-Chapter 6-

As the host trooped down the causeway through the black bogs of the Neck and spilled out into the riverlands beyond, Jon's apprehensions grew. He masked his fears behind a face kept still and stern, yet they were there all the same, growing with every league they crossed. His days were anxious, his nights restless, and every raven that flew overhead made him clench his teeth.

He feared for Robb, he feared for his cousin Arya, and prayed that the gods would watch over him and his entire family. If he must face the Kingslayer in battle then so be it, Jon was hoping the saying 'the first stride is the hardest' was true or he would have a very hard walk ahead of him.

He rode at the front of the column, beneath the flapping white banner of Winterfell and the black and red banner of the house Targarian. Each day he would ask one of his lords to join him, so they might confer as they marched; he honoured every man in turn, showing no favourites, listening as his lord uncle had listened, weighing the words of one against the other. He has learned so much from uncle, he thought, but has he learned enough? Was he ready to fight a war? Was he ready to be a king?

Lord Hightower had selected a hundred men and a hundred swift horses and sent them to raced ahead to screen their movements and scout the way. The reports the riders brought back did little to reassure her. Jamie's host was still many days to the south. Lord Hightower himself stayed behide with the majority of his forces and with his king, the man he was swore to protect.

The army had split three days past. Robb and the Greatjon, one of Robb's most loyal bannermen, had taken charge of the smaller force consisting of 10,000 Northman and 4,000 men from the river lands. His smaller host would hopeful lure out the Tywin Lannister out so after Jon defeated the Kingslayer, he could swing east and attack his open flank. The larger part of his forces remained under Jon's control. All 6000 of the phoenix's company, 15,000 Northman and 8,000 river men. Jon had kept the force large so as to ensure a victory against the significantly smaller force, of 15,000, under the Kingslayer command.

The plan to capture the Kingslayer was to send the phoenix's company ahead and to lure Jamie and his forces out of the [?] castle and then retreated back in to a trap where the rest of the host would be gathered to trap and kill the enemy forces. It was good planned, it relied on the Lannister arrogance, but compared to other variables, that was a good thing to rely on.

/

I can't show any weakness. Jon could feel the nervousness roiling in his stomach and fear gnawing at the back of his mind as he walked among his men. He did his best not to show his true feelings and instead focused on the sound of the wind flowing through the branches , the soft clinking of his and his men's armour. His father had told him a commander must always appear confident of victory or his doubt would be reflected in his men, so he jested with them and did his best to calm their nerves.

How can I calm their nerves when I can barely contain my own? It wasn't fear of defeat that caused his nervousness, he knew the plan he and the rest of lords had formulated was a good one and he was sure his army would emerge from the coming battle victorious. His doubt was in himself, his first real battle was moments away and he still wasn't sure he was equal to the challenge before him; sure he could fight in the training yard one on one but that was not really, not battle. He had fought the Lord Uncle in a test of skill but that had been different, none of them had been the Kingslayer. His campaign may very well hang in the balance of this battle but the difference between victory or defeat was not resting squarely on his shoulders, he had and army and a Kingsguard, a man who was known as one of the greatest knight of the age.

Jon walked to where lord Hightower held the reins of his stallion and mounted, he reached down to grasp his helm as it was offered up to him and lowered it over his head. What a sight I must make, a scared boy in armour that has seen nary a scratch, looking to lead hardened men into battle.

"It will give them courage," more like to give them second thoughts about following me. He rode up and down the line with his guard.

Shortly after Jon had settled into the front ranks of his men a bird call rang out, a call Jon had heard only rarely since coming south of the neck. They're almost here, Jon did his best to maintain an outward appearance of calm as the Kingslayer and his men, three quarters of his host's horse, filed compliantly into the trap Jon had set.

Jon saw the Kingslayer among his men, helmless and looking as arrogant. He was leading a charge at the retreating force of the phoenix's company, they had removed there Targarian sigils form the cloths as not to give away their kings intention too early. Jon could tell that these men had fought all their lives and a significant chunk of it together despite their smaller numbers they were throwing back the Lannister force. All the while backing themselves to the planned trap.

Moments after the Kingslayer had moved past Jon's position a long low blast from war horn echoed from the south of the valley signalling that last of the Lannister's riders had entered the trap.

Jon could feel his apprehension burn away and filling him with a righteous anger. The Lannister's tried to killed my uncle, crippled my cousin, killed my grandfather, well now they will see what it means to wake the dragon.

The sound of the trumpets answered to the south of Jon's position where Lord Vance commanded his men. On the western ridge the horns of the lord piper were joined by the trumpets of the Freys, to the north Rickard Karstark was the last to sound his readiness.

With that the air was filled with the hiss of arrows as the archers Jon had placed in the trees let loose. Jon drew his sword and shouted "Not one Lannister will escape! Kill them all! Except the Kingslayer!" and led his men down the hill and into the Lannister's.

The initial clash was more violent than Jon could have imagined, hundreds of Lannister knights and men-at-arms died as Northman and Riverlanders alike drove their lances home. Jon himself cut of the better part of a Lannister man-at-arms face before moving into the melee that followed.

He moved through the mass of men, striking at any man with a red cloak or bearing a coat of arms he found unfamiliar. Jon traded blows with several men coming away victorious with no more than scars on his shield or dents in his armour, until finally the battle immediately surrounding him died down as the remaining Lannisters were killed.

Jon looked about the battlefield and saw that with the exception of a few groups of Lannister's that continued to fight the battle was going much the same as it had gone for him. He saw that his men were milling about not quite knowing where to go now that their part of the battle was won, so he rode into a clear part of the valley hoping to rally his men to attack one of the remaining pockets of resistance.

"To Me!" Jon shouted while waving his sword over his head, trying to gain his men's attention "to me!" Several of his men and battle companions had begun to ride to his side. Jon lept from his stallion's, knowing that Aemon would return to him after the battle. standing up he looked up as a arrow flew past his face, he turned towards the direction the arrow came from and found a small group of Westermen had broken loose of a collapsing pocket and were charging directly at him. At the head of the group was the Kingslayer himself in his golden armour and flowing crimson cloak.

Jons's men reached him first and one of the guardsmen he had brought south with him was quick to give Jon his horse as the rest counter-charged against the Kingslayer. He mounted as quickly as he could and charged towards the fray and Jaime Lannister. Seeing what he was doing, Lord Vance peeled off from the fight and blocked his path.

"Out of my way!" he didn't have time for this.

"No! We must keep you alive. If you die then the north and the riverlands will pay in blood. if we let you fight the Kingslayer you will fail to capture him."

"get out of my w-" Jon cut himself short when he saw a arrow suddenly protruding from lord Vance's neck. He didn't have time to fully comprehend this before turning back to the battle. He watched in horror as the Kingslayer cut down four Winterfell men in quick succession then set his sights on Jon, seeing him as a commander of the host

Jaime Lannister had a savage glint in his eyes as began towards Jon. Owen Norrey put himself between them and had barely raised his sword to strike before the Kingslayer put his sword through his mailed chest.

It was Ser Perwyn Frey who tried the Kingslayer next, he managed to parry a few blows before his right arm was cut off at the elbow.

"I'm coming for you boy!" Then it was Theon in front of him "come to die for your jailor Greyjoy?"

"No, I've come to kill the legendary Kingslayer before I give his whore sister a thorough screwing." Jon couldn't see Theon's face but he was sure there was a smirk on it.

The Kingslayer's face contorted in rage "You'll die slow for that. You pathetic little squid!" And for all of Theon's talk it was only a few seconds later that he found himself disarmed. Jaime Lannister lunged at Theon's gut, a slow but sure death.

Jon charged the Kingslayer.

During the first blows, Jon concentrated on his defense and let his muscles settle into the rhythm of swordplay. After several minutes of attempting to get past Jon's defenses, Ser Jamie lost his temper, unused to having someone last so long under his relentless assault. He began to batter at him with arching blows as if to pound him into the ground.

The Kingslayer's weapon slipped past Jon's defenses and slashed his upper thigh. Both men stepped back catching their breath.

"You're one of the finest swordsmen I've ever seen." Jon admitted to the Kingslayer. Jamie looked at Jon as if he was stupid. "It's a shame that good swords men don't make good soldiers"

"Wha-".

It was too late, two of the biggest men in the army, larger than the Greatjon, had just dived upon him holding him down. Wrestling his sword from his grasp.

"Tie him up. You two" pointing at the two men." You will accompany the Kingslayer with the help of 500 men back to the dungeons at Riverrun. I don't want him escaping. I'm entrusting you"

"Come, men. we must march quickly for a our brothers in the other host it may already be too late"

A/N:So I've had this sitting on my USB for ages and I thought I'll just get rid of it by posting it. The story is nowhere near finished and I'm not sure if I'll ever finish it. At any rate this story is on hiatus until the summer at least when I have more time. Anyway thanks for reading please review and maybe I'll get back to it sooner.

Also I'm pretty sure neither of these have been checked so the likely full of errors and just generally problems so I'm sorry about that.