บท 159: Arthur 53 293 AC
The trotting of hooves and the songs of small birds were the only noise that accompanied my party as we made our way southwest through the brushy scrublands of the eastern coast of Storm-Sky, or grey gallows, for now, I still hadn't issued a proclamation to rename it as of yet.
I had been in the process of resolving a land dispute between two villages in close proximity to each other, two men filing claims on the same area, which had previously been communal. Mostly it had been a surveying job, figuring out a precise split down the middle so neither felt like they were getting robbed, even if both wanted more than they ended up with.
We had departed about half an hour after the messenger had arrived, bringing news of the destruction of Myr, and the appearance of the royal fleet off of the southern side of the island. The destruction of the city came as a bit of a shock to me, but I hardly had time to ponder how idiotic it was as I was immediately caught up in the drive towards Great Gallows.
I couldn't deny I was quite excited, while I had written to my father several times I hadn't seen him in person since before I set out on the so-called Maiden Voyage, and I very much missed him.
I was no normal child to need my parents all the time, but the man was still a rock of my life so to speak. As grumpy as he could be at times.
Moving from eastern to the southwestern part of the island was a bit of a slog, either having to make our way through the Inland forests and pass between the mountains, an unreliable path without a cleared trail, or take the physically longer route along the coast as we were now doing. We were passing through the stone fields at the moment, a large area on the southeastern coast of raised granite boulders and rock formations thread through by narrow splits and cracks. I wasn't sure quite what could have caused such a formation to occur, but I had some suspicion towards the Hammer of the Waters.
It wasn't long before we cleared the odd rocky area, and emerged out onto the scrubby and sparsely forested slopes of the Island's coastal plain once more. From up where we were we could see down to the aptly named village of Stoney Slope and in the far distance the newly built forts that overlooked the harbor at Great Gallows, and beyond them the white masts and sails of what must have been most of the Royal Fleet.
"Certainly makes the company forces look rather puny, eh Jaerys?"
My sworn sword chuckled lightly. "Indeed your grace, it appears your father's is still bigger as of yet."
I raised an eyebrow as I turned on the man. "Really Jaerys? I did not take you for crude jokes."
"Perish the thought, your grace."
"Heh."
It was only about an hour on from there before we reached the slope above the town, it's newly repaired wooden palisades doing little to obscure our view of the port. My father was already aground it seemed. I smiled at that, it meant I'd get to see him faster.
I road up to the gate, signaling the guard, who dutifully opened it. "Welcome back yer grace, I'm s'posed tuh tell ya that The Lord Stannis is waitin for ya at the Red Sea."
I nodded, thanked the man and carried on towards the center of town. My father didn't have a horse stabled outside, which made me chuckle, he had never been much of one for riding. I handed mine off to Jaerys and continued inside, quickly moving up to the second floor and my quarters where I expected he was waiting.
My father looked a bit older than the last time I had seen him, though that might have been the light as much as anything, he was sitting at the table in the center of the room, reading over some of the various edicts and laws which I had put into place, such as my rules for the establishment of new statutes and the like.
Ser Davos stood a bit to his side, and the Knight saw me first, tapping my father on the shoulder even as I rushed forward, leaping into my father with a hug as I wrapped my arms around him with a slight crackle of electricity. I was definitely taller than the last time I had done this, I noted, as my head was now almost up to his chin.
"Father, I missed you so much, why, I haven't seen you in almost a year now."
My father made a sort of choking sound for a second, the one he always made when he was caught off guard before after a moment I felt his arms come around behind me.
The embrace only lasted a moment though as he pushed me back soon enough, his hands on my shoulders as his blue eyes stared down into my own. Then he spoke those dreaded words no child wants to hear from their parent, reincarnated or not, and I almost immediately felt my stomach drop out.
"Arthur… sit down. We need to talk."
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