Author's Note: This is a fan fiction, I do not own anything. The characters are based on the Game Of Thrones TV show. The show is created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and based off the series of fantasy novels from George R.R. Martin. This story takes place after Season 02, Episode 10.

CHAPTER #1

The three escapees walked in single file along an old path, through rock and grass. They were lead by Arya Stark, who posed as a boy Ary, and who's true gender was only known to her travel companions. But only Gendry knew her real name and that she was of higher class. Gendry was a smith's apprentice, who didn't know he was of noble blood, but felt it his duty to protect Arya. Finally came Hot Pie, an orphan, who's taste for pastries had him working for a baker, before joining the other two on their unknown quest. It was he who had stollen food for their adventure. Life on the road with them, was just slightly better than being a slave. At least he wasn't beaten on and threatened with his life every day, like when they were prisoners at castle Harrenhal.

"I need to stop, my feet hurt." His complaints fell on deaf ears. He knew if he stopped, the others would just leave him there.

Gendry who was trudging along behind Arya, suddenly stopped. This caused Hot Pie to bump into him. "Watch where you're going," Gendry scolded. "Ary," was all he needed to say, for the girl in disguise to stop.

She looked back at him, "what?"

He nodded at the fat boy who'd collapsed on the ground. "He's got the food."

Arya sighed in frustration, she back tracked her steps. Standing over the heavy breathing boy, she said "we'll stop a few minutes, but not so out in the open. Let's go over there by that rock overhang."

Her two misfit companions saw the wisdom in this and followed her over. With a few twigs, grass, a rock and the knife Hot Pie had taken from the kitchens, Gendry had a fire going in seconds. Arya watched how he did it, admiring his skill with fire. They put one sausage over the fire.

"Can you make fire out of anything?" Hot Pie asked, as he watched over the sausage, almost drooling like an animal, in anticipation.

Gendry looked at him like he was an idiot. "I'm no wizard, but any smith worthy to be called one, knows how to make fire anywhere and anytime."

Arya touched his arm, "thank you," she said.

He nodded, then leaned against the rock. They were all hungry, but he wouldn't complain. He was alive and not being tortured, that was enough. "Where are we going?"

She was tempted to be a smart-ass, but held her tongue. "To the wall, just like before." She stared at him and gave him a slight nod.

He stood up reluctantly, "I've got to piss."

She followed, "as do I."

Hot Pie barely heard them, he only had eyes and ears for the sizzling of the sausage.

Once they were out of ear shot of their companion, Arya explained her plans. "We go to Winterfell, my home. Once reunited with my brothers, they will take care of all of us." As an after thought she added, "would you stay with us and work for our smith?"

He shrugged, "nothing better to do. But seriously, I do have to take a piss…. my lady." He teased, with a grin.

She turned her back on him, but didn't move. "Winterfell is on the way to the wall. But it's far from where we are. It's a long way north we have to go. A horse or two, would make this trip a lot faster."

Finishing his business, he came up to stand almost right behind her. "Since we are both being hunted by the King's men, we have to stay away from the main roads. But that said, we're going to run out of food, before we find a horse."

She turned and unconsciously took a step back, creating a little space between them. The feeling she got, when he was that close, scared her. "I know it seems helpless right now. But I won't give up. I have to find my brothers. We should eventually come to a town."

He shrugged, "whatever you say, my lady." He winked at her, then laughed when she punched his arm. "Alright, calm down. Let's see if there's anything left of that sausage."

They went back to the little fire and found that Hot Pie had divided the sausage in three equal parts. His had already disappeared and he looked longingly at the other two pieces. He watched as Gendy put out the fire and then ate his portion.

"Hot Pie, quit watching me like a dog." Gendry said.

Arya took pity on the boy. She took two bites and gave the rest to him. "I'm not hungry. But I need a sip of water." She lied, but being the smallest of the three of them, she felt bad taking the same amount of food. She drank the water slowly, then passed it to Gendry.

"Let's get going, I want as much distance as possible between Harrenhal and us."

"Where are we going anyway?" Hot Pie asked again.

Arya rolled her eyes, "to find a town and north until we reach the wall."

She began to walk on, not caring if they followed her, but hoping they would. They'd have to cross plains, go over hills and through forests to get to the next town. Then she planned to follow Green Fork river to The Twins, where there were allies to the Starks.

As the sun began to set, they looked for shelter and found none. No one travelled the road, that they had kept in sight all day. They didn't want to walk along it at night either, even though the moon cast plenty of light around them. A few little hills lay ahead of them, this would shield them from being seen by someone travelling the road. But not protect them if animals wanted to be harassing. Only Hot Pie wanted to have a fire, Arya explained why they couldn't. So instead they all had a piece of cheese and took a sip of water. Then with their backs against the hill, they looked up into the sky.

"Do you think my mother and brothers look up at the same sky, where they are?" Arya asked no one in particular.

Hot Pie answered, "probably if they are star gazing like us. See that group of stars?"

"Which group?" Gendry asked.

Hot Pie traced a line, connecting the stars above them. "Doesn't it look like a cake?"

Arya snorted, "can't you stop thinking about food for a few minutes?"

Gendry cocked his head to the side, "actually he's right, it does look like a cake."

She gave him a sour look, but he didn't see it as he wasn't looking at her, but up at the night sky. "Well those stars, make the dragon. The comet in the sky, with the red tail, comes from that dragon."

"So dragons are coming again? I don't want there to be dragons again." Hot Pie said fearfully.

"I wish there were dragons still alive. I'd love to ride one, like Visenya Targaryen. She rode the dragon named Vhagar and had a Valyrian steel blade named Dark Sister." Arya said with awe.

"Valyrian steel, I wish I could get my hands on some of that."

"Spoken like a true smith, Gendry." Arya commented. Then she asked, "when is it that your apprenticeship ends and you are a full master of the trade?"

He shrugged, which she saw. "I had to leave, before I ever found that out."

She turned to look at him, "that bull helm that you made…. I think that means you're a master at working steal. You are not an apprentice, but a master smith."

He turned his head to look at her, "I think that's the nicest thing you have said to me, since we met." Then he whispered close to her ear, so she could only hear, the rest of that sentence, "my lady."

She elbowed him. Then giggled when she heard Hot Pie snoring. "I bet he's dreaming about pies and cakes."

Gendry bit off a laugh. "What will you dream about? Dragons?"

Arya's voice was no longer light, nor happy when she answered. "When sleep finally does come to me, I see my father being murdered."

He regretted asking, but knew talking about things that hurt, made them less so. Gently he asked, "did you see it happen?"

Try as she might, she couldn't keep her voice from trembling. In some ways she was very much a girl. "No. I saw him forced to kneel, I heard him forced to lie and I heard the blade slice through his neck. Yoren kept me from seeing it. He cut my hair and told me to pose as a boy, so I could travel with him on the way to the wall and go home."

"So he was just taking you home, since it's on the way?" Gendry asked.

"Yes, under the cover of me being a Night's Watch recruit. But that's where we were going first."

To change the subject, he asked her about the sword she'd once carried. "That sword you had, Needle I think you called it. Who gave that to you? I mean girls usually don't have swords."

"My brother Jon. He knew I hated doing things like learning to sew and wearing dresses. He's the one who taught me how to use a bow and arrow. After Jon gave me the sword and left for the wall, my father allowed me to have swordsmanship lessons. He did it to humour me, I know, but I loved him for doing that all the same."

"If you don't get your sword back, then I will make you another. I will make your brother one that matches yours," Gendry offered.

"Thank you," she said simply, then added, "but I'll get Needle back. Anyway, you lost your cherished bull's helm."

"And because of that and your quick thinking, I'm still alive." He shook his head, sometimes she was so stubborn it was frustrating. He put his hands under his head and closed his eyes. Shortly he fell asleep.

When he didn't say anything further, she knew he was sleeping. She was glad that he too didn't snore. She began her prayer ritual, listing the names of the people she wanted dead. Then she checked to make sure she hadn't lost the coin that Jaqen had given her. Arya corrected herself mentally repeating the new name Valar Morghulis from Braavos. He was an unexpected friend and valuable ally.

Eventually the sound of Gendry's even breathing, lulled her to sleep. Unknown to her, she was a restless sleeper and rolled into Gendry, making him wake with a start. Realizing it was just Arya and no need for alarm, he rolled onto his side, with his back to her. That was until he heard her talking in her sleep. Then he rolled so that he faced her. She was dreaming about the day of her father's beheading. She was talking to Yoren, fighting his grip on her, trying to rescue her father. Gendry shook his head, such a small girl, but fierce and courageous. In the moon's light he saw a tear slip out of her eye and slowly roll down her cheek. In that moment, he knew that he could never be someone to make her cry. He felt protective towards her, but also realized she wouldn't accept it either. He understood pride and respected it. Arya had saved his life twice already and he owed her. Once when the King's men had come for him and her quick thinking made a dead boy have his name. Then again, by leading them to freedom from Harrenhal. She rolled, once again her back was to him and she was silent. He stood, stretched, looked around and saw nothing. He went a ways off, took a piss and came back. Then he went back to sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day.