Stannis II

A great pyre was constructed outside, as the execution draws near. King Stannis wanted this to be over and done with, but he knew he had some resistance to what he thought was right and how this King Beyond the Wall needed to pay for the consequences of his crime of dissertation of the Watch.

His son and heir was staring into the snow, and was not looking at him. Jacob didn't want to see another man burned, as he did with the traitor Lord Florent. Stannis sensed his son's hostility towards him on this issue, but he needed to understand why Mance Rayder has to die tonight.

"Spending time with Ned Stark has made him more aware of the severity of death, and the meaning of penitence. As my heir he will learn that most people are not worth saving or forgiving." The king thought.

All men of the King and the Night's Watch will be watching the man die, and there will be one less traitor in the realm. The Lord Commander argued with him about sparing Mance Rayder, but the king refused, as it would only make him look weak in front of lesser men.

He was man of honour, duty and justice. To uphold the laws of the Seven Kingdoms, and to dispense rightful justice to lawbreakers.

The king loathed himself, of how neglectful he was being towards his heir. Stannis envied the Reach knight Grimm for providing an emotional comfort for his son; he was supposed to be there for his son being his father.

Jacob brushed off the snow from his furs, and was trotting towards his father. Standing by his right side, and looking grimly at the constructed pyre, and the cage, which will house the former man of the Watch and wildling king.

"You don't have to go through with this, you can stop this." Jacob said coldly, with his arms folded.

"I'm standing firm in my word. The man will be executed tonight and there is nothing you or the Lord Commander can do about it." Stannis replied.

"You could cut off his head, rather than burn him alive. It's a more honourable way for him to die."

"The man has no honour, deserting the Watch demands penance of death. You will understand such things when you are king."

"Even as your heir, I still don't understand why you refuse to listen, and follow what Melisandre tells you. Is it because she is feeding you false hope of magic getting us the throne?"

"I'm…..not sure what to believe anymore, all the fantastical fairy tales Melisandre likes to spread, I've never believed in it. I only followed because the power she has is real, and she may be useful for the days to come."

"I doubt it."

Stannis didn't fully understand his son, as the young man was different to what his father wanted him to be. It wasn't terrible because he had the makings of a great king; he had his mind, knew how to use it in political situations and he was able to learn about people and how to use it to his advantage in the game of thrones.

It was why he needed Jacob. Stannis was more a soldier, not a man made to play the game of thrones, but his son learned from the Tyrells on how to play this dreadful game; his intelligent mind was needed in order to accumulate allies in the North and to stand a chance of gaining the throne.

The men began to gather round. Most of the brothers from the Night's Watch and the king's own men were in attendance. The king glared at his son, sensing his discomfort of having to witness another execution, and not being able to do anything to stop it.

King Stannis gripped onto the hilt of Lightbringer, and shuddered. He didn't truly believe he was the hero in the prophecy, but only clung onto it because of his goal of being on the Iron Throne. Nothing else mattered than retrieving his rightful place as King of the Seven Kingdoms.

"At least, most of the black brothers will be satisfied." Prince Jacob whispered gruffly, "None of them would miss him anyways."

"Not the Lord Commander." King Stannis replied.

"Jon spent time with the man, it's only because of his sentiment towards him. The law is the law, and he must die for his crimes against the Watch."

"Will you make the same choices when it comes to putting your former friends to the sword? Such as those Tyrells and those who care for you in the Reach?"

"Only the traitors and cowards should die, killing them all would be a waste and cause more problems. Many in the Seven Kingdoms don't like you, it will take a miracle for it minds and hearts to change about you."

"None are too fond of you either, being my son and carrying my name. The usurpers fear you more than they do me. You are young, intelligent and look more like your uncle than whom they believe to be the rightful heirs."

"Are you praising me because it might be the last time you might do so?"

"You have earned it."

"I never liked the smell of coal and fire, it's the burning of the Seven all over again."

The king watched, as a few men placed the former King Beyond the Wall into a cage. The mad man was muttering whatever words he could to save himself from death. His eye caught on the Reachman Sorrell Grimm standing beside his son, as his sworn shield. His head was covered by a hat.

Stannis gritted between his teeth; he never liked Grimm, but he was an above average fighter and he owed the man for bringing him and Selyse their son back from Oldtown. The man's family were sworn to the Tyrells, and he needed to be watched.

"Mercy! He is no king! Witchcraft will never give him kingship!" The King Beyond the Wall shrieked, and he was thrown into the cage dangling over the pyre.

Stannis ignored the man's screaming, and did not believe any of it. The man was a deserter and a wildling; he was going to die and no one was going save him. Even his own people were content in seeing him burn to his deathbed.

The king grumbled under his breath; he was playing a dangerous game, allowing others to believe he was this hero reborn. He only went along with it because he wanted to see what more could the Lady Melisandre do for him. Her stories maybe flawed, but her power and what she could do was real.

"Let's get this over and done with. I cannot remain here for long. There are war councils to be had and we need a plan on how to cleanse the North of Ironborn scum and Bolton scum. Let the Lord Commander deal with the wildlings."

Stannis sees the Red Woman standing beside the pyre; all the men on the Wall were focused on her.

"In these times, there will be a battle between the light and the dark; between life and death itself. The Lord of Light will prevail against the One whose name cannot be spoken." The Lady Melisandre said, whilst she had the horn in her hands.

The Red Woman saw fit to throw the horn into the pyre. She said moments before how this was going to be the cause of the destruction of the Wall, and how it needed to be destroyed. The only thing his logical minded son Jacob agreed on when it came to the Lady Melisandre's storytelling.

The pyre was now burning aflame. The light of the fire reminded Stannis of the burning of the Seven.

He did not know how Jacob would be effected by it, as they were the gods his son worshiped, since childhood. They were the gods his wife Selyse abandoned from her girlhood, alongside the rest of the southerners in his army.

The wildling deserter was shrieking, with the flames burning through his tattered clothes and the wildlings were watching in a stoic manner. From the corner of the king's eye, he saw a row of archers with heir bows at the ready. He knew the Lord Commander would do something to end Mance Rayder's suffering; the man was his friend and he would do anything to end his misery.

Jacob stood beside his sworn shield from Greyshield, and covered his nose. The stench of burning wood and coal bothered his son, as it reminded him of Lord Florent's death. The circumstances were the same; both men were oathbreakers and deserved to die by the law.

The king heard the Lord Commander order his men to shoot Mance Rayder with arrows, as the men obeyed him. He scowled at how the arrows put the wildling king out of his misery; he thought Jon Snow would see sense, but he had interfered with an execution.

"Abandon your false king, as the Lord of Light rejects him. Embrace Stannis Baratheon, as he is the true king and Azor Ahai reborn." The Red Woman chanted.

Discomfort sat within Stannis. He knew deep inside this was a fool's show, but he had to save face and show strength as the rightful king. The king stood beside the Lady Melisandre, and drew Lightbringer, for the sword's light was so bright that the wildings and men had to cover their eyes.

"You have a choice, whether to kneel before me and live or go die beyond the wall. Those who serve me will be promised food, shelter and assistance from what lays behind the wall." The king proclaimed.

The gates of the Wall were opened, and most of the captive wildings enter to kneel before the king, feeding the pyre with fragments of white pieces to feed to the fires of R'hllor. The king wasn't blind or deaf to the muttering from the Black brothers; most of them were not pleased of having wildings allowed through the Wall.

"This has to be tackled carefully, father. We already have enough problems, as it is. We don't need to be dealing with another war between the Night's Watch and the wildlings." Jacob had said to Stannis the night before.

The king gritted his teeth; it was not right for him to envy his own son. Jacob's own political cunning made him more likeable towards the men of the Watch, and made Lord Commander Snow trust him more than he did the king.

"The Lord Commander dares tell me not to make the wildlings kneel. The boy is sentimental towards these savages, I am the king and my word is law. My own son would stand against me given the chance for his dear friend."

Jacob was all Stannis had left. He could not afford to isolate his son from him, especially when he needed him the most. His son's eyes were weary, and he stuck by the Reachman, holding onto the man's wrist longer than he should have. Jacob did not look directly towards the king, and if he did, his eyes would widen and keep his distance from Stannis.

The execution was over, and most of the captive wildlings that knelt were fed and sheltered from the cold of the Wall. Most of his captives were apprehensive of the Lady Melisandre, and they had reason to be. His heir Jacob always stood away from the Red Woman, and clutched onto the seven-pointed star around his neck, whenever he had to be in the same room as Melisandre.

"My son is devout in his faith, and Melisandre won't leave him be. Jacob fostered with the Tyrells, and shares their devotion to the Faith of the Seven. I will never understand religion, but my son's belief in the Seven has kept the southerners loyal to me."

The king began to look at his own gaunt hands, and realised how Jacob's concern for his wellbeing wasn't sentiment or weakness. Jacob wasn't a man of action, but was more comfortable with obverting situations and learning from the outcomes. It is what he needs to acquire in order to be capable of ruling seven broken kingdoms.

Stannis held onto Lightbringer, and saw how this sword was the only thing that proved he was the saviour of Melisandre's prophecy. It was a terrible crime to lie, but it was necessary because it kept the Red Woman by his side and willing to serve him.

It made the wildlings and the brothers of the Watch fear him, which was what the king wanted. Fear and terror could do anything to anyone, which was how the Lannisters have held onto the Iron Throne for this long, even under a child king.

Stannis looked towards his son, and he was speaking with the Reachman. He saw shades of Robert in him; he had a desire to be a leader among men, to lead them into war and to gain glory for his king.