Robert's Second Rebellion
Even in death, the pain was still there. That horrid feeling of his innards tugging any which way, straining against his hastily patched together stomach. Worst of all, whatever wine he had drunk, whatever herbs or potions they had given him in his final moments, nothing of that blissful relief remained in his body. He hurt as bad as before his final breath, and gods damnit, he had nothing to focus on but the pain because there was NOTHING else.
Only darkness, stretching into all directions, with him in the center, on his back, lying on a ground that wasn't cold, wasn't warm but still not comfortable in any way or shape. Nothing else. No one else.
"Robert!"
He knew that voice. He knew that voice even though he couldn't even remember it. It had been so long, so incredibly long but still, he KNEW HER VOICE. Gritting his teeth, he strained against the pain and dug his fingers into the not-cold, not-warm darkness that was the ground. He managed to raise his head. He opened his eyes.
"Baratheon!"
Another voice, half-remembered, even older than the first. A man, hard and harsh, but with an occasional warmth that a part of him still treasured, decades after that man had died. His eyes were burning from the strain but finally he could see them in the dark.
Seven. He was on the ground, in front of seven figures.
"Bloody hells!" He felt like throwing up. A spark of anger arose within him. Or maybe that was a piece of his lung tearing itself apart, it was hard to tell. He pushed himself harder, pushed his fat and dead body just a few more centimeters and then he sat in front of the Seven.
"Robert Baratheon, we have come to have words with you!"
Again, the voice of his father, Steffon Baratheon. The Father, he would bet on it.
"Robert Baratheon, did you think we would not hear? We would need know? That you died, cursing our names, our roles, our selves?"
A rasping voice, old as only a crone could be and this time he couldn't stop himself. Definitely anger, then, and not some part of his innards running wild after what that boar did to him.
"Bloody Hells, YES, I cursed you, on my deathbed. 17 years I kept the peace, your sycophants safe and your priests coffers full. 17 years in this cursed snake pit of a city and you judge me for my dying thoughts!"
"You curse us in ignorance, Robert Baratheon, so many blessings we have given you, but you offer only scorn."
His mother's voice, Cassana Baratheon, coming from the mouth of the Mother herself. It should have given him pause, maybe just a moment to remember her voice, remember her care. The memories failed to rouse themselves. But the anger came, as it always had, as it always did. When everything else refused to serve, Fury came as easy as a wineskin. And far more intoxicating.
"…you bloody bastards dare talk to me about Blessings. You took everything from me. You have given me nothing but SUFFERING!"
The pain had become a secondary concern at best, it was more important to GET UP. His wounds would not stop him, couldn't stop him. From where he sat, he struggled to put himself on his legs, even on his knees, but he could not sit here.
"We have given you guidance… ", again his father's voice, "...and care as only a Father and Mother can!" his mother's voice finished their lie, delivered with perfect timing as if to mock him even more than their words already did.
"YOU TOOK THEM FROM ME YEARS TOO EARLY!"
He spat blood form his mouth and continued to struggle, ever so slowly putting his immense weight on his legs but never letting his eyes wander from the Seven in front of him.
"I gave you strength, I gave you fury!" It was his own voice, his own young body, the Warrior resplendant, clad in the stag-helmet, hammer at his side.
"And no enemy to use it on for 9 bloody years!"
"I gave you a mind of steel, to do what must be done!" Tywin Lannisters voice, accompanied by the sound of iron on iron filled his ears as the Smith spoke.
"You gave me a bloody heart of stone, to order the death of a little girl half a world away!"
"I gave you wisdom, as seldom as you used it, it was still yours, freely given!"
"Anything I know, I earned in this damned city, by dodging every bloody viper you gifted wisdom to."
He didn't know how he had done it, but he had managed to rise to his feet once again, running on Fury alone, of that he was sure. Only anger could make him move when he should be dead. This was as far as his Fury could push him, he thought.
Another voice. Anything he had felt before this was nothing. It simply could not compare to the red haze that settled over his thoughts and words. The first voice. It was the trident, all over again. Swords of Steel, Armor of Steel and Armies of Ten-Thousands all to stop his anger and his armies. Lyanna's voice. Everything fell to his Fury and Hammer, those his anger did not kill, his men crushed beneath theirs.
"I gave you…" "One more word and I will kill you."
Silence was his answer as the seventh figure came closer. There was no voice this time. There was no face either, only a skull, grim and dead, staring him into the eyes. Judging him. Finding him wanting.
And then came a sense of dark amusement.
"I DO NOT GIVE. I DO NOT BLESS. I TAKE."
He narrowed his eyes but nothing happened.
"I'm not seeing you take a bloody thing here."
A rasping sounds came forth and it took him a moment to realize that it was chuckling. Dry, bony, laughter.
"I TAKE YOUR SON. WAKE UP ROBERT BARATHEON AND SUFFER!"
He opened his eyes, to a bright morning, soft sheets all around him and the smell of somehow not having puked his guts out after a night of drinking too much made him pause. SUFFER. He could hear the word, still thundering through his head, and he couldn't help but grimace at the memory of Seven Judging Figures. What a dream, he thought. What a stupid, senseless dream. He was not dead. He was not even wounded.
He sat up with an ease he hadn't felt in years, eyes roaming over his room. It didn't look like his room. Too much gold and red and not enough wineskins, goblets and bottles. Then he saw the mirror and within the polished surface he saw his face.
Robert Baratheon screamed, so loud and girly as only Joffrey Baratheon's mouth could.
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So, I finally got around to writing this down, I've been wanting to write this for some time now, so I'll see about writing around 1000 words a day, that should be both doable and not conflict with my other plans. Hope you guys and girls will enjoy the ride.