Chapter 9: Ormund Baratheon's Wish

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"I heard that you got acquainted with Lord Arryn and the heir of Lord Stark." Said Ormund without turning his face to Steffon. He had heard that his son had made new friends on the way. He had to admit that he was impressed by his son's ability to make friends.

Not only did Steffon become friends with the crown prince, Aerys Targaryen, and the heir to House Lannister, Tywin Lannister, in the Capitol, but he had managed to form a good relationship with Lord Arryn from the Vale and the heir to the North, Rickard Stark. He only needed a Martel and a Tyrell, and he would have made allies with nearly all the Great Houses in Westeros.

"Well, they are good people, so I did not mind having them as my brothers." Said Steffon with a smile as he looked at his father's back. It was a pleasant thing for him to hear his father's praise since his father was a little stingy in praising him. Ormund thought that it was the right way to treat his nineteen-year-old son.

"You have to cherish your relationship with them, you understand? They could help you later." Said Ormund with his stern voice. He knew that although his son was good at making new friends here and there, he might destroy them with his foolishness sometimes.

"I understand." Said Steffon as he shook his head. He did not know why his father always treated him like a child when he was nineteen. He had become an adult and could take care of himself without his father's warning. He did not know that the reason behind his father's behavior was Ormund's promise to his Targaryen wife, who died young when Steffon was just and young boy. Before she died and left Ormund and Steffon alone, she made Ormund promise her to take good care of their own son, Steffon, who was a little foolish in his childhood. Ormund loved his wife a lot since the two were childhood friends as Rhaelle spent most of her childhood in Storm's End. He did not even think of taking another wife or touch another woman after she died. So he made the promise and behaved like that since then. He saw that this was the only way for Steffon to grow the way his wife wanted. You all can look at the result of Ormund's attitude from Steffon's behavior.

"How is Cassana?" Asked Ormund with a soft smile changing the topic to his favorite one as he looked at Steffon. The only thing that made him smile all this time among this chaos was his memory of his grandsons. Although he did not meet Robert except once in his lifetime, he still cherished this memory and kept it close to his heart. He also waited for his second grandchild to come to this world so that he could name him or her himself.

"I was worried about her at first when I got the news back then, but Cassana is a strong and smart wife. She was the one who prepared everything for me before I left. I was relucent to leave her and the baby in her womb, but she assured me that there was nothing I should worry about." Said Steffon with a soft smile after he remembered his wife's words before he joined this war. Steffon should have accumulated enough good karma in his past life for him to be able to marry someone as amazing as Cassana in this life.

"Haha, Good." Said Ormund as he was pleasantly overjoyed after hearing what his son said. He was not wrong in his choice back then when he agreed to betroth Cassana and Steffon, who was just a child back then. He was more relieved that his second grandson would be fine and grow well in her care.

Suddenly, Ormund, who had been looking at his son all this time, had a bad feeling about this battle and thought of a terrible fate that might await him in this battle. What if he died and could not see his first grandson again? What if he could not name his unborn grandchild if he died in this battle? No, that would not do. He had to make sure that at least one thing of the things he wanted happen.

"Steffon, look here. If I did not survive this war and ended up dying in the battle, you have to remember what I will say now, well. If the child was a boy, his name will be Eddard Baratheon. If the child is a girl, her name will be Theresa Baratheon. Promise me." Said Ormund with a grave expression as he looked at the upcoming island. Although he was the leader of this campaign, he felt a little uneasy about this war, and his intuition did not fail him once. He decided to tell his son his will before anything happened.

Steffon, who heard his father's words that were a little disheartening, was a little surprised as he did not expect his father to say those words at this time. Actually, He and Cassana had already thought of a name for their forthcoming child and did not know what to tell his father after hearing his words. He could discuss this thing with him after the war, so he decided to agree with his father at the moment to comfort him.

"I understand." Said Steffon as he thought it was not the right time to discuss the name of their child. They had much more pressing matters to take care of at this moment. They were about to fight a war, and any distraction from their foremost goal would result in a disastrous defeat.

Ormund nodded his head with a smile after hearing Steffon's words before turning his sight to the island in front of him. On the island, a large army carrying the banner representing the Band of Nine was waiting for their arrival on the shore. They would have to penetrate their defenses as fast as they could once they got down. He looked at the men on the ship and raised his voice.

"Men, Are you ready to defeat those foreign invaders?" Said Ormund with a loud voice as he shouted out loud after turning his eyes to his men.

"Aye." Shouted the men on the ship. The other men on the other ships followed their action after hearing the screams of their fellows.

"Are you ready to kill all those damn invaders that wanted to kill us and take us as their slaves?" Shouted Ormund again to raise the morale of his men before the battle, and he succeeded.