CHAPTER 31
In the Lord Commander's room, Olly opens the door for Stannis and Davos. Jon sits at his desk.
Stannis said in greeting, "Lord Commander."
Jon stands up saying, "Your Grace."
Stannis said to Olly as he closes the door, "I'd like to speak alone."
Jon said to him, "Olly is my steward now, as I was Lord Commander Mormont's. I want him to attend my meetings, to learn from men with experience. One day, he might command."
Stannis replied dryly, "This is more on a personal level, but very well." They all sit down.
Stannis asked, "Have you considered my offer?"
Jon said, being direct, "I have. And I thank you for it. You do me a great honor. All my life I wanted to be Jon Stark."
Stannis said, looking him in the eye, "Say the word and you will be. I will treat your sister well also as she rules by my side bearing me healthy sons."
Jon said seriously, "But I have to refuse you. I'm Lord Commander of the Night's Watch now. My place is here. My sister's life is her own since my father died, I doubt even my brother, her twin could even influence her. She gave you your answer the other night. If I know my sister and I do, she will have nothing of it."
Stannis said not understanding him at all, "Don't you understand that I'm giving you a once in a lifetime chance to rule over your family lands, your family name and your sister will tie your family to the throne. You will be the one to rule the North."
Jon said reluctantly, "I wish you the best of luck. Believe me, I do. But I swore a sacred vow at the Godswood. I pledged my life to the Night's Watch. I will not give my sister to anyone she does not want or trade in my brother's blood for the right to rule the North. I can't."
Stannis growled, "You're as stubborn as your father. And as honorable. I suppose you won't interfere in my choice to go against your brother?"
Jon said proudly, "I can imagine no higher praise. No, I will not get interfere."
Stannis growled and snapped, "I didn't mean it as praise. Honor got your father killed." He stands up.
Stannis said frustrated, "But if your mind's made up, I won't try to persuade you any longer. I will have to try to persuade your sister though."
Jon said seriously, "Good luck with that. May I ask, your Grace, how long you plan to stay at Castle Black?"
Stannis asked sternly, "Are you bored of us already?"
Jon said looking him in the eyes directly, "You saved us from Mance Rayder's army. We will never forget that. But it's a question of survival. The Night's Watch can't continue to feed your men and the wildling prisoners indefinitely. Winter is coming."
Stannis said directly, "I know it. We march on Winterfell within a fortnight. Before the snows trap us here. I hope your brother hasn't made it there yet. It will make it much easier to take over. It was said that all of the Greyjoy men walked straight into a fire in a tranced pile of bodies. It was like they were compelled by R'hllor to do it."
Jon asked curiously, "Yes, that is strange about the Greyjoys. And the wildlings?"
Stannis said distastefully, "They'd rather burn than fight for me, so be it. I leave their fate to you. You could execute them, that's the safest course." He paused for a moment.
Stannis said thinking, "Or you could see if this Tormund fellow is more willing to compromise than Mance ever was. Though I assume the brothers of the Night's Watch would rather see the wildlings dead."
Jon said, sighing, "Most of the brothers, yes. There's little love for the free folk here." Olly stares at him.
Stannis said, shrugging, "You're the Lord Commander. Your decision." Stannis begins to leave. Olly opens the door.
Stannis said, warning him, "You have many enemies in Castle Black. Have you considered sending Alliser Thorne elsewhere? Give him command of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea."
Jon said, sighing, "I heard it was best to keep your enemies close."
Stannis said dryly, "Whoever said that didn't have many enemies." Stannis leaves. Davos begins to leave, but turns to Jon as Jon begins to pace.
Davos said looking at him as Jon looked up at him, "He sees something in you. Might not be apparent from his tone, but it's the truth. He believes in you."
Jon replied to him seriously, "I'm sorry I disappointed him, but he can not have me hand my sister to him and push me to betray my brother's right to rule Winterfell, just so I can be made legitimate." Davos walks forward and takes a seat. Olly closes the door again.
Davos said frowning and confused, "The king is a complicated man. But he wants what's right for the Seven Kingdoms. I'm not sure or clear why he has involved your sister yet. I have been reluctant to talk to him about it so far. It is unusual for him to become obsessed with her suddenly and is not like him though he is married already confuses me."
Jon said seriously, "As long as he can rule them properly is all that matters in the end. My sister aside."
Davos said emphatically, "He's the one true king. He has the blood right to that throne."
Jon said huffing, "I've sworn to stay clear of the politics of the Seven Kingdoms."
Davos asked, "Have you now?" Turning to Olly, he asks, "How does the Night's Watch vow go again? I bet you've got it memorized since you got here." Olly looks to Jon. Jon looks at him, crosses his arms, and nods.
Olly said, quoting, "Night gathers and now my watch begins…"
Davos said dismissing, "Not that bit, the bit at the end."
Olly said, quoting, "I'm the sword in the darkness, the watcher on the walls, the shield that guards the realm of men. I pledge my life.."
Davos said, pointing it out, "Wait, that's enough. 'The shield that guards the realm of men.' That's what you swore to be. Now I'm not a learned man, but the best way of helping the most people might not be sitting in a frozen castle at the edge of the world. It just might mean wading in the muck, getting your boots dirty, and doing what needs to be doing."
Jon asked sitting back, "And what needs to be done?"
Davos said frowning, "As long as nobody is ruling the North properly…" He stands up and continues, "the North will suffer. Just one man's opinion." Davos nods and turns to leave. Olly opens the door for him. Jon sits at his desk and sighs and thinks, 'Apart from everything else, what gives them the right to think my brother Robb is not the right person to rule the North?'
Melisandre and Stannis were walking down the corridor and knocked on a door. Celia opened the door looking at them sternly. Jaqen went with Jon to the smith to have their swords and knives sharpened. She had the two jeweled daggers from the items she took from the treasure cave that were valyrian steel on her always.
Celia peered warily at them both, "What do you both want?"
Stannis said sternly, "Nothing but to talk." She stepped back to let them in. She let them in because she had all of her jewelry on and the red witch couldn't cast her magic to affect her being she was protected.
Stannis took a chair and sat down as Melisandre stood off to the side. Celia sat on the edge of the bed. Celia reached out her hand towards the fire and twisted her wrist making the flames increase and flare to warm up the room. Melisandre looked at her in shock with her mouth open. Stannis jerked his head to see the flames jump.
Celia said bluntly, "What do you want to talk about?"
Stannis gathered himself together and said, "I want you to consider that you were chosen to be at the side of the true king of Westeros."
Melisandre said smugly, "Yes, you were seen in the flames in a vision given to us by R'hllor as the future Queen of Westeros."
Celia said sighing, "I am chosen to be a future Queen of Westeros. How do you know you will be the king in the end?"
Melisandre said arrogantly, "Stannis is the Azor Ahai and the Prince Who Was Promised."
Celia cocked her head and looked at the woman, dead in the eyes and asked, "How can you be so sure and how do you know you are not wrong? How could you have misinterpreted the signs so badly? He hasn't won a true battle yet, only wildlings since declaring himself king. You have been burning people at the stake for him and the only thing you have done is murder people who do not fall in line with your ideology. Having her murder of your brother and others through blood magic was not a battle won either but a bypass of the confrontation. So tell me, was fighting wildlings and getting most of your fleet sunk in King's Landing your full accomplishments other than little skirmishes of breaking the siege in Storm's End as a declared king of Westeros?"
Stannis stood up and shouted, "How dare you! You are an insolent chit! You should be at my feet willingly spreading your legs to your king!"
Melisandre stepped up to him to calm him down. She said spitefully, "Your lack of faith and ignorance is showing. He is the Azor Ahai! I am not wrong!"
Celia narrowed her eyes at both of them and said, "You are an over confident foolish man and she is a very old arrogant red witch who is no longer a priestess of R'hllor. She is constantly going against the teachings and murdering innocent people in a trail of blood behind her red robes in her wake. Who are you, Melisandre, to judge others? R'hllor did not give you the right or any other priest or preistess, so what do you think you are doing?! Your only purpose as a priestess of R'hllor is to worship R'hllor. You are to pray to him and seek visions of glimpses in the flames given by him and be dedicated to the practices to guide those to the light and good and away from The Great Other the god of ice and death. He did not make you judge, jury or executioner?! You have certainly been preforming the frequent death occurrences enough to qualify for doing the work of the Great Other. You are not to go on a religious rampage of ritualistic cleansing. That is what you are doing! That is the purpose you have given to only yourself, isn't it, Melisandre?! You are on a path of your own self destruction. Your soul will be judged for what you have done to everyone in this endeavor!"
Stannis stood there in shock at what this woman was saying. Melisandre screamed at her, "You don't know a thing about what you are saying! You are not a follower of R'hllor!"
Celia clapped both of her hands and flames erupted engulfing her hands. She said, cocking her head, "I control the flames because I am not opposing what R'hllor wants." She touched herself and engulfed herself without burning herself, her clothes or the room. Both of them could feel the heat from her body.
Celia shouted loudly, "You are wrong! You have taken it up on yourself to harm others! That is not R'hllor's way because it is your way! You dare usurp R'hllor?!"
Melisandre could feel the power and heat radiating from her. She summoned and through all her magic strength to try to douse the flames of Celia's fire magic. They slightly dimmed but returned to their full strength.
Melisandre angrily shouted, "I am not wrong!"
Celia shouted pointing her flaming finger at her, "R'hllor says your wrong or you could quench my fire!"
Melisandre said after casting her full magic again at Celia, "Please R'hllor, give me the strength to put out her flames!" Nothing happened at all.
Melisandre was terrified and took Stannis who was stunned by the arm and started dragging him out of the room. Stannis shouted, "Wait, you said she is to be my chosen mate and queen to have heirs by?!"
Melisandre said pulling him, "It was a deception to mislead us and test our faith and purpose!" She dragged him out of the room and slammed the door shut.
Celia released the spell dousing the flames. She deeply inhaled as wisps of smoke came off of her. She stood there cooling herself and opened the window to let the cold air in. It cooled her down quickly. She hoped Stannis gave up the idea of her being his mate.
Then a vision hit her standing in front of the window. 'She saw a scene in her mind of a little girl being burned at the stake. The child was Stannis' own daughter, Shireen, screaming for her father and mother. It was heart wrenching. Melisandre was holding the torch and both of her parents stood there doing nothing.' The vision faded.
Celia said blinking her eyes trying to focus, "Oh Gods, that poor little girl."
