lerbook #169 - Chapter 15: The Wolf's Daughter (Part 1)
#169 - Chapter 15: The Wolf's Daughter (Part 1)
Not long after setting up camp, the female members of the entourage began to roam freely. With the teacher's backing, Arya led her younger brother and follower, Mycah, to play by the river.
Rickon had officially become Liu Yuan's adopted son, making him the young master of their faction. Not only Nina, but even Grig, after entrusting the camp matters to others, followed them.
Sansa had no interest in the children's antics, so she led Lady around the camp. She saw some noble ladies from the Westerlands and the Crownlands, their gazes towards Sansa filled with disdain, as if she were a country bumpkin.
Halfway, she encountered the frightening-looking Ser Ilyn Payne, and then Prince Joffrey and the Hound appeared: "Beautiful Lady Sansa, please do not be afraid. This is my father's King's Justice; he cannot speak. Would you be interested in taking a walk with me?"
Sansa suppressed her inner joy: "Yes, Your Highness. Lady, you stay with Jeyne; don't run around!" Then she handed the direwolf's leash to her playmate, Jeyne Poole, and excitedly followed Joffrey for a stroll. Joffrey was also in a good mood, perhaps a little nervous, constantly drinking wine along the way.
As a result, they encountered Arya, who was busy 'bullying' Mycah by the river. Arya was using the swordsmanship she had learned from Liu Yuan to train Mycah, the poor butcher's apprentice, who grimaced from Arya's attacks, despite his tall stature.
Joffrey became interested and insisted on joining the fun. He even drew his own sword, which was a real, sharpened weapon. Arya glanced at him with disdain, indicating that she wouldn't play with a noob.
Feeling offended, Joffrey actually attacked first, causing everyone to exclaim in surprise. As it turned out, he really was a noob in front of Arya. She casually defused Joffrey's attack.
Joffrey became enraged and resorted to his ultimate skill: wildly flailing around. He showed no mercy and became increasingly disorganized. Nina was very displeased. It was just a children's fight, yet this bastard prince was attacking so viciously. Even the Hound frowned, gripped his sword hilt, and stepped forward, intending to stop him if things got too dangerous. Gradually, soldiers noticed the commotion and gathered around.
Arya nimbly dodged the attacks and then swung her wooden sword, aiming for his arms, legs, and buttocks—the fleshy parts—making Joffrey scream. Arya's wooden sword, used for practice, had an iron core covered in wood, which could easily injure someone without protective gear. Fortunately, she wasn't strong enough; at most, it caused redness and swelling through his thick clothes.
Even with so many people watching, Joffrey couldn't care less about his reputation. He directly threw away his weapon and surrendered, covering his head. It was simply too painful. Sansa also ran over to stand in front of Joffrey, scolding, "Arya, are you crazy? This is the prince!"
Arya elegantly twirled her wooden sword and said, "He is your prince, not mine." Then she turned and walked towards little Rickon, who had run over. Sansa then crouched down, asking with concern, "Little fox, are you okay?"
Joffrey pushed her hand away, saying, "Don't touch me." He looked at Arya's back, his heart filled with jealousy. When his gaze swept around, he realized that many people had gathered. His embarrassing state had been seen by them. Feeling his dignity shattered, his mind clouded with anger, he forcefully pushed Sansa away, picked up the sword from the ground, and charged towards Arya.
Everyone was stunned by Joffrey's actions. Even the Hound, who had relaxed, didn't expect this and hurriedly moved. But in his mind, he was thinking about how to heal the poor girl later and what to say to the Stark family if she died.
Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, Joffrey swung his sword down. Sensing something was wrong, Arya twisted her wrist and held the wooden sword behind her in a 'Su Qin Carries the Sword' stance. Joffrey's sword struck the side of the wooden sword. The force was great. Arya took advantage of the momentum, lowering her head and twisting her hips to dissipate the force of the sword, avoiding the blade, and then struck Joffrey's hand with her wooden sword, directly fracturing his forearm.
Before Joffrey could let out a painful wail, she slapped him across the face. At this moment, two direwolf pups rushed over and bit his boots, forcefully dragging Joffrey into the riverbank.
All of this happened too quickly, even the Hound, who had rushed to the front, didn't know what to do. Just then, an even taller figure stood in front of him. It was Grig, afraid that he would bump into Rickon, stopping him and motioning with his mouth, saying, "Hey, aren't you going to save your prince?"
Rickon and Arya whistled, and the two direwolf pups released Joffrey, who was struggling in the mud, and returned to their little masters.
The Hound ran over and picked up Joffrey. Humiliation and pain had driven Joffrey out of his mind. He shouted to kill them, to kill them. "I order you to kill them. I am the prince; you must obey my orders." The Hound wasn't stupid and knew that this would escalate the conflict, so he just protected the prince. Although he was sober, there were many soldiers around, including soldiers directly under the royal family and guards from the Lannister and Stark families.
There was actually a fool who intended to obey the order, drawing his weapon and preparing to step forward. As if they would allow their young master and young lady to be captured, the soldiers of the Stark and Mormont families also immediately drew their weapons and stood in front. Grig even brandished his door-like great axe, slamming it heavily on the ground, pointing at the opposite side and shouting, "What the fuck, do you have no shame? What kind of bullshit prince uses a real sword in a children's fight, and then launches a sneak attack after losing. You bunch of bastards dare to attack; believe me, if you dare to take another step forward, I will hack him to death."
Realizing that she might have caused trouble, Arya, after all, was just a child. Taking advantage of the standoff, she grabbed Rickon and secretly slipped away with the two direwolf pups. With their side having slightly fewer people, Grig and Nina didn't notice that the people were gone during the confrontation.
The chaos quickly attracted the attention of the higher-ups, and then Robb and Eddard were also alarmed. When they arrived, Cersei was already raging there. There was no help for it; Joffrey's appearance was truly miserable. Not only was his face bruised and swollen, but his right hand was also wrapped tightly. It had already been treated by the maester; the slight fracture would not leave any sequelae.
The Kingsguard and Lannister soldiers numbered just over a hundred, while the Stark family and Liu Yuan's guards also had more than eighty people. Moreover, the northerners were taller and did not back down, blocking the way. The king might still have some weight in speaking, but the queen was nothing! Grig and the others didn't even put the king in their eyes.