Chapter 13 – Deafening Roar
The Rose Road, the Reach/Stormlands Border…
The Black Army now with their ranks swelled with reinforcements from the Reach marched up the Rose road with the Mander nearby to protect their flank, passing the ruins of Tumbleton on their way north. The sad looking mess that had once been a large town containing thousands of people was unsettling reminder of the power of dragons and although they had heard whispers that House Footly intended to rebuild it most of them doubted that it would be even a fraction of its original size or many people would want to live there given all the death that had happened there.
Harry looked up and a sad smile came to his face as he again noted the absence of Rani and his wife above them, missing her already. With the death of the rogues and one of their dragons too she had returned to Godric's Hollow to be with their son while Rhaenys Targaryen with her dragon Meleys also known as the Red Queen had taken her place in the army solely to keep an eye on Daeron. Fears about Vermithor had thankfully proven unfounded as the moment the dragon was able now he had no rider he had flown back to Dragonstone to nest.
Harry rode upon his horse wondering quietly to himself why the dragons were drawn to the miserable rocky island? Was it the sea where food could be regularly found or the heat of the volcano making it more comfortable to them?
The number of men they had now was truly astonishing though Harry thought as he returned back to the army he now commanded or at least partly commanded. Some lords did not appreciate following a house as 'young' or 'minor' as theirs which would at one time have made his blood boil at the insult by these pathetic little houses that often were only a fraction as old as his but all the struggles of war had toughened his skin and he handled them far better now. At his side Cregan and the rest of his closest allies rode now accompanied by Ambrose Tarly, behind them an army of around seventy thousand men drawn from the North, the Riverlands, the Vale, the Westerlands and now the Reach.
All these men now marching to force first the Stormlands into submission and then Kings Landing to end this war once and for all. They would also later have to deal with the Iron Born but thankfully after the 'Incident at Feastfires' they had returned to their islands in fear and hopefully little would be needed to force them back into line.
Harry had spent most of the previous night studying all he could find on Borros Baratheon who it seemed was short tempered, arrogant, greedy and blunt. A simple summing up of his character but those were his most prominent character traits, he would not have the patience to hold up in a castle or city behind protective walls. He would try and meet them in the field.
Now he did have a talent at tactics, that was known Harry acknowledged so he was not assuming victory would be certain, with that in mind he had chosen the battle field and his tactics well ahead of time. Given the Stormlands Army was mostly around Kings Landing except for a small number that had stayed to hold their keeps it would take time for them to march south so Harry had decided to lay his confidence on Borros marching to fight them rather than try and hold up in Kings Landing.
So that was why their army was marching hard to get into position ahead of time.
A rider from Bitterbridge then appeared, wearing the yellow centaur of House Caswell on his tunic. He rode up and while their weapons remained close to hand he handed a message to Cregan.
"From Winterfell my lord." The Messenger said and rode alongside them while Cregan opened the message and read its contents. All those who had heard or seen what was happening waited to see what this strange message meant and were somewhat relieved when Cregan smiled one of the few genuine smiles that they had ever seen on his face. All of them including Harry were eager to hear what had brought the smile to his face when he announced it with the most joy Harry had ever heard from him.
"A pair of daughters! I now have TWO DAUGHTERS!" He cried out in happiness. Harry and others now smiled and some of them including Lord Bracken and Black Aly congratulated him.
Harry merely smiled, this news only increased his desire to end the war quickly so Cregan could get to see those two girls as soon as possible.
The Isle of Faces, the Riverlands…
As they were led through the forest more and more magic was revealed to them, more creatures some of which they had never seen before and all of them even Moody was amazed.
However the sight of an enormous Weirwood that must have been a hundred foot high at least and nearly just as wide. Around it were elf like creatures with huge eyes and greyish green skin which looked similar in a way to the house elves of their world but these stood far taller and even appeared to have some kind of hair. These James realised must be the Children of the Forest that had been mentioned as helping the early Peverells set up this safe haven. The leader of them stood up and came over with curiosity.
"You bare the symbol of House Peverell. Are you its leader?" It sounded vaguely masculine so James decided to call it a he. He saw all the others looking to him and realised he was speaking for all of them.
"Yes, we came because of the witch who is draining the creatures. The barriers that protect the island were meant to hold back normal humans not magical humans so they didn't stop her." James said hoping that these creatures were willing to trust them.
"Just one magical human draining true magical creatures? I find that doubtful." The Centaur said with disdain, all of them picked up on his dislike for humans but the Child of the Forest snapped at him.
"Did you not just deal with one of your own herd killing those that trespass in your territory?" The Child said sternly which made the Centaur look away not willing to look them in the eye at the reminder that they themselves were as imperfect as the humans that they held in such low regard.
Whatever else might have been said was interrupted by a blast of green fire emerging from the thick woods and surrounding them. Everyone startled backed away from the fire and looked for its source, they didn't need to look far as out of the forest emerged Bellatrix but all of them were stunned at the changes in her appearance, she looked like a corpse. Her skin was almost white and shrunken easily allowing them to see the sharp bones beneath, her hair had completely fallen out and her eyes were glowing which honestly alarmed them more than the other changers. The red jewel around her neck was shining so brightly they had to look away as she laughed in a voice that had no sanity left in it, it was so unsettling that they shivered involuntarily.
She didn't even speak and instead started throwing blasts of green fire straight at them. Moody was the first to shake out of it and yelled out like a drill sergeant.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE YOU USELESS PRICKS! SHIELDS!" He called out and all of them followed his lead, casting the strongest shields charms they could and shuddered as they strained to keep up the shield.
Bellatrix seemed to notice this and kept up her attack; Moody, James, Sirius, Amelia, Fred and Colin all struggled to hold the shield in place but when Lily and Cedric went to add their power to the shield they noticed the fire circle had disappeared as Bellatrix seemed to be concentrating her power on breaking the shield. Her lack attention gave both of them an idea, James seemed to noticed what they were doing and tossed Lily Godric's Claw and with everyone distracted they crept forward and around as fast as they could.
They got close enough Cedric lunged forward with Dawn, the bitch however caught sight of him and sent a blast of fire at him. It lit up Cedric's eyes but disappeared when Lily moved Godric's Claw in its path. The sword glowed green briefly but then then turned back to normal. Bellatrix did not give her a second to reflect on this though as she started flinging green fire at both of them.
Cedric and Lily managed to catch the green fire with their swords but while Bellatrix snorted like an angry beast she failed to notice as a herd of centaurs unleashed a swarm of arrows in her direction. One pierced her shoulder and she screamed out in pain.
Bellatrix had no moment of respite as Moody took advantage to fire a curse at her, the green curse however failed to land as she sidestepped but was then hit by a red blasting curse fired by Amelia. Bellatrix stumbled back towards Lily and Cedric who finally managed to get close enough to impale her stomach with their swords.
The scream Bellatrix let out was so loud and high pitched it didn't seem human, however it didn't stop the blood flowing from the wounds as they pulled the swords free. She slumped to the ground and starting squirming as if trying to get out of death's grip but this time the demonic witch could not slither her way out and writhing in vain eventually slowed and stopped.
Everyone, human and creature looked down at the body not quite sure if she was truly dead or just faking but Moody not taking any chances conjured a blast of fire with his staff and quickly burnt the body to ash...just to be sure.
There was silence as the adrenaline was still high before the Child of the Forest smiled and spoke.
"Thank you to you all. It is good to see some humans respect the miracle magic is, I suspect her greater power and diminished appearance was from draining a unicorn foal the purest creatures on this island. An act she will regret deeply as the curse will trap her between this world and the next. But regretfully for the sake of our community I must ask you depart as soon as possible. Many are scared of humans and the actions of that demonic harpy have unsettled many so to ease their minds I must ask you leave." He said regretfully before adding. "But for what you did...coming to us in this darkest moment you will forever have our gratitude."
Everyone was a bit surprised and angered at the quick dismissal but Moody in classic form said abruptly.
"Fine by me lads, I need some decent ale in me after chasing that bitch around the world."
Kings Landing, the Crownlands…
Aegon had promised to feed the people, despite not having the gold to buy supplies or the land to grow them but that promise had held back the riots against him.
So on the Iron Throne with the staff helping him to stand and the chain around his neck he frowned at the refusal of the Crownlords to give him a portion of their stores. Apparently their excuses were that they had suffered a bad harvest and had only enough to feed their own people but he doubted it. With anger he threw down the messages and ordered Lord Borros Baratheon who stood there with the Hand of the King pinned to his chest.
"Send your men to all these keeps and take the food we need from their stores. If they resist, kill them." Aegon demanded.
A look around the room showed many people there looked uncomfortable with the order, however only the Fool Mushroom though dared say what was on everyone's minds.
"Sire, if you steal their food they will cease to support you."
The room was silent as everyone looked between them, not quite believing that this dwarf would say something that a king wouldn't want to hear but all the same it had happened. Aegon himself didn't believe it but soon responded by snarling like an enraged animal, yelling near incomprehensible insults at him and flinging a goblet of wine at Mushroom's head who flinched when it hit him but while the red wine ran down his face it otherwise stayed frightfully calm and showed no emotion on his face, leaving the room of his own accord.
Mushroom inside was seething as yet another insult was piled on, he had been a faithful retainer to her grace Queen Rhaenyra and loved her as any man could a woman from afar. She had laughed at his jokes and tricks and paid him a handsome wage which had gotten him a comfortable life but when she had perished he had turned his loyalty to Aegon as he preferred to keep his head firmly attached to his shoulders.
But he had quickly learnt how bad a choice this was turning out to be, Aegon had no humour in him except when it came to watching others suffer. He had become a favourite target for the cockless king, forced to endure endless japes at his height and status while the rest of court laughed. Having things thrown at him that he had to let hit otherwise he would be held still by the Kingsguard so the next one would.
It was more than enough to make any one hate you and Mushroom really hated Aegon.
He was no man of action, he was the man that skulked in the shadows to hear others talk or was ignored as no one would consider him to be dangerous, but that meant many secrets reached his ears...like the one that they had yet to find Rhaenyra's last two sons and that the Black Army had rallied to them. Aegon didn't want people to know that he was now only half a man either, that honestly made Mushroom laugh as he had a complete cock and could enjoy a woman's warmth while the 'king' could not.
Aegon was dead set against any of the people learning these secrets, they would be very damaging if they came out.
It would be a great pleasure of his to make sure they all did and spread as far as possible.
-x-
Lord Borros did dispatch a portion of his men to raid Rosby for the supplies they wanted while taking a large portion of his army south to face the Blacks. Aegon watched him leave and knew his last chance of holding the throne hung on the Baratheons. Especially with his brother's defection.
The mere thought of Daeron turning his back on him and now joining the rebellion against him honestly had surprised him so deeply that he had not believed it for a long time. Daeron had always been so dutiful that it was impossible that he would betray him but now that the truth had been confirmed it only made his mood become darker.
He honestly had not stopped thinking of ways to make him suffer since he found out and now was considering the infamous Yi Ti torture 'Death by a thousand cuts'.
Godric's Hollow, the Riverlands…
Rani landed in the square in front of the castle and Visenya was immediately greeted by her two younger brothers who ran straight into her waiting arms the moment she touched the ground.
"Are you okay?!" They both asked desperate to see that she was healthy after she had left them for weeks. Their fear of losing her too so strong they didn't want to let her out of their sight, she knelt and hugged both of them tightly before saying.
"I am fine, those little traitors are gone now and I won't be leaving again. I promise." She told them and they looked so relieved that it made her smile. She saw little Alysanne who was now two years old clutching to Aegon and gave an adorable baby smile which made Visenya cry a small tear before reaching out and gave the little girl a hug of her which was returned.
This little girl had been little more than a baby when she arrived and still was but she had started to turn into a toddler before her eyes and would soon be talking. Just like Aenar and she wondered as Alysanne started mumbling in babyish words if she actually was confusing her for their mother but as she returned the hug she decided it didn't matter, when Alysanne was older she would tell her about their mother but always would treat her not just as a sibling but as her own child.
-x-
That night the Earth people also returned to Godric's Hollow when most of the castle had gone to sleep. They didn't wake anyone and settled themselves in the hall with a few drinks to talk amongst themselves in peace without having to explain where they had gone and why.
Moody took down a flagon of ale with his considerable experience and toasted.
"To Bellatrix, may she burn in hell or wherever they said she was going!" He said glad to finally see the horrible bitch get what was coming to her after all the misery and pain she had caused in two worlds. The others while less bloodthirsty all raised their own cups as none of them felt even remotely sorry for Bellatrix being stuck in Limbo for all eternity with no chance of either moving on to the next world or returning as a ghost. It was one of the greatest nightmares imaginable but they couldn't honestly think of anyone who deserved it more than her.
They all took a drink and breathed a sigh of relief that it was over but then Amelia posed a question while sitting next to her husband and best friends, looking forward to seeing her son and daughter in the morning.
"So what will you all do now?"
The others all stopped for moment to consider the question but Cedric was quick to answer with a smile.
"I'm going back to Dorne, to see my son. Also I have to knight Colin and I swore to his father in this world he would see it." Cedric told them and Colin looked shocked and lost for words especially when Cedric added. "You followed us after that bitch and fought against her when most would have fled, that's being a true knight in my book."
Colin looked starstruck for a moment, in awe of Cedric and nodded eagerly. Something that made the others smile too, poor lad certainly had something of a hero worship complex. Fred with his large smirk said.
"I think if its okay I might hang around here for a while." He said eager to put down roots somewhere instead of wandering all the time, not to mention indulge in some experiments he had dreamt up. He could even enjoy a few pranks here and there he thought with glee. James and Lily shared a look before nodding to show their approval.
"Well there are still a load of nasty magic users out there, so I'll off in the morning for Essos." Moody said gruffly, he was still an auror deep down and that was his calling hunting down dark magic users and bringing them to justice and even better for him in this world there was no Ministry dragging him down with bureaucracy. He smirked a little at that but James and Lily said.
"Of course but perhaps you might drop in for a visit from time to time." They said with hope, they had only just met again and now they were all going their separate ways. Fred looked uncomfortable too as he had been his partner for awhile now and was soon going to be apart. Moody looked a bit annoyed at the request but begrudgingly said.
"Maybe once or twice."
They took that as all they would get and accepted it as the old auror was as difficult in this world as he had been in the last. So since this could be the last time they were all together they spent the night talking and enjoying each other's presence.
Kings Landing, the Crownlands…
The men that guarded the walls of the city were in a state of tension, many were young men drafted sometimes at sword point to defend the city and had little training. They were honestly little more than boys pretending to be soldiers and while confident and joking around most of the time the sight of Velaryon ships approaching the coast had many frozen in panic.
"What do we do?" One of them, a boy of little more than twelve who had lied about his age said with terror in his eyes. The 'Sergeant' a boy of sixteen who had been a blacksmith's apprentice before all of this was frozen with indecision not knowing what to do.
When the catapults on the ships started firing rocks and barrels at the walls of the city they honestly ran screaming that the walls of the city were under attack and the few that stayed and tried to man the wall's own catapults and ballistas had far too little experience to hit anything or operate them with any real efficiency.
However instead of sending boats to carry men ashore the ships turned and left, leaving the boys on the walls in a state of confusion. Why had they attacked the walls and yet not tried to breach the city?
-x-
Antlers, the Crownlands…
The castle of Antlers which was House Buckwell's holding was constantly in fear of an invasion from the Riverlands given how close they were to the border and such had many of their men on the northern wall and gate. However this meant fewer men actually patrolling the lands and as such were not able to stop the raiding of their farms and villages.
Men on horseback were causing chaos as they spread across the Crownlands, attacking the houses that had sworn themselves to Aegon the Usurper. Farms raided, fields burnt, bridges smashed and more.
But from the capital there was nothing but silence, despite all the calls for help.
Panic filled the streets and the food supplies stolen from Rosby did little to fill their bellies, too little for too many and the most fertile lands they could trade with were now with the enemies of their king.
Taking supplies by force and abandoning others when attacked did little to improve the views many lords and commonfolk had of Aegon the Usurper. They remained too scared of him to act against him but opinion was definitely taking a downward turn, especially given how he executed people...with wildfire.
The whispers that Aegon the Younger, the son of Rhaenyra who was said to be a bright and caring boy was in fact still alive and more to the point that his mother's army had rallied to him many started wondering how long Aegon the Usurper would hold the throne when he could produce no heir, had no dragon and an ever shrinking army.
The panic caused by the false attacks and the stopping of supplies coming by sea from the Stormlands only made the situation worse, fear was taking firm root in the city and castles and everyone knew the war would once again come to the walls of Kings Landing.
Elsewhere in his solar on Driftmark Corlys smiled as he saw his plan taking shape, whittling away at the foundations of the Usurper's rule and setting the stage for his downfall. The blockade was holding well and ships from the Stormlands were being seized, adding to his own fleet and would be useful after the war to boost their trade.
All in all everything was going as planned.
-x-
The Kingswood, the Stormlands…
A few short days after leaving Kings Landing the Baratheon Army arrived at the edge of the Kingswood, across from them a half mile from the wood the Black Army lined up for battle. Heavy infantry in front with archers behind them and after that was the light infantry and the cavalry.
Borros looked at the situation and was concerned at why they would camp so close to the Kingswood. He looked hard with a pair of Myrish glasses but couldn't see anything, the little hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end knowing something wasn't right but the size of the army looked about right and they were a good distance from the forest so ambush looked unlikely.
He began to line up his own men for battle despite being tired from the march and being outnumbered by three to one. The Stormlands after all produced the finest warriors in the Seven Kingdoms; Reach farmers, Northern Savages, Golden Westerners, prim Riverlands and Uptight Valemen were all far below their level of skill in his opinion and that of the Stormlords with him.
The lack of dragons didn't even occur to him until a loud roar echoed from the direction of the forest.
The men turned and saw two dragons appear from the large wood, both bellowing loudly and blasting fire into the air. The surprise and shock of seeing the dragons so close drove many men into a panic and they turned and fled in the opposite direction many dropping their weapons and some knights not having a choice as the loud dragon roars terrified their horses into running away carrying their riders with them whether they wanted it or not.
"HOLD! FIGHT YOU COWARDS!" Borros yelled with anger as his army began to desert in droves. He furiously acknowledged the effective plan the Blacks had employed, hiding the dragons in the forest so they could suddenly and loudly appear and terrify his men, already what looked like half of his army had run away rather than face the dragons who just flew around and roared breathing fire, winning without killing a single man.
Then he saw the Black Army while he had been screaming to his men to stand their ground had started advancing, now his men had far more reason to be afraid as thousands of men marched towards them while they were disorganised and unsettled. Those that stood quaked or resigned themselves to die, Borros himself now wishing he had waited a while before rushing into action, seeing now that the enemy was too well prepared for a rash attack.
The roars of the dragons in the air still irritated him but it was so loud that he couldn't hear much even the sound of his own voice and even more of their horses were scattering in fear of them. He and the other men were so deafened that they failed to notice the vibration in the earth as out of the thick forest came hundreds of horses carried riders led by Kermit Tully charged at the disorganised Stormlanders from the other direction.
-x-
Weeks of exposure to dragons had been worth it Kermit Tully reflected as it had trained their horses not to panic at their roars. That meant they had all their cavalry while the enemy's was scattered.
He already had Red River, the Valyrian Steel longsword given to his family by the Peverells as a gift in hand and started cutting people down on the run. While he was doing that the scattered Stormlanders were now being pressed by the infantry who had reached them and his horsemen from behind. Outnumbered four to one they were being surrounded and slaughtered with ease. A soldier would try and engage one on one only to get stabbed in the back or side by his fellows.
It was a gory sight but one that was far better than burning thousands of men to death or how many would have died if they had fought them on even terms, however Kermit dismounted from his horse as the large hulking form of Borros Baratheon appeared before him. He was wielding a war hammer like it weighed nothing and caved in the skull of one of Kermit's men like it was a melon, Kermit was infuriated at one of his boys being killed and charged at Aegon's little bitch.
It was a very foolish move, one that could have gotten him killed if he been less lucky but Borros was so busy fending off attacks from other men that Kermit was able to get close enough to slash a deep gash in Borros' back. The man cried out in pain but didn't fall and whipped around, his gauntlet smashing into Kermit's chest. The impact was so great given Borros's strength that Kermti was thrown backwards and hit the ground hard enough to wind him but he managed to roll to the side just in time to avoid Borros smashing his war hammer down in the place he had been the merest moment before.
He managed to get to his feet and swung his sword but despite grimacing in pain Borros was able to twist himself out of the way. Kermit continued swinging his sword almost wildly which Borros blocked with the wooden handle of his hammer and then pressed against him. Kermit buckled under the great pressure and only just managed to get out of the way but felt the brunt of Borros's fist against his helm.
Blood came from his nose and lip and the bruise around his eye promised to be epic but he held on to consciousness, just in time to miss yet another swing of the war hammer but the motion seemed to pain Borros greatly as he cried out in pain, his grip and awareness slackening for a moment.
It was the opening Kermit was praying for as he realised with fear that a prolonged fight with Borros would almost certainly be his downfall and charged forward, slashing with all his might. The sharp edge of his sword caught Borros straight in the throat, one of the few places unprotected on his body. Blood spurted out of the open wound bigger than the width of a hand, Borros slowed and clawed at the wound trying to stop the bleeding but it was futile as Kermit finished him off by driving his sword straight through Borros's mouth and out the back of his neck.
The light seemed to leave Borros's eyes almost immediately but the defeat of their leader was far more damaging to the men's moral. Most began to retreat in the direction of the Stormlands. A cheer went up from the Blacks as they won another victory which for many of their Reach contingent was actually their first.
Kermit felt many men giving him a thump on the back in congratulations as he had just slain a fearsome warrior on his own and proved himself as a legendary fighter in this war. He smiled brightly and knew he would drink well with his men tonight.
Storm's End, the Stormlands...A Few Days Later
The march to Storm's End was surprisingly lacking in opposition, however they didn't really expect any after what had happened and soon they were at the gates of the strongest castle in the Stormlands. The sight of the impressive walls and fortifications made Harry grimace knowing that cracking such a fortress would be extremely difficult. He was considering whether or not to secretly use magic to breach its defences when the gates opened briefly, allowing a delegation to leave the castle before the gates were quickly shut again.
Looking at the approaching riders while staying well clear of any potential archer fire from the castle, Harry noticed that despite in being mostly made up of six older knights they were actually led by two women. The dark hair and blue eyes they had showed them to be two of the Four Storms as the four daughters of Borros Baratheon were known, which ones he couldn't say having never met them before. But they certainly lived up to their sire's courage as they rode up to them with little fear in their eyes.
"Lord Peverell, I am Lady Maris Baratheon and this is my dear sister Ellyn." The older girl said with a pinched expression on her face that bordered on angry as she saw most men's eyes go to her sister's more beautiful face. Harry and the other lords around him however kept their eyes on Maris who continued to speak. "I am here in my mother's stead since she has been bed bound since the birth of my little brother Royce."
So there was a male Baratheon heir after all Harry thought knowing many men were going to be disappointed at the chance of getting Storm's End had slipped through their fingers but he forced down his smirk and spoke to Lady Maris plainly.
"If you are to speak in her stead then I will deliver our terms to you. In exchange for peace, one hostage will be given from each house of the Stormlands and from House Baratheon we will have two. They will be held for one year after the conclusion of this war and then once that time has passed they will be allowed to return home. These are not negotiable." Harry told her firmly and the sisters looked appalled at that as did the knights watching. However he and Ambrose had agreed it was a good deal, it would hopefully keep the Stormlands from any further involvement in the war and be well received as an act of mercy in the rest of the realm.
A good start to Aegon the Younger's reign.
The sisters however looked very uncomfortable at this, probably thinking they were going to be the ones taken but their mother had been desperate to secure their future with their father now dead. The fact that one of these men had killed him did not make this any easier and both now wished they had not announced the birth of their little brother thinking they would take him as one of the hostages and who knows what might happen to little Royce then.
"You will not take our little brother!" Ellyn said sharply with her nose snorting and flaring like an enraged bull. A stern look from Maris did nothing to make her calm down but Cregan Stark put her fears to rest to get on with things.
"You think us such monsters we would steal a babe from his mother's teat?! Then you have been fed many lies about us. We will take your older sister Lady Cassandra and yourself Lady Ellyn, your brother may stay with his mother and I am sure that you Lady Maris can aid her in running the Stormlands." Cregan assured them.
Maris bit her lip but was really struggling not to smile at the fright on her sister's face on the mention of being taken as a hostage. It might she hoped be more peaceful with them gone she thought and said.
"Agreed."
They had expected a little more haggling at that but it was a good result and hopefully would see no more interference from the Stormlands. It would take a week or so to gather the hostages but hopefully that would be the end of that.
They only had to wait half an hour while Lady Maris returned to the castle and slowly but resigned Lady Cassandra rode out and took her place. Seeing how beautiful she and her younger was Harry put trusted men to guard them since he had no intention of any of the bad seeds in their army did have think he could force himself on them.
That night as he retired to his tent where he found Daeron Targaryen waiting for him, he was looking very anxious about something which immediately made Harry think something had happened to their hostages but instead he made a request.
"When we get to Kings Landing, please give my brother a chance to surrender."
Harry was taken aback as he knew what Daeron was asking for was impossible, Aegon would never in a million years simply give up power and surrender. Even if he did what would they do with him then? A trial? That was going to be very messy and would make it hard to secure their hold on the throne. Chances are they would have to execute him and that could be as messy political affair.
He didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep but if he wanted to keep Daeron's loyalty he knew he would have too.
"I swear we will give him a chance to surrender but that is all I can offer, you know that." Harry said sternly and Daeron nodded with a resigned sigh, he did know what kind of man his brother was but perhaps some last insane surge of brotherly compassion had compelled him to make this strange and seemingly impossible request.
Either way this war was finally coming to an end, their next destination...Kings Landing.
The Red Keep, Kings Landing…
Aegon hurled a drink at the fool once again in rage as the news of Borros and his defeat reached them, not to mention the Stormlands had abandoned him rather than defend their king. He honestly had never known as much cowardice in his life.
However the desertion of the Crownlords was a dagger in the side that he really didn't need, not that they had been worth much anyway but it was a headache not to mention the rumours that were circling around that his sister's little bastard was still alive and her army had rallied to him. News kept spreading further each day and now many whispered that his days as a king were numbered.
Aegon growled, accidentally cutting himself on the jagged sword points of the iron throne and swore as the maester quickly attended to his wounds. If they think he was going to give up the throne without a fight then they had another thing coming he thought in a rage.
But as he snorted furiously, he like many others completely ignored the dwarf fool who had once again had wine thrown at him while he plotted and planned his revenge.
Godric's Hollow, the Riverlands…
Aegon the Younger was feeling better than he had in days now that his eldest sister had returned safe and well. His nightmares were receding about losing her just like they had lost his elder brothers and word had reached them that the Stormlands had bent the knee, the war was nearly over.
If it weren't for the fact that the end of the war coincided with his ascension to the throne he would be glad to see all the bloodshed end. He was glad about that he amended quietly to himself and he smiled that his goodbrother would soon be home to spend time with his son and wife, for his sister too since that would bring their family back together again.
But the weight of the throne seemed to loom in his mind, the expectation and responsibility were impossible to ignore and dragged him down into a pit of anxiety about whether or not he was up to the power which was being entrusted to him.
A gentle nudge though broke him from his depression as Stormcloud stared at him eagerly, Aegon smiled and gently rubbed his dragon's snout. Stormcloud pressed his head against him enjoying the motion and Aegon gave his dragon a hug, a warm purring coming from his dragon. They stayed like this for a while before Aegon climbed onto his dragon's back and went soaring into the air feeling an incredible sense of liberation and that he had left his problems far behind.
Distance did much to help his worries as now they seemed far more easy to deal with.
-x-
James and Lily were looking at the letter from the now Lord Elmo Tully, one that proposed a marriage between his son Kermit and one of their daughters.
They had known this sort of thing was coming for some time but had been held off by the way other houses looked down on them for worshipping the Old Gods or being 'upstarts' despite the age of their house. But the success they had enjoyed in trading and their military prowess in the war had begun to get them noticed and respected more and so proposals were starting to come in. A few were far more than a little condescending and a few demanded that they convert to the Faith of the Seven before even being 'graced' with a marriage. It honestly made Lily grit her teeth at the arrogance of it all and added those families to the list of ones that needed a slap down.
But when the polite and respectful betrothal offered by Elmo Tully had come in she was horrified.
She was not stupid and knew how things worked here, marriage was a tool of politics and it was expected to use your children to advance your house in the world but the idea of wedding her daughter off to some lord or his heir for politics revolted her deeply. She hated that Harry had been forced to marry Visenya and was greatly relieved that it had worked out but she was not going to sell her daughter like cattle for some lord's favour she raged.
James had in his own mind already decided to tell Lord Tully to "Fuck Off" in as plain a language as possible but but then Melody derailed both their thoughts.
"I'll do it."
They were struck dumb by her declaration, Lily recovered first and told her daughter in an angry but confused voice.
"Sweetheart, there is no way I am going to just marry you to someone..." She said but Melody told her.
"Mum I want to." She assured them with a smile. "It would be good for us and for me, a week or two and I'll have Kermit wrapped around my little finger and at least he's not much older than me. It's a good thing." She told her and James stepped in.
"Melody, we want you to marry only if you want too and to someone you love...whose right for you. Never say you have to marry for the family." He told her and she just smirked.
"Harry did and it worked out for him, Kermit's a friend to our family and an honourable man. It would be hard to do better." Melody told them certain of her choice. She was looking forward to the chance to spread her wings a bit and run her own place. She only had to ask but this seemed like a good opportunity.
She knew Serenity wouldn't be jealous at her taking Kermit as her sister had her eye on the newest member of their household Fred Weasley. His easy going but cheeky nature appealed to her and the fact he enjoyed a good prank only made it better.
-x-
While her goodsister was convincing her parents to let her marry Kermit Tully, Visenya was throwing up into the toilet another invention of House Peverell she was grateful for as it was so much more dignified and cleaner as the magic in them simply vanished the waste rather than it having to be disposed of. However this was far from her mind as she retched and emptied her stomach into the bowl.
When it was finally over she slumped backwards and felt horrible but while she knew her being sick could be just a bad piece of food she wondered if maybe it could be something more.
I sincerely hoped you enjoyed this latest chapter, please let me know what you thought of it.
Next Chapter – The war finally returns to Kings Landing and the future of Westeros hangs in the balance