"I never thought I had a father and siblings. I only thought, how sweet it would be if I could see them again. Today my dream came true, but I cried," Miss Mia said, choking back tears.
Gendry looked very tall, though he still had a touch of childishness at rare moments, a gentleness beyond his usual strength. Only in front of family could he truly relax.
The blood of the Stag might be separated by a thousand miles, but they still flowed with the same blood. Before the Long Winter and the night, they needed to care for their families and warm each other.
"You've found your home, sister." Gendry wiped the tears from Miss Mia's face. Both their faces had firm contours, etched only by a bit of hardship. Two bastards with dangerous identities, one in King's Landing, one in The Vale of Arryn, surviving to this day was their greatest luck.
"You are so strong, Miss Mia." In terms of physical and mental fortitude, Gendry felt that Miss Mia was practically a special forces soldier of The Eyrie, constantly traversing the mountain paths of The Eyrie to transport supplies and guide visitors up the mountain. If she were a boy, she would also be a formidable warrior.
"You are also very strong, Gendry."
"I only vaguely remember his image, but I can't see his face," Miss Mia recalled. "When I was a little baby, he loved to throw me into the air. He was built like a giant, his hands so strong, I felt like I was flying. We laughed and laughed until I couldn't breathe, even tears streamed down, which made him even happier. I wasn't scared at all; I knew he would always catch me." Miss Mia thought for a moment, "Then one day, he missed. After that, he left. That's how men are: they either lie, die, or leave."
Gendry looked at Miss Mia: "The late King Robert left us a gift before he passed away, a will legitimizing his bastards. From now on, you are a legitimate Baratheon."
"Besides this gift, I'd rather see him again and ask him why he left," Miss Mia said. Miss Mia, dressed in a noble lady's gown, actually looked very clumsy. No girl dislikes dresses, unless forced by circumstances. In the past, Miss Mia always wore leather, and often even donned light armor like a man.
"He won't come back. Lord Eddard said he could swear eternal love and then forget all about it before nightfall," Gendry commented. A dissolute father rarely paid attention to his children's lives. To some extent, the King was just a selfish, pleasure-seeking Child in his heart.
"You've fought your way here, it must have been very hard, right?" Miss Mia asked Gendry. "They all say the mad storm is invincible in war; songs of you are sung in The Vale of Arryn, but you are still a young man."
"A warrior's work is like a smith's, both rely on strength." Gendry looked at Miss Mia. Although this was a joke, the principle was the same; their physical conditions were both robust, clearly powerful and strong.
"Tell me your story, the story of the smith and the warrior. As for me, I've always been a guide for The Eyrie, also responsible for transporting supplies. Later, I met Ser Michel; these are all ordinary things, day after day." As a guide, Miss Mia led visiting Lords and Knights through dangerous mountain paths into The Vale of Arryn. All fresh food for The Eyrie, such as eggs, bacon, butter, and fruits, was brought in by Miss Mia from The Vale of Arryn.
"I have no memory of him. Of my mother, my only memory is that she had golden hair... After that, I was sent to the smithy..." Gendry recounted to Miss Mia, from the small tavern to the smithy, from King's Landing Across the Narrow Sea, from a Mercenaries apprentice in the Wolf Pack Company to the King of blood and fire, from the Disputed Lands to Myr and Tyrosh, and from Myr back to Westeros.
Along the way, it was thanks to his strength, bloodline, intellect, good luck, and his 'cheat.' Perhaps this was destiny; the protagonist of an era would always boast like this. But it was also the support, trust, and sacrifice of many people that brought Gendry to this point. Only after enduring hardships and succeeding can one speak openly about those hardships.
"If there's a chance, I'll take you to meet Daenerys," Gendry promised Miss Mia.
"The silver-haired Dragon Princess? Princess Daenerys, they say she's the most beautiful in the known world." Miss Mia laughed. "You two need to have a Child quickly so the succession is secure."
"We'll do our best, but Dany is still too young. When Ser Michel returns to The Vale of Arryn, I want to attend your wedding."
"You must come."
The Old Knight Ser Barristan looked at the reunited siblings, feeling a pang of emotion. For him, honor was his life, and his beloved. Earthly desires could not defile the White Cloak, which is why the Old Knight disliked Jaime, who wore the White Cloak but was conflicted.
He had seen enough: kinship, love, destruction. Yet, he was still moved by such genuine human emotion. Years ago, he gave up his family's inheritance and took the White Cloak. The girl who was supposed to marry him married his cousin, and he rarely returned to Harvest Hall after that.
The two talked for a very long time. Baron Nestor, finding an opportunity, slowly walked onto the balcony.
"Prince Gendry, Miss Mia, your reunion as siblings is very touching. But I think I also need to formally introduce Miss Mia's identity to the Lords of The Vale of Arryn. This was also something Lord Jon once entrusted to me, to look after Miss Mia," Baron Nestor said respectfully. His attitude made Miss Mia a bit uncomfortable, as Nestor had been her supervisor for a long time, but Nestor had treated her well, also because Lord Arryn had specifically instructed him to.
Gendry nodded. After Miss Mia bid him farewell, she followed Baron Nestor to the great hall of The Eyrie. From then on, she would no longer be the little guide of The Eyrie, but a princess of House Baratheon.
On the empty balcony, only Gendry and the Old Knight Ser Barristan remained. The other Knights and servants who had been watching the commotion began to resume their fighting.
"Your Highness, can that Child truly live to sixteen?" Ser Barristan asked softly, still worried. The Old Knight had seen the little Lord's appearance: pale skin, pitifully thin limbs, a soft, sunken chest, eyes always red and sunken, and a small, flat belly. It wasn't his fault; he was born small and frail.
"We can only do our best," Gendry sighed.
"If there are further problems with the heir to The Vale of Arryn, I fear the Iron Throne will still have to intervene. The main line of House Arryn has been extinguished twice already, and each time the Iron Throne has intervened. I hope this time, it can pass peacefully," Ser Barristan said with a bitter expression.
This was House Arryn, perhaps the unluckiest of many families; the main line of the family had been extinguished twice since Aegon the Conqueror. If you include Sweet Robin, that would be the third time. Each change was almost always a bloody storm, rarely resolved peacefully.
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