Memory 02 // Significant Neutral

[hitlist]

Memory; "I don't like the queen"; Attacking Joffrey to protect Mycah and throwing his sword into the river. (GoT 119; 124-126)
Gained; Day 156, Scheherazade's Treasure Hunt
Form Of; Tiny Mithos-feelings-tree! It's wrapped in a silver ribbon and taking it off gives you the memory.

What It Is; Game of Thrones pg. 119; 124-126

This is actually two things that happen on the same day, but are relevant to one another. The first is a conversation with Sansa:

Sansa was running out of patience now. "You have to come with me," she told her sister firmly. "You can't refuse the queen. Septa Mordane will expect you."

Arya ignored her. She gave a hard yank with the brush. Nymeria growled and spun away, affronted. "Come back here!"

"There's going to be lemon cakes and tea," Sansa went on, all adult and reasonable. Lady brushed against her leg. Sansa scratched her ears the way she liked, and Lady sat beside her on her haunches, watching Arya chase Nymeria. "Why would you want to ride a smelly old horse and get all sore and sweaty when you could recline on feather pillows and eat cakes with the queen?"

"I don't like the queen," Arya said casually. Sansa sucked in her breath, shocked that even Arya would say such a thing, but her sister prattled on, heedless. "She won't even let me bring Nymeria." She thrust the brush under her belt and stalked her wolf. Nymeria watched her approach warily.

"A royal wheelhouse is no place for a wolf," Sansa said. "And Princess Myrcella is afraid of them, you know that.

"Myrcella is a little baby." Arya grabbed Nymeria around her neck, but the moment she pulled out the brush again the direwolf wriggled free and bounded off. Frustrated, Arya threw down the brush. "Bad wolf!" she shouted. [ ... ] "I don't care what you say, I'm going out riding." Her long horsey face got the stubborn look that meant she was going to do something willful.

"Gods be true, Arya, sometimes you act like such a child." Sansa said. "I'll go by myself then. It will be ever so much nicer that way. Lady and I will eat all the lemon cakes and just have the best time without you." She turned to walk off, but Arya shouted after her, "They won't let you bring lady either." She was gone before Sansa could think of a reply, chasing Nymeria along the river.

After running off, Arya begins swordwork practice with Mycah, the butcher's boy. It is there, after several hours, that Sansa and Prince Joffrey find Arya again, receiving more bruises than giving them. Confronting them, Joffrey accuses Mycah of beating up a noble and pulls out his own - very real - sword to fight him in Arya's stead. Joffrey insults Mycah, sitting the point of his sword on the boy's cheek.

"That was my lady's sister you were hitting, do you know that?" A bright bud of blood blossomed where his sword pressed into Mycah's flesh, and a slow red line trickled down the boy's cheek.

"Stop it!" Arya screamed. She grabbed up her fallen stick.

Sansa was afraid. "Arya, you stay out of this."

"I won't hurt him...much," Prince Joffrey told Arya, never taking his eyes off the butcher's boy.

Arya went for him.

Sansa slid off her mare, but she was too slow. Arya swung with both hands. There was a loud crack as the wood split against the back of the prince's head, and then everything happened at once before Sansa's horrified eyes. Joffrey staggered and whirled around, roaring curses. [ ... ] Arya swung at the prince again, but this time Joffrey caught the blow on Lion's Tooth and sent her broken stick flying from her hands. The back of his head was all bloody and his eyes were on fire. Sansa was shrieking, "No, no, stop it, stop it, both of you, you're spoiling it," but no one was listening. Arya scooped up a rock and hurled it at Joffrey's head. She hit his horse instead, and the blood bay reared and went galloping off after Mycah. "Stop it, don't, stop it!" Sansa screamed. Joffrey slashed at Arya with his sword, screaming obscenities, terrible words, filthy words. Arya darted back, frightened now, but Joffrey followed, hounding her toward the woods, backing her up against a tree. Sansa didn't know what to do. She watched helplessly, almost blind from her tears.

Then, a grey blue flashed past her, and suddenly Nymeria was there, leaping, jaws closing around Joffrey's sword arm. [ ... ] "She didn't hurt you . . . much." She picked up Lion's Tooth where it had fallen, and stood over him, holding the sword with both hands.

Joffrey made a scared whimpery sound as he looked up at her. "No," he said, "don't hurt me. I'll tell my mother."

"You leave him alone!" Sansa screamed at her sister.

Arya whirled and heaved the sword into the air, putting her whole body into the throw. The blue steel flashed in the sun as the sword spun out over the river. It hit the water and vanished with a splash. Joffrey moaned. Arya ran off to her horse, Nymeria loping at her heels.

What she Learned;
+ Her name is Arya! Says the screaming girl in this. She never says Sansa's name, so she doesn't really know who the girl is...but she must be named Arya. That's a much better name for a girl.
+ She was learning to fight with swords!
+ The Queen sucks, the princess sucks, the Prince sucks the most.
+ Arya is not afraid to hurt people to help her friends!
+ But she is sensible enough to be scared of swords, oops.
+ SHE HAS A WOLF. Named Nymeria! A bad-tempered wolf who doesn't like to be brushed. Acts a lot like Arya.
+ Arya is pretty damn disrespectful.
+ But she doesn't seem to care so yay for that at least?
+ ROYALTY SUCKS.
+ Nymeria is a dangerous pet, and not a tame dog.
+ That girl likes to scream a lot...and Arya must be pretty familiar with her, though, since they seem to go places together. But she doesn't...like her....she thinks....

Effects;
+ Arry will also respond to Arya, but isn't going to readily volunteer that information.
+ Stick sword fighting will resume promptly.
+100 Intolerance for insufferable assholes.
+50 More desire to protect people who can't protect themselves.
+20 Less desire to be cornered or tell the truth!!