Disclaimer: ASOIAF belongs to GRRM.

Thanks a lot to my wonderful beta, androidilenya, and to every person who reads this story. :)

It had been a fortnight since the incident with the cage, but Ned still felt uneasy about the man he had met. One of the questions that passed through the Hand's mind regarded his own safety, as well as his daughters. How could he know the assassin would not come back? Who had hired him anyway?

The thought hadn't left Ned's mind when he stood in the Small Council chamber, carefully listening to the news. It seemed like Daenerys Targaryen had married a Dothraki and now rode with his khalasar.

"The whore is pregnant!"

The king's shout attracted Ned's attention almost immediately, but it was the next thing he said that made the Hand get up from his chair.

"I want her dead! Her and her dragon spawn!"

Suddenly, an image crossed his mind – though he had never seen Daenerys, he imagined her as a silver-haired girl with purple eyes, riding through the grass that built the Dothraki sea. She was only a child, just two years older than Sansa, and four older than Arya!

Then a distant memory caught him, one he knew would never leave him – his sister Lyanna begging him for forgiveness, her grey Stark eyes filled with tears as she gazed at her newborn babe for what was going to be the last time. She had been the same age as Daenerys was now, Ned realized. In his mind a new image formed, with Lyanna's son in the center. Robert said death would come after every child born from the Targaryen line – dragon spawn - more times than Ned could count in the last week, and was very serious when talking about Daenerys. A cold shiver went through Ned's body as he thought about Jon Snow. What would Robert do then?

Ned waved away Jon's image – him hurt and dead by Robert's hand - but not before he promised to himself he would not let any harm come to the boy. After that, he spoke for the first time that meeting.

"She's just a child! Robert, you can't be serious!"

But Ned knew how false his assumption was even before he said it. At first. no one paid him any attention, but he slammed his fist into the table to draw their gazes to him.

"It's not a child! It's a dragon spawn!"

Ned realized that Robert was nervous and annoyed. His face was flushed, and his eyes had something in them that reminded the northerner of the Mad King.

"My lords," said Petyr Baelish, trying to calm everyone down, "I suggest we hire an assassin for this job. It would make the death clean, and no one would know we were behind it."

"I will not be part of this!"

"You will! You monster, how can you feel pity for a fucking Targaryen! Have you forgotten your sister? Have you forgotten your father and brother? Remember what those fucking Targaryens did to them? Remember?"

"I remember, but Daenerys was not even born at that time. You can't make her responsible for the actions her family has done … Your Grace."

It took all the dexterity Ned had to move some steps further, to avoid being hit by a goblet full of wine. The liquid inside spilled all over the table and on the dress the queen wore.

"Robert!" the only woman in the room screamed at him – "That's enough!"

"My lords! My lords, I suggest we all calm down." This time, Varys was the one who spoke, but he did not have any more success than Petyr Baelish, who was now trying to move some papers away from the king.

"No! Littlefinger, find an assassin! It can be anyone, I don't care. I want her dead! Do you hear me?"

But it was Ned who answered.

"Then I suggest you find a new Hand!"

With that, he tossed away his sigil and did not wait for an answer – he stepped out into the hallway as Lord of Winterfell, his steps sure and determined. But it was not fast enough, because he still heard the King giving the command. And he heard Littlefinger's answer – an envoy for the Faceless Men was going to leave King's Landing at the first hour in the morning.

It could not be long till Robert would send the guards after him, so Ned moved as fast as he could. He needed to do something, anything – he could not let harm came to that girl! That child who had already been through so much, so much. From all Ned had heard, the two remaining Targaryens did not have a rich life – they begged at every high lord's door in Bravoos and, if the rumors were true, Queen Rhaella's crown had been sold in order to get some food. The marriage to the Khal could assure them both – Daenerys and Viserys – a life as they couldn't even dream of in the Free Cities. They could have a roof, a home, food ... Why should Daenerys and the child pay with their blood for that?

Ned remembered the sight of Elia Martell and her children wrapped in Lannister cloaks. Robert's laugh …

No, he could not let any harm come to the Targaryen girl.

"A lord has his doubts."

He had not even noticed when Jaqen H'ghar had seated himself on a bench. Instinctively, Ned reached for his sword.

"A man wishes no harm. A man only came to pay his debts. Speak a name, any name, and a man shall do the rest."

"There is no honor in hiring an assassin," Ned said, but he wasn't sure if the statement was addressed to himself or to the Lorathi.

"There is no honor in killing a child."

"How do you know that?"

How could he? No one could have been inside without being observed, the guards were too many – both for the queen and the king. A shiver ran down Ned's back, and for a second, his leg started to hurt again.

"A man hears, a man knows."

Could it be?

A crazy thought crossed his mind. If the envoy could be caught, they would never hire a Faceless Man. But still, the envoy did not have any fault. Suddenly, Ned had an idea.

"How good are you, truly? How do I know you will not fail?"

"Of a man's talent I can assure you. A man had no mission he failed – and a man can assure you that he has had many."

"Then how did you end up in the cells?"

He laughed, but it did not reach his eyes. "A man was on a mission … a lord could agree that it's more comfortable to travel north in a wagon than walking or riding."

"A mission … who were you supposed to kill?"

"This a man cannot say."

It was silent for a few seconds, then Jaqen spoke again. A man heard a king wishing for a certain death, and a man saw a lord standing firm against it."

"What if I asked you to save someone? Would you do that? Would you save the girl?"

Jaqen stood up and moved himself closer to Ned. It made the latter feel uneasy, to have so little space between him and the assassin. But he could not be scared, not when he knew that he could do something to save an innocent.

"Say a name, any name, if you think it will save the girl."

"I don't want you to kill anyone. I want you to save Daenerys Targaryen."

"This isn't part of the deal, a man should remind a lord. A man promised a lord three deaths, no more, no less. A name is all a man needs. It's for a lord to decide whose name it will be."

There is no honor in tricks, Ned thought to himself. But still … there was no honor in lying to your king. But there was honor in saving innocents.

And I don't want that man to be my king, Ned concluded. It was a traitorous thought, but he could not help himself. After seeing what Robert had become – a man who could murder children, who didn't care about the realm, and who spend his days whoring and drinking, a man who was king only in name – he was sure of that.

"Jaqen H'ghar."

"A lord gives a man his own name. This must be a jest, though a lord should know this is no joking thing."

"I am not joking."

"Take it away."

"No."

"Please."

"I will do it … If you will help me."

Jaqen sighed. Still, Ned could not back down. It was the only way he could save Daenerys. The only way he could save Jon's aunt. And her child – Jon's cousin. Even if he had hidden Jon for all those years, he had secretly hoped it would be possible to introduce him to the other Targaryens. It was only a dream, because he knew Jon would never be safe again if the knowledge about his parents became public.

"A lord lacks honor."

Those words hit Ned harder than they should have. "Don't hurt anyone … please. And don't let the envoy get away from King's Landing. Just catch him, and make sure he doesn't leave the city. Deliver him to me, and I shall take care of him."

"This wasn't part of our deal."

"You offered me three deaths … help me save three lives. Do what it's honorable, Jaqen H'ghar, and help me save that girl."

"A man could kill the king. How long does a lord think it will take before they will become suspicious?"

That took Ned aback.

"Whatever has happened to Robert, he is my friend. We grew up as brothers, and I would never wish him any harm. Do you accept my offer? Catch the envoy and deliver him to me? Change those three deaths for three lives saved?"

At that, Ned received a nod in approval.

There had been no word from Jaqen on the first day, nor on the second, and Ned started to think that something had happened to him. It gave him headaches to think about failing, to think that he could not save the poor girl.

When five days had passed, a time in which Ned was once again named Hand of the King, he did not expect to get any news. But that day, when the stars were already shining in the night sky, Loras Tyrell was bought in front of him.

"This is the envoy," Jaqen told him.

"Thank you." Ned hesitated before adding a question that had been on his mind for a while. "How do I find you?"

"A lord should not worry about this. A man still has debts."

With that, Jaqen disappeared into the night, and Ned was left in his room with a scared Loras Tyrell, who probably didn't have any idea of what had he done to be brought here. Ned could save two more lives if he knew how to ask for them – Daenerys Targaryen was the first. Who would be the second?

Then he wondered – what would have happened if it was someone else who had saved Jaqen – someone like Robert or Tywin Lannister? And, more importantly, who was that man? Where did he come from?

Ned felt dizzy and wished to go back home. Back to Winterfell, where everything was so easy, without all those games. He wished to be in a place where kings didn't try to kill innocents and Hands didn't need to use hired assassins to stop them. Where he didn't have to deal with a scared envoy or with all those secrets. Where he didn't need to trick anyone in order to save a life.

But had he truly fooled Jaqen? He wasn't so sure, and he could only hope that it was an honorable man that had helped him.

Ned had managed to change the deal – to save three lives in order to take them. The first one was used. Who would be the second?

Ned sighed as he started to consider what he would do with the envoy. He could only hope it would not be too hard to convince him to keep the secret.