Game of Thrones: Royal Game

Chapter 317
Today is the day when Stannis and his false king brother Renly agreed to make peace. Although Stannis did not have any hope for the outcome of this meeting, Davos still managed to persuade him to go to the appointment, because Stannis had to ask His vassals stated that their king had made every effort to settle the dispute peacefully.

Davos hopes that this incident can help Stannis restore some image among the vassals. After all, Stannis burned Kevan Lannister outside the city of Harrenhal a month ago. his trust.
On that day, Kevan Lannister and several western knights who refused to surrender were engulfed in flames amid howling and cursing. Davos stood in the crowd of onlookers, and he heard the cheers of the queen party and their respect for the foreign Vulcan. and heard the terrified murmurs of other nobles, and words like 'mad king' uttered in trembling voices.

Davos is not an old aristocrat, he does not have the fear of the last Targaryen monarch Aerys II who was later called the "mad king" like other nobles, but he still heard a lot about that King's deeds.

Before the War of the Usurper, Rickard Stark, Duke of Winterfell, came to the Red Keep to save his eldest son and asked Aerys II for a trial by combat. 'Fire is the champion of House Targaryen, and to prove your innocence you must not be burned. ’ The Mad King answered him thus.

Duke Rickard was burned alive, just like Kevan Lannister on the stake. Davos noticed that the faces of the two old earls beside Stannis turned pale, and he only found out later, It turned out that the two old nobles were standing in the throne room.

They didn't dare to speak out for Duke Rickard back then, and they didn't dare to speak out for Kevan at this moment. Davos didn't know what was going on in their hearts, but he knew that things were getting worse.

The ominous premonition was fulfilled. That night, more than a dozen knights and an earl tried to escape from Stannis' camp, but this seemed to be a trap. Because Lorraine, the newly promoted Earl of Harrenhal, had already deployed his men in advance , captured them on the spot, and then all of these people were sentenced to fire at the stake.

There have been no defections from Stannis' camp since then, and the number of nobles joining the queen's party has gradually increased.Melisandre did fulfill the promise she made to Davos that 'no one will betray the king', but Davos thinks this is not a long-term solution.

Because since then, Davos has often heard discussions such as "Mad King II" in the camp. Most people know that they are King Stannis' cronies, so they will definitely avoid it when discussing such outrageous issues. Own.

Davos can still hear so much gossip under such circumstances, it is not difficult for him to imagine the extent of dissatisfaction with the king in the coalition forces. These nobles stayed in the Stannis camp out of fear Yes, once the war resumes, the defecting nobles will be like crucian carp crossing the river.

Suddenly, Davos remembered another 'Mad King II'.

When the siege of Harrenhal was still going on, Davos overheard the news from the sailors from the merchants in King’s Landing that the mad king’s daughter did not die in Pentos, but appeared in the Slaver's Bay, became the queen there, and hatched dragons.

It was not the first time that similar news came. In the beginning, no one believed it. After all, Pentos fell, and the "Dragon Relic" (Robert's language) and its patron Illyrio died on horseback. Robert had thrown a great banquet and tourney in King's Landing to celebrate the event when he was at the hands of others, and even for a moment he forgot his anger at not having three children of his own.

The imperial council unanimously decided that Daenerys' appearance in the east was a lie, but later, more and more businessmen brought back similar rumors, which made everyone have to take this news seriously.

Davos vaguely remembered Stannis referring to her as the Mad King II.

But my king, do you know that this title is now added to your head by them!Davos turned his head and glanced at the king surrounded by seven Kingsguard.

Stannis seemed to be sculpted of strength and fortitude, with his broad shoulders and strong limbs, his taut face and skin tanned by the sun's long hours.Although he is not yet thirty-five, his hair has mostly receded, leaving only black fine hair, the shadow of a crown, behind his ears.

Six of the Kingsguard, led by Captain Barristan the Fearless, stood guard at his side. They were fully armed and covered from head to toe in elaborate armored helmets, long white cloaks fluttering behind their backs. A shiny white shield is strapped to it.

Barristan was deliberately summoned by Stannis from King's Landing for today's occasion. After all, the old knight is the only living legend today, whoever he serves will make whoever is more in the eyes of the nobles legality.

On this trip, Stannis brought a total of 200 noble knights and an equal number of attendants, and his army was left ten kilometers away from the place of peace talks.As agreed, Renly would do the same.

"Duke Renly is really rude. He hasn't arrived yet." Lorraine, who has become the Earl of Harrenhal, rode behind Stannis. He complained loudly, which quickly aroused the anger of the nobles. Notice.

Davos glanced at the king's new favorite, brother of Lyanna, widow of the late king Robert.When the war first broke out, Robert wrote to Stannis many times, asking for more chances for the boy to make meritorious deeds, but Stannis turned a deaf ear to him and ignored him.

But after Robert's death, Lorraine quickly joined the queen's party and turned to Melisandre, which also quickly gained Stannis' trust.Even Davos suspected that there was some secret between the three of them. Of course, even if there was, it was nothing, after all, Stannis was his own king, and he had the right to decide who to trust.

"Even if he arrives earlier than us, he will stop behind the hill ahead and show up here after we arrive. Because those who arrive early will wait for those who arrive late, and Renly doesn't want to be the one who waits. He Think of it as some kind of king's game, and maybe war was part of the game in his mind. Renly was just as naive as a boy, and he's just as naive now," said Stannis scornfully.

The expressions on the faces of the nobles after listening to Stannis made Davos realize that this might be a double reed. Lorraine and Stannis reminded the princes in this way that Renly was just a young man who hadn't grown up. The hairy boy.

Finally, Renly and his supporters appeared in the sight of Stannis and his party.

They carried the banner of House Baratheon, the true Baratheon, with a golden ground and a black crowned stag.Not like the crowned stag wrapped in a flaming heart in the hands of Stannis' standard bearer.

Renly was wearing a green velvet tunic, his favorite color, and a satin cloak trimmed with squirrel fur looked glamorous behind him.On his head was a crown adorned with roses of gold, and on his forehead was a stag of jasper, under which hung his long black hair.

Four people followed closely behind Renly, the No.1 general in the South, Lord Randall Tarly, the 'valiant' Ser Garlan Tyrell, the 'Knight of Flowers' Ser Loras Tyrell, and a beholder Go up to the face-faced knight, the man's breastplate is marked with the coat of arms of the iris flower, Davos can't remember which Westerosi nobleman has this coat of arms, maybe the other party is a favored upstart like Lorraine .

A little farther away from Renly, Jaime Lannister led a group of nobles from the western region. They hung bright red cloaks on their shoulders and wore lion helmets on their heads. They stood slightly behind Renly.

"Lord Renly," Stannis said first.

"It's King Renly, brother." Renly corrected with a smile. He didn't give Stannis a chance to get straight to the point. He pointed to the banner in the hand of Ser Barristan, Captain of the Kingsguard, and asked, "Is this thing really you?" banner, Stannis?"

"Who else is it?" Stannis frowned.

Renly shrugged lazily, "I saw it from a distance, I'm not sure yet, which one are you playing under?"

"Mine."

"The coat of arms of His Majesty the King is the fiery red heart of Allah the Lord of Light." Melisandre explained.

"Oh!" exclaimed Renly in surprise. "I've heard of that. The Beggar King's sister has a similar banner! No wonder I hear you are called the Second Mad King."

"Oh, I remember!" Renly continued laughing without giving Stannis a chance to interject. "It was you who let their brothers and sisters go, and Robert was furious about it. If the dragon remnant is brought back to King's Landing from Dragonstone, I might not be able to inherit Storm's End."

"You want to piss me off. There's no point in that." Stannis tried to keep his composure knowing that Renly wanted to open his wounds.

"Well," Renly shrugged again, finally letting go of the small talk, "what do you want me to talk about here?"

"Dismount immediately, get down on one knee, and swear allegiance." Stannis made his request without delay.

"Oh? You figured it out so quickly?" Renly showed a look of surprise on purpose, "Then quickly kneel down, I can forgive you and your supporters."

"Are you crazy?" Stannis's stagnant face twitched slightly. "The one who should kneel is you."

"If you can serve Robert, why not me?"

"Robert is my elder brother, and you are only my younger brother."

"Yes, I am younger, braver, and handsomer than you."

Before Renly could say anything more, Stannis drew out his long sword suddenly. Under the pale sunlight, the blade of the sword shone with a strange light, red for a while, yellow for a while, and turned into a blazing white light for a while, stabbing the nobles so hard that they couldn't open their eyes. Opening their eyes, they all turned their heads to dodge.

"Who said it's useless to provoke you?" Stannis, who was about to speak for a final warning, suddenly heard Renly's whisper.

At the same time, the knight behind Renly with the iris emblem printed on the breastplate suddenly shouted 'guard' and raised his hand crossbow at Stannis and shot an arrow.

In an instant, the Valyrian steel bolt pierced Stannis' gorget and burst out from the back of his neck.Bright red blood left along the gaps in the armor, and Stannis fell off his horse.

(End of this chapter)