[Harrenhal Courtyard]
In a misty morning, a man twitched while he was hung by a noose. Another screamed in pain.
"Go on. Now I want you to tell me what happened. Come on, this way. Come on, speak up. Speak up." One of the torturers said.
Above the courtyard, Lord Tywin Lannister listened and sniffed a wooden toothpick.
"Wolfsbane. A rare substance. This is no common assassin."
"We hanged twenty men last night." Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane told him.
"I don't care if you hanged a hundred. A man tried to kill me. I want his name and I want his head."
Arya set the table, discreetly listening to the conversation.
"We think it was an infiltrator from the Brotherhood Without Banners."
"Pretentious name for a band of outlaws. We can't allow rebels behind our lines to harass us with impunity. We look like fools and they look like heroes. That's how kings fall. I want them dead, every one." He told Clegane. "Killing them isn't the problem. It's finding them. Have you gone soft, Clegane? I always thought you had a talent for violence. Burn the villages, burn the farms. Let them know what it means to choose the wrong side."
The Mountain then left.
"Mmm. Is that mutton?" He asked Arya.
"Yes, my lord."
"Don't like mutton."
"I'll bring something else." She picked it up and prepared to return it and retrieve something else.
"Leave it. Are you hungry?"
"No."
"Of course you are. Eat."
"I'll eat in the kitchen later."
"It's bad manners to refuse a lord's offer. Sit. Eat."
Arya sat the mutton on the table, picking up and fork and knife, before beginning to eat.
"You're small for your age. I suppose you've been underfed your whole life."
"I eat a lot. I just don't grow."
Tywin looked out the window. "Mmm. This will be my last war. Win or lose."
"Have you ever lost before?"
"Do you think I'd be in my position if I had lost a war?" Arya shook her head. "But this is the one I'll be remembered for. The War of the Five Kings, they're calling it. My legacy will be determined in the coming months."
Arya realized that Tywin had let his guard down, and considered her options. But he turned back to her and she startled, suddenly.
"Do you know what legacy means? It's what you pass down to your children and your children's children. It's what remains of you when you're gone. Harren the Black thought this castle would be his legacy. The greatest fortress ever built." Tywin walked over to the fireplace. "The tallest towers, the strongest walls. The Great Hall had thirty-five hearths. Thirty-five. Can you imagine? Look at it now. A blasted ruin. Do you know what happened?"
"Dragons?"
"Yes. Dragons happened." He poured himself some wine. "Harrenhal was built to withstand an attack from the land. A million men could have mqrched on these walls, and a million men would have been repelled. But an attack from the air with dragon fire, Mmm-mmm. Harren and all his sons roasted alive within these walls. Aegon Targaryen changed the rules. That's why every child alive still knows his name."
"Aegon and his sisters." Arya corrected.
"Mmm?"
"It wasn't just Aegon riding his dragon. It was Rhaenys and Visenya, too."
"Correct. A student of history, are you?"
"Rhaenys rode Meraxes. Visenya rode Vhagar."
"I'm sure I knew that when I was a boy."
"Visenya Targaryen was a great warrior. She had a Valyrian steel sword she called Dark Sister."
"Hmm. She's a heroine of yours, I take it?" Arya smiled. "Aren't most girls more interested in the pretty maidens from the songs? Jonquil with the flowers in her hair?"
"Most girls are idiots."
"You remind me of my daughter and eldest granddaughter. Where did you learn all this stuff about Visenya and her Valyrian steel sword?"
"From my father."
"He was a well-read stonemason. Can't say I've ever met a literate stonemason."
"Have you met many stonemasons, my lord?"
"Careful now, girl. I enjoy you, but be careful. Take that back to the kitchen. Eat what you want."
Arya rose, clearing the dishes and walking away.
"And, girl. Arya stopped. "M'lord." Arya turned, confused. "Lowborn girls say "m'lord," not "my lord. " If you're going to pose as a commoner, you should do it properly."
"My mother served Lady Dustin for many years, my lord. She taught me how to speak proper-"
"Properly. You're too smart for your own good. Has anyone told you that?"
"Yes."
"Go on."
Arya exited, leaving Tywin to ponder and drink his wine.
[Harrenhal]
Lord Tywin Lannister sat in council with Ser Kevan Lannister and other Lannister bannermen. Arya attended to them, and listened intently.
"King's Landing will fall an hour after Stannis lands his force. It's not too late for King Joffrey and Cersei and the court to ride west to safety." Kevan told them.
"Surrender the Iron Throne?" Tywin asked, incredulously.
"Better than seeing their heads mounted on the city gates. Stannis will execute them all."
"No, a king who runs will not be king for long. He's a Lannister. He'll stand and fight. Stannis, two days from the capital and the wolf at my doorstep."
"The scouts assure us Robb Stark remains north of Ashemark."
"Ha! The last time the scouts assured us of Stark's movement, he lured us into a trap. Which is why my son is his prisoner."
Arya served wine to the table.
"Too close to Casterly Rock."
"He sent a splinter force to recapture Winterfell. The Greyjoys have done us a great favor. Stark won't risk marching' on Casterly Rock until he's at full force."
"He's a boy and he's nevr lost a battle. He'll risk anything at any time because he doesn't know enough to be afraid." Tywin pondered for a while by the hearth before he made his decision. "We'll ride at nightfall. I want a full night's march before he knows we're on the move. Clegane, you'll maintain a garrison here at Harrenhal. Track down this brotherhood and destroy them. The girl has proven herself a good servant. She'll stay on with you. See that he doesn't get drunk in the evenings. He's poor company when he's sober, but he's better at his work."
Arya looked worried.
[Harrenhal Courtyard]
Arya walked through the dismal courtyard as soldiers tortured their prisoners.
"You've got some questions to answer." A guard told a prisoner.
"Who killed Ser Lorent?" A man asked.
"I don't know! Please!" The prisoner pleaded.
"Give me the name." He still insisted he did not know." Take this one out for the crows."
"I told you, I don't know. Please."
Arya came across Rorge and Biter, the other two men from the cage with the Night's Watch caravan, sitting with some Lannister soldiers.
"Look, it's Yoren's little cunt. Used to be a boy, now it's a girl." Rorge said.
"Where's Jaqen?" Arya asked.
"Don't care. Where's your stick now, bitch? I promised to fuck you with it." Rorge responded.
"Come on, time to kill some wolves." One of the Lannister men said.
They all stood, both Rorge and Biter eyeing Arya as they walked past.
[Harrenhal Forge]
Hot Pie sat talking while Gendry worked some horse shoes, listless.
"You need sour cherries to make it right. And the secret is you dry the stones, and then you break them with a mallet. That's where the real flavor is. You crush 'em up real fine. And then when you're finished, you sprinkle them over the piecrust."
Arya entered. "Where's Jaqen?
"How would I know?" Hot Pie questioned.
"I need him now. Lord Tywin's marching tonight."
"You need him?" Gendry asked.
"He's helping me."
"I saw him." Hot Pie told her.
"Where?"
Hot Pie shrugged and popped his pastry in his mouth.
Arya walked over and grabbed his ears. "Where?"
"Ow!"
"Where?" She repeated.
"They went riding out the gates a few hours ago."
Arya tightened her grip.
"On patrol. Let go of my ears."
She did, turning around at sound of horses, and watching Tywin mount his horse. She began to walk towards him.
"What do you want with him anyway?"
Arya watched Tywin and his men rode off.
[Harrenhal Courtyard]
Arya carried a yoke with two buckets of water. She bumped into a Lannister soldier, and the contraption fell, spilling her load.
"Mind where you're going." The soldier smacked her across the head.
Arya looked dejected and crouched to pick up the empty bucket. A soldier stopped next to her.
"I'm sorry. I'll-"
Arya stood, and realized that it is Jaqen H'ghar.
"Where were you?" Arya asked him, annoyed.
"A man has patrol duty."
"Tywin Lannister was right here, and now he's gone."
"A girl owes one more name. The Red God demands it. Give the man a name."
"How long after I give you the name does it take you to kill someone?"
"A minute, an hour, a month. Death is certain, the time is not."
Jaqen put down his helmet and sat.
"He's taking his army to attack my brother. I need him dead right now."
"This a man cannot do."
He poured some water from a pitcher and drank.
"You promised you'd help me."
"Help was not promised, lovely girl. Only death. There must be others. Give a name, any name."
"And you'll kill them? Anybody?"
"By the Seven New Gods and the Old Gods beyond counting, I swear it."
"All right. Jaqen H'ghar."
Jaqen considered. "A girl gives a man his own name?"
"That's right."
"Gods are not mocked. This is no joking thing."
"I'm not joking. A man can go kill himself."
"Un-name me."
"No."
"Please?"
"I'll un-name you."
"Thank you."
"If you help me and my friends escape."
"This would require more than one life. This is not part of our bargain."
"Fine, Jaqen H'ghar."
"A girl lacks honour. If I do this thing, a girl must obey."
"A girl will obey."
"A girl and her friends will walk through the gate at midnight."
With that, Jaqen exited.
[Harrenhal Courtyard, Night]
"The sour cherries was all crushed up and ready." Hot Pie muttered.
"Shut up." Gendry told him.
"Probably in the piecrust by now. In the oven. The nice, warm oven." Hot Pie ignored him.
"Shut up. What did you bring?" Arya asked.
"The cheese could be better. I did get some nice sausages." Hot Pie responded.
"What did he want us to do about those guards?" Gendry questioned.
"He didn't say. He just said, "Walk through the gates."
"What about the guards?"
"He didn't say anything about the guards."
"What, he left that bit out? It's a pretty important part, don't you think?"
"We have to trust him."
"Trust him? You trusted him to fight with us when you set him free and he ran."
"I want to go back to the kitchens." Hot Pie interrupted their squabble.
"Shut up. Stay here if you're afraid." Arya told him, getting up and walking towards the gate.
"Arry, don't." Gendry warned.
He and Hot Pie followed.
When they reached the guards, they realize that all have been slaughtered, leaving them free to walk through the gate.
Which they did.
They were free.