43 Blackwater
Fairmarket, The Northern Realms
The news of the devastating defeat of the Ironborn has reached Fairmarket and was met with celebration. Aryan knew that at the moment the news came to him that his soldiers were burning the Ironborn's bodies and were decorating the western shores with their head on pikes. He was wondering where would the reduced Iron Fleet would strike next. Will it be Lannisport or the Arbor? If they wish to attack Seagard, they will only return with fewer number et more defeats.
"Lord Stark, we received an odd letter from Tywin Lannister." said William Dustin interrupting him from his thoughts.
"Odd?" Aryan raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, he said that in exchange for the lives and return of the rest of the Frey soldiers under the command of Ser Emmon Frey, he will spare Rodrik Rogers' life." He said with a frown
"Who is Rodrik Rogers and why should he use him as an hostage against us?" Jon asked.
Aryan Stark's eyes became cold as ice and stood up and looked south towards Harrenhall "He is Brenda Rogers' grandson and the heir to Amberly in the Stormlands. And Brenda Rogers was born as Brenda Stark, daughter of 'The Wandering Wolf' Rodrik Stark, sister to Lyarra Stark, our grandmother."
Silence filled the air for a couple of second before Aryan turn to his attendant, Laszlo, and asked him "How did he get his hand on a Stormlord when he is busy with the Arryns and the Tullys as well as returning to defend King's Landing?"
Laszlo looked at him and said "He asked the Roses to capture him."
Aryan smiled and looked towards the South "Up-jumped steward. Capturing my kin? Threatening me with his life? Tell me, is it war they wish?"
Neither of the three men responded to his question he turned back and looked at them with the same smile "Never mind. How many Frey soldiers do we have?"
"2348." Laszlo answered.
"Loyal to them?"
"Unlikely. But they hate us way more. We killed a lot of their friends and invaded their lands."
"My lands now. How many do they think they are?"
"Fifteen hundred more or less."
"How many do Tywin thinks we have?"
"He doesn't have any clue. He hopes for two thousand."
Aryan looked at Jon and told him to call the leader of the Black Wolves, Iron Emmett, he turned back to Laszlo and asked "Besides the Stannis, the Reachmen and Tywin going to King's Landing for battle and Edmure Tully falling in love and wanting to marry Jeyne Westerling, you told me that you had other news to share with me."
"Yes, my Lord, according to our information Tyrion Lannister wishes to use Wildfire to wipe out Stannis' fleet." Both William and Aryan were speechless but not more than when they heard the second news "Jaime Lannister successfully ran away from Riverrun's jail when the castle was grieving Hoster Tully's death thanks to traitor inside the household. The traitors were all put to death but Jaime Lannister is on his way to King's Landing."
"Idiots." William muttered.
"But his return would be quite difficult. He is alone, malnourished and has spent the last few months in a cell. And now Tywin has left the Riverlands, so he is completely in enemy territory. I wish him luck."
"Luck to the Kingslayer?" William asked.
"Yes, I quite like the man."
"You only liked two Andals, Robert Baratheon and Jaime Lannister. One of them killed Aerys Targaryen and the other killed Rhaegar Targaryen. What a coincidence."
Aryan laughed "It is a coincidence, Lord Dustin. And I would call my banners on anyone who says otherwise."
Their laughter were stopped when Jon and Emmett came and Aryan said to the latter "Take your men and give six hundred Frey soldiers to the Heart Tree. Later, tell the seventeen hundred living Frey soldiers that they should go west to Banefort." Emmett nodded.
He then went to a parchment and a quill. After ending writing the letter Jon asked him who it was for and he answered "I told Tywin that if something happened to Rodrik Rogers, I will kill every single man, woman and child between me and Casterly Rock."
"The Tyrells captured your kin when he was an ally just a few days before. What will we do?" Jon asked with anger.
"The Tyrells certainly didn't know the relationships but either way, nothing happened to him but you are right. We will respond. Pass my orders, Jon..." He then whispered something to him and Jon nodded and went.
~
Blackwater Bay
"If the winds holds we'll reach King's Landing tomorrow night." said Davos
"Will it hold?"
"Can't make promises for the wind, your Grace."
Stannis walked away and Davos followed him while a couple of highborn were glaring at him for his relationship with the King "I admire you, Ser Davos."
"I thank you, Your Grace. Pleased to hear it."
"Some highborn fools call you Onion Knight, they think they insult you. So you take the onion for your sigil, sow it in your coat, fly it on your flag."
"My sons wish for me to change it. Three mermen with a trident. Or something like that." Davos smiled.
"I understand why the older families looked down at me." Davos continued.
"Do you? Why?" Stannis asked.
"My father was a crabber."
"And?"
"Well, sons of Lords don't like to break bread with sons of crabbers. Our hands stink."
"And where were those Lords when Storm's End starved?"
"Many fought bravely for your brother. Many fought for the Mad King."
"You defend these men who insult you behind your back." Stannis said with a little curl on his lips
"Some are happy to do it to my face."
"We were forgotten. Robert and Ned Stark, they were the heroes, the glorious rebels. Marching from battle to battle. Liberating towns from the yoke of the Mad King while I held Storm's End with 500 men."
"No one's forgotten, your Grace.
"No? Robert did. He gave Storm's End to Renly after the war. Renly never fought a day in his life!"
"He was only a boy."
Then why give him Storm's End?" He paused before continuing "First, we ate the horses. We weren't riding anywhere, not with the castle surrounded. We couldn't feed them, so fine. The horses, then the cats-I've never liked cats, so fine. I do like dogs - good animals, loyal - but we ate them too. Then the rats... The night before you slipped through, I thought my brother was dying. He couldn't speak anymore, he was so frail. And then you made it through the lines, slipped right through in your little black sail boat with your onions..."
"And some potatoes. Some salted beef, I believe."
"Every man at Storm's End wanted to kiss you that night.
"I was relieved they did not." Davos smiled.
"Robert told me to hold Storm's End, so I held it. Then he told me he was giving it to Renly, so I gave it up. Insult or no, I gave it up because Robert was my older brother and he was the king and I've always done my duty. But now, I am the rightful king by every law of Westeros. And when I sit the Iron Throne, you will be my Hand."
"Your Grace... I pray I serve you well." Davos said while kneeling.
"I expect you'll be the first crabber's son to wear the badge."
~
Kings' Landing, The Crownlands
"And so he spoke, and so he spoke... ♪
That Lord of Castamere... ♪
But now the rains ♪
Weep o'er his halls ♪
With no one there to see ♪
Yes, now the rains ♪
Weep o'er his halls ♪
And not a soul to hear ♪" sang Bronn and the Lannister soldiers
"To the boys!" Bronn shouted
"Lannister!" Another shouted.
"Ser Bronn, Lord Tyrion is calling you." a Lannister solider came to him and he nodded.
~
"Stannis is coming to us with forty thousand men. We barely have six thousand men here in the city. Our duty is to stop Stannis from taking control of the City before reinforcements arrive. My father is bringing thirty thousand troops, while the Tyrell bring forty thousand. We have to hold the Mud Gate, no matter what." Tyrion said.
A few hours later the first ships could be seen from afar already. As they started to draw closer the Lannister soldiers were told to hold their fire. The wait was intense and the tension could be felt everywhere. Everyone in the city anxious or scared for the coming battle. A single Lannister ship got closer to the Baratheon's ships. Suddenly, a tiny light was seen in the sky. That light traveled and fell on the water near the lone Lannister ship and then the explosion happened and people in King's Landing were sure that even at the Wall they should have heard it. The sky was green. And when Tyrion looked he was nearly a quarter of Stannis fleet, eighty ships, burnt. The smell of burning wood and flesh could be made in the city. Tyrion was shocked, The Hound terrified of the fire while Joffrey was smiling like a maniac.
~
Stannis was watching his men burn, he sighed with anger "Prepare to land."
One of his soldiers tried to advise him "Your Grace..."
"The dwarf has played his little trick He can only play it once."
"We're too far from the gate, between the fire and the archers, hundreds will die."
Stannis looked to the city, determined and shook his head and said "Thousands."
He wait in front of his men and could feel that all the thirty thousand men who still lived were watching and listening to him "Come with me and take this city!"
The roar of support was traveling from ships to ships and was heard in King's Landing.
~
When Joffrey saw the army coming, he was terrified "They're too many."
Tyrion watches his nephew who said a couple of hours earlier that he will make a red smile at Stannis Baratheon' face with his knife.
"Pod, run to the King's Gate and bring any man you can get." Pod nodded.
As Stannis' men started to attack the Gate, the Lannisters soldiers went to confront them with the Hound leading them and for a little while they were pushing them back. Chaos, blood and fire were everywhere. Then the Hound retreated back into the safety of the Walls.
"Can I get you some milk and a nice bowl of raspberry, too?" Tyrion asked the Hound with sarcasm.
"Eat shit, dwarf."
"You're on the wrong side of the Walls."
"I lost half my men in a moment. The Blackwater in on fire. Stannis' men are killing everyone on their path."
"Dog! I command you to go back out there and fight." screamed Joffrey.
"You're Kingsguard, Clegane. You must beat them back or they'll take this city. Your King's city " Tyrion tried to convince him.
The Hound looked at Tyrion "Fuck the Kingsguard. Fuck the City." he then looked at Joffrey "Fuck the King."
The Hound left the City and a few seconds later Joffrey ran away from the siege. Tyrion looked at the soldiers.
"I'll lead the attack !" He screamed. "There's another to attack, we'll come from behind them and fuck them in their asses."
"Don't fight for your king, don't fight for his kingdoms, don't fight for honor, don't fight for glory, don't fight for riches because you won't get any. This is your city Stannis means to sack, your gate he's ramming. If he gets in, it will be your houses he burns, your gold he steals, your women he will rape. Those are brave men knocking at our door. Let's go kill them!" and everyone cheered the Halfman.
And take them from behind he did and it worked, and his men were celebrating him but they were shortened as more and more of Stannis' men were coming and Lannister men were dying. Tyrion himself was saved my a soldier before seeing Mandon Moore, he relaxed for a moment before the Kingsguard slashed at his face. In shock he couldn't register anything and Ser Mandon Moore was going for the kill before Pod put a spear through his head from behind.
As he was fainting he saw Tyrell and Lannister banners coming to confront the Baratheons.
~
Stannis was killing everything and everyone in his path when suddenly one of his men told him that they needed to retreat but Stannis wouldn't, not when conquering the city was this close. He was dragged by three men while his army started to retreat to their ships. He was then in shock when he saw someone wearing his brother's armor, thinking it was Renly, not knowing that it was Garlan Tyrell. Their retreat was guarded by nearly four thousand soldiers.
Stannis came with 350 ships and forty thousand men to conquer King's Landing. He returned to Storm's End with twenty three thousand men and a little bit more than two hundred ships.
~
It has been two weeks since their victory at 'The Battle of the Blackwater' as it was now known and Tyrion was removed from his position as Hand of the King and after Pycelle purposely destroyed his face. He understood from his father and Mace Tyrell talk that the great majority of the Reach forces was going to the Stormlands and protecting the West. What he didn't understand was why his father after receiving a raven from Banefort five days ago, put a Stormlord on a ship with nearly two hundred of his men.
As Joffrey and the Tyrell girl announced that they will marry, someone ran in front of the Throne Room, he was wearing the color of House Footly of Tumbleton. He looked tired, shaken and scared.
"I apologize Your Grace, my name is Simon Footly and I need to urgently speak with Lord Tywin and Lord Tyrell."
"What is it? Speak fast, don't you see that you are bothering my and my betrothed?" Joffrey asked with venom.
"I was in Stoney Sept and that's when I saw it..."
"What did you see, Lord Footly?" Asked Mace Tyrell.
"The Starks..." He said said, shaken.
This time it was Tywin who stood up and asked "Stark? What about him?"
"Lord Tywin... Fifty thousand northeners have started to invade The Reach."
And all hell broke loose.
