Chapter 160: The Children
Middlebury
Reyna Sheeran
Reyna and Ser Arthur stared at a crudely drawn map of The Westmarch. The quality did not matter to Reyna as the proportions and locations were accurate enough to make her plans for battle against the rebels under the command of Victaria Tarly. Tensions were high in the room as the Tarly rebels were already marching toward Middlebury.
A few scouts had joined the meeting, prepared to give their reports. Reyna and Ser Arthur were the only commanders present as the other nobles still loyal to House Sheeran were out raising their troops. The Sheeran forces could not afford to wait, a plan had to be created quick so it could be immediately enacted once the armies were gathered.
"Tell me more about the Tarly forces," Reyna ordered.
One of the scouts bowed his head.
"My lady, the enemy numbers over four-thousand troops and is comprised of banner troops and sellswords," the scout reported.
"How many of the enemy are sellswords?" Ser Arthur asked.
"About half the enemy army."
"Where would the Tarlys have gotten the funds to hire about two-thousand sellswords?" Reyna asked.
Ser Arthur frowned.
"If she is able to hire that many men, she'll probably be able to sustain them," Ser Arthur said.
"How many men can we muster?"
A second scout bowed his head.
"About thirty-two hundred," the second scout reported.
Reyna frowned.
"Not as much as I hoped for."
"At least the odds aren't too in favour of the enemy; a few hundred men is does not help the enemy in a siege," Ser Arthur assured.
"Everyone's so scattered and not even the Oakenshield troops are here yet, if the Tarlys attacked now..."
"My lady, I left not that much earlier than the rest of the Oakenshield forces, they should be here tomorrow."
"Still, the troops from Darkdell have not been fully gathered either."
The third scout stepped forward and bowed his head.
"My lady, the Tarly forces will be here in four days," the third scout reported.
"That can't be right," Ser Arthur said.
"What's wrong?" Reyna asked.
Ser Arthur stroked his chin and stared down at the map on the table.
"Victaria announced her intentions two days ago. If that is true, it would take the Tarly forces almost a fortnight to get here."
"What does that mean for us?"
Ser Arthur paused. He continued stroking his chin but then snapped his fingers.
"What if the Tarlys don't have a lot of money left?"
"Why would she hire so many if she couldn't afford to keep them for long?"
"She wants to fight us in a decisive battle and then end the contract. If we stall for time, the sellswords will leave Victaria or even attack her."
"Then we need to hold in Middlebury. I don't know how long we can hold out considering we used up most of the food reserves during our first war with the Tarlys years ago."
Ser Arthur frowned and then nodded.
"It should be enough to hold out until the money runs out. With the Oakenshield troops, we will be able to hold the walls until that happens."
"I've had my fill of sieges after Highgarden and our first conflict with House Tarly. But if that's the only way."
"Don't worry, my lady. We have a position of strength, we'll only need to wait a few weeks and we can make our move."
"Weeks?"
Ser Arthur shrugged and resumed staring at the map. Reyna wanted to believe that she would never have to fight another battle ever since she claimed The Westmarch for herself, but that was not the way life worked. She sighed at the prospect of another siege, maybe it would not be as bad as Highgarden which lasted months against a much more competent and homogeneous group of soldiers. Still, Victaria Tarly was not one to underestimate like the Tarlys did with Reyna. With Victaria leading four-thousand troops to Middlebury, everything hinged on whether or not Victaria had enough coin to pay her sellswords.
King's Landing
Tywin Sheeran
Arwyn was watching from afar while taking care of Benedict. She tried to watch Tywin play with the children, but just like before, she mostly kept herself distant. To any lesser man, Arwyn would have been abandoned or unloved immediately. But Tywin knew of the ills that troubled her, he knew of what had happened while he had left to muster troops to fight Otherys' war for him. He still loved her.
Tywin turned his attention away from Arwyn and returned it to Sumner and Ed. He lifted Sumner into the air and placed him on his shoulders. Pretending to be a great beast, Tywin did his best to imitate a dragon's screeching. He tried his best not to think of Otherys' dragon as he did this, fooling himself into thinking that every dragon had an extremely distinct call that Tywin was doing instead. He remembered the things that beast did under Otherys, especially what it ate during a traumatic experience for many people.
"Forward! To conquest!" Sumner yelled eagerly.
Sumner flailed his arms around as if he were holding a sword. He made noises that were most likely an impression of clanging steel, pantomiming being engaged in an intense aerial duel. The boy looked up to his father and other heroes of the past, just like Tywin did with his father and grandfather. Tywin humoured Sumner's fondness of fighting and the battlefield, hoping for him to enjoy himself as much as possible before he would grow up and see what war really was, and the King he could be serving one day.
Tywin ran down the cobbled pathways of the garden that weaved between platforms featuring flowers and other botanical displays. Ed followed closely behind, giggling and holding onto Tywin's trousers when he managed to catch up. Tywin took Sumner past a platform that had a giant hedge growing in it. With Sumner on his shoulders, Tywin could not see him and could only hear the swishing and clanging noises he made with his mouth. Soon, Sumner made an extremely loud and drawn out noise which prompted Tywin to stop. He looked behind him and saw Sumner holding onto a small branch ripped out of the hedge.
"Look, father! I slayed the other dragon!" Sumner cried out in victory.
Tywin smiled. A true dragonslayer indeed, he thought. Although, he hoped that Sumner or any of the other children would have to stand face to face with a dragon. As invincible as House Sheeran was when it came to battlefield tactics and strategic movements, it had never tested itself against a dragon and it was probably for the best that it remained that way. But when the chaos comes, we may just end up facing dragons, Tywin thought, sighing.
While Sumner was enjoying himself, Tywin turned to Ed who was smiling and waiting patiently with his hands to his sides.
"Ed, would you like a turn?" Tywin asked.
Ed shook his head while still maintaining his smile.
"Sumner can still fly if he wants!" Ed answered enthusiastically.
Such patience brought much honour to House Sheeran, not to mention relief. Sumner and Ed got along well because of Ed's patience, always allowing Sumner to go off and do his hijinks, perfectly fine with being a follower.
"Fly!" Sumner yelled while pointing his arm forward as if commanding an army to charge.
Tywin did as commanded and flew forward through the gardens while Ed maintained himself behind the flying dragon and its rider. To mimic a dragon further, Tywin flapped his arms outward, still bringing his hands back to Sumner's feet every now and then to make sure he was secure. Sumner continued with his giggling while Ed produced his own from the ground behind Tywin. Those sounds, that joy, they were what Tywin fought for, what Tywin tolerated Otherys for. He was still not entirely sure if what had been done in the past was worth it, but every time he saw his children smile, he was just closer to a definitive answer.
After some more playing, Tywin stopped in his tracks and turned around. Ed was still there, smiling like he always did. Tywin could not help but smile even with Sumner hopping around while he was still on Tywin's shoulders, irritating his neck a little.
"Ed, do you want your turn now?" Tywin asked.
Ed shook his head again.
"It's okay, father! Let Sumner fly!" Ed answered.
"You're okay with Sumner flying all the time? Why don't you want a turn?"
Ed shyly looked away from Tywin.
"Dragons are scary."
Tywin chuckled, almost bursting into a full fit of laughter. Sumner laughed as well, taking a break from slaying dragons and swinging his sword.
"They're not scary! Fly with me!" Sumner called.
"One at a time, boys. I may be strong, but I can't take both of you," Tywin said as he looked back to where Arwyn was sitting.
She was still there. Tywin had completely forgotten in his bliss. Her frown still remained and Tywin could barely see her eyes as she looked down at the ground while Benedict was still by her side. He stared at Arwyn as Sumner remained on Tywin's shoulders while Ed pulled on his trousers. Small holdouts of her beauty remained, but most of her wonderful face had been conquered by despair. Tywin put Sumner down and began walking toward Arwyn.
"Sumner, Ed, you two play together for now!" Tywin ordered as he continued walking toward Arwyn.
"Yes, father! Let's go slay more dragons!" Sumner responded.
Tywin stood in front of Arwyn and lifted her chin. She tried to slide her chin out by Tywin's grip was firm. He stared into her eyes, the flesh that surrounded her eye was blackened from stress and lack of sleep while the eye itself did not seem to shine or reflect the sun as much as it did in her youth. Just like the rest of her face, there was still some beauty in her eyes, but it was buried deep inside a sea of darkness.
"Benedict, go play with your brothers," Tywin said.
Benedict ran in the direction of Sumner and Ed when Tywin gave him a slight nudge. Now, Tywin and Arwyn were left alone. To Arwyn's credit, she tried to look at Tywin, but some sort of spell compelled her to look away. It had to be a spell, how could she not want to look her husband in the eye? Especially when the two of them loved each other.
"Arwyn, please, I need my beautiful wife back. I need the wonderful girl that I fell in love with back at Casterly Rock," Tywin said.
"I don't know if she'll ever come back," Arwyn struggled to say.
"Arwyn, are you scared that I don't love you? Are you worried that I resent you for what happened?"
Arwyn did not respond or move. While no explicit answer had been given, her silence was more than enough for Tywin.
"Arwyn, I still love you. If you think you need my forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. You had no choice in the matter. Now I'm here, I will protect you," Tywin explained.
"I could've drank Moon Tea..."
Tywin lifted Arwyn's chin again before putting his hands on Arwyn's shoulders.
"Arwyn, Gerold is our son. Besides, you didn't drink the Moon Tea because you knew you needed to tell the truth. That's the Arwyn I love, the one that always does the right thing."
"What if Gerold becomes a monster? It could be in his blood."
"Gerold is our son, he will not be a monster. It's not about blood, it's about how we raise him."
"Are you so sure?"
"We're both still quiet new to parenting, Arwyn, but I think Gerold will become a great man like the rest of our sons will. His silver hair and violet eyes will make him unique, but he is a Sheeran."
Tywin paused and then took one of Arwyn's hands.
"Come," Tywin said, "let's go play with the children."
"I would only ruin things, they seem to love you more."
Tywin sighed, but he tried to force a smile in order to make things positive.
"They only seem to like me more because you refuse to join us. Our boys miss their mother, come play with them. Besides, I want you to see what kind of upbringing Gerold will get. Once the day is over and we've exhausted ourselves from playing, tell me again that Gerold will become a monster."
Arwyn was silent, but then she eventually nodded.
"Okay, let's go."
Tywin smiled, wielding a genuine one this time. Arwyn had mostly improved in the time since Tywin returned from the battlefield. She did not cry as much and could at least look at Tywin a bit before getting the urge to look away. Still, she had a long way to go and Tywin only hoped this trend would continue in the years to come. If she could get a taste of playing with the children and being a mother again, maybe it would be enough of a push to make Arwyn the beautiful flower she once was.
King's Landing
Sumner Sheeran
Sumner generally did not like suppers because of how boring they were. That all changed when his father had returned from fighting in glorious battle for the King. He told some stories, but Sumner knew there were a few things his father was keeping from him. The best stories for last, he concluded.
Even if they were boring, at least the food was good. Sumner stuck his fork into a piece of meat that his father had cut for him. He could not really tell what the thick browned and blackened chunk was, to him, it was meat while to adults called it a different animal each time. It tasted good, but Sumner was never one to catalogue the tastes and pick favourites, food was food and that meant it was supposed to be eaten, the enjoyment was a bonus.
Sitting across from Sumner at the table was his father. He had just come home from business serving the realm. The man was still dressed for the part, his thick leather robes sticking out from the simple ones everyone else wore. But what interested Sumner the most was Jade, House Sheeran's ancestral Valyrian Steel sword. His father did not have time to put it away and brought it to supper.
Sumner admired the hilt, analyzing each jade encrusted on it as he chewed on the meat which had a slight burning texture and taste on some of the edges. Even the sheath was incredible, made of leather with intricate symbols and patterns imprinted on it. The only thing Sumner could not see was the blade, probably the only thing that really made the sword unique among any other sword. Anyone could encrust jade on their hilt, anyone could pay for fine leather. But Valyrian Steel, that was something that put any of the imitators to shame. Sumner had heard the stories of how light they were, how they sang a different song when summoned, and the names of many just like Jade.
This sword would be Sumner's some day, but he could not wait. He wanted to examine it, to feel the blade for himself. His father had kept the sword in his chambers most of the time when he was home so tonight was the first opportunity in a long time for him. He looked around, his parents and brothers were too focused on their food to watch Sumner who acted as if he were going to flip the table.
Sumner dropped his fork on the floor which prompted everyone to look over to him. A servant walked forward toward Sumner to pick up the fork but he held up a hand and dove under the table.
"I'll get it!" Sumner said.
He saw the fork immediately. However, his eyes were on the true prize: Jade. Sumner slowly crawled over to his father's legs on the opposite side of the table, pretending to still be searching for it. He would have to crawl out a bit to be able to reach the blade, exposing himself. There was a problem as Ed was sitting next to his father which made his legs and chair close enough to his father's that crawling through would require much effort.
Sumner took a deep breath and crawled on his four limbs slowly. He had seen Faithful walk and prowl, he tried his best to emulate that. But Faithful had the agility of a dog because that was what he was. Sumner was no dog. He did his best to twist himself so he could squeeze through Ed and his father's chairs. Remarkably, he managed to get through without alerting anyone as they continued eating.
"Did you get the fork yet?" Sumner's father asked.
Sumner did not reply as he was directly beside his father, a response would have given him away. He rose to his knees and kept his head low so anyone on the other side would not have seen him. With his fingers inches away from the hilt, Sumner gently wrapped one hand around the hilt and pulled. It was a lot heavier than he thought it would be but managed to hear a slight hiss and see the extremely bright steel before a hand caught his wrist.
"What are you doing?" Sumner's father asked in alarm.
Everyone stopped and silence swept the dining room. Sumner pouted and meekly stood up, his head down and hands clasped in front of him.
"Sorry, father. I just wanted to see your sword," Sumner answered.
Sumner's mother and brothers shared expressions of confusion. His father, however, smiled and stood up from his chair. He took a step back and slowly drew Jade from its sheath. Even at a slow pace, Jade sang as Tywin called it from its slumber. The sheath had made the sword deceptively small, without it, it revealed that it was almost as tall as Sumner. Sumner reached forward to touch it.
"Careful, son, it's very sharp."
Sumner heeded the warning and slid his fingers gently on the flat side of the sword.
"It's so big."
"Tell me, son, why do you want to see my sword so much?"
"I want to learn to fight! I want to be like you and grandfather!"
Sumner's father laughed. He sheathed the weapon and looked over to Sumner's mother who smile slightly, an increasingly common sight in the past few days.
"I think he's getting old enough," Sumner's mother said.
Sumner perked up.
"Then can I learn? I want to learn!"
Sumner's father rustled Sumner's hair and sat down in his chair.
"I think we can do better. Sumner, how would you like to be my squire?" Sumner's father asked.
"Yes! Yes! I want to be your squire! I want to be a knight!"
"Serve me well and you may get yourself knighted. I can hear it now, 'Ser Sumner Sheeran.'"
"Can we start after supper?"
"I'm sorry, Sumner. I'm quite tired. I'll find you an instructor and come in to teach you personally every now and then."
"Thank you!"
Everyone at the table laughed, even the servants smiled. Sumner ran back to his chair on the other side of the table and sat down. He noticed a new fork had been placed to the side of his plate and he used it to dig into his food as he would need to be well-fed for lessons. His father's sword remained a constant in Sumner's mind as he continued eating, sometimes pretending his fork was a sword. There would be no more pretending, he would be a swordsman for real, wielding weapons much like his father's. As Sumner finished the last of the food on his plate, he thought about his future as a squire, his future as a knight. Soon, his mind turned to what type of warrior he would be, winning battles and glory for his family.
Middlebury
Reyna Sheeran
Reyna and Ser Arthur stared at a crudely drawn map of The Westmarch. The quality did not matter to Reyna as the proportions and locations were accurate enough to make her plans for battle against the rebels under the command of Victaria Tarly. Tensions were high in the room as the Tarly rebels were already marching toward Middlebury.
A few scouts had joined the meeting, prepared to give their reports. Reyna and Ser Arthur were the only commanders present as the other nobles still loyal to House Sheeran were out raising their troops. The Sheeran forces could not afford to wait, a plan had to be created quick so it could be immediately enacted once the armies were gathered.
"Tell me more about the Tarly forces," Reyna ordered.
One of the scouts bowed his head.
"My lady, the enemy numbers over four-thousand troops and is comprised of banner troops and sellswords," the scout reported.
"How many of the enemy are sellswords?" Ser Arthur asked.
"About half the enemy army."
"Where would the Tarlys have gotten the funds to hire about two-thousand sellswords?" Reyna asked.
Ser Arthur frowned.
"If she is able to hire that many men, she'll probably be able to sustain them," Ser Arthur said.
"How many men can we muster?"
A second scout bowed his head.
"About thirty-two hundred," the second scout reported.
Reyna frowned.
"Not as much as I hoped for."
"At least the odds aren't too in favour of the enemy; a few hundred men is does not help the enemy in a siege," Ser Arthur assured.
"Everyone's so scattered and not even the Oakenshield troops are here yet, if the Tarlys attacked now..."
"My lady, I left not that much earlier than the rest of the Oakenshield forces, they should be here tomorrow."
"Still, the troops from Darkdell have not been fully gathered either."
The third scout stepped forward and bowed his head.
"My lady, the Tarly forces will be here in four days," the third scout reported.
"That can't be right," Ser Arthur said.
"What's wrong?" Reyna asked.
Ser Arthur stroked his chin and stared down at the map on the table.
"Victaria announced her intentions two days ago. If that is true, it would take the Tarly forces almost a fortnight to get here."
"What does that mean for us?"
Ser Arthur paused. He continued stroking his chin but then snapped his fingers.
"What if the Tarlys don't have a lot of money left?"
"Why would she hire so many if she couldn't afford to keep them for long?"
"She wants to fight us in a decisive battle and then end the contract. If we stall for time, the sellswords will leave Victaria or even attack her."
"Then we need to hold in Middlebury. I don't know how long we can hold out considering we used up most of the food reserves during our first war with the Tarlys years ago."
Ser Arthur frowned and then nodded.
"It should be enough to hold out until the money runs out. With the Oakenshield troops, we will be able to hold the walls until that happens."
"I've had my fill of sieges after Highgarden and our first conflict with House Tarly. But if that's the only way."
"Don't worry, my lady. We have a position of strength, we'll only need to wait a few weeks and we can make our move."
"Weeks?"
Ser Arthur shrugged and resumed staring at the map. Reyna wanted to believe that she would never have to fight another battle ever since she claimed The Westmarch for herself, but that was not the way life worked. She sighed at the prospect of another siege, maybe it would not be as bad as Highgarden which lasted months against a much more competent and homogeneous group of soldiers. Still, Victaria Tarly was not one to underestimate like the Tarlys did with Reyna. With Victaria leading four-thousand troops to Middlebury, everything hinged on whether or not Victaria had enough coin to pay her sellswords.
King's Landing
Tywin Sheeran
Arwyn was watching from afar while taking care of Benedict. She tried to watch Tywin play with the children, but just like before, she mostly kept herself distant. To any lesser man, Arwyn would have been abandoned or unloved immediately. But Tywin knew of the ills that troubled her, he knew of what had happened while he had left to muster troops to fight Otherys' war for him. He still loved her.
Tywin turned his attention away from Arwyn and returned it to Sumner and Ed. He lifted Sumner into the air and placed him on his shoulders. Pretending to be a great beast, Tywin did his best to imitate a dragon's screeching. He tried his best not to think of Otherys' dragon as he did this, fooling himself into thinking that every dragon had an extremely distinct call that Tywin was doing instead. He remembered the things that beast did under Otherys, especially what it ate during a traumatic experience for many people.
"Forward! To conquest!" Sumner yelled eagerly.
Sumner flailed his arms around as if he were holding a sword. He made noises that were most likely an impression of clanging steel, pantomiming being engaged in an intense aerial duel. The boy looked up to his father and other heroes of the past, just like Tywin did with his father and grandfather. Tywin humoured Sumner's fondness of fighting and the battlefield, hoping for him to enjoy himself as much as possible before he would grow up and see what war really was, and the King he could be serving one day.
Tywin ran down the cobbled pathways of the garden that weaved between platforms featuring flowers and other botanical displays. Ed followed closely behind, giggling and holding onto Tywin's trousers when he managed to catch up. Tywin took Sumner past a platform that had a giant hedge growing in it. With Sumner on his shoulders, Tywin could not see him and could only hear the swishing and clanging noises he made with his mouth. Soon, Sumner made an extremely loud and drawn out noise which prompted Tywin to stop. He looked behind him and saw Sumner holding onto a small branch ripped out of the hedge.
"Look, father! I slayed the other dragon!" Sumner cried out in victory.
Tywin smiled. A true dragonslayer indeed, he thought. Although, he hoped that Sumner or any of the other children would have to stand face to face with a dragon. As invincible as House Sheeran was when it came to battlefield tactics and strategic movements, it had never tested itself against a dragon and it was probably for the best that it remained that way. But when the chaos comes, we may just end up facing dragons, Tywin thought, sighing.
While Sumner was enjoying himself, Tywin turned to Ed who was smiling and waiting patiently with his hands to his sides.
"Ed, would you like a turn?" Tywin asked.
Ed shook his head while still maintaining his smile.
"Sumner can still fly if he wants!" Ed answered enthusiastically.
"Fly!" Sumner yelled while pointing his arm forward as if commanding an army to charge.
Tywin did as commanded and flew forward through the gardens while Ed maintained himself behind the flying dragon and its rider. To mimic a dragon further, Tywin flapped his arms outward, still bringing his hands back to Sumner's feet every now and then to make sure he was secure. Sumner continued with his giggling while Ed produced his own from the ground behind Tywin. Those sounds, that joy, they were what Tywin fought for, what Tywin tolerated Otherys for. He was still not entirely sure if what had been done in the past was worth it, but every time he saw his children smile, he was just closer to a definitive answer.
After some more playing, Tywin stopped in his tracks and turned around. Ed was still there, smiling like he always did. Tywin could not help but smile even with Sumner hopping around while he was still on Tywin's shoulders, irritating his neck a little.
"Ed, do you want your turn now?" Tywin asked.
Ed shook his head again.
"It's okay, father! Let Sumner fly!" Ed answered.
"You're okay with Sumner flying all the time? Why don't you want a turn?"
Ed shyly looked away from Tywin.
"Dragons are scary."
Tywin chuckled, almost bursting into a full fit of laughter. Sumner laughed as well, taking a break from slaying dragons and swinging his sword.
"They're not scary! Fly with me!" Sumner called.
"One at a time, boys. I may be strong, but I can't take both of you," Tywin said as he looked back to where Arwyn was sitting.
She was still there. Tywin had completely forgotten in his bliss. Her frown still remained and Tywin could barely see her eyes as she looked down at the ground while Benedict was still by her side. He stared at Arwyn as Sumner remained on Tywin's shoulders while Ed pulled on his trousers. Small holdouts of her beauty remained, but most of her wonderful face had been conquered by despair. Tywin put Sumner down and began walking toward Arwyn.
"Sumner, Ed, you two play together for now!" Tywin ordered as he continued walking toward Arwyn.
"Yes, father! Let's go slay more dragons!" Sumner responded.
Tywin stood in front of Arwyn and lifted her chin. She tried to slide her chin out by Tywin's grip was firm. He stared into her eyes, the flesh that surrounded her eye was blackened from stress and lack of sleep while the eye itself did not seem to shine or reflect the sun as much as it did in her youth. Just like the rest of her face, there was still some beauty in her eyes, but it was buried deep inside a sea of darkness.
"Benedict, go play with your brothers," Tywin said.
Benedict ran in the direction of Sumner and Ed when Tywin gave him a slight nudge. Now, Tywin and Arwyn were left alone. To Arwyn's credit, she tried to look at Tywin, but some sort of spell compelled her to look away. It had to be a spell, how could she not want to look her husband in the eye? Especially when the two of them loved each other.
"Arwyn, please, I need my beautiful wife back. I need the wonderful girl that I fell in love with back at Casterly Rock," Tywin said.
"I don't know if she'll ever come back," Arwyn struggled to say.
"Arwyn, are you scared that I don't love you? Are you worried that I resent you for what happened?"
Arwyn did not respond or move. While no explicit answer had been given, her silence was more than enough for Tywin.
"Arwyn, I still love you. If you think you need my forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. You had no choice in the matter. Now I'm here, I will protect you," Tywin explained.
"I could've drank Moon Tea..."
Tywin lifted Arwyn's chin again before putting his hands on Arwyn's shoulders.
"Arwyn, Gerold is our son. Besides, you didn't drink the Moon Tea because you knew you needed to tell the truth. That's the Arwyn I love, the one that always does the right thing."
"What if Gerold becomes a monster? It could be in his blood."
"Gerold is our son, he will not be a monster. It's not about blood, it's about how we raise him."
"Are you so sure?"
"We're both still quiet new to parenting, Arwyn, but I think Gerold will become a great man like the rest of our sons will. His silver hair and violet eyes will make him unique, but he is a Sheeran."
Tywin paused and then took one of Arwyn's hands.
"Come," Tywin said, "let's go play with the children."
"I would only ruin things, they seem to love you more."
Tywin sighed, but he tried to force a smile in order to make things positive.
"They only seem to like me more because you refuse to join us. Our boys miss their mother, come play with them. Besides, I want you to see what kind of upbringing Gerold will get. Once the day is over and we've exhausted ourselves from playing, tell me again that Gerold will become a monster."
Arwyn was silent, but then she eventually nodded.
"Okay, let's go."
Tywin smiled, wielding a genuine one this time. Arwyn had mostly improved in the time since Tywin returned from the battlefield. She did not cry as much and could at least look at Tywin a bit before getting the urge to look away. Still, she had a long way to go and Tywin only hoped this trend would continue in the years to come. If she could get a taste of playing with the children and being a mother again, maybe it would be enough of a push to make Arwyn the beautiful flower she once was.
King's Landing
Sumner Sheeran
Sumner generally did not like suppers because of how boring they were. That all changed when his father had returned from fighting in glorious battle for the King. He told some stories, but Sumner knew there were a few things his father was keeping from him. The best stories for last, he concluded.
Even if they were boring, at least the food was good. Sumner stuck his fork into a piece of meat that his father had cut for him. He could not really tell what the thick browned and blackened chunk was, to him, it was meat while to adults called it a different animal each time. It tasted good, but Sumner was never one to catalogue the tastes and pick favourites, food was food and that meant it was supposed to be eaten, the enjoyment was a bonus.
Sitting across from Sumner at the table was his father. He had just come home from business serving the realm. The man was still dressed for the part, his thick leather robes sticking out from the simple ones everyone else wore. But what interested Sumner the most was Jade, House Sheeran's ancestral Valyrian Steel sword. His father did not have time to put it away and brought it to supper.
Sumner admired the hilt, analyzing each jade encrusted on it as he chewed on the meat which had a slight burning texture and taste on some of the edges. Even the sheath was incredible, made of leather with intricate symbols and patterns imprinted on it. The only thing Sumner could not see was the blade, probably the only thing that really made the sword unique among any other sword. Anyone could encrust jade on their hilt, anyone could pay for fine leather. But Valyrian Steel, that was something that put any of the imitators to shame. Sumner had heard the stories of how light they were, how they sang a different song when summoned, and the names of many just like Jade.
This sword would be Sumner's some day, but he could not wait. He wanted to examine it, to feel the blade for himself. His father had kept the sword in his chambers most of the time when he was home so tonight was the first opportunity in a long time for him. He looked around, his parents and brothers were too focused on their food to watch Sumner who acted as if he were going to flip the table.
Sumner dropped his fork on the floor which prompted everyone to look over to him. A servant walked forward toward Sumner to pick up the fork but he held up a hand and dove under the table.
"I'll get it!" Sumner said.
He saw the fork immediately. However, his eyes were on the true prize: Jade. Sumner slowly crawled over to his father's legs on the opposite side of the table, pretending to still be searching for it. He would have to crawl out a bit to be able to reach the blade, exposing himself. There was a problem as Ed was sitting next to his father which made his legs and chair close enough to his father's that crawling through would require much effort.
Sumner took a deep breath and crawled on his four limbs slowly. He had seen Faithful walk and prowl, he tried his best to emulate that. But Faithful had the agility of a dog because that was what he was. Sumner was no dog. He did his best to twist himself so he could squeeze through Ed and his father's chairs. Remarkably, he managed to get through without alerting anyone as they continued eating.
"Did you get the fork yet?" Sumner's father asked.
Sumner did not reply as he was directly beside his father, a response would have given him away. He rose to his knees and kept his head low so anyone on the other side would not have seen him. With his fingers inches away from the hilt, Sumner gently wrapped one hand around the hilt and pulled. It was a lot heavier than he thought it would be but managed to hear a slight hiss and see the extremely bright steel before a hand caught his wrist.
"What are you doing?" Sumner's father asked in alarm.
Everyone stopped and silence swept the dining room. Sumner pouted and meekly stood up, his head down and hands clasped in front of him.
"Sorry, father. I just wanted to see your sword," Sumner answered.
Sumner's mother and brothers shared expressions of confusion. His father, however, smiled and stood up from his chair. He took a step back and slowly drew Jade from its sheath. Even at a slow pace, Jade sang as Tywin called it from its slumber. The sheath had made the sword deceptively small, without it, it revealed that it was almost as tall as Sumner. Sumner reached forward to touch it.
"Careful, son, it's very sharp."
Sumner heeded the warning and slid his fingers gently on the flat side of the sword.
"It's so big."
"Tell me, son, why do you want to see my sword so much?"
"I want to learn to fight! I want to be like you and grandfather!"
Sumner's father laughed. He sheathed the weapon and looked over to Sumner's mother who smile slightly, an increasingly common sight in the past few days.
"I think he's getting old enough," Sumner's mother said.
Sumner perked up.
"Then can I learn? I want to learn!"
Sumner's father rustled Sumner's hair and sat down in his chair.
"I think we can do better. Sumner, how would you like to be my squire?" Sumner's father asked.
"Serve me well and you may get yourself knighted. I can hear it now, 'Ser Sumner Sheeran.'"
"Can we start after supper?"
"I'm sorry, Sumner. I'm quite tired. I'll find you an instructor and come in to teach you personally every now and then."
"Thank you!"
Everyone at the table laughed, even the servants smiled. Sumner ran back to his chair on the other side of the table and sat down. He noticed a new fork had been placed to the side of his plate and he used it to dig into his food as he would need to be well-fed for lessons. His father's sword remained a constant in Sumner's mind as he continued eating, sometimes pretending his fork was a sword. There would be no more pretending, he would be a swordsman for real, wielding weapons much like his father's. As Sumner finished the last of the food on his plate, he thought about his future as a squire, his future as a knight. Soon, his mind turned to what type of warrior he would be, winning battles and glory for his family.
