Stannon Baratheon who had just woke up, sat in silence, staring at Hilda who was recounting him of the events that took place in King's Landing this morning.
"He escaped," Hilda spoke. "The man with your face. The Kingsguard were in chaos, but he slipped away into the streets as his guards fought to buy him some time."
Stannon let out a deep sigh and rubbed his temples.
"Leave me," he said quietly. "I need time to think."
Hilda hesitated. But she had no words for him. Their leader was just recovering from the betrayal of his subordinate but before he could do so, he was hit by another terrible news of his father being murdered. No type of consolation could she provide that could make make him feel better. So instead, she gave a slow nod and left, closing the door behind her.
As soon as the door closed behind Hilda, the sad and tired look on Stannon's face disappeared like it had never been there. His shoulders relaxed, and instead of grief, a calm and satisfied expression settled on his face.
Leaning back on the bedrest, he tapped his fingers rhythmically, his mind going over everything that had happened in the past few days. Everyone believed Robert Baratheon, the King, was dead. But they were wrong. Robert was alive.
Stannon had sensed trouble long before the attack at the name day celebration. He had felt uneasy, a strong feeling that something was wrong. It had started the night before he left for Driftmark. He had been in Robert's chambers, where the air was thick with the smell of spiced wine and roasted meat. Robert had been laughing, telling stories of past battles as usual.
After a long talk as Stannon was about to leave, he got that weird feeling. He didn't ignore that feeling as he knew that there was a chance that his lightning reflexes ability may have been responsible for it.
The feeling was not the same type which he got when his life was in danger but it still felt a bit familiar. He had wondered at that time whether he had gotten this feeling due to Robert. There was going to be a grand celebration and Stannon wondered whether the feeling was connected to Robert's life being in danger. He also wondered whether he could use his ability on different people to predict if they would be in life threatening danger in the future.
So instead of leaving his chambers, he went back and sat in front of Robert.
He had told Robert his suspicions in the form of so called visions he would get. The celebration was happening at just the right time for an enemy to strike, and the danger was too great to ignore. Robert had laughed it off, calling Stannon a worrier. He was sure that no one would dare attack the King in King's Landing.
But Stannon had insisted.
"If I'm wrong, you can mock me for the rest of my life," he had told Robert. "But if I'm right, then your life depends on what we do now."
Robert had grumbled but eventually agreed knowing well that none of Stannon's visions had been wrong till now. They had come up with a plan—one that relied on fooling their enemies into thinking they had won. Also Stannon had not told about it to Colen either. Afterall there was no need to tell him in the first place as the less people knew the better. Moreover they had to leave for Driftmark and the rest of the plan was to be carried by Robert himself and Colen who was going with Stannon had no time to be involved
in it.
That was a good unintentional decision made on Stannon's part as if Colen had known about the plan then he definitely would have told it to Middle finger who surely wouldn't have wasted the chance to twist everything in his own favour.
The plan that Stannon had suggested was that instead of the King attending his name day celebration, someone else would take his place—disguised as Robert.
The first step was choosing the right man for the role. It had to be someone Robert trusted and someone who could mimic his mannerisms even a tiny bit.
To complete the deception, they sought the help of a Red Priest, the same priest that had preached to the poor regarding Daenerys being the chosen one in season 6 or something. The priest agreed to cast a Glamour spell, using the magic of R'hllor to make the man look exactly like the King. In return, he politely requested for a favor to be granted in the future.
He was found with the help of vast network of spies of Stannon and the man was already present in King's Landing for a quiet a while, slowly spreading his faith just like Thoros of Myr who was trying to convert Robert to the faith of light. Of course he had already asked Thoros whether he could cast Glamour but unfortunately the man was not capable of that. That is why he had to rely on the unnamed priest.
This was all done just in case there was any attack on Robert during the ceremony. And yet again Stannon's Lightining Reflexes ability had saved the day.
'Now where did these Lannister guys find a Red Priest capable of casting Glamour?' Stannon thought. As the person who was disguised as him and murdered the fake Robert definitely couldn't be a faceless man afterall in order to take other person's face the faceless men had to kill that particular person and do some ritual or something but Stannon was very much alive.
No matter how much he thought, he couldn't guess who the Red priest that helped them was. The GOT show definitely didn't show all the red priests present in the world neither did it particularly specify how many of them could cast Glamour. At least from what he knew that Glamour couldn't be cast by anyone and only few of the Red priests were capable of doing that.
As Stannon couldn't come to any particular conclusion, his mind wandered back to the thoughts of attack on Robert.
When the attack happened during the celebration, the man disguised as Robert had been the one who died—not the real King.
Stannon leaned back against the wooden bedrest, his fingers tapping against his knee as he thought about their situation. Robert had never been one for patience or schemes—he was a warrior, a man who met his enemies head-on with his warhammer. He was just glad that Robert didn't rush at them the moment the fake Robert had died.
Stannon could almost hear Robert's furious voice.
"By the gods, boy! Let me ride through the gates and smash their skulls in! Let them know the true king still breathes!"
But charging directly now would be reckless. The Lannisters had planned their move carefully, and they would have a backup plan in place. If Robert attacked without a solid strategy, he could get himself killed for real this time. No matter how great of a warrior he is, he can't survive attacks of hundreds of men.
So they needed to wait, they needed to be smart.
The Lannisters partly controlled the Red Keep, the Goldcloaks, and a part of the city's defenses,while the rest was controlled by him. He also had spies and allies in King's Landing—smugglers who knew secret ways in and out of the city, merchants who traded in information, and even some Goldcloaks who could be swayed with enough coin. Messages had already been sent in secret the moment Robert's death was announced. If the Lannisters thought their hold on the city was unshakable, they were wrong.
Now, the question was—when should they strike?
Option One: A Direct Attack
Stannon and Robert could return with a loyal force and take the city by storm. The suddenness of it would throw the Lannisters into chaos. Stannis and Renly would likely join the fight. But the Lannisters were ready for this. They had the city's defenses, the Goldcloaks, and possibly even the support of the High Septon. A full attack could lead to heavy losses, which would be terrible for the near future.
Option Two: Spreading Rumors
They could spread word that Robert was alive before making a move, turning public opinion against the Lannisters. If enough lords and common folk doubted Joffrey's claim, the Lannisters' power could crumble. But this would take time—something they didn't have. The longer Robert stayed in hiding, the stronger the Lannisters' grip on the throne would become.
Option Three: Joffrey's Coronation
This was the most tempting and logical option. The coronation would be a grand event, attended by the highest lords of Westeros. Tywin, Cersei, the Kingsguard, and all of their key allies would be gathered in one place. If Robert revealed himself at that moment, it would throw the realm into chaos.
If done right, the people would rally behind Robert, and they would get a golden opportunity to end the Lannisters and all their allies then and there.
Then there were the power players—Varys and Littlefinger.
Every piece had to be placed perfectly. Every move had to be calculated.
Stannon couldn't help but imagine the desperate look of the Lannisters before they would be massacred.
To be honest, he knew the Lannisters even tried all this shit because he himself wasn't ruthless enough to destroy them. His mentality of a person from modern Earth held him back from doing that. But now Stannon wasn't going to repeat that mistake again and he would not spare a single person, responsible for messing with him and his family.
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