Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry that it has been so long since I last updated, this horrible thing called work keeps interfering. I hope that this makes it up to you. As always I own nothing.
As the realization of the Ironborn attack spread those in the camp rushed to repel them. Their efforts; however, only seemed to result in them getting in one another's' way. Unsullied rushed to form a formation, but with all the other present running around this was proving to be difficult. Knights and lords were calling for their horses and blowing horns for their men to rally to. However; they, like the Unsullied, were hampered by all the confusion and they were not making any progress as far as Sansa could see.
The Ironborn did not seem to be suffering from such problems; indeed they appeared to be in their element. Sansa, who little about ships, assumed that they would have to stop their ships and launch boats, as they had when she had been kidnapped, but that did not happen. Instead the smaller ships continued on and actually drove themselves onto the beach and warriors began to jump from the ships and run into the camp. The defenders had not erected any defenses on the side of the camp facing the sea and there was nothing to stop, or even slow, the attackers' advance. If they were to be repelled it would be up to the defenders themselves.
"Forward!" Yelled a knight wearing the colors of Highgarden. "Drive them back to their ships!"
"Fall back and regroup!" Screamed a Dornish noble.
"Donish coward!" One man screamed.
"Reacher glory hound!" Someone else screamed back. From seemingly every direction contradictory orders were joined by insults and accusations. Even as they continued to shout orders and insults the Ironborn reached the camp.
They tore into the defenders, hacking and slashing as they went. Here and there bands of men stood against them, some of these were overwhelmed and cut down but most were ignored. Though it had seemed at first that the Ironborn attack was completely random, with killing their only objective, they appeared to be heading towards something, killing only when others got in their way. Apart from the bands of men here and there who resisted the most that the majority of the defenders could do was to unintentionally get in the way of the Ironborn. To Sansa it appeared that the Ironborns' attack would succeed before any resistance could be organized, then she heard the pounding of hoofs. Out of the confusion rode Sir Barristan mounted on a white horse. With him rode a band of men with foreign features. They pushed through the press of men, knocking aside those who could not get out of their way in time. With a cry of; "For the Queen!" They crashed into the Ironborn. The Ironborn outnumbered Sir Barristan and his companions many times over, but they were taken unprepared to receive an assault by men armored and mounted.
Though Sansa no longer believed in such things she had to admit that at that moment Sir Barristan, clad in his armor of white and gold and mounted on a white horse, did indeed look like the heroes from the stories which she used to love and he fought like one as well. He struck left and right and wherever his blows fell a foe fell. The Ironborn struck back, their blows bounced harmlessly off his armor. His companions, not all of whom wore armor as heavy as Sir Barristan's, were not so fortunate and several were cut down. They had placed themselves in the path of the Ironborns' advance and soon it seemed all the attackers were focused on the band of horsemen. For a moment it seemed that they would be surrounded and cut down. Then a second force struck the Ironborn.
While still a confused mass, the defenders seemed to at last have means of rallying. While men of the Reach had enmity towards the men of Dorne and vice versa, they had all heard stories and songs of the deeds and courage of Sir Barristan the Bold and they all flocked to fight alongside him. This impromptu charge hit the Ironborn on both of their flanks as well as their front and their advance ground to a halt. Though they fought on for a brief time, the outcome was not in doubt and they began to fall back to their ships, the Queen's forces harrying them all the way. As they drew near the ships; however, the balance began to shift again.
The ships were all beached relatively close together so as the Ironborn drew close to them their warriors drew closer together, contracting the lines and making it both harder for the Queen's forces to make use of their numbers and for them to break through the Ironborns' line. Nor, did it appear, that all the Ironborn had come ashore and those who remained behind loosed a swarm of arrows at the forces pursuing their comrades. The attackers' efforts to swarm the Ironborn meant that they were all closely packed together, so much so that the Ironborn did not even have to aim to have their arrows fall among the attackers. While some men wore armor and some had shields which blocked the arrows, many had neither and many fell to the ground either dead or screaming in pain. Seeing that their arrows were not always effective against the men themselves, the Ironborn began aiming at the horses as well. These actions caused the attack to lose momentum and the Ironborn were able to make a dash for their ships and while several of these were overwhelmed the majority were able to escape back out onto the water and once there continue to pepper the Queen's forces with arrows. Their own archers still being in disarray the men on the beach had no means of effectively responding and drew back from the beach. That battle concluded, Sansa returned her gaze to the one taking place in the sky. It too was drawing to a close.
None of the dragons were flying as gracefully as they had been before and even at a distance blood could be seen. The black dragon had seized the green dragon in its teeth and claws, not had enough to cause serious damage, but enough to keep the green one secured and it slowly descended to the ground. At first Sansa did not see the white one, but after a moment she saw it. The Ironborn fleet was sailing away and the white dragon was flying above the ship from which the hellish horn had sounded. It was clearly under the control of the horn, as was the green it appeared because even after the black had brought it to the ground and the Queen called for nets to hold it the dragon continued to break free. As Sansa watched the unfolding drama a hand came seemingly from nowhere and clamped over her mouth, while small it was surprisingly strong. Sansa tried to struggle but she was pulled back into the space between two tents. Once there the hand was removed and Sansa spun around and for a moment she could not find any words. At last she spoke and even then she could only say one word.
"Arya! What in the Seven Hells are you doing here?!" Her sister, who had been watching her the whole time, smirked.
"Not very ladylike Sister." Arya was clad in a simple outfit of brown cloth which, when combined with her dirty face, meant she would look no different than any of the dozens of other camp followers which Sansa had seen. Arya continued speaking, her voice becoming more serious.
"Nor is it important right now, we have to get out of here." Sansa reached up and touched the ruby at her throat.
"I can't this…" before she could speak further Arya cut her off.
"I know, leave that to me." Her eyes became hard and cold.
"The witch and I are due to have a conversation. Go to your tent and wait for me." She turned to go, but Sansa, her mind racing over all that she had just seen, grabbed Arya by the shoulder.
"Wait, I have a better idea."
Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry that it has been so long since I updated. What did you think? They don't show it much in the show but there is enmity between Dorne and the Reach. I think that Barristan could be a vital lynchpin do you agree? Since Arya is back I have a question for you all. I know the whole face thing, but what about body? Does the person she is imitating have to have roughly the same body size with regards to height and weight as she does? What do you think Sansa is planning? SPOILER ALERT: I think the show shows how the sisters work, Sansa thinks long-term and Arya thinks short-term, do you agree? See you next time, please pray for all who need it and may Jesus bless you.