Madness in the fire

Davos POV

While walking to lord Stannis solar, I started to think about what had happened to my Lord, whatever that red witch has done, it had changed him too much. Lord Stannis was always a dutiful man, who served the king with all his heart, so why does he refuse to answer the summons to the capital? He even imprisoned all the messengers that have come to the Dragonstone and won't let anyone leave it.

I knock on the door of lord Stannis solar, only when I hear "come in", do I enter the room, the first thing I see is its disorder. Letters and books are lying everywhere, this is the first time I see such a mess close my lord. Lord Stannis does not look good either, I don't know how to describe him, he just looks more frantic than usual, more distracted and tired.

"Why have you come, Davos?" He asks with a grim voice that is even grimmer than usual.

"My lord, there was another letter from Kings Landing," I answer and give the said letter to him.

He looks at it for a moment and then throws it to one of the piles of paper close to the table, then he sits on his chair. Looking dourer with each moment he looks out of the window, then turns to me, I don't like how he looks at me.

"The king is dead, prince Lyonel has become the next king and demands my return to the capital to do my duty." He tells me the contents of the letter.

"My lord, your nephew will need you in this time of unrest, we should prepare for departure." I hastily tell him, but he does not listen to me.

"Do not call that monster my nephew." He orders me while he goes to the fireplace.

"What do you mean, monster, my lord?" They never were especially close, but a monster, prince Lyonel, is not.

"Is what I say, my nephew was stillborn, lady Melisandre has shown it to me." He replies without looking at me, just staring at the fire.

"My lords, lady Melisandre is mistaken, he is alive after all." I just don't understand what he is talking about.

"The fires don't lie, I saw my brother die and now he's dead and I saw my nephew's stillborn body too." This is madness, how can he be a stillborn but still alive.

"That not possible, my lord, think about it, what is he then if not your nephew?" I ask trying to understand what wrong with him.

"He is an agent, agent of the Others, he's there to destroy this world, to bring an eternal night and darkness to us." I understand how it is that red witch's fault, she fed him that nonsense.

"My lord, you need to think, this is madness, please let's go back to Kings Landing, when you see your nephew again, you see that she lied to you." I have to talk him out of this nonsense before is too late.

"Yes, we should prepare to go back to Kings Landing." He looks away from the fire, thank God he finally decided to listen to me. "Go call the banners and our forces, I shall take what is rightfully mine."

"What, my lord, please there no need for this." Again I try to talk some sense in him.

"He is not a lord anymore, He's the rightful king of the seven kingdoms." The witch shows up from nowhere and says.

"That a lie, the Crown belongs, to lord Stannis nephew, he's the rightful King of the seven kingdoms." What is she talking about how can lord Stannis even listen to her?

"I told you do not call him my nephew, he is nothing but a monster, I am the prince that was promised, I will unite the seven kingdoms, I will defeat the Others and repel the Long Night." He announces with a serious voice that will not take a no for the answer. "Now go and call the banners we will sail for Kings Landing as soon as my forces are prepared."

I leave his solar as fast as I could, what should I do? I can't let this happen, if he fights his nephew for the throne, the seven kingdoms will be divided, nobody will want a kinslayer on the throne. What do to? Damn this madness.

"Ser Davos." Calls out little Shireen. "Can we talk, I am worried for my father."

"Of course, let's go somewhere more private first," I reply and lead us to one of the empty rooms. "About what it is that you wanted to talk."

"Is father, he does not act like himself anymore, everyone acts differently, I am scared." She informs me with a trembling voice.

"I am sorry, but I just do not see what I can do, your father won't listen to me." I feel terrible that I can't stop this folly.

"Bring me to my cousin, Lyonel will protect us from the red witch, he will know what do to, please." She pleads me with teary eyes.

"I 'm sorry, but I can't do it lady Shireen, that would be treason to your father." All I can do is to answer her truthfully.

"He is not my father, the red witch has done something to him and now all he does is listen to her, please, I heard somebody mention that for a victory they need a sacrifice, a royal sacrifice. I am scared, nobody would even talk to me anymore and nobody listens to me." Oh no, I can't let them do this to Shireen, she just a girl.

"Fine, I will bring you to your cousin Lyonel, he needs be warned what lord Stannis is doing, now go to your room, I come for you just before the dawn and we will leave." She hugs me and runs off to her room.

I need to prepare and no one can find out about our plan.

Lyonel POV

It has been a few days, but finally, I can move normally again, I am sick tired of the bed. First I thing I did was to go to mother and ask if she knew of this plan. So there I am with ser Barristan who has not left my side since I was poisoned. At my mother's chambers, I dismiss him and other guards, then I knock at the door and walk in without waiting for an answer. I find her sitting by the table drinking wine.

"My son, how are you feeling, you should rest more." She starts after standing up and looking at me with concern in her eyes.

"Enough, you know why I have come, Joffrey tried to kill me, do you know anything about it?" I demand answers from her.

"Of course not, how dare you say this to me, I would not hurt my children." She looks away from me as if I have insulted her.

"Don't act as you care about me, you know what I have to do to Joffrey," I tell her.

"He is your brother, is there nothing you can do, to help him, he is innocent, it was Baelish who wanted to kill you." She tries to protect her child even knowing what he tried to do.

"He's my half-brother and you know he's not innocent." She looks at me shocked.

"You have found out about it?" My mother asks after calming down.

"Yes, even if I hate your actions, I understand, my father was not a good man," I say and get ready to leave.

"You don't, did you knew you were our hope, at first you did not have a breath in you. Your father and I were devastated, so when I hold you and you start screaming, it was like a miracle, I thought that even if you could fight for your life is so small, we could too do it. Roberts even stopped drinking for a moment and spend his days with me and you." She explains to me.

"So what has happened?" I ask as come back to the room.

"It did not last long, your father got bored of us and started hunting, drinking, and whoring his days away. I was left to take care of you, but then you grew with your black hair and blue eyes, you looked nothing like Lannister, you were wild even as a child, not listening to me, you started to look like him more and more." She started to drink her wine again.

"That why you hated me because I looked like my father." I snort at her words.

"No, I never hated you, I just could not stand you, you were supposed to be our hope that brought us together, but all it was a lie, at some point I started to see you as a lie too, as my lost hope to my happy life." After speaking she looks away from me.

"I see, even though, I did not express it well, I did love you, mother, still do, so I am sorry." I leave her after I say my piece.

…

After meeting with my mother, I decided to visit Joffrey, I already feel too tired for this, but it needs to be done. Still, it won't be easy and after that, I need to call a small meeting, maybe I should have stayed in the bed. I take a breath, before opening the cell doors where Joffrey is guarded.

"Hello, little brother, as you see I survived, I come to talk." I start lightly.

"What here is to talk about, if come to kill me, be done with it." It seems it did not work, he is already prepared for his fate.

"I want to know why you did it," I say and take the chair and sit on it.

"You already know it by now, I wanted to be the king, I have told your dog the same." He then looks away from me.

"You wanted it so badly, that you would have killed your brother for it?" I could not fathom what he was thinking.

"Yes, I always hated you, you're the crown prince so perfect at everything you do, I hated it. Everyone looked at me as was some spare, worse with the sword, worse with the books than you, they all said how good you were and bad I was." He let it out with hate in this voice.

"It's that so, I knew you did not like me, even despise me, but I did not expect you to hate me so much." I say with a tired sight "You know, I always wanted to help you, for you do better,"

"Lies, you never showed any respect for me, you order me around like you do your dog, so come kill me already." He denies my words.

"You will go to the wall, even after what you have done, I cannot bring myself to kill you," I inform him and leave.

"Then you're too soft." I hear him as I am about to leave through the doors.

"Maybe, maybe you are right, but so be it, is better being soft, than not sleep at night, because of things I do, so I hope you sleep well, little brother," I reply him and close the doors.

"Call for the small meeting, Ser Barristan," I order my Kingsguard.