Bab 299: Chapter 300: The Exchange of Prisoners
Boneway—the sole land route linking Dorne and the Stormlands.
The narrow, barren passage began at Ironwood Castle, snaked through Wyl, and ended at Summerhall. It was a desolate stretch of rugged rocks and scattered bones, surrounded by towering mountains.
Ser Michael Mertyns glanced back at the imposing silhouette of Ironwood Castle. He watched as Stormland soldiers streamed out from its gates in an unending line, his expression tinged with disbelief.
Are we really free?
When he had led his Mistwood troops under Tywin Lannister's command to attack Dorne, he could never have foreseen how the war's tides would shift so drastically. Nor had he imagined that he would spend nearly a year as a prisoner in Sunspear.
Even more astonishing was what awaited him after his release: the Stormlands had changed entirely.
"Dragon! Look! A dragon!"
Michael was jolted from his thoughts by the commotion of the soldiers around him. He looked up and saw a milky-white dragon soaring through the sky.
"So that's Caesar's dragon…" His mouth fell open in awe. "It's enormous."
"You mean King Caesar," Ser Elin Estermont corrected beside him. "He's the Storm King now."
Hearing the ancient title—one he had only encountered in historical texts—Michael's expression grew complicated. After a long silence, he turned to his companion.
"Elin, do you plan to swear loyalty to this Storm King?"
"What choice do I have?" Elin shrugged. "My father and grandfather have already sworn fealty to King Caesar. Your family is no different. Didn't Lady Mary attend the Bloodstone Isle coronation? That means your house has also recognized him as king. Unless you want to sever ties with the Mertyns family, you have to swear loyalty too."
Michael exhaled deeply, watching the dragon glide overhead.
"I don't particularly mind. For Caesar to rise from a disinherited knight to become the Storm King in just three years is nothing short of extraordinary. And he has a dragon. He even ransomed us back from Dorne…"
"I won't swear my loyalty so easily," a gravelly voice interjected.
Michael turned to see Ser Roland Connington of Griffon's Roost approaching. "Not unless Caesar restores the lands that were once the Connington family's."
Michael knew the story well. After Jon Connington's failure during Robert's Rebellion, the "Mad King" Aerys had stripped the Connington family of most of its lands, reducing them to a mere knightly house.
"Roland, you're dreaming," Elin retorted bluntly. "What right does the Connington family have to demand lands from King Caesar?"
"And you're nothing but a lackey," Roland sneered. "Already fawning over Caesar before even meeting him?"
Elin prepared to retort, but Michael held him back.
"Don't waste your breath. The Connington family won't regain its former glory under someone like Roland."
Ignoring Roland's curses, the two walked away.
Roland spat at their retreating backs, only to find nearby soldiers glaring at him with disdain. Realizing the loyalty these men already felt for Caesar, Roland wisely kept quiet.
---
Elsewhere, atop a coastal hill near Ironwood, Caesar and his white dragon descended.
Princess Arianne Martell was already waiting.
She wore sandals made from snake leather, their straps winding up her thighs. Her jet-black hair fell in small curls across her bare shoulders, and a bronze headpiece adorned her brow. Beneath a loose, breezy gown of purple and yellow silk, her voluptuous figure swayed with each step.
The Dornish princess seemed more mature than when Caesar had last seen her.
"Caesar."
"Arianne."
The greeting was curt, with an undertone of tension.
Sensing hostility, Cleopatra released a sulfur-laden roar that startled the Dornish guards. They drew their swords but hesitated, unwilling to provoke the dragon.
Caesar patted Cleopatra's wing to calm her, then turned to Arianne.
"Where are the Dornish lords?" she asked, her fiery temper as evident as ever.
Caesar gestured toward the Dornish Sea. A ship bearing the Double-Headed Eagle banner was approaching the shore.
"They're all on that ship."
"Good." Arianne nodded, then asked directly, "What will it take for you to release my father?"
"You can send someone to pick him up from Storm's End anytime," Caesar replied calmly.
Arianne blinked, surprised by his straightforwardness.
"You won't stop me?"
"I won't."
Her expression shifted, suspicion darkening her features.
"What have you done to my father? You didn't kill him, did you?"
"He's alive," Caesar said with a faint smile. "I assure you, the Caesar family hasn't harmed him in the slightest."
Arianne studied him, unconvinced.
"If you don't believe me," Caesar added, pointing to the approaching ship, "ask the returning lords."
"I will."
A warm wind carried sand across the hilltop as Caesar climbed onto Cleopatra and took to the skies once more.
Watching him soar away, Arianne's thoughts wandered. If only I hadn't been so reckless at Starfall and sought a peaceful resolution with Eagle's Nest…
Would Caesar and his dragon have become allies of House Martell?
She quickly shook off the thought. Such wishful thinking was meaningless now. Gathering her guards, she headed to the coast.
Yet Caesar's uncharacteristic generosity gnawed at her mind. She had assumed his refusal to include her father in the prisoner exchange meant he sought to extort Sunspear or keep her father permanently captive.
But to let her retrieve him without condition? It was suspiciously simple.
By the time her musings ended, the ship had docked.
As the Dornish lords disembarked, Arianne approached with purpose.
"Lord Anders," she addressed Anders Yronwood, "how is my father?"
"Prince Doran…" Anders hesitated, avoiding her gaze. "He's still at Storm's End. You should negotiate his release with Caesar."
"It's already settled," Arianne said sharply. "Caesar agreed to release him unconditionally."
"That's… wonderful news," Anders replied, forcing a smile.
"But it makes no sense." Arianne's eyes narrowed. "Tell me, Lord Anders—what happened to my father?"
Anders faltered. "Princess, let's discuss this inside the castle."
The castle? Arianne scoffed inwardly. Ironwood Castle was Yronwood territory; she'd be a fool to step inside without clear answers.
"Tell me now!" she demanded, her voice cutting through the sea breeze.
As she scanned the gathered lords, none dared meet her eyes.
"Answer me!" she roared again, her guards drawing swords to surround the lords.
"Princess, what are you doing?" Anders protested.
"Tell me what you did to my father!"
Anders stammered, but it was Uller who finally sighed and said,
"Princess, send for your father. See for yourself."
The evasion only deepened her suspicion. She turned to her guards and ordered,
"Detain them all!"
Chaos erupted as the Dornish lords protested:
"This is madness!"
"It was Caesar's doing, not ours!"
"Don't fall for his tricks!"
Princess Arianne turned a deaf ear to him and said coldly,
"When I bring my father back, if he is safe, I will release you. Otherwise..."
"You can't do this.."
"Its all his ploy"
Arianne ignored their pleas, her focus shifting to the commotion behind her.
From the Boneway came thunderous cheers:
"Storm King!"
"Storm King!"
"Storm King!"
Above the roaring voices, the white dragon circled triumphantly in the sky.
(End of Chapter)
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone