WILOW-Ch.332: A Regretful Knight
Outside of the King's Landing
POV of Ser Barristan Selmy
Barristan Selmy rode his horse and quickly left the city that he had come to both love and hate in his decades of service as a Kingsguard.
As he thought about the things going on in King's Landing, his heart was filled with self-loathing.
He had always known that Prince Joffrey Baratheon was a petty and cruel boy. But to beat and humiliate a defenseless girl in front of the whole court when the only mistake the girl made was following the orders of her elders was beyond cruelty.
It was madness.
He shook his head.
He should have seen this coming.
The boy was no better than the Mad King.
What was worse was that the people who surrounded the King only added fuel to that insanity.
How could he have missed the making of another mad king right under his nose?
And to think that the boy had enough gall to ask him to beat the poor girl.
It was as if he would do such a thing.
He might have made many mistakes and had many regrets throughout his life, but he hadn't yet lost his honor.
To beat an innocent and defenseless girl in front of everyone? He would gladly give up his head rather than do that.
He considered it an insult to himself that the Boy King would even give him the order to do it.
And of course, he refused, defying the King's order. He even tried to explain to the King that it was wrong, hoping he would come to his senses.
But the Boy King, of course, did not listen to him.
On the contrary, he took his white cloak from him and relieved him of his duties as Kingsguard, saying that he was too old and no longer even remembered what his duty was.
As if his duty was to beat innocent girls.
But Ser Meryn must have thought that this was his duty, for when the King gave him the same order, he gladly began to carry it out.
While being a Kingsguard was once an honorable position, King Joffrey had truly managed to reduce it to the status of the Kingsdogs.
And the sad part was that many knights whom Barristan considered honorable didn't hesitate to become mere dogs in the King's presence.
What a shame!
He should have left as soon as the beatings started in the first place.
But he had hoped. He had hoped that if he talked with Ser Jamie and the Queen, then they would be able to see reason and protect Lord Stark's daughter from the King's insanity.
But Queen Cersei had shown no interest in protecting Sansa.
And because of Sansa's love for Lord Domeric Bolton, which was an open secret in the Red Keep, Ser Jamie had refused to help the girl as well.
His only regret was leaving King's Landing without saving Sansa Stark.
His life was already filled with so many regrets.
Regrets for saving the Mad King from his captivity in Duskendale.
Regrets for not protecting the Queen from the Mad King.
Regrets of staying silent when the Mad King burned men for his own amusement.
Regrets upon regrets upon regrets.
This one was just another on top of that enormous pile.
The sound of hoofbeats brought him out of his thoughts.
At first, he thought that the insane Boy King had sent men after him.
When he turned to look, he saw that it was just one rider.
A man he didn't recognize.
He decided to stop.
He might not be capable of winning against Varko or Lord Domeric Bolton, but he was still one of the most capable and experienced swordsmen in the whole of Westeros.
He could take a single man if worst came to worst.
He reined in his horse and turned to face the stranger.
The stranger stopped his own horse a few meters away from him.
"Greetings, Ser Barristan." The man said, "It is an honor to meet a legend like you."
He almost scoffed at that. What legend? He was nothing but a man made of mistakes and regrets.
"I do not know you." He said.
"I am Vincent Page." The man introduced himself, "I serve Lord Domeric Bolton. And I have an offer for you."
"What offer?" he asked, the mention of Lord Bolton bringing him back to the duel between Ser Jamie and Lord Bolton.
Or the one-sided beat down it had turned out to be.
The man walked his horse up to his own and said, "Before I give you my offer, I would like to hear of your next plans. After all, it would be very rude of me if I offered you choices when you have already decided on a path of your own."
He stared at the man, his eyes boring into him, trying to find any telltale sign of deceit or lies on Vincent's part.
Spending an entire lifetime in King's Landing had made him a pretty good judge of character, and he could usually tell when a man was lying or not.
After a long stare down, he finally spoke, "I'm going to Essos. I'm going to find Prince Viserys and offer my service to him."
"Not King Stannis or King Renly?" the man asked, looking a little intrigued.
Then the man continued. "I'm sure that King Renly has more chances of sitting on the Iron Throne than Prince Viserys. And he would definitely make for a better King than King Joffrey. Even King Stannis would make for a better King than King Joffrey. And with the Long Night coming, wouldn't it be better for you to serve a King from Westeros?"
"I'm not going to discuss my thoughts on the matter with a stranger." He said, turned his horse around, and began to ride away.
"Would you be willing to serve Prince Viserys if he turned out like this father?" the man asked as he rode behind him.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.333: Someone Worthy of His Loyalty
Ch.334: Magical Cube
Ch.335: Work of Art