~~~Third Person, Twelfth Moon, 277 AC~~~
~~~Royal Forest, Crownlands~~~
A woman walked softly, dragging the long robe she wore through the muddy and dirty terrain of the forest. Sometimes it was her turn to stride to avoid stepping on the bodies of men lying on the ground, she walked delicately and confidently, without any hint of disgust or bewilderment at the scene of corpses strewn all over the place.
Arriving at a specific area where two carriages stood, both of which were stained with blood splatter, he stopped, bent down and picked up a severed head of a man. "Up close they are even more hideous to look at," she said with a grimace, which ruined her beautiful face, "well, they all would be if they have cuts and scratches on their face, besides, whatever their magic is, it makes their body wither very fast, as if it sucks out their soul... If they have one."
Another woman fell in front of her, having been on a thick tree branch, she didn't hesitate to climb down from the top and speak her mind to the beautiful woman who looked out of place in her fancy dress in the middle of a carnage. "Samantha, what a spectacle you formed, though, was it necessary to murder the dogs as well?" The beautiful woman said with a reproachful tone, seeing the three dead dogs a few feet away.
"Well, my queen, they were very bullish, and one of them looked at one of the Endermans, you of all people know how those creatures get when you look them in the eye," Samantha replied with a tone of sympathy, she being the one who took the dogs at the beginning of the attack, was a little upset at their fate.
"Well, there is no turning back now, just make sure to bury them, as for these... Men, leave them here, they will be a good treat for the animals, as for the Faceless Men, take their bodies and take them to King's Landing, the king will want to see them." The beautiful woman, who turned out to be Valka, gave consecutive orders, as she admired the view, glad of the fate of the Faceless Men who had deigned to make trouble.
"So shall it be my queen," Samantha said respectfully, although Valka did not yet have the title of queen, it was more than known that she would be very soon, and calling her by her future title was not out of place.
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~~~Ser Barristan Selmy~~~
~~~Tower of the White Sword, Red Keep~~~
A life full of service, swordplay and honesty, being the son of a knight of Harvest Hall I knew my destiny was to follow in my father's footsteps; Ser Lionel Selmy, and boy had I done well, excellent in fact, earning my title, of Barristan the Brave by Ser Duncan the Tall himself.
That had been the happiest day of my life, until the day I became a member of the Kingsguard replaced it. The honor that was given to me in becoming the King's ear, companion, and guard. It was enormous, and it was that same honor that I sullied, by allowing Prince Rhaegar to be taken prisoner by the Darklyns.
The feeling of not having done my job, of not knowing what they must have done to the prince in captivity, haunted me, made wearing the white cloak a constant demonstration of my failure, and I was not the only one. Ser Gerold also felt this way, even worse, since he was the Lord Commander, and it was his duty to have been with the king that day, and not Ser Gwayne.
But before us lay the solution to our slights, a way to regain our honor as members of the Kingsguard and rescue Prince Rhaegar, and I did not intend to throw such an opportunity into the abyss. Not if it meant cleaning my white cloak.
"King Jaesyrian has given us these nine potions, three for each of us, trusting what he said, it will make us stronger, faster and invisible to the human eye," Ser Gerold Hightower, nicknamed as the White Bull, entered the room where I stood in the company of Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of Dawn.
Three of the finest Kingsguard the realm has ever offered, the very ones who King Jaesyrian chose to be the ones charged with greater power, something that was only reserved for the few.
"We will ingest them once we reach Duskendale, we will take the Rosby Road, and upon reaching the intersection of the road to the South Gate, we will leave the horses and take the potions, King Jaesyrian said they have a short shelf life, so we will have less than an hour to free the prince from where he is being held, and then leave the city." Moment by moment, Ser Gerold was telling us the plan to rescue the prince. And I couldn't stop my heart from racing.
For we were about to go into a city to do something that had never been done before, and it meant whether or not the life of a prince of the realm was still with us.
"The Crownlands banners are surrounding all the city gates, and the Velaryon fleet guards its shores, so the city guards will be very alert on the walls, streets, and gates. So we won't have a way to get in easily, the ideal will be to enter the city quietly, rescue the prince and get out as fast as possible, so, the Crownlands banners will lay siege to the city."
"Do these potions work? I have full faith in my abilities, but I'm worried about the prince's safety in all this." Ser Arthur decided to ask, and I couldn't help but think the same thing. Sure, I had seen the effects that the potion Lord Varys had supplied the queen with, I even saw with my own eyes how King Jaesyrian saved that child's life after being skewered by that beast.
But it was already very different when it was not said to heal, but to grant you powers as if they were Ancient Heroes. "There is no way to know, just trust it, King Jaesyrian has given us his word, and we have no choice but to trust, and pray to the Seven." Yes, well, I doubted that last alternative would bring us comfort, but I decided to keep it to myself.
"Take up your swords and do not remove your armor, but do not leave your cloaks on, you will be a beacon in the night, rest if you can, we will depart at the hour of the wolf." With Ser Gerold's command, I couldn't help but sigh, as the weight of all that was about to happen consumed me.
"Come on Barristan, you're the brave one aren't you, what's this to you?" Ser Arthur said to me moments after Ser Gerold locked himself in his room, "It's not that it's much to me, I know what I got myself into the moment I volunteered to rescue the prince, it's just that Ser Gwayne's death still weighs on me." I said, looking at the potions Ser Gerold had left on the table.
"It was not your fault, that should be clear to you," Ser Arthur, in a rare moment of seriousness in him, said to me, "your priority was the king and the prince, you were able to get one of the two out of that hell, and it was more than many could have done, Ser Gwayne was a good man, honor him by slaying the one who cut down his life with your sword."
"Only that I wish, the last thing Ser Symon Hollard will see will be my face of satisfaction when my sword cuts through his chest." I made it clear to him, I thought of nothing but avenging the life of my Guard's brother, and I was willing to fulfill that purpose, even if it was the last thing I would ever do.
The next few minutes I spent watching the potions, Ser Arthur had gone to rest, and watching the moon from the tower window, I knew that the hour of the wolf was at hand, and with it, my duty.
True to his word, the door to Ser Gerold's room opened, revealing the Lord Commander, wearing a gray tunic over his armor. "Here, wear it too," he said, offering me a similar tunic, "and Ser Arthur? He should be out by now."
"No need to scold, I'm ready now." Ser Arthur's mocking voice was heard from behind his door, only for the door to open and the Dornian to reveal himself, already wearing a tunic like Ser Gerold's. "Shall we go?" he asked.
Receiving a hard look from Ser Gerold, he decided to keep quiet, a wise decision on his part, Ser Gerold was not known as the White Bull for nothing, his temper could rise at any moment. But it seemed that today that would not be the case, for he decided to start walking towards the tower's chimney.
And before the two of us, he moved a torch on the wall, which caused part of a bookshelf to move, revealing some stairs, "Maegor's passages," was all Ser Gerold said, seeing our bewildered expressions. "Quickly, we must get to Duskendale before Nightingale time." And with that, he picked up a torch and started down the stairs, to do our duty.
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