The feast celebrating King Robert's return to King's Landing was far too loud and exquisite for Eddard's taste, so he found himself heading outside to the quiet of the gardens as a cool breeze came in off the ocean, which was a blessing in the heat that even existed after the sun had set. He saw he was not alone in slipping away from the revelry, for a young woman sitting on a bench beneath the moonlight. She looked no older than his son Robb, golden hair tied up in a southern style glinting softly in the moonlight as she looked up at the stars shining high above them. Her clothing indicated she was a lady of the court, her small and lithe figure pleasing to the eye.

He cleared his throat politely and gave her a courteous half bow. "May I join you, my lady?"

Blue-gray eyes looked up at him, widening as she recognized who he was. "C-certainly, my lord." She managed, fiddling absently with a purple stone carved in the shape of a unicorn that hung around her neck from a silver chain.

"Thank you." He sat as far from her on the same bench as was polite, noticing the necklace. "You are of House Brax?"

"Yes, my lord." She continued to finger the unicorn, the look in her eyes indicating she expected him to politely excuse himself, as no doubt many a man had after learning she belonged to a family sworn to House Lannister. She showed no reaction when he stayed, his eyes on her pendant, getting the feeling he knew the maker of it and was staying for that reason, if nothing else. She tucked the stone away under her bodice where she usually kept it hidden from prying eyes. "I am Lady Talia Brax."

He averted his eyes when she hid the pendant in her bosom, not looking at her again till she spoke, inclining his head to her. "And I am Lord Eddard Stark, though you were probably already aware of that."

Her small smile was genuine as her eyes met his. "Your name has been the topic amidst the lords and ladies since His Highness set off for the North, so yes I was." She said no more for a long while, eyes flicking up to the sky in the comfortable silence that enveloped them. Music, laughter, and the chatter of many voices drifted out to them all the way from the banquet hall, disturbing their peace. "Do you like the ocean, Lord Stark?"

"It has been many years since I last laid my eyes on the vast expanse of water here, but I believe so." He said, his face giving away nothing of the memories that rose in him at the mention of the sea. He'd lost two very precious women near there, one pleading in her last moments to be taken home back north, while the other had stepped off a cliff after miscarrying what would have been another bastard child.

She rose to her feet smoothly, hands brushing the miniscule wrinkles out of her skirt. "Would you be so kind as to walk with me there then, my lord?"

He considered this for a moment, then stood and extended his arm to her. "It would be my pleasure, Lady Brax."

"Thank you." She smiled, taking his arm and the two of them used the gate by the south wall where the guards were both too drunk with summer wine to even notice the pair pass them by. When they finally reached the sanded beach, she bent and took off her shoes in what could have been considered an unladylike like way, but she did it with such poise it was hard not to admire her. "We have no fear of being spied on here. The waves and strong breeze keep even Varys' birds at bay."

"You knew Jon Arryn." It wasn't a question.

She inclined her head as she looked out over the incoming waves. "He was my only friend in this accursed place. My sister and I were brought here a year ago to be ladies-in-waiting to Her Majesty when she tired of the old ones, and we were miserable until we met him. He fussed over us as if we were his granddaughter, which deflected any suspicions in the court of sharing secrets."

He nodded. That was Jon to the core, who'd been knowledgeable about how things worked at King's Landing long before becoming Hand there. "He always knew what had to be done to protect those who helped him. Did he tell you what he was doing before he died?"

"He'd been to see Robert's bastard children. All of them. He kept saying something about all of them being black of hair, which is only logical considering his whole family has been dark."

"Joffry and his siblings don't have Robert's coloring." Ned observed with a frown.

Her lips curled into an ironic-looking smile. "That bothered Jon as well. He borrowed some tome from the library and began talking in earnest with Stannis in Dragonstone. He told everyone it was because he wanted his son Robert to foster with Stannis, and while that in itself was true enough, they also spoke of the aforementioned children."

Ned pondered what she had said for a long while, deciding at last to trust her. He hadn't been sure, even after seeing the pendant that was undoubtedly Jon Arryn's handywork, but now he was after hearing her insinuate things that could very well get her beheaded. "I am surprised Lysa would agree to let her son go there, she has less love for Stannis than she did for Jon."

"Agree?" Talia scoffed, shaking her head. "She fought Jon at every turn about it, so vehemently that I warned him he might want to drop the subject for a while."

Ned stopped walking and looked down at her. "She became violent?"

"Well..." Talia hesitated a moment, then said: "She made a move towards her knife one night at dinner when he was talking about it. Petyr Baelish leaned over and whispered something to her, then it was like neither of them had ever moved. I am fairly certain they thought no one had seen that pass between them, and if they knew otherwise I would be dead."

"That's quite the bold statement."

Talia held his gaze unwaveringly. "I know what I saw Lord Stark, and what I saw was a fierce mother bear who felt her cub was in danger. Even I am not fool enough to underestimate such primal instincts."

"Lysa may not have liked the idea of her son going to foster with Stannis, but surely she would not think he'd harm the boy?" Ned knew Catelyn would not have liked where this conversation was leading since she liked to think the best of her sister, but Ned had remained skeptical about the credibility of Lysa's claims, and now Petyr's name only cemented his suspicions.

Talia sighed softly. "With a man like Baelish whispering in your ear, it's hard to say. He's known for his silver tongue and the ability to get what he wants, Lord Stark. Very few can resist him."

Ned could believe that all too well, turning their steps back towards the castle. It was getting late and soon the feasting would be over, so he thought it wise that they shouldn't be missing when this happened. "You have given me a lot to think on, my lady." He paused his stride long enough for her to get her shoes back on as they neared the end of the beach. "Do you think House Lannister would be capable of murder?"

"They have made no qualms killing enemies before, so I would have to say yes. But we are all capable of murder in one way or another, my lord." She gave him a grim smile as they resumed their walk, the two guards at the gate passed out now from all the wine they'd consumed. Once just outside the banquet hall, she released his arm and gave him a curtsey. "Thank you for the lovely walk, Lord Stark."

"The pleasure was all mine, Lady Brax." He replied with a formal half bow. He watched her go inside, finding himself wishing their conversation could have lasted longer, as unpleasant as the topics had been. Still, he would have to be careful about how their relationship was seen, as well as how it panned out between them in private. He already had disgraced his lady wife once with a bastard and he had no wish to do so ever again. He was a northerner after all, and his was the older way. He would never again let his passions rule him as he'd done in his youth, a mistake that had cost him dearly. His jaw tightened as he pushed away the returning memories, going into the hall and rejoining the merriment as best he could.

The feast ended shortly thereafter and he put his arms around his drowsy children, guiding them back to their rooms, made sure they were safe and sound inside, and then walked slowly to his own. He shut the door firmly behind him, stripping off his clothing piece by piece till he was wearing nothing, pulling back the covers on his bed and laying on the mattress. He slept fitfully, a familiar pair of violet eyes haunting his dreams as they had many times before, but his lady wife was not with him to take solace in this time, and soon enough he got out of bed and threw on some light weight cotton clothes just to get away from the torment. Once they were secured on his body, he stepped out and walked silently down the halls of the castle, having no real destination in mind.