CHAPTER 9
Lyarra was walking around the grounds and was approached by a soldier. Her guards were standing off to the side watching.
The soldier said softly, "A woman is the most beautiful woman a man has ever seen." She remembered in Braavos that the Lorathi spoke like he did.
She was looking at his handsome face, charming behavior and reddish hair with two white streaks. She smiled saying, "You are Lorathi? Are you not a long way from home?" He smiled and held up a small flower. She took it from him slowly, putting it to her nose to sniff.
Jaqen said softly and smiling, "Yes, a man is far from a man's home. A man was admiring Arya Stark's older sister. Do not be alarmed. I came with a beautiful woman's sister to be here from King's Landing. I am also being someone else at this time. A man is no one in the Faceless Men. Do not be afraid because a man means a beautiful woman and a woman's sister no harm. A beautiful woman's sister saved a man's life and a man has been paying back the debt."
She studied his face, eyes and mannerisms. She said seriously to him, "If this is true and you are sincere, can you help me by getting her away from here safely when I leave this place? Please?"
Jaqen reached up and caressed her cheek with his crooked finger. He said smiling softly into her beautiful sky blue eyes, "A man could do such a favor as this for a beautiful woman. He will ask for payment for this."
She searched his eyes and asked, "What would a man want?" His grin got bigger because she replied like an Lorathi to him.
He said softly, still stroking her cheek, "A man would only ask for a kiss from a beautiful woman and he would do such a favor." She blushed, held up the flower and smelled it looking coyly.
She said softly smiling, "A woman could definitely give a man such a sweet payment. A woman appreciates everything a man can do to help a woman's baby sister. A woman is especially attached to such a small, brilliant and stubborn little girl. The girl has stolen a woman's heart long ago and holds it."
He said smoothly, "A girl is fortunate to have such a beautiful heart to hold. A man would be honored to help a girl." Lyarra was becoming fond of this sweet talking man. She knew he knew about them both, was a Faceless Man assassin and said he would help Arya for a kiss. It seems to be a fairly easy thing to do. He was very handsome.
She leaned in and he stopped her saying, "There will be a better time to collect when not as many eyes are on a beautiful woman. A man wants to savor such a payment." She giggled looking into his eyes. He smiled with a bit of a blush. She was fascinated and charmed by him.
Lyarra said smiling, "So be it. A woman wishes a man a lovely rest of a man's day then." She curtsied and left walking away. Jaqen smiled slyly watching her hips sway as she walked away. He turned and left.
Gendry watched, knowing that the woman was Arya's sister because she told him about her being there. He noticed she was flirting with that prisoner from the Night Watch that came with them that Arya talks too and is now posing as a Lannister soldier. Gendry looked at Arya's sister as she walked away as the man watched her with a lustful look in his eyes. He thought she was very beautiful and smiled to himself.
In the Harrenhal's council chambers, Arya came in to clean the table. She notices a scroll, which mentions King Robb Stark, and begins to read it. Tywin enters, catching her in the act.
Tywin asked her, "Who taught you to read?" Lyarra heard the question as she came into the room too for a place to relax in front of the fire every evening after Tywin had his meetings.
Arya said, recovering from being taken off guard seeing her sister, "My father, my lord."
Tywin nodded and replied, "Hmm. I taught my son Jaime to read. The maester came to me one day, told me he wasn't learning. He couldn't make sense of the letters. He reversed them in his head. The maester said he'd heard tell of this affliction and that we simply must accept it. Ha! After that, I sat Jaime down for four hours every day until he learned. He hated me for it, for a time. For a long time. But he learned. Hmm. Where is your father? Is he alive? Who was he?"
Arya said smiling, "A stonemason."
Tywin said flatly, "A stonemason who could read? Hmm."
Arya said proudly, "He taught himself."
Tywin asked her, "Quite a man. What killed him?"
Arya said gruffly, "Loyalty."
Tywin was entertained by her wit and said leering at her, "You're a sharp little thing, aren't you?" Lyarra sat warmed in the chair, watched and listened. She grinned watching Arya play her part as someone else. She loved her cleverness and always admired that in her.
Arya asked, "Did... Forgive me, my lord. I shouldn't ask questions."
Tywin said, sighing, "No. But you've already begun."
Arya asked him, "Did you know your father, my lord?"
Tywin answered her, "I did. I grew up with him. I watched him grow old." Tywin sits nearby Lyarra in the sitting area. While his back is turned, Lyarra sees Arya steal the scroll that she was reading.
Tywin said honestly, "He loved us. He was a good man, but a weak man. A weak man who nearly destroyed our house and name. I'm cold."
Arya said quickly, "I'll fetch more wood for the fire, my lord."
Tywin nodded and hummed his acknowledgement, "Mmm." Arya left the room.
Lyarra asked, looking at Tywin because he was looking a bit drained, "Are you alright, Lord Tywin? I ask because you appear pensive and distracted."
Tywin said looking at her face of concern, "I am fine. There are just a lot of things going on at once. It has me pondering solutions all day." He thought, 'She is truly quite beautiful in the reflection of the dimmed fire.'
Lyarra commented, sighing, "Sounds tiring."
He said looking at her, "It can be."
She said smiling at him, "I wish we had a cyvasse board. I would play you a game."
He smiled at her and asked, "You play? I'm sure when we get to King's Landing I can find one there. I haven't had anyone like to play in a long time. I have one in Casterly Rock and played some of my bannerman lords, my brother and even my youngest son, Tyrion. It would be nice to play someone else."
She smiled and said, "I hope you're a good loser because I am very good at it. I won't hold back because I'm a family member or you are my overlord."
He chuckled and said, "I would be offended if you did let me win. Where is the skill in it then?" She smiled.
Arya hides in a corner of Harrenhal, above the bustle of the courtyard. She pulls out the scroll to read what it says about Robb. She gets up with purpose.
Arya runs down the steps. Not looking where she is going, she runs into Amory Lorch.
Amory growled at her, "Where are you going, girl?"
Arya answered him, "The armory, my lord."
Amory said warily, "Why?"
Arya said, shrugging, "Lord Tywin sent me." He sees the small scroll in her hand.
Amory looked at it and said, "What might this be?"
Arya said quickly, "Lord Tywin gave it to me."
Amory asked suspiciously, "What for?"
Arya said flatly, "To take to the armory."
Amory growled, "Why would he do that? Let's go and ask him." He goes to grab her and Arya flees. Amory pursues after her.
Amory shouts, "Move! Get out of the way!"
Arya scampers through the courtyard and he follows clumsily. Amory loses sight of her, and she stays hidden out of sight just beyond a doorway. Amory goes the wrong way, and she takes advantage of his mistake and runs the other way. She encounters a Kingsguard who she mistakes for Jaqen. She grabs him for attention. He turns to her, and she realizes her mistake. She continues on and finds Jaqen just a bit further on.
Arya said, panting, "Amory Lorch."
Jaqen said smiling, "A girl has named a second name. A man will do what must be done."
Arya said emphatically, "Now!"
Jaqen said frowning, "A girl cannot tell a man when exactly he must do a thing. A man cannot make a thing happen before its time."
Arya said urgently, "But he's going to tell Tywin. He's getting away. It has to be now." Jaqen sighs and goes off to find him.
Amory enters the council room, where Tywin sits working as Lyarra is reading a book with her feet tucked under herself in the chair. Tywin rises while Amory collapses to the floor, dead. Lyarra was startled and stood up.
Tywin yells, "Guard!"
In the misty morning in the Harrenhal's courtyard, a man twitches while hung by a noose. Another screams in pain.
A soldier said, "Go on. Now I want you to tell me what happened. Come on, this way. Come on, speak up. Speak up."
Above the courtyard, Lord Tywin Lannister listens and sniffs a wooden toothpick and looks at it.
Tywin said growling, "Wolfsbane. A rare substance. This is no common assassin." Lyarra was sitting at the table sipping a cup of wine listening.
The Mountain said, "We hanged twenty men last night."
Tywin sternly said, "I don't care if you hanged a hundred. A man tried to kill me. I want his name and I want his head."
Arya sets the table and listens, glancing up looking in Lyarra's eyes. She had told Lyarra by sneaking into her bedroom last night. She told her about the scroll message and about having Jaqen kill Amory because he was going to tell Tywin. Lyarra told her to be more careful next time and get rid of the message by burning it after quickly, so she wouldn't get caught again.
The Mountain said, "We think it was an infiltrator from the Brotherhood Without Banners."
Tywin groused, "Pretentious name for a band of outlaws. We can't allow rebels behind our lines to harass us with impunity. We look like fools and they look like heroes. That's how kings fall. I want them dead, every one of them."
The Mountain said, "Killing them isn't the problem. It's finding them."
Tywin growled, "Have you gone soft, Clegane? I always thought you had a talent for violence."
Twyin said angrily, "Burn the villages, burn the farms. Let them know what it means to choose the wrong side." Lyarra shook her head, sighing softly. Ser Gregor leaves out the door.
Tywin asks, looking at the food on the table, "Mmm. Is that mutton?"
Arya said, "Yes, my lord."
Tywin growled, "Don't like mutton."
Arya asked, "I'll bring something else?"
Tywin said not having a n appetite, "Leave it. Go ahead and eat, Lyarra. Are you hungry?" He addressed Arya. Lyarra started filling her plate.
Arya said warily, "No."
Tywin shook his head and said, "Of course you are. Eat."
Arya said reluctantly, "I'll eat in the kitchen later."
Tywin said, coercing her, "It's bad manners to refuse a lord's offer. Sit. Eat." Arya sits at the table next to her sister and begins to eat the mutton for breaking their fast. Lyarra sipped her tea.
Tywin commented, "You're small for your age. I suppose you've been underfed your whole life."
Arya said while eating, "I eat a lot. I just don't grow." Tywin walked over and looked out the window.
Tywin said more to himself, "Mmm. This will be my last war. Win or lose." Lyarra and Arya look at each other and continue eating.
Arya asked innocently, making Lyarra snort and smile at Arya, "Have you ever lost before?"
Tywin smirked at Lyarra amused at the girl's question, "Do you think I'd be in my position if I had lost a war?" Lyarra knew because she read about him in books on his skirmishes and campaigns in his life. Arya shakes her head.
Tywin said distantly, "But this is the one I'll be remembered for. The War of the Five Kings, they're calling it. My legacy will be determined in the coming moon turns."
Arya realizes that Tywin has let his guard down, but he turns back to her and she starts, suddenly. Lyarra frowned at her and gave her a subtle shake of the head so as not to notice.
Tywin walked into the room and said, "Do you know what legacy means?" Arya shook her head no.
He continues, "It's what you pass down to your children and your children's children. It's what remains of you when you're gone. Harren the Black thought this castle would be his legacy. The greatest fortress ever built." Tywin walks to the fireplace and stares down into the flames.
Tywin put his hands up and said, "The tallest towers, the strongest walls. The Great Hall had thirty-five hearths. Thirty-five. Can you imagine? Look at it now. A blasted ruin. Do you know what happened?"
Arya said bluntly, "Dragons?"
Tywin smiled at her and said, "Yes. Dragons happened." Tywin pours himself some more wine.
Tywin said, "Harrenhal was built to withstand an attack from the land. A million men could have marched on these walls, and a million men would have been repelled. But an attack from the air with dragon fire, Mmm-mmm. Harren and all his sons roasted alive within these walls. Aegon Targaryen changed the rules. That's why every child alive still knows his name."
Arya corrected him, "Aegon and his sisters." Lyarra smiled at Arya. Lyarra had read that story to her until she would read it back to her at bedtime.
Tywin looked at her and questionably hummed, "Mmm?"
Arya explained, "It wasn't just Aegon riding his dragon. It was Rhaenys and Visenya, too."
Tywin answered, "Correct. A student of history, are you?"
Arya said smiling, "Rhaenys rode Meraxes. Visenya rode Vhagar."
Tywin said distantly, "I'm sure I knew that when I was a boy."
Arya said smiling, "Visenya Targaryen was a great warrior. She had a Valyrian steel sword she called Dark Sister."
Tywin said intrigued by her, "Hmm. She's a heroine of yours, I take it?" Arya smiles.
Tywin said condescendingly, "Aren't most girls more interested in the pretty maidens from the songs? Jonquil with the flowers in her hair?"
Arya said bluntly, "Most girls are idiots." Lyarra giggled.
Lyarra said smiling, "On that I would agree too, little one. I was more into learning from reading books about everything and learning weapons proficiency. I learned the other girl stuff only to make my parents happy." Arya grinned.
Tywin smiled at Arya and said, "You remind me a little of my daughter. Where did you learn all this stuff about Visenya and her Valyrian steel sword?"
Arya said subtly, glancing at Lyarra, "From my favorite sister. She read to me at night until I could read it to her and myself."
Tywin said thinking, "He was a well-read stonemason and taught his daughters to teach too. Can't say I've ever met a literate stonemason that taught himself and his daughters to read." Lyarra was done with breaking her fast and was sipping her tea.
Arya said smartly, "Have you met many stonemasons, M'lord?"
Tywin growling, "Careful now, girl. I enjoy you, but be careful. Take that back to the kitchen. Eat what you want." Arya rises from her chair, clearing the dishes and walking away.
Tywin said, "And, girl." Arya stops.
Tywin said, "M'lord." Arya looks at him confused.
Tywin smiled, correcting her, "Lowborn girls say 'm'lord', not 'my lord'. If you're going to pose as a commoner, you should do it properly."
Arya said coming up with a reason she spoke high born to cover, "My mother served Lady Dustin for many years, my lord. She taught me how to speak proper… properly."
Tywin said amused, "You're too smart for your own good. Has anyone told you that?" Arya glanced at Lyarra because she told her that all the time. Lyarra was trying to cover her grin.
Arya said smirking, "Yes."
Tywin smiled and dismissed her, "Go on." Arya leaves the room and Tywin ponders and drinks his wine.
Tywin asked Lyarra, "You are fond of her?"
Lyarra smiled and said, "She's clever and smart. What is not to like?"
Tywin asked her, "Do you like children?"
Lyarra said smiling, "Yes, I do. I practically raised my siblings with my parents." Tywin nodded his head. He was liking this young woman a lot.
