Rafford

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“	Rafford: Something wrong with your leg, boy? Lommy Greenhands: It got hurt. Rafford: Can you walk? Lommy Greenhands: No, you got to carry me. Rafford: Think so?	„
	~ Rafford to Lommy Greenhands before murdering him.

“	Carry him, he says.	„
	~ Rafford after murdering Lommy Greenhands.

“	Mercy: I'm a maiden now. Raff: Not for long. I'm Lord Rafford, sweetling, and I know just what I want.	„
	~ Raff to "Mercy", who is actually Arya Stark in disguise.

“	Rafford: You'll need to carry me. Mercy: Think so?	„
	~ Rafford's last words before he is killed by "Mercy" (Arya Stark).

Rafford, also known as Raff the Sweetling, is a minor antagonist in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series. He is a spearman and man-at-arms in service to Ser Gregor Clegane and is one of the "Mountain's Men".

Rafford doesn't appear in the television series, as his character is combined with that of Polliver, while his other aspects are given to Ser Meryn Trant.

Appearance

Rafford appears as a handsome young man who has poppy sand hair and is soft-spoken.

In the graphic novel version of A Clash of Kings, he sports a long mustache, but this is not part of George R. R. Martin's description of the character in the novels.

Personality

Despite being nicknamed the Sweetling, Rafford is cruel and sadistic. He is bolder than many of the Mountain's Men but less cunning.

Biography

A Clash of Kings

Rafford is one of the Mountain's lackeys and is part of the group, whom Gregor Clegane commands, that captures Arya Stark, Gendry, and Hot Pie in the Riverlands.

Rafford asks a boy named Lommy Greenhands, who was traveling with the trio, if there is something wrong with his leg, Lommy tells him that it is injured. In a seemingly "concerned" tone, the former asked if he could walk and the boy states that he can't and tells Rafford that he has to carry him. Instead of helping Lommy, Rafford reveals his true nature by driving his spear into Lommy's throat.

During the march to Harrenhal, when a three-year-old boy continuously called out for his mother, one of the Mountain's Men used a spiked mace to smash his face in, causing the boy's mother to start screaming before Raff killed her. When Chiswyck tells a story about the gang rape of Layna, a 13-years-old girl, in an alehouse, he says Raff killed the son of the innkeeper. Hearing this, Arya Stark, harboring a strong hatred of Rafford for the murder of Lommy, adds him to her prayer kill list, which consists of people she hates and wants to kill.

Rafford joins with Gregor Clegane and two other Mountain's Men, Chiswyck and The Tickler, in their raids. Later, he leaves Harrenhal with Lord Tywin Lannister to be part of the Mountain's vanguard. For a time, this puts him out of Arya's reach, as she chose him as her next target for Jaqen H'Ghar, a faceless man.

A Storm of Swords

Arya Stark recalls the atrocities committed by Rafford to the Brotherhood without Banners as they searched for their leader, Lord Beric Dondarrion. Raff still remains on Arya's prayer kill list, but as time went on, the latter began having difficulty remembering his face.

A Feast for Crows

When Ser Jaime Lannister stopped at Harrenhal, he found the remaining Mountain's Men, with Rafford among them. Jaime noticed the latter wearing a chain of coins that once belonged to Vargo Hoat, the leader of the Brave Companions. When Ser Bonifer Hasty refused to allow Jaime and his group quedasen, they marched to Riverrun, the ancestral seat of House Tully, as part of the forces destined to besiege the castle. Jaime sees Raff and another man-at-arms playing with two washerwomen.

After the fall of Riverrun, Jaime ordered a dozen Mountain's Men, led by Raff, to escort Ser Robin Ryger and Ser Desmond Grell to Maidenpool for their trip to the Wall.

The Winds of Winter

Rafford is one of the guards who accompanied Ser Harys Swyft, the master of coin, to Braavos, where the latter would negotiate with the Iron Bank of Braavos. Raff states that he's going to kill Harys for Cersei, but only if Harys fails to make a bargain with the Iron Bank. Ser Harys, Raff, and the other guards attend the performance of The Bloody Hand. Later, an 11-year-old old mummer named Mercy (Arya Stark) spots Rafford and seduces him. She then runs to her room, which is streets away, with Raff chasing after her until he is left exhausted. Mercy tells him that once she teaches him a line to say, he could become a mummer too.

Once Raff is undressed, she carefully cuts his femoral artery. When he insists that Mercy unlace him, the latter only responds that he is bleeding. Though he was confused at first, he immediately realizes that he is bleeding heavily, and he asks Mercy to get him a healer, but she tells him that the healer only helps those who will come to him. When Rafford tells her that he cannot walk and she has to carry him, Mercy happily thinks to herself, saying,"See? You know your line, and so do I."

She then echoes the same words Raff had said when he murdered Lommy Greenhands, before cutting his throat while whispering,"Valar Morghulis." With Rafford's death, Lommy's murder is finally avenged. Rafford's body is then thrown into a canal so it can be eaten by eels. Though Arya knows that her killing of Raff the Sweetling will blow her cover, she nevertheless heads back to the Braavosi mummer playhouse known as the Gate before she is due to come up on stage, since she has a role in The Bloody Hand.