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Waifu Catalog Nightmare Mode by BatRou-Dawg

Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural, Words: 294k+, Favs: 159, Follows: 172, Published: Jun 27, 2023 Updated: Jun 29, 2023

16Chapter 8

Stannis Baratheon POV

"Forgive me my lord, if I'm stating the obvious. But are my eyes getting bad in my old age? Or is that port larger?" Ser Davos asked a question that he'd asking himself ever since the Dragonstone Port appeared in sight.

"It is larger." He said with a confidence and assurance that he did not feel. But that was the job of a leader. To fill his soldiers with confidence and hope even if he himself did not have any.

"There are a lot more ships as well. Almost three times as much as there would normally be in that port." Ser Davos observed before turning to him with a kind smile. "It seems that whatever changes your lady wife is making in Dragonstone must be paying very well."

He narrowed his eyes at those words and gave a grunt of acknowledgement. Not at the words itself but at the fact that he'd heard those words. For he did not think for a moment that any of the changes made in Dragonstone were brought forth by his wife Selyse.

Theirs was not a close marriage. Probably due to his own action of having left her in Dragonstone while he went off to do his duty in Kings Landing. Or that's what he told others as well. And it was the truth.

But only a part of it. Another part of the truth, that he would never acknowledge to himself, was that he just did not know how to deal with a woman in his life. This stranger that he was supposed to be intimate with.

In the end, he made his choice and their marriage never blossomed into something special. Polite and distant. That's the best that could be said about their marriage.

But despite all that, he knew enough of his wife to guess that this was not her doing.

'It's probably that woman Melisandre.' He thought to himself as Davos brought their ship to the harbour, anchors were dropped, and sailors started to disembark into boats to reach dry land. Him being one among them.

When his King and brother had asked him to get the Royal Fleet ready as quickly as possible and then join the Redwynes in smashing the Iron Fleet, he'd done just that.

The ships had been prepared to sail, filled with all the supplies they'll need, and sailors and levies were hired to men the ships. Not all their sailors were in Kings Landing though. Some were in Driftmark, Duskendale and Dragonstone. So he had needed to stop occasionally in order to resupply and gather more sailors and fighting men for the Royal Fleet.

'As well as say goodbye to my family in case I don't return.' He thought silently.

Truth be told, he did not think that he'll die in this war. The Greyjoys were vastly outnumbered in both manpower and ships by the other Kingdoms.

But then again, no one expected to die in a war, and yet, many people did.

So even if they won this war, he expected many young and old men from his own fleet to die before it comes to an end. And if he's unlucky, then he might be among that list.

The boat came ashore and he saw that a party was already gathered to welcome him. A dozen riders along with his wife, his son, his daughter and that woman Melisandre. There were also half a dozen free horses for him and his men.

"Welcome back home, husband." Selyse said softly and he nodded curtly, for he did not know what else he was supposed to do. Kiss her? Hug her? He did not know how to do any of that.

"I do not intend to stay for long." He announced before he walked over to his son who surprised him with a hug. For a moment, he stood there, awkwardly, but then he brought his arms around Stephen in an uncomfortable parody of a hug.

He noticed that his son had grown large in the past year. And despite being only 9 years old he looked closer to a 13-14 years old boy.

He gritted his teeth as he heard some chuckling-turned-cough from behind him. And promised himself to punish Davos for that. Perhaps having him clean the stables for a week would remind him not to laugh at his own liege lord.

Stephen then brought Shireen, who was being carried by a maid to meet him. She looked cute, with chubby cheeks and large eyes. None of the Greyscale that once marred her visible anywhere.

"Daddy." Shireen said with a toothy smile, and he felt his heart melt at the sight even if his outward stern expression did not change.

"Daughter." He said with a nod and then quickly handed her back to the maid before his stern expression broke.

He took the reign of his horses and noticed that a few of the other knights who came with him had taken the free horses as well. But Ser Davos had been left without one.

He gritted his teeth at that. But there was nothing he could do about it now. He can't give Davos his own horse and certainly can't ask one of his knights to do so without insulting them.

Davos must've noticed his look and realised what he was thinking because he gave a cheerful nod and said "I'll find myself a room in one of the taverns my lord. Don't worry about me."

'Nevermind, it seems you'll be exempt from cleaning those stables for a week Ser Davos.' He thought and gave a curt nod in return before he rode his horse to Dragonstone, his party following behind him at a sedate pace.

"How long do you plan to remain here father?" Stephen asked as he rode his stallion beside his own. The boy rode his horse with far more skill that some knights who were five times his age.

'It'll serve him well if he ever tried his hand in jousts.' He thought, a part of him filled with pride at the sight of his heir. And he did know that Stephen would eventually participate in Jousts. The boy was too martial not to do so.

And if Stephen was diligent in his training, then he might even win some of those jousts. A part of him decided that he would love to see his son defeating other knights and being the victor of such tourneys. Especially when Robert's son himself has shown no interest in any martial activities and was nothing but a spoiled little brat.

"A few nights." He replied, trying and failing to not be as curt to his own son as he was to his men. But asking him to not be curt and direct was like asking a dog to not bark. That's all he's done his entire life. And it was hard for him to change now.

Then they rode past the port and he noticed something that he hadn't from his ship.

The Market around the port. It was larger. Three times as large at least. And not only that, but it was well organised. With the shops being parted in rows and columns of stone paved roads. Roads that were wide enough for 4 horse carriages to pass through easily.

'A lot of gold has gone into refurbishing this entire place.' He thought with a bit of light headedness, wondering with some trepidation about how much gold was left in their coffers by now, if there was even any left at all.

And as much as he loved his family, he would be very wroth with them if he learned that they'd borrowed heavily from the Iron Bank in order to bring about the changes to this Island.

"Don't you love the new market, husband?" His wife's voice came from beside him, her own horse having come up to his other side. He turned to look at her and paused.

Was it just him or did Selyse look more beautiful today.

The changes were small and not apparent at first glance but he could see now that her hips were broader, his breasts larger, and her face slightly more pretty than he remembered it being.

The change caught him so off guard that he continued to stare at her for a long moment before he caught himself and abruptly looked away. Chastising himself for acting like a young boy whose balls hadn't dropped.

"It is… clean and well-maintained." He managed to say in regards to the market. Praise not coming to him easily either.

"I was talking about the new shops." His wife said, the pleased look on her face indicating that she'd noticed his slack-jawed staring. "There are new shops here that sell beautiful silken dresses from Lys, Myrish carpets and glass, hand crafted furniture from Qohor, colourful gems and jewellery from Tyrosh, and horses from the herds of the Dothraki in the Great Grass Sea. There's even a merchant or two from far away places like Qarth, though I've yet to visit them. Then of course, there are the spices. They might burn your tongue at first but they make your food taste so delectable. I can see now why those savage Dornish are so fond of their spices."

Yes, spices. The thing that Petyr Baelish said were being produced and sold in Dragonstone in vast quantities. He still wasn't sure if he believed those words from that weasel but now that he was here, he'll get to the bottom of this mystery himself.

Not here though. But he'll have his answers once they're behind closed doors.

"I would see those shops before I depart." He said with a nod. His interest being more in regards to being-in-the-know about what was going on in his own demesne than anything else.

Though he did realise that the trade coming and going through Dragonstone must have increased quite a bit for this many new shops to pop up in the market in the past year.

"I'll arrange for an outing. We can go there as a family." His son spoke from the other side. And he frowned, wanting to say that he would rather go alone but caught his tongue.

It won't be so bad to spend some more time with his heir and his daughter. He didn't want to be like Robert who never bothered to see any of his own children despite living in the same castle as them.

So he just gave a curt nod and they continued riding. This time in blissful silence.

Soon though, they rode past another area that caught his curiosity. A large swath of land that was being tended by a fair number of small folk. The land was filled with black soil spread out in neat lines and columns and wooden cages kept on top of that black soil that held small plants within them.

"What is that?" He asked, his eyes narrowed as he tried to get a better look at those people and understand just what exactly they were doing. He could see a few more people digging large trenches through the land. Perhaps canals to bring water to those plants?

"That's the area where I've planted the blood oranges that are so well renowned in Dorne." His son replied. "Once the plants grow large enough and start bearing fruit, I plan to sell them in Kings Landing, Duskendale, Driftmark and other areas in crown lands. Perhaps even to Pentos, Gulltown, Maidenpool and the few ports in Stormlands."

He nodded. He had no idea how Stephen managed to grow blood oranges in the barren land of Dragonstone and in such a harsh climate. But he could see from this distance that the saplings looked healthy enough. He suspected that the black soil had something to do with that.

"Are these the same people that you hired from Kings Landing?" He asked.

"Ah, heard of that, did you. And yes, these are the same people. I tried to hire more people from Dragonstone but couldn't do so since a lot of them were already working on one thing or another." Stephen said. "Though it was Lady Melisandre who did most of the work. Both in hiring people and making sure they work properly to earn their coin. So I can't take much credit in this."

Melisandre… So she did have some hand in this entire situation. Just as he'd expected. He still wasn't sure if allowing her near his son had been a good thing or bad. But she did heal his daughter so he had no choice but to keep his word.

Only time will tell whether her presence will be a boon or a bane to his son.

"And where did you get the coin to pay these men?" He asked. Deciding to broach this topic now that they were already talking about it.

"That came from Lady Melisandre as well. She apparently holds a high place in the Faith of the Red God. And as you must've seen in Kings Landing, High Clergy are more often than not very rich due to all the donations they receive from the faithful."

He grunted. "And why would Lady Melisandre lend you this much gold?"

His son looked at him and shrugged. "I don't know. She thinks that I'm her god's chosen or something. So she decided to serve me with all she had. Plus, she did not lend me the gold. She gave it to me for free. So we're not in any debt, if that's what you're wondering about."

'Wrong my son. If this Lady Melisandre has already given us so much, then we're already in her debt regardless of whatever she might say.' He though grimly and took a back glance at said lady who noticed his glance and gave him a warm smile.

A part of him wanted to chastise his son and tell him that there are no free lunches in this world. But he decided to leave that lesson for a later time.

For the rest of the ride back to Dragonstone, he saw two more such plantations. Of grapes and olive. And learned that these were merely 3 of the 15 plantations that were now spread throughout Dragonstone. Each with a different plant grown into it.

As they reached closer to Dragonstone, he also saw about a hundred small folk working on building a paved road, which was then filled with a black substance and rolled over by a heavy stone. The finished product looking much like the black stones used by the Valyrians in the construction of Dragonstone and the famed Dragon roads in Essos.

"What are they doing?" He asked, hoping against hope that his son hadn't delved into black magic in his absence.

"They're making a road. A concrete road, to be more exact." His son repliedas they bypassed the half constructed to road, the small folk stopping their work to bow and send greetings their way. "Though I guess you want to know more about the black substance that's being used to make those roads."

His grip tightened in the reigns of his horse and he nodded.

"That's concrete. Made by mixing gravel, sand, water and cement. And as for what cement is. It is a substance like Mortar. Made by mixing crushed limestone, volcanic ash and a few other ingredients. I've found that Concrete roads are cheaper to create than stone paved roads. So that's what I wanted to build the roads in Dragonstone with."

He nodded. He did not see the point in wasting gold to create a road. But right now, he was just glad that there was no dark magic involved in its construction.

The rest of the ride was spent in blissful silence until they arrived at Dragonstone, at which point, he promptly retreated to his solar and summoned Maester Cressen to get some much needed answers.

"Before we start. How are Stephen's studies going?" He asked. He remembered that Robert was never interested in books. And since Stephen was turning out to be just as martial as his brother (if not more), he wanted to make sure that Stephen did not slack out on his studies as well.

"Lord Stephen… I'm afraid there is nothing more I can teach him my lord." Maester Cressen replied and he frowned.

"What?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at the old Maester who has taught him everything and had almost been like a father to him.

"You heard me correctly my lord. There is nothing more I can teach the young lord." Maester Cressen replied with a warm smile.

His frown deepened. "If this is your idea of a jest Maester then-"

"I assure you, that this is not a jest my Lord." Maester Cressen said, looking sternly at him and for a brief moment, he found himself back in Storms End, as a boy who was being chastised by the Maester for one thing or another. Then the moment passed and Maester Cressen continued. "The boy has a mind as sharp as Valyrian Steel and picks up everything I teach him instantly. After teaching him for the past 7 years, I've already taught him all I could. And there's nothing more I can teach him."

"But… he's just a boy of 9." He said, confused. Sure he'd been told time and time again by the Maester that his son was exceedingly intelligent. But to have learned everything from the old Maester at such a young age…

"That he is." Maester Cressen said with a tired sigh, slumping down on the chair. "Truth be told, after paying more attention to the young lord and seeing all the things he's capable of, I'm not so sure about Lady Melisandre's words being false."

"You mean the whole Azor Ahai prophesy?" He asked, incredulous. "You believe my son to be reborn avatar of some ancient hero from the legends?"

Maester Cressen smiled wanly at that. "I'm not sure what I believe anymore my lord. Just that your son is a very special boy indeed. In fact, if you want some proof then I believe that you only need to look at the courtyard right now."

"What's in the courtyard?"

Maester Cressen smiled but gave no reply.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth and nodded as he got up from his chair. "Very well. But this better be worth my time Maester."

Saying that, he briskly walked out of his solar and crossed a corridor before he arrived at a balcony that overlooked the Courtyard.

His lady wife was already present at the balcony with his daughter and was gazing down at the courtyard fondly.

She noticed his presence and got up before curtsying to him. "Are you here to witness Stephen's spar my lord?"

He nodded. "It seems that way."

"Then come, join me." She said and ordered a servant to bring a chair for him.

"There's no need for that." He told the servant before looking down at the courtyard, and then froze.

Because below in that courtyard was young Stephen, who was sparring against two opponents. Except, both his opponents were older than him. Far older.

At a simple glance, he judged their age to be 15. They seemed to be as good with a sword as anyone their age could be. And Stephen, who looked to be 13 years old, was still a bit small in comparison to them.

So why in the seven hells were those two getting absolutely thrashed by his son in the spar. They didn't seemed to be holding back as far as he could tell. They were trying rather hard in fact. But they were still on the backfoot.

He saw as his son danced around them with the ease of a Shadowcat stalking a helpless lamb. Deflecting and parrying the wooden swords easily before striking them with such quick and precise movements that even veteran knights would find hard to defend against.

The spar, if you can even call it that, was over quickly. Far too quickly. And the master-at-arms of the castle, Ser Richard Willow, ordered the groaning boys to the taken to the side for some much needed rest before he turned to look at his son.

"As always Lord Stephen. Good job there. Though you should not play around with your opponents when you can finish the fight quickly." The Master-at-arms said.

"I wanted them to learn from this spar as well Ser Richard."

"That's kind of you Lord Stephen. But you are in the sparring yard to learn. And not teach. Please keep that in mind during your next spar."

With that, Ser Richard ordered two more squires to join his son in the sparring yard. These ones clearly old enough to be 17-18 years old.

His anxiety increased at the sight. At the thought of his son fighting against someone twice as old and large as him. And two of them at that.

He was about to say something but then felt a hand on his shoulders and paused.

He turned and saw Maester Cressen smiling at him. "Observe my Lord. Observe and learn."

He licked his lips, his concern for his son overriding his usual stern features and nodded.

And over the next few minutes, he watched as his son not only held his own against opponents that he had no business fighting but outright defeating them.

'This should not be.' He thought to himself a bit shaken by the event. 'A boy his age should not be capable fighting a single opponent of that size, let alone two and then defeat them with such ease. And the others in the yard are just taking it in as if it was some everyday occurrence.'

"He's amazing, isn't he?" Selyse's voice brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to look at his wife who had a feverish look in her eyes as she stared at Stephen. "Our son. Azor Ahai. The prince that was promised."

"You believe all that?" He asked incredulously and his wife turned to look at him like he was the crazy one.

"You do not?" She asked, almost rudely and he opened his mouth to give her a suitable reply, only to find that he had none.

Did he believed that his son was some ancient hero come again?

A day ago, if someone asked him this question, then he would've given them a stern glare and told them to stop wasting his time.

Now… now he was not so sure.

An uncomfortable feeling arose in his stomach as he realised just how little he knew about his own son. He ignored his wife and turned to Maester Cressen. "Bring me the list of the knights and levies from Dragonstone that'll be joining me in this campaign."

Then he thought of something and added. "And also bring a list of all the new trade that Lady Melisandre had brought to my lands. As well as the details of our treasury."

Maester Cressen nodded and he turned and quickly strode back to his solar. Promising himself that he was not running from anything.

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