The Young Lion

Act 2 Ch 22 Old Stag Vs Young Lion

“You sly old bastard.”

Joffrey thought to himself as his hands balled into fists, his nails digging into his palms until they bled. The whole battlefield had become silent after hearing Stannis’s challenge, both the Royal Guards and Stannis' men had halted their movements. Even some of the crossbowmen, meaning the wall turned to see their king’s answer. One of the king’s men raised his crossbow and aimed it at the impudent pretender.

“Hold!”

Joffrey shouted out to his men, raising his left hand. All of his crossbowmen who had their weapons aimed at Stannis lowered their weapons. He furrowed his brow in frustration as Tyrion and Barristan looked at the young king.

“You old fucker.” He muttered under his breath.

Stannis had effectively trapped him with his audacious provocation. At the rate the battle was going Joffrey’s Royal Guard were bound to win. So instead of facing his army he called him out in front of everyone. Now he only had two possible choices before him. 

The first was that he could face Stannis who was a seasoned warrior and battle commander in a one on one fight to the death, where he could very well be the one who ends up dying. The second was to ignore his challenge and let his Royal Guards finish off Stannis and his army. Except then he would look like a craven in front of his soldiers and he would lose their loyalty and all the devotion he had built with them. As Joffrey contemplated his choices his uncle chimed in.

“Don’t lower yourself by facing this fool nephew.” Tyrion said looking up at the young king’s face that displayed clear conflict. “He’s desperate and he knows his army is moments away from being routed. Don’t fall for his taunts, allow your soldiers to complete their duty, and remain here where it is safe.”

Joffrey looked down at his acting hand and contemplated his words. After a brief moment of consideration, Joffrey turned and addressed his Lord commander of his Kingsguard.

“Ser Barristan with me.” 

He said sternly, turning to walk down the stone steps of the wall. Tyrion became shocked as Joffrey made his way down the stairs and passed his Royal Guard calling out to him desperately.

“Joffrey! Joffrey!”

The young king ignored his uncle’ pleas as he made his way to the Mud Gate tunnel with his Kingsguard in tow. He stepped over the scores of the dead Stormlanders, and slowly made his way out of the city. Seeing their king exiting the safety of the city, the Royal Guards proceeded to make a shield wall between their liege and Stannis' men. Joffrey continued to march forward taking deep breaths with every step he took, trying to calm his racing heart. He knew what he was about to do was the most dangerous challenge he had faced thus far. 

Afterall he was about to face a renowned battle commander in single combat. Even when he had faced Great Jon Umber in the battle against the Northmen he hadn’t done it alone. He had the aid of his Royal Guards and Kingsguard, and if not for them he surely would have been killed by the savage giant. Now it would truly be a one on one duel to the death. Once he arrived in front of the makeshift wreckage bridge Joffrey turned and addressed his men.

“I want you men to know I would never order any of you to do something that I’m not willing to do myself! So rather than risk any more of your lives I will deal with this traitor myself!”

The Royal Guards all bang their spears against their shields in response starting slowly then quickly building up, rising up like a storm. Joffrey then turned to his sworn shield and commander of his kingsguard Ser Barristan. He handed him his helmet to hold as he removed the red and gold cloak from around his neck. As the young king prepared himself for battle Barristan looked on with a concerned expression.

“Your grace there is no need for you to stain your hands on this pretender. Allow me to fight on your behalf.” He said with clear concern in his voice.

Joffrey looked up as he untied his sword’s scabbard from his hip.

“It’s my burden to bear Barristan, fall to command.” He responded with a stern tone that left no room for argument.

Barristan looked at his king with a sad and anxious expression. He still remembered the day when he had fought on the Trident alongside his silver Prince, and he had failed in his duty to protect him. Seeing the old knight's clear concern for his life Joffrey reached out and clasped his shoulder.

“Have faith my friend.” He said, giving him a kind smile. “Afterall I was trained by the best.”

A small proud smile broke out on Barristan’s face after hearing his king’s praise. After drawing his hand and a half Valyrian steel sword, Joffrey handed his scabbard to the old knight and placed his helmet upon his head. Giving one last nod to his Kingsguard and men, Joffrey turned and slowly made his way up the ship wreckage to face his opponent.

The wood of the ship was slippery from the water making it hard for him to walk up it in a dignified manner. As he made it to the top of the first ship, he found Stannis standing in the middle of the second ship's deck waiting for him.

Stannis was a large man standing several inches taller than himself. He was broad-shouldered, with a robust and sinewy frame, much like his brothers Robert and Renly. Stannis adored himself in boiled leather armor with gray steel plates atop. At the center of his breast plate was a sigil of a stag enclosed within a red heart surrounded by flames. In his hands he carried his famous magic sword Lightbringer. It was a two handed bastard sword with a large ruby in the center of its hilt. The blade of the sword glowed brightly with the colors of orange, yellow, and red. The sword itself radiated heat as it made the air shimmer around it.

As he cautiously approached he noticed something strange about his opponent. According to his memories Joffrey hadn’t seen his uncle in a little over a year, but Stannis looked like he had aged by more than a decade. His hairline had receded and his once thick brown beard was filled with gray.

On the other side of the bridge Stannis was just as shocked as he couldn’t recognize the man walking towards him. He hadn’t seen his golden haired little twat nephew in over a year and a half, but he had remembered well the little spoiled shit’s thin undisciplined body and his conceited attitude. Now in front of him was a broad shoulder young warrior who was only slightly shorter than himself. He wore an impressive pitch black knights armor that was chased with gold, as well as a lion's head decorating his breastplate, pauldrons, and bracers. 

As Joffrey drew closer to the center of the deck the young king spoke out.

“Hello uncle, you're looking frail.” 

He said with a condescending attitude trying to get a rise out of his opponent. Stannis just scoffed at Joffrey’s taunt.

“What's wrong?” He asked sarcastically. “No words to share with your beloved nephew?”

“You’re not my nephew.” He said coldly. “You share no blood with me, you’re a bastard, an abomination that must be put down for the good of the realm.”

“Wow.” Joffrey said with a smile. “That's quite a bit of judgment coming from a man who murdered his own brother don’t you think?”

Veins began to bulge on Stannis' neck at the young king’s words.

“Enough talk.” He responded, slowly lifting his bastard sword with both his hands, raising it up over his head. 

“OK,” Joffrey responded and mirrored Stannis's movement with his sword. 

The two opponents both got into their battle stances and slowly inched towards each other. Joffrey glanced down at his feet as he moved forward the wet wood made it hard to keep his feet under him. Once the two combatants were just a few feet from each other Joffrey made the first move.

Lunging forward he attacked Stannis with a barrage of fast and powerful slashes hammering at his guard, red sparks flying with each clash of their blades. Stannis was taken by surprise by the ferocious onslaught and was quickly put on the back foot as he blocked and parried all of Joffrey’s strikes. As Joffrey continued to push Stannis back he went for a thrust aimed at his breastplate. Stannis twisted his body moving to the outside of Joffrey’s blade flanking him. 

He then brought his sword up and went for a slash of his own aimed at Joffrey’s exposed neck. Joffrey’s body thought for him and he quickly brought his blade back and laid it over his shoulder blocking the slash. The two opponents then disengaged and got back to distance, resuming their battle stances. 

Joffrey remained calm, keeping his breathing steady as he analyzed his opponent’s guard looking for any openings. Stannis possessed a staunch defense no doubt developed from his years fighting in his brother’s wars. Besides his experience another obstacle Joffrey faced was his enemy’s sword which was several feet longer than his own, giving him a much greater reach. He then thought back to one of his matches with Sandor as Barristan watched.

“Get in close.” The words of Barristan echoed in his head. “When your opponent is taller and has the longer blade, get as close as you can, that is the safest place you can be.”

Remembering his sworn shields words, Joffrey narrowed his eyes and steadied his hands. He then resumed the duel raising his sword and going for a powerful overhead strike. Stannis raised his sword to meet it blocking it horizontally which was what Joffrey wanted. He then forced the blades down and stepped past Stannis' sword. He then reached into his belt and drew his dagger with his left and thrust it towards his neck.

Stannis, seeing the knife, quickly brought his sword hilt up, slamming it into Joffrey’s wrist making him drop the dagger. He then brought his blade up and went for a slash of his own, which Joffrey barely blocked with his own. As the two blades locked against each other, red hot sparks scatter between them. 

Seeing an opening Joffrey reached across with his hand and seized Stannis by his breastplate. As he pulled him towards him he slammed his helmeted head against his face. Stannis stumbled backward, dazed as blood spewed from his nose. Gritting his teeth he stepped forward ignoring the pain and went for his own series of slashes which Joffrey parried and deflected.

Stannis then forced Joffrey blade down and brought the hilt of his sword up slamming its pommel into the young king's face. The blow spun Joffrey’s head around making him spit blood as he fell back and leaned over the railing of the ship. Joffrey’s ears were ringing as everything in his vision was spinning.

“Get up Marine! You're not dead yet!” He could hear the sound of his old drill instructor in his head shouting at him.

Gritting his blood stained teeth Joffrey let out a ferocious yell before spinning around and attacked the old stag with a brutal onslaught of slashes and stabs. As the two men fought their own battle their soldier stood by and watched closely. And while the Stormlanders screamed and shouted for the old stag, the King’s Sabers stood silently not making a sound but clenched their spears tightly. The two opponents continued to trade equally savage blows neither one willing to give the other any ground. Finally Joffrey made the first mistake.

Seeing an opening Joffrey advanced forward hammering down with a series of overhead strikes on his enemy’s blade. He then moved in hoping to fool Stannis with a feint going for a low slash to his thigh and then switched direction mid strike aiming a thrust for Stannis’ face. Seeing the trick, Stannis shifted his body making the blade miss him by an inch. He then raised up and brought his bastard sword down toward his opponent’s hilt. Joffrey was forced to let go of his sword or risk losing both of his hands.

He now stood weaponless in front of Stannis who was spent and breathing heavily. Seeing Joffrey without a weapon Stannis smirked and raised his bastard sword up to put an end to the duel. Joffrey, seeing the wide swing coming, weaved past the blade and struck Stannis in the face with a right cross. Stannis shook his head and went for another slashed which Joffrey once again dodge this time hitting Stannis with a left hook. 

Stannis became baffled and continued to swing his sword to finish Joffrey off, but Joffrey continued to move seamlessly to avoid the blade while also striking Stannis. Getting frustrated from the several hard blows and Joffrey’s refusal to just die, Stannis went for a hard thrust aimed at his opponents breastplate, but ended up overextending himself. 

As the blade came towards him, Joffrey twisted his body out of the way letting the blade go past him. He then wrapped his right arm around Stannis’ forearms holding them tightly, before bringing down his left arm onto his wrists forcing him to drop his sword. Once the sword was out of his hands, Joffrey spun, hitting Stannis in the face with a spinning back elbow. A stunned Stannis retreated backward as Joffrey continued to press him, hitting him with left and right hooks. Their once honorable sword duel had devolved into a barefisted bar fight in the blink of an eye.

Joffrey continued to pummel the old stag with hard blows to his head and face, before spartan kicking him in the chest, sending him stumbling back into the ship's railing. Joffrey panted slightly trying to catch his breath as Stannis regained his bearings. 

Stannis then stepped forward going for a wide untrained right hook of his own. Joffrey raised up both his arms blocking the strike, he then wrapped his left arm around Stannis’s trapping it against his body. He then punched him with his free right hand, then followed it up with a right elbow, before ending the sequence with a head butt. As Stannis was dazed, Joffrey released his hold over his right arm and wrapped both of his hands around Stannis’ neck. Joffrey drove him backward slamming his head against one of the ship’s wooden beams. As he slammed his head against the wooden post, Stannis' helmet came off his head as his ears rang. Joffrey then raised his right leg high and stomped down on his opponent's left knee. 

“Aaaaah!”

A loud crunch resonated in the air as Stannis screamed in pain. Stannis was forced down to one knee as Joffrey tightened his grip around his throat. He began squeezing with all his might determined to strangle the life out of him. Stannis gurgled desperately trying to pry Joffrey’s hands off of him, but found his grip as strong as a vice. His vision began to flutter as his lungs screamed for air.

Desperate, Stannis reached down and drew the dagger he kept hidden in his right poleyn. He then slashed the inside of Joffrey’s right thigh forcing him to let go of his throat. Joffrey limped backward, blood running down his leg, with his face filled with pain. 

Stannis slowly got up, still coughing. After getting to his feet he limped toward Joffrey, his left leg stiff as a board. He continued to swing his dagger at Joffrey who also now moved awkwardly due to his leg wound. As he dodged Stannis' knife swings, he continued to punch Stannis every time he missed. After hitting him with a backhand that snapped Stannis' head back and sent him tumbling to the floor, he ended up landing right next to his discarded battle helmet which he picked up.

As Joffrey moved in to finish him off, Stannis turned and smashed Joffrey in the head with his metal helmet. Joffrey became completely dazed and in his confusion Stannis brought his knife up and slashed down the left side of Joffrey’s face.

“Ow! Fuck! Fuck!”

Joffrey screamed in pain as blood ran into his eyes. Stannis then slammed his helmet into him again, knocking off Joffrey’s own helmet, sending Joffrey face first into the deck. Joffrey shook his head trying to regain his bearings as he rose to his knees. His vision was red and blurry thanks to the deep cut on the left side of his face. Seeing his opponent struggling to stand up, Stannis tossed his helm away and slowly approached the young king.

As he stood over the exhausted and bloodied young lion who had gotten to his knees, Stannis reached down and grabbed him by the throat with his free hand. After lifting him up he slammed Joffrey against the broken mast of the ship holding his throat tightly. Joffrey looked up at the old stag who was looking at him with hints of respect.

“You fought well Lannister.” 

He then reached back and went to drive his dagger into Joffrey’s abdomen. Joffrey quickly reached up with his right hand and grabbed the dagger by its blade. He squeezed as tightly as he could, blood spewing from his hand as he held the blade back with all his strength. Stannis continued to drive the blade forward, forcing Joffrey to grab its blade with both of his hands. The dagger continued to inch its way toward him no matter how much strength he used. 

Just as it was about to reach his armor, Joffrey stopped resisting and twisted his torso out of the way. The blade then embedded itself into the wooden beam. Then faster than Stannis could react, Joffrey flicked his wrist extending his 12in hidden blade from his left bracer. He then stabbed the triangle shaped blade into the right side of the old stag’s throat.

Stannis’ eyes went wide in shock and confusion as he glanced down at the blade that was embedded into his neck and came out the other side. He tried to speak but all that came out were inaudible gurgles. Blood began to drip out of his mouth as he looked at the young king whose face had become relaxed and still.

“You fought well, Baratheon.”

He said before pulling his blade out, taking half of Stannis' throat with it. Blood poured out of Stannis' neck and soaked Joffrey's face and armor. As life began to leave his body he fell forward leaning on his opponent's body to remain standing. While Stannis leaned on him Joffrey whispered into his ear.

“Such a shame uncle, but you were never the prince that was promised.” He said coldly.

Stannis was shocked, glancing over at the young lion, but soon the light flickered from his eyes and he slumped off of Joffrey’s body, falling to the ground. The old stag was finally dead. Joffrey then limped forward retrieving his royal sword. As he slowly made his way to the edge of the makeshift bridge he found all of his soldiers and Stormlanders waiting for him. Grabbing the hilt of his sword Joffrey raised it high over his head. 

The Royal Guards began to cheer and celebrate shouting their king's name. The Stormlanders however began to panic and flee.

“Stannis is dead!” One shouted as he ran.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Shouted another.

The King’s Sabers were about to give pursuit of the fleeing soldiers when the sounds of hoofs echoed in the distance. The sound became louder and louder as over in the distance thousands of armored men on horseback came galloping toward the city.

“Enemy reinforcements!” Shouted one of Joffrey’s Officers.

The Royal Guard got back into formation and braced themselves for the wave of enemies that had just arrived. Stannis' remaining soldiers raced towards the incoming Calvary hoping that the gods had truly answered their prayers. As the horseman made their way towards his city walls Joffrey leaned down trying to catch his breath being forced to use his Valyrian steel sword as a crutch just to remain standing . He was completely spent from his duel with Stannis and had several wounds that needed to be treated. While he wheezed in pain Barristan quickly rushed to his side.

“Your grace!” 

He shouted as he held the young king. Barristan quickly glanced at all of Joffrey’s injuries; none of them were life threatening, but all of them brought pain to the old knight's heart. He reached down and draped Joffrey's right arm around his neck using himself as a support for his king to lean on. 

“Come, your grace!” He said frantically. “We must get you inside to safety!”

“It’s ok Barristan.” He wheezed out. “They’re not our enemies.”

Once the Horseman had gotten close enough Joffrey had spotted the two sigils that they were flying. One was green with a golden flower in the center of it, and the other was crimson red with that of a golden lion on it.

“Its about fucking time you showed up.” He thought to himself.