At last, Gendry was standing there, in front of the home of his father. The castle Storm's End. He was standing at the edge of the moat, Devan was standing beside him on one side and Ser Balon Swann was standing beside him on the other side. His armies were standing behind him with the Baratheon banners raised high.

They needed to get Tyrek Lannister forfeit Storm's End to Gendry. In theory, it should be easy since Tyrek was supposedly only holding the castle for House Baratheon and Gendry was a Baratheon now. In practice, it would probably be harder since Tyrek would have no reason to accept him as such. But Gendry brought an offer for Tyrek that he hopefully wouldn't be able to resist. An offer from Tyrion Lannister.

The castle was so much bigger than he could have ever imagined. The moot was as wide as a river, the grey stone walls were high and steep as cliffs and the tower in the middle rose so high it almost touched the clouds. It was not a beautiful castle but it was a strong castle. A castle serving its purpose better than most castle as it had proven to be impossible for attacking armies to overtake.

***

The parlay would be held on the bridge over the moot as Gendry's men deemed it unsafe for him to enter the castle and Tyrek's men deemed it unsafe for him to leave it. So the bridge was the only safe place. Two chairs were put out for the two men. It had been decided that no advisors or soldiers would join them during the parlay.

Tyrek Lannister was so very young, still almost a child. He had the height of a man but the features of a child. Blonde locks framed a face where a beard wasn't yet growing. He didn't look threatening, not at all. This made Gendry feel a little bit less nervous about the whole thing. But his hands were still shaking, his mouth was dry and he could feel sweat running down his back. He hoped Tyrek didn't notice his obvious nervousness.

"So who exactly are you Gendry Baratheon?" Tyrek asked. "You said you are the son of Robert Baratheon. But all his legitimate sons are dead."

"I am his bastard son. Anyone who knew him can vouch for that, they say I look just like him."

"But that doesn't mean anything if you are not legitimized. That doesn't give you any right to claim this castle."

"I was legitimized by Queen Danaerys."

"And that might mean something to you and to those who follow her. But it doesn't mean anything to me. She's not my queen. The Dragon Queen can't give you this castle."

"I know she's not your queen. Not yet. But when she wins this war she will be. And if you give me this castle now she will show mercy towards you. She's not known for mercy. She burns her enemies with dragon fire."

"If I give you this castle now I will have nothing. I will be a traitor to my queen, my cousin Cersei, and have nothing to bargain with."

"I don't ask to walk away from here with nothing. I bring a letter from your cousin Tyrion Lannister, with an offer to you if you forfeit this castle to me now."

Gendry handed Tyrek a letter that he had been carrying with him from Winterfell. A letter written by Tyrion Lannister.

"Tyrion... why would I take any offer from a man without honor? He killed his father, he killed King Joffrey. Why would I trust him?"

"Read it, please. Then you can decide whether to trust him or not."

Tyrek read the letter in silence. Hopefully, the letter actually said what Tyrion had claimed he had written. Gendry realized he should have made Devan read it beforehand to make sure, but it was too late now.

"Lord of Casterly Rock... It's a good offer."

Tyrek put his hands through his blonde locks and sighed. He seemed torn. Like he wanted to take the offer but wasn't sure if he would trust the validity of it.

"It's all I ever wanted," he continued. "But why would I trust him?"

"What reason would he have to trick you? If he wanted you to die he could have just left you here to burn by the hands of the Dragon Queen. But he needs you because he needs another Lannister. Someone to rule your castle and have Lannister children after all this is over. He's not doing this for you, he's doing it for himself so that he is free from the duty of being Lord Lannister."

"I would trust him to act in a selfish manner. That man has no honor. But I do. I still have my honor, it's all I've got. If I take this offer I can't say that anymore. I would be a turn-coat, a traitor, a condemned man."

Gendry looked at Tyrek. He was barely a man yet, he was a boy. So young, so handsome, so confident. So alive. He didn't want Tyrek to die. He needed him to know exactly what he was choosing if he chose honor. Honor would equal death. Because he knew the Dragon Queen would show him no mercy. He reached out and put his hand on Tyrek's shoulder to assure him that what he was saying was the truth. Gendry wasn't trying to trick him, he was trying to save him.

"You will die if you don't take this offer. Everyone in this castle will die. Queen Cersei won't win this war. Not against those dragons. And when the Dragon Queen has won she will come for you, she will burn you and everyone siding with you. This is the only way for you to escape that destiny. For your people to escape that destiny. I don't blame you for choosing honor. In the end that's all you have. But do you really want to make that choice for every man and woman in this castle? Do you really want to choose death by dragon fire for them all? An honorable man would put his people first and himself second."

"We will only die if the Dragon Queen wins this war. If she loses I'm a traitor and will lose my head."

"She will win. I swear on my honor, on the name of my father. She will win. Do you think I would be here if I thought Queen Cersei could win this war? Your head would not be the only one to roll if that was the case, mine would too. I got everything to lose too. I could have walked away from it all, lived life as a commoner to a ripe old age. Or I could have waited until I knew which queen would rule. But instead, I stole an army from Queen Cersei and marched towards a castle held by her family. She would never let me live."

"And why would I trust your word for it? How do I even know that you are who you say you are? You could be sent here by the Dragon Queen to trick me."

How could he show Tyrek that he was telling the truth, that he was who he said he was? All he had was his men to vouch for him and they could be spinning the same stories that he was. He would not have believed them if he was Tyrek.

Then he remembered something. Something Meera Reed had told him.

He turned both his hands palm up. His palms still showed burns and scars clearly. They would always be there, no matter who he became. He would always have the hands of a blacksmith.

"This is the only proof I got. My hands bear the proof that I was not born a lord. I was a blacksmith not long ago. I think you can see that these are the hands of a working man. It might not be much but it's all I got to show you. I hope this tells you that I'm not trying to trick you because I wouldn't know how to. I'm not versed in scheming and games. I'm not used to leading men. I'm not skilled in the arts of war. All I know is hard work and honesty. My hands should tell you that."

Tyrek put out his hands in the same way, palms facing up. His palms were pale and clean.

"Your hands certainly don't look like mine, or any lord I've ever met. I want to trust you, I really do. You don't know how tired I am of this castle, of the constant battles against the Stormlords. You don't know how badly I want to go home and be the lord of Casterly Rock."

"About as badly as I want to be the lord of the castle behind you probably. Please trust me. I don't want to trick you, I want to save you. And every else in that castle."

Tyrek leaned back, he looked up towards the sky like he was pondering something. Pondering if he could do this. After a short while, he leaned forward again and put his hands on top of Gendry's still outstretched palms. His hands were soft like a lady's.

"You will need to give me something in return if I'm to trust you. Something that will show me that you are my ally, that you can't just back out of this when it suits you. That you will defend me if need be."

"Anything. I am your ally and I will defend you."

"Are you an unmarried man?"

"Yes... why does that matter?"

"Because then you can show your loyalty to me and our alliance through marriage. I will give you this castle, but only if you marry my sister Tyra. In that way, our houses will be united in an unbreakable way. Your father married a Lannister girl and so will you."

Gendry was taken aback at the offer. He had not expected that. He hadn't even considered the possibility of entering a marriage for political reasons. But of course, that was the reality of being a lord, he knew that. He just... hadn't ever pictured it for himself.

He realized Tyrek probably could see his hesitation. There was no time for that. He needed to act in a resolute and decisive manner. Even if he felt anything but. He needed to take this offer if he ever wanted to be Lord of Storm's End.

"If that's what I need to do to show that you can trust me I will. I will marry your sister. I will unite our houses."

Tyrek smiled at him and squeezed Gendry's hands that he was still holding.

"Then this parlay is over. You will get your castle, Lord Baratheon. And I will get mine in due time."

They both got up from their seats and shook hands in a gesture to signal to their men that the parlay was done.

"Thank you, Lord Lannister. I believe this alliance will be good for both of our houses. And it will be an honor to meet your sister and make her my wife."

As he said that his thoughts went to Arya. He knew she didn't want him but he realized now that he still hadn't fully given up the hope that she would change her mind.

And there was still that flickering thought in the back of his mind. The thought of a warm hand in his. The thought he didn't dare to think out loud. He felt that flickering thought die before he had even been ready to acknowledge it.

It was too late for that thought now, he would marry someone else. Someone he only knew the name of.

While they were still shaking hands Tyrek leaned in close and whispered something to him.

"I don't have a sister..."

Gendry looked upon the still so childish looking Tyrek in disbelief. Maybe he wasn't as innocent as he looked after all.

"I was just testing your resolve and political savviness," Tyrek continued. "That you were willing to marry my sister makes me trust you. And you not knowing that I don't have a sister makes me trust you even more. You would have known that if you were trying to trick me. But you didn't, which shows that you were truthful when you said you are not versed in scheming and games."

With that Tyrek released his hand, gave one last glimmering smile and then turned around and walked back into the castle. Gendry had misjudged him. Tyrek might be young but he was a Lannister, a scheming weasel well versed in the political games. A young and charming weasel but a weasel nonetheless.

As Tyrek was leaving he yelled out one last message.

"We will leave the castle at dawn tomorrow. Then it's all yours Lord Baratheon."

Gendry was left standing on the bridge, confused about what had just happened. Had he just got tricked? But maybe getting tricked wasn't a bad thing this time as it seemed to have given him a castle. For once his lack of knowledge had actually gotten him ahead in life.

Devan was soon by his side as he was standing there.

"What happened? What did you agree to?" he asked.

"I agreed to marry his sister to get the castle..." Gendry replied, still unsure of exactly what had happened.

Devan chuckled slightly and then put his hand on Gendry's shoulder.

"He doesn't have a sister."

"Well, I know that now...You couldn't have told me that earlier?"

Gendry had got tricked. But the castle was his. That's all that mattered.

He turned around and looked at the castle. His father's castle. His castle. He was there now. He was home.