Baratheon Tradition

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A double update because you guys waited so long. Art by Jaymz53 on deviant art.
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[297AC]
Robert's POV

"Bloody hell lads! Didja hear about my boy out there?! Staked that son of a fat whore straight in the heart!"

I was still boasting my sons actions during his fourteenth name day hunt. For Baratheon boys, their fourteenth  name day was the day they begin the change into manhood which we celebrate with a hunt. The boys go out, find a suitable animal to hunt and then kill it themselves. All but two Baratheons in the history of our house had completed the task with ease. One was killed by a shadow cat and the other refused to participate and was disinherited, exiled, and killed shortly after. This was suppose to be a momentous event for every Baratheon male and my pride and joy just bested the whole lot of us.

The beast he killed was a fully grown lion , roughly the size of the royal carriage and weighing as much as five warhorses. It reminded me of the bear I killed at my own name day celebration. Only I killed mine with a war hammer. My younger brothers killed their hunts with a sword and ax respectively. But my son Aleksander killed this monster with a bloody dagger! Other than using your bare hands, a dagger's about the hardest thing to use during a hunt. But he did it. He staked it straight through it's heart and it died on impact. But not before swiping at him left a wound down from chest to hip. This terrible wound cause Pycelle to make sure he sleeps and drinks milk of the poppy. The court had taken to calling him "Lionsbane".

Aleksander has grown into a fine lad, strongly resembling me when I was a boy but instead of being stocky and broad, he is long and lean like his mother and siblings. He's muscular for his age and wears his hair black hair long and shaggy. It makes him look wild but I've never met a boy more mild mannered than him. He knows his stuff, thanks to that mother of his and the softies at Highgarden. She's just proud that he got that comely Lannister look. Yes, they're all bloody pretty, but my boy was pretty AND strong! He'll be a ladies man just like me one day.

Along with the face, he also got the Lannister wit. The boy's smarter than me at least and I've never had a bad review from his teachers about his studies.

"Strong as a stag, cunning as a lion." That's the phrase people use for my boy. He got the best of both sides, unlike that ungrateful older brother of his...

"I've made my decision woman! I'll hear no more on the matter!" Shouting with my wife was almost a daily occurrence at this point in our marriage.

"Knighted? You want to knight your second son but not your first?!" Her face was turning a deep red.

"That arrogant bastard is already my bloody heir, what more can he be to me at this point?!" To no one's surprise except Cersei's, I didn't want my eldest son to be my heir. I'd much rather leave the realm to Aleksander when he gets older but I'd never hear the end of it from this cold shrew.

"He passed your little Baratheon test a few moons ago and you never made HIM a knight!"

"That's because he picked the scrawniest animal I've ever seen and shot it with a bloody crossbow! If I had used a crossbow my father would have chopped off my balls AND head for using a cowards weapon!" But the look she gave me told me that she was not going to resign on the issue so I let her win, for now.

"He's to be Knighted when he wakes.If it were truly up to me, I'd have Joffery shipped off to the Night's Watch and establish Aleks as my heir. Now get out of my chambers." For a moment, she looked shocked. But she regained her composure, shot me a look of pure loathing and then marched herself out of the room. I sighed and looked out the window of my chambers and silently thought of my lost Lyanna. She would have never argued with me on such a trivial matter, just as she would have never bore me such a useless heir...

I was lost in thoughts of my she-wolf when the iron door to my chambers flew open and Ser Barristan Selmy of my Kingsguard appeared.

"Your son finally awakens"

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⏰ Last updated: Apr 08, 2016 ⏰

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