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[MAEGOR'S HOLDFAST]
[SANSA walks over to CERSEI.]
"I was wondering where our little dove had flown. You look pale, child. Is your red flower still blooming?]
"Yes."
"Fitting, isn't it? The men will bleed out there and you will bleed in here. Pour Lady Sansa some wine."
[A servant pours the wine. CERSEI hands it to SANSA.]
"I'm not thirsty, Your Grace."
"So? I didn't offer you water."
"Perhaps... she's beginning to see a bit of herself in Sansa" Jamie whispered to his brother. "Think about it, both Cersei and Sansa had certain dreams and expectations that were shattered by the King they would marry. Cersei is probably training Sansa to learn to live with it."
"Interesting point of view, brother" Tyrion mused. "A shame she doesn't have a brother to comfort her."
Tyrion snickered at Jaime's dirty look.
"What's he doing here?"
"Ser llyn? He's here to defend us. When the axes smash down those doors, you may be glad to have him."
"But we have guards to defend us."
"Guards we have paid. Should the city fall, they'll be the first ones out of the doors."
"She isn't wrong" Ned said, loathe as he might agree with that woman. "Times like these you can only trust people who have specifically sworn to you, not anyone who you pay."
Sansa, as well as Arya and Bran nod.
[A door opens and a gold cloak walks in. He bows to CERSEI.]
"The lads caught a groom and two maids trying to sneak away with a stolen horse and some gold cups."
"Have Ser llyn see to them. Put their heads on spikes outside the stables as a warning."
[He bows and moves to ILYN PAYNE, they exit the chamber.]
"The only way to keep the small folk loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy. Remember that if you ever hope to become a queen."
"You said he was here to protect us."
"He is. Traitors are a danger to us all. More wine."
Sansa swallowed. If Cersei had been wrong, her parents would have told her that by now. As they had not... it could only mean one thing...
Sansa swallowed thickly again.
[THE WALL OUTSIDE THE HARBOR]
[TYRION, JOFFREY, THE HOUND, and LANCEL look out across the foggy sea.]
"Archers to their marks."
[The archers set their bows.]
"Archers! Nock your arrows!"
"Nock arrows!"
"Hold fast."
"You look like you belong" Jaime whispered.
Tyrion said nothing.
"What are you doing? We need to attack them."
"Hold fast."
"Boulders ready!"
[There is but one ship sailing out of the harbour.]
Stannis frowned. Just one ship? What were they planning?
[THE BARATHEON FLEET]
[MATTHOS and DAVOS watch the lone ship approaching.]
"There's only one ship."
"Archers, stand to! Man the below! Nock."
[The soldiers get set.]
"Draw! Hold."
[They watch the ship sail by. It is unmanned.]
"There's no one on board."
Stannis' eyes widen a fraction as a piece of information from before clicks in place.
"They're luring us in to kill us all with one move" the Lord of Dragonstone ground out.
Renly looked at his brother confused, while Robert seemed to have clicked as well.
[HARBOR WALL]
"More rocks coming up!"
[HAYLLNE climbs the stairs. TYRION looks back at him. HAYLLNE lights a torch and hands it to TYRION.]
[THE BARATHEON FLEET]
[As the empty ship sails past, DAVOS sees that it is spewing green liquid into the sea behind it]
"Wildfire. Steer clear! Steer clear!"
The rest of the watchers inhale sharply, now aware of what the plan was.
[HARBOR WALL]
[TYRION throws the torch over the side of the wall. BRONN gets the signal, lights his arrow ablaze and launches it high into the sky.]
[THE BARATHEON FLEET]
[The flaming arrow soars over DAVOS's boat and hits the wildfire in the water, which erupts in green flame. The flames crawl towards the ghost ship. A huge explosion. The ghost ship explodes ferociously, overwhelming MATTHOS and many other soldiers. STANNIS recoils from the blast]
Shireen inhales sharply, clinging to her father's hand.
Stannis's jaw set stubbornly, a hand on Shireen's. Was this his end? Was he going to die here? Would be a fitting death, killed by the element his witch's dark god was master of.
[THE BARATHEON FLEET]
[The explosion engulfs the fleet. Meet scream in agony, devoured in green flame, some jumping overboard. The immensity of the explosion is stunning. Chaos ensues on board as the ships collapse.]
[HARBOR WALL]
[TYRION, PODRICK, THE HOUND, and JOFFREY watch. HAYLLNE smiles. TYRION is horrified.]
Tyrion in the hall had a similar expression. He could hear them like he was there, hear the screams of the men and feel the heat on his face. It was war, and death was something unavoidable here. Yet... had he gone too far?
[THE BARATHEON FLEET]
[STANNIS's ship is unharmed. He gets to his feet and surveys the massive destruction. Men scream and masts collapse.]
Shireen heaves a sigh of relief but still refuses to let go of her father.
Stannis on the other hand had no relaxed. He had miraculously survived...
"Prepare to land. The dwarf has played his little trick."
"The wildfire."
"He can only play it once."
"We're too far from the gates. The fire, their archers-Hundreds will die."
"Thousands."
[STANNIS descends from the upper deck and addresses his troops.]
"Come with me and take this city!"
[The men yell in agreement.]
Renly watched stoically. Not only had his brother survived, but he also inspired men to follow him into sure death with a single command.
Renly had never managed to do so. The men that followed him followed for some gain sure enough, but these men were ready to lay their lives for Stannis. Why? Why was the unlikeable Stannis met with such loyalty?
Renly did not understand it one bit.
[CERSEI is a bit drunk, and still drinking wine.]
"Sansa, come here, little dove. What are you doing?"
"Great, she's drunk" Jaime muttered under his breath. His sister was perfect in every way. Except for when she was drunk. She became stupider when she was drunk.
"Praying."
"You're perfect, aren't you? Praying."
"That's the most normal thing to do" Arya whispered to Bran.
Bran shrugged.
"What are you praying for?"
"For the gods to have mercy on us all."
"Even me?"
"Of course, Your Grace."
"Even Joffrey?"
"Joffrey is my-"
"Oh, Cersei is going to love that," Tyrion said with a dry chuckle.
"What do you mean?" Myrcella asked, her tone slightly sharp.
Tyrion looked at her strangely.
"Your mother knows Sansa is speaking bullshit" Tyrion clarified. "Dear niece have I offended you somehow?"
"You have not" Myrcella muttered and looked away.
Tyrion's frown did not move away.
"Oh, shut up, you little fool. Praying to the gods to have mercy on us all. The gods have no mercy. That's why they're gods. My father told me that when he caught me praying. My mother had just died, you see. I didn't really understand the concept of death, the finality of it. I thought that if I prayed very, very hard, the gods would return my mother to me. I was four."
Joanna pursed her lips, nervously massaging her knee. She had died, that was the end for her. But for her family, the pain had continued. It warmed her to know that she was loved, but to see them in pain...
"Your father doesn't believe in the gods?"
"He believes in them, he just doesn't like them very much."
[CERSEI holds out a glass for her servant to fill. The servant pours another glass of wine at CERSEI's orders. She hands it to SANSA.]
"Here. Sit. Drink"
[SANSA sits and takes a sip of wine.]
"Not like that. Drink, girl."
[SANSA takes a bigger gulp.]
"I should have been born a man. I'd rather face a thousand swords than be shut up inside with this flock of frightened hens."
Jaime winced. Drunk Cersei had no filter.
"They are your guests under your protection. You asked them here."
"It was expected of me, as it will be of you if you ever become Joffrey's queen. If my wretched brother should somehow prevail, these hens will return to their cocks and crow of how my courage inspired them, lifted their spirits."
"Thank you for your confidence," Tyrion said dryly.
"And if the city should fall?"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? The Red Keep should hold for a time, long enough for me to go to the walls and yield to Lord Stannis in person. If it were anyone else outside those gates, I might have hoped for a private audience, but this is Stannis Baratheon. I'd have a better chance of seducing his horse."
Renly snorted.
"Have I shocked you, little dove? Tears aren't a woman's only weapon. The best one's between your legs. Learn how to use it. Drink."
[They both drink.]
"Do you have any notion of what happens when a city is sacked? No, you wouldn't, would you?"
"Because she hasn't been in a siege before? Because she hasn't seen war before?" Catelyn asked no one, puffing up angrily at the Cersei on the wall.
"If the city falls, these fine women should be in for a bit of a rape. Half of them will have bastards in their bellies come the morning. You'll be glad of your red flower then. When a man's blood is up, anything with tits looks good. A precious thing like you will look very, very good. A slice of cake just waiting to be eaten."
Sansa shuddered, gripping her mother's hand tightly. She did not want to get raped. She did not want to be some cake for bloodlusty men to devour at their will.
[CERSEI takes a drink and SANSA joins her, panicking.].