Handsome Robert

Davos secretly envied his old friend for finding such a powerful patron and was extremely eager to cooperate.

Whatever Titus requested, he could either agree to it outright or quickly come up with a compromise.

Once both sides had settled the arrangements, they agreed to meet outside the River Gate at first light tomorrow and set out promptly from Blackwater Bay.

The River Gate, also known among the common folk as the "Mud Gate," controlled access to the port of King's Landing.

The route there was simple, too: follow the Street of Steel, which they had taken to Master Tob's smithy today, all the way to the end, then cross the street square.

Early the next morning.

Earl Titus, who had neither organization nor discipline, politely wrote a letter and had it delivered to the Redwynes' mansion in King's Landing.

After giving a few instructions to those he was leaving behind, Titus broke away from the Reach tour group to act independently, leading the Peake self-guided touring party, ready to depart, outside the River Gate to meet Davos. The latter had also brought his eldest son, Dale, introducing him as his helper and the ship's first mate.

When they reached the docks outside the city, the morning mist had yet to fully disperse, and pale brown water stains wound through the gaps between the flagstones.

Many thick, worn mooring ropes were tied to the row of wooden posts beside the water, swaying gently in the wind. The laborers who had tied up the ships last night and now had to untie them this morning bustled back and forth to earn their living, leaving wet footprints everywhere.

Passing through the busy crowd, Davos led Titus and his party to a berth where his ship, the Black Beth, lay moored.

The ship was named after Queen Beth Blackwood of Raventree Hall in the Riverlands. She was the lover whom Aegon V, "the Unlikely," had met and freely fallen in love with while traveling through the Riverlands with Duncan "the Tall." They had three sons and two daughters.

This queen from a First Men family was both the paternal and maternal grandmother of Aerys II, the king who now sat upon the Iron Throne. Her stubborn nature and raven-black hair, so distinctively Blackwood and so unlike the Targaryens, had earned her the name "Black Beth."

The Black Beth had her black sails furled and had two decks, with another hold beneath them, enough to accommodate Titus's men and horses.

Leaving enough hands to move the cargo, everyone boarded in turn. Davos also introduced his second son, Allard Seaworth, who had remained aboard, a young man who lacked his elder brother's steadiness and looked outgoing and lively.

Davos was a prolific father, a formidable ability that could make nobles without suitable male heirs die of envy.

At the captain's command, the sailors of the Black Beth immediately sprang into action.

As they deftly hauled the lines and unfurled the sails, the great sails soon swelled with wind.

Up by the lookout, a flag depicting a small black ship snapped in the wind, startling several seabirds resting on the mast. Only one particularly magnificent gyrfalcon remained calmly perched higher up, preening its feathers at leisure.

The medium-sized vessel, black from hull to sails, slowly "got moving" and left her berth, making faint sounds and scattering little splashes as she brushed past the dock.

Taking his first trip aboard a large sailing ship like this, Titus walked to the bow with a sense of novelty, followed by two men: the lean Bowen on his left and the burly Oswin on his right.

Parker was directing the guards as they stowed the luggage. Wenda seemed a little seasick and went into the cabin first to rest.

Titus could clearly tell that Oswin was very excited to be back on the water after so long.

Abandoning his usual taciturn manner, the burly man enthusiastically told the earl about life on the water, the course of the Blackwater Rush, and their destination, the Gods Eye.

Following the Blackwater Rush west, then turning north at its junction with the Blueburn River and continuing onward would bring them to the Gods Eye, right in the center of Westeros.

Many stories had taken place here, the most famous probably being the "Dance above the Gods Eye."

The "Rogue Prince," Daemon Targaryen, the "Lord of Flea Bottom," had once leaped from Caraxes, the "Blood Wyrm," and "boarded" his opponent, killing Aemond "One-Eye" Targaryen, who was then riding Vhagar, the "Mother of All Dragons," with a single sword thrust.

The two men and two dragons dueling above the Gods Eye had ultimately perished together here...

At the center of this vast lake lay a small island called the "Isle of Faces," like the pupil of an eye formed by the lake.

After several days on the river, the initial excitement had long since faded.

One afternoon.

The Black Beth reached Whitegrove, a small town south of the Gods Eye and west of the Kingsroad, famous for its white thorn trees.

After days aboard ship, Titus wanted a change of pace, so he took Bowen, Oswin, and several guards ashore to wander around town.

He wore an exquisite leather hunting outfit, with orange-gold patterns embroidered along the collar and cuffs, and gleaming leather boots in matching colors. Surrounded by several attendants, he entered a riverside tavern with a nicely decorated frontage and a sign reading "White Thorn Garden."

Even though evening had yet to arrive, the tavern was already bustling with voices and activity.

Nearly every seat at the wooden tables was occupied. The patrons were either holding forth or drinking heartily, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of ale, a faint scent of roasting meat, and no shortage of clamorous voices.

A burly Peake Soldiers soldier in chain mail led the way, laboriously clearing a path through the packed crowd for the earl, while Bowen and Oswin followed behind Titus, looking around and feeling right at home.

Titus thought the atmosphere here was quite pleasant and was about to head toward the bar when he heard a voice beside him saying:

"You're the prettiest Riverlands girl I've ever seen. There are stars in your eyes. Perhaps we could explore some wonderful things together..."

He turned to look.

It was a tall boy in a cloak, with a broad chest and muscular arms, gazing with affectionate blue eyes at a pretty young woman dressed as a serving girl and murmuring syrupy words of love.

The tavern girl was delighted by what she heard, leaning one ample side of her body against the boy's wandering hand as she giggled and panted softly.

The tall boy had thick, coarse, short hair, black as ink and neatly groomed. He was clearly young, with only a little black stubble on his chin. Combined with his handsome face and tender expression, it gave him considerable masculine charm.

When Titus suddenly turned his head, the Peake Soldiers soldier clearing the way ahead turned as well.

Perhaps because there were too many people around, his foot caught on something. He stumbled, his shoulder slamming hard into the boy flirting with the serving girl.

The boy did not budge when he was struck and his flirting interrupted, merely drawing his thick black brows together.

Then, showing his temper, he rose of his own accord. Without seeming to exert himself deliberately, he casually bumped the equally tall Peake Soldiers soldier, sending him sprawling before he could respond.

"Ah, are you all right? I didn't notice you there."

The big, dark-haired boy smiled, like a lazy black lion yawning.

His manner looked just like Hiroshi Morishige casually knocking down Hanamichi Sakuragi.

Robert Baratheon in his youth: