Because the residents of the Town's Inner Keep are simple folk, with no New Gift people and no suspicious idlers, most people relax once they enter. For example, the soldiers from Winterfell who were supposed to watch over the two Stark girls, outside the Inner Keep they would divide tasks and keep an eye on Arya and Myrcella at every step. But once inside, they immediately switched to free-range mode.
Taking advantage of this carelessness, Arya, gripping Needle's hilt, slipped past them as they chattered excitedly about the Dragon Queen. She reached the bridgehead that connected the Town's Inner Keep to Lake Isle, hid behind a house, and peeked out to scout this essential passage to the island.
Not far away, four guards in black clothes and black armor stood solemnly at the bridgehead, watching the staff coming and going with care.
How to get through there?
Sneak across quietly? It was daytime. The bridgehead was open and bare, with no cover. Even if there had been only one guard, a casual glance around would catch anyone trying to cross.
Lie and say she had business on the island? Lake Isle was tiny, with no buildings except the tower, and the tower was already empty. What reason could she give?
Rush them? Forget it.
Assassination sounds simple, but it is not so easy to carry out.
Annoyed, Arya warmed her hands in a corner, rubbing them again and again, struggling for a long time without finding a solution. Finally, she noticed a somewhat familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. Willie, the Inner Keep's kitchen apprentice. She often went with Myrcella to ask the kitchen for scraps for Tommen's kitten, and they had gotten to know him. The boy carried a wooden box, and the faint heat radiating from it meant freshly baked food. Hmph, he was actually delivering food to the Mad King's daughter?
Arya bristled with jealousy. If only she had poison, she could slip a little into the food for the Mad King's daughter and kill her without a trace. That would be best. Father had said poison was a woman's weapon. Well said.
But now…
An idea flashed in her mind. She slid Needle, scabbard and all, under her clothes, pressed down the upturned tip, then stepped out of hiding and called to the apprentice Willie in a carefree tone, "Hey, you. Come here."
"Lady Stark?" The kitchen boy stopped, turned with the wooden box in his hands, and stared blankly. "What are you doing here? I just saw Lord Aegor seemed to be looking for you everywhere."
"Hey, never mind him." When he did not come over, Arya had to walk to him instead. She recalled Melisandre's natural charms and tried to imitate them, blinking at him. "What are you doing? Are you bringing food to the Mad… to the Dragon Queen?"
It worked. The apprentice rarely got to speak to girls, especially a girl like Lady Stark. He blushed at her teasing. "Yes, my master said I have to deliver it while it's hot. Lord Aegor personally ordered that the honored guest be well entertained."
"The kitchen must be busy. You go back, I will help you deliver it." Arya reached for the box with bright enthusiasm.
"Why?" Willie did not fall for it this time. He turned aside to avoid her hand. "My master told me I must deliver it myself."
"I am Arya Stark, sister to the Warden of the North. Would I steal your food?" Arya put her hands on her hips and glared, trying to cow him with her presence. "Give it here."
"No… no…" Though slightly older than Arya, he was a child of common stock. He flinched for a few seconds, shivered, then mustered the courage to shake his head. "No. Everyone outside says the Dragon Queen is very good-looking. I… I just work in the kitchen and did not see her. This is a good chance to take a look. Lord Aegor seemed to have something urgent to discuss with you. You… you should go back and find him."
Before she could think of another trick, he hurried toward the guards at the bridgehead like a man fleeing for his life.
This apprentice looked honest enough, but he just wanted to see the Queen. Men really are all swine. Arya stamped her foot, but for fear of drawing the guards' attention she did not dare shout. She slunk back into hiding, seething.
What was this? In the stories, she should have tricked the lunch box away, faced the guards' fierce "I suspect you are an assassin but have no proof," yet slipped past in the end, then after a thrilling chase, escaped with ease.
That is how it goes in the stories. Why not here?
Frustrated by repeated setbacks, Arya reexamined Lake Isle, anxious and annoyed. After a while, she found a new path. The island in the miniature lake was connected to the shore only by a wooden bridge. But the weather was cold, and the lake had frozen. She did not know how thick the ice was, but she was small and light, and should be able to cross safely. There was no need to force herself through the guarded bridge.
Excited by the shortcut, Arya left her hiding place, humming under her breath. She slipped through gaps and passages between houses, circled to the far side of the lake away from the bridgehead, and looked down at the water.
With the lake frozen, snow could not touch the surface and pile up. The ice was smooth, so the howling wind swept snow from the center to the shore. Once it merged with the snow already ashore, it was hard to tell where lake ended and land began. Only the occasional pits roughly showed the boundary. These holes had been smashed open to draw water, but for now no one was there.
Arya remembered that to protect this precious water and to prevent anyone from misusing it or dumping garbage and filth into it, Master had always emphasized that no one should approach the lake without permission. Fishing on the ice in the middle of the lake was allowed only with his personal approval, because the lake was small and had few fish. Without honored guests, it was completely forbidden. She herself had eaten the lake's fish only twice. The taste was good, but there was not much of it.
Recalling these details, Arya confirmed two points. First, her weight would not be a problem on the ice. Second, she had to beware of the holes dug for fishing in the middle of the lake. They might have refrozen and been covered by snow, and though they looked the same, the ice there would not be thick. Stepping on one could be dangerous.
If she fell into the icy water by accident and drowned, would Master feel remorse and weep bitterly?
With that thought, Arya unconsciously cast herself in the role of the drowned girl and felt a prickling in her nose. In this bleak mood, she walked halfway around the lake before finally finding a branch thick and long enough. She picked it up, knocked the ice slag from it, and used it as a staff to begin her long journey over the ice.
In truth, the distance from the shore to Lake Isle was only a few dozen yards. No matter how carefully she moved, she reached it in a few minutes. The short crossing was thrilling. Arya used the branch to probe and avoid two ice holes hidden beneath the snow that had been dug for fishing. When she reached the midpoint between the shore and the island, the ice beneath her creaked, and she quickly lay flat, spreading her weight with hands and feet, and scrambled the last stretch in a disheveled sprawl.
Panting, she finally reached the island. Now she was less than ten yards from the Mad King's daughter, separated only by a stone wall.
Keeping close to the tower's outer wall, she crept toward the entrance. There, she heard two men talking.
…
"Did you feel it?" Guard A said in a deliberately low voice. "The Queen has a very strong aura. I followed Lord Aegor to greet her at the arena just now, and I was so intimidated I could not speak. Luckily, it was not my turn to speak anyway."
"Oh, you felt it too? I thought it was just being spooked by the dragon," Guard B replied. "If the Lord had not told me to stand still, I would have knelt."
"Me too. It was no illusion. Even after the dragon flew away, the Queen was still a little frightening." A sighed. "Commander is indeed Commander. He did not even change expression under the dragon's stare, and spoke smoothly as ever. I think the Queen's complexion improved a lot."
"Yes, great men have great qualities. Otherwise, anyone could be Commander," B agreed. "Hey, do you think the Dragon Queen has dragon's might because she has been with the dragons a long time, or was she born like this?"
"I think she was born like this. Do they not say her true form is a dragon, the mother of three dragons? Of course she has dragon's might."
"Nonsense. Which magical tale did you hear? Those three dragons were hatched from eggs with blood magic after she killed her husband, not born from her."
"The version you heard is nonsense. Her husband was killed by witchcraft, not by her. The Queen has true Valyrian dragonblood. After her husband was murdered, the rage in her heart brewed and condensed from nothing into a dragon fetus, and she gave birth to three eggs."
"Have you seen how big dragon eggs are? The Queen is so slender. She does not look like she could give birth to something that big."
"That is hard to say. She has not taken off her trousers in front of me. Maybe the Dragon Queen's lower body is different from other women."
…
Men really are all swine, always talking about what is below the belt. Arya spat and carefully peeked out. Two somewhat familiar Logistics soldiers, armored head to toe in black, stood at the tower entrance with their backs against the door, facing the bridge to the far bank and chatting idly.
For the first time, Arya hated Master's meticulousness. It was too much. He had sent so many men to guard the Mad King's daughter, leaving no chance for an assassin.
What should she do now? She frowned and began thinking.
Make a noise to draw them away? The island was only so big.
Walk right up and trick them by saying she had something to tell the Queen? Old Gods above, they knew her. How could they not recognize Lady Stark?
Then rush up and knock them both down while they were unprepared?
It was feasible. But Arya looked at the size and armor of the two big guards and hesitated. No, forget it. If she killed Master's most trusted guards, he would be furious. How would she explain herself?
Besides, she was an assassin. Assassins should infiltrate and strike. Charging in wildly is not assassination.
That is not cowardice. That is professionalism.
Was there a hole in the tower she could crawl through? She could climb up and slip in through a window, like Bran used to do when he was little.
She raised her head to study the tower. When she turned, she suddenly found a large black shadow beside her. She almost sat down in the snow with fright. Looking closely, it was Master. He had circled behind her while she watched the guards at the door, and with the cover of the howling wind, she had not even noticed.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)