A HUNT WITH WOLVES:
Author's Note: This is a fanfiction of the Game of Thrones saga. A question that has often stood out in the back of my head is this: what would have happened if Ned Stark had become king instead of Robert Baratheon at the end of the War of the Usurper? In this fic, Robert died from wounds received at the Battle of the Trident during his duel against Rhaegar Targaryen and the lords of Westeros chose Ned Stark as their new king. His brother, Benjen, has assumed the ancestral Stark title as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North.
The surviving Targaryens didn't flee Westeros and were captured after the Sack of King's Landing. This includes Viserys Targaryen, the last son of the Mad King, and Daenerys Targaryen, whom I have changed from being the daughter of the Mad King to being the daughter of Rhaegar and his Dornish wife, Elia Martell.
Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones which all belongs to G. R. R. Martin. This story is purely for my own entertainment and for all those who want to read it.
EDDARD STARK
He had forgotten what it was like to be in the North.
He had forgotten that the biting child was ever present and, even when you thought you had shaken it, it returned to surprise you and remind you that you were no longer in the warm comfort of the South: you were in the harsh reality of the North, where survival was the first and foremost concern, and were you knew that if you dropped your guard, even for a moment, it could very well be over. You could be trampled by a boar as you took a break after a day of hunt in the forest; you could be surprised by one of the summer snows which often fall in the deep of night and the coldest of days, with nothing but your wits and the good will of others to help you; or you could be a stranger come from comfortable lands and not expecting what every Northern knew from birth and remembered until his death: that winter is coming, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
But for King Eddard of House Stark, the First of His Name, it was none of these things. It was a reminder that he was home, home after seventeen years of self-imposed exile. Or at least that was what it felt like at times, when days of political intrigue and relentless plotting made him regret the day he had agreed to accept the Crown. Yet he had, as Cat never hesitated to remind him, so there was no point trying to pretend otherwise. It wasn't for himself that Ned worried; he knew what he had gotten himself into and that was what he told himself during the particularly hard times. But he did worry for what would happen when he was no longer here. At thirty-five years of age, he had begun to feel time catching up with him and, although he knew that he had several more years ahead of him, it couldn't help concern him. Because when he would die, the Iron Throne would pass to Robb, his eldest son and heir. And that wasn't something that he would wish for anyone let alone his own son. By the gods, there were times when he wished that Robert were still alive and that he had claimed the Iron Throne as he had been meant to. But Robert was dead, killed at the Trident after his duel with the Last Dragon.
And now Ned rode north to his old home of Winterfell with his court to visit his brother Benjen. And, while he knew that this would have the appearance of a family reunion when they actually reached the castle, the truth was far from it. Indeed, the reason for Ned's journey north was far more serious and was in fact the accomplishment of a promise made long ago; a promise which had ended a war and had held a precarious peace together for almost seventeen years; a promise for which Ned had promised the life of his own son.
"Your thoughts betray you, Your Grace," came a snippy remark from behind Ned.
The king turned to find the smiling face of Tyrion Lannister as the dwarf led his horse towards him. Immediately, the Kingsguard placed their hands on their swords and begun to turn their horses to block the Imp's passage. "Stand down," Ned told them. "Let His Excellency pass."
Tyrion's smile widened. "One wouldn't think that a warrior as renowned as Your Grace would not need a full guard of seven valuable knights to protect him from a mishap of nature such as myself. Wouldn't you agree, Ser Brynden?" The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Brynden Tully, wasn't known as a man who minced his words and that was one of the many reasons why Ned had granted him a seat on his Small Council: his blunt honesty allowed him to hear what he needed to hear and not what he wanted to hear, something that was invaluable to him. But when he made to reply to the Imp's words, Ned gave him a look that told him not too. It wouldn't do well to get into a verbal joust with the youngest Lannister: he usually won. So Brynden held his tongue and merely inclined his head in a purposely vague gesture of acknowledgement.
"And would think Your Grace would be happier at returning home after so long spent in the capital," he said after realising that he wouldn't be having a worthy fight with Brynden. "Because it is universally known that you do not like King's Landing. Something that I can relate to: I long for the day I can return to Casterly Rock but, as we both know, that won't happen before some time."
"Is there something you wish to tell me, Your Excellency?" Ned asked, growing tired of Tyrion's little games.
He seemed offended but Ned knew that he was not. "Your skills at diplomacy continue to amaze me. Who would think that such an acerbic tone has prevented the Seven Kingdoms from going to war for seventeen years? You are a force of nature, Your Grace."
"And you are a liar; an ideal trait for an ambassador!" Ned also had little patience for proper etiquette when it came to dealing with someone like Tyrion Lannister. The Imp had arrived in King's Landing three days before the court left for Winterfell and he had immediately made his mark. Officially, he had been appointed as the Rock's ambassador to the Iron Throne and it was a role that; Ned had to admit it; he managed quite well. But it was well known why he was really here and few hesitated to tell him to his face.
But Tyrion didn't seem to mind. "My presence here is to make sure that the terms of the treaty signed after the Great Council seventeen years ago are upheld. My father was one of the signatories as you well know."
"And he was the first to break one of its key terms," Ned replied. Even had he wanted to be diplomatic, he didn't think that he would have been able to hold his tongue on the subject. If Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, had been here, he would have given him one of the looks that used to freeze the bloods of the two mischievous boys that he and Robert had been when they were fostered at the Vale.
But Ned knew that Tyrion wouldn't take offence and indeed he didn't. "Yes, quite. Which may explain why he doesn't believe this mission to be of much importance; and hence my presence." Ned turned to look at the dwarf who had brought his horse next to him after the Kingsguard had stood down. His smile seemed genuine and there was nothing anywhere on his face or in his manner that suggested that he somehow resented the fact that the only reason his father had given him such an important task was to get him away from the Rock. It was common knowledge in the whole of Westeros that Tywin Lannister held nothing but hatred for his last born son. This hatred was made even worse by the fact that he would eventually be forced to acknowledge Tyrion as his heir. And it had been Ned's fault, in Tywin's eyes, and Ned's doing, in the eyes of the rest of the Kingdoms.
After the War of the Usurpers had ended, Ned had made a point to exact swift justice on all those who he believed had committed wrongs during the uprising. It had been a way for him to deliver what he believed to be the appropriate justice onto the guilty and a way to strengthen his tenuous hold on the throne. One of the first cases he had taken up had been the punishment of the one who had murdered his predecessor. Jaime Lannister was the youngest knight ever admitted to join the Kingsguard and he had been King Aerys II Targaryen's most visible protector during the war. It had been a pressure point on Tywin Lannister to prevent him from joining the uprising against him. And it had been the Mad King's biggest mistake: when Tywin had taken his army to King's Landing and sacked the city to make up for his refusal to join the rebellion, Jaime had forsaken his vows and killed the Mad King. Despite an appeal by both Tywin and Jon Arryn that Jaime's act would have been repeated by someone else after the city was taken, Ned had not been dissuaded. He could not tolerate to have someone so callously betrayed a sacred oath of allegiance and that was the message that he was trying to send to the Kingdoms over which he now ruled. However, he had admitted that Jaime's crime didn't warrant the death sentence. Such an act would have turned Tywin against him without the shadow of a doubt. Instead, he had exiled him to the Night's Watch. Therefore, he had deprived Tywin Lannister of his heir. And Tyrion had appeared as the only alternative.
Tywin's anger at having been stripped of his heir had not failed to manifest. He had recalled all his banners and returned to the Rock. A few days later, he declared that he had renounced his allegiance to the Iron Throne; claiming that the Lannisters had bowed down to the Targaryens and not to the Starks; and proclaimed himself to be King of the Rock. The secession had sent shock waves through the Kingdoms and fears had arisen that war would resume very soon. Several Houses, with the Tyrells in the lead, had made known their intention to support Tywin's action and his cause in any coming war. However, Ned had no intention of waging war, not so soon after the rebellion. Nevertheless, he had the combined support of the North, the Riverlands, and the Vale behind him. Stannis Baratheon, Robert's younger brother and the new Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, also refused to consider supporting Tywin's action although he was slow to promise to support Ned. Only when the Martells of Dorne declared that they would support the Iron Throne did the threat of war begin to truly dissipate. Thanks to Jon Arryn's diplomacy, Tywin promised that he would uphold the terms of the peace treaty on the condition that his claim as King of the Rock be recognized by Ned. And so peace had been saved, but only by a thread. Ned knew, in his gut and thanks to spies placed in the Rock, that Tywin still resented him deeply for his actions and that a war could happen any day. The false pretence of civility and diplomacy between the two thrones did little to hide the fact that, eventually, a war would erupt between them. And what Ned feared was that Robb would have to deal with it.
That made this trip all the more important for him. And he had no doubt that both Tywin and Tyrion knew this.
"I nevertheless hope that this embassy shows your father's goodwill when it comes to upholding the peace terms that ended the rebellion," Ned said after a short silence. He was shooting an arrow in the dark but he hoped that it would catch his prey. And it did. Tyrion's reaction to the remark was all the confirmation that he needed: "My father will uphold the treaty as he always has." The sarcasm in the Imp's voice was unmistakable. A conversation held in the privacy of his chambers between himself, Jon Arryn, and Lord Varys returned to him. Varys had echoed a belief that Jon had agreed with: a belief that a close ally would be needed in the Rock much more than any of their spies and much more than the banners they could summon in the event of war. And Varys had insisted that Tyrion had the potential to be that ally. Ned had originally dismissed it out of hand, not wanting to associate himself with a Lannister and least of all, Tywin's son. But as he had gotten to know the Imp, he began to have the feeling that Varys might have been right. And he still hadn't made up his mind about him but the trip to Winterfell had been long, the trip back would also be long, and, as Tyrion himself said, he wouldn't be seeing the Rock again for a while. There was plenty of time for him to decide whether or not he might be useful in the future.