. Bitter mistrust... Anger almost, but there was something else. Something deeper that he'd repressed ever since he shot her with the arrow. Fear.

The knowledge that he was sharing a room with a monster.

"C'mon stupid," she was saying, as she got out the tripod and telescope, setting them together. "Don't just stand there."

Eyes narrowed and body tense; Gendry unloaded the gun and put the bullets in his pocket, the weapon still firmly crushed between his fingers. He was not about to let it go. He knew how quick she was.

"Have you put in your earpiece yet?" She hissed. Gendry scowled.

"No," he snapped, grumpily snatching up his earpiece and shoving it in his ear. There was a faint crackling, and then Arya turned them on, and at once there was a rush of static and then...

"... I've always found brie to be an understated classic myself, though I suppose one could argue the case that a fine camembert could suffice as well, but cheddar? Really, and I thought this was supposed to be a party with class..."

"Anything interesting?" Arya asked as she adjusted the telescope.

"No," Gendry grunted. "Do I have to have this in all night?"

"Yes," Arya said at once.

"Why did it have to be Olenna again?" Gendry wanted to know, adjusting his own firearm (strictly for emergencies). "Why couldn't it have been Margaery?"

Arya didn't seem to have an answer for this, but just made a growling noise of irritation in the back of her throat as she pulled the curtains to the right angle, hiding the telescope and them from view. The growl set Gendry's teeth at edge and he didn't know why. It was almost as if... Well the rifle in his hand felt like a rotting weight for one thing, but he couldn't help but feel like Arya was going to double cross him tonight. He needed to be careful.

"So what am I looking at?" He asked, coming over and peering through the telescope at the strange assortment of people gathered around in the tent, trying to ignore Olenna's fanatical nattering about the horror of processed cheese that was currently being shoved down his left inner ear.

"Westeros County's rich and supernatural, with some wide exceptions," Arya informed him with tones of disgust. "Most of the people are here haven't got a clue about people like us, or the Lannisters, but still..."

"Hrmm," Gendry said, eyeing her just as closely as he eyed the people moving about in the telescope. "Who's the creep?"

"Which one?" Arya said with a scoff.

"Him," Gendry pointed and Arya squinted (the telescope was mainly for his benefit. She hardly needed it). "The one that talks strange."

"Varys," Arya said at once. "People call him, 'the Spider.' He's a freak if there ever was one."

"Yeah I think I've heard of him," Gendry said.

"Probably," Arya replied. "He's been in the government ever since I can remember, but there have always been whispers... But nothing concrete. He's got dirt on everyone, even the normal ones—people like you I mean—so no one's ever kicked him out."

"What is he exactly?" Gendry wondered. "Not to put labels."

Arya rolled her eyes.

"That's just the thing," she said. "No one really knows. Someone said something about Voodoo a while back, but, like I mentioned, no one knows."

Just looking at him made Gendry's skin crawl. As if sensing his gaze, the strange bald man turned and looked straight into the telescope. Right into Gendry's eyes, though he couldn't possibly have seen. Still, it rattled Gendry deep under his skin.

"Ahh my dear! At last! Are you feeling better?"

"Sansa!" Arya said at once, seeing and hearing what Gendry's faculties were still processing.

"That's your sister?" Gendry asked in unflattering shock, focusing the telescope. There was a sharp feeling at the back of his neck as if someone had burned him with a hot iron only Arya hadn't struck him at all. She was glaring at him with such intense hatred and fury that it was practically a physical burn. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just... She looks nothing like you."

This didn't seem to make Arya feel any better.

But the thing was... It was true. For one thing, the girl he was peering at in the microscope had thick auburn hair that ran smoothly past her shoulders in elegant waves and curls. She was tall, and slender like Arya, but it was different. She possessed none of Arya's sharpness or intensity, but seemed rather like a bird. Looking into Arya's eyes was almost like looking into the wolf. With Sansa... Well there wasn't any sign of wolf left. Even from so far away, that was abundantly clear.

"Much better thank you. You're very kind for remembering."

"Of course we'd remember," that was Margaery. "We were really worried about you. I even came to see you, but..."

Sansa's face, if possible, turned paler and she looked around nervously, as if afraid at any moment Joffrey might appear and sink his fangs into her.

"It was just a nightmare," Sansa prattled, wringing her hands.

"No, it wasn't," Arya whispered in hushed tones, looking equally as nervous and fretful as her sister. "She knows they know it too..."

"How do you mean?" Gendry asked.

"It's never good to sleep in baths," Olenna piped up. "It's a good spot Margaery found you. I had a maid who was too fond of baths, and one time I came home to find her taking a dip in mine—"

"Yes grandmother," Margaery's voice cut across gently yet firmly. "But I think Sansa fainted."

"I'm sure I was just tired," Sansa's voice sounded like it had been stretched to a very thin wire, so far and vast it was close to breaking.

"Yes and all that fuss over a bit of snow," Olenna tutted. "Just the same girl, you should get to bed at a better hour. You young people are always staying up at all sorts of ridiculous hours. It's beyond me, really."

"What is she talking about?" Gendry demanded of Arya. "What's all this about snow?"

"I don't know about that," Arya frowned, gazing intently down at her sister with lines of worry knotted into her stubborn brow. "But I do know one thing... Sansa's had a sight."

"Oh a sight," Gendry muttered sarcastically. "Thank you for clearing that up."

"She can see the future," Arya snapped. "We all can, really. Bran's the best at it, but it's a Tully thing."

"You mean you can see the future?" Gendry asked, eyebrows skyrocketing. "Like a psychic?"

"Not exactly," Arya explained. "I'm... I'm too wolf. Being a Seer is from my mom's side of the family, and even then it's dodgy. It can only happen around water, which is why Sansa was in the bath when she got it. It must have been pretty powerful if it almost drowned her... Visions usually don't last all that long..."

"And I'm guessing the visions are never spelled out clearly?" Gendry said. Arya shook her head.

"Which is why she was probably going on about 'snow' or something," she said with a sigh. "They're utterly useless honestly. And you can never prevent them from happening either, even if you can figure out what they mean."

"Snow..." Gendry muttered. "Well it is fall, isn't it? Getting to be that time of year..." "I wouldn't get too hung up on it," Arya brushed him off. "We can ask Sansa about it later when we've rescued her and shot Cersei to hell."

She caught the look on Gendry's face.

"Metaphorically speaking."

He didn't like the way her eyes shifted hungrily back to the telescope. Absently, his fingers pressed against his chest where, beneath folds of black hoodie, there were tiny scars in the shape of claw marks.

"Margaery."

There was a sharp hiss and Arya's entire body jerked tight, her shoulders sharp hunches, leaning forward as if ready to pounce. Gendry felt it too. In fact, it was as though that single word had sent shockwaves throughout the whole party, yet it was barely muttered. From the lips of Joffrey Lannister, anything could sound poisonous.

"Darling," Margaery's voice said with resolute steadiness and warmth. "I was wondering where you'd got to."

"Mother thinks there's a stray dog lurking about," Joffrey said in a tone that implied his utter disgust for the 'hysteria' of women. He had actually said that once to Gendry on the rare occasion that they were forced to be in the same room together. It took a lot of self-control for Gendry not to wring the little twerp's neck. Even now, the urge was still there. You wrecked my car you piece of sliced shit.

"A dog?" Margaery's voice slipped slightly, and Gendry could guess why. Cersei was suspicious, and that wasn't a good sign.

"It's absurd," Joffrey scoffed. "Besides, like I told her, we keep our animals locked up. If they run too rabid, we put them down."

There was a violent snarl and Gendry grabbed Arya's shoulder to keep her from launching herself through the window. She was panting aggressively, breathing through bared teeth, her hands like clawed open fists.

"Calm down," Gendry ordered her. "You'll only make things worse."

"I'm fine!" Arya spat, wrenching her shoulder out of his grasp, but the wild look in her eyes was far from reassuring.

"Isn't it time for a toast?" Margaery was saying, and as Gendry peered into the telescope, he saw that Sansa looked rather weak in the knees, like she was about to collapse. But there was something else too. If he looked hard enough, past the deadness, he could see her eyes, fixed on Joffrey with a cold, deadly rage that almost surpassed Arya's.

"How right you are," Joffrey said. "All this talking of dogs will put me off my dinner, and that won't do at all."

Arya bristled, curling lower into her predatory stance, as if aching to attack him. Gendry wished he could put his hand on her shoulder again, but he knew that was fruitless. She'd only shake him off again. He cracked his knuckles against the weapon in his hands as he watched Margaery allow herself to be swept off towards the great table by Joffrey, Sansa and Olenna following suit.

This was it. This was really it.

He could barely breathe.

They all took their places. Margaery, on Joffrey's left, his mother on his right. Sansa sat a ways down the table, pushed next to Tyrion Lannister, who looked to be the only vampire in foul spirits. But then again, if Gendry remembered correctly, Tyrion Lannister wasn't particularly fond of his coven.

Joffrey stood. The guests fell silent.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Joffrey began smugly. "We are gathered here today to celebrate my Mother's innocence, and her complete release from custody. Of course, we must laugh at the police stupidity that put her there, and I go out to warn them, especially the Chief Police Commissioner with us tonight, that a Lannister always pays their debts."

The last part was a death sentence, Gendry knew. But maybe not. Not if their plan worked.

"Of course, none of this would be possible without my clever judgment to put our faith in the Tyrells, who now sit next to me, honored guests. In fact, I have one more announcement to make, but let me propose a toast..."

He took his glass. Arya gasped. Gendry could feel his heartbeat in his throat.

"Time can be fleeting," Joffrey began in sanctimonious tones.

"Oh just drink it you prick," Arya hissed, her eyes fixed steadily on the wine class Joffrey clasped between pale fingers.

"But sometimes it is not the minutes shared, but the quality of those minutes that matters. That is why, I am very happy to announce, that while the Tyrell's might be our esteemed friends and allies, they will also, I hope, be our family."

A ripple went through the crowd. Gendry felt his whole body ache with tension.

"Yes," Joffrey chuckled. "I asked Margaery to be my wife, and she said yes. She'd be a fool not too."

Cersei looked furious, but unsurprised. The crowd seemed stunned, and there were claps, but they lacked any sort of festiveness. Margaery, for her part, looked the perfect picture of the blushing bride to be. Coy, slightly embarrassed, but happy. Her smile did not reach her eyes, though Joffrey took no notice. He raised his glass.

"So a toast," he said.

"A toast," Gendry whispered, waiting.

"To my new bride."

He raised his class. Everyone followed suit. He lowered it slightly. Eyes gleaming, he pressed his lips to the glass. Slowly, he poured the liquid down his throat. Paused.

Gendry held his breath...

Joffrey threw his head back and laughed. Nonchalantly he set the glass down. No one moved. Arya seemed frozen, Margaery's eyes were wide. It didn't work, Gendry thought in a blind panic. Oh my god it didn't work. He knows. He knows. Oh god.

"You all look as though I've subjected you to one of my uncle's jokes," Joffrey snorted. "Come on you people! This is a wedding announcement! Let's have some cheer! Play some music!"

All this was a harsh order. No merriment. No mirth. Everyone was too stunned for that, and Joffrey's erratic behavior wasn't helping. The band jumped into full swing, as if terrified he'd rip their necks out at the slightest hesitation. Margaery looked to Olenna frantically, but the older woman showed no sign of anything.

"C'mon Arya we need to go," Gendry whispered frantically.

"That was the worst wine I've ever tasted," Joffrey was saying, coughing slightly.

"Arya—"

"Stop!" She hissed. "Wait."

She pointed down to Joffrey, who was beginning to cough more and more, hand slamming down on the table as he staggered slightly. Gendry froze, gripping Arya, as he watched in mild horror, Joffrey bending over, making horrible choking and gasping, spitting a black substance all over the table...

Cersei screamed.

Joffrey fell over against the table, seizing. Cersei rushed at him, wrenching him over as he coughed and sputtered, his eyes rolling back into his head...

"His throat is burned!" She shouted in a mad panic, so loudly Gendry didn't need the earpiece. "He's dying!"

There was a moment's hesitation as everyone watched in horror... And then Gendry knew it was over. Joffrey stopped moving and fell back against the table was a sickening crack. Cersei stood there, hands shaking, as if not believing...

"Who did this?" She screamed. "Who murdered my son?"

Her body ripped into the most gruesome transformation Gendry had ever seen. Eyes bright red, ringed like they were filled with blood, her teeth long, sharp, nails doubling in length... She was preparing to kill.

Screams erupted from the guests and the party exploded into chaos. Gendry feared for the Tyrells, because surely Cersei would turn on them first, but he looked towards their place at the table, they were nowhere in sight. It was time to act now. He and Arya needed to—

White spots exploded in his eyes as something sharp and blunt hit him in the side of the head, sending him sprawling. He hit the floor hard, rolling, trying to gather his bearings quickly as his head swam in confusion. He knew what was happening, but his brain was too slow and his body too confused to catch up.

"Arya!"

Gendry's hands fumbled desperately for the gun but it was no use. It wasn't loaded, and she was already gone, bursting through the window, Gendry's heart dropping in horror as he registered the true extent of his carelessness. It was all a ruse. All of it. Getting Sansa, the gun, everything. She had played them all because in her hand was his crossbow, and the gun, her concern for her sister, everything, had all been a trick.

She was going to kill Cersei.

"ARYA NO!"

He staggered to his feet, head swimming madly, the world tilting and spinning, but he had to go after her. Stumbling like a drunk, he made for the door, bursting it open and then running blindly downstairs. People were flooding through the house in terror, banging into him as he tried to get to her. Arya... Arya.

He somehow found himself outside, but he was all turned around. His head hurt where she had struck him, and people were shrieking all around him, screaming and shouting. The tents were on fire.

Arya had to be in there. Like the idiot he was, he ran straight towards the ever growing flames, barreling into the tents and then looking around, eyes swimming from the smoke and heat. Where was she? He had to find her... Had to find her.

By the head table. A little girl dressed in black.

"Arya!"

He ran up to her and grabbed her by the arm, spinning her around so she was inches from his face. Rage threatened to burst him in two.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shouted at her, and he could feel something sticky sliding down the side of his face.

"I HAVE EVERYTHING IN CONTROL!" Arya screamed at him, crossbow in hand. She looked utterly terrifying but Gendry was too furious with her to even bat an eyelash.

"OH REALLY?" Gendry roared. "IS THAT WHAT EVERYTHING'S ON FIRE?"

He could've killed her if it weren't for the fact that she was the one holding his crossbow and harboring a set of lethal claws and fangs that Gendry was sure would probably result in a very painful and unhappy death. But all the same it took every ounce of his will not to reach out and strangle her.

"Why couldn't you just stick to the plan?" He bellowed as fire raged all around them, the top of the tents curling and raining down on them in little flaming rain droplets, screaming people running everywhere. "LOOK AT THIS! AND ALL FOR WHAT? HUH? WHERE'S CERSEI NOW?"

"Just shut up!" Arya screamed, and there were tears in her eyes. "Shut up!"

She wrenched away from him and ran. She was always too quick for Gendry, but she wasn't thinking straight. He could catch her if she wasn't thinking straight. If only his head would stop spinning.

They burst out of the tents and into the cool night. The car park was jammed with people trying to escape. Then Gendry saw her. Cersei. Standing at the center of it all, arms covered in ash, eyes glowing red in the dark. She looked at him, and he froze, feeling death creep up his neck and choke him silent.

"CERSEI!"

Arya's scream was enough to curl anyone's blood. Gendry had never seen her so monstrous. There was a whistle of an arrow—

Cersei dodged just in time. And then she ran.

"ARYA NO!"

But he was too late. Arya was already taking after her. For a second, the swarm of people was too thick, and Gendry was sure that he had lost her. Then he heard a scream.

She had thrown an elderly woman out of her van.

"No!" Gendry gasped, but he could hear the engine already starting up. Arya was going to run Cersei down.

In a panic, Gendry scrambled towards the van, but was already no use. She was screeching out of there, a look of lethal determination on her face. He had to do something. He had to stop her. He whipped around, looking for something, anything—

There was a man trying to put on his helmet. He had keys in his hand.

"Is that your bike?" Gendry asked pointing to a motorcycle a few paces away. The man looked disgruntled.

"Yeah why are you—"

He fell with a crash as Gendry punched him in the jaw with all the force he could muster, grabbing the man's keys before he toppled over, unconscious.

Gendry raced for the bike, throwing himself on it and nearly toppling with a crash in his scrambling desperation. His feet swung around, grazing the ground as his hands clamped hard and yanked, the bike ripping into a roar of life and swerving into motion, a slew of gravel and dust raining behind him. His hands burned hot but his teeth set against each other in a fierce grind and somehow his rage and desperation was enough to dull the hideous itching pain that was starting to flare in his bones. All he could think of was Arya.

The motor screamed in his ears as cold air slapped and stung his face raw and hideous. His entire body was locked in tension, his heart pounding and racing as he shot after the van, gaining ground faster and faster until he was near running into it. But it wasn't enough. Wasn't enough...

Somewhere he had lost his mind, because suddenly he was in front of the huge van screeching towards him, and all he could think was stop Arya. He could vaguely hear her screaming over the shriek of the wheels ripping across the road, the blinding headlights veering towards the woods as she tried to avoid hitting him, the end of the van slamming him off his bike and into the air-

He could smell blood, hot and sticky, and feel the burn of his ripped skin. His hands hardly felt like anything at all and there was Arya, screaming and screaming, the hissing sound of the van's engine singing in the background.

"You idiot!" She was screaming. "You god damn idiot!"

Something stinging and warm splashed against his face. It tasted of salt.

"Gendry?" Her voice broke in horrified panic and she sounded so scared. "Oh my god, oh no, oh no, no, no, no! Oh shit Gendry! Gendry? Please answer, please say something!"

He could feel himself slipping into a blackout. She was sobbing.

"Fuck."

Above him blood-covered hands shook so violently they almost dropped the phone that was cradled between them.

"Help!" She was screaming into the phone. "Help someone help me!"

The world was sliding in and out. Blood was running into his mouth. Clouding wet over his left eye. He felt small frantic fingers smear it away. Arya's face hovered over him, thick with tears.

"C'mon," she was choking out, trying to hull his dead weight towards herself. "There's no service. We've got to get you to a hospital. C'mon Gendry."

No use. Gendry wanted to tell her. He was too big. Moving him might cause further brain injury. Even with her werewolf strength, how could she carry him to a hospital? Moving hurt too much. Everything hurt too much and he could only mutter, blood dribbling out of his mouth.

He slipped out of her grasp and tumbled onto the ground. The sear of pain was dull against the swimming in his head, and he thought if he just lied there and closed his eyes... Somewhere in the vague folds of his subconscious he saw Arya, screaming for help in the dark, rocking back and forth with trembling hands. And then there was such a bright light...

Am I dead? He wondered. But no. Arya was laughing with hysterical joy, and Gendry pulled his eyes open a fraction, seeing the headlights of a car turn slightly away from them... Hearing the crunch of wheels.

"We need to get him to a hospital!" Arya was shouting at the stranger. "There's been an accident—"

There was a sickening crack and Arya screamed. Gendry, in the folds of his delirium, felt panic rise in his throat. This was wrong. This was horribly, horribly wrong...

Paralysis crept up Gendry's entire body. His heart began to crash into his ears, but it was different this time. The blood in his mouth tasted metallic and cold. With all the force he could muster, he pulled his eyes open again. A few yards away from him, Arya lay sprawled out.

She wasn't moving.

Slowly, there was the sound of a foot crunching softly against the wet ground. The rubber squelching quietly with moisture as someone made one step, and then another, towards him. Gendry could scarcely breathe. Arya remained motionless.

He felt the strangers shadow loom over him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something bright and metal flash against the light from the car. His heart was beating so loudly he was sure it was going to leap out of his throat. Arya.

The shadow moved. It dipped downward, and there was a sharp, slow grating noise of the metal weapon dragging itself against the ground. Gendry could feel him, the stranger. So close he could see the white mist of the other man's breath curling out around him as he tried to remain still... So still...

"I know you're alive."

Gendry might have screamed if he could. His body jerked slightly, and he tasted blood in his mouth.

There was a movement, and then Gendry felt something cold press against his throat. It was a crow bar.

"Arya..." He managed to choke out.

The stranger said nothing, but straightened slightly, and then, with the crow bar, pushed Gendry over so he lay flat on his back, forced to star up into dead blue eyes.

"Alive."

Gendry could feel himself slipping. His head hurt so horribly he thought he would surely be sick.

The stranger smiled and Gendry recoiled in horror. It was a sick, mirthless smile. Cruel and leering, with teeth that looked hungry enough to eat him whole.

The stranger laughed. He leaned so close to Gendry that Gendry could smell his breath. It smelled like blood.

"If you think this has a happy ending," the stranger said softly, smile still upon his lips. "Then you haven't been paying attention."

First and foremost, I'd like to apologize to you all for how long this took, and thank you that are still interested in this story for your patience and endurance. I truly had no idea how much time had passed before I got a hit to take up this story again and finally get down to writing. I just started University, so my time and my focus is very much pulled in about 30 million directions. Plus, with this story, I just hit tremendous writer's block. I didn't know where I wanted it to go, or if I even wanted to write fanfic anymore. For a long time, I didn't think I did. But I owe it to you readers to finish this story, and I think you guys can tell, it's heading down a darker path. The next chapter, if it goes as planned, will be pretty intense, so fasten your seat belts. Shit's about to get real.