Capítulo 469: Chapter 470: Stopping the Flames
After a brief moment of shock, Sansa Stark snapped out of her daze.
"Quick! We must stop her!"
"What are you going to do to stop a madwoman?"
"Are we just going to do nothing?" Sansa hiked up her skirts and ran toward the stairs, shouting over her shoulder, "You go and evacuate everyone from Maegor's Holdfast!"
She barely made it a few steps before realizing Sandor Clegane, the Hound, hadn't gone to the throne room as she'd instructed. Instead, he was following her.
"Why are you following me? Go evacuate the others—"
"What do you think you can accomplish alone with Cersei?" Sandor cut her off. "And do you really think those lords and ladies in the throne room will dare leave Maegor's Holdfast? The wights outside haven't been fully dealt with. They'd be walking to their deaths."
"Then the guards must be informed—"
"You're really playing the savior now, aren't you?" Sandor sneered. "Trust me, the only way to survive is to leave the Red Keep. If you come with me, I'll make sure those wights won't touch you."
For a brief moment, Sansa was tempted to agree.
She could sense that, beneath the Hound's rough exterior and fearsome appearance, he genuinely wanted to protect her.
But Sansa clenched her teeth and refused.
"I can't leave. My sister is still here, and so many Northern lords as well…"
Sandor growled in frustration.
"You Starks are all suicidal fools."
Sansa ignored him but didn't try to send him away again. She realized that confronting Cersei alone in the dungeons wouldn't achieve anything.
At least with the Hound, she had a sliver of hope.
The two of them descended the spiral staircase into Maegor's dark, damp dungeons.
The cold was bone-chilling.
Sansa had rushed here without preparation and didn't have a torch. She had no choice but to grope her way through the darkness.
It wasn't the dark that frightened her, though. What truly terrified her was the potential eruption of fire.
Knowing that Cersei could ignite the wildfire at any moment, reducing Maegor's Holdfast to ashes, would paralyze anyone with fear.
Even Sansa couldn't believe she had the courage to descend here after hearing what Cersei had planned.
"You're a brave girl," Sandor rasped suddenly. "You're nothing like the little bird who cried her eyes out when Joffrey bullied her by the Trident."
"I've grown up!" Sansa retorted, puffing her cheeks. "And I am terrified."
"Being brave while afraid?"
"Courage only exists when there is fear," Sansa replied firmly. "That's what my father always said."
Sandor fell silent.
Whoosh—
A burst of orange-red light suddenly illuminated the dungeon, breaking the oppressive darkness.
Sansa jumped in fright and turned around to see that Sandor had lit a torch.
"You scared me half to death!" she exclaimed, breathing heavily. "I thought it was Cersei igniting the wildfire."
"Wildfire burns green," Sandor muttered.
Sansa's cheeks flushed, but she immediately asked, "If you had a torch, why didn't you light it earlier?"
"Stop wasting time. Keep moving," Sandor barked, urging her forward.
Sansa noticed that his hands were trembling as he held the torch high and far away from himself. That's when she realized: the Hound was afraid of fire.
So that's why.
She said nothing more and continued ahead.
Before long, faint light flickered in the distance, accompanied by voices.
As they drew closer, Sansa could make out the sound of an argument.
"…Please, Your Grace, believe me! The storm has passed. We've been saved. There's no need to light the wildfire!"
"Osmund Kettleblack, you coward!" Cersei's sharp voice rang out. "Just moments ago, you were so eager to die with me. What changed?"
"Well… I thought we were doomed then. But now it's different. I'm not lying to you! If you don't believe me, step outside and see for yourself. The wights have been beaten back, and soon they'll all be destroyed!"
"Even so, I will not leave! I will never kneel to Caesar!"
"Why not? Who's there?" Osmund noticed the sound of footsteps in the passage.
Realizing they'd been spotted, Sansa stepped forward into the light.
"Sansa Stark, and Sandor?" Cersei sneered. "You pathetic dog, you've come crawling back?"
"Your Grace, it's over. There's no need for this," Sansa said firmly.
Cersei was dressed in a white linen gown as pure as the Kingsguard's cloaks. The long sleeves revealed a lining of golden silk, and her thick golden curls cascaded over her bare shoulders. A necklace of emeralds and diamonds adorned her slender neck.
The white dress gave her an air of innocence, like a maiden bride. She was every bit as striking as Sansa herself.
But, of course, she had a mouth.
"I don't need you telling me what to do!" Cersei snapped. "Tyrion may be a craven who surrendered, but I will not! If my father were alive, he wouldn't surrender either! A lion never bows!"
"Think of your daughter, Myrcella," Sansa pleaded. "She's in Maegor's Holdfast too. So is your son, Tommen. If you burn the Northern lords alive, Caesar will repay the debt in Lannister blood. No one will plead for mercy on your behalf."
"A lion doesn't need pity!" Cersei shouted, raising the torch high.
Behind her, barrels of wildfire glowed faintly green in the dim light, their ominous presence enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
"If Caesar wants the Iron Throne, he won't get it! I'll burn Maegor's Holdfast and melt the Iron Throne into a puddle!
It's a pity my foolish brother used most of the wildfire to fight Stannis. Otherwise, I'd burn all of King's Landing to the ground!"
"You're mad," Sansa said. "Mad, like the Mad King."
"Anyone would go mad after betrayal and humiliation!" Cersei screamed. "Caesar will never make me kneel! And you traitors will burn in hell with me!"
With that, she hurled the torch toward the barrels of wildfire.
"No!" Sansa, Sandor, and Osmund cried out in unison.
They hadn't expected Cersei to be so resolute. For a moment, all they could do was watch the torch arc through the air.
Sansa shut her eyes, bracing for the explosion of green flames.
But the expected inferno never came.
Cautiously, she opened her eyes and saw a small figure standing beside the wildfire barrels, holding the torch.
"Arya!" Sansa gasped, scarcely believing her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
Was this divine intervention?
Arya grinned mischievously.
"I followed the fat spider."
(End of Chapter)
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