A/N
I revised Chapter 3 Daenerys II to expand the description of the small council.
Chapter
Stannis Baratheon knew Eddard Stark and his predecessor Jon Arryn had died trying to discover and reveal a dark secret. 'King' Joffrey was supposedly King Robert's first trueborn son and claimed the throne accordingly, but he was truly sired by the queen's brother. His sister Myrcella and brother Tommen were born of the same vile incest. They bore the name Baratheon, but they definitely weren't of that house. They weren't even Lannisters – they deserved to be called 'Waters', the name for bastards born in the Crownlands. Stannis knew the Iron Throne was rightfully his as Robert's oldest brother. Eddard had passed Stannis the information shortly before Joffrey had Lord Stark executed for telling that inconvenient truth. Stannis had the news spread far and wide as part of asserting his right to the crown.
Much of the Lannister household was likely aware that Jaime and Cersei were far too close even for twin siblings. Stannis knew many would be skeptical of the scandal, and Joffrey loyalists had responded with rumormongering against Stannis. Those lies were so disgusting and ridiculous that Stannis did not care to dwell on them. However, the average Lannister loyalists at least thought they were supporting their rightful king. Renly Baratheon's men, not to mention Robb Stark's, definitely had no such excuse. Stannis regretted having his brother Renly killed, but treason was treason. Besides, he had doubted his younger brother's ability to rule – Renly's charm may have helped him gain power, but Stannis' firm sense of justice would be necessary to hold onto it.
Would that those traits were fused in the same man or the brothers had seen fit to work together. Yet Renly insisted on being crowned, Stannis reminded himself. Robert drove us apart by giving him Storm's End, rich lands that were the ancestral seat of House Baratheon. I got stuck with Dragonstone, the poor traditional seat of House Targaryen, Stannis' thoughts continued. Mayhaps their eldest brother's decision plus the influence of Loras Tyrell had helped to tragically inflate Renly's sense of self-importance.
Loras Tyrell was squire turned sworn knight turned Kingsguard Lord Commander for Renly. The two had been lovers all along. Stannis was well aware of his younger brother's predilections in the bedchamber. Stannis barely bedded his wife, Queen Selyse Florent. Well, Robert had more than made up for his brothers on that account.
Stannis had a duty to produce heirs and he had, sweet Shireen. However, even on the rare occasions when he bedded Selyse, no more were forthcoming. Shireen would herself need an heir. The maesters knew she was frail and wondered if she was fertile, lingering effects of the grayscale that disfigured her earlier in life.
Well, a king could create heirs with his pen as well as his penis. Needing an heir was a particularly acceptable reason to legitimize a bastard. Robert certainly left many to choose from if the time came. However, most were unknown, and not trained since birth for the responsibilities of the nobility.
Stannis knew Robert's son Edric Storm, but the boy's existence was a blight on Stannis' honor, and Stannis was not a man to suffer such things lightly. Robert and Selsye's cousin Delena Florent had conceived Edric the night of Stannis and Selyse's wedding, in the bed intended for the newlyweds. Robert's excuse was that he was so drunk he hadn't known what bedchamber he had entered, which Stannis admittedly found rather believable.
Stannis felt the circumstances were a bad omen for his marriage. In that way the brothers were somewhat alike – Robert's marriage also seemed doomed from the start. When Robert had Cersei for the first time, he accidentally addressed her as Lyanna. Robert had been betrothed to her, Eddard's sister. Her beauty had also drawn the eye of Prince Rhaegar, who abducted the lass, one of the sparks setting off Robert's Rebellion. So it was personal when Robert slew Rhaegar in single combat. Lyanna died during the war, mayhaps from birthing Rhaegar's child. Robert couldn't manage to forget his friend's sister. No wonder Cersei would rather bear her brother's children instead of his brother's, Stannis thought.
Renly had referred to his protectors as the Rainbow Guard, typical of his overly stylish manner. Stannis had not created a counterpart; the White Guard was his by right along with the rest of the Iron Throne's power. Its Lord Commander was Ser Barristan Selmy, an honorable man who ought to see the justice in Stannis' cause. Jaime Lannister would have to go, trade a white cloak for a black one mayhaps. Ser Jaime had been a Kingslayer once; who's to say he would not do so again? Fortunately, a current traitor had taken care of the past traitor, as Robb captured Jaime in one of the Stark battles against the Lannisters.
Red was the only color for Stannis now. He had recently been approached by Melisandre, a priestess of the fiery god R'hllor. Selyse and most of the rest of Dragonstone took up Melisandre's faith. Rainbows and other sevens, sigils of the Andal gods, were blasphemy now. As the Andals destroyed the sacred forests of the First Men, so did the followers of R'hllor destroy the sigils of The Seven. The First Men had picked up the Old Gods and the Andals had brought the New Gods, Melisandre proselytized for a yet newer god. The central tenet of her faith was the struggle between light and the forces of darkness. The red priestess said Stannis now played a fundamental role in that eternal war. She proclaimed him Azor Ahai reborn, a legendary hero destined to win the final battle, and Stannis gladly took up that duty.
To speak of red, Robar Royce had worn the red cloak for Renly. Him and Emmon Cuy the yellow had been slain by a grieving Loras looking for someone to blame. Brienne Tarth the blue had nearly met a similar fate, but she escaped. This story came from Guyard Morrigen the green, Parmen Crane the purple and Bryce Caron the orange, three of the many men from Renly's forces that now supported Stannis. The Tyrells had played a key part in crowning Renly, including making Loras' sister Margaery a sham wife for the so-called king. Now House Tyrell threw their lot in with Joffrey against Stannis. So in a way, Loras knew who had been responsible for his lover's death.
Melisandre knew powerful magic. One spell had involved bedding Stannis to produce the creature that had assassinated Renly. Even after Renly's death, Storm's End still hadn't surrendered, thanks to the castle's stubborn commander. In order to cut the siege short, Melisandre and Stannis had recast the spell used to kill Renly.
During Robert's Rebellion, Stannis had held Storm's End against a Tyrell siege, and Davos the smuggler relieved the starving garrison with a shipment of onions. The man was knighted as Davos Seaworth and was to this day one of Stannis' staunchest allies. Now, Davos snuck Melisandre into Storm's End to take the castle. Ironically, Davos was no follower of R'hllor, but he had still done his king's bidding.
Stannis could trust Davos as the elite royal assistant titled Hand of the King; however, Davos was not an educated man, and Stannis found it politically prudent to give the title to his wife's uncle Alester. Besides, ship captains as skilled as Davos were needed in the royal fleet. Even facing the combined might of Houses Lannister and Tyrell, Renly's forces gave Stannis enough strength to strike at King's Landing, and strike he would.
The messengers that carried Stannis' news across the Narrow Sea brought back their own word. Daenerys Targaryen had hatched three dragons. Many Targaryens had tried and failed in a multitude of ways to bring back the dragons in the hundred and fifty years since the creatures had died out. With them, thousands of Dothraki warriors and the usual assortment of mercenaries, Daenerys was poised to claim the throne as Aerys II's daughter. However, she had no rights as the second cousin of Robert I. The Iron Throne belonged to the Baratheons now.