- You should cover your heads, your majesty," Ser Davos told him as the horses trotted southward.
- It's only water, Ser Davos," Jon replied. His hair was soaked and heavy, with locks sticking to his forehead, and he imagined his appearance must not be very regal, but he did not mind at all. The rain in the south was more pleasant than in the north. He liked to feel it on his face, sweet as a maiden's kiss.
- I'm soaked - complained ser Davos - I'm soaked to the bone - a closed forest surrounded them, and the constant pattering of the rain on the leaves was accompanied by the splashing of the horses' hooves in the mud of the road - Tonight we will need a good fire. And a hot supper wouldn't hurt either. There's an inn at the next crossroads, we could spend the night there.
- Inns..." growled Tormund behind him, "The northern tit-babies are tougher than the southern knights.
- I don't dispute that - Davos replied - But... - he interrupted himself abruptly when he heard some sounds further down the road; splashing in the water, clanking of armor, sounds of spears clattering on the road. Someone is coming," he warned as he reached for his sword. It never hurts to be cautious, even on the royal road.
They followed the sounds, turned a bend in the road and saw them: it was a column of spearmen. They wore short armor and helmets with pointed helmets and spears no longer than the height of an average man.
They stepped aside to give way to them, since it did not look as if the spearmen were going to slow down. The banner carried by the first of them was soaked and hung limp from the pole, but even so Jon could make out the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen.
- Unsullied," Jon announced.
- Unsullied? - Tormund asked.
- Slave-soldier eunuchs - clarified Ser Davos - Trained in Essos. They are elite heavy infantry, some would say the best in the world.
- Does your dragon queen have an army of eggless soldiers? - asked Val
- She's not my queen - Jon pointed out - We'd better get going. We must not take unnecessary risks, not even on the royal road - Jon preferred to remain anonymous.
Jon preferred to remain anonymous until he reached King's Landing. He had a very meager escort, barely ten men. It was at Winterfell where they needed all the help they could get, and he did not want to take any more men with him than necessary.
It was almost dark when they reached the building, located at the crossroads north of the great confluence of the Trident. As soon as they entered, they were met by a thick, gray-haired woman, chewing compulsively on bitter leaf.
- The only thing I have left are two rooms on the top floor - she said without stopping chewing - They are under the bell tower, so I'm sure you won't forget meal times, although some say the noise is excessive. But there is nothing else, we are up to the top. Either you sleep in those rooms, or on the road.
They opted for the rooms, a pair of dusty garrets at the top of a narrow, rickety staircase.
- Leave your boots here - said the innkeeper as soon as they had paid her - the boy will clean them for you. I don't want you to muddy the stairs. And pay attention to the bell. He who comes late to the table does not eat.
The bell announcing dinner rang deafeningly. Jon had changed into dry clothes and was sitting by the window, watching the rain fall. He could barely make out the quagmire that was the crossroads of the two major roads, but he could still see people running for the shelter of the inn's porch. Others with fewer resources were trying futilely to avoid the rain under the branches of a leafy tree. He saw a woman carrying two children in her arms at once, a man running after a horse that had bolted. Another, who looked like a merchant, had dropped his load in the mud and had broken down.
- They will all die if I fail - Jon thought - How many lives will be lost if I am wrong? -
Val came in to look for him as the clanging of the bell ceased.
- If you want some supper you'd better hurry, Jon Snow - she said.
- I have no appetite - he answered - You go down, I'll eat some of what we have in our saddlebags.
- Then I'll stay with you - she put her gloved hand on his knee - I have no appetite either - she said.
Val sat down on the ground, facing him, and stared at him with her cornflower blue eyes.
- You worry too much - she told him.
- Why do you say that? -
- That face you make with your brow furrowed when you think - she made a vague gesture with her hand as she pointed at him - If you're not careful it'll stay that way forever -.
- I'm just thinking about what's ahead of us -
- Whatever will happen, will happen - she told him - Maybe your dragon queen will give us to her beasts and you'll have lost all this time you've been thinking -
- That would be nice. If she reduces us to ashes at least I'll die knowing that I won't rise again when winter comes -
- Do you think she will? - she asked him with a fawning look.
- Her father burned my grandfather alive before I was born - said Jon - If his daughter is like him, maybe -
- Then we mustn't waste time, Jon Snow.
Val got up to lean on the window sill.
- Your onion knight told me that Stannis offered me as your wife a few months ago.
Jon noticed how his cheeks reddened.
- I turned him down - he answered - I was a man of the Night's Watch, I swore an oath -
- Like when you kidnapped Ygritte -
- I didn't kidnap Ygritte - he explained.
- Are you sure? - she questioned him with her eyes.
- I would never kidnap a woman to be my wife - Jon said - Besides, I'm king now, kings don't marry for love -
- And why do they do it then? -
- For the sake of the family - he explained - Anyway, you wouldn't understand -
She came so close that he could hear her breathing. He felt his heart beating faster and faster as Val's white face came closer to his.
- Val, I can't - he said.
''But I want to'' - he thought.
- You can't? - she asked - Why? -
- I'm the king in the North, I have to marry some great lord's daughter -
- Is it that you Southerners can only kiss your wives? -
''Honor demands it of me'' - he said to himself - ''But my father was honorable and he had a bastard.''
- I don't want to... - she silenced him with a kiss.
The mere touch of her lips had made Jon's skin crawl.
- Val... -
- Here I am, Jon Snow - she said trying to kiss him again, but Jon pulled away again.
She looked at him in confusion. It was probably the first time a man had rejected her.
- Don't you want me? -
"You have no idea how much I want you.
- What's best for you is to stay away from me," he said as he felt his heart breaking.
- How can you know what's good for me? -
- If we survive the winter you can marry better men than me, live in a great castle... -
- I don't want better men than you - Val said - I want you, Jon Snow -
- I can't, I've already told you - It was getting harder and harder to speak - My duty is to marry -
- Then marry me - She was getting too close again.
"To marry Val" - Jon thought - "To have children to grow up in Winterfell".
- If you marry me you will be queen - said Jon - You will have to live in Winterfell, you will have to do what you are expected to do -
- I don't care - she moved closer until their faces brushed - I only care that we're together -
Jon moved, driven by his heart. All the fears, passion and desire exploded in that hasty kiss. He had never kissed like that before. His heart was beating so fast he was almost afraid it would suddenly stop. But it tasted so good, he needed it so badly...
His fingers stroked her hair hard as their lips touched again and again. Val moaned and broke away for a few seconds to catch her breath, but it didn't take a moment for their mouths to meet again. This time, it was a slower, deeper kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as her mouth kept playing with his, making the world tremble under their feet.
King's Landing was beginning to come into view over the three high hills.
Jon knew that three hundred years ago the hills had been forested and only a handful of fishermen lived on the north bank of the Blackwater, where that deep, swift river flowed into the sea. It was then that Aegon the Conqueror arrived from Dragonstone. It was there that his army set foot on land, and there, on the highest hill, he built his first rudimentary mud fortification.
''And now an heiress of his line has returned to sit on his throne.''
In those moments the city covered as far as Jon's eye could see. There were mansions, gazebos, barns, brick warehouses, wooden inns, street stalls, taverns, graveyards and brothels, each building leaning against the ones next to it.
At the top of Visenya Hill stood the Great Sept of Baelor, with its seven crystal towers. On the other side of the city, on the hill of Rhaenys, the blackened walls of Dragonwell were visible, whose enormous dome was collapsed and its bronze gates had been closed for more than a century - ''although now they must have been reopened'' -.
And dominating it all, looking down on everything menacingly from Aegon's high hill, was the Red Keep: seven huge towers, flattened and crowned by iron bastions; an immense barbican of macabre aspect, vaulted halls, covered bridges, barracks, dungeons and barns; thick walls pierced with loopholes for the archers... All in light red stone. Aegon the Conqueror had begun its construction and his son, Maegor the Cruel had finished it.
- Who built this? - asked Val - A king? -
- Not one, many.
- It makes your castle in the North look like a toy, Jon Snow.
- Here holds court and lives the queen of the sev... Of the six kingdoms -
- The mother of dragons - Val commented.
- Yes - he said - You can come to meet her if you want -
- A wildling in a queen's hall? -
Why not? At the Wall everyone was convinced she was a princess - He looked at Val, who was riding as if she had been born on the back of a horse - ''The warrior princess - ''.
- You won't have to kneel - ''No one will ever kneel again.''
They rode the rest of the way in silence, each lost in his own thoughts.
As Jon and his companions entered the city through the lion's gate, a small group of Unsullied were waiting for them by the gate. Among them was one who stood out, because he was half the height of a normal man and because Jon already knew him.
- The bastard of Winterfell," Tyrion Lannister greeted.
- The dwarf of Casterly Rock," Jon replied.
Jon got off his horse to greet him personally. He had met Tyrion at Winterfell, when King Robert Baratheon came to ask his father to become Hand of the King.
- My name is Tyrion Lannister," he said, addressing Davos.
- Ser Davos Seaworth, at your service - he replied.
- Ah, the Onion Knight. We faced each other at the Battle of the Blackwater.
- To my misfortune," Davos asserted.
- And you are? - Tyrion looked at Val.
- Val - she answered.
Jon knew he shouldn't smile, but he couldn't help it.
- Allow me to introduce Lady Val, princess of the free folk and... Future queen in the North.
- Are you the princess of the wildlings? - Tyrion asked.
- There are those who call me so - she replied - My sister was married to Mance Rayder, king beyond the Wall -
- Very well, in the presence of the queen you had better present yourself as princess beyond the wall - said Tyrion.
- Why not from Inver... -
- Just a moment - Tormund interrupted him, also getting off his horse - You have all presented yourselves, but I am still missing -
- As you wish - said Jon laughing - My lord, I present to you Tormund Giant-Slayer -
- That's me," said Tormund, "I greet you, Tyrion Lannister.
Tyrion bowed slightly.
- Now that we all know each other, come with me, I will take you to Queen Daenerys.
The Lannister set off through a crowded street.
- What smells in here? - Val asked.
- Smoke, sweat and shit - Tyrion answered - Tell me, how does a man of the Night's Watch become King in the North and betroth a wild princess? -
- Maybe I'll tell you someday - answered Jon - As long as you tell me how a Lannister comes to become Daenerys Targaryen's hand -
- It is a long story that I can only tell you with a good wine - said Tyrion - By the way, how is Sansa? -
- She's well, at Winterfell.
- Does she miss me? - With Jon's look, Tyrion already knew the answer - I imagined it, it was a political marriage, and not consummated -
- I wasn't going to accuse you of anything -
- It does not matter, it is better that you know - he answered - She is much smarter than she seems -
- It's beginning to show - said Jon - She advised me not to come -
- It's normal, if I were your hand I would have advised you the same. The Starks don't usually do well when they come south.
- That's what Sansa told me. But I am not a...
He hadn't had time to finish the sentence when a huge shadow flew over them, darkening the day. Jon threw himself to the ground for cover, Val jumped off his horse to hide behind a wall, Tormund tried to stop the attack with his big arms and Davos just looked at the huge beast that wanted to kill them.
But the dragon did nothing to them. It flapped its great wings that resounded like the sails of a great ship and continued on its way until it was lost among the clouds.
- I'd say you get used to it, but I'd be lying to you - Tyrion reached out his hand to help Jon up.
- I've never seen anything like this before," Val said.
- Well, wait till you see his mother - answered the Lannister - Come, Daenerys Targaryen awaits-.
JAIME
- You are in the presence of Daenerys of the Storm of House Targaryen, the first of her name, queen of the Andals, the Rohynar and the First Men, mistress of the Seven Kingdoms and protector of the realm, Khaleesi of the Dothraki, she who does not burn, breaker of chains and mother of dragons.
Missandei's voice reverberated throughout the throne room. That morning neither nobles nor commoners had been able to come to see the queen. Only she, her council and her northern guests.
Jaime had taken his place at the back of the room, where he attracted little attention. Apparently, half the court no longer knew him. ''I am a stranger in my own house.'' His children were dead, his father was dead, his sister... - he felt a pang of pain at the memory of Cersei - he no longer saw golden-haired lions in the halls. Now she saw Unsullied and Dothraki, Highgarden roses and Dorne snakes. What was the Kingslayer still doing there?
Well, there he was.
- You are in the presence of Jon Snow," said Ser Davos Seaworth, "The King in the North -
"King in the North," said Jaime to himself. He had seen Jon Snow for the first time in Winterfell. ''The bastard of the honorable Ned Stark.'' In his own way Jaime had been more faithful to Cersei than Eddard Stark had ever been to Lady Catelyn.
- Thank you for making such a long journey, my lords,'' Daenerys said, ``I hope the weather has been kind to you.
- The weather is kinder in the south, your majesty - replied Jon Snow.
- Forgive me - intervened again the Onion Knight - I have the rudeness of the flea bed, but Jon Snow is not a lord, he is the king in the North -.
''This one has more courage than he looks'' thought Jaime.
- I beg your pardon, as you know I have been many years away from Westeros - the queen crooned - but I understand that your ancestor, Torrhen Stark, swore allegiance to mine, Aegon the Conqueror. Am I wrong? -
- I was not there to see it, your majesty -
- Of course not," she nodded, "But an oath binds in perpetuity. So I suppose, my lord, you are here to kneel?
- Not at all," replied Jon Snow.
''This one has courage too'' - Jaime said to himself. ''The last time a Stark set foot in the Red Keep to challenge a Targaryen king he ended up baked alive in his own armor. '' ''Who knows if history will repeat itself again?'''
- Have you traveled then to withdraw your allegiance to House Targaryen? -
- My allegiance? - Jon said. "Your father burned my grandfather alive and murdered my uncle. I would have burned the Seven Kingdoms if I had... -
- My father was a bad man - interrupted Daenerys - I apologize for the crimes he committed, and I beg you not to judge a daughter by the crimes her father committed -
- You are right," Jon conceded, "You are not guilty of your father's crimes. And I am not bound by the oaths of my ancestors.
Jaime saw how the queen's face darkened. He looked closely at her gestures, at the gleam in her eyes. He looked hard for Aerys Targaryen's gaze. But he did not find it. Daenerys' gaze was that of her brother.
And it was not the first time she had appreciated it. The very day he had stood before her she had recognized that voice, the steely tone of Rhaegar Targaryen's voice. That night he had dreamed of the day he said goodbye to him in the courtyard of the Red Keep. He wore armor black as night, with the three-headed dragon drawn with rubies on the breastplate. Jaime had begged him to let him ride with him. Rhaegar had refused.
Perhaps if he had taken me with him everything would have been different,'' Jaime said to himself.
Rhaegar would have been a good king. Much better than Robert at least. And Daenerys was his spitting image. Even when she was angry.
- Then why are you coming? - the queen asked in a strained voice.
- Because I need your help - replied Jon Snow - And you need mine.
If he had not said it so convincingly Jaime would have thought that Ned Stark's bastard intended to mock the queen.
- I am sitting on the Iron Throne and five of the Seven Kingdoms have already bowed the knee. Still, do I need your help? -
- Not to secure the peace," Ser Davos interjected. "If you wanted to, you could ride your dragons and take Winterfell without effort, we know that.
- You still haven't explained why I need your help," Daenerys insisted, stubbornly.
- Because right now you and I and everyone else are just children insulting each other and protesting that the rules are unfair - exclaimed Jon.
Daenerys' face darkened again. Jaime wondered if he would again have to draw his sword to defend his queen in a trial by combat. ''If it had been my sister sitting on the throne young Snow would not have survived the introductions.
- You said I would like him - now the queen looked at Tyrion - but since he has met me he has not recognized me as queen, he has refused to kneel and now he calls me a child -
- I believe he calls us all children - Tyrion defended himself - it's a figure of speech -
- What I intend to tell you, your highness - Jon interjected again - is that the true enemy is in the North... The dead are the enemy -
''He's laughing at her'' - thought Jaime - ''If he wants to get himself killed he's close to getting it''.
- The dead? - the queen must have thought the same as Jaime - is it another figure of speech? -
- ''The army of the dead is already on the march -''
''I hope it doesn't arrive at King's Landing, I'd hate to see my dear sister come back from the grave seeking revenge''
- Army of the dead? - Tyrion asked.
- Do you think I'm lying, do you think I'm mad? -
"Do you have to force him to tell you? ''
- I don't believe any of those things - Tyrion replied, which brought a smile to Jaime's face.
- The dead exist, the white walkers exist, the Night's King exists. I have seen them, I have fought them. If they get over the wall and we are warring with each other... We will be lost -
Tyrion stepped forward.
- The situation in the realm is still unstable - said the dwarf - We can't just drop everything and join your fight against whatever is beyond the Wall -
Davos took off his gloves, as if he hoped it would give more strength to his arguments.
- You do not believe us, I understand - said the knight - it sounds almost absurd. But if fate brought Daenerys Targaryen to our shores, it also made Jon Snow king in the North. He was the first to pact alliances between wildlings and northerners - as he said this he pointed to a very beautiful young woman standing behind Jon Snow - he was appointed Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and King in the North not because of his lineage, he's a bloody bastard. They chose him because they had faith in him. All those things you don't believe, he stood up to them, risked his life for them and got stabbed in the heart for them -
Jon Snow glared at the knight after hearing that. There was silence. Daenerys remained seated on the throne. Tyrion leaned his back against a pillar. Davos fiddled with his gloves, passing them from one hand to the other, and Jon put the weight of his body on his other leg.
''They stabbed him in the heart,'' Jaime thought. ''The king in the North was stabbed in the heart by the undead beyond the Wall. ''If the wench were here I should explain to her how Renly was murdered by Stannis' shadow.''
- If we do not forget our enmities and unite, we will die - Davos said at last - And it will no longer matter which skeleton occupies the Iron Throne -''.
- If the situation is so grave, kneel - Tyrion replied - Swear allegiance to Daenerys Targaryen and together we will defend the realm -
- There is no time for that! - Jon bellowed - There is no time for any of this. While we stand here arguing the enemy is approaching -
''He's just like Ned Stark'' - And Ned Stark would rather swallow his own sword than lie - ''They really believe there is such a thing as the army of the dead.''
- It takes no time at all to kneel - Tyrion said.
- And why would I kneel - Jon said in a voice as cold as ice - I don't mean to offend you, but I don't know you. Your claim to the throne is based on your father's name, and my father fought to overthrow him. The lords of the North elected me to rule them and I will continue to do so to the best of my ability.
- Fair enough - Daenerys stood up and Jaime knew his patience had run out - But it is also fair to say that I am the rightful queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Proclaiming yourself king of the northernmost kingdom constitutes rebellion - she turned to the queen's hand - Lord Tyrion, can you tell me what punishment is meted out to rebels? -
- Your Grace, perhaps... -
- What punishment, Lord Tyrion? -
- The death penalty, your majesty -
- The death penalty," the queen repeated.
''If she is like Aerys, they are dead.''
- My lords must be tired after such a long journey - Daenerys said - We will prepare a bath for you and you will dine in your chambers -
- Are we prisoners? - asked Jon Snow.
- You may call it what you like, my lord.
''Yes, they are prisoners''