DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GAME OF THRONES OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS
Greetings! Yet another chapter here for you guys. Drop a review if you enjoyed.
But I do ask one thing: please read the books or watch the show before you leave a review. I've already gotten several reviews from people who have no idea what they're talking about. It's not much to ask, but research things before you try and correct me, please. Thank you.
Sorry for the rant. Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 12
The heat was the first thing that Austin noticed about the capital. He was sweating through his leather tunic in the beating sun. The second thing he noticed were the once pristine white walls, now covered in shit stains.
Great, it's hot, and it smells like shit, Austin thought.
The ride through the streets of King's Landing was fairly uneventful, moving ever closer to the Red Keep. The enormous castle atop Aegon's hill was bloodred in the sunlight, and looked imposing. Austin rode through its gates alongside Lord Stark and Jory, dismounting as a herald approached them.
He quickly approached Eddar. "Welcome, Lord Stark. Grand Maester Pycelle has called a meeting of the Small Council. The honor of your presence is requested."
Ned turned back to Septa Mordane. "Get the girls settled in. I'll be back in time for supper. Jory, go with them. Austin, with me."
"Aye, my lord," Austin nodded, dismounting and turning to Jory. "Can you feed him?" he asked, meaning Ingavar. When Jory nodded, Austin bent down to look the grizzly in the eye. "Him. Follow."
The bear huffed in acknowledgement before licking Austin in the face. The Dayne smiled and scratched Ingavar behind the ears. "Alright, that's enough of that."
Austin rose to his full height and moved to stand next to Lord Stark. The herald looked the two of them up and down. "If you'd like to change into something more appropriate."
Austin stared at the man with a blank look on his face, sensing Ned was doing the same. The Hand simply removed his riding gloves and nodded to the herald, who looked displeased, but led on anyways.
The herald led them into the throne room and gave them directions to the Small Council chamber before taking his leave. Austin noted that Ser Jaime was seated on the steps before the Iron Throne. Taking a moment to study his surroundings before the smug Lannister made conversation, Austin rotated his head. The throne room was massive, and full of tiles and Baratheon banners, lit by several windows high in the air. The Iron Throne itself looked like a peacock with swords instead of feathers.
"Thank the gods you're here, Stark. About time we had some stern, Northern leadership," Jaime said, rising to approach Ned. Austin flanked him, ever loyal to his surrogate father.
Ned nodded. "Glad to see you're protecting the throne."
Austin couldn't tell if that was a jab at Jaime because of his Kingslayer status, or whether Lord Stark was actually serious.
"Sturdy old thing. How many king's asses have polished it, I wonder? Um, what's the line? The King shits and the Hand wipes," Jaime said, raising his chin in an arrogant manner.
Lord Stark wasn't taking the bait, though. "Very handsome armour," he said, referring to the golden armour of Robert's Kingsguard. "Not a scratch on it."
"I know," Jaime said proudly. "People have been swinging at me for years, but they always seem to miss."
"You've chosen your opponents wisely, then."
"I have a knack for it," Jaime said, almost threateningly.
Austin spoke up. "Watch it, Lannister. Don't threaten my lord."
Jaime turned his head towards Austin. "Ah, yes. The famous Ser Austin Dayne. Gets knighted by Lord Eddard Stark then disappears into the wilderness to fuck bears. I even heard that bear you have with you is your lover."
"Oh, I've heard of you, as well, Ser Jaime. The knight of the Kingsguard whose greatest accomplishment was stabbing an unarmed man in the back," Austin fired back, causing the Lannister to bristle in anger.
Ned held up a hand. "That's enough."
Jaime smirked before turning back to the Northern lord. "It must be strange for you, coming into this room. I was standing right here when it happened. He was very brave, your brother. Your father, too. They didn't deserve to die like that. Nobody deserves to die like that."
Ned scoffed and shared a glance with Austin before staring Jaime in the eyes. "I didn't ride down to the capital to trade words with an oathbreaker about how my family died. Now, if you'll excuse us."
Austin sighed inwardly. One thing's for certain, I'm making enemies, and fast.
Edric was eating his supper when he was disturbed by Robb, who bade him follow. When Edric noticed he was being led towards the Godswood, he knew that this was serious.
"What is it?" Edric asked, looking into Robb's eyes, noticing the conflict and grief within them.
Robb took a deep breath to steady himself. "You cannot breathe a word of this to anyone. I mean anyone."
Edric nodded. "I swear on my honor."
"During that fire last week, an assassin snuck into Bran's room and tried to murder him. Luckily Summer was there, or else I'd be out a mother and a brother. In any case, mother, Rodrik, Theon, Luwin and I all came to the conclusion that Bran didn't fall from the broken tower. We think he was thrown. An attempt on his life has been made twice. Mother left with Rodrik to warn my father about the Lannisters."
Edric sat in silence, soaking in the words that Robb was saying. "What do you mean? You think the Lannisters are conspiring against the throne and trying to murder your brother? Why?"
Robb shrugged. "We have no clue. But we need to find out, and quickly."
"Aye, we do. With this news, I can already feel the winds of war stirring."
As Ned and Austin exited the Small Council chamber, they were halted by Grand Maester Pycelle's wheezing voice. "Lord Stark! I meant to give you this earlier. A raven from Winterfell this morning."
Ned took it and nodded to Pycelle, dismissing him before unrolling the scroll. He glanced up at Austin with surprise. "Bran's woken up."
Austin grinned. "He's got the Northern fight in him," he said as he took the letter from Ned.
"Good news?"
Austin rolled his eyes at the shrewd voice of Lord Baelish. "Perhaps you'd like to share it with your wife."
Ned looked up in confusion. "My wife's in Winterfell."
"Is she?" Baelish asked before brushing past Lord Stark. Austin looked at the man in confusion before turning to Lord Stark. Ned shrugged and waved his hand, signaling to follow the man. Baelish led them towards the stables, where they saddled their horses and followed the shrewd man.
"I don't trust him," Austin said.
Lord Stark nodded. "Neither do I. Keep an eye on him. And the other members of the Council. I can count the number of people I trust in this city on one hand."
The three of them stopped and tied their horses up. Baelish walked towards a stone building, spreading his arms out as if he were presenting a palace, but all Austin saw was a brothel.
"I thought that she'd be safest in here. One of several such establishments I own," Baelish said proudly before Lord Stark grasped him by the neck and slammed him against the stone wall.
"You're a funny man. A very funny man."
Austin could tell that even Lord Stark was enjoying this. He figured that Baelish had brought him to a brothel to insult him, as Lord Stark was famous for his honor. Jon served as a reminder that no man was perfect, though.
Suddenly, a face with red hair tied back in a braid popped her head over the balcony. "Ned!" Lady Catelyn called.
Lord Stark quickly released Baelish, leaving him with Austin for a few seconds. "Oh, the Starks. Quick tempers, slow minds."
Austin chuckled. "Their minds aren't as slow as you think they are. Be grateful I wasn't Lord Stark, or I might have used a dagger on you."
Baelish gave Austin a glare of utter discontempt before following the white haired Dayne into the brothel. The two of them walked in to see Ned and Cat embracing, happy to be together once again.
"The mere suggestion that the queen's brother tried to kill your boy would be considered treason," Baelish began.
"We have proof. We have the blade," Catelyn pointed out.
Baelish shook his head. "Which Lord Tyrion would say was stolen from him. The only man who could say otherwise has no throat, thanks to your boy's wolf."
Catelyn turned to look a wary Lord Stark in the eye as Austin bit down on an apple. "Petyr has promised to help us find the truth. He's like a little brother to me, Ned. He would never betray my trust."
Austin paused at that. She's too overly trusting of this man. She hasn't seen him in a decade, Austin though.
"I'll try to keep you alive, for her sake. A fool's task, admittedly, but I've never been able to refuse your wife anything," Baelish promised.
Austin cleared his throat. "Except that the job of keeping him alive belongs to me."
Baelish nodded. "Yes, it does. To physical threats. I, on the other hand, have to guard him against political threats and plots by the Lannisters."
Austin shrugged, a sign of careless acceptance. Catelyn turned back to Baelish. "I won't forget this. You're a true friend."
Baelish smiled grimly. "Don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to maintain."
Austin stayed with the two Stark heads as they planned their attempts at proving that Tyrion was the culprit. They talked through the entirety of the night, and it was just before dawn by the time they stepped outside. Austin allowed them their moment, staying in the shadows, watching over the family that had done the same for him. Austin was surprised to see Ser Rodrik, but he guessed that it made sense. The old warrior was too stubborn to let Lady Stark travel alone. Austin raised a hand in both greeting and farewell to the warrior, who copied the gesture.
Austin smiled as he saw the two Starks laughing amongst themselves, and waited for Lord Stark. Once Lady Catelyn had ridden off with Rodrik, Austin mounted back up.
"We're going to die in this city, aren't we?" Austin chuckled.
Lord Stark looked at the Dayne with serious eyes. "Aye, we might."
Edric studied Robb from across the table. The two of them were playing chess, a game to sharpen the mind for strategy. Robb placed his hand on his bishop and moved it to take Edric's rook. But that was exactly what Edric needed. He used his knight to capture the bishop of Robb's, effectively checkmating him.
"That's horseshit," Robb complained.
Edric simply chuckled. "You were too aggressive, Robb. You need to plan your moves out more. Do you know why Tywin Lannister is so feared? He out thinks his opponents. Just when you think you've got him right where you want him, he surprises you with the fact that he's already thought five moves ahead."
Robb nodded, though Edric wasn't sure if the young Stark actually understood at all.
"Look at me, Robb," Edric pleaded, meeting the eyes of the young wolf. "If what you predict comes to pass, and we go to war with the Lannisters, you need to be able to advise your father on such things. He is but one man, he cannot think of every possibility himself.
Robb nodded sullenly before helping Edric set the pieces back up.
Austin needed some alone time. Ever since he'd returned from his time in the wilderness, he'd had a rather short string of patience when it came to other people. There was but one living creature that could keep him company at times like these.
As Austin strolled down the streets of the city of King's Landing, he was constantly bombarded by sensations and smells and sights. Chief amongst them was the smell of shit. It seemed like it had seeped into the ground underneath the city, and would forever be a part of it.
Fortunately, as the Dragonpit was the most open area in the entire city, filled with vegetation and trees, he found it easier to breathe as he searched for his friend. The simple, large area of the city had once housed Balerion the Black Dread. Now, the most dangerous creature it contained was a bear by the name Ingavar.
Austin found the grizzly under a tree, eating berries that he'd foraged from some of the bushes. Austin grinned at the sight of his friend as the bear rose to its feet giddily, happy to see its Dayne friend. When Ingavar began sniffing at Austin's clothes, he laughed and pulled the pork leg from behind his back, tossing it on the ground. He let Ingavar pounce on it as he sat down under the tree and watched.
When the bear was done eating, he lumbered back over to Austin and lay down, placing his head in the Dayne's lap. Austin shook his head in amusement as he scratched the animal's ears. Ingavar picked one of his paws up and jabbed it at Austin's stomach playfully, causing the lord to double over in both pain and laughter.
Ingavar, a sly grin etched across his bear features, huffed repeatedly, which was as close as he would get to human laughter. Austin rose to his feet and jumped on the bear's back, beginning a wrestling match for the ages. Unfortunately, it was over in seconds as Ingavar simply rolled over and pinned Austin beneath his massive frame, releasing the Dayne before he could injure him. Austin chuckled and leaned against his friend, both of them contemplating simpler times, when it was just the two of them, braving the Wolfswood.
This city may be full of hateful people that haven't an ounce of love in them, but this right here is pure. My best friend.