Three weeks have passed since Gwayne returned, he retrained in the art of chivalry and met the new people of the village, spent his afternoons with Daeron and Cerella, and many other things. He walked down the steps slowly watching the staircase window, outside, the rustling of the Heart tree screamed in the wind. Gwayne wished his grandfather would let him cut down that damn tree. he walked to the fireplace room at the very beginning of the castle, and found his grandfather and Cerella having breakfast. the sound of light morning rain came from the main door. He sat down in front of Cerella and asked one of the servants to bring bread and cheese, eggs and sausage. Cerella looked at him.
— Bad night, cousin? — she said eloquently.
She already had the manners of a lady of a great house. She watched him.
—Nothing out of the ordinary. — he replied quickly.
— We noticed that the dreams came back, Gwayne. He watched his grandfather.
— And it looks worse. — Ser Lymond becomes thoughtful.
— We should never have hanged that man from the Heart tree. muttered Ser Lymond.
—Did you say something, sir? Gwayne asked.
— No, a raven arrived from the capital last night, Maester Caster said, news from the capital, The King will hold a tournament in honor of the new hand. I will.
— I'll go too, I'm looking forward to testing my skills in the King's joust. — Gwayne said excitedly, looking at Cerella.
- You will not go. — Ser Lymond said firmly. And neither do you, Cerella.
- Why? Gwayne asked without understanding.
— I need you here, it will be good for you to learn a little about being a Lordly... — he said, looking him in the eyes. — I'm not just going to the tournament, I have matters to attend to in King's Landing.
—Besides, Ser Desmond says you're learning an important lesson about the longsword, all the more reason for you to stay.
— Well. — Gwayne said frustrated. Then he sipped the wine and took a bite of the sausage.
— And why can't I go? — Cerella said angrily. — could you introduce me to Queen Cersei and Princess Myrcela.
— How many times do I have to say that King's Landing is a dangerous place? — he said, furious. Eat your breakfast and go about your business, you Cerella to your knitting and dancing classes, and you, Gwayne, go straight to the armory. Then the grandfather got up and went outside.
Ser Lymond was a robust man with gray hair, still in his head, despite his advanced age, he is still a great swordsman. Gwayne thought.
Then, he and his cousin looked at each other.
— Grandpa has been very stressed these last few days, I think he misses Lady Lydia. Our grandmother was from the Rotherly house, she died six years ago. he thought.
— Well, I'm going to training. - he said. See you later. She nodded.
As he walked out the main door he noticed that the rain had stopped, the sun rose high in the sky and the soldiers were bustling about their tasks. He observed the large Heart tree for a brief moment, it stood on the left side of the castle like a large sentry. Afterwards, he walked to the armory to find Daeron, surprising he was already waiting for him.
— Ready to train? — he said, in an excited tone.
— I came here to call you precisely for this reason. He laughed. - Let's go.
Daeron was fifteen years old, his hair was dark brown, short, but he left locks in the front that reached his cheek and had beautiful waves. grayish blue eyes, feminine face, slender body with curves unsuitable for a boy. Gwayne thought. But he always adored him, he always protected him when the boys at training and in the village teased him.
Since then, Daeron has never left Gwayne's side. He is the son of old Darwin, the village armorer, but he never had a good relationship with his father, Gwayne believes it was because of his appearance.
It's not what parents expect from a boy, especially a gunsmith.
- Let's practice. — Gwayne said, looking Daeron up and down.
- Wait a little bit! — Daeron said, and ran into the house.
Gwayne was already sixteen years old, he was the biggest boy in the village, strong and tall.
Sometimes, instead of the Arsenal's sand rooms, they liked to train on the grass at the entrance square, an inappropriate place, but they liked to train there because of the girls' looks.
— Mainly from the look of the Kennel Master's daughter. She was a beautiful thing to behold and had eyes and desires for Gwayne, according to Daeron. The rest of the girls also just looked at him. Daeron was irritated by this, but never really cared. And sometimes, Lady Cerella would drop by to take a look at Daeron, who was very handsome, though different from Gwayne. However, she was already betrothed to a young man from the Clifton house. Ser Lymond had told him just a few days ago, Gwayne couldn't imagine his thirteen-year-old cousin marrying someone much older than himself. He spoke against it, but Ser Lymond said he had already decided, but he would wait for her to blossom, after which she would marry. Gwayne had no choice but to accept, but only after Ser Lymond promised that he was truly a young man. Then, Daeron returned carrying a spear in his hand, And throwing her to the ground,
— Then I will show you my spear skills. — Daeron said.
— moved quickly. - Let's go! — he shouted, swinging his sword in the air.
— Gwayne had defended without much difficulty and then counterattacked quickly, making Daeron retreat. He continued attacking until Daeron gave in completely, then he swung the sword with all his strength throwing him to the ground.
He laughed. And he helped Daeron up.
Gwayne learned everything he knows from Wulf, Ser Desmond, and sometimes Ser Lymond. That's why he always won, but sometimes he failed on purpose to increase Daeron's morale, obviously he didn't let him notice. Daeron was quick with a sword, he trained alongside Gwayne in the art of cavalry since they were little. Although his strength was the spear and the bow, he used his speed to fight the other boys. Daeron managed to hit Gwayne in the face, causing him to bleed from the mouth.
This time Daeron won, that's why Gwayne liked training with him, it was a great speed workout. A battle of skill. Upon seeing the battle, Ser Lymond said that Daeron would be a great knight.
— Ser Daeron, The Swift Sword. - He said.
Daeron was happy with the comment. And Gwayne too. Training was always fun, it was one of the best parts of the day for them, apart from bathing in the freezing lake after an intense workout, which left their bodies smoking. The water was extremely cold and clear, it was possible to see the bottom clearly, it was at most twenty meters deep and the bottom was cavernous with white walls and at the bottom thousands of white pebbles.
That's where they went after training, getting there, Gwayne grabbed Daeron and threw him into the lake. Then, he laughed.
— That's for cutting me! — He said, removing his clothes to enter.
He only had time to take off his shirt, until Daeron surprised him, quickly climbed the edge and ran towards him, Gwayne easily overpowered him and jumped into the river with him. And they both laughed. Daeron threw water in his eyes, they had to go out again to undress, Gwayne watched Daeron, his skin turned pink because of the cold of the water and his body was like that of a curvy girl. This time it was Gwayne who turned red, he jumped into the river so his friend wouldn't see him.
They played and swam, competing to see who could swim faster, Daeron won. Then they laid their heads on the edge, leaving their bodies submerged. He looked at Daeron next to him and couldn't help but think about how feminine he was, Daeron caught him looking at him. Gwayne looked away blushing.
He's a little cute, really. he thought.
He thought he felt this because he had been away from a woman for a long time, Thiri's body was slender like Daeron's, that must be why. — he thought. Then, Daeron got out of the lake and stretched his entire body upwards. He couldn't look away. So, Daeron urged him to leave. He wished he had a view to enjoy too, he knew that his friend had grown completely, and not just in height. Gwayne had accepted the challenge, he left the lake without shame, he didn't win a daring title for nothing. Daeron looked him up and down, his eyes stopped for a moment on Gwayne's waist, he widened his eyes in fascination, then looked away.
Gwayne began to dry himself with a cloth they brought. He lay down against the rock afterwards, I missed this place. Even though I've been here for three weeks, it's like I can't get enough. - He said.
Daeron seemed to understand the feeling, sat down next to it.
— Have you ever been with a girl? — asked Gwayne, curious.
Daeron turned red and picked up a wet piece of clothing and threw it in Gwayne's face, they both started laughing.
Gwayne glanced at a tree and looked back toward the lake.
— Aren't you going to sleep in the sun today? — Daeron asked, intrigued.
- Not today. — He said, getting up and diving into the river. He liked to take a nap under the tree after swimming, but he stopped liking it because of the dreams, before they were wonderful and now they are...
He dreamed of a girl who begged him for help, she had long beautiful silver hair, vibrant purple eyes. But sometimes in place of her perfect face, was a raw face and body of hers...
He didn't know what to do, although terrible, he didn't want the dreams to stop.
Somehow he became fond of the girl, even though she scared him at certain times, in some of those dreams she spoke to him, and he liked to listen.
It was a peaceful life in Golden Forest, the village where the Vikary castle of StrongPride was located.
Nothing bad happened here, there were no deaths except due to illness, the last crime that happened the criminal was hanged, but that was a long time ago.
They left the lake at dusk, it was not good to stay in the lake until night, there were stories of creatures from the drowned God who inhabited that place, like mermaids and worse things. Neither of them obviously believed it, and on some summer nights, where it was too hot to sleep, they would escape to the lake, the water was illuminated even at night, you could see everything below, the water glowed incandescent in a mystical blue in the light from the moonlight, it was magical. One day they even took Cerella along, she didn't want to go at first, she was scared, but Daeron convinced her that Gwayne was enough to protect them, so they went through the castle's kitchen and got some good things to eat, then gave a way to get past the sentries. They had fun for a good few hours, but Cerella was already sleepy, so they returned. The lake was in the middle of the woods that surrounded the village, a natural defense. he thought.
— Can I sleep in the castle today? — Daeron said looking down.
— Your father again? asked Gwayne.
— He started drinking again, he's going crazy. — Daeron replied, with a sad voice.
— You will always be welcome at my table, Daeron. - He said. In my bed, in that case. Then he laughed. Daeron smiled back.
— And my cousin also likes your presence. — Daeron blushed.
Gwayne drops his arm over Daeron's shoulder and says.
—Don't be so shy!
Then they burst out laughing, they were passing through the village square. Soon they arrived at the castle, they walked through the door together, their grandfather Ser Lymond. He watched them both with wet hair.
— How I wish I was your age again. — Ser Lymond said.
— Come with me, Gwayne, I have a gift for you and we need to talk about an urgent matter before I leave for King's Landing.
— Departure, sir? — he asked.
— Yes, I will leave for King's Landing today. Gwayne didn't think it would get serious so soon.
— Daeron can come along. — He said, heading to the hall.
— Your father is here.
The three of them walked to the main hall where Old Darwin was standing, who was holding a long sword.
He handed it to Ser Lymond who lifted it into the air.
— It's a beautiful work, Darwin, great quality steel sword. — Ser Lymond said.
The armorer looks disapprovingly at Daeron for being wet in the castle hall. Ser Lymond hands the sword to Gwayne.
— It's a nice gift, sir. - he said. On the guard of the sword was the figure of two carved lions roaring in steel.
— And there's more, complete armor, chain mail and a helmet.
Gwayne marveled at the armor, polished steel. And then he inspected the helmet.
— It's not a lion's head, but it will scare a lot. — Said the grandfather.
— I loved it, thank you. — he said in amazement. The helmet was beautiful and scary. It opened and closed, when it was open it looked like it had the teeth of a roaring lion.
— Your sixteenth name day passed and I wasn't there to give you any gifts. — He said, with a smile on his face.
- Here it is.
And for you Daeron, you will need one too, when my grandson wears this armor, you must be by his side. He has chain mail, and armor for the places that really matter, a helmet and sword. Old Darwin didn't seem to understand.
— You with full armor would be very slow and would die in the first battle, you are small and you have to prioritize speed, remember that, Daeron.
Gwayne is not yet a knight, but you will be his faithful squire.
— Finished Ser Lymond with firmness in his voice.
The armorer Darwin seemed surprised by all that, but he didn't dare say anything, inside he was proud of his son.
— Two lions, isn't there a Boar missing? Gwayne asked doubtfully.
— Give us a moment alone
said Ser Lymond.
Daeron and his father left the hall, old Darwin put his arm around his son's shoulders and began to give him advice about the war. — Gwayne was happy with that.
—Sit down, I have something very important to tell you.
He obeyed and was curious about it.
— The reason you don't have a boar guarding your sword... — Ser Lymond paused melancholy.
— It's because you're not a Vikary.
— Gwayne became unresponsive and stood up.
— Then I'm a bastard. — He said in a reluctant and sad tone.
— My father... — he said. — Wasn't he the son of a sister of yours who died a long time ago?
— Your father wasn't a Vikary. said Ser Lymond bluntly. he married your mother, my daughter, Lady Janne Vikary, and we are not Targaryens to marry relatives.
So, how can it be like this... He thought, confused and with his hands on his head.
— Was my father of low birth?
— On the contrary, his father was a Reyne of Castamere. — Gwayne looked astonished when he heard that.
— I found your father in the ruins of Castamere, squeezed into a hole no bigger than an armchair. — Spoke Ser Lymond, as if he were remembering past memories.
— I brought him to my castle and raised him as a son. And I loved him as such.
— You are part Vikary, but your heritage is Castamere. You are the last Reyne. The grandfather stood up and looked at the emptiness of the night through the window. He remembered that little boy running through his halls, growing up and becoming a man.
He puts his hand on his grandson's shoulder.
— I'm afraid you won't have enough time to deal with this. — Gwayne looked at Ser Lymond with tears in his eyes and fury in his speech, as he knew the history of the Reyne-Tarbeck Rebellion.
— Whose son is my father? — He said sobbing.
—Ser Reynald Reyne, most likely. But, to me, you look much more like Roger... — Ser Lymond said, placing his hand on his face.
—That's all I know. — Ser Lymond hugged him.
—You may be a Reyne in blood, but you are a true Vikary. Strong and proud. Remember this.