Chapter 7

###############################################################

Caspian stood on the deck of the ship watching the port of King's Landing move farther and farther away. He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding and thought back absently to the conversation with his mother that he had had a few days earlier.

"Storm's End?" the Queen Regent asked. "Why on earth would you wish to go to that gods forsaken place?"

Caspian had resolved before going to see his mother in the small council chambers, where she was taking care of some business that his brother the king couldn't be bothered to handle that he wouldn't let anything she said dissuade him. This trip to Storm's End was as much to sue for peace, as it was to get out of King's Landing should anyone discover what he had done.

"Uncle Renly is there mother," he said calmly. "He has declared war on us due to those filthy allegations you claimed to Joff were lies earlier. He also seeks retribution for the death of his brother."

Cersei barely restrained herself from flinching, but Caspian caught it all the same.

"Whatever mindless delusions have filled your uncle's head are of no concern to us," she said dismissively.

Caspian glanced at his uncle who nodded for him to keep going. "They should concern us if Renly declares war on the Seven Kingdoms."

Cersei looked up at him with hard eyes and Caspian could tell she was listening. "Ravens have been received that Renly has sought a marriage alliance with the Tyrells. If he marries Lady Margaery, they too will turn against us. We do not have any allies in this war mother. Grandfather is off fighting the Starks and they pose a threat in and of itself. If Baratheon and Tyrell unite than they will march on the gates of the city and King's Landing will fall and all we have built will be lost. You cannot honestly say that that thought hasn't crossed your mind."

It had and he could tell.

"Why you though?" she asked. "We could send ravens to Storm's End to sue for peace. Why does it have to be you that goes?"

Caspian was glad he had prepared with his uncle beforehand. "Because his grace the king is too busy to make the journey and Tommen is still too young. As an aside is there anyone in this castle that you trust more than me who is able to make the journey?"

Cersei was quiet for a long time which he knew to be the face she made when she was thinking.

"And what if Renly should not listen to you?" she asked.

"He will," Caspian said confidently. "I have always been on good terms with Uncle Renly. He will listen to me I am sure."

This of course was a complete lie. He had no idea whether or not his Uncle would stand down but this mission was as much for peace as it was to get him out of King's Landing should the worst happen.

"And if Baratheon should join with Tyrell and Stark?" she asked. "What then?"

Caspian nearly grimaced and hoped that the gods would forgive him for what he was about to say. "Then you can be glad that one of your children is out of harms way mother. Uncle Renly would never harm me. And if that should be the case than I would send both Tommen and Myrcella back to Casterly Rock."

Her expression whitened in fear. "Suppose I were to say no? That I wish to keep you here by my side?"

"Then you might as well pack and leave for Casterly Rock at once," Caspian replied. "For Uncle Renly will march with the Tyrells and perhaps the Starks, and King's Landing will be lost. You will die, Joff will die and perhaps even Tommen and Myrcella as well. I know that is something you would never wish. So for the good of the realm….you must let me go."

He could tell that she knew he was right and was fighting against it with excuses and entreaties but after about a minute or so, logic seemed to win out.

"Very well my son," she said softly. "Go to Storm's End and sue for peace with your uncle. If it does not work, than at least you will be safe should the worst happen."

Caspian nodded. "Pray to the Seven that it does work mother. It would seem that we don't have any other choice."

She nodded and he kissed her hand before going to walk out of the room, thanking the old gods and the new for his luck.

"Caspian?"

He stopped and turned back. "Yes?"

She was watching him with an unfathomable expression on her face. Caspian didn't really know what to make of it but she held his eyes for a long time.

"If you should fail to convince your uncle, than I do not want you to come back here. Stay there until the war is over and I send for you. Or if the worst should happen….stay there until King's Landing falls and your Uncle decides to put you on the throne."

In that speech she was accepting the fact that she could die and Caspian nodded solemnly. She knew he would make it out of this war alive despite the fact that she and the other children might not.

"As you wish mother."

Then he turned and walked out of the small council chambers and across the Red Keep.

And he didn't look back.

It had been a grave farewell that he had given his mother but he knew it had to be done. Having held each other at arm's length for their entire lives it was a little difficult to become affectionate now. He knew that she saw a lot of Robert in him, a man she hated but that there was a lot of her in him too. He hoped one day she would be able to look past all of that and see him for his own person and not just his father.

In the meantime, his Uncle Tyrion had escorted him down to the docks while whispering instructions in his ear the whole while and Caspian had done his best to process them. But all he could think about was the fact that he was finally going to be leaving King's Landing and wouldn't have to be concerned the whole while about someone finding out what he had done. His bastard of a brother would be far enough away that peace would be his and even if the process of suing for peace didn't work at least Caspian would be away from the stench of King's Landing. He could read and spar and do all the things that he wanted to do when he had been in that damnable city.

He turned his expression towards the sea and the sunlight on the water. It was a good day for travel. There was a steady wind blowing, the water was unnaturally calm and there was not a cloud in the sky.

Caspian knew it would be around a week until they reached Storm's End but he didn't mind the long trip. It would give him time to read but at the same time reflect on what he had left behind and how exactly he would fit into this war that was going on.

He had currently received no word from Dragonstone from Uncle Stannis or from the Starks but he hadn't been expecting to at that point. It was safer if he heard nothing. The last thing he wanted was Pycelle getting word of it and reporting what had happened to Cersei.

The vile old man had been in the Tywin's pay for years and his mind was so addled it was a wonder he hadn't died yet from the insanity of his proclamations and long years. Though he suspect that all of this was a front by the grey rat.

Nevertheless, Caspian was quite glad to be rid of them all.

The Starks were safe for the moment and he wondered whether or not Lord Stark had managed to send a letter to his lady wife regarding what happened. Odds are war would still have been declared as he couldn't see the rest of the Seven Kingdoms bowing to his brother who word would probably have speculated about.

By now the whole of the Seven Kingdoms would probably know the truth and Cersei would be doing her best to shield Joffrey from it and Caspian himself could care less. At the moment he couldn't even care about suing for peace as King's Landing grew faint on the horizon.

He was free.

And after this was all over if he so chose, he would never have to see his brother again. He had an odd feeling that Joffrey wouldn't survive this war and that King's Landing would be forever changed by what had happened.

"You seem ill at ease your grace," the captain said and Caspian blinked as he hadn't realized he was standing that near the helm.

"Just the opposite captain," Caspian said. "The farther we get from King's Landing the more at peace I feel."

"Aye, the air in that place is foul," the captain agreed. He was a tough looking seafarer and Caspian remembered Stannis telling him that the man used to be a smuggler before he was employed by him. Stannis, while grateful for the man's service now still dispensed with his own version of justice by removing the top halves of several of his fingers.

Ser Davos Seaworth was his name and though he was employed by his uncle, the man made regular trips to Kings Landing to get a general air of the city. He had grown up in Flea Bottom and until his father's rebellion had been a smuggler for his own gains and riches.

That was until the siege of Storms End in which Stannis had been made to hold the fortress until the bitter end. They had eaten their horses and their dogs and had gotten down to their leather and their rats, when Ser Davos, now known as the Onion Knight to many sailed in through the siege of the Tyrell ships with his little black ship and his hull crammed with onions and salt fish.

In gratitude for the man's bravery Stannis had had him knighted, but not before removing several of the tops of his fingers as payment for his smuggling days. His sons were given the chance to squire with Stannis when they became older and Davos had often said it was something that he could never repay.

Caspian knew Davos well and there was no one he would have trusted more to get him to Storms End. He had also commissioned Allard, Davos second son, to transport Starks to Dragonstone.

He was also a man who was soft spoken and realistic in his speech. He called things how he saw them and never made allowances for the truth. He was also a man who could be trusted to keep his silence. Rare of a trustworthy man to find in whole Westeros. Before he left, Caspian had written a letter to his Uncle Stannis telling him that he was going to Storm's End and to direct his ravens there.

As soon as King's Landing disappeared completely, Caspian gave a deep sigh of relief.

"War is in the air," Ser Davos said. "Soon the entire channel between Dragonstone and King's Landing will be full of ships coming to invade the city. It's a lucky thing you're leaving while you still can your grace."

"Hopefully I'll go to prevent the war Ser Davos," Caspian said quietly. "My brother has no idea what he's started. But if he's chosen to start it than by the Seven Hells I'm going to end it."

"The luck of the Seven go with you your grace."

Davos was the only one who knew the identity of him on board as Caspian had decided he wasn't going to wear any amount of princely garb while he travelled. As far as he was concerned all it did was put a price on his head and a target on his back if the wrong people saw him.

This wasn't an official royal visit, it was a secret peace keeping assignment and the less people who knew he was on it the better. Therefore only Caspian, Stannis, Davos, Tyrion and Cersei knew what he was going to do. Three people besides himself was more than enough.

As he leaned against the railing of the ship, Caspian contemplated all that had happened in the last few months since the Stark's had arrived in King's Landing. He had made friends with Arya, rescued Sansa and her father and his brother with his insufferable pride had started a war.

No doubt by now Stark was with his uncle and the two were sending letters to every corner of the Seven Kingdoms about the truth of his siblings. Stannis would no doubt declare war as would Renly when they learned that imposters were sitting on the throne.

Caspian wondered absently how his uncle Jaime was doing but then found that he couldn't bring himself to care. The man had slept with his mother and was no doubt just as crazy as she was for allowing himself to be drawn in. How on earth that kind of union had produced two sweet children as Tommen and Myrcella he did not know. With Joffrey it made perfect sense, sadistic twisted bastard that he was, but Caspian was at a loss as to understand how the other two fit into it.

Foolish as my mother can be sometimes, I do not think that even she anticipated that my brother would be this poor of a ruler. Caspian thought.

Joffrey had only been king for a few weeks and yet a war had already been started. It didn't matter that Stark hadn't been sent to take the Black and had escaped instead. The North would never have suffered their liege lord to be put in chains on some unjust cause. If his brother was smart, he would have sent Stark to take the Black, kept Sansa with him as a guarantee of the North's behaviour and this silenced the idea of war.

If he had been in Joffery's position that was what he would have done. It would have guaranteed that the north would never rebel, kept a bride for the to be king and ensured that a war was never started by sending Stark back to them. But his brother was an idiot and only liked to see blood so he would have executed Stark in his madness.

In a way Caspian had dialed down a full scale war by freeing Stark and his daughters, but that didn't mean that Stannis and Renly would suffer to let an imposter sit on the throne after their brother was essentially murdered.

Ours is the Fury, were the Baratheon House words and Caspian knew them well growing up. In his own personal opinion they sounded far better than those of House Lannister.

A Lannister might always pay their debts but if fury fell upon them before they could do so than debt would have been paid regardless. His grandfather Tywin was a ruthless man and had not married after his wife had died giving birth to Tyrion. That was to his grandfather's detriment. In his own personal opinion if Tywin had wanted to carry on his legacy to such an extent he would have married again and produced more heirs.

As it was Jaime had no desire to inherit Casterly Rock leaving Tyrion to be its heir, though Tywin would never grant his second dwarf son the honour of holding it. Jaime had always been his favourite though he angered him by refusing to carry on the family name. Tyrion, the only one of his children with any brains was to marry some lesser maiden and carry on the Lannister name as his only reward.

The world is not very kind to those of us who are second sons, Caspian thought grimly.

He remained at the helm on the railing for a good deal of time and shared a meal later in the evening with Ser Davos as the sun went down and the two looked out on the water.

"Think you we should reach Storm's End within the week Ser Davos?" The prince asked and the gnarled seamen paused in the eating of his supper.

"Aye your grace, with a good wind we should reach Storms End within a few days. By the grace of the Seven your uncle should be there to receive you."

Though Davos was in the employ of Stannis he often made trips to Storms End at his employers request. He knew the place well and was happiest on the deck of a ship as opposed to a horse.

Before retiring for the evening, Caspian went down to his room below decks near the captain's quarters and pulled out some of the books he had brought with him for the journey. As he pawed through the pages, his mind began to wander to whether or not he would be able to convince his uncle to stand down. Renly was a stubborn man and his pride was the worst thing about him but then it seemed all Baratheon men were driven by their pride.

Caspian was aware of the fact that House Baratheon was standing on the edge of a knife. His father was dead, Stannis only had his cousin Shireen, a sickly girl with greyscale. And Renly needed not be mentioned, near whole Westeros knew of his preference in the bed. It would require Renly to cease whatever he was doing with Loras Tyrell and settle down and marry. The crown might need him to beget a good deal of children soon.

Tyrion had told him that Renly was still at Storms End after being recalled there before Robert's death and as far as he knew he had not left, though these were uncertain days.

Tyrion had heard rumours that Renly planned to unite the Tyrells and Baratheons as allies. They were wardens of the most fertile house in the Reach and Caspian had heard many times from his grandfather and he knew that an army traveled on its stomach. It would be a shrewd move if Renly were to marry Margaery Tyrell. And if the Stark's united with the Baratheons than all of King's Landing would be lost.

His grandfather could not fight a war from the North and the south as well as from the Storm Lands. The pincer attack by both armies would end the Westerlands army.

If he couldn't convince his uncle to cease warring than Westeros was about to be overturned like it was when the Targaryens were overthrown. Privately Caspian wondered if that might be a good thing. The Lannisters had held power for a very long time and Baratheon's had been only in name on the Iron Thorne. With Robert out of the way, it was the Lannisters who would sit upon the throne.

Caspian made a mental note to remember to send a raven to Dragonstone it his uncle. In it he would include a footnote to Lord Stark asking him that if they ever made it to the gates of the city he would show mercy to Tommen and Myrcella. Tommen, Caspian wished to go to Winterfell and Myrcella could return to Casterly Rock and he supposed his grandfather would make a decent match for her.

From there, Caspian set his thoughts of the war to one side and considered what he would do upon reaching Storms End. It wasn't just to convince his uncle to sheath his sword but he was also glad to have a little time to spend with his half-brother Edric who lived there with his mother Delena Florent. Edric was only four now and would soon start training in martial arts. Because he was the only one of his father's bastards who was conceived by a highborn lady. Edric had been acknowledged by Robert and had been send gifts every year for his name day.

Caspian had only met him one time a few years ago when he was still a baby. But the little boy had looked so much like him that Caspian couldn't help but want to spend time with him. Along with his father's gifts he himself sent little things himself to his half-brother every year. Caspian was the only one from the royal court who was also on good terms with his mother Delena Florent. Cersei and the other woman had avoided each other a few years ago, like the plague when they had visited Storms End.

But it was during that time that Caspian had grown to really loathe his older brother. Joffrey despised anyone who he thought was a threat. He couldn't intimidate Caspian and hated him for it, but his father's bastards if he ever saw them would serve as a means for his cruel entertainment.

Joffrey had played a cruel trick on Edric and caused the little boy to cry and skin his knee when he fell trying to get away. Fortunately Caspian had come upon them just in time and had swept his half-brother away and given Joffrey such a tongue lashing that it had left the crown prince speechless with fury.

Caspian had kept a close eye on Edric after that and it pleased him to see that Tommen had enjoyed his company a good deal as well. Cersei however was not pleased and did all she could to keep her son away from the bastard though she couldn't convince Caspian otherwise.

"It is not wise to spend so much time with your father's bastards," she told Caspian one evening while they were at Storms End. "Your father is not a level headed man and any spawn of his is a threat to our position."

"Forgive me mother but simply because you don't like Edric does not mean that it would be wise to pass on the disposition to me. Didn't grandfather once tell you that all men unless they prove themselves enemies can be useful allies? Edric is only a child but that doesn't mean that he won't prove to be a useful ally when he becomes older. His mother is a highborn lady and it might strengthen Baratheon alliances if I were on good terms with the Florents. Do you not agree?"

Cersei's face had tightened up a good deal the more Caspian had spoken and the second prince had wisely decided he had better not speak anymore lest she become extremely angry.

It seemed she had already.

"You are also a Lannister," she hissed. "You would shame my house by consorting with bastards? What would your grandfather say to that?"

Caspian smirked. "He puts up with Uncle Tyrion does he not? In grandfather's eyes Uncle Tyrion might as well be a bastard and yet he is allowed to carry on the Lannister name. If grandfather can put up with him I presume I can do the same with Edric. Tyrion will be married one day and will be expected to carry on get Lannister name. As far as I'm concerned, the same rules apply to Edric. I would be remiss in grandfather's teaching if I didn't regard him as an ally."

He had turned and left after, not really desiring to be around his mother's vicious words and cutting stares. He was right of course, his grandfather would want to look up on all potential allies. After all wasn't that how the Cleganes were brought into Lannister service and became some of their fiercest bannermen?

No his mother would alienate all potential allies due to her precious pride and the fear that any of his father's other sons would one day present a threat to her darling Joffrey's claim to the throne.

Ironically if not for him, Caspian believed they had more of a claim than Joffrey or any of his siblings since they were at least half Baratheon and not pure Lannister.

That was one of the reasons Caspian was quite eager to set King's Landing behind him. He could visit with his brother in peace without his mother breathing down his neck and demanding he act as a Lannister would by alienating all of his enemies.

The official Lannister words were Here me Roar, but Caspian thought that was a perfectly ridiculous expression because there had been very few times when his grandfather had chosen to not act with cunning.

By removing the Targaryen line and that of Princess Elia more than a decade earlier, the Lannisters had made an enemy of Dorne forever and were not on good terms with the north as it was. The Tyrells had remained loyal to the Targaryens and therefore were not invited to court very often when his father had been ruling. Though they were pardoned for being on the side of the dragons during the war, it was an unspoken thought that they were traitors. But because of their fertile lands it wouldn't do to alienate them.

Finally, having had enough thinking for the time being, he dressed for bed and committed himself to sleep being very glad that all the politics and the stink of King's Landing were behind him.

###############################################################

Sleep didn't come easy that night however due to the rocking of the ship and the unknown bed and his rest was disturbed with odd dreams. Caspian didn't usually have dreams when he had been at King's Landing but that didn't mean he didn't have them on occasion. Most of them included him flying or doing other sorts of things that he wouldn't or couldn't normally do when he was awake.

In this dream he was standing on the precipice of Storm's End looking out to see. There was no fortress there and he was the only one standing upon the rock. He wondered absently if perhaps this was what it looked like when Durran himself had challenged the gods on account of his life of the maiden Elenei.

There was a terrible storm brewing and Caspian could see that the lightning was so bright and so large that he felt it was going to rip the sky in two. The clouds were thick and black overhead and the thunder was so loud in the air that Caspian wanted to lie down in a hole and cover his ears and never get up again. The rain was lashing in his face like a hurricane and stinging his eyes and making it very difficult to see.

There were times when the thunder overhead almost seemed not to be the noise of a storm at all and rather that of a large beast galloping upon the clouds. Below the rock he was standing on, Caspian could see that the sea was writhing as if it were full of monsters and sea creatures that had come up to the surface as a result of the storm. The waves were crashing against the rock with such force that Caspian feared it would break in two and cast him into the waves.

He wondered why he was here and why the fortress he knew and loved was gone. Perhaps this was the way it looked during the time of Durran.

Caspian found the thunder quite soothing. The lightning striking the sea rejuvenated him from tiredness he felt during awake. He chalked it upto the mystic element of the dream, but his Baratheon blood sung to the roaring thunder in the sky.

A shaft of lightning suddenly broke the sky in two and stabbed downward right towards him hitting earth directly before his feet and leaving a large smoking crater behind. While, normally frightening Caspian suddenly found himself unable turned to run, as something was preventing him from moving where he stood for.

Strange Energy rang in his veins and his heart rate which had previously been high enough already seemed to take on the galloping of a war horse in his chest.

What is this new devilry? He wondered to himself.

All of a sudden there seemed a voice made from thunder coming from the clouds above him and the very sound of it nearly drove Caspian to his knees covering his ears.

"STORM KING!" The voice boomed. "STORM KING!"

It's voice caused his very bones to shake and resonate to his very core as Caspian was sure it was the voice of his ancestors calling to him. What other reason could there be for the way the voice made his very soul echo and his heart sing? The voice carried the booming quality along with the richness of power in it.

Unsure of where this newfound bravery was coming from, Caspian got to feet and stared out into the eye of eye storm.

"Here am I!" He cried as loud as his voice would let him. "Here am I!"

It seemed awfully low in the face of the terrific storm and but it seemed as if whatever voice that was booming from the heavens was waiting for an answer from him. He was the only one around and Caspian oddly felt as if he were being the one spoken to.

The voice didn't come again and Caspian got the oddest feeling he was expected to say who he was before it would speak. The lightning continued to flash overhead and the thunder roared and the waves continued to crash against the rock of Durran, and the sea to writhe as if it were water boiling in a pot.

So he took a deep breath and stepped forward so he was standing in the crater where the lightning had struck just moments earlier.

"Here am I!" He roared as loudly as he could. "I am Caspian of Durrandons! The last Storm King!"

To his utter shock, his voice seemed to grow louder like that of the thunder or some ancient sea beast that was roaring its defiance to the heavens. It seemed to deepen and bellow and roar like that of a storm, the very storm that had torn Durran's fortress apart centuries earlier.

In that instant, Caspian thought his own voice had become like that of a storm. He had heard tales and fables of legends of the Storm Kings of the past, who were said to have been blessed by the Storm God himself. Wielding thunder and lightning in the battle, they defeated the mighty Demons and beasts alike in service of the divine gods. They were descended from Durran Godsgrief and had conquered the storm forever.

He had no idea where that title had come from but the words had sprung to his lips as easily as if he had said them one hundred times before.

There was a long silence where the absence of the thunderous voice could be felt and Caspian had almost given up hope of hearing it again when the bellowing reappeared, but this time Caspian heard it both all around him and deep within his chest.

"FIND THE STORMBREAKER!" The voice then cried louder than when it had asked him his name before. "GO EAST STORM KING!" "GO EAST!"

###############################################################

Caspian came awake with a yell as the dream ended with a crash. He sat up in his bunk, his heart pounding as if he had run a long way without having a rest and it took him several minutes to calm himself down so that his breathing returned to normal.

His befuddled sleep confused mind tried for a moment to make sense of what he had seen in his dream. The booming voice from the clouds that had frozen him where he stood was still echoing in the back of his mind as if it were ingraining itself there so he wouldn't forget what he had dreamed about. To his astonishment, he saw a little arc of lightning trailing from his finger to the wooden floor of the ship. He thought he was still dreaming.

The voice had called him a Storm King and he had answered as such and his waking self was more than a little confused, particularly after the lightning. Though the Baratheons had been Lords of Storms End for centuries they had never gone by the title of Storm King's since Orys Baratheon had slain Argilac the Arrogant.

And their definitely had not been any lightning wielder in history of Baratheon. All he knew were the old fables of Ancient Durrandons, who were said to be the Lightning Storm. Else Rhaegar Targaryen would have been a burned pile of flesh at Trident from Robert's hand.

So where on earth did that title and lightning come from? Caspian thought. Especially from me?

He was considering the merits of the dream and had just decided to get out of bed, light a candle and write it down in one of his books so he could remember it, when there was a sudden crash and he almost leapt from the sheets in a fright.

It turned out that while he had been dreaming he was in the middle of a storm, another was taking place outside the ship. The hull was rolling and bucking like a stag and a sudden wave striking the side of the ship caused the prince to be tossed out of bed landing nearly on his face.

Cursing, he pushed himself to his feet and quickly dressed before stumbling to the window and looking out.

The sky was a dull grey making him think that it was early morning but there would be no sun today. The rain was lashing against the glass with such fervour as if it were trying to break it and Caspian could hear the thunder roaring overhead. The smoky clouds were low over the sea and off in the distance Caspian was sure that he could see flashes of lightning appearing in clouds drawing nearer and nearer it seemed.

What is it about myself and storms? He wondered. No matter where I go and even in dreams they seem to find me.

Deciding that he was going to get no more sleep that day, Caspian decided he had better get on deck and do what he could to help the ship weather the storm. He didn't know much about ships himself, but that didn't mean that he couldn't take orders from someone who did.

Once this course of action took hold in his mind, he seized the handle of the door, threw it open and strode quickly down the hall and to the stairs leading up to the main deck.

The moment he was out the door of the room, the exact rolling and bucking of the ship took hold of his legs and nearly cast him into the side of the hull. This of course caused a stream of curses to pour forth from his mouth before his got his feet beneath him again and lurched for the stairs.

After what seemed at least five minutes he got out onto the deck of the ship and was nearly bowled over by one of the sailors who was racing past him to secure the rigging.

Davos who was hard pressed to get a grip on the helm was looking grim and grey as the storm worsened. When he caught sight of Caspian his eyes widened slightly.

"Your grace!" He shouted. "You had best get down below. I don't want to tell your royal uncle you were swept overboard in a storm!"

"Nay Ser!" Caspian yelled back. "You will need as many hands on deck as possible to get out from under the grip of this storm. I do not know much of ships but tell me what to do and I will see it done!"

Ser Davos didn't look happy but in the end he acquiesced. "Secure the rigging!"

Caspian had only been at sea a few days and had just barely gotten his sea legs beneath him. It showed because he was hard pressed to keep from sliding all over the rain lashed deck. Somehow in the end he managed and helped some of the sailors secure the rigging as best he could.

The thunder was roaring loudly overhead and the rain was lashing in their faces, soaking Caspian clear through to the bone. It was a wonder he could hear the instructions of the other men. Somehow he managed in the end and the sail was tied tightly to the mast.

After that, Caspian made his way to the helm to help Ser Davos keep a hold of the wheel. He couldn't do much more than help the aging captain keep a tight grip on it to keep the ship from spinning out of control.

They weren't able to talk much and when you are using every muscle to the full to keep from falling or losing your grip on something, talking really isn't on your mind.

Caspian braced himself and strove not to let go of the helm for the wind was trying dearly to drive them off course from their intended destination south. Caspian, though a lean boy found he was fighting the storm itself to keep the wind from driving their ship further south from Storms End than they intended.

"Is the weather this close to Storms End always this temperamental?" Caspian shouted. This would be only his second time coming to the place and for the life of him he couldn't remember there having been such a storm the first time.

Perhaps that had been because they had ridden to the fortress as opposed to sailing to it however.

"Oh aye!" Davos yelled back. "The summer storms are the worst near the edge of Durran's Rock! We're nearing the fortress your grace! You will see the fortress of Storms End within a few hours. The Shipbreaker's bay certainly earned its name."

Nothing more could really be said after that and Caspian decided it would be better if he didn't for every time he tried to open his mouth rain water would fill it causing him to spit it out and cough.

Finally he simply gave up and focused on helping Davos maintain control of the wheel. Wherever the old seaman turned, Caspian went and only used his strength to help hold the ship while Davos did the steering.

After around an hour or two, the rain began to lessen and Davos bid Caspian go down into the hold and change his clothes which were soaked through several times over. They would be in Storm's End in a few hours. Caspian was so tired he didn't even remember changing his clothes and falling back into the bed for a few hours before there was a knock on the door startling him from his dreamless slumber.

"Enter!" he called out when he had made himself ready.

A man bearing the Baratheon sigil on his uniform opened the door slightly. "Forgive me your grace, but we are coming into the dock at Storm's End. Ser Davos asks that you make yourself ready."

Ah so they were here at last. It had been a few days since he had left King's Landing and Caspian was already eager to be off the ship and back on solid ground again. His ancestors may have been good sea farers, but he did not receive that from Orys Baratheon or the Storm Kings.

After assembling the things he had brought with him, his sword and the few books Tyrion had sent with him, he hurried up from below decks and was just in time to see as the ship pulled broadside into a magnificent view of Storm's End.

The fortress was built on a peninsula itself with only a strip of land connecting it to the mainland. The rock it was built on jutted high up from the ocean itself and the waved that crashed against it would never reach its walls.

A castle rested on the top of this rock and it was in Caspian's private opinion the most beautiful one in all of the realms.

There was a tall bridge with arching rocks connecting it to the mainland and the fortress itself was surrounded by high walls to guard against a sea invasion. Caspian could see the high towers from this distance and see guards walking across the tops of the battlements.

There were no gold cloaks in Storm's End but then there wasn't as much crime here as in that stinking cesspit of a capital.

The sea air dived into his lungs and brought out whatever air that had still been left in their from King's Landing and all of a sudden Caspian felt as if he could breathe again. He took a deep breath of the fresh cool air and allowed himself a grim smile.

Finally…at last….he was free.

Ser Davos came up beside him and leaned against him on the railing while the landing boat was lowered.

"It seems as if there is a contingent of men coming to receive you your grace," he said.

Caspian looked where the old smuggler was pointing and saw that indeed there was a collection of armored guards on the shore standing at attention. They bore the Baratheon sigil of the stag upon their armor and they seemed to be waiting for him to reach the shore.

Leading them was a familiar man.

That's Ser Cortnay Penrose, Caspian realized with surprise. He's the castellan when Uncle Renly is away from his seat at Storm's End. I would have thought my uncle would be here to greet me. Where is he?

After Caspian got into the landing boat with Ser Davos and the two began rowing to shore, the prince began to wonder more fully why it is was that his uncle wasn't there to greet him. Tyrion had sent him a letter a few days before Caspian left King's Landing so by all rights it should have been there by now.

But he stuffed his questions for the time being and focused on the familiar shore line while he waited for Ser Davos to row him in.

It took around ten minutes to get from the ship to the sand and the moment both feet were planted in the uneven ground the men behind the knight and Ser Cortnay Penrose knelt in the sand and did something completely uncharacteristic of the man since Caspian had last seen him.

"All hail his grace, King Caspian Baratheon, first of his name, ruler of the Andals and the First Men and the Rhoynar. Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, we humbly welcome you to Storm's End."

The title caused a shiver to run up and down the young man's spine as it was something he thought he would never hear.

Caspian blinked twice stupidly before he addressed the knight. "Please rise Ser Cortnay what in the Seven Hells is going on here? Where is my uncle? I thought he would be here to greet me."

Instead of answering right away, Ser Corney turned to Ser Davos. "Thank you for your service Ser."

Into his hands a leather pouch was placed that jingled with coins. Ser Davos nodded at Ser Cortnay and inclined his head to Caspian. "Your grace, I will make for Dragonstone. Your lord Uncle will wish to know that you have arrived safely."

"Thank you Ser Davos," Caspian said absently, still feeling a little windblown from the greeting he had gotten.

"Your grace." The old former smuggler got back into the row boat and seemed to make with all haste towards his ship once more.

"Come your grace," Ser Cortnay said. "Your uncle bid me take you to the castle so you may await his return."

"Return?" Caspian asked hating that he was confused and feeling even more so. "Where has he gone? I had thought he would be here to receive me."

"It seems that when Lord Stark escaped the black cells in King's Landing he sent a message to your Uncle Stannis proclaiming the illegitimacy of Joffrey Baratheon, or should I say Waters?"

Caspian barely managed to hide a grimace.

So it was true then.

Lord Stark and Sansa and Arya had made it to Dragonstone and told his uncle all. No doubt Stannis had sent letters to the rest of the major houses in the Seven Kingdoms and proclaimed that his brother's claim to the throne was false.

"Am I to understand Ser Cortnay that my uncle is not in Storm's End because war has been declared?" he asked apprehension rolling in his stomach like sour milk.

"Aye, your grace," the knight replied. "Lord Renly rode out this morning to marshal the Storm Lords and has left instructions that you are to remain at Storm's End until he sends for you to take your rightful place on the throne, or else join him in battle against the Lannisters. You are the only true born son of Robert Baratheon and thus the only one with a claim to the throne besides your uncles."

And there it was. Due to that thrice damned storm that had delayed them for several hours Caspian had been too late to reach his uncle in order to sue for peace. War had been declared and his uncle was soon to be marshalling an army to march to King's Landing and cast the Lannisters down from power.

The Starks were fighting in the north and the Lannister army led by his grandfather would no doubt make for the walls of King's Landing with all haste to defend the city.

Caspian suddenly felt sick.

"Did my uncle say when he would be back Ser Cortnay?" he asked absently.

"No your grace. He said that when you arrived you were to be taken into the castle immediately and he would send for you in due course."

How comforting.

As Caspian followed the castellan up the many stone steps in the rock face towards the fortress of Storm's End the sick feeling in his stomach continued to bother him.

War had been declared. His uncle had left to marshal an army. King's Landing would soon be under siege. The Lannisters would be cast down from power. And he would be the new king that would sit upon the Iron Throne.

Caspian thought grimly then that they were seeing a new era come upon them.

An era of war.

And things would never be the same after this.

###############################################################