For starter's, let me just say that this plot has been brewing in my head for some time. I watched the series and read the books wondering how things would have been a bit different if Cersei's firstborn son had not been a still born. I didn't want to change the books that much, since the firstborn would've been heir to the throne and not Joffrey, so I found a way that he would be the first born and Joffrey would still be heir.
I plan to follow the events of the television show since that would be a lot less complicated than following the events of the series. Also I'm sure more people have watched the show then read the books.
I won't be changing major plot points, (people dying, major events, etc.), but maybe some slight changes. He will be the only OC character in this story, and he certainly will not be perfect like how some people make OC characters. He will have his own downfalls and moments that you may not like him too much like the rest of the characters. To me I never liked the OC characters being a little too perfect, and always liked the drama that came with the unperfect OC characters.
If you have questions as this story progresses, please feel free to leave a review or send me a PM. I will do my best to answer the questions as best I can. Feedback is also welcome, in any sort but don't be too harsh.
Hope you enjoy.
The characters in this story are the same ages as they appear in the television show. (Meaning the children)
The royal party always reminded Noah of a flock, maybe a herd or even a pack. It was the same concept really, his father constantly guarded by at least four knights in gold armour like the alpha male in a wolf pack. His mother and younger siblings always were concealed inside the carriage that they brought along with them, hiding themselves from the changing climate along with the changing scenery. Noah often wondered how boring it got in there, since it was the three of them in a bumpy carriage with no opening to look outside. They also had been traveling for more than a month, and to Noah, he could barely stand an hour in the closed off carriage. Instead, Noah travelled by horse alongside his father occasionally, but even then he liked to go off the Kingsroad. He stayed behind to take in the scenery, or he raced far ahead to catch a glimpse of what the royal party would be seeing in ten minutes. Sometimes there would be a pleasant surprise when he rode ahead, like a particularly large tree or a pack of wild boar or wolves. They always had disappeared by the time the royal party had gone, scared by the loud noise of the carriage and trotting of horses.
The North was certainly different from King's Landing, which was all Noah ever really knew. The high walls that protected him from the rest of the city concealed him within, and his mother always told him that it wasn't safe for him to go beyond the walls without either of the House guards or a member of the Kingsguard. It didn't matter which, just as long as he never went alone. The way his mother treated it, the walls of the Red Keep seemed just like The Wall that protected Westeros from the Wildings and legendary creatures like the White Walkers. The common folk of King's Landing were like the people beyond the wall to her. He thought his mother's almost obsession with protecting him stemmed from the fact that he had the "Crown Prince" title, but it continued even after he had declared his abdication at the age of thirteen. His siblings also received the same sort of treatment, like every stick was a sword and every cut a severed limb.
Noah grew used to his mother's overprotective nature, preferring it sometimes to the attention he received from his father which was the exact opposite. His father was definitely no knight in shining armor, at least not anymore. King Robert had grown fat during his reign as king, and even more so angry at everyone, even his own children. Noah noticed it, he still loved his father as any man would, but he could not help but feel his father's look of disappointment ever since he denied his right to the throne.
Robert had given him more attention when Noah still held the Crown Prince title. He took Noah out on his first hunting trip in the Kingswood when he was ten years old. The Queen Regent was relentless about keeping Noah at the castle, that hunting was no place for a boy so young. His father disagreed and got his way in the end as usual, claiming that Noah would have to learn someday and that hunting helped mold a good king. His younger brother Joffrey envied him, the extra attention he got from their father and the fact Noah was better at a sword than Joffrey was and was easily able to knock him flat on his back into the dirt when they used to spar with wooden sticks.
The fact Noah was Crown Prince followed him everywhere. The title haunted him, to a point that the word crown almost scared him. He spent a great deal of his preteen years in the often empty throne room, looking at the twisted contortion of iron swords that had been shaped into an ugly throne. He had never sat on it, but he knew he was going to have to occupy the chair one day. It was said to be highly uncomfortable, and he understood why his father stayed away from it like the plague. He tried to imagine himself sitting on the throne, a golden crown on his head and all the power in the seven kingdoms. As much as most men in Westeros would dream of that position, Noah loathed the idea. He had seen what his father was becoming as he ruled the seven kingdoms. How the amount of wine that he consumed grown, and bedding those whores was no secret. He had a small twinge of disliking for his father ever since he had found out about the amount of women that he slept with, wasn't a marriage supposed to be honoring your wife by not bedding every other woman in Westeros? Honor was a very high up priority in Noah's mind, as it was in every high born boy his age. When he realized how greatly he cared about honor, preferring sword play over ruling a continent, and spending time being trained by his Uncle Jaime and grandfather that he knew that being a king definitely wasn't for him. A few weeks before his thirteenth name day, Noah had went to his Uncle Jaime with what had been on his mind for a while. His dream wasn't to be king, he wanted to be a member of the Kingsguard like his uncle. Being king was being handed to him on a silver platter basically, he didn't need to earn the king title. But being a member of the Kingsguard was great pride. You were sworn to protect the king and his family, you were one of the best fighters in Westeros, and there was a great deal of honor involved in that.
So about a week after his thirteenth name day, Noah had announced to the king and queen that he was abdicating the crown to his brother Joffrey so that he could train to become a knight and then one day a member of the Kingsguard. His lord father hadn't taken it well, outraged and clearly upset that his oldest son denied his right to the throne. His mother had helped coax him into it, showing him how much honor that Noah would bring when he became part of the Kingsguard and that he had another son who would become king along with one who would protect him.
His father didn't pay much attention to him after that, not as much as he used to at least. Noah always felt like a bit of a disappointment around his father, like he had failed him by making a decision. Noah knew he would've been no good at ruling an entire continent anyway, his love for swordplay and protecting would get in the way of sitting at small council meetings and being the judge of the commoners various problems. The gold armour called to him more than the iron throne, and even though he felt like he was disappointing his father, a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when the Crown Prince title belonged to his younger brother Joffrey.
As much as he loved swordplay and fighting, he didn't repeal any sort of book knowledge. He wasn't as smart and didn't love books as much as his Uncle Tyrion, and probably would never come close to outsmarting him, but his grandfather had definitely made sure that he was getting some sort of an education. So he learned to read, write, do things that would academically separate himself away from the lowborns with no proper education at all. His grandfather had taught him himself, not wanting his Uncle Tyrion to fill him with nonsense lies about various things or anything really.
None the less, Noah still had a strong connection with his Uncle Tyrion, even though their paths didn't cross that much other than meals and sometimes in the hallways of the castle. Tyrion often stayed in the king's large library or King's Landing whore house, where Noah was usually outside sparring with whoever was up for it. As much as Noah liked sparring with his Uncle Jaime, his uncle was often with his father and protecting him, not having time to do anything other than his duty. Even Joffrey didn't want to spar with Noah anymore, preferring to spend time with their mother. The times Tyrion did get together with Noah were filled with much laughter and Noah's attempts to try to outwit his uncle, all failing miserably in the end. Tyrion drank sometimes as much as his father and was known to bed almost as many whores. Noah never minded that, since Tyrion wasn't married to anyone and didn't have children like his father.
But now that Winterfell was coming into sight, it brought a new feeling in the pit of Noah's stomach. Winterfell rose tall and was very beautiful to say the least. The North's summer was damp and chilly, unlike the South that was hot and made sleeping with blankets uncomfortable. There was the smell of fire mixed with wet wood in the air, as well as the smell of cooking meat. Winterfell was obviously preparing for the welcoming feast for the king and his family, which was going to take a large amount of food just to fill King Robert's belly. There were guards holding banners of the Starks, the dire wolf sigil clearly visible on the cloudy day and slight fog. The weather was the same everyday, and Noah wasn't sure he could remember the last time he properly saw the sun. He wasn't complaining, it was better to be cold and warm by a large fire than to be so hot and have no way of cooling down other than jumping into a river, even that was temperamental relief.
Noah turned on his horse, the side of the white horse facing the castle so that Noah could get a better look before he kicked his horse and gave it a nudge to pick up the pace back to the party of people making their way towards it. He galloped back down the hill towards the party, only slowing down when he got close to the Kingsguard surrounding his father.
"I saw Winterfell just up ahead!" Noah informed his father. Finally taking a break from traveling so long only increased Noah's happiness to get off of the horse he was on and have a proper meal that wasn't just jerky or summerwine.
"Looks like we should be there soon. Your brother Joffrey needs to get out of that wretched wagon and onto a horse. He is the Crown Prince after all, and needs to make a good impression on the Starks." his father said.
"Of course, father." Noah said, noticing how his father once again pointed out the fact Joffrey was the crown prince. "I'll get him immediately."
Once they got Joffrey onto a chestnut colored horse, they had just about arrived at the castle of Winterfell. Joffrey wasn't pleased with the weather, and draped his maroon wool cloak over him hastily in attempts to keep him warm. His maroon riding clothes looked almost too nice to touch, and he wasn't going to like his cloak getting all dirty which was inevitable since the ground was so wet.
They got in the line to enter the Great Keep, their father would come in last right behind the carriage that would take their other siblings Tommen and Myrcella along with the queen. Like Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen both had green eyes and blonde hair like their mother. Noah always felt a bit like how a bastard would, since he didn't look at all like his younger siblings. Noah's hair was black and went down past his ears, and his eyes were an icy blue that reminded him of the stories he had heard of far North beyond the Wall. Normally, Noah would be wearing armor for this sort of thing but his mother would have none of it when he tried to pull on his regular steel armour. Instead he was made to put on his riding clothes, a dark brown marsh color, the only ones he had brought with him and also never bothered to even touch until that day.
Noah's white horse circled the Great Keep and followed the bannermen that were holding the sigils of House Baratheon and House Lannister. The mud under the hooves of the horses was making an awkward squelching noise, and Noah could see Joffrey out of the corner of his eye. Joffrey however was looking over at the Starks, a queer smile on his face. Following where Joffrey was looking, he looked at the one Stark child that was smiling smally back at him. Noah recognized her as Sansa Stark, not because he remembered ever seeing her before, but she clearly was the oldest daughter of Ned Stark.
The children were all in a line beside their parents in order of age, Robb at the beginning standing proudly with his chest out and sharp fur cloak. Sansa had the same red hair as Robb did, which she had inherited from their mother. She was quite beautiful, and Noah had only heard stories about this beauty of the North. She didn't notice Noah, that was one thing Noah gave up with the Crown Prince title. People noticed the heir more than any of the other siblings, and Noah understood where Joffrey's obvious jealousy stemmed from. It wasn't that Noah wasn't attractive like his brother Joffrey, in fact both were partly known for their handsome looks. It was just that since Noah was striving to be part of the Kingsguard, Kingsguard members swore to celibacy and never married or had children. The younger daughter Arya was standing next to her, also looking nothing like her brothers and sisters who all resembled her mother. Maybe Arya could relate to the lack of resemblance like Noah had. Bran and Rickon also looked like their mother, their hair longer and just the same shade of auburn. Standing a little ways behind the lord and lady of Winterfell was Jon Snow, Ned Stark's infamous bastard son. Jon and Arya looked a lot alike, their features resembling those of the Starks more than the other siblings.
Once his father entered, everyone kneeled for the king as he dismounted from his tired looking horse. His father was also in his riding clothes, probably because he couldn't fit very well in his armor anymore. His father walked quickly over to the Lord of Winterfell, looking down at the kneeling man who was obviously getting himself dirty with his knees in the mud. Ned Stark rose to his feet when commanded to by the king, and the rest of the people kneeling followed suit.
"Your Grace." Ned mumbled, bowing his head quickly before looking into the eyes of the king. Noah watched the old friend's altercation, it sure was turning out to be very awkward. Ned was giving his friend all of the courtesies, bowing many times and calling him by his titles. As Noah waited, his left hand went to his opposite side where his sword was sheathed inside his scabbard. He placed his hand on the handle and scratched it subconsciously, having doing so since he had received the blade on his fifteenth name day when he was sent off to be his grandfather's squire at Casterly Rock. It was there that he began training to become a knight, by taking care of his grandfather's precious armour and washing and cleaning the hooves of his horse daily. It was tedious work, especially for a prince, but it had paid off by his seventeenth name day when he returned to King's Landing after completing his time as a squire. He hadn't been knighted yet, his father wouldn't do it. He thought Noah needed more training before he took the final step to becoming a knight, but Noah knew it was just to see if he would change his mind about giving up the throne. It was too late anyway.
"You've got fat." Robert said bluntly, his face staying still. The only thing that moved was his curly beard. Ned's children looked surprised by the king's comment, failing at concealing the look on their face.
From where he was on top of his saddle, the Lord of Winterfell nodded at the king's stomach, pointing out the king's large belly that his riding clothes was having a hard time to conceal. Both men suddenly broke out laughing, embracing tightly just like old friends. In that moment, their titles were shed and Robert was not the king of Westeros, Ned not the Lord of Winterfell, just two old friends who had not seen each other in a while.
Robert moved to hug Ned's wife, Catelyn and stopped to ruffle the hair of young Rickon.
"Nine years." Robert sighed. "I haven't seen you, where the hell have you been?"
"Guarding the North for you, Your Grace." Ned responded proudly. Noah could sense the amount of pride that Ned clearly had for himself, honor most likely becoming one of the main things that he prioritised in his life. "Winterfell is yours."
Noah looked to see his mother and two youngest siblings exiting the carriage, the queen holding her dress in both hands to prevent as much of it from getting ruined from the horse shit and mud on the ground. She looked around briefly, making her way towards where her husband stood with Ned and his family.
"Who have we here?" Robert asked, walking down the line of children. He stopped in front of Robb, who was a few inches taller than the king and had excellent posture. "You must be Robb."
Robb shook the king's hand firmly, as if he had been practicing his whole life for that one moment.
"Aye, you're a pretty one." Robert said, nodding at Sansa who smiled slightly and looked at her feet. Noah had to agree with him on that one.
"Your name is?" Robert asked the younger Stark girl.
"Arya." she replied hesitantly.
When he looked at Bran, Bran looked up expectantly at the king. "Show us your muscles." the king commanded and Bran flexed one of his arms. "You'll be a soldier."
Noah's mother held out her hand for Lord Eddard to kiss it, smiling quickly and weakly at them all. He could tell that she didn't like Winterfell, preferring King's Landing or even Casterly Rock over it.
"Take me to your crypt, I want to pay my respects." Robert said.
"We've been riding for a month, my love. Surely the dead can wait." Cersei said, as Noah dismounted from his horse and gave the reins to one of the nearby soldiers. Joffrey got down next to him, stepping closer to his Uncle Jaime in his golden armor.
Disregarding Cersei's comment, Robert stalked off with Ned close behind to leave the rest of the Stark family and Baratheon's to migrate inside to change out of their riding clothes and prepare for the upcoming feast.
"Where's the Imp?" Arya asked her sister, as her mother turned back around and approached her brother and two older sons.
"Where is our little brother?" she asked. "Go and find the beast."
Jaime turned with his whole body, as he often did when in his golden armor, to look at Noah who was on his right as his sister took Tommen and Myrcella into the castle, urging Joffrey to follow. His hand was on his sword, as it always was if he was walking, standing, running, right at the hilt.
"Should we go find my dear brother?" he asked casually. "I think you and I both know where he's ended up."
Noah smiled slightly, knowing exactly where his uncle was. It hadn't even been ten minutes had it? They walked through the muddy streets of Winterfell to find the brothel that their uncle most likely staying at. Noah would've gone and properly introduced himself to the Stark children, but finding his uncle was a bigger task than shaking and kissing hands with the Starks. There would be plenty of mingling between the Houses at the welcoming feast tonight.
"All you have to do is follow the moans." Jaime said, exaggerating his voice. "More like fake ones, you pay them to make you think they're having a good time. And most men actually believe it!"
"And you would know, uncle?" Noah asked, as they passed by carts of produce that was going to be sold to the castle for the welcoming feast tonight.
"And don't be so dense, I wasn't always sworn to celibacy you know. I wasn't part of the Kingsguard from birth." Jaime said, and slowed down his walking. "Hear that?"
Noah listened over the chatter of the people moving within the streets, clutching the hilt of his sword subconsciously.
"The moaning." Jaime said dramatically, wiggling his fingers which were covered by his gauntlets, causing Noah to laugh.
They headed towards the source of the noise in a small shack, entering in to find Lord Tyrion Lannister. The girls inside were wearing minimal clothing, despite the slightly cold temperature outside. They looked up, a bit surprised most likely to see a member of the Kingsguard and former Crown Prince standing in their establishment.
"Here for a lady, my lords?" one of the women asked, looking up from the table.
"Uh no not today. We're actually here for an Imp, seen him? Probably the only one that's walked in here." Jaime said, using his arm to roughly show Tyrion's height.
"Oh of course, my lord. Just down the hall to the left." she said, pointing towards the hallway with her quill. "A very generous customer he is."
"Oh, send about three more of those girls on into the room. I'll pay for them once I leave him to his doings."
Noah followed Jaime down the hallway that the girl had mentioned, and Jaime immediately opened the door and barged in. Noah followed in shortly behind, slightly laughing at the sight of his uncle already in the brothel when they had just arrived. The naked woman on top of him looked at both him and Jaime, her hair messy from her job.
"Don't get up." Jaime said, as Noah shut the door behind them.
"My lords." the whore said, climbing off of Tyrion to lay down next to him. Noah tried his best to avert his eyes to the ground.
"Should I explain the meaning to you both of a closed door in a whore house?" Tyrion asked, leaning his head back on the pillows.
"You have much to teach us no doubt, but our sister craves your attention." Jaime said, walking towards the wine flagon and cups. Noah slowly walked towards the middle of the room, putting his hand on his sword much like Jaime.
"She has her cravings our sister." Tyrion said as the paid girl snuggled into him.
The fire crackled behind Noah, warming his back as Jaime handed him a cup of wine.
"A family trait." Jaime remarked, as Noah took a deep drink of the wine. "Now the welcoming feast starts at sundown. Don't leave me alone with these people."
"I'm sorry. But I've begun the feast a bit early." Tyrion said, watching Jaime take a gulp of his own wine. "And this is the first of many courses."
"I thought you might say that." Jaime said, walking towards the closed door of the room. "But since we're short on time…"
Jaime opened the doors were three equal undressed women were standing, laughing as they got their bum slapped by Jaime as they entered the room towards Tyrion. Noah laughed slightly as he placed the cup down and followed his Uncle Jaime.
"See you at sundown!" Jaime called as they exited the room and closed the door shut behind him.
"I think that should keep him occupied." Noah remarked.
"Let's just hope that he shows up."
King Robert didn't like to sit at the High Table where the rest of the family was. The Starks had been sat among the Baratheon children, Noah noticing that Sansa looked over at Joffrey shyly every so often to try and get his attention, he was always giving her that same queer smile back. The company of the eldest Stark boy was the only thing that was preventing Noah from getting up and leaving the feast. The people behind him seemed to be having a much grander time than the royal family, even his father was mixing among the people and kissing some woman that was most likely a kitchen wench. Noah tried to ignore what his father was doing, and glanced at his mother to make sure that she was okay. She was sitting at the high table with Lady Catelyn, watching the people of the feast.
"You must be Noah Baratheon." Robb said next to him, practically yelling over the loud noise of the people at the feast. They sat at a table among the people, only it seemed a separate one for the highborn children. Noah sat there among his siblings, the Stark children, and their highborn friends. "Well it's quite obvious that you are actually."
"And you're Robb Stark!" Noah said, shaking hands vigorously with the Stark. Robb must've been his age, seventeen most likely. Already a man grown, or almost.
"You're the one that gave up the crown!" Robb said, as if it wasn't obvious.
"That's me, you know. Just trying to become a member of the Kingsguard instead." Noah said, taking a bite of his meat.
"Quite ambitious, my prince." Robb commented.
"It's just Noah, none of that my prince shit. I honestly don't want to deal with stupid titles while I'm away from King's Landing. Gods, sometimes I don't even hear my name all day back there. All they do is call me my prince." Noah said distastefully, shifting slightly in his black leather doublet. "We're dressed up and sitting here for a feast that will make us fat and bloated by the morrow."
"There really is too much food." Robb agreed, taking a gulp of his summerwine.
The men behind were laughing and pushing each other around, celebrating among their king with drunken confidence. Noah wiped his hand on a cloth by his plate and ran his hand through his hair to prevent strands from falling in front of his face. It really did sometimes get in the way of everything.
"Do you like Winterfell?" Robb asked, as Noah looked around the Great Hall.
"It's quite different from the warm climate of King's Landing I'll say." Noah said. "But a good different, it's not unbearably hot up here."
"I never understood the appeal for the North honestly." Robb said.
"It has its perks." Noah said, sipping from his goblet as his eyes flashed over to Robb's oldest sister. He caught her eye, and she quickly looked away again to begin whispering to her friend that was sitting next to her.
"Excuse me, my prince." Robb said, and Noah watched Robb rise to his feet. "It appears my Uncle Benjen has made it to the welcoming feast."
"Don't let me stop you." Noah said, and Robb nodded courteously before hurrying towards Ned and his uncle.
Noah didn't have anyone to talk to know, and he sat picking at the food that was still on his plate. The dim lighting made everything have an odd glow to it, especially his hands which had grease and oil on them from eating. Noah did have proper manners for eating, he did grow up in the capital after all, but it was clear that his mother was paying no attention to how he was eating so he became a bit more messier with it.
"Like the North, Joff?" Noah asked, feebly making conversation with his brother next to him.
"Yes, it's alright." Joffrey said, his eyes still trained on the beautiful Stark girl. He had distaste to his voice that didn't back up his statement about finding the North alright.
It didn't take long for Robb to come back and sit himself between Noah and Joffrey again, informing him of what his Uncle Benjen was doing at Winterfell.
"He's part of the Night's Watch you see, and I guess word got round through a raven about the king coming to appoint my father Hand of the King." Robb said.
Before Noah could respond, something flew through the air and hit Sansa across the face. Noah was incapable of holding back his laughter as Robb laughed heartily next to him and banged his fist on the table. Even Joffrey was bent over with laughter. Robb's laughter quickly subsided as he rose to his feet again, and made his way towards the source of the flying piece of food. He grabbed his sister by the arms and pulled her up from her seat, pushing her slightly to lead her out of the Grand Hall.
Two more hours in, people were starting to leave the welcoming feast to stumble back to their chambers. The dim lighting on top of making everything have a strange glow, also made Noah's eyes itch with most likely tiredness. He had eaten all that he could and was practically to a point where he thought food may start coming out of his ears. The welcoming feast was beginning to die down, and his time to retire came. He rose from his chair and shook hands pompously with Robb before trying to find his way out of the Great Hall. The amount of wine he had drunk was becoming evident, and he had to make his way through the unknown castle at a slower pace.
"My apologies." Noah said, as he bumped into someone by the entrance.
"It's quite alright, my prince." a shy voice said.
Noah recognized the older Stark girl, and cursed himself for being in this state for their first interaction.
"I'm sorry, I don't think we were able to be properly introduced, Lady Sansa." Noah said, holding out his hand for Sansa to place it in his. He kissed her hand before releasing it, folding his arms behind his back.
"The pleasure is all mine." Sansa replied.
"I hear there is a chance you'll be marrying my brother." Noah said, he could already see the red blush evident on her cheeks. "So you'll be my sister and my queen."
"That seems so." Sansa said. Noah almost felt bad for her, she had no idea what she would soon be getting herself into.
"Well as a future member of the Kingsguard, I'll be sworn to protect you and your children as well. I look forward to it." Noah said.
Sansa nodded, "Excuse me, my prince. I should be getting to my bed chambers."
"Of course, my lady. Goodnight."
Noah watched Sansa walk past him and down the dim hallway, turning away only when she had disappeared around the corner. He sighed and turned on his heel, hoping he didn't sound too stupid as he began to find his own bed chambers.