Chapter 15

The Capital

Kings Landing, The Crownlands (298 AC)

If one thing Eddard Stark was sure of, it was that the Capital of their continent was one of the most repugnant cities he had ever seen. When Robert took the crown Eddard was convinced that the tyranny of the Mad King and crimes of Tywin Lannister will be rectified but it seems that Robert had been a vain king with no regard for this decadent city.

It broke Eddard's heart to see how far his friend has fallen and how badly this city and its people needed help. This city desperately needed someone like his nephew and Eddard was determined to ask his nephew for advice on how to turn this dying city into a thriving one.

The city was the least of Eddard's worries as he already knew what he had to face in the capital. His act of slaughtering the direwolf Lady also didn't sit well with his daughters as both of them had presented a united front in ignoring him and glaring at him with all of their anger.

Eddard knew what he had done and what he was about to do, he knew he put his daughters in grave risk in bringing them to the capital but he had assurance. His nephew was a shrewd and cunning man and he knew that as long as Damien was alive he and his daughters would not have to fear for their lives in the capital.

This cesspool of snakes and backstabbers that people called kings landing was infested with rats and one of the deadly ones had made his way into the King's council. It was imperative that Littlefinger be rooted out, but he had to be careful with his plan, after all his nephew always said that he who controls the king's purse controlled the king's kingdom.

As the northern party rode into Kings Landing the people of the city looked on in wonder at Eddard Stark, the new hand of the king. People all across the continent had heard of the reforms in the North and with Eddard's arrival the people of Kings Landing were finally beginning to see a ray of hope in this dark decrepit city.

Soon a few voices rose and then thousands joined them as Eddard's horse rode him deeper towards the Red Keep, the king's palace. Men and women alike shouting for their new Lord Hand and welcoming him into the city as he was perhaps the last hope these people had.

Eddard and his daughters had never been more overwhelmed. They had been worshiped in the North and there was a reason for it, but this was unprecedented. These people never even knew Eddard and his family yet they were welcoming him as the savior himself had arrived on a horseback.

Eddard was now more determined than ever to be the symbol of hope for this city and its people. As the party reached the Red Keep, Eddard and his daughters dismounted their horses and were greeted by a member of the court.

"Welcome to Kings Landing, my lord Hand. Grand Maester Pycelle has called for a meeting of the small council, your presence is requested." The messenger said.

Eddard steeled himself for work and asked Jory to escort his daughters and their party to the Tower of the Hand. As he walked in towards the council he entered the throne room and saw Jamie Lannister seated at the foot of the throne.

"Thank god you are here, Lord Stark. It's about time we too had some revolutionary and stern Northern leadership." Jamie said.

"I am glad to watch you are guarding the throne, Sir Jamie. I wanted to say something to you and to ask you something." Eddard said in a grave tone.

"I am more than happy to assist the Lord Hand in my capacity. What would you ask of me?" Jamie asked in curiosity.

"First I wanted to say that I had erred all those years ago when I came to this very room after the sacking of Kings Landing and judged you without listening to your side of the story." Eddard said

Jamie was standing there with his head held high but was in complete and utter shock as this was the last thing he expected. He was still furious that Eddard had judged him without ever listening to him and resented the name Kingslayer, but this was huge. He was so shocked that he forgot to say anything in rebuttal.

After living with his nephew for so many years and watching him grow into one of the strongest leader this continent had ever seen, Eddard realized that he had been remiss in judging Jamie purely on the principle of honor and never even giving him a chance to defend himself. He was man enough to apologize for when he had erred and he had done just that.

"I apologize, Sir Jamie, as I had not been fair to you and I would like to correct my mistake. I wanted to ask if you would join me for a drink this evening in the tower of the Hand?" Eddard asked with trepidation expecting to be rejected.

Jamie got over his shock and smiled at Eddard, as he said, "I cannot say I outright forgive you Lord Stark but I do know that you are sincere in your apology and that's a beginning. I would love to meet with you this evening, my lord Hand."

"Thank you, Sir Jamie. Now if you will excuse me, I have a small council meeting to attend. Farewell Sir Jamie." Eddard said as he walked by Jamie towards the small council chambers.

"And to you Lord Stark, farewell." Jamie said in a quiet voice as he was still shocked by the events that had happened between him and Eddard.

As Eddard entered the small council chamber he was greeted by every member of the council and was handed the pin of the Hand of the King by Pycelle. Eddard sat at the king's chair in the absence of the king and began the council meeting.

"My brother has ordered another tourney in honor of Lord Starks appointment as Hand of the King." Renly Baratheon said.

"Another tourney? Wasn't the last tourney held at prince Joffrey's nameday?" Pycelle asked in a tired fashion.

"20000 gold dragons for the winner of the jousting, 20000 gold dragon for the winner of archery and 20000 for the winner of melee. Can the treasury bear such expenses?" Eddard asked.

"I will have to borrow the gold again, hopefully, the Lannister's will accommodate. We already owe them 3 million gold dragons, what's another 100000?" Littlefinger said with a smirk on his face.

"Are you telling me the crown is 3 million in debt?" Eddard asked horrified.

"I am telling you that the crown is 6 million in debt." Littlefinger said

"How could you have let this happen? What were you all thinking?" Eddard shouted at his fellow council members.

"The King commands and hence we follow and find the money, my lord" Littlefinger replied.

Eddard knew by the state of the city that the situation was bad but he would never have guessed it was this bad. He knew Jon Arryn used to think of Robert as a son but this was preposterous. Robert was like a spoiled child and Eddard needed to have a very serious talk with Robert about this.

"There will be no plans for a tourney. There will be no tourney. All of your incompetence to deal with each and every whim of the king has led to this travesty but this is where it stops." Eddard said in a strong voice.

"But the king's order…." Pycelle tried to say but was cut off by Eddard.

"The Kings order is irrelevant. I want a detailed report on how you have gone into 6 million debt and to whom these debts are owed. I also want a record and books of all the taxpayers and all the people who are not paying taxes. I also want the figures of taxes being paid by all the kingdoms. I want this debt gone within 2 years." Eddard said in a strong voice which shocked the council to its core.

"My lord, this is unprecedented. How do you expect this much debt to be gone in just two years? Moreover, isn't it the duty of the master of coin to review these documents?" Varys asked

"Well seeing as the Master of coin is an incompetent fool, I will have to review these documents myself. You all have been sedentary for long enough. Varys, I want a detailed report on which parts of this city are the most crime infested and what parts require our immediate attention. Go among the people yourself if you need to and know what they lack and what they want. The people of this city have suffered long enough under an absentee king and an incompetent council. It all changes today." Eddard said as he stood up

"My lord you cannot blame us for all of this travesty and cannot question our honor just because the king wouldn't listen to us," Littlefinger said as he gritted his teeth in frustration

"I can and will judge you as the king is a mere figurehead and this council is equally responsible for this folly. Renly, I want a report on how many men patrol these streets and how many of them are corrupt or repeatedly accused of committing crimes themselves. I also want to know how many more men are needed to patrol this city properly. Pycelle, send me a report of how many medicines you have and need and what is being done about the needs of healthcare for this city and what can be done to improve their conditions. You have two days my lords, farewell." Eddard said as he walked out of a shocked small council meeting.

Pycelle and Littlefinger were seething as they were repeatedly called incompetent and decided to do something about it later, but right now they had to hurry and get Eddard what he wanted. Varys was shocked at first but was immensely pleased by the approach of the new Lord Hand and got to work to find out the people's wants and needs. Renly was sweating as he knew Eddard was dead serious and he needed to prove his worth to him or he will be booted out of this council. Things were going to change soon in the Kings Landing, that much was for sure.

Winterfell, The North(298AC)

"WE NEED TO KILL THAT CUNT. WE NEED TO MARCH DOWN TO KINGS LANDING AND BEHEAD THAT BITCH FOR WHAT SHE DID TO MY BROTHER." Robb raged as he paced inside the Lords chamber.

"Keep your voice down you fool, do you want everyone to know about this? We can't just march into Kings Landing with a piece of hair and say that the Queen conspired to kill our brother. You need to see the bigger picture, Robb." Jon commanded as he tried to calm his cousin.

"Well then what should we do? Should we sit like incompetent fools and wait for that bitch of a Queen to do something else before we make our move? Or should we host her shit stain of a dwarf brother again in our halls after he comes back from the Wall?" Robb asked angrily as he rounded on Jon.

"That is precisely what we will be doing." Damien said from his seat at his chair staring into the roaring fire of the hearth.

"You cannot be serious? My brother, your cousin, was crippled and you want to do nothing?" Robb asked angrily.

"Don't presume to know my actions, Robb. I never said I will do nothing I said that I will host Tyrion, who is an innocent party in this and still deserves your courtesy, and wait for the queen to make her next move before I make mine. Have none of you nincompoops given a thought as to why the Queen would resort to throwing a 10 year old boy from a fucking tower?" Damien asked in a quiet voice.

"Because she is a bitch." Robb and Jon replied as Damien looked at them with a deadpan face.

"No, you idiots, you know what, never mind. I will explain it myself. The queen was caught doing something, something so sensitive that the spreading of this information would risk her position and something that a 10 year old can understand and narrate to others. To silence Bran she chucked him out of the tower, which worked by the way, and now Bran remembers nothing. There are only a few things she could have been doing to compromise her position as the Queen." Damien said victoriously as he started at his two brothers for the remaining answer.

When both of them stared at him with confused faces he sighed in exasperation and continued his own answer, "She was most likely fucking someone you idiots, someone who was definitely not our King. But the question still remains who was she fucking? Once I find out who it was then I will get to a plan on destroying both of them as both of them are party to the crime of harming my family and they will pay for their crimes in blood."

Jon and Robb both stared at Damien in silence as they comprehended the graveness of the situation at hand. Jon asked Damien, "What are you going to do next? Mother and aunt Catelyn are getting impatient and suspect we are hiding something from them. What are we to do if they ask us about the allegiance of the assassin?"

Damien started sweating as he remembered both his aunt and his mother breathing down his neck to find who would dare harm Bran and he was convinced that if he didn't tell them something very soon, they will definitely kill him. He needed to do something about this situation but for now, he needed a distraction.

Past few days had been hectic with Bran waking up and them traveling to Winterfell. Damien immediately asked Qyburn to treat Bran. Though Bran could not walk anymore, Qyburn made crutches and a wheelchair for him to move whereas a saddle was designed with the help of Lord Tyrion so that Bran could ride, for which Damien was eternally grateful to Tyrion for returning his cousin's smile.

"We are going hunting. We need a distraction from all this and hunting will do just that." Damien declared as he stood up and make his way out of his office followed by Jon and Robb.

On their way out they were immediately set upon by Ashara and Catelyn as vultures jumped on a piece of meat.

"Where are you going? Have you found out who would dare harm your cousin Damien? I want him found and executed as soon as possible." Ashara declared with a nodding Catelyn at her side.

"My men are doing their best mother, soon we will find them and we will bring the perpetrator of this crime to justice. I promise you, aunt Catelyn, that blood will be paid with blood for this." Damien assured them as he hugged them and kissed their cheeks.

"Then where are you going?" Ashara asked as she glared at her eldest and youngest who started to sweat profusely, much to Robb's and Catelyn's amusement.

"We decided to go….. tour the city, yes that's why we are going outside. You know how much the people need us and we need to show Robb how this city runs. Ha-ha" Damien finished as he and Jon laughed awkwardly at the end.

"Then why are you carrying your hunting spears?" Ashara asked as she glared at her sons.

Silence followed this question followed by Ashara scolding Damien and Jon for wasting their times and including Robb in their shenanigans who was laughing as his cousins begged his aunt to let go of their ears.

Ashara finally relented when Robb told her that they needed a much needed break and allowed them to go hunting. As soon as the boys went outside they immediately decided to tour the city first and then go hunting.

Wintercity looked like a paradise on earth, with wide roads, shops, and schools on every street and corner. Bathhouses and Amphitheaters had great grandeur designs and cleanliness was maintained overall by the people. Winterguards posted at every block of the city for quick action and better security with great thriving commerce and beautifully built temples for the seven.

As the three boys were about to cross a relatively abandoned street, they heard someone shouting for help. Immediately the boys decided to help whoever was in distress and when they arrived at the scene they found a strange scene.

Surrounded by four Winterguards was a girl who was almost their age. She had her hair covered but her purple eyes described the terror she felt in this position. The boys decided to hide and decided to hear what the guards were saying.

"Looks like we found ourselves a pretty one, boys. No one is around here and we still have time before we report to our captain. What do you say we have some fun boys?" The leader said in a leery tone which was followed by snickers of his groupmates.

"Please, let me go. I didn't know this area was restricted. I just came here for a walk. Aren't you the people's protector? You know what will happen if Lord Stark found out about what you are about to do? Do you know the punishment of rape? Please let me go and I will not report this to anyone, I swear." The girl said in a frightened tone.

Her plea brought a halt in the guards' steps as they contemplated her threat. It was true that if they were found guilty of rape they will be crucified but no one was around so they had other plans.

"No one is around here, darling. Once we are done with you we will slit your throat and bury you somewhere and no one will find you" the leader said in a sinister voice as he slowly advanced towards her.

The girl who was openly weeping by now begged them again, "Please, my lords. You are meant to be out protectors. The north is supposed to be better than other kingdoms. Please don't do this."

With each passing moment Jon and Robb looked angrier but when they looked at Damien they stepped back in fear for he looked like the devil incarnate. He was beyond furious these past few days and this just pushed him over the edge. He quietly commanded Jon to bring the any of the forces he could find over here, he was going to make an example out of these guys.

"We are your protectors, honey. It's time to pay for our protection." Said the leader as he laughed.

"I don't think we should do it, what if someone found us" one of them whispered.

"Relax, we will kill the bitch once we are done with her cunt. Besides who is going to trust her over us?" another guard said.

"I will" said a voice from behind them.

When the guards turned to see who the intruder was they went pale in terror. The girl sobbed joyously as she made a run for her savior and immediately hugged him and cried into his neck as she desperately held him.

"It's all right, everything will be alright. You don't need to be scared anymore. So long as I am your Lord, none of my loyal and law-abiding citizens shall fear anything." Damien assured the girl as he consoled her as she stopped crying. He then passed the girl to Robb, who tried to calm her, as he turned towards the four guards who were shaking with fear.

Soon everyone heard the grooves of many horses and found Jon with the captain of the soldiers in front of them as well as 10 other guards. As soon as the guards saw Damien, they took a knee and stared in confusion at their 4 comrades who were pale and shaking.

Damien beckoned them to stand and beckoned the captain to come near him. As the captain complied Damien asked, "Are these four part of your regiment, Captain?"

"Yes, my lord", the captain replied.

The next moment the captain was on the floor holding his nose as it bled profusely. Damien, who had punched the captain, commanded him to stand up and he did. He then asked, "Do you know why I punched you, Captain?"

"No, my lord", the captain replied as he held his nose in pain.

"Because you are their Captain and you will also pay for their sins as you bear responsibility for them." Damien said angrily.

"What have they done, my lord?" the Captain asked now looking at the four in resentment.

"They tried to rape an innocent civilian of this city and in doing so broke 2 of my laws. The law against rape and the law of misuse of power" Damien said in a terrifyingly low voice.

"What is to be done with them, my lord?" Captain asked as he looked at his four men with disgust and contempt.

"Skin them slowly, once you are done crucify them for the world to see what happens when you go against my laws." Damien said in a strong voice.

Everyone was shocked except Jon and Robb. They knew Damien was going to do something like this and they couldn't blame him for it, after all, it was the law of the land to crucify the rapists. As the four crying guards were dragged away to carry out the sentence, Damien turned towards the girl he had just rescued.

"It's going to be alright, my lady." He assured the girl by placing a hand on her head which accidentally stripped the cover she had on her head.

There stood the girl with brown hair streaked by a line of silver on one side if her hair. Beautiful olive-skinned with purple eyes that widened in horror as she realized her hair was on full display. She immediately covered her hair and looked at the three boys with unadulterated fear in her eyes and found the three boys looking at her with slacked jaws.

Damien stared at her for a moment longer, but then he found his voice again and said, "Well isn't this surprising. Welcome to Winterfell, Rhaenys Targaryen. Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

AN:- I am so sorry for the delay guys, I have been a prick. I have been very busy this past year and never got time to update this story but I assure you that this story is not abandoned and I will try to update it as soon as possible. Thank you all of you for your continued support and love and please do not forget to leave a review. I also wanted to ask about my twist to include Rhaenys in the story. I also want to clarify that up until this point I only have 3 ladies in my mind to be paired with Damien but I want you guys to please vote for who you think should be paired with him and your options are:-

1) Rhaenys Targaryen

2) Daenerys Targaryen

3) Margaery Tyrell

See you next time guys, please vote and don't forget to review my latest chapter guys. Bye