Chapter 14 – Jon
Jon's troops were lined up on the hills just outside of Kings Landing. It was a beautiful sunny day. A perfect day for war. It was as if the Gods were willing him on to fulfil his oath. It seemed as if Winter never came here. Down South was a different world to him. He had only visited once for the meeting at the Dragon Pit. It was not for him. He couldn't stand the heat he liked the cold. He might as well just get on with this battle as the sooner they beat them the sooner he could return home. He had to leave Ghost behind which broke his heart. The south was no place for a direwolf. Speaking of pets, he hadn't seen Drogon since he had taken Dany to Dragonstone - he would have been really useful today. If just dealing with Euron's fleet. Jon was going to concentrate his efforts on the Golden Company first and then the Lannister troops inside the city. Most of the other houses had sided with the North so in terms of numbers it was fairly even.
First the Dothraki charged the Golden Company. Some of them actually ran and the rest were no match for the Dothraki in the open field. They just ran them down. Jon was surprised how smoothly this went. They had trouble breaking through the walls of the city gates though. They had brought a few siege machines, but the walls appeared to be impenetrable. Varys had foreseen this would happen and had organised some wildfire for them. They eventually managed to blow the gates and his troops and the Unsullied stormed the city. The Lannister troops fought much harder for their queen than the bought troops who had mostly turned tail at the sight of the Dothraki. Must have been some bad experiences from campaigns over in Essos he thought. 'That was certainly money well spent Cersei' he thought and laughed. You can't buy loyalty. Those Lannisters think they are so smart but some things you cannot buy. It was a lesson Cersei had yet to learn. The battle on the streets was bloody. There were still many civilians about and some were being used as human shields. Jon and his men fought valiantly but Greyworm fought most valiantly of all! He really was bravest. He had loved his queen and would have done anything for her. It's a shame she was not here to see this. They were about to take the city.
However, he spoke too soon. A messenger from the Red Keep arrived and handed him a scroll, it had the royal seal on it. Cersei's no doubt. He didn't even read it but gave it straight to Varys. Cersei's mind games were his department. That's why he was here. Jon had no time for this. Varys skimmed the lines quickly "She's asking us to stand down and pull out or she will blow the whole city up with wildfire." Jon asked if this was a bluff. These games were alien to him.
"I'm afraid this one is not a bluff. It's very, very real. The Mad King had wildfire stacked all over the city – even under the Red Keep. And I don't think they were ever removed."
Jon sighed. This was very sobering. He was not going to be responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people. It was frustrating – they'd gotten so close. "I suppose we have to stand down then?" he said, defeated.
Tyrion had other ideas. "No no no. This is where I come in. Let me, Varys and Sansa treat with the queen. I would suggest you carry on fighting for now. I will distract her. Once you have taken the castle there is not much she can do." Jon agreed. Sansa, Tyrion and Varys along with a few of the Unsullied who escorted them, went off to the castle as official envoys to treat with the queen. Tyrion knew Cersei loved playing games with him and she was sure she would let them enter. She wasn't one to miss out on an opportunity to publicly humiliate her brother.
Jon and his men carried on fighting their way through the city. The battle got harder as time went on; it appeared the closer you got to the Red Keep the more zealous the Lannister soldiers were. He had to admire their fervour. He was also conscious that they had reinforcements waiting on Euron's ships. His men were good, but they could not take them on as well. There were too many and his soldiers were getting tired. Suddenly the sky darkened, as if something had blotted out the sun. Jon looked up instinctively. It was Drogon! 'No time like the present Drogon' Jon thought. The creature clearly knew it was needed. And Dragonstone wasn't that far. It had obviously sensed the commotion. Drogon sat himself down on the city walls, scanning the people below, like ants to him. Jon gave his command over to Greyworm and ran towards the dragon. Drogon spotted him and jumped down. He lowered his head and made a stair with his huge wing. Jon climbed up. He patted him. "Good boy Drogon!" They took off. First, he was going to burn Euron's fleet and then make his way to the Red Keep. He thought of Dany and his eyes watered a little. 'I'm doing all of this for you my love' he thought. And he was hoping she was watching from the heavens above.