Once a Lion, Now a Stag

Chapter 10 Jaime's Surprise

The Royal family retired to Maegor Holdfast. Robert had dismissed Ser Barristan so that the older Knight could rest. A bath was prepared for Robert to freshen up and wash the travel grime away. While the king did that, Sirius retired to his chambers to do similar.

While Robert bathed, Cersei sat near him, talking about what had happened while Robert was away. She told him that Gendry's mother had died and that she had him moved into the Red Keep. He was not staying in the Royal family's wing, but he was close by. Robert asked if Orys and Gendry were getting along, and Cersei informed him they were.

“Gendry worships the ground Orys walks on. He follows Orys everywhere, though the boy's nursemaid is with him to help. So, now that Gendry is with Orys, Tygett wants to do the same thing. It is amusing watching Orys walking around with two toddlers following him like ducklings.” Cersei said with a smile.

Robert laughed and ran his hand along his wife's bump, “How much longer?” He asked.

Cersei covered his hand with hers, “Any time now, Maester Marwyn said, perhaps in a week.”

Robert's blue eyes gleamed with excitement. He told Cersei he would be in the room with her when she gave birth. Robert had missed his first two sons' birth; he would not miss his daughter's. Robert was convinced they were going to have a girl.

Robert chuckled; the Royal couple continued to talk with Cersei giving Robert updates about what had happened while he was away. She told him that Orys had kept track of the war with the help of Jon Arryn and the reports they received from Sirius's owls.

“There were times that Orys was so stressed and worried about you and Sirius that he would spend all day training with Ser Aron to get his mind off the war and relax. As a result, your son can now use a war hammer and a sword,” Cersei chuckled.

“THAT'S MY BOY!” Robert bellowed, then laughed when he felt the baby move in Cersei's belly. Robert gently rubbed her stomach and apologized to his little girl.

“I'm sorry for scaring you, my little Princess,” Robert whispered, then sat up to kiss Cersei's belly.

Cersei giggled and kissed Robert. She eventually left the room so Robert could finish his bath. It didn't take him long to finish his bath; he got out of the water and then got dressed to have dinner with his family. A short while later, Sirius arrived, and they sat down to have a family dinner.

Robert and Sirius reveled at being back at the Red Keep. Though they still needed to deal with Jaime, that could wait while they celebrated with their family. Robert dismissed Jaime and had Arys Oakheart as their guard instead. Jaime fumed at being separated from his sister. The whole time Robert was gone, Jaime had desperately tried to seduce his sister but found he would go flaccid very quickly. It drove him mad; Jaime wanted nothing more than to bed his sister, but he couldn't get the job done, and Cersei refused him at every turn. When Jaime discovered his beloved sister was pregnant and not with his child, he was livid. That's all he needed was another Baratheon Spawn running around. Jaime didn't think he could handle that. Jaime returned to the White Tower with a bottle of Dornish wine and began to drink himself into a stupor.

Meanwhile, at the dining table, Sirius and Robert were telling Orys and the others about their battles; it was an edited version for young ears. Orys and Tygett were fascinated by what their father and uncle had done. A few minutes passed, and Mya, Edric, and Gendry were escorted into the dining room. Robert smiled at his other children and greeted them kindly. They hugged their father and uncle and then bowed to the queen. After that, they all sat and had a lovely private welcome-home dinner for Robert and Sirius.