Blood Upon The Snow ||| Cregan Stark

thirty-three

Daemon hastened south on Caraxes when Aemond was out of the city. He was careful to keep away from the marching army, so his absence was never known.

And when he was too far to have any idea what would take place, the Blacks launched their attack.

The first signal to King's Landing that something was happening was the Velaryon ships moving into the Bay. It was immediately alarming.

Their second signal, however, were the dragons above the city. Caraxes, Syrax, Cannibal, Silverwing, Vermithor, Sheepstealer, and Seasmokez

That was alarming. And the moment the dragons were spotted, the Gold Cloaks turned. On their brothers, on the gate commanders. Anyone who wasn't loyal to Rhaenyra and Daemon were their targets.

They would be called turncloaks for betraying the crown.

"Daemon gave us these cloaks. They're gold whichever way you turn them."

Jacaera didn't know what she felt when she saw the city again. It had been months since she'd seen it, been near it. And nothing major had changed. Yet everything had.

She was a different person returning to it. Not the same girl that stood in court that day.

Definitely not as she circled the city, her eyes focused on the watchtowers. They didn't want to burn anything but they would if they had to.

Scratch that. Jacaera wanted to burn the Red Keep full of traitors. Kill Aegon while she was at it. But everyone promised Rhaenyra, dragonseeds included, that no burning would take place.

Their dragons were a threat to Aegon and his supporters. Turn the city over or they would burn.

And all in all, King's Landing fell in less than a day.

Jacaera felt like a spectator as she watched the chaos from the back of her dragon. Gold Cloaks slaughtering, citizens running and screaming.

Any riders who hoped to bear messages were arrested, the Grand Maester arrested before he could dispatch a raven. Aemond wouldn't know until it was too late.

The gold cloaks ended up killing or arresting the seven captains of the gates, opening them for the men arriving with the Velaryon fleet.

They wouldn't know it until after the fighting was over, but Larys Strong managed to escape the city with three people.

Princess Jaehaera, whom he sent to Storm's End, Prince Maelor, whom he dispatched to Old Town, and their father, the King. Aegon's place of residence would remain a mystery for a very long time.

Still, as they watched the city as it was overrun by Rhaenyra's forces, Jacaera couldn't help but think of Jace. He should have been there, witnessed it. The boy was a decisive force in getting them that far.

When the Black forces breached the city and made it to the Red Keep, the remaining Green councillors yielded. No more fighting. They hoped that their surrender would spare some of their deaths.

First, the Red Keep was searched and cleared by Rhaenyra's soldiers. Daemon did a secondary sweep and had anyone who was immediately a threat arrested.