Stephen Baratheon POV
The stench of this place was overbearing. As if someone had gathered shit from hundreds of thousands of people, and left it in one place to stew and ferment for the next couple of years.
…on second through, that description probably fit this place to a T.
A lot of the piss and shit that spilled out of the half-defunct sewers in Kings Landing flowed and gathered in this area.
It was one of the main reasons why no self respecting person would ever want to step a single foot in this location. And consequently, why this area eventually developed into a slum over the many decades.
And yet he was here, and for a publicity stunt no less. Not that these people knew that.
"Next." One of his guards (provided to him by his father since he didn't bring any of his own when he flew over here) called out and an old decrepit lady walked approached him in response.
Her spine was crooked to the point where she looked more like the letter 'C' than an 'I'. Her skin hung loose from her bones, there was barely any hair on her scalp, and all her teeth were missing. He pondered what her motivations could be for wanting to live for a few more years, even if he were to cure her.
Wouldn't it be better for someone like her to simply die and rest in peace?
But he was not here to ask question. Only to play the role of the boy favoured by the gods. The benevolent boy who takes care of the poor and unfortunate in the society.
Rather than inquiring about her presence, he offered a gentle smile and placed his hand on her head. Using his Shaper power, he analyzed her biological makeup and began the process of healing her, all the while silently reciting a prayer.
"May the crone guide your way and show you the path of the-"
Healing this woman was harder due to all the numerous problems she had in her body. So his prayer was also subsequently longer. But by the end of this prayer…
The woman stood straight instead of being bent over, her face looked two decades younger, and her teeth had grown back. Her arthritis and a host of other afflictions that had ravaged her body were now also absent.
The woman before and after he'd 'blessed' her might as well have been two completely different women.
Several of the spectators erupted in cheers and applause at yet another demonstration of his favor with the Faith of the Seven. After all, why else would the deity answer his prayers and heal these individuals?
Though considering that he has been healing these people for the past few hours by this point, the cheers weren't anywhere as loud as the first few had been.
The old woman for her part looked at her own body in disbelief, announced that she feels decades younger and doesn't feel the old pains she used to feel. Then went to her knees and started thanking him profusely.
"You're clogging the line grandma." One of his guards said and gently took her to the side before his crier called out. "Next"
So the next person came. A 9-10 years old girl. And sensing her biology informed him that she was a regular prostitute.
The damage she'd suffered in her nether regions also told him that her clients were extremely rough with her, and that she'll never bear a child even when she grows up.
He didn't knew what was the worst part about all this. That the girl was probably raped the first time she was sold. Or that he had seen so many cases of abused children over the past few hours that he'd almost grown numb to it.
Regardless, he used Observe to note down her name and where she lived.
He did plan to remove all the Orphans and abused children from Flea Bottom eventually as well. To bring them to Dragonstone where they'll be able to get a good life and better education.
But such a project will take time. Houses would need to be build. A stable supply of food and clean water would have to be procured. He'll have to find caretakers who'll actually care for them instead of abusing them. Tutors who'll teach them. And a dozen other things.
For now… he healed her completely and even upgraded her nether regions so that she'll not suffer any further harm or injuries from her rough clients.
He sighed. He wanted to take her to safety right here and now. But if he did that, then other people will stop sending their kids to him. And he'll not learn the true extent of the rot that had spread in Flea Bottom.
"Sarah." He said to the girl after she'd been healed, and the girl's eyes widened at his words since she never told him her name.
He took her hand on his own and looked into her eyes. "I'll come back for you. I promise." He told her.
Her eyes opened wide, her jaw dropped open and her lips quivered as she stared at him for a long moment before she lunged forward and hugged him.
He gestured for his guards to stay back and consoled the girl for a few seconds before she was eventually pulled away as well by one of his more gentler guards.
"Next." The crier announced and the next person came forward.
—
"You smell." His father announced as soon as he returned to the Red Keep, mentally and spiritually exhausted from all he'd witnessed and learned about the people of Flea Bottom.
What was intended to be a Publicity Stunt turned into a lesson on the depths of human depravity instead.
It is not as if all of the people living there were bad. Most were simply a victim of their circumstances.
However, having personally 'Observed' some of the inhabitants with his own eyes, he could admit that some of Kings Landing's most depraved, vile and twisted individuals resided in that area.
It was so bad in fact, that he contemplated postponing his return to Dragonstone so that he could play at being Batman and eliminate the worst dregs of the society.
"You're observant, father." He said sarcastically. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?" Usually, he would be a bit more respectful to his father. But today, right now… he just wasn't in the mood.
His father's eyes narrowed at his blunt answer but instead of chastising him, he simply gave him a curt nod. "Come and meet me in my solar after you're done bathing. There is something we need to talk about."
He nodded and left to his room for a bath.
Half an hour later, he entered his father's solar.
He was still numb and exhausted from hours of healing people and learning about the truth of their dire situation. But he was feeling slightly better after the bath.
"Have a seat," his father offered, motioning towards the chair at the far end of the table. As he did so, he slid a stack of twelve parchments across to him.
Confused and a bit curious, he picked up one of the parchments and perused its contents. After reading it, he promptly tossed it back into the pile with a sigh of exhasperation.
"A betrothal offer from House Highwatch of Oldtown." He said as he looked at his father for explanation. "It's like, the 200th betrothal offer I've received in the past few months. What of it? Aren't they only a minor branch of House Hightower? What's so important about them?"
"Read the rest." His father informed him.
He held back a sigh and picked up the entire pile before he started going through them.
His high Agility, Intelligence and Speed Reading skill allowed him to go through each of the letter within a mere few seconds. And his eyes were wide open by the time he was done reading through them.
And as he did, a chuckle escaped his lips.
To think that only a month ago, he was thinking about how Jorah Mormont didn't win Lynesse Hightower's heart in the Lannisport. And here is a betrothal offer from House Hightower for the hand of the same woman.
Truly… the world works in mysterious ways.
Though, what was even more baffling to him, was the betrothal offer from House Redwyne. For the hand of one Desmera Redwyne.
He looked at the letter and then as his father who was gazing back at him with a stony expression.
"I thought you hated the Redwynes." He said as he gestured at the letter in his hand. "Why show it to me? Why not just throw it in your hearth."
"I did not hate the Redwynes. Only Lord Pexter Redwyne. And that man is dead, as is half the Fleet that once blockaded Storms End. Plus, I'm not so heartless as to deny my own son his rightful claim."
"My rightful claim?"
"Yes. You have the right to know about all the offers you've received, in case you wanted to pursue a maiden from House Redwyne."
"You think I am interested in House Redwyne?"
"You seem to be interested in ships, trade, and making wines." His father said with a scoff. "And House Redwyne is one of best at all three of them in the entirety of Westeros."
"Brandy is not wine. It's distilled wine. It's… never mind." He put the letter back into the pile. "And no, I'm not interested in a betrothal from House Redwyne."
"And what are you interested in? At this point, you have received proposals from nearly half of the major houses in all of Westeros, including House Lannister. The only reason the other half have not extended an offer is due to not having a suitable girl of marriageable age. What more do you desire?" His father asked.
"Lord Lannister offered me the hand of one of his lesser nieces. I would've taken it for an insult if not for the extremely high dowry he was offering along with her hand. Still, how would marrying a lesser niece from House Lannister ever benefit me?" He asked, raising an unamused eyebrow at his father. "Plus, I've yet to receive an offer from any of the other Great Houses. It is too early for me to make a decision."
"There are only 4 great houses in Westeros with eligible daughters." His father said "Asha Greyjoy, Sansa Stark, Margaery Tyrell, and Arianne Martell. I won't have you marry a Greyjoy. But the other 3 are still sensible choices, even though I would prefer it if you didn't marry into House Tyrell either. So, which one of these 3 would you prefer?"
He stared at his father for a long moment and asked. "Why are you suddenly so interested in my betrothal choices. You've never cared before."
"Because you're my son. And I have a duty to see you married. And House Hightower and Redwyne are two of the oldest and more prestigious houses in all of Westeros. Not to mention some of the richest and most powerful ones as well. If not these two, then who?"
'Daenerys.' He thought but knew better than to voice that thought.
Though as if reading his mind, his father froze and then gave him a deep look. "Tell me the truth son. The reason you're rejecting all these betrothal offers... is it because you have a higher ambition?"
His eyes almost widened at those words but he somehow managed to keep his composure. "And what do you mean by that father?"
Rather than responding, his father maintained a deep, intense gaze fixed upon him, searching for answers within his eyes. He must not have concealed his true feelings particularly well, as his father's eyes widened and he sat back on his chair, appearing shocked.
"You do, don't you?"
"I don't understand what you mean father." He said and Stannis slammed his hand on his table before glaring at him.
"Don't play stupid with me Stephen! Tell me the truth. Do you, or do you not…" His father leaned forward and stared at him intently. "…want to marry your royal cousin, Myrcella?"
He blinked at his father's question for a moment, surprised by a name that he hadn't expected.
He thought for sure that his father was going to blame him for going after Daenerys. But Marcella…
He let out a chuckle at his father's question and rubbed his eyes from exhaustion. "No father. I do not plan on marrying Myrcella."
His father's stare remained fixed on him, but now his expression was one of confusion.
"You… do not?" His father asked, skeptical. "Are you telling me that you do not desire to sit on the Iron Throne."
He managed to hide his expression slightly better this time behind his chuckles. "Half the men who sat on that blasted chair either went mad, became cruel, or gluttonous. Your own bother included. No, I think that I'll be fine as long as I stay away from that pointy chair."
He could see that his father didn't completely believe him. But he was done with this conversation so he changed the topic.
"I'm going back to Dragonstone tomorrow at dawn." He said "Don't bother coming to see me off. I would rather slip away unnoticed than be crowded by a mob asking for my blessings."
His father looked uncomfortable at the mention of his 'blessings'.
Despite being a few months since his powers were revealed. His father still haven't managed to come to terms with any of it. And looked distinctly uncomfortable whenever such a topic was brought up in his presence.
"Very well. Though I expect you to send a reply to each and every single one of these houses. Informing them about why you've rejected their offer. Don't just ignore those offers. These house-"
"Take offence at being ignored. I know, I know. I'll write a letter to all of them. Now, if there's nothing else father." He said as he got up from his chair and turned to leave.
But just as he was about to reach the door, his father shouted from behind him "Wait!"
He turned and looked at his father who now had a serious look on his face.
"Regarding the brothels you've built in Dragonstone." His father spoke softly. "I'll not demand that you to destroy what you've already built. But do something that goes against my explicit instructions ever again and there will be consequences. Do you understand?"
He stared into his father's eyes for a moment before he gave a curt nod and left the room.
—
He and Lysa lay in her bed, their bodies intertwined with each other as he played with her large breasts. His cock still was buried halfway inside her asshole, keeping in the cum that he'd released inside her in what was going to their last coupling for the next few months.
He has made a lot of discreet changes to Lysa's body over the past week. Most of them were changes to her figure that someone will fail to notice from over her clothes. And after an entire week of changes though… she'd finally reached the point where she didn't like an ugly duckling.
Her breasts were bigger and perkier, Her ass was wider, her waist thinner, her hair was vibrant, and her face looked slightly prettier.
She still wasn't going to win any beauty awards anytime soon. But fucking her didn't not feel like a chore anymore. Especially now, with how tight her asshole was thanks to his power.
Though he also had to use his power to Jon Arryn to put an end to his libido. Just to make sure that he won't go after Lysa anytime in the future and becomes curious about the changes in her body.
With how old Jon Arryn was, he doubted that the man would be very surprised by the fact that he couldn't get it up anymore.
In a separate line of though, he really should've tried anal earlier with Mel. Who knew that he would come to enjoy it so much.
He'll be sure to rectify this mistake once he goes back to Dragonstone. But for now… he needed to have some serious talk with this mess of a woman.
"Hey, Lysa. Get up."
She moaned in her sleep and squirmed closer to him but didn't make any other move.
Seeing that simply calling her out wasn't working, he took hold of one of her nipples and pinched.
She let out a throaty moan and her squirming intensified for a moment before she opened her bleary eyes to look up at him.
"What is it?" She asked, a bit annoyed at being woken up after she just fell asleep.
"I'm going."
"Then go." She replied grouchily. "You always leave without telling me."
"No, Lysa, I'm going back to Dragonstone."
It took a moment for the words to register in her mind but when they did, she eyes shot wide up and she turned around to face him. Uncaring of how his cock slipped out of her asshole and stained the entire bed with his seed.
"What do you mean you're going back?" She asked, looking at him in quiet desperation.
"It means I'm going back to Dragonstone. And I'll not be back for the next few moons."
"You're going to leave me here?"
"I can't very well take you with me." He said with a shrug. "I assume your husband would have to say something about that."
"Fuck Jon Arryn. Fuck his honour. Fuck is house." Lysa said before she gripped his cock, the anger in her eyes changing to desperation as she started stroking him. "Please don't go."
He stared at her silently for a moment before he shook his head. "I can't stay here Lysa. I have work to do back home. Construction work I need to oversee. Trade deals I need to make. And most importantly, I need to set out on another voyage. Remaining here is not an option."
"Can't you stay for just another week?" Lysa asked as she looked at him with pleading eyes.
"No."
"Just a few days. Please." She begged as she tried to hug him. It was pathetic to watch. And he did feel slight pity for the broken woman that was Lysa Arryn. But he couldn't stay here for the sole sake of fucking her.
"No."
"Please. I'll do anything you ask of me. Please don't leave me."
He stared at the woman in silent confusion. Wondering if she had really become this attached to him this quickly, or if it was merely her projecting her abandonment issues onto him.
Given the traumatic events of her life, including her mother's early death, unrequited love for a boy who preferred her sister, and her father's betrayal and forced abortion, it wouldn't be surprising if she had deep-seated abandonment issues.
Plus all the love and bonding hormones he'd been bombarding her mind with every single time they fucked. They must've played their part as well.
"I'm not leaving you Lysa. I'll be back in a few moons. And then I'll come back and spend as much time with you as possible." He told her.
The woman stared into his eyes, looking for any hint of deceit before she buried her faced into his chest.
"I still don't want you to leave me."
"It's only a few moons worth of time Lysa." He told her gently even as he held himself back from rolling his eyes.
"You promise?" Lysa asked as she looked up at him.
"I promise." He said before she started started to fondle his balls in an attempt to get him harder.
He tilted his head and gave her a questioning look.
"I want you to fuck me again before you leave." She said as she climbed over him despite her apparent exhaustion. "Give me a last memory to remember you with."
Then she slid down his cock, taking his entire length inside her pussy. And he let out a pleased humm before he took her by her hips and started to bounce her up and down on his cock.
They made love for yet another hour before Lysa finally became too exhausted to move and couldn't keep up with him anymore.
He came inside her, made sure that she won't get pregnant from his seed and got up to leave.
As he was wearing his clothes, Lysa weakly reached up for him.
He held her hand and looked into her eyes. "What is it?"
"You'll not forget me, will you?"
"I won't."
"Come back to me, please."
"I will."
Lysa gestured for him to move forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "That's for good luck. Please be safe."
"I will." He replied, amused.
Lysa smiled at him dreamily. "And thank you for the last week Stephen. And for healing my son. I feel so much better now than I ever did before you came into my life."
He remained silent and waited for her to continue. But it seemed as if the exhaustion finally caught up to her and her eyes fluttered close.
"Goodby Stephen." She managed to say as he turned to leave.
But then she said something else. And though her sleepy voice was too low for even his hyper sensitive ears to catch. He knew the contents of her words.
For in the very moment she murmured those intelligible words… his Company Device pinged.