Just as Tyrion was about to graciously profess his humility, a gust of cold wind suddenly swept up the snow and blasted it into his face.
The Dwarf looked comical and bedraggled, making Melisandre giggle.
Tyrion shrugged, bent forward and extended a hand, smiling as he said, "Please allow me to continue serving you."
After only a few steps, Tyrion narrowed his eyes at the group gathered before the city gate and suddenly lowered his voice. "Charming lady, did the Lord of Light perhaps... quietly offer any warning?"
Melisandre slowed slightly and turned her head to look down at the Dwarf's ingratiating expression, her lips curling faintly. "Such as?"
Tyrion instinctively glanced around. "Is this journey safe?"
"Oh?"
The smile on Melisandre's face deepened. "Have you smelled danger?"
Tyrion moved closer, lowering his voice further. "That king is a capricious tyrant..."
The Dwarf's slander was cut off by Melisandre's laughter. Amused, she said, "Should I thank you for the warning, honest little lion?"
Tyrion grinned. "In truth, I'm merely a lowly Dwarf. And very fond of my life."
Several dozen yards from the city gate, Melisandre came to a stop. She gave Tyrion a brief appraisal before speaking in a husky voice. "You are worried you might be implicated because of me."
Faced with Melisandre's certainty, Tyrion met those fiery red eyes and nodded frankly.
Then he said with a grin, "I'm worried that the Seven and the Lord of Light, those two old gentlemen, might quarrel. And I am only a Dwarf born of a curse, and besides..."
Tyrion coughed softly, straightened his small frame, and continued, "...allow me to introduce myself again. Before I left King's Landing, I had already become a member of the Crabb Legion by the personal order of His Majesty Gryn."
As Melisandre was