Discretely

Chapter tweleve

"Little Wolf, May I have a word with you?" The Queen asked as she rose from her seat looking to Arya who looked up from her food, everyone at the table was watching and Arya nodded. Cersei walked over to her and offered an arm to her which she took.

Her and Arya walked out of the room and Arya looked behind her to see Joffrey who had a worried face almost. Arya turned her attention back to the queen, she never would have been nervous to speak with her if it weren't for the conversation she heard last night between her and her father.

"Do you love him?" The Queen finally asked, Arya knew what she meant but she played dumb anyway.

"Your Grace?" Arya asked trying to sound as confused as she could which seemed to work. The Queen and Arya has reached the gardens by the time the Queen first spoke.

"Do you love Joffrey, dear?" Cersei asked her again but clarified, "You two have been spending time together I've noticed." She also commented.

"I've only wanted to get to know him because him and Sansa are to be married." Arya lied as best as she could, The Queen nodded in response.

"I was only wondering my love." She said with a bright smile, that made Arya feel a bit better about the whole thing but he still remembered what she had said to her father, she watched as the Queen looked at the shirt she was wearing that day taking interest in it for whatever reason, she then toon in a breath, "My dear I have some business to attend to and I only wanted to know just Incase." She said with a gentle kiss on Arya's forehead before she walked out of the garden, Arya walked back to the castle and made her way back to her chambers on her way there she ran into Joffrey.

"What did she say to you?" He asked her as he walked to her, Arya didn't know why he looked so worried about it.

"She asked me if I, why I was with you so much." Arya answered him, she didn't want to tell him her exact words fearing he might ask her the same question himself, he nodded, "I just told her the same thing I had told Sansa."

"Arya, tonight do you want to go back out to the beach?" He asked with a hopeful smile which Arya noticed.

She nodded, "That would be nice." Arya replied with a bright smile and Joffrey smiled back at her.

"Just, um meet me after dinner." He said as he hesitated but kissed her on the head and walked away, she smiled to herself as she headed the other way. Arya quickly looked down the hall to make sure no one was watching, she walked back into her room and shit the door. She undressed herself before realising that the shirt she took off was Joffrey's he had let her wear it last night because she got cold. And the Queen kept looking at her shirt when they were talking in the garden, Arya sighed out of stress it was obvious Cersei noticed it she wouldn't take her eyes off of the shirt.

She put it at the bottom of her drawer and undressed and stepped in the tub, the hot water was nice and soothed her. Still she was stressed about the whole thing between her and Joffrey and now both of their parents have noticed as well. She breathed in the rose scent in her tub Arya dipped her head in the water and scrubbed at her body, and a knock on the door made her wake up from the soothing moment.

"Arya?" Sansa called through the door sounding almost sad.

"Come in." Arya answered as she saw her sister come through the door wearing an elegant blue dress, and her hat down in a northern style, "Are you okay?" Arya asked worried by the way her sister was acting.

"I'm sorry about this morning," she started off saying, "You shouldn't have been woken up in such rudeness." Sansa said with a apologetic smile, "and I don't care that you and Joffrey are friends."

"How have you two been lately." Arya asked her shifting in the water.

"We haven't been together lately, he's either with you or doing some 'important' business." Sansa replied with a plain tone.

Arya nodded, "Do you love him?" She asked Sansa who looked down at her hands.

"You want my honest answer?" Sansa asked as she came a bit closer to Arya and sat on the bench next to the tub, Arya nodded, "I don't, I really can't love him. Yes when we first met in Winterfell I thought he was the kindest person ever, and I wanted to be Queen someday. But now I don't want that I don't want to marry him even though I most likely have no choice about it." She said looking down  at her hands.

In a way Arya felt some sort of relief, but she also felt bad for Sansa really bad, "But he hasn't treated you in any way has he?"

Sansa shook her head, "He hasn't really talked to me, I'm okay with that as long as we won't hurt me anymore." She folded her arms in her lap, "Is he okay with you?"

Arya though if telling her the truth, how she felt what they did but she knew how much pain that might cause Sansa, "He's been kind." and he really had been lately and she loved seeing that side of him that Joffrey truly wasn't a monster.

"You know you can't tell me anything." Sansa told her sister with a warm tone.

Arya nodded, "I know." she replied, hearing that from her sister made her feel better knowing she could trust her sister.

She smiled at her younger sister and sat up and headed for the door, "Ill let you finish." Sansa said walking out of the door. Arya leaned back into the tub she felt as if she was almost betraying her sister and that made her feel horrible constantly lying to her and the Queen.