Brothers in the Field

Before despair could settle too deeply, a man in splendid armor hurried to Renly's side. Loras Tyrell's arrival gave Renly something to hold.

"Loras," Renly said, grief naked in his voice. "We are finished."

"No." Loras reached him quickly. "My king, trust me. I will protect you. We have not lost. You still have me, the lords who chose you, and the strength of the Reach. Stannis is a thief in the night. We regroup and make him pay."

The words steadied more than Renly. Brienne lifted her sword.

"I will defend King Renly's honor to the death," Brienne said.

"As will I," Ser Bryce Caron said.

"And I," Ser Emmon Cuy said.

The Rainbow Guard's vows gave the shaken king back some of his shine.

Renly armored himself and rode into the fighting with Loras and the others around him. His presence drew cheers from men who needed to believe that the night had not swallowed their cause.

Stannis's army had momentum. Storm's End's gates had opened, and victory stood close enough to taste.

From horseback, Stannis searched through the press until he saw Renly surrounded by his bright little circle.

All the years of contempt, anger, and grievance burned into one shout. Renly heard his brother and turned.

He should have listened to Loras. He should have held position and let guards shield him. Pride and wounded youth chose otherwise. Renly spurred his horse forward.

The two kings met in a clearing made by men who instinctively stepped back from blood so high-born. Steel rang.

Renly was graceful in tourneys and confident among friends. Stannis had been hardened by siege, command, and ugly necessity. There was no courtesy in his sword.

The first exchange told the truth. Renly had skill. Stannis had war.

Another blow forced Renly's guard wide. A third sheared the crest from his helm. Renly struck back in anger, but Stannis shifted aside and answered before his brother understood the opening.

Renly's sword flew from his hand. Stannis seized the moment and brought him under control from horseback.

"Yield, brother," he said. "You are not my match."

Loras saw only Renly in danger. He tore a spear from a nearby soldier and hurled it with all the speed fear could give him. Stannis sensed the danger at the last moment and turned.

The spear skimmed past his breastplate close enough that a straighter angle would have punched through him. Renly stared, stunned.

Loras was already moving. He reached Renly's horse, swung up with a knight's practiced grace, seized the reins, and turned the animal away before Stannis could recover. The brothers' duel vanished back into battle.

Stannis tried to pursue, but men crashed between them. His path closed in bodies, shields, and the desperate last stand of Renly's guards. The fighting lasted through the night.

If the Rainbow Guard had not bled itself to cover the king's escape, Storm's End's battle might have ended when Loras carried Renly away.

When dawn found Stannis standing amid the dead, victory tasted bitter.

Storm's End had fallen, but Renly lived. The Tyrells still had a king to support. Worse, the Blood Wolf Company had withdrawn after opening the castle, leaving Stannis's men to pay for the rest of the work in blood.

He knew their infiltration had made the victory possible. He also knew they had left too early.

His own losses lay across the stones because of it. With the army he now possessed, marching straight on King's Landing would be far harder than he had hoped.

Dragonstone had been promised for this.

"Damn them."

The wounded nearby swallowed their groans.

...

In a nameless field, horses grazed on fresh grass as though kings and castles were someone else's business.

The heavy breathing hidden in the tall grass slowly quieted. After a time, Renly reached from the cover and pushed aside a spill of red cloth.

"My king," Loras murmured, voice softer than any court had heard it, "does your heart feel lighter?"

"Yes." Renly closed his eyes. "Thank you. But you should not have saved me. I abandoned my people."

"That was my fault. I was afraid for you. When I saw him holding you, I could not think of anything else."

Renly touched his face. "I do not blame you. If not for you, I might be dead. I lost a king's honor, perhaps. But you gave me something dearer."

The answer filled Loras with helpless devotion.

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