The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 307: Wild Arry

(Bonus chapter for the reward from [Punishment Knight Zero Thinking] 1, so there will be a guaranteed 4,000 words today.)

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Inside the Mara prison wagon, three supposedly extremely dangerous death row inmates were bound by shackles and handcuffs. King Joffrey had approved their consignment to the Night's Watch at the Wall, and the recruiting officer was Euron.

On his first day at the Red Keep in King's Landing, Euron went to see Eddard Stark. He told Eddard about 'Catelyn capturing Tyrion' and reminded Eddard to be wary of Lannister retaliation.

Eddard Stark's brother, Benjen Stark, was the First Ranger of the Night's Watch, the commander of all rangers, and had a good relationship with the recruiting officer, Euron.

In the Night's Watch army at the Wall, every generation had Stark family members enlisting. The Night's Watch had long received strong support from the Stark family, from grain to cloth, ironware to beer; the Starks of the North were the local nobles who supported the Night's Watch the most.

When trouble broke out in King's Landing and Eddard was imprisoned for treason, Euron did not leave King's Landing. Through his connections with the jailers, he heard the news of Eddard's escape as soon as it happened, and later he confirmed that Eddard Stark had indeed escaped successfully. Soon after, Euron set off to return to the Wall.

Besides obtaining three death row inmates from the dungeons of the Red Keep in King's Landing, Euron wandered the streets and alleys of King's Landing every day. With his thick skin, dark heart, and glib tongue, he successfully tricked several poor young men into joining the Night's Watch. He told those young men that being a member of the Night's Watch was the most glorious career for a warrior, with opportunities to become a knight. And most importantly: food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all guaranteed; bread, bacon soup, and beer were provided in abundance at every meal, and after eating and drinking to their fill, they would still receive a monthly salary.

This was truly a golden dragon falling from the sky!

So, a baker's apprentice, a restaurant worker, a blacksmith's apprentice, as well as two thieves from Flea Bottom, and several street vagrants were successfully tricked by Euron.

Euron led a dozen or so people on foot along the Kingsroad every day. They were a group of vulgar and uncouth fellows, but they still had at least a modicum of shame and would not relieve themselves in public on the Kingsroad.

Arya was a girl, so naturally she never went to relieve herself with them. Therefore, as usual, they left Arya to guard the prison wagon while Euron took the others into the woods for a collective bathroom break.

Arya's hair had been hacked short by Euron with a small knife, leaving it patchy and uneven, making her look like a mangy dog. Her clothes had also been changed to coarse linen, making her look every bit like a poor man's wild child. Arya had also been given a new name: Arry.

King Robert's funeral was held in the Great Sept of Baelor, and everyone in the city had to pay their respects. The King's death was turned into a grand festival, and all the beggars in the city were able to receive fragrant bread in the plaza outside the Great Sept of Baelor. Hiding in Flea Bottom, Arya went along with the beggars from Flea Bottom.

The King's funeral was a major event for the Seven Kingdoms. Euron, who was going around tricking naive poor children in King's Landing, also attended the King's funeral. In the plaza of the Great Sept of Baelor where food was being distributed, Euron, who was searching for his next target, saw Arya in the crowd of beggars.

Arya was already a completely filthy wild child.

Many times, gold cloaks and red cloaks from King's Landing who were searching for Arya walked past her, but no one recognized her because they were looking for a noble girl.

Euron took Arya to his residence, cut her hair short, gave her a new name, and changed her into commoner's clothes, although Arya's own clothes were already so dirty that it was impossible to tell the fineness of the workmanship or the high quality of the fabric. Arya had run to the Blackwater harbor to see the large ship her father had hired to send her and Sansa back to Winterfell. The ship was still there, with unfamiliar guards on board, all arranged by Cersei, waiting for Arya to walk into their trap.

In the days before Eddard arranged for the ship to send Sansa and Arya away, Sansa had told Queen Cersei about Eddard's plan and even told Cersei the name of the ship hired by Steward Vayon Poole. Cersei had sent people to take control of the ship, sending people to wait for Arya on board.

Arya did go, but none of the guards who were wandering back and forth on the shore and on the ship recognized Arya. Their bright eyes were only searching for a 'noble girl of about nine years old', not a dirty wild child. Arya even asked a guard if he wanted to buy pigeons, and if so, she could sell him a few pigeons. Then the guard rudely chased Arya away.

After Euron completed his trickery and recruitment work in King's Landing, he took Arya with him and set off for the Wall with his group of new brothers who were looking forward to a happy life.

When the accompanying stinky men went into the woods to relieve themselves, Arya was often left to guard the prison wagon.

The prison wagon was the most sturdy death row prison wagon in the Red Keep. With iron bars, steel rods, plus shackles and handcuffs, Euron had warned Arya not to get too close to the prison wagon when guarding it, because the three guys inside were very dangerous. Arya didn't take it seriously. Very dangerous? They were in the prison wagon, so how dangerous could they be? They couldn't hurt her.

The large black man in the prison wagon was complaining that the food Arya gave them was too coarse, and he finally burst into a torrent of abuse. If Euron were here, no one would pay any attention to the large black man in the prison wagon. First, everyone was used to it, and second, Euron didn't allow anyone to talk to the people in the prison wagon.

This time Euron and the other silly boys were not around, so Arya immediately retorted and picked up a wooden stick to attack the big black guy, finally ending with Arya's two-hit victory.

The big black guy in the prison wagon was burly, covered in black hair, and had a fierce appearance. Arya was not afraid of him. She was actually a little afraid of the skinny guy in the corner. The skinny guy was used to squatting like a dog, and the way he looked at people was like an awl. The skinny guy had long arms and legs, but he was not actually very tall. When he ate, Arya could see that his teeth were different, like her direwolf Nymeria's teeth, pointy and very long. The big black guy called the skinny guy Fang.

In fact, Arya had a real sword, which her half-brother Jon Snow had given her the night before he went to the Wall to join the Night's Watch. She had named the slender, needle-like sword Needle. It was made of Valyrian steel, extremely sharp. Euron had hidden her Needle, saying that they couldn't let anyone see any clues.

In the Crownlands, they would occasionally encounter gold cloaks and red cloaks searching for Arya. They had stopped the group many times, asking them if they had seen a noble girl of about nine or ten years old pass by. Each time, Euron patiently told those high and mighty officials that they hadn't seen any noble girls, from nine to ninety years old, they hadn't seen any.

Cersei and Joffrey had tried their best, turning King's Landing upside down and spreading informants along all the roads around the Crownlands. Then, they were frustrated to find that they had achieved nothing. Arya and Eddard Stark had disappeared without a trace.

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When Euron returned, he gave Arya a severe scolding. He had heard the big black guy's roar when he was relieving himself in the woods. The fight between Arya and this big black guy had never stopped. The big black guy liked to provoke Arya with words, Arya would retort sharply, and the big black guy would be even more interested in cursing her.

Euron moved to beat Arya severely. He finally pushed Arya against a large tree by the roadside, his eyes like knives: "You are punished to fetch water and feed the horses today, start the fire and cook dinner tonight, and you are not allowed to eat bread at noon." Euron harshly ended his lesson to Arya.

Arya was too wild. She seemed to have forgotten that she was in danger. In recent days, they had encountered officials and soldiers searching for Arya coming and going every day. Euron could see that Cersei in King's Landing was frantically looking for Arya, and the group had not yet left the Crownlands, which made Euron very anxious.

Arya, who had been beaten by Euron, was unhappy. If Euron allowed her to use Needle, she believed she would have killed the big black guy, so that she wouldn't have to argue with the big black guy every day. He was a damn guy, he didn't like Arya's hair, clothes, pants, and shoes; he also didn't like Arya's eyes, face, and height; in short, any aspect of Arya, such as the sound of Arya's voice and the way she walked, would be taken out and ridiculed by the big black guy from time to time.

Why didn't the big black guy tease the others? Because the others were afraid of him, and no matter how he cursed and provoked them, those guys wouldn't pay attention to him. Only wild Arry couldn't stand his provocations and would even hit him.

"Arry, lead the way!" Euron sternly ordered Arya.

Arya obediently set off. She had been beaten by Euron many times, and she had bruises on her arms and body, but she had never actually surrendered in her heart. She didn't hate Euron either, because she knew that Euron was actually a good person.

In the prison wagon, the big black guy laughed heartily. Fang was sharpening his teeth with a pig bone, making a hoh-ho sound. He had to sharpen his teeth every few days, otherwise he would feel uncomfortable and his teeth would grow longer.

Inside the prison wagon, there was also a young man with a gentle face, friendly eyes, and half white and half red hair. He always had a gentle smile on his face, but the big black guy and Fang were both afraid of him and never dared to get too close to him.

Arya walked past the prison wagon—

"Someone is thirsty, can some boy give me a drink of water?" the man said softly.

Arya turned her head, and the man gave Arya a friendly smile, and whispered: "Someone is thirsty, can some boy give me a drink of water?"

Arya secretly turned her head. Euron was glaring at her. Arya's back immediately stiffened and she walked past quickly.

Because these three people were too dangerous, Euron had stipulated that these three people would be given a meal one day and a drink of water the next day, in a cycle. Arya had a good impression of the man with half white and half red hair and often secretly gave the man water to drink. She glanced at the man as she walked away, her eyes full of meaning - meaning why didn't you ask for water when Euron left, are you stupid? Damn it!