Chapter 5: Steffon and Cassana
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"I think a defensive plan would be better in this case, your grace. If this war takes a long time before it ends, we will be the one to suffer since our vaults could not support the war for that long." Said the master of coins as he expressed his opinion to the new king. He gave the king a detailed report on the current situation and the financial situation in the realm.
The king took some time to think about the whole situation before making his final decision. He weighed the advantages and disadvantages of the two different suggestions before coming up with his final decision. The king decided to move the war to the Stepstones and fight the Band of Nine in order to decrease their losses.
"We will take the war to them and go with Lord Ormund Baratheon's plan. I will be the one leading the army myself to end the Blackfyre's bloodline once and for all. It is time to stop their arrogance at that point." Said the king with a loud voice to announce his decision to every lord in the court as he stood up and looked energized, but before he could continue his words to encourage everyone, Ormund spoke, cutting his speech. How could Ormunt be the king's hand if he allowed him to make such a reckless move? He should have stayed in his home in Storm's End if allowed a sickly king who spent most of the time in his childhood fighting disease after disease. Although the king was a clever and intelligent one, his health would not allow him to fight in a battle or participate in one.
"That is not possible, your grace. You can't risk your life by doing something as reckless as fighting the war, or the realm will be in danger. Your father has just died not long ago, and the realm can't lose you too, or chaos will descend on the whole realm. Please, let me lead the army myself, and I promise I will get you Maelys's head myself so that you can put it as a decoration in the Great Hall." Said Ormund with resolution in his voice. He would not allow the king to expose himself to danger like that. He decided to be the one leading the armies instead since the king could not. Ormund already hated the Blackfyre for wasting his precious time where he could check on his first grandson and his unborn one.
Gerald Hightower, who saw that Lord Ormund was right in his words and he trusted Ormund judgment, knelt in front of the king to prevent him from risking his life like that. The other Kingsguards followed their Lord Commander and knelt as well.
"Please, stay in King's Landing and send us instead, your grace. We shall be your swords in that war." Said Gerald with a loud voice to inform the king of their decision. They could not accept this situation where the king could die in the war. Although they would be around him in the battle to protect him from any danger, No one knew what could go wrong in the war? They could not guarantee the king's safety if he participated directly in the war. What if they managed to save him from an astray arrow in that chaotic war?
The king was relucent to accept this proposal since he found it as the perfect opportunity to show his standing and bravery in front of his people. By doing something like that, he would gain more support and raise the soldiers' morale when they saw the king fighting beside them. But after looking at everyone's expression and seeing their insistence of everyone, the king could only agree and send his hand, Lord Ormund Baratheon, in his place.
"Send a word to every Lord in Westeros and gather the army, Lord Baratheon. Lead the army and defeat those bastards." Said the king ending the meeting with those words as he stood up and left The Great Hall after saying those words.
"At once, your grace." Said Ormund Baratheon as he hurried to his tower outside where he could send the word to every lord and every great lord in Westeros. The army would need some time to assemble since it would be composed of ones from different areas, especially if they had to wait for the ones that would come from The North to arrive.
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[One month later in Storm's End]
Steffon, who had received the news from his father, who ordered to prepare himself and the men from Storm's End to follow them to Stepstones not long ago, was troubled after reading this piece of news. He did not know what to do at times like these since he did not want to leave his wife, Cassana, who was pregnant with their second child in Storm's End, where Steffon did not know if he could return back alive to hear or not. How should he tell her this news?? He was afraid that this piece would make her upset after hearing them. That might affect their child in her womb.
Steffon, who was pacing left and right in the hall as he did not dare to see Cassana right at that moment, did not know that his wife was looking at him from a small opening of the door while sighing here and there, especially after seeing her husband behave like that. The cheerful and beautiful Cassana always knew when something affected her husband since she had a good observation. And since she only had one son, who was only one year old, she did not have anyone to observe other than her husband. She had heard the news about what was happening in Septstones along ago and thought a war would happen sooner or later.
Cassana was a smart one and could figure that those groups of people living in the disputed lands, Tyrosh, and Stepstones represented a threat to the royal Targaryen House. She knew that the kingdoms would have to face them sooner or later. If she was in the Targaryen's place, she would not allow such a threat to existing in this world any longer and would launch a war against them to eliminate every member of those nine. So if she could come up with this, her father by law, Ormund, must have advised the king to do the same. She knew her father by law's intelligence quite well and believed that such a small thing would not hide from his eyes. He must have already come up with a plan for the upcoming war.