A Beast's Heart (english version)

9.

Thick rain pelted down on us from the dark sky, soaking my clothes. They tugged heavily at my body, I was cold and shivering all over. A few hours had passed since our arrival. Hours that I had used to get an overview.
There were about forty souls in our pen. That was easy to figure out because everyone stood silently and trembling in one spot, staring at the ground. No one spoke a word, except for the soldiers.
The monsters in red were clearing straw and hay through the area, looking rather disoriented.
"That's the mountain there," Arya whispered in my ear, pointing to Ser Gregor, "Ser Gregor Clegane. He is Lord Tywin's monster, while his brother the Hound is in King's Landing to...guard the King."
Her voice darkened with the mention of the king. I looked at her appraisingly for a moment, but left it at that.
"How do you know all this?"
"My father told me about the mountain once. I've seen the Hound once myself."
I imagined a second Ser Gregor. Arya went on.
"Half his face is burned off. They say Ser Gregor was responsible."
"Talk about sibling love," I muttered sarcastically, pulling my knees a little tighter as I leaned against the wooden post. Gendry and Hot Pie sat silently, looking across the yard or into the mud in front of them.
"Are we ever going to get out of here?" asked Hot Pie at one point, and an old woman beside us slowly raised her eyes. Her eyes were empty, her grey hair dull and dull. She looked like nothing more than a hollow body.
"Boy, if you're asking yourself that question, you're an idiot."
Hot Pie winced and lowered his head. I eyed the woman some more. In her blank stare I read pain. Deep pain. Suddenly she seemed very familiar, as if we had known each other for ages.
"Why are you here?", I heard myself ask at one point, and the empty grey eyes focused on me.
"I was captured along with my family when they raided our village."
"Who is your family?" asked Gendry now, her gaze shifting to him. She made a pointing gesture across the courtyard.
"Scattered all over. They're all dead. I'm the last one. I hope he chooses me soon."
"Who, what do you mean?" came from me again now, but the old woman fell silent, lowering her gaze to the ground again. Now I knew why she seemed so familiar. She reminded me of myself.
"Lenn, we should try to sleep," Gendry whispered and I looked to him, "Who knows what will happen next."
I nodded and closed my eyes. It was still raining and I was bitterly cold. I pulled myself together as far as possible but it didn't help. From below came the cold mud and from above the rain. And if that wasn't bad enough, Arya started muttering their names again.
"Joffrey... Cersei... Ilyn Payne... The Mountain... Joffrey... Cersei..."
Slowly, I had enough. I picked up some mud and threw it against Arya's back.
"Can you stop that?"
She turned to me and gave me a nasty glare.
"I can't sleep otherwise!"
"Then think of your names, whoever they are! I want to sleep and I can't do that with you muttering all the time!"
Arya defiantly turned her back on me again, but finally fell silent. I snuggled back in as best I could and slowly closed my eyes while the soldiers tried to light some torches despite the rain, cursing...

The next time I opened my eyes, a young man had slipped close to me. In the twilight I could only make out his face with great difficulty, but his thin body seemed to be bursting with strength. Muscles stood out clearly under the thin, dirty wooly shirt. Was he a farmer's son? I'm sure he was.
He seemed to register my gaze, for slowly he raised his head and looked at me with a panicked glint in his eyes.
I returned his gaze calmly and he tentatively placed his hand on mine in mud before leaning slightly in my direction.
"I-I...b-be J-Jo-Jonathan..." he stuttered and I frowned before immediately pulling my hand away.
"What do you want?", I asked suspiciously and he looked at me like a heap of misery.
"W-when it's my turn t-today...can you maybe wish m-me s-seven blessings?"
I tilted my head in confusion, but nodded slowly. Jonathan smiled vaguely before moving away from me again and turning around. Still a little suspicious, I leaned upright against the post behind me again, closed my eyes and silently waited for the sun to rise. I registered the soldiers walking across the yard and bawling, registered soft snoring from other prisoners and increasingly I heard the cawing of crows again. Once, one landed directly on the post behind me and almost scared me to death. She stared at me with her black glittering eyes and tilted her head until another soldier passed by and she immediately rose again. How I would love to be a crow now, I thought and eyed the soldier. Snidely he looked into our pen and I saw the old woman from the day before raising her hands to him.
"Polliver, please... Just a little dry bread... we are starving."
Polliver looked down at her for a long moment before he lashed out and smacked her.
"Just stay away from me!"
She fell wordlessly into the mud and I felt the anger rise up inside me again.
This was the first time I lost my temper. I straightened up and trudged past the other prisoners towards Polliver.
"Say, are you still alright?", I asked, noticing my voice getting loud, "She didn't do anything to you!"
Smack! There he had lashed out again and his iron glove found itself on my cheek. He simply flung me to the floor.
"Stay out of this, you son of a bitch!"
Silently, I lay there for a moment, staring viciously into space as Polliver continued. Gendry held out his hand and pulled me back to my feet.
"Are you insane!!! He could have tortured and executed you for this!"
"Let him," I muttered, wiping the mud from my face, "What am I still doing here?"
I helped the old woman up as another soldier ran to us, though I didn't recognise him. He had a relatively high-pitched voice that went through me.
"Everyone line up! Ser Gregor wants to see you!" ...