A thick fog hung over Dragonstone, making it feel somewhat suffocating.
Davos looked at the distant harbor, just as it had been before they went to war, days ago, when their harbor was packed with warships.
But after the Battle of Blackwater Rush, only less than twenty of the two hundred warships remained, and even the fury, which represented Stannis's glory and victory, was swallowed by the flames.
The few remaining masts looked like stakes on a grave.
"Two hundred—twenty—" Davos murmured, remembering his four sons, none of whom had survived the battle.
Every time he thought of them, Davos's heart was torn, and he didn't even dare to return to the fief Stannis had given him at Storm's End; he didn't know how to face his wife.
Before the war, his wife had cooked a big pot of delicious food, feeding their four sons until they were full, but now—
Four sons, four pregnancies; at that time, Davos was not yet a nobleman, and all four sons needed to be breastfed by his wife. Even when their youngest son, little Stannis, was born, his wife didn't hire a wet nurse. It amounted to nearly eight years of time.
And those eight years were the best eight years of a woman's life, all sacrificed by his own selfishness.
Davos, of course, knew that if this battle had been won, he might have been able to secure a title or two for his sons, even a fief.
Of course, more importantly, this was a repayment to his king.
But the rational thoughts and the emotional pain tore at Davos's nerves; he had cried countless times with his face in his hands, crying until his tears had dried.
He even sometimes blamed the gods, asking why they didn't let him perish in the flames with his sons.
At this moment, a series of hurried footsteps pulled Davos back from his painful memories. It seemed to be Soldiers of the House Florent, with their characteristic prominent ears.
A flicker of anger suddenly appeared in Davos's eyes. He had asked Imry Florent to send men to scout and patrol the Blackwater Rush, but Imry, due to his status, had looked down on him and rejected his suggestion.
But the old "sea captain" quickly hid his anger. The House Florent was Stannis's wife's family, and being summoned at this time must mean something urgent.
Besides, Imry was already dead, and he had nowhere to vent his anger.
Davos followed the Soldier to the Great Hall of the Stone Drum Tower. The Stone Drum Tower was the main keep of Dragonstone Castle. In the days of the Targaryens, the heir to the iron throne would first be named Prince of Dragonstone before inheriting the iron throne.
In other words, this Stone Drum Tower had been home to almost every Targaryen king, including Rhaegar, who was killed at the Ruby Ford.
At this time, the Stone Drum Tower was no longer as lively as it had been before their departure. Guards stared blankly into the distance, and maidservants hurried with their heads down. Davos pulled his cloak tighter, as if the cold winds of the North were sweeping in unhindered from the sea.
The archway of the Stone Drum Tower was a giant dragon with its maw open like a chasm. Davos stepped inside and immediately felt an even more biting cold.
Many people had already arrived: knights, lords, nobles, guards, whispers, the clatter of armor, sighs of sorrow—
Davos looked at the man kneeling in the center, his pupils contracting. It was none other than Stannis's Hand of the King—Alliser Florent.
He was Queen Selyse Florent's great-uncle. What crime had he committed?
Alliser, over fifty, was the Lord of Brightwater Keep. Normally, he was respected and treated people kindly, so why was he being held here for judgment?
Davos was filled with doubt. "Perhaps this is failure," he thought. But a court was not a family; before he was knighted, if his business failed, he could at most grumble at home. But if a king suffered a defeat, it might require heads to vent anger.
Davos looked at the man standing beside him, ordinary in appearance but stout in build, with an unshakeable anger etched on his face. That man was Alliser's brother, Axell Florent.
"Traitor!"
"Defector!"
"Shameless!"
The surrounding knights and lords voiced their opinions. It turned out Alliser had considered marrying Stannis's daughter to Tommen to achieve peace with the iron throne.
Davos looked at the old man kneeling on the ground, feeling a pang of sorrow. In a sense, Alliser's actions could not be considered treason, at least they didn't directly harm Stannis's interests.
But the problem was that they had just suffered a great defeat, and everyone's nerves were sensitive and fragile.
Especially Stannis. Since returning to Dragonstone, he had locked himself in his room and refused to come out.
"His Majesty King Stannis arrives—Lady Melisandre arrives—"
Stannis, in a fiery red dress and exuding the cold scent of seawater, appeared together.
Davos had just thought of Stannis when he appeared, but he noticed a detail: it was Melisandre, the "witch," who appeared with Stannis, not Selyse Florent, the "legitimate queen."
Davos realized that there were already signs of division within Stannis's court.
The massive fleet was lost due to Imry Florent's carelessness, and now Alliser was suspected of colluding with the enemy and treason. Stannis's perception of the House Florent had plummeted to an all-time low.
It's just this Melisandre—Davos instinctively took two steps back, as if trying to get as far away from her as possible.
Though Melisandre could be called beautiful, in his eyes she was no different from a monster. He was an eyewitness to Melisandre giving birth to the shadow creature.
Every time he dreamed, that scene was like a persistent nightmare.
Seeing Stannis arrive, the despondent Alliser seemed to perk up a bit. He shouted, "Your Majesty, we can no longer contend with the iron throne. Only cooperation can preserve us!"
"His Majesty will never cooperate with a traitor!" Axell roared.
Stannis looked at the two brothers with deep blue eyes, his expression profound and complex.
"Your Majesty, I truly did not betray any of your interests. As long as the Lannister agree to our marriage alliance, we won't have to face their army. We—"
"Silence!" Stannis reprimanded in a cold, hoarse voice. "Shireen is my heir. Tommen is just Cersei's bastard! You want a princess to marry a bastard, no! A baseborn child! You deserve to die!"
In the eyes of Stannis, a king who strived for justice, law and justice were everything.
According to law or custom, bastards were not only forbidden from marrying royal members but were not even allowed to appear in the sight of royal members.
Just as when Robert visited Winterfell with half the court, Jon was not allowed to appear in Joffrey's sight.
"I declare, Alliser's position as Hand is revoked. From now on, he is to be imprisoned!" Stannis pronounced in the name of the King, but Alliser laughed in extreme anger.
"Stannis! Look closely at what you have left now, merely a Dragonstone! My position as Hand cannot even govern beyond Dragonstone. Do you think I care? Take it! Take it!"
Alliser tore off the Hand of the King's brooch from his chest and threw it to the ground. Axell, seeing this, kicked his brother hard.
King insulting subject, brother fighting brother, the Great Hall of the Stone Drum Tower seemed to be staging a farcical play.
"Enough! Take him away!" Stannis's face was grim, his blue eyes brewing a terrible storm.
Melisandre, standing beside Stannis, witnessed all of this, but her face remained expressionless.
Amidst the commotion, Alliser was imprisoned, and the other lords and nobles began to file out of the hall according to their rank.
Before everyone had left, an assistant maester approached Stannis.
"Your Majesty, a letter from—from King's Landing."
Due to the death of the old maester, Stannis had not yet had time to request a new maester from the Citadel. Fortunately, the assistant maester could still handle some basic matters.
But as Stannis looked at the letter in the maester's hand, his teeth began to grind again.
This must be a letter from those fellows in King's Landing, meant to humiliate him!
But thankfully, he calmed down, reached out and took the scroll, and pulled out the letter. Just as he was about to read it, Melisandre, standing nearby, looked at Stannis and suddenly smiled, saying, "Your Majesty, the iron throne is yours."
Her smile was meaningful. Stannis didn't have time to understand, and his hand opened the letter by itself.
His gaze shifted to the envelope in his hand. Stannis's eyes widened with each line he read. After reading it two or three times, he looked at the courtiers who had not yet fully left and said to the attendant beside him, "Tell them all to come back to me!"
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