Joffrey and I had donned large cloaks to make our voyage out of the Keep and into the Kingswood as discrete as possible. There we joined up with one section of the troops and rode for hours to attack Stannis from the behind. A spy periodically sent ravens if there were any changes in Stannis's position.
Nights were difficult. The soldiers would get unbearably drunk and a few had brought whores along. I had forbid them from going into cities or villages, lest someone inform Stannis that there were Kingsguard troops headed his way. The soldiers grumbled, glared, and made obscene gestures my way, but Joffrey gave them stern stares and the occasional blow to the stomach.
We marched on for days. A few times panic seized me as I remembered flashbacks from different battles. Joffrey would hold me and try to calm me down. Once in battle, I would know nothing but killing.
Soon we were upon Stannis's army. All of the Kingsguard forces surrounded them on either side. Jaime commanded the north forces, Tywin commanded the east, I the west, and Joffrey the south. I didn't want Joffrey to be hurt, although I knew he would do whatever it took to save his own skin.
The commanders of every force agreed to march around camp and slaughter every sentry awake. The darkness, though it concealed us, made it impossible to see. I grabbed a bow, sword, and dagger because I had no idea how close combat it would require.
The first sentry didn't see me coming. I crept behind him and used the dagger to slit his throat. I set his body down gently in order to not make any noise. I searched him for anything that could tell us anything we didn't know, but there was nothing. He was just another soldier.
The next sentry put up a fight. I tried to be as silent as possible in the atrack, but the sentry wasn't giving up. He let out a scream before I rammed my sword into his chest. Soon, torches were lit all around Stannis's camp and men were getting ready for war. I had to act fast. Running to my forces, I gave the order to charge.
I could hear Tywin and Jaime tell their troops to charge, but Joffrey's voice was not heard. I left my squadron and ran to his as fast as I could go. I didn't dare call out his name, lest one of Stannis's soldiers heard the King was here. I ran and ran until I saw his camp. I grabbed a soldier close to me. "Give the order to charge," I demanded.
"But, the King-"
"GIVE THE ORDER!" I screamed at him. Soon, soldiers were running past me and it was time to search for my husband. I tore apart every tent I could find looking for him. Soon, I found him in the corner of an unmarked tent. "Joffrey," I breathed. "Why did you not give the order?"
"Bel, I-"
"Stop calling me that! I had to give the order. Your own troops are out there willing to die for you and you're hiding like a coward! You look nothing like a lion now," I snapped. My chest heaved with rage.
Joffrey rose to his feet. "You can't tell me you never feared your first battle," he pointed his finger to my chest.
"I was much younger than you are now, and unlike you I willingly went to war!" I had never been so disappointed in the man that I had married.
"You can't talk to me like that!" He screeched.
"And you can't stand here as your men die!" I pushed him out of the tent with all my strength. I could see the irritation growing in him. I roughly grabbed his shoulders and forced him to face me. "Joffrey, listen to me. I will not let you die out there. I swear on my life. But right now, your men need you. You have to remind them why they fight for you. I love you, my lion."
Joffrey nodded and gave me a quick kiss before we ran out onto the battlefield. I could see in Joffrey's body language that he was petrified of war. As the first man rushed to attack, I swiftly came from behind and cut him down. "I've got your back, don't worry, you're going to be okay," I reassured him and jumped into battle.
Unlike previous wars, I hadn't concealed the fact that I was a woman. I used this to my advantage. Seeing me shocked the enemy soldiers and made them easy to kill in their hesitation. Then, I saw her. The Red Woman they called her. I had heard how she whispered in Stannis's ear like a serpent and caused him to allow unspeakable things to happen. At that moment, I shut out everything else and marched toward my next target.
"Isabel?" I heard Joffrey cry out. "Isabel!" I was too focused on killing the woman to care. She noticed me coming for her and for a moment I saw fear flicker across her marble features, but her red lips parted in a smirk. I knew she was dangerous, but she was also human. And anything that bleeds can be killed. I nocked an arrow, aiming right between her ghastly eyes. When I released, the arrow was struck by lightning.
"The Lord of Light protects me," she laughed. "You cannot kill His prophet." I said nothing. She was merely a target now. This time, I decided to fight fire with fire. I noticed Tyrion smuggling wildfire from the stores before we left and had stolen some from him. I marched right up to the woman as she was chanting and smashed the jar of wildfire at her feet. She was enveloped in the green flames quickly and her arm shot out and grabbed me. "Congratulations," she whispered. "Queen Mother." Then the sounds of her screams drowned out all sounds and everything went black.
[Two more chapters left! Again, there will be alternate endings to the story and each ending will have a sequel told from a different point of view. If you don't like the first ending, there will be a second and a third just in case ;) thank you for reading.]
