Game of Thrones: The Legend of Jon Arctic – ASOIAF/GOT GOT Chapter 380 – We Are Going to Hardhome

[Chapter Size: 3500 Words.]

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Third Person POV

Castle Black, 299 AC.

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"Lord Commander... This is madness." Benjen spat.

"I know, I hate Stannis more than you, you can be sure of that." Alliser said with a hard face.

"What will he ask for next? My armor, my sword? He is mad if he thinks Jon will just stand still..." Benjen said.

"And he will pay for it, you said that Your Majesty still has 140 thousand trained n north of the Wall like an army. That should put fear into Stannis." Alliser suggested.

"It's useless. The fool, pardon my words, is blinded by that red witch, believing he is a ssiah or sothing like that." Benjen still could not believe he had received that proposal that he should be the lord of Winterfell.

No, he would have done sothing that drastic only if he were certain that he was the last Stark alive in the world, which is not the case, even Jon would have more right, and Benjen would have gladly given Winterfell to his children.

Even so, Robb might have his life uncertain, but Bran and Rickon were alive, living, learning and growing strong in Arctic.

If Robb were to pass away, or even if he had to step down as the lord of Winterfell, given all the complications since he took the crown of the North, Bran would be the lord of Winterfell.

"We can do nothing against Stannis, only offer him a place to stay and let him depart." Alliser said despite a rather frustrated tone.

"I wish this would not bring trouble... but it is already happening... Jon can see beyond the Wall, although the range is not very great now, he already knows that Stannis is here." Benjen said.

"Then we may be in the middle of a war between two lords." The Lord Commander sighed.

anwhile, in another room, Davos Seaworth was thoughtful about what he had heard about Benjen Stark.

"Ser Davos... What do you think about all this?" Stannis suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"About the war that lisandre said you would wage and that it ended?" He asked with so caution.

"That, do you believe it?" Stannis asked in a neutral tone.

"I do not think there is any reason for Benjen Stark to be lying, I know the look of a man when he speaks the truth, and Benjen Stark is not a liar." Ser Davos said at last.

He knew that Stannis might be furious at the suggestion that perhaps everything they had been fighting for until now was a lie, that the war about which he had heard since the beginning of his campaign had already ended.

Stannis said nothing. He kept his gaze fixed on the window, watching the yard of Castle Black, while he noticed the wolf walking beside Benjen Stark, with the n of the Watch passing by him as they greeted him, already accustod to the monstrosity of the creature. But his n moved away as much as they could from the direwolf.

He had heard that this wolf had been with Benjen Stark for more than 7 years.

That made him rember sothing. The war against the dead is over.

Everything Stannis had fought for, with the goal of winning the throne to ensure that he would lead the Seven Kingdoms against the Long Night, had been accomplished by soone else — soone who perhaps even had more right to the throne than he himself did.

But now it did not matter, whether the war against the dead had ended or not, he would still sit on the throne, there was no longer any path back from his goal.

Then Stannis finally broke the silence, "we will prepare for war against the Crown."

"But, my lord... the Arcticans" Davos still insisted that there was a powerful kingdom in the north. Even though even the Iron Bank had sponsored them. But that does not remove the fact that there is still a kingdom there.

"Now there is a new player on the board of war, Your Majesty. And, whatever he decides to do, his first move may shake all the players in the ga of thrones." Davos murmured, already knowing more about the politics of Westeros in this last year than in his dozens of years alive.

"The Iron Bank sponsored us, Ser Davos. They believed in us more than in Arctic. Are you telling that I should flee?" Stannis replied coldly.

"I am saying, my king, that we must be careful and observe the options. There is a dangerous player now in the ga of thrones. He will soon make his move. I am only saying that, whatever may happen, we must evaluate our options and next actions. I would not recomnd trying to recruit the wildlings of Hardho."

"I appreciate your opinion, Ser Davos, but it is not welco in this. I still intend to recruit that group. They were rejected even by Arctic to be there — they have nowhere to go. I will give them an option, as long as they fight for . I think it will not be a problem when I unite the Seven Kingdoms," he said.

Stannis felt that he could win. lisandre's words echoed within him: he was the Prince That Was Promised.

'But if the war against the monsters had truly ended, what would he be then? He would no longer be Azor Ahai...' That thought also invaded him.

'It does not matter,' he thought. 'The throne is mine.'

"And the dragon? The rangers spoke about a white dragon on the sa day it was sighted in the north," Davos insisted once again. "If the enemy has a dragon and we do not, we will have no chance, Your Majesty."

That made Stannis frown as he turned to Davos.

"And what do you suggest then, Ser Davos?" he asked. The possibility of there being a dragon was not null.

"I believe we should negotiate with the king of Arctic. If he has as much power as we imagine, to the point of simply giving a suit of Valyrian steel armor to his uncle and other well-crafted armors, though not of Valyrian steel, to rangers who participated in the war, I think we will be in great trouble if we beco enemies. Their weapons are clearly better than ours, they dominated the sea until a year ago." Davos paused.

"I ask that you give up on Hardho, my lord. Wait for the king of Arctic to make contact. The Red Woman herself said that we are already being watched, possibly by him."

Stannis remained thoughtful before those words. He could not help but reflect on the entire status quo. He would certainly have to act carefully. "I will consider it."

"I thank you for considering it," Davos said at last.

Stannis nodded. He was in a very difficult situation: enemies in the south, possible enemies in the north. How would he manage to sustain his crown when he was no longer even the Prince That Was Promised, as lisandre had claid since she ca to him? At least, according to Benjen's words, the war had ended.

The routine at Castle Black continued for a few more days and the day before, everyone received Queen Selyse Florenand Princess Shireen Baratheon.

The next morning, Benjen was sowhat frustrated as he thought about these past few days.

That Red Woman was trying to pry information about Arctic from those who had returned, at any cost. She had even gone so far as to stand naked before him, wanting him to give in to obtain information. And, although Benjen did not fail to cast a look of desire at the woman, he would not be manipulated.

Even gold had begun to be offered to them by Stannis' soldiers trying to bribe the n of the Watch. They imagined that one of the brothers might yield. But Benjen knew very well that no gold, not even a woman like lisandre, could compensate for the threat of becoming an enemy of that kingdom. They all knew what Arctic was capable of, and none of them wanted to be labeled a traitor by a kingdom as powerful as that one.

"Well, if it isn't the wolf with Valyrian steel armor." Benjen was drawing water from the reservoir in a corner of Castle Black when he looked back and saw two of Stannis' n approaching with the sa purpose.

He rely stared at them, saying nothing, and went back to filling the bucket.

"Look at that, seems the wolf is quite arrogant," one of them mocked. Benjen continued to ignore them.

"Well, you certainly beco arrogant after your bastard nephew is king and gifts you with a suit of Valyrian steel armor. You could buy a castle with that," said the other, laughing.

That made Benjen growl.

"It's a sha that armor does not belong to King Stannis. It makes no sense for a crow to have Valyrian steel while our king does not," he suggested, and Benjen frowned as he turned to them.

"What do you an by that? And I would be careful when speaking about my nephew, he is not a bastard, but a legitimized Targaryen, a blood far purer than you will ever have," he asked and declared in an unfriendly tone.

"What did you say, wolf?!" one of them growled, but he was stopped by his companion.

They exchanged glances and smiled maliciously. "I do not care whether the Targaryen bastard is one or not, we are saying that your armor should not belong to a crow. It should be given to a rightful king, as a form of gratitude."

"King Stannis did not ask for my armor nor my sword. Do not use that excuse to try to rob ," Benjen mocked.

The two n clearly did not like the remark. "Are you calling us thieves? Perhaps we should teach this crow a lesson and show him his place," the companion spoke imdiately.

They advanced toward Benjen, trying to grab him. It was obvious they had wanted to provoke him from the start; they only needed an excuse to attack him.

But Benjen dropped the bucket of water and struck the face of the first who approached with a firm punch, making him fall dazed into the snow. The second advanced right after. Benjen dodged, placed his arm over the man's shoulder and threw him forward, making him fall directly to the ground.

Before the soldier could recover, Benjen still kept a firm grip on his arm.

He began to squeeze it, making the knight look stunned.

"Think carefully before trying to act like a thief. And I am doing this because you called the king of Arctic a bastard, because you will not survive when he hears that, do you truly think it is safe to be insulting a king?"

"Hey! What are you doing?" the man said, sensing the danger.

Before he could react, Benjen snapped his arm, breaking it.

"AHHHH!!" The scream of pain ca right after, loud and desperate.

The companion got up, stunned, looking fearfully at Benjen Stark as he removed his sword from its sheath. A growl, however, caught his attention. Raven, Benjen's wolf, was already advancing, baring his teeth.

The man frowned, realizing that if he attacked, he would have the animal's response. Even so, he raised the sword, considering the wolf the greater threat.

"Sheathe your sword if you do not wish to die. Raven is in a bad mood. If you do not put that sword away imdiately, he will attack. Take your companion and disappear from here," Benjen spoke coldly.

The man hesitated for a mont, weighing his options. In the end, he sheathed the sword, cast one last cautious look at the wolf, grabbed his companion still crying in pain and began dragging him away.

"How are you, my friend?" Benjen said, touching the wolf's head, yet not failing to think about the trouble this will cause.

Stannis was with his wife and daughter when he received the news that his n had been injured by Benjen Stark.

He imdiately headed to the main hall together with his n. Benjen was seated at the main table, his expression grim.

In front of him were the Baratheon knights, demanding justice.

As soon as they saw Stannis, they turned toward him.

"King Stannis, it seems you have finally appeared," said the Lord Commander when Stannis entered, accompanied by lisandre.

"What is this?" he asked.

"The Stark broke one of your n's arm and threatened them with the wolf. They want justice, my lord," said another knight.

Stannis saw his wife approach right behind, observing the situation coldly.

"What happened, Benjen Stark?" Stannis asked, looking directly at Benjen Stark.

"What happened, King Stannis, is that your n were talking about stealing my armor. I rely gave a response when the two of them advanced against after provoking and insulting the king of Arctic!" Benjen said. Perhaps his ti in Arctic had made him more direct, even more arrogant. But it did not matter. He hated those n even more for having tried to rob him and insult Jon.

"Is that true?" Stannis asked the injured man, who had already been treated by the maester before coming there.

"My lord, he attacked us, mocking you, saying that you were nothing compared to his bastard nephew," the man said.

"Liar!" Benjen roared. Even the Lord Commander cast a cold look at the fool who had spoken those words.

"You just complained that Benjen was supposedly insulting your king, which I do not believe — Benjen is not that type. But you are insulting another king in front of us. You had better watch your words, ser. We do not wish to place the Night's Watch in the middle of a quarrel, whether with your king or with the king beyond the Wall," Alliser said, growling and trying to appear neutral.

"We also cannot tolerate that your n injure our knights, Lord Commander," said another of Stannis' n before turning to the king. "Your Majesty, I ask that you give justice to our knight. He was injured defending your honor."

Stannis remained silent and looked at lisandre, who observed everything attentively before turning her gaze back to Benjen, who had not spoken about Arctic.

"He may surrender the armor as compensation, my king. After all, if the dead have been destroyed, there is no longer any reason for the Wall to have such a piece here gathering dust," she spoke imdiately.

Benjen stood up at once.

"What? I will not surrender my armor!" he exclaid, growling.

Those wretches were rely arranging an excuse to take the armor he had received from his nephew. Now he understood why Jon had prevented Arya from taking the armor to Winterfell when she had been there. It would attract many greedy eyes, enough to generate intrigues and even murders to obtain it.

"I speak on behalf of Benjen," Qhorin stood up at that mont. "I can say one thing: Benjen Stark is not the type of liar, much less the type who goes around provoking and hurting people for no reason, Your Majesty. I am certain that, if you take the armor, the North you are trying to conquer will see it in a bad light."

It was obvious that, when the news spread, everyone would believe Benjen Stark and see it as a blatant theft by Stannis of the armor he had received. And they would never kneel before soone like that.

"My lord, certainly so people will be dissatisfied, but you can still reverse that. A suit of Valyrian steel armor will inspire your n far more than just your sword. It is a price worth paying, and the Lord of Light will always be with you," lisandre said in his ear.

Stannis looked at her for a mont, while Benjen grimaced, refusing to believe they were truly debating that.

"Take his armor," Queen Selyse said behind him. "That Stark does not deserve Valyrian steel, and your n need you to fight for them."

Stannis weighed his options. On one hand, he understood that taking the armor could be negative. On the other, he saw the advantages. If he simply refused to do anything about his injured n, they might begin to lose faith in him — and he could not allow that at that mont.

"You must surrender the armor, Benjen Stark," he said in a cold tone, making several brothers of the Night's Watch growl at the blatant theft.

Benjen was about to speak, but the Lord Commander stopped him, gripping his arm and leaning in to speak in his ear.

"Look, Benjen, I want to punch him as much as you do. I am just as frustrated. But we cannot do anything right now. That is why you must surrender the armor. We cannot fight Stannis and all those soldiers. We need to be rational. Your armor will be recovered. You know your nephew will not let this stand. It is better to hand it over than to start a bloodbath here. As much as I also hate this," Alliser said.

Benjen stared at him, surprised by the cold reasoning of the Lord Commander. He clenched his fists tightly, more than he ever rembered doing. He hated that situation. He hated handing Jon's gift over to Stannis. He hated the words whispered by those two won — one delirious with her god, the other arrogant.

"Very well. I will surrender the armor," Benjen said, reluctantly putting on a mask of indifference.

"But also, King Stannis, we want no more trouble. We want you and your n to leave the castle by tomorrow," the Lord Commander raised his voice at that mont.

"Very well," Stannis replied in the end, with no choice.

Alliser did not back down. Stannis' soldiers did not like hearing that they were practically being expelled, but they all had to accept it. If he attacked the Wall and the Night's Watch now, after his demands had been t, he would not be able to justify the situation.

"Very well." Stannis turned back to his n. "Prepare to depart by tomorrow. But I wish to ask a favor of you, Lord Commander. I desire that my wife and my daughter remain in the castle and have a place, together with their guards."

"As long as they do not cause trouble, it is acceptable, King Stannis," Alliser said after exchanging a look with his wife.

In the end, Benjen Stark had to surrender the armor, while the atmosphere at the Wall was far from friendly.

Davos learned of what had happened and could not help but be stunned by the decision. He went to request an audience with Stannis.

"Your Majesty, that was not wise. You know it," Davos said.

"I had to do it, Ser Davos. You do not understand. I need the n's morale," Stannis replied.

"But that armor was given by the king of Arctic. It is yet another reason for him to attack us in fury."

"Do not worry. We will depart for Hardho imdiately. I have already sent a raven to warn the n at Eastwatch to prepare. We will recruit them and march south, defeat the Boltons. If we free the North from the Boltons and the ironborn, the North will kneel before us. Arctic will not interfere in this, there is no ti," Stannis said with great certainty. But he had no idea how much he underestimated Arctic's logistics.

"So we are departing, then?" Ser Davos asked.

Stannis shook his head.

"You will not. I want you to remain here, together with my daughter and my wife."

"Wait. I will stay?" Davos asked.

Stannis nodded. "You once told to set the Red Woman aside and remain by my side at the Battle of the Blackwater. The result was not pleasant at all, Ser Davos. That is why, this ti, you will stay out of it," Stannis said.

Davos fell silent, looking at him, wondering whether Stannis still carried the weight of the defeat caused by the wildfire.

Stannis spoke with the Lord Commander once more, against the latter's liking, while requesting a mber of the Night's Watch to follow him. Alliser said that no one would be willing, but he thought of Harron, who had been reprimanded after what he had heard from him and his rebelliousness.

Harron had been removed as commander of Eastwatch and placed in an ice cell to spend a few days as punishnt, even with his nose still broken from the Halfhand's punch.

In the end, he was recruited as well.

Stannis began to leave Castle Black together with his n, heading directly for Eastwatch, with Harron among them. His objective was Hardho.

In Arctic, Jon watched everything, his teeth clenched in anger at what he had just witnessed.

He left the heart tree where he was, in the castle courtyard, and walked into his castle.

Ducken noticed the king's expression and felt the sa fury. He looked at Jon with a questioning gleam in his eyes.

Jon rely turned to him and said: "We are going to Hardho. Prepare the warships."

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