Chapter 58 Chapter 58: Sansa

When news of the arrival of the enemy ships reached the castle, people chanted in the sanctuary all morning.The singing was mixed with the neighing of the horses, the clang of steel, and the sound of the hinges of the huge bronze city gate, playing a strange and frightening music.In the sanctuary, they sang for the mercy of the Virgin, and above the city, there was silence, and people prayed silently to the soldiers.She remembered Septa Mordane telling her that Warrior and Mother were two aspects of God.If there was only one God, which prayer would He listen to first? Ser Meryn Tran held the bay steed for Joffrey, and helped him mount it.Both boy and horse wore gilt mail and crimson enamelled plate, with matching golden lions adorning their heads.The faint sunlight shone on Xiao Qiao's plate armor, and every movement reflected golden and red rays of light.Bright on the outside, but empty on the inside, Sansa thought.

The imp was mounted on a red stallion, and his armor was more modest than the king's, making him look like a boy who had stolen his father's clothes, but the tomahawk hanging from under his shield was no child's thing.Ser Mandon Moore rode beside him, his white armor bright as ice.Tyrion turned his horse when he saw her. "Miss Sansa," he greeted from the saddle, "my sister must have invited you to Maegor's House with the other ladies?" "Yes, my lord, but King Joffrey has called me to see him off. I want to go to the sept to say my prayers afterward."

"I don't know who you're praying for." His mouth twisted oddly—if it was a smile, it was the weirdest smile she'd ever seen. "Today is fate's day. For you, and for the Lannisters. Now that I think about it, I should have sent you and Tommen away with me. After all, Maegor's Tower should be safe, as long as—" "Sansa!" a childish cry came from across the courtyard, and Joffrey caught sight of her. "Sansa, come here!" He greets me like a dog, she thought. "Your Majesty needs you, it seems," remarked Tyrion Lannister, "so we shall talk after the battle—if the gods will."

So she stepped forward through a line of gold cloaked spearmen, and Joffrey gestured impatiently. "Have you heard what everyone said? The battle is about to begin!" "May the gods have mercy on us all." "It is my uncle who needs mercy, and I will give him none," said Joffrey, drawing his sword.The orb on the hilt is a ruby ​​cut into a heart shape, embedded in the lion's mouth, and the blade has three deep blood grooves. "This is my new sword 'Heart Eater'." Sansa remembers that he once had a sword called Lion's Tooth, which was snatched by Arya and thrown into the river.May Stannis do the same with the Heart Eater! "It's beautifully made, Your Majesty."

"Kiss it, and bless my sword." He held it out in front of her. "Quick, kiss it." He's always been a stupid boy, especially now!Sansa touched the metal with her lips, reassuring herself that any number of swords would be better than Joffrey.Her movements seemed to please him, and he drew back the sword in a dramatic way. "When I come back, I want you to kiss it again, and then you will taste my uncle's blood." Unless the Kingsguard kill him for you first.Three white knights traveled with Joffrey and his uncle: Ser Meryn, Ser Mandon, and Ser Osmund Kettleblack. "Will you lead the knights to charge the enemy?" Sansa asked hopefully.

"I thought so too, but Uncle Little Demon said that Uncle Stannis couldn't cross the river at all. It doesn't matter, I will personally command the 'Three Whores of King's Landing' and take care of those traitors." Thinking of this, Joffrey smiled.Sansa used to love his thick pink lips, which were always pursed, but now they disgusted him. "My brother Robb, they say, always goes where the fighting is toughest," she said desperately. "Of course, he's older than your Grace, and a man of age." His face darkened. "After I finish dealing with the traitor uncle, I'll go and deal with your brother. I'll take out his heart with the Heart-Eating Sword, just wait and see." After he finished speaking, he turned his horse's head, kicked his spurs, and ran towards the city gate.Ser Meryn and Ser Osmond followed to the left and right, and the Gold Cloaks marched in fours, with the Imp and Ser Mandon Moore at the rear.The guards of the Red Keep cheered and sent them off.When the last person left, a silence suddenly enveloped the courtyard, like the calm before the storm.

The sound of singing, through the silence, attracted her.So Sansa walked towards the castle's sanctuary, followed by two grooms and a guard who had just sent off.Others also gathered in the past. Sansa had never seen the sept so crowded, nor so bright: Great beams of many colors slanted in through high crystal windows, and candles burned all around, their flames flickering like stars.Not only were the altars of the Madonna and the Warrior bathed in light, but the altars of the Blacksmith, the Crone, the Maiden, and the Father were lined with candles, and even under the half-human face of the Stranger a few fireworks danced... They should save themselves, Stan Hadn't Ness Baratheon come to judge their Stranger?Sansa paid homage to the seven altars in turn, lighting a candle for each, and took a place on a bench between a wizened old washerwoman and a little boy about Rickon's age.The boy wears a worsted linen tunic and appears to be the son of a knight.The old woman's hands were thin and callused, and the boy's hands were small and soft, but holding them gave her peace of mind.The air was hot and heavy, reflecting the crystal and candlelight, mixed with the smell of incense and sweat, making her dizzy.

She knew the hymn that was being sung; her mother had taught her long, long ago, at Winterfell.So she joins the chorus: Madonna of tenderness, source of mercy, Bless your son through the battle, Stop the flow of arrows, resist the sword, Let them see a better tomorrow. Madonna of tenderness, hope of women, Help your daughter not suffer, Calm the wrath, tame the frenzy, Teach us to be tolerant of one another. Across the city, thousands of people thronged the Great Sept of Baelor on the hills of Visennia.They were singing too, and their voices spilled out of the city, across the river, and into the sky.The gods must hear us, she thought.

Most of the Sansa hymns know the melody, and if not, try to sing along.She sang with grizzled old servants and worried young women, with maids and soldiers, with cooks and falconers and servants, with squires and kitchen boys and nurses.She sang with those inside and outside the walls, with the whole city.She sang for the mercy of the gods, for the living and for the dead, for Bran and Rickon and Robb, for her sister Arya and her bastard brother Jon Snow on the Wall.She sang for her parents, for her grandfather Lord Hostert and uncle Ser Edmure Tully, for her friend Jeyne Poole, Robert the drunkard, Septa Mordane, Ser Dontos, Jory Kelso and Maester Luwin sang.She sings for the brave knights and brave soldiers who will die in battle today, for the orphans and widows who will mourn them, and finally, at the end, she even sings for Tyrion the imp and the Hound.He's not a real knight, but he saved me, she told the Virgin.Please, please bless him and appease his wrath.

But when the septon took the throne and called upon the gods to bless their true, noble king, Sansa stood up.The aisle was full of people, and it took her all her might to push through, and as she did so, she heard the septon beseeching the blacksmith to empower Joffrey's sword and shield, the warrior for courage, and the Father to protect him in times of crisis.May his sword be broken and his shield broken, Sansa thought grimly, as she hurried out of the house, and may he be despised and spurned by the world. Except for a few guards patrolling the gatehouse, the entire castle was deserted.Sansa stopped to listen, and heard the sounds of battle in the distance, almost drowned out by the singing, but if you listened carefully, it was there all the time: the murmur of warhorns, the swinging and crashing of catapults, the splash of water, the splintering of wood. Cracks, barrels of burning pitch crackled, ballistas fired yard-long iron-tipped arrows... Beneath all this was the cry of the dying.

Here's another song, a terrible one.Sansa pulled up her hood and covered her ears, and hurried to Maegor's House, where the Queen assured everyone that they were safe in the city within the city.She met Countess Tanda and her two daughters by the drawbridge.Falis had just arrived yesterday from Fort Stokeworth with a small group of soldiers. At this moment, she was coaxing her sister to go to the bridge, but Norris held her maid desperately, crying: "No, no, no." "The battle has begun!" Countess Tanda trembled. "Don't, don't." Sansa couldn't avoid it, so she greeted them politely. "Can I help?" Countess Tanda blushed. "No, miss, thank you for your kindness. Please forgive my daughter, she is not feeling well." "No." Norris clung to her maid.It was a slender and beautiful girl with short black hair, but the expression on her face wanted to push the hostess into the dry moat and land on those iron spikes. "Please, please, no." Sansa said softly to her, "We are well protected inside, and we still have food to eat, drink to drink, and someone to play music." Norris stared at her with her mouth wide open, her dull brown eyes always wet with tears. "don't want." "You've got to go," said sister Falis sharply. "Well, stop here, Shae, and help me." Each of them crossed an arm and half dragged and half hugged Norris across the drawbridge. .Sansa and the mother followed. "She is sick," said Countess Tanda.Is having a baby a sickness, Sansa thought. Everyone in town knew that Norris was pregnant. The two guards guarding the gate wore Lannister lion helms and crimson cloaks, but Sansa knew they were mercs in disguise.There was another sitting at the bottom of the stairs—a real guard should stand upright, not on the steps, with his halberd across his knees—but when he saw them he stood up and opened the door to usher them in. The Empress Dowager's Ballroom is less than one-tenth the size of the castle hall, and only half the size of the small hall in the Prime Minister's Tower, but it can seat a hundred people without any problem.Although the space is not large, the layout is extremely elegant.There were large polished silver mirrors behind each torch holder, so that the light was doubled; the walls were carved with delicate wood, and the floors were covered with fragrant rushes.From the balcony came the brisk melody of flutes and violins.The south wall is lined with a row of arched windows, but they are covered by thick velvet curtains, which do not allow a ray of light to pass through, and also isolate the sounds of prayer and battle.It makes no difference, Sansa thought, the war is with us. Almost all the noble ladies in the city were sitting at the long table, as well as a few old gentlemen and young boys.These women are wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters.Their men set out to fight Lord Stannis, and probably never returned.The atmosphere is dignified and everyone is sad.As Joffrey's fiancée, Sansa has a seat of honor at the Queen's right.As she ascended the platform, she saw the man standing in the shadow of the back wall.He was clad in long, freshly oiled black mail, and held a greatsword—father's "ice"!Almost as tall as the others.The tip of the sword landed on the ground, the hilt was tightly grasped in the long, thin and cold fingers, and both hands were clasped.Sansa held her breath, her heart in her throat.Ilyn Payne seemed to feel her gaze, and his long, pockmarked face turned away. "What is 'he' doing here?" she asked Osfry Kettleblack, the new captain of the Red Guards the Queen had recruited. Osfry grinned. "His Majesty thinks he will be of use tonight." Ser Ilyn is the king's executioner, and he has one purpose.Whose head does she want? "Stand all to salute Her Majesty Cersei of House Lannister, Queen Regent, Guardian of the Realm!" sang the steward. Cersei wore a snow-white linen dress, as white as the robes of the Kingsguard, with long dragging sleeves revealing a gold silk backing, thick bright yellow curly hair hanging on her bare shoulders, and a diamond and emerald necklace hung around her slender neck. necklace.This white dress gave her a strange innocence, except for some stains on her face, she was really like a girl. "Be seated," said the queen, when she took her place on the dais. "You are welcome." Osfry Kettleblack held a chair for her, while a page served Sansa. "You don't look very well, Sansa," said Cersei. "Your period is still going on?" "yes." "Really, the man is bleeding outside, but you are bleeding inside." The Queen Mother motioned for the dishes. "Why is Ser Ilyn here?" Sansa blurted out. The Queen Mother glanced at the silent executioner, "In order to punish the traitor, he also protects us when necessary. Do you know that before he became the executioner, he was originally a knight." She pointed to the end of the ballroom with a spoon, the tall wooden door was closed tightly, and opened the latch. "When it's split by the axe, you'll be glad he's here." I'll be glad the Hound is here, Sansa thought.Sandor Clegane was tough as hell, and she was sure he would let no harm come to her. "Yeah, and your guards, they are also protecting us." "Hmph, who should you worry about protecting us from these guards!" The queen gave Osfry a sideways look. "In heaven and earth, you can't find chaste prostitutes, and you can't find loyal mercenaries. If the battle fails, my guards will rush to strip off their red robes, steal what they can, and walk away. The servants, the washerwomen, the grooms...all the same, they think first of all about their worthless skin. Do you have any idea, Sansa, what a sacked city looks like? No, you have nothing You know, right? All you know about life comes from singers, and there isn't a single song that celebrates pain and injustice." "A true knight protects women and children," she said, feeling hollow. "A true knight." The Queen Mother seemed rather amused. "Of course, you're right. Why don't you be a good girl, drink your soup, and wait for Symeon the Star-Eyed and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight to rescue you? Don't doubt it, my dear, that The hour is coming."