Game of Thrones: Lord of Winter

"Arya, how do you know this place?" When Eddard Stark got up from the sewage-filled ditch, he asked his daughter with a puzzled look on his face.

Suddenly, a person on the shore caught Eddard's attention. He was wearing a heavy brown robe with rough fabric, a wide figure, and a cloak covering his face.

Eddard instantly became alert until the cloak was slowly pulled down, revealing a rough face full of stubble. It was hard to believe that the last time he saw him, he was still dressed as a jailer, and the last time he was a eunuch with greasy hair and powder. How many faces does he have?

"Good morning, my lord." He saluted Eddard with a rough voice, which was different from the sweet voice in the past. But Eddard felt a chill on his back, as if the person in front of him was not a human, but a terrifying giant spider.

This person was Varys, known as the "Eight-clawed Spider", the intelligence chief of the Royal Council.

"Varys? What do you want?" Eddard frowned and stared at that face. He thought of what Cersei Lannister said to him, "In the game of power, if you don't win, you will die."

"The daughter is very brave. I just told her the location of the dungeon."

Eddard looked unkind, "You shouldn't involve a child."

"Some things are beyond our control, Lord Stark, just like your eldest son has led the army south."

"Robb?"

"Who else but him? The boat is ready for you, my lord. As for whether you can return to the North, it depends on you and your daughter."

This place is on the coast, and the sewage of the Red Castle is discharged from here. A small boat is upside down among the gravel on the shore. It seems to have rained, and there is a little chill in the air, which makes Eddard feel like he is born in the North, but this little breeze is too gentle compared to the North.

Varys did not tell him that the white ravens of the Citadel had sent a message a few days ago that the long summer was about to end and Westeros was about to usher in winter. The maesters predicted that after the long summer there would be a long night, and this ten-year summer would bring a long winter.

"I know you can, Varys. Help me save Sansa, please." Eddard, who was always cold, had a pleading look on his proud face.

"You are too embarrassed for me. I am just an unarmed intelligence chief. I advise you to leave King's Landing as soon as possible, my lord. Your eldest daughter is well taken care of by the queen. The queen even agreed to let her continue to marry our king."

"He is not the king."

Varys smiled lightly, "There are several kings in the kingdom now. I heard that even Lord Tywin has a barbarian king under his command."

"I ask you again, Varys, what is your purpose? You clearly did not agree to help me in prison." Eddard looked at the eunuch. "Robert spared your life. You shouldn't have let Joffrey sit on the Iron Throne."

"I don't mind who sits on the Iron Throne, my lord. Eunuchs have no honor." Varys put his hands in the pockets of his wide hemp cloth. "Robert is a fool, but it is undeniable that he brought peace to Westeros. I should have told you that in this castle, only the king is an outsider with power. He doesn't care who sits on the Iron Throne. He only wants wine and women.

I once protected him from harm, but you hurt him, my lord. You could have given the Iron Throne to that child and returned to the North safely. I think the warm Winterfell must be much more comfortable than the dungeon. Oh, sorry, I heard that there are hot springs flowing in the walls of Winterfell. I think you don't even need to light a fire to live in it."

"Is there your little bird in Winterfell?" Eddard asked unkindly.

Varys tilted his head, "Who knows? Crows are everywhere because they have a pair of black wings, but little birds don't have them, and neither do spiders."

"Winter is coming, my lord. The enemy is not in front of us, but across the sea." Varys pulled up his hood and walked into the night, his light and silent steps like a shadow.

"Are we going to save Sansa?" Arya asked him.

Ed looked up at the towering red castle on the cliff, then shook his head. Varys was right. He should return to the North. There was no one he could trust here.

Pushing the boat into the water, the next journey would definitely not be easy. The Lannisters would definitely want them all over the country. If his leg was not injured, it would be fine, but since he fell off the horse, every time his leg moved, it felt like someone was chiseling his bones with a knife. The boat was pushed down by Arya.

Eddard's eyes were full of guilt. He shouldn't have brought his children to King's Landing to suffer this. As a father of several children, as Robert's best friend, as the monarch of Winterfell, and as Catelyn's husband, he felt that he had failed.

Under the moonlight, a small boat slowly sailed out of King's Landing.

Varys stood in the dark and watched them go away. No one knew what the octopus spider was thinking, and no one knew what he wanted. He was like a little bird, like a mystery.

Arya still remembered the words she overheard.

"Those guys on horseback came over, and the little princess gave them a little horse king. We need time, time for Aegon. If the Seven Kingdoms continue to make trouble like this, how can we stop those barbarians on horseback."

"They can't cross this strait, and the adults in Westeros will not welcome outsiders."

"There are enough ships in the east to bring those guys here with their horses and men. Now all the city-states are recruiting mercenaries and buying Unsullied. Those mercenary groups and slave owners are making a lot of money. If the wildlings with braids really take over Westeros, our efforts will be in vain. You must stabilize this place. I know you can do it. If not, I will ask the Faceless Men of Braavos to take action."

"Who do you want to kill? Daenerys, Drogo? Or Joffrey, or Stannis?"

"No matter who I kill, I just hope that our efforts will not be in vain. Old friend , we have been planning for this for so many years, you can get more. ”

“Title or power? I am already in the highest position, and it won’t change anything if someone else sits on it.”

“I know what you want, Aegon will satisfy you, and you have seen the child. At least he is better than the incestuous freak sitting on the chair now.”

Arya heard the broad man sigh, “I once thought that Aerys would be a wise king.”

“Oh! It seems that a little mouse has hidden here.” Arya finally heard the man say so, and then she was discovered.