Chapter 19- Judgment

Author's Note: Hello all! Sorry for the delay, but the good news is that I have 2 new chapters for you, the 2nd will be uploaded in a day or two. Ned has heard Freya and her side of the story, he has to make a choice and stick to it. Does he put Winterfell and its inhabitants first, or does he look after Freya? This was the choice he was always going to have to make, if he ever found out about Freya's condition.

For me this chapter is always what this story was about. :)

Please leave a review and tell me what you think.

EDDARD

"Seven hells!" Ned growled to himself, as soon as the door to his study closed. "Seven fucking hells! He slipped into his chair and leaned back, resting his hands on his parchment filled desk. He closed his eyes and exhaled, thankful that no one could see him.

He hated being lied to and taken for a fool. He knew that Lancelot had lied to him about knowing about Merlin's magic, he knew that Merlin had just prompted him to deny any knowledge. Ned wasn't sure whether he admired or loathed their loyalty to each other- certainly a long time ago he and Robert would cover for each other when Jon Arryn had caught them doing something they shouldn't have been. Nine times out of ten, Jon would see through their act and clip Robert on the ears.

But that was so long ago, right now he had to make a decision and keep to it. His father had drilled into him that the man who passes the sentence must swing the sword; "if you are to execute a man, you owe it to him to hear his final words". That was the law and the way of the First Men. Ned had taken no pleasure in taking Carroth's life, but it had to be done, he had brought an insurgency of pirates to Winterfell and caused the loss of many innocent lives. It was the just thing to do.

But neither his father or the First Men had told him about executing a young woman- a girl! Ned closed his eyes and he could easily see Sansa, Arya or even Lyanna in a similar situation and that thought filled him with dread.

Freya had been nothing but a loyal and hard working member of the household who had been unfortunate enough be cursed by the wrong person, which led to her being a mortal danger. Rather than trying to beg for her life, she had bravely accepted that her life was forfeit and persuaded him that Merlin, the man who Ned and Winterfell owed their lives to, was not to be punished for her wrongdoings.

Freya had persuaded Merlin to not try anything stupid or bold, that was the only reason why Ned had agreed to allow them to spend time together, under supervision- he owed them that much, if he was going to do that deed.

He took a sip of water and took another deep breath. He wanted nothing more than to not have to make this decision, but what choice did he have? He was the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, he was responsible for passing judgment and protecting his people and what made this job easier, or more difficult depending on the person's point of view, was that Freya had asked him to free her from the curse.

He looked towards his desk and looked for anything to distract him; there was a letter sealed with the shape of an eagle. Ned opened that and found the words:

Dear Lord Stark, I hope this letter finds you and finds you well. Ned cracked a weak smile as he read through that letter by a Ser Gallardo Aguilar, one of the youths who Jory had found a year ago at a graveyard and had taken them into Winterfell, these four youths were clearly running from a war. On one dark day, Gallardo had broken down and revealed a lot to Ned, who preferred not to dwell on that now, due to heartwarming aura the letter was giving him in the moment. The letter spoke about how the dark regime that was plaguing Essos had fallen and now he was to be made lord of his own holding of Azzraqa in Myr.

You and your family are always welcome in our home. We would be honoured to have you, truly. I can never repay you or thank you for all you did for us when you welcomed us in your home, but I can try to show my gratitude.

I remain your humble servant,

Ser Gallardo Aguilar, Lord of Azzraqa, Myr.

There was a knock on the door, just as Ned had finished reading. "Come in!"

It was Catelyn who entered and gave him a sympathetic yet sombre smile.

Ned quickly put away the letter, looked up and gave a smile. "What can I do for you, Cat?"

Cat gave him a look. "Are you all right?"

Ned gave a long sigh, he was unable to keep a stoic face or lie to her.

"I don't envy your position, Ned," she said, moving in and massaging her fingers on his shoulder. Ned closed his eyes and allowed him to get lost for that minute, his brain only now registered that his skin was sore and welcomed the massage.

"I hold no bad will against Freya, I really don't, she's a decent girl, she's served me and this House very well," Cat lamented.

I feel like there's a 'but' coming, Ned pondered, stiffening.

"But she herself says that she's cursed and has asked you to free her from it. If it were anyone else you wouldn't be having second thoughts, not like this. You'd take no pleasure in it, but you would be sure of the sentence, so what's changed?"

What's changed? The fact that I'm growing soft, that I may be letting my personal feelings get the better of my judgment?

"No matter how many times my head tells me that….. this is the right and just thing to do, something in me holds me back, tells me that this would be akin to murder," Ned confessed.

"I know, Ned, my love. I know.

"You're responsible for protecting everyone here and you take that responsibility very seriously. It takes one careless mistake on her part or Merlin's part and then what?"

Ned took a deep breath and wanted to say that, logically, she was right, that this was the rational thing to do, but his throat rebelled against him.

"Whatever you decide to do, Ned, no one can tell you that it's wrong or immoral," Cat offered. "Whatever you decide to do- that's what a good man does."

A few hours later, Ned had called up everyone to reconvene in the Great Hall, while he, Vayon and Luwin waited outside for everyone to go in and take their seats.

"My lord, are you quite sure about this?" Luwin asked, concerned, as if he was going to be under the executioner's sword.

"Yes, Maester, I am," Ned replied simply. He looked from Luwin to Vayon, who averted his eyes.

The three of them walked inside the hall and the whole hall stood up respectfully and somberly. It was more packed than it had been hours ago; several people had began to gossip about what was going on and Ned knew this was the only way to quash the rumours and loose talk; he had to deal with this once and for all, for he owed Merlin and Freya that much.

Ned saw Merlin and Freya stood opposite him, Lancelot and Jory stood side by side to each other, on Ned's left hand side, and there was a quiet yet resolved look in their eyes.

Ned nodded at the hall to sit and they did so, before he, Luwin and Vayon and took their seats.

"Thank you all, let me start by advising that I have come to my decision as to what's to happen with Merlin and Freya," Ned began.

"Firstly, I do not like people trying to pull the wool over my eyes or insulting my intelligence. Secondly, I want everyone here to understand that Freya was attacked some time ago, and through no fault of her own, has been cursed. Unfortunately, this curse can put others in danger and she has even asked me to free her of the curse by taking her life, and by taking no action against Merlin. I have promised that after today, Merlin will always have a home here in Winterfell."

Ned took a deep breath and looked directly at Freya, who was trying to steady herself, he could see her trembling slightly, even as Merlin held her hand.

"What you need to understand, Freya, is that as Lord of Winterfell, I have a duty to protect everyone here, especially those who are part of this household and family. And that includes you too.

"There is a concoction that was discovered in Essos, where those afflicted by lycanthropy- a curse that transforms them into a wolf- can be tranquilised even after they transform. I've spoken to Maester Luwin and he assures me that he can engineer something similar for your condition, so you can still retain some of mind even while you transform."

There was a silence, followed by surprised hushed whispers. Freya had been doing a good job at keeping steady, until now where she was trembling clearly, tears tricking down her face. "W-what?" she stammered.

"I think there's way we can manage your condition and keep everyone safe, if you take all the precautions Maester Luwin tells you to and there are no more lies after today."

"Are you serious, my lord?" Merlin asked.

"I am," Ned declared, giving a smile. "You can keep your life and place here."

In that moment, Merlin and Freya broke down in tears and threw their arms around each other. Merlin caressed her face and looked deep into her eyes, and she gazed back breathless, as if they had swam across the sea and only just come up for air. He planted a kiss on her forehead, before Freya hugged him again and cried into his chest once more.

Merlin then seemed to remember where they were and quickly pulled away, but kept hold on her hand, a flush of red overcame his face, and like a fire it spread to Freya. "Thank you, my lord," Merlin said.

Ned couldn't help but give a small chuckle at that. He saw Lancelot make his way over and hug his sister and his potential good-brother. Ned barely heard a whisper asking for forgiveness, and judging by what was going on he was sure that it was given.

He saw Jory give a weak smile and turn around to leave the hall, for a moment their eyes met and Jory gave a respectful bow before leaving. The atmosphere changed from cold surprise to warm whispering, as if the sun had decided to come out on a grey day and that sun shone down on Merlin, Freya and Lancelot. The faces of all the people in the room also were warming up slowly, as their stoic expressions began to melt like wax.

Ned recalled a moment not long ago, when he had first come across Merlin, Freya and the others. He remembered how overcome with joy the three before him had been to be reunited, even if two of them were malnourished and looked like they hadn't slept for days.

It was the least they deserved after enduring so much at the hands of the Ironborn, after giving hope to Winterfell when the Red Fever crisis hit and standing firm with Winterfell during Hyerock's insurrection.

Ned affirmed to everyone present that Merlin and Freya were part of Winterfell and would be treated as such. He rose and the whole hall did the same in harmony and returned their alpha's nod.

"So, what changed your mind?" Cat asked him later, while she and Robb met him in his study. While it was clear from Robb's expression that he was very relieved, Cat's face was harder to read.

Ned opened his mouth as if to say something, but seemed think better of it. He cleared his throat. "A wise man once told me that when I draw my sword, I should think not of what I should kill but what I should save.

"Today, both Winterfell and Freya could be saved; if only an option like that could always come around."

"I'm glad it did, Father," Robb said. "I'm glad it did."

Ned smiled. He remembered how he and Jon had joined him some hours before the judgment. Robb had been troubled and Ned could sense it in his questions, about what he was going to do. What he could do.

"She's asked for it….." Ned had said, to convince himself as much as Robb. "She's asked to be killed to become free, it would be a mercy. It's not something I would enjoy doing but it's what has to be done for all our sake's."

Robb had been troubled, the weight of Ned's words had made him look like a man grown, rather than a boy of three and ten, but he nodded and understood the burden of the decision and the consequences of getting it wrong.

"Then we should make it as painless and quick as possible," Robb had said thoughtfully.

"I know son," Ned had assented, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Now run along."

In reality that had been a ruse, because Ned could sense that Jon had been staring into the hearth, pretending not to listen, but Ned had known better, especially as he heard a what sounded like a stifled whimper. Jon quickly wiped his nose.

"Jon?" Ned had asked.

Jon had looked up at him, his lower face was stoic but his eyes betrayed him.

"Sometimes you have to do things that you hate, but are necessary, for the sake of survival and for the safety of everyone else," Ned had said gently. "Sometimes the life of one person has to be taken to save the lives of hundreds."

"Is it?" Jon snapped, but he quickly realised his tone and apologised. "I mean, is it really necessary. Is there no other way?"

Ned opened his mouth to respond, but nothing had come out. I don't know, son, I really don't.

"It's not her fault, she's cursed by someone else, she can't help what happened to her, can she not be cured or helped?" Jon had beseeched.

"What is it that you think I should do, Jon?" Ned had said impatiently. "If you had to make the decision and live with the consequences for the rest of your life, what would you do?"

"I'd help her," Jon whispered. "Please father, help her, if you can."

Help her! Help her! The words resounded in Ned's heart, mind and soul. Help her! Promise me! Promise me! Ned's mind had wandered to a dark haired woman on a bloodstained bed begging him a final favour.

It was then Ned had remembered something about a friend of Ser Gallardo Aguilar, and he had to explore that option, he had to before he gave the capital sentence. He had brought Maester Luwin before him and asked him a hundred burning questions, thankfully there was a decent answer and Luwin was sufficiently competent to engineer a solution for Freya that might just save her life and the lives of everyone else.

No, Ser Gallardo, I am the one who can never repay you, Ned pondered to himself. He sighed as he was brought back to the present, with Cat and Robb stood before him.

Robb grinned and nodded.

"Why don't you go and check on Bran?" Cat suggested to him. Once the Ned's heir was gone, Cat turned to him and gave a half-bemused and half-relieved look. "And you're sure this is the right decision, Ned?

"Not that I disagree with it or doubt it," she added quickly, as she sensed her husband prickling up. "But we all need you to be sure about this. You have good grounds for thinking this will work, right?"

"Aye, Cat," Ned said. "I do. This is the right thing to do."I'm desperately praying that I'm right. I have to be.

Author's Note: So, did Ned make the right choice? Or did he just let his personal feelings get the better of his judgement?

Please let me know your thoughts on this and the chapter. :)