The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Tower of the Hand.

Mace Tyrell stood in the corridor, watching the two dragons in the sky, a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

The Mountain and Daenerys had reached a settlement?!

The Mountain hadn't gone through the Small Council, nor the Royal Family. By what right did he represent the kingdom in negotiations with Daenerys?

Just because of his dragon?

And his honor of killing the Night King?

The Mountain was far too assertive!

Or perhaps, the Mountain had received secret orders from the Queen Mother?

And as Hand of the King, Mace Tyrell hadn't received any prior notice of this. If there had been any council decisions, he knew he hadn't been a part of them!

This was an extremely unsettling sign!

Mace felt himself becoming a peripheral figure of power.

He was the Hand of the King, but whether it was military affairs or governance, no courtiers or generals came to report anything to him anymore.

Mace was somewhat confused as to when this situation had arisen.

Days ago, the Mountain had suddenly appeared on dragonback, bolstering the Royal Fleet. The sailors' morale soared, and they crushed Daenerys' vanguard fleet at the Blackwater without losing a single ship. Subsequently, the Mountain raided Duskendale on dragonback, burning and killing thousands of Dothraki riders, and then pursued and decisively defeated the vast naval fleet of the Nine Free Cities. The naval victory had propelled his prestige to unbelievable heights.

The entire city's populace, including vagrants and refugees, were spreading tales of the Mountain's invincible military prowess. The Reachmen soldiers, who initially held no fondness for the Mountain, had changed their opinion due to the miraculous naval victory and the retreat of Daenerys' cavalry. Many young warriors were proud to tattoo the Mountain's dragon, ice sword, or Red Viper sigil on their shields or arms. The Mountain and his dragons were their favorite topic of conversation during their leisure time.

Not long after the great naval battle, the Mountain returned again, but surprisingly, he had gained another dragon!

How was this possible?

How did he manage to capture Daenerys' dragon?

Dragons only allowed riders who they recognized as their master; it wasn't as simple as Daenerys compensating him with a dragon, as the Mountain claimed!

In the sky, Sheepstealer was like a cloud of gold and red, her outstretched wings at low altitude appearing particularly massive, obscuring the sky above. While Vermax, white as jade, danced, his scales shimmering with reflected light, lithe and heroic.

The city's soldiers and citizens were fervently cheering 'Long live Westeros' and 'Long live the Mountain.' Mace felt as if the entire world contained only the Mountain.

The shouts were deafening!

Suddenly, Mace Tyrell felt a chill.

Before him, he saw a black eye with a sly smile slowly emerging—the eye of Tyrion Lannister, the Imp.

This sent a shiver of cold sweat down Mace's spine: In exchange for the negotiations, had the Imp betrayed him? Had he betrayed those courtiers in King's Landing who had secretly contacted the Imp and agreed to treasonous surrender?

And Mace was the highest-ranking of the treasonous courtiers!

Mace found his hands trembling slightly. He finally realized that he was afraid.

He gripped the railing tightly, trying to stop his hands from shaking and desperately trying to dispel the extreme unease in his heart.

Outside the Tower of the Hand, the sound of hooves grew louder as a group of people arrived.

Queen Margaery Tyrell rode through the courtyard gate, flanked by several knights, followed by a proud-looking company of a hundred men.

Seeing Margaery, Mace's heart calmed somewhat.

Margaery controlled King Tommen, having captured his heart. Mace only needed to carefully endure for a few more years, until Tommen came of age, and then royal power would return to Tommen's hands. At that time, Queen Mother Cersei would have to retreat behind the scenes.

The thought of having the future king, who listened to Margaery, as his backing, Mace self-deceptively told himself that there was nothing to worry about.

Mace went to the courtyard to greet Queen Margaery Tyrell.

The physical action and constant internal reassurance effectively alleviated Mace's anxiety.

Actually, for some reason, when the Mountain and Arianne appeared on dragonback above King's Landing, Mace Tyrell didn't feel happy at all. Instead, he felt a sense of resistance, finding himself wishing that King's Landing would be defeated and the Mountain would be chased by Daenerys on dragonback. This was a strange idea even to himself, yet it lingered in his mind, refusing to dissipate.

*

"Father, Cersei won't let me into Maegor's Holdfast!" Margaery's beautiful face showed vigilance, with hints of anxiety in her eyes.

"Oh?" Mace said mechanically, not understanding Margaery's words for a moment.

"Father, Tommen has been taken by Cersei to Maegor's Holdfast and hasn't returned to the Queen's Ballroom for many days. Some time ago, he told me that he hoped I could go with him, to leave King's Landing. He said that with the great war coming, Cersei wanted him to go out and avoid the flames of war. I'm worried that Tommen is no longer in the Red Keep."

"Your worries are unnecessary, Margaery. Since Cersei wants him to avoid the flames of war, did Tommen tell you where he was going?" Mace Tyrell smiled.

"No."

"Avoiding the flames of war is false. I think it's more likely that Cersei wants to take Tommen back from your side. Margaery, tell Tommen not to listen to you in everything and to always listen to your opinion first. That's not good, it will cause resentment. You must let Tommen be good to Cersei, listen to Cersei more, and even if you don't agree in your heart, you must outwardly follow Cersei's wishes, so as not to provoke Cersei's jealousy and backfire."

"Yes, Father, I have already noticed this. After Cersei sent someone to the Queen's Ballroom to take Tommen away that day, I prepared to cater to Cersei's wishes. But for many days in a row, I couldn't see King Tommen at all. The day before yesterday, the guards wouldn't even let me cross the drawbridge to Maegor's Holdfast. The soldiers guarding the drawbridge told me that the King had made it clear that he would not see me."

"Oh?! That was actually Cersei's idea, not that Tommen wouldn't see you."

"Father, Tommen is my husband. Cersei won't allow me to enter Maegor's Holdfast. She's going too far. You have to accompany me to Maegor's Holdfast. I want to see Cersei and make it clear to her that I can't endure it any longer."

"Now? Don't argue with Queen Mother Cersei at this time. Just follow her wishes for now." Mace looked at the sky. "The Mountain and Arianne are here, two dragons, the negotiations were successful… Daenerys gave dragons and horses to the Mountain… I really can't believe it… Well, okay… This is a major event for the kingdom. We will hold a Small Council meeting at the latest tomorrow, and then you will be able to see King Tommen in the throne room."

A piercing dragon's roar!.

The Mountain's dragon, Sheepstealer, arrived above the Red Keep, and the entire Red Keep's sky suddenly dimmed. Vermax followed beside Sheepstealer like a small follower.

The two dragons descended, the sound of their wings flapping seeming to echo in the ears.

"We'll go welcome the Mountain," Mace Tyrell said, "Cersei will go to welcome him, and I think King Tommen will too."

"Alright!" Margaery said.

The father and daughter mounted their horses and, with their knights and two hundred followers, rode out of the Tower of the Hand courtyard.

The Mountain's dragon retracted its wings and landed on the lawn of the godswood. Although it was called the godswood, it did not have the weirwood tree—the heart tree—of the Northerners. The oak tree represented the godswood.

Arianne's Vermax landed on the road outside the godswood.

Vermax, slightly larger than an elephant, could land anywhere with relative ease, while Sheepstealer needed a very spacious area to land and facilitate her take-off again.

A cavalry troop had already roared forward to greet them, led by Ser Rolph Spicer of Castamere; just as this troop passed, the sound of dense hooves rang out again, with Grand Admiral Wagner Gall leading a troop of several hundred cavalry appearing outside the bronze gates of the Red Keep; the generals who came with him included the Governor of the Iron Islands—Earl Gylbert; Earl Redwyne, who had reached a Hightower wine cooperation agreement with the Mountain…

But the first person waiting in the godswood was a little dwarf: Master of Whisperers, Boros Blount. He was accompanied by several sword-bearing guards. Boros was wearing a smart, expensive, and well-tailored high-end dress, showing the demeanor of a big man.

Mace Tyrell and Margaery Tyrell arrived outside the godswood. Behind them, there was a clamor of voices as a large group of people arrived, led by Queen Mother Cersei and Lady Jeyne, accompanied by three Kingsguard, two burly female generals, Brienne Tarth and the Bull Zeriglia, and an unassuming general of unremarkable stature and quiet appearance, Lucan.

Lucan was the personal guard captain protecting Lady Jeyne, a ruthless man of few words. At Lady Donella's request, he was a trusted man of Lady Donella Staedmon. Donella, a noblewoman of the Westerlands, was the widow of former Hand of the King, Kevan Lannister.

Lady Donella and Lady Saralyn of Silverhill were two noblewomen from the Westerlands who had come to King's Landing with Lady Jeyne, accompanied by their maids and knights. In addition, a large group of noblewomen from the Crownlands were also in this group. The team led by Cersei and Jeyne, apart from the knights and guards, consisted of a large group of noblewomen and their maids.

This group of the Seven Kingdoms' most noble ladies were all dressed in flamboyant and extravagant attire, each more elaborately dressed than the last, their silk dresses competing for beauty.

Queen Margaery did not see King Tommen, nor did she even see Princess Myrcella. Among the Kingsguard following Queen Mother Cersei, there was no Jaime Lannister.

Arianne Martell dismounted from the dragon's back and bowed to Queen Mother Cersei and Lady Jeyne to greet them. Cersei nodded faintly, while Lady Jeyne smiled in return, taking Arianne's hand and calling her Princess. The two women spoke softly, with smiles on their faces, in harmony and friendship. This was a signal. So the noblewomen swarmed forward, as if Arianne were their long-lost sister, everyone surrounding her and Jeyne, chattering as if there was no awkward relationship between Arianne and Jeyne as enemies.

The noblewomen were all experts in social graces, quick to adapt to the situation and very good at dealing with people!

Since Lady Jeyne did not mind and was friendly with Arianne, they naturally had to show their own friendship and goodwill.

The sound of footsteps rang out as Master of Whisperers Boros Blount and a group of people crowded around the Mountain as he walked out of the godswood. Thus, Hand of the King Mace, Queen Margaery, Queen Mother Cersei, Master of Laws Lady Jeyne, Grand Maester Qyburn, Ser Rolph Spicer, Grand Admiral Wagner Gall, Governor of the Iron Islands Gylbert, Earl Redwyne of the Arbor, Earl Rosby of the Crownlands… and a large group of courtiers and generals swarmed up to greet the Mountain.

In the godswood square, Sheepstealer stood like a mountain peak, her ferocious dragon head tilted slightly, looking at the noisy crowd on the ground, her dazzling dragon eyes constantly flashing golden and red light, and her dragon breath was scalding, making the surrounding air hot. The White Dragon Vermax also looked down at this large group of people from a high vantage point, his heroic and majestic appearance, his white scales like a beautiful white armor.

Again, the sound of cart wheels rang out, from far to near, accompanied by the noisy bleating of sheep. The Westerlands soldiers responsible for feeding the dragons had arrived.

Sheepstealer's long neck immediately raised high!

When the Mountain's dragon arrived in the Westerlands, there would be special personnel to feed the dragon; the same was true in the Red Keep of King's Landing. In the legions protecting Lady Jeyne, there were soldiers who had specifically learned how to feed dragons. These soldiers fed the dragons when there were dragons, and when there were no dragons, they trained and fought like other soldiers. In contrast, Daenerys' dragons were purely wild, and most of the time they went out to find food themselves when they were hungry. Sheepstealer's life had always struggled on the poverty line. At the end, when her life was about to wither, she met the Mountain, who brought her absolute delicacies, and from then on, she lived a pampered aristocratic life.

Mace said with a sincere expression: "Lord Mountain, I sincerely invite you to the Tower of the Hand, let me host a reception for our Master of War. You've worked hard." He looked at Arianne Martell, his eyes glancing at Lady Jeyne, who was smiling brightly, "Princess Arianne, you are really amazing, Lord Mountain taught you how to ride a dragon."

"Yes, without Lord Mountain, I wouldn't even know how to speak dragonfire. Riding a dragon requires luck and also depends on fate, but you must first understand the dragon language," Arianne said with a smile. She had been worried that Jeyne would embarrass and humiliate her, but she did not. Jeyne held her hand, as if… um… long-lost good sisters.

"Princess Arianne, you and I are the most friendly neighbors…"—Dorne and the Reach had never had major wars, but small wars were constant. The two sides had great conflicts over border issues and deep mutual resentment. Dorne and the Reach had never been friendly neighbors—"I sincerely invite you and Lord Mountain, as well as Queen Mother Cersei and Lady Jeyne, to have a drink with us at the Tower of the Hand. I want to solemnly express my respect to Lord Mountain. Lord Mountain is really amazing. He killed the Night King in the battle of the North, burned thousands of ships in the naval battle of King's Landing; one person and one dragon defeated Daenerys' army of more than 200,000 and burned Daenerys' two thousand warships. In the history of the past and present, in military history, no one has ever done such a feat."

These words caused the royal courtiers and knight generals to applaud together!

The Mountain said: "Lord Hand, thank you for your invitation, but let's skip the banquet today. I still have many military affairs to deal with. Daenerys' 50,000 warhorses have not yet been obtained. I would like to meet Aegon VI's Hand of the King, Jon Connington, Daenerys' Master of Whisperers Varys, and her fierce general Daario Naharis first."

Thanks to [Yixue Tingfeng] for the reward, thank you, handshake!