"Enough! Davos, I did not call you here to speak such dispiriting words."
Great Lord Stannis, thick-browed and blue-eyed, still wore a tight leather jerkin and coarse brown wool trousers as he stood by the map table, listening to Ser Davos' report.
Stannis had fled King's Landing and had no intention of returning. He was convinced that House Lannister had poisoned Jon Arryn, and Lady Lysa's frantic flight only deepened his suspicions. The Lannisters' power in King's Landing ran deep. Lately, Stannis found himself doubting everyone.
"I know bending and yielding is as hard for you as turning back the tide," Ser Davos said quietly. "Without that temper, you would not be Lord Stannis. But as things stand, we have very few friends."
No one understood Stannis's predicament better than Davos. Stannis stood almost alone. Storm's End belonged to Renly. King's Landing was largely in Lannister hands. Jon Arryn's widow was half-mad. Aside from a handful across the Narrow Sea, he had scarcely any allies at all.
"You make a poor envoy, Ser Davos. I sent you Across the Narrow Sea, to Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys, to seek out friends for me. Yet you return to tell me those pirate friends will not send ships or men. The timid have already sworn themselves to my bastard nephew. The bold dare only to skulk behind their black ships and wait upon others."
Stannis spoke in fury, his mouth hard as forged iron, a mouth made for scowls, anger, and cutting words.
"My friends did love gold once. Morosh of Myr, Salladhor Saan of Lys, and those sellswords. But they have no wish to die for gold, especially now that they have found a higher branch to cling to," Ser Davos sighed. "With a new king rising, it will be difficult for us to win friends. I mean that perhaps we should consider cooperation."
"I would sooner you brought me a sellsword king who loves nothing but gold. But that bastard is not such a man. He has my brother's blood, and the exiled Targaryen orphan girl beside him. He lacks no gold. What he lacks is a crown. Bastards, once given power, wealth, and authority, will always look for a chance to overturn the order, just like that traitor Daemon Blackfyre."
"You are right. But at present, we truly stand without allies. Those fine fleets, the screamer warriors, they all serve Gendry. Even if he refuses to aid us, we must not allow him to ally with others. If he does, with that number of ships, we will be sealed inside Blackwater Bay and Dragonstone."
"Dragonstone, and a few rocks scattered in the Narrow Sea. Those are my domains. I ought to thank my good brother," Stannis said with bitter self-mockery. "There are lords sworn to me, yes. But they are few. It seems I have no choice. I have never fought a war so difficult."
"My lord, our most pressing enemy is still House Lannister. If only we could secure some aid. If you had seen those armies, those sellswords, those splendid warships, the fierce Wolfpack knights, the Dothraki screamers warriors. If only we had some measure of support."
"Some matters admit no compromise," Stannis said flatly.
"We would merely be forming an alliance," Davos ventured after a moment's thought.
"An alliance with former enemies? Spare me. Do you think Viserys and that girl would forget who drove them off this wretched island?"
"The crisis before us does have a swift solution. In the west, we resist House Lannister. In the east, Robert's bastard."
Stannis fell silent after saying it.
Ser Davos understood his meaning. Had King Robert once chosen differently, had he named Stannis Hand of the King, their present plight would be far less severe. But there were no such ifs. Still, Stannis's words stirred a new thought in Davos's mind.
"In that case, perhaps we might reach out to Lord Stark?" Ser Davos suggested. "Lord Eddard has never favored House Lannister. He is known to be just, if rigid. Moreover, Lord Eddard's lady wife and Lord Jon's lady wife are sisters, both of House Tully."
"Eddard Stark?" Stannis paused. "Robert often said he and Eddard were as close as brothers. I believe that is true. As for me, I never felt it. Still, compared with Renly and that bastard Gendry, Eddard is far less detestable."
"You may go, Ser Davos. Leave me to think."
The situation Davos had described was the most dire of all possibilities. House Lannister held the land, while the sea was dominated by the Myr Wolf Pack fleet.
"Yes, Lord Stannis," Ser Davos said with a nod.
He was thinking of one thing: forming an alliance would be difficult, and even if achieved, they had little to offer as leverage.
"And one more thing," Stannis added before Davos reached the door. "Keep watch on House Velaryon and House Celtigar. I do not trust them."
Both houses had once been vassals of House Targaryen. Stannis could not help but question their loyalty now.
If the black-and-red banners of House Targaryen rose again, then the lands around King's Landing would be the first to be thrown into turmoil.
...
The North, Winterfell, the godswood.
Catelyn found Eddard Stark in the godswood, cleaning "Ice." She put the letter into his hands and told him what it said.
It had come from King's Landing, a message from King Robert.
"Lord Jon is dead," Catelyn said.
Eddard's face tightened, exactly as she'd expected. The bond between them had been like father and son. When the Mad King demanded that Lord Jon surrender the lives of his two foster sons, Lord Jon had raised his banners instead, true to the words of House Arryn: "As High as Honor."
"The letter says it happened suddenly. Lord Jon was always healthy, but… he was old." Catelyn swallowed. "Lysa and the boy are well. They've returned to the Eyrie."
"The gods," Eddard breathed. He stared down at the parchment as if it might change, but the news alone was enough to throw his thoughts into turmoil.
"There's more," Catelyn went on. "King Robert is coming north. He says in the letter he wishes to speak with you about the realm."
"We haven't seen each other in years. Five years." Some color returned to Eddard's face, the shadow lifting for a heartbeat. "How many will he bring?"
"About a hundred knights, with their retainers. And many more sellswords besides, and half the court. The queen and her children are coming as well. Where the king goes, the court follows."
"Good. That gives us time to prepare," Eddard said. "A host that large won't move quickly."
"The queen's brother is with them, too."
Eddard's expression hardened again. He had never liked House Lannister. They had joined their cause only when victory was already certain, and Eddard had never truly forgiven it.
"Have you heard?" Catelyn asked, hesitating before she forced the words out. "About what Robert has done Across the Narrow Sea."
"The sellsword king Across the Narrow Sea?" Eddard said, as if to be sure he'd heard her right. "How could I not? Every sailor who comes through White Harbor talks of him. They say he rules Across the Narrow Sea now, Myr, Tyrosh, the Disputed Lands. Some even call him a new Conqueror."
"He's only a bastard…" Catelyn said softly.
The word tasted like a cold knife. Even now, it still cut.
"A bastard king is no small matter," Eddard said, the past stirring in his voice. "Daemon, the old king's bastard, once met King Daeron in battle. This boy has strength, and he holds the Targaryen brother and sister as well. He will step onto the stage sooner or later."
"So I must face war after all," Eddard sighed. "I never thought it would be against Robert's bastard, not the wildlings beyond the Wall."
"War…" Catelyn shivered.