DAVOS III

He couldn't believe the order he just received. The heat of the air and the soot that stuck to his body didn't help to make his thoughts clearer.

"Are you kidding me, good ser?"

The use of "good ser" was all but appropriate for Axell Florent, but old habits die hard. No matter what happened, no matter how high the king brought him, he still felt like nothing compared to the other noble men

"You must know the king enough by now to know that he's never joking," the knight retorted. That was not entirely true, but very close to it.

"Does the king realize what will happen if we remove the men who are fighting the fire?"

"It's not to me to answer this question, Onion Knight. I am a soldier. I do not question orders, I obey them. Of course, it must seem weird to a man who spent his life breaking the laws and following false gods but there it is. You are in the army of the Lord of Light, led by the Lord's Chosen One, in case you forgot."

If there were people that Davos hated more than arrogant soldiers or fanatics, it was arrogant soldiers who happened to be fanatics as well.

"If the king issued such an order, then I'll hear it from his very lips, not from yours."

"As you wish, Onion Knight."

No matter he was Hand of the King now, the others would always see him as the smuggler. Davos ordered the men to keep throwing water and sand on the fires then rode away.

As he travelled through the streets of the city, he could see as many ruins as there were shops, houses and other buildings that somehow remained useful. Maybe it was because some ruins were not that different from their state before the flames devoured them. While some fought the burning demon, others slept in the streets, a few feet from the flames. Davos himself had slept in these streets more than once, with rats running around him, thieves and assassins roaming in the dark, the stench of shit and every imaginable and horrible smell in the air.

The stench barely receded as he passed the gates and rode west to where the king's army was camping. The guard was heavy but they let him pass without a word. Everyone recognized the Onion Knight, and even though it pleased few people, they all knew he was the King's right hand.

The camp was a mixture of unstoppable activity and great calm. The king made sure his men would be rested for tomorrow. He managed to hold off Robb Stark for today. It was on Davos' recommendation that the king waited for Robb Stark to attack. Davos convinced him that if Robb Stark could not defeat them quickly, then the riverlords and his bannermen would start defecting. Stannis might see all of those on the other side as traitors, but he was also a clever military commander who knew he needed men to win this war. Robb Stark's fate was decided, but not that of the northern lords. With some luck they could expect the Blackfish and the Tully allies to change side, which would leave Robb Stark alone in enemy territory. He would be much easier to defeat and make a good example of what happens to those who dared to resist Stannis Baratheon.

The king was with Melisandre when Davos walked into the command pavilion. He cast his eyes on him as soon as Davos came into sight.

"Your Grace, I beg your pardon to disturb you, but Ser Axell just relayed your order to join all the fighting men in the city who are not at the gates to your army."

"That is correct. Where are they?"

"Your Grace, you know I never back when it is time to tell you're making a mistake. Well, I think you are about to make a huge one here."

"Ser Davos, the war is at our doorstep, literally. I need all the men I can gather, which means all those in the city I can mobilize."

"These men are necessary to fight the fires that are still threatening the city. Without them, King's Landing will be reduced to dust."

"Ser Davos, how many people live in this city?" The question had not come from Stannis but from the Red Woman.

"Half a million."

"And how many more live in the Seven Kingdoms? Millions? Tens of millions? Stannis is their rightful king and the only one who can save them. If he cannot defeat Robb Stark, how many will be doomed? Isn't the interest of the many more important than the interest of the few?"

"Your Grace, this is your city and your people who are burning and dying. This is the capital of the Seven Kingdoms."

"It's only bricks and stones, wood and mud, Ser Davos, nothing more. A city may be rebuilt very easily. Rebuilding an entire kingdom is far more difficult," the king declared. "Some of my reinforcements won't come before days and I need all available men to fight this new usurper. Of course if I was to deliver one final battle tomorrow, I might give you back your men more quickly. Would you advise me to do so?"

Davos didn't answer right away. "No, your Grace."

"Very well then. Send all the soldiers who are not guarding the battlements here. As for the fire, use the local population. It's their city. If they love it so much, it won't be difficult to motivate them."

"Yes, your Grace," Davos reluctantly grumbled.

"Stay here, Ser Davos. I need your help on another matter. The Lady Melisandre has come up with an idea concerning the prisoners we made yesterday. Do you know how many we caught?"

"I'm afraid not, your Grace. No one made me private to this knowledge."

"Now I do. We have six knights and two sons of minor lords, all from the North. They were taken prisoners during the battle. All traitors. I asked them to commit themselves to my cause and they refused. The only option left is to execute them. Do you agree?"

Davos thought carefully. "If they refuse to follow you, then yes, execution seems appropriate, but there is an alternative option, your Grace. We could send them to the Wall. For their families, it would be a decision that would make them better disposed to join you, while remaining an appropriate punishment for traitors."

The king nodded very slightly, which was a good sign since it meant he was considering the proposition. The Red Woman chose to intervene at this moment.

"Your Grace may have to head north one day. When this happens, do you wish the men guarding the Wall to be your former enemies?"

The king remained silent for a long time. He gazed at the woman, then at Davos. "Do you know what the Lady Melisandre just advised me to do? She wants me to burn one prisoner every day until we've defeated the new usurper, and in front of our enemies so everyone can see."

Davos' eyes widened and his mouth opened in horror. "Have you lost your mind?" He was addressing the Red Woman, not the king. "If we do this, no one will ever want to follow Stannis, not ever."

They would lose any chance to get back support from the North, and maybe from the Riverlands as well.

"I told you Cersei Lannister should burn, but you didn't listen to me. Now here we are, the North rebelled against us. If the false queen had been offered as a sacrifice to the Lord of Light, our king would be marching on Highgarden as we speak."

"And how do you know that? Can you see all the possible futures in your fires?"

"I can see a great many things, Ser Davos, which is much more than you can. You told the king to not have me by his side at the Battle of Blackwater and now his city is burning. I was there yesterday and you held back the rebels. Do you need any more proofs?"

"Aye, I do, for these are no proofs, merely things that happen into war. Coincidences, that's how I call them."

"I need to make an example," the king decided. "Robb Stark and Brynden Tully have rebelled. They are traitors to the Crown and so are all those who follow them. I'll execute someone tomorrow and since this Lord of Light says he can help us, then I'll do his bidding for this time."

"Your Grace…"

"I've made my decision, Ser Davos." He realized it was too late. Once Stannis decided something, there was no coming back. "There's a young man from a minor house sworn to House Glover that we have. He was the first to refuse to bend the knee when I ordered them. He will be the first to die. Rodrik Forrester, first son of Gregor Forrester and heir to Ironrath, will burn at the stake when dawn comes."

The sentence fell like the sword of the executioner. Davos knew the fate of this man had been sealed.

Two hours later, after having organized the movement of all soldiers in the city back to the camp outside its walls, Davos was travelling through the Red Keep's corridors, back to his chambers to grab what few hours of sleep he could get. He would be commanding the troops on the battlements tomorrow and he needed to be in a good enough state for that. Sadly, the fighting of the flames was a second priority now. Davos had opposed the king's decision, but it was a logical one.

Climbing the stairs of the Tower of the Hand, getting more tired at every step and only wishing to fall into his bed to get whatever sleep he might gain, he fell upon Shireen as he completed his ascension, sitting on the last step, holding Fire and Blood on her thighs.

"You're very late."

"Aye, I am." He pursued his trip, his mind blurry, but when he arrived at the end of the stairs, he looked back to the princess and sat next to her. "I'm sorry about the stench."

"Don't worry. Everything smells funny around here."

"That, I must agree with. I'm surprised your mother let you out."

"She told Bert to guard me, but he drinks while he's guarding me. I let him drink and in exchange he doesn't tell Mother I'm sneaking away."

Davos sniggered. This girl's sweetness was a balm after the day he endured.

"You shouldn't be here alone."

"I'm not alone. You're with me."

Another snigger. "Alright, I'll tell no one this time, but I beg you to not wander alone in the future. We are at war, princess, as much as it saddens me to tell you."

"Is it true the Starks turned against Father? Mother will tell me nothing, but I heard the guards talking about it."

"I'm afraid the guards told the truth."

"Father has never been very good at making friends, doesn't he?"

A sad smile crept on Davos' lips. "Again, I'm afraid you're in the right."

Shireen took on a sadder expression. "I thought I could talk with Robb Stark when he arrived. I wanted to see who he was. I didn't know if he was like Ned Stark. He was kind with me when we met. Or I thought he might be like Torrhen Stark, the last King in the North, or Cregan Stark, the Hand of the King at the end of the Dance of Dragons."

"I regret to tell you it won't be possible to talk to him. Not before long." And certainly not as a friend of the king.

"Why is everyone fighting?"

That was a very good question. Why did they fight? Davos knew who he was fighting for, but the others? Some probably fought for glory, others for riches and power. The king fought for justice. Some may be fighting for family. Davos was certain that there were people on the other side who only fought Stannis because their family was against him. He couldn't blame them. After all, Stannis fought the Mad King, his rightful king, when his brother Robert rebelled.

"That is quite a difficult question to answer, and one that may need more than the night to answer, princess."

"Is it true that Father killed Uncle Renly? Or Joffrey?"

That was an even harder question to answer, especially for the first person. Davos had played a decisive role in Renly Baratheon's death and it still haunted him at night, the method that was used more than the killing itself.

"Renly was… he died in circumstances and in a way I can hardly understand myself. But you must know that he tried to become king when it is your father who is the king. That's how he ended up dead," he tried to explain as carefully as he could.

"So Father killed him?"

Davos realized he wouldn't get away that easily. He chose to be as honest as he could.

"No, princess. Your father didn't kill Renly. He's not an assassin. And he didn't kill Joffrey either, that I can assure you. But… you know your father is the king, right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Well, when your uncle Robert, Stannis' elder brother, died, there were people who wanted to become king themselves. You were right when you said your father wasn't good at making friends, and that played a part in it. There were people who had more friends, and these friends wanted to see them as their king, and so here we are today. Your father didn't want to fight, but he had no choice because he is the king, and he cannot allow other people to declare they are kings. Or else… let's just say horrible things would happen."

The small girl nodded. She looked at the binding of the book she held. "You know that the Targaryens fought each other during the Dance of Dragons. Brothers against brothers, sisters against sisters. They killed each other and, in the end, Aegon and Rhaenyra both died, and the dragons disappeared. We're doing just the same. Renly and Joffrey are dead. Are we all going to die?"

Davos realized that this girl was way too clever for her age. She was kept away from the world, but it didn't keep her away from learning a lot of things about it, and now she was seeing the events in the books she loved happen in real life.

"No, princess. We are at war, so I won't pretend no one's going to die. People die in wars. Some died this very day. But there are always people who survive, and believe me when I tell you that your father will get out of this alive."

"Does that mean he's going to kill Tommen?"

Davos sighed. "I hope it won't come to that."

"I don't want him to die. He seemed nice enough when we met. The Imp too. He was spending a lot of time in the library, just like me."

"Oh, I don't doubt it, princess. Though I don't believe he will offer you books to read if he comes across you."

"You're sure?"

Davos tried again to choose his words very well. "I know this is hard to understand, but the Lannisters are not good people, no matter which Lannister we're talking about. Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime did horrible things, and for that your father had them killed. Tyrion Lannister won't forgive that to your father. A Lannister always pays his debts."

Shireen seemed very sad. Davos wished he didn't speak about it. The child was sweet and kind. She didn't need such darkness in her life. The night is dark and full of terrors, as the Red Woman said.

"Will you read with me?" she asked, almost pleading.

"Alright, but just a little. I have a long day ahead and I need rest. Don't forget I'm a clumsy reader, child."

They smiled a little. She helped him to read through the arrival of Aegon in Westeros before Davos went to bed. His moment with Shireen was the only pleasant moment of the whole day.


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