CHAPTER FOUR

STANNIS

"But these lords who flocked to my brother's banners knew him for a usurper. They turned their backs on their rightful king for no better reason than dreams of power and glory, and I have marked them for what they are. Pardoned them, yes. Forgiven. But not forgotten."

~ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 42, Davos

"Gone?"

"Gone. The garrison at Dragonstone had advance warning of our coming and the Targaryen children were smuggled out before we could get to them."

"Children? I thought there was only Prince Viserys. What about Rhaella?"

"Rhaella reportedly died after giving birth to a daughter. Daenerys, she was called."

Stannis watched him, carefully, measuring every slight gesture for a sign of anger, relief, but the Lord Stark seemed drained of all emotion. Even when he had liberated the Baratheon forces from the siege at Storm's End, Eddard had seemed more haggard than the starved men he was rescuing.

Robert's death after the Trident must have sapped his strength. And yet, it was not just Robert's death. He had lost a father, a brother, a sister, and—if the rumors were true—a lover and mother to his bastard child as well. He is already a broken man. He is barely nineteen and yet he is haunted by death at every turn.

A baby's wail from the next room startled the exhausted lord of Winterfell into action. Eddard stood quickly and moved toward the door until Stannis lay a gloved hand on his shoulder, "What shall we do?"

"I do not know. Find the children? Bring them home? Raise little Viserys to king and wed him to his sister before she is too old for swaddling clothes."

He tried to step forward, but Stannis tightened his grip, "And until then?"

Eddard looked him square in the eye, "You are Robert's heir. You shall serve as regent until Viserys comes of age."

"The brother of the Usurper serve as King Regent? I am a man grown, but barely in the eyes of many."

"You are a mere year younger than me and have survived a war and a siege besides. I am afraid this war has made old men of us both."

The wetnurse's cooing could be heard through the thin stone wall that separated Lord Stark's temporary sleeping quarters in the Red Keep from a small servants' quarter. Eddard's shoulder relaxed under Stannis's fingers as the crying subsided.

Stannis pulled his hand away, "And if I refuse? And if I refuse to take any more part in my brother's war?"

"I had not guessed you would forget your duty so soon."

Stannis bristled at the implication, "I have not forgotten my duty! My duty is to my home and to my smallfolk now. My brother and his friend from the north have finished their games and I am not responsible for picking up the pieces after both of them."

Eddard glowered at him for a moment before saying icily, "And to think, you could still be feasting on onions at Storm's End."

Stannis met his stare, evenly, before calmly replying, "I served my brother when he called. I have now served you by rebuilding the fleet and by sailing to Dragonstone. You swore vengeance for the death of your father and of your brother and you used Robert's rebellion to achieve that end…"

Eddard, now furious, sharply drew his breath. He shook off Stannis's gloved hand and instinctively reached for a sword that was no longer at his side.

"I do not blame you," Stannis continued. "I used your war to win my brother's favor and hoped for a seat that I never before would have dared to consider mine. But even the most noble of intentions would have still made Robert a usurper. He dared question his king, not only out of fear to save himself from the king's wrath, but also out of blind ambition. And for this, I can never forgive him. For this, I cannot, and will not, pretend to sit on the Iron Throne for a prince that might never return. Robert touted our quarter Targaryen blood to pacify the smallfolk and to rally them to his cause, not to seriously legitimize his claim. For that, he only needed the knights by his side and his warhammer, neither of which saved him in the end. If you wish to glorify his efforts, fine, I will make no move to stop you, but I have no desire to be your puppet king."

There was a tense moment as Eddard sat down again by the hearth as if the short burst of energy had completely exhausted him. Stag and wolf both stared into the fire for a moment at an impasse.

"I suppose you will be sailing for Storm's End at first light."

"Ser Davos is already readying a ship. We shall leave the fleet behind in King's Landing for your command."

Lord Stark nodded slowly, still staring into the flames. After a moment, he turned to Stannis with tears in his eyes, "Your brother's bones may reach Storm's End before you. The last time I saw him he was so drunk from mead and milk of the poppy that he barely understood me when I told him of the sack of King's Landing by Lannister men. Elia's babes were presented to Robert and all of the sympathy he could manage was 'I see no babes. Only dragonspawn.' He kept fighting Rhaegar over and over again in his mind. If his wounds didn't kill him then the constant thrashing in his sleep did. His body may have made it to King's Landing before finally giving out on him, but Robert's ghost was all that was left after the Trident."

Stannis nodded and turned to take his leave.

"He did not declare war simply to overthrow his king, Stannis. He was not driven by 'blind ambition' as you say. Robert Baratheon had a thirst for glory—the kind they sing songs for—and he died after drinking his fill. Do not belittle his aspirations by naming them as 'blind ambition's… instead… gods forgive me… belittle them as his lusts—for life, for my sister, for the clashes between men, but mostly for justice and for glory. Those two vices stood out among the rest. And for those two, I have cursed him every day since he died, yet it is also these two that will make me love that dammable man until I die and that make me hope that they will sing his praises long after."

A/N: Yes, I took some liberties with the quote. Technically, Stannis was referring to Renly's bannermen during The War of the Five Kings, but it fit my storyline so I used it.