93 Battle of Seagard 3 (Blood for blood)

The feeling of someone touching him shook Brendan from his sleep, but the boy didn't feel any enmity directed at him so he didn't bother to open his eyes to check.

Truthfully, he was even more exhausted after the rest than before, since the adrenaline stopped fueling his heart, he didn't even know how long did he sleep, but it felt like at least a whole day.

A sharp pain after someone touched his previously dislocated arm made the boy clench his teeth and take in a sharp breath.

As further rest was now impossible with the voices and movement around him, Brendan opened his eyes.

Surprisingly the position of the sun didn't change almost at all, opening his tired eyelids, the first thing he saw was the most beautiful face of a Dornish girl, just behind her another Dornish miracle on two legs and next to her another... nope, it's just Obara.

Brendan just looked at Tyene taking care of his shoulder under the instructions of a qualified doctor, a gifted graduate from Neverwinter Medical University that the House scouted few years back.

Tyene, as skilled as she was in poison got interested in medicine, fighting and killing was a side entertainment for her, but after her experiments with poison she wanted to learn how to heal people as well.

As a good friend, Brendan asked Gregory, the young talented doctor to be her mentor while she was with him.

Seeing Tyene like that and Nymeria stitching the guard that body slammed the squid that fucked his arm up, Brendan felt a nice tingling feeling in his heart.

When the girl was focused on his arm and other wounds, Brendan looked around the deck and found a lot of new faces there.

His five guards that accompanied him in the fight now rested on the wooden deck, some sleeping, some eating.

All around Brendan and his men a new cordon of Praetorians stood tall guarding him, seeing the dried blood and scratches on their armours they probably had some good stories from the battle as well.

Sailors from different houses cleaned the deck giving the soldiers and Marines some time to rest and recuperate.

The young Lord watched as the bodies of his men were placed on the side covered with sheets and ready to be transported to Neverwinter to be buried with honors after this war was done and over with, the same with other families.

That Mormont, Ryswell, and Glenmore sailors gathered their dead with utmost respect and care, as for the squids? They were simply stripped naked and thrown at a pile as they did to Ser Hadrian and his mother's men, no, Brendan did not forget.

"You're up?" Tyene almost jumped up from fright feeling the boy's movement.

"You're doing good, it feels better..." Brendan pointed with his chin to the splint now holding his arm close to his body.

Tyene on the other hand blushed and lowered her head.

The usually outgoing and brave girl only showed this face in front of Brendan.

Seeing her like that, young Dustin changed the subject.

"How long was I asleep?" he looked at Gregory.

"About half of the hour my Lord, we arrived not long after you killed their commander." typical Greg, he probably didn't even know who they fought against and why, and even if he knew he probably wouldn't care.

In the man's mind was only being a doctor and healing people so Brendan knew there's no use in asking further.

"I could've swear it felt longer..." Brendan was surprised, he felt like minimum a day passed, and now he was informed it was not more then 30 minutes, at least that explained his exhaustion.

"It's good to see you safe my Lord." Davos just stepped off from an improvised lift build on Black Betha's side and moved closer to Brendan looking around.

"Master-of-ships..."

It was only a moment, but Brendan saw the proud smile on his fleet commander face.

Truthfully, the boy forgot that this was Lord's Seaworth first sea battle of this scale as well.

Well, how could he remembered a detail like this when the man in front of him behaved as a seasoned commander not even once showing his insecurities.

"Congratulations on your win Lord Seaworth," Lord Dustin smiled seeing the trademark smirk that only Davos could do "how did we do?" the question as unwillingly as he did, had to be asked.

Davos saddened a bit "One too many my Lord..." Brendan knew it was hard to loose men, he experienced the same feeling Davos now had few years back, but that was how war was like, men died and that was it. "we lost 14 ships, we might be able to repair 8 of them, I already send them with the wounded and dead to Seagard with Lord Mallister's orders for his son and mine for our men from Oldstones, the crews of the other 6 that sunk were mostly rescued. 1 was Mormont, 4 were Ryswell and one was Glenmore." Davos waited for his Lord to process the information.

13 hundred men dead, mostly from the alliance houses as they led the attack, at least twice as much wounded and the count increases even as we speak. Fortunately the landing forces took small losses, the most were Marines." he pointed at the elevator pulling up the wounded men on board of his Frigate for the doctors and medics to work on them. "43 Ironborn ships sank or immobilized in the first attack, 51 burned after, 56 seized and ready to be used, we captured about 46 hundred men, no one else survived."

Listening to the numbers it wasn't so bad, they managed to keep most of their strength intact.

Brendan felt something moving on his arm, looking down he recognized the small black snake he gave the Tyene few years back.

Petting it gently as it rested on his hand enjoy his attention he started speaking to the now surprised after recognizing the creature Davos again.

"Send the ships to Seagard for now, we need to repair the ships and let the men rest, the captured ships should be distributed to the allied houses, I don't care what the Warden says. Brendan became a bit grumpy speaking about his uncle.

"My Lord!" a warg from Black Betha came running almost tripping on the blood covered deck.

Brendan just watched as the man whispered to the fleet commanders ear, but from the change in Davos it didn't look like good news.

Not long after, his suspicion was confirmed.

"Prepare for battle!" Davos roared shocking everyone, but the ones who knew him did feel the urgency in his voice.

"Prepare for battle now! The Iron fleet will be here soon!" Davos started shouting orders rousing the shocked men, Brendan tried to stand up just as his men, his head was spinning and his head ache made him curse silently.

"All men eat something, drink and conserve your strength! Lord Seaworth, I will take my men to rest as long as we can, I trust your sailors can finish it here?" Brendan ignored his wounds and grabbed his men one by one pulling them up on their feet and pushing in the direction of his Frigates.

At the same time Tyene looked sad after looking at even the heavily wounded men standing up.

"Gregory, check our men! I want the ones in critical condition and the ones heavily wounded on the seized ships on their way back to Seagard as soon as possible! Lord Davos will give you the men sailors from the lost and damaged ships!" Brendan ignored his damaged body now standing tall and giving orders left and right.

'Just my fucking luck' he rumbled every few seconds.

- - - Dreadfort of house Bolton - - -

A seven years old child was seen playing his harp trying to imitate a song he once heard his teacher play, his innocent face was focused on the strings trying to hit the correct note.

There were guards at the door, but the boy was free to do as he pleased inside.

The child evidently had a great talent in music, not only that, he absorbed knowledge like a sponge.

In front of him an old man sternly looked at the boy, his gaze observed every move the child fingers made.

"It's time to take a break my Lord." The man said taking the instrument from the boy.

"But Edgar I was so close!" Domeric Bolton protested feeling that he would make it in the next try.

His teacher was with him for the last two years, showing him the mysteries of music which the boy loved to learn about so much.

"We will continue after a small break my Lord" Edgar smiled at the same time as the guards opened the door.

When the servants placed the dishes on the small table, Edgar looked at the space behind the guards back, specifically one of the inconspicuous stone in the corridor just in front of the doors.

Looking at their direction the teacher held his gaze at the stone, or the newly made "X" mark specifically, an action he did every day while teaching the boy.

There was no other way, even if the pay was good Lord Bolton forbid the man from leaving his chambers after "negotiating" the contract to teach the boy.

One day during the feast, where he was the Bard playing a smooth and new song, he made such an impression on the boy that the child asked his father to keep the man, since then after signing the deal with the devil he stayed inside this room for the last two years.

Unbeknown to Lord Bolton at that time, he wasn't the one being the Devil in the deal with the simple Bard.

After seeing a cross on the stone in front of the door he smiled and took the warm drinks from one of the servants helping them with a smile.

No one saw or heard as he, just a moment before, discreetly broke his fake tooth and placed a bit of the liquid from his mouth inside both cups not knowing which the boy will choose.

After the servants left, the break proceeded as usual where the boy asked the man a lot of questions, mostly about the adventures of the old man.

Since loosing his mother, Domeric couldn't do as he pleased anymore, his stern father checked everything he did, starting from meals, ending at the people the boy was in contact with, even the servants were changed and only the most loyal of his father's men could come close to the Dreadfort heir, even his teacher, starting two years ago was daily stripped and searched after his father "hired" him.

This day, after the meal, when he wanted to ask more questions, the small Bolton's throat started to hurt, he looked at his teacher feeling a bit scared as the pain intensified.

"Is everything alright my Lord?" Edgar smiled so brightly like never before, he leaned forward closer to the quickly breathing boy, but still keeping his distance.

"Edgar, he-help..." Domeric quiet voice asked for help, the guards couldn't see anything as the teacher placed the chairs so that the boy's back would face them.

"It wasn't easy to kill you, you know... I only have part of the poison with me, so for the last two years I had to wait patiently while slowly dying from it, just for my Lord's orders when the other part would be given to you during the day, your guards would kill me if I came to close to you, a justified action I might add, before I would have the chance to do the deed, but now it's done, you should thank your father for this..." Edgar's face was pale "The Dustin's send their regards, blood for blood boy..." Edgar just whispered a small distance from the kid under the guards focused gazes.

Domeric was terrified as started scratching his throat, now the guards reacted seeing something was wrong and moved in their direction.

'I wonder how many of his innocent men will Lord Bolton kill after this while looking for answers.' Edgar chuckled as he closed his eyes for the last time, his peaceful smile still on his lips as a silhouette of his young Lord came into his mind.

'He even had a purpose for an old, dying man like me...' the last thought came through his mind as he passed, happy to be of service to his House one last time.

Around the now dead man panic spread as the heir of the Bolton house was suffering unmeasurable terror.

The guards, servants and the maester did their best to elevate the pain and save the young Lord, but not long after the boy stopped moving.

He didn't beg or screamed, the poison didn't even give him the option of doing so, he felt like he was drowning in his own blood.

Then, as he lost his will to fight, he wanted to see his father, but his teacher's words involuntarily occupied his mind.

'Blood for blood'