For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the message was lost.

For want of a message the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Prologue

Steffon Baratheon had come with his parents to the sept so that a septon could anoint his new-born sister as a sign of her admission to the Faith of the Seven. Being only nine he found the religious ceremony to be long and dull to the point he had to fight the urge to fidget.

"My father used to tell me that boredom indicates lack of inner resources," was his father's most often used remark whenever Steffon claimed his childish mischief was due to boredom. With that in mind, he urged himself to behave like his father and grandfather expected of him.

Finally with the ceremony done and the Seven-faced God now recognising his sister as a member of the Faith he had hoped they would return to the Stone Drum, the central keep of the castle, so he could play with the painted table, which was carved and painted in the form of a map of Westeros, but instead everyone lingered outside the sept, either discussing the baby or the Greyjoy's Rebellion that had been crushed the previous year. Bored and ignored, Steffon soon slipped away from his parents and tiptoed into the sept.

Within, all was dark and still, like a vast, dark cave for him to explore. He was curious to get a closer look at the statues representing the seven aspects of the Seven God, each of which were supposedly carved from the masts of the ships that had carried the first Targaryens from Valyria. He reached the statue of the Crone with its pearl eyes when he suddenly heard the clunk of one of the heavy wooden doors opening, spilling light into the sept.

He scrambled behind the stature of the Crone to hide, praying the septon would go away as the footsteps came nearer. Building up enough courage he stuck his head out from behind the statue and silently groaned in dismay at whom he saw. It would be bad enough to be caught by a septon, but being caught by his father was worse. He feared his father's displeasure more than the wrath of the Seven, for they were up in the Seven heavens while his father was here in Dragonstone.

A second set of footsteps approached and Steffon's anxiety increased as he watched his mother approach.

"I cannot believe you agreed to this," she complained to Stannis.

Steffon sunk back behind the statue and began to wish he was anywhere else in the castle. He knew his parents had been arguing for days, though he wasn't sure about what.

"Robert told me too," came his father's reply.

"And you said yes!"

"He is my older brother and my king and I always do my duty."

"But Dorne!" came the exasperated reply from his mother followed by receding footsteps and a door clanging shut.

Steffon frowned. He didn't want his father to go away again. He had only recently returned from the Iron Islands. Slowly he got to his feet and left his hiding spot to find himself face-to-face with his father.

If Stannis was taken aback he didn't show it.

"Please don't go away father," the boy's voice trembled as he approached Stannis.

"I had hoped to wait until you were older," his father began before pausing to think how to continue his explanation. "I know you will not understand what I am about to tell you…"

"I will!" interrupted Steffon, momentarily irritated that someone thought that he was too young to understand something.

"Do you remember when I told you how Robert used to live in the Vale?"

"Before the rebellion?"

"Correct." His father paused again to think. "I have trained you the best I can. Maester Cressen has taught you your letters and I've taught you how to ride and to fight, but your education needs to be continued by those with more time available to them. One day, Steffon, you will replace me as Lord of Dragonstone and you need to be prepared for that day."

Realisation dawned on Steffon. "So I'm going to Dorne?"

Stannis let out a grunt that to Steffon sounded almost like a laugh. "Not my first choice but Robert has requested it."

"Will I be gone long?"

"Depends on how long Prince Doran wants to keep you."

"Why does he want to keep me?" Steffon's frown returned, though deeper this time. Dorne was rich and powerful while the islands of the Narrow Sea weren't.

"Because Robert requested it."

"And we all do our duty," replied Steffon and was rewarded with a smile of approval.