The Great Council ended. After months of discussion and debate, a consensus was finally reached.
Proactive offense.
King Robert decided to invite almost all the lords to a hunt in the Kingswood, hoping to encounter the legendary White Hart.
Before the Targaryens came to Westeros, dragons were not the symbol of kings; the White Hart was. And the stag just happened to be the sigil of House Baratheon.
Various houses entered the Kingswood in groups, each lord bringing dozens of knights as guards.
As for the noble ladies, they were fortunate enough to leave their residences and breathe some fresh air outside.
Massive wheels rolled forward, arriving at a flat clearing. Cersei, along with her daughter Myrcella and son Tommen, stepped out of the wheelhouse.
She ordered tents to be set up and began hosting the other noble ladies there.
Joffrey and Lancelot rode together, following Robert on the hunt.
"Lancelot, have you heard the rumors about the Divine Stag recently?" Joffrey asked.
"Divine Stag? What Divine Stag?" Lancelot withdrew his gaze and asked. A white rabbit slipped away right before his eyes, disappearing into the bushes.
"A few days ago, a hunter was bitten by a snake in the Kingswood. Just when he thought he was going to die from the poison, a Divine Stag appeared. It's said that Its appearance was accompanied by a seven-colored rainbow light. When the hunter woke from his coma, he found himself completely unharmed, except all his game was gone."
"The hunter returned to King's Landing and saw a maester. His wound was indeed a snake bite, but there was no venom in his body, and he survived."
Listening to Joffrey, Lancelot fell into thought.
"Has only one person seen this Divine Stag?" Lancelot asked.
"No, no one has really seen It clearly. Its appearance is always accompanied by rainbow light, obscuring Its body. Only an outline can be seen, an outline like a stag," Joffrey said.
"This is probably someone's idea to collect more taxes from the hunters!" Lancelot said.
Hunting in the Kingswood wasn't free; every hunter needed a poaching license (or hunting permit), which cost money. Half the value of the game also had to go to the Crown.
For a moment, Lancelot thought it was Littlefinger's idea, as he was the Master of Coin.
But then he reconsidered. Although Littlefinger was the Master of Coin, he himself was getting richer while the Crown got poorer.
It was unlikely he would want to increase tax revenue for the Crown.
"Whatever! Joff, you have a compound bow. If you can't bag some decent game, you won't live up to your title as archery champion! Go! Go hunt!" Lancelot encouraged.
Hearing this, Joffrey immediately turned his horse and, surrounded by dozens of attendants, charged into the Kingswood.
Lancelot rode alone, wandering through the forest.
Just as he picked a few unknown red berries from a tree to eat, a sharp arrow struck the trunk above his head.
In the distance, someone came galloping on a horse. She rode a bay warhorse, wore a black woolen tunic with a black cloak over it, and held a longbow in her hand.
"Ygritte. You're here too?" Lancelot jumped down from the tree.
"Lancelot, aren't you afraid of me? I almost shot you just now," she asked.
"That arrow was a foot above my head," Lancelot pointed out.
"Where is Jon?" Lancelot asked.
"He's with Eddard Stark. Catelyn Tully was dragged away by the Queen to entertain the other ladies, so Jon went to stay with his father for a while," Ygritte said.
"Why are you alone? Where are the others?" Ygritte asked.
"This hunt is a competition. The champion gets to be the vanguard of the Seven Kingdoms' allied army. Naturally, everyone split up," Lancelot explained.
"You look lonely by yourself. Let's go together! Any game we catch counts as yours," Ygritte offered. She knew she couldn't become the vanguard commander.
If that happened, it would be a slap in everyone's face. Going from a wildling to a knight was already defying the world order. She knew when to quit while ahead.
"Alright. Have a berry! They shouldn't be poisonous." Lancelot gave Ygritte one of the red berries he had picked.
She took the plump, red fruit and bit into it. A burst of refreshing juice filled her mouth.
"What is this? I seem to have eaten it before... what was it called?" Ygritte mused.
Back beyond the Wall, she had eaten fruit like this. It was during a tribal conflict; the fire-kissed tribe was invaded by other wildlings, and she got lost.
Chased into the woods, she only emerged from the bushes after the invaders had left.
Escaping with her life, Ygritte saw another group of wildlings picking these berries, so she stole some to eat. But after eating them, some indescribable things happened.
Later, she learned this wild fruit was called "Spring Fruit." It acted like an aphrodisiac, making one unable to stop.
Back then, eating Spring Fruit led Ygritte to lose her virginity to a fellow clansman.
Eating it again now, she realized things were bad.
"Lancelot!" She called his name one last time before falling from her horse.
Lancelot rushed to check on her, only to find Ygritte's face flushed red, breathing heavily, her hands frantically tearing at her own clothes.
"Hey, what's wrong? Ygritte, are you poisoned? Why am I fine after eating it?" Lancelot asked.
Lancelot didn't realize that his injection of the Pan-Antivenom Serum gave him resistance to all toxins, and his magic strengthened his resistance even further.
"Lancelot, take me somewhere safe, quickly. Don't let anyone see me," Ygritte pleaded.
Lancelot eventually carried Ygritte into a tree hollow. It was likely a bear's den, littered with bones.
But the bear was out hunting, not home.
Inside the hollow, Ygritte clung tightly to Lancelot, tearing at his clothes.
"Lancelot, save me. If you don't help me, I'll die," Ygritte murmured deliriously, her body temperature rising.
"Could it be that the wild fruit we ate was an aphrodisiac? She ended up like this, but I'm fine—is it because she's female and I'm male?" Lancelot wondered.
Seeing Ygritte look like she was about to die, Lancelot had no other choice to save her.
He kissed Ygritte, receiving an even more passionate response.
In the tree hollow, the two consummated their union for the first time.
When she woke up, she realized what had happened.
"Lancelot, thank you for saving me!" Although her body felt a bit uncomfortable, Ygritte mustered her spirits to speak.
"I've wronged Jon!" Lancelot said, head lowered, fiddling with an animal skull in his hands.
"Keep this a secret from him. It was just an accident, wasn't it?" Ygritte said.
"Indeed. One misstep causes eternal regret! Life is full of contradictions," Lancelot replied.