284 AC
Breakfast was going rather awkwardly. I'd invited Princess Elia and her family and Sir Jaime Lannister, which was obviously a bad idea. What was I thinking. There was a cold war going on at the table. Princess Elia was more relaxed after yesterday's conversation, but still nervous. Sir Jaime was content to eat in silence. As for Princess Rhaenys, she was frankly skeptical of the food she was seeing for the first time in her life. As a result of yesterday's battle, all the servants in the castle had fled. That left the company's soldiers as the only ones who could prepare a meal for us. Suffice it to say that they were not very good at it, though it was doubtful whether I would dare eat anything prepared by Targaryen servants. Just then Jonal walked in, putting an end to this torture.
He approached quietly and spoke into my ear. Meanwhile Sir Jaime and Princess Elia were watching us intently. Surprising news, very surprising news.
"Prepare a force of 50 cavalry. And inform Isaac. He will take command of the troop. Have him come to talk to me before he leaves."
Jonal nodded that he understood and left the room.
Princess Elia said, "If you don't mind, may I ask what happened?"
"Lord Tywin Lannister has decided to pay us a visit. He is coming here through the golden road with about ten thousand to thirteen thousand men."
Princess Elia "Why now?"
She did not need to go on. Why was Tywin Lannister coming to the city now, after keeping silent throughout the whole war?
Artos said, "He's either showing up at the last minute to play the hero or he's coming to do what I did. Take the city. And Tywin Lannister is a pragmatic man who will not invest gold or men in a losing battle."
Elia looked worried. Tywin Lannister is famous for his legendary vengeance on those who insulted him and his house, and the only people who insulted him more than the mad king were Reyne and Tarbeck. There is no one by that name in the Seven Kingdoms anymore.
Princess Elia "What are you going to do?"
"No need to worry. The rebel army is close to us and will probably be here a day apart. Unless we send someone to hurry them up. Tywin Lannister will be here in two days."
Jaime Lannister "How do you know if my father is so far away? Do you have spies?"
"Ser Jaime, a single scout with three horses and a raven can travel very quickly on a straight road. An army is only as fast as its slowest member."
Princess Elia "What if Tywin Lannister arrives before the rebel army and attacks the city"
"My soldiers are ready and Tywin Lannister does not have enough men to take the city by force. But I will triple your guard just in case, I don't want anything to happen to you."
Jaime Lannister "My father would never do anything to harm Elia or the children."
Artos "'" better to be safe than sorry.
Princess Elia "And your brother, will he submit to you? What if he doesn't want to leave you his title?"
Artos "The moment Eddard hears I am alive, he will pass the title to me. There can be no doubt about that."
The conversation ended there.
......….
1 day later Rebel camp Command tent
Narrator point of view
Along with the four leaders of the rebellion, King Robert Baratheon, Lord Jon Arryn, Lord Hoster Tully and Lord Eddard Stark, various lords were discussing the next move of the rebel army. Some wanted to lay siege to the king's lands, others wanted to march to the end of the storm and put an end to the siege of Tyrell. In the end, the commanders decided that Lord Eddard Stark would advance with the northern army and lay siege to the King's city, while the main army stayed behind. The remaining army would move according to the Tyrells' movements. Just then a messenger came into the tent.
He knelt down and began to speak. "My lords, a troop of horsemen has arrived from the south. They carry the banner of the direwolf and the blue rose. They are 51 men and say they are here by order of the Lord of the North."
All eyes were now on Eddard Stark. After all, as far as the people here knew, he was the ruling lord of the north.
Eddard frowned and turned to the northern lords behind him. "Have any of you sent troops ahead without my knowledge?"
When none of them answered, a small ripple of conversation spread through the tent. Everyone was trying to guess who it was. Finally Robert Baratheon shouted to silence them all.
"Enough chatter, call the leader of these men here at once, and we will see by whose orders they are here."
5 minutes later a young man came into the tent. He had black hair, black eyes and no outwardly distinguishing features. Perhaps his only identifying feature was his armor with a blue rose painted on it.
Robert Baratheon spoke with his usual fury. "Who the hell are you, man, and who sent you? Lord Stark here says he knows nothing of you, and I am inclined to believe him."
The young man spoke with a confident smile. "I am Isaac Snowshield, a mid-level commander from the Rose Mercenary Company. I am here by order of Artos Stark, lord commander of the Rose Mercenary Company and paramount lord of the north."
As soon as the young man, now known as Isaac, finished speaking, a small chaos broke out in the tent. Some claimed that Artos Stark was dead. Others said that he had been banished to Essos by his father and thus lost his right to inherit. The most vocal of this group was Hoster Tully, High Lord of the Riverlands. Others asked who Artos Stark was. Only Eddard Stark and the northern lords remained silent. Eddard Stark watched the man named Isaac with hope, while the northern lords looked uncertain. Finally Jon Arryn's voice rose and silenced the crowd. As soon as the tent was silent, Jon Arryn turned to Lord Eddard Stark and spoke. "Eddard, what do you say about this? Is there any chance that Isaac, the commander here, is right?"
Eddard Stark spoke without hesitation and with confidence. "My brother was never exiled. He was sent to Essos by my father on a mission unknown to me at the time. We had not heard from him for more than two years, and we were beginning to suspect his death. If he is alive, he is naturally the head of House Stark, and all the titles that go with it." Then he turned to Isaac and began to speak. "Is there any evidence that you serve who you claim to serve, and if so, what are my brother's orders?"
Isaac spoke as he handed Eddard Stark a letter from a pouch tied around his waist. "This letter is addressed to you by my lord. As for my lord's wishes. Lord Stark seized the king's lands three days ago." As these words threw the tent back into chaos, Eddard Stark quietly moved forward and took the letter from Isaac's hand and began to read it. There was not a single question left in Eddard's mind after reading the letter. Only he and Artos knew the events written in the letter. "What is my brother's order?"
"Lord Lannister is marching an army along the golden road to the king's city. Lord Stark wants the northern army to reinforce the city as soon as possible."
Eddard Stark turned to the northern lords behind him. "You have heard the orders, move." The northern lords began to leave the tent with relieved expressions as they realized there would be no civil war in the north.
Meanwhile, King Robert Baratheon spoke. "Eddard, stay a while longer. We need to talk. Everyone out except Lord Tully, Lord Arryn and Lord Eddard."
The lords began to leave the tent, making small talk amongst themselves. Once everyone was outside, Hoster Tully could take no more and spoke out loud. "What kind of nonsense is this, you are Lord of Winterfell and my blood will rule the north in the future."
Eddard Stark didn't even bother to reply in his cold Stark manner. Robert Baratheon joined the conversation at this point. "Eddard, if you wish to keep your titles, I will support you."
Eddard's face softened a little. He knew that the man who was his brother in everything but blood would support him no matter what. "Thank you, Robert, but there is no need. No third son should inherit his father's seat before the second. It would be a terrible precedent."
Hoster Tully could take no more and grabbed Eddard Stark by the collar. "And the promises made to me. I was promised that my descendants would rule Winterfell."
Eddard's patience was wearing thin. "I promised you nothing. When you blackmailed me and Jon Arryn with your army and said you would not support the rebellion unless we took Elbert and Brandon's place, I promised to marry your daughter, and I did, but I promised you nothing else."
Hoster Tully's face turned red with anger, then purple. Eddard was impressed. He had no idea that someone's face could change color so quickly.
Jon Arryn, who had been silent until then, spoke up to calm things down. "Calm down Hoster, I'm sure his brother and Robert won't mind giving Eddard enough land and a castle for his service in the rebellion."
Hoster Tully just stared at Jon Arryn as if he had cursed him, and when he didn't find the support he wanted here, he fell silent.
Jon Arryn was not finished, however.
"Eddard, are you sure this man is your brother and that your father never banished him?"
"I am sure, Jon. There is no doubt in my mind. Some of the things in the letter only Artos and I knew."
Jon Arryn silently nodded in agreement.
Robert Baratheon "And what about these rose mercenaries."
Eddard "A mercenary company founded by Brandon Snow, the bastard brother of the king who knelt after the conquest. I know that many of the bastards and third sons born in the North, Essosta, have joined this group."
Robert Baratheon "Enough talk, send messengers everywhere, the King's lands have fallen." And he said the meeting was over.
......…
Narrator point of view
Half a day later
Western Territories camp
Lannister army command tent
Tywin Lannister was giving his final orders with the lords of the western lands. The king's city was half a day away if they were fast and a day away if they were slow. If all went according to plan, this would be the last meeting before they took the city. Just then, one of the guards standing outside the tent door entered, knelt down and asked permission to speak.
Lord Tywin Lannister motioned for the man to speak.
"Sir, the commander of the scouts we sent ahead wishes to enter the tent. He says he has important news."
Lord Lannister said, "Let him come in at once."
A man entered, clearly tired from the incessant riding.
When the commander was signaled to speak, he relaxed and began to speak. "My lords, as per our orders, when we arrived in the city we discovered that the city gates had been closed, but that was not the problem. There were no Targaryen banners on the walls. It was the Direwolf of the Starks and the banner of a blue rose I did not recognize."
Lord Westerling "Could the city have already fallen?"
Lord Marbrand "Impossible, even if the rebel army was moving at full speed, it would have to come after us, and even if a miracle happened, it would take even longer to conquer the city by force."
Lord Brax "What does that mean then, the city is obviously under Stark control and who owns this blue rose banner. As far as I know, no one in Westeros uses the blue rose as their symbol."
Just then Gerion Lannister, the younger brother of the Lord of Casterly Rock, joined the conversation. "I think I can help you with that. This group is not from Westerostan, I'm afraid. The symbol belongs to a mercenary group from Essostan. The Rose mercenaries, a group with northern origins and close ties to the north. I know that Artos Stark, second son of the late Lord Rickard Stark, joined this mercenary company when he adventured in Essos. How they took the city is beyond me."
Lord Gerion Lannister had adventured in Essos when he came of age and knew more about Essos than most of the lords here. No one questioned his words.
Lord Lydden said, "Well it is clear that Artos Stark and his company of rose mercenaries have taken the city. So what do we do now."
All eyes turned to Lord Tywin Lannister sitting in the center of the room. Tywin Lannister had been alone the whole time. "We will continue the march into the city. I will decide what to do when I see the situation there for myself." In the western lands, Tywin Lannister's word was absolute and unbreakable. All discussions ended there.
.......
Excerpt from Archmaester Arnold's History of Westeros and Essos.
One of the most surprising events of 284 AC was undoubtedly the sudden fall of the king's city. Although everyone knew it was only a matter of time, it was not expected to happen so suddenly and quickly. Another event that followed the fall of the king's city was the escape of Queen Rhaella and her children from the dragonstone. Queen Rhaella was almost 8 months pregnant when she received the news, and despite her maester's warning that she could not travel before giving birth, she disobeyed him and fled the island with a band of loyal men, including Sir Willem Darry, taking as much treasure as she could and part of the royal navy with her. This was undoubtedly a lucky event for her family. Because the great storm that hit the narrow sea about a month later would undoubtedly wipe out the royal fleet and destroy their chances of escape.