章 45: Chapter 45

"How is it that we have Lady Arya Stark is in our ranks? Why was she half-naked in your bed? Stannis Baratheon was furious. He asked Davos to escort lady Stark to another quarters. His nephew looked ashamed, face down.

"Did you defile her? Were you as low as your father to sully a highborn lady?"

They were a day away from Storm's End. Stannis went to check on his nephew. He wanted to discuss strategy with him. It was high time the boy learned about his kingdom and how to rule it. He was taken aback when he found his nephew embracing the youngest Stark girl.

"Uncle no, I didn't, we've never. I love her. She will be my wife, my queen." The boy was flustered.

Stannis ground his teeth. "I will not have you behaving as a baseborn bastard."

Stormy blue eyes meet his own stormy blue eyes. "I am a bastard. My mother was a tavern wench." Gendry's voice shook with ire.

Stannis ground his teeth once more. "You are a king. You are the king of the Seven Kingdoms." He was exasperated. Stannis knew Renly would be hard to handle and now this. He should have suspected it. The girl was a handful. She wanted to come with them. The other Stark girl glared at her and shook her head. That older Stark girl was a good influence to her sister and his daughter. Arya Stark raved and glared at him and his nephew. She refused to say farewell to their host. He remembered quite clearly that Gendry hadn't been sullen or anything of the sort.

The older Baratheon clenched his fists. "You knew she was among our ranks. You helped her smuggle her way into our camps."

"Nuncle, please listen. Arya, she swore she would escape Dragon Stone and go North if I didn't take her with me." Gendry sounded anxious.

"She would have never made it out of the island." This had to be a jest. His nephew knew better. He spent some months in Dragon Stone. Their security was almost impenetrable.

"You do not know her uncle. Arya is formidable. She would have left I know it. I will protect her uncle. She's brave, and can fight too. You haven't seen her. She's better than many of our soldiers." His nephew gushed over the girl like an overexcited puppy.

"Foolish boy. She will be sent back with Davos." Stannis didn't have time to entertain his nephew. The boy was in deeply in love. He needed some sense out inside his head.

"You can't. She will escape. She'll be in danger. Arya can be pigheaded and impulsive." Gendry said quickly.

"She's a distraction. How are you supposed to lead our host if you are constantly searching for her?" Stannis tried reasoning. Gendry was an obedient boy. He always had been. Gendry listened to him. He always did.

"You love her, as you should. She is to be your wife. Women do not belong in the field. Arya Stark is a highborn lady. She will go back to Dragon Stone. That is final."

The Gendry he knew would have never contradicted him. "If Arya goes. I go."

Stannis felt his blood boil. He hated when others defied him. "Your kingdom needs you. This war against Catelyn is for you. Eddard Stark, Tywin and Jaime Lannister. Myself, we have tried to safekeep the Seven Kingdoms for you. It is your duty to meet with Renly. It is my duty to guide you and make my brother see reason."

He could tell Gendry was ashamed. "Arya can fight. She will not go back without a fight. Uncle, please, she will be safer here with us."

"She will be safer in Dragon Stone, with her sister, with your cousin as she should have remained." Stannis put an end to their conversation.

His nephew decided otherwise. "Very well uncle. I will march with her. You can't stop me. I mean it." Gendry said with as much defiance as the boy could muster.

Stannis did acquiesce even then. "I'd like to see you try." He left the tent and ordered five men to guard the prince's tent and twenty men to accompany Lady Arya back to Dragon Stone.

Baratheon went to sleep with an uneasy feeling. Gendry never defied him. He was like a son to him. He remembered when they first met. Robert announced he would legitimize one of his bastards and make him the heir of the Seven Kingdoms. Stannis understood it was the only option since Catelyn was unable to carry more children. He proposed young Edric Storm; the boy was still on the teat by then. It would be easier for Catelyn to care for the boy and also, he was of noble birth. Robert guffawed and refused. He'd found the boy.

"He has our eyes. He's strong like me. I saw him wielding a hammer. I saw myself." Stannis accompanied him to Flea Bottom and found Gendry amid armor, dirty and gruff but a Baratheon. The resemblance to Robert when he was young, and to father was uncanny. They rode back to the castle and thus began Gendry Waters's life as Gendry Baratheon, first of his name and prince of the Seven Kingdoms.

The man closed his eyes and thought of those few months. Gendry was Robert's image but his character was different. He enjoyed training but he wanted to hear all Stannis had to say about ruling the Kingdoms. He grew closer to him than to Renly and Robert. Stannis enjoyed that. His nieces were not interested in him or Shireen but Gendry was. The boy loved him. Stannis understood it when Robert sent him back to Dragonstone. Gendry raged and plead with his father but it was useless. Stannis went back to Dragonstone.

The man finally found sleep after two hours of tossing and turning on his cot. The sleep wasn't uninterrupted. Davos entered his tent. "My Lord." The man shook him awake.

"The prince and his lady have escaped." Stannis stood up at once.

He dressed as quickly as possible. "They mustn't be far. Send the men. Find me my horse." Stannis sent men and rode away trying to find his wayward nephew and that little girl.

He spent the rest of the night looking for them. Stannis was furious. "If Arya goes. I go." He remembered the boy's words and ground his teeth harder.

He didn't find them and gave up by dawn. Davos and him rode back to the encampment to find that his men had the prince and the little Stark girl. They looked fine.

"We found them by a clearing nearby. The horses gave them away." One of his men said with a smirk.

"How dare you defy me?" Stannis stood in front of his nephew.

"If she goes. I go. We will try again. When she goes I will be behind her." Gendry replied.

"You will not. You shall obey me, as you always have." Uncle and nephew glared at each other.

"Take her out of my sight." Arya fought tooth and nail but the men restrained her and sent her to her tents.

"You will come with me." Stannis dragged his nephew.

"You won't stop me. I will go wherever she goes." Gendry said ardently and with the same glint on his blue eyes.

Stannis glared back. He watched him with some disappointment and annoyance. "Fine, the girl will stay. She will not fight. She will stay behind our lines."

Gendry's eyes lit up. "Thank you uncle." Gendry hugged him hard.

"I will tell her." He tried to leave the tents but the guards would not let him.

"Come back here. That will be your cot. You'll see your betrothed tomorrow, after I have a talk with her." Stannis undressed and settled back on his cot. They had a few hours before their camp moved.

Stannis slept uneasily that night. Gendry however slept like a baby. He watched, lest his nephew tried to escape again.

He stepped out of the tent a few hours later when they set out to leave. He rode with Gendry by his side.

"Where is Arya?" his nephew asked apprehensively.

"She will join us once we set camp."

They rode until they came to see Lannister Banners. He rode ahead uneasily. Lannisters were not to be trusted. He expected to see Tywin Lannister but instead there he was, the Kingslayer.

"Lord Baratheon. My prince." He greeted them.

The Baratheon men nodded. "What my nephew says is true. You are alive." The man said with a smirk.

Stannis was confused but would not let it show. He disliked Jaime Lannister but they were to be allies if Tywin Lannister was to be believed. They wanted a queen. The girl was half Lannister after all.

"You found Tommen. Is he well? Arya will be so happy." Gendry said at once.

"Uncle she must see Ser Jaime at once." The boy said somberly. Good, Gendry had the sense to not trust the Kinsglayer.

"Why have you come all this way?" Stannis was intrigued. It was planned that he would speak with Renly alone and then they would take King's Landing.

"To join forces and force your wayward brother into order. Lord Stark thought it appropriate."

Stannis smirked. "Since when do you take orders from a green boy?"

Lannister smirked back. "The ravens haven't reached you. Eddard Stark is alive and well. He will join us and take King's Landing once your brother renounces his claim to the throne."

The news took him by surprise. Gendry smiled. "I have to tell her. Tell me where she is."

"With Davos, at the rear." Stannis said quickly. His nephew reined his horse and rode off.

"If we march at this pace we'll reach your ancestral home in a day's time." the Kingslayer said airily.

"Day and a half." Stannis was always precise.

They rode off until nightfall. The encampment was to be small. He expected to see Gendry and the girl as soon as they set up the tents. He was not mistaken.

The girl and his nephew burst into the strategy tent while he and Lannister discusses strategies in the unlikely event that Renly resisted their proposals.

"The Lords will take a look at Gendry and understand my brother's claim is unacceptable." Stannis said when the Kingslayer asked his opinion about the lords who supported Renly.

He saw the girl first. "Is it true is he really alive. Is Tommen well?"

"Your father is well Arya as is Tommen. Care to explain why are you here?" Lannister said with that ever fixed sardonic smile of his.

"No." She replied cheekily.

"She will stay in Storm's End with Renly and his host." Stannis declared with a serious voice. The girl looked at him in the eyes.

"I will not." The defiance in this slip of a girl was disconcerting. Never had he met such an impudent creature.

"Gendry, escort Lady Arya to her quarters. Ser Lannister and I have matters to discuss." Stannis ground his teeth once the two were out of sight.

"She will stay back I assure you." Stannis didn't give him time to continue. They were elbow deep into strategies in less than three minutes.

Gendry ambushed him as soon as he entered their quarters. At least the boy was in the tent.

"What is happening?" his nephew asked as introduction.

Stannis sat by the table and poured himself some wine, "You would have known if you had come back after leaving your intended."

Gendry lowered his eyes. Stannis gulped some of the wine. "We are to meet your uncle in the field tomorrow. Lannister and his men will join us if Renly does not desist his claim. He will be with us when we meet Renly."

"Do you think uncle Renly will desist?" Gendry asked with some hope in his eyes.

Stannis watched the young man. "He will have to."

"What if he doesn't?" Gendry said with a small voice.

"He'd be a fool if he didn't. Stark has sent Lannister and he plans to take King's Landing for you, just as he did for your father. We have strength in our numbers and the rightful claim to the throne. You will be king. It is your birthright." Stannis said strongly. He was furious with Renly, there were laws older than that of the realm. He owed fealty to him, his older brother. Renly should have listened to him and stand down.

"It isn't my birthright. I was born to a tavern wench I grew up in Flea Bottom. I never wanted any of these." Gendry said desperately.

Stannis grabbed the boy's shoulder. "But it is yours. This kingdom is yours. All those men will fight for you. Stark, Lannister, Baratheon. We all will fight for you. It is your duty."

Gendry nodded. "What if I can't? What if I fail like he did?"

He loved his nephew. Stannis was not a man to show affection openly but he felt the need now. He grabbed his nephew's shoulders. "I will not leave you this time. I will be by your side. When this war is over. Shireen and I will be by your side as will Arya. You would like that wouldn't you?

Gendry smiled. "Yes uncle. Uncle Renly will have to desist his claim."

Stannis hugged him. "We will make sue he does."

Ever since the ravens about Gendry being dead arrived to Dragon Stone Stannis hadn't had a night's worth of sleep.

He closed his eyes and thought of Selyse. He didn't love her but her respected her. She gave him Shireen. He loved Shireen, more than he loved anything in the world. He loved Gendry, felt him as if he was his from the moment Robert introduced him as prince. Stannis had loved Robert. He still loved Renly. He loved Renly better than he ever loved Robert. The dour man hoped Renly was tractable. It would be painful to war against the little boy he once helped protect.

Dawn arrived before he expected it. He was in daze not that he ever would admit to it but suddenly. He was riding with Gendry and the Kingslayer to meet his baby brother.

They met near Storm's End. Renly wore a crown. His little brother's presumption knew no bounds.

Stannis rode ahead to meet with Renly when seven men surrounded Renly and his horse.

"My Rainbow guard. Think of them as the Kingsguard."

Stannis ground his teeth. "Call your men off." He barked at his young brother.

Renly smiled and gave the order. "Congratulate me brother. I have married young Margaery Tyrell."

The older man stayed silent. The foolish Tyrells funded this senseless notion.

"The matter is simple brother. Our nephew is the rightful King. We have the force of the North, the West and all their loyal houses. We'll take King's Landing once you renounce to your senseless claim."

Renly looked impassive. "You were never a man of many words brother. I shall not keep you for long. My answer is no. It is me who should rule."

Gendry and Lannister stayed back. "Our nephew is alive an well."

"He is a bastard; not fit to sit on the Iron Throne." Renly replied angrily.

"He is the rightful King." Stannis thundered losing patience with the boy.

"I am better. The people of Westeros love me. I will be a better ruler than he could ever be.

Stannis was furious. "You are a foolish boy. Call your men off. You have never been to war. You do not know what you will unleash if you persist Renly."

Renly huffed, "All you and Robert could ever talk about was war. I may not be a soldier but I know the realm. I am the best of you. I always was. To think I loved you once." He said angrily.

Stannis looked the so-called Rainbow guard. "Tell your houses that the rightful king is alive. You have a day to disband this conspiracy. You shall keep Storm's End only if you and your men accompany us to take King's Landing for our nephew and King."

Gendry spoke then. "Uncle please; I don't want you to be hurt. Please uncle. Please."

Renly's eyes softened. "It isn't your place Gendry. You should have never left Flea Bottom."

"Enough. This is not a game Renly. Eddard and his men expect news. You have a day."

Stannis, Lannister and Gendry rode back to their encampment.

The man was furious. He rode quickly. "He will not desist from his claim." Gendry ran after him once they reached the camps.

"Then we'll attack him and the traitors he consorts with." Stannis replied.

"Lannister, have your men ready. We advance tomorrow at this time." Stannis was sure Renly wouldn't renounce.

The blonde man smiled and rode off. "You can't. He's your brother." Gendry said urgently.

"You are his nephew. I am his brother. It is Renly who should examine his alliances. Not us. We are correct; your plight is just. Ours is the Fury." Stannis said and he never felt his family words so much as in that moment.

It appeared all-important things in Stannis's life happened at night. His parents died late in the afternoon almost at night. He married Selyse at night. His daughter was born at night. Selyse died at nightfall as did his baby brother. News of Renly's death came to them that early that night. The proud lords of the Stormlands flooded his camp with news of Renly's death. Loras Tyrell slit his throat. Brienne of Tarth stabbed him in the back. Emmon Cuy poisoned his meal. His wife, the Tyrell girl cut his manhood. The tales grew stranger with the passage of hours.

Stannis demanded the Rainbow guard stand before him. The Tyrell forces disbanded and were on their way to King's Landing to support Lyanna Baratheon's claim.

He hurt deeply when he rode to the camps and found his baby brother dead. A big blonde man cradled him and cried, big heaving sobs. There was no sign of injury. Renly's eyes were open, unseeing.

"Step aside sir."

"I am no sir"

"You are of his guard. You were there in the morning. You were by my uncle's side." Gendry accused her.

"And yet she is the only one here." Stannis said. "Where are the rest?"

"They fled; all of them. I found him here. He was alone with Loras Tyrell. He did it." She sobbed and gently cradled Renly's head.

"Leave now. Davos take her to our camp. She is our guest." The girl put up a fight but then it seemed her strength left and she was meekly following Davos.

They left them. His brother was on the bed. Someone did a half job of putting him on his vest and trousers. Stannis approached the bed carefully. He cried quietly. Those men, those filthy traitors, Gendry was by his side. His nephew cried too.

It seemed like hours until Gendry spoke. "We have to bury him. What are we going to do?"

Stannis wiped his tears. "A maester will examine him." Davos said as he entered the tent.

"Send the ravens to Eddard Stark. Tell him of Renly's death. We'll meet in King's Landing. It is time to end this." Stannis said as he left the tent.