The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Due to the abundance of gold and silver mines in the Westerlands, a large number of carriages and oxcarts passed through the Golden Road every month, transporting the gold and silver ore to the mint in King's Landing for smelting. To facilitate the smooth passage of carriages and oxcarts through the mountainous terrain of the Westerlands onto the Golden Road, the roads in the Westerlands were the most and best maintained in the Seven Kingdoms.

Besides the Coast Road leading to Highgarden, the Golden Road leading to King's Landing, and the River Road leading to the Riverlands, the large and small roads crisscrossing the interior of the Westerlands were also very well-maintained and wide. Even the small field paths could accommodate carriages and oxcarts, and several cavalrymen could ride side by side without hindrance.

*

Aryk was sowing seeds in the field.

It hadn't been long since Ser Gregor had issued the order to cut down the poppies and plant rice, and her field had only recently been cleared. Aryk and her neighbors had drawn water from the irrigation canals, plowed the fields, leveled the rice paddies, bought new seeds, soaked them to sprout, and then sowed the sprouted seeds into the paddies.

It was already a bit late for the first planting of the season.

In the fields of other noble territories, the first season's seedlings had already sprouted ears of grain.

However, because it was summer all year round with a suitable climate, rice could be grown and harvested at any time.

In the northern North, March was a cold month, while in the southern Dorne, it was already a hot March. In the Riverlands and Westerlands, it was the best time, neither too cold nor too hot.

Aryk, who was working with her head down, heard the sound of hooves coming from the field path.

Although it was called a small path, it was actually a major road that could accommodate carriages and oxcarts.

Field paths that could accommodate carriages and were paved with smooth, wear-resistant cobblestones were unique to the Westerlands in the Seven Kingdoms.

Aryk glanced up and continued working.

Aryk judged that the person coming on the path was a knight of high status.

She saw the warhorse, helmet, armor, and longsword.

These were things that ordinary soldiers and mercenaries rarely possessed all together.

Many of these high-status knights were beasts. As long as they saw a pretty commoner woman in the fields, they would jump off their horses.

Aryk's heart pounded.

This was the Mountain's territory, and she was the Mountain's subject, but the surrounding nobles all knew that the Mountain never protected his subjects and never cared about their lives, deaths, honor, or disgrace. Being raped by a passing knight was, in the eyes of the nobles, nothing more than a trivial matter for a single woman working in the fields.

Aryk lowered her head and continued working, staying away from the roadside, hoping that the knight would pass by quickly. The knight stopped, no longer moving forward.

The thing Aryk worried about happened; the sound of hooves stopped, no longer advancing.

"Hey, woman, come here!" a rough voice shouted.

It was the knight on horseback, shouting at Aryk.

In the nearby fields, Aryk was the only one busy.

Aryk's first reaction was to run away immediately, but she knew she couldn't outrun a horse. As soon as she ran away, the knight would quickly catch up. The field paths crisscrossed, and a warhorse could easily overtake her.

Aryk's heart pounded wildly. She pretended not to hear and continued working. She hoped to wear down the knight's patience, praying that the knight would leave as soon as possible. What was protecting her now was this muddy field. The knight on horseback couldn't come down into the field to catch her, could he! But she was still worried that the knight would get angry or patiently wait for her on horseback.

Although the Mountain had fought fiercely for Thomas Man's little daughter Julie and the Chariot family, killing dozens of cavalrymen, this did not mean that the Mountain valued the protection of his territory's subjects. The Mountain was just doing what he wanted to do, and it had nothing to do with the responsibility of protecting his subjects.

"Woman, do you want me to come down and grab you? If you come up here obediently, I won't kill you or harm your family," the knight on horseback said lazily.

Aryk's home was not far away. Because it was mealtime, her children had gone back to cook—an eleven-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl. Standing in the field, she could see the smoke rising from the roof of her thatched hut.

Clang, clang. The knight drew the small knife from his waist and tapped it on the armor on his arm.

Aryk felt the blood in her body run cold. She had difficulty breathing, and her limbs were weak. She felt herself raise her head, and she heard her voice speaking: "Knight, I am a subject of Lord Mountain."

"I am not a knight," the 'knight' on horseback said. "I am a soldier, a mine soldier. Woman, you are very pretty. Come here, let's go to the bushes in front, and it will be over quickly. I won't hurt you or kill your family."

Not a knight.

Aryk immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

An ordinary soldier, then this guy was just an ordinary commoner like her, so there was no need to be particularly afraid of him.

"Soldier, leave here quickly. Haven't you heard of Lord Mountain's name? Ser Alva Chariot, the seventh young master of the Chariot family, snatched the little girl Julie to the mine, and after Lord Mountain found out, he rushed to the mine and killed Ser Alva. I am protected by Lord Mountain."

The Mountain mine soldier chuckled: "Woman, when has Lord Mountain ever protected his subjects? Don't make me wait any longer, or you will regret it." The knight pointed to the thatched hut in front. "That's your home, right? Someone is cooking. If you don't come up here, I'll go to your house and wait for you."

Aryk was afraid. Her two children were at home.

"Soldier, swear in the name of the Seven Gods that you will leave after you're done, not beat me, not go to my house, and especially not harm my children."

"I swear in the name of the Seven Gods!" The knight on horseback raised his hand. "I swear not to beat you, not to go to your house, and not to harm your children."

"…Thank you, soldier…" Aryk felt her face getting hot. She reached out and touched it, and she realized she was crying. Two streams of tears flowed down, completely unstoppable.

"Come on up, Aryk!" the knight on horseback said, dismounting.

Aryk didn't understand why the knight knew her name. She found that her brain wasn't working well enough, she couldn't figure it out, her head was buzzing. She mechanically walked out of the rice paddies, put down the winnowing basket containing the seeds, washed the mud off her legs, and she heard her voice saying: "Soldier, then hurry up!" She was worried that the children would come out and bump into them.

The knight suddenly hugged her tightly and said, "Aryk." His voice was strange, sounding a little familiar.

"Not here," Aryk said. "Go to the bushes. It's easy for people to bump into us on the road. Your armor is hurting me."

The knight lifted his helmet with one hand, revealing a dark face. This was the face Aryk had been dreaming of.

"Stone!" Aryk was stunned.

Her husband suddenly returned wearing knight's armor and a longsword, looking majestic and awe-inspiring?!

"Aryk, I'm sorry," Black Stone restored his original voice. "I just wanted to play a joke on you."

Slap!

A loud slap.

Half of Black Stone's face immediately turned red.

Black Stone chuckled, picked up Aryk by the waist, and strode towards the bushes.

Slap!

An even louder slap.

Thank you/I like the early bird/for the reward support, thank you!