A STORM OF FIRE AND FURY
By: Joseph Estes
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Copyright 2015 Joseph Estes
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Leonidas I
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Leonidas I
Leon scowled as he rode on his horse along with the rest of the royal party, heading for Winterfell. He preferred the warm weather of the south compared to the cold of the north. He kept himself bundled up in his black leather cloak while fidgeting with the hilt of his sword.
As with most Baratheons, he had black hair and blue eyes, with broad shoulders and muscled. He kept his hair cut short and allowed a beard to grow. Many lords and ladies he had met had noted that he looked a lot like his uncle, King Robert when he was younger.
Leon wished that he had gone back with his father to Dragonstone to visit his sister, Shireen. The only thing that made him glad that he didn’t go back was his mother, Selyse Florent and her constant nagging at getting him to convert to the Lord of Light. Though he disliked the constant nagging he did not mind the presence of the Red Priestess.
When he had first met her he was confused with her presence on Dragonstone and wondered if she was his father’s lover. That thought had immediately been shot down when she had visited his chambers one night and had seduced him into having sex with her whom he had lost his virginity to. She offered to be his if he converted to the Lord of Light. He had shot her offer down but she had told him that he would eventually give in.
He shook himself from the past and grinned as he unsheathed the Valyrian great sword then rested it on his lap. He had named the sword Godsgrief, after the founder of House Durrandon. The sword was black as night with a black leather grip for the handle, and golden stag antlers for the cross guard.
“How long are you going to stare at that?”
“Does it matter?” He asked as he sheathed his sword and looked beside him at his sworn sword, Ser Robar Royce.
Ser Robar was a very good tourney warrior and swordsman and Leon had chosen him as his sworn sword due to his skills and personality. Leon noted Robar’s appearance as comely in a rough-hewn way. Though Robar was only his sworn sword, Leon had him outfitted with an armor design that was similar to the Kingsguard.
Instead of the color white, Leon had made the suit and its enameled scales black and fitted Robar with a gold cloak to symbol the colors of House Baratheon.
“You aren’t the only one who hates the cold, my lord.” Ser Robar pointed out.
He rolled his eyes and did not bother to correct Ser Robar to not call him by that title. “You know I hate being called that,” He replied. It left a bitter taste in his memory as he felt that it was the cause for his fallout with his lord father, Stannis Baratheon.
It was at his fifteenth nameday when his uncle Robert had named him the new Lord of Storm’s End and Lord Paramount of the Stormlands after he had returned from his fostering at Highgarden. Later on, his father had then stopped talking to him and he noticed that he spent a lot more time with Jon Arryn, the previous Hand of the King before his death. He wondered if it had anything to do with the game.
The game of thrones, he scoffed at the name. Why call it the game of thrones when there was only one throne? Though he had learned the importance of the game from Lady Olenna Tyrell, Lord Mace’s father and known as the Queen of Thrones, he still disliked it.
His thoughts then returned back to the last days before Jon Arryn had died. The man had told him that he would need to be strong for his family and support his father for when the time came. He was confused and asked what he had meant but the Lord of the Eyrie had already left by then.
“Sometimes I wonder why I am here,” He whispered to himself as they continued along the road.
His family, though he hated to admit it, was messed up. His father and mother had married out of duty and they had a cold relationship. Then there was his father and his uncles; Leon knew that the Baratheon brothers hated each other though he could never understand why. Lastly there were his cousins; they all took after their mother’s appearance, gold hair and green eyes. For some reason he could never bring himself to get along with any of them.
“Ah, look who has finally decided to grace us with his presence.” Ser Robar joked as his cousin joined them, riding on his pony.
He smirked as his cousin; Edric Storm rode up beside him and leaned towards him to mess with his hair. “I hope you weren’t too bored hanging out with the other men,” He said.
Edric had jet-black hair and deep blue eyes. Unluckily for him, he inherited the large ears common to House Florent, his mother’s house.
“How can you stand this weather?” His cousin asked as he wrapped himself up.
“Believe me, you aren’t the only one suffering from this weather.” He replied. “Now that we’re all together, I wonder how much further we have until we reach Winterfell.”
“We’re almost there,” Edric replied.
He raised an eyebrow at his cousin. “And how would you know that?”
“Because I asked some of the men,” His cousin replied.
He rolled his eyes. “Of course you did.” He then turned his attention away from his cousin and checked to make sure he was correct. Sure enough, Leon spotted the distant form of Winterfell. “What a gloomy place,” He muttered.
“I remember when my father escorted my brother north to the Wall.” Robar said. “They stayed as guests at Winterfell on the way there.”
“Is there a point to this?” He asked.
Robar chuckled. “I can assure you that Winterfell is not gloomy.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” He muttered.
After a while, they finally reached Winterfell and Leon chuckled to himself as he saw people line up outside on the street that led to the castle, watching the Baratheon-Lannister column ride in. They entered the courtyard of Winterfell and Leon observed the people kneeling in front of his uncle. Robar and Edric stood behind with the rest of the Baratheon guardsmen while he urged his horse forward before stopping beside the royal carriage. He frowned when he saw his cousin Joffrey sitting on his horse with his Hound behind him.
Joffrey looked over at him and smirked as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, Lion’s Tooth. He silently laughed at the name that his cousin had come up with before looking back at his uncle.
“Take me to your crypt; I want to pay my respects.” He heard his uncle inform Lord Stark.
Leon observed Lord Stark’s appearance. The man had a long face, dark hair, and grey eyes. He looked more like a northerner then the rest of his family. He corrected himself when he saw his youngest daughter standing beside his eldest one.
His eyes narrowed at his aunt, Queen Cersei as she began to protest to his uncle. “We’ve been riding for a month, my love. Surely the dead can wait.”
His uncle looked at her for a moment before turning his attention back to Lord Stark. “Ned,” He continued before walking off. Lord Stark gave an apologetic nod to the queen before following after his uncle.
“Where’s the Imp?” He heard Lord Stark’s youngest daughter ask her sister.
“Will you please shut up?” The elder one replied.
He chuckled and watched as the queen walked over to her twin, the Kingslayer. “Where is our little brother?” He heard her ask him. “Go and find the little beast.” She commanded and Leon watched the Kingslayer head off. Most likely the Imp was at a brothel, he thought.
He then dismounted from his horse and made his way over to the Stark family. “Lady Stark,” He greeted, kissing her hand when she offered it.
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“Lord Leonidas,” Lady Stark greeted back.
He resisted the urge to correct her, as he knew that it was common courtesy for her to greet him by his title. Leon then took in her appearance. Lady Catelyn Stark was very beautiful with her auburn hair and blue eyes. He gave her a nod before making his way over to greet Lord Stark’s eldest son and heir.
Leon stopped in front of Robb and noted his appearance. He had thick red-brown hair and blue eyes with a stocky build. “Robb,” He greeted.
“Aren’t you a bit young to be a lord?” Robb asked him as he looked up at him. Leon wondered if he was surprised that he was taller than him.
He chuckled. “I get that a lot,” He replied. “You can thank my uncle for naming me Lord of Storm’s End and Lord Paramount.”
“Aren’t you going to introduce us Robb?” Lord Stark’s younger daughter asked.
“And who might you be?” He asked, amused at her attitude.
“Arya,” She replied. Leon noted that she looked a lot more like a Stark compared to her other siblings. She had a long face with grey eyes and brown hair.
He looked at Arya’s sister and bowed to her. “My lady,” He greeted then stood back up. “Forgive me, but I do not know your name.”
“Sansa,” She replied while blushing.
He smirked then observed the rest of their siblings. “I had no idea that wolves enjoyed being in the company of fish.” He joked.
Arya and her younger siblings giggled while her older sister