Chapter 65: "Blood of the Wolf"
To be fair, Arya, like her brother Bran, was a lively, cute, and likable child. Unlike her sister Sansa, who knew how to dress up, Arya often gave the impression of being "plain-looking" in comparison. But with the eyes of a modern person, Aeg. judging from her facial features and bone structure, this little girl was also a budding beauty.
Obviously, someone agreed with his judgment. If Aeg remembered correctly, in the original storyline, someone had said that Arya resembled her aunt Lyanna and possessed the same "blood of the wolf."
Haha, Aeg wanted to laugh.
[The blood of the wolf, containing the pursuit of extreme freedom, the intoxicating romance, and the unyielding wildness. Only journeys taken on a whim, love affairs pursued without regard for consequences, endless adventures, thrills, novelty, and fun can satisfy the bearers of this blood.]
It was the skill of a fantasy author like Martin to explain "willfulness" and "love of play" in such an artistic and elaborate way. What did Arya's aunt do to make her "famous in history"? While betrothed to Robert Baratheon, she eloped with Prince Rhaegar, who already had a wife and children!
Indeed, the marriages of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen were arranged by their parents for the sake of political alliances. Perhaps after meeting each other at the Harrenhal tournament, they discovered that they were true soulmates and made a rash decision. From a modern perspective, for the sake of political correctness, Aeg might even have to support them.
But the foolish girl with the "blood of the wolf" should never have run away without leaving a note. Aeg himself knew by the age of six to tell his parents where he was going when he went out to play. A teenage girl should understand this basic principle. Who was to blame when something went wrong?
The daughter of House Stark eloping with the prince of House Targaryen and becoming his lover was a scandal involving the royal family and the lords of the Stormlands and the North. At worst, the alliance between House Stark and House Baratheon would fall through, and Prince Rhaegar would bear a stain on his reputation, paying a price to settle the trouble he had caused.
But because of Lyanna's stupidity and immaturity, the wrong spring began. Her father and brother believed that Rhaegar had abducted their daughter, chased him to King's Landing to demand her return, and spoke disrespectfully to the king, only to be burned to death by the mad King Aerys. Then, Jon Arryn, the Lord of the Vale, refused to hand over his wards Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon, instead raising the banner of rebellion. the tumultuous War of the Usurper began.
In the end, one of the eloping pair died, their dynasty fell, and the other, after causing the deaths of her father and brother, perished in childbirth. Those who lived could only lament and reminisce about her beauty from statues. This was almost identical to Robb's later breach of his marriage contract, leading to the Red Wedding.
This is a world of ice and fire. If you court death, you will die.
***
Of course, despite their willfulness and being spoiled, the Stark children were still somewhat different from Joffrey, who was raised by Cersei. To put it simply, the Stark children could still be saved. They at least knew how to be polite and had been nurtured with traits of kindness, integrity, and loyalty. If it weren't for the impending chaos, purely in terms of making friends and finding companions, Aeg would be very willing to choose these Northerners. But now, he needed allies with wealth and power, and partners with brains, and in this regard, the Starks, who were adept at dragging down friends and family, were not the best choice.
Not to mention, Arya was only ten years old. This "blood of the wolf" was still young. Unless Aeg had pedophilic tendencies, who would be interested in her?
His initial thought was simple: to keep a safe distance from these Starks, who came with a built-in buff for dragging down teammates, and not give them the chance to implicate him when they courted disaster. His swordsmanship was mediocre at best, teaching this little girl might be enough, but if he took over from the chief swordsman from Braavos and then inherited his fate in the original storyline, that would be extremely unfortunate.
But upon further reflection, even if this young she-wolf had no skills yet, her identity as a Stark child was still intimidating enough. If he tricked Eddard into giving him a certificate, that would usually be convincing enough. But if clients frequently visiting the Night's Watch office also saw a Stark child, wouldn't their confidence in the bonds be stronger?
Moreover, although he hadn't thought of the best way to sow discord between Littlefinger and Eddard Stark, any plan would surely be easier to execute if he could win over a Stark child.
"Hmm." After a brief internal struggle, Aeg pretended to be reluctant and stroked his chin, giving in: "It's not completely impossible, but there are conditions. since you want me to teach you swordsmanship, I'm your master, and you have to listen to me."
"Okay, Master, I'll listen to everything you say!"
"Hmm." Aeg continued to ponder and suddenly remembered that the Faceless Man he had been trying to recruit was coincidentally connected to the girl in front of him in the original storyline.
There is a saying that people can have a mutual affinity. Just as Aeg and Tyrion, even if the former hadn't tried his best to approach and befriend the latter in Winterfell, as long as there was an opportunity to meet and work together in the future, they would surely end up together. Could this also apply to Arya and Jaqen, the old and the young?
After some thought, he decided that using Arya to recruit Jaqen was nonsense. He ultimately decided to take it one step at a time and see what would happen by bringing these two together: "My first instruction is, don't dress like a boy when you come to me. Learn from your sister, dress like a girl, and then come for your swordsmanship lessons."
"Why!"
"What's so special about dressing like a boy and being able to use a sword like one? If you can be both a lady and a master swordsman, a rose with thorns, that's challenging, isn't it?"
The above statement was just a casual promise to entice the girl. Making her wear dresses was actually just Aeg's personal preference: He was already so busy he was dizzy, and in his free time, he had to teach a tomboy swordsmanship, how boring. But if the other party was a girl, even if he couldn't "eat" her, at least he could enjoy the view and relax his mind and body, right?
"That makes sense." Arya thought hard with her little brain and was attracted by the idea of being a rose with thorns, so she agreed, "Can I start coming tomorrow?"
"Suit yourself. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be here for a long time." Aeg shrugged: "The second requirement is to tell your father or his guards before you come out and have someone escort you. Although it's not far from the Red Keep, it's not necessarily safe for a child like you."
"I'm not a child!"
"If you say you're not, then you're not. But do as I say. If you want me to teach you swordsmanship, don't cause me trouble."
*****
A/N: I encourage you to take a peek at my other literary endeavors. I'm confident that you'll find them captivating. They're waiting to whisk you away on new adventures.
Also, a gentle reminder: "Don't forget to vote with your Power Stones. It will be a tremendous help in getting my works noticed by a wider audience. Your votes are like beacons in the night, guiding others to the stories we've built together."