Chapter 60: Countless rats
Countless rats
Loras POV
With each day, it was harder to stay in Red Keep. Rats scurrying around my feet made me tense. Sometimes I wanted to stab them all to death as the cats of the keep let them go free. I couldn't move around the keep or the city without them keeping watch on me. It wasn't enjoyable when they watched me train, not letting me concentrate.
My patience was pushed to my limits every day. I knew they knew that I know they were watching me, yet there was nothing I could do for them to stop. Yet I wondered if I massacred them once and for all, would anyone dare glance at me ever again? It was nothing but wishful thinking, as the Lannisters would jump at me for doing something stupid like this.
To leave Red Keep, I needed careful planning. I had to wait for an opportunity for the rats to be distracted by the cheese that my grandmother had left behind. To my family, these rats meant nothing, as they had their rats scurrying around the Lannisters. And so, both families created a city filled with countless rats.
"You don't look good," Lady Eri noticed my mood instantly.
"Lor, have you heard anything from the North?" Jayne Poole asked.
"From what I know, Robb Stark and his forces went home after taking the Twins," I told the homesick girl. "I heard many ravens have come to Red Keep with demands from the North. The Lannisters didn't seem to want to share them with the rest of the world and are keeping them secret."
Jayne Poole looked disappointed. I took pity on her. She and her father were stuck in the brothel run by lady Eri for a long time. For fear that someone might recognize them, they couldn't leave, and when some knights or lords came inside, they were forced to hide in their rooms. They were prisoners with a kind warden.
"I heard that many men left for the Riverlands. Do you know anything about it?" Lord Vayon Poole asked.
"Not yet, but soon reports should flood into the Keep," I answered.
Lord Poole looked concerned, but he didn't ask anymore. From what I heard from lady Eri, he was a great help in running the brothel, making it the most expensive and luxurious in the city. I could see with each day that he grew older. The little hair he had turned grey, he had lost much of his weight, and his face had too many wrinkles for his age.
They were the only ones I could easily converse with within the city. They were the only honest people I knew. I wanted to help them return home but couldn't do much. I could only bring the news I had heard, trying to disperse the worry for their home and friends. Sometimes I wondered if the North had already forgotten about them.
…
Days went by since Lord Tarly left for the Riverlands, and everyone awaited news about his victory. Yet nothing came for some time, and as others began to suspect another play from the Lannisters to suppress any information, my grandmother called me. It was another family dinner. I wouldn't say I liked it most of the time, and this time wasn't any different.
Without Garlan, only Margaery was left. My parents and grandmother were already too far to call them close family. They ignored my wishes and still tried to push me into a position as Kingsguard. I refused every time, so they started setting weddings for me. I didn't go to meet any of their prospective women that are suited for the family.
"I'm sure you are excited, Margaery. The wedding is not even three months away now," My mother mainly talked of the wedding with Joffrey.
I wouldn't say I liked the idea of it. I loved my sister, and thinking that Joffrey would be her husband made me sick. I often warned my family, telling them what I had seen and heard, yet they told me not to worry about it. I knew it would be impossible to call off the wedding, but it didn't mean I wouldn't try to protect my sister.
"My lord, my lord," As the dinner went and my mother talked about how wonderful the wedding will be, a messenger barged in. "Reports came from ser Garlan and lord Tarly."
"Spit it out," My father got agitated.
"My lord, lord Hand had summoned you and other lords to the Throne Room."
Without hesitation, my father and I got up from our table and went to the Throne Room. I was worried about my brother. And if Tywin Lannister summoned us, the news wasn't all good. When we arrived, we saw many knights and lords cluttered around the Iron Throne where King Joffrey sat.
"Talk about what happened to my son. Why are you keeping the information?" My father had no patience to wait for the rest to come after us.
"Your stupid son, lost," Joffrey sneered at my father. "He let Stannis through Golden Tooth into the Westerlands."
"It can't be. What about Garlan?" My father was shocked and worried.
"The coward ran away and now is hiding in Lannisport," Joffrey seemed to enjoy insulting my brother.
"How? Has lord Tarly not come to suppress King Stannis?" I asked, making sure to say Stannis' title.
"We got reports saying lord Tarly couldn't break through the Riverlands forces," Tyrion came in front to explain.
"Hmph," Joffrey looked displeased. "The Reach has disappointed me. It seems that rumors about you all being summer knights were true. If it were the Lannister men, the Riverlands would be burned already for their treason."
"Yes, but sadly, the lions couldn't compare themselves to a Kraken," I sneered.
"What did you say?" The King almost jumped out of his throne, cutting his hand as he tried to push himself up. "I have your head for the slander."
"The king is injured," Tywin Lannister said his first words. "The Maester should take a look at the injury."
"I am fine," Joffrey shouted.
"The King is bleeding," Tyrion said. "Bring him to the Maester."
It was a spectacle to watch as Jaime limped over to Joffrey before dragging him away as he screamed about traitors and heads that should be taken. It will only spread more rumors about how the King had no power and could only cry. Nobody took Joffrey seriously, as knights and lords knew that he only knew how to demand things without contributing anything.
After the King was dragged away, Tywin told everything they knew about what happened in the Riverlands. I wouldn't say I liked how he was the one to tell. Clearly, they were hiding information and controlling its flow within the city. My family already had trouble with Tyrion managing our finances and taxing all our means to earn gold.
From the explanation, we learned that lord Edmure Tully had built a fortress in Ruby ford, making it impossible for lord Tarly to pass the river. What surprised me more was that Harrenhal was defended by tens of thousands of men, making lord Tarly unable to take the castle and having to leave fifteen thousand men to watch his back.
The numbers didn't add up. Stannis had forty thousand men striking Garlan. From the little information the Lannisters provided, Garlan seemed to have been caught in surprise. Stannis used the hill of Golden Tooth to suppress Garlan and his men with archers, as a detached force came from the goat path in the mountains and attacked him from behind.
Garlan lost a good portion of his men before retreating to Lannisport. I didn't believe it was that simple. Stannis had to use more tricks to defeat Garlan than the Lannisters were telling. But even then, the numbers didn't add up. How could Stannis have forty thousand and lord Edmure twenty-five thousand men each, and there still be tens of thousands of men in Harrenhal?
The only possibility was that the North hadn't left for home but hid in Harrenhal, or the Vale brought more men than reported. Were we lied to? Varys didn't seem to know anything. No matter who asked whom, nobody could tell anything. It was hard to read the Lannisters' expressions, but it appeared that we were losing the war.
…
"It looks so beautiful on you, Margaery," My mother didn't seem concerned about the news about war as she chose a dress for Margaery.
"Do you think Joffrey will like it?" Margaery asked.
"He has more things to worry about," I said. "By the time the wedding is done, the city might be under the lordship of another king."
"Don't so dour, my dear," Grandmother said.
"Don't worry, son, we shall not lose to anyone," My father didn't seem to be concerned either.
"The problem is that we already lost," I replied. "We have been losing ever since the war started. You shouldn't have accepted Tyrion's proposal back then and listened to Robb Stark."
"The North has nothing to do with this," Grandmother said.
"Well, they started the war and went home after defeating Lannisters without anyone even able to raise a voice against them," I said. "It seems that the North had much to do with our situation. If only you had allied with the North."
"And marry the Young Wolf?" Margaery asked. "Spending the rest of my life in a cold castle far away from home."
"It would have been better than be with Joffrey, even for a moment," I said. "Are you going to die with him when Stannis storms King's Landing?"
"You worry too much, Loras," My father dismissed my words quickly. "We have more men than the rest of the Kingdoms. Even if Stannis won some battles, in attrition war, we would win. Then Margaery will rule as a Queen of the Seven Kingdoms."
"Don't you mean five?" I asked. "The Greyjoys are still ravaging the Western coast, and the North is well secured."
"The North and the Iron Islands will fall in their due time," Grandmother said. "The Reach still can amass tens of thousands of men if needed. The Crownlands are rushing to join the Lannister forces. It became a war of attrition, and we had an advantage. We should focus on the city and take it under our control."
"As I said dozens of times before, Joffrey won't listen to anyone. He had already dismissed Tywin's words countless times. There is no way he will even entertain Margaery. He isn't as gullible as Tommen. And there is Tyrion, who takes all credit for pushing Stannis away from the city. He will do everything to stop our advances."
"You worry too much," Grandmother didn't seem to listen to my warnings. "Everything is already set in the plan. By the end of the wedding, your dear sister will be the true Queen."
"There is nothing bad without being good for something," My father said. "It is good that Tarly didn't win. Otherwise, our family would get all the blame. The Tarly has grown too strong. Princess Myrcella marrying into their house will bring us trouble. We can't let them get any more power."
I gave up reasoning with them. I didn't know what they had planned, but it would mean nothing in the end. No matter how much they seemed reassured, I knew people better. The more we lose and the longer the war lasts, the less chance we will have to win. Knights will start to desert their positions. Lords will change their allegiances to others. And my family only cares about stupid schemes.
I know for a fact that men are only loyal to their families. They will abandon their lords and kings if they see them losing. And for how much the Lannisters and my family kept losing, there is no doubt that some lords are already scheming to join the other side. Enemies surrounded us, and our allies weren't that loyal to our family to begin with. I had to escape this ship filled with countless rats before it sank.
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