(A.N: Reviews and Comments make me write faster!)
Chapter V
Stannis was not certain as to what to expect from this trip to Lannisport. At first he had been impressed by the city, however, as he continued his trip any amazement he had built up was quickly dashed as he found himself in a state of utter disappointment. Rather than continue showing him the city, the youngest brother of Lord Tywin, whom was supposed to be his guide, was too busy flirting with peasant girls, making some lame ribald jests and the such.
What an idiot, Stannis thought annoyed as he watched the man make a fool of himself. "Weren't you supposed to show me the city?" Stannis asked trying to keep his cool.
Gerion turned to him, the smile on his face curled like sour milk. "Aren't you old enough to go by your own?" he replied.
Stannis felt his anger rise at the condescending tone in Gerion's voice. He took a deep breath before answering, trying to keep his voice steady. "I came here to see the city, not to witness your ridiculous attempt at impressing common women. If you're not going to show me the city, as you were tasked, then at least point me in the right direction so I can explore it myself."
His anger seemed to have amused the Lannister, which in turn angered Stannis even more. The man shrugged. "Suit yourself, I am not leaving any time soon," he said as he playfully pinched one of the women's breasts, eliciting a giggle from her. "The best shops are down that way," he said, pointing lazily in a general direction.
Flustered, Stannis took the direction pointed by Gerion and made his way through the bustling streets of the city. As he continued walking, he couldn't help but notice all the little details of the city that were supposed to make it unique. The buildings with their overly intricate carvings, the shops with their obnoxiously colourful awnings, and the fountains that were just trying too hard to be ornate. Had he not been so up-set, he might have thought it was pretty.
He stopped by a merchant's tent that caught his interest, there was a board game in display. Stannis had never seen something quite like that. It was a tiled wooden board with a screen separating it in the middle, at each side minuscule carvings of soldiers, rambles elephants, dragons and trebuchets laid in each tile. Curious, he approached the merchant and asked about the game.
"It's calls Cyvasse," the man said with a deep accent. "It's popular game in the great Volantis."
Stannis was intrigued, and ordered the merchant to explain the rules. The man obliged, and soon Stannis found himself engrossed in the intricacies of Cyvasse. The game was a mix of strategy and chance. The merchant called it "a game of thrones", for the main goal of the game was to kill the opposing king and take his throne and lands.
He spent several hours playing against the merchant, learning the rules of the game. It was a hard game, but an engaging one. Stannis was captivated, so he decided to purchase it, along with a small set of soldiers, elephants, dragons, and trebuchets and other more to play with.
Satisfied and carrying under his good arm the board ––which fortunately was foldable–– he made his way back to where he left Gerion. But the Lannister and the two peasant women were nowhere to be seen.
Annoyed, Stannis grinded his teeth.
And they say that a Lannister's word is as good as gold… He thought bitterly. The boy decided to be petty then. He would leave the city and return to Casterly Rock completely unannounced. That would surely give Gerion Lannister a good fright.
As he made his way out of the city gates, a glint of gold caught Stannis' eye. He looked closer and saw a girl with long golden hair standing beside a tree. Could it be Cersei? The resemblance was uncanny, and for a moment Stannis was convinced that it was her. What was she doing here?
He stalked closer, careful to not alert her, so he could get a better look. He hide beside a tree and glanced at the girl again. He saw fair and unblemished skin, full lips, emerald eyes and a dainty face. It was Cersei, there was no doubt about it. The girl began walking away from the main path into the woods. Intrigued, he followed her.
As he made his way deeper into the woods, Stannis felt a sense of unease growing within him. He had never been the adventurous type, that had been Robert, and the idea of wandering around in an unknown place, following someone he barely knew, made him uncharacteristically nervous. But he just could not ignore this. For some strange reason he just needed to know this. After trekking cautiously for what felt like miles, they emerged from the dense foliage into a small clearing. In the centre stood a tall, dark tent that seemed to pulse with an eerie energy. Stannis watched in silence as the girl slipped inside.
He waited outside, hidden behind a tree, determined to confront her about why she was there to begin with. But as he stood there, the muffled sounds of desperate cries and screams began to filter through the tent walls.
Stannis felt his heart race in his chest. What was going on in there? Should he intervene? He didn't know Cersei well enough to trust her, but he couldn't ignore the possibility that she could be in danger.
Hurriedly he went closer to it and peaked his head through the thick curtains. Stannis froze. His heart pounded in his chest as he saw Cersei Lannister being held at knife point by an evil looking hag. A furious old woman with a severely wrinkled green face, which was full of warts and had hair like matted spiderwebs. A wood's witch, more likely.
"Now your name, Morghulis Tanhos!" the witch demanded. "Reveal yourself!"
Morghulis Tanhos? That was high valyrian, but now Stannis could not remember for what exactly. He could barely think.
"I came for answers!" Cersei screamed, pleading. "Please don't––!"
"YOUR NAME!" the hag roared. "YOUR TRUE NAME!"
"Myrcella!" Cersei shouted in anguish. "Myrcella! Myrcella! Myrcella!"
Myrcella?! Stannis thought confused. What?
"After who do you come, creature?!" the woods witch questioned and pressed the dagger on the girl's throat. He saw tears begin to pour down her cheeks.
Stannis snapped.
He clutched the folded game board with his good arm and came bursting into the tent. "Let her go!" Stannis yelled, his voice echoing through the tent. Evil yellow eyes turned to look at him. Witch's eyes, the boy thought. The girl looked at him, her eyes filled with dread and silent pleading.
"Come closer and the creature dies!" The hag shouted at him, a warning. "Away with you, boy!"
Before Stannis could even uttered a word in retort, the witch took the knife from the girl's throat and with a quick swipe she slashed the palm of her hand. The girl shrieked in pain as the witch held her bloody hand up, the crimson liquid dripping down her wrist and onto the ground. The boy watched in horror as the witch muttered some sort of incantation under her breath, the words foreign and sinister. Suddenly the witch bowed her head and began sucking the blood from the girl's palm. Her screams grew louder, and Stannis just couldn't take it anymore. "STOP!" he screamed as he bolted towards the witch. With both hands, the boy smashed the witch's head with the wooden game board so hard that it broke, sending splinters everywhere and tearing his arm sling in the process. The witch stumbled backwards tumbling to the ground.
He stared at her shocked, wondering if he had actually killed the old woman. But before he could truly process what had happened, the witch suddenly began convulsing on the ground. She rose and with the girl's blood smeared on her mouth, the old woman began to wail. "AHHAAHHAAHH! AHHAAAHHHAH!" She began cursing in a tongue Stannis could not understand. The dagger still clutched in her hand, she circled around the tent, wailing, cursing in her foreign tongue, tearing her own face and pulling her hair, as if possessed by some dark force. "OUT! OUT! OUT YOU WRAITH!" she screamed manically. "OUT WITH YOU!"
Never minding the pain in his injured wrist, Stannis picked up the girl and her out of the tent. He carried her away from the scene, as far as his legs would allow him. Once they were a safe distance away, exhausted he fell on his knees and dropped the girl to the ground.
The girl was trembling with fear and crying uncontrollably. She smeared blood across her neck as she held it with her wounded hand.
Feeling awkward, uncertain and intrusive the boy looked away, his eyes finding the sky. It was dusk and the blue was turning a deep shade of orange, casting a warm glow over the surrounding area. Stannis took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, his mind racing with questions about what he had just witnessed.
Myrcella… Morghulis Tanhos… Wraith… Nothing made sense to him.
He looked at the girl again, her face twisted in terror and confusion. It reminded him of the time he met Proudwing. Wounded, furtive and alone. Absentmindedly he helped her sit up, then, he took off the arm sling (or what remained of it) and offered it to her.
"Take this," he said.
She looked at him then. Her eyes are so green… he thought.
The boy suddenly felt nervous and abashed. "Take this," he repeated awkwardly. "For your hand…"
She took it, but she said nothing. She would remain silent for the rest of the day.
·········································
They arrived back at Casterly Rock by nightfall. A swarm of guards and servants immediately surrounded them the moment they entered the castle gates. Everything happened so fast. They immediately took the girl away and he was escorted to his chambers. A maester arrived later that night to check on him. The old man changed the bandages of his injured arm and gave him a new arm sling for him to use before he left.
There was little left to do other than sleep, but as tired as he was, the boy could not sleep.
Myrcella… Morghulis Tanhos… Wraith…
Those things the witch said to Cersei. The girl had wanted answers, didn't she? Were those the answers? He wondered.
"Morghulis Tanhos…" Stannis slurred the word. In a book he read about Braavos it said that it was one of the names people called the Faceless Men. Worshiper of Death, it must have meant. Was she a Faceless Man? But faceless men did not take names, he remembered. Cersei said that her real name was Myrcella.
By the next morning, the events of the day before kept playing over and over in his head. He couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something more going on than what he had witnessed. He needed answers, and he knew there was only one person who could give them to him. He got out of bed, ignoring the pain in his arm, and made his way to the door of Cersei's apartments. The guards outside stopped him.
"I need to see the Lady Cersei," he said, his voice firm and as manly as the twelve-year-old could muster.
The guards exchanged a look before one of them spoke. "Lady Cersei is indisposed at the moment. You can see her later, milord."
"No, I have to see her now," Stannis insisted.
The guards hesitated before nodding and opening the door for him. Stannis made his way to the girl's bedchambers, his heart pounding hard in his chest. He knocked on the door and waited, his mind racing with questions. After what felt like an eternity, he heard the muffled command coming from inside the room.
"Come in."
And Stannis opened the door. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on the girl sitting by the window, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She was still in her bedrobe, her wounded hand was covered in silk bandages, and it was evident that she was still shaken by what had happened to her the day before.
They stared at each other in silence. His heart began to beat so fast; he was not sure on what to say, and this was the first time he ever truly talked to this girl. "My Lady," Stannis finally said, careful to avoid saying her name, either true or false. "You must forgive me but… but…" the girl's green eyes bore into his. Her eyes are so green… he thought as he began to stammer. He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath trying to steel himself. "I do not understand what happened today–– No, yesterday!" he managed. Why am I struggling so much? "With the witch–– I mean, the witch said. No, what I meant is that… The witch called you Myrcella. I mean, you said that it was your name–– to her. You told her that."
The girl's deep green eyes bore into his, making Stannis feel even more nervous. Pull yourself together! Just asked the damn questions! he told himself. He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. "So," he muttered, shifting awkwardly on his feet. "Your true name is Myrcella?"
The girl hesitated for a moment before answering, her voice hoarse. "Yes."
Stannis was taken aback. "But how?! Why do people say your name is Cersei?"
"Because this is Cersei Lannister. And I am Myrcella," she replied almost absentmindedly.
"But how?" Stannis insisted, now exasperated. "Are you a faceless man?"
The girl looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and felt himself blush even harder. "No," she said.
"Then… what?" he asked.
"It's complicated," she said, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "Could you promise to keep what I'm about to tell you a secret?"
Stannis nodded.
"I was born two hundred and ninety years after Aegon's conquest," the girl began, her voice even and calmed. "Cersei, of House Lannister, is my mother."
Stannis was shocked at her words. Cersei's daughter?! Two hundred and ninety years after Aegon's conquest?! It couldn't be possible! He thought for a moment, trying to make sense of what she had just said. The girl took a deep breath before continuing. "I am from the future," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Stannis stared at her in disbelief. This was impossible. "Is this supposed to be a jest."
The girl looked to her own hands. "I wish…"
Stannis couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How can you be from the future? This is madness!" he exclaimed.
The girl looked up at him, her eyes full of sorrow. "I know it's hard to believe. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't experienced it," she said softly and a small and sorry smile appeared on her lips.
The boy was at a loss for words. He had never heard of anything like this before. He felt like he was in a dream, but he knew he was wide awake. "I don't understand," he said finally. "How did you come to be here?"
The girl's eyes began to glisten. "I died."
Wraith… the witch had called her at the end. But this was madness! It could not be real! Yet…
He stared at the girl for a while in silence. Stannis felt a mix of emotions coursing through him. Disbelief, confusion, fear, and curiosity were all warring within him. He struggled to find the right words to say, or questions to ask, but his mind was blank. Finally, he found his voice. "Prove it. Prove that you are from the future."
The girl thought for a while before answering. "Your mother is pregnant. In five moon turns from today your youngest brother will be born. He will be called Renly."
Stannis blood ran cold. That was true! His mother had confided that in him just before they left from Storm's End. He remained silent for minutes as he tried to process everything that had just been revealed to him until the girl spoke again.
"Do you believe me now?" she asked.
He nodded stiffly. "Yes."
The room fell into silence again as Stannis tried to make sense of everything. "What are you going to do now?" he asked finally, breaking the silence.
The girl shrugged. "I don't know. I've been trying to figure that out myself."
He just nodded again.
There was another silence. But this time, it was the girl the one that broke it.
"Stannis," He turned to look at her again. "Thank you."
He looked away suddenly feeling abashed. "For what?"
"For listening to me," the girl replied. "And, most importantly, for saving me from the witch."
"It… it was nothing," he managed to say. "It really was. The only thing I lost from that was the board game I bought earlier that day. I broke it when I smashed her with it."
The girl granted him a small chuckle. "Let me get you another one. What was the name of the game?"
"It's really not ne––"
"I insist," she insisted.
"It was called Cyvasse, I believe."
"Cyvasse?" she repeated, her eyes widening. "That's… that's…" A smile appeared on the girl's face as she began to chuckle, then giggle, then laughing, and then laughing outright manically.
Stannis just stared at her, more confused than ever.
·········································
He did not saw Myrcella until the noon of the next day, when he was summoned to her apartments. The girl opened the door and smiled as soon as she saw him. "I have a surprise for you," she said excitedly, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him inside. Once they were both in the room, she closed the door behind them.
Stannis looked around the chamber and saw at the middle a large board with tiles of carnelian, jade, lapis lazuli, and white marble, with a screen separating it in half. Stannis stalked closer to it. "Is this…"
"Yes, It's a Cyvasse board game," she finished for him.
The pieces were carved from turquoise and agate of the tiles and inlaid with gemstones and fine goldwork. Each piece was exquisitely detailed, with intricate designs etched into them and precious stones set into the eyes of the creatures. He picked up one of the pieces. "Where did you get this?"
"I guilted my uncle Gerion into buying a new one for you," she said. "I wanted to make it up to you for the one you lost."
Stannis was momentarily speechless, the exquisite craftsmanship and value of the game set not lost on him. "I cannot accept this, it is far too generous of you," he protested, carefully placing the piece he had picked up back onto the board.
"Please, Stannis, I insist," the girl implored.
Stannis hesitated, feeling a twinge of guilt at the thought of accepting such a valuable gift. "But it's a game meant for two players," he pointed out. "Who would I play with?"
"I can play with you." Myrcella smiled. "Though I warn you, I am good."
A.N: I have to admit that I really enjoy writing little Stannis.
Thanks for all of the reviews! They literally made my day and motivate me to keep writing.