When Davos walked out of the tent, Jon's words were still echoing in his head: "Please ask King Stannis to come to King's Landing as soon as possible, so that I may return to the Wall and resume my duties as a man of the Night's Watch."
Three hundred years ago, when Aegon the Conqueror landed in Westeros, he decreed that criminals could take the black to man the Wall.
Over time, this led to a sharp decline in the quality and moral standing of the Night's Watch. Taking the black was no longer seen as a noble calling; Castle Black was viewed as a dumping ground for scum and criminals.
Davos had already planned to sing Jon's praises to Stannis. With Jon's achievements, an earldom was the bare minimum; even a dukedom wasn't out of the question.
Yet Jon was willing to give it all up and return to that frozen wasteland. It was truly admirable.
Outside the tent, Davos saw Penny standing there, fuming. He was clutching his cheek, which had swollen to impressive proportions.
The swelling distorted his features, making him look somewhat comical. Davos marveled silently at the strength behind Jon's slap.
No wonder he could turn the tide of battle so quickly, Davos thought. The boy must be a formidable fighter.
Penny, however, was far from impressed. Seeing Davos emerge, he exploded. "When we get back to Dragonstone, I'm telling His Grace everything! That arrogant little bastard needs to learn a lesson!"
It was a stark contrast. Jon was selfless; Penny was petty and power-hungry. It made Davos sick to his stomach.
"Jon said that as soon as His Grace arrives in King's Landing, he's going back to the Wall to be a Night's Watchman," Davos told him plainly. "Complaining to the King probably won't do you much good."
Penny froze. "What? He's going back to that godforsaken Wall?"
Penny had only wanted to knock Jon down a peg—maybe get Stannis to reduce his reward or strip him of some lands as payback for the slap. But driving Jon away entirely? That was a disaster.
Leaving aside the fact that Jon returning to the Wall was effectively handing him back to the Starks, consider their own position: since the Blackwater, Stannis's men were either captured or, like Penny, defeated remnants.
If Jon hadn't held King's Landing and shifted the entire momentum of the war, they would all be finished.
They couldn't stay on Dragonstone forever; they might have ended up exiled across the Narrow Sea.
And that was just looking at it from Stannis's perspective. From their own selfish viewpoint: if Jon refused all rewards, how could they have the face to ask Stannis for anything?
It would be impossible.
In other words, Jon's reward set the ceiling for everyone else's. If Jon got nothing, they got nothing.
Even Stannis himself would be branded as cruel and ungrateful if he let Jon leave empty-handed. Anyone could go unrewarded, but not Jon Snow!
Realizing this, Penny swallowed his rage. Now, his only thought was how to stop Jon from going back to the Wall.
"Where is Lady Melisandre?" Penny asked, noticing Davos was alone.
Seeing Penny's sudden shift in attitude, Davos found it amusing, but he answered, "She's talking to him now. Trying to convince him to stay."
Actually, Penny's initial worry wasn't entirely wrong. Jon had counted on exactly that dynamic when he dared to slap Penny for insulting Ned.
But Jon felt confident handling both Davos and Penny.
It was like a job interview. Davos was the first round; Melisandre was the second.
The second round was stricter, but if he passed, the payoff would be huge.
---
"I heard you left the Wall as soon as Eddard was imprisoned. That seems... impulsive. Can you tell me why?"
Melisandre stared at Jon, her voice carrying a dreamy, hypnotic quality.
The Red Woman went straight to the heart of the matter. Jon rushing south the moment he heard about Ned was indeed a bit unusual.
Jon thought for a moment. "The Maester at Castle Black is Aemon Targaryen. When he heard his family was being slaughtered during the rebellion, he too thought of going south. But he had been away from his kin for decades. I had only been gone from Winterfell for a few months. I couldn't keep my vows as steadfastly as he did. Now that my father is avenged, I will return once the King arrives."
In truth, the vows of the Night's Watch went against human nature. Even Aemon, when he heard about Daenerys rising in Slaver's Bay, had desperately wanted to go to her.
Listening to Jon, Melisandre's expression remained blank. Jon got the feeling she wasn't quite satisfied with that answer.
After a moment, she nodded slowly. "I see. I thought perhaps you had received... a sign."
"A sign?"
Jon suddenly had an idea. He tested the waters. "You serve the Lord of Light, do you not?"
"Yes. The Lord of Light is the one true god. The Seven and the Old Gods of Westeros are false idols. We must cast aside these—"
Whoa, hold on. A bit extreme there, Jon thought. If Stannis started force-feeding R'hllor to the people of King's Landing the moment he arrived, there would be a massive backlash.
Once she started preaching, she didn't stop. Jon found an opening to interrupt her.
"I met another follower of the Lord of Light. A man named Thoros. I once told him about a dream I had."
"A dream?"
"Yes." Jon nodded. Dreams were the ultimate metaphysical loophole—you could say whatever you wanted.
"I didn't just leave the Wall because Lord Eddard was framed. In my dream, I saw a sea of fire. A figure radiating light and heat appeared before me. He pointed south and showed me a man raising a sword that glowed red. He told me that man faced a great challenge and that I must go help him..."
For Melisandre, who lived for signs and portents, this was catnip.
A figure of light? The Lord of Light himself. A man with a glowing sword? Stannis and Lightbringer!
It meant Jon Snow was divinely ordained to serve Stannis. There was no escaping it!
Melisandre expressed her envy that Jon, a young man, could receive such direct revelation from R'hllor in his dreams. She even smiled.
She proceeded to "interpret" the dream for Jon. Jon feigned appropriate confusion and awe, but internally, he was relieved.
Now he had passed both Davos and Melisandre. He had double insurance. Stannis would have to think long and hard about his reward now. Unless the King was a fool, he wouldn't accept Jon's "decision" to return to the Wall.
The "second interview" was a success—a resounding one. Now, he just had to wait for Stannis to arrive in King's Landing for the dust to settle.
The next day, Jon personally saw Davos and Melisandre off at the docks, assigning soldiers to escort them.
He also handed over the "baggage"—Cersei and her two children—to them. Whether they lived or died was no longer his problem.