Stannis
He don't look like a Baratheon... you don't look like Robert's son. I thought in my solar, remembering what Orryn had told me. It had been almost a moon, but the phrase hadn't left my head.
All the Baratheons I knew had the same black hair and blue eyes. Our father, Robert, me, Renly, Orryn, Shireen, even the bastard who lived in Storm's End, the same one he had given birth to on my wedding day.
The Stark children are said to have drawn more of their mother Tully blood, but only some of them, the others have their father colors...'.
That the three of them have only their mother's traits and none of Robert's is a bit confusing.
My daydreams were interrupted by a knock at the door. Ser Davos, whom I had summoned, entered.
"My lord." He bowed, the bag in his neck containing what he claimed were the bones of his severed finger slamming against his chest.
"The situation in the fleet?" I asked bluntly.
"My lord, the captains are on schedule, patrolling the entire bay and part of the coast. Nothing to report except some superficial damage."
"Tomorrow I will leave before the sunrise, we will visit every galley, every dredger, every fishing boat under my supervision. I don't want the captains to relax their duties, and if any of them have already done, so they will face the naval law."
"How many men should we bring with us for this inspection?" Ser Davos asked me.
"Fifty, not much more. They'll summon all the crews before me, so they won't have time to pack anything while I'm on board. Orryn will also be summoned, I want him to lead this approach to the ships personally."
"I will inform the young lord as soon as possible." Ser Davos nodded before smiling. "On that subject, I left the young lord on the Lady Marya under the command of my son Allard, he did well."
"Orryn should be under your tutelage Ser Davos." I gave him a hard look, but the man already knew I would react that way.
"My lord, I am teaching your son to sail. He's attentive, he listens to my lessons about the wind and the currents of the sea, he tries as hard as he can to get to know the waters of the bay. But I could never treat him like a common grub, my eldest son Dale would be the same way. As for Allard... he wouldn't have that problem, so good words from Allard mean a lot."
I nodded in appreciation, but my son was expected to do well. I would have dismissed him, but Ser Davos spoke again and once more I allowed it.
"My Lord... as for young Orryn's education..." Ser Davos started to say, then stopped.
I narrowed my eyes. "Continue, Ser Davos."
"Don't you think you're pushing the boy too hard? Orryn is a good boy, but forcing him like this is too exhausting."
"Has Orryn complained to you about his duties?"
"No, my lord, he would never do that! Orryn would never complain, in fact all he wants is your approval, my lord!"
"He'll get it if he does his duty! You are dismissed, Ser Davos". I ordered the Onion Knight out of my solar.
I returned to my thoughts as soon as I heard the door close. Orryn would never let me down, I knew that for sure. Looking at him, I saw what a true Baratheon he was, and the more I thought about it, the more Orryn's words made sense.
They can make sense, but you need proof. Robert must have sired more bastards in this city, aside from his supposed daughter in the Vale... Jon Arryn is the man who will know how many more bastards there are, he will be the only man who can convince Robert if this is indeed true, if the queen is indeed betraying my brother.
As this idea finally took shape, I stood, ready to go to Jon Arryn, ready to find out the truth.
Orryn
"Ciri, Ser Davos has summoned me for an inspection of the fleet tomorrow before sunrise. We can't stay up late." I complained rather forcefully as she dragged me through the corridors of the fortress.
"After so much work to get you out of your room unnoticed? After finding a safe place for us to be alone? Never." Ciri laughed and pushed me toward a passageway in the garden.
"No one is ever alone in this fortress, Ciri, there's always someone who can see what's going on." I grumbled as my back hit a wall.
"That's for you nobles, for me a common servant... no one knows I exist." She joked as she hugged me.
I smelled her hair and ran my hand down her throat. "Just be careful, Ciri... please. Everyone knows who I am, where I go and who I'm with, I'm a nobleman. Your anonymity as a servant can also be used against you to make you disappear."
"I won't get involved in anything risky, I promise you, but I won't deny that it's always delicious to know everything that goes on within these walls, just because some idiot lady doesn't care about the servants around her." Ciri said with a mischievous smile.
"A problem I intend to avoid in the future, thank you, miss. I replied, kneeling down and beginning to pull up the hem of her dress. "I have another debt to pay you, don't I, ma'am?"
Smiling, Ciri spread her legs and helped me lift her skirt even higher. I was greeted by a fine light blonde fuzz, a sign of her purposeful nudity.
"A servant has to be ready when her master wants to use her, doesn't she?". Ciri joked and my response was to start licking her with my tongue.
I knew every inch of her body, every place that made her happy when I touched her.
Years ago, we played hide and seek on the beaches of Dragon Stone. After playing knights and princesses, we sealed our love with a kiss, just like in the stories. Not long after, we were touching each other's bodies, discovering what was different about each other.
"Orryn..." She moaned my name as I thrust in and out of her. With her back against the wall behind her, Ciri threw her arms around my neck and I pulled her to the floor, one hand on each of her lean legs.
"Orryn..." Ciri moaned louder as I moved faster and faster, throwing her head back and slamming it into the wall anyway. She squeezed me hard and I couldn't resist, I poured my seed into her womb.
I continued to hold her and leaned my forehead against hers, both of us gasping for breath and closing our eyes.
"I... I love you, Ciri." I whispered into her ear. "Why? Because even though I know I can't love you, I love you more and more?"
"That's what life is... to suffer and live without having what your heart desires."
"I swear..." I started to say, but Ciri stopped me with a kiss, and when we parted our lips, she focused her green eyes on me.
"Don't swear, I know you'll keep whatever you swear, so don't swear anything, not to me."
"It's hard... everything I have to do, everything I'm asked to do. Everything I do is defined by others, chosen by others. And no matter how much I do, it will never be enough to win my father's approval. No matter what wife my father chooses for me, no matter how hard I try to honor her, I will always choose you".
"I love you too, Orryn, your flaws, your qualities, YOU. Not what your father wants you to be, not what he expects you to be, I love you and only you."
"Let's run away..." I offered weakly.
"No, you will never run away, this isn't you.". Ciri said, lowering her legs to the floor. "You will do your duty, Orryn, and I will do mine with you, to be your servant."
"You're more than that... you can be more than that, I can help you achieve that..." I started to say, but choked as Ciri knelt down and took my cock into her mouth.
She made a few long, slow strokes until the blood seemed to flow back into it, until it hardened again. With a satisfied smile, Ciri looked up and stood up, ran her finger around my jaw, and finally said something.
"I'm nothing more and nothing less, and that's fine. I've already told you that I'll be with you, and if being your servant is the only way, then, Orryn, I'll do my duty to be at your side."
We fucked more after that, we accepted our fates after that.
The ships were moored at the docks, waiting for the sun to set. Or at least that's what the captains expected, not what happened.
A horde of Baratheon soldiers, on orders from my lord father, the master of the ships, boarded each ship and forced the crews to disembark.
"Take Ser Borys and five other men, apart from Ser Davos of course. Inspect each ship according to the code." My father ordered me sternly, and I didn't miss the look of disapproval when he saw the dark bags under my eyes.
"Calm down young sir, there are many points to check. I doubt your lord father will ask you to check every ship, item by item." Ser Davos said softly and with concern.
Ser Borys, my father's man at arms, also grunted in agreement. He wasn't one to talk much.
I walked every deck of the ship, checking for leaks and places that needed caulking, checking the cargo against the manifest, checking ropes, sails, oars and planks. All in accordance with the naval code followed by the crown.
The first boat was in good condition, everything was in order, and when I presented the report to my father, he just nodded and released the captain and crew to leave.
"There are all the other ships for you to check, what are you doing here?". My father said harshly as I returned to his side.
"My lord, young Orryn has already proven that he knows all the procedures of the fleet. Wouldn't it be more practical and faster for the captains to be vetted by the officers?" Ser Davos offered from beside me.
"The order remains the same, tired or not." My father said with a piercing look. "Come on, the fleet is waiting, and it should leave before noon."
"Yes sir." I said with a straight back and set off with Ser Borys and the other men, my father staying behind with Ser Davos.
The pace was intense, Ser Borys trying to force me to keep going, helping me in his own way. It was repetitive, but gradually I got into the rhythm.
When the sun was high and the boats were running out, I found mistakes and had to report them.
"The ship called 'The Crowned Stag' is defective, my lord. The oars were scattered across the deck instead of in the trench beside the benches. The sail was badly furled, and there were differences between the cargo found and that listed."
"Summon the captain here." My lord father ordered, and I went with Ser Borys, who basically dragged the captain, an old man with a thick beard, to my father.
"The following items were found out of order on your ship, Captain, what is your defense?". My father said with steel in his voice, listing all the items I had reported.
"We had problems at sea, my lord, we abandoned part of the cargo to get to the port faster, and even then I didn't have time to update the manifest because it was already night. I apologize for that". Said the captain humbly, with his head bowed.
"Was the cargo less than it should have been, Orryn?" Ser Davos asked me.
"Yes, Ser." I replied immediately. "The failure to roll the candle can also be explained by the lack of sunlight."
My father narrowed his eyes at this comment, it wasn't a good sign. "The date and time on the manifest indicate plenty of time to dock, Captain, as does the fact that the sail should have been furled before they even entered the harbor."
The captain trembled visibly, probably knowing he would be punished.
My father asked me, unmoved by the captain's lamentations.
I swallowed and straightened my back before answering. "If he docked at the time of the manifest and didn't report the problems and thus received permission to sail today, he is liable for the crime of concealment or attempted sabotage."
"What if he didn't arrive at the time described, but later?" Ser Davos asked me.
"Then he will be held responsible for the crime of falsifying a manifest. The officer who released the ship should also be questioned and punished, either for dereliction of duty or even bribery and exchange of favors."
"Bring the officer as well. My father ordered, and soon the man was dragged in front of us.
It turned out that the ship was late due to problems at sea, long after the maximum time for docking. The officer was the captain's brother-in-law, and he let the ship dock in the harbor, thus avoiding further punishment for his brother-in-law, who had been drunk the night before and hadn't reported the problem with the caulking to the harbor maintenance.
"What is the penalty for falsifying a manifest, according to the king's law? My lord father asked me. I looked into the faces of the two men and saw their pleading looks. "Answer me, boy!". My lord father roared.
"20 lashes for the captain, my lord. 10 to the officer for aiding and abetting.". I said a little shakily.
"Good." My father said and nodded to our men. They dragged the captain and the officer to a corner where they were placed on their knees with their hands tied in front of them.
"Execute the sentence". That was the order I received, and a lash was placed on my hand.
"My Lord..." Ser Davos started to question and was silenced.
"Orryn, you have decided the punishment for these men. He will do this with his hands."
"Yes, my lord." I said, my voice breaking.
I stood facing the naked back of the first man, the captain. I took a deep breath, once, twice.
"Do it! You don't have all day." My lord father ordered me.
A lord hands down punishments, I only followed the law as I was taught, but someone had to pay, and it would be at my hands. 'Every decision must have consequences'. Ser Davos once told me.
I can't be lenient now, I ordered this punishment, I'm going to apply it and I have to make them aware of their mistakes, to back down now would be to shame my father. I thought as I unwound the whip.
"One!" I shouted and the loud crack of leather against skin rang out across the silent dock, followed by the captain's scream of pain.
"Two!" I struck again, clenching my jaw as the man screamed in pain.
I hit him as hard as I could, and the sight of the cuts on his back made my stomach churn.
"Three!" I tapped again, begging the gods to guide my hand, begging the gods that I would never make a mistake in punishing an innocent man, begging the gods that this would all be over quickly.
"Four!"