Wolf of Númenor

Chapter 15: Bastard , broken hearts and betrayal

With Renly's death, they knew it was just a matter of time before all the men who came with them declared themselves for Stannis, so Jon, Loras, Robar, and those who still followed them quickly made their way back to Bitterbridge, but not before they allowed Loras to bury Renly in a spot in the woods.

They thought that Stannis would have them executed for being members of his brother's guard, but no such action was taken. All the while, Loras was stricken with grief, and Jon understood; he even started blaming himself for Renly's death. Loras regretted killing Emmon is his rage, while Robar continued to claim that it was not Brienne that killed the king but Stannis. Robar stated that by saving him from Loras, he now owned a life debt to Jon, which Jon shrugged off. When they finally arrived, they were greeted by worried Margaery.

"What happened? Is the battle over?" Margaery asked as they got off their horses.

"No, there was no battle," Jon said sadly. "Renly is dead."

Margaery gasped. "How?"

"Robar claims Stannis killed Renly, while ser Emmon claimed is was Brienne,"

"I don't know her, but she seemed honest in her intention to serve Renly, and would Stannis really commit fratricide just to gain more men?"

"I don't know. Robar says that Lady Catelyn saw a shadow killing Renly."

"A shadow?"

"We aren't certain ourselves; all we know is that Stannis had some kind of sorceress with him when we parleyed."

"Magic?"

"Yes," said Jon.

"It's my fault; I should have been there for him; I could have saved him," Loras said.

Margaery walked up to her brother and embraced him. "You don't know that, if this was truly magic, then you could have died. Also, I could not endure losing you."

Jon followed Margaery, Loras, Garlan, and Robar to Margaery's tent, where they were seated at the large table, silence filling the ear. After a long moment, Garlan spoke.

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know," said Jon.

"What are our options?" asked Margaery.

"We can stay out of the war; joining Stannis is out of the question; maybe we could join with Jon's brother," Loras said.

"I don't know if it's up to us to decide," Garlan said.

"And what should we do then?" Loras asked.

"I don't know," Garlan answered. As they continued to contemplate their options, lord Tarly walked into the tent clad in full plate.

"Lord Tarly," Jon said with a bow of his head.

"What can we do for you?" asked Margaery.

"As you are aware, there are many soldiers in this camp that belong to the houses that now follow Stannis; I came here to ask what you intend to do with them."

"We could..." Jon started but was cut off by Loras.

"They betrayed their king, have them all killed or captured," Loras said, anger in his eyes.

"Loras," Jon said. Jon knew how his friend felt, but these men were not guilty of any crime; they were just following who they saw as their liege. Jon looked at Loras, hurt, hate, and lust for vengeance all presented on his face. Jon knew that nothing he could say now would dismay Loras; he could just hope that lord Tarly went easy on the poor men.