Winter's Thaw

Rough Riding

Rough Riding

Gendry

They had been riding for hours upon hours. The entourage with the bulk of their belongings was far behind them. The men and himself had tried suggesting a lunch break, a rest break, a chance to water their horses and take a piss more than once, but she kept refusing, kept insisting. They needed to continue on, she said. No stops, no resting. All small talk he had attempted to start with her was met with silence or clipped responses, obviously having no patience for chatter. They ate dried fruits and sipped water from their skins as they rode. When one had to take a piss, they stopped, wandered off into the bushes, while the rest kept going. The man would have to trot his horse to catch up. In short, the journey was proving to be exactly as he had predicted, Hellish.

As the sky grew colder, and more of the men began to complain, Gendry had had enough.

He rode up next to her, she didn't slow or even acknowledge him.

"Arya, we need to stop soon." She sighed.

"It's not even dark yet."

"What about the horses? We can't keep them going like this all the way to Winterfell. You know that. They need rest, water, and food. The men too, we've been going all day, non stop, we need a break."

"Oh, I see, the horses need a break. Really, they need a break? Or the men don't want to admit to being tired? If they're not willing to be outridden by a woman, too bad. We just need to keep going." She sat up straighter.

"They're humans Arya. And so am I. It's okay if you are too. You don't have to make everything a fight." She did look at him then, chest heaving, eyes glaring, beautiful.

"Just a little bit further. That's all." He tries to grab her reins but she blocks his hands with her wrist, maneuvering away. He speeds up and cuts off her horse with his.

"Arya! Arya stop it. Stop." Her eyes are furious.

"How dare you try to take control of my horse. That's a great offense up North. It could earn you a few lashes and a day in the stocks."

"You're not funny. We're stopping now, that's it, and I won't hear another word about it."

"Oh, you're telling me what to do now? That was quick." The hint of disbelief in her voice gives it a manic quality.

"I'm telling you when you're being stupid and acting like a spoiled child. So yeah." She makes no attempt to move her horse, both in a stand still, Arya's horse chewing on grass underfoot.

"Not even North yet and you're already the lord of me, eh? Good for you, starting to talk like a lord, act like one. Remember this Gendry Baratheon, I'm the Warden of the North; you don't give me orders." And with that, she jumps off of her horse and heads straight for the trees, off the path and into the woods.

"For fucksakes!" He mutters as he dismounts his horse and follows after her. He signals the men to stay there and take a break; they are happy to oblige. They sigh in relief as Gendry goes deeper into the woods following her trail.

When he finds her she is leaning against a tree, forehead pressed against the bark, her fingers digging into the grooves of the wood. She looks as though she's trying to tear out the healthy bark with the strength of her fingertips alone, more likely to break her fingers than the tree, muttering all the while between shallow gasping breaths.

"Arya..." At once he feels guilty for intruding on her. She turns her head and seeing him, whines low in her throat.

"Why can't you go? Just go away." She turns her head back around.