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***
Joffrey named his new sword Heart Eater. The hilt was adorned with a heart-shaped ruby clasped in the mouth of a lion. The king's old sword, the Lion's Tooth, had been discarded by Arya and rested at the bottom of the Trident.
- They say Uncle Stannis never smiles. When he meets me, he will smile a bloody smile from ear to ear,' Joffrey stroked the hilt of his sword and laughed.
- Stannis will be horrified, Your Grace,' Light said.
Cersei smiled tensely and asked her son to leave her alone with her cousin. When Joffrey left, the queen wrapped her arms around Light and pressed herself against him. She was trembling, natural or faked, Light couldn't tell. Her emerald eyes looked hopeful and fearful.
- I'm afraid for Joff,' she admitted in a whisper. - Is it really necessary for my son to be in battle?
- Men fight more bravely when they see that the king is with them.
- Joffe must have the best guards. Let the Hound stay close to him. No enemy must come near my son. Keep him in a safe place, Lancel, do you hear me?
- Of course I do. The king will be guarded by a company of gold cloaks and three royal guards. I will choose the most defended section of the wall, the one with the most cannons.
- Good,' Cersei breathed out, kissing him. - Good, Lancel,' she smiled and grabbed his cock. - I have faith in you. There is still time before Stannis approaches. Before I go to the court ladies, those stupid chickens, I want to be with a man.
***
Before the fight, Light decided to visit the sept for a show of piety. The building was crowded. Court ladies prayed at the altar to the Mother, asking for the safety of their husbands, fathers and sons. The men placed candles to the Warrior and the more romantic ones to the Maiden. Light put two candles to the Blacksmith (without their work he would have no cannons) and to the Unknowing, asking him to rest Varys in peace. When he had finished praying, Light saddled his horse and left the Red Keep with a large troop of gold cloaks, led by Ser Jaselyn. Podrick kept close behind. The King, who had ridden out five minutes earlier, was already waiting for Light on the south wall. Ser Merrin, Ser Preston and the Hound were with him. The golden crown gleamed in the setting sun.
Stannis's ships were already entering the mouth of the river. Joffrey's few ships sailed downstream to meet them. Their oars and sails sagged helplessly and their decks were deserted. There was no crew on these vessels, whose holds were filled with vessels of wild fire.
Twenty cannon of bronze were hoisted on the wall and stared menacingly towards the river. Beside each lay a supply of nukes. In addition to the cannons, there were mines: vessels of wild fire buried between the bank and the wall. All these surprises should be enough to hold the enemy until reinforcements arrived.
On receiving news of Stannis' approach to the capital, Lord Tywin rushed south with his entire force, leaving only a small barrier at the Trident. Five hundred men led by Ser Forley Prester were to die holding back twenty thousand Northmen to give Lord Tywin time to defeat Stannis. Unless, of course, Ser Jaime could come to their rescue in time.
The queen's order to lift the siege of Riverrun got an unexpected response: Riverrun's already been taken! How? Very simple. Tyrion thought it up. The dwarf offered to simulate the lifting of the siege by leaving two thousand mercenaries to guard the castle and keep the garrison from escaping. When the main force of lions disappeared from sight, the defenders of the castle rejoiced but were not surprised, thinking that the Lannisters needed to move their army for some important battle.
From the very first day of the siege, the archers had been shooting down every raven flying into the castle. So Riverrun knew nothing of Stark movements or the progress of the war at all. But the defenders of the castle were no fools either. They knew that when the siege began, the Stark army stood at Caelyn's Ditch, they knew the average speed of troop movements, and they knew that Lord Frey had kept his forces intact. When the mercenary camp was attacked by men under Stark and Frey banners, Riverrun gave thanks to the gods, thinking help had arrived. And they opened the gates to the 'helpers.'
Riverrun fell within the hour. Edmar Tully was sent to Casterly Rock in chains. Old Lord Hoster died-'of grief,' Jaime wrote-but Light suspected that the sick old man had simply been slaughtered underhandedly. Light had heard that his younger brother, Ser Brynden, nicknamed 'Blackfish,' had left the Vale and joined the Stark army. Will Jaime be able to defeat two such illustrious warlords as Lord Eddard and Ser Brynden? If not, Lord Tywin will have to lock himself away in the capital and wait for help from the Tyrells. After the battle with Stannis, his uncle likely won't have enough strength to face the Northmen in a clear field.
That Stannis would be defeated, Light had no doubt.
Stannis's fleet was preparing to crush the lowly foe it faced, sailing silently towards him without oars or sails. But the captains must have sensed something wrong at the last moment, for they began to turn frantically towards the shore. Light grinned. Too late! A thousand green arms swept over the Blackwater, a thousand greedy green mouths devouring the enemy ships. A wave of hot air swept from the river and reached the city walls. Joffrey grinned. The Hound grinned.
- Half,' Ser Jaselin said coolly. - Half the ships will burn and sink, but half will survive.
Light nodded. As he waited for the roar of flame over the river to subside, he was convinced that the commander of the guard was right.
- All guns,' Light ordered. - Fire on the enemy ships. Aim for the hull.
The sound of the guns made Light's ears ache. But there were too many ships, and most made it safely ashore. The landing began. A hundred, three hundred, five hundred, a thousand soldiers. Some managed to jump from the sinking ships and swam to the shore, holding on to the timbers with one hand and rowing with the other. Shielded from arrows, the enemy armed themselves with ladders and made a turtle to protect the battering ram.
- Mines,' Light ordered.
Flames ran down the tarred ropes leading underground. Fiery green flowers bloomed on the shore. At this distance, screams of pain could already be heard. The abandoned turtle burned brightly and cheerfully.
- We are winning! - Joffrey exclaimed. - Lancel, we're winning!
Light nodded.
The ships continued to moor to the shore, landing new waves of enemies. The overheated cannons were temporarily unusable; the soldiers were diligently pouring water on them from pre-prepared barrels.
- Ser Preston,' Ser Jaselyn turned to the short knight from the West, 'will you help me organise a sortie? I have few experienced men, and the presence of a Kingsguard boosts morale.
Light smiled faintly. He had given Ser Jaselin the idea, complaining regularly about the lack of knights among the city's defenders and extolling his cousin Jaime, whose white cloak meant he was one of the best. Ser Jaselin listened and listened, and one day he remarked that there were other knights in the Kingsguard who might not be as illustrious as Ser Jaime, but they could lead men into battle. Light approved of the idea warmly. He didn't know if Ser Jacelyn would choose Preston Greenfield or Merrin Trant. The former was braver, but the latter was physically stronger. The Hound was out of the question - he's not a knight.
- Of course, Ser Jaselin. I'd be happy to help you, if his Grace doesn't mind.
Ser Preston looked questioningly at Joffrey. The king, still enthralled by the sight of his enemies burning alive, readily agreed.
The first sortie left a hundred enemy corpses and half a dozen of his own on the shore. Ser Preston Greenfield had been at the edge of the attack and was among the dead.
- Clegane,' Light said. - The queen said to tell you not to leave the king's side. His Grace's mother is very concerned for his safety.
Joffrey frowned.
- 'Let her not tell me what to do! I am the king! I can take care of myself! Dog, you have my permission to go on the raid.
- Finally,' he grumbled. - I'm sick of standing here like a statue. It's time to kill someone.
Joffrey laughed happily and, snatching the Heart Eater from its sheath, waved it imperiously towards the gate.
- Forward! - commanded the King. - Let's throw them into the river!
He himself, however, remained where he was.
In some places the wildfire was still burning. One soldier, engulfed in flames, ran straight at the Hound. Even at this distance, Light could see the look of fear on Clegane's face. But the Hound overpowered himself and cut the enemy down with one fierce blow. I wonder how long it would last?
The cannons had cooled enough and the soldiers began to load them. Joffrey watched them work with an avid interest that he ineptly concealed under a mask of arrogant indifference.
- Your Grace,' Light said. - I'm going to go to the next gate and see how things are going there. While I'm gone, someone should be in charge of the cannon. Ser Merrin, perhaps?
- No,' Joffrey said. - I'll take command!
- Are you sure, Your Grace?
- Don't take too long, Lancel,' the king's bravado hid fear. - Or I'll slaughter all my enemies and leave you with nothing!
- I will try, Your Grace.
Light began to saddle his horse. Joffrey, meanwhile, was giving orders:
- Hey, you there! Turn the cannon over there--no, not there, you idiots! Over there!
With a grin, Light spurred his horse. Podrick followed him. Ser Merrin and a hundred gold-cloaked recruits remained by Joffrey's side: Ser Jaselin had taken all the experienced ones on a sortie. Five minutes later Light was already at God's Gate.
Another five minutes later, a messenger came riding towards him.
- Ser Lancel! Trouble! The enemies have breached the wall and they're climbing up!
- How? - shrieked Light. - And our cannon?
- They are in good working order and fire wherever the king commands. But his lordship was too absorbed in the process to notice that the whole lane was out of range. When he discovered this and ordered the guns to be turned, it was too late: the enemy had reached the wall. Seeing them climbing up the ladders, the gold cloaks trembled and ran....
- What are you waiting for? - Light shouted to the soldiers. - Hurry, save the king!
When Lyte's men reached the place, Stannis's men had already taken possession of the wall and were running towards the Mud Gate to open it from the inside. Light's soldiers stabbed them in the back, but more were climbing the wall. The attack was repulsed only with the arrival of a reserve of five hundred swords, which Lyte had left nearby just in case.
The king's body was found a hundred paces from the Dirty Gate. Joffrey tried to run but was killed by an arrow to the back of the head. Dead fingers clutching the hilt of a Heart Eater. Ser Merrin was nowhere to be seen.
- Where is Trant? - Light asked threateningly. - Where is the bastard who abandoned his king to his fate?
- Gone,' one of the guards said, stating the obvious.
- You two,' Light pointed his finger at the gold cloaks closest to him. - Take the king's body to the Red Castle and tell the queen what happened. Add that the king died like a hero, fighting the enemy with a sword in his hand. The rest of you...' Light paused. - Avenge the king! Joffrey Baratheon died protecting you, your homes, and your kin. Show yourselves worthy of his sacrifice!
The soldiers responded with a furious roar. As they triumphed, Light did not immediately notice that a new sound had been added to the war cries of the gold cloaks: the stomping of feet. Thousands of feet. Light turned round sharply.
A huge crowd of townspeople armed with anything - stones, sticks, clubs - were running towards the gate, also shouting something. When he heard the words, Light grew cold.
- Stannis! - the townsfolk were shouting. - For King Stannis! Death to the Lannisters!
Stones flew at Light. He tried to dodge, but he couldn't.
A blow. Darkness.