A Beginning Chapter 1: Benjen
Benjen took a deep breath. He found himself doing a lot of that now that Robert was in Winterfell. The man was still loud, still obnoxious and still a drunkard. The only difference was that all of his drinking and eating showed on his body and his face. Time had not been kind to the man. That was of the barest reassurance to Benjen, especially after everything the man had said and done when Lyanna had been alive.
He could not understand how Ned was able to not only put up with Robert, but laugh at his jests, and be friends with him. None of them had ever really understood how that friendship had formed or how it had survived. The years had if anything, made Ned even more silent and brooding than he had been when they'd been younger. And yet, Robert Baratheon had been here for perhaps five days and already Ned was laughing and smiling more than Benjen could remember him doing when they'd had company in the past.
It was highly disconcerting to say the least.
"You have not said anything for almost ten minutes, Ben, I am surprised." Ned remarked.
Benjen blinked. "I do not know what to say." That was a lie, he knew exactly what he wanted to say. He didn't know how to say it without angering his brother.
Ned nodded. "You do not think I should head south." It was not a question, more a statement. Ned knew exactly what Benjen made of the south. A cesspit full of vipers and chancers where good intentions went to die.
"I do not." Benjen replied.
"Why?" Ned asked.
Benjen took another deep breath. Be calm and don't get agitated, you know what Ned is like about Robert. "The south has never been kind to us, Ned. And I'm not just talking about father, Brandon and Lya, I'm talking about before them. The Old Man Of the North lost three sons fighting in the wars in the south. Our great uncle died fighting in the south. And then there were those who served King Aegon the Lucky. How many of our family died for him? If you go south you won't come back."
Ned looked as if he wanted to scoff, he knew his brother didn't believe in such things, but there was a trend. Of course, Benjen knew that they would need to buck that trend for what was to come. But Ned didn't need to know that.
Ned's voice was soft when he replied. "Nothing bad is going to happen. Robert is the King. I have known him since we were boys. Nothing bad is going to happen."
It sounded as if Ned was trying to reassure himself as well as Benjen, and when Benjen pointed that out, his brother sighed.
"There was a letter." It was if Ned was deeply reluctant to admit to it.
"From who?" Benjen asked. Though he already knew who it was from.
"Lysa, Cat's sister." Ned said.
"And?" Benjen asked, wondering if his brother would say what Lysa had actually said, or if he would lie.
Ned was very good at lying when he needed to be.
"She claims that Jon Arryn was murdered. She blames the Lannisters for his death." Ned said.
At least he was honest. Benjen thought to himself.
Keeping his expression as blank as possible he asked. "And what do you think?" Lysa Arryn was not a person who was within her right mind. Benjen had kept an eye on her over the years. Not always, but over the years, when he'd gone on his journeys. And what he'd seen had not impressed him.
"I do not know. But I need to head south, Ben." Ned said, the expression in Ned's eyes was one of pleading, as if begging him to understand. It was the same expression Ned had worn when he'd returned from the War that had placed Robert on the throne. "I need to know what happened, and if there is any truth to what Lysa has said, then the Lannisters must be brought to justice."
"And you think Robert will just agree to that?" Benjen asked. "You think he'll just agree to whatever punishment you decide the Lannisters need to face?"
"He is a man of honour and murder is a crime, Ben." Ned said, his jaw setting in that manner of his that Benjen had seen all too often on Jon's face, and even Arya's.
"The Queen is a Lannister, Ned, and she has given Robert three children, including two sons. Yes they might look more like the Kingslayer than they do Robert, but they are his sons. You really think he's going to want to punish his wife?" Benjen asked.
"If she is the one responsible, then Robert will ensure that justice is done." Ned said.
Benjen snorted. "That would start a war with Casterly Rock. And no matter what you might think, Robert is not the man he once was. He won't do it."
"He will." Ned replied stubbornly.
Benjen wanted to scream. Ned could be so damned stubborn when he wanted to. Especially when it came to Robert. Benjen could still remember the arguments they'd had after the war, all of them involving that damned whoreson who sat the throne.
He decided to change tack.
"What about Jon?" He asked.
"What about him?" Ned replied, his attitude changing, one of defensiveness now.
"You promised him that you'd tell him who his mother was." Benjen said. "You promised him you'd tell him before he set off for Essos." That had been the one thing they'd agreed on, that when Jon saw his fifteenth nameday, he would venture out to Essos to explore the world and know himself. That day was fast approaching.
"It is not right to tell him that now." Ned said. "Not with Robert here."
Benjen snorted. "It is exactly the right time to tell him."
"It is not." Ned said his jaw firming again.
Benjen wanted to scream again. "Ned, you saw how Jon reacted when every single one of your children got a direwolf, and he didn't. You saw how his face fell when he found the mutt and found it dead." Jon had looked as if he'd been hit. That a stag horn had pierced the white direwolf's face had made it all the worse.
Ned looked pained. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Tell him the truth." Benjen said. When Ned opened his mouth to protest, Benjen ploughed on. "Or if not the whole truth, then at least tell him who his mother is."
Ned shook his head. "No, it is far too dangerous. Especially with Robert around."
"So, you're going to break your promise to him?" Benjen asked. He knew that he was pushing it a little, and he fully understood why Ned wasn't willing to tell Jon the truth. But at the same time, he needed Jon to know the truth, otherwise everything else would stall and the boy deserved to know.
"I am going to do what I promised, and I am going to keep him safe." Ned said.
Benjen snorted. Safe. That was something.
"Jon will go to Essos; he will explore the Free Cities and then he will return home and a suitable marriage will be made for him." Ned said.
Benjen felt his mouth drop open. He hadn't expected that from Ned. He had thought his brother would leave Jon be, for the sake of his wife more than anything else. "To who?" He demanded.
"Lord Flint has a daughter of an age with Jon, with lands that need tending to. I am considering broaching the topic with him." Ned said.
Benjen took a breath. "And Catelyn has agreed to this?" He knew what his sister in law thought of Jon, she'd made that quite clear over the years. He could not think that she'd agree to him marrying.
From the way Ned shifted on his seat it was clear that he hadn't actually spoken to his wife yet. Confirmation came when Ned stammered. "I…we… there has not been enough time."
Benjen laughed, he laughed and laughed and then Ned started laughing as well, and it was as if the ghosts of the past weren't there haunting them. When they both stopped, he wiped a tear from his eye and said. "I think perhaps we had best let Jon travel first before thinking of any marriages for him." He took a breath then added. "I'll travel with him to White Harbour." He'd been planning on doing that anyway, but now that he knew what Ned was planning (or thinking of doing), he could adjust his own plans accordingly.
Ned nodded. "And then you'll return to Winterfell?"
"Yes." Benjen said. He intended to spend a few days in White Harbour first. He had to have a conversation with Lord Wyman about a few things, but once that was done, he'd return home.
"Very well." Ned said.
There was a brief pause, then Ned rose, prompting Benjen to rise as well. "Well, if there's nothing else, Ben, I think we had best call it a night. Robert wants to be up early tomorrow for the hunt."
Benjen said nothing, but he did nod and he did follow his brother out of his solar. As he walked down the hallway to his own rooms, he started humming a song, a song his mother used to hum to him when he was a babe. The name of the song was one he'd long forgotten, if he'd ever known it, but it made him smile. Things were beginning to move.
