WILOW-Ch.399: The End of the Siege
Golden Tooth, Westerlands
POV of Sansa Stark
Sansa spent the rest of the day in the courtyard, watching as the Bolton infantry and the personal guards fought tooth and nail against the Lannister men, who raised numerous ladders against the wall and tried to climb the wall at any cost.
At the same time, the archers and crossbowmen stood on the towers and rained arrow after arrow on the enemies.
Meanwhile, at the treatment area set up in the courtyard, she, along with Talisa and other Bolton nurses and doctors, was trying to help as many injured people as possible.
The area served as a place where wounded men received initial treatment, and those with minor injuries stayed.
Those with serious injuries were sent to the treatment room inside the castle.
But the number of those arriving with serious injuries was negligible. Even the number of those arriving with minor injuries was quite low.
Only every ten minutes or so would someone get injured and have to retreat from the front lines.
Sansa knew the reason was Domeric's magical amulets.
Domeric had given her one, too.
Telling her that if he let anything happen to her, he would not escape Lady Barbrey's wrath.
Men who carried magical amulets were immune to fatal injuries as long as they were careful.
All they needed to do was inform their commander before the amulet's usage limit was reached, return to the rear, and obtain a new one.
However, from time to time, men wounded, especially in their arms and legs, had to be brought here for treatment.
Three hours after the battle started, Domeric gave some new orders, and the men who had been fighting so far came down from the battlements to recover, while the infantry that had been kept in reserve so far went up to take their place.
Meanwhile, she did what little she could and began cleaning the minor wounds of the resting soldiers to prevent infection.
The battle continued until late in the evening, and while the men were rotated twice more, Domeric and the other commanders didn't leave their positions once.
Every so often, she would send one of her guards to check the battle's status, and he would return with a smile, telling her they were winning. And not only were they winning, but they were winning by a huge margin, with almost no losses.
Even though she had personally seen the condition of the wounded soldiers and witnessed firsthand that, apart from a few dead soldiers, the number of seriously injured was very small, it was truly difficult to believe.
Even Talisa, while tending to the men beside her, kept expressing her astonishment. She said she had never seen another battle with so few casualties and only minor injuries.
She didn't know about Domeric's magical amulets. So Sansa could understand her bewilderment.
But would Domeric really single-handedly defeat the entire Westerlands' armies and put his name in history?
Sansa thought such a victory would be talked about even more than legend.
A Northern Great Lord had managed to bring an entire kingdom, the Westerlands, to its knees. Even though she was witnessing it firsthand, she found it hard to believe.
It was late in the evening when she heard a loud horn outside the walls, and then the sound of the fighting started to die down, and she learned that the Lannister army was retreating.
She saw Domeric finally climbing down from the battlements. But instead of resting as she expected him to, he told Ser Barristan to hold the fort, took his cavalry as well as the direwolves and the wyverns, and left the castle.
"Where is he going?" she asked Ser Barristan once the gates were closed behind Domeric.
"To end the war against the Lannisters." Ser Barristan replied.
All she could do was nod her head in agreement.
Today, Domeric's name would go down in history, and his Empire claim would gain even more support. Sansa was sure of this.
As for the possibility that Domeric couldn't defeat the remaining Lannister soldiers... for Sansa, that possibility was zero.
"Sansa, I need some help here." She heard Talisa call out to her.
She was the only one here who didn't call her "Your Grace," and frankly, Sansa found that comforting. She didn't particularly like being treated like a gentle princess.
She might have dreamed of it in the past, but now she didn't like people seeing her as so weak and fragile.
She needed to become strong, strong enough not to fear anyone. She needed to be able to protect herself, even when her titles couldn't.
Otherwise, she would never feel safe.
To that end, when she returned to Dreadfort, she would ask Domeric and Lady Barbrey to arrange for trainers to educate her in fighting.
She didn't intend to become a war general or a renowned swordsman, but she wanted to learn how to protect herself and those she cared about when necessary.
When she reached Talisa, she saw her tending to the wounds of many soldiers.
Now that the castle siege was over, the soldiers were relieved, and as the effects of the battle's excitement wore off, they began to feel the pain of their wounds.
Therefore, it was normal for them to flock to the treatment area.
Sansa immediately got to work, and together with Talisa, they helped clean and bandage the men's wounds. Afterwards, they simply gave them medicine to relieve their pain and sent them to rest.
After all, the number of seriously wounded was quite small, and they were in the treatment room in the castle under the care of the Bolton doctors.
As the number of men to be treated decreased, Talisa and Sansa's workload lessened, and they began to chat while continuing their work.
Sansa had learned a few things about Talisa over the past two days, but they were usually so busy that they couldn't have long conversations.
"So, the reason you left Volantis was that you wanted to learn healing instead of learning to dance with the other nobles?"
"Yes, and also because I promised myself I would never live in a place where slavery was allowed again."
"Why?"
"When I was 12, my brother drowned. But a slave managed to bring him back to life using a technique I didn't know about then. He didn't have to do it, and no one would have blamed him if he hadn't. But he still chose to save my brother."
"And that's why you wanted to become a healer and promised yourself you wouldn't live in a place where slavery existed, right?"
"Yes."
"Does that mean you're also a noble in Volantis?"
"I don't know how nobility works in Westeros. But in Volantis, my family was wealthy and well-established. I guess you could say I'm from that nobility."
"If you really want to specialize in healing, you should go North. Or rather, Lundenhold. The hospital in the city generally accepts anyone with healing abilities for training, and they have some of the best doctors in Westeros."
"Yes, I've seen it myself," Talisa said, watching the doctor examining the patients in the treatment area. Then she added, "They're truly the most knowledgeable healers I've ever seen."
"So, is there a guy you like?"
"What?"
"I'm asking if there's someone you like. A lover or a betrothed?"
"No, why are you asking?"
"My eldest brother isn't a married man. Would you like me to introduce you to him?"
Sana really liked Talisa. She wasn't like the other fragile ladies.
Seeing those noble women, who never failed to put on a fake smile, reminded her of her former self.
Robb would have to marry one day. Especially now that he was the heir to the Northern Kingdom, it was all the more critical.
And she would rather have someone like Talisa, who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, join their family than have him marry just anyone in a political marriage.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.400: Defeating the Westerlands Army
Ch.401: Another Sibling Reunion
Ch.402: Victory Feast