Fosterage V

A/N So I stopped using ChatGPT to revise some of the dialogue. If you don't like it, don't read it. It is my story and I think my words are not bad. I am doing research to increase my vocabulary already. So take it or leave it. 

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- 273 AC -

- Casterly Rock, Westerlands -

(Tywin POV)

Jon Arryn and Robert Baratheon returned to their inn, leaving me here to ponder the fate of Joanna. He sounded so sure of himself. I don't doubt that he has experience with it and yet I can't trust him. I walk to Maester Creylen's room. I need a second opinion from a man who has experience with this. I walk into the room he is staying at, without knocking. 

"What can I help you, my Lord? Did the talk with the boy go as planned?", he asks me.

"Not really. Tell me Creylen, what do you think of his idea? Why didn't you know about this? Is Robert Baratheon lying to me?", I ask the Maester. The situation is strange. Someone is lying to me. Either Robert Baratheon or Maester Creylen, or both. 

"What exactly did he tell you, my Lord?", he asks me.

"He said ...", I told him everything Robert told me from start to finish. His rather short tests, which didn't seem like much, apparently told him more than the Maester, which I find strange. But then again, he has been doing much of this healing, during the last two years. If the rumours are to be believed. 

"Well, my Lord. What the boy says is not completely wrong. I have also seen the position the babe is in right now. And it is correct that it won't be able to come out like that. This much is obvious. But a position can change very quickly. Tomorrow the child can be in another position again, and everything will be fine. 

Whether or not the babe has a bigger head than others, I find it laughable. There is no conceivable way for him to know this. I believe he tried to undermine his argument a bit more, by saying that. No need to worry, some babes have bigger heads while others don't, that isn't anything special."

"Then what about the way he wanted to help Joanna during childbirth? Was that also a way to make himself seem more important?", I ask. 

"Not really. The Maesters have done something similar to what he describes many decades ago. It started during Viserys I Targaryen's reign. Grand Maester Mellos recommended it to His Grace King Viserys during his wife Aemma Targaryen's childbirth. They wanted to save the unborn child, since it was already clear, that the Queen would certainly die. To save the babe, they cut the Queen open and took the babe out. 

Needless to say, my Lord, that Her Grace cried terribly due to the pain. Her last moments were torture for her, as her own husband whom she loved killed her this way. He decided against her and for the child in her stomach and killed her."

"...", I can't speak for a moment. What is the reason for Robert Baratheon to suggest something like this? Does he want to kill Joanna? Is war what he's after? No, if that were the case, he could do it differently. Is it Aerys ...? He could be planning something again. His attempts to get Joanna have been fruitless so far, but he is a petty man ... if he can't have her, then ... 

"What about that new sedative or ... thing he told me about? Something that can dull the senses and make it so that Joanna doesn't feel the pain.", I ask him. 

"I know about Milk of the Poppy, my Lord. Giving it to Lady Joanna, would not be a good idea. She would fall asleep and the babe would surely die. I don't know what other concoction the young Baratheon Heir thinks he has created, but I assure you, no one from the Citadel knows anything about it. It is most likely a lie. His patients are lowborn and prostitutes, he most likely lets the failures disappear to hide his lies and incompetence."

"So what do you suggest?", I ask the Maester after thinking about it for a while. 

"I would suggest letting Lady Joanna give birth naturally. This would ensure the babe is as healthy as possible. Anything else would only result in unforeseen complications, my Lord."

"..."

"..."

"Very well. Joanna will give birth naturally. I hope you are correct in your assessment ... for all our sakes.", I say and then leave the room. 

.

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(Eddard POV)

Robert has always been weird. The moment I met him, the moment he opened his mouth to talk to me, I felt comfortable around him. Something like that should be impossible. And yet, he managed to do it. I don't know what it is about him, but he always feels genuine when he laughs. Unlike the laughs I have seen from the Lords and Ladies Father and Mother usually meet. Everything feels fake and wrong. Robert is different in that regard. 

He doesn't mince his words ... at all. He talks to everyone normally. I am sure he doesn't always tell the truth, since I know a few instances when he lied, but it doesn't feel like he is trying to further a personal goal or do it for his own gain. The few times I noticed him lying was when he talked to his 'patients' as he calls them. He tells them that they will be fine if they are about to die or things like that. 

Where his fascination for healing comes from, I don't know. But it may be some trauma or something. His strength has always been surreal and his martial prowess is beyond comprehension. He helps me as often as he gets me into trouble. The amount of times Robert takes me to go out 'exploring' only for us to get lost and distracted ... they're numerous. I don't know why, but it appears that Robert can't sit still for very long. There is a drive that forces him to act. 

"So how did it go? Did you talk to Lord Tywin Lannister?", I ask him after he and Jon return to the inn we were staying at. 

"Aye, I did. But he won't allow me to help his wife during the childbirth. At least not initially.", he replies. 

"What do you mean?"

"As far as I can tell, the Maester will spout some lies to diminish my accomplishments. My age and the success of my methods are too good to be true. And in this world, if something appears to be too good to be true, it is."

"So what will happen then?"

"The Maester will suggest Joanna Lannister give birth naturally. She will start bleeding heavily and lose a lot of blood. The loss of blood will result in a very quick loss of strength. And as soon as that happens, both the mother and child are dead."

"Why is that?"

"Come now, Ned. Didn't your mother tell you how tired she was after giving birth to you or your siblings?", Rob asks me. I think about it and indeed, there was a time Mother told me about it. 

"I think I remember. Yes, she did mention something like that. So it is a hard process and takes a lot of energy. Aha, she will be too tired to give birth and then die? But why would the Maester want that?", I ask. 

"He wants to be important. Imagine what would happen if a two and ten-name days-old 'boy' helped the wife of his Lord give birth and not him. He would become the laughing stock and no one would trust his skills any longer."

"I see. Well then what will you do?"

"Nothing. I will enter the archery contest and win. Hehehe", Rob says and laughs. I can only shake my head. But as much as I don't want to admit it, he has a very good chance at winning tomorrow. He is a beast with a bow. ... He is a beast with any weapon for that matter. But he prefers the Warhammer and War Axe. Heavy weapons for a big man. 

I do hope that he can help Lady Joanna though. It is not honourable to just forget about her health and concern himself with his amusement ... at least that's what Jon says. 

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(3rd Person POV)

The next day came and with it the day of the Tourney. The first competition was the archery competition. 30 men and one boy entered the competition to earn the generous prize money of 100 Gold Dragons. That was a big sum for an archery contest. Only much later, during Robert's reign would the tourneys yield such exorbitant prices. 100 Gold Dragons was already a lot of money. 

Robert was allowed to enter the competition because most if not all knew who he was. He was a tall and muscular boy. The contestants prepared their bows. 

Robert had his own bow in his hand. He places an arrow across the middle of the bow with the bowstring in the arrow's nock. He holds the bow at its centre with one hand and draws the arrow and the bowstring with the other as far as he needs, storing as much elastic energy as necessary. He aims at the target, which stands 20 feet away. 

"Loose!", someone shouts and all the contestants lose their draw, shooting the arrow towards the target. 

*Thud*

Robert doesn't have any trouble at all with this distance. He could hit the distance of 20 feet with his eyes closed and only one hand. The other contestants also managed to hit the targets without much difficulty. 

"Next, 30 feet.", the announcer yells making all of the contestants move back 10 feet. 

"Loose!"

*Thud*

This time not all manage to hit the target. 30 feet, 40 feet, 50, 60, 70 ... 100 feet ... 

Robert shoots arrow after arrow until only he and someone else are left. The other man looks at him impressed at his performance. When the man misses his shot, he looks at Robert's performance. Robert does what he always does. His bow is not the best possible one he could have, but it will do for now. He draws the arrow and the bowstring back and aims. 

*WHOOSH*

*Thud*

He shoots and hits the bullseye, causing the crowd to cheer. Robert smiles at that. He has become better yet again. He was smart when he had to design his own bloodline. There were many bloodlines he could have chosen. This was the best way in his opinion. He didn't know what type of world this was entirely, but nothing that he saw, from the videos showed anything more than those dragons the white-haired woman had. 

The more he practices something and trains in it, the better he becomes. His skill in martial arts of any kind as well as his strength will become the tales of legends in the future. Even if it hadn't truly started just yet, he was already seeing the first signs of his skill. 

Robert walks to the stands to collect his prize money, when two knights approach him. He notices their breaths and understands the situation before they utter a single word. 

"Lord Baratheon, Lord Tywin has sent us to fetch you urgently. Lady Joanna is in labour and we were told to get you to him as fast as possible. Please come with us.", the knight says. 

"Alright. Let me get my things and then we can go.", Robert says and walks to the stands where a small coffer is located next to his seat. 

"Robert what is going on?", Jon asks when he sees him approach with two knights. 

"My talents are needed in the castle. I can't say anything else right now.", Robert says and grabs his things. 

"We will come with you.", Jon decides and stands up with Ned. 

"Very well. But if you could hurry a bit, my Lords."

"Lead the way.", Robert says. 

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Robert was led to the castle and right towards the chambers where the screams of Joanna Lannister were heard. Robert didn't care about modesty now and simply was about to walk in. But Tywin appeared. Robert looked at the man and saw his clenched jaws as well as his desperation and ... fear. But none of that mattered. He walked into the room and saw the Maester trying ... something and Joanna bleeding. 

He grabbed the man by his shoulder. 

"Get out! If you would get this man outside, Lord Tywin, I would be very thankful. And then you can come in, I will need your help. Get some handmaidens with warm water.", Robert said with authority. Time was of the essence, so he didn't care about proper decorum. He called Tywin 'Lord' so that was already enough courtesy. 

Tywin didn't seem to mind the 'disrespect' and commanded the Maester to get Robert what he needed with his gaze alone. Robert placed everything he had on the floor, on a special cover which he cleaned with strong alcohol he had produced himself. 

"What is that?", Tywin asked as Robert was desinfecting all the tools he would need. 

"Alcohol."

"It doesn't smell like alcohol. What is it?"

"It's a much higher percentage of alcohol than the wine fine lords and ladies sip all day. It is used to disinfect everything. That way, your wife won't catch an infection. Or it is less likely.", Robert said absentmindedly. He was still assembling everything and waiting for the things he asked for. 

"When will you finally help her?", Tywin asked with all the self-control he could muster. 

"Calm down. Rushing will not help anyone right now. This was your choice. Now live with it.", Robert says. 

.

Finally, the warm water arrives and Robert gives the surgical knives and pincers he had created himself to Tywin. 

"What-"

"Hold those into the fire and make sure they are hot, really hot. Take the cloth to hold the ends and not burn your fingers.", Robert said and then got to work. 

He began to disinfect everything around Joanna and finally gave her an injection of the best sedative he had access to date. He was using the knowledge he had gained as a surgical technician to make himself better at his job. It is hard to imagine that this all started as part of a hobby-turned-plan. 

As Joanna finally got to sleep, he got to work. He couldn't sedate her before, since he needed to keep an eye on her condition. He didn't have access to electrical devices to keep her pulse and blood pressure under watch, so he had to improvise. 

"F*cking medieval times.", Robert cursed and then did the first incision. 

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I tried to reach further in this chapter, but it somehow didn't happen. I will need yet another Fosterage chapter before he will finally arrive back home after 3 years.