Chapitre 1527: 18
Wolf of NúmenorLouen_Leoncoeur
Chapter 18: Battle, Regrets and woe
Summary:
Margaery reflects on her choice and Jon fights against the oath breakers whom serve Stannis
Notes:
Leave a comment :) I do like to hear from you people
Chapter Text
Robar;
The Holy hundred might be a group of pious knights, but they were well equipped and disciplined considering their origin. Hasty told his men to ready themselves for battle; the horses were being mounted, swords sharpened one last time, men moving into formation. He stood with Loras, Jon, Bonifer, and two others of the hundred; they were going over the plan one more time.
"When the battle starts, we wait for Stannis's forces to reach the wall; once the fighting is at its thickest, we attack. We go straight to the center, towards the gates, once that part of the army has been taken care of, we move to the side to finish the rest," Loras said, pointing at a drawing in the dirt.
"My brother will send some of his forces out as soon as we rout the main force and give them a way out of the keep," Bonifer added.
"Good, we are going to need more men to pull this off efficiently," Jon said.
"I do have something that might help us even further," Robar said.
"Say it, don't keep us in suspense," Loras said.
"By the banner, I have seen, I believe lord Fell is the one leading these troops, so I thought that we should focus on him; if he is slain, they will be left without a leader."
"Cut the head off the snake," Jon said.
"Precisely," Robar said.
"Lord Fell will probably be in the center of it, leading his troops as they attack the gates. Our plan doesn't change much; just take care of him if you get the chance," Bonifer said, and the rest nodded.
"All is ready, Ser Bonifer," a man said as he approached them.
"Now we ride to battle then," Robar said.
"May the Crone light our way, and the Warrior gives strength to our arms," Bonifer said, and his men repeated the verse with equal fervor.
"Men of the faith indeed," he thought. He was a follower of the seven but not a devout one like these men. His father always said that their house descended from the first men and not the Andals and that they have relations with the Starks of Winterfell. Once he first saw Jon, there was no doubt that they shared blood, Jon looking like his younger brother Waymar, with the same hair and gray eyes. His own eyes were gray too but much paler than Jon or his brothers. That was the second reason he decided to go after Jon; he owned the man his life, yes, but when he looked at him, he could see his little brother, the one that should have been here alive and well. He could not help Waymar, but he will not fail Jon, they were kin and brothers of the Kingsguard, and Robar will do what is needed to keep Jon safe.
He and Jon walked up to their horses to find Grenn there, the hundred have him some armor and a sword to wield in the ensuing fight. Green was looking at the blade when Robar approached him.
"Ready for what is to come?" he asked, and Grenn looked at him.
"Yes," the man answered.
Looking at how he held the sword, Robar had to ask. "Do you know how to use that thing?"
"Of course, I know how to use a sword; you stick the pointy end into the other man," Grenn said, and Robar did his best not to laugh. What Grenn said was right, but it was more complicated than that.
Robar patted the man and the back. "Just don't get yourself killed, alright?" he said with a small smirk.
"You think I can't take care of myself?" Grenn asked, agitated.
"Have you ever been in a fight with a professional swordsman?" Jon asked, but Robar already knew the answer.
"No," Grenn said, and Robar could see that some of the anger was gone, now replaced with uncertainty.
"Listen to me, stay close to us, Robar, Loras, or me," Jon said, "You will be fine with us, but you will still have to fight, understood?"
"Yes," Grenn said, more relaxed this time. They mounted their horses and proceeded to fight through the woods towards the castle.
Robar now sat in his saddle, his horse moving beneath him, Jon, Loras, and the hundred by his side. They stopped at the edge of the woods and watched as the attack on the castle commenced. The men with ladders stormed the castle first, several carrying the ladder with others using their shields to cover them. The men who defended the castle rained a volley of armors at the attackers, the arrows finding their targets, but that was still not enough to slow the advance.
The attackers used their own archers to fire at the defenders at the wall, with mixed results, the castle walls proved good at keeping its defenders alive for now. Robar knew that timing was everything in this situation and that they still needed to wait.
The attack intensified, and the ladders were now at the walls, with the ram being slowly moved towards the gates. The men started climbing the ladders with the Hastys trying to falter their attempts by shooting more arrows and tossing rocks at them. The ram coming even closer to the gates.
Robar felt nervous; it wasn't that he was scared of fighting; on the contrary, he loved it, but this would be his first real battle since the Greyjoy rebellion, and back then, he was just a squire and did not see much action.
More men started climbing the ladder, and the ram was now in the position, the defenders tossing oil and firing flaming arrows to stop it but with little effect. The sound of the ram hitting the gate rang through the air for the first time, and soon for the second time. Looking at the fighting, he saw that the time was right; most if all men were near the walls, and in the distance, he could see the banner of their leader, Lord Fell.
Ser Bonifer readied his lance and nodded to the man beside him. The man took a horn and blew into it. The loud sound it made echoed all around him; that was the signal to attack. Ser Bonifer charged, and his men followed, he Loras, Jon and Grenn right beside him. Renly Baratheon's banner waving amongst the riders that charged at the force of their late king's brother.
"For House Hasty!" Robar heard Bonifer shout.
"For king Renly!" Loras shouted afterward. They charged towards the castle at the enemy in front of them. He could see that they were trying to scramble a defense, but by the time they could even try and do that, the hundred had already hit the first of the attacking forces in the back.
Ser Lucas Hasty
The night was restless, for him and for his men. Some tried to get some rest but most failed, the possibility of an attack lingering on their minds. Most of the soldiers either were with him on the battlements or in the other parts of the castle. Walking along the wall, he could hear Fells men laugh and sing as they have already won. His father always said confidence was a good thing, but too much of it will get you killed, and now he hoped that that was true.
Fell stayed true to his Word that night, and he did not launch a surprise attack; even if he did, they would have been ready for it. Now when the first rays of the sun breaking the trees, his mind drifted between the thoughts of his family and the battle that would start in a matter of hours. If the castle is taken, his family will be taken prisoner, and knowing Stannis, he will probably lose his head for this act of supposed defiance.
"The castle will hold, even if I have to hold it myself," Lucas said to himself.
With the dawn, he ordered all the remaining men to the walls, the banner of king Renly Baratheon in the hands of the man beside him. He looked at his men; some had dark circles around their eyes from the lack of sleep, others were nervous, some showing it more than others. Lucas was nervous himself, but he knew he could not show it; his men needed to see their lord standing strong even if he was a cripple. Turning around, he looked at the remainder of his men.
"Men!" Lucas shouted, and all eyes turned to him. "These men down there come here speaking falsehood trying to get us to abandon our rightful king; they come here to take our home from us because we refuse to bend the knee to someone else. These men are nothing more than traitors and turncoats, men who chose a lord who worships A heathen fire god. We are knights of the Stormlands; we will never bow down to any foreigner. We will stay strong, and we will fight for King Renly."
"For king Renly," his men shouted and could not help but feel pride at that moment.
"Man, the walls, not one of them steps on the walls of this castle," Lucas shouted.
They were ready and waiting for the attack to commence, his archers in the front to make sure anything that tries to get near the wall receives an arrow. Once the attack began, Stannis's soldiers rushed at the walls with ladders, he immediately ordered to fire upon them. His archers and arbalists had mixed results; at first, it seemed that the constant hail of arrows would be able to keep them off his wall, but soon the men around the ladders formed a shield wall around themselves, and the ladders started quickly getting nearer the castle.
As if that was not bad enough, the ram was getting nearer as well. Ordering the archers to fire upon it did not damage it. Sadly it was fashioned from sturdy oak and bronze. It was then the first of the ladders hit the wall in front of him and the man beneath started to climb up.
"Don't let them get on the wall!" Lucas shouted. The arbalests fired arrows while other soldiers tossed rock or spilled hot oil on the attackers. The ear was filled with sounds of battle, men screaming, orders being shouted all around. More ladders made it to the wall, and more men started climbing up. When the man in front of him fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of his eye, Lucas took his sword he walked forward to the edge of the wall, finding one of Fell's men almost at the top he plunged his sword into the other man's beck. A scream of pain was heard coming from the Fell until he fell off the ladder to the ground below. Looking down, he could see more men climbing up and even more ready to do so after them.
"Persistent bastards," Lucas heard Alister, his master at arms, say as he shoots a crossbow down one of the ladders.
Looking around, Lucas could see that his men were fighting bravely, but even more than that desperately. Fell had a large force by far, but they were holding; the only thing that could turn the tide was the ram. When he realized it and looked towards the ram, it was not at the gates. The soldiers were pouring oil over it and trying to set it ablaze, but soon he heard the noise, the sound of the ram hitting the gates.
If the gates broke, they would be done for; Fells men would rush in and kill them all. Then the sound of the ram hitting the gate was heard once more. Looking down at his soldiers below, he could see that several of them were there at the gates, trying to support it as best as they could. As the third hit came in, the men were pushed back but immediately returned.
At that moment, Lucas prayed to the seven, mother, crone, warrior anyone that would listen; he prayed for aid because he feared that they would not be able to last long. He heard a horn being blown at that moment, he thought it was one of the Fells, but soon he was proven wrong.
"My lord, look!" shouted one of his men, pointing over the wall. Taking steps forward, he looked to where the man was pointing and saw raiders coming from the woods. Lucas frantically looked to see who they were; once he saw the stag of his king, he thanked the gods for answering his prayer.
"Reinforcements are here; push these bastards back to Dragonstone," Lucas shouted. Looking around for Allister, he finally found the knight down with the men at the gates. "Alister, take as many men as you can and charge out; help has arrived."
The knight nodded and organized as many men as he could, some on horses while most were still on foot. The aiding cavalry broke through the first lines, and it was then when the gates of his keep opened, and his soldiers rushed out to meet with the loyalists.
Loras
Once he saw the banner of his love, he felt regret, shame, and hurt. Renly should be alive, he should be here leading his men, ruling the seven kingdoms, but instead, he was dead. At first, his rage was directed at lady Brienne, but due to Jon's and Robar's words, that rage faded, and he started to believe what Robar said about the shadow. Stannis had that damned sorceress with him, and to Loras, he looked like a kind of man that would kill his own brother for power. Renly was ready to face Stannis in the field, but he would have never killed him; what Stannis did prove that he was a coward, a man without honor.
As he made his way through the woods, he knew that there was no chance that they could help the Hastys, but he still wanted to see it up close. When Ser Bonifer arrived with his men, they gave them what they needed, an opportunity. With the hundred, they could attack the unsuspecting forces and aid the Hastys, killing as many of those damned traitors in the process. Loras was determent to get some sort of revenge; he could not kill the man but denying Stannis castle Hasty could just be it.
Jon was right when it came to the numbers, but his friend did come up with a brilliant plan; Fell might have the numbers, but all that would take to win would be a strong cavalry charge that will break the lord's forces and allow the Hastys to come out and join them. Lord Fell was the leader, and Loras knew that the man would need to die, and he was the one that was going to kill him.
The charge was disciplined and caught momentum fast, the hundred proving to be more than just a group of pious men wearing armor. The attack caught the Fells off guard, and while some of them tried to stop the charge, it was to no avail; the raiders cut through the men on the ground like they were nothing. According to Jon's plan, they pushed towards the gates, more and more troops being diverted from the walls to try and stop them. Jon's wolves tore through men and horses like they were made from parchment, tearing flesh and ripping off limbs. Loras could see the panic in the eyes of men who faced the Direwolves.
The gates of the castle opened, and he saw men wearing the sigil of house Hasty ride out to join them, catching the Fells even more off guard. Threw out the fighting, he could hear some of Bonifer's men shout that the Kingsguard was here, that king Renly send aid to the castle, which did have the desired effect, the confusion amongst Fells men only increased.
Looking around, chaos was all around him; moments earlier, the Fells were storming the castle, and now they were caught between the forces. Arrows rained from the castle directed towards the traitors. He could see a group of riders charging at them, lord Fells banner with them. Loras and Jon were joined by several of the hundred, and they rode to meet them.
Loras's sword clashed with lord Fells, the sound loud enough to be heard over the sounds of battle around them.
"Traitor!" Loras shouted as the swords continued to clash. Loras put all his strength and fury into his blows; this man was going to die. During the fight, the lord fell off his horse and hit the ground; Loras dismounted his horse and ran towards the knight. Fell tried to reach his sword, but just as he was about to grab it, Loras put his foot down on it and directed the tip of his blade to the lord's head, his helm falling off when he hit the ground.
Loras looked at this man, a man to turn his back on his liege lord, who immediately ran to another king, a Kinslayer, a traitor to his own family. He may not be able to kill Stannis on this day, but this man will have to do.
"Ser Loras," Fell said, and Loras pushed his sword into the man's neck and watched as the life faded from his eyes. Pulling his blade out, Loras let the body fall to the ground. Moving away from the dead body, he found Bluebell and mounted her up. Looking around, he could see that most of the castle garrison had joined them. The men in the center were being massacred. Loras charged at the nearest Fell soldiers he could find and cut him down.
Loras rode around the battlefield and could see that the battle was dying down, most of the troops moving to the flanks. Finding Robar, he asked about their situation.
"We broke the center, the left flank surrendered as soon as the word of you killing lord Fell reached them while the right is in retreat, Bonifer has sent his men with some of the castle garrisons to take care of them."
"That is good to hear. What will we do with the ones that surrendered?"
"That is up to the Hastys to decide; it's their castle that was besieged."
"Aye, now let's go and find Jon and Ser Bonifer," Loras said.
Finding Jon and Bonifer, they told Loras the same thing as Robar, and after that, they rode towards the castle. Entering the courtyard, they were met by men weary of battle but still standing at attention. As they rode in, the wolves entered alongside them; their fur was covered in blood, it was barely noticeable on Lady due to her dark coat, but Ghost looked akin to a demon with his white coat covered in the gore of battle. The guards in the yard look warily at the wolves but took no action. Soon a man with only one arm approached them, his face filled with gratitude.
He looked at each of them before he settled on Ser Bonifer.
"Bonifer," the man said, disbelief clear in his voice.
"Brother," Bonifer said, a soft smile on his lips. Dismounting, the knight approached his brother and embraced him. "Surprised to see me."
"Yes, a bit; I accepted my sons to come, but you are a sight for sore eyes too, brother," the man said.
The two broke their embrace, and Bonifer looked at the three of them. "Lucas, I want you to meet the men who orchestrated this attack, Ser Loras Tyrell, Ser Jon Snow, and Ser Robar Royce."
"Ser Lucas, it is an honor," Loras said with a slight bow.
"The honor is all mine, lord commander; I can barely believe that the king sent his own Kingsguard to lift the siege of my castle," Lucas said, astonishment clear in his voice. Loras looked at his two friends; all three now bore sad expressions on their faces, as did ser Bonifer.
"Forgive me ser for being the bearer of bad news, but king Renly is dead," said Loras. Lucas's smile faded and was replaced by a stony expression.
"So, it's true then," Lucas said.
"You heard?" Bonifer asked.
"Aye, I did, but I refused to believe it; there was no way that a single man or a group could make it past the entirety of the reach's army and kill the king."
"If what Ser Robar says it's true, and there is no doubt in my mind that it is the king was not killed by a man but a shadow," Jon said.
"A shadow?" Lucas asked, confused.
"Stannis has a sorceress with him, the one who preaches about that fire god of hers. It was she who used some form of terrible sorcery to kill the king; there is no other explanation," Robar said. It took several moments for ser Lucas to come to terms with what he just learned and then looked at Loras.
"Then all these men died for nothing," Lucas said.
"Not for nothing ser, you stayed true to you vows, the vows you pledged to your king. Because of his actions, Stannis is a Kingslayer now, and we all know how gods feel about Kingslayer. These men died warrior's deaths, fighting to defend their home. No one can say anything bad about them, their deeds were brave in the eyes of men and even more so in the eyes of the gods," Loras said. Looking around the tired and stoic faces of the garrison, he did his best to offer words of encouragement.
"Their deeds are great in the eyes of the warrior for certain," Bonifer said.
After a long moment, the silence was broken by Lucas sighing. "Thank you for your words Ser Loras; I believe that a better place to talk would be inside, and I would like to tell my family that we are safe now."
"Indeed ser," Lucas said.
Lucas turned to one of the men beside him. "Alister, I leave the things here in your capable hands.
The man nodded, "As you wish, my lord."
Loras turned to Robar. "Robar, could you help them?" A simple nod was the answer from Robar. Robar stayed with the man and took Grenn with him while they dismounted and went towards the great hall. Entering it, they found a boy, younger than Loras or Jon in armor and with a sword in hand, behind him two women sat at a table.
"The battle is over; we have won," Lucas said as they entered the room.
"Father," the boy shouted and ran to his father. After breaking their hug, the boy looked at them and then at Ser Bonifer. "Uncle Bonifer, you came," the boy shouted again.
"I did boyo, I could not just leave you not, could I?" Bonifer said.
"Ser Loras, Ser Jon, this is my youngest son Alex," Lucas introduced them. The boy looked at them, his eyes glistening.
"The lord commander of the Kingsguard," the boy said excitedly. There it was again, that title, the title Renly gave him, to act as the commander of his personal guards, to ensure the safety of his love in which he failed, and every time someone called him by that title, the memory of that failure came back, the memory of Renly's lifeless body in his arms.
"Not anymore, I'm afraid, the king Renly is dead," Loras said, and the boys beaming smile vanished.
"So, what's going to happen to us now?" a female voice asked. Looking up, Loras saw that the two women now stood in front of them.
"Good Ser, these are my wife Mary and my sister Eliza," Lucas said.
"My ladies," Lucas said with a bow.
"Ser Loras, Ser Jon," Mary said, and both she and Eliza curtsied.
"Stannis is many things, but he is not stupid; once the Word reaches him of the failure of the siege, he will know that he would have to send even more men to take the keep, men that he desperately needs to fight the Lannisters. He will not risk good men on this castle, Jon said, and Loras agreed with him. This castle was too insignificant compared to the fight with the Lannisters; one small unruly house is not a threat.
"We thought that either Duncan or Martin would arrive before you, brother," said Eliza.
"Martin has sided with Stannis," Bonifer said.
Mary turned her gaze to the floor. "So what Fell said was true. Why would he do that?" The woman said, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"He is a young fool, and like any young fool, he seeks glory, and he thinks fighting with Stannis will get him that," Bonifer said. "I tried to talk him out of it, but he is as stubborn as his father."
"One trait that seems to do both good and bad in our family," Lucas said.
"What about Duncan? He was at Bitterbridge with the infantry," Eliza said.
Loras sighed. He knew that he had to tell the truth. "Most of the men belonging to the houses that swore fealty to Stannis have been captured by lord Tarly and are being held still at Bitterbridge."
"My son? We did not turn to Stannis," Lucas said.
"I'm sorry, but we had no way of knowing that; we were astonished once we saw that you still fought under Renly's banner," Loras said.
"If my son is hurt..." started Mary but was cut off by Loras.
"I assure you, my lady, your son is alive and well; lord Tarly made sure all of the nobles were captured alive," Loras said. Tarly might be one of the most boring men alive, but he is honorable; he will not harm any prisoner under his care. Loras ordered the traitors to be killed or captured, but luckily Tarly kept the carnage to the minimum, there was fighting, yes, but the surprise attack caught most off guard, including the Hasty men.
"Your son and his men will be returned to you in time," Jon said.
"Can't you do something, send a raven to your family to order their release, we stayed loyal after all," pleaded Mary. Loras would want nothing more than to be able to do that, but that was no longer possible.
"I-I can't," Loras said.
"Why not?" Mary said in an angry tone.
"Because my family has sided with the Lannisters, the three of us left the camp at Bitterbridge once my family's actions were made clear."
"You went against your own family? Asked Eliza, by her tone, Loras could tell that there was doubt in her.
"Yes, I did."
"Why?" asked Mary.
"Because I refuse to fight beside killers and oath breakers," Loras said. What he said was true, but there was more to it than just that. "You have my word as a knight that what I say I true."
All eyes were pointed at Loras at that moment; every look was different; one was doubtful while the other was frightened. Suddenly Lucas spoke.
"I believe you, Ser Loras. You aided us in defending my family's home, and my brother trusts you, and so will I. This day has been hard for all of us; I suggest we get some rest, and we will reconvene in the evening for a meal. I will have someone prepare your rooms for tonight."
"We are grateful, Ser Lucas, thank you."
"It the least I can do."
Jon
Robar returned to the castle hours and joined them in the great hall. At the table sat he, Loras, Robar, some of the hundred and even Grenn. This was his first real experience of real battle, some of the scenes he saw still on his mind. Their silence in the hall was broken by someone's voice.
"You first battle?" a voice asked, and Jon and Loras turned their heads towards the men of the hundred.
"Yes," said Jon.
"Word of advice, don't think much about it; there is no point to think about every man you killed. That will only cause you more grief. The names Edward by the way," the man said, offering his hand to Jon.
"Jon," he said and shook the offered hand.
The man chuckled, "We all know who you are," Edward said and took another sip of his drink.
"You been in battles before?" Jon asked the man, but he already knew the answer.
"Yes, my first was at Stony sept, during Roberts rebellion, fought for lord Arryn on that day."
"So, you are not an original member of the Holy hundred?" Loras asked.
"If by that you mean that I'm not amongst the first who joined Bonifer, then yes. There are always a hundred of us, but some die, others leave to find a new path, and others come to take their place. Most are still the original members who founded the hundred with Bonifer, but there are also us who joined later," Edward said and took another seep of the ail in his cup.
"I have to say your plan worked better than I expected," Edward continued.
"You doubted it?" Jon asked, a bit insulted.
"Yes, following a plan made by a green boy that has never seen real battle before was not something I thought I would be doing when I first got up this morning."
"But it worked," Jon said.
"I did, but you were lucky. Most plans rarely survive the first contact. That's why you always need to have a backup plan."
"Thank you, I will have that in mind the next time I plan out a battle," Jon said with a small smirk.
"So, tell me how it was?" Edward asked, excited to hear their answers.
"It was how you expect a battle to be, fighting, blood, chaos, men dying around you," Jon said with a severe tone.
"What about you ser Loras?" Edward asked.
"The same as with him, but there is one thing that I did not expect," Loras said.
"And that is?" Edward asked curiously.
"The smell, why did it smell so bad after the battle. Bodies do not decompose that fast."
The man took a large sip from his mug before setting it back on the table. "Men shit themselves when they die, boy, that's not something they teach you in a castle. You learn that by yourself when you first go into battle."
"Well, we know that now," Jon said. He exchanged a few more words with Bonifer men before they are returning their attention to themselves. Jon looked at his companions; Loras was in a good mood, his first battle not affecting him as strongly as Jon. Robar sat next to him, drinking some wine and talking to Grenn. Grenn did well out there; he stayed close and watched their backs.
"You did well; you should be proud," Jon said as he looked at Grenn. Grenn looked at him, his eyes glistening with pride.
"Thank you, I only did as you told me," Grenn said.
"And that's what kept you alive if you left us, who knows what would have happened to you," Loras said.
"I could have survived on my own," Grenn spat back.
"Enough you two, Loras quit messing with him," Jon said firmly.
"Fine," Loras said and back down but with a small smirk on his face.
It was then when the doors of the hall opened, and ser Lucas and Bonifer arrived back. The two Hastys walked towards them and sat down.
"I have to thank you again, good Sers and especially you Ser Jon for helping us keep our castle; House Hasty is in your debt," Lucas said.
"You don't owe us anything; we did it because it was the right thing to do," Jon said.
"And yet you have my gratitude all the same."
"We wouldn't have been able to do it without your brother's help, he and his men and the true heroes," Robar said, and a thought crossed Jon's mind.
"How bad are the loses?" Jon asked.
"We caught them by surprise, but the fighting was still fierce; a quarter of my men have been killed or injured. It would have been more if the men from the castle had not stormed out to aid us," Bonifer said, a grievous expression on his face. Jon understood the knight's feelings; those men who gave up their lives today were his brothers, with whom he fought, ate, and drank for years; it will take time for that wound to heal.
"Who is this man? We did not have the pleasure of meeting earlier," Lucas said while looking at Grenn. Jon looked at Grenn and could see that man tense somewhat.
"This is Grenn; we met him on the road. He helped me and Loras track down Jon; after that, he helped us in the fight," Robar said, and Grenn relaxed.
"Well, you have my gratitude Grenn," Lucas said with a smile.
"Thank you, milord," Grenn said.
"The proper term is my lord," Loras said with a smile.
"My lord," Grenn said. "There is happy."
"Very much so," Loras said.
"Your rooms have been made for you, and I had the servants prepare hots baths for all of you. You will surely want to wash up after a long journey and a battle," Lucas said.
"We would, thank you, Ser Lucas," Jon said.
The hot bath was a pleasant thing, after all, that time on the road and his first battle. A servant helped him take off his armor, and he immediately dipped himself into the hot water. After washing off, he put on some new clothes that the Hastys provided, he made his way back to the great hall. Lucas threw a small feast to celebrate their victory, the hundred and some of the castle garrison all present.
He was led to the high table where he was seated right next to Ser Lucas and Ser Bonifor. To Lucas's left sat his wife, son, and sister, while on the right it was him, Loras, Robar, and Grenn. He would not help but smile at how Grenn looked at the fine clothes he was given; he looked like a knight in those.
Toasts were held for them and the fallen. There was drinking, and soon there was singing. Jon could hear the Hasty's talking about their two sons, the older one at Bitterbridge was safe Jon was sure of that, but the younger now followed Stannis, which means he is going straight to war and unlike the battle that they partook today, these ones will be massive and with a lot more carnage. Jon felt terrible that he could not help the Hasty's any more that he could, but there was nothing he could do about their sons now.
Loras nudged him with his elbow. "Jon, you should sing something; you have a better voice than these guys," Loras said.
"I'm not in the mood Loras," Jon said.
"Oh, come on, we won a battle today; we should celebrate at least a bit."
"No," Jon said.
"Come on, one song that is all I ask of you," Loras pleaded. After several moments Jon finally gave up and agreed. Standing up, he made his way down the high table and took a lute from one of the men. He was not as proficient with the lute as he was with a harp, but he was good enough. Jon decided to sing a song that would honor the men who fought and died today. He tuned the lute and began playing a tune, and soon be began singing.
Where now the horse and the rider
Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk?
And the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring?
And the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest?
And the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain,
Like a wind in the meadow.
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Who shall gather the smoke of the deadwood burning,
Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?
When Jon finished, he saw that all eyes were on him, he turned to the high table and looked to Loras, who had a satisfied smile, and soon the clapping started. Jon looked to the two ladies, who both had tears in their eyes, and even some of the men around him.
Ser Lucas stood up and lifted his glass. "To Jon Snow, the wolf of the south!" The knight shouted.
"To Jon Snow, the wolf of the south!" the people in the hall shouted afterward. Loras still sat in the chair, a satisfying grin on his face.
Margaery
Ever since she arrived in this accursed city, she knew she had to hide her displeasure and hate. The Lannisters were the worst group of people she ever met, but she had to hide it, to put on a false smile and be a good lady like she always was. She cursed her grandmother and her family for doing this; they were so desperate to get a crown that they sided with people who killed a good man and imprisoned his daughter. When she first arrived and found out that only Sansa was here and that Arya escaped somehow, she was relieved. The little wolf proving to be too much for even the Lannisters to handle.
Trying to get through to Sansa was more challenging than she thought; after learning what happened between her family and Jon, the girl basically threw her out of the room. Margaery could hear crying on the other side of the door and felt shame for what the girl endured. If only her family sided with the Starks instead of the Lannisters.
Margaery spent her time on the road to Kings Landing in depression, but once she reached the city, she decided she needed to pull herself together, this was a nest of vipers, and one mistake here could be fatal. Her only allies in this place were her ladies and her brother Garlan; she did not trust her grandmother anymore; in truth, she barely saw her since Bitterbridge. Garlan said nothing since they had allied with the Lions, but that was Olenna's work, and Margaery did not blame her brother.
She met the queen and the king with her brother, finding the queen to be what she expected arrogant and in constant need to control all that she deemed her though she was very skilled with words. The king was polite and charming, but she knew what was really hiding beneath, a monster. His mother seemed to want to keep her son under her control, but Margaery knew people, and maybe, just maybe, she could influence Joffrey in some ways. The crown will give her the power to change things for the better.
Maybe she could persuade the king to offer Sansa to the Starks in exchange for peace or finding some other way to prevent further bloodshed once she is crowned. She needed to talk to Sansa first. This all could have been easier if Loras was there with her, but she was glad he went after Jon; they will keep each other safe as they always did. Margaery might not be able to watch over Jon and Loras, but she could protect the poor that still needed the most help.
Jon, her heart ached still every time she thought about him, but he was alive because of what she did. Maybe she could have told him, but that could have caused problems that her grandmother would have dealt with. She never thought her grandmother capable of murder, but now she knew she was wrong.
After another day of false smiles, mummeries, and pleasant words that hid completely other meanings, she returned to her room to rest. She undressed and lay down on the bed. This was not how it was supposed to be; all her original plans and desires were gone, destroyed with Renly's death. Renly was the one way she could stay with Jon, and that all went away. Maybe it was foolish to think that having true love and the crown as possible. Maybe her grandmother was right; Jon would have spent the rest of his life as a glorified mistress, just like Jaime Lannister.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone