The Schemes of the Cunning Are Never Clear
Both were under house arrest, but Alester was locked in a damp, cold cell because of his foul mouth, while Davos's room was not only bright and warm, but the meals were also delicious.
However, he had no appetite. Davos stood by the window, his lips cracked and dry, looking very weak.
During those four or five days, aside from being forced to eat and drink some food and water, he barely ate anything. Davos used the hunger strike to demonstrate his determination and loyalty to Stannis to Jon.
Although only a few days had passed, the Onion Knight knew that the entire country was probably in complete chaos.
How did things turn out this way?
Davos stood by the window, gazing at the distant sea, muttering to himself. He even sincerely lamented the absurdity of this world.
In the past year or two, the terrible Battle of the Blackwater would always replay in his dreams. Davos didn't know what the Seven Kingdoms would be like now without Jon's game-changing attack.
Where should he and his king be now?
"Thank goodness for Jon."
This is what Davos often says when he's in the middle of the night; he believes Jon was sent by the gods to help Stannis.
Unexpectedly, the person who handed the crown to Stannis became the crown's greatest threat.
He couldn't understand why the gods would play such a joke.
Just as he was lost in thought, the door behind him suddenly opened. Hearing the creaking of the door hinges, Davos said irritably, "Either let me leave, or I'll just starve to death here!"
Although he was in a bad mood, his voice was weak; he simply didn't have enough energy left to speak loudly.
"Davos." A familiar voice rang out, Davos turned around to see Jon.
He paused, bewildered, when he saw the baby in Jon's arms, not understanding what Jon was about to do.
"Sir Davos, please come and see my child," Jon said.
Davos looked at Jon with a complicated expression, and after a long while, he finally asked, "Jon, are you really a Targaryen?"
Do you want me to be or not?
"I----"
Davos was somewhat at a loss for words, after all, Stannis's pressure was really intense, and the birth of this child had only accelerated the process.
After a while, Davos got up and came to Jon's side. The much older Onion Knight craned his neck to get a better look at the baby lying in his young father's arms.
To his surprise, Jon simply shoved his son into his arms, his actions as natural as if he were treating an old friend.
Although Davos was shaken, he still took the child steadily.
He looked at the child's face, then at Jon's, and realized that the father and son did indeed look alike.
In particular, the swaddling clothes covered the child's hair, which concealed the biggest difference.
"Davos, if this child looked like a Stark or a Tyrell, I wouldn't have done this, at least not until humanity has weathered the Long Night and defeated the White Walkers. Even if you weren't at Casterly Rock, Alester wasn't here, Melisandre wasn't here, I could have put a wig on the child and kept it a secret for as long as possible, at least until the coming Long Night. But fate often doesn't cooperate, don't you think?"
Davos looked at the sleeping baby in his arms, his expression complex, and said, "But you are the White Wolf Knight personally appointed by His Majesty, your title, your fiefdom, your name—"
"Then why didn't he give it to someone else?" Jon's tone remained calm, leaving Davos speechless.
Davos thought for a moment and said, "Are we really going to go to war?"
"Whether or not to wage war is not my decision, but Stannis's. The reason I came to you is to express my sincerity. The White Walkers have awakened in the Land of Always Winter, the Wights have begun to ravage, Winter Is Coming. I hope that when you return to King's Landing, you can tell him that I wish to put a halt to the war between the Targaryen and the Baratheon. This is my sincere wish."
Davos looked at Jon, and after a long pause, nodded. Considering Jon's previous concern and attention to the Wall, he believed that the mysterious young man before him was not lying.
He decided to get something to eat before returning to King's Landing.
Just as Jon was about to leave, Davos spoke up, "Shireen is innocent; fate has been far too cruel to her—"
"Don't worry, if Stannis defeats me one day, I can't control how he treats me and my family. But if he insists on war, and I am fortunate enough to win, I will do my best to ensure Shireen's safety."
Jon assured Davos that, after all, keeping Shireen alive would be far more beneficial than killing her.
As the purest Baratheon to survive, her submission prevented her from being exploited by certain individuals.
Davos was able to ask such a question because he subconsciously didn't think much of Stannis. Now that Jon had assured him, he could finally feel a little more at ease.
After Davos left Jon went to see Melisandre.
Melisandre was troubled. She began to feel guilty. The great R'hllor had given her such great power, but she always seemed unable to use it in the right way.
I don't know what went wrong. Why is it that even though I can clearly see the future, my interpretations are always wrong?
Although she was in Casterly Rock at the time, Jon did not imprison her or place her under house arrest. Instead, he gave her considerable freedom. After dealing with Davos's affairs, Jon approached her.
"Are you here to explain to me?" The sea breeze ruffled Melisandre's clothes, making her look like a dancing flame. At this moment, she was staring blankly at the three-headed dragon banner fluttering on the city wall.
"Ms. Melisandre, if I said I was the savior, would you believe me?"
"You? The savior born in the Land of Smoke and Salt— "
"Yes, he was born in the Land of Smoke and Salt. Stannis was merely granted a fief in the Land of Smoke and Salt. Is Storm's End the Land of Smoke and Salt?"
Melisandre realized she seemed to have made a foolish mistake and was speechless for a moment.
"If we're talking about the Land of Smoke and Salt, my mother Lyanna gave birth to me at the Tower of Joy, which is indeed the Land of Smoke and Salt. My aunt Daenerys Targaryen, Aerys's daughter, was born on Dragonstone, both places being the Land of Smoke and Salt. Why are you seeking out Stannis?"
Melisandre found Jon's question very reasonable, but she wasn't immediately convinced. Instead, she said, "The birth of a savior is not merely a physical birth, but also represents the rebirth of his spirit. Stannis realized he was the savior on Dragonstone, so he is the savior prophesied to be."
"Oh? So when Daenerys chose to immolate herself alongside her Khal husband, with Tears as salt and the flames of their burning bodies as smoke, she was reborn from the ashes, hatched dragons, and liberated the slaves. Isn't such a rebirth more indicative of divine intervention than a mere ideological shift?"
"This----"
Melisandre was speechless. It was clear that both Jon and Daenerys were more convincing than Stannis.
Jon moved slightly closer to Melisandre and said, "Melisandre, I am not asking you to pledge allegiance to me. The situation is still unclear, and neither I nor Stannis seems to be the best choice for the savior. You know in your heart what the Lightbringer you gave Stannis is. The prophecy says that the Lightbringer possesses light and heat. In this world, besides the sun, what is more radiant and more intense than Dragonfire?"
"Then what do you want?" Melisandre looked at Jon with a puzzled expression.
Jon clapped his hands, and a shrewd-looking, stubble-faced mercenary named Bronn appeared.
"This is Ser Bronn. I will send a ship to Slaver's Bay, where I hope you will assist Daenerys."
Jon knew that Young Griff and his party had already arrived at Slaver's Bay. They had set off earlier than originally planned, and the journey was safer, so they should be able to reach their destination.
In Jon's view, everyone has a heart. If Young Griff went to Slaver's Bay to marry Daenerys and to borrow her dragons, then he would send someone there as well, without any desire for anything, just to help her. When he returns to Westeros one day, it will be clear who he should help.
If her son fails to hatch a dragon, then the Daenerys becomes someone she absolutely must win over.
His highest requirement for Daenerys was that she not cause trouble and just stay quietly in her Slaver's Bay.
The sudden change of allegiance did not seem to impose much psychological burden on Melisandre, and she embarked on her journey almost naturally.
As it happened, Asha was also resting in Margaeryport. Jon sent fifty Horde warriors, plus a reward, to hire Asha to escort Melisandre to Slaver's Bay as quickly as possible.
Even if they have a smooth journey and don't encounter any storms, Jon estimates it will still take them two or three months to arrive.
At the same time, to show his sincerity, Jon wrote a letter to Daenerys outlining his policies for governing the country.
Daenerys openly opposed the slave-owning class through violence in Slaver's Bay, thus reaching the level of the slave-owning class, but she failed to create a new class to support her.
Jon thought it was entirely feasible for her to create a new landowning class, or a class of yeomene farmers, to help her.
As long as the landowning and yeoman classes in Slaver's Bay grow stronger, she will not sink deeper into the quagmire of rebellion; instead, the emerging landowning and yeoman classes will become her bulwark and moat.
Margaery naturally knew the importance of Daenerys, after all, the legitimacy of having a dragon was far superior to that of her silver-haired son.
Her family's legitimacy was still somewhat questionable until her son with Jon hatched into a dragon like the Targaryen babies of the past.
He then signaled to send his own Highgarden Rose and White Wolf Knight to Slaver's Bay.
Swan Ship were designed for ocean voyages and should be able to reach their destinations much faster.