Becoming a Page and Going Someplace New

It'd been 5 years since I was born into this new world, and I was already going onto bigger things. Well, not that big. But it was still an advancement. The first step to my masterful plan.

What was that plan? Peace. I didn't care for the Iron Throne, only the power to deter Kings and Queens. If that meant I needed to become a King myself...then I would. But to become a King, you needed a background. Extensive and archaic. Filled with the power of a bloodline and the history of an entire House.

I had nothing of the such. I only had my unique Physiology but even with that, I was determined to carve out my own piece of the world.

No matter what.

First, I would become a Knight. Not because of the Title or position being a 'Ser' would give me but instead because of the training I could gain under a Knight if I played my cards right and showed enough talent to be able to squire under the Knight I wished to be a Squire for.

Secondly, I would bring my family out of the dishonor they have right now. I am part of House Connington. A House that lost it's Lordship and became a house of Landed Knights* due to Robert I Baratheon and our support of the Targaryens during his Rebellion. All because of my father's cousin, Jon Connington, who simply wanted to help his friend, Rhaegar Targaryen, against the houses that stacked against him. Potential, semi-confirmed love aside, of course.

(*A/N - Basically a Knight that owns land.)

As the second son of the Knight of House Connington, while I wasn't in complete luxury, I was living a live much better than I would have if I was born in, let's say, Flea Bottom.

I had enough food to feed my enhanced body and it's absurd growth while also having access to a bath whenever I wanted it. Not to mention my parent's love and the teasing of my older brother who was 8 years my elder. I lived a comfortable life, I guess. But such comfort also came with certain...strings attached.

Like right now how I was standing at a port with my family next to me, saying goodbye.

Mother hugged me, pulling me close like she was trying to squeeze the breath out of me. But with my body, I barely felt any of the pressure.

"Lucius, be on your best behavior, you hear me? If you act up, I'll be on my way instantly!" mother sternly warned me, yet I could easily hear and feel the worry in her voice and her being as she looked straight at me from an arm's distance away, her hands clutching at the high-quality tunic I was wearing and squeezing my arms like she was afraid to let go.

Nodding, I gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, mother. I'll behave," I said before turning to father, "Until we meet again, father," I gave him a nod and he returned the nod back to me, feigning a stoic appearance when in reality he was just as worried as mother.

Ronnet, my older brother, pushed mother aside and quickly brought me in for a hug.

I was tall for my age and despite the 8 year difference between us, I was only a bit shorter than he was. Smiling at Ronnet's actions, I hugged him back while speaking, "Ron, aren't you afraid you'll look like a child by overreacting this much? I'm only going off to be a page, you know? Not off to fight a war..." I trailed off, patting Ronnet on the back before forcibly removing him from me.

Seeing the green eyes he'd gained from mother and the ginger hair, I shook my head; like mother like son, I guess. Overly emotional to a tee.

Ronnet just mumbled 'shut up' before walking over to mother who comforted him, and he her. No doubt the two overly emotional dolts would cry as I left. The problems with being loved, huh? Anyway, turning away from them, I looked around at the armored guards that had brought us here alongside the carriage that carried us.

Across each and every one of the guards chest, a symbol was embedded on the left side of their chest - my family's coat of arms.

Two Griffins, facing one another in a fight. One, a white Griffin on a red background and the other a red Griffin on a white background.

But that hadn't been what I was looking for. My wandering gaze stopped on a wet nurse holding a small bundle of cloth that occasionally moved and made very baby-like sounds. Because it was a baby. My little sister, Alynne Connington. She shared the same hair that I gained from our father, Ronald, which was a pure red color and she took after our father in terms of eyes as well. Her eyes being an onyx black.

Which brings into question: What is my eye color? Well, it's not black. Neither is it my mother's green either. Instead, my eyes were the same color as my hair. A fiery red, that is. Or, as my father puts it, red like metal that is heating up.

Ignoring such irrelevant thoughts, I walked toward my younger sister and looked down at her. She looked back up, her black eyes not really registering me as anything other than a blur, probably.

It hit my 21st century sensibilities right where it hurt when I realized she wouldn't remember me or know me. Not for the foreseeable future, at least. But then my rationality came back and I knew why I had to go off and be a page in a different part of the Stormlands, and why even after that, I was probably heading to the Crownlands to become a Squire.

Still, it sucked ass to know my little sister wouldn't know me much. Even the times I could come back would be few and far between because of the lack of reasonable travel options in Westeros.

Just riding across the Riverlands takes a month or two. Doesn't help that Westeros is roughly the size of South America either...

Resolving myself, I bent down and gave Alynne a kiss on the forehead before I turned around just in time for one of the servants of my house to come over to my family and bow, "Ser Ronald, Lady Katherine, the boat is ready to set sail and all the belongings have been loaded onboard," he announced before turning to me, "If you will, Young Master*," he motioned passed him and toward the boat swaying from side to side in the dock.

(*A/N - He can't call him Young Lord because his father isn't a Lord anymore. Neither can he call him Young Ser because becoming a Ser is earned, not inherited. Hence why Young Master, while a bit Xianxia-esque, is fitting. He is the son of his master, after all.)

Giving a curt nod, I gave one last look at my family before walking toward the ship.

Though my time with my family was short, I wouldn't forget it. No, it would only serve to further give me determination to push onward. Once on the ship, the boards and ropes connecting it to the harbor were pulled away and the sails were let down. As I looked at my family and waved, I overhead something over the shouts of the men sailing on the boat and the guards I'd brought with me for protection.

I could hear my sister crying. Seeing mother perk up and rush over to Alynne and took her from the wet nurse. Seeing such an ordinary thing, I turned around and looked not at what I was leaving but toward the sea that held what I was going towards.

It's better to look forward and hope for what's to come, than to look back and regret what's been done, right?

. . .

The way the sea swayed and rocked the boat wasn't hard to get used to with my enhanced balance and learning ability. Just the former was enough to stay upright even with my zero experience of being on the sea but with the former, I quickly learnt the best ways to walk and how to move right on the boat without falling over.

Some of the sailors spoke in hushed whispers while some uproariously laughed, saying I was born to be on the sea with 'sea legs' like mine.

And coming from the few Ironborn onboard, that was a pretty good compliment.

Not seeing much point in being stuck up, after I learnt how to walk about and not get thrown over by the sudden waves impacting the boat, I sat down at a table with some of the other sailors and let them teach me the poker of this world.

It functioned off of the same principles but the suits were different. Well, King and Queens were still a part of the game. But Jacks were now Jesters. The four new suits were Knight (A black sword), Merchant (A red coin), Peasant (A black flea; though I was told that these cards were from the Crownlands and the black flea represented Flea Bottom. Other lands have another symbol for the Peasant suit) and finally, Lord (A red heart, ironically enough).

There were still pairs and three-of-a-kinds but a Royal Flush was called a King's Ransom and a Straight was called an Road, for some reason. Though one of them explained it was because like a 'Road' in Westerosi poker, a road is built one step at a time. Each increase from 1 to 2 to 3 being like steps along a road. It was all really confusing when I was so used to the term 'Straight' when playing poker. But I got passed it and began playing.

I couldn't say I was the best but they were definitely surprised when a 5-year-old understood enough this poker game to actually win a few hands.

Earned me the nickname of 'Little Bugger' which made my laugh. Despite being a part of a house, I wasn't that much different from these Sailors. House Connington was a tenth it's size before Robert's Rebellion and owned the tenth of the land it used to. It used to be one of the Stormlands bigger houses but now it's below even minor Lords in everything but history and prestige.

So, these sailors didn't put up airs and neither did I. It was fun.

But it was bound to end sooner rather than later.

Once I felt the boat dock against the harbor of where I was going to be spending quite a few years from now on, I stood up, bid farewell to the sailors I'd been playing cards with and rushed to the deck of the boat.

Upon getting onto the deck, I looked around before my eyes finally settled on the island next to the ship. I smiled at the rugged beauty of it. Green fields on top of rocky cliffs, with a magnificent castle stationed on top of it looking both beautiful and strong. Smiling even wider, I rushed to the board on the side of the ship and half-jogged half-ran across it before sprinting forward. My guards the servants of this island and it's House would get my things to my room in this new place, so I needn't worry about that.

Instead, I wanted to explore this new place. The island of Tarth.