Notes:This chapter contains direct quotes and paraphrases from A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin.
(That is the bibliography for this chapter and the previous, and most probably the next few.)
What direction should a wolf take when they are trapped between lions and snakes? Perhaps that was a morality tale Old Nan should have taught Eddard Stark as a child. Old Nan's warnings had been related to behaving or ancient legends. She had never told Ned or his siblings what to do when your heart is pulled in multiple directions. She had never taught them how to play politics.
Now Ned sat as Hand of the King, the second most powerful person in Westeros. He wanted nothing to do with power and politics. He was raised to be Brandon's bannerman. He was made for a simpler life. He was made for running a keep for his lord and for loving a wife and children. Yet life had changed when Rhaegar had disappeared with Lyanna.
It should have been a relatively simple matter to be Hand of the King. Then Bran broke his back. Lysa's letter arrived for Catelyn, implicating the Lannisters in Jon Arryn's death. The direwolves of his daughters were killed and lost, and when he finally arrived in King's Landing he learned that someone had tried to murder his son. On top of his own family issues, the small council was made of a collection of scheming rats, the king did not care about being a ruler, and the crown was deeply in debt.
He had hoped that his problems would not get worse, but apparently the gods believed that he did not have enough worries. His broken leg and the threat of war between the Riverlands and Westerlands due to his wife capturing Tyrion Lannister attested to the arrival of new dangers. Then, to top everything off, Prince Oberyn Martell was seated beside him in the Tower of the Hand when he realized what "the seed is strong" meant.
Ned was able to put off explaining his disturbing thoughts until the next morning. Oh, the Viper of Dorne had wanted to know what bothered Ned so much that he sent all of the children from the room with scarcely a second thought. Ned told the man that he needed to rest and had much upon his mind. He promised that they would speak in the morning.
He had spent the night pour through the vast tome which Jon Arryn had been reading before he died. Every Baratheon was born 'black of hair,' even in marriages between one who was light of hair and one who was dark of hair. If that were true, then why were all three of King Robert's trueborn children blonde haired and green eyed while his bastards were all black haired and blue eyed?
The horrible pattern was laid out before his eyes through the words of his children and in the presence of his bastards. "He's not a stag," Sansa had boldly stated. Bastards in the Tower of the Hand and hidden bastards who would some day sit upon the Iron Throne. So suddenly clear it had become to him, the Queen's children were not the King's. Just as at least one of Ned's bastards was not his own. 'Promise me, Ned,' Lyanna's ghost whispered in his ear.
In his fitful sleep, he dreamt of the day he had ridden into King's Landing during the Rebellion. He saw them lying there, dead, the children of Prince Rhaegar. They had been mutilated, destroyed. Robert Baratheon had looked upon them and approved. Dragonspawn, he had called the children, the half-brother and half-sister of the boy named Jon Sand. Rhaenys and Aegon, the niece and nephew of the Red Viper, whose presence in King's Landing was just as dangerous as the truth of Cersei Lannister's children.
Ned would need to tell the King what he knew, but he could not allow the children to be present. He may not have liked the boy named Joffrey Baratheon, but the three children did not deserve to be murdered because they were bastards. He could not trust anyone. He was uncertain that he could even trust Prince Oberyn, with whom was shared the secret of Jon's birth. Perhaps especially not Oberyn.
Between his unsettling dreams and the pain of his leg, he had not slept well that night. The sky was only just beginning to lighten when Ned gave up his attempts at sleep. He called to Thrin, his page, who stood outside his door. He requested that when Alysanne awoke that she should break her fast with him in his private study.
Ned spent the hours between the time he awoke and his daughter's arrival performing a variety of tasks. With help from one of his stewards, he was cleaned and dressed. Though his leg was painful, he refused any milk of the poppy, he would need a clear head that day. When he was ready, Alyn assisted him with walking to his study. Prince Oberyn was already inside, much to Ned's displeasure.
"You are awake early," Ned said, his voice was hardly welcoming.
The man's lips twisted into a grim smile. He lowered his feet from where they rested upon Ned's desk, and he sheathed the dagger which he had been stroking casually. "I find it difficult to sleep in this place. I hear their blood cry out to me and wonder when..." He let his words drop off, but Ned knew what the Prince meant. When would Elia and her children be avenged?
If Oberyn knew the truth of Cersei's children he would kill Cersei and Robert, of that Ned had little doubt. Would he kill the children who had usurped his niece and nephew? Would he do to them what had been done to his own blood?
"You may go Alyn," Ned told the head of his guard. The man left with a respectful bow, closing the door as he left. Ned seated himself in one of the large, cushioned chairs in the room. "Why did you seek out my solar?"
His lips curled into a viper's smile. "I am still curious as to what made you so disturbed last night when we dined? What better time to discuss such matters than first thing in the morning?"
Ned released a weary sigh. This was definitely not the discussion that he wanted to have first thing in the morning. "I am expecting to break my fast with Alysanne."
"She can wait."
"Wait? Other than a few short hours last night, I have not seen my daughter in nine years!"
"For that there is only one person to blame."
Ned clenched his hands around the arms of his chair and gritted his teeth. He refused to be baited by the man. "I am the Lord of Winterfell. I cannot leave my responsibilities whenever my heart so desires."
Oberyn laughed. "But you could leave your marriage vows as your... heart desired?"
There were few good retorts to the biting accusations of the Prince. "I have dealt with my discretions as I have best been able. I am grateful that you have been an influence upon my children."
His smile widened. "Oh it has been a pleasure, especially the youngest..."
Lucas, the other child who called Ned father and might not be his son. Shortly after Lucas Sand had been born, Ashara had sent a letter to Ned saying that her newest child may or may not be his. She was uncertain. The boy looked much like Alysanne, and all of Prince Oberyn's children had his eyes. Lucas had Ashara's eyes. Alys had Ashara's eyes. The boy was most likely Ned's and he had claimed the boy, but there was still a chance that Lucas was the son of Prince Oberyn Martell, a fact of which both men were well aware.
Ned raised a brow in silence but refused to answer Oberyn.
"If you wish for me to leave, answer my question? What is it that bothers you? It was not your leg which made you send the children to bed yesterday evening. It was not your leg which kept you awake this past night. It was something about the young Prince which caused you to be troubled."
Ned breathed deep, attempting to quell the thoughts which troubled him. "I have a suspicion about a matter, though I do not know anything for a certainty."
Oberyn shifted in his seat. He leaned forward, hands upon his knees, gazing intently at the Lord of Winterfell. "A suspicion?"
Ned ran a weary hand across his face. Should he tell the man what he suspected? Was it wise? "Would you ever hold a child responsible for the crimes of their parents?"
The man sat back, genuine shock displayed upon his face. "A strange question, but no, I would not."
Ned gave a slow nod of his head, pondering his next step. All things considered, if he were to trust his fears about the Lannisters to anyone, Prince Oberyn Martell was his best option. Though Ned also considered that Oberyn might be the worst person to whom he might tell the truth.
"Do you know why I came here?"
Oberyn's gaze was incredulous. "Is this a trick question?" Seeing that Ned was serious, he continued. "You had an ulterior motive other than serving your dear friend the King?"
"My son Brandon fell from a tower in Winterfell before we left. He was unconscious when I departed and has since awoken. He recalls nothing of his fall, and will never walk again."
Oberyn offered his condolences, which Ned graciously accepted before continuing. "Before my son awoke, a man with a Valyrian steel dagger attempted to murder him. The man also attacked my wife. My son's direwolf saved their lives."
He paused, allowing the information to settle. "It is our belief that the Lannisters are behind the attack on Bran and the death of Jon Arryn."
Oberyn regarded him with a curiously neutral expression. "And now you have a suspicion as to why?"
"Yes."
Oberyn stood suddenly and walked to the window. "Do you know that there are said to be hidden passages throughout the Red Keep? My sister Elia once told me that she could hear whispers in the walls of her rooms here. I will leave you to your morning meal. I would be interested in continuing this conversation later."
The Prince held Ned's gaze for a moment, his eyes full of meaning. They would talk later, somewhere that would be more private. Somewhere that they could speak of dangers without being overheard. With a polite word of parting, Oberyn swept from the room.
Ned waited in the room for his daughter and the morning meal to arrive. The food arrived first, platters piled with meats, breads, and fruit. He poured himself some of the beer which had been brought for the meal and chewed on some of the bread. Some minutes later, Alys arrived in the room.
"Good morning father," she greeted merrily.
He smiled at her. Thankfully there was no need to force a smile when he saw one of his children, their presence was always a joy. "Good morning, did you have a pleasant day here yesterday?"
She replied as she gathered food from the platters onto a smaller plate. "Yes, my sisters are wonderful and the capital is unlike anything I have ever seen before."
She seated herself across from him, a nervous smile upon her lips. She looked so much like her mother, just as Sansa resembled her own mother. Her face also bore a resemblance to Lyanna, longer and northern.
"I am glad to hear that. I am sorry that I have not seen you for these many years. Your name day just passed, it is difficult for me to believe that you are already six and ten." And he had missed all of those years.
"Mother has said much the same every year. Every time I go to Sunspear she tells me how much of a young woman I seem upon my return."
"You look very much like her."
She laughed. "So everyone tells me. Oberyn's daughters say that I am like to break as many hearts."
He smiled. "Your mother did have that reputation. She broke men's hearts with a smile and a dance."
Her smile faded and she pursed her lips. "Is it my fault that mother never married?"
He was shocked at the notion. "Of course not. You should never blame yourself for the choices which I made regarding your mother. She and I were young and made decisions which have been unfair to her reputation."
"Mother doesn't seem to care what anyone thinks about her. I think that my aunts and the staff gave up on the nobility of House Dayne's reputation when it comes to my mother long ago. The Princes do not seem to mind."
He nearly scoffed at that. Prince Oberyn was quite skilled at contributing to Ashara's lack of reputation. He decided against mentioning such things in front of his daughter. "Have you and your brothers spent much time with Prince Doran?"
She nodded slowly as she chewed on the food which was in her mouth. "We only returned home to Starfall about six turns ago after spending two years at the Water Gardens. Prince Doran taught us cyvasse. He told me that I was the most adept at learning the game. Jon is good at the game, but prefers swordplay over strategy. Arthur would rather be on a horse or practicing his martial training than sitting in a room learning strategy."
Ned laughed. The more he learned of Arthur, the more his son reminded him of Brandon. Always wild, willful, and eager for a fight. "Your brothers have told me that you are quite skilled with a sword and as a rider."
"I am the best rider in Dorne," she proclaimed quickly before amending, "Or at least, I am the best that I have seen. Oberyn often tells us and his daughters that we must never be overconfident of our skills, for there may always be someone better."
"That is wise advice. Do you heed his words?"
"With weapons yes, but not always when it comes to riding." Her eyes seemed alive with light at the thought of riding. "There is nothing more thrilling than racing along the coast with nothing but the sound of wind and waves. I love it, truly."
Perhaps it was not Arya who was Lyanna come again, perhaps it was Alysanne, Ned mused. "Just be careful sweetling, I would not want any harm to befall you."
"Of course father."
"Now tell me, how have your other studies progressed?"
"Our maester has taught me all that he can of numbers. Mother allows me to work with our business contracts and to assist with the administration of Starfall. Jon and Arthur travel to meet with our contracts some of the time, but Jon enjoys the business more than Arthur. Mother worried Prince Oberyn by implying that I handle all of our new contracts, truthfully one of our stewards handles most of the affairs of Starfall with mother, but I assist now that I am an adult."
"Do you enjoy the work?"
"I like working with the spice and cloth merchants. We have a trader who comes twice a year from the Summer Isles, selling spices that do not grow in Westeros. We sell them to Highgarden for three times the price at which we purchase them. We sell lemon and olive oils to several merchants from Lys and in return they sell us some of the most beautiful cloth which I have ever seen. We sell the cloth in Oldtown and Sunspear. A merchant from Myr once gave me a looking glass for no charge when mother signed a contract with him. I think that he wished to marry her for her beauty, but she refused him."
"And yet he still gave your family his business?"
"Of course, for he said, 'he could still gaze upon the most beautiful women in all the world whenever he returned to us.' Mother thinks that I will be able to become a wealthy trader on my own merits."
"A noble ambition. Would that make you happy?"
She laughed. "I am not unhappy with my life. I do believe that I should be content wherever I am, so long as I am loved by those whom I love."
He realized that her smile did not seem to be quite genuine when she said that she was happy. He could not help but feel that it was his fault. "I am glad that you are happy. I wish that I had seen more of your life as you have grown into such a remarkable young woman."
Her smile fell, though only for the briefest of moments, replaced by another that felt false. "It is not your fault father, I know that you would have spent more time with us if you were able. Sansa and Arya's adoration of you seems to speak truth to what I have always believed. You have never failed to write to me or to send me gifts. I have not doubted your love."
His heart ached to look at her, this child of his whose life he had never had any influence upon. He should have visited Ashara's children more. He should have brought them north. "I am sorry that you have not been part of my life. I do love you and your brothers. I always have and I always will. No matter where we are, no matter if we are half a world away, we are family."
She nodded slowly as tears filled her eyes. He opened his arms to her and she stood, walked to him, and fell into his arms.
It was a few hours before the midday meal when Ned and Oberyn spoke again. They were seated upon an outdoor terrace, overlooking a secluded training yard. Alysanne, Jon, and Arthur were sparring together. Arya and Edric were sparring as well. Many members of their households, including Lord Beric were in the training yard as well. Sansa was elsewhere with Jeyne, for the girls were not interested in learning the ways of the sword.
There were no hedges or walls near where the men sat, and they sent all of their servants far enough away that the men would not be overheard. They were seated beside a stone retaining wall which divided the terrace from the yard.
"She is quite talented," Ned said as he observed his children.
"Of course she is, I trained her," Oberyn replied, with no small measure of hubris in his voice. "Your youngest seems quite spirited as well."
"Wolf-blood," he muttered. "She is too much like her aunt."
Ned did not bother to look at Oberyn to know how distasteful the expression upon the man's face had become. Their lives were very intertwined, the Lord of Winterfell and the Red Viper of Dorne. Their sisters had married the same man and had died for that man's foolishness. The men had both loved the same woman, Ashara Dayne, whose children Oberyn had helped to raise. They shared the secret of Jon Sand's birth. They would soon share the secret of Ned's suspicions.
"Will you tell me now what troubles you?"
Alysanne deflected Arthur's sword and spun to lunge at Jon.
"Bastards trouble me."
"Not your bastards nor mine I assume?"
Jon jumped away from Alysanne's attack, narrowly missing her blade. He parried her attack, and then thrust forward, the momentum turning her toward Arthur.
"No, though my heart is troubled that I have not spent near enough time with mine. I have spent time recently visiting the bastards of King Robert."
"How many does he have?"
"At least three whom I have seen. All of them resemble the King, black hair and blue eyes."
Alys and Jon teamed up for a brief moment and brought Arthur to the ground, blades at his neck. He raised his hands in defeat and barely removed himself from the game when Alys and Jon resumed their attack upon one another.
"And the King's children with the Queen?"
"All look remarkably look the Queen, and not at all like the King."
Near the desert trio, Arya was barely holding her ground against the Lord of Starfall. He was older than her and better trained, but she was determined. She ran if his blade seemed to be too close to her.
"I have seen other children who look not at all like their father."
Ned's eyes fell upon Jon. The boy scarcely resembled Rhaegar Targaryen. His hair, face, and eyes were all Stark. It was his lean build and graceful movement which resembled the former Prince of Dragonstone.
"There is an old tome, which Jon Arryn had been reading when he died. It records the lineages of all the Great Houses of Westeros, including descriptions of every member of the family. Every child of House Baratheon has been born black of hair, no matter the color of the mother's hair. The bastards I have seen of the King have also been black of hair, no matter the color of the mother's hair."
Edric knocked the sword from Arya's hand, and she knelt in defeat before him.
"A curious thing," Oberyn responded with caution. "But what do you suspect?"
Ned hesitated a moment, and then told Oberyn everything that he knew. He told him of Lysa's letter to Catelyn. He told Oberyn about the attempt to murder Bran and of Ser Jaime Lannister's attack upon himself.
Jon held his blade close to Alys's throat, but she merely laughed at him for she was still armed.
"I think that Cersei's children are bastards born of incest with her own brother," Ned concluded.
Alys grabbed Jon's hand and swung a leg behind his, tripping him and causing him to fall beneath her. She pinned him and brought her own sword to rest against his neck in victory.
"And what will you do?"
"I will tell the king when he returns. I think that he will believe my conclusion."
"If this is your decision, why does it trouble you?" His hands were bloodless from his grip upon the arms of his chair.
The children switched partners. Jon practiced with Lord Beric, Arthur with Daemon Sand, Alys with Arya, and Edric with one of the younger squires.
"I dreamt of the day that King's Landing fell. I saw their bodies. I saw your sister and niece and nephew. Robert looked upon them and was pleased." His voice shook with rage. Even now, so many years later, he was still furious over the murders of the children and Princess of Dorne. "He would murder the Queen's children."
"You wish to tell her?" The men looked at one another and Ned gave him a brisk nod of his head. "It will not end well."
"Do you think that I am correct?"
"In your hypothesis? I believe that it is quite possibly true. Yet if you are and you confront the queen, what then? Are you prepared to fight the lions?"
"We are already at war. Lord Tywin has sent men to burn villages in the Riverlands in retaliation for my wife taking Tyrion hostage. I sent men from here to subdue Tywin's bandits and Lord Tully is beginning to amass his own men in defense against the Lannisters."
Oberyn's eyes were alight with a hunger that could only be quenched by bloodshed. "Are you willing to do what must be done?" His eyes fell at once upon Jon.
"We do not have the support for such an action, which you well know," Ned hissed. "Patience."
"Patience," he spat the word as though it were a curse. "That is all my brother ever speaks of."
"And think of how different our world would be if my brother had known the meaning of the word, or my sister, or Rhaegar." They gazed upon one another with steady glares for a long moment. "We may never be able to fully avenge all that was lost. I have ordered the death of Gregor Clegane. He is the man responsible for sacking towns in the Riverlands, and he is responsible for murdering your sister."
"It is Lord Tywin who should be held responsible."
"And he will be if we are smart about how things are handled now, especially regarding the Queen and her children."
Oberyn glared stiffly at Ned for a long moment before speaking again. "What is it that you think we should do?"
"You said yesterday that my children would all be welcomed to visit Dorne. I would send all of them from this place today. I will make plans to speak with Queen Cersei, and when I do I want you to send all of them south. If anyone has questions I will say that the girls are going to be visiting their half-siblings in Dorne and that it was not appropriate for my bastards to be occupying the Tower of the Hand."
"I will send them with Lord Beric and his men. Will any of your men accompany them?"
"Only Syrio Forel, if he will go. Jeyne Poole, my steward's daughter, should leave as well. I will entrust their safety to you and your men."
"I will remain here."
"Here?"
"You will need myself and my men should any negative outcome befall you. Lord Beric and his men will be all the escort the children will need on their journey."
Ned agreed with some reluctance. "After the midday meal. I must speak with Maester Pycelle and Littlefinger shortly."
Ned called for Alyn and Thrin, and the men approached from the far end of the terrace, where they had been keeping watch. Ned took his leave of the Prince and gazed sadly upon his children for a moment before he went back to the Tower of the Hand with his two men.
Inside the Tower, Maester Pycelle was already awaiting Ned. He inspected Ned's injured leg, commenting upon the healing process. He also mentioned that Lord Tywin Lannister had written his displeasure that Lord Eddard Stark had sent men after Gregor Clegane. Ned told the aged man that he cared not about Lord Tywin's wroth, the men were carrying out the King's justice. If Tywin Lannister interfered, it would be the King to whom he would answer.
Lord Baelish arrived about an hour after the maester departed. Littlefinger shared whispers he had heard. Men at arms were gathering at Casterly Rock. Prince Joffrey, the Royces, and several other members of the hunting party had returned. Littlefinger remarked upon the presence of Prince Oberyn and Ned's bastards, but Ned waved away the issue. He did not trust the man enough to speak to him upon such matters.
It was not long after Baelish left that the midday meal was prepared in the small hall of the Tower of the Hand. Ned was seated between Prince Oberyn and Lord Beric, Ned's children were all seated across from him. It killed him inside that he would send them away, but it was necessary. His children would not be safe in the capital, not after today. He would see them again when everything calmed.
Ned ate sparingly, for he could not calm his fears enough to enjoy the meal. If everything went poorly, he would never see his children again. If everything went well? Did he even know what the best option would be?
The Martells sought revenge. They would use Jon as a tool to seek their revenge. If Robert remained without a lawful heir, his heir was his brother Stannis, a man for whom most people had little love. What would be the best option?
'Promise me, Ned,' Lyanna whispered in his mind. Jon was the lawful king. But what made a man a lawful king? Blood? Power? Loyalty?
"Father," a voice broke through his troubled thoughts. Sansa was gazing at him, concerned. "Do you like Lord Beric's idea for us to go riding this afternoon?"
Prince Oberyn must have already informed Lord Beric of the plans. Ned forced a brief smile to his lips. "Of course sweetling, it will be good for you to get some air outside the city walls."
"Thank you father," she replied with a smile. She was such a gentle, trusting child. He felt a pang of guilt that he was sending her away. He still had not forgiven himself for the death of her wolf. Would Sansa ever forgive him for killing her wolf, or lying to her now?
They all departed one by one, except for Ned and the men beside him. "Is everything prepared?"
"Yes, Lord Stark," Beric replied. "We have the horses readied and all of our supplies."
Ned retrieved a letter from the pouch which hung at his side. "I have written this for the children. Allow them to read it when they are far from the city. Ride slowly at first, it would not help our cause if any suspicions are aroused."
"Of course."
Ned sighed heavily. "I cannot thank you enough for all that you are both doing and have done for my family."
"It has always been a pleasure, Lord Stark," Lord Beric replied, with all sincerity.
"It is proving to be quite interesting," Oberyn replied.
The men departed, leaving Ned alone for a few moments before Alyn reappeared to assist Ned. Ned asked for his assistance in travelling to the godswood, and the man complied willingly. By the time they arrived, Ned was wishing that his leg could be removed for all the pain it was causing him. When he was seated by the heart tree, a faceless oak that could scarcely be considered a heart tree, Ned gave Alyn a letter to be delivered right away. The man raised a brow in surprise at the name on the paper, but he left immediately to do his duty.
It was some time later when she arrived. The Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, lovely and fair, save for the healing bruise upon her cheek. Queen, as Ned's sister could have been, as Oberyn's sister should have been. He asked her if the King had ever struck her before, to which she claimed that he had never struck her face before. She said that her brother would have killed the king if Robert had ever dared to strike her in his presence.
"My brother is worth a hundred of your friend," she then declared boldly.
"Your brother, or your lover?" He asked the question boldly and to his shock she replied without hesitation.
"Both." She confessed that they had been lovers since they were children, two bodies and one person, she claimed. Why should she feel ashamed when the Targaryens had married brother to sister for generations?
"My son Bran?"
"He saw us," she told him as she looked him directly in the eyes. "Would you not do anything to protect one of your own children?"
"Of course," he replied without hesitation. He had done so that very day by sending his children from the city.
"Then do you not think that I would do anything to protect my children?"
"They are all Jaime's," he stated mildly.
She laughed. "Yes, thank the gods."
He asked how it was that she had never been pregnant by Robert. She confessed that the only time she had been with child by her husband she found a way to end the pregnancy. In more recent years they scarcely had been in a bed together, and she had not allowed him to be truly intimate with her in a long time. He asked her what had caused her to hate Robert so much and she answered him with fire in her eyes. She told him of her wedding night. She told him that while King Robert was drunkenly consummating their marriage, he called her Lyanna.
Did it all come back to his sister? The little girl whom Ned could still, in his mind's eye, see so clearly as she played in the pools beside the ancient heart tree in Winterfell. The nearly grown girl who would race her horse at terrifying speeds through the Wolfswood. The young maiden who cried and shouted when she was betrothed to Robert Baratheon. The slightly older maiden who cried as the Prince of Dragonstone played his harp and sang. The young mother who died of childbed fever shortly after he arrived beside her bed. 'Promise me, Ned.' He did not know if he should weep or curse his sister's bones. He had never known how he should feel about his sister after she had died. Did she think for a moment of how many lives one decision would ruin?
"Robert would have hated my sister," he said darkly. She looked up at him in shock. "She was much like you," he continued. "Beautiful and spirited. She would never have backed down to him, and if he had struck her she would have killed him. Would you?"
The color drained from her face. "I would never dare to kill a king, Lord Stark."
He bowed his head. "You know that I must tell him the truth when he returns."
"Must?" She softened her voice and laid a gentle hand upon his leg. Her hair shone with golden red light in the waning sunlight. She trailed her hand along his thigh as she spoke. She told him that a man does as he wills and not as he must. She told him that the realm would need a strong Hand to rule the realm while Joffrey grew. She removed her hand from his leg and touched his cheek, his hair. "If friends can turn to enemies, enemies can become friends. Your wife is a thousand leagues away and my brother has fled. Be kind to me, Ned. I swear to you that you shall not regret it."
"Did you make the same offer to Jon Arryn?"
She scoffed at him, and slapped him. "I shall wear it as a badge of honor," Ned said, repeating the very words which she had spoken when King Robert had hit her.
"Honor," she spat the word at him. "You of all people dare speak to me of honor? How many bastards do you have, Lord Stark? Two have been gallivanting around the Red Keep for weeks. A third is said to have arrived just yesterday. Tell me, does your wife love you better for your bastards? All with Ashara Dayne who was once the most sought after woman in Princess Elia's retinue. You dare to speak to me of honor and right and wrong when you have gone to another woman's bed and declared her children as your own while your wife could do nothing!"
"You insult me by insinuating that I would have made such an offer to Lord Arryn. The old man never knew anything about myself or my children. If he did he never breathed a word of it where I or any of my people could hear. A man like you has walked in the flames of love and lust. You would do anything to preserve your children, well so would I! If anything should happen to me or my children, my father would bring all of his armies to his side. What do you think would happen to your children if they were to remain here under such circumstances?"
But they would not be here, he knew that well enough. His children were far away from the Red Keep and King's Landing. Half of his children were safely in the North and the rest were on their way to Dorne at that very moment. "I do not wish for war," he replied simply.
"Neither do I," her voice turned soft as silk again. Her hands returned to his face and thigh. The woman was maddeningly persistent. "We could have peace, today, Ned. Robert never needs to know. I am certain that with the life you have lived you have a dark secret or two. We could share this one."
He wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Ned held Rhaegar's heir in his custody and spoke to the Queen as if her treasons were worse than his own. "I will not deny that I have had many secrets, but if he knows he will murder your children. If I was able to discover the truth, then I can assure you that it is only a matter of time before someone else discovers it as well. I was here when they presented Robert with the bodies of the Targaryen children. If Robert learns the truth, he would look upon them the same way he looked upon Rhaegar's children. I would not wish that upon anyone."
Her hands stilled and he could see her curiosity as she regarded him. "You truly would wish for any child to be safe. Perhaps that is where your honor may be found." She brushed a thumb gently across his lower lip and then ran that hand through his beard. "I know that your honor to your marriage vows is less than solid, and so does everyone in Westeros. It was Jaime who pushed your son from the window. I was shocked by his actions. A boy so young could easily have been silenced by a few threats or even by telling him a half truth. Children of that age do not understand the ways of adults."
He caught her hands, willing her to cease teasing him. "And of the man who was sent to slit my son's throat?"
"What?" She nearly jumped in shock at his words. Her reaction was far too genuine to have been faked. She did not know that someone had been hired to murder Bran. "Is that why your wife seized my brother?"
"Yes," he answered honestly.
She laughed. "Why would Tyrion try to kill your boy? He has no reason to kill your son. Jaime would never hire a sword when his own hand could do the killing. I would never do such a loathsome deed. The boy was unconscious and it was only by the will of the gods that he awoke and has no memory of what he saw."
He dropped her hands, at a loss for words.
"You do not seem to have all of the answers anymore Lord Stark."
He smiled wanly at her. "I have never had all of the answers your grace."
"Is that why you did not take the throne when you had the chance?"
He bit back a bitter laugh. "I had no desire to sit upon the throne."
"Then that was your mistake, Lord Stark." She stood and looked down upon him. Her hair illumined by the sun which was sinking low in the sky behind her. She seemed a bit like a lioness as looked down upon him. "You should have taken the throne when you saw my brother seated upon it, the mad king dead at his feet. A terrible mistake."
"I have made many mistakes in my life, but that was not one of them."
"Oh but it was, my lord. When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." With that, she walked away from him and returned to the Keep.
It was some hours later when Prince Oberyn and Alyn appeared to escort him back to the Tower of the Hand.
"Are they gone," Ned asked Oberyn the moment he saw the man.
"They are well on their way to safety," he replied. "Did you ask her?"
Ned bowed his head. "It is as I suspected."
"She admitted it," he hissed, drawing himself to within an inch of Ned's face.
"Yes. I told her to flee the city and she did not seem interested."
Oberyn swore fiercely. "Don't you see," he spat, when Ned looked upon the Prince in confusion. They were standing just outside the door of the Tower of the Hand. "If she does not fear the truth or wish to flee from the city, it can only mean one thing. She does not anticipate the King returning from the hunt alive."
More Notes: My thanks to everyone for your interest in this story.
So Cersei in the book really does make a pass at Ned. Ned/Cersei is my guilty pleasure pairing, but I really don't think that even this angry and jaded Ned would go for her. (I can dream, but I won't force pairings that don't work in the story.)
I don't hate Lyanna, neither does this Ned, but he does have major issues with her that will never be resolved.
It occurred to me that it is really strange for Cersei (in the books) to confess to Ned the truth about her children unless she believes that Robert will die when hunting. (Which she did.)
