Chapter 22

Edric Storm walked urgently through the halls of Storm's End. It had only been a week and a half since Renly left for Highgarden, yet he'd already declared himself king. Edric barged past another few guardsmen on his way to the main hall, where Ser Cortnay Penrose, the Storm's End Castellan would undoubtedly be waiting. He slammed open the doors and burst in, only to find Ser Cortnay poring over a map of the Stormlands alone.

"Ser Cortnay, tell me this isn't true." he said, holding up a piece of paper for him. Frowning, Penrosetook it and read it before nodding.

"Unfortunately, yes. Both Steffon and Renly have declared themselves King."

"So who do we side with?" Edric asked. "It has to be Steffon, right? I mean, if what he claims is ture, then that makes him the rightful King and Lord Renly a traitor." He said, a fire starting to glow within him.

"It's not that simple-"

"But it is! You know as well as I do that the eldest legitimate son inherits the father's title. The uncle doesn't even enter the sum." He said fiercely. Penrose looked at the boy in front of him. Not that he was much of a boy anymore; Edric was now 17, well-built and good with a sword. However, he was also young, and Penrose knew that with youth came recklessness.

"Edric, Renly has been the Lord of Storm's End for nearly two decades." He said calmly.

"Only because my father gave Lord Stannis Dragonstone instead." Edric replied.

"Perhaps, but . . . ah sod it. We'll both have our answer soon enough, I imagine." He said, pouring from a jug of water. "Edric, I understand your loyalty to Steffon. Truly, I do. But if we were to side with Renly, who is the Lord of this castle, what would stop you from taking a few men who also sympathise with him and opening the gates for his host?"

"You'll have that answer if you side with Renly." Edric said darkly before leaving the hall. Penrose sighed. Not for the first time; he found his loyalties conflicted. Renly was his liege lord, and yet, Edric had the right of it. If Steffon was indeed the rightful King, then Renly was committing treason. Like I said, I'll have my answer soon enough; He thought. Suddenly, a guardsman came rushing in.

"Ser Cortnay, we've sighted ships on the horizon!"

Well that didn't take long.

"Ser Cortnay Penrose is loyal to Renly. You know that. It would be easier to just take the caslte in the night."

"I have faith that Edric will make him change his mind." Steffon said to his uncle. Just before leaving Dragonstone, Steffon had taken stock of the situation. He had 6000 men at most, and was taking a calculated risk by landing on Massey's Hook; he was counting on Renly to move ponderously in response to him. "Besides, even if Ser Cortnay decides to call Renly for help, we have a much smaller army than he does. We can move faster than he can."

"He has more cavalry than us." Stannis pointed out.

"A fact I'm well aware of, uncle. If he tries to speed ahead with his cavalry and leaves the rest of his army behind, well . . . my grandfather hammered into me that cavalry is useless unless supported by infantry." Steffon said. Tywin Lannister was as responsible as Stannis was for Steffon's skill at strategy, and that was one thing that Steffon did thank his grandfather for; if nothing else."Signal Lord Tarth to have his men ready for an opposed landing. If negotiations with Ser Cortnay go badly, we must be ready." he said. Stannis nodded and headed off.

At the front of the ship, Barristan, Jon and Syrio stood looking at the shoreline. "I remember the first time I had to invade a land by sea." Barristan said.

"You do?" Jon asked. Barristan nodded.

"Years ago, in the Stepstones. Not a good memory. Arrows killed most of us before we even got ashore. Those of us that did and were lucky enough to have horses moved inland. I got my first kill there; a Tyroshi mercenary. Lance through the heart. Some of us made it; a lot of us didn't." He said, his words full of sorrow. Syrio nodded.

"War is a terrible thing." He agreed. "Syrio Forel has fought many wars for Braavos, and still, it haunts my dreams."

"I've never been to war." Jon said, feeling like he was the odd one out.

"You've lived your life during the reign of the Stag. As far as the history of Westeros is concerned, it was a relatively peaceful time." Barristan turned to Jon. "You will see much fighting before this war is over. I pray that the burden does not become too much for you."

Below the deck, Arya was practicing her Water Dance in any spare space she could find. This time, it was the cabin she and Steffon shared. Thankfully, it was large and spacious, so she could avoid knocking anything over. Hopefully. She parried, feinted and lunged at her invisible opponent before deciding to take a break. She headed over to a small table and poured from a jug of water, panting the whole time.

"Well done, Wolf Girl." Steffon said, entering the cabin. "That Water Dance of yours is coming along pretty well."

"And how would you know that? You can't even fight properly with that." She said, pointing to the longsword stapped to his hip.

"Arya, you wound me." He said, smiling. "I'll have you know that Jon and Ser Barristan both think I'm coming along quite nicely." Arya shook her haid, smiling. "In all seriousness, Wolf Girl, you're doing very well."

"And if Ser Barristan and Jon think your swordfighting's improved, then it defintely has." Arya said, pecking Steffon on the lips. "So, what happens now?" She asked, seating herself on the bed and taking a sip of water.

"Well, we negotiate with Ser Cortnay Penrose; the Castellan for Storm's End. If the Gods are on my side, then he'll support me. If not, we head into the Kingswood and ambush Renly's army when he tries to move through there." He explained, sitting next to her. "Arya, the next few months likely won't be the most comfortable, so if you want to go back to Dragonstone-"

"Steffon, I love you, but shut up. I am not my sister; I can handle a few knocks." She said. Steffon smiled, but Arya saw straight away that it was a pained one. "Steffon, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Your sister is effectively a hostage in King's Landing. I could've tried to got her out, and i didn't." He said, looking at the ground.

"Do I need to slap you again?" She asked.

"Please don't."

"I will if I have to. New rule: no moping or feeling sorry for yourself. You're the King now; we can't afford that." She said. Steffon looked at her again and nodded resolutely.

"i can try."

"That's all i can ask for." She said, leaning in again before a soldier interrupted them.

"Beggin' your pardon, Your Grace, but a longboat's ready for you to go ashore." He said.

"Well, let's not keep Ser Cortnay waiting." Steffon replied.

The meeting point was a strip of sand a few hundred yards down from Storm's End in order to avoid the treacherous waters of Shipbreaker Bay. Ser Cortnay stood on the shoreline in full armour, with a sword and dagger hanging from his hip. Ser Gilbert Farring, the highest-ranking knight after Penrose, sttod next to him, likewise wearing all his arms and armour. Edric also stood with them, but was not wearing his armour, even if his still had his weapons.

The longboat carrying Steffon, Arya, Jon and Stannis beached itself on the sand and they pulled it in before approaching the three. "Ser Cortnay." Steffon said.

"Prince Steffon. We're honoured to have you return." Penrose replied.

"Ser Cortnay, this man is your King. You will address him as Your Grace." Stannis growled.

"Uncle . . ." Steffon pulled him back slightly. "Ser Cortnay, I understand that Renly is in Highgarden."

"That is true." Penrose replied reluctantly.

"Well if he's there, then it is obvious who he thinks is more important that the Stormlands, is it not?" he asked rhetorically. "If he wants the support of the Stormlords, then why is he with the Tyrells?" He asked.

"He makes a good point." Farring whispered to Penrose, only to receive a glare.

"Any smart man would seek Tyrell support." Penrose said to Steffon.

"Really? Even when some of his own houses have either not declared for him or declared against him? Lord Selwyn Tarth stands out there on those ships; he commands them in the absence of myself or Lord Stannis. The Marcher Lords have not yet declared for him and yet he is already off to seek allies?" He said. "What kind of man goes to one of the other Great Houses when he does not even have the backing of the entire region he controls?"

"Your father lacked the total support of the Stormlands when he rebelled against the Mad King."

"But uncle Renly is not my father." Steffon shot back. "Answer me this, Ser Cortnay: do you honestly think that Renly would be a good king? Put the line of succession aside for a moment and ask yourself that."

Despite himself, Penrose did think it over. No, Renly would not be a good king. He's romanticised war and kingship too much; it would break him, he thought. But he was skeptical about Steffon as well. "And why would you be a better king than Renly?" He asked.

"Well, quite apart from the fact that I have the undivided support of two Great Houses and the Royal Fleet, I know my limits." Steffon said, his face softening. "I will readily admit that my knowledge of governance is only slightly above basic, and I know the people to reach out to."

Penrose thought it over again and realised that in al, the time he'd known him, Renly had never acknowledged that he wasn't much of a leader. Politician, yes, but not leader. "You make a good point, Your Grace. Perhaps we can discuss this further inside the castle?" Steffon nodded.

"I am relieved to have resolved this with no bloodshed, Ser Cortnay." He said.

"Likewise, Your Grace."

As the party started moving towards Storm's End, Edric decided to introduce himself to Arya. "Delighted to meet you. My name is Edric." He said, kissing her knuckle.

"I'm Arya. And if you do that again, I'll shove Needle through your chest." She said. Edric turned around to Steffon.

"Steffon, you certainly have a fine adviser here! Feisty and beautiful." He said. Arya growled.

"She is indeed both of those things, Edric." Steffon replied. "But the sooner you stop flirting with my betrothed, the less likely she is to gut you." He deadpanned. It took a moment for what Steffon said to register with Edric, but when he did, his jaw dropped.

"But . . . how . . . I didn't . . ." He stuttered, unable to form a sentence.

"Speechless, Edric? That's a first." Steffon said before interlocking his hand with Arya's. "Come on, Storm. We can talk about it inside."

Chapter done! Yes, Edric Storm is in this story.

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