The arrows made him look like some great porcupine as he went stumbling to her feet, but somehow he still found the strength to grab her braid. With one hard yank he pulled her down on top of him and kissed her.
He woke suddenly, at the sound of a shout.
In the darkened cellar, all was confusion. Curses and complaints echoed back and forth, and men were stumbling over one another as they fumbled for their spears or breeches. No one knew what was happening. Egg found the tallow candle and got it lit, to shed some light upon the scene.
Dunk was the first one up the steps. He almost collided with Sam Stoops rushing down, puffing like a bellows and babbling incoherently. Dunk had to hold him by both shoulders to keep him from falling. ""Sam, what's wrong?""
""The sky"", the old man whimpered. ""The sky !"" No more sense could be gotten from him, so they all went up to the roof for a look. Ser Eustace was there before them, standing by the parapets in his bedrobe, staring off into the distance.
The sun was rising in the west.
It was a long moment before Dunk realized what that meant. ""Wat's Wood is afire"", he said in a hushed voice. From down at the base of the tower came the sound of Bennis cursing, a stream of such surpassing filth that it might have made Aegon the Unworthy blush. Sam Stoops began to pray.
They were too far away to make out flames, but the red glow engulfed half the western horizon, and above the light the stars were vanishing. The King's Crown was half gone already, obscured behind a veil of the rising smoke.
Fire and sword, she said.
The fire burned until morning. No one in Standfast slept that night. Before long they could smell the smoke, and see flames dancing in the distance like girls in scarlet skirts. They all wondered if the fire would engulf them. Dunk stood behind the parapets, his eyes burning, watching for riders in the night. ""Bennis"", he said, when the brown knight came up, chewing on his sourleaf, ""it's you she wants. Might be you should go"".
""What, run?"" he brayed. ""On my horse? Might as well try to fly off on one o' these damned chickens"".
""Then give yourself up. She'll only slit your nose""."
"""I like my nose how it is, lunk. Let her try and take me, we'll see what gets slit open"". He sat cross-legged with his back against a merlon and took a whetstone from his pouch to sharpen his sword. Ser Eustace stood above him. In low voices, they spoke of how to fight the war.
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