The cold wind whistled, rushing into the room.
Outside the door, more guards had arrived after hearing the commotion. Inside, two Night's Watch officers looked up at the intruder with confused expressions. Jaime stood aggressively in the doorway, completely ignoring the two sentries behind him who had drawn their weapons and aimed them at his back.
"Jaime?" Aegor frowned, looking at the Kingslayer, who stood in the doorway as if he were ready to devour someone. He had a vague idea why Jaime was angry. "I didn't transfer you back to Crown Town. You shouldn't be here."
"So I deserve to stay at Ice Canyon Port, helping the Northerners guard warships? I took the black to be a man of the Night's Watch, not a Stark guard!" Jaime snapped, turning impatiently to glare at the two watchful guards. "Can you stop pointing your swords at me? I didn't even bring a blade. Do I look like I came to assassinate someone?"
Absent without leave, and forcing entry into the Lord Commander's quarters... At this sensitive time, as Aegor was preparing to march south, if it had been someone like Cotter Pyke, Bowen Marsh, or Othell Yarwyck—any of the old-guard Night's Watch—committing these two crimes at once, even a high position wouldn't have saved them. But this was the Kingslayer. Aegor had just been planning to use his father's influence for the Queen, could he then order the son to be chopped into pieces?
Not to mention, Aegor knew Jaime well. His face, full of irritation, clearly wasn't here to harm him.
"You two, get out. Close the door." After a moment's thought, Aegor gave the order, deciding to tolerate Jaime's outburst this time. But to be cautious, he didn't have Humfrey leave. If anything happened, a subordinate could at least buy him time to draw his sword. If he couldn't deal with an unarmed warrior, then he would have wasted his years as a soldier.
The guard who had just been shoved back reluctantly sheathed his weapon and closed the door. Jaime snorted and stepped into the room, making no threatening moves. Instead, he walked directly to the far side of the large conference table, casually pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"What do you want to say?" Aegor let out a small sigh of relief, though his expression remained stern. He quickly began to explain, "Do you know how much effort I took to persuade the Queen not to trouble you or destroy House Lannister? Keep a low profile. Don't jump out seeking attention and waste all my effort."
"To hell with your Queen!" Jaime seemed to be grinding his teeth. "Who you kneel to is your own business. I don't care. This expedition Beyond the Wall must be led by me, as the vanguard Lord Commander!"
What?
It took Aegor a few seconds to confirm that he hadn't misheard that absurd statement. Only then did he realize they weren't even talking about the same thing. He thought Jaime was furious because he had pledged allegiance to Daenerys. But it turned out... he was volunteering to lead a war that hadn't even started?
The strategic bluff about the "Expedition Beyond the Wall" had been so effective that even his own people believed it.
Suppressing a laugh, Aegor asked seriously, "Alright, I understand. But why couldn't you talk about this properly instead of forcing your way in and putting me in a difficult position?"
"You ask why?" Jaime grew angrier. "How many letters did I send from Ice Canyon Port to Crown Town asking to 'discuss' things with you, and you didn't reply to a single one?" He slammed his fist on the table in fury. "If I hadn't seen the wight you sent to King's Landing back then, do you think I would've willingly taken the black? I've done foolish things my whole life, and I finally wanted to do something right. But while you were commanding men fighting the White Walkers to the death, I was stuck at Ice Canyon Port feeling the sea breeze and fighting some Ironborn bandits? And that was to protect the so-called Northern Navy! Not even Illys and Robert would dare humiliate me like that!"
"Ahem..." Aegor was speechless. He had led troops south to pursue the remaining White Walkers, and then lost time hauling the injured dragon back to Last Hearth. He had only just returned to Crown Town and hadn't had time to deal with his backlog of letters. "Sorry, I really haven't seen your letters. I was planning to go through them tonight. I ordered you to garrison Ice Canyon Port because I considered the port threatened by Euron and needed a force that wasn't too large but was elite enough to hold. There was no other intention. As for the White Walkers crossing the Great Gorge but not attacking Ice Canyon Port, how could I have predicted that..."
Aegor stopped himself. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it was. In this war, among all the Night's Watch and Northern castles attacked by the White Walkers, only Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and Crown Town barely held out. The rest had all been overrun, flattened, and massacred. Even those two strongholds that survived had suffered heavy losses, relying on help from the Red Priests and dragonglass bombs...
Along the eastern Wall, among the many castles not attacked, countless people thanked the gods that the White Walkers didn't come their way. Yet here was someone in this world who was furious that he didn't encounter the White Walkers, and even came to question the Lord Commander about it?
And he had to explain it to him kindly?
This truly bordered on magical realism.
"Lord, you're looking at this from the wrong angle." Humfrey, who hadn't left, spoke up with a smile. "Ser Jaime is angry not because of your arrangements or that Ice Canyon Port is a Northern military port. He's angry because, after finally deciding to atone for his past by fighting the White Walkers and the dead, he never even got to see their faces. And the war was already over."
"Don't presume to know what others are thinking!" Jaime's face turned red. He shouted, "The idea of lending Ice Canyon Port to the North as a military port was idiotic! If you hadn't gotten involved in the Stark–Iron Islands conflict and provoked the Ironborn, why would they have had the time to attack a Night's Watch stronghold the same night the White Walkers attacked? Without the Ironborn harassing Ice Canyon Port's garrison, the nearly two thousand men stationed there could have reinforced the Great Gorge line. The dead might never have crossed it. Even if they still had, if I'd been at Canyon Watch or the Shadow Tower, I would never have let the dead breach a fortress so easily!"
Aegor didn't deny Jaime's martial prowess. Among the Seven Kingdoms, few could match the Kingslayer. But to claim that if he had been at one of those castles, the White Walkers wouldn't have broken through? That was too much. Against a full-scale undead assault, doubling the defenders wouldn't have changed the outcome. An extra thousand or two would at most buy some time. As for individual skill against a tide of wights... even if you gave Jaime Dark Sister or Blackfyre, how many could he kill? The Night King hid behind tens of thousands of wights. Could you throw a sword a thousand feet?
"That's just your personal view." Aegor shrugged, not saying outright that Jaime was boasting. "I, on the other hand, think that without the Night's Watch providing a secret military port in the far north, any Northern navy built on the west coast would have needed several times the manpower and resources to ensure the safety of the shipyards and the supply lines. With most troops bogged down in the war, if the White Walkers bypassed Crown Town and went straight south, the Starks wouldn't have had the strength to form another army to intercept them in time. Letting the dead rampage through the North would have had unimaginable consequences."
"And isn't that just your personal view too? If the Great Gorge doesn't fall, how would the White Walkers get into the North? When would it be the Northerners' turn to deal with them?" Jaime grew more agitated. "Forget it. I don't want to argue over a war that's already over... This expedition Beyond the Wall, even if you won't let me lead it, I'll take men and go at the very front!"
Aegor was torn between laughter and helplessness. This Kingslayer, in his mid-thirties, was acting like a teenager with delusions of grandeur. How should he respond?
Refuse? Although Jaime's unauthorized leave and barging into his quarters was a bit much, Aegor had been at fault first, and Jaime's request wasn't unreasonable. To outright reject him... This was a man who had stabbed two kings. Making an enemy of him would take some courage. Not that Aegor lacked that courage, but it was simply unnecessary.
Confess that the so-called "Expedition Beyond the Wall" was a ruse? Although Jaime could be considered one of his own, Aegor doubted his ability to keep secrets. It wasn't that he had a big mouth, but if Aegor told him, "Sorry, all the White Walkers are gone and won't return for a thousand years," would Jaime blow up and cause a scene, exposing the truth? Aegor didn't want to find out.
What to do?
After a brief hesitation, Aegor had a change of heart. Why hesitate? Jaime was an enemy of House Targaryen. Daenerys would never take him on the southern campaign to reclaim the Seven Kingdoms. And Aegor already planned to send a group of conservative Night's Watch members who might stir trouble Beyond the Wall to keep them out of the way. One more or one less wouldn't make a difference. Why not let Jaime lead a force into the now-empty Beyond the Wall?
When the man returned, frustrated at "not finding a single trace of White Walkers," the Night's Watch could announce they had successfully driven the White Walkers out of the realm. Jaime would get the honor and credit he wanted. Would he really blame the Lord Commander for not finding the undead?
That would do.
With his mind made up, Aegor began thinking about which castle Jaime should go to and which "expedition force" to assign him. Just as he was about to speak, a guard knocked again at the door. "My Lord, Lady Meave requests an audience."
Myrcella? Could it be she knew her father was making a scene and came to bail him out?
Unlikely, but still interesting. Aegor was curious—would Jaime still act like a child throwing a tantrum in front of his own daughter?
"Let her in."
...
"Lord Aegor, good afternoon." Myrcella's slender figure slipped through the half-open door and greeted him sweetly. The next second, she saw Jaime, and her expression immediately turned unnatural.
She had heard yesterday that Jaime had returned from Ice Canyon Port, but given her current status as the adopted daughter of House Stark, it was neither appropriate nor did she have any reason—nor any desire—to see her biological father who had killed her nominal father. But since she was about to leave Crown Town and didn't know when she'd return, she had decided to say goodbye to Aegor. So even after hearing Jaime's voice outside the door, she still gritted her teeth and requested an audience.
"Myrcella?"
In contrast to his daughter, Jaime was truly surprised. He had been barred from seeing Joffrey and Tommen, and Myrcella's public identity was now Meave Snow. The concealment by House Stark and the Night's Watch had been so effective that the two had been in the same town for two days, and he was completely unaware.
Just as Aegor had guessed, Jaime's anger vanished instantly. He stood from his chair and forgot all about their previous argument. After a brief daze, he hesitated, then slowly wore an expression of deep tenderness.
"My dear, how... how have you been lately?"
As he spoke, Jaime opened his arms slightly and stepped forward, seemingly wanting to hug her.
"I'm doing very well." How well could she be? Myrcella replied helplessly. Luckily, all three people in the room knew her true identity, so there was no concern about slipping up. As she spoke, she took a few steps to the side, subtly avoiding Jaime's embrace, and said reproachfully, "Uncle, I could hear your voice from far outside. No matter what, Lord Aegor is your superior. Can't you... lower your voice a little?"
Jaime was left speechless. After all these years, instead of warm greetings and tears, he was being scolded. Although her tone was light, her attitude made even someone as thick-skinned as him feel embarrassed.
"We... we were discussing some issues."
He managed to get those words out, but then fell silent. It wasn't that he couldn't speak, but Myrcella's deliberate use of "Uncle" and her silent avoidance of his hug said everything. She wasn't happy to see him and didn't want a father-daughter reunion. She hadn't come for him. And he had no right to be angry. After all, Myrcella's fall from princess in the Red Keep to her current life under a false name was entirely due to Cersei and his own recklessness.
"Seeing that you're safe... I'm relieved." That was the truth, but the heavy atmosphere and the curious stares of Aegor and Humfrey made Jaime feel incredibly awkward. He couldn't bear to stay another moment. "I'm in the second officers' dormitory in the inner castle. It's easy to find. If you want to see me... come find me."
"Okay." Myrcella was always polite. She nodded but didn't make any commitment.
Jaime sighed and gently patted her shoulder. Then he turned to Aegor, his earlier aggressive tone completely gone. "As for the matter I mentioned, I hope the Lord Commander will consider it seriously. Please give me an answer before nightfall."
With that, he withdrew his hand and left through the door he had burst through earlier.
(To be continued.)