The Great Council concluded. After several months of discussion and debate, a consensus was finally reached.
To take the initiative and attack.
Robert decided to invite almost all the lords to hunt in The Kingswood, hoping to encounter the legendary white stag.
Before the Targaryen Family arrived on the continent of Westeros, the dragon was not the symbol of the king; the white stag was. The stag also happens to be the sigil of the Baratheon Family.
Various families entered The Kingswood in batches, with each lord bringing dozens of knight escorts.
As for the noble ladies and madams, they also had the opportunity to leave their residences and breathe some fresh air outside.
Giant wheels rolled forward, arriving at a flat area. Cersei, along with her daughter Myrcella and Tommen, stepped out of the wheel palace.
She ordered people to set up tents and began entertaining the other noble madams here.
Joffrey and Mufasa rode horses together, following Robert on the hunt.
"Mufasa, have you heard the rumors about the divine stag recently?" Little Joffrey asked.
"Divine stag? What divine stag!" Mufasa asked, pulling back his gaze. A white rabbit scurried past him, darted into the bushes, and disappeared.
"A few days ago, a hunter was bitten by a snake in The Kingswood. Just when he thought the poison would kill him, a divine stag appeared. It is said that its appearance was accompanied by seven-colored rainbow light. When the hunter woke up from his coma, he found he was completely fine, except that all his hunted game was gone."
"The hunter returned to King's Landing and found a Maester to examine him. His wound indeed showed snake bite marks, but there was no snake venom in his body, and he survived."
Mufasa was thoughtful after hearing what Joffrey said.
"Has only one person seen the divine stag?" Mufasa asked.
"No, no one has actually seen it. However, its appearance is always accompanied by seven-colored rainbow light. Its body is mostly obscured by the light; you can only see a silhouette, a deer-like silhouette," Little Joffrey said.
"This is probably someone who came up with an idea to collect more taxes from the hunters!" Mufasa said.
Hunting was not allowed just anywhere in The Kingswood. Every hunter had to obtain a Privateering License, which cost money. Half the value of the game also went to the royal family.
For a moment, Mufasa thought it was an idea Baelish had come up with, as he was the Master of Coin.
But on second thought, although Baelish was the Master of Coin, he himself was getting richer, while the royal family was getting poorer.
It was unlikely that he would willingly increase taxes for the royal family.
"Never mind! Little Joffrey, you have your Compound Bow. If you can't catch decent game, you'll truly fail to live up to your title as the archery champion! Go on! Go hunting!" Mufasa said.
Upon hearing this, Joffrey immediately turned his horse around and charged into The Kingswood, surrounded by dozens of attendants.
Mufasa rode his horse alone, wandering through The Kingswood.
As he was picking some unknown red berries from a tree to eat, a sharp arrow struck the trunk right above his head.
A person came galloping on a horse from a distance. She was riding a date-red warhorse, wearing a black woolen shirt covered by a black cloak. She held a longbow in her hand.
"Ygritte. You came too?" Mufasa said, jumping down from the tree.
"Mufasa, you aren't afraid of me? I almost shot you just now, didn't I?" she asked.
"That arrow was still a foot above my head, wasn't it?" Mufasa said.
"Where is Jon?" Mufasa asked.
"He's with Eddard Stark. Catelyn Tully was taken by the Queen to entertain the other madams, so Jon went to spend some time with his father," Ygritte said.
"Why are you alone? Where are the others?" Ygritte asked.
"This hunt is a competition, and the final champion will become the Vanguard of the Seven Kingdoms allied forces. Naturally, everyone has to split up."
Mufasa said.
"You look quite lonely by yourself, let's team up! All the game we catch will count toward your tally," Ygritte said. She knew it was impossible for her to become the vanguard commander.
If that happened, it would be a slap in everyone's face. Becoming a knight from a Wildling was already a huge offense against propriety. She knew when to quit while ahead.
"Alright, have a berry! It shouldn't be poisonous." Mufasa gave Ygritte one of the red berries he had picked from the tree.
She took the berry, which looked very plump and red. With one bite, a clear, sweet liquid flowed into her mouth.
"What is this? I think I've eaten it before? What was it called again?" Ygritte asked.
She had eaten this kind of berry when she was Beyond the Wall. That was when she lost her way during a tribal conflict, when the Kissed by Fire Tribe was being invaded by other Wildling tribes.
She had been chased and fled into the woods, and only escaped from the bushes after the invading Wildlings had left.
Ygritte, having escaped death, saw another group of Wildlings picking these berries. She stole some to eat, but after consuming them, something indescribable happened.
Later, she learned that this wild berry was called the spring fruit. It functioned like an Aphrodisiac; consuming it made people unable to stop themselves.
Back then, Ygritte had her first time taken by a Wildling from her own tribe because she had eaten the spring fruit.
Now that she had eaten the spring fruit again, she realized things were bad.
"Mufasa!" she cried out one last time before falling off her horse.
Mufasa quickly came forward to check on her condition. He found Ygritte's face flushed, her breathing rapid, and her hands frantically tearing at her clothes.
"Hey, what's wrong? Ygritte, did you get poisoned? Why am I fine after eating it?" Mufasa asked.
Mufasa didn't know he had been injected with the Anti-Universal Snake Venom Serum, giving him certain resistance to all toxins, and his magic further strengthened his resistance.
"Mufasa, quickly take me somewhere safe, don't let anyone else find us," Ygritte urged.
Mufasa finally took Ygritte into a hollow tree trunk, which was likely a bear's den, full of bones.
But the bear was out hunting and wasn't home.
Inside the tree hollow, Ygritte tightly embraced Mufasa, tearing at his clothes.
"Mufasa, save me! If you don't help me, I will die," Ygritte mumbled groggily. Her body temperature was rising rapidly.
Could it be that the wild berry we just ate was a Love Potion? How did she end up like this, yet I'm fine? Is it because she's female and I'm male? Mufasa wondered.
Seeing Ygritte looking like she was about to die, Mufasa had no other choice but to save her.
He kissed Ygritte, and received an even more passionate response from her.
The two of them had their first union inside the tree hollow.
After she sobered up, she realized what had happened.
"Mufasa, thank you for saving me!" Ygritte said, forcing herself to cheer up despite her physical discomfort.
"I'm sorry to Jon!" Mufasa said. He lowered his head, fiddling with an animal skull in his hand.
"We have to keep this a secret from him. It was just an accident, wasn't it?" Ygritte said.
"Exactly. A single misstep leads to eternal regret! Life is full of contradictions," Mufasa said.
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