Anniversary Tourney V

(3rd Person POV)

"If you didn't sleep while we were watching the archery, you would not have been punished like this. Why were you sleeping anyway?", Stannis ask Robert as they walk through Kings Landing. Robert has made remarkable progress in his special form of 'shadowboxing'. There were two people who Robert thought of when he came up with the training. 

The first was Baki Hanma. Baki is known for his unusual training methods, including shadowboxing while imagining that his next opponent is with him. This allows him to anticipate his opponent's every move in the actual fight and also helps him spot their weaknesses much before the combat. Despite not being able to master any style of combat instantly like his father, Baki is able to learn them much faster than others and coupled with his imagining makes him near equal to Yuujirou.

The second one is Sasaki Kojirou. Kojirou can use something called Senju Musō.

Senju Musō is Kojiro's innate ability and talent, allowing him to memorize and analyze his opponent's moves to simulate them inside his mind, visualizing and battling them until he finds a way to defeat them. Kojiro often uses this ability to predict his enemy's movements via mental simulations, creating and breaking down the thousands of possible attack patterns they might have by analyzing their constitution, gait, breathing and blinking all before the fight even begins.

Using this, Kojiro has memorized the attack patterns of all the people he's ever faced throughout his life and, because of this, he can simulate fights with his previous opponents at any time in order to train with them and become more powerful. After doing this process for a certain period of time, Kojiro can even copy his opponent's techniques and integrate them into his own fighting style.

.

Robert's way of doing it is a mix of both of those but would be considered closer to Sasaki Kojirou's way of doing it. He tried to do it outside of his mind, by imagining his opponent and then fighting him physically. That way, he could gain muscle memory.

"I was not sleeping. I was training.", Robert replies. 

"Aha, whatever you say. So what are we doing here anyway? We have been walking around randomly for an hour.", Stannis ask. 

"I am looking at the state of Kings Landing. I look at the architecture, the people living here and the quality of life. I am also putting any faces of spies to memory.", Robert replies as his gaze passes over men, women and children. There was a presence in this city that seemed to be nigh-omnipresent. And that was the orphans. They were everywhere Robert looked. And not only that, he could feel their gazes on him. 

Someone was using children to spy on him and Stannis. But not only that, Robert suspected whoever it was, to use them for spying in general. There are not many that come into question. Robert had long memorised the important players of the game and the members of the small council were at the top of the list. The most probable man was Varys, also called the Spider. An eunuch from Essos, who was called here by King Aerys to act as his Master of Whispers. 

Little birds are what Varys calls his network of spies all over the Seven Kingdoms and perhaps beyond. At least that's what is said. Robert also questions the loyalty this man has to Westeros. What would compel such a man to be loyal to the crown and Westeros as a whole? He didn't grow up here. 

This little walk through Kings Landing served to find out about the power dynamic inside Kings Landing and also somewhat the 7 Kingdoms in their entirety. Thanks to Robert's training, he has become very perceptive and can pick up many things just by looking. His perfect memory and limitless storage, help him create files on anyone he sees, like a computer. 

.

"What do you mean the quality of life?", Stannis asked.

"The way the smallfolk live and how happy they are. What they think and especially what rumours they think they know.", Robert said as they reached the worst part of Kings Landing.

"Ugh, are you finished yet? The smell has just gotten worse and I didn't think that was possible.", Stannis remarks, holding his hand in front of his face. Robert though didn't react. He seemed to be fine with the smell and that was somewhat true. He was slowly adapting to the smell and getting used to it. 

The reason the smell just dropped in 'quality', was due to the destination they had just reached, Flea Bottom. The poorest slum in King's Landing, the foulest and most lawless district of the city. 

[Picture]

Robert stood in place and watched the people of Flea Bottom go about their day. The Bottom had a stench to it, a stink of pigsties and stables and tanner's sheds, mixed in with the sour smell of wine sinks and cheap whorehouses. 

"You see Stannis, Kings Landing began as a boom-town after the Targaryen Conquest, but no one planned it - it simply grew. What had started as Aegon I Targaryen's initial foothold and stockade on the mainland mushroomed in size so quickly and haphazardly that several slum districts developed, the largest and worst of which was Flea Bottom.

By 10 years after the Conquest, Kings Landing had reached the size of a true city, almost as large as Gulltown or White Harbor.

By 25 years after the Conquest, it had outgrown both of them in size, surpassed only by Lannisport and Oldtown. It is unclear when this slum known as Flea Bottom first congealed out of the mud during this rushed expansion, but the earliest chronological mention of Flea Bottom is in 49 AC.", Robert started to quote the different kinds of books he had read. 

He had read many different books about Kings Landing and had combined, compared and analysed their contents. There was a reason why he was interested in Flea Bottom.

"So? Why would you care about this district? The people here are more likely to attack us than any other in Kings Landing. And there would be nothing anyone could do about it. Our titles mean nothing should someone rob or kill us in an alley.", Stannis said. 

"It is my belief, dear brother, that the lowest and vilest alleys in Kings Landing do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside."

"...What? That makes no sense. There are more crimes here than anywhere else. What do you base your theory on?", Stannis asks. 

"Books and my own conclusions. I care about this district because it has 'potential'.", Robert says. 

"Potential? What do you mean?"

"There is no other part in Kings Landing that has so much potential for growth and change, like Flea Bottom. The things we could do here-"

"No no no no. I know that look. You get into your building mode when you look like that. I refuse to be your 'partner' in this project you have planned.", Stannis refused before Robert could explain. 

"But I didn't even-"

"No! Simply no. And that is final.", Stannis says. In the future, he would think back to this moment and ask himself how it ever got to that point. But we don't want to spoil him.

.

The two stood there, watching the daily life of Flea Bottom as some people noticed them. It was rather strange for two young boys like they were, to come to Flea Bottom. So the smallfolk naturally took notice of them. Ironically, the one they took notice of more, was Stannis. For the simple fact, that Robert had once again not worn his 'nice' clothes to walk around Kings Landing. 

"Oy oy oy, would ya look at wot we 'ave 'ere, a couple o' toffs? Wot are two fine lads like you doin' 'ere, eh? You lookin' for your mum's tits?" a man with black teeth, dressed in rags asked them. He was a corpulent man and was part of a non-legal gang if his friends were anything to go by. 

"'Ahahaha. Look at 'em, Dodgy, all lost like some puppies."

"Hehe, d'ya reckon we could sell 'em? Might fetch us a nice price."

"Bah, you idiots, these two might be searched for. Wot d'ya fink would 'appen if we just sold 'em?"

"But if we're fast enough, then no one might no'ice."

"'Hmm... there might be some truth to that."

"Brother...", Stannis was still wearing his stone mask, but there was slight desperation heard in his voice. Robert looked back and saw that the exit to Flea Bottom was cut off. So running was no longer an option. His brain went into overdrive. He observed everyone around him as fast as he could. He got everything about them with a short glance and then moved to the next. In a matter of seconds, he had created quite detailed profiles on them. 

"Just wot, eh? Slummin' it for a bit o' fun?" Dodgy spat, his eyes shone with mischief. "'Round 'ere, lads like you don't last long."

"Heh, maybe we should teach 'em a lesson, show 'em wot it means to be on our turf," said another man, skinny with a face full of scars. His eyes were sharp and Robert counted quite a few knives underneath his rags. 

"Aye, let's see 'ow noble blood fares in a real scrap.", the corpulent man, Dodgy, chuckled darkly. 

"We ain't lookin' for trouble.", Robert spoke. He used the same way of speaking these men used to appear like one of them.

"Trouble's wot you found, mate," Dodgy sneered, moving closer. "An' now you gotta pay the price."

"Maybe we strip 'em, take their clothes an' leave 'em in their undies," suggested the scar-faced crook, his grin revealing more than a few missing teeth.

"Or better yet,", someone said, "we could ransom 'em. Bet their rich folks would pay a pretty penny to get their precious boys back."

"Ah, now you're thinkin'," Dodgy agreed. "But first, let's give 'em a taste of the rough side."

"Bah! Noble, do ya know wot that word means? Maybe once it used to mean somethin', but today, it only means that some rich folk can spit on those who weren't born that lucky. I for one know the true rulers of this place are those who work 'ard like you. In fact, I can prove it. I learned from a jester to do some fancy tricks. Are you interested?", Robert said and had a mischievous smile on his face.

"Huh?"

...

..

.

Sounds of armoured feet moving on the stone street were heard. Quite a few members of the City Watch as well as Steffon Baratheon and his wife Cassana had arrived at Flea Bottom. Accompanying them was Lord Symond Staunton, the Master of Laws. 

A small panic had washed over the Baratheon Household when they found out that the two boys hadn't returned from their 'short' trip to the Red Keep. Steffon Baratheon had gone to his old friend, Tywin Lannister for help in searching for them. The Hand of the King had quite a lot of power in Kings Landing and was, of course, ready to help. 

But it was a fool's errand. No one in the Red Keep had apparently seen them for the last hour or so and those who had, told the scared father and mother duo, that they had left the Red Keep long ago. This of course created an even bigger panic for the two parents and they approached King Aerys with their conundrum. 

After listening to their plea, he asked Varys, his Master of Whispers whether he knew something about the location of the two boys. Varys expressed his heartfelt sympathy but told them that he hadn't heard anything. He promised to keep an open ear though. 

- 2 hours later -

After two terrible hours, Varys notified the Baratheons that he had heard about two boys going to Flea Bottom and meeting a rather unfriendly crowd. A small party of City Watch was organised and the Master of Whispers also accompanied them. 

When they arrived in Flea Bottom, thanks to the 'little birds' of Varys, they saw a large crowd of people circling the boys. Their laughter echoed off the grimy walls. Steffon and Lord Symond Staunton made their way to the front and pushed everyone to the sides until they reached the centre where two boys were sitting and drinking some lemonade.

"... until the wench says: 'That's 15 Gold Dragons.'"

"HAHAHAHAHA" "HEHEHEHE" "HAHAHAAHHAHAHA"

"ROBERT! STANNIS!", Steffon shouts and runs towards his two sons. He embraces them tightly and doesn't want to let go. Eventually, he does though and lets them to the ground. He looks around angrily and turns to Lord Symond Staunton.

"I want everyone here, put to the block or thrown into the cells for endangering my sons!"

"NO! Father, don't", the voice of Robert is heard. 

"Robert? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing happened. These lovely folks just thought we were some pompous nobles who were looking down on them. But we proved to them that we weren't like that. They're good men and women.", Robert explained. 

"Aye, those are some good lads you got there, ser lordly man. 'E's got nice tricks an' a funny mouth on 'is face. We didn't 'arm 'em at all, I promise ya," Dodgy says.

"We can even give ya back your money. It was sweet, but we wouldn't ever take money from a child. We ain't that rotten yet.", a woman wearing revealing clothes says, holding a gold dragon in her hands for Robert to take back.

"No, Matsy. I gave that to ya as a present. I wouldn't be the man my father raised if I 'ad ya give it back, now would I?", Robert tells her and closes her hand around the coin.

Matsy smiles brightly and then bends down to kiss Robert on his cheek. 

.

Steffon looks at the men and women of Flea Bottom. All he sees are happy faces when they look at his two sons. 

"Lord Baratheon? What would you like me to do?", Lord Symond Staunton asks him. As the Master of Laws, he knows how hard it would be to get any sort of justice into Flea Bottom. 

It is a downtrodden area of town, rife with poverty and crime. A maze of twisty, unpaved alleys and cross-streets, making it hard to truly capture any criminals right away. He could capture all the known thieves, but that would create civil unrest and that wasn't what he wanted. So if Steffon Baratheon wanted to have these men and women captured, he would have a lot of work on his hands and in the end, it could lead to more problems than anything. 

"Let them go. If my sons say it is fine, then it's fine.", Steffon says after thinking about it a while. He understood the burden of Lord Staunton. 

"Come now. We're going back.", Steffon says. 

"See ya 'round, everyone. Dodgy, Manny, Matsy, take care of yourselves.", Robert said as he and Stannis were led away by their father. 

"Aye, you as well, Rob. Come back to visit us.", Dodgy says. 

"Don't go breakin' too many girls' hearts, Robert, and you as well, Stannis.", Matsy says with a mischievous smirk. 

"Hahahahahaha"