Eddard I

King's Landing. 298 A.C.

The horrible stench of the city could be smelled long before they even reached the gates of King's Landing. When the royal entourage walked through the Gate of the Gods, which ran through the city to the Red Keep, Ned had to cover his nose with a handkerchief so as not to unravel the stinking smell that filled the city streets. Ned had been to other major cities of the Seven Kingdoms, such as Lannisport or White Harbor, but they were not comparable to the capital. The rectangular city stretched along the north bank of the Blackwater, had more inhabitants than the rest of the great cities of Westeros combined and, of course, its drainage system left much to be desired. Ned led the march, followed by the group of northerners who had come with him to the south and behind him was King Robert along with the Queen's carriage and the rest of the court, at a much slower pace than the northerners. Eager to reach the Red keep as soon as possible, Ned accelerated the march and crossed its imposing bronze doors on horseback. He was tired, hungry, irritated and hadn't had a bath for days.

He had not yet dismounted when the king's butler told him that the Grand Maester Pycelle had convened an urgent meeting of the Small Council and requested the Hand to grace them with his presence when he saw fit.

The most convenient thing would be to do it tomorrow, thought Ned clearly annoyed with the news. But he didn't want to offend the council on his first day as the King's Hand.

"Tell them I'll meet them as soon as I take a bath and put on something more presentable" Ned sighed.

"It will be done, my lord" nodded the butler. "We have prepared Lord Arryn's old rooms in the Tower of the Hand for you and your companions to install. I hope you'll be comfortable in your new rooms."

"Many thanks" said Ned as he dismounted. The rest of his group was crossing the doors at the time. He saw Vayon Poole, his butler and Jory Casell and called them. "I'm required on the council. Vayon, prepare me a bath and a proper outfit as soon as possible. Jory, when my daughters arrive, take them to their respective rooms. And make sure they stay there until I come back."

As soon as he left the Tower of the Hand after changing his clothes, he was interrupted by several unknown soldiers. They wore chainmail, bronze helmets, and were armed with spears and shields as if they were ready for battle. He didn't count them, but there appeared to be at least a dozen of them. His guards were in position in front of them and by their faces they could see that there was no friendship between them, in fact, it seemed the antechamber of a violent skirmish. They are not Golden Cloaks or Lannister soldiers, Ned observed. It wasn't until he saw the sun and spear painted on their shields that he realized they were guards of the Martells. The last thing I expected were Martells in King's Landing.

"Calm down, calm down" said a female voice from behind the Martell guards. "I'm just here to find Lord Stark."

"It's me. Who's looking for me?" asked Ned in a grave voice, passing through his guards. It was then that he saw two women in front of the Dornish soldiers. They were around twenty years old. The first had olive skin, large dark eyes and lustrous black and curly hair while the other had milk-white skin, blue-eyed and blond hair passing her ears.

"Lord Stark, I don't think we know each other" said the dark-haired woman. She wore a silk dress that concealed her curvaceous body, leaving nothing to the imagination. "I am Arianne of house Martell; my husband sends me to accompany you to the chambers of the Small Council. The Red Keep is really large, and he assumed you could lose yourself around here."

"My lady" replied Ned respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I didn't expect to find you here."

"I didn't think I'd be here, truth be told. My daughters must be in the Water Gardens with their grandfather and I'm sure they miss their parents really much. But Jon Arryn's death and his grace's and most of the court march to Winterfell forced my husband to stay longer in the city."

"Someone has to put order in the kingdom, I believe were his exact words" said the young woman who was accompanying the princess.

The princess laughed upon hearing the comment of her companion. "Yes, it sounds like something Stannis would say. Oh, I forgot to introduce her. This is my cousin Tyene Sand, daughter of my Uncle Oberyn. Isn't she a very beautiful maid?"

"Very true. It's a pleasure to meet you too."

"You're going to make me blush Lord Stark. The pleasure is mine. My father has always spoke me well about you, my lord" the young lady replied.

"I don't remember ever encountering Prince Oberyn, my lady" said Ned bewildered.

"Perhaps you may not remember, my lord. It was at Harrenhal's tournament, from what he told me. Many years ago."

Harrenhal. That name only brought dark memories to Ned. Memories he'd rather forget. "I'm sorry, it's been a while of since that and my memories are blurred" Ned apologized.

"I'm sure my cousin didn't want to remind you of bad memories. The council awaits you, Lord Stark. Please follow me."

Ned made a gesture with his head to Jory, who gave the guards the order to disperse. As he toured the instances of the Red Keep, accompanied by the two Dornish women, Ned wondered what Robert's brother's intention was by sending his wife to accompany him to the council chamber. I'm surrounded by fouls and flatterers, Robert told him. Ned had only dealt with Lord Stannis a couple of times, but he didn't think he fit into either category. He was barely a year younger than Robert and looked nothing like him: he was austere, hard-hearing, relentless, and his sense of duty was such that it was almost fanaticism. In fact, he wondered if the woman next to him, jovial, exuberant and ostentatiously exhibiting her wealth, could really be his wife. He knew that the marriage between Stannis and Prince Doran's daughter had been indispensable for Dorne to return to the king's peace after the rebellion, but he did not imagine that the personality of both sides could be so opposite.

"I have heard that your daughters have come with you. I'm sure they're very excited to come south of the Neck" the princess said.

"My daughter Sansa is, though the road has been a bit hard for her," Ned replied recalling the matter of Lady and Prince Joffrey. "My daughter Arya is not so excited. She's always been a little wild, always getting into fights with other kids. But maybe here she learns to behave like a proper lady."

"Ha, ha. I'm sure she'd like to meet my sisters Obara and Nymeria" Tyene said, giving off a giggle.

"Your daughter would love Dorne, my lord. I'm convinced she'll prefer to be there better than life in court. Can I try to convince you to let her come with us when we go back to Dorne?" said Princess Arianne.

"I'll have to think about it, my lady. Although in principle I'd like them to stay on King's Landing with me. Dorne is far away from the North" Ned replied dryly. Cat wouldn't like it if Arya was so far from her.

"Keep it in mind, please. We'll probably leave before the end of the month, so if you change your mind, you just have to tell us. My daughters would like to have someone their age to play with."

And that's how Ned arrived at the Council chamber, tired, hungry and with his hair that hadn't finished drying out yet.

"Thank you for accompanying me, my ladies" said Ned politely.

"Don't mention it, my lord. I'm sure we'll see each other a lot these days" the princess said as she turned around and came back through the gallery they'd come for.

Five of the council members had already arrived before him with the exception of the king and Ser Barristan. The counselor Ned appreciated the least, the eunuch Varys, approached him as soon as he entered.

"Lord Stark. It was very hard for me to hear your problems on the Kingsroad. We all pray for Prince Joffrey's early recovery," the eunuch said as he shook his hand, dusting Ned's sleeve.

"A pity that you did not pray for the butcher's son" Ned replied coldly. He freed himself from Varys' hand and crossed the room to where Lord Renly was talking to a man of short stature who could be none other than Littlefinger. He looked so much like his brother Robert when he was young that he found it disconcerting.

"Lord Renly, I find you well" said Ned.

"A little fatigued from the road, though my tiredness is not be comparable to yours. I told them the assembly could wait, but..."

"But we have a kingdom to rule. If a couple-day trip tires you out so much that you can't fulfill your responsibilities, Renly, maybe you should leave your place in this council to another" a voice interrupted him from the table. It was Lord Stannis, Robert's other brother, who was already in his seat at the end of the table. He had changed little since he last saw him, during the invasion of the Iron Islands nearly ten years ago.

"If it were up to you, Lord Stannis, you would be the only one who would sit on this council" Littlefinger said with a mocking smile. "I was looking forward to meeting you Lord Stark, surely your wife will have told you about me."

"That's right. My brother Brandon also told me about you, Lord Baelish" Ned replied in an icy voice trying to end the conversation. He was irritated by the arrogance of Littlefinger's comment. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Lord Stannis. When I heard about your engagement to Princess Arianne, I didn't know if you would remain in your position as Master of Ships. I must also thank you for sending her to lead me to this room, she has been of great help to me."

"It wasn't I who sent her, Lord Stark" replied Stannis by arching an eyebrow. "My brother may not want to see me ruling Storm's End or Dragonstone, but it seems he still needs me to keep his kingdom in order. I respect you, but for the most means, I do not approve of your appointment, Lord Stark. My brother should have named me Hand of the King, I have been serving in this council for nearly fifteen years."

"The king trusted Lord Stark to take the position of Hand of the King, and we must trust his decision" the grand maester Pycelle said kindly. "I am sure that you will do a great job, my lord."

"Grand Maester. I hope you're feeling well" Ned said as he sat in the seat next to the king's chair.

"As well as a man my age can be found. We should start now, or else I can fall asleep at any moment" said the grand maester in a tired voice.

"As you wish."

Those who weren't still seated occupied their usual seats and Eddard Stark had the feeling that he was surrounded by strangers whose true intentions for him and the kingdom were unkonwn to him. Well, he thought. At least I know Stannis's.

"We should wait for the king to arrive and Ser Barristan. They weren't far behind me so they should have reached the Red Keet by now" Ned suggested.

"If you expect us to wait for Robert to show up, I should go back to Dorne" Stannis said.

"Was that meant to be a joke, brother?" laughed Renly.

"What Lord Stannis means is that his Grace has so many concerns that he delegates minor matters to us" Varys said.

"What I meant was that my brother prefers to spend his time drinking and sleeping with whores than ruling" said Stannis, his face totally serious.

Most of the council meeting was about a tournament Robert wanted to hold in his honor. When Ned read the letter Robert had sent them, ordering them to begin preparations for its celebration, he could not get out of his disbelief, which increased when he learned the state of the kingdom's finances. Varys reported that, according to her informant, Daenerys Targaryen was on her way to Vaes Dohrak along with her brother, a red priestess and all the khalasar of her husband. Ned was already aware of the situation and was not worried as long as the Targaryen had no ships with which to transport that army. Lord Stannis also reported an increase in the number of pirate attacks on the Stepstones, but Ned did not want to discuss any subjects until he had spoken to Robert about the situation of the kingdom. This had to stop immediately.

"I beg your pardon, my lords" he said wearily. "The journey has been long, and I find myself a little stressed. We'll resume this tomorrow."

"Lord Stark, I'm afraid the matter of pirates is of the utmost importance. Trade..." Stannis started.

"I'm sure it can wait till tomorrow, Lord Stannis" retorted Ned, his tone perhaps too abrupt.

"Excuse my brother, Lord Stark. The poor guy can't command under his own roof, so he has to do it with us. When you're in bed, you also position yourself beneath her, Stannis?" said Renly, causing a laugh in the chamber.

"If you ever make fun of me again, Renly, I swear..." said Stannis red of anger.

Ned, who had not participated in the laughter, rose, said goodbye to those present with a gesture of his head and headed toward the door. Tomorrow he would apologize for his rudeness, but now he just wanted to see his daughters and rest, not engage in jokes and taunts.

He crossed the outside yard and was heading to what he believed was the Tower of the Hand when Lady Tyene suddenly appeared before him.

"Lord Stark, what an extraordinary coincidence it is seeing each other again so soon" said the woman innocently.

Every day that passes I start to believe less in extraordinary coincidences.

"Do you want anything, my lady?" asked Ned trying to end this encounter as soon as possible.

"Just trying to offer you some help, my lord" she said as she handed him a little bottle that she had just pulled out of the folds of the sleeve of her dress.

"What is this?" asked Ned observing the strange colorless liquid inside the bottle.

"A powerful antidote. It will cure you of most of the known poisons and if not, it will surely relieve you of the symptoms enough so you can come to me for help."

"Why do you give me this, my lady? Do you suspect that someone has poisoned me?" said Ned incredulously. It's true that I'm more tired than usual, but it must because of the long journey.

"It's just a precaution, you wouldn't want to suffer the same fate as the last Hand, would you?"

"Jon Arryn? Are you implying that...?"

"Oh! I think we'll have to leave this conversation for later. Looks like a mockingbird wants to talk to you" she said as she passed by. Ned kept the bottle in one of the pockets of his suit and turned to see where Lady Tyene was going when he found Littlefinger approaching him.

"I see you have made good friends with Lady Tyene, although some say it can be dangerous to approach a pretty face, and more if it is one of the Sand Snakes. She didn't bite you, did she, Lord Stark?" said Littlefinger with a mocking smile on his face.

"She has given me no reason to distrust her, Lord Baelish."

"I'm sure she hasn't, who might suspect anything from that angel's face?" replied Littlefinger with sarcasm. "Come with me, Lord Stark, you are heading the wrong way."

Ned followed him with some hesitation. Littlefinger led him to a tower, then they went down some stairs and walked through a desert corridor guarded by empty armors from the Targaryen Era, dusty and forgotten.

"This is not the path to my chambers, is it? Where are you taking me?" said Ned, tired of Littlefinger's games.

"Who said I was leading you to your quarters? I'm taking you to see your wife, Lord Stark."