The Sword of the Starks
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I own no part of the Game of Thrones franchise. All characters and locations are property of George R.R. Martin and whomever else he worked with. All writings are works of fiction and not meant to be part of any GoT storyline. Thank you to G.R.R. Martin for creating this wonderful universe.Author's Note: Holy shit. Chapter Ten. I have a lot planned for this series, but wow. I'm only saying this as I've never really made it to a tenth chapter, only reaching four or five on other stories. So as always, I hope that you like this next chapter and please comment with any concerns, complaints, criticisms, thoughts, or anything in general. Also, tell me what you readers think about Lady Catelyn.
Nick sat in his tent, looking through his father's bags. They had been pack with their horses in case of the coup going wrong, which it did. Sadly, with his father's murder, he never made it to the horses.
There were clothes, books, but mostly letters. Most were from his mother, letters regarding small things, such as news around the castle. Claire, Jory's wife, had given birth to a son, naming him Elras. The child was healthy, as was the mother, but news was yet to reach them of Jory's death. Nick would need to remember to send a letter later that day.
However, the letters were none of his business, being private correspondence between his Mother and Father. He put the things back away, packing them back up just as he had found them. As he was putting the things back, one of the letters fell onto the ground. He picked it up, seeing the seal was already broken. He rolled it open, scanning the first few lines. They read of Tyrion Lannister. Apparently, he had been detained by Mother for an attempt on Bran's life, by a hired blade. She was apparently heading to The Vale, looking for a trial with her sister. As he was folding it back up, one word in the last line caught his eye. Pregnant. While she had already given birth to six children, she was young enough to birth more children, with Rickon being born six years ago, when she was nine and twenty.
As he read this, he smiled, happy about the news, even if he did read it from a letter in his dead Father's bags. He turned around, hearing the sheets on the bed ruffle. Emma was waking up, looking over at Nick as he sat on a makeshift bench made of a split log. The "bed" was a padded cot, with a few pillows and furs. It wasn't much, yet it was better than the prison cell they would both be in had they been captured. Emma sat up, pulling the furs up to her chin.
"Hey," Emma said, smiling at Nick. "What are you up to?"
"Going through my Father's things," Nick said, smiling back at her. "I found a letter from my mother. She believes that she is with child."
"Wow," Emma said, letting the furs drop down as she stood up and walked over to Nick, putting her arms around his chest from behind. She leaned down, kissing his neck. He leaned his head back into Emma, kissing her on the cheek. "Well good for her. It'll be good for her to have another child to look after, with the grief of losing her husband."
Nick nodded, agreeing with her. There was a voice outside the tent, asking if they were decent. Emma dashed over, grabbing the furs off of their bed and covering herself with them. She looked at Nick, who was wearing a simple robe. Asking who it was, and being told it was Ser Barristan, she told him to enter.
"My Queen, my lord," He said, golden armor gleaming. "We need to move out soon. A Lannister scouting party was spotted just south of us."
"Very well," Nick said, getting to his feet. "Are the men ready? And how many enemies were spotted?"
"Around a dozen. We are pretty sure that they saw the scouts, but didn't realize who they were. And the men will be ready to ride soon."
"Alright," Nick said, looking over at Emma. "I'll take a group of men on horseback, see whether these men will join our cause. If not, they will die."
"Fine," Emma said, a sad look on her face. "Just….don't get hurt. I don't like all this killing that we are doing."
"As you wish," Nick said, nodding at Emma. Ser Barristan left the tent they were in, giving them the privacy to get changed. As Selmy left, Nick buttoned up the tent flap behind him. Emma shrugged the furs off again, letting them fall back onto the bed. She walked over to Nick, kissing him on the lips. He put his arms around her waist, holding her tight as he kissed her back. They stood there, Emma as naked as her name day, kissing for several minutes. Eventually, Nick pulled back, untangling himself and getting dressed. He had gotten new armor, taken from one of the dead caravan men. It was metal plate, which he had wrapped the leather from the other set around. There was chainmail under his arms and around them, along with his neck, but the plate would protect his chest and heart. He pulled his belt on, sword hanging from his left side and dagger on his right. As he walked towards the flap at the front of the tent, he turned to Emma and gave her one more kiss. Stepping out of the tent, he walked over to one of the archers that was with them. He had asked the man the previous day to get him a bow and quiver of arrows to use. The man had found a good bow, styled after the bows used by the Dothraki in Essos. It was a bow for a rider, not a footman, as it could not match the range of a longbow. Nick took it, taking the quiver that he had given Nick as well. He attached the quiver to his back, down by his hip over his right side and the bow on his left side, behind his sword on his hip.
"Come on, lads," Nick cried out to the gathered men who would be riding with him. Mounting up, Nick looked out at them gathered beneath him. "Let's ride!"
Nick led the group, riding out through the camp. They were twenty strong, and Ser Preston Greenfield was riding with them as well, his golden armor gleaming in the sun. Nick would have to get that changed, as it would give them away if they ever tried to sneak around to somewhere. Ser Barristan wanted to come with them, but The Queen needed the best swordsmen around her to defend her.
The ride was lasted a bit, as they were riding quietly and slowly to sneak up on the group. They reached the clearing where the dozen Lannister scouts were. Reaching them, Nick shouted out and galloped into the clearing, drawing the bow and knocking an arrow. As he rode in, the rest of the men rode out around him, encircling the enemies. Ser Preston took out the paper with King Robert's last decree, reading it out to them. The men looked at each other, doubt in their eyes. Several of them threw down their weapons, as Ser Preston had ordered them to. But eight of them held their weapons firm, running at Nick and the few men around him. Nick loosed the arrow, sending it straight into the first man's throat. He reached back, drawing another arrow and sending it into the next man's heart, cutting through the leather and padding that was covering his chest. Putting the bow back, Nick drew his sword and charged at the next man. Nick cut him across the chest, carving deep into his opponent's chest and breaking through the rib cage and sending blood spraying upwards in the direction of the cut. As Nick rounded on the fourth man, the foe attempted to block the slash with the handle of his spear. Nick's sword cut straight through it, slashing downwards into the man's head. Nick pulled it out, blood spraying out with the sword.
Nick looked over at the four men still remaining. He watched as the next man was cut down with a spear through the chest. As the fifth man's corpse fell to the ground, the remaining three men threw down their weapons and kneeled, hands behind their heads. Nick dismounted, looking at the three of them and walking towards them. As he walked forwards, the first of the three men stood and ran at Nick, knife in hand. Nick ducked down, grabbing the man's leg and rolling him onto Nick's back before throwing him behind him, onto the ground.
The man on Nick's left drew his sword, putting the tip onto the attacker's chest. "Any others?" Nick asked, looking at the two of them. Receiving no response, he drew his sword and cut the two of them across the head, cutting their heads in half and sending blood spraying everywhere. Turning to the other man, Nick helped him to his feet.
"Will you swear your unwavering loyalty to her grace, Queen Emma Baratheon?" Nick said, blood dripping from the end of his sword as he stood in front of him.
"Yes," The man said, kneeling in front of Nick and looking down at the ground, surprised by the offer. "But I have one question, m'lord, why, after I tried to kill you?"
"We need good men by our side. The Queen does." Nick said, looking down at the man. "Those that wait meekly for their death are not fighters. That's why I did not give them the offer. But you, you ran at me and tried to kill me. You are a fighter."
The man stood and, with Nick's leave, walked back over to the rest of the scouts. Five of the dozen men had joined them, loyal to the Queen. Nick had the men gather their supplies and tents, breaking down camp and packing everything up for travel. They left the bodies where they lay, as a warning to the rest of the men pursuing them. They rode back to camp, moving quicker now that there was no need to be quiet.
Upon reaching the camp, Nick was surprised to see Arya in the yard, sword in hand. Some Braavosi was dueling with her. He was much better than her, constantly hitting her with his wooden sword. But Nick could tell Arya was learning. She was blocking several of the blows, parrying several.
As they entered the clearing where the camp was, Arya looked up at the returning riders. The Braavosi hit Arya with the wooden sword in the arm before he looked at what Arya saw. Twirling the sword, he brought it behind his back, along his spine. Arya did the same.
Nick rode over, the rest of the men behind him spanning out and dismounting among the camp, heading to their respective tents and gathering their things. Despite having dealt with the Lannister scouts, it would be best to move on. They wouldn't want to attract any more attention, as there were many lords in the area that wouldn't hesitate to kill them all and imprison them on the orders of the false King Joffrey. Or rather, his mother, Cersei. She was the one truly in power.
The Lannister men came in at the rear of the column, looking out of place in their bright reds and yellows as opposed to the dark greys and browns prevalent in the camp. The two Lannister men from the Throne Room stood up, walking over to the five new Lannisters and bringing them over to their campfire. The only colors that matched the Lannisters were the yellows of the Baratheon men. Yet they had black and greys from shoulderplates and other parts of their armor.
"Hey sis," Nick said, smiling at his sister. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing," Arya said, her eyes wide open and with the look on her face of terror with the shock of getting caught. Speaking very fast, she said, "Why? Should I be doing something?"
Stepping forward and bowing at at Nick, the man began to speak. "This man is Syrio Florel, first sword of Braavos." Syrio stood back up, looking at Nick. His accent was very prevalent, clearly from Essos. "Your late father, Lord Eddard Stark, employed me to train your sister in the art of water dancing."
"Very well," Nick said, cracking a smile. "Don't let me stop you. Do continue."
"Thank you, brother." Arya said, smiling at Nick and dashing forward, hugging him. Stepping back, she turned back and went back to the duel.
Nick smiled at her, turning around and entering his and Emma's tent. Upon entering, Nick could tell that she had packed up their things. The tent was bare, with only the split log Nick had sat on that morning remaining. The rest of their things were stacked in a neat pile, set by the entrance to the tent. He could see Emma sitting on the log, book in hand, reading away.
"Hey beautiful," Nick said, coming up behind Emma and wrapping his arms around her gut, holding her tight and kissing her on the neck. "How are you?"
"Pregnant," Emma said, standing around and putting her arms around him as well. She kissed him, pressing her mouth against his. Speaking very fast, she stuttered, "I-I mean, I don't know for sure, it-it's not certain, I-I mean I was late and-"
Nick cut her off, putting his hands on either side of her head and pulling her close to him, kissing her. They stood there for several minutes, Nick just madly kissing her. Pulling back, laughing happily, smile across his face.
"I love you," Nick said, holding her close to him. "How long before you're certain?"
"I don't know," Emma said, a smile on her face. "But my mother taught me a few things, and at least with her, being late was the way that she could tell before it began to show."
"Alright," Nick said, kissing Emma. "Is everything ready to go? We should be heading out soon."
"It is," Emma said, pulling away from Nick and reaching for the tent flap. She rolled it open, stepping outside into the sunlight. The two kingsguard were standing on either side, standing in their full golden armor. She nodded at a group of nearby men who walked over, picking up their gear and loading it onto nearby horses. They walked over, taking down the tent and rolling it up, putting it on the back of Nick's horse.
The group mounted up, the clearing clear on all signs of them ever being there minus the fire pits and logs they had sat on. They rode on, making their way towards the Bloody Gate and the Vale of Arryn, hoping to find Lady Catelyn alive and well at the Eyrie with Nick's Aunt, Lysa.
