Not even the White Walkers had succeeded like this time and again. Arya once again gave the Night's Watch Commander a good scare.
After receiving Myrcella's message, Aegor immediately took action, searching aimlessly with others through the residential quarter for half an hour without finding anything. He quickly realized that flailing about like a headless fly was useless. He needed to go to the person she was most likely targeting and wait.
Aegor ran back to the tower on Lake Isle, rushing to the top under the surprised, uncertain gaze of Daenerys, who was elegantly sipping hot soup. Looking out the window, he saw Arya "crossing" the frozen lake with a branch, right at the midpoint. He wanted to shout to stop her, but feared startling the girl and sending her crashing through the ice. He forced himself to watch as she made it safely to the island. While she stood at the base of the tower, "brimming with killing intent" as she watched the two guards, he slipped downstairs, went out, and circled to the other side of the tower to get behind her, finally catching the girl.
"Sneaking about. What are you doing?" Aegor raised an eyebrow and grabbed her arm. "With just this little skill, you are trying to be an assassin?"
"No." Arya struggled a few times, flustered, pretending to be simple and snapping back stubbornly, "What assassin… you, you… why did you sneak up behind me and scare me?"
"Where is the sword?" Aegor looked her up and down, not seeing Needle.
Luckily she had hidden the sword under her clothes, Arya thought with relief, immediately becoming self-righteous. "What sword? I was just curious what the Mad King's daughter looks like. I came to see."
Aegor had no time to play games. Although Needle was small, it was still a sword, not a dagger, and could not be completely hidden. Looking more closely, he noticed a bulge beneath the girl's clothes at her waist, clearly the sword hilt, and reached to take it.
"Hey, what are you doing!" Arya backed into the wall, pressing the sword with her body, refusing to yield. "Do not touch me!"
"Give me the sword."
Aegor snapped. He stepped in and grabbed for it, while Arya shrank back, desperately shielding the little sword hidden under her coat and refusing to let go. They grappled. To an uninformed onlooker, it might have looked as if he was trying to tear her clothes and assault her. The girl was strong, but only compared to others her age. Against a serious grown man using his strength, she was outmatched and began to lose ground, stumbling again and again.
"No. You… you are a pervert, I will scream."
"Go on then, scream until your throat breaks and see if anyone comes to save you."
Aegor's tone was fierce. He felt Needle's hilt through her clothes and knew the blade was actually tucked into her trousers, but he could not tell if it was safely sheathed. Worried the sword might slip out and injure her if they kept struggling, he steeled himself, pinned her upper body with his arm, raised his hand, and brought it down hard.
Two crisp smacks, one left and one right, and the assassin's soul she had just thought awakened was beaten back into hiding. Her mind went blank for a heartbeat, and he pulled the little sword, hilt and sheath, from under her clothes. Several seconds later, as the sting bloomed and she saw Aegor holding Needle, the weapon she had planned to use to assassinate the Queen, grievance and anger surged. With a sob, she burst into tears.
"Boohoo… she killed my grandpa and my uncle. You… you are treating her like a guest now, what are you trying to do, boohoo… I… I will tell Robb, tell Mother… you are plotting treason. Boohoo…"
Aegor was stunned. The little girl looked skinny with not much flesh, yet some places were surprisingly springy. Bah, that was not the point. Arya had made a threatening move against his guest today in Crown Town, on Night's Watch land, nearly ruining important matters and being caught red-handed. He had not even scolded her, yet she was crying and carrying on, making it seem like he had bullied her.
All right. Although it had been to retrieve the sword safely, and he had acted in a hurry, he regretted it the moment his hand fell. Gods, how was he supposed to explain to a crying girl that those three dragons in the sky were not to be trifled with? Arya would only think he had abandoned loyalty for beauty and had struck her for the sake of a woman he had just met. He could not explain himself even if he had a good reason.
…
"The one who killed your grandpa and uncle was the Mad King. This one is his daughter, and she was not even born then."
Aegor forced himself to keep his composure and explain. Seeing the girl still sobbing uncontrollably, he realized he could not make it clear, and feared Daenerys might hear the commotion and come out asking, "Who is this little girl?" He simply pulled Arya into his arms, as if to squeeze the life from her, holding her tight despite her desperate struggles. He did not forget to glare at the two nearby guards who had heard the noise and were watching. He held her like that for what felt like an age. Minutes passed. He held her until she could no longer speak, until her struggles weakened, until she was literally breathless and could not cry anymore, then he loosened his grip slightly so she could breathe.
After confirming she lacked the strength to cause trouble, Aegor bent, gently wiped the tears from her face with a finger, met her eyes, and continued to reason with her.
"No matter how much you hate the Mad King's daughter, she is my guest now. I do not want to see my other guests, simply because they dislike her, try to harm her in my fortress, or even take her life without trial. Understand?"
"So… so I am only your guest." Arya stared at Aegor with red eyes, choking back sobs. She had never felt so wronged.
What else could she be but his guest? Aegor tamped down the urge to scratch his head. The grand excuse of guest right was fine for subordinates, other guests, the Night's Watch, the Mountain Clans, the people of the New Gift, even Robb Stark. But using it on a little girl who saw herself as a victim and was hurt would not work. Her mind could not even run the reasoning at the moment.
"Of course you are my guest." Sensing this was not working, Aegor changed tactics. "But unlike the Mad King's daughter, you are my most favored and welcome guest. Whenever the North's number one little beauty visits, I do not show it, but I am secretly happy." He set one hand on her shoulder, used the other to wipe her tear-streaked face with forced tenderness, and lowered his voice to say things he himself found cloying. "But even if you are my favorite guest, and the Dragon Queen is my least favorite guest, she is still a guest and enjoys the minimum guest rights, food, shelter, and safety, which I am responsible to uphold. If she were killed in my castle, the blame would be mine. The three dragons would turn this place into a sea of fire and bring suffering to all. Do you understand?"
"You hit me." Arya did not respond to the reasoning. She only glared and said bitterly.
Damn it. Aegor thought quickly, hardened his heart, and drew the girl back into his arms again, gently this time. Then he lowered his head and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Do you like Master? Do you want to stay with Master forever?" he whispered in a devil's voice. "Do you want Master to help you find a way to be rid of that annoying betrothed? Do you still want to be the first female of the Night's Watch?"
"You hit me."
"If you do, we must at least survive safely until then." Aegor knew making these promises was easy, and that fulfilling or breaking them later could cause trouble. But time was short. To calm the girl quickly and then go deceive the other Queen, he had to offer something substantial. "Right now, that Queen inside has three dragons, perfect weapons against the White Walkers and the dead. I must pretend to welcome her, acknowledge her, and trick her into using the dragons to help the Night's Watch fight. If you kill her now, what will Master do? Find another way to face an army of the dead as vast as mountains and seas?"
"You hit me."
Damn it.
Aegor held back the urge to flip the little wolf and spank her into submission, and continued with honeyed words. "Do not worry. After I have used the Queen, I will certainly cast her aside. What sort of person is she? Relying on dragons to swoop about crashing into people, arriving at someone's home without so much as a warning, eating and drinking, is that not insufferable?"
Arya's eyes turned hesitant. She pouted, as if wanting to speak but not, and the words that came out were still the same.
"But you hit me."
Having exhausted his tricks, Aegor lost patience and glowered. "What of it if I did? If you keep ruining your Master's plan like a fool, next time I will pull down your trousers and beat you until you cannot sit, only lie on your belly."
Arya widened her swollen eyes and glared back. "Bah, you would not dare."
"Oh? See if I dare." Seeing the little she-wolf's true nature, Aegor knew she was mollified. He smiled, pulled her back into his arms, and deliberately slid his hand down from her lower back, pretending to move toward a sensitive spot. "Does it hurt? Want me to rub it for you?"
"Go away." Arya shoved him off, wiped her tears, and thrust out her hand angrily. "I promise I will not kill the Mad King's daughter today. Give me back my sword."
"I will keep it for a while. When I am sure you will behave, I will return it." Aegor held Needle up and called back the guard he had just sent away. "Lyon, come here. Take Lady Stark back to her room."
"If you do not give me my sword, I will not go."
"It is not up to you." Aegor gave the guard a look, and the man understood. He took Arya, who had stopped struggling, and led her back toward the residential area.
…
After sending off the barely placated Arya, who still did not realize she had been in the wrong and remained half-skeptical and huffing, Aegor let out a long breath. He handed Needle to another guard at the entrance to avoid bringing it into the tower and causing misunderstanding, then stood stiffly outside the door like a man being punished, letting the cold wind lash his bare head and face.
Arya's outburst had disrupted his nearly formed plan for deceiving the Queen. But he had already kept his guest waiting for a while, and further delay would invite complications. For now, he could only go inside and improvise.
Fortunately, this was his strong suit. Regaining some calm and focus, Aegor, unwilling to delay any longer, took a deep breath and pushed the door open. According to the original plan, he would now deal with the other difficult woman in the tower, the Dragon Queen, Daenerys Targaryen.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ I'll be dropping two bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 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.)