Bonus Notius (Chapter XII)
Lucius Domitius Aurelianus
Festive music and the smell of various exotic foods filled the grand hall. Lucius took a last bite from the honeyed pork on his plate, leaving only the ribs. The food he had just finished had nothing to envy the food he had become used to in his days as Imperator. He was sitting between Ser Myles Mooton and Ser Richard Lonmouth, but everyone had been eating silently and he hadn't spoken to them more than to greet them and introduce himself. Most men at the table wore red and black garments, Lucius included, but there were a few exceptions, one man in red and white, and a few others.
Superficially there seemed to be a cheery atmosphere at the table, which was filled with Rhaegar's friends and supporters. Still, someone like Lucius could see the subtle hints of general unhappiness that plagued the table. The looks of pensive displeasure staring at half-eaten food, men looking hesitatingly at the prince from the side of their eyes, forced laughter in response to forced jokes. Lucius didn't know anything about the situation in the King's court, but he had heard of the situation that had happened in the morning thanks to the maids' unending talking. When they realized Lucius didn't know anything about the recent happening they indulged in telling him everything and anything they had seen, heard, or been told by the mother of the sister of the friend of someone who saw it, to the last detail.
Apparently, there had been quite the commotion when, after winning the joust, the prince had decided to crown Lyanna Stark as his queen of love and beauty instead of his young wife Elia Martell, whom he had married the previous year and had already given him a daughter. Furthermore, Lyanna Stark and Elia Martell were both daughters of two of the most powerful lords in the realm, and Lyanna Stark was betrothed to Lord Robert Baratheon, who was also a powerful Lord. When the prince crowned Lyanna as his queen of love and beauty both Lord Robert Baratheon and Prince Oberyn Martell raised from their seats enraged by Prince Rhaegar's decision, or so the maids had told Lucius.
After a while, Lord Whent declared that the floor was open to dance and the food was taken away by the servants. The wine and mead on the other hand flowed in even greater quantities. People stood up from their tables and took to the big space in the centre of the hall, lords and ladies danced together to cheery tunes. Some just stood in circles having polite conversations with acquaintances who had been assigned to other tables. Lucius stood up with a glass of wine in his hand and excused himself from the others at the table, they went on to form their own circle to the side of the dancing.
Lucius looked at where Rhaegar was standing, alone in one of the corners of the Hall, the prince was looking his way, his eyes deep purple under the torchlight, and long silver-blond hair falling from his shoulders. The prince raised his glass, an invitation. Lucius raised his glass back and made his way towards Rhaegar.
The prince was wearing black boots, red trousers and a red tunic, with a black jerkin, with masterfully sewn red dragons and flames, over it. A black cloak rested on his shoulders, on it a beautiful three-headed dragon in red was depicted.
Lucius was wearing similar garments, but all of them were plain. He wore black boots, black trousers and a black tunic, with a plain red jerkin over it. On his own shoulders a plain red cloak. All the garments he had been offered to choose from were black or red.
"Prince Rhaegar." Lucius bowed his head slightly. "I've received your invitation." He told the crown prince, who would have looked more like a monarch than his father did if not for the fact he wore no crown.
"Lucius, is it?" The prince raised a silver-blond eyebrow slightly. "A peculiar name, clearly foreign. But you sound like any riverlander I've ever met." Rhaegar said, more a statement than a question, but clearly expecting an answer.
"You are correct, my prince, I'm from faraway lands, but I've been staying on a farm south of the Oldstones for three years." The prince took a sip from his glass as if inviting Lucius to elaborate. "I was born by the side of a river called the Danube, in a place called Dacia. It's been a long time since I left that land. Since then, the only home I've known is a small farm by the Blue Fork." He explained to the prince, who nodded seemingly satisfied.
"And your name, does it mean anything in your language?" The prince asked. Lucius nodded. "Lucius is a name given to children who are born at dawn; it derives from my language equivalent of light. Aurelianus is the name of my family; it was given to my father by a member of an ancient family, the Aurelii. The name comes from an ancient language now forgotten; it derives from the word sun, in your language." Lucius explained the meanings of his praenomen and cognomen, he didn't mention his nomen, following Sefton's advice, since the nobles of this land used only a personal name and a familial name.
The prince smiled, amused. "Then, your names mean sunlight when put together? An interesting name, with interesting origins, the sunlight of dawn."
He said contemplatively but with a smile still on his face. "What of this Aurelii you speak of, are they of any note?" The prince asked. Lucius took a long sip of wine from his glass as he remembered his visions while in the domain of The White One. "They were, in the days of yore. There are none left now. The lands from where I come from were conquered, our people scattered, and our legacy damned to oblivion by the tides of time." He said, bitter at the turns fate would take, or had already taken. He didn't know how long he had spent in the land of the god that breathed life.
"A sad tale." The prince almost whispered. "How old are you? You seem so young, I can't imagine living through such horrors at such an early age, do you have any family left?" The prince softly asked him. Lucius stood still for a moment, it seemed he had given the prince the wrong impression, but how to explain it? He decided to go with half-truths, he disliked lying but he would be thought of as a madman if he offered a more honest explanation. "I don't exactly know my age, but Ser Sefton thinks I have lived through fifteen namedays. As for my family, I don't have anyone left, although I like to think of Ben as if he were a younger brother." He told the prince, who nodded slowly.
"Well, Lucius, I've not invited you to join me at the feast just to ask about your origins, although they've proven to be more interesting than I anticipated them to be." The prince told him, an iron tone under the softness of his voice. "I've seen you fight through the tourney and you are impressively skilled for a young man your age. I wish to take you with me back to Dragonstone, there you will squire for one of the trusted Knights of my retinue, you will be trained and taught how to be a proper knight, and eventually, you will be knighted." The prince explained before hesitating for a moment. "Do you know how to read and write in the common tongue?" He asked Lucius. "I do not, my prince," Lucius answered, making a conscious effort to remember the proper etiquette on how to properly refer to Prince Rhaegar. "You will be taught how to then; you will be taught history too. As for your accommodations, don't worry, you will be given a room in Dragonstone. What do you say Lucius Aurelianus? Does my proposal align with your interests?" The prince asked although it was barely a question. There was only one answer really, but still, Lucius hesitated.
"It is certainly a generous proposal, my prince, but if I may be so bold to ask. Would you mind if I brought Ben along with me?" He asked the prince, who seemed unfazed by the question. "Of course, you can bring him along, I'll arrange for a room at the castle too, he will be properly taught. It is only right you look out for what is all family you have left. Any other requests?" The prince waved his worries away with a wave of his hand. "No. I accept your generous offer, my prince." Lucius bowed his head again, slightly lower than the last time.
"Good, we depart on the morrow, be ready by dawn." The prince told him, then took a purse from his belt and offered it to Lucius. When Lucius placed his hand on the purse to take it, the prince put his other hand on top of Lucius' and clasped it. "I'll take care of you now. There is a place in the world for you here." The prince gave him a fatherly smile, and then let go of Lucius' hand. They continued with a bit of polite conversation, but shortly after the prince excused himself.
After almost an hour of wandering around the hall without finding a place to fit in, Lucius decided to return to his room. He then made another decision and gathered his teammates in his room. Imry didn't respond to his knocks, and Sefton told him he would join him in a moment, but the others came with him. A few minutes later, Sefton joined them. While no one seemed to know where Imry was, he knocked on Lucius' door asking for his brother since he wasn't in his room, a suspiciously fortuitous timing in Lucius' opinion, but he didn't hold the thought.
"I'm sorry, to wake you this late at night, but I've been rewarded for our efforts in the tourney and thought it only fair that we split such reward evenly." He told them as he dangled the coin purse in front of them. They were sitting on the floor forming a circle.
"You don't hear me complaining," Ferret jested, a greedy smile plastered on his face, the men were in their smallclothes and Ferret was shaking a little, at first Lucius thought it was cold, but maybe it was just excitement. The others nodded, agreeing with the small thief. Lucius emptied the purse on the floor in front of everyone, divided the coins into seven equal stacks and put all of them together to show them they all had the same height. Ferret got on all fours and placed his head on the ground to be able to look at them from the side, he then sat down again and nodded his head satisfied. Each of them took a stack, each was now five golden dragons richer than they had been a few minutes ago, except for Lucius, who was now thirty golden dragons poorer, but he didn't need money where he was going so it didn't bother him much.
"Now that we are done with that, I've got something to tell you. Prince Rhaegar was impressed by Ben's and my performance in the tourney, so he has decided we would squire for a Knight in his retinue, and he wishes for us to serve him in the future." He told them, for a moment they remained silent, and Ben looked at him opened-eyed.
"Congratulations, I knew you two were made for great things, just don't forget about good old Sefton when you go around rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty, Cheers!" Sefton ended the silence with a genuine smile on his face before he raised his wine sack and took a long gulp. The rest followed his example and gave similar compliments, except for Tommard who told them "Good for you, I guess." But generally, there were many smiles and everyone was happy, being ten golden dragons richer had gotten everyone in a good mood. The celebration was short and to the point and soon everyone said their farewells and went on to sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day and a new life for everyone in their little ragtag team.
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