The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Suddenly, the usually composed Oswell Kettleblack felt a deep sense of fear, a chill spreading uncontrollably from the depths of his heart.

“Lady Arya, please have mercy, I am not Cersei’s confidant,” Oswell heard himself saying incoherently, his voice filled with terror. What’s happening to me? Why can’t I control my fear of this little girl?!

“Then whose confidant are you?” Arya said calmly.

“I am…” Oswell’s mind raced. Whose confidant was he? He was Littlefinger Petyr Baelish’s confidant. Did Littlefinger Petyr have a friendly relationship with the Stark family? Oswell didn’t know. But he knew Littlefinger was Lysa Tully’s current husband, and Lysa Tully was Arya’s aunt.

“My lady, I am Lord Petyr Baelish’s confidant. I am under orders to tell Lord Petyr Baelish all of the Queen Mother’s secrets. For the sake of Lord Petyr Baelish being your uncle… please have mercy on me.”

Oswell didn’t know Arya was a Faceless Man. He only knew that when Arya drew the toy sword from her waist, the extreme fear in his heart seized him. An invisible threat of death enveloped the room. Oswell Kettleblack had never felt such a real sense of death before.

But Oswell’s appeal to Lysa Tully’s relationship didn’t earn him any points. In the life-and-death battle between the Northmen and the Westermen, Lysa Tully remained neutral. Originally, the wolf, the fish, and the eagle were one family, advancing and retreating together. But Lysa Tully’s eagle had abandoned the wolf and the fish. Her behavior was worse than an outsider.

“Lord Oswell, perhaps you can answer one question for me, and then I will let you die quietly, without feeling any pain. How did Sansa Stark die? Who killed her?”

“Lady Arya, Lady Sansa did not die. At the King’s wedding, the Red Viper Oberyn Martell poisoned many people—the King, Sansa, Lady Olenna Redwyne—but the Sansa Stark who married Tyrion wasn’t the real one. The real Sansa Stark was rescued from Maidenvault, and her handmaiden, Jeyne Poole, took her place.”

“Are you telling me the truth?”

“Absolutely, Lady Arya, I swear to you.”

Arya’s heart stirred. Her father, Eddard Stark, had also been rescued from the black cells by a mysterious person. It was likely that the person who rescued Sansa Stark was the same person who rescued Eddard Stark.

Arya looked into Oswell’s eyes. There was no lie in the old man’s eyes, only fear—fear of death.

Thank goodness, Sansa Stark hadn’t died! And she hadn’t been forced to marry the Imp… She had been rescued. Who rescued her? And who rescued Eddard Stark? Who was that mysterious person?

“Oswell, all men must die,” Arya said calmly.

“Lady Arya, I can serve Lord Petyr Baelish, and I can serve you wholeheartedly,” Oswell Kettleblack slowly knelt on one knee, drew a dagger, and presented it with both hands. “Please spare my life. I am willing to pledge my allegiance to House Stark.” It was a plea, his voice filled with helpless humility.

Only those who faced the true fear of death could understand that profound terror.

Arya moved, like a fish in flowing water, like a cloud in the wind. Needle flashed…

“Lady Arya, please spare my life,” Oswell Kettleblack heard his plea, distant and hollow, before losing consciousness… He sincerely—didn’t want to die!

*

The next day, Maegor’s Holdfast, Queen Mother’s parlor.

“Oswell, you’re late,” Cersei said with displeasure. “You need to hurry up with what I told you to do yesterday. Mace Tyrell is not to be trusted. You need to supervise him, remind him, and make him delay the delivery of military supplies to Winterfell as much as possible.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“This morning, I received news that the Mountain has already written to urge Mace Tyrell to deliver the first batch of supplies to Winterfell as soon as possible. The Mountain says the northern legions are passing through the Neck, and Winterfell is already overcrowded. The northern legions need to receive food supplies as soon as possible.”

“Your Grace,” the steward said, his eyes flickering, “these are extraordinary times, and we must be careful. Daenerys may cross the Narrow Sea in three months, or perhaps in one month. Her target is the Iron Throne. Will delaying the Tyrell family’s food shipments anger the Mountain?”

“Anger the Mountain? Ser Oswell, you’re overthinking it. If Mace’s food arrives later, the Mountain will be angry with House Tyrell, not with us. Second, the northern legions are helping the Starks defend Winterfell and fight the Others. The Stark family should be paying for the northern legions’ salaries and supplies. The Mountain is a great warrior, but he’s a fool in this regard. Once the northern legions run out of food, the Stark family will naturally find a way to make their vassals offer up their stored grain.”

“Yes, I understand, Your Grace.”

Daenerys? Iron Throne? Winterfell? Supplies? The Mountain?

Arya Stark had been in King’s Landing for several days. During those days, she had heard a lot of information, each piece of information like a thunderbolt to her ears—the first shocking news was that a large number of Others and wights had appeared in the North, the Wall had fallen, and the entire North was in grave danger.

The second shocking news was that the Mountain had tamed a dragon in the Mountains of the Moon. The dragon was Vermithrax, the mount of the royal dragonrider Hugh the Hammer from one hundred and seventy years ago. As she crossed the Narrow Sea, the Mountain rode the dragon, burning the Eyrie and destroying the six-thousand-year-old Eyrie along with the mountain peak of the Giant’s Lance, snapping the mountain peak and causing it to topple. Subsequently, the Mountain gathered the armies of the Westerlands, the Riverlands, and the Vale, said to number one hundred thousand elite troops, and marched north to help the Stark family defend Winterfell and fight the Others.

When she heard these two pieces of news, Arya Stark was completely shocked. She wanted to immediately head north to Winterfell. Military intelligence was like a fire, and there was no time to delay. But she finally decided to first enter the Red Keep through the underground passage to meet Cersei Lannister.

Cersei was concerned that the Tyrell family’s military supplies were being transported to Winterfell too early. She wanted the Queen Mother’s steward, Oswell, to go to the Tower of the Hand and tell Mace Tyrell to delay the delivery of the food needed by the northern legions as much as possible.

This made the old steward’s eyes flicker. Undoubtedly, Cersei was still the same Cersei!

As long as it could cause harm to the Stark family, she would dare to do anything!

“I will go to the Tower of the Hand now, Your Grace,” the steward said, bowing his head, his gaze and tone very humble.

“Good. Go to the Tower of the Hand and tell Mace Tyrell not to let the first batch of supplies leave, and it’s best to transport them by land rather than by sea. Land transport will be twice as slow as water transport. Tell Mace Tyrell that the military supplies for the northern legions, especially food, should all be borne by the Northmen.”

“I will remember, Your Grace.”

“Mace is a cowardly but cunning old man. Don’t let him deceive you.”

“I will convey Your Grace’s meaning to Lord Mace. I believe Lord Mace will understand as soon as he hears it.”

“The Mountain is too arrogant. Does he think that having a dragon means he can point fingers at the royal family?” Cersei’s eyes narrowed slightly, and her tone revealed a deep hatred for the Mountain.

“Yes, Your Grace. No matter how powerful the Mountain is, he is still a Lannister dog. Your Grace doesn’t need to accommodate him.”

Cersei stared at Oswell. The old man’s words were very pleasing to the ear. The Mountain was indeed hateful, relying on having a dragon to force Jaime Lannister to go north and be his assistant. To cater to the Mountain’s wishes, Cersei had to send Jaime north to be the Mountain’s deputy.

This made her heart ache! Not only because Jaime had left her, but also because she believed the Mountain’s strength had overshadowed the dignity of the royal family.

But Jaime told her that being the Mountain’s deputy had at least two benefits: one was to monitor the Mountain, and the other was that it was easiest to establish a close relationship between ruler and subject with the Mountain in battle.

But publicly and privately, Cersei did not want Jaime to leave King’s Landing. Jaime and the Mountain had both assured her that they would return as soon as possible before Daenerys attacked King’s Landing, but once Jaime and the Mountain went to the northern battlefield and fought the terrifying Others, they could not even control their own lives, so how could they ensure their timely return?

Oswell bowed to the Queen Mother and left. The Queen Mother called him back as he reached the door: “Oswell, tell Mace to delay as much as possible. The Northmen will not mistreat the Mountain when it comes to military supplies and food. Let Mace rest assured that House Stark would not dare to let the Mountain’s northern legions starve.”

“As you command, Your Grace.”

*

Tower of the Hand. Study.

Mace Tyrell sat in the seat that Eddard Stark had once occupied as Hand.

The Queen Mother’s steward, Oswell, stood in front of the Hand, with a table between them. The steward was very familiar with everything in the Tower of the Hand. The furnishings and scenery were the same, but he no longer saw his former family. However, she did not reveal any nostalgic emotions.

“Lord Hand, the Queen Mother has sent me to inquire whether the Tyrell family’s supplies to support the northern legions have set out? Are they going by sea or by land?”

Mace Tyrell glanced at Oswell, his face showing a faint anger and a faint contempt: “Oswell, go back and tell the Queen Mother that we have sent the supplies the Mountain requested as quickly as possible. To deliver them to Winterfell as soon as possible, of course, we can only choose the sea route.”

“Sea route? Going through Oldtown, past the Sea of Dorne, and around a large circle north to White Harbor, or going through the Westerlands, past the Iron Islands, and arriving at the coastal fishing village dock of Torrhen’s Square?”

“Of course, it’s going through the Sunset Sea of the Westerlands, past the Iron Islands, and arriving at the coastal fishing village of Torrhen’s Square. Then disembarking, loading onto carriages, and going straight to Winterfell. There is no closer route than this one.” Mace Tyrell’s tone was somewhat unkind.

He resented the Queen Mother sending the chief steward to inquire about the transportation of supplies to support the northern legions. This was questioning his and the Tyrell family’s abilities!

“Lord Mace, you have done well. I will relay what you said to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother wants you to deliver the food supplies to Winterfell in the North as quickly as possible, without delay. At this time, military intelligence is like fire, and the life-and-death battle with the Others is a major event for the entire human race, which cannot be separated from the full support of the royal family. The Mountain has gathered the forces of three regions, his military might is like a mountain, and he also has a dragon. The Queen Mother hopes that the Mountain will not be angered by the slow delivery of supplies.”

“Hmph!” Mace Tyrell snorted coldly. “Oswell, go back and tell the Queen Mother that I will do my best to increase the speed of delivery. The things I am responsible for do not need the Queen Mother’s concern at all. Let the Queen Mother pray to the Seven Gods more and let the Seven Gods protect Jaime’s safe return.” Mace Tyrell’s words ended with a sharp iron thorn.

“Lord Hand, I will truthfully report to the Queen Mother about your dedication. Thank you, Lord, for your generosity and full support of the northern legions.”

Mace Tyrell glared at Oswell. He was not willing to transport supplies to Winterfell. He was really frightened by the Mountain’s means of burning the Eyrie. If the Mountain was angry and flew to Highgarden on a dragon and burned Highgarden to the ground, how would he resist? He found that he could not think of a way.

Then don’t anger the Mountain like Lysa Tully!

He likes to offer advice but is indecisive, he likes military weapons but has no courage, this is the characteristic of Mace Tyrell, and it is also the source of the nickname “the inflatable fish”.

*

Oswell Kettleblack returned to Maegor’s Holdfast and reported Mace Tyrell’s situation to Queen Mother Cersei in the Queen Mother’s ballroom.

“Your Grace, Lord Mace does not agree with your opinion. He believes that military intelligence is like fire, and there should be no internal strife in the decisive battle against the Others. If the Mountain and the Stark family join forces to defeat the Others, the Mountain will definitely ride a dragon to Highgarden to ask Vylas Tyrell why the supplies could not be delivered. Lysa Tully did not listen to the Mountain’s orders and was slaughtered by the Mountain’s dragon. Mace Tyrell believes that Highgarden does not need to take such a risk. Food supplies should arrive sooner rather than later.”

Cersei’s eyes slowly widened: “I knew that old thing Mace was not reliable.” Cersei said through gritted teeth, “I will go to the Tower of the Hand to see him in person. He is worried that the Mountain will cause him trouble after the war? He is really cowardly. The Mountain’s legions will not lack food and clothing because the supplies from the south have not arrived. The Stark family’s granaries have stored food for the winter. I just want the Stark family to pay what they should pay.”

“Your Grace, Lord Mace said that the Stark family’s stored grain in the granaries is to cope with the winter. The longer the summer, the longer the winter will be. A ten-year summer will usher in a ten-year winter. During these ten years, the North is covered in ice and snow and cannot grow grain. The stored grain in the granaries of Winterfell is their guarantee of life. Are you doing this to starve the Stark family and the poor people of the North? You are not worthy to be a regent. Your heart is too vicious and you should be sentenced to hanging.”

Queen Mother Cersei looked stunned as if she had been slapped hard. She stared at Oswell, in disbelief, unable to believe her ears.

Oswell sneered, reached out and grabbed his face, and tore it off from the root of his ear. The entire face was torn off, revealing a little girl’s face: “Cersei, I am Arya Stark, a wolf from the North.”