Sarella Sand POV
She sat on the stairs leading to the main deck and went through the texts that Stephen had written for her. To give her a better understanding of the world.
Right now she was going through the chapter called 'Theory of Evolution', which explained how humans evolved from monkeys over the period of millions of years.
The concept was difficult for her to comprehend, particularly because she couldn't fathom the enormity of millions of years. But with well Stephen had explained this concept in this book she could definitely see it.
It describes the gradual progression of monkeys from walking on all fours to walking on two legs and using their hands to create tools, ultimately resulting in the development of a more advanced brain over an extended period of time.
Although Stephen lacked concrete evidence to support his theory, she found it to be more logical than any religious text, most of which attributed the creation of humans to their respective gods.
In addition to the theory on the creation of humans, Stephen's texts also included chapters explaining the origin of all life on Planetos. These chapters discussed how all living organisms evolved from the sea, dating back millions, if not billions, of years in the past.
Hell, he even had an explanation for how the world came to be. About how the Planet was simply an enormous hot glowing ball of magma that gradually cooled down over time until it could sustain life.
The notes he'd written for her were filled with things that she would have never even thought of if he hadn't told her.
He explained that the fundamental building block of any object is the atom, and for living beings, it is the cell. He also discussed how their planet was just one of several that orbited around the Sun, and the various scientific laws, including the law of gravity, law of inertia, law of mass, and so on.
Stephen knew a lot of things. Things that he shouldn't know. Things, that in hindsight, made so such sense.
Despite Stephen's confidence in his theories, he cautioned her that they may not be entirely accurate, as the existence of gods and magic cannot be entirely discounted. Although he did not personally subscribe to the belief, he conceded that there was a remote chance that an ancient deity created humans from nothing.
She still wasn't sure how he knew all these things. And when she asked him, he said that he'll only tell her once she has earned his trust.
As a prerequisite for earning his trust, he had established a rule for her: if she wished to gain further knowledge from him, she must refrain from inquiring about its source. Although he may disclose this information at some point in the future, it was not something he was willing to divulge at present.
As she delved into the section on "Natural Selection Theory," Tyene approached and settled beside her, sporting a broad, guileless grin as she peered over at her notebook.
As soon as her sister sat down, she promptly shut her notebook and frowned at her. "What do you want?" she asked, annoyed at the interruption, especially since she had just reached the more captivating segment of her reading.
"You're reading again." Tyene told her with a pout. "That's all you've done since we boarded this ship. You didn't even go ashore to visit Starfall. Edric Dayne was such an adorable little boy, and I even got to see the spot where Ashara Dayne supposedly jumped off from."
"I have no interest in adorable little boys. Or learning about the place where Ashara Dayne took her life." She huffed. "I would rather use my time to read and learn more about this vast mysterious world of ours."
"But that's so boring." Tyene complained. "What are you even reading? Isn't that just something that Steph wrote for you. Is it really that interesting?"
"I find it intriguing," she replied. "It has taught me numerous things, like why the world is round like a ball rather than flat like a plate, as many individuals wrongly assume."
Tyene scrunched up her nose at her words. "That's stupid. If the world was round then wouldn't we all just… fall off."
"No, because the world has a strong gravitational force that keeps us in place." She explained. "Besides, the Dragonriders had known about this for centuries before their civilisation was destroyed by the Doom. The Maesters in the Citadel are also aware of this fact, but they tend to keep this information to themselves rather than share it with others."
Tyene regarded her skeptically, but before she could persist in bothering her, they heard the sound of metal clashing against metal. She glanced toward the main deck and observed that Stephen and Asha had begun their evening sparring session.
At first, it was just the two of them, but she was aware that eventually, the knights, squires, guards, and even some of the sailors would come down to participate, a few at a time.
She and Tyene did have their mandatory spars in the morning. But they were exempt from the evening spars, since she was personally more interested in reading while Tyene preferred to maintain her figure and practice with her poisons.
"I don't get it." Tyene said, interrupting her thoughts as Stephen switched out his sparring partner with three knights. "Why does he train so hard? He's already the best in Westeros, isn't he?"
"He said that he is training is 'Trainer Skill'." She said, remembering what Stephen had told her all those days ago when she asked him the same question.
His way of talking about things like that was peculiar. When he sang, he would say that he was improving his Singing skill, and when he played the lute, he would say that he was enhancing his Lute Playing skill. However, successful people were entitled to their eccentricities, and no one had confronted Stephen about his oddities yet.
"I would rather that he spend more time with me." Tyene said with another pout as she leaned against her and put her head on her shoulder. "It is so boring on this ship. And the other knights are all so cautious around me. It's no fun to tease them."
"They know that you're with the Prince, and don't want to do anything that'll offend him." She said as she gently brushed Tyene's hair. She and Tyene weren't as close as Tyene and Arianne, but Tyene was still her little sister. "Plus, don't you always spend the nights with him."
"If you spending nights with him, you mean spending an hour getting fucked into oblivion and then being kicked out of his room, then, yes." Tyene said with another pout before the blond minx tried to bite into her shoulder, getting a smack on the head for her attempt.
"Let me guess, you want to cuddle with him." She said as Tyene put her head on her lap and stared at the spar taking place in the distance.
"Yes." Tyene said, the pout never leaving her face.
She never expected Tyene to be the type of girl who desired to cuddle with the boy she had sex with. But the world was full of surprises. And Stephen did have the tendency to surprise you.
"Maybe he just wants to rest on his own." She said and then cringed as she immediately saw a giant hole in her own explanation.
Tyene turned her head to glare at her before she went back to staring at the people sparring in the distance. Or at one young woman in particular. "He doesn't kick that squid bitch out of his bedroom."
"Tyene..." she spoke in a gentle tone, unsure of how to convey her thoughts to her younger sister. That despite being a prisoner in all but name, Asha was still the daughter of a Great House, albeit one that had been greatly diminished over the years. On the other hand, Tyene was merely the bastard daughter of a second son, and their statuses were not equal. "Asha has been with him far longer than you have," she added. "It's natural for him to have favorites."
Being this sympathetic to Tyene felt strange to her since Tyene always caused trouble for her back in Sunspear. But since there were the only two Sand Snakes in this ship, they needed to stick together. That's what their father would expect from them.
"Maybe I should poison that bitch." Tyene said conversationally and her heart skipped a beat as she quickly cupped Tyene's cheeks with her hands and forced the blond girl to look into her eyes.
"Tyene. You're the only poison practitioner in this ship. If someone poisoned Asha then it'll be clear to everyone that you did it. For the love of our father, please don't do anything stupid." She all but begged.
Tyene scoffed at her words. "I wasn't planning to do that. I'm not stupid, you know. At least not on this ship. But maybe once we get to Oldtown..." She pulled at Tyene's cheeks and Tyene immediately started to thrash around in her grasp. "Ow ow ow owowow."
"Will you do it?" She asked Tyene who gave her a teary eyed pout. She'd lived with Tyene for long enough to see through her facade though. "Will you?" She asked, putting some force in her pinch and Tyene let out another string of 'ow's' before she finally conceded defeat.
"Okay okay, I won't. I won't poison that squid bitch. There. Are you happy now?"
She nodded and let go of her sister who immediately moved away from her in fear of another cheek pulling session.
"I will poison you though." Tyene grumbled at her and she narrowed her eyes at in response. Her fingers inched toward Tyene's cheeks, but before she could touch her, Tyene quickly fled onto the main deck. She got up from her seat and chased after her mischievous little sister.
Their chase around the main deck ceased when they both caught sight of a towering castle perched atop a rocky outcropping along the coastal line.
"That's Three Towers." She told Tyene who was unfamiliar with the geography of the Reach. "It's the seat of House Costayne. A vassal house to House Hightower. If we're here, then it means that we're only two or three days away from Oldtown."
Tyene side glanced at her. "You must be very excited. You've always wanted to go to the Citadel."
"Perhaps." She said, not sure if she still wanted to go to the Citadel any more.
Sure, that place is bound to be a treasure trove of information. But she doubted that all the books and scrolls they held could teach her even a fraction of what she'd learned from studying Stephen's notes.
"We'll have to wait and see." She said in the end before she noticed the sun finally dipping below the horizon and decided to go back to her room in order to escape the chilly winds.
—
That evening.
"Aanh~ By the drowned gods Steph. Yes, right there, right there. Oh… yes~ yes yes yesYesYES!"
She grabbed a pillow and placed it over her ear, attempting to dampen the sounds that were penetrating the wooden walls that separated Stephen's cabin from the one she and Tyene shared.
The sound of flesh slapping against flesh became faster and faster, and with a loud cry, Asha finally climaxed, a blissful silence following in the wake of her orgasm.
A silence that she unfortunately knew would not last long.
As she expected, the sound of flesh slapping against flesh soon permeated through the walls again. However, this time it was Tyene who was moaning in pleasure instead of Asha Greyjoy.
The pillow was clearly not effective, so she tossed it aside. The sounds of their fucking grew even louder, so she attempted to divert her attention by focusing on something else in the dark room.
On Tyene's side of the room, Asha could see three bamboo cages. They contained a Black Adder, a Horned Desert Viper, and a sandy Rattlesnake, which Tyene used to replenish her supply of poisons and antidotes.
Aside from that, there were a few smaller cages which held poisonous spiders, toads, beetles, and a dozen poisonous plants that Tyene used in her poison experiments.
Initially, Tyene's collection of snakes and other venomous creatures had made her feel extremely uncomfortable, and she still believed that having so many of them in their shared room was a recipe for disaster. Nevertheless, she had grown accustomed to ignoring them over time.
Right now, as she heard her sister being fucked by Stephen, she wished that those poisonous creatures would distract her even half as badly as they did on the first day.
Alas, it was all for nothing. Her mind continued to go back to the sounds emanating from her adjacent room, and she was forced to do her best not to imagine what was going on in there.
Her efforts failed when her mind started to conjure images of the various styles and poses that her sister might be getting fucked in right now.
The squelching noises that were created when Stephen's giant monster of a cock speared in and out of her sister's tiny pussy. The groaning of the wooden bed as it tried to keep up with its occupant's frantic sex sessions. The squeals and moans escaping her sister's lips. The slapping sounds as Stephen's hips slammed against Tyene's ass again and again…
It was all too much for her.
And just like the last few nights, she eventually lost the battle of the will and her hand inadvertently slipped inside her trouser. Her fingers traced through her fuzzy mons before they reached her slick, velvety folds.
The tip of her finger brushed passed her tiny nub and back arched in pleasure as she thought of Stephen hovering over her. She imagined how it would feel to have his strong arms wrapped around her thin waist. How it would feel to look into his crystal blue eyes as he gave her a smirk and shoved his thick hard cock inside her vagina.
She bit into her pillow and muffled her moans as she pushed one of her fingers inside her pussy. Her ears picked up on her sister's cries of pleasure and she imagined that it was in her in that room, getting pounded by Stephen as she inserted another finger inside her pussy, rubbing it against her pleasure points while her other hand slipped inside her tunic and played with her breast.
There was a time when she took a hidden measure pride in the fact that she was still a virgin. A pure maiden, unlike her other sisters who'd already lost their virginities.
Listening to her own sister getting fucked, using that sound to imagine being fucked by Stephen and then using that image to get herself off didn't make her feel like a pure maiden.
It made her feel like a degenerate. And she once again wondered about the wisdom in her father's words about being free with their desires.
Then she couldn't think anymore as Tyene's moans took on a new mewling pitch, and her own fingers started to move faster in response, overloading her brain with pleasure and images of Stephen pounding her needy cunt until it finally became too much she shuddered, her eyes going to the back of her head as she released all the tension and stress that had been building up throughout the day.
In the adjacent room, Tyene let out one final cry of pleasure, and Stephen let out a groan before all sounds died down in that room as well.
She took a few deep breaths before she took a handkerchief and started wiping her feminine juices from her pussy and fingers, blaming Stephen for making her desperate like this.
He knew exactly what he was doing to her. Fucking both those girls like that while making her listen to their coupling. And while she knew that he would not refuse her if she asked to join in on the fun, the shame was too much for her she couldn't bring herself to do it.
As she lay in bed, she heard footsteps approaching from Stephen's cabin. Reacting quickly, she covered herself with a blanket and pretended to be asleep.
Soon after, the sound of Stephen's door opening was followed by the creak of her own door. Peering out from beneath the blanket, she watched as Stephen entered and gently laid a sleeping Tyene down in her own bed, his heavy footsteps echoing in the silence.
Then he turned and was about to walk out of the door before he paused and turned to look in her direction. She prayed that he wasn't able to see her in the dark of the room, but his next words disabused her of that notion.
"You know, I can smell you from here. And you're not a quiet as you think you are." He teased, his voice carrying a hint of humour. She had a feeling he was smirking as he spoke. "Why don't you come out of hiding and join us next time?"
She remained quiet, the embarrassment being too much for her to do anything else. She hoped that he wasn't aware that she was actually awake and that he was just saying these things.
As if reading her thoughts, he chuckled. "Very well. Good night Sarella." He said in a seductive voice that made her wet all over again before he walked out, closing the door behind him.
She took a deep breath as soon as she heard him enter his own room and looked out of her blanket to see that Tyene was still sleeping soundly.
Then she felt the growing heat in her core and sighed as she pushed her trousers to her knees so that he could get better access to her pussy.
Sleep won't come easy to her that night. Just like it hadn't in the past few days.
—
Two days later.
She entered Stephen's office in the ship. A decent sized cabin without the excess gaudiness that she'd seen in her mother's ship.
The room had the bare essential of things, and was otherwise mostly filled with books, detailed charts, scrolls, old tomes, wooden chests, a few rudimentary compass, and other odds and ends trinkets.
Stephen was sitting behind his mahogany table, writing on a notebook before he noticed her presence and paused.
He gave her a nod and then silently gestured for her to take a seat before he went back to working.
She took a seat beside his own and deposited the papers she was carrying on top of the desk before she gazed at his notebook.
Stephen, as always, was writing in perfect calligraphy. His handwriting was so clean, methodical and elegant that it made her somewhat decent writing look like chicken scrawl in comparison.
And instead of writing slowly, like all the scribes usually did, he was writing in a speed that was near blur to her eyes. Finishing entire paragraphs within seconds and entire pages in the time it took her to read a single paragraph.
It wasn't Stephen's grandiose displays of power, like wielding a shining sword or decimating an entire army, that hinted at his unique abilities (though he never really demonstrated such feats). Rather, it was the subtler things, such as these, that gave a glimpse into his "specialness."
Small things that don't sound all that impressive when you hear it from someone else.
So he can write a little faster than other scribes? What of it?
So he can write in perfect calligraphy without ever making a single mistake? What of it?
When recounted by someone else, these things might not sound particularly noteworthy. However, it wasn't until one saw Stephen in person that they could fully appreciate the magnitude of his abilities.
"Is there something on my face?" Stephen inquired, causing her cheeks to flush when she realized he had stopped writing and was now observing her instead. It dawned on her that she had shifted her gaze from his work to him without even realizing it.
"No." She said as she cleared her throat, trying to dispel her embarrassment. "I was just wondering what you were writing."
Stephen raised an unimpressed brow, letting her know that he won't be fooled by such an obvious lie. But he played along with her as he showed her some of the diagrams that he'd etched onto the papers he was writing on.
It looked like a strange mechanical contraption with multiple glass lens and a candle as a source of light. It looked similar yet very different from a conventional Far eye.
"What is it?" She asked.
"It's a microscope, a new theoretical creation of mine." Stephen said as he showed her a few more diagrams, each slightly different from one another. "If my calculations are right and it works as it should, then it should allow us to see tiny living beings with perfect clarity."
"So it's… like a far eye. Except, instead of helping us see further things closer, it helps us see small things more clearly?" She asked, surprised at the idea of someone creating something like this.
"Absolutely," Stephen replied, a hint of pride lighting up his features as he regarded her. She fought the urge to blush yet again. Why did he have to be so unfairly handsome? "Once it's finished, I'll be able to showcase all the cells and microorganisms I described in my notes."
"Those bekteria and vyruss things?" Sh asked.
"Bacteria and virus. Among many other things, yes." Stephen said before he sighed. "Though all these diagrams are practically useless until I get my hand on a talented glass maker from Myr. Not to mention that fact that I'll have to set up an entire glass making factory for him as well. I mean, I already planning on creating a glass making factory, but getting talented craftsmen is going to make the venture even more difficult. This is not going to be a cheap by any means."
"Only the people of Myr have the ability to create a Fareye. And I don't think the Myrish people will just give away one of their Glassmakers to you." She pointed out. "They are very proud of their monopoly over luxury glass products."
Stephen shrugged. "I know. I'll probably have to sneak inside Myrish and kidnap one of their slave glassmaker. Probably an old dude who felt bitter for working under slave owners and had nothing to lose."
She opened her mouth to tell him that sneaking inside Myr glass factories and stealing a worker would be difficult, if not downright impossible. But then she shut her mouth as she remember him showing her the Glass Candles, and explaining how he snuck inside Citadel in order to steal them.
She had no idea how he was able to transverse the distance between Dragonstone and Oldtown, as he hadn't told her when asked.
It was just going to be one of their many unspoken secrets. A secret that he'll probably reveal to her when she had gained more of his trust. But till then, she could only stay quiet and be patient.
"I see." She said instead before she remembered that she had been summoned here and asked. "Was there something you needed from me?"
Stephen nodded and gave her three different stacks of papers. "These are the outlines of three books I'm writing for uneducated children. The books are History, Geography, and Common Tongue. I want you to read these. And give me your thoughts on them from the point of view of a normal uneducated child. Are these books too hard? Is the concept too unique or difficult to grasp? Are any of the chapters unnecessary. So on and so forth."
"Books for uneducated children? You mean these are the textbooks that you'll use in your school?" She asked, feeling a little excited and Stephen nodded.
"Well, these are not for the 1st or 2nd class students as those students will mostly be learning the alphabets, or how to write in full sentences and paragraphs. But yes. This is the 3rd year curriculum. Please read them and give me your thoughts on them."
"Right here?" She asked.
Stephen shrugged. "You can do it right here or take them with you and give me a review later. I don't mind either way."
She nodded and quickly started to skim through the first stack of papers.
It was the stack of Paper called Common Tongue. And the stack mostly consisted of multiple short stories, followed by a few questions at the end of each story in regards to that story.
The stories themselves were fairly entertaining and she found herself getting lost in between them.
The first story was of a man who carelessly dropped his axe into a lake. A crone emerged and presented him with a gold, a silver, and an iron axe, allowing him to select one. The man chose the iron axe, which he recognized as his own. In admiration of his honesty, the crone bestowed upon him all three axes.
The second story was about a race between a hare and a tortoise. A race which the tortoise win through continuous diligence effort, while the hare lazed around.
The third fable recounted the story of a boy who repeatedly raised a false alarm about a wolf. Consequently, the villagers lost faith in him. The fourth involved a Fox and a Stork, highlighting the importance of treating guests with dignity. And so on, and so forth, went the tales.
She quickly realised a very common theme between all these stories. Not only were they were entertaining to read. But each one of these stories also taught lessons on the importance of having good values and a moral character.
It was a clever idea, she realised. For having an educated populace would not be very useful if that populace is not virtuous as well.
She was reading the story of a girl named Cinderella when Stephen suddenly paused writing and sat up straight on his chair.
She looked at him curiously and he spoke. "Sarella, would you please close the door and tell the guards not to disturb me for the next half an hour."
She nodded and did so. Once she'd bolted the door, she turned and was surprised when Stephen took out a glowing Glass Candle from within his desk.
He was gazing at the glass candle, his eyes slightly dim and unfocused, his body utterly still. She couldn't help but wonder what he was seeing right now. Was he talking with Melisandre, who had one of the Glass Candles as well.
She had no answers to her questions and knew better than to disturb him. So, she quietly sat back down on her chair and waited for him to finish his conversation, or whatever he was doing with the glass candle.
About ten minutes passed before the Glass Candle stopped glowing and Stephen blinked his eyes and shook his head. As if just waking up from a deep sleep.
She looked at him curiously, her mind burning with so many questions. This was the first time she's seen him use the Glass Candle after all.
"Who was it?" She asked as Stephen opened a secret panel in his desk and put the Glass Candle inside it. "Was it the Red Priestess, Melisandre? Or were you doing something else with the candle. Were you spying on someone, or using it for communication. Can you truly use it to invade someone's dream. How does it-"
"One question at a time Sarella." Stephen spoke up, interrupting her tirade before he closed the hidden panel and glanced at her. "And yes, it was Mel."
"What were you talking about? How did you know that she was trying to communicate with you? Is it magic? Do you have a magical sense that tells you-"
"Please Sarella. One question at a time." Stephen said, giving her a mildly reproachful look. "I have a magical sense. That's how I knew that she was trying to communicate with my through the Glass for what she was talking about, most of it is confidential. But the main topic was that King Robert and his entourage have finally reached King's Landing."
"Wait. You're telling me that King Robert only reached Kings Landing today. Didn't they set out from Casterly Rock like… 3 moons ago? Does it really take that long for some to travel that distance?"
"His Grace decided to feast and hunt in almost every single holdfast he visited on the way, extending his time away from the city as long as possible," Stephen said. "It's no surprise considering how much he despises ruling."
"I see." She said with a frown. "I've heard some bad things about King Robert, but I didn't know that he hated ruling this much."
"Well, now you do. He spends most of his time hunting, drinking, and whoring, and delegates most of the duties and responsibilities to Jon Arryn and his small council members," Stephen said before pausing. "Oh, and he loves holding tourneys, which is what he's doing now that he's back. Though it'll take a moon's worth of time for the participants to arrive and for the tourney to actually begin."
She gave Stephen a curious glance. "Do you not want to participate in that tourney. I've heard that the King is rather generous with the purses of the Tourney winners."
"Generous is an understatement." Stephen said with a scoff "Exorbitantly lavish is the word you're looking for. He gives a King's ransom worth of gold to the winner of the Archery contest. And the prizes only continue to increase in value for the winners of the Melee and Joust."
"I did not know that." She said slowly. "And you're sure that you still don't want to participate?"
"I'll participate in them once I'm a little older. And even then, I'll have to make sure that I don't participate in every tournament, lest the other knights and lords lose any of hope of winning, and start hating me for it." Stephen said before he paused and sniffed the air.
"Is something wrong?" She asked and he shook his head.
"No. But we're very close to the city. I can smell it from here."
His words made her flush slightly as she remember him talking about 'smelling' her two days ago.
She sniffed the air as well but couldn't find any difference herself. But then again, Stephen's sense of smell was supernaturally good, just like his everything else.
"How close are we?" She asked.
"A couple of hours." Stephen said as he gazed outside the window at the evening sky. "We should reach there before nightfall."
True to Stephen's words, it took an hour before the burning top of Hightower became visible to them over the distant horizon. And another hour before they finally reached Oldtown where a party led by Ser Garth 'Greysteel' Hightower was waiting to welcome them into the city.