Ned VI

"I'm telling you Ned," Willam Dustin's voice was continuing to imprint itself on Ned's mind, it's owner quite determined to get his point across, "You really did miss something magnificent at the end of the wedding," he then let out a giggle that was more in line with a stable boy than a Lord of Barrowtown, "Or rather, two magnificent things."

"I've heard it," Ned groaned, as he tried to keep from snapping at his friend. It was far too early in the morning to be Willam was at times the strangest of his friends. There were nights where the Lord of the Barrows would recite poetry of long dead kings, the battles between Barrow Kings and Wolf Kings, and how those songs were passed down for dozens upon dozens of generations. Then…well…

"Oh, you should have seen them Ned," Willam continued, his hands twisting around as though he was holding two round things, "Some of the finest tits the gods ever made, where they are old or new," he just shook his head, "I tell you, I've never thought I'd be jealous of an old man, but by the Gods, Jon Arryn-"

"Is as close as me as a father," Ned cut him off, and he could feel some heat on his face, "I would appreciate if you did not describe his wife in such a manner."

"Oh, but Ned, how could we not," Cu cut in, and once again, Ned had to sigh as his two guards smirked at one another, "We got to feel um up!" he laughed, his hands making the same motion and WIllam, "By the gods, why didn't anyone tell me about this whole bedding thing?" he asked aloud, "You get to see pretty girls in their last moments of maidenhood, and then you get to carrying them up in a heap, and you get to feel um before you toss um into bed. It's a magnificent thing if you ask me!"

"Cuuuu…," Ned grumbled, giving the former wilding a side eye. He had managed to leave early from Jon Arryn and Catelyn Tully's wedding. Or rather, Catelyn Arryn now. Ned had managed to avoid a bedding at his own wedding, and had thus preferred to avoid taking part in it, especially when it involved Jon Arryn. He loved the man, but he had no desire to see him in the buff, or Jon's new wife for that matter. That hadn't been a discretion that almost anyone else had taken.

Ned gave a look to his left, towards his reason for avoiding the bedding. Artoria herself was facing forward, trying not to look back at her companions and thus acknowledge their conversation. Though, from the light red over her nose, Ned could guess that she knew exactly what they were talking about, and did not enjoy it. Which was unfortunate, because Artoria had enjoyed herself at the feast, as was usual for his wife.

'Where does she put it?' Ned could not help ask himself, the image of a leg nearly the size of Artoria's head being torn apart by the lithe girl. He almost worried about how the larder would handle Artoria being the lady of Winterfell.

But, after it was announced that the bedding would occur soon, Artoria had asked Ned to take her to their room. He had been glad of it, and the two had excused themselves, saying that Artoria was light headed, and needed to rest herself. It had been accepted, with almost everyone simply allowing them to retire from the festivities. Hoster had given him a good natured look as he had offered the apology, simply congratulating Ned on his marriage and saying that it was good for a young lord to be so devoted to his wife. Jon had merely given him a sheepish look, still clearly uncomfortable with the marriage, while Robert had laughed and raised a tankard to Ned saying to have fun.

'We were riding in the morning Robert,' Ned chided his friend in the back of his head, 'To think about carousing any more than we already were,' and then he thought of the other application, 'And dear gods, what if I got her pregnant before taking her out here. I'd be endangering my child by letting Artoria fight,' he then thought again, 'And…I still don not know if she wants to have a child with me.'

"Oh come on Ned," Willam laughed, pulling Ned from his thoughts, "Your hound is just enjoying himself a bit."

"I mean, Ned, you should have been there to take advantage of breasts that big," Cu cackled.

And suddenly it felt as though the world around them grew cold.

"What do you mean by that Ser Cu?" Ned felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He tried his best to pull his horse away from the hound, who sat far straighter in the saddle than before. Ned made sure not to look at his wife, who had somehow raised her arm right over her cuirass. She slowly cantered her horse over toward the spearman, and gave him a look, "I believe that you were implying something with that comment. Would you care to explain, as I know that I am just a foolish girl," and it seemed she was also rather aggravated about Cu's comments about her joining the battle.

"LORD STARK!"

'Oh thank the Gods,' Ned thought, glad that it seemed as though his best warrior had just been saved from some injury caused by his massive mouth. A rider, the red stallion of the Braken on his tunic, rode up, and looked over at Ned and his army. Ned returned to the front of his guard, and watched as the messenger stopped in front of him.

"Lord Stark," the Bracken man said, breathing heavily, "I bring word from the Blackfish," Ned remembered that Bryden Tully had been placed in command of the van of the army. He, alongside Jonos Bracken and Tytos Blackwood, both of whom had fought for the honor of joining the Blackfish, was to take his force and meet with around five thousand Vale men under command of Lord Corbay. They would then cross the Trident, and hold the ford so their army could cross the river well.

"What is the word," Ned asked.

"There is a battle at the ford," the man said quickly. Suddenly, any conversation around his guard was gone. That shouldn't be happening. The plan had been to cross the ford and get the army across the trident as quickly as possible. Someone like the blackfish certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to attack across a river for battle.

"Get the men moving up!" He shouted, and quickly he saw many of his guard ride off, with only Artoria and Cu staying at his side. Before long orders were being shouted around the Northern Forces around him, preparing for his forces to make a real push the last three or so miles to the river. There was no plan for an immediate battle, especially across the river, but if a battle was occurring, he needed to get these troops as soon as he could. He looked back at the Bracken man, and asked, "What happened? Why are they fighting! We were supposed to either cross, or wait if Targaryens were already there!"

"My lord!" the man offered quickly, "The Blackfish sent about two hundred riders ahead last night to protect the crossing, to hold the ford. There were no Targaryen forces when they arrived, and set up a camp south of the trident."

Ned nodded, that seemed like a sound strategy if Bryden did not think he could get the van across overnight. Certainly if he was waiting for the men of the Vale.

"Yet this morning," the rider continued, "As the dawn broke, the men of Darry arrived. They had around four thousand men in total my lord, and would be more than enough to push our riders back up across the ford," he then had a wicked grin, "We could have lost the crossing had not my Lord pushed forward his men so he might be the first Lord to cross the Trident."

"So Bryden sent the Bracken men forward?" Ned was glad to hear of it, though, "That does seem to be a might risky for Bryden to order."

"Well, actually," now the bravado seemed to disappear, "Well, my Lord decided to leave early, to show the mettle of House Bracken," he then gained a sneer, "Yet those accursed Blackwoods were up at the same time, and were attempting to steal the honor. So my-"

"Enough," Ned sighed to himself, as he saw Artoria rest her forehead in her palm. He'd heard of the feud between the Bracken and the Blackwood, but the thought that it might mean insubordination to a commander like the Blackfish only made it seem more aggravating. Still though, "I suppose though, it may have been helpful. Both your forces contain around three thousand men, correct?"

"Why, Lord Stark," the Bracken seemed to puff up his chest, "We Brackens are worth twi-"

"You both had around three thousand," Ned said firmly.

"...Yes milord," the man admitted.

"And that meant," Ned posited, "That both Bracken and Blackwood men were able to arrive before our riders were pushed back across the river?"

"Yes Lord Stark," the rider nodded, "Our men made it across, as we still held the ford itself, and were able to form up a solid wall of pike. We had many men in the river, but with so many of our men on the South Side, we held the crossing ser," he then smiled, "We managed to kill Lord Darry himself with a crossbow, but they are under command of Jonothor, so they remained in the field."

"Yet the battle remains going on despite our forces superior numbers and position?" Ned asked. He did not doubt that together, Lord Blackwood and Lord Bracken could defeat the men of Darry, even if the men of the plow had a Knight of the Kingsguard commanding them.

"Well, milord, just as we felt we'd push them full out of the river, more dragon men came from the South," he seemed despondent, as though he realized that they had missed a golden opportunity, "dornishmen, under command of Prince Llewyn Martell," another member of the Kingsguard, "They came up, and well, with such numbers and their nimble feet, were pushing us across the river."

"And to save the Blackwood and the Bracken," Ned pieced together what was happening, as Willam Dustin and Theo Wull returned, and Ned saw Northern Men-at-Arms beginning to march at an increased pace, "Bryden had to commit the remainder of his forces, only around three thousand men."

"And the Corbray's Vale men," the rider spoke up, "They had met only a mile from the Trident, and were able to push into the river," the rider looked exhausted, "Milord, at the moment, we still hold a few crossings, but they hold many others, and the fighting is fierce in the river itself."

"So," Ned looked seriously at the rider, "We have the crossing, but we don't know how strong our hold is," he then closed his eyes, imagining the scene, "We have over ten thousand men engaged, as does our enemy," Ned cursed to himself, realizing this was far too large to try and pull the committed forces back, "Shit. We'll have to fight today, we can't afford for the Targaryens to declare we have been repulsed and claim victory."

"So we head for the Trident then Ned?" it was massive Great Jon Umber, who had been joined by the Lords Manderly, Bolton, Glover, Kastark, Mourmont and Ryswell. The Lords had been on the march with their men, but as the call had gone out to begin marching faster, they had come up to hear what was happening. Ned nodded at the question, and pointed to South. This caused the Great Jon to laugh, "Yes, time to smash these spineless little shrimp!"

"Take care to keep your men in good condition!" Ned shouted, as the Lords of the North began to disperse, "We must not come in weak," he then looked at the rider once more, "Go northwest, that is where Lord's Arryn, Tully and Baratheon are," around ten thousand men under all of them, as the rear and the most battle tested forces of the army, "Tell them that the North will move up, and try to help push across the river at the Ford. Tell them to move up a swift as their legs can carry them. That the battle has been joined, and there is no recourse but to finish it here and now.

"Yes milord!" and he rode off in the direction of Robert. Ned nodded at his companions. Some looked grimly determined, such as Biggs, Wedge and the Cassel brothers. Others looked highly amused, such as Cu or Theo Wull, his mountain clan blood showing. Then there was the strangely placid appearance of Howland Reed, who appeared as though nothing could truly phase the Crannogman.

And then there was Artoria. She had already flipped the visor of her helmet down, likely to hide her nervous visage. She still had fears about dealing death on the battlefield. Yet there was nothing else to be done. Ned turned his horse forward, and pointed his sword south. The final battle of this Rebellion had begun, and it would not due to be late.

"With me Men of the North!" he shouted, as his horse began it's gallop south, "With me!"

The scene when they arrived not an hour later was a mess. There were men on both sides of the river, under banners and wearing colors of lords on both sides of the Rebellion. Ned could see the banner of House Dalt of Lemonwood on the northern side of the ford, while on the southern banks were men of House Blackwood. On both ends, these groups were fighting those pledged to the other side, and inside the waters themselves were blotches of other men fighting one another.

And around all these fighting men were the bodies of those who had been killed in the fighting. In some places, Ned could see large piles where the lines of men had fought against each other, as well as scattered corpses tossed around the battlefield. The thought of how many men were already dead crawled into Ned's head.

"There must be hundreds dead on both sides," he said aloud, and then he surveyed the plains south of the ford, and cursed, "Shit," the rest of his guard looked out, and he heard similar curses from his companions.

There was a mass of men marching up from the south. They were mostly infantry, with large black shields on their side, though at the lead were what appeared to be over a hundred knights, with dozens of different colors on their shields. They were too far for Ned to know who exactly they were, but the massive banner at the front of the group with a red three headed dragon was enough.

Even worse, Ned could see another group just a bit further west. These were more heavily armored, with greater number of horses. If Ned had to guess, that was the group of men of the Reach, and likely the more veteran group of Targaryen soldiers. Ned looked back, and cursed at Robert and his remaining Stormlanders had not yet arrived. He looked over his forces, and accepted he was going to have to attack across the river to hope to hold the crossing, and he was going to have to rely on Robert to catch up soon.

"Get the men up quickly," Ned said.

The next five minutes were getting the Northern infantry into formation. Their shields and other weapons at the ready, with the men of Wintertown and those pledged directly to House Stark arranged in three lines, five men deep each. They were loyal men, some had even marched with Ned's father to slay the Ninepenny Kings, and they would have to form the core of the Northern front as it attempted to push to hold the southern bank. Ned gave a look to his left and right, and was glad to see that his bannermen had managed to follow the strategy they had agreed to on the march down.

On the right, the Western flank, were the Great Jon, the Kastarks, the Mormonts and the Mountain Clansmen. Alongside the spears of the infantry, there were long axes, and many were larger than the average men. They were among the most ferocious fighters in all the North, due to their more active role in combatting wilding incursions. So, they would be used to try and push along the west, and then hold against the Reach forces that were coming up the Southwest. They would be outnumbered, but the main goal was to hold until Robert and Jon arrived with the remainder of their forces.

'Robert was already marching on the most western path,' Ned reasoned to himself, as he watched the Greatjon riding in front of his men. He then looked back, and saw right behind them, the men of Deepwood Motte, Glover men, as well as the forces pledged to the various Flynts. Should their group falter before Robert could arrive, then the Glover's would march forward to plug any holes. Twas the same role he had assigned to the men of House Cerwyn and House Tallhart behind the men of House Stark in the center, and the forces of House Ryswell and Hornwood to the left flank.

The left flank, which Ned had to turn east to see, were primarily Bolton and Manderly Men, though they were connected to the center by the soldiers of Barrowtown. They were to ride across the river and relieve Lord Corbray, who Ned could see was still in battle with a mass of Dornishmen.

"Forward!" Ned shouted, as loud as he could. As he did so, the men of the North began their march, their weapons and shields at the ready. They were moving as a massive wave down the slope towards the ford, and the wave they represented seemed to wash away the few Targaryen forces that had managed to have gained ground on the northern shore. Ned, looking to his left, could see Manderly armored men catch the lightly armored men under House Dalt. For a moment, the purple wearing men were able to hold, but the sheer number of those beneath the mermaid banner forced them back into the water, though they seemed to maintain good order in their retreat.

With the northern shore now completely under control of his men, slowly, Ned could see hundreds of men from Vale and Riverlands doing there best to fill in the gaps between the different bannermen of the North. This allowed the assault across the Trident to be more overwhelming, as the lines now lacked gaps. However, the advance had slowed, with the river itself causing the men to have to be deliberate in their steps. This was only made more difficult as they ran into more and more of the Targaryen forces, primarily men of House Darry.

It was men of House Darry that finally managed to begin to hold back parts of the wave, with what looked like five hundred Darry men-at-arms were in tight formation. This formation was already against a large smattering of Tully footmen. That engagement meant that the Norther warriors were held back from reaching these Darry soldiers because there were Tully Men between them and their enemy. Ned could see the Blackfish was actually fighting against that group, against a knight with a long red cape.

'Wait,' Ned looked, and realized that the red caped knight had a pure white Shield, 'Is that…one of the Kingsguard?' when he saw that the man's armor, despite a light red tinge, was white as well, he realized that it actually was a member of the Kingsguard, 'Ser Jonothor Darry most like,' Ned considered, before turning to Roderick, and pointing at where the Blackfish dueled Ser Darry in the shallows the the Trident. Roderick nodded, and tapped Martyn. The brother's Cassel then took their horses, and charged towards the duel.

"Come on Ned," Cu growled, right on his side, Steelbite being twirled above his wild blue mane, "I've wanted one of those Kingsguard bastards," Cu had sworn he would have cut every single one of them down to save Brandon, and Ned knew that he had meant it, "So why are you letting Rodi and Martyn have all the fun."

"I'm saving you Cu," Ned said quickly, as he looked down onto the plains, and the thousands of black shielded men approaching in their own wave. And in particular, he was staring at the image of a knight in their lead, a tall man atop a white horse, with white armor, white shield, and white cape that had yet to be stained with blood, "There are more than one members of the Kingsguard."

"Ah," Cu's scowl disappeared, and instead he looked as much a wolf as any man who'd ever been born with the last name Stark, "I see the bastard."

Of course, this other knight of the Kingsguard was surrounded by other knights, and now that they were closer, Ned could almost make around two hundred armored horsemen around the knight and white. Now that they were closer, he could see the sigils of the Crowland lords like the triple spiral of house Massey and the fat pig of House Hogg. This group charged forward ahead of their infantry, their lances lowered, and then Ned saw their target.

House Blackwood was still fighting fiercely with the remnants of House Darry. The men of Raventree Hall were so focused on finishing off these ploughmen that they were unable to pay attention to the massive charge of knights until it was too late. These knights slammed into the flank of the Blackwoods, and by the time Ned could comprehend what was happening, those men were off the shore, routed. A Blackwood knight attempted to rally his fleeing men, he was not Tytos for he lacked the raven feathered cloak, but the white knight was there, and the white knight impaled the Riverlander with a lance. As the Crowlander knights reformed from their successful charge, a man arrived, and tossed another lance into the hand of the white knight, and then Ned heard Artoria gasp.

"Ser Barristan!" she shouted, and Ned realized that the white knight was Barristan Selmy. The greatest living knight, the man who personally slayed Maleys the Monstrous and ended the War of the Ninepenny Kings, and, as he gave a quick glance back to the suddenly stiff Artoria, the one who defeated Artoria in their joust and started this whole misadventure. Ned could feel the sweat really form on his brow, and he could see why the knights of the Crownlands were willing to charge as they had.

'They believe that if Barristan is with them,' he thought as the knights were forming up around Selmy once more, 'That nothing can stop them,' Ned could see that the Reachmen were arriving on his right, at the slightly steeper merging of the Trident, and at the top of a small hill was a man in black armor with a ruby dragon across his breastplate, 'Damn it, they almost completely have taken hold of the river,' he then looked back to his left, and saw that the Brackens were still several hundred strong on the southern bank, and grit his teeth.

"We must relieve the Bracken men!" He shouted quickly, pointing to where the banner of the red stallion, "They are all that holds the ford!"

Around him, his guard nodded, and then they charged, alongside every rider near them. The water was slowing them ever so slightly, but the Crownland knights were still reforming from their previous charge as they were coming about to strike the Brackens. However, as they were about to begin a charge into the Brackens, Ned's horsemen made it to solid ground, and only a hundred yards from the rivermen, and the two groups collided.

Ned's spear was splinted on the first impact, it had caught on the edge of a heater shield with a massive brown pawmark. Luckily, the impact had caused the man to drop his lance, and so they both seemed to bounce off of one another. He luckily held himself to his seat, and kept his horse from being knocked down. Yet, as he did so, he did not have time to reach and pull his sword from his side. As he tried again to reach for it, he dodged a morning star from a knight with a massive jumping fish, though that knight was knocked from his horse by the massive axe of Theo Wull, who had ridden up to Ned, and used his free hand to help steady Ned.

"Ned," the mountain man said, "Did you take a wound?"

"No Theo," Ned offered, looking for a moment for another spear, as a spear or a lance was always a better weapon on horseback than a sword, before reaching down and grabbing his sword up. As he did so, he could see most of his men were almost to the southern shore. He then looked back. He saw that Mark Ryswell had returned to his side, "With me!" he shouted, before diving back into the fray, Theo and Mark by his sides.

As they did, Ned looked for his other companions. As he blocked a strike by a hedge knight, and then sliced back, he tried his best to see where Artoria or Willam or any of the rest of his guard was. Finally, he saw the gold lion proudly roaring, as Artoria's lance pierced into the side of what looked like a rider of House Byrch. This time, even with another shattered lance, she was quickly rushing from the falling body of her enemy. Ned sighed, glad to see that she was no longer allowing the action to stop her from fighting for her survival. Even better, Ned saw the first of the footmen of Wintertown take steps on the dry land of the southern shore, meaning that they were about to be able to regain control of the ford.

And then Ned saw him. The pure white knight was surveying the field, two dead men in northern gray were laying beneath his mighty white charger. And from the angle Barristan Selmy was facing, he could tell that he was focusing his attention on Artoria. Ned felt the hair on the back of his neck stand at attention. He could see Artoria look up and see the great knight looking down on her, and pulling up her lance and shield to meet the Kingsguard.

And yet Ned felt hope return when a blue haired warrior with leather armor and a steel spear flew between the two. He seemed to point his spear at Barristan, and readied his steed to prepare to meet the man in white. And yet, a rider appeared, one with a strange griffin of red on his chest, and a long braid of…pink hair?

The confusion of this rider's appearance at first shocked Cu, but then he reacted as he always did when someone attempted to interrupt his fun. He swiped Steelbite to cut the man down in a great arch, something that should have been impossible with a weapon of Steelbite's weight and length. Yet even though the attack did manage to catch the rider by surprise, instead of being smashed off his horse, the griffin man somehow caused his horse to bend down, and the metal spear swiped just above the rider's head. He then forced the horse up, and tried to catch Cu with an upward stab of the spear, though Cu pulled he back of Steelbite so it would catch the blade and send it off. However, instead of being knocked off balance, the rider remained in full control, pulling his horse back to dodge from a downward thrust of Cu's mighty metal spear.

The two then took a chance to regroup, but Ned could tell they were now both totally focused on one another. Cu twisted steelbite above his head with his right hand, and then gripped tightly at the reins of his horse with his left, before charging towards his opponent. Ned could see confidence in Cu's eyes, after all, the spear gave Cu far greater reach than the rider's sword. And using that reach, Cu reached down into the mud of the shoreline they were fighting upon, and flung some of the mud upward at the rider. Yet his opponent once again had his horse dodge, this time almost hopping to the side, and then bringing up his shield to cause the mighty spear to bounce upward and away. The Targaryen rider swiped with his blade again, yet Cu used all his strength to drag Steelbite back down, and send the strike wide again.

And then they were off along the shoreline. Cu, with his great strength and long reached spear charging after this opponent, while the pink haired rider maintained his lead. Cu was continually on the attack as Ned watched them race off, however the griffin rider continually had his horse dodge strikes in ways Ned never thought possible, almost as if he was having the beast dance beneath him. Before Ned could call out to his long time companion, the two were out of ear shot, completely absorbed in their duel.

And that meant…

"Artoria," Ned reminded himself, and he turned his head to see that Artoria had pulled her lance into position, and she was preparing her stallion to meet Barristan Selmy once more. And then, he saw both mighty beasts begin their charge, some thirty yards apart. He growled, and kicked into the side of his horse, charging directly into the melee of horsemen between him, and the battle his wife was fighting.

It was a Crabb knight who appeared first in front of Ned, a short axe in his hand, a shield half cracked to pieces. Yet he stood tall, the mid day sun shining on the tip of his helm. Ned raised his shield and caught the swing of the axe. As Ned tried to bring his sword to strike, however, the Crabb man swung his axe back again, and Ned had to hold the blade so the axe bounced, avoiding his belly. Ned gritted his teeth at the Crabb man, made to pull the weapon back, when Ned finally caught sight again of this new joust between Artoria and the Kingsguard.

The two had closed all the distance between them, having lowered their lances for crashing into one another. Yet at the last moment, they both twisted enough in their saddles so their lances just missed on another. While Barristan remained in complete control, it seemed for a moment that Artoria might fall from the sheer momentum of the charge. Ned's breath hitched, feeling a spray of liquid on his face as he continued to push towards her praying to the Gods, old and new, that his wife not fall from her steed.

The sigil now in front of him was of House Hogg, and the knight under the pig of Sow's Horn was well suited to the symbol. His waist line seemed to rival Lord Manderly's, and he seemed to use that girth to hold up a massive mace, the head decorated as though it were a boar. The knight of Sow's Horn swung the massive club as though he were a blacksmith on his forge, though Ned managed to pull his horse to the side enough to dodge that strike. Ned was not so lucky following that, as the knight pulled his mace up again, and caught and smashed to pieces his shield. Ned let out a short cry, as though the metal had not connected with his body, the force of the fragmentation had hurt his wrist.

Artoria was coming back around, Ned's mind once again back with her rematch. She was charging forward, her lance pointed towards her opponent. The two were again focused on one another, and it seemed as though all those around them were happy to let this near joust continue, as they closed without incident. And this time, there was a resounding crash, as it seemed that Barristan's white lance made contact with the edge of Artoria's shield.

"Grk!"

For a second, Ned lost control of everything, and he did his best to move his sword, but it seemed stuck some how. But then, to his amazement, he saw Artoria keep herself on her steed, and in face, using her shield as a lift, sent the white lance upward. And then, from the impact and the strange twist of the bodies as the strike occurred, the tension in the lance was too much, and Barristan Selmy's lance splintered into dozens of pieces. Ned couldn't see Artoria's face, the crowd and distance and helmet made it too hard, but he could almost feel the elation radiating from her riding form.

The sigil in front of Ned now was that of a Red Sealion. For a moment, Ned wondered if they had any relations to his wife's family, but those disappeared when he dodged the slice by the sword of the man. Ned let out a shout, before raising the mace in his hand high above his head, and bringing it down on the Manning's shield, sending him tumbling off his horse.

And that let Ned return his focus to the duel, and realized that Barristan had found another lance. However, it was no longer pure white, but a normal wooden brown. It still had a steel tip, and with a near flawless change in momentum, was charging back towards Artoria. She raised her blue and gold shield, and charged back towards the Kingsguard. Her lance was lowered, however again, as at the first pass, the two missed their target. More than likely Artoria was still slightly nervous and not attempting to go for the kill, and Barristan was still attempting to get used to fighting someone as thing as the girl charging against him.

And then Ned felt himself drop. Feeling the horse fall out from under him, he twisted, and managed to jump free at the last second. He used the mace in his hand to help push himself up on a third leg, and then turned. The Manning rider was standing nearby, a short sword in his right, and the red sea lion shield in his right. The man raised his sword, and charged towards Ned, who used both his hands to hold the mace as a block. The sword bounced back, and the Manning man fell backward. Ned, seeing his chance, dove forward, his mace held over his head, and then brought the massive club down onto the chest of his opponent.

With that man gone, Ned looked back over at the next charge, and saw that both of Artoria and Barristan were now sitting straighter on their steeds, their lances more straightly pointed, and their helmets facing one another with determination. They were not going to stop, this was going to be the one. The pass where they finally made contact. The two chargers were mere feet away-

When suddenly another man appeared in front of Ned. With the triple spirals of house Massey, a mans tried to bring a great axe down on Ned's head. Ned dodged, teeth gritted as he dodged, and then brought his mace towards the the man's chest-

CRAAACK

And as the mace slammed into the man's chest, he realized that was not the sound of a mace crunching a man's ribs. As his opponent collapsed over the mace, he dropped the heavy thing, and then looked over towards the fight he had been concerned with. He knew the sound signified that one of them had managed to land their lance, and that the joust itself was over. As he gazed through the men, desperate to see a knight with blue and gold riding triumphant.

And instead he saw a man in pure white riding proudly on his horse, and his wife's horse trotting away from the confrontation. He looked where they would have collided, and saw a thin armored body laying in the mud of the shore. Ned stared at her for a moment, and for that whole time she did not move an inch.

"Yie-ach!"

Ned had a sword in his hand again. He remembered another men with a red crabb on his surcoat had passed by Ned's vision, but he was gone quickly. During his push, he must have pushed into the river, because he felt water splash over him. Suddenly, there was a flash of a black and white checkerboard over his vision, coming straight for his head, and then his helm seemed to pop off his head. Ned was for a second dazed, but then saw the black checkerboard was a heater shield aimed again. Then Ned was splashed again in liquid.

He pushed forward, his eyes now back on Artoria. The girl…

Was moving.

Ned raised his shield in left arm to dodge a nearby strike, and then swung wildly at the man who had gotten in front of him, though he did not see a symbol for the man. He didn't care, as he pushed forward, more water splashing over him. He didn't care, as he looked for Artoria.

And she was standing now. Her helmet, like his, was gone, likely broken in the impact. She was standing strong, and…did not appear to have been wounded really. Ned then saw the scattered remains of her lion shield, and realized that the wooden barrier had been smashed by the lance, but had been strong enough to keep the steel tip from piercing into Artoria's breast. She seemed still slightly stunned from the strike, and seemed to bounce a bit to his left or right. Finally, she stopped, and then looked around. And she stared away from Ned…

Towards a knight in pure white seeming to surveying the battle. He was likely looking for the next opponent to bring down, or for a way to try and disrupt the oncoming northern footmen. Ned took the moment to look around, and could already see that his men had not only made it to the south shore, but were actively pushing forward. Barristan was about to charge into one of the exposed sides of the Northern Footmen to their left, clearly planning on helping drive the assault back.

"BARRISTAN SELMY!" Ned had never heard Artoria so loud, but it drew the Kingsguard's attention back to the small girl. She placed her feet deep into the ground, and then with a bit of clumsy swing in her arms, she reached to her side, and drew her sword. She held it upward, along her side, and her eyes were affixed to her opponent, "Come finish me!"

For a moment, Barristan merely sat on his horse, staring at the girl shouting at him. Indeed, it looked like almost all of the horsemen and knights around them stared at her in shock. Several different battles between his horsemen and the knights of the Crownlands just paused as they stared at the sight of a girl challenging a knight still astride his steed. Barristan didn't seem to move, and Ned wondered if he were considering if it was chivalrous to fight someone when they were without their horse. And especially what would be proper when it would mean attacking a woman.

Finally, however, Barristan adjusted his reins, and the white steed under his horse began to gain ground on Artoria, who remained standing defiant, her sword in her hand. He lowered his mighty lance towards her, and was soon causing the distance between the two to disappear.

And Ned bolted towards her. He had to stop this. She wasn't going to be able to fight off a knight like Barristan while she was on foot and he was on his horse. His mind raced as he tore past several of the knights around him. And yet, even as he broke through the great muddle, he was still far away from her. Barristan was closer, and he was on his horse

Ned watched as Barristan Selmy was within a few feet of Artoria, his lance pointed directly at her. Perhaps, ultimately, this was the ultimate honor, that he recognized that she was worthy of a true knight's death.

"NO!" Ned heard come from his belly.

Yet Artoria had decided to not just stand and face the lance on her own. For you see, just as the lance was mere feet away, she dove. But not to dodge out of the way, no.

She dove forward, rolling as she did so, beneath the lowered lance, and directly into the legs of the horse. Ned couldn't see what was happening, but he heard what happened, when the mighty charger, a warrior as great as its rider, screamed as only a wounded beast could. Suddenly, it stumbled forward, its charge carrying it and its rider forward into the mud of the shore, and then the beast fell to its left side, and then the horse slid across the mud, and so did Barristan, his left leg caught underneath his beast.

Ned heard a sudden shocked shout from the man as he laid across the muddy field. Ned, blinking for a second as he stared at the beast, before shaking his head, and then looking back at Artoria.

She had returned to her feet, mud across her armor and speckled through her hair. Right next to her, Ned saw what looked like a hoof. And then he saw it wasn't just a hoof, but about half the lower leg of a horse, cleanly shaven from the full limb. Artoria stood up, twisting on a dime, from where she stood, and then marched towards the downed member of the Kingsguard, her face grim and her sword still tight within her grip.

Barristan, Ned could see, was attempting to push himself up. But the death throes of the beast above his left leg left him trapped. His white shield had been lost in the tumble and slide, and his sword had been kept on his left side, and thus was held underneath the horse as well. Still, he was attempting to force himself from beneath the beast, when suddenly, the beast let out one last cry as a flash of steel cut through the air. Then Ned saw the sword point across the horse, and Artoria, nearly completely covered in the mud of the riverbank, staring down at him with her left foot on the now dead beast's chest.

"Yield!" she shouted, her sword still pointed at him. For a moment Ned could see Barristan stop. And then there was a flush of activity, before Artoria pointed the blade again and shouted once more, "I SAID YIELD SER BARRISTAN!"

There was silence over the field. In the background, Ned could hear the sounds of fighting in the distance, but as he was close, it did not seem as though the knights nearest to him were doing much of the fighting. Indeed, it was as though the entire army of the Crownlands was looking at Barristan Selmy, and wondering what to do next. Finally, Ned saw the Kingsguard stop moving, and slowly lower himself into the mud.

In defeat.

"I yield."

Ned just continued to stare at the scene, the greatest knight of the Seven Kingdoms acknowledging defeat to a young girl. He was about to push forward, when suddenly behind him, another voice spoke up.

"I yield."

Ned turned, and saw a warrior with a purple shield and six stars drop his weapon. He lowered himself, and near him two men with stark gray nodded.

"I yield."

That was the voice of a Hogg knight.

"I yield" "And I as well."

And it was as though a wave went through the knights of the Crownlands. As the moments came, the surrender of the armored men flooded the world around him. Ned watched as his men began to remove their defeated foes' weapons. His eyes turned downt the field to the south, where the footmen were fighting, and he could see some black shields beginning to fall to the ground, as men at the back of the formation were turning away from the fighting, and fleeing back towards their homes. The men at the front were still fighting but it was the type of fighting to by distance, to try and build out some distance to allow them to break and run when they next could chance it.

Ned then looked back, and saw that in the middle of the river, there was still another in white armored knight in battle. Jonothor Darry was still fighting, even though the stains of red over his white cloak made the long cloth completely crimson. Yet he was still standing proud, while across from him was a bent over Blackfish, while to their side was Martyn holding up a wounded Roderick over his shoulder. His men were wounded, and while Bryden Tully might still fight, it would be a hard fought thing. Jonothor Darry made to move forward, to continue the battle.

"Tell your brother to yield Ser Barristen!" Artoria shouted once more, "Do you not see that any further fighting will only cause more suffering!"

"Jonothor!" Barristan announced, "Please, we have lost!"

Jonothor Darry stopped his advance. For a moment, he just stood still. The knight then looked back at Barristan, who had still not pulled himself free. The knight in mixed white and red just stood in the river for a moment, before turning back to the Blackfish, turning his sword so he held the blade and offering Tully its pommel.

"I yield," he said. Bryden took the blade from Jonothor Darry. The knight just remained standing there for one last moment.

SPLASH

Before falling face first into the water. Quickly Bryden let the sword fall from his grip, as he reached down and picked the knight up. But Ned could see that as he did so, there was no life in the man. Ned could only hope that this death, in the waters of his family and fathers, would be considered a good one for a man like Jonothor Darry.

And then Ned looked back towards where Barristan Selmy lay beneath his horse, and again he saw the girl standing triumphantly on the dead beast. He pushed his legs towards her…but his legs were heavier now, with the fear being replaced with ache. For a moment he wondered if Jonothor Darry may have had the right idea to die now, but as he continued to watch the girl with mud stained hair, he thought that was ultimately just a bit of foolishness. Finally, when he was only a few yards away, his voice, gone for so long, returned.

"Artoria!"

Ned could see the girl's shoulders loosen and fall from an upright position. She seemed to relax, and then, finally, she turned away from her defeated foe. At first, she seemed relieved, with a small smile on her face-

That was replaced with an open mouth and pinprick pupils as she stared at him. Ned wondered in horror what was going on, as she suddenly got off the horse, and began to run towards him. The sight of her running towards him caused Ned to stop in some confusion, and he made to look back to see some enemy coming for him, only to stop when he felt her hands on his arms.

"Ned!" she shouted, her face full of worry, "What happened to you!?"

"I, what?" Ned asked, looking down at Artoria. Somehow, it seemed as if something had changed, but Ned couldn't quite place what she seemed to examine…his red covered arms. Ned stopped, and then looked over at one of the few clean pieces of armor on Artoria's breastplate.

Staring back at him was a man covered in red. The hair and beard were falling in matted strings, and nearly all the clothes and armor were covered in the remains of human beings. Ned blinked suddenly, and then felt his entire body nearly jump as he realized that he was staring at himself. He let loose his sword and shield, only vaguely noticing that the shield was black and white checkerboard, though this time with a strange red stain in the middle, and began to dance his hands around his body, feeling for where he must have taken the wound that caused this.

Yet, for all his searching, and all his aches, he couldn't find a wound. Not a real wound anyway. He had a small cut around his left cheek, and a large bruise above his right eye…but nothing had gotten beneath his armor, no part of him was really dying. Ned stopped moving his hands for a moment, while Artoria just stood in front of him, wondering what had happened. He then looked at her, and could only shrug.

"I…do not believe this is my blood," he finally said.

"No," Ned looked back at Mark Ryswell, who was sitting on his horse, and Theo Wull, who was standing next to the horse, both just looking at him with a sudden and unfamiliar fear, "No it is not your blood Ned."

"I," Ned looked back at Artoria, who just stared at him in confusion, and Barristan, who was staring at him with his eyes as wide as dinner plates, "I suppose I," he tried to get closer to the girl, but held off, not wanting to push beyond what made her comfortable, "I suppose," he looked down at her, "I was worried."

"Worried?" Artoria slowly nodded her head. Behind her, Barristan had partially pulled himself from the horse, though from the way he laid, it was likely that the impact had broke his leg in a few places, and even had he not yielded, he would have been unable to fight. Though still, in order to maintain his honor, he had tossed his sword to a far enough distance so as not to be a temptation. Though, as Barristan looked at Ned, his eyes at least once went back to his sword. Yet Ned was drawn back to Artoria as she patted his chest, almost to see if he was real, "About me then?"

"Aye," Ned nodded, looking down at her, "About you."

For a moment, her face almost scrunched, but she shook her head. She then looked up at him, and smiled.

"Thank you Ned. I was worried about you too."

Ned smiled. His smile only grew bigger as he looked south, and saw that the route of the black sheilds was on. Most of the footmen that Barristan had lead in the middle were in full retreat, hundreds of them streaming south. Ned could see his men maintaining good formation, beginning to take over the whole of the southern shore.

"Make way!"

It was a girlish voice. More womanly than even Artoria, who was by no means mannish in her speech. Ned looked, and saw that Cu was riding on the back of his horse, Steelbite desperately swinging back and forth. He was doing so, because on his back was a very pretty man, his arms around Cu's neck, attempting to choke Ned's friend. As the horse ran to the middle of the shore, Cu finally slammed his spear into the mud, and rolled both of them off of the steed. Yet as Cu stood up, his opponent kept his arms locked around Cu's neck, and Ned could see that his friend was still having trouble breathing.

"Ser Barristan!" the boy trying to strangle Cu shouted, "I'll get you south! Once I can strangle this mangey mu-"

"Astolfo," the voice of Barristan was sad, and finally, the boy, likely named Astolfo, looked at Barristan's defeated form. What had once been fierce fell into shock, as the boy's eyes were directly on the defeated knight in white, "Please yield," Ned could hear the pain in Barristan the Bold's voice, "We can no win."

"But," the pink haired boy spoke up in shock, "But-AH!"

The distraction had been enough for Cu to managed to reach up his arm, and then grab Astolfo's arm, and drag him around. Cu then used his strength to break the boy's grip, and slam him into the mud, causing a splatter. Cu stared down at the boy, rage being fed by the return of air to his lungs. Cu raised his fist back, preparing to slam it down into the boy's head.

"CU!"

"Ned," Cu's voice was a feral growl, "You don't know the torture this little freak's put me through," Astolfo glared up at Cu, and then spat into his face. Cu didn't react, his red eyes merely growing thinner and more pointed. Just as he was about to slam his fist down, Ned managed to reach over to him, and place a hand on his shoulder. Cu looked up angrily at Ned, but as their eyes met, Ned could see some of the rage slowly leave the younger man's face. Finally, Cu sighed, and rolled back. Leaving the rider who'd given him so much trouble lying face up in the mud.

Astolfo, which was a strange name no doubt, tried to push himself up, but clearly he had been worn down by the battle as well, as he just remained laying there. Finally, he pushed himself up, and then, while his hair was marred by the mud, trudged his way to Barristan, and fell next to the older knight. Barristan just stared silently as the two of them laid there, with Astolfo giving the older knight a glare.

"Look," It was Willam's voice, and Ned followed the instruction. It was the Dornishmen to the East. They were in retreat, just as the footmen of the black shields were. Well, not exactly. While the massive crowd of infantry his men had faced were in a full rout, the men of Dorne were falling back in good order, their spears pointed towards the Vale and Northmen pursing them. Still, it appeared as two out of every three men for the dragons was now in full retreat.

'We've won,' Ned could feel his mouth form a smile, and he reached out, and placed his hand around Artoria's shoulder. And for the first time, even with the viscera covering Ned, she didn't flinch at his touch. The two could just stand and watch, as they could see that victory was won.

"What's going on over that way then?"

Ned then followed Cu's words, turned on his heels, and saw the battle to the west. The men of the Reach were thus the last warriors still on the field for the Targaryens, and they would not be much help here. They were outnumbered by three to one now. More than that, with how Ned's forces had already advanced, some of his footmen had taken up parts of the King's Road, so there was no clear line of retreat. Rhaegar Targaryen-

'Wait,' Ned then saw Rhaegar Targaryen, with full black armor and encrusted ruby dragon on his chest, charge into the river on horseback. He made his way towards the middle of the river…and where a tall man on horseback, with a golden surcoat and massive antler laden helmet was. Only then did Ned realize that this would be the final fight of the Battle of the Trident, one final duel between Rhaegar Tragaryen and Robert Baratheon.

And it would end with a hammer slamming into black metal, and dozens of rubies flying off and scattering into the place that would henceforth be known as the Ruby Ford.