Chapter 243 Letter from the North
"Where are you from?" The quartermaster responsible for interrogating the prisoners in Bolton's army looked at him, sighing, and pressing the white paper on the table with his hand.
A Wolfwood accent, Theon realized.
His lips moved and he opened his mouth slightly, hesitating not knowing what to say.
"Hey! Hey!" The quartermaster tapped his pen hard, "I'm asking you, where are you from, and who did you work for before?"
Theon swallowed his throat and raised his head, "Winterfell, formerly served by Lord Brandon Stark."
"Another poor ghost attacked by a chameleon?" The Quartermaster sighed and pointed behind him, "Did you see that white tent? Behind it are you people from Winterfell."
Theon stared. Although the former Theon Greyjoy was much sloppier, his appearance had not changed. The people in Winterfell must be familiar with it.
He almost cried, tears welling up in his eyes. Greyjoy's pride had long been destroyed by being skinned again and again.
"I" Xion choked up a little, "I made a mistake, I should have put on black clothes"
The quartermaster immediately became cautious and narrowed his eyes, "Are you a deserter from the Night Watch?"
"No," Theon shook his head in denial, "Winterfell was already occupied before I even reached the Great Wall."
"Occupied by that chameleon Theon Greyjoy, I know what you mean, man." The quartermaster lowered his voice as if to comfort him.
Theon forced a smile, and he believed that his expression must be ugly.
The quartermaster coughed twice and continued to ask: "What mistake did you make that made you put on black clothes?"
Xion's heart skipped a beat, and his lips moved uncomfortably again.
However, this action was regarded as a sign of shame by the quartermaster. He stretched out his arms and said, "No matter how great the crime is, it is not as big as Bolton's crime of betrayal. You are very brave in killing the enemy. Maybe your sentence can be reduced."
"No," Theon looked at the quartermaster and shook his head decisively, "My sins are very serious. I failed Duke Stark, poached, and killed people. I am grateful to have one life left. I don’t pray for anything else, I just hope that I can rush to the Great Wall as soon as possible and become a Night Watchman”
The quartermaster's eyes changed when he looked at him. He put down his pen and looked at him solemnly, "I always feel like I have seen you somewhere."
Xion stared at him, with an unfamiliar face and an unfamiliar voice. He had never seen this person before.
The two looked at each other for a moment. The quartermaster smiled kindly and shook his head. "I think I remembered it wrong." He picked up the pen and scratched again and again on the white paper. "Tell me your name. You went to the rear camp." Take it with you in the prisoner’s den.”
Theon breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, "Sgorik, Sgorik Snow" He reported a name, which came from the ancient saying of the ancestors, Sgorik, Theon thought mockingly to himself, he suddenly appeared The name is actually this, which means liar in ancient proverbs.
The Quartermaster stood still, "You're lying." He raised his eyes to look at Xion, whose expression suddenly changed. "There are some terms that only nobles can use. Sgolik is an ancient language of the ancestors, and only the wild people outside the wall can use it. You are lying.”
Theon is almost incapable of explaining himself. Ramsay Snow's torture caused him to lose most of his Greyjoy abilities, including the ability to lie and deceive.
"Please." Xion looked at the quartermaster's gradually understanding eyes and made an almost pleading voice, "Please don't."
"Theon Greyjoy," the quartermaster said one word at a time, gritting his teeth, "you are a chameleon!" His voice resounded throughout the camp, and the surrounding soldiers looked over.
"No!" Theon suddenly stood up, and there was severe pain in his leg again. The White Harbor soldier pierced Theon's calf with a spear. The biting pain made him lose consciousness and collapse, and he fell to the ground.
"Chameleon Theon Greyjoy!" This time it was not the quartermaster's voice, but someone else's. The voices of other strange and familiar northerners came from everywhere, wrapping around Theon's ears like arrows piercing them. Oh, he just hopes to die now.
The moment before he fainted, Xion saw countless ravens flying in the air. Everyone's eyes immediately moved away from Xion and looked at the ravens flying away in the sky.
Theon just wished he could grow wings now and follow the raven south.
Myrcella stood on the towering tower of Harrenhal, looking into the distance. The flags of the Crescent Falcon were approaching one after another. The city gate where she was standing was completely open, welcoming the arrival of the army.
Attis Arryn saw his fiancée looking at the city from a distance. He sped up his horse and waved his whip over and over again. He did not slow down until he entered the city gate.
The maid behind Myrcella picked up Myrcella's golden dress, which was stained with mud on the ground, and dragged it to Attis.
"Duke." Myrcella's voice was still gentle, but a touch of sadness lingered in it, and Attis could easily catch it.
He knew where the sadness in Myrcella's heart came from. Attis gently held Myrcella's hand and leaned close to her ear, "I'm sorry about Prince Tommen."
"No need," Myrcella stopped her softly. She held down Attis' stretched out hand, "Do your thing, and I will handle mine."
Attis was a little surprised in his heart. Myrcella's tone was not only gentle, but also had a tone that could not be rejected. He nodded slightly and walked into Harrenhal hand in hand with the princess. The main hall of Harrenhal, the Hall of Hundreds of Furnaces, was fully used. Countless fires were burning, and the nets were covering them. The smoke was directed to the ground. Scented candles from the valley almost filled the entire hall, but compared to The huge Hundred Furnaces Hall is not overly large, and the incense you smell when you walk in is not strong, but has been deliberately neutralized.
The servants left the Hundred Furnaces Hall one after another. The maid put away the last few plates and exited in an orderly manner, and then went to serve the noble women elsewhere.
Attis took off his armor and placed it on the main table in the Hall of Hundreds of Furnaces. He stood staring at the candles with incense in a daze.
Myrcella waved away Ser Arys and the maid who were guarding her. She reached out and pinched a corner of her long skirt, folded it up and placed it on her thighs, and sat down on the long table with a slight jump.
She was facing Attis, stretched out her hand, and touched Attis's chin.
"Maybe I can shave you?" Myrcella raised the corners of her mouth, poking at the somewhat hard stubble.
Attis was still calculating the gains and losses of the battle at the Blackwater River, but he was amused by Myrcella's words, "Can you still do these things, Princess Baratheon?"
"When my father was here, I often shaved him," Myrcella said.
Attis couldn't help but remember King Robert's face, his fat body, and his beard that was neat most of the time but sometimes looked very sloppy.
It would be much easier to get along with King Robert, Attis thought.
Varys's disappearance, Tommen's death, Tyrion's arrest, and Tyrell's letter made the situation confusing.
Attis saw a rare opportunity, but the joy of catching a glimpse of the opportunity did not last long, and a worry about losing control of the situation spread.
He looked at Myrcella, and the worry in his heart gradually subsided.
Attis will openly support Tyrion, Royce and Corbray's troops will be placed in the King's Landing, and Evan Arryn will also enter King's Landing to fill the void left by the departure of the Octopus Spider. These are all good opportunities.
"What's wrong?" Myrcella noticed his absence and asked.
Attis just shook his head slightly and held Myrcella's hand tightly. Evan's overly optimistic report made him feel even more uneasy. According to Evan Arryn's description, it seemed that Varys had stayed in King's Landing. The little bird seemed to have disappeared, and the Golden Eagle was even confident that it could completely control King's Landing's intelligence network.
Tyrell's wedding letter also seemed to invite Attis to enter King's Landing, which reminded him of his own engagement. He looked at Myrcella, "I have received letters from many people, and they hope that we will get married as soon as possible."
After hearing this, Myrcella lowered her head slightly and chuckled, her cheeks flushed like red buds waiting to bloom.
Tywin also extended an invitation, hoping that he could participate in the Judgment of King's Landing.
King's Landing seemed to have become a place he had to go to overnight.
"The Duke of Mace sent me a letter saying that King Joffrey has agreed to marry Margaery of the Tyrell family and has given up his engagement with Sansa." Attis said to Myrcella.
Myrcella got out of her blush, "Little Qiao doesn't plan to marry Sansa?"
"He even suggested that our wedding could follow the King's and allow King's Landing to have a 100-day celebration."
"In King's Landing?" Myrcella hesitated slightly, "I thought winter was coming and we would hold a wedding at the Gates of the Moon. I haven't seen our home yet."
"It seems that you have done some research on the valley." Attis said with praise.
Myrcella wanted to say something else, but out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the open door of the Hundred Furnaces Hall, where the Steward of Harrenhal walked over unhurriedly, so she had to keep her mouth shut.
"Duke," the steward nodded gently, "you haven't received any news from the army. This is a letter from the north, for your review."
The North? He really couldn't think of anything that needed to be told to the south about Bolton's battle with the ironborn. In his opinion, as outsiders, the ironborn were destined not to stay in the north for long, and were destined to be defeated under the flag of the Skinners and retreat to Barren Islands.
He looked at the letter handed over by the steward, and the cold-toned direwolf emblem of the Stark family immediately came into view. Its fangs were clearly exposed, and the dim light in the Hundred Furnaces Hall shone on it, reflecting a silvery luster. There is danger in the coldness.
Attis's pupils dilated, he took the letter, opened it, and read it.
Silence enveloped the huge Hundred Furnace Hall and the three silent people. The sound of burning scented candles in the air gradually became louder.
Attis pressed the letter and his expression became determined.
"What's wrong?" Myrcella held Attis's arm worriedly.
Attis stretched out his hand and hugged Myrcella into his arms, "There are some things that I must settle personally, including you."
Myrcella didn't move, she buried herself deeper.
(End of chapter)