A Beast's Heart (english version)

11.

He steered his horse towards us and dismounted. The mountain made a bow and was actually eye-to-eye with other soldiers for once.
"We were not expecting you until tomorrow, Lord Tywin."
The lord swung elegantly out of the saddle and handed the horse's reins to a soldier. The latter led it away and Tywin looked up at Clegane.
"Yes, it looks like that here too. I see no difference from a battlefield."
The Lannister walked closer to our pen and eyed us. He did not look pleased with his finding.
"Why are these prisoners not in the dungeons?"
His voice was dark and quiet. Inevitably, I imagined it in a furious state and trembled slightly. He seemed to prefer to hide all his power, possibly saving it for better times. Nevertheless, he radiated his power in good portions and only with his looks and gestures. I had never seen anything like it.
"They're all full, my lord. We had to put them here."
Polliver stood beside the mountain and looked at me. Only now did I notice that everyone around me had gone to their knees. Only I was still standing, eyeing the stranger in front of me intently. I had never seen a lord before. Somehow he was hardly different from other men, his face was just as dirty as theirs. Only he seemed older and much more serious, apart from his powerful appearance. Lord Tywin did not seem to be a man of great sense of humour.
"Get on your knees or I'll cut your lungs out, lad," I heard Polliver growl and saw him raise his hand. But before I could respond in any way, Lord Tywin raised his voice in a threatening undertone.
"You will not!"
Then it happened. His eyes met mine. I looked into blue eyes, even bluer than Gendry's. There was something inscrutable in his gaze as he eyed me. I just couldn't figure it out. Our eye contact lasted maybe a few seconds, but it seemed like half an eternity. And to my amazement, I didn't know how to assess this realisation.
"That's not a boy. That's a girl, you idiot!" continued Tywin and I winced. Now all pairs of eyes were really on me questioningly and I felt extremely uncomfortable. He had busted me with one look. I felt Arya's gaze on me and squinted at her for a moment. She seemed shocked, staring at me in bewilderment. Hot Pie I could no longer see.
"A girl dressed as a boy," Tywin continued and I turned my gaze back to him, "Why?"
I didn't dare look him in the eye again. There was such a tremendous power behind them that I didn't know how to assess. He intimidated me completely and consequently my voice trembled a little.
"It is better to be safe...than sorry..."
Tywin was still looking at me, stroking his snow-white beard thoughtfully for a moment.
"Smart... Which is more than I can say for my soldiers!"
He gave Polliver a certain sidelong glance and he automatically shrank into himself. Lord Tywin turned away and disappeared in the direction Gendry had disappeared too.
I turned around slowly and saw some of the prisoners already eyeing me intently as if I were a juicy piece of roast. I felt very uncomfortable and pressed closer to the post behind me. Arya had taken her distance from me and Hot Pie also looked a little indecisive. I wanted to get out of here quickly, away from all the men with their greedy looks. I could guess what was going on in their heads and the idea made me sick to my stomach.
Tywin came back and leaned briefly on the wooden post behind me.
"Can we afford to lose potential workers, Clegane?"
The mountain shook its head and the lord made a gesture towards us with his chin.
"Give these people something to work with," he looked down at me, "Bring me the girl. But first let her wash herself a little and make her reasonably ready. I need another...helper."
He gave me one last look as he turned and strode across the yard into the castle. The mountain lifted me out of the pen and pulled another soldier over.
"Fetch a bucket of water! Hurry up! Lord Tywin is very reluctant to wait!"
The soldier nodded and pulled me roughly behind him. He gave me a quick sideways glance, then pushed me behind a large hay cart into an unnoticed corner.
"Wait here," he ordered and disappeared. I made myself small, hiding from hungry stares. At least I had been able to protect Arya. Tywin would have revealed her as a girl too, I was sure. And the men here would surely enjoy her.
The soldier came back with a bucket of water.
"Watch! Don't keep the lord waiting!"
I nodded and hid behind the hay cart again. The water was freezing cold and not exactly clean, but what else did one expect from a ruin?
I hurriedly washed the coarsest visible dirt off my body and returned to the soldier.
"And where do I find the lord now?"
"You'll have to look for him. He must be in there somewhere." ...