Chapter 18 Chapter Seventeen Arya

The rain came and went, the sky was overcast, and the streams were all swollen.On the third morning, Arya noticed that the moss was growing under the tree in the wrong place. "Wrong direction," she said to Gendry, riding past a mossy elm. "We're going south. See the moss under the tree?" He brushed aside the thick black hair in front of his eyes, "Let's go along the road, that's all, this road is heading south here." We've been going south today, and she wanted to tell him, and yesterday, too, that we've been going south since the ride along the riverbed.But she hadn't noticed the moss yesterday, so she wasn't sure. "I think we're lost," she whispered. "We shouldn't have left that river. Just follow it."

"That river bends," Gendry said. "I'll bet we're taking a shortcut that only bandits know. Lemon, Tom, they've lived here for years, you see." That's right.Arya bit her lip. "But Moss..." "It's raining so hard it won't be long before moss grows in our ears," Gendry complained. "That's only going to grow in the south-facing ear!" Arya declared stubbornly.It wasn't easy convincing Daniel, but now that Hot Pie had left them, he was her only real ally. "Shamma asked me to bake her bread," he told her on the day of parting. "Anyway, I'm tired of riding in the rain and with a sore ass and being scared all the time. There's not only ale, but rabbit, I can also make bread very well, you just wait and see, you will know when you come back next time. You will come back, right? After the war is over?" He suddenly remembered who she was, and added with a flushed face ,"Miss."

Arya wondered if the war would ever end, but she nodded. "Sorry for hitting you that time," she said.Although Hot Pie was stupid and timid, she followed her all the way from King's Landing and almost never separated. "I broke your nose." "You interrupted Lemon too." Hot Pie grinned. "That's exciting." "Lemon doesn't think so," said Arya darkly.When it was time to go, Hot Pie asked to kiss Missy's hand, and she patted him on the shoulder. "Don't call me that. You're Hot Pie and I'm Ali." "Here, I'm not called Hot Pie. Shama calls me 'boy,' the same way she calls her adopted boy, and I can't quite figure out who she's referring to."

Afterwards, Arya found herself missing him inexplicably, but fortunately there was Harwin.She told Harwin about Hullen, and the day she fled the Red Keep, she had found the steward dying by the stable door. "Well, he used to say he'd die in the stable," said Harwin. "We were all afraid he'd end up at the feet of a bad-tempered horse, but it was a lion." and the escape from King's Landing, and many other things, except that she killed the stable boy with a sewing needle and slit the throat of the Harrenhal guard—telling stories with Harwin Similar to telling a story with my father, there are some things that cannot be confessed.

Nor does she mention Jaqen H'ghar, or the fulfillment of the three death promises.The coin he gave Arya kept hidden under her belt, and sometimes, at night, she would take it out, remembering how he ran his hand over his face, and his face merged and changed. "Valarmorghulis," she began softly, "Ser Gregor, Dunson, Polliver, Raff 'Sweetmouth'. The notepad and the Hound. Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, Queen Cersei, King Joffrey." Harwin told her that of the twenty Winterfell guards sent by his father to punish Ser Gregor with Lord Beric Dondarrion, only six survived, and all of them got separated. "That's a trap, miss. Lord Tywin sent the Mountain across the Red Fork to kill and set fire, hoping to lure your lord father. He expected Lord Eddard to go west to deal with Gregor Clegane himself. Fortunately, Kingslayer I don't know Duke Tywin's plan, but after hearing the news that my brother was arrested, I immediately attacked your father in the street in King's Landing."

"I remember that," said Arya, "that he killed Jory." Except for the few times when she got mad at her, Jory laughed a lot at her. "He killed Jory," Harwin agreed, "and ran over your father with a horse and broke his leg, so Lord Eddard couldn't go out himself, so he sent Lord Beric, but he sent two more for the other side. Ten Winterfell guards, I was one of them. Soros, Sir Raymond Darry, Sir Gladden Wilder, and a baron named Rosa Mallery also went. Gray Guo is waiting for us at Xizi Beach, and the men and horses are lying in ambush on both banks, and when we cross the river, they will attack from the front and back."

"I saw the Mountain kill Raymond Darry with a single blow. It was a terrible blow. It not only cut off Darry's arm from elbow to elbow, but also killed his horse. Gladden Wilder I also died there, and Lord Mallery was drowned in the river. Lions surrounded me from all directions, and I thought I was dead. At the critical moment, Erin shouted orders and restored order. We gathered around Thoros and rushed Out of the 120 people who set out, there were less than 40 left by nightfall, and Earl Bailey was also seriously injured. That night, Thoros pulled out a foot-long spear from his chest, Pour boiling wine into the cavity."

"Each of us was sure that the earl would die at dawn, but Soros prayed with him all night by the fire, and at dawn, he came back alive and stronger than the night before. Although it took another two weeks He can only ride a horse, but his courage inspired us. He said that Xizitan is not the end, but the beginning, and every victim will get tenfold revenge." "We couldn't fight anymore at that time. The Magic Mountain was just the vanguard of Duke Tywin, and then the Lannister army crossed the Red Fork River and swept the Three Rivers Valley, burning, killing and looting on the way. We are small and can only harass each other, but we promise each other, When King Robert marched west to suppress Duke Tywin's rebellion, he raised his troops to join him. Later, the news came that Robert was dead, Duke Eddard was dead, and Cersei Lannister's cub boarded the The Iron Throne."

"The whole world is upside down. You see, we were the Handman's team to deal with the traitors, and we turned out to be traitors ourselves, and Lord Tywin became the Handman. Some people wanted to ask for help, but Lord Beric would not agree.' We are the king's men,' he declared, 'and the lions ravage the king's people. If they cannot fight for Robert, fight for them, and die.' That's what we did, day by day. As the days passed, strange things gradually happened. For every one of us lost, more came to take his place. Some were knights or squires, of noble families, but most of them were commoners, including peasants, fiddlers, innkeepers, servants , a shoemaker, and even two monks. All kinds of men, women, children, dogs..."

"Dog?" Arya asked in surprise. "That's right." Harwin grinned. "You can't imagine a young man keeping the most vicious dogs in the world." "If only I had a fierce dog," Arya said longingly, "a dog that could kill lions." She had a direwolf once, named Nymeria, but to protect her from the queen To kill, she threw stones at her and drove her away.Can a direwolf kill a lion?She wondered. It started raining again that afternoon and continued into the evening.Luckily, bandits had friends everywhere, so they didn't need to camp out in the open or seek shelter under leaky gazebos, as she had done with Hot Pie and Gendry in the old days.

They lodged in a burnt-out abandoned village.It seemed to be "abandoned", but when "Lucky Jack" took out his hunting horn and played it, all kinds of people crawled out of the ruins and cellars.They brought ale, dried apples, and some stale barley bread, and the bandits provided a goose that Anguy had shot halfway, so that the supper was almost a feast. Arya was licking the last bits of flesh from a wing when a villager turned to Lemoncloak and said, "Someone came by here less than two days ago, looking for the Kingslayer." Lemon snorted. "They should go to Riverrun. It's nice in the deepest dungeon, damp and cold." His nose looked like a crushed apple, the wound was bad, red and swollen, and he was in a bad mood. "No," said another villager, "he ran away." Kingslayer is gone?Arya's hairs stood on end.So she listened with bated breath. "Really?" asked Tom Sevenstrings. "I don't believe it," said the one-eyed man in the rusty halfhelm, whom they called Lucky Jack, though losing an eye didn't seem like luck to Arya. "I've been in that dungeon, it's impossible to escape." The villagers shrugged. "Greenbeard" stroked his thick gray and green forked beard, "Anyway, if the kingslayer really escapes, the wolf cubs will definitely kill. Soros must be notified of this situation, and I hope that the Lord of Light will let him be in the holy fire." Foresee what the Lannisters will do." "Here's the fire," Anguy smiled. The green beard laughed, holding the archer by the ear. "Damn it, do you think I look like a monk, Sagittarius? You want Pero of Tyroshi to stare at the fire unless you want to burn his beard!" Lemon squeezed his knuckles with a "clack" sound, "Don't Lord Beric really want to catch Jaime Lannister? This is a good opportunity..." "Will he hang him, Lemon?" asked a village woman. "It would be a pity to hang such a handsome fellow." "Judgment first!" An Gai said, "Master Bailey always judges first, and you all know the rules." He smiled. "Hang yourself again." Everyone roared with laughter.Tom played the woodharp and sang in a low voice: Wandering Brotherhood of the Kingswood, They say we are thieves. Make the forest a castle, Take the earth and the four seas as home. No gold escapes our swords, No maiden escapes our grasp. O wandering Brotherhood of the Kingswood, Anyone who sees it will be afraid... Arya listened to the song for a while in the dry, warm corner between Gendry and Harwin, then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.She had dreamed of home, not Riverrun but Winterfell, but it had not been a good dream.She dreamed that she was standing alone outside the castle, the mud was up to her knees, and the gray wall was ahead, but as she walked towards the gate, each step was harder than the previous one, and the castle faded before her eyes, as if it was not Granite, but smoke.There were wolves all around, thin gray figures weaving through the trees with sparkling eyes.Whenever she looked at them, she remembered the taste of blood. The next morning the procession left the road and traveled across the fields.The wind, blowing constantly, whirled dead brown leaves around, but it wasn't raining this time, and the sun came out from behind the clouds, so bright that Arya had to pull her hood up over her eyes. She reined in her horse suddenly, "Going in the wrong direction!" Gendry snorted, "What, moss again?" "Look at the sun," she said. "We're going south!" Arya pulled the map out of her saddlebag so they could see it. "We shouldn't have left the Trident, you see." She spread the map on her lap, and they all stared at her. "Look here, this is Riverrun, between the two rivers." "True," said Lucky Jack, "we know where Riverrun is, and everyone does." "We're not going to Riverrun," Lemon confessed. I was almost there, Arya thought, if she had known, she would have given them the horses and gone on her own way.Thinking of the dream last night, she couldn't help biting her lips. "Oh, don't be sad, boy," said Tom Sevenstrings, "you won't be hurt, I promise you." "You are a liar!" "No one's lying to you," Lemon said. "We didn't promise anything. We can't decide how to deal with you." Yes, Lemon, like Tom, was not the leader. The leader of the gang was Pero the Tyroshi.Arya turned to face him. "Take me to Riverrun, and there will be rewards," she said desperately. "Little guy," the green beard replied, "if the farmer catches an ordinary squirrel, he will not escape the fate of peeling and cooking it, but if he catches a golden squirrel, he must obediently offer it to the lord, otherwise he will suffer bad luck in the future." of." "I'm not a squirrel," Arya insisted. "Who said it wasn't?" Greenbeard laughed. "You're a little golden squirrel about to be presented to King Lightning, whether you like it or not. Don't worry, he knows what to do with you, and I bet he'll be like you." May I send you back to my lord mother." Tom Sevenstrings nodded. "Yes, Lord Berry is a good man. He'll take care of you, we'll see." Lord Beric Dondarrion.Arya recalled stories she had heard from Lannister soldiers and mummers at Harrenhal.They said he was a ghost in the woods, and that he had been slain by Vargo Hutt, and by Ser Amory Lodge, and twice by the Mountain.Whatever it is, I'll kill him if he doesn't send me home. "Why should I go to see Lord Berry?" she asked calmly. "We brought all the noble captives to him," Anguy said. captive.Arya took a deep breath to calm herself.Stop like water.She glanced at the bandits on horseback, then turned her mount silently.Fast as a snake.As she thought, she kicked the horse's belly with her heels, and galloped between Greenbeard and Lucky Jack.Gendry's mare flashed past her, saw the shocked look on the boy's face, and galloped across the field. Right now, east, west, north, south doesn't matter.After we get rid of them, we can naturally find our way to Riverrun slowly.Arya leaned forward, urging the horse to run.The bandits cursed behind her, clamoring for her to go back, but she turned a deaf ear.After a long time, she looked back, and saw four people chasing up, Angai, Harwin and Green Beard galloped side by side, while Lemon was a little behind, with a huge yellow cloak flying behind her. "Swift as a deer," she told her mount, "quick, quick, quick. Arya galloped across the brown, overgrown fields, through waist-high grass and mounds of dead leaves that were stirred up by the flying hooves of her horse.To the right is the woods, where I can shake them off.There was a dry ditch at the edge of the field, and she leaped across it without stopping, and plunged into thickets of elm and fir and birch.She peeked back and saw that Anguy and Harwin were still struggling to follow, Greenbeard was behind, and Lemon was out of sight. "Quick, quicker," she told her horse, "you can do it, you can do it!" She walked between two elms, not caring which side the moss was on.Then he jumped over a section of rotten wood, far away from a huge fallen dead tree, and broken branches protruded from the middle of the dead tree.Going up a gentle slope, going down the other side, slowing down, speeding up, the horseshoe collided with the hard rock, splashing sparks.Ascending the hill, she glanced back again.By this time Harwin was ahead of Anguy, and both were struggling.The green beard ran slower and slower, as if he was about to give up. There was a small river in front of her, and she stepped into it with her horse, and she walked through the flowing water full of brown wet leaves. When she came ashore, many leaves stuck to the horse's legs.The undergrowth was thicker here, and the ground was full of roots and rocks, so she had to slow down, but she kept urging the horse.Another hill loomed ahead, this one even steeper.She climbed up and came down the other side.How big is the forest?she wondered.She knew her mount was faster, for it was one of the best horses in Roose Bolton's stable at Harrenhal, but speed was of no use here.I have to go back to the plains and find my way.She searched for a long time, but only found a hunter's trail, narrow and rough, but better than nothing.She ran along the trail, letting the branches slap her cheeks, a branch snagging her hood and sweeping it back, and for a moment she was terrified that she would be knocked off her horse.A fox, startled by a wild gallop, sprang from the bushes.The trail took her to another small river.Or the same river?Could it be that I'm spinning in circles?No time to think about it, the sound of horseshoes came from behind.Later, her face was cut by thorns, and she knew she must be as ugly as the cats she used to chase in King's Landing.Sparrows scatter from alder branches.The trees thinned, and suddenly she was out of the forest, and a wide, flat field lay before her, of wet, trampled grass and wild rye.Arya kicked her horse and galloped away.run!Run to Riverrun, she thought, run home!Did you get rid of them?She looked back quickly, God!Harwin was only six yards short and still close.No, she thought desperately, no, he couldn't, it wasn't him, it wasn't fair. When he caught up, both horses were sweating and almost collapsed.He reached out and grabbed her reins.Arya herself was out of breath, and she knew there was no hope. "You ride like a respectable northerner, miss," said Harwin, reining in both horses, "like your aunt, Miss Lyanna. But don't you forget, my father was the horseman. " She looked at him with hurt eyes, "I thought you were my father's man." "Lord Ed is dead, Miss. I belong to King Lightning now, and to my brothers." "Your brothers?" Arya could not remember old Hullen having any other sons. "Anguy, Lemon, Tom Sevenstrings, Jack, Greenbeard...all of them. We mean nothing to your brother Robb, miss... but not for him. He has his own army, and many great lords , and the common people only have us." He looked at her, "Do you understand?" "I see." Yes, I see, he's not Robb's man, and I'm his captive.If I had known I would have stayed with Hot Pie, I might have stolen the boat and sailed upriver to Riverrun; had I known I would have been a pigeon, Suckling, Nana, Weasel, or Alido, the little boy without father and mother." No one will come after them.I was a wolf once, she thought, and now I'm that stupid lady again. "Would you like to go back obediently," Harwin asked her, "or do you want me to tie you up and put you across the back of a horse?" "I'll go back," she said sullenly.Just for the time being.