Ronnet Connington SI

Chapter 5

-3 moons later-

-2nd day, 3rd moon, 296 AC-

Three moons have passed quickly as I was always occupied with something, either escorting Cersei, overseeing the training of the new recruits as well as that of the Red Griffons, or responding to missives from Erik my steward and Ronald my bastard.

Indeed, as in the original story, Ronald was born. Coming from a world where condoms exist, I did not fully grasp how quickly youngsters could conceive a child, and one thing leading to another, boom, what was bound to happen happened, and at only 14 years old, I became the father of a little boy.

His mother was a prostitute who, unfortunately, died during childbirth, which meant that I now had a 7-year-old kid on my hands whom I didn't see as much as I would like because I was often away. So, I decided to bring him to the capital so he could live with me a bit and start his martial training as soon as possible.

I didn't stop trading with Renly despite the queen's insistence on the matter because I didn't want to foolishly lose such a huge source of income that had boosted my wealth to new heights. On average, I earned about 100,000 golden dragons but had to deduct about 20,000 to satisfy the appetites of Renly Baratheon and that asshole Penrose.

I also learned one of the reasons why Renly boasted so much about scamming me out of so much gold. The reason is simple: I crushed his precious Knight of Flowers in several tournaments in the Reach.

When I understood the reason for his determination to put obstacles in my way, I almost stormed into his mansion to behead him, but I restrained myself and stored this debt in the back of my mind, waiting to settle it.

Today, like every day, I had to go with Cersei to watch her greatest pride swing his piece of wood around while she clapped along with her ladies-in-waiting or her servants.

-POV Cersei-

It had been 3 moons since Ronnet had chosen to pledge his allegiance to me, and to say the least, he was straightforward, which I appreciated about him.

I'm not a fool, and I know that most people tell me what I want to hear in an attempt to gain some favor from me, but he was the complete opposite.

Whenever I did something wrong, he recorded it and told me in private. Sometimes, I even forgot his age; he was so young yet so wise, it was disconcerting, but after 3 moons, I had gotten used to the idea.

Against all odds, he was also very blunt. Most of the time, he always spoke his mind and was not easily impressed. I realized this when he responded to Jaime as if he were a mere peasant and not my twin brother.

Although I reprimanded him for disrespecting my brother, I appreciated the feeling of being able to command such a strong, proud, and powerful man.

As a Queen and daughter of Tywin Lannister, I had access to great wealth and, by extension, great power, but no man from Robert or my father was entirely and solely loyal to me.

Although I hate to admit it, I knew perfectly well that without them, I had no power. But now, with Ronnet, according to his words, I could command 400 seasoned knights and a permanent army of 3,000 soldiers who had established their base camp on his lands.

I must admit, I did not expect him to have so many men, but once he revealed the amount of gold dragons he earned each year, I quickly understood why.

I smiled as I saw him enter my gardens and said, "Ronnet, we were just about to join the training yard to observe the improvement of our future king."

He said nothing and kissed the back of my hand, but I could see that the mere mention of Joffrey's training bored him deeply.

I frowned and then said, "It was you who advised me to train Joffrey every day for at least an hour."

He wanted to say something but remained silent, and I said, "I thought you were one of my few friends, a friend capable of telling me the truth."

He sighed and then said, "Your son is not bad, but he is fundamentally a coward."

My eyes widened, and I turned my head towards him, and he shrugged, saying, "I didn't want to tell you in this way, but I see no other way to say it. If I had to rate his swordsmanship, I would place his skill between that of a squire and that of a peasant."

"You're talking about the Prince," I said.

"You asked for my honest opinion, I'm giving it to you. In my view, he will never learn anything with his dog following him everywhere and opponents who are afraid to hurt him," he said bluntly.

"Jaime…" I tried to say in defense of my son before being interrupted.

"Jaime will never harm him. He teaches him how to strike and how to parry, but he will not punch him in the jaw or kick him in the balls. He won't teach him the difference between fighting and killing. He lacks the detachment for that, and I understand, but that's the truth," he said.

"He will only be 15 this year," I said, trying to defend my son.

He laughed dryly and said, "I was about the same age when I had to go to war, and with the king's drinking habits, it's better he's prepared sooner rather than later."

Deep down, I agreed, but he was my little lion, and I didn't want to hurt him intentionally if I could help it.

Once we arrived at the training yard's observation spaces, I saw what I had been seeing for months, Jaime parrying all of Joffrey's sword strikes while encouraging him to attack again and again.

I shook my head because even I, a lady, could see that it was a rather pitiful fight. I watched everyone present applaud despite the spectacle, and instead of the usual pride, I felt an unparalleled shame; some even hid to laugh at Joffrey as if he were entertainment.

I could see Renly and his former squire smiling while pointing at Joffrey, and once he slipped to the ground, I clenched my fist until my nails penetrated my flesh. None of them were applauding out of respect; they were applauding Joffrey as if he were a jester and mocking him.

I kept my composure for more than an hour, and once we left, I frowned. Ronnet had already warned me that the pride and love I had for Joffrey could blind me, but this was the first time I saw how right he was.