Chapter 136: High as the Heavens, Deep as the Earth
Wait... what just happened?
Egger had just finalized two deals worth two thousand Gold Dragons each. He was busy contemplating where to best invest these four thousand dragons once they were in his hands. He had let his guard down for less than a minute, and in that brief moment, his precious apprentice... had been snatched away right before his eyes!
Margaery's live demonstration of the skill turning a stranger into a friend in an instant was nothing short of breathtaking. Her seamless transition from a predatory business negotiator to a Highgarden girl who loves swordsmanship but lacks the chance to learn truly left Egger stunned.
Had he not relied on his God's eye view of the girl from the source material, his first meeting with her at the allied army camp probably wouldn't have gone much better than Arya's. A person with maxed-out Charisma and Emotional Intelligence was truly terrifying.
She had refused to budge an inch on the price earlier, yet suddenly became easy to talk to the moment Arya walked in. Was it because she wanted to be rid of him quickly so she could go court the Hand's daughter?
Did that mean if he had asked for twenty-five hundred, she would have agreed?
Wait, as the only daughter of House Tyrell and the Little Rose sent to Robert's side with a family mission, how could Margaery possibly have the time to run over here every day to practice swordsmanship?
...
"Hey, hurry up and say yes!"
Arya's shaking snapped Egger out of his thoughts. He considered it for a moment and nodded helplessly. "Fine."
(I'll have to tell Nina to secure the documents in the office. Someone who might quietly steal intelligence... having Jaqen around is trouble enough; I don't need another one.)
"Master, you're the best!" Arya grabbed Egger's arm happily and nuzzled it, then hauled him up from behind the desk and dragged him toward the backyard. "Come on! I'm going to challenge you! Let Lady Margaery see the results of my months of practice!"
"You want to challenge Lord Egger?" Margaery looked curious, then spoke as if suddenly remembering: "Oh, I almost forgot to introduce you. This is Prince Oberyn Martell. And the Prince's paramour, Ellaria Sand."
"Oh, hello, Lord Oberyn... and Lady Ellaria." Arya greeted the two Dornishmen according to the etiquette Egger had initially demanded, then her eyes suddenly went wide. "Wait, Oberyn? Are you the 'Red Viper'?"
"I suppose I am. It's just a nickname my friends gave me," Oberyn said, nodding to Arya with a smile.
"Lord Oberyn is a famous and elite warrior of the Seven Kingdoms," Margaery added. "The people in Westeros who can defeat him can be counted on one hand."
Even without Margaery's introduction, how could Arya not have heard of the Red Viper's name? She studied the Prince of Dorne curiously for a while, and a competitive thought naturally sprouted in the child's mind. "Master, between the Red Viper and you, who's better?"
"The Prince is naturally the better one. Ten of me wouldn't be his match." If ten Eggers attacked at once, the result might be uncertain, but if they went one by one, that statement was no joke. Egger answered honestly; truth be told, comparing himself to the man was already thinking too highly of himself. "The Prince and I have already sparred. He showed mercy, and I surrendered quite sensibly."
The Night's Watchman still had a vivid memory of that duel in the military camp. Just how much mercy had Oberyn shown in that fight? To use an analogy, it was like a game of ping-pong, Oberyn started by spotting him ten points, yet he still lost 10–12. An outsider seeing the score might think it was a close, hard-fought match where one side narrowly lost. But the person involved knew that they could have kept playing until it was 10–100 or even 10–1,000 without issue. Being able to find a pretext to surrender and leave before making a fool of himself was already the best possible ending.
"Lord Egger is also quite capable. I gained much from that exchange as well."
Even the Dornish know how to use polite platitudes? If he meant he gained insight into how to bully people, then that was indeed accurate... Egger mocked himself internally, then suddenly sensed something was wrong, but it was already too late. Arya let go of him and ran to the other side of the table. "That's great! I want to challenge you, Prince Oberyn!"
"Hmm?" The Dornishman was momentarily confused. "Why?"
"Does a little admirer need a reason to want to challenge you?" His paramour giggled, twisting her body to move from his lap back to her original seat. "Go on, why not indulge Lady Stark?"
"Arya, don't be ridiculous," Egger frowned. "You've only been learning for a few months; you want to spar with someone who has practiced for decades? I'll spar with you this afternoon—you can challenge me as many times as you want, okay?"
The Red Viper's fearsome reputation wasn't built on tall tales. Those who had lost their lives or ended up crippled after sparring with him could fill this entire room. When he had been pushed out of the crowd to face him in the camp, even with no blood feud between them, hadn't he decisively swallowed his pride and said a bunch of nice things before daring to start? Oberyn certainly had no reason to hurt Arya, but nothing was absolute. If anything happened to the girl, he, as her temporary guardian, would be in deep trouble.
"No! I want to see a master in action! Of course the stronger, the better!" Arya didn't even look at Egger; she grabbed Oberyn and started pulling him toward the backyard. Though the she-wolf looked small and thin, her strength was not to be underestimated; she actually managed to pull the Red Viper up from his seat.
"Alright, alright, little one. Stop pulling, I can walk." Oberyn smiled helplessly, seemingly finding Arya quite amusing. "Get me a sword just like yours. I won't bully you."
"Prince Oberyn!" Margaery grew nervous as well. Her eldest brother, Willas Tyrell, had been crippled in a spar with the Red Viper. Although it was a fair match and he had lost with nothing to say, didn't that prove that blades have no eyes? She had intended to make friends with Arya to fish for intel from the Hand's daughter regarding the rumors about the Queen and her brother, to see if it was worth staying in King's Landing to watch... She had only introduced the Prince of Dorne out of politeness. If an accident occurred because of those few extra words, her already troubled journey north would truly end in total failure. "Please—be very careful."
A small smile played on the Red Viper's lips. "Don't worry. I won't play any dangerous tricks."
...
Everyone followed Arya and Oberyn into the backyard with bated breath. Jaqen was sitting on a bench resting and drinking water, looking surprised as so many people suddenly flooded in. Hearing that Arya wanted to challenge Oberyn, he couldn't help but look at the man a few extra times. After a moment's hesitation, he picked a practice sword identical to the small blade in Arya's hand and tossed it to the Prince.
The two walked into the center of the yard and stood facing each other. The duel actually looked quite professional.
"Come then." Facing a little girl, Oberyn didn't even bother to strike a pose. He flicked the wooden sword like a toy. "Show me your best move. A viper's patience... is very short."
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