Chapter 42

Though you were only telling the Truth, Marie really didn't appreciate it, but neither was she happy about being led astray by the Gods, so you would still say that the Conversation turned out in your favour. It was also quite cute that she genuinely believed the Gods would show her nothing but the Truth, she was indignant enough that it looked like she convinced herself she was owed the Truth by her very own Gods, it was refreshingly outrageous. You thought bemused that she would make for quite the fierce Wolf once she realised the Truth of the World, so you quickly thanked the Gods for a truly fine Companion and then refocused on your work.

You didn't really know why, but your Parents were satisfied with your current work, at least after you explained why you took a Week for yourself, or in other Words, you could now expect that more of it was coming your way, meaning you had to properly catch up to whatever Expectations they will set for you. It was to be expected, you couldn't see a future where your Father would let go of you, not with your Abilities being as useful and dangerous as they currently are, he probably decided it was a good Idea to ensure you adjusted to some simple work in the Rock, so as to properly measure your growth and limitations while you were still small.

You had nothing against indulging them, especially seeing as they allowed you to pretty much anything you wanted to do as long as it didn't harm the House, you weren't like Marie who thought she was owed what she was currently enjoying after all. There was literally no reason why your Liberties couldn't be stripped away if your advancement was lacking behind Expectations, in Fact, it seemed like your Sibling were already suffering the Fate of stripped Liberties with all the Guards they got assigned by your Mother.

Mayhaps you will one Day even get something fun thrown your way if you keep up the good work, perhaps even something as awesome as Armour procurement, now wouldn't that be great? The Warlord in you couldn't help but get excited at the prospect of getting your Hands on something so vital for the War, the Army is pretty much the only Property of your Family that you hadn't had the Chance of playing with. You guess that you can't really complain too much seeing as you're stretching the patience of your Parents regularly, and it's truly no Wonder that even your Father wants to have something of his own that helps him unwind from time to time.

But Hope is all in all rather cheap, so you will just continue to look forward to the Day your Father finally decides to share a part of his favourite Toy with you. Sadly you couldn't do much more than dream of the future while you were stuck in the Rock managing the Replacements, you were happy that your Mother had already planned where to put what, but it was still extremely boring. The only entertaining thing you had time for was showing even more of the Rock to Marie as you two strode through the Corridors, putting Statues and the like wherever they belonged.

"Are those the last ones, Azami?"

"That should be enough for Today, yes."

"If we're really done with wasting time on decorating, can we go back outside?"

"Sure, I'm not planning to do more of this stuff than necessary, either."

"Awesome, let's go!"

It appears you weren't the only one that was especially bored Today, you think for a moment before deciding that some fresh Air really wouldn't hurt. The upper Levels of the Rock were still filled with Troops from across the Westerlands, so the reason for why Marie wanted to finish up was quite obvious, even little Girls couldn't resist being awed by the great Host marshalled atop your Home. Your House wasn't limited by a lack of Finances anymore, so your Father had long since opted to form a proper standing Army, a vast Core that would later be used to levy the strongest Army a single House could possibly gather.

Your Father was clearly still after the Crown and the Realm, but his anger with the King didn't subside either, it was all going perfectly, which was why you could put up with being bored for a few Weeks. For you knew that even if everything goes great and there's nothing to worry about, Life can always find a way to become bothersome again, it's why seeking the heights of Life is so very foolish. You will have to try and teach that to Marie if you find a good moment for it, she should really learn to enjoy the boredom of Life instead of making it a Torture for herself, there's always more boredom to come after all.

Leaving the matter for another Day, you silently continue to follow behind your Companion as she skips around the Camp that she made her Target. You realise that she acts just like a normal Child would on the Markets or Streets of Lannisport, it makes you actually a bit self-conscious, and you have to wonder if you look similarly unbalanced to others. If so it would finally make Sense why you struggle to make Friends your Age, how are you ever going to create a proper Retinue if everyone sees you like you see Marie, you certainly have a decent amount of Charisma, but you simply can't claim that it was enhanced by the Gods.

Looking at it from where you stood on the Balcony, it was really preposterous that none of the Soldiers seemed annoyed by her, despite clearly coming from one of the Training Yards, they should have no remaining Energy to entertain a Kid. Thinking about it, they really shouldn't, as in, they wouldn't even be let off the Yard before struggling to remain standing, that's simply the Training your Father wants and there's no way his Men would disobey that Order, that's actually quite interesting, isn't it?