Fanart: By MattDeMino on Deviantart
Word Count: 4401
King's Landing – 298AC
Ned have always thought that Robert drinking himself to death was a possibility.
But he had not expected it to happen during a hunt. Robert was an expert in hunting. He had more fur and animal heads than anyone Ned ever knew. He was strong and fierce and never missed his target.
Yet there the King was dying with his intestines split by the boars tusks.
He was dying full of regrets and unmade promises. He wanted Joffrey to be a successful King, he really did love the children Cersei told him were his. How was he supposed to reveal the terrifying truth to him? It was be cruel.
He wrote down all the last wishes Robert wanted.
"This is the will and word of Robert of House Baratheon, the First of his Name, King of the Andals and all the rest—put in the damn titles, you know how it goes. I do hereby command Eddard of House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Hand of the King, to serve as Lord Regent and Protector of the Realm upon my" he coughed "upon my death to rule in my" he coughed again "in my stead, until my son Joffrey does come of age"
Ned didn't write Joffrey's name. Lyonel was supposed to sit on that Throne, it was his right by blood. Though it hurt his honorable heart he didn't write Joffrey as the King asked but put down 'until my true heir does come of age'.
"What else would you have me say?" Ned asked cautiously.
"Say... whatever you need to. Protect and defend, gods old and new, you have the words. Write. I'll sign it. You give it to the council when I'm dead" Robert grumbled through tired lips.
"Robert" Ned said in a voice thick with grief "You must not do this. Don't die on me. The realm needs you"
Robert took his hand "You are... such a bad liar, Ned Stark" he laughed through his pain "The realm... The realm knows... what a wretched king I've been. Bad as Aerys, the gods spare me"
"No, not so bad as Aerys, Your Grace. Not near so bad as Aerys"
"Are you done with the scribbling?"
"Yes, Your Grace" Ned offered Robert the paper. The king scrawled his signature blindly "The seal should be witnessed"
"Serve the bastard boar at my funeral feast. Eat the bastard. Don't care if you choke on him. Promise me, Ned"
"I promise" Ned smiled, Lyanna's words echoing in his head.
"The girl. Daenerys. Let her live. And help my son, Ned. Make him be better than me" He winced "Gods have mercy"
Ned smiled sadly "They will my friend, they will"
"Good" he said with a genuine smile "I will give Lyanna your love, Ned. Take care of my children for me"
Ned felt like he had punched him. Lyonel's face flashed in his mind, the only true son. Then he remembered the bastards: little Barra at her mother's breast, Mya in the Vale, Gendry at his forge, and all the others.
"I shall guard your children as if they were my own" he agreed.
"Good, now call Pycelle, give me something for the pain and let me die in peace"
Pycelle came in with Ser Barristan, Varys and Renly behind him.
Ned was grieving at his friend's fate. But he also knew he had to fulfill his last wishes. He headed straight to Varys to try and spare Daenerys if he could.
They all left the King's chambers.
Varys was once again playing at his games. He asked Ser Barristan who gave the King his wine and he said it was the Lannister boy Lancel, who was very worried about keeping the King from getting thirsty. Ned had a bitter taste in his mouth. Would the Lannister dare kill their King, their own kin?
Ned asked Varys about Daenerys.
"I fear those birds have flown. But I shall do what I can, my lord. With your leave" Varys bowed and left.
Then Renly called him over.
"That letter" He leaned close "Was it the regency? Has my brother named you Protector?" He did not wait for a reply.
"My lord, I have thirty men in my personal guard, and other friends beside, knights and lords. Give me an hour, and I can put a hundred swords in your hand" He whispered
Ned raised an eyebrow "And what should I do with a hundred swords, my lord?"
"Strike! Now, while the castle sleeps" He looked around cautiously "We must get Joffrey away from his mother and take him in hand. Protector or no, the man who holds the king holds the kingdom. We should seize Myrcella and Tommen as well. Lyonel when he gets back. Once we have her children, Cersei will not dare oppose us. The council will confirm you as Lord Protector and make Joffrey your ward"
Ned was cold "Robert is not dead yet. The gods may spare him. If not, I shall convene the council to hear his final words and consider the matter of the succession, but I will not dishonor his last hours on earth by shedding blood in his halls and dragging frightened children from their beds"
Lord Renly took a step back "Every moment you delay gives Cersei another moment to prepare. By the time Robert dies, it may be too late, for both of us"
"Then we should pray that Robert does not die"
"Small chance of that"
"Sometimes the gods are merciful"
"The Lannisters are not" Lord Renly huffed and turned at the balls towards the tower where his brother lay dying.
Ned went back to his chamber and gathered his more trusted men.
"I want Littlefinger" he told one of them, named Cayn "If he's not in his chambers, take as many men as you need and search every winesink and whorehouse in King's Landing until you find him. Bring him to me before break of day" Cayn bowed silently and left.
Ned turned to another man called Tomard "The Wind Witch sails on the evening tide. Have you chosen the escort?"
The Wind Witch was the boat who he hired to take Sansa and Arya back to Winterfell.
"Ten men, with Porther in command"
Ned thought for a moment, this was about the safety of his daughters.
"Twenty, and you will command" Ned finally decided.
"As you wish, m'lord" Tom said "Can't say I'll be sad to see the back of this place. I miss the wife"
"You will pass near Dragonstone when you turn north. I need you to deliver a letter for me"
Tom looked apprehensive "To Dragonstone, m'lord?"
"Tell Captain Qos to hoist my banner as soon as he comes in sight of the island. They may be wary of unexpected visitors. If he is reluctant, offer him whatever it takes. I will give you a letter to place into the hand of Lord Stannis Baratheon. No one else. Not his steward, nor the captain of his guard, nor his lady wife, but only Lord Stannis himself"
"As you command, m'lord" he bowed and took his leave.
Ned took out a parchment of paper and sat at his desk. He got the ink out and dipped his feather in it.
'To Lord Stannis of the House Baratheon' he wrote
'By the time you receive this letter, your brother Robert, our King these past fifteen years, will be dead. I am sorry to inform you that he was savaged by a boar whilst hunting in the Kingswood and was unable to recover. I am writing to inform you of a terrifying truth I had learned, the one Jon Arryn had died for. Prince Joffrey, Prince Tommen and Princess Myrcella are not the King's true children, they are the product of incest between the Queen Cersei Lannister and her brother Ser Jaime Lannister. They have no right to the throne. Your nephew Prince Lyonel is Robert's only true son, the proof is in his hair and face as well as the Queen's own confession to me. However the boy is completely oblivious to his half-siblings heritage. The Lannisters are proud, they will not yield the throne. The Queen will try to make Joffrey the King. Soon Tywin and Jaime will bring their armies down to protect their family, if you wish for the true son to take the throne after your brother then you must lay siege now.
Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Hand of the King, and Protector of the Realm'
He finished and folded the letter twice then melted the seal wax over a candle flame. When it became soft her pressed the direwolf seal in it.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Riverlands – 298AC
"Just one Inn, we'll be quick, in and out" Aeron begged.
Lyonel sat on the grass with the map of Westeros. His eyes were running up and down the Riverlands tracing trails with his finger. The last place he definitely passed was the mountains were Acorn Hall and High Heart were situated, this meant that they were more than half way there already. Things were finally looking closer to success.
"No, the Mountain and his men are going through the villages, you faced the bastard at the jousting tourney, you don't want to face his men" Lyonel replied.
"But we're nearly out of food" Aeron reach and opened one of his skins turning it over but nothing fell out "And how the fuck did we lose most of our water? We had loads"
The Prince looked over at the two mares who were drinking a full skin of water out of one bucket.
He sighed "Ever since we passed Blackwater Rush, we had to give most of it to the horses. We'll pass the mountains and head left to the Red Fork river and follow it to Riverrun, we'll just have enough, if we run out we'll just" he shrugged "Get river water?"
"Ugh, river water" Aeron cringed in disgust.
"You just bathed in it, you weren't complaining then" Lyonel sighed "And it's better than death" he closed the map "And that's what awaits us if we meet the Mountain's men and aren't able to convince them we're nobles"
The silver head thought for a moment "Can't we stop at one of the noble houses instead, won't they accept a Prince?"
"While his Grandfather is pillaging their people? They will sooner take me prisoner, and sent your head to Kings Landing in a box as a warning" He replied honestly.
Aeron chuckled "Alright, fine, I prefer to keep my head"
Lyonel stood up with the map "Well the sun is very intense, perhaps we should wait until we continue to travel"
They were in a small wooded area, the shade provided the protection they needed. They had long ditched wearing their capes, even on the road, due to the heat. Now that they weren't in the sun Lyonel didn't dare drink, they would need it all for later. He silently thanked the Gods for the cooling breeze.
"Great let's practice your sparring then" Aeron cheered taking Knight's Rise out of it's sheath.
The dark haired Prince shook his head "No, did you forget the bathing in the river part? I don't intend to do that again. If we spar we'll sweat and arrive in Riverrun stinking. It's just un-princely"
The silver haired boy rolled his eyes and put his sword back muttering 'Spoiled shit' under his breath. Lyonel smiled amused. When in anyone's important presence Aeron always called him by his proper titles, because it was expected. But in private they referred to each other as equals, he never called him 'Prince' unless it was in mockery or actually relative to a conversation.
It was refreshing.
"Let's do something less challenging" He suggested.
"Like?"
He supressed a smile "Like talking, let's just talk"
"I'm afraid we're out of subjects, we've been on this cursed journey for what seems like years and you're a very chatty man" He shot back.
"Normally we always have something to talk about"
"Normally" Aeron chuckled "I don't have to sleep next to you, you even talk in your sleep, you know that?"
Lyonel wasn't bothered by his words. It was just the way he was. To many people Aeron seemed unlikable and Lyonel knew why. He was mean when angry, cruel when necessary and rude without meaning it. He covered his hurt with humor and his secrets with protection. He had no ambition, no future plans, no long term desires, he simply lived to live. He took everyday as it went. Despite this he didn't lack good traits, he was brave, funny and his heart was good, but most importantly Lyonel never needed to question his loyalty once or the truth of their friendship.
"Tell me about that girl you're courting, Lola, isn't it? You never talk of her" Lyonel looked over "She's Myrcella's handmaiden?"
He remembered her. A pretty brunette, same age as Aeron, one-and-six. Once when he was looking for Aeron he caught them kissing in the stables and that's how he found out. He secretly still felt a grudge that he didn't tell him about it beforehand.
"Yes, I've been courting her for a moon now. You know me, usually I don't do this courting thing but it works out with her" He half-joked.
"I'm sure she's a lovely girl" Lyonel said calmly "But she's a commoner, you're a Lord now, you are aware that you have to marry a noble Lady"
Aeron let out a short laugh "Or I can fall inlove with a noble Lady but be a coward about it and never marry her, like you"
There was silence for a moment as they stared at one another. Lyonel then turned his head forward to look out into the trees
"Alright, maybe talking was a bad idea after all"
Aeron opened his mouth to reply but they were both stopped.
From the edge of the mountain came the sound of quickly approaching galloping. It was more than one or two horses and Lyonel could see Penny and Aeron's mare startle and move back. The boys both grabbed onto the handle of their swords.
Then from the horizont came a dozen white, grey and brown horses. On top of them were soldiers dressed in golden armor. One of them holding a red flag with a large golden lion on it.
The Lannister soldiers. But thankfully not the Mountain's savages.
They all stopped infront of them coming to a hault. The man with the flag lifted his helmet off. Lyonel found his face familiar but couldn't quite put it to a name, he was a Lannister fighter that he saw before.
"Prince Lyonel?" He asked looking over the two.
Aeron and Lyonel exchanged looks.
"Depends who you're asking for" Aeron crossed his arms.
"Lord Tywin Lannister" He replied.
Anyone would be better than Tywin Lannister. His grandfather was very intelligent and experienced with a mind so sharp he was always successfully scheming something. But also he was man so cold he couldn't even find in his heart to spare innocent life, stay loyal to his allies or even to love his youngest son.
Lyonel sighed "What does my grandfather need?"
All the soldiers bowed.
"Your grandfather has heard of your travel plans my prince" The man continued "He had sent us to inform you that Lady Catelyn no longer holds Lord Tyrion hostage"
Lyonel felt a big stone lifted off his heart. So Uncle Tyrion was unharmed by Catelyn. He was on the road now. As long as he was still alive, it was good.
"We already have Riverrun under our siege, there is no need for your grace to go there. Lord Tywin requested we take you to him directly"
Lyonel was mad, of course they struck Riverrun, how did he not see that coming? The Black Stag wondered silently why his grandfather would want him there. Prehaps to protect him, or perhaps to tell him he was stupid to look for a peaceful solution. Anyway he had some serious issues to discuss with him now.
Aeron nudged him and leaned over, whispering "Whatever you decide, I'm with you. But I think you should go, Hoster Tully is very sick and the Blackfish will never accept a talk with you now that your family sieged his home, he's too proud" he looked at the soldiers quickly "Also, your grandfather is the only man alive that actually frightens me and I'm not sure what he will do if you disobey"
Lyonel nodded chuckling "Well, he's a scary man"
Aeron leaned back and Lyonel straightened his back "May it be as he wants, lead the way commander"
The two gathered themselves and followed the group. Lyonel looked over the mountains, he could see the Red Fork in the distance glimmering in the sunlight much like the morning frost glimmered on the grass in Winterfell. All his dreams of bravery and peace disappear along with it from his view.
How foolish was he to think the Lannisters could change?
--------------------------------------------
King's Landing – 298AC
Ned walked into the Throne Room. Cersei was quick to put her bastard on the Throne. Joffrey sat on it smirking and looking down on Ned. Ned scoffed at his arrogance, he didn't know of Ned's arrangements with Littlefinger, he didn't know about the army the man got him, about Janos Slynt and the gold cloaks, he didn't know the wolf would force him off that Throne.
Ned left bad for the younger children, but he was doing the right thing, the honorable thing.
Everyone was there Varys, Littlefinger, Pycelle, all the Kingsguard and even Myrcella and Tommen. Everyone apart from Renly who had already fled the capital.
"All hail His Grace, Joffrey of the Houses Baratheon and Lannister, the First of his Name, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm" One of his stewards declared.
Joffrey twisted on the Throne "I command the council to make all the necessary arrangements for my coronation" the boy proclaimed "I wish to be crowned within the fortnight. Today I shall accept oaths of fealty from my loyal councilors"
Ned produced Robert's letter "Lord Varys, be so kind as to show this to my lady of Lannister"
The eunuch carried the letter to Cersei. The queen read the words, then smiled at Ned "Protector of the Realm?" she read with mockery "Is this meant to be your shield, my lord? A piece of paper?" She ripped the letter in half, ripped the halves in quarters and so on until she dropped the flutters on the floor.
"Those were the king's words" Ser Barristan exclaimed, shocked at the disrespect.
"We have a new king now" She argued putting a hand on her sons shoulder "Lord Eddard, when last we spoke, you gave me some counsel. Allow me to return the courtesy. Bend the knee, my lord. Bend the knee and swear loyalty to my son, and we shall allow you to step down as Hand and live out your days in the grey waste you call home"
"Would if I could" Ned said grimly "Your son Joffrey has no claim to the throne he sits. Lyonel Baratheon is Robert's only true heir"
"Liar!" Joffrey screamed, his face reddening, fury like Ned's never seen "I am the King! Not him, he's a nothing!"
"Mother, what is he talking about?" Princess Myrcella frowned.
"You condemn yourself with your own mouth, Lord Stark" Cersei provoked not entirely disappointed "Ser Barristan, seize this traitor"
Barristan hesitated but eventually reached for his weapon. In the blink of an eye he was surrounded by Stark guardsmen, sword in hands.
"Do you think Ser Barristan stands alone, my lord?" With an ominous rasp of metal on metal, the Hound drew his longsword. The knights of the Kingsguard and twenty Lannister guardsmen in crimson cloaks moved to support him.
"Kill him! Kill all of them, I command it!" Joffrey screamed.
"You leave me no choice" Ned sighed to Cersei ignoring the yelling boy-king.
He called out to Janos Slynt "Commander, take the queen and her children into custody. Do them no harm, but escort them back to the royal apartments and keep them there"
"Men of the Watch!" Janos Slynt shouted, donning his helm. A hundred gold cloaks leveled their spears and closed.
"I want no bloodshed, tell your men to lay down their swords, and no one need-" Ned's voice stopped in his throat.
Suddenly all the men have turned against him. The gold cloaks who's loyalty Littlefinger promised start driving their weapons into his Northern men back.
Tom, Cayn and Varyl. His men one by one slaughtered right infront of him.
Littlefinger took a dagger from under his cloak and with one swift move put the blade up to Ned's throat "I did warn you not to trust me"
----------------------------------------------------------
Riverlands – 289AC
After a few days of extra travel, Lyonel and Aeron made it to the Lannisters camp.
It was rather large, housing 20,00 men as he was told. The white tents were all dressed with pretty Lannister flags. Ones that were burnt into his mind since childhood, symbols of pride and bravery of the lions.
Aeron took their horses and walked them to the stables saying that he doubts anyone would be interested in talking to him.
The leader of the soldiers that brought them here took Lyonel to Tywin Lannister's tent.
He opened the tent and let the Prince walk in first.
Inside the tent. His grandfather sat at his desk. A man in his fifties, his hair was a fading golden blonde and was slowly blading. He grew bushy side whiskers like the lion he was but had no mustache or traditional beard. His eyes were the famous green with flecks of gold. His skin was edged with wrinkles, which was strange since he never smiled.
He looked up at his grandson when he entered.
The man bowed "My Lord, We found the Prince near Acorn Hall"
"Thank you Ser Nicolas, you can leave" He said in his silky tone.
The man bowed again and left.
"Lyonel" The older man greeted.
"Grandfather" Lyonel bowed "May I sit?"
Tywin nodded and the dark haired man sat down across from him. There were papers on his desk in two neat files, war declaration on the Tully's perhaps?
His signed the paper he was working on "It's good my men found you, I thought you might have changed your mind and went back"
"I wouldn't, I was pretty determined" Lyonel said with confidence "I thought I would be saving my uncle. Do you have any news on where he is now?"
"It was foolish" He pointed out coldly "You can't achieve peace with Catelyn Tully through her family, they would have just taken you prisoner"
Lyonel's anger burned. Prehaps his plan wasn't the most thought through but atleast he was doing something. He was trying to help build something instead of mindless destruction.
"That's not certain-"
He cut him off.
"As regard to your Uncle. No, I don't" He stated matter-of-factly "There's rumors of his demise, but no one really knows where he is. He won a trail of combat at the Eyrie and haven't been seen since"
"Trail by combat?" Lyonel asked surprised his anger fading "That's quite surprising, didn't think of him as much of a fighter"
Tywin shook his head slowly in confusion "He must have had the Gods on his side that day"
Silence fell among them for a few seconds. Lyonel looked awkwardly around the tent while Tywin signed another paper.
"Grandfather, can be talk about the pillaging?"
Tywin looked up from his documents at his grandson.
"There's nothing to discuss. The Tully's must know what happens when they mess with the Lions, the houses honor was at stake when they took Tyrion" He replied coldly.
"But those innocent men, women and children who lived in those destroyed villages were not to blame for it" The Prince stated "Why do the poor and innocent always pay for the mistakes of the rich and powerful?"
Lyonel's face became more serious, almost annoyed, his fists closed tightly under the table.
Tywin didn't look mad, his face betrayed no emotion as always "You're still very young, you don't understand the kind of things we sometimes need to do to ensure our house survives. Cruelty is just part of it, as much as none of us like it"
Lyonel shut up and looked away. He knew there was no way either of them was going to persuade the other. When his grandfather spoke there was no need to argue, he had a talent to persuade people to believe they are in the wrong and he always had an answer for everything.
"Well, when are you planning to return home, or are you going to King's Landing?"
"Neither" he replied "I must stay, the Northern army is getting closer"
Lyonel froze snapping his head straight at him "The Northern army? The North raised an army?"
"Yes, it's led by Robb Stark, we found out through the letter you sent him" He moved his eyes around the desk then picked up a piece of paper "We were catching all the ravens we could find, it was a lucky coincidence we stumbled upon this one"
He passed the rolled up paper to him. Lyonel took it and unrolled it.
'Prince Lyonel,
As long as you are in line with the wishes of your family I cannot discuss anything with you. I will be leading my armies down South very soon. You can tell your grandfather that winter is coming for the Lannisters.
Robb Stark'
Lyonel stared at the letter. He was a bit hurt but mostly very confused.
"What brought on this?" he re-read the words "because of the leg incident? They got that angry?"
Tywin let out a barely audible sigh dropping his feather and putting his hands together infront of him. He almost looked sad which felt strange to Lyonel. It gave him a feeling of unsettling dread, something bad enough happened to make Tywin Lannister show some real emotion.
"No, they are so angry because Ned Stark was arrested"
Lyonel blinked a few time in confusion then he laughed nervously.
"No, no that's impossible, my father and Ned adore each other, he would never arrest him" he rolled the letter back up "Mother must have lied or your spies did-"
"Your father didn't arrest him, he couldn't have"
He paused and Lyonel's stomach twisted.
"Because he's dead"
Lyonel froze in his chair blankly, the letter fell from his hand onto the floor.
"Your brother Joffrey is king now and he arrested Lord Stark"