"Bring me Caliburn! Quick!"
At Wylis command, Caliburn was simply let loose from the stables. The galloping boy ran over to Wylis on his own, all saddled up.
Wasting no time, Wylis mounted his horse and rushed out of the castle courtyard. Galloping down the dirt road, he caught up with the King's entourage as it just left the edges of Ramsgate town.
The knights and kingsguards became alert at his approach, but eased as soon as they recognised him. At Ser Barristan's command, they all halted.
Wylis rode to Robert's carriage and looked inside through the square window. The man was eating an apple inside.
"Your Grace, come out. I need a word with you. Saddle a horse and ride with me a short way."
At Wylis' words, Robert first got out of the carriage and then looked around. Without even asking a question, the King just grabbed a nearby knight's horse and mounted it.
"Your Grace, it's not safe."
Wylis lifted a hand in dismissal. "Ser Barristan, if I can't keep the King safe, then ten of you would fare no better. Come along, Your Grace."
Not too far. He led Robert through the trees, towards the seaside, where the noise of the sea was loud, less chances of someone snooping on them. He hitched Calliburn to a tree and walked to the edge of a small cliff, beyond which was the wild sea, waves thrashing.
"What happened?" Robert asked calmly.
Wylis was serious at that moment. He looked the same. For a long time, he stared at Robert's face, trying to see the hints he may have missed. This man was lost, aimless, wasting his life purposefully.
The Robert from his memory wasn't supposed to be like this. The vices, whores, and drinking should have been a problem of the future, after the Greyjoy rebellion. But here, Robert was already growing fat.
Giving up already?
"Robert, do you know how I became a lord?"
"Winning battles?"
Wylis shook his head. "No, by predicting. I have a knack for reading folks and the turns of a moment."
Bullshit. If I were, we wouldn't be having this talk.
"Robert, I hope you bear me no ill will for taking the glory in those battles. Had sickness not laid you low, Rhaegar would have fallen to your hammer, not my hand."
"Seven hells, no, Wylis. I don't scorn you. You're the finest warrior in the whole bloody realm. I was born to what I have, handed every scrap of it. You built yours with your own damn hands. I was fed and trained, and stuffed full. You had to fight and claw for every cursed step. Gods, you earned every bit of that glory."
Wylis was lost for words for a moment. It seemed they were Robert's heartfelt words, and he wasn't expecting to hear something like that.
Nodding, he looked at the sea for a while. He wasn't going to tell the man anything big or secret. But he felt Robert needed a realistic goal to keep going. To find his path again.
"Robert, believe me or don't. I'll leave that to you. In a few years, less than four, war will come, and it will be bloody. You have that time to ready yourself. We are still in our prime, both of us. Make yourself stronger than the man the realm followed in the rebellion."
After a moment of silence, Robert barked. "You drank this morning?"
"I'm not you, Robert. In any case, I can't say more, or the war itself may slip away. Trust me. Battles are waiting for us, and glory with them, ripe for the taking once more. This time, my maester and I have brewed new remedies. No wound nor fever will slow us."
"You're fucking serious?"
Wylis made a deadpan face. "Do I seem like I'm jesting?"
"Who? Who dares start a war?"
"Does it matter? Your crown stands safe, that much I know. Yet there will be war, bloody all the same. The rest lies with you. If you mean to ride with me and swing that hammer, then harden yourself. Grow cruel. Show no mercy. Become a beast in human flesh, that's what folks say when they see me bare."
"That's what Lady Kaiser says?"
"To her, I'm the beast under the sheets," Wylis said with a grin, drawing a laugh from Robert. "Well then, make your choice, Robert."
Robert didn't wait. "If it's coming from you, Seven bloody knows it carries weight. Alright. I'll give it another chance. See what these thick bones of mine do to the skulls and chests of our enemies."
"Like old times," Wylis replied.
The two large men then mounted their horses and trotted back towards the waiting royal escort. They rambled nonsense most of the way, discussing Great Houses and the dirt on them. Wylis did bring up Eddard once, reminding Robert that Winterfell should stand with Ramsgate against the Boltons.
"Throw me a fat feast when I'm in King's Landing, Your Grace." Wylis waved as Robert sat in the stagecoach again.
Eventually, the royal entourage left, disappearing between the trees.
Hope that's enough to move him.
Finally, he turned Caliburn back and headed home. It was time to hold one final feast, a personal one, a celebration. An official Christmas, as he had planned.
####
Wylis didn't allow the women and children to come out of the underground chambers. In fact, he sent Anna, Ros, Wenda, and Ashara there as well, telling them that he had a surprise planned.
He got to work after that, decorating his large ground-floor solar into a Christmas-themed room. He brought in a large tree on his own shoulders and decorated it with colored paper. He dangled paper lamps shaped like stars from the ceiling. Finally, he placed a lot of gift boxes and pots of candy there.
There were also Santa hats he'd gotten made by the town's weaver. Red and white, in varying sizes for children and adults.
Then he decorated the small dining hall by the kitchen as well. Not too much, just enough to make the occasion special.
At last, when night arrived, he brought the women and children out again. He had his arms full, however, unable to hug them. Rhaenys had climbed his back, Aegon was on his right shoulder, his son Magnus on the left. In his arms were the rest, Arthria and Simon. The twins and Daenerys were too small.
"I can breathe again," Lyanna said, letting out a sharp breath. "It was choking in there."
"The walls were indeed growing heavy on me," Rhaella added.
Wylis led the women straight to the dining hall. The long table had already been prepared with all the food they could ask for. They were the best dishes he'd served Robert during his stay.
"I want that one!"
"I like this more."
The first ones to eat were the children, as they had no patience. Even before they all took their seats, Rhaenys had already grabbed a succulent piece of crispy fried chicken.
In the end, Wylis took his seat of honor on the shorter edge. On his right, around the edge sat Lyanna, and on the left was Rhaella. Only Lyanna's seat was pre-decided; the rest chose whichever they wanted.
Three kitchen maids soon came over and started serving food on their plates. After serving once, the maids left as instructed, letting the big family enjoy their feast alone.
"I know this past week weighed heavily on you all, my ladies. Anna, you have my thanks. You were steady and true. Genna, you kept the servants from slipping, and I'm grateful for it. Ros, the mummers' play was well done. You have a real gift, believe me. Ashara, you kept watch over the men lodging in town, and Wenda, you did the same. And you three." His gaze settled on Lyanna, Elia, and Rhaella. "Thank you for your patience. I would have hated standing against Robert."
The meaning behind his words was clear to them. He would have protected them, stood for them, even if he had to fight Robert.
"No, my lord. The debt is ours," Elia voiced. "If you were taken, doom is certain. For Lyanna, the North will rise. For me, Dorne will rise. For Rhaella, Dorne will stand beside her as well. Yet you stand alone, and still you chose this. I will never forget it."
Wylis nodded and gestured at the table.
"Let's eat. I have a surprise for you all after this."
Soon enough, Rhaenys slipped down from her chair, crawled under the table, and climbed Wylis's lap. He was happy to entertain her and let her eat. She was mostly interested in a few dishes, so she wasn't much of a bother.
Besides, he liked this. Such moments reminded him why he was doing what he was doing.
In the middle, he glanced at Viserys. The boy usually refused to join the table, but he appeared this time.
What changed?
He didn't ask or tease the boy.
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Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 12 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 45-50 Webnovel chapters.
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