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The Redfish (Edmure SI) chapter 110
🕑 Added 2023-09-15 14:33:12 +0000 UTCThe Redfish
Edmure POV
Seeing Daenerys parade a dozen Great Masters before the court made many tense. After the attack at yesterdayâs trial, Daenerys quickly launched a counterattack. Half of the pyramids in Meereen were raided in one day and night. No matter how much the Great Masters complained and tried to refuse to comply with Daenerys actions, their words fell too short.
The whole city was on Daenerysâ side. The Unsullied had to stop the citizens from breaking into the pyramids and enacting their form of justice. The Great Masters lost all the city's support after the attack, leaving thirty-four people killed and trice the number injured. The people wanted justice, and Daenerys provided it for them.
It was over now. All those who were connected to the Sons of the Harpy in one way or another will be dealt with now. No one will defend them. No one will try anything anymore as Daenerys will pass her judgment on them. After this, no one could defy Daenerys's authority, at least within the city.
âThe Great Masters who conspired with the Sons of the Harpy have brought nothing but death and suffering to the people of Meereen. They hide behind their titles and wealth, but their actions reveal the true darkness within their hearts. They thought they could undermine the peace and justice we seek to bring to this city, but they were wrong.â
Daenerys voice was filled with fiery resolve. Everyone who listened to her couldnât deny her will to bring stability and order to the city she sought to rule. It also carried a warning to any who might consider opposing her vision. Her words reflected her commitment to justice and her determination to protect the innocent.
âI vow to hunt down every last member of the Sons of the Harpy and all those who supported them. No one is above the law, not even the Great Masters. Justice will be served, and Meereen will thrive under the rule of law, not in the shadows of fear and conspiracy.â
Bringing these men who have perpetuated a reign of terror in the darkness of the shadows to the light was the end for them. It didnât matter if Daenerys used underhanded methods to get evidence of their crimes. The people of Meereen only cared for the Great Master to be justly punished. Now, she had the support of all the common people of Meereen and defeated the Sons of the Harpy.
That is why I am concerned now. What will be her following action? Will she keep her word to me and help Astapor? She might even aim higher and take Astapor for herself. After all, there wasnât anything nor anyone who could stop her dragons. That would work fine with me. If I brought Shireen back to Westeros, I can safely secure the Stormland's loyalty.
As the court ended, Daenerys called for the small council. I joined her as I was tired of this city of this continent. I wanted Daenerys to keep her word so I could return home. But it wouldnât be that easy. I had to get her to negotiate with Jaehaerys and agree to a peace treaty. Otherwise, I will have to think of a way to kill her and her dragons.
I thought manipulating her wouldnât be too challenging as I only saw a little girl who didnât know what she was doing. But now that she experienced a significant victory, I feared she might become cocky. She already didnât trust me and might be more inclined to refuse to listen to me in the future. I had to do something to change that.
âCongratulations, your Grace,â Tyrion was the first to speak as we entered the small council room. âWith this, even if someone wanted, they wouldnât be able to fight against you. You destroyed the core members of the Great Masters involved with the Sons of the Harpy.â
âBut not everyone,â Daenerys replied.
âTemple of the Graces and Loraq family wonât be able to amass any power anymore,â Asha said. âThey donât have any allies within the city.â
âWithin the city, no,â I added. âBut there are still many outside the city who could support them.â
âYunkai and Volantis,â Daenerys agreed. âAnd there are remains of the Golden Company. Those leeches would take any opportunity to harm me and mine.â
âYunkai wants to take Astapor first before turning their forces at us,â The Tattered Prince said. âI would advise to wait until they move onto Astapor before we strike them.â
âFuck waiting,â Daario cursed. âI am tired of waiting, your Grace. I say we attack them now and face the wrath of the Mother of the Dragons.â
âI agree.â
âLord Tully?â Daenerys turned to me in surprise. âI thought you would take the next actions more cautiously.â
âWhen our enemy and their plans are unclear, it is best to move cautiously,â I replied. âBut there is a reason I am called the Redfish, and it isnât for my carefulness.â
âAnd what would be your plan, Redfish?â Daenerys didnât seem too impressed by my words. âDo you need my dragons to burn a path for you?â
âYour Grace,â I sighed. âI could kill you right now, right here.â
âI would watch your words, or I carve your other eye,â The tip of Daarioâs sword was close to my eye.
âI could kill you too, Daario,â I replied, not even blinking. âSer Barristan, would you tell them why you have knighted me at the age of fifteen? And why am I called the Redfish?â
âWhat do you want to say, Lord Tully?â Ser Barristan had his hand on the hilt of his sword.
âI am sorry I had to hide my true identity, your Grace. But even you should acknowledge that it was the only way for me to survive. And have I not proven myself already?â
âGet to the point, Lord Tully.â
Instead of answering, I grasped Daario's sword, clenching it hard so he couldnât move it. Then, I grabbed my chair with another hand before throwing it at Daario. The chair broke at Daarioâs head, knocking him back. In a quick motion, I drew my Valyrian sword, cutting Grey Wormâs wooden spear in half, and rolled over the table to dodge Ser Barristanâs sword and reach Daenerys.
âMy point is that even your dragons wonât be able to protect you if I wanted to kill you,â I said as I had Daenerys throat in my hand.
âRelease her, Lord Tully,â Ser Barristanâs sword was by my neck, too.
âTell her, Ser Barristan, how I got the name of the Redfish.â
âIn Greyjoy rebellion, you faced Lord Drumm. When you were weaponless in the hands of Lord Drumm, you bit his throat and ripped half of it with your teeth. Killing Lord Drumm and winning the battle.â
âDo you think I could do the same to your Queen before you stab me?â
âYes,â Ser Barristan replied truthfully.
âSo now you know, your Grace,â I let her go. âI would have done that if I wanted to kill you. Jaehaerys hasnât sent me to kill you, nor do he or I want to kill you. So, enough of your reservations against me. I am tired, far away from my home and family. So, forgive me if I didnât play by your rules and wonât play by them even now.â
âWhat do you want?â Daenerys asked as she backed away from me.
âTo help you so you can help me,â I replied. âGive me a chance to kill your enemies. And after I am done with them, please come with me to Kingâs Landing to meet your nephew so you can agree to peace. Winter is coming, and I would rather prepare for it than the war with you, your Grace.â
âOr I can kill you now and be done with you,â Daarioâs sword was against my neck, too.
âDrop your weapons,â Daenerys calmly ordered. âLord Tully is my guest; you shall act respectfully with him.â
âYour Grace,â Even Ser Barristan didnât want to listen to such an order. âHe tried to harm you.â
âIf he wanted to kill me, he would have done it,â Daenerys said. âAnd it is you, ser Barristan, who failed to protect me, and now you fail to listen to my orders.â
âMy apologies,â Ser Barristan sheathed his sword.
âDaario, the same goes for you, too.â
âGive me a reason. I will cut your head off,â Daario whispered into my ear before sheathing his sword.
âWhat do you need?â Daenerys asked as her subjects backed away from me.
âGive me two thousand Unsullied, the Stormcrows, and the Windblown,â I replied.
âFine, I will give a few thousand freedmen, too, as well as Ashaâs fleet,â Daenerys agreed. âBut I expect Yunkai to fall to its knees.â
âIt will be done, your Grace.â
It didnât seem that Daenerys was in the mood to listen to the words of her council as she left afterward. There was an awkward silence in the room as Ser Barristan followed out of Daenerys with Grey Worm. Daario continued to stare at me with the look that promised murder as he left, too. Tyrion continued to drink his wine, pretending he didnât notice anything. Asha played with her knife, not giving a fuck.
âŠ
It was risky and too reckless of an action I took against Daenerys, but I didnât see any other way to give Daenerys my intentions. No matter what I said, she had little reason to listen to my words. I had to make her listen to me and believe me. It was hard to say, but I believe she didnât want to fight the last family she had, but after what Aegon had done, it wasnât unreasonable to think she wouldnât trust us so quickly.
I didnât wish to kill her or her dragons either. I knew what the winter would bring, but I still had no idea what we needed to do to stop them. The dragons seemed the only way to guarantee we could survive the winter. I wonder if the Nightâs Watch has already discovered them, but if they did, I believe Robb could take action before it is too late.
I was more worried about the rest of the lords of the Seven Kingdoms. Some were too religious, and others cowardly to make the right decisions. I could imagine them fighting each other before they even realized the danger the winter would bring us. I could only hope that Jaehaerys and Jason would take it into their own hands and be able to move within the politics to secure the North and unite the rest of the houses.
âWhere has the confidence gone from your face?â Tyrion found me as I looked through maps and planned my attack on Yunkai. âYou look more worried than the Queen.â
âI am not worried about Yunkai,â I said. âApart from the walls, the city has nothing I should be worried about.â
âThat's good, but may I ask you to warn me if you will threaten the Queen next time,â Tyrion said. âJust give me time to find a way to escape her wrath. I donât particularly like the idea of becoming her dragonâs meal.â
âAt best, you would be a snack,â I replied. âDonât worry, I wonât do anything so reckless anymore.â
âSomehow, I found it hard to believe it.â
I ignored Tyrion and turned my attention to the map of Yunkai. It was pretty detailed. I could see streets and various buildings on the map. But I wasnât too concerned about the city. I had to focus on its walls. There wasnât any weakness to it, or at least I couldnât find it on the map. It looked like I would have to do it the old-fashioned way.
âPrepare a letter to be sent to Astapor,â I said. âThey should be more than happy to help us take Yunkai out.â
âI am sure Shireen will,â Tyrion agreed. âBut I am still worried that Yunkai wonât fight alone.â
âThey wonât have time to request help from Volantis or New Ghis,â I said. âAnd if they did, Ashaâs fleet would stop them from joining with Yunkai.â
âI am talking about the remains of the Golden Company.â
I turned to Tyrion, wanting to dismiss his worry, but the more I thought about it, the more I agreed. At least a few thousand of the Golden Company should be alive. It wouldnât be a stretch to say they regroup within the nearest city. And Yunkai would be all too happy to take the Golden Company into their ranks, even if weakened. But it might be better that way. I could take two birds with one stone.
