WILOW-Ch.422: Seizing the Throne
Red Keep, King's Landing
POV of Stannis Baratheon
Stannis looked at the two dead bodies in front of him and frowned. He hadn't expected such an outcome, at least not from Cersei Lannister, Tywin Lannister's daughter.
Davos picked up the vial in Cersei Lannister's hands and showed it to him. "Poison of some kind, your grace."
He grunted, "I can see that."
Then he paused, thought for a moment, and said, "Give the bodies to the silent sisters. After they had stripped the flesh from the bones, have them send the bones to the remaining Lannisters for a proper funeral."
Davos gave him a hesitant look, and he understood why.
The Onion Knight did not deem it necessary for them to be subjected to such mercy.
They were his enemies. Cersei Lannister cuckolded his brother and gave birth to the bastards of Jamie Lannister, which resulted in this whole war. But despite all that…
"She was Queen Regent. And he was a King. Even if in name only. That deserves some respect." He said and left the room.
Some of his men quickly rushed forward to meet him.
"Secure the Red Keep." He said, "Find Varys. If you find him, have him tell you about all the tunnels in the Castle. Then close those tunnels. Use torture if necessary."
The man nodded and left. Another man came forward and gave him a bow.
"Ser Alyn. Have you secured the food in Red Keep?" he asked. The look on the man's face gave him all the answers he needed.
"Yes, your grace…" The man hesitated but said, "It's… only enough for a week. Two weeks if we stretch it."
He didn't let the frown show on his face. That would destroy the little morale left in his army after the Tyrells surrounded the city.
He needed to put on a strong front and grit through this obstacle, no matter what.
"Put all the food in a single room and have your men guard the room. I don't want anyone without permission to approach that room."
After the knight left, another came, then another, and then another.
In the end, it only took him a few hundred men to take over the control of the Red Keep.
Now, he could go to the throne room and sit on the Iron Throne at any moment.
But would that really make him the King of Westeros?
North, Riverlands, Vale, and the Reach were in open rebellion. The Westerlands and Crownlands were subdued for now, but he held no doubts they would support him over this Aegon Targaryen.
And Dorne and the Iron Islands were neutral, which might as well be treason since they were not supporting their rightful King.
But besides all this, there was also the problem of Emperor Domeric Bolton.
Domeric Bolton's claim to the Empire and the new order he aimed to bring to Westeros could upset many balances.
He knew Dorne wouldn't want to see a Targaryen King at the Iron Throne, but Domeric Bolton's involvement as Emperor and his talks with Dorne could change things.
The worst scenario would be Domeric Bolton promising Dorne the Kingdom, just as he had done with the North.
Dorne had long since begun to fall outside the influence of the Iron Throne, and although they didn't like the Targaryens, they didn't like the Baratheons either.
After winning the war, Robert married Cersei Lannister instead of punishing the Lannisters. And Dorne hated the Lannisters at least as much as the Targaryens.
After all, it was Tywin Lannister himself who ordered the deaths of Elia Martell and her children.
Stannis suddenly remembered that Tywin Lannister was in Domeric Bolton's hands.
'Fuck...' If Domeric Bolton used Tywin Lannister as leverage in his negotiations with Dorne, the possibility of Dorne supporting him would be over.
And if he remembered correctly, Domeric Bolton had also captured The Mountain alive. 'Fuck... Fuck... Fuck...'
Stannis now at least hoped Dorne would remain neutral.
But even if he held onto the Iron Throne, he would most likely have lost Dorne, just like the North.
For a moment, he considered offering Domeric Bolton a parlay. Perhaps he could find a way that would benefit both of them.
But then he shook his head and dismissed the idea. According to the latest news from the Bolton newspaper, it didn't seem very likely.
Aegon Targaryen, whom Domeric Bolton wanted to put on the throne, was also unmarried.
And the reason the Tyrells had sided with Domeric Bolton and accepted his claims to the Empire and Aegon Targaryen's Iron Throne was the betrothal agreement made for Margaery Tyrell.
Aegon Targaryen had secured the Tyrell alliance for Domeric Bolton. But Stannis couldn't possibly offer such a thing to Domeric Bolton.
He was already a married man, and the Tyrells hated him. He knew that Loras Tyrell would never ally with him.
If he could find a deal that would benefit the Tyrells, perhaps he could talk to Olenna Tyrell and change the situation, but at the moment, he had nothing to offer the Tyrells.
Stannis pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and decided he needed to focus on the problem at hand first. He would consider the problems that followed later.
His current mission was to defend King's Landing and protect the capital of his Kingdom.
And to tell the truth, this siege reminded him of the past.
His situation was no different from the time during Robert's Rebellion all those years ago, when he and his men were trapped in Storm's End, surrounded by the Reach army with no food to warm their bellies.
Except that Lord Stark won't be coming to lift the siege this time. And there won't be another Ser Davos coming to their aid with a ship full of onions.
No, if he wanted to do something, then he would have to do it on his own.
And he had a plan in his mind to solve his current food problem.
It was dangerous and reckless. It was a gamble, actually. But he would make it work.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.423: A Week in Dorne
Ch.424: A Spar with Oberyn Martell
Ch.425: Agreement