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°➶☽∘ ✧ ∘☾➴°
𝟐𝟕𝟖 𝐀.𝐂.
──────
𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎'𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒅
𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐍'𝐒 eyes burned with tears as she clutched the scroll in her hand. The paper had blotches on it, some dried, some fresh. Calla knew they were tear-stains. The dried ones were from Robert and she knew it. He was the only other person to read the scroll.
Her grandmother, Rhaelle Targaryen, had already known. The messenger who brought the letter had given his condolences to the dowager Lady of Storm's End. The look on her grandmother's face flashed in her mind, the stone cold look on her usually kind, soft features of her face and also the brokenness behind her purple eyes. Calla could not imagine the pain losing her only child.
She could tell from the moment she heard why her son, and his beloved wife, were dead that Rhaelle blamed her nephew and his ambitions. King Aerys II Targaryen had sent Lord Steffon Baratheon and his wife, Cassana Estermont, to Essos, in search of a bride for Prince Rhaegar who was nine-and-ten and still not wed.
He had hoped the Lord and Lady of Storm's End would find a maiden in Essos that had Valyrian descent with silver-hair and purple eyes. Steffon and Cassana had not found a lady, but, in a letter he had written to his only daughter, the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands claimed he found a fool so funny, he could make Stannis, her rather dour older brother, laugh.
She would never meet the fool, nor would she ever see her father and mother again. They died when the ship they were sailing on, the Windproud, got caught up in a raging storm. The ship sank and so did her beloved parents.
She wondered if the storm was like the one raging right outside the castle's walls or if it was even worse. She shivered at the thought of their boat rocking back and forth, the sounds of her mother's cries, and the curses her father would have let out.
The Baratheon soon found herself so deep in thought that she did not realize her grandmother had entered the room until the woman placed a hand on her shoulder. Calla's had turned towards her grandmother as the touch brought her back to reality, however. She looked into her grandmother's purple eyes, the ones she had inherited, only to see sadness and worry in them. As she looked deeper, however; she saw fear.
"What is it?" Calla asked as she took her grandmother's hand in her own. Her hands were cold and trembling.
"It's Robert," Rhaelle breathed as she started to look frantic.
Calla's eyes widened as she thought of her brother. The news had made her temporarily forget about him. She hadn't even thought of how he was going to react but she knew the answer then: with rage.
He had always been the most temperamental of the three elder Baratheon siblings. Calla needed no more information before she asked, "Where is he?"
"The training yards," Rhaelle replied.
Calla was out of her room and running down the hall in a matter of moments. She knew her grandmother wouldn't mind her abrupt dismissal as she headed towards the training yards. The thunder cracked overhead like a whip as Calla finally reached the open training yard.
The rain poured down on her the moment she stepped outside. She ignored the droplets hitting her face as she looked around the training yard. Her eyes widened when she found her brother fighting a helpless knight, who was no match for her brother's fury.
Robert's war hammer came down on the young man's shield once again just as Calla's eyes found the scene. From what she could tell, the boy was losing severely to her brother who was twice, if not three, times his size, and driven by fury and sorrow.
"Robert!" She called out, not wasting any time as she ran over to them. The man, who's war hammer was held high in the air, ready to strike again, paused and looked over his shoulder to see his sister running towards him.
When he realized who was running his way, the rage drained from his body and his hands fell to his sides. The war hammer fell to the ground with a loud 'thunk'.
He was embracing her in less than a minute. Calla was slightly surprised, she had thought she would've had to talk him out of beating the boy bloody and putting away his war hammer. The fight had left him, though, she could tell.
She struggled slightly to hold his weight as he practically collapsed on her. His face pressed against the side of her neck and Calla cupped the back of his head in her hands, rubbing his back slightly.
"They're gone!" He exclaimed as the rain poured down on them, "They aren't coming back."
"I know," Calla whispered, trying not to cry herself as she slowly led them inside, "I know."
Their grandmother was waiting for them in the corridor once they had gotten back into the castle. She had a sad look on her face as she noticed that they were both drenched in rain water, with puffy eyes and broken hearts.
The rest was a blur, the next time Calla found herself calm, her thoughts not threatening to make her head explode, she was in a steaming hot bath. Her head rested on the rim of the tub as the maids fluttered around her. She didn't look at them, knowing their eyes would only show her sympathy if she did.
She didn't want sympathy. She wanted her parents back.
Once she was bathed and her body was relaxed, she dismissed her maids, giving them the night off. They all seemed pleased with her, but the Baratheon did not notice as she climbed into bed.
The thick duvet brought her comfort as she settled down. She was about to fall into a restless sleep when the door to her room cracked open. The girl's eyes fluttered open as she looked towards the door.
Her grandmother was standing in the threshold, a small smile on her face.
"Grandmother?" Calla questioned. Rhaelle did not say a word as she sat down on the bed next to her only granddaughter. She brushed a piece of dark, damp hair from her forehead as she let out a sigh.
"I had a feeling you couldn't sleep. Would you like me to tell you a story?"
"Yes," Calla smiled.
"What about?" Rhaelle wondered.
"About King Aegon V Targaryen and Queen Baela Targaryen," Calla replied with a hint of excitement in her voice.
Rhaella nodded, "King Aegon V and Queen Baela were not always the king and queen of the Seven Kingdoms, once they were. . ."
