Daenerys Targaryen let out a soft breath; ever since Lord Green left the territory, she had been incredibly busy.
The Kleber villagers' petitions, the administrative affairs concerning food reserves, the administrative affairs concerning territorial construction, receiving visiting ladies and young women from Claw Isle… Her Royal Highness was very busy.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door was pushed open, and Samwell's stout figure appeared in the Princess's study.
Samwell bowed slightly and said, "Your Royal Highness, Dick Cleboe has sent a letter from maidenpool."
Daenerys looked at Samwell's red and swollen eyes and said, "Sam, what did he say?"
Samwell respectfully replied, "Dick said in his letter that Earl William Muton of maidenpool refused to trade grain with us."
Daenerys nodded lightly and said, "Just as we expected."
Samwell continued, "Dick said in his letter that the Earl of Lady Spring Town has declared allegiance to Robb Stark, so he, according to Lord Green's arrangement, issued a war warning to maidenpool… Then, Dick was expelled from maidenpool by them."
Daenerys smiled faintly, teasing, "From now on, we'll have to call him Lucky Dick."
Samwell scratched the back of his head and said, "Yes, Your Royal Highness."
After a pause, Daenerys said softly, "Sam, you can actually go home and visit."
After a moment of silence, Samwell shook his head with a firm expression and said, "Your Royal Highness, thank you for your kindness, but… I am Lord Green's attendant, and I wish to get his permission in person."
After giving his good "excuse," Samwell secretly wiped the corner of his eye.
Daenerys nodded gently. She knew that Samwell had already renounced his inheritance rights to Horn Hill before leaving home. She could guess that the reason Samwell preferred to hide in his room and cry over his father's passing rather than go home was to avoid "conflict" with his younger brother (Dickon Tarly).
Samwell thought of everyone else, but neglected his own feelings; he was too kind.
Daenerys rose from her chair, walked to the window, stood silently for a moment, then reached out and pushed open the narrow window.
She said, "Sam, today I want to hear the legends of Westeros."
Samwell was not only Daenerys's chief administrator, but also her "cultural studies" teacher.
Samwell wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve and said, "Your Royal Highness, the legends of Westeros are countless, and my knowledge is limited, but I am very happy to serve you."
Daenerys's violet eyes gazed out the window for a while, then she said, "Sam, I want to hear the story of the Others."
Daenerys had a strange dream last night.
A large group of black figures moved slowly in the snow. Although it was a dream, as a true dragon, she felt an intense chill, to the point of trembling all over.
When she woke up in the morning, recalling the scene in her dream, for some reason… it made her think of the legendary Others.
"The Others?"
"Yes, the Others. Tell me what you know, Sam."
"As you command, Your Royal Highness."
After a moment of thought, Samwell slowly began, "The Others are mentioned in the chronicles of Westeros, but they do not appear frequently in the books I have read.
Our oldest historical records were written after the Andals came to Westeros; the First Men only left runes on rocks.
Therefore, what we consider to be the so-called historical facts about the Dawn Age, the Age of Heroes, and the 'Long Night' are all later additions by Maesters thousands of years later.
For example, legends mention many kings who ruled for hundreds of years, and knights who rode across battlefields for a thousand years… yet the title of knight was brought to Westeros by the Andals."
He licked his lips and continued, "Rumor has it… many Maesters at the Citadel do not believe the legends about the Others at all."
Daenerys raised an eyebrow and said, "Are there any descriptions of what they look like?"
After a moment of thought, Samwell said, "Most stories claim that the Others come with the cold, or rather, the cold comes because of them.
Sometimes, they appear in snowstorms and melt away when the sky clears. They shun daylight and only move at night… or rather, the sky darkens when they appear.
Some stories describe them riding the corpses of animals, including bears, direwolves, mammoths, horses… in short, all are dead bodies.
Some stories also mention giant ice spiders. Also, legends say that people killed by the Others must be cremated, otherwise their bodies will reanimate and become their slaves."
Daenerys turned around and said, "To kill… Is there any record of how to kill the Others?"
Samwell nodded slightly and said, "I once saw in a very old book that ordinary swords cannot kill the Others, and the swords they use are so cold that they can shatter steel… Only fire can affect them, and besides that, dragonglass is their natural enemy."
"Dragonglass?"
"Dragonglass's scholarly name is obsidian. It is said that in the Age of Heroes, the Children of the Forest gave the Nights Watch a hundred obsidian daggers every year."
After a pause, Samwell continued, "In ancient texts, I once saw a passage about the 'Long Night,' which spoke of the last hero slaying the Others with a sword of dragonsteel. If this is true, I think the Others would also be unable to resist dragonsteel."
Daenerys said softly, "Dragonsteel?"
Samwell nodded and said, "I think dragonsteel should refer to Valyrian steel. Lord Green's greatsword, Ice, is a Valyrian steel sword, but these are just my personal guesses."
After hearing the "story," Daenerys seemed to fall into contemplation.
After quite a while, seeing Daenerys turn her gaze back to the window, Samwell awkwardly poured Daenerys a cup of wine and handed it to her.
"Thank you."
Daenerys took a sip of summer red and said, "Sam, what are the Others? Or where do they come from?"
Samwell shook his head and said, "Your Royal Highness, I don't know… Most of my knowledge comes from the books collected by the Maester of Horn Hill and Maester Al's books. I haven't read any related records."
He hesitated, then added, "Your Royal Highness, do you… believe the legends of the Others?"
"I want to confirm their existence…"
Daenerys turned her head to look at Samwell and said, "Sam, I hear that the Citadel in Oldtown houses all the knowledge of Westeros?"
Samwell nodded blankly.
Daenerys continued, "Sam, Horn Hill is very close to Oldtown. Perhaps I need your help."
Last night's dream made Daenerys feel an inexplicable unease. Now, after hearing the story of the Others, for some reason… this feeling deepened.
Daenerys felt that this might be some kind of warning from her true dragon bloodline.
From another perspective, since it was just a dream, was Daenerys being overly sensitive?
Actually, Daenerys's goal was very simple: she simply would not allow anything to "disturb" her current happy life.
Moreover, her Lord Green also foresaw her danger in a dream, which is why he came to Essos.
Perhaps, it was precisely because of Lord Green's timely arrival that she directly avoided a certain danger she would have had to face alone.
In short, no matter what it was, since Daenerys had already felt the threat, she would not let it go unchecked.
That night, Daenerys, coming out of the bathhouse, glanced at the maid standing outside her bedchamber door. Her smile… was somewhat… warm?
Daenerys was a bit tired after her bath. Upon entering her bedchamber, she walked directly towards the bed… and then she saw Lord Green reclining there.
Daenerys blinked, seemingly thinking it was her own hallucination.
Lord Green's steady voice then sounded, "Good night, my Daenerys."
It was confirmed; this was not a hallucination.
"Lord Green!" Daenerys pounced on him at once.
Daenerys was steadily caught by Lord Green. She couldn't help but exclaim joyfully, "I thought we would be separated for a long time…"
Lord Green gently stroked Daenerys's cheek and said, "I just arrived not long ago. I just happened to be passing by."
Daenerys's lips curved upwards: "Just… passing by?"
"Ahem, I took a slight detour." To be precise, Lord Green was only able to appear here because he had deliberately taken a huge detour. His reason to himself was to check the territory's treasury.
Now, he suddenly felt that the seemingly reasonable excuse he had found for himself… probably wouldn't even be believed by the Others.
"Tomorrow morning…"
Lord Green's words were cut short by Daenerys's kiss; she even actively straddled him.
"Lord Green, let me rest for a bit…"
"Please, I want to rest…"
"Lord Green, I'm rested…"
The next day, at first light.
On the bed, Daenerys was curled up in a blanket, sound asleep. Lord Green gently kissed her forehead, then left the bedchamber.
While riding, Lord Green squinted at the sky, his eyes heavy with sleep. He was very tired.
After leaving the Wolfswood, Bran and the others climbed through ancient stone hills. The tawny and golden autumn leaves became increasingly sparse, and when the hills became mountains, they disappeared completely.
"Do we really have to walk every step of the way?"
"Hodor, Hodor, Hodor…"
"Up and down, down and up. Up down up down, down up down up."
Meera Reed complained a bit, "Bran, these mountains of your family are really boring. I hate them."
Bran Stark, sitting in the basket on Hodor's back, made a face and said, "Lady Meera, you said you liked them yesterday."
Meera reached out and pinched Bran's nose, saying, "That was yesterday. I've changed my mind now, Lord Bran."
Bran first craned his neck to glance at the "little grandfather" Jojen Reed, who was walking silently ahead, then winked at Meera, deliberately raising his voice, "If we had taken the Kings Road, we'd probably be at the Wall by now."
Meera smiled and agreed, "If we had taken the Kings Road, we wouldn't be starving."
This was Bran and Meera's "game" to pass the time when bored. Although Jojen always had a stern face, they enjoyed teasing him.
Jojen solemnly repeated the words he had said countless times: "Where there are roads, there are travelers. Where there are travelers, there are eyes and mouths that spread stories. They will spread the story of a crippled boy, a giant, a spearwife, and two Crannogmen everywhere."
"Hodor, Hodor, Hodor…"
Jojen's reaction was the same every time, and Bran and Meera secretly exchanged smiles.
After walking for a while, Bran suddenly said, "Jojen, last night I dreamed my father returned to Winterfell. I also saw Sansa and Arya, and Father was sitting by the fireplace telling them stories."
Jojen's eyes trembled slightly. He walked and panted, saying, "Dreams are different from dreams…"
He suddenly stopped, and said sternly, "Lord Bran, did you secretly open your third eye again?"
Bran's gaze was a bit evasive: "I didn't!"
"You've already admitted it."
"I… I'm sorry…"
Bran explained softly, "I didn't mean to. I don't even know if I opened my third eye… Maybe it was just a dream… After all, my father…"
Meera gently patted Bran, comforting him, "Bran, it's alright. Jojen is just worried about you too."
Jojen furrowed his brow and said, "Lord Bran, I cannot teach you how to master the third eye. You need the Three-Eyed Raven's teaching to control it."
He took a breath and said calmly, "The gods grant people many talents, Lord Bran. Look, my sister is a hunter; her talent is to be swift when moving, and still when still, to hide her presence. Her ears are keen, her eyes sharp, and her hands steady. She can breathe underwater in swamps and run on leaves… These are things I cannot do, and you cannot do.
In contrast, the gods granted me the ability of green dreams, and they gave you the third eye, far more powerful than mine. You are a winged wolf; no one can say how high or how far you can fly. I cannot help you master a talent I do not understand, which is why you need the Three-Eyed Raven's guidance, and this is our purpose."
His tone became serious again: "The situation now is that you have not yet mastered the third eye, yet you are playing with it like a game. If you mess around again, not only are you in danger of being swallowed, but you might also lose the ability to distinguish between reality and dreams. Do you know how serious the consequences are? Do you really want to turn yourself into an imbecile because of momentary curiosity?"
"Hodor, Hodor, Hodor, Hodor…"
Bran lowered his face. He was very sad; he really didn't mean to.
Meera glared at her brother. She took Bran's hand and comforted him, "Bran, we understand your unease. I know you want to learn how to use the third eye as quickly as possible, but… if the dangerous situations my brother described truly occur, we will be completely helpless. My brother and I don't want you to fall into such a dangerous situation. We will take you to find the Three-Eyed Raven as quickly as possible. We promise you in the name of the earth and rivers, bronze and steel, ice and fire."
"Hodor, Hodor, Hodor, Hodor…"
Bran nodded heavily and said, "Thank you, Lady Meera."
He turned to Jojen and added, "I will never mess around again, I promise."
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