The people of King’s Landing, well accustomed to scenes of chaos, immediately turned and fled.
Not a single person stayed behind to watch.
The street was empty within moments.
The Gold Cloaks dutifully guarded the city gate without so much as glancing in Cole’s direction.
Cole dropped his bundle in despair.
It struck the ground with a heavy thud.
His hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword.
Larys Strong paused, then silently limped back behind the knights.
“Ser Cole, I freely admit that you are a formidable warrior, but surely you don’t intend to…”
His gaze swept over the twenty-four knights standing before him.
His voice carried equal parts amazement and mockery.
“Fight twenty-four knights by yourself?”
“Hah! If so, you will surely become a ‘legendary’ knight whose name is remembered for a thousand years!”
“So, will you surrender quietly, or resist first and be captured afterward?”
Larys smiled smugly.
“Choose, Ser Deserter.”
Cole looked from one knight to the next, his heart sinking further with each face.
Every one of them wore full plate.
Steel protected their heads, throats, arms, and feet, and even their eyes were concealed behind curved visors.
The only man without full armor, Larys the Clubfoot, still wore chain mail and leather armor, and remained safely behind the knights.
Suddenly, the clatter of armor and lances sounded behind Cole.
Another fifteen knights, led by an old man, had surrounded his retreat.
Ser Uther’s voice was cold and stern.
“Ser Cole, you have already disgraced the honor of knighthood. Do not shame yourself any further.”
Armored knights closed in from every direction, tightening the circle around Cole.
They had numbers on their side.
He was alone, with no one to help him.
Cole knew that, as a knight, he should not surrender and place himself helplessly at another man’s mercy.
Yet his hand slowly fell away from his sword.
Larys’s eyes lit up.
He immediately urged the knights before him to seize Cole.
Then he quietly retreated another few steps himself.
…
The Red Keep
When Baelon returned to Viserys, his father was standing silently by the window.
The last rays of sunlight had already vanished behind the mountains.
Firelight washed over Viserys, making him look unusually lonely and weary.
Baelon rarely bothered concealing his thoughts from Viserys.
“Father, I was actually rather pleased to hear that Ser Cole had fled.”
Viserys slowly raised his head.
Baelon continued, “A fugitive being pursued cannot demand a Trial by Combat. And during a manhunt, accidents can easily happen.”
“Accidents that cost him his life.”
“So, do you want to wait until Rhaenyra returns and let her see him first, or should we simply finish this now?”
Baelon left the choice to Viserys.
He had no intention of meddling in the romances of his family and friends.
It was far too easy to put in all the effort only to please no one and end up blamed by both sides.
Viserys and Daemon were proof enough.
They quarreled, reconciled, quarreled again, then reconciled again.
If Baelon simply killed Cole and ended the matter, Rhaenyra would certainly have no future trouble from him.
But Baelon might.
What if Rhaenyra came to hate him for it?
Viserys’s expression darkened.
Through gritted teeth, he said, “No. Bring Criston Cole before me!”
Baelon readily agreed.
“Are you going to kill Ser Cole?”
“Of course. He deserves death!” Viserys’s fury had yet to subside.
Baelon said, “Ser Cole himself is of little importance, but Rhaenyra still has some affection for him.”
“If his death damages the bond between you and Rhaenyra…”
“Affection?” Viserys answered without hesitation.
“Rhaenyra is still a child. What does she know of affection? This is nothing more than a passing impulse!”
“Cole took advantage of that and seduced her!”
“I will have his head mounted on the walls of the Red Keep until it rots and dries beneath the sun!”
Baelon: …
So this was the Westerosi version of, she’s still just a child?
Fine.
Baelon stopped trying to persuade him.
…
Before the doors of the throne room, Baelon regarded Criston Cole with genuine regret.
“You are not exceptionally strong or imposing, yet you distinguished yourself enough to enter the Kingsguard and become one of the seven finest knights in the realm.”
“You must have paid for that with a great deal of sweat and effort.”
What a pity.
One wrong decision had ruined everything.
“Go inside.”
“Face your king and your sworn brothers.”
Cole entered the hall with his head hanging low.
The great chamber was utterly silent.
All he could hear were Prince Baelon’s footsteps and his own.
He raised his head.
Viserys, the king to whom he had once sworn allegiance, sat rigidly upon the Iron Throne, his expression cold and hard.
Six members of the Kingsguard stared at Cole as though he were something filthy.
“Criston Cole!”
Viserys’s voice trembled beneath the weight of barely restrained fury.
“You swore allegiance to me! You swore to protect Rhaenyra’s honor, chastity, and safety!”
“And yet, within my own court, you seduced the Princess into an illicit affair and defiled my daughter!”
Viserys nearly ordered Ser Cole’s execution on the spot.
Until this moment, that was exactly what he had intended to do.
But now that Criston Cole stood before him, still so young and undeniably brave, Viserys felt a trace of pity.
Perhaps he should spare his life.
Send him to take the black.
The gentleness that had long been part of Viserys’s nature once again cooled his rage, if only slightly.
Suppressing his anger, he said, “Ser Harrold witnessed it with his own eyes. Have you anything to say?”
Cole swallowed.
“Your Grace, I…”
“I swear before the Seven, I never seduced Rhaenyra!”
“She seduced me!”
Baelon raised an eyebrow.
Impressive.
The second place on his personal list of extraordinary men had just been claimed.
Speaking ill of a man’s daughter directly to his face.
Baelon cared for Rhaenyra, but not so much that those words robbed him of his composure.
His fury exploded.
He gave Cole a cold smile.
“I had considered allowing you to take the black.”
“But the Night’s Watch is an honorable order. You are unworthy of it!”
“You are not even worthy of dying beneath the blade of the king’s executioner!”
He turned to the Kingsguard.
“Kill him!”
Ser Harrold, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, drew his sword.
The sharp ring of steel echoed through the hall.
A chill ran through Cole.
His eyes trembled wildly.
How had it come to the worst possible outcome?!
King Viserys was gentle by nature.
Why was he showing Cole such cruelty?!
He had served the realm too.
He had fought against Dornish incursions!
To Viserys, the sound of steel leaving its sheath had never sounded sweeter.
Ser Harrold advanced on Cole one measured step at a time, watching the color drain from his face.
By the laws of chivalry, he ought to give an opponent a weapon and face him fairly.
A knight should never kill an unarmed man.
But Criston Cole was a criminal who had broken his vows.
An execution required no courtesy of combat.
Cole watched one of the sworn brothers he had known so well approach him while he himself stood defenseless.
Desperation seized him.
“I demand a Trial by Combat!”
“You have no such right!” Viserys roared.
“Kill him!”
Ser Cole stood motionless.
Waiting for the final moment.
A knight should never bow before an enemy and beg for mercy.
Nor should he retreat and plead for his life.
At least…
At least he would die a knight.
Ser Cole closed his eyes with grim resolve.
Ser Harrold raised his sword high.
The bright blade flashed.
Cole instinctively threw himself into a roll, neatly avoiding the descending stroke.
His composure shattered.
He began running desperately through the hall, begging for mercy as he fled.
But courage meant little when an unarmed man faced armor and sharpened steel.
Before long, he was driven into a corner.
Ser Harrold raised his sword again.
With nowhere left to run, Cole spoke mournfully.
“My brother, at least give me a sword. Let me die as a knight, not as a lamb awaiting slaughter.”
The gleaming blade stopped in midair.
Ser Harrold looked toward Viserys, awaiting the king’s command.
Baelon looked at Viserys as well.
Ser Cole was certainly going to die today.
The only question was whether Viserys would grant him one final shred of dignity.
Whether he would allow one of the realm’s greatest knights a worthy death.