Stannis has rarely seen King's Landing in such a state of chaos during peacetime.
Gold Cloaks rush out of the Red Keep in tight formation to secure the docks and a sizable crowd begins to form around them to catch a glimpse of the lone ship slowly pulling into the harbor bearing the colors of House Targaryen.
The clamoring and shuffle of a massive crowd of civilians only grows louder as more and more join to witness the spectacle that is Prince Rhaegar returning from Dragonstone. Stannis himself is positioned at the edge of the crowd with some of his own personal guards and Storm Blood at his hip.
As the ship finally lurches to a stop alongside the dock, the assembled Gold Cloaks immediately snap to attention as a plank is lowered over the side of the ship.
Suddenly, Prince Rhaegar himself appears at the top of the deck causing the crowd to explode in a chorus of roars and cheers.
Stannis is admittedly impressed by the popularity of the Heir to the Iron Throne, Rhaegar hasn't even done anything and the crowd has already seemingly lost their minds.
Then again, he supposes when compared to his father, Rhaegar appears even more attractive and appealing to the common folk. At that thought, Stannis spares a subtle glance at King Aerys standing (more like huddling) next to Tywin Lannister as they await the Crown Prince.
He takes a moment to observe King Aerys in more detail.
The King is a gaunt and extremely pale man. His hair is unkempt and dirty, his dull purple eyes scream paranoia as they constantly dart in sporadic bursts of motion.
He also turns his nose down on those nearby while the occasional dribble of saliva runs out of his mouth while he's talking. Tywin Lannister, the stoic man that he is, only carefully nods in response to some words that Aerys exclaims.
No wonder the bards sing tales about the Silver Prince. You can't exactly sing about a poor hygienic monarch.
The song material would be atrocious and you'd also find yourself missing a head soon enough as well.
Next to him, Davos stands constantly observing their surroundings as he is still the Captain of the Guards.
As Prince Rhaegar makes his way down the plank, the retinue that comes with him from Dragonstone also follows suit.
Immediately noticeable is his wife, Elia Targaryan, who makes her way down while a young darker skinned girl (who he assumes is Rhaenys) clutches her hand, evidently made shy by the large throng of people greeting them.
Some handmaidens also follow the Princess and as he observes them he briefly makes eye contact with a startling set of violet eyes before he breaks the contact to look over the general scene once more.
Prince Rhaegar stops in front of his father to bow and exchange some words. Of course, Stannis cannot hear them over the din of the crowd but based on the tightness that suddenly appears in both Rhaegar's and Tywin's face, the king has said something rather unsavory.
The king begins cackling and coughing at the same time generating a rather disturbing sound before pointing a dirty fingernail at Elia and spitting on the ground in front of her.
Immediately the crowd falls silent until Elia responds and begins to laugh off whatever the King has said. After an awkward moment, the King begins to laugh before wheezing again and turning around with the Gold Cloaks and the Prince following.
Rhaeger exchanges pleasantries with Tywin and Elia smiles along while the King hobbles ahead of them.
Stannis doesn't miss the way Rhaegar's jaw is clenched or the fact that Elia's smile never reaches her eyes.
A knock on his chamber doors prompts Stannis to open them to reveal a nervous-looking Jaime Lannister.
Stannis raises a single brow.
"We're meeting the Royal Family," Jaime confides with him in a whisper.
Stannis only nods before heading to his wardrobe and slipping on a doublet with a simple stag on it.
Jaime is practically shaking from his nerves while sending him an incredulous look as they begin to head towards the Throne Room.
"Stannis, how can you be so calm?"
"I'm not. I'm just tired," Stannis explains while pinching his nose.
"Tired? What did you do?" Jaime asks curiously.
Stannis shoots him a deadpanned look. "Our training, we've been training nonstop for several days in a row now in the spar-yard."
Jaime smacks his forehead lightly in realization before sending him a smirk.
"Oh yeah, but I don't feel tired at all from our training, I guess us Lannisters are just built differently."
Stannis only glares at him before muttering "Oh yeah, that's because you were too busy resting on the ground after getting beaten by me during our spars."
At Jaime's sudden look of mock outrage, Stannis can't help but laugh at his friend's facial expression.
"Yeah, well, we can't all have a sword forged from weirwood blood," Jaime counters.
Stannis only shrugs in response causing Jaime to mutter that he wishes he could have a "cool" sword as well.
Sometimes Stannis thinks about how weird it is to be having good-natured banter with Jaime Lannister.
Jaime and Stannis finally arrive at the entrance to the Throne Room with two Gold Cloaks standing watch. As they recognize them, the two guards both acknowledge them with a tilt of their heads.
"Milords, they're waiting," one of them begins before they both slowly open the large doors revealing the Iron Throne itself.
It's been a while since Stannis has seen the trademark blades sticking at odd angles resulting in the monstrosity of a chair it is today.
It's a bittersweet reunion because he was fighting for so long for this uncomfortable-looking piece of furniture.
King Aerys, Prince Rhaegar, Princess Elia, Tywin Lannister, and several Kingsguard stand in front of the Throne all seemingly awaiting their arrival.
When they enter the room, Aerys glances at Jaime before making a snide remark.
"Ah, so the Lannister heir has finally decided to grace me with his presence."
Jaime and he stand at attention before Aerys. Stannis isn't sure where Aerys is trying to go with this.
Jaime can only shift nervously as Aerys scoffs before waving a hand.
"But no matter, I suppose my future Kingsguard will have time to learn anyways about the importance of punctuality."
Immediately the atmosphere in the room changes as Ser Barristan and Ser Arthur both simultaneously fidget, Tywin's green eyes blow wide in shock, and everyone else in the room slows in their movements.
Aerys turns to Tywin with a raised brow, seemingly ignorant of the room's sudden silence.
"I would have thought you would have already taught your welp how to arrive on time."
Before Tywin can respond Jaime desperately asks Aerys a question.
"Your Grace, how can I be on the Kingsguard if there are already seven knights?"
Aerys only laughs in response. "You haven't heard? Harold Grandison passed during the night. You should be glad, someone informed me that you would be a very eager and suitable replacement."
At this, Tywin's green eyes lock onto his son's but all Jaime can do is subtly shake his head.
Aerys steps closer to Jaime and Stannis inwardly cringes at the putrid smell wafting from the King. To someone like Stannis who has lived on countless battlefields and experienced the aftermath of battle, something that smells bad to him is truly something noteworthy.
Jaime tenses up and Aerys misunderstands his sudden anxiousness because he tries to talk in a more comforting tone.
"I understand this is a lot to take in, but we won't hold the official ceremony making you a Kingsguard for a few weeks yet."
If anything, this only makes Jaime more uncomfortable and Stannis can see the anger emanating off of Tywin as his eyes turn cold and a threatening aura seeps off of him.
Unlike Robert's tantrums, Tywin's rage manifests in the smallest indications but nevertheless, it is all the more threatening. Those cold Lannister eyes right now are promising vengeance to Aerys for stealing his heir away from him which is precisely what Stannis was trying to avoid when he swayed Jaime away from accepting a spot on the Kingsguard.
Of course, he conveniently forgot that just because he convinced Jaime he doesn't need to be a Kingsguard, he hasn't convinced Aerys and ultimately, Aerys can essentially force Jaime to join since his word carries so much weight.
Stannis doesn't understand why you would ever snub one of your friends in such a way, especially when said friend is Tywin Lannister. Then again, Aerys is dubbed the Mad King for a reason.
This complicated and ultimately irritating situation is why Stannis absolutely loathes politics. He'll take a dusty map and some figurines representing armies any day.
"Your Grace," Stannis interrupts.
At this, Aerys whips his head around to face Stannis in a fit of rage while pointing a gnarled finger.
The Royal Family takes a sharp breath and Elia sends him a pleading look with wide eyes. Some of her handmaidens also exchange horrified looks.
"How dare you-" Aerys screeches before freezing when he makes eye contact with Stannis.
Aerys seems suspended in time and shock shines clear in the king's dull purple eyes.
"Cousin?" Aerys chokes out confusedly.
"Stef... is that… really you?" Aerys whispers in disbelief while reaching for Stannis. Stannis freezes unsure of what to do before he is enveloped in an embrace by Aerys.
Stannis stumbles back a little before righting himself and awkwardly patting the king on the back.
A light cough from Tywin interrupts Aerys' impromptu hug.
"Aerys, it's not… Stef, it's his son, Stannis," Tywin corrects softly.
Aerys turns back to Stannis with a look of desperation.
"Are you sure? You look just like him…" Aerys whispers in a broken sort of tone and Stannis is struck by the rare amount of exposed grief he can read in both Aerys and Tywin's eyes.
Stannis realizes he isn't standing before a King and his Hand anymore, but two people who even after all these years, are still reeling from the loss of one of their childhood friends.
Tywin places a hand on Aerys' shoulder before speaking.
"Perhaps it's best if we nominate someone else to the Kingsguard."
Aerys simply nods, still seemingly in shock before glancing down at his hands in contemplation.
Aerys is quiet for a long while and no one dares move lest they incur the king's attention on them.
Suddenly, Aerys speaks.
"Tywin…" Aerys recites slowly as if testing the words on his tongue before looking at his hand.
Stannis is shocked to see Aerys' normally cloudy eyes clear for once.
"When did my nails get so long?", Aerys sniffs, "and why do I smell like I took a roll in a horse stable?"
Tywin's suddenly wide eyes meet his own.
"What the hell happened in there?" Jaime asks incredulously.
"I mean, one moment I thought you were going to be executed, and then suddenly the king is hugging you," Jaime punctuates with his arms outstretched. Stannis would be laughing if he also isn't asking the exact same thing.
He thinks back to the events of the Throne room.
After the King had seemingly become self aware of his own appearance, he immediately excused himself to go attend to his own needs after which a bewildered Royal Family had introduced themselves to him formally.
"All I ever wanted to do was just go to the damn Tourney and change things, it wasn't supposed to be so complicated," Stannis mutters to himself.
An arm is suddenly slung around his shoulders as Jaime begins waxing poetic.
"Fear not, for the Golden Lion and the Furious Stag will win all the gold, glory, and maidens!" Jaime finishes with a wink.
He gives Jaime a deadpan look before rolling his eyes at Jaime's theatrics.
Suddenly they're stopped by a guard bearing Targaryen colors.
"Lord Stannis, Prince Rhaegar requests an audience with you."
Stannis shrugs Jaime's arm off his shoulder before schooling his face. He simply gives Jaime a curt nod before striding after the guard. He has a feeling that the following meeting with Prince Rhaegar would be of great importance regarding how Westeros would look in the coming months and years after.
As he arrives at the door to Prince Rhaegar's solar, Stannis glimpses both guards bearing the colors of Dragonstone and Lannister Red Guard.
It seems Rhaegar isn't the only person he is going to be meeting inside.
When the door opens, Stannis is greeted by the familiar face of Lord Tywin standing next to a seated Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Indigo eyes assess him coolly as Stannis steps into the room.
"Lord Stannis, please, have a seat," the Prince requests in a soft tone. The Prince's way of speaking is lilting, somehow both invoking thoughts of the present but also indicating an air of aloofness that hints at something deeper.
Stannis knows his own voice in comparison demonstrates at most, a single emotion at a time.
As his eyes dart between Rhaegar and Tywin, Stannis notices that on the table, there is a map of Westeros laid out with pieces. It's a map setup Stannis is all too familiar with: his many wars had seen to that.
"You're a smart boy, I assume you've figured out what this is," Tywin interjects calmly while nodding at the arranged pieces on the board.
Stannis furrows his brows as he takes in the board. As he takes his eyes over the entirety of Westeros, he notices there are only Lion pieces and Dragon pieces represented on the map.
It makes no sense. Why are there only two armies mobilized on the map?
Are the Targaryens fighting the Lannisters in this scenario? Impossible. Tywin Lannister wouldn't be present in this room. Furthermore, the Lannisters didn't even join Robert's Rebellion until after the decisive Battle of the Trident.
Stannis can only give a careful nod in response to Tywin's assumption.
"Tell me, Lord Stannis, who holds Storm's End," Rhaegar asks him.
Stannis answers instinctively.
"My elder brother Robert."
Rhaegar waves his hand dismissively.
"Yes as de jure Lord of the Stormlands he does, but in practicality, right now, who holds Storm's End."
"Well, Renly is the defacto holder of Storm's End since he is the only Baratheon present there. Even then, Maester Cressen acts as Renly's regent currently since he is so young."
"Maester Cressen..." Rhaegar repeats while tapping his chin.
Stannis doesn't understand the point of this line of questioning at all. He doesn't understand what game these two are trying to play at and is sick and tired of it.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're trying to get out of me, and to be quite frank, I'd like a straight answer. What is the point of this?" Stannis asks bluntly.
A ghost of a smile appears on Tywin's lips.
"Just like your father," Tywin mutters.
Rhaegar gives Stannis a nod before leaning back. "A completely understandable and fair question Lord Stannis. I cannot yet reveal everything, but I wanted to thank you. You, however indirectly, have helped restore a significant portion of my father's sanity."
Stannis immediately sends them both a look full of disbelief.
Tywin confirms this while crossing his arms.
"It's true, Aerys… apologized to me for the insults and other grievances he caused me," Tywin admits.
Stannis looks at Tywin incredulously.
"And you forgave him?"
Rhaegar steps in to provide an answer.
"My father, as a recompense to Lord Tywin, was convinced to accept a future marriage between my first-born son and a Lannister woman. Hence, a king will sit the Iron Throne with Lannister blood and Targaryen blood running through his veins," Rhaegar divulges.
At Rhaegar's explanation, a satisfied gleam enters Tywin's eyes. That explains why Tywin forgave Aerys so easily, although Tywin will probably never forget.
Stannis lets the implications of that sink in. There were so very many marriage alliances in Westeros now. One of them has to give at some point. Any conflict, however seemingly small in nature can quickly escalate due to the marriage pacts until the entire continent is at war.
As he mulls all this over, Stannis is aware of Prince Rhaegar's shrewd gaze watching him carefully.
Prince Rhaegar leans in closely to ask him a question.
"Tell me, how is your elder brother in the Vale?"
Stannis has to hold back from scoffing instinctively.
"Robert has been happily training under Jon Arryn and making friends with Eddard Stark and Elbert Arryn," Stannis pauses before continuing bitterly, "he views his friends as his brothers more than his actual brothers, and Jon as the father he never had."
"I see," Rhaegar responds simply before exchanging a glance with Tywin.
"If it came down to it, who would you fight for, your family, or your king?" Rhaegar's indigo eyes pin Stannis to his seat with the weight of their stare.
Your family or your king. Rhaegar's words echo in Stannis' mind. He knows what he chose in the past. He chose to fight for his brother Robert because he was his blood, his family. It was one of the few times he chose to abandon his overarching duty to the king. And look how it turned out.
Westeros in shambles, hundreds of thousands dead, and his family all but wiped out. And for what? All these things were swept away by the pride and arrogance of a few powerful players. Stannis was just unlucky to be caught in the flow.
But he knows what his answer will be the second time around. If he intends to make a change, he'll have to make different decisions than in his past life. He'll do his duty, even if it means it will tear his family apart. Even if it means that one day Renly will question why he or Robert lies in a prison or dead on the battlefield fighting against one another. He hopes his little brother will understand why he made his choice.
Gods, Stannis can see it now.
Tattered Baratheon banners flapping aimlessly as carrion feast on Stormlanders below, in the middle, lies a broken form bearing a helmet with antlers lying an-
"Lord Stannis," Rhaegar interrupts softly, jolting Stannis back into the present. Stannis finds himself breathing hard and wipes his hand across his brow to discover the telltale moisture of sweat lining his forehead.
Tywin and Rhaegar are giving him looks of concern but Stannis just waves them off before he clenches his hand into a tight fist. Gods, why was making the right decision so painful.
All he ever wanted when he came back was to be reunited with his family. To laugh with his father and mother at the dinner table, to never have to watch as Renly tentatively nibbled at a cat they found, to never have to watch helplessly as Robert drank and whored himself to an early grave, to make amends for the mistakes of his past.
Stannis finds himself responding in a voice dulled by burden and exhaustion.
"All men's duty is first and foremost to their liege King Aerys, and all men must do their duty."
Prince Rhaegar considers Stannis's response for a moment before granting Stannis a tired nod of respect.
"I understand it's not an easy choice, but I had to make sure there wouldn't be any conflicts of interest before we explained everything else."
"As I'm sure you're aware of, these families, including yours, are currently strengthening alliances between themselves to form a sort of defensive pact," Rhaegar motions towards the Starks, Tullys, Arryns, and Baratheons.
"My sources have told me that they intend to issue an ultimatum to King Aerys threatening rebellion if he doesn't step down or give more power and autonomy to the Kingdoms themselves."
Tywin jumps in to add to the discussion.
"Of course, this would severely weaken the monarchy if Aerys chooses to back down and would set a dangerous precedent for future Targaryen monarchs, such as the one bearing future Lannister blood."
Stannis' eyes widen in realization.
"Aerys would never accept such terms, meaning the whole northern half of Westeros would rise in rebellion. They might actually win, or at least sow doubt in Targaryen rule of the realm," Stannis theorizes.
Well, sort of theorizes, it happened. Although in the past, House Lannister was neutral.
"Precisely, what's worse is that the sheep that are the common folk would see just cause in such a rebellion if they are convinced that King Aerys is a tyrant, and unfortunately, he hasn't inspired what one would call devotion from his subjects," Tywin grimly states.
"So it seems war is unavoidable no matter which direction we go, for if you give in to their demands, they'll just keep demanding more and more until you have to refuse and by that point the dynasty will be too weakened to crush an uprising," Stannis concludes.
This whole time, Stannis had believed the Tourney of Harrenhal to be the triggering point of Robert's Rebellion.
It had all been so simple back in Storm's End when discussing it with Maester Cressen.
Just travel to the Tourney of Harrenhal, talk some sense into Robert, Prince Rhaegar, and maybe Lyanna, and then everything would be magically solved because that's how things worked in the real world.
Of course not.
Stannis should've known better. He does know better.
It couldn't have been that simple and now that he's looking at a confusing web of alliances, it's not so simple as in warfare.
You have an enemy and you can take direct action to determine the tide of the battle. More often than not, it is predictable.
This isn't the case with the Game of Thrones.
Politics. What a mess.
"So you see, Lord Stannis, it is fortunate that you are here with us so that we may be able to mitigate the effect of the Stormlands joining in on a probable hypothetical rebellion," Rhaegar lays his hands over the Stormlands.
"With my good friend Jon Connington, head of House Connington which exerts a fair amount of influence in the surrounding areas, combined with the backing of the king, and a Baratheon, we should be able to have the majority of the Stormlands stay loyal to royal forces. Even if Robert is considered the Lord of the Stormlands, we know for sure that the other Storm Lords haven't seen Robert in years due to his fostering, it's in fact you, Lord Stannis, that they have interacted with the most," Rhaegar informs Stannis.
Lord Tywin shakes his head.
"When Steffon arranged for Robert to be fostered in the Vale, he never accounted for his own untimely death, causing Robert to forge strong connections outside the Stormlands but neglect it from within."
They both turn to stare at him now before Rhaegar lays out his proposition.
"The Stormlands are home to one of Westeros' best fighting forces. If you can simply gain control of a majority of it during the course of the rebellion, we can neutralize one of the largest threats in the pact opposing us before it even begins to mobilize."
They're both expecting him to somehow be able to usurp his brother's position as Lord Paramount and sway the Stormlord to his side over Robert's.
It all sounds too good to be true and Stannis, ever the realist, seeks to find downsides.
"I think you both underestimate Robert's sheer charisma and my lack thereof, men always hesitated to follow my lead whenever they had the chance to follow Robert or anyone else instead, what's not to say the Stormlords will just follow him instead," Stannis quietly argues.
Tywin's sudden bark of laughter causes both Rhaegar and Stannis to face him in surprise.
"Boy, your own men that you brought here from Storm's End are devoted to you through and through. You don't need to make them laugh or to tell stories. You need to lead. From what I've heard, you did a fine enough job of that in the Kingswood. You already have something of a reputation, use it," Tywin both advises and compliments, and Stannis can only stare back speechless at the rare praise Tywin hands out to him.
Tywin rubs his chin before speaking again.
"Although, you do bring up a valid point. It's entirely possible that a fair amount of Stormlords will choose to follow Robert. However, even then, any lord that joins the Targaryen cause because of you is one more lord denied from the other side."
A contemplative silence falls over the trio before Rhaegar breaks it.
"Get some rest Stannis, tomorrow, you'll join us on the road to Harrenhal," Rhaegar states with an air of finality.
Stannis recognizes a dismissal when he sees one and hurriedly gets up to leave. His hands shake slightly and he makes an effort to briskly leave when he is stopped by Tywin placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
"The next time we discuss strategies and tactics over a map of Westeros it won't be hypothetical, until then, just keep moving forward, day by day, it's all one can do in our position" Tywin counsels.
When Stannis turns his head back to see Rhaegar's reassuring smile and when he processes Tywin's advice, Stannis feels the suffocating burden of having the fate of a kingdom on his shoulders lighten just a little bit.
Bards always sang about Prince Rhaegar's melancholic eyes, but they never sang about the grief hidden behind King Aerys' mad eyes, or the lines of stress embossed into Lord Tywin's brow.
Stannis knows they'll never sing about the oddly comforting sense of camaraderie he feels when he sees Rhaegar's nod of respect or feels Tywin's reassuring grip on his shoulder as he leaves the Prince's solar.
It's dark when Stannis wanders the hallways of the Red Keep, too restless to try getting any sleep. Shadows are cast on the wall by torchlights placed regularly at even intervals along.
Guards stand post at various doors but Stannis doesn't care about them. He's too lost in his own world.
He turns a corner and is surprised when he stumbles into someone. A hasty apology comes out of his mouth before he recognizes who he's just crashed into.
"Davos?" Stannis squints his eyes as indeed, he confirms with his own eyes that he's run into Davos Seaworth.
"Stannis!" Davos exclaims quietly.
Davos grabs Stannis' outstretched hand to pull himself up off the ground before continuing.
"I've been looking all over for you. Ser Jaime told me you went off to see Prince Rhaegar but that was hours ago."
Davos scans Stannis' face in concern before his friend's eyes narrow in suspicion.
"I'm not going to lie, Stannis, you look like shit," Davos confesses.
In return, Stannis observes his friend in the dim torchlight. While he can't see as much as normal, he spies a very distinctive handprint on his friend's left cheek.
When Stannis merely gestures at the offending handprint Davos only flushes.
"Well, you know how I told you I was hoping to run into Marya here?" Davos starts hesitantly.
Stannis only nods slowly in acknowledgement.
"I erm- found her, and I may have forgotten that we'd already been married and that Dale and Allard had already been born by this year," Davos scratches the back of his head sheepishly.
Davos stares at his feet before pointing meekly at the red handprint on his cheek.
"Hence… this," Davos mutters awkwardly.
Stannis can't help it. Laughter bubbles out of his mouth so rapidly that he has to hold his stomach from the sudden onslaught on his abdomen and lungs.
How do you actually forget you're already married? Then again, to be fair, they both had other things that they were worrying about.
Davos narrows his eyes at Stannis.
"Oi! My misfortune is not something to be laughed at you know!" Davos passionately exclaims.
Stannis is still choking back on laughter when he asks Davos a question.
"How… did she… react when you told her you became a lord?" Stannis is struggling to wipe the tears that formed in his eyes.
Davos, if anything, looks even more embarrassed.
"That's actually why I got this…," Davos divulges in a whisper.
Stannis can't do anything else but howl with laughter at the sheer ridiculousness of his friend's situation. The sheer intensity of his laughter probably also has to do with the stress of realizing he's going to essentially participate in a civil war against his own family.
"Hey! You two, knock it off!" A guard suddenly appears at the end of the corridor causing both Stannis and Davos to apologize and scurry off.
They manage to find an open balcony overlooking the city's nightlife below them as the muted sounds of the nearby ocean reaches their ears.
Stannis leans on a stone ledge before sighing and looking up at the myriad of twinkling stars that seem to wink down at them.
Stannis turns his head to watch the waves lapping at the docks in the distance.
"I… I really needed that Davos," Stannis confesses quietly.
Davos merely lets out a questioning hum as they both gaze down into the city.
"I've found out that there is no stopping the coming war," Stannis swallows thickly, "and that my brother and I will most likely be on opposite sides of the battlefield. The truth is, I don't even know what the right path is anymore."
Stannis feels himself breaking just a little bit.
"My… whole life… I've always been guided by justice and duty. Or at least what I thought was right. But… was Shireen's death right? Was Renly's? Was anyone's death that I caused justice? Or… was I just playing at being a good person when in reality I was committing evils. What happens when your duty involves fighting your own family? Am I even allowed to feel guilty for what I have done?" he whispers.
Stannis faintly registers Davos calling his name.
Is he just being used as a pawn by Tywin and Rhaegar? Is he just being used by the Old Gods for their own desires? Who can he even trust anymore?
"Stannis."
Is he always destined to a life of little comfort and only pain and bitterness to surround him? Nothing makes sense anymo-
"STANNIS!" Davos calls while shaking his shoulders.
Stannis glances up to see Davos staring intently at him.
"You're not by any means perfect. You've made mistakes, just like any of us. But just because you've made mistakes doesn't mean you should wallow in self pity and doubt. If you regret every single thing that happens or every decision that turned out poorly, you'll never be able to get up in the morning and face the present, it's in the past now, all we can do is keep moving forward," Davos urges.
Davos pauses to point at the stag sewn on Stannis' doublet.
"You're Stannis Baratheon. The royal blood of the House Targaryen runs through your veins. You've held out against Mace Tyrell while eating rats, you've defeated Euron Greyjoy despite never having commanded a navy before, you've won great victories and if there's any piece of justice left in this cruel world, I'm looking right at it."
Davos takes a breath before jabbing his thumb at Stannis and resuming.
"So don't you dare tell me that you don't know what the right thing is anymore. I was a man trapped in a life of smuggling and crime until you gave me a second chance. You saw something in me that day you knighted me and I'll be damned if after all of these years of facing the odds, I watch you be defeated by yourself. Yes, it's painful realizing that you'll have to possibly fight your brother, but if I know anything, it's that you'll make do no matter how little you have. You'll find a way, and I'll be right there with you to help guide you. We'll face this together like we've faced countless challenges before."
Stannis stares at his friend, no—his brother— in awe. He feels like he doesn't deserve the praise that is being heaped onto him but… Davos' speech is reassuring in a way that he can't even put into words.
Before Stannis can say anything in response, Davos holds his hand out.
When Stannis grabs it Davos swiftly pulls him forward into a brief but firm embrace.
Stannis looks down at his hand and opens his palm before clenching it into a fist.
"You're of course… once again right Davos. I may not have Robert, but you're as good as a brother to me you know," Stannis confesses quietly.
A solid hand lands on his shoulder. And when he glances up he sees Davos looking down at him with a grin.
"Brothers, now and forever," Davos promises.
Stannis nods then and for the first time in a long time, he feels like he can breathe freely. And if he ignores the stench of King's Landing below them, it is almost… pleasant.
As he and Davos both look out over the balcony to the plethora of stars witnessing their conversation, he swears he spies a constellation resembling his mother smiling down at him.
His eyes water and his lips stretch into a tentative, watery smile as he feels a lone tear slowly trickling down his face.
Normally, he would already be wiping it away out of habit and some disgust, but perhaps, for just this once, he can let himself feel vulnerable.
Stannis feels the tear reach his cheek.
He doesn't wipe it away.
AN: Yeah, this was quite a loaded chapter. It's always been said that Stannis is like iron, he'll break before he bends and this ending segment just to me explores that possible avenue that has been mentioned.
Of course, we've never seen Stannis in canon "breaking down" but I imagine if he went through enough things and had enough piled upon him, there has to be a breaking point, even for a guy like Stannis, after all, he's human and I didn't want to just have Stannis being super overpowered and unrealistically strong-willed. That, to me, doesn't do him justice and the depth that he deserves and wouldn't reflect the psychological effect that he experiences internally.
On the outside, he may appear perfectly calm and collected, but it is easy to hide inner turmoil by adopting a stoic mask like Stannis does.
Also, thank you to everyone for leaving your thoughts about this story and for the support. It's quite astounding to see the level of thought and speculation that you guys have about this story and it must mean I'm doing my job as a writer, which is to make you guys question and theorize about this alternate world that is being created within the greater overall world of ASOIAF and GOT. Your reviews and speculations help to shape the way this story unfolds as I take into account good points made and guide the development of what is to come based on some of those points.
Once again, thank you all for supporting this story, it's honestly humbling and I'll endeavor to keep on crafting something worth reading.
Have a great day, and stay safe and healthy.