A Clash of Kings — Sansa V

From the queen's ballroom the battle is a sound through stone; Cersei empties cups and truths in equal measure, and Ser Ilyn's purpose is not the enemy.

The chapter retold

From the queen’s ballroom, high above the fighting, the Battle of the Blackwater is mostly a sound felt through stone — Sansa and the highborn women of the court sit out the fight in enforced safety while Cersei, drinking steadily and talking more freely than she ever has, lets slip truths in equal measure with wine. Her contempt for nearly everyone in the room, including her own children’s safety, comes out sideways in remarks meant to wound rather than inform.

The chapter’s quiet menace is Ser Ilyn Payne’s presence — the king’s silent executioner, stationed in the room supposedly for the ladies’ protection, whose actual purpose Cersei makes chillingly clear is not aimed at the enemy outside the walls. It’s one of the book’s best illustrations of how differently the same battle looks depending on which room you’re trapped in — Sansa spends the entire Blackwater not dodging swords but managing a drunk, half-unhinged queen who might, given reason, turn violent on the women in her own company.

This movement: The Battle of the Blackwater

• The bay goes up in green fire; Stannis's fleet burns between a chain and a trap.
• Tyrion leads the sortie when Joffrey is pulled from the walls — and a Kingsguard's sword opens his face to the bone.
• Sansa keeps the highborn women singing while Cersei drinks and plans their deaths.
• Tywin and the knights of Highgarden take Stannis in the flank; ghost-Renly's shadow rides in the vanguard of gossip.