"Where are the guards?"
"Ser Daven?"
Cersei did not summon the guards. She simply leaned forward in confusion and looked toward the door, calling out loudly for her cousin by name.
Daven Lannister commanded the Lannister forces, and also served as Captain of the City Watch of King's Landing and the Red Keep.
"Your Grace," Tania of Myr stepped forward, her large black eyes welling with sorrowful tears, "last night, Ser Daven was torn apart by a mob of starving rioters while his litter was passing through Silk Street."
"Torn apart?" Cersei's face turned pale as she exclaimed in horror, "Daven is Commander of the City Watch! He controls five thousand men in lion helms and five thousand gold cloaks."
"He seemed to be in a hurry at the time, and brought few guards with him," Euron said with reddening eyes, letting out a sigh.
"Silk Street?" Cersei's expression suddenly changed, and she rebuked angrily, "At such a critical moment, Daven was not at the Red Keep and instead snuck out to visit prostitutes? His leg is crippled!"
Silk Street was the red-light district of King's Landing, lined on both sides with brothels of every style and level.
Euron cast a subtle glance at the Queen's Grand Steward, a flash of triumph flickering through his blue eyes.
Tania of Myr also happened to look over, her dark pupils glistening with moisture and admiration.
The Queen's husband and her trusted confidant met gazes for only a moment before quickly looking away, each using a sorrowful, regretful expression to console the Eternal Empress.
"Alas, Your Grace, he was a man. Even a crippled man has needs," Tania spoke softly in comfort.
"Who is commanding the Gold Cloaks now?" Cersei asked with a dark face.
"Without your instruction, naturally the post remains vacant," Tania replied solemnly.
Hearing this, Cersei's expression eased.
She pointed at the Warrior's Son who had just chastised her, and shouted angrily, "I order you now, seize this bastard who dares defy his Queen!"
"Your Grace, that may not be possible!" Tania grabbed Cersei anxiously and pulled her into the inner chamber before speaking in distress. "The Long Night has come, and the hundreds of thousands of citizens and nobles in King's Landing have begun to yearn for the 'Savior of the Long Night, the High Sparrow.'"
"They all say it is your fault that the Seven Kingdoms lost the holy son meant to resist the Long Night."
"Euron told me the Long Night had only just begun. How is it that now everyone in King's Landing knows?" Cersei glared. "Who leaked the news? Are they all idiots?It should be hidden from those wretches until the end. Best if they die without even knowing why, so we may calmly store grain in the Red Keep!"
Ah, when it came to measures against the Long Night, Cersei was thinking no differently from kings and officials everywhere in the world.
Every capitalist might differ in personality, business, or theory, yet their methods of exploiting the working class are always identical.
Replace capitalist with king and working class with commoners, and it still makes sense.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Tania sincerely praised the Eternal Empress, but immediately shook her head. "It can't be hidden anymore. The Mother has revealed herself. Many Septons across the Seven Kingdoms received divine visions during morning prayer yesterday. The sun has gone out. The Long Night is here."
"Are you certain?" Cersei asked suspiciously. "I also prayed yesterday. Why did the Mother not tell me?"
Seeing Cersei's serious expression, entirely without jest, Tania's full dark lips twitched slightly. "Perhaps… perhaps Your Grace's private sept is too small to hold the Mother's vast and divine presence?"
The Grand Steward cried inwardly.
Had she no self-awareness at all? The Mother's chosen holy son had been burned to ash by her own order, and she still expected a revelation?
If one day the Mother truly descended before her, could she guarantee She would not transform into the Stranger and drag this blasphemer away on the spot?
"I also feel the private sept is a bit small," Cersei sighed, complaining, "If the Mother refuses to notify me, fine. But why tell those grey-robed sparrows?"
"What does the rabble knowing the Long Night is here have to do with punishing that penniless knight?" At once, the Eternal Empress remembered the Warrior's Son who had rebuked her earlier.
"Since they now believe the Long Night is real, both nobles and commonfolk naturally long for the High Sparrow. After all, he was the Mother's chosen 'Savior who would end the Long Night.'
Now, because of Your Grace's error, the savior has tragically died just before the Long Night's arrival. How could the people not misunderstand you?"
Cersei's face blanched as she recalled the protests outside the Red Keep, which had continued from morning until now, along with their damned chants that belonged in the seven hells.
It was no misunderstanding. They must hate her bitterly.
King's Landing hated her, and so would every soul in the Seven Kingdoms who learned the Long Night had come.
The Eternal Empress suddenly understood.
Tania of Myr lowered her eyes and continued. "Thus, the Faith has decided to impose further punishment. Those Warrior's Sons in the hall are here to guard you. Best not anger them."
"What punishment?" Cersei asked woodenly.
"Until the Long Night ends, you may not leave the Queen's Tower, may not host lavish feasts, may not wear luxurious clothing, may not take part in the governance of the Seven Kingdoms, may not—"
"Enough!" the Eternal Empress roared, her face twisted. "Where is my Hand? Where are the ministers of the Small Council? Do they agree to the Faith imprisoning the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms?"
"In fact, precisely because the small council saw King's Landing on the brink of riot, they approved a joint resolution to invite the Faith to—"
"Smack!"
Tania's words cut off as Cersei slapped her violently across the face.
"Have you eaten dung?" Cersei cursed, eyes blazing. "You are my Grand Steward. You attend council in my place and relay my commands. How could you allow such a decision fit only for the Others' embrace to pass?"
Miltania covered her swollen, reddened cheek and said aggrievedly, "The Grand Chamberlain is useless in Westeros! I objected, but they all ignored me."
"Summon my Lion-Helm Guard and the Gold Cloaks. I am sick of this.
They are going to destroy Westeros!
Without me governing the realm, what will the court do?I am leaving this place today. I am going to hold court in King's Landing. I am going to sit on the Iron Throne and exercise the queen's authority!
The Long Night is coming. Without my careful planning, how will the people survive to see the next summer?" Emperor Cersei shouted excitedly, waving her hands.
"I am afraid that will not be possible," the Grand Chamberlain said, his face twisted as he gently shook his head.
"My army controls King's Landing! What is impossible about that?"
"Your Majesty, Ser Davon has just died. The troops are unsettled. It is not a good time to resort to force!"
"Fine, fine, fine!" The Eternal Emperor took several rapid breaths, then cast a cold glance at her confidant. "Send a letter to Ser Damion Lannister. I wish to invite him to King's Landing to serve as Master of Laws."
Damion was Cersei's great-uncle, the current acting castellan of Casterly Rock, a Lannister elder of the same generation as Tywin and Kevan.
"Your Majesty, Casterly Rock is a thousand miles from King's Landing. In fact, there is another noble earl who would be more suitable for the position of Master of Laws," Tania said softly.
"Who? Your husband, Earl Orton?" Cersei mocked.
Tania's husband, Orton Merryweather, was the Earl of Longtable in the Reach.
After Tywin's death, during Cersei's regency, she had even promoted Orton to serve as her Hand of the King.
But after Cersei was imprisoned by the Faith, Earl Orton resigned immediately, abandoned the Queen Regent with Tania, and fled back to Longtable.
Later, when Cersei was crowned the official Queen of the Seven Kingdoms by High Septon John, Tania became her Grand Chamberlain. Orton, however, was remembered with resentment by the Eternal Emperor and gained no court position at all.
"No. The Lion-Helm Guard can only be commanded by a Lannister," Tania said, shaking her head.
Hearing this, Cersei's expression improved somewhat.
"There are many Lannisters in the Lion-Helm Guard with outstanding military ability, but they lack the political skills to deal with courtiers and cannot shoulder such a responsibility."
The Eternal Emperor sighed regretfully, cursing the fact that she could not split herself in two. Otherwise, she would certainly assign a duplicate to personally lead the Lion forces.
"Your Majesty, have you forgotten Count Titus Peake?" Tania reminded her.
"That man," Cersei said, grinding her silver teeth against her red lips, hesitating.
"I trusted him so much that I sent him to garrison Dragonstone, yet he did not even last a single day," she complained.
Well, Count Peake was the castellan of Dragonstone. He had been personally captured by the Dragon Queen and was ransomed for a terrifying five thousand gold dragons, ten times Jaime Lannister's market price.
"That was an accident. The Dragon Queen has dragons," Tania persuaded her. "Besides, Count Peake is a son-in-law of House Lannister and can be trusted!"
"Let me think about it," Emperor Cersei said, wavering.
"Time is up."
Four Sons of the Warrior and four rough-handed old septas suddenly burst into the queen's private chamber and loudly announced to Emperor Cersei:
"Cersei Lannister, according to the resolution jointly passed by the Faith and the Small Council, you may see outside visitors only once every seven days, and each audience must take place between morning prayer and noon prayer.
It is now time for noon prayer. Lady Tania is to leave immediately. Do not delay a sinner's confession to the Seven."
"Sinner?" A surge of anger rushed from the steel doors to Cersei's throat, and a stream of fragrant curses poured from her mouth. "You lowly bastards, do you know who you are talking to? This is the Red Keep. This is my domain. Here…"
An old septa stepped forward, pulled a filthy towel from her waist, and pressed it over Emperor Cersei's face.
The Wall.
The Ravenry balcony.
Perestan nearly glued his eyeballs to the lens of the astronomical telescope.
"Vilyn, Vilyn, come take a look. Has the sun in the sky disappeared?"
"Vinegar," Vilyn had been curled up by the fireplace playing dead. Hearing this, he poked his head out from the sheepskin blanket and casually glanced out the window.
The sky was dim, heavy leaden clouds pressed down, and the firmament seemed like a thick iron lid, almost slamming directly onto people's heads.
"Perestan, I truly admire you. In this kind of weather, you can still see a sun fit for the Others," Vinegar Vilyn said with mild sarcasm.
"Earlier I could still see a white halo. Now it has completely gone dark. Something is very wrong," Perestan said seriously.
"That is just what winter beyond the Wall is like. Stop making a fuss," Vilyn said impatiently.
"What kind of attitude is that?" Anger flashed in the red-nosed old scholar's eyes. "Vilyn, did the walk of atonement through King's Landing still not wake you up?"
Well, Vilyn was one of the first scholars to be paraded through the streets. Afterward, he was shipped to the Wall together with the dragonglass weapons from Dragonstone.
The other scholars were assigned to small, harsh castles. Only Vinegar Vilyn, who had some friendship with Perestan, was able to remain at Castle Black and "enjoy some comfort."
"You still have the nerve to mention the walk of atonement," Vilyn flared up as well. He sprang to his feet, pointed at Perestan's red nose, and cursed loudly. "If you had not betrayed the Citadel, would I have ended up on that 'sinners who saw the Others' list? If I had not been captured by bounty hunters, would I have suffered such humiliation?"
Suddenly, a ghostly, wailing horn call drifted unsteadily from the distant east.
From the opposite side of the window, the ice-crystal Wall gave off crisp cracking sounds.
"That is…" Vilyn's pupils contracted as he stared blankly. "What is going on? Am I seeing things? Has the Wall cracked?"
(End of chapter)
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