Chapter 36 – The Brotherhood's Revenge
Night fell.
Inside a small wooden cabin deep within the royal forest, the surviving members of the Brotherhood gathered around a rough-hewn table, dividing up the last of the venison.
Each man had a slab of roast meat before him — all except the knight with the unsettling, ever-present grin. He sat chewing on a piece of raw, bloody flesh, crimson smearing his mouth like war paint.
The only sound was the quiet, rhythmic gnawing of meat. No one spoke.
"Wenda."
The smiling knight glanced at the half-conscious woman lying on the floor, his bloody grin widening.
"Your prey seems a little… out of spirit."
"Ha."
Wenda gave a derisive snort, set down her meat, and sauntered over to the woman. Standing over her, she looked down with cool amusement.
A roasted haunch of venison had been placed in front of the prisoner, but she hadn't touched it.
"No appetite, my lady?"
Wenda crouched, voice dripping with mockery.
"Eat it. Eat, and you live."
"Life is nothing but meat, after all — whose meat hardly matters."
The words slithered like a serpent into the woman's ears. Yet there was no light left in her eyes. She simply lay there, limp and spent, as if all strength had already bled out of her.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
Wenda clicked her tongue, drew a narrow dagger from her belt, and — without warning — drove it clean across the woman's throat.
Blood fountained, pooling darkly on the wooden floor.
Only then did Wenda lean close, whispering almost tenderly into her ear:
"It was venison, you fool."
"We're outlaws, not wildlings. What do you take us for, cannibals?"
The dying woman's lips moved once, twice — no sound came out.
---
"Throw her outside."
Wenda sashayed back to her seat as though nothing had happened.
Longneck's eyes flashed with venom as he spat out his words, voice sharp with mockery:
"Kill her here, will you? Why not light a beacon too, just in case our hiding place isn't exposed fast enough?"
"Idiot."
Wenda sneered, not missing a beat.
"We finally get our hands on two fat sheep, each carrying a hundred gold dragons, and you just had to bring trouble right to our doorstep. Now we're rotting in this gods-forsaken hole because of you."
"Sometimes I wonder if your skull is filled with anything other than wild boar dung!"
"You wretched bitch—!"
Longneck shot to his feet, hand flying to his sword, but the smiling knight's voice cut across the tension like a blade.
"Sit down, Longneck."
He hadn't raised his voice, yet the quiet command froze Longneck in place. Scowling, he lowered himself back onto the bench.
"And you, White Fawn." The knight turned his eerie grin on Wenda, whose expression still smoldered with smug satisfaction.
"Longneck's blunder may have brought us trouble — but it also brought us opportunity."
"Opportunity?"
The others exchanged puzzled glances. Only Big-Belly Ben paid no attention, too busy shoving meat into his mouth as though nothing could ever fill the bottomless pit of his stomach.
"Boss, we've been holding those two women for days now," Longneck muttered, visibly straining to keep his voice even.
"You won't let us touch them, and you won't ransom them either. What exactly are you planning?"
Despite his frustration, he didn't dare sound too demanding. He simply leaned forward, waiting for the smiling knight to reveal what game he was playing.
Longneck's question clearly struck a chord.
Even Big-Belly Ben finally stopped eating, lowering his hunk of venison to stare at the Smiling Knight.
"Heh…"
The knight's grin only deepened. With blood still smeared across his lips and a strip of raw meat caught between his teeth, the sight of him was downright chilling.
He let the silence drag, sweeping his gaze around the cabin before finally speaking — each word deliberate, almost ritualistic:
"The Chief… has sent word."
At once, the cabin went still.
No one spoke. Even Longneck — usually the loudest of them — swallowed whatever retort he'd had.
The Smiling Knight ignored them all and calmly finished every last bite of his raw venison. The wet sound of his chewing was the only noise in the room.
---
"Boss."
It was Longneck who broke the silence at last, his face dark and stormy.
"Maybe we should go our own way."
He leaned forward, voice rising with each word.
"That bastard never lifts a finger, never even shows his face — why should I call someone like that our leader?"
"These past months we've ransomed enough nobles to rake in over a thousand gold dragons. And what do we actually get? Less than half. While he sits back and takes the lion's share without lifting a damned sword."
Longneck's mouth twisted into a cruel grin.
"If you're worried he'll sell us out, let's call him out — and put him down.
That Dornish princess has to be worth at least a thousand gold dragons on her own. More than we've made in years!"
The Smiling Knight didn't interrupt. He listened carefully, almost thoughtfully.
Then he looked around at the others, as though seeking their counsel.
"What do the rest of you think?"
Ben and Wenda exchanged a glance. After a pause, Ben's deep voice rumbled:
"I don't give a damn about the gold."
"You know why we came together, Boss.
Wenda's kin strangled her lover before her very eyes just to force her into a Velaryon marriage. She's here for blood."
"Longneck was sold to the Silk Street brothels as a boy — killed two Goldcloaks and ran."
"As for me…" Ben's voice softened. He drew a slow, heavy breath.
"I grew up in Flea Bottom. Watched my mother starve to death in the street. All I ever wanted was a full belly."
"It was you who dragged me out of that pit, Boss. You fed me. From that day, I swore I'd follow you anywhere."
"Whatever you decide — I have no complaints."
He grinned a gap-toothed grin and grabbed the rest of his venison, devouring it as if it were his last meal.
---
"And you, White Fawn?"
The Smiling Knight turned to Wenda, his smile never faltering.
"I don't care about gold." She rolled her eyes.
"All I want is revenge.
But the Chief has been hiding too long. He promised us vengeance, yet year after year passes, and all we've done is snatch a few worthless nobles. If this keeps up, I'm done waiting."
"See? Even White Fawn agrees!"
Longneck surged to his feet, triumphant.
"It's time we broke free of him, Boss!
We kill him, ransom the Martell princess, then scatter to the winds with enough gold to live like kings. They'll never catch us!"
He was grinning ear to ear, already dreaming of the life ahead.
Wenda said nothing — but Big-Belly Ben shot him a sidelong look, a strange little smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
---
"You're right."
The Smiling Knight rose slowly to his feet and stepped close to Longneck, his smile warm, almost brotherly. He clapped him on the shoulder.
"You're right — we've all been living too hard, hiding too long."
Relief and excitement flooded Longneck's face. He thumped his chest, eager to pledge himself.
"Don't worry, Boss! This time we'll split the ransom like before — your cut first, then we take the rest!"
"Yes…"
The Smiling Knight's grin widened into something feral.
A heartbeat later, Longneck felt something cold slide through his chest.
He looked down, eyes bulging, to see a longsword jutting out through his ribs.
"Since the day I founded this brotherhood," the Smiling Knight said softly, meeting his victim's horrified stare,
"I've never kept a single coin."
"Every dragon — except the ones you keep — I send to the Chief.
Do you know why?"
His voice dropped to a hiss.
"Because only he can lead us to true revenge."
With a sharp jerk, he ripped the blade free. Longneck collapsed to his knees, eyes clouding as the last of his life spilled onto the floor.
The Smiling Knight didn't even blink. His grin only grew sharper, his eyes glinting with wild, unholy fire.
Turning to Ben, he said coolly:
"Fetch Ulmer."
"When this is done, the name Brotherhood of the Kingswood will be known throughout the Seven Kingdoms — whispered like a curse by every lord and lady who fears the dark."