Chapter 11: Waking Up in King's Landing

From what William could remember, he definitely remembered that he did not faint inside of a nice and warm bed, no, he fainted under the glaring heat of the south, falling down onto the hard concrete of the floor just as the Stark retinue were escorted to their new quarters.

Fainting had never been a common occurrence to Will, the only other time he could remember fainting was when he had been taken straight from Yhorm, and thrown in front of the Dancer of the Boreal Valley. Two straight fights with giants almost ten times the size of William himself. He fainted right after he placed the sacrificial bowl in front of the statue of the knight who had seemed to be beheading himself, then he fell to the floor and slept. He soon woke up to see the chapel-like area had gone and been set on fire. He then climbed the ladder and made his way through the rest of Lothric Castle.

William picked himself up from the bed, dressing himself in some simple riding leathers so he didn't cook himself to death inside his plate armour. He could feel his head begin to pound slightly, and he looked for something to keep the pounding in his head to a minimum. He didn't succeed in the endeavour, and opened the door into the main room, where he could see Eddard, Sansa, and Arya breaking their fast.

William could smell the recently cooked food, and could just hear his stomach begin to growl. "Please tell me we have some spare bacon..." He mumbled, as he took a seat, poured himself a cup of water and downed it one go.

"Are you alright, lad? We didn't know what had happened when you fainted. We had the Grand Maester take a look at you and he said it was just the reaction to the heat." Eddard said.

"I'll tell you later. Anyway, how long was I asleep?"

"Three days." Arya replied, scoffing down some toasted bread.

Well, fuck…

Hey, it could have been a lot worse…

It already is worse! Did you not hear the voice?! The voice that could still be with us!

The voice was different, it always sounded grim and full of despair, and always seemed to take pleasure when Will was in pain, or in grief. When the voice spoke, it sent the others into hysterics, it echoed and echoed in William's head, sometimes being completely silent, almost making William forget that existed until the worst possible moment, always shouting over the other voices, making its presence known once again.

"And what did I miss?" William asked, picking at the leftovers that Eddard had handed over to him, most of it being the bacon and burnt bread.

"Many things. King Robert has decided to have a tourney for naming me his right hand, and some other things that should be talked about in private.

"Father, we can leave you if you need to talk to William in private." Said Sansa.

"Thank you, child. Go on, just make sure you keep safe."

"We will, don't worry Father." Arya replied as she walked off with her older sister.

Will and Eddard were left alone at the table, the guards and servants left to serve some of the others in the other rooms. Eddard looked pale, and he was sweating too. He almost looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Well, what did you find out?" William asked, taking a bite out of some bacon.

"Well, I found out that Robert's brothers are at each others throats once more, which is not really surprising. I also found out that one of the brothers, Stannis, left King's Landing for a reason I do not know. I have tried to contact him with ravens but he has not replied since. The crown treasury is empty, and is six million dragons in debt, to the Sept, to the Lannisters, Iron Bank and also the Tyroshi Cartels."

"What."

"I'm not finished. Just before we left Winterfell we received a letter from Cat's sister, Lady Lysa of the Eyrie. She had just lost her who was the previous Hand. We believed that it was just her grief talking at first but now I'm not so sure. Jon Arryn, her husband, was a personal friend of mine, and I'll be damned if I don't find out who killed him."

"Do you have anyone you think did it?" William asked.

"The Lannisters. I have met Tywin, and I believe that Queen Cersei is just like her father. They are a family of schemers, liars and plotters. I don't trust them, and neither should you."

"I don't, My Lord. I can barely stand to be around them, especially the elder prince."

"Neither do I. I am going to talk to Robert to see if I can get the arrangement dissolved and maybe see if Robb could marry Myrcella." Eddard groaned, placing his head in his hands.

"She's a bit young isn't she?"

"It would be better than knowing that my first daughter is being tortured and abused by that loathsome creature."

"Very true, my lord."

William could tell that Lord Stark was not looking forward to his new role as the Hand of the King, He had told William of the Small Council, how the only competent members of the council seemed to be the Master of Whispers, Varys, and the Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish. From what Lord Stark had told him, the two were both extremely dangerous men, each of them having their own legions of spies, knowing every secret inside the Red Keep.

"Uh, I may be speaking out of place, and the idea may not even succeed but I have an idea for a ship, something that might be even better than whatever the Lannisters have."

"A ship? But we don't have a Master of Ships, Will."

"Let me be the unofficial one for now, in secret, I can be able to take some builders and some other individuals that maybe able to arm the ship. If I do this, the North could finally have its own fleet."

"And what is the name of the new ship you have a plan to construct?" Eddard asked.

"The Man of War."

X-X-X

"Do you think William will be alright?" Sansa asked.

"Yeah, well, he better be. He can't just drop dead, he's only just started training me." Arya replied.

"Well, he's my sworn shield, and I don't want him to be hurt."

"Sansa, did you see what he did by the Ruby Ford? Did you see what he did to Joffrey's sword when he threatened him?" Arya asked.

"His hands, his face, it was like he was made out of pure flames. He broke his sword and threw it into the water."

"Exactly," Arya replied. "If anyone is going to be hurt, it definitely won't be Will. You worry too much."

What Arya said was true, in every way. Sansa worried about everything, whilst Arya never worried about anything, she didn't have a care in the world, all she cared about was not being called a lady. Sansa cared about everyone and everything, her singing, her sowing, how she looked and how she acted. The pair of them were complete opposites of the other, yet after what had happened at the Ford, they had began to be more like sisters instead of sibling rivals.

"Are you looking forward to the tourney?" Arya asked.

"Of course I am, what a stupid question to ask!" Said Sansa.

"I'm sorry I asked now."

"Do you think William will take part?" Sansa asked.

"I doubt it, but if he does he'll probably take part in the melee. That one seems to be the one that William would most enjoy. I doubt jousting is something he would do." Arya replied, pondering whether Will would actually take part in any part of the tournament.

"Oh, I always thought that he'd do both. I still have yet to see him fight, but if he is anything like he was at the Ford, well, he seems to have an unfair advantage."

If anything, Arya was not even concerned about the tourney at all, she was more worried if she would still be able to continue her training with William, apparently she had a 'natural disposition' when it came to using the short-sword, at least that was what he had said, she had no idea what a 'natural disposition' was.

Sansa desperately wanted to see the tourney. It would be her first time to an actual Southron tourney , with all the houses from places like the Stormlands, Westerlands and the Reach offering up a few knights to take part. It would have made her day if House Stark's own knight won instead.

Please Will, please join the lists and win, I'd give anything to see the looks on their faces...