"Turns out I was wrong about my weather predictions." Renly muttered darkly to himself, looking out the open window at the storm raging battle against the castle. He loved Storm's End, and he even found some kind of melancholy beauty in the storms but even he couldn't help but turn a little sour after days upon days of relentless, pelting rain.
"Indeed my Lord." His squire replied miserably from the window ledge. Loras' normally graceful curls had gone wild around his head due to the wind and rain, giving him the distinct appearance of some kind of feral cat, perched as he was in the window.
Renly chuckled quietly at that, imagining Loras' horror at being compared to such a gentle creature. His new squire had only been at Storm's End for a day but already Renly could tell that Loras possessed an outrageous amount of that Tyrell arrogance. He had been unable to begin his training had Renly had said he could, instead spending the day following closely on Renly's heels as he tended to various lordship duties. Although Renly suspected it was more out of fear of getting lost rather than any sense of duty, he was still glad of Loras' company and found he enjoyed his new squire tremendously. Loras had a sharp tongue and quick wit and although Renly had never met the Queen of Thorns, if the stories about Loras' grandmother were true then he felt sure she must have been an influence in his upbringing.
He heard a sigh from window and looked up from the letter he was supposed to be reading. Loras had his legs tucked under him with his head resting against the wall as he stared morosely out at the crashing sea. His clothes were getting damp from the rain but he didn't seem to care. Renly couldn't blame him; it was so hot in the castle every window had been thrown open regardless of the rain.
Renly felt a pang of sympathy for his new squire. Although he was glad Loras had come to Storms' End, he knew the boy must miss his family terribly. To top it all off, he was being welcomed by shit weather that kept him locked inside all day. Lord Mace had raved endlessly about Loras' skill with a sword and Renly was quite keen to see if there was any truth behind the Lord's words although there was little chance of that happening in this weather.
He turned his gaze back to the parchment in front of him, words and letters blurring uselessly as his thoughts wandered and his mind refused to focus on the task at hand. Suddenly, lightning burst across the evening sky with such a fierce golden hue that Renly was momentarily startled as the deep thunder crashed around them, sending Loras scrambling to his feet.
Renly could see that Loras was immediately embarrassed at his reaction, sitting calmly back down on the window ledge and pretending nothing had happened.
Renly stifled a laugh; although he barely knew Loras, he could tell the boy was fiercely proud and would not react well to being laughed at, however sympathetic Renly had meant to be.
Instead, Renly made a show of folding up the letter he had been reading, sliding it under another pile of unread letters to be dealt with at some other time. He smiled as an idea took seed in his mind; he had promised to show Loras the battlements, and although it would be madness to climb up there in such weather, there was another spot in the castle that he thought Loras might quite enjoy. He reached discreetly into the bottom drawer of his desk and fumbled about a bit before pulling out a set of keys and slipping it into his pocket.
"Loras," He called, rising from his desk. "Follow me."
Loras gave him a curious glance at that but slid down off the window ledge like he was told and followed his Lord dutifully.
Renly led Loras down so many corridors, staircases and hallways that he was quite sure Loras would have been lost were it not for him; and yet, Renly knew this castle so well that every stone was imprinted in his mind and he could have made his way back with his eyes closed.
"Are you going to lock me in the dungeons my Lord?" Loras asked in mock fright as they descended yet another darkened staircase.
Renly burst out laughing and only glanced cryptically back at Loras. He knew Loras must be terribly confused as to why Renly was dragging him through these gloomy and damn hallways but he could also see the curiosity on his squire's face. As they rounded a corner Renly reached up to grab a torch from its place on the wall, at which Loras couldn't help but look at him questionably. Renly only smiled once more; the need for the torch would become apparent to Loras soon enough.
They walked down the length of the corridor and came to a halt in front of a very ancient looking door. Renly handed the torch to Loras and reached into his pocket for the keys. He hadn't been down here in so long he didn't even remember which key to use. Loras looked at him curiously as he tried a few keys on the padlock and pushed the door with no luck.
"Is this the part where I scream for help, my Lord?" Loras asked as Renly finally found the right key and pushed the door open, its hinges squeaking loudly.
"Who would hear you?" Renly replied darkly, reaching to take to torch from his squire.
Loras chuckled but it seemed a bit forced, and, glancing back at him, Renly could see the nervousness in his eyes. Renly was reminded that even though Loras was arrogant and a bit insolent, behind all the bravado he was still only a boy of ten. He gave Loras a reassuring smile and turned to walk through the door, his squire following closely on his heels.
They walked down a pitch black hallway, eventually reaching a staircase. As they descended the seemingly endless steps the stones became progressively damper, until they reached the bottom and their feet were soaked from the water lapping at the stone floor.
As they made their way down the watery tunnel it became progressively brighter, and eventually Renly was able to make out the dark, stormy night sky in front of them. After only a few more steps the tunnel opened up around them into a large cavern, waves crashing onto the ledge they were standing on and the night sky flashing directly in front of them through the opening on the other side.
Renly turned as he heard Loras gasp, and smiled when he saw the younger boy's amber eyes grow wide and his jaw drop open.
"Better than the dungeons?" He teased.
"Way better my Lord!" Loras replied, his eyes glittering with excitement.
Renly smiled and shuffled along the ledge until he found the place he was looking for; a small nook in the cavern wall, large enough to seat two people. They sat down companionably side by side, legs dangling from the ledge and their toes skimming the icy water as salty mist sprayed in their faces.
Renly remembered the first time Stannis had showed him the cave. He had been only three years old, and much less brave than Loras. He had cowered behind Stannis, holding on to his older brother's hand for dear life.
Renly felt a small pang of sadness as he recalled the fond way Stannis had teased him not to be a baby, holding onto him tightly nonetheless as he sat down in the nook and let Renly scramble into his lap.
Renly had loved Stannis once, the Stannis that had protected Renly during the siege and held Renly in his arms until his sobs of hunger and fright subsided. That Stannis was probably still in there somewhere, but if he was unfortunately he was hiding behind the bitter cunt Stannis had become ever since Robert had given Storm's End to Renly.
Renly turned to his squire, who also seemed to be deep in though as he gazed out at the dark night sky. Renly wondered if he too was thinking about his family; he mentioned them constantly and Renly knew Loras was particularly close with his little sister by the adoring way he said her name.
"Margaery would love this." Loras said suddenly, as if reading his mind.
Renly smiled at his squire. "Do you miss your family, Loras?" He asked.
Loras nodded and for a split second Renly thought Loras' eyes might have been filled with tears, but then Loras shook himself and looked away from Renly as if he didn't want him to see. Renly wasn't surprised; Loras was clearly quite a prideful little thing.
"I miss my sister and brothers." Loras said. "My Lord." He added as an afterthought.
Something had been making Renly uncomfortable and suddenly he realized what it was. Loras was addressing him the with the appropriate formality and yet it felt strange to be so proper with someone so close to him in age and whom he was quickly beginning to think of as a friend.
"Renly." He said, smiling as his squire gave him a questioning look. "Call me Renly."
Even through the dim light of the torch he saw Loras blush slightly.
"If it please you, m-, I mean Renly." Loras replied, not meeting his gaze.
"Really Loras, we don't have to be so formal with each other. I would like for us to be friends." He said.
Loras opened his mouth to reply but Renly cut him off before he could say anything.
"If would say 'If it please you' again I'm going to push you in the water." Renly warned him in mock annoyance.
Loras only grinned at that, his amber eyes turning almost gold in the warm glow of the torch.
"Don't you have any friends your own age, Renly?" He asked innocently, the wicked gleam in his eyes betraying the sweetness of his tone.
Renly glared at him fiercely, though he could feel a grin spread across his face. He reached forward and shoved Loras lightly in the shoulder. He had only meant to hit him playfully but Loras had scooted closer to the edge and Renly's hand pushed him with a little more force than he had meant. The wicked smile immediately slid off Loras' face as he fell forward, a gasp of surprise escaping his mouth as he hit the icy water.
Renly recovered his surprise and burst out laughing. The Gods knew he himself had either jumped, fell, or been pushed into that very water more times than he could count. It wasn't a very long way to fall and Loras could easily lift himself up from the water onto the ledge.
His laughter quickly subsided however as Loras' head failed to appear above the waves. A cold feeling of dread settled into the pit of his stomach as a horrible thought occurred to him. Highgarden was quite a long way from the ocean. What if the boy didn't know how to swim?
He made to push himself off the ledge to go in after Loras when suddenly his squire's tousled head burst from the water in front of him. Loras was gasping for breath but he seemed steady enough in the water and Renly let out a breath of relief. Loras glared at him and Renly grinned sheepishly. Quite the host he was, sending out overtures of friendship one minute and attempting to drown him the next.
He opened his mouth to apologize when he felt a surprisingly strong hand grab his foot and yank him forward. He hit the icy waves with a splash and struggled to the surface. He looked around for Loras and then suddenly there was a mass of wet curls in his face and he and Loras were wrestling, trying to push each other back under the water, breathless laughter echoing off the cave and even though Renly's lungs were burning he couldn't remember being that happy in a long time.