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The two months between leaving the Tower of Joy and arriving in King's Landing had past far too quickly for Eddard Stark's liking. It had taken him and his companions two weeks to arrive at Riverrun to greet his lady wife and newborn son, he saw Catelyn again not as the victor in the war but as the loser and a noted traitor to the crown, he returned to Riverrun without her father nor her good brother for Jon Arryn had ridden to Riverrun before Ned and had taken his wife Catelyn's sister Lysa back with him to the Vale. Ned could not help but feel a certain sense of bitterness when he looked into Catelyn's eyes, he had failed her, he had failed his father, brother and sister he had been unable to save Robert, he could not help but think that Brandon would not have failed, Brandon whom Catelyn had been meant for, Brandon whom all had loved, no Brandon would not have failed Brandon would have struck Rhaegar down the instant he saw Robert's death and damn the consequences but Ned was not Brandon and had never been that reckless perhaps he thought darkly that was why he was still alive whilst Brandon and Lya were dead. He had collected Catelyn and their newborn son whom she had told him she had named Robb in honour of Ned's best friend and they had ridden north for Winterfell. Very little had actually been said between the two of them on their journey north, but as soon as they crossed Moat Cailin and were well and truly in the north Ned found himself opening up to her more and more, telling her things that he had told no one, telling her that he was sorry that he had failed her, that he had failed everyone. Catelyn had been a great help and comfort during that period comforting and reassuring him that though he may have not won the war what he had fought for had been honourable and what he was here in King's Landing to do was also for the best. To remove mad King Aerys from the throne was the only way to ensure peace in the long term. The only thing she had asked of him was that he come back to her afterwards, something he had most fervently promised to do.
And so here he was in the capital of the seven kingdoms making his way to the Great Sept of Baelor where Rhaegar had decided to convene the Grand Council that would remove King Aerys from power. Ned rode with only two companions Ser Rodrik Cassel and Howland Reed, for he felt it would be best if what were discussed in the Great Sept remained unknown to as many people as possible for he still felt that what he was doing was dishonourable, not so much the actual act of removing Aerys from power but the act of placing his son who had proven to have his own bouts of madness on the throne. As Ned and his two companions dismounted from their horses and tied them to the nearby posts, Ned saw various guards standing outside the Sept possibly to try and prevent any unwanted visitors or perhaps to ensure that no one ran to tell the Spider or Aerys himself. Ned nodded to one of the guards whom he noted wore the Baratheon livery and then entered into the sept's main chamber where he was greeted by the High Septon who smiled at him and then told him that Rhaegar and the other Great Lords were meeting in the chamber of the Father, which as it turned out was three hundred paces from the front entrance and three hundred paces to the left from the middle of the Sept. Ned entered the room leaving Ser Rodrik and Howland outside and took note of who of the Great Lords and others of importance were present. Lord Stannis Robert's brother now the new Lord of Storm's End was there, as was Lord Mace Tyrell, Tywin Lannister, Prince Doran Martell was also present as the new ruling prince of Dorne following his mother's death as was Jon Arryn was also present though Ned could still see the scars both physical and mental deeply affected his foster father, Prince Vaelarr was also present in the hall something which surprised Ned considering the apparent stringent loyalty that the prince had shown his brother throughout his reign, the only man missing was Ned's good-father Hoster Tully, for he was still being held in the black cells of the Red Keep.
Rhaegar coughed loudly once to signal the beginning of the meeting and said "My Lords welcome and thank you for coming. You know why we are here. After the war that has ravaged Westeros caused by the actions of certain individuals, it has become more and more apparent that my father his grace King Aerys Targaryen second of his name, is unfit to rule any longer. I hereby nominate myself as the new King of Westeros and promise to uphold the peace of the seven kingdoms and work to better the land for all its people for as long as I draw breath." Rhaegar stopped speaking then and there was a moment of silence as everyone took in what he had said. Ned still felt a bit uneasy about accepting Rhaegar as his king due to it being his actions that caused his father and Brandon's deaths but he supposed that there was not point protesting that point now, not when the chance for justice was so close.
The first Lord to speak was Tywin Lannister, he said "I acknowledge what you have said Prince Rhaegar and am happy to declare the Westerlands for you. You shall have the loyalty of myself and my bannermen and descendants from now till the end of time." Ned wondered what Prince Rhaegar had had to have promised Tywin Lannister to get him to agree to betraying Aerys, perhaps the man had been named Rhaegar's Hand of the King, it would certainly not surprise him.
Mace Tyrell was the next to acknowledge Rhaegar's words by simply stating that "The Reach pledges fealty to Prince Rhaegar." That was no real surprise for Ned as the Reach had sided with the Royalists throughout the rebellion and had laid siege to Storm's End for the whole year that the Rebellion lasted in the Targaryen name. What surprised Ned though was when Stannis Robert's brother also declared for Rhaegar and acknowledged him as king, Ned thought that perhaps Stannis would have had the same qualms about Rhaegar as Ned did after all Rhaegar had been the one to kill Robert, but then again Ned supposed that Stannis was after all a man who took his oaths very seriously, Robert had told him of the conflict Stannis had had when the Rebellion had begun over his allegiance to his king or to his brother.
Next to declare for Rhaegar was Prince Doran who merely said "The Silver Dragon is better than a mad one, Dorne recognises you as King your grace." Ned suspected that perhaps Dorne was still very bitter about Rhaegar's absconding with Lyanna and was likely only declaring for Rhaegar to avoid further conflict. Jon Arryn then declared for Rhaegar though Ned could sense the reluctance in his former foster father's words as he pledged his fealty and that of his descendants to Rhaegar and his family for the rest of time. Then Prince Vaelarr also acknowledged Rhaegar as King simply by repeating the same oath that all Lords had sworn to Aegon the Conqueror all those many centuries ago.
Ned was up next, swallowing deeply and trying to crush all lingering doubts that he had in his mind, Ned spoke in a clear voice that masked his nervousness "Winterfell recognises Prince Rhaegar as King, and shall be loyal to him and his descendants from now until the end of time."
Once Ned was finished speaking, Rhaegar smiled at the Lords and thanked them and then said "Good now that, that is done Lord Connington could you please tell Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Oswell Whent that the time has come. It is time for my father to be dethroned."