Carliene Stark

III Chapter 4

Jamie

The army was moving tediously slow. Sometimes it would take us hours to get from one bend in the road to the next. It didn't help that the majority of the Unsullied host was moving on foot, which meant that our horses were just ambling after them. 

I often had to fight the urge to just kick Honour in her side and galloping all the way to Winterfell. So I made sure to move between the Lannister lines. Seeing that no one fell behind or got into any quarrels. And keeping a close eye on those wagons. 

I had the good fortune to find Ser Baelor Swann amongst some of the knights and managed to separate him from the crowd. 

"How kind of my sister to send the Lord Commander himself to represent her in this battle" I said sarcastically. He was no longer wearing the white of the Kingsguard, which made him far harder to spot. 

The former Lord Commander gave a gruff response. "Let us not play games, I think you know I am not here for her" 

"No" I agreed amused. "It seems those fleeting loyalties do run in the family" I was only a little confused why he hadn't joined his brother and their men, but rather stuck with the redcloaks. "I imagine I won't be surprised when you swear your loyalty to the King in the North as soon as you lay your eyes on him"

Although I quite enjoyed my jest, he was unmoved. "You talk as though you haven't changed sides as well" 

"I fight for the Lannisters. As I always have, as I always will" I told him more seriously. 

He turned in his saddle to give me a curious look. "The Lannisters, but not your sister" he noted. 

My phantom hand clenched. Although I knew in my gut that I made the right decision, I still felt guilt when thinking of Cersei. What if I had doomed her? "What made you leave?" I demanded to change the subject. He turned away, clearly as unwilling to answer my question as I had been to answer his. "Come now, this is desertion, the least you can do for me not punishing you is tell me the truth" I challenged, only half serious. 

"I imagine it is the same reason you are here" he spoke after a while. "I saw those flames just as you did. The only traitors are those cowards that refuse to fight for this cause" he decided.

I felt slight relief at his words. Relief that someone else seemed to understand. I should keep this one close. He might not have been the cleverest or the most head-strong, but I felt that Balon Swan was a good man at least. 

"I think the time of Lannisters and Tyrells and Baratheons and Starks are behind us" he went on thoughtfully. "It is only the living and the dead. And that is an easy choice to make"

"I am glad you are with us" I managed to tell him honestly. "We are going to need every good fighter that we can get" 

The gruff looking man gave me a shy smile. "I am happy to serve. Command always suited you better than it did me"

I took a deep breath, turning back to face the army. I only hoped I was doing the right thing and all these men actually made it north. I spent nearly every waking hour thinking about our odds. And the more I thought about it, the worse they looked. I counted up all the atrocious acts my House had been part of in the last wars and how many people we hurt. And the more I thought about it the more likely I found it that some, if not all, of these fine Lords surely wouldn't pass off the chance of getting their revenge. 

Fuck the words that were spoken, fuck the treaty that was signed. Blood was thicker than ink and we were in the middle of an army of soldiers who all knew this truth. How easily the Tyrells could sneak up on us in the night and murder every last redcloak, without the rest of the army ever having to find out. It would only take a single riverlander to set fire to our supplies and leave us vulnerable and hungry.