Winter Is Our Fury

Chapter Ten: Infiltrator

Day after day, Aris was put to work. Cutting and peeling. The repetition was starting to drive her wild. Sleep, waken up by shouting soldiers, eat what little food they serve. Put to work, eat, work, and back to bed. Days it must have been, a week maybe. She wasn't sure. The only outcome was Arya reporting Robb's movements.

"You're moving too slow!" shouted a soldier and kicked a slaver in the back, the old man fell to the ground dropping his basket of goods. Others around kept their heads down in fear of also being beaten. Aris hadn't seen the old women for a day now, not even a little walk by. She assumed she was dead. For better or worse.

Aris picked up the full basket of vegetables and placed it on her hip and headed towards the cooks tent were he was boiling dirty water.

She placed the basket on the table and began to unload the different vegetables onto the table in piles. The cook, a fat old man, trudged in her direction. He stood rather closely to her and picked up a carrot and bit off a piece and chewed obnoxiously.

Aris had to take in a breath to keep herself calm and not turn and punch the cook in his face. He eyed her up and down hungrily. "What would it take to slice up those legs." he purred. Aris bit her lip and her hands gripped the basket. She turned and forced a smile and tried to leave the tent but the cook grabbed her arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" said the cook. "You aint done with em'." he motioned to the basket that still had vegetables inside so she placed the basket and turned to leave. Again he stopped her and she glowered over the small man, his smell burning her nose.

"What are you looking at?" spit flew from his mouth and she never wanted to hit someone so much. "Ave' I got something on me face?"

"I'll get back to work." she simply said and turned away again.

A range of voices began to shout as she headed back to the chopping table. Soldiers stormed the yard and began pushing each other around, demanding to know 'who did it'. Without warning, a soldier flew into the table startling everyone around it. Aris jumped to the side as The Mountain towered over the soldier he threw.

"We'll find the one responsible for trying to murder Lord Tywin. Tell us who and I might let you live."

"I don't know anything!" the soldier pleaded. The Mountain picked the soldier up and slammed him into the table breaking it in two.

A flock of soldiers began to take each other prisoner, questioning and demanding. Aris was confused, why weren't they questioning the common people. Instead they were killing each other. The Mountain then picked a soldier and wrapped a rope around his neck and hoisted him up on a beam kicking and screaming and held him there until he stopped.

"We won't stop until we find the culprit!"

Aris quickly fled the yard finding the opportunity to get away from the cooks and The Mountain. But everywhere she went the same thing was happening, soldiers were turning on each other. S

A soldier was pushed into her and she stumbled regaining her balance. Aris quickly backed away and bumped into someone. She turned to find it was a Lannister soldier with short brown hair with a blonde streak threw it. The man held a mysterious demeanour.

"Pardon."

"A girl has a name?" he asked.

Aris narrowed her eyes thinking, what an odd way to speak. "Diane."

"A man knows a girl is lying."

Aris' heart began to beat faster in her chest. How the hell does he know? Was it obvious because she was terrible at lying, much like her mother and sister Sansa.

"But it is not a man's place to tell or know. A girl has her reasons."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"A girl can call a man by the name Jaqen H'gar."

"You!" she accused. "The one Arry's been talking about."

The man nodded in response, "The girl saved my life along two others. I offered the girl three lives in return, she has already names two."

"Who?"

"It is not for a man to speak." and Jaqen stepped around Aris with a graceful stride. Her eyes followed his movements finding how strange of a man he really was.