"Come on, wake up boy." The soft shake and the quiet words were enough to rouse him from his sleep, but he resisted opening his eyes, hoping that the source of his awakening would go away. A hopeless dream that he knew would never happen. "Markus, get up or I'll have you shoveling dung from the stables when we return to King's Landing."
"Just a few more minutes, Uncle Jaime." Markus Lannister opened his right eye just a crack to see the familiar sight of his uncle, Jaime Lannister, standing above him, grinning down upon his nephew. Even the dull grey of the early morning couldn't take away from the brightness that was his uncle's golden curls.
"You know we can't have that. You're fortunate Ser Barristan isn't the one you're squiring for. I doubt he'd be so patient." Markus groaned at his uncle's teasing before sitting up, his hair falling to cover his face. He used his right hand to wipe the black hair to the right, and blonde to the left. "Come, else you won't be having any breakfast."
"I'd rather not have breakfast with Joff if I could avoid it." Markus mumbled as his uncle left their tent. Knowing that any further resistance would not be worthwhile, the boy stretched his arms up before using them to help rise from the bed, stretching his legs and torso as he stood. After a moment searching for his tunic, he put it on over his small clothes and laced himself up before making his way out into the camp.
"Come on, I'm sure your father is waiting." Markus was met by his uncle, who had been waiting for him outside of the tent. Together they made their way to the great tent, where King Robert Baratheon, Markus' uncle by marriage, resided in. Even in the early hours, the camp was full of life, as there were men taking down tents and packing up tables in preparation for their departure. As Markus gave a yawn, Jaime chuckled. "I wonder how one who sleeps so much can still find time to be tired."
"Squire for a knight of the Kingsguard, and even you'd be tired Uncle." When Jaime only responded with laughter, Markus shot him an annoyed look. It felt like everything was always a joke to his uncle. "When are we going to be in Winterfell anyways?"
"Another week of travel, likely less if Robert has his way and keeps us riding into the night." His Grace, Uncle. But Markus could only grin. Despite being a difficult man to squire under, his uncle was quite casual, not even getting annoyed when he was simply address as Uncle. Much different from his aunt, who had 'politely' reminded Markus to always refer to her as 'Your Grace'. He never made the same mistake of addressing her as Aunt Cersei after that.
"Is it true what they say? That Ned Stark's sister was the reason why His Grace went to war with the Targaryens?" He had always read about the cruelty perpetrated by Aerys Targaryen, the last dragon king, which instigated the war. But Markus was always keen to listen to gossip in the capital, and had heard that Eddard Stark's sister had been betrothed to Robert Baratheon at one point, and that Rhaegar Targaryen had stolen her away from him.
"I wouldn't say that was the only reason, but it was certainly one of them." Markus noticed his uncle's face turn from pleasant to bothered, as if something was foul to him. Even though he was curious, Markus did not bother to press on. His grandfather had always told him to be observant and to choose his words wisely, and saying more and possibly upsetting his uncle would not be wise.
As they entered the tent, a pleasant smell filled Markus' nose, and the appetite that he had been ignoring would no longer be denied. "Ahh, Markus and Jaime! Come and eat!" At the back of the tent sat King Robert, First in his Name, whose plate was full of an assortment of meats and whose cup was likely full of mead.
"Your Grace."
"Your Grace." Both Markus and Jaime spoke in unison as knight and squire bowed to pay their respect to the King before taking seats. But as Markus scanned the room, there was someone missing. He turned back to the King. "Where is my father?"
"Ahh yes, Tyrion said something last night about having his breakfast delivered to his tent. Says he has things to study." Robert shrugged, while Markus frowned, disappointed. Breakfast was the only time he ever got to see his father because of his duties as a squire. Without his father, Markus felt less inclined to attend breakfast himself.
"Cousin." Markus' displeasure only grew as he saw Prince Joffrey wave and address him. "Come, take a seat and eat something." Don't act polite, bastard. You just want to torment me while you have the chance. Putting on a false smile, which itself was very small but did the part in convincing others, Markus nodded and made his way to the seat that Joffrey presented him.
"Mi'lord, how my I serve you?" One of the serving girls had approached Markus to ask what he wanted to eat. Markus was familiar with this particular serving girl, who always seemed to find him when it was time for his meals. She was around his age, had dark hair and a petite figure, with a pretty face and smile. Markus found it a refreshing sight.
"Bacon, sausage and a cup of water, if you would please." The serving girl bowed, which Markus gave a nod of recognition for.
"Why do you thank her?" Markus turned to see Joffrey wearing a sneer, speaking in a harsh tone. "She's a servant, she should be thanking you for allowing her to serve you."
"She's still a person, Joff. Just because she's a servant doesn't mean I shouldn't be kind to her." But Joffrey only scoffed at his cousin's words, taking a large drink for a cup that Markus suspected was full of wine.
"I suppose when someone has a commonborn mother, they're a tad more inclined to sympathize with others like them." Markus would have liked to do nothing more than to take his knife and drive it into Joff's throat at that comment. It wasn't the first time Joff had made a slight towards Markus about his mother. But his father's words stopped him every time he had desired to butcher Joffrey. 'Remember who you are.' It's not hard, considering nearly everyone is so eager to remind me.
"Markus, can you play with me today?" Markus looked across the tent at his cousin, the Prince Tommen, who wore a hopeful and much more pleasant expression on his face than his elder brother did.
"I'm sorry, Tommen. Uncle Jaime needs me to prepare his armor and arms today." When Markus caught the downtrodden look on Tommen's face, Markus acted quickly. "I'll ask Uncle Jaime if you can help me though."
"Tommen is a Prince, Nephew. He isn't going to prepare armor and arms, even if it's for a member of the Kingsguard." His aunt's cool response made Markus recoil. He never thought he would miss Casterly Rock and the constant lessons his grandfather made him endure, but less than a year after becoming his uncle's squire in King's Landing had made Markus miss the Rock, mainly because he didn't have to endure his aunt or elder cousin.
"But Mother, I want to learn how to squire!"
"Let the boy learn, Cersei." The King had overheard the conversation and made his voice known." He'll likely be a squire to some knight one day, it's best for him to know now than to have to later." The Queen looked at him with her icy stare before returning to her breakfast.
"If you think it best." The Queen's response made Markus wish the King had said nothing, but Tommen seemed overjoyed to have been given permission by his father. Markus did not wish to anger his aunt, but he was not going to complain about having Tommen accompanying him, even if he was a tad bit more curious than most and asked a great deal of questions.
"Your breakfast, mi'lord." The girl had returned with a full plate of everything Markus had requested, a bit too full if he were to be honest. He had expected a decent amount, but even for him the proportion were large. It was as if the serving girl expected him to grow as large as King Robert himself, something Markus hoped to avoid.
"My thanks." The girl gave a bow as Markus nodded his thanks and began eating, savoring his breakfast and thankful that Joff did not say another word to him. After he finished, he received leave of the king to go and prepare his uncle's armor and weapon, while Tommen proudly followed behind him.
"What's it like squiring for Uncle Jaime, Markus?" Tommen asked as the two made their way to the tent Markus shared with his uncle.
"Difficult." Markus chuckled, amused by his cousin's curious optimism. "Uncle isn't one to be easy on me. He insists that I train and make sure that I'm as good of a swordsman as I can be." It was true, although his uncle was lackadaisical in attitude most of the time, Jaime Lannister refused to let up when it came to the preparation of his armor and the swordplay that they practiced together. Markus often wondered whether this was by his grandfather's order, or by his uncle's will.
"I want to squire for a knight one day." Tommen said, seemingly in awe of his cousin despite the words Markus had said.
"Maybe one day, little cousin." He ruffled Tommen's blonde curls playfully, which drew laughter from the boy. "Now come, or Uncle Jaime will have my hide." The two made it to the tent and Markus went through the process of preparing his uncle's equipment, using the routine he had developed in the past year he had spent squiring.
He first shone up his uncle's white armor, making sure that it would outshine the rest of the Kingsguard, even Lord Commander Selmy. When the armor was spotless, even after Tommen had twice dirtied it by dropping the armor on the soft dirt, Markus attended to his uncle's sword, making sure it was sharp and ready for use in combat should the King need being defended. This was his favorite task, as it was the same sword that had struck down Aerys Targaryen and brought about the end of the dragon, and he felt exhilarated holding it.
As Markus held it, he found his reflection in the mirror of his uncle's tent. He was taller than Joffrey, with the typical Lannister green eyes. But there was one defining characteristic that stood out, one that Markus wished he did not bare. While the hair on the left side of his head was golden like his father's, the right side of his head was all black. It was a stain, the true reminder of how he was born less than other nobles. The mark of his common mother.
"Can I hold it, Markus?" Markus' focus on himself was broken. He looked down as his cousin pleaded, but before he could speak, another voice answered.
"Best not, Nephew. I dare say that blade weighs more than you do."
"Father!" Markus saw his father Tyrion standing in the opening of the tent, observing the two boys with a small grin. The two boy approached Tyrion, Markus embracing his father. It always felt strange, as his father's head barely made it to his chest, but Markus' father always insisted.
"Preparing Jaime's armor, are we?" Tyrion broke the hug and observed the armor that Markus had readied. "I'm sure my brother will be impressed. This is the brightest the white as been in some time."
"I've been helping too, Uncle Tyrion!" Tommen said, showing the plate that Markus had given him to prepare.
"Good boy, Tommen. I dare say you'll likely be Jaime's next squire after Markus is done with his tutelage." Hopefully I'm not done anytime soon. Markus had found King's Landing much more favorable than the gloom that was Casterly Rock, and did not have any desire to earn his knighthood quickly and be sent back to his home. "Markus, I assume you will be accompanying your uncle at the head of the column?"
"Yes, Father."
"Good. Make sure to ask him if you can join me for dinner tonight." When Markus gave an inquisitive look, Tyrion smirked. "I'm not going to simply allow you to learn just about armor and swordplay. You have to learn about other things as well."
"Of course, Father." Markus was excited at the prospect of spending time with his father, although he wasn't so inclined to learn more from books.
"Excellent. Well, I suppose I should find where my dear brother is. He seems to have disappeared." Markus watched as his father waddled to the opening in the tent, but turned around before leaving. "Markus, come here." The boy did as he was instructed, and bent down so his father could whisper in his ear. "I heard you bested Joff in your last sparring session. I'll make sure to reward you when we make it back to the capital."
This first chapter is mostly an introduction of how Markus interacts with the majority of his family, as well as the boy's character. Hope everyone enjoyed!
