Brienne I

The crossroads where the Roseroad joined with the Kingsroad was the place where King Renly Baratheon had decided to settle his camp, the last stop before they arrived at King's Landing. They were less than a day away from the city and, had they continued, Brienne was sure they would have arrived in the capital before the sun had set, but nevertheless the king had decided to camp at noon.

He's afraid more desertions will occur if he exhausts his army, thought Brienne worried.

She wasn't the only one who was, although most of them were for different reasons than hers. It was only two days since news of what was happening in the Reach had arrived at the camp, and it was as if a cold dagger had pierced each of the soldier's hearts. Another one.

When news of the Arbor and Oldtown arrived, Brienne gave it no more importance than the desperate revenge of Stannis and the Dornish trying to plunder the lands of those who had supported the legitimate king in the face of his brother's claims. Nothing but a desperate kick, an attempt to get attention. Soon he will tire and swear allegiance to Renly, like the rest, Brienne had thought at the time. However, the gravity of the situation soon opened everyone's eyes.

The morning after the arrival of the news of Oldtown, the Hightowers, the Florents of Brightwater Keep, the Costayne and the Beesburys, among others, left the king's great army and marched with all their men back to Highgarden down the Roseroad to join Mace Tyrell's men in protecting their lands from the imminent sack of the Dornish. At the time, Brienne had no doubt that Stannis would be defeated sooner rather than later. After all, his army was made up of nothing but bandits and thieves, while with Renly marched the entire cavalry of the South, the best warriors of all Westeros.

The first symptom that things had changed radically was noticed the next day. As soon as the sun came up, Randyll Tarly gave the order to set up camp and continue the march. Since they had left Highgarden, the army had never started the march so soon and on several occasions, they had not even lifted the camp as Renly had preferred to hold some big banquet or tournament that day. Some soldiers and knights were surprised, but still reluctantly accepted orders.

When they didn't stop until the sun started to set, then they did protest. Some even dared to demand the king replace Randyll Tarly and appoint another as the army's commander, like Sir Loras. If he didn't, they said, they'd go back to their homes.

They were the first to be executed, but they wouldn't be the last.

The next morning the same events followed. The smiles had gone away from the young knights and soon their faces were marked by the exhaustion and tiredness of the long marches. On that day there were also attempts at desertions, but they were silenced in the same way as the first ones. On the third day, no one protested anymore.

To some extent, Brienne almost thanked it. At the end of the day, all the men were so exhausted that they no longer had the strength to flirt with her or try to sneak into her tent at night, as they preferred to have dinner and go to sleep as soon as possible to replenish their strength for the march that awaited them at dawn.

The impromptu tournaments disappeared as quickly as the Hightowers and Florents had and, even if they had continued to be held, Brienne doubted that almost no knight would have the strength to participate after the last exhausting days. That was one of the facts that had most disappointed her, since she was sure she could have beaten any opponent they had put in front of her, but she had not been given the chance to prove it. If only Stannis would have delayed his attack for a few days, she was sure she could have won one of the tournaments, or even got one of the precious rainbow cloaks. Luckily, she still had a chance to get one. Renly had promised the last rainbow cloak to the one who brought him Joffrey's head, the Child King, as he called him. Brienne was not especially excited on the prospect of killing a child, even if he was the product of incest as rumors said, but... Joffrey was going to die when they took King's Landing one way or another, so it better be by her hand.

Hardly anyone thought of that anymore, though. The thoughts of the members of the army, from the foot soldiers to the noble lords, were elsewhere, much further south. They were on the Honeywine River, specifically, and in the more than ten thousand men who lay dead there, if what the rumors said where true. When Stannis' fleet took the Arbor, virtually the entire army had found it somewhat distant and afar, and there were even those who were glad, saying that Lord Paxter had been a coward and a traitor for not supporting Renly. Then came the news from Oldtown. Almost all Reach soldiers who were part of Renly's army had been to Oldtown at least once in their lives, and many had a family member and acquaintance there. Despite this, their mood remained high, and everyone continued to rely on the impending victory, even if in the end they had to try harder than expected.

But all that had just changed in one night.

The Battle of the Honeywine was the first time King Renly's army had been measured with a real opponent. Until that time, the only true battles of the war had been limited to clashes between Lannisters, Starks and Tullys in the Riverlands. Everyone hoped that when they finally entered combat, their victory would be glorious and would be remembered for all eternity. Of course, remembered, it would be.

All the men Renly had left in Highgarden, along with an important part of the Reach lords had been completely annihilated. There was no word from the queen's father, Lord Mace, or her brother Garlan. Nor of most of the knights and nobles who had accompanied them to battle. Many of the Reach knights who were part of the king's army had lost a relative there, dead or missing, and more than one had not waited a minute to be appointed lord after the chilling news.

And yet, that wasn't much the most troubling thing about it. Their supply lines had been cut off.

True, it wasn't entirely appreciable yet, but Brienne noticed. Even before the news of the battle came, she knew something was wrong. Every day that passed, fewer caravans arrived from the Roseroad and the rations that were distributed among the troops were getting poorer. At the moment it was not at all worrying, but as the days went by the problem would increase. Luckily, they were already at the gates of the King's Landing. A great victory was all they needed. A victory to breathe spirits back into the hearts of the brave soldiers and fear in that of their enemies. When the capital had fallen, Tywin Lannister, Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon would soon lay down their weapons and accept Renly as monarch.

They have to.

Brienne observed the immense tent in which the king was to hold one last banquet before they stormed the capital the next day. She had been invited, as had all the lords and knights with some rank within the army and, although she was neither a lady nor a knight, she remained the heiress of Tarth, so she had also been invited. Like tournaments, the great banquets that the king used to celebrate had virtually disappeared since the fall of Oldtown, and instead Renly preferred to eat and dine alone, accompanied only by Ser Loras, queen Margaery or one of his most important vassals, so this banquet should be quite special.

Unlike the rest of those present, with the exception of the Rainbow Guard, Brienne was wearing her armor from head to toe, rather than a dress as would have been customary for a lady of her position. She knew her outfit would generate laughter and mockery among the guests, but no more than seeing her rinsed in a silk dress. It wasn't the taunts that mattered to her, no, she had put up with that all her life. What mattered to her was that they did it in front of the king, for that would be a direct insult to Renly, who had requested her presence at that banquet.

The site assigned to her was almost at one end of the table, between Lord Bryce Caron of Nighsong, the Orange, one of the rainbow cloaks and Ser Donnel Swann, both of the Stormlands. As the rest of the guests sat down, Brienne realized that the site that had been assigned to her was no coincidence. None of them were.

Next to the king, who occupied the center of the table were Lord Randyll, to his right, and queen Margaery, smiling to his left. Surprisingly, her brother, Ser Loras, was nowhere to be found. The king was majestic, as always. He was wearing a gold linen robe, adorned with a black deer and intricate designs. He was also wearing his crown, which depicted a ring of golden roses. On its front was a stag's head made of dark green jade, with golden eyes and antlers. His smile was just as she remembered it, and as he looked at Brienne her heart almost skipped a bit. However, his face denoted some tiredness, though hardly imperceptible.

On the other hand, at the ends of the table, were the outcasts. Those whose loyalty was, at the very least, doubtful, or those who had fallen out of favor in the king's eyes. Lord Bryce's bastard brother, a certain Ser Rolland, had been one of the first to switch sides and join Stannis and the Martells, and Bryce himself had fervently insisted the king that he should allow him to return to his lands with part of his troops to protect them from the Dornish threat, although Renly had not allowed him to. Ser Donnel's brother, on the other hand, had recently become part of Joffrey's royal guard and his father had remained neutral, although he had sent some soldiers to join the king's army.

Tarth, on the other hand, continued to remain loyal to King Renly, even after the recent setbacks. If it had been her father who had been here, Brienne was sure he would have been one of the lords who would have been closest to the king. But his father was still at Evenfall Hall and Brienne was the one who represented Tarth instead.

Dinner was tenser than Brienne expected. She barely looked up from her food and exchanged no word with any of her companions. They did not in addition try to engage in conversation with her, which she thanked. The rest of the guests were also more serious than usual. Almost everyone present ate and drank in moderation and barely raised their voices except to speak timidly among themselves, nothing like those banquets of the first few weeks where people kept screaming and laughing and every little while some drunk did something stupid.

"My honorable lords and knights" began Renly as the servants went back and forth taking the empty plates left by the diners. Only a couple of dishes had been served to each one and apparently there were no expectations that there will be any dessert. "I'm pleased to have shared this dinner with you all tonight. As you well know, tomorrow we will finally arrive at King's Landing."

Those present nodded and even some made gestures of approval by hitting their cup against the table, but rather than happiness or joy, their faces were rather of pride and even anger. Brienne was glad to see that, instead of defeatism, most of those present felt anger and the need to show the kingdoms their might and strength.

"As you well know," Renly continued, "My initial idea was not to storm the city, but to make the population rebel against the tyrannical reign of Joffrey and the Lannisters, and that by the time we arrived we would find the doors open. Unfortunately, that's no longer a possibility." His voice denoted some sadness.

"Both queen Cersei and the rest of the royal family seem to have left the Red Keep, according to the latest rumors," Randyll Tarly said. "But King Joffrey is still in town, entrenched with the gold cloaks, part of the royal fleet and several hundred Lannister soldiers."

"They certainly intend to barricade themselves in the city, employing King's Landing inhabitants as human shields," the king said. "The gods will judge their actions, no doubt, but their stubbornness in this war unfortunately forces us to take the city by storm and sack it."

Brienne heard murmurs all over the table, but none of them present seemed too astonished at Renly's plans. None except her.

Sacking the city... it can't be true. She knew the Lannisters would never surrender without a fight, but she had expected Lord Tywin and Joffrey to come out to meet them in battle without taking refuge behind the city walls. But still... sacking the city? What was the point? She was still a child when Tywin Lannister sacked the city at the end of the rebellion, but the stories told that night were chilling: murders, rapes and countless heinous acts. That, coupled with Oldtown's recent sack and the news coming from the Reach, only increased the repugnance she felt over acts of such caliber. Being forced to take the city was one thing, but sacking it was a very different thing.

"Your Grace," said Brienne. She didn't quite know what madness had prompted her to speak at the time, but it was too late to back down. "Is it really necessary to sack the city? We outnumber them extensively; a sack seems to me to be an unnecessary brutality."

Brienne watched as all eyes of the table were staring at her. Some faces looked at her with disdain, but most did so with mockery, though none dared to laugh at her in Renly's presence. The only one who seemed to show her some sympathy was queen Margaery.

"My dear Brienne," said the king. His face reflected no feeling. "My dear wife here also shares your feelings, and I am sure that all present are disgusted to have to come to this situation, but it has been our enemies who have forced this upon us."

"As you can see, despite your appearance you still belong to the weak sex," Randyll Tarly said with contempt.

"Tell me Brienne, how is treason punished?" said Renly.

"Treason? With... with death, Your Grace," faltered Brienne, confused.

"And how would you consider the citizens of King's Landing then? They have turned their backs on me to offer their support to Joffrey, what should I do with them in your opinion?"

"You can show mercy, your grace. Show the people that you are not like Tywin Lannister and your brother," Brienne insisted. The great lords were soon outraged by her accusations, but Renly made a gesture with his hand to calm them down.

"Calm down, calm down, I think this is all just a big misunderstanding. I'm not going to raze the city, much less. But in the midst of a battle as fierce as this, it will be impossible for the city to stay unharmed, but I am sure that our brave knights and soldiers will know how to keep the damage to a minimum."

For the second time that night, Brienne saw the king smile and this time, all her doubts dissipated.