Arya's Wonderful Adventure
The midday sun brought a warm temperature, and the thin frost on the ground was nowhere to be seen.
Under the watchful eyes of a group of soldiers, officers, and nobles, two young men, one tall and one short, who looked remarkably alike, were reunited, as if adding a touch of warmth to this bloody war.
"Jon!"
"Arya!"
With just one glance, their two gray eyes recognized each other.
The two had changed drastically compared to each other's memories. In Arya's eyes, Jon seemed to have grown taller, and his demeanor was closer to that of Eddard Stark in her memories.
In Jon's eyes, Arya had clearly suffered a lot along the way, and she looked like a skinny cat.
Nevertheless, the two did not become estranged as a result; their shared bloodline bound them tightly together.
When they embraced tightly, everyone noticed that they all had the Stark's signature long faces and gray eyes.
"Arya? Arya Stark, is this Lord Eddard's youngest daughter?" Beric Dondarrion said in surprise.
Everyone who witnessed this scene was somewhat incredulous, as they had been told that Arya was still in King's Landing.
Of course, this is also partly because they don't understand Arya. She's not some delicate noble lady; she has plenty of means and strength.
Jon never expected the two of them to meet here; he had thought he might see Arya on his way to King's Landing.
Upon inquiry, it turned out that she had heard the news of Jon's southward journey and his slaying of the Mountain, which prompted her to hasten her pace and head straight for Harrenhal.
They happened to run into the Brotherhood Without Banners on the way, which allowed them to meet earlier than planned.
The reason for this was that the East Road Army had Jon, and the series of victories prevented Tywin from wreaking havoc in the Riverlands at will, which gave Arya the opportunity to bypass the blockade.
After Ghost saw Arya, she also hummed and sniffed at her.
The wet tongue licked and licked Arya's face, finally revealing her true appearance from her dirty little face.
Arya was also very happy, hugging Ghost and giggling. However, after the joy of the reunion, Arya remembered that she had "chased away" her wolf, and she was once again overwhelmed by the sadness of losing her father.
"Jon, Father... Father is dead! He was killed by Joffrey!" Arya buried her head in Jon's chest, her body convulsing uncontrollably, like a wounded little animal.
"I know, I know Arya, we will avenge Father! I will personally kill that bastard Joffrey!"
Although Arya is a ruthless person by nature, she is still young. She disguises herself as a little boy all the way, using her belief in revenge to cover up her inner vulnerability.
Now that he saw Jon, he could no longer hide his emotions, and tears streamed down his face, soon turning him into a mess of sobs.
The scene before them deeply moved Old York, Sola, and the others.
Before Sola could break down in Tears, Jon told her to take Arya to take a bath and change her clothes.
After being away from King's Landing for so long, even the most fragrant noble lady would smell sour and musty by now.
Moreover, Arya was more active than most little boys, and Jon even noticed that her hair was getting matted.
But the sense of security that Jon gave Arya was so precious that she wanted to stay with Jon a little longer.
"Good girl, listen to me, we'll sleep together tonight after you take a shower."
"Real?"
Why would I lie to you?
Watching Arya leave, Jon's heart grew even heavier. He was about to do something big, and this girl's sudden arrival would surely be known by Roose Bolton. What if—
Etc!
Jon suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Beric Dondarrion.
"Beric Dondarrion, did you encounter a Night's Watch on your journey?"
"Hmm, how did you know?"
Where is he now?
Among the Night's Watch are the Ravens, who travel through the Seven Kingdoms to recruit new soldiers for the Wall. Jon happened to meet one of them when he left Winterfell for the Wall.
The Night's Watch's name was Yoren. He knew Arya's identity, and Arya's escape from King's Landing was thanks to him.
Despite proclaiming the Night's Watch's neutrality, he was killed when he encountered the Westerlands army. The man who killed him Amory Jon had captured earlier at the Battle of the Green Fork.
Now that Amory has been captured, Yoren might be able to escape. In fact, Jon is not concerned about Yoren, but about Jaqen H'ghar the Faceless Men, whom he is escorting!
If I could make a deal with Jaqen H'ghar, exchanging a Dragon Egg for him to kill Roose Bolton for me, that would be a very good deal!
However, Beric Dondarrion looked somewhat embarrassed when faced with Jon's question, as if he didn't know how to answer it. It was Thoros came to his rescue.
"Jon, the Night's Watch you mentioned should be named Yoren, right? He said you're the only deserter he's seen in the last thirty years, and now that you command a large army, he doesn't want the newly recruited Night's Watch to have any ulterior motives if they see you, so he headed straight for Riverrun. We parted ways four days ago."
"I see." Jon nodded, not at all upset. It seemed the Night's Watch held a grudge against him.
Unexpectedly, Thoros approached Jon and whispered, "Jon, Yoren doesn't dislike you. He said it's unfair for a young man like you, barely an adult, to be sent to guard the Wall. You haven't seen or experienced anything, yet you've frozen your life at the Wall. It's too cruel."
"Oh?" Thoros's words really surprised Jon; he hadn't expected Yoren to be so humane.
Even Eddard was outdone. After all, he was his sister's orphan; was it really appropriate to just abandon him on the Wall and leave him there?
Eddard, you're my own uncle!
At this point, Thoros spoke up again, "Speaking of Jon, you've probably never slept with a woman before, have you? I think your handmaid is quite nice—"
Jon sized Thoros up and down, never expecting this guy to be a "playboy".
"My lord, a letter from Riverrun." In the Kingspyre Tower, a maester delivered a letter. Upon reading it, Roose Bolton smiled and happily handed it to his trusted confidant, Bolin.
Upon receiving the letter, Bolin smiled happily and said, "Sir, now there's no one in the army who can threaten your position."
The letter was from Robb, who wanted Jon to hand over his troops as soon as possible and go to Riverrun within half a month to be under Edmure's command.
As for the army, Jon can take at most a thousand men with him.
It seems he found out about Jon rejecting Catelyn that day.
Roose Bolton was in high spirits upon receiving the letter. "I heard the Brotherhood Without Banners brought Eddard's youngest daughter. Why don't we let Jon go to Riverrun with him?" Bolin suggested.
"No," Roose Bolton refused his suggestion. "I need to see her later to confirm that she really is Arya. Then you have the maester write to Riverrun and say that we found Arya. Only then will Robb trust us more."
Upon hearing Roose Bolton's plan, Bolin exclaimed that it was brilliant.
Roose Bolton stood by the window, from where he could overlook the entire Harrenhal. In particular, his window faced directly towards the Tower of Dread where Jon was.
Once Jon leaves, the entire army of 20,000 will be under my command. Without Jon's leadership, none of those annoying lords will dare to disobey my orders.
After taking a hot shower, Arya changed into clean clothes. Although they didn't fit her perfectly and she had to roll up the cuffs and pant legs, they were still much better than her previous sour and smelly clothes.
When you get close to Jon, you can smell the scent of grass on her.
Jon Roose Bolton, led Arya and a dozen guards toward the Kingspyre Tower.
"Jon, when are we going to attack King's Landing to avenge Father?" Arya asked earnestly on the way.
Jon's hands were calloused from years of wielding a sword; they were rough but very warm, which made her reluctant to let go.
"Roose Bolton is the commander of the army, and we need to obey his orders."
"And the matter of avenging Father is enough for Robb and me. I'll send you to Riverrun tomorrow; Lady Catelyn should be there too." Jon said, patting Arya's head, which naturally drew fierce opposition.
Jon didn't tell her that she had been arranged to marry into the House Frey, otherwise, given her temperament, she probably would have run away halfway through.
"No!" Arya stomped her foot angrily, then distanced herself from Jon to demonstrate her martial arts skills.
She wielded the sword with remarkable skill, her steps light and her movements swift; she was simply a born swordswoman.
If we disregard the limitations of physical strength and physique, she would undoubtedly become a first-rate swordsman in the future.
"Jon, look! This is called the Water Dance! I can kill enemies too!"
Jon glanced at the short sword in her hand, thinking that it might break if it pierced the armor, so no matter how much she argued, Jon wouldn't budge.
After all, if Arya were to return to Riverrun, it would at least appease Catelyn and ensure she wouldn't do something as foolish as letting Jaime go.
But just then, Arya offered a deal that Jon couldn't refuse. "I know a secret passage into the Red Keep!"
"Secret passage?"
Jon stopped abruptly, and his entourage and guards behind him also stopped and stood on guard.
"I know the secret passage, the secret passage into the Red Keep! I was practicing catching Sparrows that day, and then—" Seeing Jon's reaction, Arya's eyes lit up with smugness. She vividly described how she accidentally discovered the secret passage, while also hearing people whispering something.
Although I didn't see who it was, I still remember the secret passage.
"Do you remember where that secret passage is?" Jon asked, bending down with a very serious expression.
"Of course! I remember it very clearly!" Arya patted her chest and said, sticking her neck out.
This news thrilled Jon. If he could control the secret passage, he could take control of Joffrey and Cersei in the shortest amount of time.
Even if the Lannister and Tyrell armies storm King's Landing, we have nothing to fear! Joffrey is the foundation of the alliance between the two, and killing him will cause the alliance to crumble on its own.
As for Cersei's other two children, Myrcella and Tommen, Jon knew they had been hidden in Rosby before the war began!
Rosby, and the town was guarded by an old man who was too old to run.
Jon was confident that he could take Rosby and resurrect Myrcella and Tommen in a short time before attacking King's Landing.
Now everything is ready except for the final push. As long as we can find a way to completely control Roose Bolton, we should march on King's Landing's Landing!