CRISTON Cole
113 AC
As the Rogue Prince leaves with Alicent following him not long after, Cristo moves his eyes to Rhaenyra.
The Princess of Dragonstone looks disappointed and sad, but then she turns to her soon-to-be husband, the two of them trade some whispers and start dancing together when a new song emerges.
The Lord Commander observes as the two of them dance around, seeing how Rhaenyra is thinking on other things and clearly bothered.
He knows very well what happened.
It is not new to him how much Rhaenyra liked her uncle.
A bit too much.
He still remembers the episode where she came back late with him.
When he first met her as a young girl, he thought it was just admiration of a niece towards an uncle that she likes, but the time proved him wrong when her gaze changed as she matured.
His beliefs were proven even more right on…
that night.
That night he saw the eyes she gave to Daemon towards himself.
And he could not resist that.
Criston takes a deep breath, trying to focus.
While he was thinking about the past, the song ended, the crowd cheered and the couples came back to their seats.
Soon enough, Princess Alicent returns with her husband by her side.
In silence, the two of them walk back to their seats.
Rhaenyra and Daemon evade looking at each other.
The Rogue Prince eats a bit while he occasionally whispers to his wife, while Rhaenyra looks at her plate with a distant look once again.
By Laenor’s other side, seats a young blonde man.
Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, if Criston remembers right.
The two of them talk and laugh a lot, but Criston, as well as some others, can see how they interact, touch and look at each other.
He really does not care about who Laenor sleeps with, but he is seriously questioning the reasoning of the King to choose Laenor as Rhaenyra’s husband.
Is he that much under the influence of Corlys Velaryon?
Looking at the Sea Snake, Criston can only see the pride that the man let out with his posture and expression.
And by his side, Rhaenys Targaryen is seated with a cold expression that is very characteristic for the Queen Who Never Was.
And their daughter, Queen Laena, looks as beautiful as ever.
Her smile, even if not an honest one, could conquer any man she wanted.
Yet, she was married to an overweight and aging King.
Oh, how their world is unfair.
And then, the King gets up from his seat with some difficulty.
He projects his voice to everyone.
“With the feast and the dance concluded, we will start the tourney as soon as possible.
Today, I decided that we shall have a melee!” The King announces.
The crowd cheers and they start getting up from their seats as the guards guide them to the upper seats and servants start removing everything from the feast to make space for the contest.
Ser Criston, being the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, stands by the side of the king as the royal family get on their private part of the seat, alongside the small council members.
As King Viserys takes his seat by the side of his young wife, he looks at Criston.
“Ser Criston, will you fight today?” The King asks, curious.
Ser Criston slowly nods.
“I want to, Your Grace, but I still don’t have someone to take me as a champion.” The knight explains.
Viserys frowns before turning to his daughter.
“Rhaenyra, I thought Ser Criston was your champion?
What changed?” The King asks his named heir.
Ser Criston resists the impulse to sigh.
Viserys is not a bad man, but he certainly does not understand what is happening around him and his memory fails him sometimes.
Princess Rhaenyra evades looking at the Lord Commander as she looks at her father with a neutral expression.
“Ser Criston and I are on different paths now, I am afraid.
Ser Harwin Strong, the son and heir of your Master of Laws, has caught my favors lately, so I named him my champion.” The Princess proclaims.
Viserys frowns once again, but nods in agreement.
Queen Laena looks at Ser Criston with sympathy.
“I am sorry, Ser Criston.
I could choose you as my champion, but Viserys and I can’t choose a champion because we are the hosts of the tourney, as you know.” The Queen says with a soft tone.
Ser Criston nods.
“I know.
Thank you for the consideration, your grace.” The Lord Commander says with a slight bow, but then, Princess Alicent gets up from her seat, making Prince Daemon raise an eyebrow.
Alicent walks towards him with a composed smile as the others look at her.
“You have been kind to me recently, Lord Commander.
I would be glad to take you as my champion, if you want.” The Princess proclaims with a formal tone.
Ser Criston smiles at her before getting into a knee.
“It will be an honor to me to represent you in battle, princess.” The Lord Commander proclaims as he returns to his feet.
King Viserys laughs, happy.
“Excellent.
Now, I think you should go.
You need to prepare with the other knights.
The eastern entrance of the pit is separated for the preparations.” The King says, pointing at the cavernous entrance.
Ser Criston nods.
He looks at his fellow Kingsguard Ser Steffon Darklyn, who takes his place guarding the King.
The, Criston bows.
“With your permission, I will take my leave.” The Knight proclaims before walking down back to the ground.
And when he touches the soil of sand and dirt, he hears a voice.
“Good luck, Ser Criston.” Princess Alicent calls from the top part, letting her tissue fall.
Ser Criston grabs it and nods before walking towards the entrance that the King pointed out.
As he is walking to the entrance, he looks at the tissue on his hand.
A soft silk tissue, white as snow and with the red sigil of House Targaryen on a corner.
He then guards it inside the armor of his right arm, hoping it will give him more luck when he swings his morningstar.
Ser Criston descends the stairs of the cavernous entrance and reaches a dark corridor that is illuminated by some torches, where he meets other knights.
Preparing armour, talking to each other, and checking their weapons.
Swords, axes and all.
Most of the men look at him when he appears, showing different reactions to his presence.
But, one of the men stepped forward with a smile and crossed arms.
“So, the Lord Commander is here, good.
I really want to fight you, Ser.
I want to see if your ability is that big of a deal.” The tall knight proclaims.
Ser Criston frowns.
The man with brown hair, strong as a bull and tall as a standing bear is very familiar to him.
“Ser Harwing Strong.
The Breakbones.
The least surprising person to be on this melee.
I hope you realise there is much more in a battle than strength.
As such, you should be careful about what you ask for, Ser.” The white knight proclaims with a soft and ironic tone.
Ser Harwin Strong is clearly bothered by it, but he contains himself and only lets out a grunt.
“We will see about that, Cole.” The Commander of the City guard says, moving away from the white knight.
“So, Ser Criston Cole, I have heard about you as well.
You were the one to beat Prince Daemon eight years ago, right?” A joyful voice asks from behind him.
Criston turns around and sees another familiar face.
Ser Joffrey Lonmouth looks at him with a smile on the corner of his mouth.
The blonde man is shorter than Criston by a considerable margin.
The mostly yellow sigil of house Lonmouth stands out on his armour with all the skulls and lips.
A terrible sigil on Criston’s opinion.
“Yes.
I did.” The white knight answers in a dry tone.
Ser Joffrey nods his head.
“I have something to talk about with you, follow me.” The knight says before walking further into the dark tunnel.
Ser Criston looks at the other knights before following the blonde knight.
Once the two are distant enough of the other knights, Ser Joffrey looks back at Criston.
“As you might know, I am very close to Ser Laenor, and as such, he tells me almost everything.
And, recently, Laenor became quite close to his future wife.
She shared things with him, and he shared them with me.” The Knight explains, being subtle.
A shiver runs down the back of Criston’s head and he frowns to the blonde knight.
“And what do I have to do with this?” The Lord Commander asks, impatient.
Ser Joffrey smiles a bit, malicious.
“I know what you did, Ser Criston.” The knight says.
And then, Criston snaps and quickly pulls Joffrey by his armour, staring at him with furious green eyes.
“Say that to someone and I will personally cut you into pieces and feed to the dragons.” The Lord Commander whispers between his teeths.
Ser Joffrey loses his smile and becomes nervous, but he keeps his posture before raising his hands.
“Calm down, Ser.
I am only trying to make a deal with you.
No need for death threats.” The blonde knight proclaims.
Criston frowns and lets him go, taking a step back.
“What are you talking about?” The white knight asks between his teeth.
Ser Joffrey fixes his confident posture.
He smiles with a slightly malicious tone.
“Well, I think we both have a personal interest here with the new couple.
What I propose is simple.
Laenor discussed it with Rhaenyra already.
He was willing to let her…
enjoy the company of other men, as long as she also let Laenor do the same.” The blonde knight says with a short laugh.
Ser Criston looks at him with anger running through his veins and almost breaking his control over himself.
“You are saying that Laenor and Rhaenyra decided to just break their vows in order to seek pleasure?
What is the problem with them?
What is the problem with you?” The Lord Commander asks, furious.
Joffrey shrugs.
“You can’t control your heart, Cole.
You can’t choose who you fall in love with.
That you certainly know, right?” The blonde young man asks with a mockery laugh.
Ser Criston grinds his teeth and grunts as he gets closer to Joffrey, looking to him in the eyes.
“Listen you piece of shit, i don’t care about love, heart or any other stupidity you are saying.
Your offer is an absurd act that I will certainly let the King know.
It can’t be tolerated.” The White knight proclaims, turning around.
Yet, Ser Joffrey pulls his arm to call Criston’s attention back to him, now with a serious look.
“Let me go down the tough part to you, then.
We are all on the same boat here, Criston.
If that boat sinks, you will sink with us.
Got it?” The blonde knight asks.
Ser Criston frowns.
He got it.
If he does not agree with their terms and tell the king, he will also be exposed and certainly die for taking the purity of the princess.
Yet, Criston stands on his ground as he looks once again at Joffrey.
The green eyes of the Lord Commander almost hit the soul of the younger knight.
But then, he realizes something.
He has a new purpose.
Not right now.
Biting his tongue here, Ser Criston sighs in a simulated way.
“Very well.
I will play that game of yours, sword eater.
But remember, I am not on your side.” The white knight proclaims as he bumps his shoulder on Joffrey’s shoulder.
But, as he is leaving, he hears the voice of the blonde knight, laughing.
“I knew that you would give up there.
Even the most brave of men are cowards in the face of death.” The Young knight mocks with confidence.
A single word that Joffrey said resonates on the head of Criston.
Coward.
He had enough.
Grunting with wrath, Criston pulls out his sword and walks towards Ser Joffrey.
“What did you call me?!” The Lord Commander screams as he starts to raise his sword.
Joffrey’s eyes get wide as he pulls his own sword in defence.
But, before Criston could properly attack, a big hand lands on his shoulder.
Criston looks back at the face of Ser Harwin Strong, who looks at him with a neutral expression.
“The fight is not here.
Any problem you two have with each other can be resolved in a good fight in the melee.” The Commander of the City Guard says.
Ser Cristob shrugs Harwin’s hand from his shoulder before putting his sword back on the hilt with a grunt.
He then looks at Joffrey with anger one more time before leaving.
As Criston sits on a chair alone as the other knight prepares around him, he has a lot of things to think about.
Since the battles in the dornish marches, Criston has a problem with his temper.
Like a pile of sand, even a mild wind can move him from his place.
Lord Dondarrion once said to him to take a deep breath and calm down when he gets too emotional or nervous about something.
The Lord Commander takes a deep breath.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
He can’t be reckless.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
He needs to focus.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The white knight closes his eyes and tries to relax before things start going down out here.
Soon, the melee started in single fights.
One against one.
And, as usual, it was a violent mess.
Criston always enjoyed battle.
His heart on his throat and the rush on his mind made him feel more alive than ever.
With his morningstar and a wooden shield with the sigil of his modest house, Ser Criston Cole started beating his opponents.
Crushed bones, damaged armor, blood on the floor.
That is how the Lord Commander does his battles.
As he advanced through the matches, he was still starving for a good match for once.
Until now, no one even got a strong hit on him.
As Criston defeats his opponent once again and servants take the unconscious man out, the man that does the announcements walks in the middle of the battlefield.
“Now, lords and ladies, with the victory of Ser Criston Cole, he has two fights left to fight to be considered the champion.
And his next opponent is…
Ser Harwin Strong!” The man proclaims as he walks out.
The crowd cheers as Ser Harwin Strong walks in, wearing his full armor of the City Guard.
Ser Harwin is a bit damaged.
His chestplate is dented and he has a small bleeding cut on his left cheek.
He walks to be in front of Ser Criston, holding a long warhammer.
He looks at Criston with a serious expression.
“I will defeat you now, Ser Criston.
Nothing personal, but the best warrior always wins in the end.” The heir of Harrenhal proclaims, proud.
Ser Criston can only laugh with a malicious tone.
He then looks Harwin in the eyes.
“You are not a true warrior, Strong.
Strength can only carry you at a certain point.
You only fought in tourneys, in front of a crowd.
I fought for my life on the dornish marches.
I killed dozens of dornishmen.
I am far above you in experience.
That said, yes, may the best warrior win.” Ser Criston says with a straight tone.
Ser Harwin frowns, angry.
“We will see about that, Cole.” The man of the gold cloak says as both men get some distance from each other.
And then, the sound of a horn echoes and the battle begins.
Ser Harwin holds the lower part of his hammer and grunts as he runs and goes for a long strike going down.
Ser Criston dodges the attack without much effort.
Ser Harwin then quickly recovers and goes to a side strike with the large back of his hammer.
Criston takes the hit with his shield, grunting as he feels a bit of pain.
Ser Harwin repeats his strike with his hammer, but that time Ser Criston dodges and swings his morningstar to attack.
The weapon hits the left leg of Ser Harwin, making the man grunt between his teeth and lose some of his stability.
Criston uses that to swing his morningstar again, which Harwin defends with his shield, losing a part of it with the strike.
Harwin then attacks with his hammer after defending, which Criston dodges by taking a step back.
The two men then separate and the crowd cheers as they walk around the field, looking at each other.
Ser Harwin snorts.
“You play dirty, Cole.
Were you trying to break my leg?” The knight asks, bitter.
Ser Criston smirks.
“Maybe.
I don’t care about playing fair, Strong.
In a true battle, fighting for your life is the more important thing.
The dornishmen did not care about honor.
I learned it very quickly.” The Lord Commander proclaims as he walks and goes for an attack.
The morningstar swings, but Harwin Strong manages to dodge, he then swings to the side with his hammer with all his strength.
Criston blocks it with his shield, but the hit is too strong.
The white knight loses the air from his lungs when his shield arm is pressed against his side, hurting him.
He falls to the ground.
The crowd makes a false sound of pain.
As Criston recovers his air, Harwin laughs.
“Need help, survivor?
Well, let me end it quickly.
Princess Rhaenyra would be sad if I humiliated you.
What a gentle soul.” The knight proclaims with a malicious laugh as he raises his hammer for a final strike as Criston is down.
The Lord Commander grunts as his hands shakes with anger.
Rhaenyra this.
Rhaenyra that.
He is tired of that whore of a princess.
The white knight rolls out of the way of Harwin’s hammer before getting up as quickly as possible.
Harwin goes for another strike, but Criston once again dodges his hammer and then attacks with his morningstar in a loud grunt.
The weapon hits the back of Harwin’s arm and the sound of bones breaking echoes through the field.
The crowd gasps.
The gold cloak let out a single scream of pain because of his broken elbow.
His hammer fell to the ground, unable to be used.
As Harwin tries to recompose himself, Criston walks to him, smirking and receiving an angry look from the injured knight.
“Go back to the feet of your princess, Strong.” The Lord Commander whispers, mocking his adversary.
The bigger knight looks to Criston with anger before, grinding his teeth and letting out a shout of pure wrath as he goes for a punch with his shield arm.
Criston dodges it by an inch before letting a final strike with his morningstar.
The weapon hits Harwin’s collarbone, shattering it and denting the armor.
Ser Harwin falls to the ground on his back with constant grunts of pain.
The crowd talks and cheer.
Criston looks to the royal section, and sees the damned Princess looking at Ser Harwin with a worried look.
He gets it.
Those eyes.
He can see through them.
The troubled heart and mind of Ser Criston became unstable once again upon seeing it.
His anger takes place, and he raises his morningstar once again to finish Ser Harwin, who can only look up with wide eyes.
“Enough, Lord Commander!” The voice of the King echoes through the place, silencing the crowd and making Criston stop.
The white knight takes a deep breath as his mind returns to the place.
Criston turns his morningstar down and sighs as he takes steps back.
Two guards help Ser Harwin to get up.
The large man looks at Criston with anger.
“It will not end like that, Cole.” The gold cloak says as the guards help him to get out of there.
The man that makes the announcements take a step further.
“Victory of the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole!” The man proclaims.
The crowd cheers as things move on.
The man then continues.
“Now, we will have the final battle of this melee!
Ser Criston will fight with the champion of the soon-to-be Prince consort of Dragonstone, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth!” The man announces.
The crowd cheers as the blonde knight walks into the field from the cavernous entrance, waving and smiling to the crowd.
His armor is dented in some places, his face is sweaty and his armor has some dirt on it.
He clearly had a hard time in his previous battles.
The two knights meet in the middle of the field and Ser Joffrey smiles.
“May the best man win, Ser Criston.” The young man proclaims as he gets his distance.
The Lord Commander frowns.
The best man.
What is the best man here?
Criston could only see a fool that offered to him a continuous act of treason and dishonor, just like Rhaenyra did.
His blood starts to boil as he gets his distance, not answering the younger knight.
The horns are blown and the crowd cheers as Ser Joffrey pulls his sword and Criston makes a few swings with his morningstar.
Ser Criston advances with a swing of his morningstar that Ser Joffrey barely dodges.
The young knight then raises his shield a bit as he tries to attack with his sword.
The Lord Commander blocks the attack with his shield and then attacks with his morningstar on Joffrey’s side.
Ser Joffrey blocks with his own shield, but the attack makes him retreat to recover.
He laughs.
“Very good, Ser Criston, but I am a man with a strong will, you know?” The blonde knight says with a laugh.
Criston grunts.
“Shut up.” The Lord Commander demands as he strikes once again with his morningstar, this time, Joffrey dodges and laughs.
Criston snorts.
He is very familiar with this kind of opponent.
The ones that want to win by attacking the mind of the opponent, breaking his temperance.
The fucking dornish were masters of that art.
Anger rises through his veins as memories of the past rush through his mind.
Ser Joffrey can see that.
You should relax a bit more, Lord Commander.
Let me help you.” The knight of kisses raises his sword and goes for a quick cut, but it merely scratches the white armor of Criston as he takes a step back.
Joffrey laughs once again.
“Oh, that was close.
I promise that I will hit you next time.” The knight of kisses mocks as he walks around in circles, with Criston doing the same.
Joffrey strikes from Criston’s side, but the white knight defends with his wooden shield.
He then tries to strike with his morningstar, but misses.
Ser Joffrey retreats and laughs once again.
“Come on, you can do better than that!
I expected more from the guard of the princess!
Maybe that is why she is not interested in you being by her side anymore!
Maybe you were not fit for the job!” The knight of kisses proclaims loudly with a mockery.
The crowd is mixed between cheering and talking.
Ser Criston Cole can only hear his own thoughts now, however.
Not fit for the princess.
Not fit for the princess.
Not fit for the princess.
The weak control Criston still had over his mind breaks as he let out an angry and loud grunt.
He swings violently his morningstar against Joffrey.
The knight of kisses blocks it with his shield, but Criston’s weapon takes part of the wood with the strike.
Criston strikes again and another part of the shield is broken, falling in pieces to the ground.
Joffrey retreats, fearful.
The younger knight raises his sword, but before he could attack, the third strike of the morningstar comes and breaks most of what was left of the shield after the second strike.
It was useless now.
The knight flowers gets his eyes wide before raising his sword and holding it with two hands.
The crowd cheers as the battle reaches its climax.
The blonde knight attacks with his sword, only to be blocked by Criston’s shield.
The two knights look into the eyes of each other.
“It doesn’t need to go further than that, Cole.
Our dear lovers would get angry if one of us got hurt.” The knight of flowers whispers.
Ser Criston, still taken by anger, grunts.
“I don’t have a lover.
You and this couple of idiots can burn in the seven hells.” The knight whispers between his teeth.
The eyes of the blonde knight goes wide with this.
Ser Criston shouts as he moves the sword away and then strikes his shield into Joffrey’s face.
A wet sound echoes as the nose of the young knight bursts with blood when it is broken.
The crowd let out a gasp of pain.
Ser Joffrey screams in pain as he holds his nose with his former shield hand and takes a few step backs, looking scared at Criston.
The Lord Commander grunts as he attacks with all his strength on a last swing.
The morningstar hits the side of Joffrey’s helm, denting it deeply with a loud sound of steel and broken bones as blood bursts from there.
The crowd goes out of control as Ser Joffrey falls to the ground and his helm falls from his head.
A large amount of blood starts coming out of the young knight’s head and the helm.
Criston tries to recover his breath as he hears a painful scream and sees Ser Laenor crying and desperately trying to get through the Kingsguard to get to the battlefield.
Criston grunts as people start to move around.
He walks back to the cavernous entrance.
As blood slowly falls from his morningstar, Criston walks to the darkness and a guard closes the door to isolate the white knight there.
The Lord Commander sits on the ground and lays his back on the wall.
He sighs and strokes his face.
What he just did?
He probably killed the lover of the future King consort.
How can he let his anger carry him away so quickly?
In isolation, Criston tries to ignore the voices over there as he closes his eyes and tries to get a rest for his head, falling into a heavy sleep.
“Ser Criston…” A feminine voice calls the Lord Commander, who slowly opens his eyes and looks up.
Criston sees Princess Alicent, who looks at him with some degree of sympathy.
By her side is the stoic presence of her husband, Prince Daemon.
The knight get up, looking down.
The entire place is dark and silent.
The flames of the nearby torches illuminate the three of them, reflecting on his white armor and making the purple eyes of Prince Daemon almost glow.
“My princess, my prince, I am sorry for what I did outside, it was unnecessary.
I dishonored your trust in me, my princess.” The Lord Commander proclaims, lowering his head.
Daemon smirks.
“Stop being a cunt, Cole.
It was a melee.
If someone dies, it is because of their lack of skill or luck.
I am more ashamed of my wife here choosing a man of weak attitude like you as her champion.” The Rogue Prince mocks.
Ser Criston frowns, but remains in silence as he looks at Daemon.
Alicent lands a hand on her husband’s chest, irritated.
“Stop, Daemon.
We are here to listen to Ser Criston.
He surely has some things to say.” The princess proclaims, confident.
Her husband smirks once again.
“Oh, I want to hear what he has to say.
It might be funny.” The Rogue Prince mocks, crossing his arms.
Criston grunts and Alicent frowns at him before looking at Criston.
“You looked angry through the two last battles.
What happened?” The princess asks with a sweet tone.
Ser Criston sighs as he relaxes more.
“Lonmouth talked to me before the melee started.
He admitted to be Laenor’s lover.” The Lord Commander proclaims.
Alicent is surprised, but Daemon just snorts.
“Laenor’s love for cocks is not something new to me, Cole.
Go on.” The Rogue prince demands and Ser Criston just snorts back.
“Apparently, Rhaenyra and Laenor are closer than I imagined.” The white knight says.
Daemon frowns.
“It means he will do the hard task of fucking Rhaenyra?” The Rogue Prince asks, only to receive a slap in the arm by his wife, who looks back at Criston.
“Sadly, no.
Rhaenyra told Laenor about…
that night.
And Laenor told his lover.
Lonmouth was trying to manipulate me with the information so I walked under their lines and kept it a secret.” The Lord Commander proclaims.
Daemon laughs.
“Oh, that is precious.
The idiot really thought you were keeping it a secret all this time.
I guess you have a more open mouth than he could expect, Cole.” The Rogue Prince mocks.
Criston grunts once again and Alicent sighs, impatient.
“Stop provoking him, Daemon.
He is telling us really important things and you are not helping.” The princess proclaims and Daemon snorts.
Ser Criston continues.
“When I fought Harwin Strong, I could finally see what I already suspected.
His devotion to Rhaenyra is even more clear to me.
The princess has found another man to warm her bed.” The Lord Commander proclaims between his teeth.
Alicent sighs and Daemon frowns.
“The son of Lyonel Strong?
How disgraceful.
His father seems like a foolish honorable man.
He will feel betrayed if he learned about his son fucking the heir to the throne behind his back and the back of the King.” The Rogue Prince proclaims with a malicious smile.
Alicent looks at Criston with sympathy once again.
“If it helps, Ser Joffrey is still not dead.
He is being treated right now.
The confusion that Laenor caused with what happened to Joffrey made the King demand that the wedding would be done immediately.
No time to wait for the High Septon to arrive.
Laenor and Rhaenyra were wed by a septon and were moved to the Red Keep for the bedding.
The Dragonpit is basically empty now.” Alicent explains.
Criston nods in understanding and Daemon smirks one more time.
“Sadly for Rhaenyra, she can’t bring her Strong man to the bedding.
Laenor might want to take him for himself.” The Rogue Prince jokes, laughing to himself.
Alicent looks at her husband with a serious expression.
“How much time will you spend making jokes to deal with the fact that your dear niece is sleeping around?” The Princess asks, angry.
The smile of Daemon fades as he frowns to her.
He then snorts and Alicent looks at Criston.
“So, Ser Criston Cole, we have a proposal for you.
We want you to be our protector.
To be by our side.” The princess proposes.
Criston is surprised and unsure.
“Are you sure about that, my princess?
I don’t think I have the best temper to deal with children or the best history to be the sworn sword of a princess.” The Lord Commander proclaims with a bitter tone.
Alicent smiles and nods.
“I am sure.
Even if you failed once, it took a toll on you.
I believe that you are a man of principles, Ser Criston.
Consider it to be your act of redemption.” The princess proclaims.
Ser Criston looks at her with surprise before he looks at Daemon, who is neutral.
“What about you, my prince?” The white knight asks.
The Rogue Prince snorts.
“I have to agree with Alicent.
I can see how foolishly you are tied to your principles.
I could use a man like you.
The Lord Commander is also a very good presence to have by our side.
Besides, you are a very capable warrior.
You could take Aegon and Aemond as squires in the future.
They will need to be skilled at arms.” The Rogue Prince proclaims with a mysterious tone.
Criston frowns and nods.
Alicent then looks at him with a smile.
“So, Ser Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, will you be our protector and my sworn sword?” The princess asks, gently.
Ser Criston smiles and get on his knee.
“It would be a great honor to me, my princess and my prince.
I promise to never fail with you.
I promise to be by your side until my very last breath.” The white knight proclaims.
Alicent smiles while Daemon merely observes him with a curious gaze.
And, for the first time since he took his white cloak, Ser Criston felt complete once again, and more resilient than never.
He will follow his words to the grave this time.
No turning back.