The Old Bear's Daughter

ᵗʰʳᵉᵉ

"Get up, you dogs!" a voice yelled.

Gendry and Juliana woke with a start. They had been talking for hours the night before until they finally been able to sleep, sunken against each other.

The guards around them were banging on the wood of the prison-pen to make sure everyone was awake and on their feet as a large man came walking towards them.

"That's him," Hot Pie informed them, "the one who picks."

"The Mountain," Arry explained, letting Juliana wonder how he knew that.

The prisoners looked away, trying to not get the attention of the Mountain so they wouldn't get picked.

"What are you doing?" Juliana heard Arry ask but she didn't look who she was talking to instead looking at the muddy ground they were standing on.

Juliana heard Hot Pie answer but didn't listen, she leant on the pole in front of her and let her mind wander but couldn't find anything useful.

"You," a deep voice spoke and Juliana now looked to see a man get dragged from the prison-pen and towards where they tortured the prisoners.

They could hear his screaming but Juliana couldn't bear to look at the tortured man. She had seen a lot of violence, living at the wall for the better part of her life but never had she seen someone getting tortured and she didn't plan to ever see it.

*****

The next day they were lined up again; and again, Juliana had her head hanging low.

The Mountain paced in front of them before stopping directly by Juliana, "You," he spoke.

Fear overwhelmed her body and felt cold shivers run down her back but then she noticed that the guards weren't pulling her out. The relief only lasted very shortly as she realized that they were unshackling Gendry.

Arry and her changed worried looks and Juliana pulled at her shackles as Gendry was lead away for questioning.

Juliana could hear them ask questions but she couldn't make out what they were asking. She then heard the squeaking of a rat and looked to see a man pull one out of a cage. Without thinking, Juliana warged into the mind of the animal and made it bite into the man's hand.

The man cursed and dropped the rat as Juliana's mind went back to her own body and she stood up from the ground she had fallen to.

Before the man could reach for another rat, they heard the sound of a horse neighing and looked to see Tywin Lannister ride into Harrenhall with other riders behind him.

"What's this?" the eldest Lannister asked as he stopped in front of the prisoner-pen and got off of his horse.

"We weren't expecting you till tomorrow, Lord Tywin," the Mountain answered.

"Evidently not," he chuckled, "Why are these prisoners not in their cells?"

"Cells are overflowing, my lord."

"This lot won't be here long," the man who was called Polliver told the lord, "Don't need no permanent place. After we interrogate 'em, we usually just..." he made a hand motion to a few severed heads they had nailed to a wooden board.

"Are we so well-manned that we can afford to discard able young bodies and skilled labourers?," he walked towards Gendry, stopping in front of him, "You, do you have a trade?"

"Smith, my lord," Gendry replied.

A guard caught Arry starring at him, "What are you looking at? Kneel!" he tried to swing for him but Arry ducked so the man pulled his sword, "Kneel or I'll carve your lungs out, boy."

Walking back to them again, Tywin Lannister spoke, "You'll do no such thing. This one's a girl, you idiot, dressed as a boy. Why?"

Juliana looked at Arry, if that was her name, with wide eyes as she answered, "Safer to travel, my lord."

"Smart. More than I can say from this lot. Get these prisoners to work. Bring the girl. I need a new cupbearer," he walked off.

"My lord," the Mountain nodded.

*****

Juliana had been instructed to help in the kitchen and mend the wounds of soldiers but she was currently watching Gendry work on a helmet.

"I can't believe Arry's a girl," she told him.

The young man nodded, "Her name is Arya."

"You knew?"

"I figured it out," he told her, "It wasn't my place to tell you though."

Juliana groaned, "Seven hells, how did I not notice?"

"If it makes you feel any better, it took me an entire day to figure out."

Juliana glared at him as he gave her a smug grin.