Chapter 39

Arya grew restless. They had been in Dragonstone for over a month now. She remembered when they crossed through the gates. The men pointed their arrows and swords at them. They were a sight. Joanna was barefoot, her feet bloodied. Arya had cuts over her arms and was the dirtiest of them while Gendry bleed heavily from an arm wound that needed to be checked by a maester.

"Who comes this way?" A man asked in a very unfriendly manner. The direwolves around them growled and paced around them.

"Gendry." She looked at the young man beside her. He was so unused to using his titles.

"You are prince Gendry. Say it." She hissed to him. Joanna looked lost, afraid, her clothes were torn and her hair was dirty. Arya held her hand.

"Go back where you came from." The man said and turned his back on them.

"You will open these gates and call Lord Baratheon." Gendry grew impatient when the man refused to open the doors. "I am your prince. You will open your gates and take me to my uncle." Gendry barked commandingly.

The man opened the gates but did not let them inside the castle. "The prince is dead." The man announced.

"I assure you I am alive." Gendry tried to make his way inside the castle but a group of men surrounded him.

"I swear upon the Seven if you do not let us in I will personally see to your imprisonment for treason." Arya knew for a fact Gendry would not act on his words. He forgave too easily, forgot too easily.

They did not let him in. The man however sent a man inside the castle.

It was cold. Joanna shivered, Arya looked as the sun rose. It was a brand new day. The wait felt like hours. "Why is this taking so long?"

Gendry looked pale. "This is the first time I set foot here. No one has ever seen my face. I suppose they have to get my uncle first."

Arya had never met Stannis Baratheon nor seen any portraits of him but it was obvious he walked their way from the moment Gendry and him locked eyes. The man looked stoic but there was relief in his eyes. The prince was not as skilled or self-contained as his uncle. The relief was evident in his blue eyes.

She thought Gendry would break into a run and hug Stannis but either the young man was too tired to run or he did not feel comfortable with public displays of affection. Tommen would have hugged father, as Robb and Jon would have but she couldn't picture uncle Jaime or Tyrion hugging grandfather after any circumstance.

Gendry hugged him as soon as he was close enough. "She tried to kill me." Gendry whispered. Stannis hugged him back and kissed his forehead quickly, Arya would have missed it if she weren't obsessively looking at her betrothed.

"You're alive." Lord Baratheon stepped away from him and took a look at his nephew's arm. "You are hurt. Maester Cressen must see you at once." Gendry nodded.

The man noticed her and Joanna at last. Confusion marred his features for a second. "The Stark sisters. I will explain everything once we are inside I swear." They made their way into the castle.

Dragonstone was different. It was beautiful but in a sad way. She did not have time to contemplate much because as soon as they were inside Gendry was shipped away to a maester while her and Joanna were shipped another way.

She did not feel comfortable leaving Joanna alone. A woman drew them baths and tended to their minor wounds. Joanna swatted the woman's hands away. "No, no, no." She kept whispering. Her sister must be in shock. Arya grabbed her face softly. "We are fine. Joanna, we're safe, in Dragonstone." Joanna focused on her face.

"Father is dead." She said hollowly.

Arya stared back and agreed. "We're alive." She looked into Joanna's green eyes and willed her to focus on her.

Her sister did. "We have to send ravens to mother or grandfather." Arya nodded.

The woman came close to Joanna and she let her heal and bandage her feet. She drew them baths. Joanna and her sank into the water and washed each other's hair. Arya was grateful they were together and had this time for them.

The servants lead them to guest quarters. "M'ladies, we have different rooms for you."

The possibility of not having Joanna close to her bothered her more than she wanted to admit. "Keep close. Winter is coming." Father reminded them about the pack that survives.

"No." Arya held onto Joanna's hand and tightened her hold on hers.

"As you wish my lady." The woman said and left them in their quarters with new clothes. "We should rest." Joanna changed into a shift and handed Arya another shift.

They went to bed and faced each other. They used to sleep like this when they were little. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the comfort a good bed offered.

Later that day Lord Baratheon called them for dinner. Neither Joanna nor her realized they had slept the day away. The maid woke them up with her soft voice. Joanna was the one to wake her and encourage her to dress properly.

"I'll comb your hair." Arya knew it calmed her down so she let her brush her brown hair and put it in a braid reminiscent to the ones mother was prone to wearing.

She returned the favor. "I can't braid you hair properly." For some reason it ashamed her that she couldn't make her sister's hair stay in a braid.

"We'll be late. It doesn't really matter Arya. Just brush it and be done with it." Joanna rolled her eyes. Her sister could have kissed her for that little gesture. Normalcy, it was what they needed when their world was over and their family scattered. They were not even sure if any of them were alive anymore.

She combed Joanna's hair until it shone. They walked together to a brightly lit room. Gendry sat next to Lord Baratheon, discussing something. A girl, probably younger than Bran sat in front of Gendry, her face was scared. The girl had suffered from Greyscale. Septa Mordane spoke of it in one of her endless history lessons. She saw an older man, a maester sitting next to the girl. A woman sat at the other end of the table. "Arya." Gendry said smiling and offered her a seat next to him. There was only one chair; an older man occupied the other chair. Arya refused to let go of Joanna's hand.

The man stood up, "My lady." He said, bowing and offering his chair to Joanna who even in cases like this never forgot her manners. "Thank you my lord." She smiled.

The man stuttered, "Not a lord my lady." He said and sat quickly but Arya could tell he liked Joanna. Everyone loved Joanna and for once Arya wasn't envious of that little fact.

Lord Baratheon spoke as soon as both girls were seated. "Your father was an honorable man, just and trustworthy. I offer my condolences." The man said stiffly.

Joanna nodded. "We thank you for your hospitality my lord." She said proffering a small smile at the stoic man.

He looked away from her eyes. "If we could write to our mother or our grandfather." Joanna started.

"That would be unadvisable for the time being." A woman with red hair said.

"Who are you?" Arya said quite rudely. She meant to be rude.

"Lady Melisandre of Asshai. Our priestess for the Lord of Light." The woman at the end of the table said with a glint on her eyes.

"You have brought darkness into our home but what can you expect from the daughters of murderers and traitors?" the woman said with spite.

The lord of Dragonstone ground his teeth, "Selyse. That is enough." The man looked annoyed by the woman's behavior. The woman in red remained impassive.

"My lord husband should reconsider and send this filth back to King's Landing. Let Catelyn see to their punishment." Arya could have easily leapt and slap that woman but it wasn't necessary.

Gendry came to their defense. "I think not Lady Baratheon. Arya is my betrothed…"

"You dare address me bastard." The woman said with vitriol.

Suddenly Stannis Baratheon slammed both of his hands on the table. The girl with Greyscale let out a small gasp, as did Joanna. The rest of the occupants were silent and watched Lord Baratheon as he spoke. He did not yell but his voice seem to acquire a potent like quality, "I said enough. They will stay here under our care and be treated as the guests they are." He then stood up and made for the door.

"Gendry." He called and the prince followed his uncle. For their part Joanna and Arya were ushered by the maester and into their quarters.

The girl with Greyscale was Shireen Baratheon, Gendry's cousin. She knocked on their door and wanted to introduce herself. Arya had liked the young girl as had Joanna who took delight in her company.

A month passed. Selyse Baratheon despised them and made no secret of it. The Red Woman as Gendry called her was a constant presence in the castle. There were rumors that she was Stannis's mistress but Arya doubted it very much. The man was cold; although Gendry seemed to love him dearly, better than he had loved his father at any rate. The girl could tell just by the way Gendry spoke of him and how they interacted.

In any case the Red woman tried to make Stannis seize the throne as his and only his. She believed he was the reincarnation of some god. Gendry told her so. He had been so happy to tell her that his uncle refused the woman and she was due to go back to Asshai.

"Uncle Stannis wants her gone from Dragonstone. She will leave in a week. She said she was mistaken and would be ready to leave the castle in a week." Gendry said as they sparred in an abandoned part of the castle, away from prying eyes.

She was quicker than him but he was stronger and surprisingly agile for a man his size. She aimed her needle and managed to graze his side but he moved to his right and laughed. "You have got to be less predictable m'lady."

Arya smiled, he smiled back, openly, with a happy glint. She aimed her sword at his heart. "You play dirty." He said and scowled.

"You are predictable too my prince." The girl laughed and he laughed too. He held her to him and gave her a kiss. Arya kissed him back. She grabbed his hand when his eyes darkened and his hands wandered. "Come on. Joanna must be looking for us." She ran and he ran after her.

Arya stopped her musings when Shireen and Joanna approached her. "You have to come with us to the gardens. You have to see the new flowers." The little girl spoke animatedly and held onto Joanna's hand.

Arya didn't want to be rude, not to Shireen but the last thing in her mind were the flowers they planted or anything other than to know more about the war. Stannis had been eerily quiet about his plans. She trusted Gendry and therefore trusted the older man but she felt uneasy. It had been a month and they were not even near to raising an army or taking King's Landing.

Joanna frowned at her. "Arya, you have to see the flowers."

She nodded, walking alongside Shireen. Joanna was very fond of the girl and so was she. Arya was fonder of Selyse's rage. The woman looked positively enraged whenever she saw her daughter in the Starks' company.

"Lady Melisandre leaves tonight. Mother doesn't speak to father anymore. She's threatened to go back to Brightwater Keep." The small girl said as she watered the plants.

Had it been a week already? It must have been. Arya couldn't care less if that horrible woman left Dragonstone. It would be better if she were gone. Joanna however seemed a little too interested. "Your father would never let his wife live away from him."

Shireen shrugged, "Mother and father do not care much about each other." The girl said it as if she was saying it would rain later.

Arya observed the interactions between lord and lady Baratheon. They were cold to each other, Selyse looked at him with sad eyes while Stannis avoided her as much as possible.

They spent the afternoon in the gardens. Joanna asked a lot of questions about Selyse and Shireen. Arya yawned more than once. Her sister seemed to have forgotten about her, not that the girl cared too much. A busy Joanna was better than her listless counterpart. She would be unbearable if she were idle. It was nightfall when Arya stood up and ushered her companions out of the gardens and into the courtyards.

The girls walked back and saw the fires down by the sea. Arya ran to one of the balconies. There were fires around the beach. "They're burning the gods." Shireen said next to her.

They ran down, thinking they would reach the bay. "My ladies. You have to stay put." Ser Davos and some of his men restrained them. Joanna gasped when Stannis and Gendry came close to them. They were dirty with sand and soot, a strange combination. "Get inside, there's nothing left."

The party walked back. Gendry was pale and his hands shook. The hall was well lit. Davos called for a maester. She was surprised when the old maester did not come. She was used to seeing the old man attend to her betrothed and his uncle.

The younger man looked over Gendry and some men. Arya and Joanna were given supplies to help the wounded. Shireen had been ushered back to her quarters. The girl didn't dare ask anything and went back to her rooms with a meek gaze toward her father.

Stannis had his back toward them. The man sat down away from them. He did not glance at anyone; his gaze was fixed at a wall.

"Your hands, they're burned." Joanna stepped forward and grabbed some ointment and bandages.

Only Joanna sat by the man and saw to the man's wounds. Arya expected lord Baratheon to refuse her sister's care but he didn't.

She couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. "What happened?" She asked as gently as possible.

Gendry grabbed her hand. "Lady Baratheon opposed the Red Woman's departure. Uncle refused her pleas and had the woman leave Dragonstone in the late afternoon. Her ship was gone before the sun fell."

Arya did not understand. Gendry should be happy the woman was gone; instead he looked discomfited. "I don't understand. She is gone. You should be happy."

"I am." He shook his head. "I was. I saw the ship become smaller and smaller and then noticed something amiss. Lady Baratheon had some of the men carry the Gods, the statues to the bay."

Arya could tell Gendry was remembering, picturing the events in his head. "Maester Cressen tried to stop her. He called for uncle Stannis. He came of course but it was too late. I should have seen them. Why didn't I pay more attention to the beach, instead of looking at the ship?"

He rambled, "What happened?"

"The idols burned. She pushed Cressen when he tried to stop her from lighting the Father. The men tried to stop her too but it was too late. Lady Selyse pushed maester Cressen and then threw herself to the fire. "She thought she was going to be purified. Uncle Stannis burned his hands trying to get her from the flames but she fought him. She looked possessed."

"They're dead."

Arya looked back to Shireen who stood by the doorway and then went to her father. Stannis looked at those remaining in the hall. There were only two men who looked badly burned. "Wildfire. She used wildfire, it was how it spread so quickly."

"Leave at once." Stannis motioned to the maester and the men. They went away. Gendry, Arya and Joanna left too. Everyone but for Shireen who stayed by her father's side.

They heard as the girl cried. They also heard the man quieting the little girl.

Gendry was escorted back to his rooms while Joanna and Arya went to theirs. They faced each other. "What are you thinking?" Arya asked her sister.

The girl could practically hear her sister's thoughts bouncing off her head.

"Nothing of importance." She said barely audibly.

"Are you thinking about Selyse?" Arya guessed.

"It sad how she died. That Red Woman drove her to madness." Joanna said forgetting her attempts at secrecy.

If there was anything positive about being cooped up in Dragonstone it was the fact that Joanna talked to her. They were talking and being friendly again. Her sister didn't look at her with pained eyes anymore. She looked at her like old Joanna did and even treated her better than old Joanna ever did.

"She was not so nice Joanna. She didn't like Gendry or us. I don't even think she liked Shireen much." Arya said trying to make conversation.

"He always looks sad." Her big sister said and looked at her hands.

Arya lost her. "Who?"

"Lord Baratheon. He looks sad, and is always very quiet. You wouldn't think he would be related to King Robert or Gendry."

She looked at Joanna. "I suppose he is more reserved."

"He is a true lord. Shireen said he reads to her sometimes. He has a pleasant voice." Joanna said distractedly.

"How would you know? He's barely spoken to any of us." Arya said suspiciously.

"I suppose he does. He looks like he has a good voice, a gentle, and kind voice but also strong because he's a warrior."

"You're raving mad Joanna." Arya couldn't deny that Stannis was a warrior. Father had said he was a just, if hard man.

"He will have to marry." Joanna said and then turned away from Arya.

Arya for her part closed her eyes, the events of the day catching up to her. She couldn't help but think that Joanna was up to something.