Chapter 13: Defiance of Duskendale

After preparing everything, they were on their way to Duskendale town. When they were near the place, they saw the army of Tywin that had already besieged the town.

After identifying themselves, the soldier took Edward to Tywin's tent. When he entered, he saw many knights, whether they were Kingsguards or Tywin knights he didn't care.

"So, you came after all. Better late than never." Said Tywin with his piercing gaze.

"It isn't my job to do such a thing. I am not even a knight. If you wanted to use my men, then you should have contacted my father. Plus, I was in the north and only reached the Eyrie two days ago. Are these reasons enough for you, Lord Tywin?" Said Edward with an annoyed Look. He didn't care about how Tywin tried to discredit him, but he loved to retaliate against him.

The audience in the tent was shocked by the way Edward talked to the hand of the king but they couldn't find a word to retort him.

"You are such a brat with a vicious tongue, are not you?" Said Tywin trying to provoke Edward more.

"Well, what can I say? I came from a long journey and the first thing you do was to criticize me. What would you do in my situation?" Said Edward while rolling his eyes.

"At least I am here when the crown prince is nowhere to be seen." Said, Edward.

Edward was always wondering where Rhaegar was at this critical moment. That was a moment that was carved into Arys's heart and became a stain in their relationship.

No one knew how to retort anymore, and Barristan Selmy had a disapproval look on his face.

'Don't look at me like that, man. You should be the one who is ashamed of the behavior of your prince even if they didn't like each other at least he can appear here. He is his father after all.' Thought Edward but then thought about Steffon's death and stopped thinking more.

It was because he finally steeled his heart and decided to let Steffon die well think of it as he pretended to know nothing. For his future, he would sacrifice this father of his. No, don't say it like that. It sounded like he would kill him with his own hands. Well, he only would let him die. But Edward still had a conscience and decided to save his mother, she didn't hinder his future after all.

"Well, how many men have you brought here with you?" asked Tywin with a serious tone.

"I brought fifty men with me?" replied Edward with a funny tone, seeing Tywin's expression.

Tywin's face turned black because he had ordered Edward to bring all his men. he wanted to test his men in battle to see how far they had got and make enough preparations, in case he would have to fight them in the future.

"I have told you to bring all your unit," said Tywin with some anger in his voice.

"Don't order me like that. If you want to deploy my unit, you will have to ask for my father's permission. I am not the lord of Stormsland, after all. And the men whom you want to use are under his command, so if you want them, ask for his permission. Plus, if even your whole army can't attack, how will my unit's presence make any difference?" Explained Edward with an annoyed look.

Everyone looked at Edward with surprise and some approval because what he said was the truth. The men needed their lord's permission before being deployed to the battlefield, and what a small unit could do when their army of ten-thousand men couldn't.

Tywin had a funny look at the moment. He couldn't believe that the little brat would retaliate against him. He wanted to judge Edward's men's performance and decide if they would be an obstacle for him.

'This brat is smart. I would have to deal with him while he is still young. Luckily for me, I made my preparations, in case such a situation happened. We will see, brat.' thought Tywin while giving Edward a sly look.

"Ok, So what is our plan, here?" asked Edward while looking at Tywin.

"Well, I wanted to attack the town, but Ser Barristan Selmy offered to perform a solo rescue mission. I have given him a day before attacking the town. He was going to prepare before your arrival." said Tywin. He was annoyed because he had to explain the matter to a junior, but he had to do this to ensure his plan would succeed.

"So, Why am I here?" asked Edward with some annoyance.

"Well, we can't afford to send Ser Barristan alone, so we wanted to have the aid of your men," said Tywin while giving him a sly look.

When Edward heard that, he knew Tywin with up to no good, and he wanted to deal with Edward in this battle. Edward didn't know how dangerous this battle would be, but he decided to raise his alertness to the max.

"Fine by me, but I will be the one to lead my men in this mission. If Ser Barristan wanted to follow, he should tag along. If he didn't, He should go alone. I don't want my men to die because of anyone's incompetence." said Edward with an arrogant voice.

Everyone looked at each other. They were annoyed by Edward's suggestion and tone. How could they let a brat order Ser Barristan? Even if they heard the news about him, they didn't see with their own eyes. They all looked at Ser Barristan to listen to his opinion.

Ser Barristan was annoyed by Edward since he started speaking ill about his prince, Rhaegar Targaryen. He didn't like it when someone bad-mouthed the prince. The prince was Barristan's hope and the promised prince in his mind.

He didn't like Edward, but for the sake of his king, he would have to listen to his orders this one time, so he looked at Edward, and then shifted his head towards Lord Tywin.

"I don't mind as long as we can save the king. I will listen to the young Lord Baratheon." said the knight while holding the sword in front of his chest.

Since Barristan himself was ok with this, they put the thought to the back of their head and looked at Edward to see if he would discuss their infiltration plan. Unfortunately for them, Edward decided to keep the plan to himself. After seeing the look that Tywin gave him, he decided to be more careful and hide his whereabouts in this mission.

"After preparing yourself, Ser Barristan, meet me outside the Duskendale town, and I will discuss the plan with you," said Edward while making his way to the outside.

After leaving the tent, Edward headed to his men. He wanted to discuss the mission's details with them so that they could prepare.