Orys walked the length of Storm's End, looking at the entirety of the guards as he did so. He gave them brief looks, but nothing too major in acknowledgement. He knew he'd have to rule this castle someday, and Orys always wanted to be prepared in the unfortunate case that someone attacked Storm's end again in his own time as Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. His own father was said to have survived here, feasting upon leather and rodents as an entire army lay outside of his gates, having a feast outside of it as if to mock him. Orys highly admired that kind of strength from his father, facing impossible odds but doing it anyhow for family honor. Orys often wondered what life would be like if Robert still lived, however briefly, He'd probably tell me I'm too much like my father and ignore me too. He sighed softly, and decide to ignore such thoughts as King Rhaegar was in charge of the Kingdom, and at some point, Prince Aegon would descend as King Aegon VI and be his liege lord so he decided to keep such thinking to a minimum.
He decided on standing at the highest peak as to get a good glimpse of the flaring rows of green-colored grasslands in the distance and surrounding them. On the other hand, there were also villages that paid them tribute that could be seen in the distance as well, which housed some of the farmers that grew the hold's food supply. Storm End was quite massive, indeed, as big as Harrenhal back before Aegon the Conqueror destroyed it with his mighty dragon Balerion. And alongside that the remains of house Hoare as they thought their castle strong enough to bare the might of a Dragon's fire. However, Orys found the name of the house that was destroyed to be most unfortunate of all however. House Hoare, sounds like whore. My father would approve of their destruction though, considering he finds whores to be distasteful and even barged the King to have them to be removed from King's Landing. Rhaegar said no because they were good for the economy, which isn't something I can hardly complain against because it's true they are. But as for me, I'd say no to one myself, because I'm not Robert for one and I can't for the Seven of me speak to woman without stuttering and I can just feel them laughing at me from afar.. Dad says he understands the feeling, but he's married to one of the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom so i hardly thinks he understands it truly.
He thought this, until someone was tapping at his shoulders- his mother, to be precise, as she embraced him from behind he felt, even though she was so much smaller than he. He felt himself blushing somewhat at the gesture, after-all they were in public and she was his mother. He however turned his head to see her, she was as pale and dark-haired as he was, and she wore a Baratheon dress, black-coloured and highly modest, with having long sleeves and the bodice she wore didn't reveal any of her features underneath. Her hair was tied back in a traditional manner, with the patch of dark hair she possessed pulled into a gentle bun
"Ah, my sweet little boy, you are so much like your father. He also takes such dedications to the castle that each morning before you awake, he checks the defenses of the castle, despite Storm's End being nearly impenetrable." She said, gently brushing his hair as it moved because of the rather harsh breeze. Which for some reason, it happened and it somewhat granted on his nerves considering he wasn't a bloody Targaryen of whom traditionally wore their hair long, regardless of sex. But he supposed he inherited it from his mother, like most things. He was said to be extremely handsome by the girls here, and in King's Landing where they seemly can't get enough of him. It drove him absolutely mad, because he thought even at some point the Prince's wife, Daenerys, was interested because whenever she talked to him it was flirtatious, and the way she stared at him was even worse whenever he attended tourney's, as if she couldn't get enough. It made him want to run away, considering the affairs of Targaryen's was something he did not want to find himself involved in. It went so far, that even bloody Aegon, the good Prince, confronted him about it.
He sighed, "Mum, that's what a good diligent lord Paramount would do. Only a fool or simpleton of a lord wouldn't check his defences to see if they're good enough less he finds himself murdered by the axe of his enemies." He was quite confident in this, considering that was what his father did during the siege of Storm End's, the very castle they stood in. He knew he sounded arrogant, but that was the truth of it. She was the Lady of Storm's End itself so she understood this concept better than anyone else.
"You see what I mean that you act like your father." She gave him a wink in acknowledgement.
He snorted and gave her a hug, which somewhat lifted her up off the ground, considering he was rather tall and stocky for his age and she was a rather short woman. He'd hold her in his arms, feeling the warmth of her embrace against him, before gently setting her on the ground once again. She huffed at being taken off the ground though, but gave him a warm smile, before taking his arm as they walked down the long steps of the fortress.
"Is it true my uncle's coming here?" He wondered this, because he saw Renly's bloodied hand in that container the King sent. His father personally responded by being very angry, than he stared directly into his son's eldest eyes, and instantly stopped being so. He even requested to bring Renly back to Storm's End, so that he might recover over it. The King said yes, but that his son and heir would be joining him to make sure he was safe. His personal opinion about Aegon was that he was a queer one, an unusual enigma, he supposed for a Prince at least. Than again, House Targaryen liked to produce it's share of queer people and Aegon was no exception to that rule.
"Yes." She responded. As for his uncle, he wondered why he never went to Essos considering his father had no use of him in the future. He was just a spare heir by this point, and he wished his uncle at least had land instead of being held at King's Landing forever. He was glad the King didn't take himself as hostage, because that would've been sad if King Rhaegar had cut off his hand because that would mean he'd never be able to join tourneys again in the future. Which would've been unfortunate, because tourneys ere fun to compete in and they provided him some form of entertainment, as a squire at least. He wasn't quite ready to join the men competing however, and Orys felt like it'd take forever before he ever got to be one himself, though he knew that he'd never be a Knight of Roses as much as he tried to be though, considering the man got his stripes earlier than average. He even met the Good Sir and was reminded of Jaime Lannister, the once King's Guard man. His uncle in particular liked him... He often wondered if his uncle was homosexual because he wasn't yet married, even though he was in his early thirties. Dad could've given him a count or duchy of his own, given that there was many of them still left over from Robert's Rebellion. It really was that bloody of a war.. Or so father told him, but he couldn't know for certain...
"Oh, we haven't seen Renly in forever." He sighed, because they haven't see him in what Orys could feel as ages gone by. He was sure his younger brother, Jon, would love him if he ever met the boy though. He wasn't so sure about himself though, rather he felt kind of sorry for Renly. Having the King done that to one of his close kin's wasn't the kindest thing to do, but the King must've had a reason for doing so.
"Darling, I'm sure you'll like him when you meet him. You know my saying of always giving people a chance?" She asked him, via staring him directly into the eyes. She was sure right about that, and he would, like the good son and person he always tried to be. Just like his father, Though do i want to be like him when I'm Lord Paramount myself though? I'm not sure about banning whores though, that sounds extreme. Though I do want to be prepared as possible for anything, like him though. Being prepared for the long run sounds like a fascinating prospect to me.
"I'm sure I'll like Renly, after all we family must stick together lest we crumble." He said this decide-fully as they walked into the large, open complex that was the courtyard of Storm's Hall. His mother gave him a smile for it, she liked that even though she couldn't see her own bastard daughter, the lady Cassandra Snow of the North. She was currently with Lord Karstark for fostering, far away from her mother and from them, which was alright considering she was a bastard. He personally had a disdain for bastardy, that was shared by his father of whom refused to let his mother see her. She was very upset by that, and it hurt their marriage, which made him feel utter most sorrow for his mother regarding that.
She smiled, but not before too long the gates of Storm's End were opened and in came the pretty Prince and his uncle. His uncle looked rather upset as he looked down at his stump of a left hand, and the Prince, well he looked as pretty as a girl, he'd think. But no, Targaryens only bring bloodshed and war upon our front gates. They've proven utterly untrustworthy twice in a row now, and I think marrying one would only bring more ruin upon our house. No more, I say. He'd think, seeing the fair haired Prince upon his steed. He'd stare at Orys, with those intense lavender-coloured eyes of his, before getting off his horse alongside with his horse, of whom he'd give the reins to a farm boy to take care of.
"I welcome you to Storm's End, Prince Aegon VI, Lord of Dragonstone." He said with no tone of voice in his voice at the Prince. The Prince seemed to enjoy himself as helped Renly off of his horse, and onto the stable ground.
"Ello Orys Baratheon, I've brought your handless uncle with me." His introduce was so informal, it felt as though the Prince was insulting him by not using his full title as lord. He decided on continue being neutral, still.
"That's not very funny..." He responded to the comment on the handless part, nearly avoiding clenching his fists together as was customary for him to do when he was irritated by something. But this was the Heir Apparent so comments around him must be to his Majesty's liking.
"Who said that was suppose to be funny? You?" Bloody go away you arrogant blowhard... He calmed himself down before saying something he'd regret and so he decided to be in his best interest to appease the Prince in order to make him get bored and leave, leaving him and his mother, and Renly together. Orys stared at Renly's wrapped wrist with wide eyes. He wasn't judging his uncle, he was judging the length of barbarism the Targaryen's would go to prove their power over them and everyone else within the Kingdom. This was truly proof of what lengths they go and it did succeed in exactly that, making them fear them for they were ultimately in control within the Kingdom and there was nothing to be done regarding it. But it truly was barbaric however, Orys thought to himself.
His uncle didn't even say hello as he stormed past the two of them, presumably looking for Stannis and the way he looked was rather dangerous indeed. Orys wasn't scared of much, but the way Renly was looking at the Prince was telling of what he now thought about the Targaryen's. I need to stop him before he does anything irrational... That was for certain, Orys would think as he turned towards his mother and nodded his head at her, to indicate he was going. She gave him a small smile, before letting him race towards Renly, in search of him.
He'd run before seeing his uncle strolling to his father's office, and with that, he approached Renly. He looked quite upset, enough to be crying over it, which Orys found to be an queer sight. His father use to beat him whenever he cried, saying it was a weakness to do so and that he was going to be a good, strong heir someday.
"Uncle!" Orys shouted for him, which caused him to turn around briefly.
"My need to talk to your father predates me talking to you, nephew." With that sentence, Orys's eyes widened at such utter rudeness that his uncle showed him. Why was he, the heir to the Stormlands, being treated in such a way? He was important, Orys knew it as well as any man and enough was enough, even if it did come from his uncle.
"Hey, hold up you don't get to speak to me like that. I'm going to be Lord Paramount someday, Renly." He said, aggravated by the comment, as he approached his uncle.
"I'm sorry, Orys, it's just been a very stressful day for me... I just can't do anything without this... bloody hand..." His uncle was leaning on tears again, and it showed. Orys was tempted to hug his uncle, considering that's what he thought his uncle needed but than again, he'd rather have his father deal with an emotional Renly rather than he himself do it. I think my father would be too harsh on my uncle, to be frank. My father should be nicer towards his only sibling left, but yet he didn't care for the amount of time as Renly spent his life in King's Landing. He didn't care, not until something like this happened and than he reacted. But then again...
He decided to awkward pat his uncle on the shoulders, feeling most insecure about this action but regardless doing it. "I'm sorry uncle..." He said, but not before he was surprised with a hug from his uncle, a thing he honestly didn't expect, and so he just kind of stood there awkwardly, wide-eyed in shock.
"It's not your fault, Orys. Also, did you get hugging lessons from your old dad?" He asked jokingly, and eventually let Orys go, but not for an extended period of awkwardness between the two. When Orys was let go, he watched his uncle with raised eyebrows. He's a queer one...