Get Out
Julie wore no red cloak.
A red cloak would only weigh her down.
That, too, was by the decree of her father, Ser Gregor.
Without the cloak, riding or swordplay was cleaner, quicker. Without the cloak, she felt faster on horseback.
Gregor had taught her in just twenty days to cast off all burdens and focus only on the true target.
Julie's armor was a burnished copper-red, an adult suit that had been refitted for her smaller frame.
Adam Serrett almost didn't recognize her.
He had only glimpsed her once before, on the Goldroad outside Silverhill. Back then, she was pale and gaunt, her hair dry and split, her figure frail and hollow like a beggar's. Aside from her calm, cold eyes, she had been unremarkable.
But now, just shy of a month later, Julie had transformed entirely. She was like a new person.
"Ser Ado, what business brings you to Clegane Keep?" Julie Clegane's voice was clear and sharp, but held no warmth. Her eyes were sharp, cold, and utterly merciless.
"Lady Julie, I've come seeking an audience with Ser Clegane." Ado gestured behind him, encompassing the prison wagons with a sweep of his arm. "These are the kin of the criminal Allen Serrett. He plotted to poison Ser Clegane and ambushed his subjects with hired blades. Though Allen is dead, his death does not wipe clean his crimes. We've captured his family and brought them here for Ser Clegane to judge."
Julie let out a cold laugh. "Ser Ado, we Cleganes know full well who the true villain is." Her eyes locked with his, and a strange chill crept up his spine. "Those who wrong the Cleganes will suffer merciless retribution. The Stranger will bring divine punishment in time, I, Julie Clegane, believe that with all my heart."
"Yes, Lady Julie, you are entirely correct. Now that the criminals have been delivered, may we be permitted to see Ser Clegane?"
"Leave the prisoners. The rest of you, get out." Julie's tone was icy.
Her hatred for House Serrett had long since festered into loathing.
Allen Serrett had died seeking justice for his lord, and barely was his body cold before his kin were betrayed and offered up like lambs. Were the hearts of the Serretts carved from Northern ice? Or the Biter of Sunset Sea sharks? Such cruelty came to them as naturally as breath.
Ado opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Raff the Sweetling Clegane chuckled. "Ser Ado, when my lady tells you to leave, you'd best take the hint."
"Get out!" bellowed Polliver.
"Out!" roared the Clegane cavalry in unison.
Most of these soldiers were once free miners, only recently trained within Clegane Keep. But sheep raised by lions soon learn to bite like them.
A ferocious tension surged through the air.
Ado and Adam Serrett, both famed knights of the Westerlands with noble blood and elite skill, found themselves being shouted down by Clegane's green recruits.
Their faces darkened like ironstone.
"Lady Julie, we've come to apologize to Ser Clegane and hand over these prisoners. Please let us pass." Ado said, his voice cold.
Julie said nothing. She drew a short sword, then slung a small round shield from her back.
Clang!
The sword struck the shield, echoing sharp and clear.
"Soldiers of Clegane!" she called. "If I strike three times and the Serretts have not left, seize them. If they resist, kill them."
Hoah! came the chorus of the Clegane cavalry.
Ado and Adam's expressions tightened, along with those of their fifty knights.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Raff the Sweetling, the Executioner Dunsen, Madman Polliver, and Scribe Mark all drew their swords and slung their shields forward.
The rest of the cavalry followed: round shields up, lances at the ready.
Clang! Julie struck her shield a second time.
Boom! the cavalry answered, their weapons slamming into their shields. The sound boomed like thunder across the field.
The Serrett horses neighed and stamped anxiously. The formation wavered.
Still, Ado held his sword. His riders, disciplined and well-trained, followed his lead, none reached for their blades.
After the second strike, Julie slipped on her helmet and slowly lowered the visor.
It was the signal: battle could break out at any moment.
The Clegane riders followed, visors down, lances leveled. From behind their eye slits, their cold, killing glares fixed on the Serretts.
Julie raised her short sword.
One more strike, and all hell would break loose.
The Serrett cavalry, surrounded on all sides, was at a clear disadvantage. And with Ser Ado refusing to draw his sword, none of his men dared to do so either.
"We're leaving." Ado said at last, his back soaked in cold sweat.
He raised a hand and gave the order.
The Clegane cavalry opened a path.
Adam Serrett exhaled hard. Several lances had been pointed directly at his chest, one more beat of Julie's blade and he would've been skewered through like a boar on a spit.
As Ado, Adam, and their fifty horsemen rode off in bitter silence, the Clegane cavalry saw them off with a thunderous farewell on their shields:
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
…
Three wagons holding Allen Serrett's kin were driven into the courtyard of Clegane Keep.
When the doors creaked open, none of the prisoners dared move, they were too terrified to step down.
The Mountain stood in the center of the yard, practicing swordplay with a massive greatsword. His towering figure looked less like a man and more like a beast from some ancient nightmare. The sword, longer than most spears, spun in his hands with the ease of a butterknife. Its steel flashed cold and fast. The ground trembled beneath his feet, each step carving shallow craters.
One by one, the prisoners were dragged out. Trembling, they collapsed on the ground, not a single one daring to lift their gaze toward the Mountain.
No one in the land doubted his cruelty.
He kept training as he spoke. "Maester Harry, wash them, dress them, take them to the sept. If they swear fealty to Clegane Keep, I'll spare them."
The prisoners were in terrible condition; tattered clothes, whip marks on some of their faces.
"Yes, my lord. But the sept isn't fully built yet."
"A few Seven statues will do."
"Yes, milord."
"Ser Raff."
"Milord."
"Draft the younger Serrett men into the cavalry. Start training them as miner-soldiers."
"Yes, milord."
------------
Note: If you guys want to read up to 48+ chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on Patreon. You can read up to chapter 87 there! patreon.com/vynthor