ALICE OF WESTEROS SACRIFICE - II

ALICE OF WESTEROS SACRIFICE - II

The second Alice was a gentlemanly one.

Singing a song, he entered Wonderland...

The ruler of those lands was in love with the beauties and charms of life. From the clifftop tower where he was born and raised, Renly Baratheon delighted in the warm colours of the sun setting behind the woods, the glitter of sunlight on the waves, the soft spring flowers, and the falling of the autumn leaves. From beyond the woods, from the fertile Reach, came Loras, his good friend, to whose sister Margaery he was betrothed. Renly was as pleased with Loras as Loras was with Renly.
Now Margaery wasn't that homely to say the least, but it wasn't for her that Renly's young heart beat in such a febrile way. It was hazel-eyed Loras, with his cascades of golden locks and soft cheeks of peach-fuzz, that Renly loved. He had recently left his birthplace to live on the Tyrells' stately chateau, surrounded by the high ramparts and beautiful gardens that gave the estate such a wonderful name. The lady of Highgarden loved him like she loved her own children, and she hoped that Renly and Margaery, having tied the knot, could give her hopeful grandchildren. 

The young dark-haired lord, whose cheeks and upper lip had started, unlike those of his beloved, to be decked with little strands of raven hair, still saw her as a friend, remaining steadfast in his feelings for Loras. Though their religion forbade such a relationship, it did not inflict any punishment. The young men kissed under trellises of golden roses, they shook peach blossoms on each other's heads... they slept in the same bed, in the same bedchamber, tickling each other under green coversheets embroidered with golden roses. They loved each other passionately all spring and summer long (and though Renly had wed the auburn and green-eyed Margaery in midsummer). But autumn had to come, the rainbows had to fade away, and such love had to pay its due.

Leaden clouds darkened the skies, the golden roses started to wither, and many other flowers had pined away. Cold winds from the east made the leaves fall, and warriors from the Stormlands visited Highgarden. Their leader was a tall and freckled lady knight with short, fair hair and steel-blue eyes.

The Stormlanders wanted their lord to be their king and deliverer. For Stannis Baratheon, Renly's stern and cold-hearted older brother, had left the harsh island fortress he ruled to claim his ancestral lands at Storm's End, where he had imposed a foreign religion by fire and sword. If left unchecked, the flames of war could smite the peaceful Reach.

The farewell knew no equal. Though Renly merely loved her as a good friend, he kissed his young consort and dried up her unchecked tears. Westward did the Stormland host ride: dark-eyed Renly before his ranks, soft-cheeked Loras Tyrell by his right side, fair-haired Brienne carrying the standard of the golden stag to the left. When they arrived, Stannis had already taken Storm's End, and burned the sacred godswood to the ground. The heroes could do nothing but encamp by the ramparts and await the garrison's surrender.

From the window in the chamber that once was his brother's, Stannis watched the enemy lay siege to the Baratheons' ancestral seat. That evening, two young men lay huddled together by the campfire. The dark-eyed, clean-shaven conqueror recognized young Renly and Loras Tyrell.

Having converted to another religion, Stannis couldn't forgive his younger brother's sins. Defying nature by making love to his own gender! Such a notorious deed should not be left unpunished!

Restraining the rage that surged within him, Stannis Baratheon announced that he would make a sortie into the enemy camp on his own. The sharp longsword at his side remained sheathed, but his firm hand was on the hilt.

Half-drunk on sweet Reach fruit wine, two young warriors lay half-asleep in the middle of the Renlyian encampment. One of them was raven-haired and bearded, while the other had golden locks and downy cheeks. A tall and dark figure, wielding a longsword, stepped silently by the campfire. A flash of moonlight reflected on the blade. Renly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his back, piercing his vital organs, and then the tip of the sharp steel sprung up in the middle of his chest. The young lord didn't have time to look over his shoulder and recognize his clean-shaven and lean older brother as the one who had run him through the chest with his sword, for the blade had pierced his heart: with one last sigh, dark-haired Renly ceased to breathe and shut his eyes forever. The blood that surged from his pierced heart spread like the scattering petals of crimson roses.

When Loras woke up, he burst into tears that couldn't be restrained. The news of his beloved's death had spread through the encampment like wildfire. And the rage of the Stormlanders couldn't be more justified.

They rushed forth to avenge their liege lord, the hazel-eyed Loras himself slaying the enemy's lieutenants with his own sword in a fit of grieving rage, but to no avail: most of the Renlyian officers had already defected to the enemy side or been taken prisoner. "I can't avenge him if I'm dead", the young Tyrell thought, as his ranks deserted him:  the stronghold on the cliff did not fall at the end of the day. But the slayer of Renly had already left. And a teary-eyed Loras had fled the Stormlands, returning home to the Reach on his own, with the lifeless form of his beloved. 

I won't delve on how fair Brienne, to convince Loras of her innocence, fled the camp during the siege. What is worth of mention is that the lifeless form of Renly Baratheon was brought to the peaceful Reach, then earthed beneath the rose trees where he had so frequently kissed his darling, as Highgarden was draped in black. 

When spring came, the roses at his grave bloomed neither golden nor blood red, but the colour of copper. And the memory of his untimely death would linger within the hearts of the Tyrells, as long as the Reach existed.
The most experienced veterans in Westeros say that a rider on a white steed, wearing an antlered helmet and a shining breastplate, led the cavalry charge on the frontline at Blackwater. The battle was lost, but the charge would never be forgotten. The veteran soldiers say it was Renly Baratheon, whose death may not have been what happened in real life. Only a few people, the Tyrells of Highgarden, know the truth: the leader of the charge was Loras Tyrell, dressed in Renly's suit of armour and riding his liege lord's steed.