The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Arya ducked to avoid the punch and sprinted forward.

Thump!

She took a kick to the backside, sending her stumbling forward.

The momentum of her run helped to dissipate the force of the kick, and though she was in a sorry state, she didn't fall and managed to escape the three people trying to intercept her.

Meow!

The black kitten cried out helplessly as it fled back into the alley.

Arya stopped abruptly, as several people appeared at the alley entrance, one of whom was riding a tall horse and looking at her with a half-smile.

It was her uncle Edmure!

His green cloak was very conspicuous, and the silver trout clasp holding it together glittered brightly.

"Uncle, save me!" Arya cried out joyfully, running towards him.

A metallic, muffled sound with an oppressive rumble came: "Arya, how have you been lately?"

A giant of a man turned and appeared at the front of the alley. Though he was behind Edmure, he was much taller.

It was the Mountain!

"The Mountain!" Arya exclaimed in terror.

In the town of Harrenhal, the Mountain had saved Arya’s friend Mycah – Mycah was a butcher's apprentice from Winterfell, whose father was the Stark family butcher.

"Arya, look at you, what were you doing chasing a cat?" Edmure said with a frown.

Arya was as dirty as a little beggar, and the clothes she was wearing were not those of a noble lady—you couldn't possibly wear silk clothes to catch a cat, could you?

Arya's leather was covered with scratches from the kitten's sharp teeth and claws.

Her hands were also full of scratches, and if she lifted the sleeves of her arms, those 'battle scars' could be seen.

"I'm learning to dance, the dance teacher won't teach me to dance if I don't catch a cat!"

"Catching cats? Dancing? Nonsense!" Edmure scolded.

"It's sword practice!" The Mountain said, "Arya's dancing is sword practice. Jory, Zelly, Bernie, come up here and apologize to Arya!"

Arya exclaimed, "Uncle, you saw me on the street and deliberately had people make things difficult for me?"

"Not me, the Mountain!" Edmure said, "It was Lord Mountain who saw you and said you were chasing a cat. I didn't believe it, so we followed you! After you entered the alley, the Mountain asked Bernie, Jory, and Zelly to 'serve' you a little."

Jory Cassel stepped forward and held out a hand to Arya: "Hello, Miss Arya, I am Jory Cassel, Lord Mountain is my father."

"Hmph!" Arya had no good feelings towards Jory.

Jory regained her composure, but when she turned hostile, she was awe-inspiring and chilling. Moreover, she had kicked Arya.

The Mountain laughed: "Jory, say sorry to Arya."

"I'm sorry, Miss Stark," Jory said flatly, with no hint of apology in her tone. After she finished speaking, she ignored Arya's foul face, walked past Arya, out of the crowd, mounted her horse, and galloped towards the street.

On the street ahead, Lady Genna's carriage was still waiting at the intersection of the Street of the Silent Sisters and the Street of Steel.

"Hello, Miss Stark, I am Zelly, you can call me Zelly, my master calls me that," the tall and sturdy woman bowed, full of apology, "Just now, my master Ser Gregor asked us to play a little game with you, Miss Stark is indeed very agile, I couldn't even touch the hem of your clothes."

"It's just that you're too stupid!" Arya said smugly.

"Arya, mind your manners." Edmure himself was not a particularly polite person, but he was very serious in front of Arya.

Arya, who was dirty and impolite, made Edmure feel very embarrassed, damaging his reputation as a lord and the honor of House Stark. He wondered how his brother-in-law Eddard would scold her if he saw Arya like this. Arya's governess, Septa Mordane, should also be dismissed, and that dance teacher should die, for making Arya catch a cat before she could practice dancing.

Arya was not afraid of her stern-faced uncle, she was afraid of no one except her father.

Bernie took off his mask and smiled: "Respected and beautiful Miss Stark, your movements are more agile than a cat and more slippery than an eel. I am Bernie, it was just a joke, please forgive this fool."

"Bernie, I should have guessed it was you!" Arya chuckled.

She had met Bernie in the town of Harrenhal, she had talked to Bernie, and played a game of throwing stones for a while. Bernie was very funny, and it was he who came forward to testify against the Queen and Prince Joffrey to save Mycah. He suffered a lot to save people, being thrown to the ground by the Mountain and slapped.

The Mountain's slap was not so easy to bear! His face was so swollen afterwards that Arya couldn't bear to look at it.

So, Arya was lifted onto the horse by Edmure, and they rode together, returning the way they had come, arriving at the end of the Street of the Silent Sisters, and meeting up with Lady Genna who was waiting there.

The Mountain noticed on the opposite side of the street the towering gate of the long-abandoned and declining Alchemists' Guild. The black gate was like black steel, tightly closed, with a burning pattern of green wildfire flames carved on it. The entrance had clearly not been swept for a long time.

The group then turned onto the street leading to the Red Keep: the Kingsroad.

There were many carriages blocking the road ahead, the banners of the various great houses flying high, from Dorne, from the North, from Storm's End and the Reach, all kinds of animal patterns waving in the wind.

Gold cloaks blocked the road ahead, ordering all the nobles who had come to the tournament to camp in the tourney grounds by the Blackwater Rush, and the area along the Kingsgate walls had been divided into rough territories for the nobles of each region.

Edmure said: "Mountain, what do we do? We can't get through!"

The carriages and ox carts of the various great houses filled the Kingsroad, with no end in sight.

"The hotels in the city are already full, let's go to the tourney grounds first, set up camp and settle the warriors, and we'll enter the Red Keep tonight."

"I brought a lot of gifts to present to the King and the Hand." Edmure shook his head.

"We also brought gifts, mainly for the Queen." The Mountain said, "It seems that everyone is like us, they all brought a lot of gifts to give to the King and Queen, let's go to camp outside the city first."

So, the group turned, took the Fishmonger's Row, which the common people called Mud Road, passed the fish market, went out of the Fish Gate, followed the riverside road along the Blackwater Rush, and arrived at the training grounds.

The common people called the Fish Gate the Mud Gate.

*

Night. The Red Keep. Hand's Tower.

The Hand's study.

Eddard sat, gesturing for the Mountain to sit down as well.

"Edmure tells me you insisted on seeing me. Thank you for the bags of snow salt, the noodles, and… er… chopsticks? Those wooden sticks are called chopsticks, right?"

"Yes, chopsticks."

"Well, thank you, Ser. You came all this way to find me, what did you want to say?"

"I am Lord Edmure's brother-in-law, and you are also his brother-in-law, so the Mountain and the Stark family can be considered relatives. I am visiting you under this pretext, it is justified, and even if I am seen by the red cloaks from the Westerlands, I have an excuse. Lord Eddard, do you believe in great prophecies?"

"I never believe in any great prophecies spoken by priests, wizards, clerics, monks, etc., they are all liars." Eddard said flatly.

"Oh, so you don't have reverence for the Old Gods?"

The North is the only region in the Seven Kingdoms that believes in the Old Gods; Northerners do not believe in the Seven Gods.

"Does the faith of the Northerners have anything to do with Ser Gregor?"

Eddard was full of wariness and hostility towards the Mountain, and he didn't hide it well. The Mountain saw this very clearly.

The Mountain decided to get straight to the point.

"Lord, I know you are investigating Jon Arryn's death, I advise you to stop, it will be good for the Stark family."

Eddard was stunned, and a chill rose in his heart.

"Oh? Did Lord Tywin send you to threaten me? Lord Tywin is afraid of me investigating Jon Arryn's death, why is that? What is he afraid of?"

"Lord Tywin did not send me to threaten you, I came to you myself, I want to tell you a great prophecy."

"Humph!" Eddard snorted coldly, he never believed in any prophecies, "What great prophecy?"

"Winter is coming, Lord."

Eddard's face changed instantly.

Winter is coming, is the sacred motto of the Stark family, passed down from generation to generation!