Chapter 101 – Aid

[298 AC – Inn at the Crossroads]

Looking on quietly at the farce that was played out by the venomous Queen and her hateful son, as they lied through their teeth about the events that led to the Prince being bitten by the direwolf belonging to the youngest daughter of Eddard Stark, Melisandre watched on impassively.

She had seen all manner of crimes in her long life and there was hardly one she had not committed herself, such rather tame displays of cruelty and deceit were not something Melisandre particularly cared about.

Right or wrong, even if she knew the truth clearly, were unimportant to her as her only goal was to fulfill her Lord's orders, which was the sole reason she was still present at this moment instead of having gone to bed already.

"And what of the direwolves? What about the beasts that savaged your son?", Cersei Lannister suddenly asked the King, just when everyone thought that this whole affair had passed.

And before the King could even answer, Melisandre interjected as she had waited for this exact moment the entire evening.

"No harm can come to the direwolf, Your Highness.", Melisandre announced, her voice soft and yet it had reached everyone in the crowded room.

Stepping forward in her blood-red robes, her fiery hair framing her flawless face, Melisandre's intense red eyes stared at the Queen, causing the latter to freeze up for a good moment as silence descended onto the room.

It wasn't just that Melisandre had outright confronted the Queen, when even the King did not dare to do so lightly, but also because those who knew who she was, were equally stunned and frightened at seeing her act.

Melisandre was undoubtedly the most powerful person in the room simply because she was a High Priestess, adding to the fact that she had the behemoth known as the Red Temple behind her, her words could not be dismissed by anyone, not even the King.

Cersei though frightened internally, regained her composure quickly, as she questioned the priestess with fake calm, her fingers inevitably trembling: "And why would that be, Lady Melisandre?"

"Forgive me, Your Highness. It is not me that wishes to see them protected but the Lord of Light.", Melisandre explained cryptically, her tone the perfect example of politeness, "So if you insist on bringing harm to either one of them, I will be forced to defend them."

Her last words practically exploded in the ears of all those listening and understanding what they meant. Cersei certainly did, as her face lost color rapidly while she stared at the Red Priestess.

A shiver went down the spine of every Lannister guard and Kingsguard present just thinking about fighting the High Priestess, despite her delicate and womanly figure. They had heard the stories about Thoros of Myr and most older ones amongst them had even seen the man fighting in the Greyjoy Rebellion themselves.

At this point at least half of them were already thinking about fleeing the room, while the other half had started to pray silently, hoping that the Queen and the King would not send them to their death needlessly.

"Why would your Lord want to protect these creatures?", the King asked with a frown, knowing that the situation had just turned very dangerous.

"I do not know, Your Majesty. He does not share his reasons with me but I will follow his orders regardless.", Melisandre answered with a light bow.

Of course, she knew that the reason that Phenex had tasked her to protect the wolf was that he had promised their mother to look after them, but Melisandre saw no reason to explain herself to the King or the Queen, as such was her power.

Giving the Red Priestess a deep look, Robert sighed audibly as he turned towards the exit while announcing with finality: "This matter is finished."

This time the Queen did not dare to object, as she simply dragged her son with her and left the room herself. Her face still pale and her limbs trembling, Cersei knew that she would once again pray that night, and if only to somewhat lessen the terror that had taken root in her heart.

…

"Thank you for your help, my Lady.", Eddard Stark said, as he turned towards the Red Priestess.

He knew that without her words, his daughter's direwolf would probably not have been allowed to live. As a man of honor, the Lord of Winterfell naturally did not shy away from showing gratitude when it was owed, even though there was no love lost between himself and the Red Temple.

"There is no need for your words, Lord Stark. I only did what I did because 'he' asked me to.", Melisandre replied with a smile that would have stolen a lesser man's heart, as even Eddard Stark took a moment to shake off his daze.

"But let me give you some advice before I return to my bed for the night, Lord Stark.", Melisandre continued, her gaze turning from enchanting to completely unreadable, "The wolf does not belong here. If you know what is good for it, you best have it return to Winterfell or set it free. A lone wolf cannot survive in a pit filled with snakes, spiders, and lions."

Melisandre had already started to walk away and nearly left the room when she turned back one last time and said: "Also, if you ever find yourself seeking the truth, I can help you find it in the flames."

…

[298 AC – White Harbor - Docks]

"Commander, it is good to see you.", Phenex greeted the kneeling man, after dismounting from his horse and gesturing for him to rise up.

"Greetings, my Lord and my Ladies.", Stannis Baratheon greeted with a light bow as he rose, the few men behind him doing the same. Clad in a mix of dark-red leather armor and black Valyrian steel plates, the commander of the Red Temple's naval forces made for an imposing sight.

Even though he had originally been designated to conquer Quarth, the Commander had delegated the task to a few very capable generals of his, something Phenex had allowed as he trusted Stannis' judgement. Having the Commander by his side for insights into military strategy was also a great advantage considering the chaos and conflict that was about to erupt in Westeros.

Phenex and his party had taken roughly a week to travel from the Wall to White Harbor, which wasn't really a great amount of time for such a long journey. They had not rested in any castles or keeps along the way, not even Winterfell, as the Red Temple wasn't very welcome in these lands.

And even though nobody would dare to attack a member of the temple, Phenex thought it better to just hasten their journey and return to more welcoming lands, which was also the reason he had Stannis come to White Harbor and pick them up with his flagship.

"We will talk later, Commander. Have everything brought on board, I want us to set out as soon as possible. There is no point in wasting any more time in the North.", Phenex announced calmly.

"As you wish, my Lord.", Stannis replied, before turning to the men behind him and throwing out orders, "You heard the Lord, bring the horses on board and store away all the belongings in the prepared quarters! Be quick about it so we can set off!"

"Aye, Commander!", came the chorus of replies, as the soldiers started moving at once.

"This way, my Lord. Let me show you to your quarters. Also, there is someone who is eager to meet you.", Stannis voiced out, as he began to lead the way.

No sooner than he had said those words, the cabin door burst open as a dark-haired small figure ran out and directly impacted Phenex' chest.

"Phenex!", Shireen called out happily, as she looked up at him with her bright blue eyes.

Grabbing her by her sides and lifting her into the air, Phenex smiled at the third of his dragonriders: "It seems you have missed me dearly, little fawn."

"I did! I missed you very much!", the girl admitted without hesitation, her smile bright and innocent.

"Come let's get back inside, so that you can tell me all about your adventures with Pheraxes.", Phenex offered, as he carried the nine-year-old girl back inside the cabin.

The name Pheraxes, which Shireen had chosen for her dragon was obviously a mixture of the two names Meraxes and Phenex.

Meraxes was not only the name of Rhaenys Targaryen's dragon, who had been the sister-wife of Aegon the Conquerer, but it was also the name of one of the old gods from Valyria who the dragonlords had used to pray to.

The quick-witted girl thus thought it was only fitting to name her dragon Pheraxes, after Phenex told her it was a female and she couldn't name it Phenex, which she had originally intended to do.

Eyes shining in excitement, Shireen's tongue nearly tied itself up as she tried to tell Phenex everything about her dragon that she could at once.