Chapter 55. Red Keep Down.

Soon a week had passed, and things didn't seem to get any better. In fact, they were getting worse. Joffrey knew that he didn't have any chances of convincing the world that the accusations against him were a lie- which they weren't- so he didn't even try. More and more information against him kept being released everyday, and it couldn't be stopped. All his secrets were revealed, and his public image was completely destroyed with the truth. No one knew where Varys was getting all the information from, but then again, he was Varys. He wasn't known worldwide as the Master of Secrets because if nothing. Unable to stop the world from getting to know his true self, and unable to leave the mansion without the risk of being arrested or attacked by the crowd, Joffrey had threatened anyone who dared come anywhere near the mansion. That didn't stop the civilians from gathering everyday at the gates of the Red Keep mansion to protest to have Joffrey removed from Office and arrested, which would happen as soon as he set a single foot outside the mansion. However, as long as he remained inside, its walls and guards would keep him safe. What wasn't so clear was for how long that would be. Many nations had already offered their support to the people of Westeros, and Joffrey had been declared a public enemy. Sooner or later he would have to face the ultimate consequences of his crimes.

Sansa had spent her days looking outside her window at the protesting crowd, who for days and days had been shouting things and holding up posters with hateful messages against Joffrey, demanding justice. Sansa's heart was warmed when she saw many people demanding her and her brother to be set free. She had also been the focus of many television shows, in which the torment that she must have suffered during her years at her husband's side must have been like was discussed. While a small minority believed that it was all an act and that she had supported Joffrey in everything, the vast majority believed the truth. The revelation that she had had to witness her father's death, been forced to marry his murderer, and narrowly escaped death in the plane crash in which her family had been killed had sent the country into an outrage. It hadn't helped when Varys had released pictures secretly taken during moments between Sansa and Joffrey, where part of the abuse that she had endured was visible. Sansa had been able to see some of the pictures on TV before the Lannisters had forbidden her to keep watching the news. The picture that had actually shocked her was one from her wedding. She didn't know that Varys had gone to her wedding; maybe he had sneaked in without anyone noticing. That wouldn't be surprising. He had taken a picture of a moment in which Joffrey was glaring at Sansa and grabbing her hand, and the expression on Sansa's face was one of pure dread and sorrow. Sansa remembered that moment. She had stayed so out during the entire ceremony, but at that moment she had felt like she couldn't continue anymore, like she was going to break. She had avoided Sandor's gaze the entire time until then, and as soon as her eyes met his she had wanted to run to his arms and have him take her far away from there. She had hesitated, Joffrey had sensed it. And now the entire world could see that her wedding day had been the day when her life had become a nightmare from which she couldn't escape.

Until now. Now she just had to wait a little bit longer...

Gendry had told her that Arya was coming, so Sansa knew that she would get out of that mansion one way or another, either because Joffrey finally gave in and was arrested and impeached or because her sister came and forced the Lannisters to set her free. She hadn't seen or spoken to Arya in years, but if Gendry said that she was coming it must be because he knew something. Besides, he had a look in his eyes when he mentioned Arya that suggested to Sansa that he did indeed know something. Had he seen her? Had she called him? Gendry didn't tell, but Sansa trusted his words and waited patiently day after day for her sister to finally come. She was afraid, yes; she didn't really want her sister to be involved in that awful situation, but she wasn't just thinking of herself. She needed her brother and her child to be safe, and Arya could help. Sansa just hoped that everything would be on until that happened. She put a hand over her huge belly; it wouldn't be that born until her child was born. Sansa hoped that when the time finally came she would be far away from that mansion so that her child could be welcomed into the world in a happy place and, most importantly, by his father. Sandor. Sansa couldn't wait a second longer until she was finally with him again. Every time that she closed her eyes she could imagine that she was with him. She visualized him perfectly, and there wasn't an inch of him that she didn't miss.

Rickon and Gendry had told her that she would be with Sandor soon, and she wanted to believe it. But, deep down, in the pit if her stomach, she felt something dreadful... Was something bad going to happen? She very much hoped not! But no matter what, she couldn't shake that feeling off...

She didn't want to think about it, she had enough to worry about with the way that things were at the moment. Joffrey was walking back and forth all over the Red Keep mansion, yelling and attacking anyone who crossed his path, and threatening everyone with blowing the country up before he was forced out of that place. Sansa knew that they were empty threats, but Joffrey made them sound so real...

It was getting late, and she was exhausted. Her pregnancy was making her energy levels run low, and the stress that she was experiencing wasn't helping the least bit. All she wanted to do was get in bed and forget about everything that was happening. She didn't know how she would get her much-needed sleep, though, with Joffrey constantly yelling. It was something that she could have tuned out in the past, but at the moment it was unbearable. However, her exhaustion won over Joffrey's yelling, and she fell into a restless sleep. She was still unable to shake that awful feeling off...

They were like shadows in the dark, invisible against the night setting of the city. None if the security guards that stood watch around the mansion and on the roof were able to spot them, no one heard them... It was as if they weren't there, as if they didn't exist. That was, until the first bullet hit one of the guards right between the eyes.

The heavy body of the man came crashing down on the hard surface of the roof. No one saw that happening, but another guard did hear the noise. He was about to turn around when second bullet hit him in the neck, making him drop dead as well. A third guard did see that happening. He was shot before he could do anything, but his warning shout was heard by the others, who turned around to find the three dead bodies. Some of them sounded the alarm, but by then it was too late.

Bullets seemed to come from everywhere, and none missed their target. In a matter of seconds all the guards on the roof had been shot down by invisible enemies, and only the ones that were in the garden surrounding the mansion were left standing. They noticed that they were being attacked when the bodies of one of the guards fell from the roof to the ground below, hitting it with a breaking sound. The guards in the garden took their positions immediately, ready to defend the mansion from any enemy, oblivious to the fact that they didn't stand a chance. The crowd of people that had been protesting outside the gates of the mansion suddenly fell silent, noticing that something was wrong and feeling confused by the events that were suddenly taking place.

There were a few seconds in which nothing happened, until suddenly someone hidden among the crowd shit at one of the guards, killing him. There were screams, and people backed away from the gates immediately. Many ran away in panic, but many other stayed and watched as a group of people dressed in black gear separated from the crowd and approached the gates, holding large and heavy machine guns that no one had noticed before. Others started emerging from hidden places, jumping off trees, and getting out of vehicles that had looked harmless before.

Some of those people that had emerged from the crowd started climbing the barred gates to cross over to the garden, while the rest stood where the were and shot at the remaining guards and soldiers that were pointing with their guns at the people climbing the gates. The people wearing the black gear and holding the heavy weapons had their faces covered by dark golden masks, which now caught a lot of attention from the people that were watching those events unfold. The guards that were trying to protect the mansion were all hit by the merciless bullets of the men in the black gear an golden masks, but backups had been called and now the military were approaching the scene. It didn't make a difference, though. As they arrived, more people in golden masks appeared out of nowhere, and they were ruthless.

Almost everyone had fled the scene, except for a few idiots that had their cameras out and were filming everything from the distance. Sirens could be heard from far away, getting closer with each passing second, but the people attacking the Red Keep mansion didn't care. A few of them had been shot by the military, but for each market person that had been killed three military had fallen. It was a bloodbath.

Three quarters of the masked men were already inside the grounds of the Red Keep mansion, and while some focused only in shooting the military, others approached the mansion. A few of them started escalating the building to the get to higher floors and to the roof, where they took the place of the guards that they had just killed a minute ago. Down on the ground, masked men were trying to enter the building. It wasn't hard. One of them, a tall individual, took an explosive out of his wide pocket and threw it at the main door, which exploded into tiny bits and pieces. Then half of the masked killers entered the mansion.

Sansa was awaken by a sharp pain in her belly. She was lying on her back in bed, and when she tried to sit up it was almost impossible. A second wave of sharp pain almost made her cry out and she felt years building up in her eyes, but she didn't shed any of them.

Slowly and carefully she sat up on her bed and she out her feet down on the cold hard floor. She took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed. She thought that everything was over, but as soon as that thought crossed her mind she felt the pain again. She opened her eyes and looked down at her huge and round belly.

"No," she murmured under her breath, with understanding in her voice, but also with distress. "No, no, no, no. You can't be born now!"

She was in denial until a fourth wave of pain shot through her body, and that time she did cry out. There was no denying it: she was having labor pains.

Well, if that was it she couldn't just stay there all night, she needed to get up. She needed medical attention! She had hoped to be already out of that place when her baby was born, so that she could have him at a decent hospital. She very much doubted that Joffrey would let her leave the mansion, but he couldn't just leave her there on her own! Could he? Sansa wasn't so sure at the moment. It was Joffrey after all, and he knew that the child wasn't his, so what did he care? Before he might have cared because he was trying to have a flawless public image, but now that image had been shattered... Though if anything happened to Sansa the whole country would jump at Joffrey's throat and tear him apart.

But Sansa couldn't think of the possible outcomes at the moment, all that she wanted was her baby to be born healthy and she needed help. She stood up from the bed as best as she could and she walked towards the door without putting a robe or her slippers on before. She walked towards the door, feeling the pain receding a bit. She took deep breaths as she went outside of her bedroom, and found the corridor completely dark and empty. Everybody was sleeping already.

"Just hold on..." Sansa murmured under her breath as she took slow and small steps down the corridor. It took her only a minute to reach Joffrey's room, but to her it seemed like an eternity. She opened the door and stepped inside, finding Joffrey fast asleep on the bed. It was unusual to find him sleeping lately; the still-President of Westeros spent his nights awake in his office, plotting and trying to find a way of getting out of that mess, all on vain. The signs of exhaustion were visible on his face. Sansa had never seen darker circles under anybody's eyes, but she didn't care. Joffrey deserved everything that he was getting and worse.

"Joffrey," she tried to shake him awake. "Joffrey, wake up!"

Her husband grunted in his sleep before slowly opening his eyes. His gaze was unfocused at first, but then he saw Sansa and he frowned.

"What?" he grunted, visibly upset about having been woken up on the middle of the night.

Sansa was about to say something when suddenly she was in pain again and she hissed, trying to stop herself from crying out. Joffrey's frown was replaced by a look of understanding. He didn't say anything, though, he just sat up on the bed and stared at his wife looking annoyed.

"The baby is coming," Sansa said, trying to get a reaction from him.

Still, no answer.

"I need help."

"Help yourself," Joffrey muttered, and he tried to go back to sleep without a care in the world. Sansa had expected such a reaction from him, but she really needed help and, much to her sorrow, that meant that she needed Joffrey. She shook him awake again, further annoying him.

"Joffrey! I need a doctor!"

"I don't care! It's not mine," he hissed. Sansa took a deep breath. She knew that it would be harder to deal with Joffrey since he no longer needed to keep up the cover that the child was his, but she was not in the mood and certainly did not have the patience to deal with his mean and stubborn character at the moment.

"I need a doctor, now," she repeated. "If anything happens to me or the baby it won't be very good for you. And you are already in enough trouble as it is."

"Fine!" Joffrey exclaimed, pulling away the covers and getting out of bed. "I'll call the fucking doctor!"

Sansa sighed, relieved, and she felt pain again. It was getting worse than before, but it was still bearable.

She followed Joffrey outside the bedroom. He made for the stairs, and Sansa wanted to go back to her bedroom and rest there while the doctor came, but Joffrey insisted that she go downstairs with him. Sansa didn't protest, because she thought that it would be better if she didn't annoy Joffrey more than she already had. It took a while to get Sansa to the first floor, but she managed, and Joffrey disappeared inside his office. Sansa was left standing in the corridor and leaning against a wall. She couldn't believe that she was in labor. She was both incredibly excited and terribly scared. She wished that she had her mother there with her to help her and guide her, or Sandor, but she had neither of them there and she would have to make do. What was really important was that soon she would have her baby in her arms...

At that moment Rickon came out of the kitchen, apparently after having gone there to drink a glass of water on the middle of the night. Rickon looked surprised to find his sister there, but when he saw the look on her face he instantly became worried and hurried to her side.

"Sansa! Are you ok? Is everything alright?"

"Yes... I'm having the baby," she told him.

Rickon's face immediately lit up with excitement and awe. It didn't matter that they were in such a complicated situation, he was going to be an uncle and that was all that mattered to him.

"Really?! I can't belie-!"

He never got to finish his sentence. Suddenly they started hearing a strange noise from outside... Were people screaming? And were those sounds that they were hearing gunshots?! Before either one of them could say or question anything Meryn and Boros appeared running and looking quite distressed, and they entered the office where Joffrey was making the phone call. Sansa and Rickon stood on the corridor, listening to what the bodyguards were saying. They didn't like one bit of what they heard.

"Mr. President! You have to come with us, sir!" said Meryn.

"What? Why?"

"The Red Keep is under attack, sir!"

"What do you mean, it's under attack? I told those idiots on the roof to shoot anyone who dared-"

"They are all dead, sir! This is serious, we have to go! Now!"

The screams outside intensified, and Joffrey didn't thin twice about it. He ran out of the office followed by his bodyguards. Sansa and Rickon were still standing in the corridor, in shock over what they had just heard. They kept hearing the screaming outside, and reality hit them. They were really being attacked.

"Arya..." Sansa murmured so lowly that only she could hear it. A smile threatened to appear in her lips, but that smile was wiped away immediately. Sandor had told her some things about how the Faceless Men were known to operate, and this attack was by their style. It wasn't them. It wasn't Arya. But then, who was it?

Sansa didn't know. All that she knew was that she was in danger as well as the rest.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she was picked up by Boros, who ran with her behind Joffrey down the corroded as fast as he could. Sansa knew where they were going: the Presidential bunker. It hadn't been used since the times of the war, when the mad dictator Aerya Targaryen had practically taken residence in it, but it would keep them safe. Rickon followed them.

"Meryn, go and find my mother, now!" Joffrey ordered, and the bodyguard obeyed and left. Meanwhile Joffrey, Meryn, Sansa and Rickon continued heading towards the bunker, located in the East wing of the mansion.

They were almost there when suddenly they heard an explosion. The noise came from the main entrance of the mansion. They heard steps and voices coming from that direction, and shouts could be heard from upstairs, as well as glass shattering.

"They are inside!" Boros hissed. "Hurry!"

Joffrey was the first one to reach the the steel doors of the elevator that led to the underground bunker. There was a lengthy password that had to be entered, and once Joffrey entered and his fingerprint the door opened, and they jumped inside the elevator. Suddenly Rickon froze.

"Myrcella," he murmured, going white.

The doors started closing almost immediately, right at the same time that a masked man appeared at the end of the corridor. He shouted something and started running towards them, but he didn't shoot. Rickon paid no attention to the man and tried to get out of the elevator, but he didn't have time. Sansa held his arm to keep him there, but the pain she was in made he weak.

"No, Rickon!" she cried.

"Myrcella!" Rickon yelled right before the door finished closing and the elevator started to descend, keeping the attackers out and all four of them in.

They were safe. For now.

Chaos took over the Red Keep mansion. The men that had entered the building had run into all the rooms, waking everybody up and dragging them out of their beds. The masked men killed all the bodyguards that were armed and tried to resist, and unarmed those who didn't fight back. Outside, the masked people on the roof and those who were on the ground were aiming their weapons at the people that were outside the gates, and kept out anyone who tried to get in. The police had arrived before, but a few warning shots from the masked men had been enough to keep them out. Reporters had also arrived at the scene, and cameramen were filming the events and footage of what was happening was being broadcasted to the entire country. Soon the whole world would witness what was happening at the home of the still-leader of the nation.

The military that were inside the mansion tried to out up a fight, but it was all in vain. They had weapons just as big and powerful and those of the masked men, but the latter shot then all down with an ease and skill that seemed inhuman.

"Red Keep down! Red Keep down!" was shouting the last man left standing, and he died with those words in his lips.

All the inhabitants of the mansion that were still alive were forced to gather in the drawing room. They were out down on their knees with their empty hands up in the air in a gesture of surrender. There was Tywin Lannister, who was seeing red and glared at the masked men with a proud expression on his face, letting them know that he wasn't afraid. His son Tyrion was by his side. He wanted to get out of there alive, and he was afraid, but he was already thinking of a way to negotiate and get out of there. His bodyguard Bronn was by his side. Cersei Lannister was furious, but at the same time her expression was cold and hard like marble. Her children Tommen and Myrcella were by her side, shaking and sobbing. They were so young, and they were terrified. Jaime Lannister looked nervous, but his years in the military had made him experience situations that made him feel sure that he could get out of there alive. However, that didn't stop him from eyeing the weapons nervously. Gendry was there as well. He didn't look so good. He was furious, and when he was taken by the masked men he had fought with a couple of them. His eyes was turning black and he had a split lip. They hadn't killed him for fighting back, though, they had just hit him. Senator Kevan's expression was similar to that of his brother Tywin. He was not afraid by those men, or if he was he wasn't letting it show. The other people that were there were Meryn and Gregor Clegane, the only bodyguards apart from Bronn that were left alive. Arys Oakheart and the Kettleblacks had been killed on the bloodbath.

Eight people with golden masks stood in front of them, aiming their weapons at the hostages. The rest of the masked men were outside. The Lannistera glared at them while they tried to figure out who they were, and what they wanted. Who had sent them? What were they going to do?! They didn't have a clue, but they questions were answered soon.

Then a ninth man on a golden mask came into the drawing room. There was something different about him, like if he was more powerful, more dangerous, more important. Like he had control over everything. This was confirmed when he spoke, unlike the rest of the masked men, who remained silent.

"We are missing our guest of honor!" he exclaimed with a tone of voice that might have passed off as friendly in any other situation. His voice was soft yet strong at the same time. It was the voice of a young man who held power and authority in his hands. He approached the hostages and looked at them one by one. "Where is he?"

"Who are you?" Tywin asked. There wasn't an ounce of fear or hesitation in his voice, but there wasn't defiance either. He was just a man who wanted to know who his enemy was.

The masked man didn't reply right away, he just stared at Tywin Lannister. But, after a few seconds passed he did pull his golden mask off, revealing his face and identity to everyone and making some of the people that were there gasp with surprise and shock as soon as they saw the silver blond hair and the bright purple eyes. They recognized him immediately. They thought him gone. They thought them all gone...

Aegon Targaryen.