Chapter 396: The Awakening of an Assassin's Soul (Part 1)
Word soon spread through the mouths of the countless spectators fleeing the arena: the three dragons had come to Queenscrown on a visit, not for an attack. Once safety was assured, the residents, who had initially been scared out of their wits, began to feel a burgeoning curiosity toward the Queen who arrived on dragonback.
And that curiosity sparked a new stir.
To the ranks of the celibate Night's Watch, the Mountain Clansmen, and the New Gift folk, Asha Greyjoy, Lady Melisandre, and the two young visiting ladies from Winterfell were already rare beauties... but compared to them, Daenerys Targaryen's appearance seemed to belong to an entirely different art style, opening the eyes of men and women alike. Her status as a Dragon Rider added infinite points to her allure. The residents' scramble to watch and follow her put immense pressure on security. Fortunately, the arena was not far from the inner keep. With a full squad of Logistics Department soldiers forming a human wall to clear the way, Egger spent considerable effort and time finally reaching the fortress.
So many people in the Gift—Varys told her there were only thirty or forty thousand. Could they all be gathered in Queenscrown? Having not squeezed through a crowd in a long time, Daenerys felt dizzy. She stood on the grounds of the inner keep for a full half-minute before she recovered her senses.
"How are there so many people... never mind. Where is the library?"
"Your Majesty, your identity is sensitive; I do not recommend you read inside the library." Egger gave a few brief orders to the guards before turning to explain to her, "Please follow me. Wait a moment in the place I have arranged for you, and I will fetch the book for you."
"Where?" It wouldn't be a dungeon, would it? Daenerys shot a wary look at Egger, but realizing she was alone and that excessive suspicion wouldn't accomplish much, she chose to hope he had no plot—or that the deterrent of her three dragons was sufficient—and followed him.
"Does Your Majesty know why Queenscrown is called Queenscrown?"
She did not.
Because she had been cast adrift overseas since birth and spent her entire childhood fleeing wave after wave of assassins sent by Robert Baratheon, Daenerys had not been surrounded by learned tutors like Myrcella in the Red Fort. She hadn't spent her days immersed in the legends and histories of the Seven Kingdoms, and thus did not have Westeros at her fingertips.
Fortunately, the answer wasn't hard to guess: Queenscrown, a Queen's Crown—the hint was too obvious.
Daenerys pursed her lips. "Some queen came here and donated her crown to the Night's Watch?"
"Close, but much more than that." Egger suppressed a smile and shook his head. "Your ancestors, King Jaehaerys I 'the Conciliator' and his wife, Queen Alysanne 'the Good,' once came to the Wall to assist the Night's Watch during a massive Wildling invasion. Queen Alysanne not only helped the Night's Watch build a new fortress, 'Deep Lake,' to replace the unsustainable Nightfort, but she also granted us new lands from the North—the very land we stand upon now, known as the 'New Gift.' Without her noble act, Queenscrown would remain an obscure Northern village today. The Night's Watch renamed Snowgate, where she stayed, as Queensgate; and this nameless hamlet where she spent one night in the New Gift was named Queenscrown."
"So where are you taking me?" Egger's respectful tone regarding Queen Alysanne put Daenerys slightly at ease, but his winding way of not answering the question directly made her suspicious again.
"This is the pocket lake at the center of Queenscrown; the entire town is built around it. That tower on the island in the middle is where Queen Alysanne slept for one night. Later, the villagers painted the top wall gold, forming a circle that looked exactly like a crown. That is why this is called Queenscrown, rather than 'Queen's Village.'"
As they talked, Egger led Daenerys across the wooden bridge and into the tower.
This was a watchtower left by the villagers a century ago to defend against Wildlings. After being simply reinforced and repaired by the first Logistics Pioneering Team, it had served as the initial gilded cage for the pyromancers... providing them shelter from the wind and rain to mix Wildfire while preventing them from wandering off. However, as Queenscrown developed and living standards soared, the alchemists stopped complaining about wanting to return south, and their experiments soon turned into production. As for the later gunpowder ratio experiments and bomb research, those had moved out of here to the formal laboratory building in the inner keep or even the industrial zone in the outer city.
As personnel withdrew and equipment was moved, the place had slowly been idled, eventually containing only a few tables, chairs, cabinets, and empty cots—becoming a spare building.
"A fine story. Thank you for your patient narration, Lord Commander." The expression on Daenerys's face remained cold, but it was softer than before. "But if I may be blunt, my mind is currently on how to rescue the Seven Kingdoms—ruled by my ancestors for generations—from the Usurpers. I have no heart for touring a bedroom where an ancestor stayed but one night."
"You misunderstand," Egger shook his head. "I have placed you here because there is only one road to the island, only one tower on the island, and the tower has only one entrance. I only need to arrange a few guards to ensure that you are not harmed by anyone in Queenscrown." Damn, as he spoke, Egger suddenly realized: places that are easy to defend are often excellent prison cells. If he were to keep Daenerys under house arrest here like the pyromancers, turning this tower into a golden house for a hidden beauty... He quickly shook off the unrealistic fantasy. "You have traveled a long distance by dragon; you must be hungry and thirsty. The kitchen will soon bring you food and hot soup... Do your dragons need feeding?"
"No, they were fed before we came." Daenerys walked around the table in the room and touched the chair; finding no dust, it was clear someone tended to it regularly. "I hope to see that book before dinner. I trust the Lord Commander can fulfill this small wish."
"As you wish. Please, be seated. I shall return shortly."
Egger left the tower and gave orders to the guards at the door: light the hearth to warm the room, have the kitchen send food and drink, and keep a strict watch over the location.
Then, he hurried back toward the core area of the fortress where he lived... to see the other groups of guests currently receiving his hospitality.
What should I do when a fanatical reader arrives on a dragon to rush an update, but I haven't written a single word yet? Seeking immediate solutions, quite urgent!
That was a joke. He wasn't going to find these people to discuss ways to deal with Daenerys... From the moment he presented The Prince (Vol. I) to the Queen at Dragonstone, Egger had already been mentally rehearsing how to perform if she came to ask about the second half. He was quite confident.
But while the draft was prepared, he needed to confirm it once more before the show to avoid forgetting lines. Even more important than that was to stabilize the two groups from King's Landing and Winterfell—loyal to Stannis and the Starks, respectively—and make them believe Daenerys was here to help against the Others, not to collude with the Night's Watch in rebellion.
The living quarters were clustered together, making people easy to find.
"Egger!" Melisandre stopped him with a serious expression, whispering urgently: "There is little time. Since she is here, do whatever you must to keep her. Stall for as many days as possible, until the final battle breaks out. Her three dragons will be the ultimate weapon against the wight army!"
"Aren't you going to talk to her?"
"Talk about what? I was Stannis's advisor!"
"I'll find a way. We'll talk later." Egger nodded and quickly ended the conversation.
He didn't want to waste words on the Red Woman because he trusted her: though she was Stannis's nominal advisor, her true identity was a High Priestess of R'hllor. She would never move against another—someone who might be the Prince that was Promised and who would play a vital role in the Great War.
The key now was to pacify Beric Dondarrion's group and the Winterfell soldiers so they wouldn't send the wrong message to Stannis or the Warden of the North!
"Rest easy, Lord Commander. We won't be informants, nor will we view you as an enemy and leave the Gift just because you hosted the Targaryen Queen." The Lord of Blackhaven's attitude was far more open-minded than expected; he even began to advise Egger, the new master of the Gift, in his capacity as an old nobleman. "But be careful... if you respond poorly to an interrogation from the Lord of Winterfell, it's not certain whether the North will still give its full support in the final battle. A personal suggestion: no matter who asks, don't explain too much. Just stick firmly to two points: 'The Night's Watch is neutral' and 'Guest Right is sacred.' No one can publicly criticize or fault you for respecting tradition."
"Is that girl truly Daenerys Targaryen?" Thoros, who had clearly just been drinking, was on an entirely different wavelength. His eyes were wide. "If every Targaryen woman looks like that, then... that gods-be-damned 'Blessed' Baelor truly deserved to be hacked into a thousand pieces!"
Who is Baelor? Egger was momentarily confused by the drunken priest's words, needing a few seconds to realize: he was talking about the king who built the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing, Baelor I Targaryen. That fanatically pious king frequently fasted because worldly food was sinful and practiced celibacy because intercourse was unclean—to avoid being tempted by his three sisters, who should have been his wives by family law, and to preserve their chastity, he confined them in the Maidenvault within the Red Keep, forbidding them from contact with men.
Egger had found the story somewhat ridiculous when he first heard it, thinking the man was a lunatic, but now he realized: if every Targaryen woman carried that strange aura of attraction, then doing such a thing actually made sense!
"Lord Egger... look, I'm the archery champion, right?" Anguy the Archer asked somewhat awkwardly. "That Queen interrupted my match. Do you think she might be interested in seeing me... to apologize or comfort me or something?"
What the hell is going on with everyone!
Egger rolled his eyes, but this interruption helped him calm down. The veteran's wisdom was correct—he didn't need to rush to pacify anyone or explain himself. He was the master here; as long as he maintained the proper poise of a host and publicly forbade guests from killing each other under his roof, Guest Right was his best shield!
"My Lord!" Myrcella ran over, her face flushed red.
"What is it?" Egger answered softly, looking down, expecting the little princess to have another brilliant plan.
"Arya... Arya just went back to her room, grabbed her 'Needle,' and left. I don't know where she went!"
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!