The storm raged with supernatural fury across the dark waters.
The abandoned Crow's Eye had not yet drowned, though consciousness had fled his battered form. His eyes rolled back white as bone, his body drifting eastward with the violent swells toward the looming hull of a royal warship.
First capture this "sea monster," then deal with that other leviathan with our full strength.
Joffrey issued his command to the Oakenshield.
Ding~
Falia Flowers and every officer aboard the Shield Islands vessel received the royal decree simultaneously through their light screens.
"Quickly!" Earl Humphrey Hewett shouted from within the cabin, his voice carrying urgency that bordered on panic. "Bring up that accursed Crow's Eye! Keep him breathing! His Grace wishes to judge the wretch's crimes personally!"
The Kingsguard aboard remained motionless, their six-pointed star cloaks unmarked by spray or rain.
Observing the supernatural warriors beside them, the household knights nonetheless rushed through the cabin door into the storm's embrace.
"Falia," Earl Humphrey called after them, his tone holding notes she had never heard before. "I name you my personal representative. In the name of House Hewett, arrest Euron Greyjoy! Then escort him to His Grace yourself!"
The appointment represented both tremendous honor and mortal challenge.
Falia Flowers possessed no choice but to bow respectfully and follow in the knights' wake.
Simply leaving the cabin's protection proved a formidable obstacle.
The storm was no mere natural tempest.
Violent winds carried raindrops large as river stones directly into exposed faces with crushing force, making it impossible to open one's eyes or draw breath while constantly driving victims backward against their will.
Falia had not yet received divine grace from the king's hand.
Thus she could rely only upon an ordinary girl's body to struggle forward, breaking through visible and invisible barriers alike—just as she had done throughout so many years of hardship.
She understood that her father still held her in contempt despite recent developments.
So many knights had already acted, accompanied by the king's own guardsmen—where was the need for a weak woman's involvement?
Yet he commanded her participation solely to witness her humiliation!
Perhaps his motivations ran deeper still. The storm carried mortal danger; anything might happen to an unprepared soul caught within its fury.
She could have refused such a suicidal assignment.
But seeing that none of the other knights moved to spare her this trial—indeed, observing their barely concealed pleasure at her predicament—Falia resolved not to grant them such satisfaction.
She would take this duty seriously.
Yes—escorting Euron Crow's Eye to King Joffrey represents genuine honor.
This person can be me.
And it shall be me alone—Falia Flowers, mere bastard daughter!
Gods grant me strength. Let me prove worthy of the king's blessing, worthy of my position as liaison officer aboard the Oakenshield. Finally, hope has appeared—I must seize this opportunity!
And advance even further!
She gritted her teeth, grasping any fixed object within reach while moving forward step by agonizing step through the howling darkness.
The wind and rain suddenly intensified beyond all previous measure!
She could only lower her head completely, squeeze her eyes shut, and fight desperately for each breath.
Though her senses registered little clearly, she knew in her heart that she had reached the open deck. The storm's redoubled violence provided unmistakable proof.
What felt like hours passed before she finally adapted enough to function.
Shielding her brow with one trembling hand, she forced her eyes open.
The Oakenshield's deck had been transformed beyond recognition. Where once flat planking had provided open space, now crisscrossing networks of rope and rail offered countless handholds. Every crate and cabinet had been secured to the deck with supernatural permanence—not merely nailed down, but somehow merged into a single, unified whole.
The Kingsguard's work! Falia realized immediately.
Divine grace! She recalled the term from her light screen's information displays. Holy Artificer.
What enviable power.
Her eyes could not help but blaze with desperate longing. If she could possess such abilities, she would truly rank among the realm's elite, commanding universal respect.
She also understood the fundamental truth underlying such gifts.
Only the king possessed authority to grant such power to the world—the miraculous process called "Sharing Divine Grace."
I must see His Grace as soon as possible!
She bit her lip, fixed Crow's Eye's position in her mind, then grasped the nearest railing and began her careful advance.
The additional supports made deck movement infinitely safer and easier. By climbing and shifting between railings according to the storm's rhythm while ensuring each handhold remained secure, one could avoid being swept overboard by the tempest's fury.
Her slender, flexible frame allowed Falia to quickly overtake the knights ahead.
Though in truth, the knights had already stopped their advance.
Following their example, Falia twisted her body between the railings, clinging to the port side's edge while peering downward.
She immediately grasped the source of their hesitation.
The sight below was enough to freeze brave men's hearts with terror.
Waves rose and fell with vicious intensity, turning and rolling and crashing against each other in endless succession, birthing terrifying swells several yards high that stretched beyond sight in every direction.
Any person who fell into that maelstrom would vanish without trace in mere heartbeats.
Falia could not suppress a shudder of pure dread.
She strained her vision toward the distance, making out a dim, blurred figure floating at the very edge of their light's reach.
Crow's Eye. How does he still float upon those murderous waters?
Could the Drowned God of the Iron Islands truly be protecting him? Greyjoy. Sea monster.
Of course.
If sea monsters exist, what else might be deemed impossible?
Recalling the disgusting tentacles she had glimpsed earlier, Falia trembled throughout her entire frame and immediately abandoned such doubts.
But how could they retrieve Crow's Eye from the storm-lashed waters?
Falia pondered the dilemma with growing distress, realizing she possessed no capability whatsoever for such a task. The knights' hesitation obviously stemmed from identical limitations.
"Look there!" one knight called, pointing toward the ship's forward port quarter.
Falia and the others turned to observe. The Oakenshield's hull gathered itself into a large wooden sphere at one particular location, from which a straight pole began extending outward, gradually lengthening as they watched.
More artificer work. Falia understood immediately.
Like the other knights, she stood upon the rain-soaked deck enduring the gale's assault, watching that wooden appendage approach Crow's Eye's floating form across the churning waters before reshaping itself to completely envelop his unconscious body.
Euron Greyjoy was captured.
Falia, having served merely as witness throughout the entire process, felt no sense of accomplishment—only confusion at the absurdity of her situation.
Her father's command had been utterly ridiculous.
She realized with crystal clarity that the king's true needs could only be fulfilled by the royal guardsmen he had personally dispatched for this purpose.
Oakenshield Island? The ship Oakenshield?
Being permitted to observe such work represents tremendous honor. How dare I presume to demand more?
The Kingsguard had made their position abundantly clear through actions rather than words.
Oakenshield Island—indeed, the entire Shield Islands—meant nothing to King Joffrey. Whether they submitted or resisted, the ultimate outcome would likely prove identical.
Falia suddenly realized that the Shield Islands had not yet received a royal governor.
Who will claim that position?
Beric Dondarrion's earlier words echoed through her memory. Could it possibly be me?
Do I even possess a choice in such matters?
Falia had never dared consider herself worthy of such elevation. She understood that the king might not care about her existence at all, might never have heard her name spoken in his presence.
Her choices could determine only her own destiny while affecting nothing beyond that narrow scope.
Who to serve? Oakenshield Island? The king?
Falia felt her lips curve upward without conscious command. Why pretend any choice exists? Oakenshield Island has already rejected everything I represent. The king embodies the gods' own will!
She retraced her path through the storm and entered the cabin's relative sanctuary.
The dent in the hull was gradually healing itself while Euron Crow's Eye had been dragged inside, his unconscious form deposited upon the deck like a sack of grain.
"Father," she stood straight and met Earl Hewett's aristocratic gaze directly, "Please rest assured—I shall personally escort this sinner before His Grace's throne."
Without awaiting the earl's response, Falia walked purposefully toward the motionless Crow's Eye.
Beric Dondarrion smiled faintly from his position nearby, though his expression remained unreadable.
Falia crouched beside her prisoner. Crow's Eye lay before her with pale, staring eyes and a face rigid as carved stone.
Truly not dead?
She extended one finger and pressed it against the hollow of his throat.
Poof~
Crow's Eye suddenly lurched upright, expelling a torrential mouthful of seawater.
Falia immediately retreated two steps, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Under every gaze present, Crow's Eye's pupils regained their natural color as consciousness and soul returned to his battered form.
In the next instant, an otherworldly sound shattered the cabin's tense atmosphere.
Roar~ ~ ~
The sea monster's cry had changed completely.
The new voice rang higher and stranger than before, causing mortal hearts to race wildly while spirits trembled like leaves before hurricane winds.