Hyle felt utterly wronged. He had taken a huge risk just to warm the Dragon Queen's cold hearth, yet ended up being disdained for it.
Barristan shifted his gaze to the clueless Brienne, hesitated for a moment, and then said to Dany, "Your Grace, if the Queen's Guard had a female knight among them, she could, in certain situations, take on the role of a lady-in-waiting. It would make protecting you far more convenient."
Such as during bathing or sleeping.
"You've taken a liking to Brienne?" Dany asked with a frown.
Barristan nodded. "Miss Brienne is highly skilled in combat, honest in character, and loyal to her lord. If we truly need a female knight for the Queen's Guard, no one is more suitable than her."
Indeed, Brienne was the most loyal and valiant female knight in Game of Thrones. Even among men, few surpassed her in overall qualifications as a protector—no more than five, at most.
From a rational, objective standpoint, Brienne absolutely deserved a place among the Queen's Guard. Dany should've been eager to recruit her. Yet from a mystical or superstitious view, Brienne was arguably the most "jinxed" guard in the entire series.
First, she served Renly, who didn't survive more than two episodes before meeting a tragic end. Then she pledged herself to Catelyn, whose family suffered disaster after disaster, culminating in the massacre of the North. After that, she followed Sansa, and before long, her own brother Rickon died right in front of her as the Long Night descended upon Winterfell...
Though none of her masters' misfortunes were Brienne's fault, it all seemed eerily coincidental—enough to make Dany feel uneasy.
But Dany only paused for a moment before dismissing such feudal superstitions. She turned to Brienne and extended an invitation. "Miss of Tarth, what say you?"
Hyle Hunt looked at the dazed and bewildered girl with envy, jealousy, and bitterness burning in his chest.
Brienne herself was caught in a whirlwind of emotions. For the first time, she was truly acknowledged—recognized by none other than the legendary white knight, Barristan. Her blood surged, her heart pounded.
Her thick, caterpillar-like lips opened and closed. Several times she almost burst out to swear allegiance to the Dragon Queen, but in the end, she furrowed her coarse, round face and shook her head. "Your Grace Daenerys, I cannot swear loyalty to you."
"Are you stupid?" Hyle shouted, nearly screaming.
Brienne's wavering blue eyes gradually cleared and grew incredibly resolute. "Ser Barristan, Your Grace Daenerys, I'm truly grateful.
To be acknowledged by you both—it's nearly the highest honor I could ever dream of. But I have already sworn my loyalty to Lady Catelyn. I must remain true to that vow."
"That monster wants to hang you—hang you! Didn't you hear her judgment? Hang!" Hyle flailed his arms in frustration, shouting at Brienne. "You idiot! All your life you've wanted to be a knight. Yet everyone—including me—laughed at your size, your ugly face, and your unrealistic dream. Now the greatest white knight in all Seven Kingdoms personally invites you to be his peer, and you refuse? Are you out of your mind?"
"It is because Ser Barristan's invitation is so precious that I must prove myself worthy of it," Brienne said with granite-like determination. "If I betray the vow I made to Lady Catelyn and eagerly don the white cloak, it would be a grave insult—to the sacred oath, to Ser Barristan and Your Grace for recognizing me, and even to the very ideal of the white knights."
"Good!" Dany and Barristan both cheered loudly.
"Miss Brienne, I owe you an apology," Barristan dismounted from the black dragon, bowed deeply, and looked at the now-bewildered Brienne with admiration. "At first, I recommended you because of your gender—it would make you better suited to protect the Queen in ways I cannot.
But now I see that you possess the highest knightly spirit. Regardless of whether you've been anointed with holy oil or officially knighted, I must say, by virtue of your character and ability alone, you fully deserve to wear the white cloak."
"Ser, I..." Brienne's plain face flushed red. "There's no need to apologize. I..."
"Hahaha!" Dany laughed heartily. "Brienne, you don't understand what you've just done."
She swept her gaze across everyone present and declared in a loud, clear voice, "Today, in Westeros, from kings to commoners, honor is lost and morals have decayed.
Sacred oaths are constantly broken. The rights of guests are no longer upheld.
People behave like beasts unleashed from chains, driven by greed and desire, discarding the beautiful traditions and noble ideals that once bound us.
In this crumbling world of failed customs and broken rites, your appearance is like a beam of light—shaming the beast-like and inspiring hope in the lost."
"I... I'm not as noble as you say..." Brienne burst into tears, overwhelmed.
Perestan's expression was complicated. A pang of guilt struck his heart, and he began to reflect on his own actions. At the same time, he felt a strange yet profound sense of admiration for the Queen who had spoken those words.
"Brienne," Dany called out to the ugly knight, "they call you 'Brienne the Beauty'—a cruel insult to your noble knightly spirit, and I will not allow it.
From this day forth, as the King of Knights, I bestow upon you the title of Cloakless Guard.
You need not swear loyalty to me, may even stand against me. You are not bound to serve any king. You need only stand firm for justice and righteousness.
I want more people to understand: in these long, perilous nights, the light guiding us forward is not some god—not the Lord of Light, not the Seven, not the Old Gods. It is and always will be humanity itself—those who carry the torch of justice and uphold noble ideals."
Yes, that means me!
"Well said! Wonderfully said!" Perestan's eyes brimmed with tears as he clapped passionately.
He had made up his mind: even if the Dragon Queen were one day defeated, discredited, crushed by the coalition, or brought down by scheming maesters, he would write a book in her honor—chronicling her unwavering stand for justice.
Glancing at the red-nosed old man barely keeping his composure, then at the teary-eyed Brienne and Barristan, and even a few gangsters moved to tears, Dany couldn't help but sigh in her heart: No matter the time or place, nothing wins hearts more than a good speech.
"Hiss—Grr!"Suddenly, the big black dragon let out a roar toward the forest on the side of the hill. Dany focused her gaze and saw a small, pale figure slip ghost-like from the brambles—a barefoot old woman leaning on a gnarled black wooden cane. Her tattered gray robe was soaked by rain, and her sparse white hair flew wildly in the wind.
The cold morning breeze made her wrinkled skin appear even paler. She was a dwarf, hunched and tiny, probably only about 0.8 meters tall. Her reddened eyes swept over Dany and the dragon beneath her with sorrow.
"Who are you?" Dany called out.
"You're not him... not him..." the old woman murmured.
In the Westerosi tongue, "he" and "she" are pronounced differently, which only added to Dany's confusion."I'm not who?" she asked.
"Why have you come?" Thoros asked curiously."Didn't you refuse to serve the Lady?"
"The dragon... I came for the dragon. I saw it, I finally saw the dragon... boohoo..."The old woman began to weep sorrowfully."Did you see? A dragon has finally hatched again! I told you not to rush—dragons would come again—but you wouldn't listen. Boohoo... I finally saw one. But she can't see anymore... and she's not him, either. The red raven landed on her brow, but she hasn't noticed yet. Oh... I can't say any more, the red raven is warning me... boohoo... But when will I see him again? When can I fulfill the promise... the promise that we would meet again..."
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Mumbling nonsense, the old woman stumbled backward into the bushes. In just a few sentences, she vanished like a marmot burrowing into a field.
"Her..." Ser Barristan wore a pensive look."I feel like I've seen her before."
"She's a forest witch, skilled in prophecy. Since she often wanders near High Heart, we call her the Ghost of High Heart."Thoros of Myr explained,"The Brotherhood can't get news beyond the riverlands, so we rely on her prophecies."
High Heart was a hill in the central riverlands, once a sacred site for the Children of the Forest. It was said to be haunted by their ghosts, slain by Andal kings. The locals avoided it at all costs.
"You use prophecy for gathering intelligence?"Dany's mouth twitched."That's even more extravagant than using anti-aircraft guns to swat mosquitoes. Is she accurate?"
"Very accurate," Thoros nodded and sighed."Sometimes I even wonder if she is one of the Children of the Forest herself. When she sleeps, the weirwoods whisper to her. In the language of sorcery, she can commune with the roots beneath the earth, and see past and future through the weirwoods."
"Isn't that the Three-Eyed Raven?" Dany asked in surprise.
"She has no raven," Thoros frowned, not understanding her reference."She once foretold the death of King Balon, the Red Wedding, the Purple Wedding, the fall of Riverrun—even the time and cause of certain individuals' deaths. She was always very precise.When our Brotherhood got separated, we'd ask for her help. If a noble sent troops to hunt us down, she'd warn us in advance.And she didn't ask for much—a sack of wine and a song, Jenny of Oldstones.But ever since the Lightning Lord was replaced by the Lady, she refused to help us anymore."
"Seven above!"Ser Barristan suddenly cried out, stunned."Jenny—yes, the dwarf woman Princess Jenny brought into the Red Keep! Everyone thought she perished in the fire at Summerhall, but she didn't. She survived... and lived all this time?"
"The dwarf woman—the one who brought my parents together?"Dany recalled as well.
"Yes, that's her. The root of everything!"Barristan nodded heavily."She prophesied to your grandfather that among your parents' descendants, a child would be born—the Prince That Was Promised, the reincarnation of Azor Ahai. We used to think it was Rhaegar, but now..."
He suddenly trailed off and murmured,"She said you're not him. You're not the prophesied one. She foresaw the tragedy at Summerhall and tried to warn people. She even predicted the return of dragons... So who is the Prince That Was Promised?"
"Who do you think it is?" Dany looked toward Thoros.
"I've never seen any vision related to the Prince in the sacred flames. Maybe the Lord of Light doesn't want to burden me further—I'm already exhausted managing the Brotherhood,"the Red Priest from Myr said bitterly.
"Your Grace, pay no heed to this Prince That Was Promised business,"Brother Meribald suddenly interjected."As you said before, only justice and the noble spirit of the Seven can light the path forward."
Old man, you really slipped in your own agenda a little too obviously there.
(End of Chapter)
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