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“Your grace, my Lord Brother, I have a request.”
Stannis kneeled in front of his brother with his head ducked as low as possible to show his yielding, his humbleness, for the very first time in his life.
Even Robert could tell how serious the situation was, and put down his goblet on the table. “Name it.” he said.
“You, Your Grace, promise me.”He kept in the posture, trying his best from shivering and fainting. “Promise me, please.” A drip of sweat slipped down his brow, then his eye.
“For gods’ sake, Stannis! The past few months in the free cities without a King around have made you forgot how to talk to one?”
Robert is growing impatient, he thought, maybe it’s a fault from the very beginning.
Maybe I shouldn’t have turned down the proposals, shouldn’t have given birth to Shireen, shouldn’t have given himself so desperately to the Onion Knight, even shouldn’t have shrounded that goddamned secret from the entire world when I was seventeen in the siege.
The very first lie lead to the following lies, and would bring about far more lies. Finally, all the lies would collapse down and bury him alive.
Stannis hadn’t ever felt so regretful in his whole life.
But after a few heavy breaths, Robert sounded again.
“Never seeing you acting like this before……” He grumbled under his breath, “Don’t tell me you burned Braavos to ash and a bunch of revengers are rushing through the Narrow Sea right now while we’re talking. No? Not such kind of nonsenses, right?” An irony, rough laugh came through his mouth, “I promise you. Raise your head and tell me what the hell you hid from me so stealthily in your mind.”
“I fathered a daughter.” Raised his head, he swallowed, finding words that would not make Robert fell like being insulted, “When I was in Braavos, I bedded a……local girl, an omega.”
What was bearing in the King’s eyes? Mockery? Fury? Contempt? As he, Stannis Baratheon was such a hypocrite. He couldn’t put a finger on it. To his astonishment, Robert let out a resounding laugh.
“Let’s see who wanted to close all the whorehoues and brothels up and down the whole Kingdom! Stannis, I have never ever imagined!” Laugh ceased after a long while, finally, “You want me to legitimize her?”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Stannis grabbed on that, desperately, not knowing the offer given by Robert would make things go easier or tougher for him.
“And make her a Baratheon?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
His words hang in the air, emphasizing the silence. The graving silence. In which he suffocated. Under which he lowered again. Request, plead, or even beg, as long as Robert would pity him for this only time.
“For the sake of the service, and the loyalty I offered—” Stannis found his voice, so dry and hoarse, and his indiscreetness at once.
Wrong. You let the two little dragons off your hand.
“For the sake of the blood, and the name we shared—”
Wrong. A King has no brothers, only foes by his side.
“For the sake of our father, and our mother—”
“For the sake of you being so lowly at my face for the first time for such a thing!”
The slamming on table made him shudder. So wrong, all wrong, he thought in desperation, grinding teeth in vain.
“Where is that girl, your daughter? Show me.” He ordered, while Stannis was still trapped in astonishment and fear. “If you do request me to give my niece our name, at least you should let me see her.”
My niece. Our name.
So relieved.
A maid rushed out of the room to get his daughter. With footsteps from far to near, the maid entered the room with his girl in arms.
“Grayscale?” Robert’s face dropped a little at the sight of the dead skin on her face.
“It is under control. She’s recovering from the disease.” He whispered, trying to convince his brother and himself. If necessary, he would replay the pleading and begging again without a single hesitation.
But Robert took Shireen from the maid’ arms, holding her in an unexpected skilled way. “Ignoring the grayscale she’s like—never mind. What’s her name? You haven’t told me yet.”
“Shireen. Her name is Shireen.”
Hearing the call of her name, Shireen opened her eyes from slumber. Blue ones, as clear as the ocean.
“Shireen Baratheon.”
Stannis heard his brother calling his daughter’s name.