The next day, Second Deer announced that Aegon would be placed under the custody of the Knights of the Red Heart of Flame.
Previously, there had been men of the North serving as Aegon's guards, and Illyrio and the others were able to see him every day. Now all of them were isolated and cut off.
Upon receiving the news, Sansa and Jon of Winterfell immediately rushed to Snakewood.
On the third day, the northern lords completely lost all news of Aegon.
They did not know where he had gone, but they all knew about the Ragged Prince's "purchase" of King Aegon.
Count Glover, Ser Royce, Greatjon, and the others angrily went to confront Second Deer, only to be refused entry.
"Aunt Dany will never let you go, I swear!" Sansa roared toward Second Deer's courtyard, her slightly swollen belly thrust forward, her face twisted with fury.
Second Deer did not even meet with her or Jon.
That afternoon, Jon led his sister and all the northern lords away from Great Serpent City.
"Your Majesty King Stannis, release my brother-in-law Aegon, or I will unilaterally declare the annulment of my oath of fealty to you."
Jon stood beneath Snakewood, his hair and beard bristling, threatening loudly like an enraged lion.
Great Serpent City was much like Winterfell. Though called a city, it was in fact a square fortress with sides only two or three hundred meters long, surrounded by a ring of wall-less markets.
It was much like the market towns of the Celestial Dynasty's countryside: a grand administrative building at the center, with shops, stalls, and residences spread around it.
Nobles and knights lived within the fortress, while ordinary mercenaries and northern soldiers camped outside the walls.
Thus, Jon first withdrew all his men from the Snakewood fortress before openly declaring rebellion.
"Jon Stark, do you dare betray your sacred oath?!" Gaodifalin roared from atop the walls.
"Release King Aegon, and I will remain faithful to my oath," Jon replied.
"Aegon will be exiled according to the agreement. His Majesty King Stannis has honored his promise," Gaodifalin shouted back.
"Don't play these petty tricks!" Jon angrily waved his hand, his voice booming like thunder as he swore, "I give His Majesty King Stannis one night to consider.
If, when the first rays of sunlight strike the walls tomorrow morning, King Aegon has not regained his freedom, I will attack Snakewood.Remember this: while simultaneously offending the North, the Vale, the Riverlands, Dragonstone, Dorne, and the Dragon Queen, whatever benefits you may gain from your allies will be more illusory than a dream."
"Jon Stark…" From the window of the main keep's tower behind the gates, Second Deer spoke with a complicated tone. "He means what he says. If Aegon is not seen by morning, he will certainly attack the city."
"Your Majesty, you have already received revelation from the flames. Everything will be concluded before dawn," Melisandre said calmly, as if victory were already in hand.
Just as Aunt Mel had said, when the eastern sky turned pale, the Ragged Prince arrived across the sea astride wyverns.
Snakewood was only about six hundred kilometers from Braavos, and a raven needed no more than seven or eight hours to deliver the message.
"Screech!"
"Screech!"
Eleven wyverns circled above Snakewood, shrieking in the sky.
Outside the city, the men of the North had been lighting fires and preparing meals in their camp. At this moment, they all dropped what they were doing and stared blankly upward, stunned beyond measure.
They had seen wyverns many times before, but this was the first time they had encountered such a large formation.
"With so many wyverns, just a few fire-oil bombs would be enough to drown our two thousand men," said Lady Mormont worriedly.
"Seven hells, have I lived to see the Others? Is this all the wyverns on the continent of Sothoryos?" Greatjon cursed.
"No. Look closely. They're all small. Aside from the leader, none of the remaining ten exceed twenty meters. The adult dragons in the rainforest have nearly been used up," Old Crab said solemnly, pointing at the sky.
Of the eleven wyverns, only the Ragged Prince's mount was an adult, roughly twenty-five meters long. The rest were about the same size as Sansa's striped dragon, though not all of them were striped dragons.
"Spread out. We're all cavalry. Keep your eyes on the sky and avoid wildfire bombs," Jon immediately ordered.
"But if we spread out, how are we supposed to attack the city?!" Illyrio shrieked in a high-pitched voice.
The fat spice merchant was in a terrible state.
After days and nights without sleep, his plump face was deathly pale with exhaustion. Heavy dark circles framed his bloodshot eyes, his yellow, forked beard was filthy, and his soaked silken robes reeked of sour rot.
When he opened his mouth of yellowed, decayed teeth to roar, foul, acidic, fishy spittle nearly sprayed all over Jon's face.
Jon, ever patient, merely waved his hand and had two northern guards drag the fat man away.
"They have seven thousand men defending the city. We have only two thousand. No matter what, we can't take Snakewood," Jon said helplessly to his sister, whose face was full of sorrow and despair. "This talk of attacking the city isn't empty words. We're simply making our stance clear, so Stannis understands the consequences of handing Aegon over to the alliance."
"And if he doesn't care about our stance? Just like now," Sansa murmured, her eyes locked on the direction of the castle.
"Screech!" A fourteen-meter-long striped wyvern descended from the sky and landed in the courtyard behind the walls.
A quarter of an hour later, a horn sounded from within the courtyard, and the Ragged Prince descended from the sky on his dragon.
"Why are there only ten wyverns?" Second Deer asked coldly.
"Haha, this is the down payment. Once I take Aegon away from Westeros, Mister Tycho will lead you to the Braavos Strait to find the other twenty dragons."
With his objective achieved, the Ragged Prince was in high spirits and visibly pleased.
Second Deer glanced at Tycho, who stood to the side with a gentle smile and nodded slightly. Only then did he turn back and ask, "Where is the horn?"
"Where is Aegon?" the Ragged Prince asked.
Stannis gave an order to the Knight of the Flaming Red Heart beside him, and soon King Aegon, seated in a wheelchair, was carried out.
"Stannis, you treacherous oathbreaker. My aunt will never let you go. I swear that no matter what awaits me, you will suffer retribution tenfold!"
King Aegon's face was twisted with rage as he struggled and hurled the most vicious curses at Stannis.
The Tattered Prince frowned. This King Aegon looked haggard, sallow and emaciated, his silver hair tangled and hanging loose, his purple eyes filled with despair and venom. There was little trace of royal bearing about him.He felt a bit disappointed. The Dragon Queen's own nephew was like this?
Still, when death is near, anyone will reveal their most wretched side. Perhaps that was only natural.He stepped forward himself, stuffed something into King Aegon's mouth, then undid his clothes and inspected him thoroughly, inside and out.
No human-skin mask. No magical artifacts.
"Take him to the city walls."
Even after confirming his identity, the Tattered Prince was still somewhat uncertain.
He had seen portraits of King Aegon, but like Tycho, this was the first time he had ever seen the man in person.
Stannis ground his teeth and shot the Tattered Prince a glare, then nodded to the knight at his side.
Before long, a thunderous roar rose from outside the city. Abuse, curses, and sobbing voices all served to prove King Aegon's identity.
"Very good!" The Tattered Prince nodded and said with a smile, "Hand Aegon over to me first. I will remain here in person, and with the Iron Bank as guarantor, I will never go back on my word."
"You do not trust me?" Stannis glared, his teeth grinding.
"To be honest, I originally trusted you Westerosi quite a lot," the Tattered Prince said, a look of reminiscence crossing his face as he sighed. "Daenerys was the first Westerosi monarch I dealt with. We worked together for half a year. She kept her word, upheld traditional virtues, and placed great importance on honor.
"That fine beginning made me think that every king in Westeros was a true knight like her.
"Then Cersei and Euron taught me a very good lesson. Kings are common, but the Dragon Queen is rare."
"Crunch, crunch." It sounded as though Stannis were chewing walnuts.
He stared at the Tattered Prince for a long while. Seeing not the slightest sign of compromise, Stannis sighed and gave a slight nod.
Three minutes later, the wyvern knight who had earlier gone down to scout the way for the Tattered Prince took off with King Aegon.
People outside the city, using spyglasses, saw King Aegon on the dragon's back and were all filled with righteous fury.
When the wyvern had flown Aegon to a safe distance, the Tattered Prince waved toward the sky. A juvenile shadow dragon descended. There was no dragonrider on its back, but a massive horn was bound there.
"Which of you would like to check it?" he said with a smile, extending his hand.
Melisandre stepped forward gracefully, her red robes flowing as she walked with measured steps to the wyvern. Her jade-white palm rested on the surface of the pitch-black horn.
A low hum sounded as rings of gold and Valyrian steel runes embedded in the horn lit up one by one. From the mouth of the horn came a deep, subdued dragon's roar.
The calm expression vanished from the Tattered Prince's face, a flicker of tension flashing through his eyes. This witch was truly terrifying. He wondered whether she would discover the trap Lady Jeyne had left behind.
Melisandre seemed unaware of his concern. She nodded excitedly and said to Stannis, "This is a genuine Dragon Horn, one of the three oldest horns of Valyria."
"Has it been repaired?" Stannis was equally excited.
Lady Jeyne truly had the upper hand after all.
The Tattered Prince let out a long breath, the composed smile returning to his face.
"The transaction is complete, then?" he asked.
Stannis's expression suddenly became strange. There were four parts hesitation, two parts embarrassment, one part shame, and the remaining three parts were a murderous intent that made the Tattered Prince's skin crawl.
"Take…" The complex emotions vanished from Stannis's face as it twisted into a snarl and he was about to issue an order.
"You…" The Tattered Prince sensed something amiss, recoiled in alarm, and opened his mouth, about to say something.
"Aegon is not Rhaegar's son!"
Suddenly, a pig-slaughtering wail rang out from outside the castle.
The expressions on the faces of the Tattered Prince and Stannis froze at the same time. The words each had been about to speak stuck in their throats.
"Aegon is my son. He has not the slightest blood relation to Daenerys!"
A man who looked like a fat pig let out that same shrill howl. In an instant, the clamor inside and outside the castle vanished. Snakewood City fell silent, like a graveyard.
Stannis and the Tattered Prince stared with eyes wide open, dumbstruck.
The fat pig continued to howl, "I'll lay it all out. I am Aegon's biological father!
"I disguised my own son as Rhaegar's son. Aegon is my son.
"It's useless to take him to Slaver's Bay. It's useless. Daenerys won't be threatened in the slightest.
"Put him down. It's useless. He's useless to you. Useless…"
Anger froze on the faces of Melisandre, Greatjon, and the other lords.
Jon, who had been silently crying out "Bran, save me" in his heart, rubbed his eyes and looked toward the city gate again. The fat spice merchant wailing there was not an illusion. He rubbed his ears. The cries of "Aegon is my son" rang out again and again. It was not an auditory hallucination.
Jon's shaggy, horse-like face twisted into an enormous expression of utter bewilderment.
The anxiety and despair in Sansa's eyes vanished. She stared blankly at the fat merchant beneath the city gate. Where am I? What am I doing? Who is Aegon? And who am I?
(End of chapter)
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