Chapter 63 Chapter 63: Sansa

Ser Lancel Lannister broke the news of the defeat to the Queen Mother, and she lazily turned the empty wine glass in her hand, "Go and tell my brother, ser." Her voice was indifferent, as if the matter was not her own. "Your brother is most likely dead." Ser Lancel's arm was wounded, and his coat was soaked with oozing blood.When he entered the ballroom, many guests screamed in terror. "We reckon he and Ser Mandon were on the bridge when it fell apart. No one could find the Hound. God damn it! Cersei, why did you let them take Joffrey back to the castle? When the king was gone, the army's morale fell apart. Scattered, hundreds of gold-cloaked guards dropped their spears and fled. The Blackwater River is blocked with wrecks, flames, and floating corpses, and we could have held it if—”

Osney Kettleblack pushed past him. "There is fighting on both sides of the river, my lord. There seems to be a commotion in Stannis' camp, and no one can tell what is going on. There is chaos. The Hound is gone, nowhere to be found, and Ser Balon has withdrawn to the city. The riverside is taken by the enemy, and they pick up the battering ram and continue to pound the King's Gate. Sir Lancel is right, your men abandoned the wall and killed the sir. The mob swarmed to try to break the iron gate. And the gate of the gods, the flea nest is even more of a mess." Gods bless, Sansa thought, my prayers have come true.Joffrey's head will fall soon...and so will I.She frantically searched for Ser Ilyn, but the king's executioner was gone.I can feel him.He's near, I can't escape, he'll cut off my head.

The Queen Mother was very calm. She turned to Osfry. "Raise the drawbridge and close the gates. No one is allowed to enter or leave Maegor's House without my permission." "What about the women who went to pray?" "They choose to leave my protection, let them pray, maybe the gods will protect them. Where is my son?" "Your Majesty commanded the crossbowmen on the gate tower of the Red Keep. Outside the gate there was a mob calling for the city, and half of them were the gold-cloaked guards he threw down when he left the Mud Gate." "Bring him to Maegor's House at once."

"No!" Lancel was so annoyed that he forgot to lower his volume.Everyone turned their heads when they heard the shout, "The scene at the Mud Gate will happen again. Let him stay there, he's the king—" "He is my son." Cersei Lannister stood up. "Cousin, you also claim to be from the Lannister family. Prove it with your actions. Osfry, what are you doing here? I'll tell you to leave immediately." Osfry Kettleblack hurried out of the hall with his brother.Many guests also escaped.The women wept, prayed, and stayed at the table, calling for drinks. "Cersei," Ser Lancel pleaded, "you should know very well that if the castle falls, Joffrey's life will be lost. Keep him there, and I will not let him leave my side, I swear—"

"Get lost." Cersei slapped his wound.Ser Lancel gave a cry of pain and nearly fainted, while the Queen walked away without even glancing at Sansa.She forgot about me.Ser Ilyn will kill me, and she doesn't care. "Oh, by Gods," cried an old woman, "we have lost, the battle has been lost, and she has escaped." Several children cried.They smell fear.Sansa found herself sitting alone on the high platform.Should I stay here, or go after the Queen Mother and beg for her life? She didn't know why she stood up, but she just stood up. "Don't be afraid," she announced loudly, "Her Majesty has raised the drawbridge, and this place is already the safest place in the city. It is protected by moats and high walls, and there are spikes in the moat..."

"What happened?" asked a woman she knew a little, the wife of a petty lord. "What did Osney tell her? Is the king wounded? Has the city fallen?" "Tell us the truth," demanded the crowd.One woman asked about the father, the other about the son. Sansa held up her hand for silence. "Joffrey is back at the castle, unharmed. As far as I know, the fighting is still going on, our troops have fought valiantly, and the queen will be back soon." That last sentence was a lie, but she had to reassure everyone.She saw two jesters standing under the balcony, "Yuetong, let everyone laugh."

So Yuetong flipped onto the table with a somersault, grabbed four wine glasses, and started juggling, being hit on the head by the glasses from time to time.Terrified and sporadic laughter echoed in the hall.Sansa went to Ser Lancel, and knelt beside him.The Queen Mother hit him on the wound, and now the bleeding is profuse. "It's crazy," he gasped, "by gods, the little devil is right, he's always right..." "Help him," Sansa ordered the two servants.One of them took one look at her and fled with the jug, and the other servants followed him out of the hall, and there was nothing she could do.Sansa and another servant helped the wounded knight up and "take him to Maester Franken." Lancel was one of them, but she just couldn't bear to see him die.Joffrey was right, I was a weak, stupid girl.I should have killed him, not helped him.

The torches burned shorter and shorter, and one or two had already died out, and no one bothered to change them.Cersei never came back.Ser Dontos sneaked up onto the dais, while all attention was on the other jester. "My dear Qiongqi, go back to your room," he said softly. "Lock the door, it's safer inside. I'll come to you after the battle." Someone will come for me, Sansa thought. Is it you, or Ser Ilyn?For a moment, she wanted frantically to beg Dontos to come and protect her.He used to be a knight, learned sword and martial arts, and swore to protect the weak.No, he has no courage and skills, I will only get him killed together.

She really wanted to run out, but she still exerted all her strength to control herself, and slowly walked out of the empress dowager's ballroom.Once at the top of the stairs, she literally started running, running up and down the steps until she was finally out of breath and dizzy.A guard bumped into her on the stairs, and a jeweled wine glass and a pair of silver candlesticks fell out of the red robes that wrapped her things, and they rolled down the stairs with a "thud thump".When he decided that Sansa was not going to take his prize, he ignored her and hurried off after it.

The bedroom was as black as pitch. Sansa bolted the door and went to the window in the dark.Opening the curtains, her breath choked. The southern sky reflected the raging fire below, changing vivid colors.A strange green tide flows in the clouds, and orange light spreads across the sky.Ordinary red or yellow flames compete with emerald green wildfires, one ebbs and the other ebbs and flows, giving birth to countless fleeting shadows.The emerald dawn turned to twilight in an instant.The air itself tasted burnt, like burnt broth.Embers danced in the night sky like groups of fireflies. Sansa backed away from the window to the safety of her bed.Go to sleep, she told herself, and wake up to a new day.The sky will turn blue, the war will end, and someone will decide whether I live or die. "Lady," she sobbed softly, wondering whether she would meet the little wolf again after death.

Something moved behind her, and a hand came out of the darkness and grabbed her wrist. Sansa opened her mouth to shout, but was covered with the other hand, suffocating for a while.His fingers were rough and callused, sticky and covered with blood. "Little bird, I knew you would come." The voice was harsh and drunk. Outside the window, a bunch of spinning emerald spears shot across the starry sky, filling the room with dazzling green light.At this moment, she saw him, a green and black figure, the blood on his face was as dark as pitch, and his eyes gleamed like dogs' eyes under the strong light.Then the light dimmed, and he was a huge black shadow in his stained white robe. "If you dare to speak out, I'll kill you, understand?" He let go of her mouth, which made her breathe.The Hound put a jug of wine on the bedside table, and he took a long sip. "Aren't you going to ask who's the winner, little birdie?" "Who?" She was too scared not to ask. The Hound laughed. "I just know who's the loser. Me." She had never seen him so drunk.He actually slept on my bed just now!What does he want? "why?" "I lost it all." A layer of dried blood covered half of his burned face. "Damn dwarf, I should have killed him years ago." "They say he's dead." "Dead? No, fuck it, I don't want him to die." He threw away the empty flagon. "I want him to be burned. The gods have eyes, burn him! But I can't see, I want to go." "Go?" She wanted to break free, but his hands were like steel. "Little bird will read after others. Yes, I'm going." "where are you going?" "Get out of here. Get out of the flames. I'll go out the Iron Gate, and go north, anywhere." "You cannot get out," said Sansa. "The queen has sealed Maegor's House, and the gates of the city are shut." "Can't hold me. I have white robes. I have this." He patted the hilt ball. "If you stop me, you will die... unless there is fire on him." He smiled bitterly. "Then what are you doing here?" "Little bird, remember? You promised to sing me a song." She didn't understand what he meant.How could she sing here and now, with flames swirling in the sky, and hundreds of people dying? "I can't sing," she said, "let go, you're scaring me." "Anything can scare you. Look at me, you look at me!" Congealed blood covered the most horrific scars on his face, but his eyes were wide, frighteningly white, and full of terror, and the corners of his burnt mouth twitched again and again.Sansa could smell the pungent smell from his body, a mixture of sweat, alcohol, and vomit, the most unbearable of which was the choking blood, blood, blood... "I can protect you," the hoarse voice came again, "They are all afraid of me, no one dares to bully you, otherwise I will kill him." He pulled her closer, and for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her.He was too strong, and Sansa knew she couldn't fight back, so she closed her eyes and hoped it would be over.But after waiting for a long time, nothing happened. "Still can't look me in the eye, do you?" she heard him say.He twisted her arm sharply, dragged her to the edge of the bed, and pushed her on the bed. "I want to hear that song. You said you could sing a Florian and Jonquil song." He drew his dagger and brought it to her throat. "Sing, little bird, sing, or I'll kill you." Her throat was dry and tight with fear, and every song she knew was fading from her mind.Please, she wants to scream, I'll be a good girl, please don't kill me.She felt the tip of the knife spin and press into her throat.Just as she was about to close her eyes and resign herself to fate, she suddenly remembered the song, not the one by Florian and Jonquil, but it was indeed a song.Her voice was high-pitched and thin, trembling constantly: 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. She forgot other passages and her voice faded away.She was terrified that he would kill her.But after a while the Hound took the knife away from her throat without saying a word. She instinctively reached out and cupped his cheeks.The room was too dark, she couldn't see his face, but she could feel sticky blood and something wet that wasn't blood. "Little bird," he said again, his voice rough and harsh, like steel scraping against rock.Then he got up from the bed.Sansa heard the ripping of clothes, followed by soft footsteps, drifting away. After a long time, she climbed out of bed and was alone.His robe fell to the ground, tightly crumpled, the snow-white wool stained with blood and fire.The sky outside the window had already darkened, only traces of green shadows were still lingering among the stars.There was a cool breeze, blowing the windows "bang bang".Sansa is so cold.She shook off the torn white robe, wrapped her body and curled up on the floor, shivering. She didn't know how long she lay there, until she heard the bell from the other side of the city.It was the low roar of bronze, each sound more urgent.As Sansa wondered, another bell joined it, and then a third .She threw off her robe and went to the window. Just as the first light of dawn appeared from the east, the bells of the Red Keep rang, joining the roaring voices that poured from the seven crystal towers of the Great Sept of Baelor.She remembered ringing the bell when King Robert died, but it sounded different this time.This is not a death knell of sorrow, but a movement of joy.She heard people in the street shouting too.cheer. It was Ser Dontos who brought her word.He stumbled through the door, took Sansa in his loose arms, and danced wildly, shouting incoherently.Sansa did not catch a word of his words.He was as drunk as the Hound yesterday, only in a joyous mood.When he finally put her down, she was dizzy and out of breath. "What's wrong?" She clung to one of the bedposts. "What happened? Tell me!" "It's over! It's over! It's over! The city is saved! Lord Stannis is dead, Lord Stannis has fled, no one knows, no one cares. His army crumbles, our crisis is over. Kill Kill, flee, surrender, surrender, yes! Oh bright banner! Banner, Jonquil, banner! Do you have a drink? We should drink for today. Yes! Do you know? You're safe !" "What the hell is going on!" Sansa shook him vigorously. Ser Dontos laughed and hopped on and off, almost falling. "They came through the ashes while the river was still burning. O river, Stannis was crossing, and was attacked from behind. Oh, to be knighted again, and to fight in this glorious battle! It is said that his men There was little resistance, some ran, and more bowed their knees, shouting Renly! What would Stannis think? I heard Osney Kettleblack say it, he heard it Ser Smoone said it, and now Ser Balon is back, and his men say it, and the gold cloaks say it. We are saved, my dear! They came along the Rose Road, and along the riverbank, and through Stannis Scorched earth, dusty boot-rims, armor gray, and only—oh! bright banners, golden roses, golden lions, all, the burning tree of Marbran, the golden tree of Rowan, the tower Leigh's stride hunters, Redwyne's grapes, and Lady Oakheart's oakleaves. All the Westerners, all the strength of Highgarden and Casterly Rock! Lord Tywin sits on the north bank, commanding the right wing, Randyll Tower Leigh in the center and Mace Tyrell on the left, but the key to victory lies in our vanguard. They ripped through Stannis' forces like lances through pumpkins, all like roaring steel demons. You know Who leads the strikers? Do you know? Do you know? Do you know?" "Robb?" Such an unrealistic expectation, but... "It's Lord Renly! Lord Renly is all in brilliant green armor, with fire from his golden antlers! He is unstoppable with a spear in his hand! He took Ser Good Morrigan off his horse in the first place, and killed a dozen more after that." No knight. Renly, Renly, long live Renly! O bright banner, dear Sansa! Oh! I wish I could be a knight again!"