Davos had no idea how many days he had been in his cell when Stannis finally came to see him.

"I've decided to release you," Stannis said.

"Why'd you put me in here in the first place?" Davos asked.

"Melisandre told me she foresaw that you would try to kill her. I didn't want to give you the chance. But now, I want you to see how valuable she is to our cause, so you will never try to hurt her again."

Davos didn't like the sound of that. "What exactly are you plannin' to do?"

Stannis's face was expressionless as he said, "Oh, you'll see."

He brought Davos to his office. Melisandre was in there, lighting a fire in a bowl on the table. "Bring in Edric Storm!" Stannis called.

Two knights escorted the bastard boy into the room. "What's goin' on?" Edric asked, afraid.

Melisandre spoke soothingly. "Don't be alarmed. We're just going to do a few things to you."

But that only made him even more scared. "Do things? What's that supposed to mean?"

Melisandre produced three leeches and stuck them on Edric Storm. He wailed with fright as they started to suck his blood. "Don't worry," said Melisandre. "It doesn't have to be for long."

"What's the meanin' of this?" Davos demanded. "Stannis, I don't see how this helps you!"

"Just shut up and watch," Stannis said as he pulled the leeches off Edric's skin. He tossed them into the fire in the bowl one by one, saying a name before each one. "Usurper Balon Greyjoy. Usurper Chris Griffin. Usurper Joffrey Baratheon." Then he turned back to Edric. "Okay, you're free to go now."

"I can leave this castle?" Edric asked hopefully.

"Oh, no, no, no. I meant you're free to go back to your room. I can't have you leaving. I may need to do this again later."

The knights took Edric's arms and marched him back outside.

"What was that all about?" Davos asked.

"Edric Storm is Robert Baratheon's bastard son," Melisandre explained. "The blood of a king flows in his veins, and king's blood has magical properties."

"After filling those leeches with his blood, I gave them each the name of one of my enemies," Stannis said. "Then I burned them all alive. Now the real people who bear those names will all die!"

Davos shook his head. "That's insane. You don't really buy that, do you?"

"Just wait and see," said Melisandre. "We'll be proven right. Stannis Baratheon is Azor Ahai, the prince that is promised! He must triumph over all his adversaries!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vargo Hoat and his men had brought Jaime and Hayley to Harrenhal, where they met Roose Bolton and Gideon Gleeful.

Roose looked Jaime over. "Hello, Kingslayer. How'd you lose the hand?"

"He didn't loothe it," Vargo Hoat boasted. "We cut it off! Thee, it'th hanging around hith neck!" So it was, hanging from Jaime's throat on a necklace.

Gideon was angry. "How could you maim such a valuable hostage? We're not gonna git as much money for 'im if he ain't in one piece!"

Roose Bolton said, "Take that disgusting thing off from around his neck and burn it." Vargo lifted the necklace from Jaime's neck and rushed off to dispose of it.

"Is there any news from the capital?" Jaime asked.

"Oh, haven't ya heard?" said Gideon. "Stannis Baratheon laid siege to King's Landin', sailed into Blackwater Bay, stormed the gates with thousands o' men. An' yer sister…"

"What happened to Cersei?" Jaime cried.

Gideon's face creased in mock concern. "How can I put this? Your sister…" He paused.

Jaime lunged forward and grabbed him by the shirt with his remaining hand. "Tell me what happened to her or I'll beat you to death with this bloody stump!"

Gideon squealed. "Okay! Okay! Nothin' bad happened to her! Yore dad came an' saved everyone!"

"Well, I think we will go ahead and send you back to King's Landing," Roose said. "As long as your father pays a suitable fee."

"What about me?" Hayley asked nervously. "What are you gonna do with me?"

Roose smiled evilly. "Well, I may take a while to make up my mind on that. I'm in no hurry."

He had Jaime and Hayley taken to separate rooms. Jaime hadn't been in his room for long when an old man came in. "Hello," he said. "My name is Maester Qyburn. I heard you lost a hand."

"That's right," Jaime said, regarding him with suspicion.

"If you want, I could give you a transplant. It's an experimental procedure, but you might think it's worth the risk, if you want to have two hands again."

"You can grow my hand back?" Jaime asked eagerly.

Qyburn shook his head. "Your own hand has already been burned. But I could attach another hand to your arm. What do you think?"

"Okay, go ahead and try it," said Jaime. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"We can do it right now if you want," Qyburn said. He gave Jaime some milk of the poppy to put him under during the operation.

When Jaime woke up a few hours later, there was something attached to his arm… but it was not a hand. He screamed even louder than he had when his hand was first cut off.

"What in seven hells did you DO to me?!"