-Chapter 97-
-POV Tommen Baratheon-
With my shield raised, I struggled to observe how my soldiers climbed the ladders.
Even though they did their best to reach the top of the ramparts, few of them actually made it.
And for the few lucky ones who did, they had to face the trained soldiers of House Connington.
'Not to mention the Black Knight,' I thought, watching the knight dressed in a black surcoat, who was, if I was not mistaken, also superior to the other men thanks to the blood of Ronnet Connington.
'How many has he created?' I wondered, somewhat worried. If he had granted gifts to a hundred of his soldiers or knights, we would never be able to breach these ramparts before nightfall.
'I even doubt we will ever breach these ramparts,' I thought, deciding to advance myself, seeing that they had no more stones or boiling oil.
'They have significantly reduced our numbers in a very short time since I sought to take this castle as quickly as possible. But I can feel it, if I manage to create a breach in their defense, we will have won this battle,' I thought.
'No, we will have won this war,' I immediately corrected myself.
Sound of Tremors
Sound of Tremors
Sound of TREMBLING
SOUND OF A HORN
'No,' I thought as I turned around to see, from the top of the hill behind us, an army appearing out of nowhere, numbering no less than 30,000 soldiers bearing the Connington banners, charging towards us at full speed, led by the cavalry of…
'Ron… Ronald,' I thought, stunned.
'What is he doing here?' I asked myself, frozen by fear and shock.
For a fraction of a second, the battlefield, previously flooded with the deafening sounds of rage, fear, and pain, fell silent, dumbstruck by the heavy charge of enemy cavalry rushing straight at us from behind.
Quickly, I regained my senses and shouted, waving my arms:
"CALL BACK ALL OUR TROOPS, SER BALON!"
Ser Balon, who was about fifty meters away, miraculously understood my message and mounted his horse before furiously galloping toward the eastern wall.
"OUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" roared the soldiers on the ramparts, their morale soaring as high as the heavens upon seeing reinforcements arrive to save them.
"IN FORMATION, FORM A SHIELD WALL!" I shouted, praying that each soldier could at least create a solid shield wall against the enemy charge.
"YOU CANNOT FLEE, SO HOLD YOUR POSITIONS!" I cried as I quickly advanced toward the center to give my men courage.
'Come on, just ten more meters, and I will be able to help stop Ronald's cavalry charge,' I thought, watching with relief as the mercenary captains did their job.
They were urging their soldiers to quickly build a shield wall strong enough to properly stop the enemy cavalry.
But as I moved as fast as I could, I noticed that the enemy cavalry's charge was slowing down, and a question lingered in my mind.
'Why?'
---
-POV Alynne Connington-
From atop the ramparts, I watched Ronald's arrival with relief. But while my soldiers shouted in joy, I noticed the unconventional formation his cavalry had taken.
The cavalry, initially forming a compact wedge-shaped block, split into two groups and moved backward, leaving a path for the infantry soldiers who charged forward without stopping and without fear against the enemy.
'This is our chance,' I thought as an idea flashed through my mind.
"ARCHERS!" I shouted, pulling an arrow from my bucket.
"DRAW YOUR BOWS!"
"HOLD!"
'Just a little longer,' I thought, waiting for the right moment to unleash a deadly rain upon the enemy front line that was preparing to receive the charge of our infantry soldiers.
"HOLD!"
'Come on, just a little longer,' I thought.
"HOLD!"
'Now,' I told myself as I released my arrow.
"LOOSE!" I finally shouted with relief, feeling the burning muscles in my arm relax.
I watched my arrow soar through the sky alongside hundreds of others before descending upon the backs of enemy soldiers preparing to face our reinforcements.
Although the 'Baratheon-Lannister' soldiers had raised their shields in time to prevent the first lines from being massacred, a few men still fell.
And that was just enough for ours to take advantage of the breach we had created to break through enemy ranks.
SOUND OF A HORN
Hearing the cavalry's horn sound again and seeing how quickly the enemy front lines were collapsing, I realized that we had won and that it was time to deliver the final blow.
'They must have no hope,' I thought before screaming at the top of my lungs:
"ALL INFANTRY SOLDIERS, PREPARE TO CHARGE!"
I also shouted:
"ARCHERS, GET READY TO COVER OUR VALIANT GRIFFINS!"
"Ser Arlan, go protect them," I said, addressing my protector.
"But Princess…"
"That is an order. You know perfectly well that my brother has taken measures to ensure my safety," I said, piercing him with my gaze, daring him to question my authority at such a crucial moment.
He closed his eyes briefly before reopening them with determination, then quickly descended the stairs leading to the base of the wall to take command of the nearly 500 infantry soldiers who had gathered before the gates.
All were ready to rush out and stab the enemy in the back as Ronald prepared to destroy the flanks of Tommen Waters' troops.
"OPEN THE GATES!" I shouted, practically emptying my lungs.
"Open the gates!" repeated the officer in charge of opening them.
Little by little, the gates opened, and I spotted a few unfortunate soldiers attempting to slip into the castle for protection.
But Ser Arlan kicked the first one square in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground before running him through with his sword, then cleanly decapitating a soldier who had lost his helmet in battle.
Ser Arlan was like a starving lion released from its chains, reveling in the slaughter and coldly ending the life of anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path.
He was like a force of nature, unwavering and relentless, his blade a blur of death among the enemy ranks.
"Pierce our enemies as soon as you see an opening," I commanded, leaving my archers to act as they saw fit.
"CLOSE THE GATES!" I shouted, unwilling to allow the enemy soldiers a chance to overwhelm us by creating a breach in Ser Arlan's forces.
'Either it works, or it breaks,' I thought, watching from a distance as two cavalry units pierced the flanks of Tommen's troops.
The latter no longer even tried to fight but instead sought only a way to escape the battle, panicked and terrified.
I squinted and saw Ronald in the distance, cutting through the lines of soldiers without pausing to kill those in his path.
He urged his horse into a full gallop toward the Baratheon banner.
'He's going for the king,' I realized, praying to all the gods to grant us their favor, for I hadn't forgotten that there were still 30,000 enemy soldiers who could rally to Tommen's side at any moment and turn the tide of battle to their advantage.
---
-POV Tommen Baratheon-
"Tommen!" shouted Ronald, leaping from his horse and landing unharmed on the ground, almost effortlessly.
'He's much stronger and more agile than me,' I thought, immediately sensing the difference between us.
"Surrender," he said simply, staring at me without emotion.
'He's hiding them,' I understood immediately, rushing toward him, for retreat was no longer an option.
'If I surrender, my entire family will end up on the pyre,' I thought, swinging my sword at Ronald.
Any ordinary person would have been killed four times over, but Ronald dodged effortlessly, not even drawing his own weapon.
I kicked up some dirt, momentarily blinding him, then struck him with my shield, throwing him off balance.
I was about to press my sword under his chin to prevent him from making another move, but he strangely got up from the ground, his armor intact—a testament to his incredible strength and agility.
Then he drew his sword and attacked, forcing me immediately into a defensive stance.
In less than ten exchanges, he had seized control of the rhythm of our duel and made me stumble twice.
He abruptly ended our duel by striking me in the nose with the hilt of his sword, sending me sprawling on the ground, blood streaming from my nose.
Then he said:
"Stop…"
He did not finish his sentence and turned to plunge his sword into the throat of a soldier who had knocked him backward.
As he knelt on one knee from the force of the traitorous attack, nine more giants emerged from my soldiers' ranks and charged at him.
The nearest of them collapsed, a shaft through his throat, choking on his own blood, while the remaining eight found themselves face to face with four Black Knights.
It took only moments for those men to fall dead, but I used the distraction to attack Ronald once more.
"AAAAAAH!" I screamed as I watched my right hand detach from my body.
"Ser Frederik!" Ronald yelled, preventing the man above me from delivering the finishing blow.
"I despise little blonde shits like him," said the man Ronald called Ser Frederik, glaring at me with a hatred that chilled me to the bone.
"I ask you one last time, Tommen," Ronald said coldly before adding:
"Will you bend the knee to my father, yes or no?"
I looked around, and seeing my soldiers dropping their weapons and fleeing in every direction, I hesitated.
'Even if Ser Balon returned with reinforcements, could they defeat these Black Knights?' I wondered.
'Could they overcome the professional Connington army with our peasant militia?' I thought.
'I highly doubt it,' I admitted, sighing in disappointment.
'I was too arrogant,' I reflected before adding internally:
'But I did my best. The only thing I can do now is sacrifice myself so this war ends.'
I sighed and then said:
"If you promise that all members of my family will be pardoned, I will surrender, and the war will end today. I will also send letters to my grandfather so that he and the lords of the Reach lay down their arms."
The Black Knight named Frederik sneered slightly, followed by the other Black Knights, all gazing at me with disdain.
Confused, I turned to Ronald, who said:
"I'm sorry to tell you, but the Lannister army no longer exists. Tywin Lannister died along with all the soldiers who refused to surrender."
"What?" I asked, shocked by the news.
"As a gesture of goodwill, Father appointed our brother Rodrik as Lord of Casterly Rock," Ronald continued.
'So we have lost everything,' I realized, losing all hope, understanding that the only reason he hadn't killed me outright was because we were friends and practically brothers, sharing a common sibling.
"I will spare you and your mother from the gallows if you surrender," Ronald said, sensing my will to live fading fast, before adding:
"But if you force me to kill you, you will also force my father to kill your mother because she will never surrender or make peace once she learns you are dead."
I fought through the pain I felt and then said:
"I surrender, I surre... ugh."
"NOOOOOOO!"
Ronald's scream was the last thing I heard before collapsing and falling into darkness.