[Chapter Size: 2600 Words.]
Third Person POV.
Gulltown.
...
...
Winter and Viridrax advanced over Gulltown without any warning, while immediately all the city's bells began to ring.
And their problem wasn't just two dragons flying over the city ready to spit elements at them; out at sea, more than a hundred ships advanced under Targaryen banners. Perhaps because of the dragons or the naval force approaching, white flags began to be raised throughout the city.
Meanwhile, Daemon, atop one of his dragons, advanced directly toward the castle of the city's lord, who stood with his men, watching everything in terror. Daemon waited until he was above the castle, then simply jumped from Viridrax, who was flying at that moment.
He didn't want to wait for the fleet, and there was also nowhere to land the dragons except outside the city walls. So his fall was sudden, drawing several screams from around him, since the attention of the entire city was focused on the dragons, expecting the worst when they saw someone falling like that.
Daemon displayed his flying magic as he gradually slowed his descent, landing gently on the ground under the gaze of many people in that street and at the castle gates, who watched in fear.
He wore the black armor he had claimed in King's Landing, adorned with red symbols and the three-headed dragon emblazoned across the chest. His helmet was also part of the set, fashioned in the shape of a dragon.
The men were already nervous, all focused on the castle. They couldn't help but swallow hard when they saw a man falling from the sky with lights around him, landing gently and approaching them. A shield appeared in his left hand, while Blackfyre materialized in the other.
"Soldiers, I am the current King of Westeros!" he declared in a loud voice. "Your city has already surrendered. I want you to take me to your lord."
As soon as Daemon's words were heard, the soldiers swallowed hard. The dragons continued roaring in the skies. That alone was enough for them to quickly run off to inform their lord.
Daemon approached, and they stepped aside, allowing him entry into the castle.
A family approached him, coming through the gates after hearing what was happening. Swallowing hard, Lord Gerold Grafton, together with his wife and children, stepped forward to greet him.
"Quick, quick! Kneel!" Gerold told his family nervously as he saw Daemon approaching through the courtyard.
Everyone obeyed somewhat awkwardly due to how sudden it all was, while Daemon approached. He sheathed Blackfyre and dismissed the shield afterward, and with a small display of magic that did not go unnoticed, he removed his helmet, revealing his face, his purple eyes staring at the lord before him.
"Hello, Lord Grafton. Can you guarantee that this city is completely surrendered and that we won't have any problems when I disembark my ships at the harbor?" Daemon asked calmly.
Roars came immediately afterward, echoing through the skies. The sound of the dragons alone made everyone tremble. The white dragon and the green dragon circled high above.
"No, Your Majesty. The city, the fleet, and everything we possess are yours. House Grafton is also under your command!" the man replied. Despite yielding, he seemed tough, but he still recognized the power before him.
"Very good. Rise."
With those words, the men began to stand, while Daemon turned his attention to the other members of the family.
"Lady Grafton, and this must be your heir, correct?"
"Yes, indeed. Later I will introduce my wife, Lady Ysilla Grafton, and my sons, Gunthor Grafton, my heir, and Gyles Grafton," he said.
Daemon nodded. "A pleasure."
"It is an honor, Your Majesty..."
"Excellent. Just keep the harbor clear so the troops can disembark. They will move outside the city without any problems. If they cause any trouble, I will deal with them personally. Now, I would like to have a conversation with you, Lord Grafton." Daemon spoke calmly, making the man nod quickly.
"Of course, Your Majesty. Please, follow me. And you, prepare the harbor for the arrival of the royal troops. Open one of the western gates as well," the man ordered quickly.
Daemon followed him inside. He wanted to have a conversation about the local lords. Even though he already knew a little about the current situation through letters and his own observations, he still preferred to form his own opinion.
Although he did not completely trust the information before him, it was still better than nothing. After all, that man might have yielded only because of the immense power Daemon had displayed. They had not even considered raising weapons against the two dragons and the fleet advancing toward them.
"Your Majesty, we received your letter, and as you saw, we responded positively," he began.
That was the first point. The royal troops would dock regardless. Obviously, the Vale had no way of gathering a naval force large enough to block the landing.
Because of that, many lords had responded to the royal decree stating that they would submit to the Crown.
In any case, Gulltown belonged to them. But there was also something interesting about House Grafton.
"Excellent, that reminds me of your father, Marq Grafton. He fought in the rebellion against the rebels and did not abandon House Targaryen. We remember that," Daemon said.
"Thank you for honoring the memory of my father, who died in the rebellion, Your Majesty," he said gratefully before continuing.
"Your Majesty, regarding the Vale... Lady Lysa is visibly insane, and that man is always whispering in her ears," said Lord Grafton.
Daemon looked at him. "You have certain connections with him, do you not, Lord Grafton?"
The man's expression darkened slightly at the mention.
"I say that because I found records when I confiscated Littlefinger's brothels the first time I was in King's Landing. There were some documents, some even listing you as one of his contacts for goods and gold... even within Robert Baratheon's government."
The man looked at Daemon with some concern. Those were practically proofs of treason, taking gold from the Crown...
Littlefinger possessed strong connections within the Vale thanks to House Baelish, which held small lands in the region, a fortified tower in the Vale called the Baelish Keep, but also because of his relationship with Lysa Arryn, which helped him establish even more powerful connections, possibly allowing him to rise from a minor lord to Master of Coin.
It was no wonder he had been chosen as Master of Coin by the Hand of the King and later became Lord of Harrenhal, and now practically controlled the Vale. All thanks to that woman's influence.
Jon Arryn never imagined that he was merely planting the seed that would cause his own death in the future and lead the Arryns to practically lose control of the Vale. But Daemon already knew the entire truth behind that murder.
In any case, he decided to change the subject.
"If you are with us, how many men can you provide to join the royal troops?" Daemon asked.
Seeing an opportunity to redeem himself before the new king, the man immediately raised his hand and held up two fingers.
"I can provide two thousand soldiers." He no longer believed that Lysa Arryn could truly deal with dragons and that army. Therefore, it was much better to join the winning side.
Daemon certainly was not a fan of this type of person, but his family had fought in the rebellion for the Targaryen cause, so he could be forgiven for what he had done under the previous government.
House Grafton certainly represented no danger to the Crown.
"Excellent. Join your troops with ours and appoint a commander to lead your forces and accompany us," Daemon said.
The man struck his chest proudly. "I will personally lead our efforts, Your Majesty. I will fight by your side." Daemon merely nodded.
"Good. The Royces will be with us. House Waynwood, House Redfort, House Shett, House Templeton, and many other houses as well. Littlefinger tried to summon everyone in haste, but the houses closest to me have already submitted to my cause... What he hopes to use is a siege... with a hostage." Daemon looked at the map.
Obviously, since they had saved Lord Stark, the Royces would no longer stand with Lysa Arryn.
As for the Melcolms, they were the men who had captured Lord Stark after Daemon helped him leave King's Landing. The group aboard the ship that he had hired and even threatened at the time ended up being ambushed, and Lord Stark was kept prisoner along with his daughter.
But that entire situation was so absurd that, even knowing it was Yohn Royce who had taken Ned Stark to White Harbor after recovering him, no one in the Vale dared to act against them.
Until a little over a week ago, Yohn Royce had been in the middle of a tournament surrounded by important figures of the Vale. Since the Vale had suddenly declared neutrality, capturing Lord Stark seemed like an extremely complicated and dangerous decision, compromising the Vale. Not to mention that Lord Stark had grown up under Jon Arryn's wing alongside Robert; the kingdom itself capturing him was absurd in and of itself.
In any case, Brynden Tully entered the castle and approached Daemon, who was discussing those matters with Lord Grafton.
"Good, let's update a few things here," Daemon said.
Then he began explaining his plans. After speaking with Lord Grafton, Brynden, who knew the Vale very well from having served for years as the Knight of the Gate, also gave his opinion.
"Well, this won't be a difficult fight at all. We won't need to deal with more than the men of the Arryn lands. All the major forces around them are submitting to us... So we'll simply march to the Eyrie."
"What do you intend to do?" Brynden asked.
"First, I'm going to attack the Eyrie itself. I need to get Sansa and take her somewhere safe before Littlefinger tries to cause any problems," Daemon replied.
After all, Baelish would be cornered. No one knew what that man would be capable of when he had no options left.
Besides, Daemon wanted to see his reaction when he realized he had no weapons or allies capable of saving him.
"Do you intend to do anything with Lysa and Littlefinger?" Brynden asked cautiously.
"We'll execute Littlefinger publicly; I intend to kill him immediately. As for Lysa, we've already discussed that. She will be sent to the Silent Sisters." Daemon looked directly at Brynden. "Even though she deserves execution for poisoning her own husband."
Daemon's gaze challenged any objection.
Brynden merely sighed. "Very well. If you believe sending her to the Silent Sisters is enough, then I thank you, Your Majesty."
Together with Littlefinger, she had orchestrated Jon Arryn's death. At least Lysa would be spared. She would no longer pose any problem living in seclusion among the other women of the Silent Sisters, dedicating the rest of her life solely to faith and silence.
"Your Majesty will not be taking part in the march?" Lord Grafton asked, somewhat disappointed. He had hoped to fight alongside Daemon.
The king simply shook his head. "No. At least not for now. Yohn Royce and the others are raising a force to join you, and I want Brynden to handle the march with the other lords," Daemon said calmly.
"I'll join you later, merely as a formality. But this will be a very easy battle. I'll head to the front lines as soon as I finish destroying all of Littlefinger's cards against us..."
With those words, Daemon and Brynden headed outside while supervising the troops leaving through the western gate.
The camp began to be set up. Around twenty thousand men carried Targaryen banners. Since it was already mid-afternoon, there was no reason to immediately advance through the mountains.
Daemon discussed the final details with Brynden, who would remain in overall command of the army.
"It seems the damage caused by that mysterious storm left both the common people of the Vale and its lords in a difficult situation," Brynden pointed out, indicating the map.
After hearing Lord Grafton's reports, they discovered that the storm created by Daemon had been extremely destructive.
Daemon merely shrugged. "What can I do? The weather is kind of crazy."
Brynden knew very well that was a lie. The reports from the Vale spoke of the dragons, the roars echoing across the skies, and the storm appearing suddenly. Because of that, much of the Vale now feared Daemon.
Even before his troops had disembarked, that was already evident in the letters received. Many believed that storm had not been a mere coincidence.
In any case, Daemon dined with his men, and when night fell, he walked out of the camp to where his dragons were waiting.
He mounted one of them and shot into the skies. The dragons climbed rapidly through the mountains until they reached the highest peaks, where a castle stood on the edge of a precipice.
The Eyrie.
It was a difficult target due to its altitude. Watchmen constantly observed the skies, searching for dragons, even though they likely still did not know about the arrival of the royal troops.
Daemon slowed down gradually until he reached the rooftop.
His magic concealed his presence. No alarm was raised as he landed silently.
"Well, let's begin," he said calmly before summoning a Daedra and requesting an invisibility spell.
Then he jumped from the rooftop and landed without drawing anyone's attention.
Or at least, without being seen. Moving beneath the cloak of invisibility, he easily passed through the castle corridors.
He already knew where Sansa was being kept, but something caught his attention through the birds he used to observe the place.
So he changed direction. He passed through several corridors until he found a man on one of the castle's open balconies. Lysa was asleep in bed.
On the balcony, the man drank wine while looking visibly worried. Petyr Baelish. The war must have been consuming his thoughts. It was an outcome he had never expected.
The threats Daemon had made through his letters must have robbed him of sleep.
Perhaps that was why he did not even notice Daemon approaching. And he could not have.
Daemon was invisible. He simply grabbed Petyr's mouth from behind.
"I'm not going to kill you now. That would be too sad. But I'm going to leave you with a reminder."
Daemon saw the dagger attached to his waist and took it.
It was a fine piece. "Interesting dagger," he commented, examining the Valyrian steel blade that Littlefinger carried.
Petyr tried to break free, but it was impossible.
He was completely stunned. He could not see the arm holding him, although he could feel it pressing over his mouth.
Then Daemon brought the dagger in front of his face.
Without hesitation, he made a swift cut. The blade slashed across his eyes in a direct line.
Littlefinger tried to scream in pain, thrashing like an animal, but the sound died beneath the hand still covering his mouth. Daemon also activated a sound barrier.
His body twisted violently. Daemon merely watched for a moment.
Then he punched him in the head. Petyr immediately lost consciousness.
Without saying anything else, Daemon stepped away and left the chamber.
Behind him, the now-blind Petyr Baelish collapsed to the floor, bleeding and unconscious, carrying a reminder he would never forget. He had already lost his mobility when Daemon struck him with that arrow; now Daemon had blinded him.
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