Loras stood where he was, with nothing but the whimper of the night wind in the empty stables.
He stared in the direction Brienne had disappeared, as though every bone had been ripped from his body.
Renly was dead.
The man he loved most had died in his arms.
And he could not even avenge him. He could only watch as the sole witness slipped away.
Only after standing there for who knew how long did Loras drag his leaden legs, step by step, toward the great tent that no longer had a master.
The moment he lifted the tent flap-
Whoosh!
A dozen gleaming swords pointed straight at him.
The captain of the guards stood at the front, his face twisted with fury and his eyes fixed on Loras.
"Lord Loras, you've returned."
Loras said nothing. He simply looked at them calmly through eyes swollen and red from crying.
"Where's the traitor?" the captain asked again.
"Gone," Loras answered truthfully.
"Gone?"
The captain stepped forward sharply, his sword point almost touching Loras's throat.
"You let her go?"
"Yes."
"You dared let Renly's murderer escape!"
"You're in league with her!"
"Loras Tyrell! You're a traitor too!"
Furious roars rose one after another.
Loras smiled.
His smile held endless grief and self-mockery.
He looked at the fools before him, blinded by their anger.
Explain?
Explain a monster that had crawled out of a shadow?
They wouldn't believe it.
They only believed what they had seen.
They only wanted someone to answer for it.
"Do it."
Loras closed his eyes.
Renly was dead. What was the point of living?
Joining him would not be so bad.
"Seize him!"
At the captain's command, several guards rushed forward and pinned Loras firmly to the ground.
"You can't kill him!"
Just then, a knight wearing