I am sad. And I often post here when I am sad. Second update for today but well, I calculated and I still have enough chapters till New Years if I do not do a repeat of this.

Arthur II

He should have listened to his instincts, and protested harder against Jon Connington's stupid frugality in Brandon Stark's fishing expedition. Sometimes, Arthur felt his bones sing when things were about to go wrong and they had sung as he took the lead of this party of ten and scouted through Kingswood near Haystack Hall.

He should have brought a bigger party. He had known.

But Jon was of the mind that if the Queen's appeasement of people was so good, ten ought to be enough.

Or better yet no one should go at all. Yes, House Errol was a minor house and was on top of the houses that would switch sides till it met their ends. They could not afford conflict from any angle.

But that Robert would find there, so close to Storm's End was blasphemous to Connington.

Arryn and Eddard were currently chasing leads in the Vale. Rhaegar was away with Darry and Martell at Raventree negotiating with Blackwoods, who thought that Brackens were using the rebellion and playing both sides. Ser Selmy was away in Storm's End along with Penrose, getting confirmed allegiances. The central camp was near Isle of Faces and Rhaegar had left Lord Whent in charge. Of course, Connington bullied him into something and it was all over.

Brandon Stark had wanted to chase down every lead they had. Arthur appreciated the sentiment, but not the lack of forethought. Brandon was ready to march alone, not listening to counsel.

The most loud and contemptuous of that counsel was Connington who had arrived and tried to act like the Hand of Rhaegar. It drowned whatever Arthur said. It certainly drowned Whent.

And it was apparent that Connington would not get along with the northern lords. He had a certain air, the same southern air that deemed north and northerners as savage. Brandon Stark was brash but even he saw through that.

Connington's network claimed that Robert was near the Twins. Northern intelligence denied that. And of course, Brandon trusted his sources better.

We cannot spare soldiers for a fishing expedition.

Connington said and Lord Whent could not help but go along with it. However, Jon did bristle when Arthur said that Whent and he would be joining Brandon's party.

Robert had been around. The small town near Haystack Hall had all the bearings of a bandit party.

"They took the lord's daughter. She let them in in the keep." An old crone told them.

Haystack Hall was a small castle and holding. The current lady of the house was no help: her father was at Storm's End. She had instructions to not open it to anybody but the King's seal or her father.

It was clear that she had been smitten. Arthur wondered if using forceful interrogation would work.

That is when the reason Brandon's reputation came to light. His tongue and flirtation had her slip, and when they pressed her slip further, she confessed the whole ordeal, bawling and cursing.

Baratheon had seduced her and entered the keep and then he opened the gates at night. He and his companions had made away with supplies after creating a distracting fire elsewhere in the keep.

She was afraid of being shamed and hence, her silence.

"What you did is treason," Whent supplied. That did not help the tears.

Nonetheless, they used the rookery to send a raven to King's Landing and Raventree Hall and another to Storm's End.

They would stay the night, trying to organize the household in case of another coup. There was a minimal chance that there would be one before Lord Errol came rushing back.

But of course, the singing in the bones was for a reason.

They were ambushed.

It was on their way from Rook's rest to Antlers, because Baratheon had spoken about Antlers (and Brandon was now grasping at straws), they were met by a large battalion.

It was an ambush and the bit about Antlers had been a trap.

Arthur missed the screeches in the heat of the battle. But he could not miss the very obvious flames.

Valor descended between their small group and the enemies. He roared out flames that shielded their party from the view of the enemy.

And was that armor on its body?

What was Azalea doing here? Because who else would Valor allow on its back?

Valor did not burn anybody to death directly, just scattered and injured the army enough that they were able to regroup and start taking them out systematically. Arthur heaved his breaths and looked at Whent and Brandon as they stayed still, watching the immense flames.

Using the flames strategically, Azalea had backed the battalion into a single manageable group.

"She really does not burn people if she can help it," Brandon said, with a bit of surprise.

Valor was taking a host of arrows but all of them bounced off his scales and in some cases, the metal armor he wore.

Arthur was more surprised by her presence here than anything else. That surprise just rose, when Valor lowered its wing only for Azalea to jump down from it and it flew away.

"Let's regroup, the flames will not hold forever." The queen told them.

"Why did you send him away?" Brandon was shocked.

"I cannot leave the capital, Viserys, and the Queen Dowager unguarded," Azalea said snippily.

Arthur was staring at her. He knew Whent was as well.

"I got your raven from Haystack Hall. Then I got another one from the maester. Lady Errol tricked you by mentioning Antlers. Robert wants Brandon's head. He convinced Lady Errol by taking her maidenhead and promising her queendom," Azalea informed them shortly, "I did not know any other way to save your god darn lives. Is that information enough or you want to interrogate me rather than devise a strategy to get rid of them? There are still about 15 standing, although injured and we are only seven."

Arthur would try to shield her in the battle that came; only for her to grab him by the collar and scold him.

It ended. It was not any knight of the kingdom but sellswords.

"How is he even paying them?" Brandon had sworn out loud before driving his sword through someone's heart.

Vargo Hoat surrendered in the end, with 3 of his companions. He wanted payment for intelligence that he had.

"You may have your life if your intelligence is worth it," Azalea said shortly before any of them could take charge.

"Tie them up. I am going to look at Umber's wounds before we march to the camp. I need to see the King," Azalea told them.

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