Jeyne, 278 AC, King's Landing

The first thing I noticed was the smell, as their carriage came in through the River Gate that stood astride from Blackwater Rush. The odor of King's Landing was distinctly foul, and probably had much to do with the open sewer that ran through Flea Bottom and eventually into the sea. I looked at Father with some expectation of an explanation, or something, as this was becoming intolerable.

As I put a handkerchief over my face and gagged, Father said, "The last time I was in the capital, I was returning from the Stepstones at the head of our levies, and Lord Steffon had just seen his Father die before his eyes in battle. If you think this is bad, bear in mind what it would be like at the head of 3500 men with festering wounds and a shocking lack of latrine discipline."

The thought of that only made things worse, to be honest, but I suppose he had a point. I composed myself as our carriage rode along into the streets that led up to the Red Keep. The city was vibrant and colorful in a way that I had never seen before, and the sheer amount of commerce that permeated the city, from the fishmongers near the wharf to the charlatans peddling Targaryen "relics" on the Hook road that led to the Red Keep, was astounding.

"Is the city always this busy, Father?"

"Keep in mind the population differences, Jeyne. A half a million souls live within the walls of King's Landing", he said, as our carriage ascended towards the Keep. I could see the gate about a half a league ahead. The amount of armed guards here was almost unnerving. Dragon printed shields, with men bearing spears behind them, absolutely littered the road we were on.

Father too looked perplexed at this, and muttered to himself something about the dragons never failing to remind everyone who was in charge.

"Lord Steffon mentioned something about the King becoming more concerned after the events at Duskendale. Perhaps this is normal, these displays", I ventured out loud.

Father grunted in acknowledgement of that, and then called out the window of the carriage, "Gulian! I'm going to need you to ride ahead and inform the guard of our arrival."

Gulian rode ahead, and we were able to pass the gate without incident.

I checked over my dress and made sure that no bits of fabric were torn or hanging in an improper manner, before holding a mirror from my trunk up to make sure my hair was in place. The best part of having black and wavy hair was that it never seemed to almost shine in the sunlight at times, and that made up for my lack of jewels and other bits of finery that our house did not possess. For once, it seemed as if I had lucked out! Nothing that would displease Septa Mylla, at least. She might have a word about my dress, which showed more leg than it should, but that was more because I had grown three hands in the last few years, and this was a present from Mother when she was still alive.

Father pushed open the door, before gingerly exiting the carriage. He helped me down, and then looked at me as if I had forgotten to wear clothes. He whispered, "Jeyne! Your sword!" before maneuvering in front of me. I pushed Stabber back into the carriage, thinking that if I had forgotten something so basic, this could be a very difficult experience for us all.

I quickly stood at Father's side, as Gulian dismounted and one of the guardsmen took his horse to the stables. At this moment, I was greeted by the sight of Lord Tywin, along with a weedy looking man in a grey cloak, and a familiar face known to our family, Jon Connington, who I had known since my fifth nameday.

"Lord Clifford, I take it your journey went well," began Lord Tywin. A few armed men bearing Lannister colors came forward and took most of our baggage from the carriage, before putting it in a cart and walking off towards a toward to our west. "My men will take your things to the Tower of the Hand, where you will be staying tonight."

"Thank you, my Lord. We ran into some trouble on the Kingsroad with a broken cart, but it delayed us only a night", Father replied.

"Well, nonetheless, the King is will be holding court for a few more hours, and your audience will come soon. As for those men at arms", Lord Tywin said, gesturing to our 100 man escort waiting at the base of the Red Keep, who had our ballistae, "there will be quarters for them in the city. Let us not delay."

Father and Gulian began walking with Lord Tywin and the man in the grey cloak, who introduced himself as the Master of Coin, Qarlton Chelsted, and I fell in alongside Jon.

"Good to see you again, Jeyne. I had heard you were staying with the Baratheons now", said Jon. I had always liked him whenever we had been pushed together at some event or another, as he tended to take Gulian down a peg or two whenever he could. He was now apparently a good friend to Prince Rhaegar, as I had heard.

"Yes, I have. It's been wonderful so far, but Father is going to try to find me a match with a Frey", I replied.

"You don't sound so enthused about that."

"Well, I suppose I'll see what happens", I replied, not wanting to go too far into such a topic. We talked about the differences in life at Storm's End and King's Landing for a while, as Lord Tywin led us through the halls and courtyards of the Red Keep.

As we crossed an entryway into a cavernous building, I noticed with a shock the massive skulls of what I assumed to be dragons, looking sinisterly at me as I walked. Perhaps the royal family used them to intimidate courtiers, but it did not seem as if court was really all that busy today. There was a group of perhaps 100 or so people milling about the room, but that was it.

Lord Tywin said, "Your Grace, I present to you Lord Clifford Swann and his two children, Gulian and Jeyne."

The crowd parted, and I, along with Father and Gulian, knelt where I stood. I did not get a good look at the King, but I could see Jon walk past me towards the head of the large room.

"Lord Swann, we are happy to welcome you to the Red Keep. Please make use of our hospitality before dinner tonight", said someone from the vicinity of the throne.

"Lord Swann is an old friend of mine, your Grace. Perhaps you too remember him from our time in the Stepstones?"

A chilled voice called out, "Yes, yes, Tywin, bring your friends before me and impress me with your connections, I know the game you play!"

What?!

I raised my head just enough to take a look at the King and those near the throne. Just as the books had said, it was an iron monstrosity that looked as if it was used for torturing enemies of the realm through impalement. The man who sat on it slouched, and he had an angry look on his face, which stretched his features to an uncomfortable looking expression verging on pain. I had always heard our King was a handsome man, but his long fingernails resembled claws, and his angry complexion did him no favors.

To his right, a young man with long silver hair stood, and he appeared to be embarrassed at the scene before him. I figured it was the King's heir, Rhaegar. Members of the Kingsguard stood around the pair of them, given away by their white cloaks.

"Your Grace, my children and I come to pay our respects before we depart north to meet Lord Frey. I am honored to be here before you", Father said, standing as if it would take the attention off of that awkward exchange before.

"Very well, Lord Swann", the King said, before continuing, "Your children may rise." Gulian and I stood up and looked at the King. Gulian seemed to be deeply rattled by the events unfolding, and perhaps subconsciously positioned himself behind me. The King looked us over before beginning to speak once more.

"You know, I do remember you, know that I think of it. You were the one who commanded that reserve Pike formation when the Tyroshi cavalry attacked! Ha!"

"Indeed I did, your Grace", Father replied.

"We must speak of this at the meal later on. Perhaps you and your children will give me a rest from the insufferable babblings of my own", the King said, before gesturing for the next person to be brought forward.

We stood and began to walk to the rear of the hall, as the courtiers around us stared. I noticed that some of them were whispering to each other while staring at the three of us as we made way for a group of men walking towards the King.

One of the royal heralds called out that a traitor to the realm was being brought before the King, and I heard Lord Tywin mutter, "Another one?", as Father grabbed Gulian and I and started walking quickly out the entryway into the hall outside.

"Father, what was that about?" Gulian said, clearly frightened by what had just occurred.

"Gulian, you will say nothing for as long as we are here!" Father said, with agitation in his voice, as Gulian had confusion written all over his face. He continued to drag the two of us farther from the Throne Room, and I saw Jon Connington following the three of us out to the courtyard.

"But, his Grace, what-"

"Nothing. Say nothing, and we will discuss this tomorrow."

"But-"

Father shook Gulian with a fury and pulled him close before spitting out, "I saw the way you hid behind your sister in there! You should be ashamed of yourself. If I have to tell you to-

A loud and prolonged scream of agony ripped out from the Throne Room, with a cacophony of noise coming afterwards that sounded suspiciously like laughter. The three of us stopped and looked back, not knowing what to say after that.

"I see you have heard the King's justice being carried out."

I looked over to the source of the voice, and it was Jon Connington again. His red hair stood out in contrast to the stone wall behind him, and had a smirk worn prominently on his face.

"You're Armond's son, right?" Father said. Jon nodded, before walking over to the three of us. "Is His Grace usually in this kind of state?"

"Well, it depends on who you ask. But that 'traitor to the realm' in the throne room, he'd probably say the King is in a very good mood. After all, he was merely run through for his crimes, which most likely were pickpocketing or something of the like. Others have found a worse end", he said, with a dark look on his face.

The four of us milled around the courtyard for a few hours after that, awaiting meeting the King and some other Crownland nobles at supper. Jon spoke to me at length about all of the training and riding he had been doing with the Prince as of late, with a tone that betrayed no small amount of admiration for Rhaegar, and I tried to keep the conversation on any topic possible that had nothing to do what had just occurred in the Throne room. The King terrified me, and I wasn't sure what I could say that would trouble for myself.

We were ushered into a mighty looking fortress, no doubt being Maegor's Holdfast, where the King and some of the assembled courtiers I had seen earlier were sitting. To his right, again, was the Prince. I was escorted by a guard to a spot right next to the Queen, a frail looking woman who sat to the King's left. I had not seen where Gulian or Father were sitting, but I assumed it on Rhaegar's side of the table, as I instantly heard Father and the King discussing their time in the war together. Wine was carried out and given to everyone at the table.

I remembered Lady Cassana's lessons, and decided to let mine sit, rather than risk embarrassing myself in some way. Queen Rhaella looked over at me when the first dish was brought out, and seemed to be working herself up to ask a question.

"So, Jeyne, I hear you are fostered at Storm's End?"

"You are correct, your Grace. Lord Steffon and his family have been very kind to me", I replied.

"I was meaning to ask about him. Steffon never writes me anymore, but we were very close growing up. I remember Storm's End quite fondly. Tell me, have they gotten around to renovating the guest tower yet?" she said, with a small smile on her face. Sadly, I did know of what she spoke of.

"No, your Grace, they have not, if you are referring to the hole in the stairway that makes those howling noises whenever the wind blows-"

"Which is, of course, all of the time!", she said, with a laugh. It seemed that being royalty did not give guests at Storm's End a way out of that situation. Perhaps I should try to patch that up myself one of these days. Stannis would take it as an engineering challenge, and would love to help out.

The Queen was a very nice woman, and she seemed to have a lot of interest in the Baratheon family. We spoke together for most of the meal, but I noticed that she seemed to deflate whenever her husband put his clawed hand on her arm. It almost looked as if he was digging into her flesh, but she said nothing the whole time. It was definitely not my place to say anything, but what I saw was not healthy at all.

The King joined the conversation as the lampreys were taken away, and I felt nervous as he looked over at me and said, "So, girl, Lord Steffon must have spoken of me to you at some point. Did he tell you of some of the things we did growing up?"

Put on the spot like that, I briefly chewed over my words before replying, "Lord Steffon has always spoken of you fondly, and was most pleased to hear of your rescue from Duskendale-

"Rescue? Is that what he said? The might of the dragon does not-

"Father, she merely misspoke. I don't believe that your cousin believes any such thing", said the Prince. He looked quite distressed, and sad at the same time, as the King worked himself into a lather of anger. The Queen stared at me with a somber intensity, and swept a strand of her silver hair behind her ear as she tried to seemingly will me into taking back what I said. She looked almost as if she was to cry.

"Your Grace, I apologize for my choice of words. Lord Steffon of course spoke of your victory over the rebellious knaves in Duskendale with joy, and toasted your name at supper when he heard the news. In fact, he is very excited to be hosting that royal tournament in a few months, and hopes you will be pleased by his efforts."

I hope that I repaired the damaged I had caused, as I noticed Father had turned to look at me from his seat with some concern. Gulian seemed incredibly interested with a fowl bone that he turned around his plate repeatedly, and tried to chop it with a spoon.

"Now that sounds more like the Steffon I know", the King said, with a proud look on his face. He continued, "Rhaegar here needs a wife soon, and I was planning on sending Steffon to the Free Cities to find a Valyrian for him. The Velaryon line has been tainted as of late with women with sickly dispositions, and my wife has not done her duty and given me a daughter as of yet for him."

I was sure that Lord Steffon would react to this news, when it came, with a great deal of cursing and shouting, but I didn't think mentioning that would help the situation.

The King once more dug his hand into her arm, and whispered to the Queen, "We shall attempt to remedy this tonight, one way or another", and I could see her shudder in fear. Perhaps some things were better left unseen, but the King was not making that an option for me. Lord Steffon did not ever behave in such a manner with his lady wife, and my Father had hardly spoken to Mother when she still lived, but he never treated her in such a way.

I resolved that my husband would act that way with me, no matter if he was a Frey or a Wildling or anything of the sort, and I would not accept or put up with that, not if my husband was to remain ungelded.

I did not feel like joining the dancing of the Crownland Lords that night after that display. Instead, I chose to join Father as he and Lord Rosby spoke in the corner. Apparently, Lord Rosby's daughter Bethany was to accompany us north as she too visited the Twins for a match. The Gods knew that there were enough Freys that Lord Walder would find someone in the realm if they met his specifications. They had begun to discuss our ballistae sale to Lord Walder.

"I collect tolls from the Kingsroad, and that alone is all the revenue I need for the year. You really need to peddle these gadgets all over to support your House?" Lord Rosby asked.

"Well, we don't have a road like that at Stonehelm, or really much commerce period. But the mountains nearby mean that we have a large amount of subsistence farming, with lots of freeholders and not much revenue from it", I interjected, before finishing, "We have to do something."

Father looked surprised that I defended our relatively provincial ways, but he at least looked appreciative that I was willing to speak out on behalf of House Swann. Lord Rosby's ancient looking face stretched a bit in comprehension, before he said, "That is understandable, I guess."

Father jumped back in the conversation, and the two of them talked of revenue a bit more. I noticed that Gulian and Lord Rosby's daughter, a girl with blond curls that resembled that witch Cersei's, but with a less haughty face, were engrossed in a conversation at the end of the table. Gulian would usually be dancing at this point, but he seemed concentrated on someone else for a change.

Jon usually sought me out at events like this, at least in recent years, but I could not find him. We normally would laugh at the ridiculous attempts at dancing and flirtation from Lords and Knights much too old to be doing such things as pursuing serving girls and lady's maids. I eventually encountered him on the balcony outside the feasting room, and noticed the Prince and two squires whom I did not recognize sitting and looking out over the city.

"What do you think of the view, Jeyne?"

Jon had noticed my presence, as did the others, but I did not have much to say about it. I had never been near this many people on a regular basis before, and the sounds of a city at night were unlike the cold and stony silences I had grown up with, or even the battering of the wind and rain against Storm's End I had become accustomed to.

"It's certainly something", I said, and the four of them chuckled at that. The Prince looked over at me, and seemed like there was something that he wanted to get off of his chest.

"I apologize for my father's behavior, earlier, Jeyne. He sometimes-"

"Sometimes?" Jon questioned.

"He isn't in a good place right now." Rhaegar looked down towards Blackwater Rush, and weighed his words, before continuing, "By the way, how are my cousins doing? I haven't seen Robert and Stannis for three years now."

"Very well, your Grace, actually. Stannis has actually smiled, once or twice, in the last few months. Robert on the other hand is as fun as ever, although he is Ser Robert now," I said with a laugh, "and he'll likely never let me forget it once he comes back from the Vale."

The group of us stayed silent for most of the next hour, just looking out over the city and watching the candle lights of Kings Landing dance about as smallfolk moved about from one place to another, like water moving through cracks in a wall. I noticed that Rhaegar kept whispering things to himself, but I felt as if pointing it out would be a bad idea. He did not seem cruel, as his father did, but he was certainly a mournful and troubled person.

The festivities came to an end, and Father, Gulian, and I were escorted into the Tower of the Hand, where lodgings had been prepared for us. Father was in bed almost immediately, having not slept for almost two entire days in a row, and Gulian soon followed.

I sat by the fire in the common room of the Tower, alone, and thought of writing to Robert about what had transpired. Perhaps the next time I wrote to him, I would be married to a Frey, although it was unlikely, so I had wanted to be able to sign my birth name on a letter one last time if needed. I couldn't put to words, however, the amount of disappointment I had regarding meeting the Targaryens. King Aerys was nothing like he had been described, and he seemed to be a truly terrifying man on the verge of cruel madness. His wife was a battered woman who I wished I could smuggle out to Storm's End in the dead of night, but ultimately would not be able to. Prince Rhaegar was a man with the world at his fingertips, and seemed too sad to know it. There was something off with him, and I couldn't tell what it was.

I noticed a member of the Kingsguard in the hall outside the common room, walking towards the entryway.

"Lady Jeyne, perhaps its best if you get to bed soon", the man said. I could tell by his dialect that I was speaking to someone from the Marches, just like my family. He took off his helmet, and I recognized him immediately.

"Ser Barristan", I said, "I just feel like sitting here for a while." I stretched my hands out towards the fire and warmed them, trying to clear my thoughts. Ser Barristan sat next to me, and I had to keep my heart from beating too fast. Sitting next to me was the pride of the Marches, a man so renowned for his valor that his family had several of his portraits and old suits of armor on display in their holdfast. Everyone looked up to him, and here he was, telling me to go to bed. Life was strange sometimes.

"Sometimes I like sitting here too," he admitted. "The honor of my white cloak keeps me focused. On most nights. Tonight it brought me naught but shame."

I looked at him in surprise, not knowing what to say. I ventured, "Surely it is a great honor to protect the royal family. Father speaks highly of you often, as does everyone from Stonehelm."

He looked at me sadly for a moment, before looking down, and saying, "I know that. Protecting the royal family is indeed an honor, but protection can mean many things, and sometimes conflict with our vows. Some members are more important than others." He continued, "If I could advise you of one thing, Jeyne, don't make promises that will bring you unhappiness or dishonor in life. Keeping them may bring you esteem of others, but you'll feel rotten inside."

At that, he stood up and walked out the door. I thought about what he said for a moment, and my memories flashed back to the meal tonight, and the sight of the King clawing his wife while whispering in her ear.

Perhaps I would wait to write to Robert after all. This city had a toxic undercurrent to it, after all, no matter what the lights in the night or the splendor of the Red Keep indicated.

Note: I'd love some feedback on this, if possible. This is going to likely be a quite long one, and there are any number of directions I could go with it.