Black Widow's Field Hospital

[serdonaltyrell]

Donal smiled sadly "Yes, they think this is all some grand adventure or tourney. They remind me of Addam." Donal lapses into silence for a moment.
"I hope they never lose that innocence though I fear if they bring young Garrett or Ser Doyle in with grevious wounds they will..." Donal takes a sip of the mulled wine "However, you have seen this before no doubt milady. At least you will not have the horror of treating dragonfire wounds this time"

[Deleted]

Elane bowed her head. "It must be hard, to have lost wife and son. I have kept reminding myself of how lucky I am that my Royce kin have survived thus far."

"The battle for the Rock was terrible. Even though we didn't see it because we were in the castle, the half-dead soldiers they brought in was a sad enough sight. And they told us tales of the battle as we treated them. The dragonfire wounds were terrible indeed."

She frowned. "I would have expected the dragon Aelerion to have been brought here. If there was ever a need for fire in battle, it was this. Although perhaps there is the danger of the Wall being damaged."

[serdonaltyrell]

Donal's face clouded over at the mention of his wife and son, though he did not comment, the grief was still raw with him.

"Aye, you would think at least one member of the royal family would be here, would you not? Here we are dying by the hundreds defending their realm with our blood and pain. You would think Maerys would be here at least. I've heard he enjoys the pain of others." Donal said bitterly "It's seems winning a throne was more important than defending it against attack. Perhaps though, there is some darker purpose at work. To keep us weakened rather than their forces. Where are the Lannisters? My men and I have travelled from near enough Dorne! You would think they could sent more than Lord Plumm. I think the only reason Lord Yew is here is so Lord Baldwin can be rid of him! No doubt he's praying he catches an arrow!" Donal said angrily. "The Bald Lion? The Bald Chicken would be more accurate, methinks." Donal sat up as he became more agitated as he carried on "And this news of Callen Baratheon? The last I heard he was hiding in Braavos. No doubt this is just a ruse to keep Lannister and Targaryen forces out of this conflict! As if they need 2,000 men to hunt down 1 fugitive!" Donal realised that everyone in the tent was now looking at him and he lapsed into fuming silence.

[Deleted]

Elane's polite smile didn't waver, but she put a restraining hand on Donal's shoulder, and gave a gentle squeeze to both commiserate with his feelings and warn him to keep them to himself.

"Lord Yew is a fine archer," she said in a normal tone. "Lord Plumm is a brave man. No doubt His Grace needs the Hand too much to part with him. And..." she hesitated, then beckoned over Lady Alla Hunter. In an undertone she gave the girl an order, and then the four young ladies moved the other three soldiers in the tent, with the help of male nurses.

"Surgery," Lady Alla said firmly. "No, look at your leg, don't argue with me, you need surgery!"

When they were alone, Elane turned back to Donal. "That was most indiscreet, ser."

[serdonaltyrell]

Donal sighed as the anger left him "Perhaps it was milady, but it was true none the less. We fight and die to preserve this place and I honestly wonder what for. We have knights from the Vale, the Reach, the Stormlands and of course, the Northmen. A few scatterings of Lannister men are here, no doubt to watch and report our actions to the Hand" Donal smiled a small smile "Although it may be unwise to let Lord Yew report anything unless you have a whole afternoon to spare!"
"We have no support from the King and no troops from the Riverlands save that which we bullied into joining us as we marched north. I suppose it's a blessing that the Dornish & ironmen aren't raiding with most of the Reach elsewhere."
Donal sighed and emptied his cup "But here we are and I'm not one to shirk from a fight. In truth I am in the mood for a fight and these wildlings are the foe in front of me at the moment. Tomorrow? Who can say." Donal levered himself upright and stretched to see how his bandage was holding. It seemed to be well applied and he felt rested. "I should return to my men, milady. My thanks to you & your ladies. You've done a fine job patching up this old man! Hopefully we shall met again, R'hllor willing, after the battle is done"

[Deleted]

"Wait," Elane caught his arm. "You spoke of Callen. Haven't you heard the Hand's announcement? We heard it on the North Road before we reached Winterfell. Callen Baratheon is in Westeros, and Lord Baldwin wants him captured and brought before King Aemon."

[serdonaltyrell]

Donal's mind flashed back to the brazier and the brief image of Callen talking to Lord Grandison. He had thought nothing of it at the time but perhaps...
"In Westeros you say? I'm afraid my travels have left me somewhat ignorant of current events. It is a bold act to come back but he'll be dragged back in chains before the Iron Throne again before long I think. And then we'll see if Aemon is as merciful as his father was."

[Deleted]

"Oh, I don't know. He managed to escape death in the Red Keep once, perhaps he could do it again. What I'm curious to see now is who will he manage to win over. You can bet that Tyrell bannermen will be among the first he'll try and sway - and he might even succeed. Auntie Lilith once told me Callen was quite charming." She gave Donal a long look. "War is coming on all fronts."

[serdonaltyrell]

"Ha! Well he'll be in for a hell of a walk - we're all up here!" Donal laughed bitterly "And at the rate we're losing men, I doubt we can defend our own lands nevermind wage a war against the rest of Westeros. Callen will have to do more than talk to turn people against the Targaryens. People fear King Aemon's dragon too much and rightly so. I barely knew Callen when he was my King and I know even less of Aemon. War may be coming, but I see no reason to hasten my involvement in it."

[Deleted]

"If only Callen and Aemon's war could be fought bloodlessly," Elane agreed. "Or perhaps we could take the two of them and put them on the Trident, like Rhaegar and Robert of old. Only we'd let them fight it out themselves, and keep our armies safe." She smiled at the thought, and shook her head.

"No, Ser Donal. It will have to be war. Speaking of which, are you really going to walk out there with those wounds? You may feel better now, but if you so much as bent down from your horse to hack at someone, you'd feel the pain. Are you sure you want to ride out like that?" Elane asked worriedly.

[serdonaltyrell]

"Ride?" Donal smiled "I was never that good at jousting and neither are the wildlings - we fight on foot"
Donal sighed "I need to be with my men. They fight all the harder knowing I am with them and not safely in the rear with the women, no offense intended my lady. And as for Rhaegar & Robert, they were not alone that day - thousands died that day and probably thousands will again should it come to civil war once more. Perhaps if Edric had not been so merciful and spared Danaerys & Viserys then his great, great grandson would not have been deposed by their descendants. No milady, for peace to remain, one great House must be completely destroyed and, right now, the odds are heavily that it will be House Baratheon, not House Targaryen which will be the one to fade into memory."

[Deleted]

"One House must be destroyed," she agreed, thinking of dragons. She squeezed Donal's hand. "Well, ser, I should not keep you from your men. I hope your armor and shield are strong enough to protect those wounds."

[serdonaltyrell]

"You too my lady. Stay safe and never forget that the work you do here is the more difficult and important." Donal bows, winces slightly, picks up his mace and heads back out to his men on the field.

[Deleted]

Elane watched him go, and then thought on what he had said. "One House must be destroyed," she murmured.

[Deleted]

Garrett Redfort was brought in bleeding, and with a cry Nymeria rushed to him. She helped Elane dress his wounds, feed him strange-tasting herbal drinks and cool down his fever. For two days he was kept on his pallet, at Nymeria's insistence. She stayed at his bedside while Elane and the others tended to other knights and soldiers, and when she sometimes passed, Elane would catch Garrett stroking Nymeria's hair, or Nymeria putting fresh bandages on his wounds.

Then he insisted on leaving, ignoring protests. "One of the soldiers who just came in said the giants are coming. You can't leave the battle when you're needed most," he said firmly. A horse of a dead knight was found for him, a middle-aged brown destrier, and Garrett mounted up and rode back to the Wall.