It was a rare occasion for Kevan Lannister to have his entire family gathered together for breakfast. He, his wife, and all five of their children. Only Lucas had yet to arrive.
"Father," little Janei, his daughter of ten name days, murmured from her mother's side, "when will big brother come?"
"He should be here soon, daughter," Kevan replied with a smile. "Your uncle wanted to speak with him this morning."
Janei pouted. "But I am getting hungry. And yesterday Mother made me go to bed so early. I did not even get to watch the whole feast."
The entire table burst out laughing.
"I did not know my sister was so upset about missing the feast," Lucas' voice rang out as he entered the room.
"Brother!" Janei giggled with delight.
Lucas ruffled her hair gently before taking his seat next to Kevan.
"Mother, Father," he greeted them warmly. "Lancel, Willem, Martyn."
The breakfast was served and the family dug in. Lucas had always shared a close bond with his family. Apart from Kevan and Lancel, the fates of the rest were never touched upon in the cannon he knew, but that did not matter. He would not allow harm to come to any of them.
His very presence had already altered much, especially where Lancel was concerned. Unlike the stammering, weak-willed and cowardly boy from the initial story of the cannon, Lancel was shaping into a decent knight. Not a very great warrior perhaps, but braver and stronger for Lucas' steady guidance. Willem and Martyn, only a few years younger, were following the same path.
"So," Kevan asked, "how did your talk with my brother go?"
"I will go," Lucas answered simply.
"Where?" Dorna asked, frowning slightly.
"To King's Landing," Kevan supplied. "He has been summoned to fix the city's sewage problem."
Dorna was surprised but said nothing. She was never one to interfere in the affairs of her husband and son unless absolutely necessary. Besides, she trusted Lucas' judgment.
"You agreed rather quickly," Kevan remarked. Lucas nodded.
Kevan, like Tywin, was also interested in the price Lucas would be charging for his services but like Tywin, he too had been left hanging in suspense about what his demands would be.
And as Lucas' father, he had a gut feeling that his son was surely going to stir up a trouble.
"Brother," Lancel interjected eagerly, "can I come with you?"
"Cousin Cersei promised me that next year King Robert would take me as his squire," he said. "Is not that right, Father?"
"Yes," Kevan smiled, "but—"
He did not get to finish. Lucas' voice cut across the room, louder than any of them had ever heard from him.
"No," Lucas said sharply. "You will not serve as Robert's squire."
A frown settled over the faces at the table. It was rare indeed for Lucas to raise his voice.
"If you wish, you can come to King's Landing," Lucas continued, more evenly, "but not now. And you will not become Robert's squire."
"Son," Dorna asked, concern creasing her brow, "what is it? You seem so worked up about this."
Lucas shook his head. "Robert is not fit to take on a squire. You would learn more at the side of any common knight. As his squire, all you will do is pour wine day and night and perhaps count the number of "
He stopped himself before saying, 'whores he fucks in a day,' but the look on Kevan's and Dorna's faces told him they understood well enough.
Lancel fell silent. Though disappointed, he showed no sign of resisting Lucas' decision.
"All right," Kevan said at last, easing the tension with a calm nod. "It will be as you say, Lucas."
"When will you depart?" Kevan asked shifting the topic.
"In 7 days," Lucas replied. "By that time, I want to settle the merchants and business of my wine. I have to think of a name for it too."
"Ok!" Kevan replied. "Your wine is going to be a hit."
.
.
.
For the next seven days, Lucas busied himself with setting up the business model for his wine. In honour of the origin of such a fine creation, he named it Sky Pearl Purified Wine.
He carefully selected merchants from among those men on whom he had successfully used his power of tame.
These trusted individuals would serve as his agents, tasked with introducing the wine to the noble houses. Since no one yet knew of his wine, these merchants would carry dozens of barrels with them to offer demonstrations. If the nobles liked it and Lucas had no doubt they would the product would be sold to them.
Although Lucas had stockpiled enough barrels to last a couple of years, he established strict quotas and limits on how many barrels each noble house could purchase, depending on their wealth and status.
No amount of extra payment or lavish inducements would alter these allocations.
Lucas had no intention of flooding the market with his wine. Exclusivity was key. By tightly controlling supply, he would ensure that Sky Pearl Purified Wine remained a highly coveted luxury, reserved only for the discerning elite.
Apart from this, a squadron of 50 soldiers from the elite force and 50 Lannister guards all of whom Lucas had already bound with his power of tame were selected to accompany him to King's Landing.
Gary, his sworn sword, would act as their commander.
In the meantime, Lucas had also used the power of tame on Gary and had purified his body. However, since he had not yet revealed the truth of his powers to Gary, the purification was done with restraint. It was slightly more potent than what he had performed on the elite force, but still significantly less than what he had done for Tillie.
Lucas had already decided that he would never tell Gary about his powers. Instead, he planned to purify Gary's body fully over time, little by little. Whether Gary knew or not was irrelevant to Lucas. What mattered was his unwavering loyalty.
Tillie, of course, was to accompany him to King's Landing as well.
And how his earlier involvement in the politics was going to affect the course of the story? Only time could tell.
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