A bit of a treat for you here… I'm busy on my usual upload day (Friday) so I'm getting this one out early for you! I hope you enjoy it! It's a bit on the short side, but a very important chapter nonetheless!
I'm mainly using the King's Landing map on the King's Landing AWOIAF page. It goes into a bit of detail as to where each gate is and where each major location within the city is and the roads to get there. I can't link it here but it's worth having a look.
I own none of the recognisable characters or locations, they all belong to either HBO or George R R Martin.
As Cersei Lannister looked out over her city all she could sense from it was a feeling of stillness. She knew that the Dragon whore was outside her gates, her scouts had informed her of that the night before after all, but right now as the sun began to rise over the docks, everything was calm.
She allowed her maid to dress her in a thick, long red gown, and she waited as some golden steel pauldrons were placed over her shoulders, before a golden lion necklace that had been given to Cersei by her mother as a child was placed around her neck, similar to the one that she had given her own daughter…
Cersei closed her eyes in anger. She would avenge Myrcella's death this day with the death of the whore that should have been in her sweet girl's place. She felt the paws of the maid leave her, and Cersei turned around to face the girl. "Thank you." She said calmly.
"Your Grace." The girl curtseyed before scarpering out of the room, only to be replaced by Ser Osfryd Kettleblack.
"You look exquisite as always, Your Grace." The man remarked.
Cersei thought that he had gotten far above his station ever since she had started to use him for her own pleasures, but then again he was now the Lord Commander of her Queensguard. "Thank you, Lord Commander." She said, again calm.
"The Gold Cloaks are ready on all gates, Your Grace." Ser Osfryd explained. "Ser Addam is on the Lion Gate, eagerly anticipating the arrival of your nephew."
Cersei smirked. Soon Casterly Rock would be hers and her elder brother's son would be but a head adorning the Traitor's Walk. "Excellent." She responded.
"But that does leave other gates slightly less defended, Your Grace." Ser Osfryd explained. "Lord Rykker commands the Old Gate, but your other vassals in the crownlands have simply sent knights to lead their levies."
Lords and Ladies that would be dealt with, Cersei surmised. "Send some of my Queensguard. I will not need all seven of you."
Ser Osfryd thought for a moment and nodded. "Very well, Your Grace. I shall give the orders and then return to your side." He bowed once more and exited the room, leaving Cersei alone.
She returned to look out of her balcony, noticing the sun illuminating the ships in Blackwater Bay all showing their sigils. There were Greyjoy ships, Velaryon ships, Redwyne ships and Targaryen ships all mixed in with each other, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Cersei wasn't stupid, she knew she was surrounded, and she knew that her victory was against the odds. Nevertheless, as Cersei's mind turned to her Father and Tyland's actions when faced with adversity to which despite her distain for both men, she had formed her plan around them. Knowing what was to come, the occupant of the Iron Throne simply smirked.
Outside the Walls it was a flurry of activity as men got into their positions to assault the city gates. Daenerys and her forces had joined with the few thousand Stormlanders left to assault the Dragon Gate. A symbolic gesture, the Lannister Lord had explained to them when he and Lord Royce explained the plans. Jon meanwhile was with the Northmen facing the Old Gate, and their job was to push through to the Street of the Sisters and head Northwards, seizing the Dragonpit with the Dornish who were facing the Iron Gate.
Despite the imminent battle looming, Jon couldn't get both Daenerys and Loras Tyrell out of his head. Ever since his talk with the Lord of the Reach Jon had wrestled with his own emotions over what to follow, his head or his heart. Thankfully for the most part he had travel and training to occupy him, but as the only noise he could hear became the footsteps of the Northerners, his inability to make a choice was grinding on him.
"You look torn." A deep voice came from his right-hand side, and Jon turned to see the newly appointed Lord of Bear Island at his side. Jon set his face in a stern stare as Ser Jorah came and joined him. "Focus your mind."
"I've been in battles before, I don't need advice." Jon snapped, though immediately he regretted it. "Apologies."
"I know my new role is… unpopular." Jorah explained. "Despite my title, I won't ever return to the North. I shall either die here or serve our Queen at her side. You can rest easy."
Jon nodded. "A smart decision." He said coldly. He looked to his right and saw in the distance Drogon begin to lie down, signifying that Daenerys was mounting him. "Go to your position, Ser, we will be assaulting the gate soon."
He didn't wait for a response as he turned away from the city and walked over to where Rhaegal was resting. As soon as Jon neared, the dragon perked up and got into position to allow Jon a quick mounting. He strapped himself into the newly made saddle, clipping the chains into place carefully before he leant forwards and patted Rhaegal on the back. "Let's go." He said calmly.
Rhaegal stood up on its legs and let out a humungous roar, before flapping its wings and rising high into the air. Jon looked to his right and saw that Drogon started doing exactly the same thing. They didn't want to completely destroy too many gates to save on the cost of rebuilding them, but Loren had explained to everyone that the people of King's Landing were ruled by fear, so they needed to strike even more fear into the hearts of the people to break Cersei's spell on them. To do that, both dragons lurched forwards at the same time and let out a heavy stream of dragon fire.
The Old Gate just exploded inwards, and already Jon could hear the screams of burning men. As the flames started to clear a little bit the breach in the walls became obvious to everybody, and Jon looked down to the side of the dragon to see the host of Northmen charging towards the city.
Loren had not been within sight of King's Landing for over two years but in that time the entire surroundings had changed drastically. Instead of the lush forests that had once surrounded the city, it now just looked bare and barren. All the trees within hundreds of yards had been cut down, and the greenery burnt away. From the mouth of his personal command tent just off the Gold Road, Loren watched from behind as his men were lined up in formation, just waiting for the signal of the Dragons to start the assault.
Far to his right he saw a similar sight over by the road to the Tourney Grounds, where Lord Loras had set up the majority of Reachmen to assault the King's Gate. Likewise to his left where Lord Royce was preparing the Knights of the Vale to attack the Gate of the Gods. He heard horse hooves growing louder which brought him out of his thoughts, and he noticed Ser Kevan, dressed in the usual Lannister armour although he held his helmet in one hand and the reigns in the other.
"My Lord, we are ready." Ser Kevan stated. Loren felt jealous of the old man and he looked down at his ornate cane before nodding, and so Kevan continued. "Ser Lyle will bring up the rear once we are through the gate, and I shall lead the cavalry straight up towards the Sept of Baelor and take it before we push on to the Red Keep."
"Excellent." Loren nodded. "Remember though, we want Cersei alive."
Kevan stared down at Loren sternly. "I am no Kinslayer." He almost growled. "And I would warn you of the dangers of such a thing given your hope for our families future."
Loren had all sorts of hopes, but most of those were likely unobtainable thanks to the past. Shaking those sort of thoughts away, Loren just smiled. "You best return to your mark, Uncle. We have been waiting long enough, I would imagine that the assault will begin soon."
"As you say." Kevan bowed his head, before looking at Captain Vylarr beside the Lord of the Rock. "If we get flanked…"
"Lord Loren will be well looked after, Ser Kevan. We shall protect him with our lives." The Captain of the guard announced. Loren felt like he was being overly protected with the 50 men staying behind to guard him alone, but with his leg still not right he hadn't been given a chance to argue against the eldest Lannister. Ser Kevan bowed his head once more, before he pulled hard on the reigns and his horse turned to go and give a speech to both the ladder crews and the men holding the lion headed battering ram.
Loren sighed and turned to one of his guards. "Grab me that chair." He nodded into the tent.
"Milord." The man bowed, rushing inside the tent and placing the chair beside Loren. It was custom made and so Loren could slot his cane into a hole on the left-hand side and settle into the cushioned seat.
He smirked at the loud cheers coming from his men as Kevan finished up his speech, and only a few seconds later, they saw from the North side of the city two dragons flying upwards, rising high into the air. Loren watched Kevan place his helmet on quickly and withdraw his sword, and the elderly Lannister screamed. "FOR CASTERLY ROCK!"
"FOR THE ROCK!" The roar went up, and then the men charged up the Gold Road. Even from his distance Loren could see the outline of men on the walls by the Lion Gate all rushing around to get to their positions before the arrows started flying, and the Battle for King's Landing started in earnest with Loren only able to watch as he hoped his letter was seen by the right person.
The assaults had all started at the same time. The Northmen and the Stormlanders were the first nations inside the city of course with the destruction of their gates from dragon fire, but the spread of Cersei's numbers was telling. From his vantage point he could see the Dornish to his left had already gained access to the walls and were fighting their way down. On the other side, he noticed that the Lion Gate had just opened, and he could have sworn that he saw Gold Cloak fighting Gold Cloak, though it was a long way away.
Jon didn't get involved in too much of the fighting. Civilians were everywhere and a dragon wasn't a weapon to use in tight spaces, so instead he urged Rhaegal to fly above the walls around to the bay, where a few loyal ships were anchored and men were gathering on them. As he neared, he could see heavier scorpion weapons beginning to turn towards him, and so with more pace than he had ever flown with, Rhaegal soared over and let a jet of fire out, incinerating the weapons before the dragon turned his neck slightly and destroyed one of the royal ships as a warning.
He then rose up high again, and he noticed that further down towards the River Gate, where the Riverlanders and a host of Reachmen led by the Shield Islanders were assaulting, the defenders were holding the assaulters back. Growling and shaking his head, Jon swooped down to water level, snaking around the cliff of the Red Keep and up the river, rising just in time to clear the heads of the Riverlanders in their boats crossing the Blackwater and he let Rhaegal incinerate yet more Gold Cloaks on top of the walls. He noticed the cheers coming from behind him as the attackers began to commit more boats to the crossing, and Jon decided that he should head back towards the Dragonpit to check on his fellow Northmen. He pushed Rhaegal to rise upwards again before they shot off, but as Rhaegal rose, an alarming sequence of rumbling began to sound from the city below.
Loren grinned as even before the Westerlanders reached the Lion Gate, the portcullis rose and the wooden doors opened. He could hear swords clash from the gate over the charging cries of his own men and he knew that the new Lord of Ashemark, Addam Marbrand, had realised his true loyalties and betrayed Cersei.
"You don't seem surprised at that." A familiar voice came from the side of him, and Loren turned to see Tyrion dismounting a small pony, flanked by two Stormlanders.
"You're at the wrong gate." Loren noted, a hint of amusement in his green eyes.
Tyrion shrugged. "I've had enough comments from certain Stormlanders today, I thought I'd come and joined my just as martially incapable nephew." Tyrion smirked. "Where is the wine?" Loren just shook his head as a wry smile showed on his lips, pointing back in his tent. "Ah, perfect!" He poured a glass for himself and dragged another chair to join Loren. "A fine view you have. It's almost a shame that your men have it easy."
"We don't have a dragon loyal to the West, so I had to make things easier another way." Loren explained. "My Father appointed Addam Marbrand as the Lord Commander of the Goldcloaks when he was still Master of Laws, I just sent the new Lord Marbrand a personal letter explaining my condolences on his Father's death and reminding him on who his liege lord is. This is on Cersei for keeping him in the role. Some battles are won with swords and spears, others are won with quills and ravens. Some are won with all of them."
Tyrion looked impressed. "Those are Father's words."
"I was his squire for a long time." Loren noted. "I was bound to pick up some things."
"Not everything I hope." Tyrion remarked. Loren ignored that and looked back to the battle. He could barely see his own men now as they were rushing into the city. "I cannot wait for this to be over." The dwarf commented.
Loren couldn't either. He had a big rebuilding job ahead of him in the West after so many of his Lords had died since the Great Council. He was saddened to hear of Lord Payne's demise inside Harrenhal, along with Lord Lefford and Lord Serrett. Then there was the devastation of the Long Night of course… "So much change." Loren noted, his thoughts escaping his lips.
"There will be, for everyone." Tyrion nodded.
"I think once things have settled down I need to do a tour." Loren explained, needing to distract himself from wishing he was fighting. "With so much upheaval in the West, the new Lords and Ladies need to feel close to Casterly Rock, to me."
Tyrion pondered that for a moment. "That is a good idea. Aegon the Conqueror spent much of his reign travelling around the regions to keep the peace. While I doubt you are in danger of any rebellions, we've lost two Lord Lannisters in quick succession. A few feasts and personal visits will do the region good."
That comment made Loren think. "I've been the Lord of Casterly Rock for three years now, my Father only managed one. It's strange to think about."
"And already you are a better Lord." Tyrion said firmly.
"I've led half of us to our deaths." Loren scoffed.
"Tyland would have ruined us all on his path to having Lannisters rule all Seven Kingdom's. He would have kept us out of the fight in the North hoping that whoever won would have been severely weakened in the process, never truly understanding the dangers of the threat we faced." Tyrion countered. "You have had us fight for reasons beyond our own petty ambitions, Loren. You realised that we needed to save everybody, from both magical and human enemies." He nodded over to the Red Keep.
Loren followed the direction of Tyrion's gaze, and he saw a singular flaming torch fall from the top of the Red Keep. Sensing something in the air, he pulled his cane back out from the side of his chair and got to his feet slowly. "What was that…" He whispered slowly.
"What was what?" Tyrion asked, but he needn't have bothered as at that exact moment, Visenya's Hill with the Sept of Baelor standing atop it erupted in green flames.
From Cersei's vantage point she saw almost the entire southern part of the city erupt into green flames. From the Fishmongers Square to the Cobblers Square and everything in between, crowned by the Sept of Baelor, basically everything was now burning such a bright green that it almost hurt her eyes to watch it. As she continued looking, the catching nature of Wildfire was becoming evident as it slowly spread Northwards up the Street of the Sisters and all the houses nearby.
She could hear the screams even from her vantage point, and the sound made her smile.
"Your Grace…" The slow, scared words of her Lord Commander of the Queensguard sounded from her doorway. "What happened?"
"The Gods have judged me worthy, Osfryd." Cersei said calmly. "They are defending my city from the invaders."
"All those people…" Osfryd whispered.
Cersei turned on him sharply. "They are necessary sacrifices to keep us safe." She snapped. "Do you care about their pathetic little lives?"
Osfryd simply gulped. "N… No, Your Grace." He managed to stutter out.
"Then ignore it." Cersei stepped forwards, wrapping her arms around his armoured waist and nipping his ear lobe. "Take me to bed."
"Your Grace… the city is under attack." Osfryd warned, but another nip at his ear caused the man to moan. "This… this isn't wise."
Cersei just groaned in annoyance and unpinned her hair so that it hung freely. She then started to undo her dress slowly and worked her way out of it. As it pooled at her feet, she cocked her hear at the Queensguard knight. "Well don't just stand there." She said demandingly.
Osfryd couldn't get out of his armour quick enough, and before he had managed to take off his undershirt and breeches Cersei took matters into her own hands, pulling down his breeches leaving him stood with just a shirt on as his cock was stood pointing at her already. Internally sighing as she knew this would be a quick one, Cersei pushed Osfryd over to the bed and mounted him, riding him roughly as the screams of the city were being drowned out by the unnecessarily vocal Kettleblack knight.
Cersei is surrounded with a fraction of the forces that face her… of course she's going to have a plan in place! It's her own twisted mentality showing that makes her think that it is something that Tywin or Tyland would do though. We will learn more about who perished in the next chapter, but there are certainly some big names that were inside the city in the areas that just erupted. I also wanted to bring in some Aerys easter eggs with Cersei wanting to get into bed with her man toy afterwards.
As mentioned earlier I looked at the map of King's Landing on the AWOIAF page a lot. The destruction happened in the bottom of the city, from the Cobbler's Square up to Alchemists Guild, over to Fishmonger's Square.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! We're very, very close to the end now.
Next Time: The survivors regroup and are out for revenge…
Reviews:
Mister LaGuardia: The Westerlands currently still have more troops still than the Riverlands and North combined after the devastations that they've felt at the Lannisters/Frey's/White Walker's hands. Sorting out borders further than Harrenhal is not a fight that anybody can be bothered with.
Guest (Pride): Pride has been promised to Arthur Lannister (Artos Stark) when he comes of age. I won't write parts of his book of course, but I will probably mention it in the epilogue.
Guest (Merry Marjorie): Who should he marry in your opinion, taking into account the story so far?
Wildk: The Stormlanders would revolt if they were Lannisters!
Zyruss Villarreal: As mentioned here it's heart against head. But here Daenerys doesn't want him, so he feels like he'll be unhappy either way.
tommyginger: Despite everything the grind for the Iron Throne never stops! So far she's married 3 'Kings' if you include Renly. I disagree about Sansa, Jon grew up thinking of them as sisters and he still does basically, he could never marry them even if he is now a Targaryen.
Guest (despite): Loren made the battle plans, so it was his fault that the West were on the front lines. In fact it is stated that she had over 80,000. Some injuries would recover well enough on the road from Harrenhal, and some new green boys could be picked up on the route.