Ned left his rooms dressed in hunting leathers hours before true dawn, he had already called Ironeyes through the bond to come to the edge of the woods near Lannisport but to wait in the shadows of treeline. With an escort of five guards from Winterfell Ned rode out of the city and met Ironeyes. Horses from Winterfell already used to scent of direwolves remained steady and the escort spread around Ned in a loose formation and Ironeyes loped beside Ned easily matching horses pace, they returned to Lannisport, there was bit of a tension at the gates but Ned assured them that Ironeyes will behave and Ned has brought him into the city on the King's command, the guard captain sent for some Lannister or other who was in-charge of the city watch for confirmation, said Lannister who was present at yesterday's court confirmed Neds word and they were allowed entry to the city, the city guards remained nervous after witnessing the size of Ironeyes but orders were orders. The early risers gawked and followed the direwolf with their eyes wherever they went, Ironeyes himself only watched on with curiosity but stayed near Ned, Ned knew that he wanted to investigate all the the new scents and sights but curbed his curiosity at Neds urging through the bond. After reaching his quarters Ned ordered to prepare hot water enough for both Ned and Ironeyes, after all it won't do to attend royalty with dried bloodstains, twigs and mud on the fur. Once the bathing was done, Ned waited dressed in grey, white and black, summons through a servant will come when it was time.
Said summons came in the form of Kingsguard, whom Ned identified as Ser Barristan the Bold. The knights mouth fell agape on first sighting Ironeyes, but he mastered himself quickly and said, " Lord Eddard the King is ready for you."
Ned once again patted his vest to confirm that Neds report on Nights Watch is secure and said, " Lead the way, Ser"
" Before we go, it is my duty as Kingsguard to ask, are you in full control of your direwolf? Can you assure he doesn't pose a risk to the Royal Family?",Ser Barristan asked in a authoritative tone.
" His name is Ironeyes, ser. And he will react aggressively only when my person is threatened but other than that, he is a model of good behaviour. Why, he has better manners than some nobles I know", Ned returned in even tone.
" Very well, follow me", Ser Barristan said before turning around and marching in the direction of Kings current residence.
" Come, Ironeyes, Stay near me, always", Ned said verbally, but reinforced the instruction through the bond. Ironeyes shrugged his shoulders as to say as you please and followed after.
It was a ten minute walk and Ned was led in to different chambers than the one in which court was held in yesterday, it was more modest and only held a dining table and three chairs, the King was already seated, and still dressed richly in black and red theme, but has forgone the crown, while the Prince just entered through a side door, he seemed to be returning from washing his hands as there is towel in his hands, other three Kingsguard are in the room and the servants are setting the table, once Ned entered the room after Ser Barristan announced him, Ned bowed low and said, " Your Majesty, my apologies if I am late and thank you for the invitation"
" You are not late, come in, come in. Is that your direwolf", King said in a giddy tone, " What a magnificent beast, such size, I never believed direwolves reach such size, and looks young too, he will grow larger still?".
Ned hadn't seen such reaction to Ironeyes yet, even Ned felt fear on seeing Frost, Ironeyes seems to be enjoying the reception as he almost preened at the praise, " Yes, Your Grace he will grow for another half a year and reach the size of a large pony, his name is Ironeyes".
" Yes, yes I remember. Can I touch him? " ,King asked in eager tone.
" Of course, Your Grace. Just show your palm, after having your scent, he will come to you" ,Ned returned cautiously, and urged Ironeyes to play nice through the bond.
The King followed instruction and Ironeyes after taking his scent allowed the King to scratch behind his ears, the King had a smile in face all the while.
Ned got the feeling from the bond that Ironeyes didn't really like the King but allowed him near at Neds behest. After a while the King let go and the direwolf returned to Neds side. The King ordered Ned to take a seat and the breakfast began. Breakfast consisted of freshly baked bread, variety of cheese and spicy porridge with bits of meat. Ironeyes was give a slab of raw beef and he dug into with relish.
" So, Lord Eddard, you wanted to speak about something and that you will share the story of how you came be in the possession of a direwolf", the King enquired.
So Ned told his edited story of going to the Wall and meeting Frost, when he came to the Nights Watch, Ned took out the report and testimonies from Nights Watch secured in his vest and passed it to the King before continuing, " I have met your kinsman, your Great Uncle Maester Aemon Targaryen at Castle Black, Your Grace, and spent significant amount of my time there with him, he worked alongside me on the report I have just given, Your Grace"
" And how is our great uncle, Lord Eddard?", asked a melodious voice, Ned turned to the Prince who was silent till now and replied, " When I visited near two years ago now, he is in good health, Your Grace, he is one of the wisest man I ever met, while his knees aren't what they used to be his wit has only grown sharper, he asked me to pass along the message that he is very proud of how his family has overcome adversity of recent years and he will always keep you in his prayers", Ned finished on turning toward the King.
" Once I had become King, I sent Aemon a letter offering to release him from his Nights Watch vows so that he may come serve me as my Grand Maester at Kings Landing, stubborn man refused stating that Nights Watch vows were for life", the King spoke in angry tone.
To that Ned had no reply, but the Prince soothed the King by placing a hand on Kings hand which is in a white knuckled grip around the table knife, alarm bells rang in Neds head at how quick the King was to anger. In the following silence the Prince asked, " So, Lord Eddard, you wanted to ask aid for Nights Watch? "
At that Ned put his utensils down, wiped his mouth with a napkin looked straight in the King's eyes and started, " Your Grace, Nights Watch is an ancient order, for eight thousand years they have stood guard over realms of men, it is an honorable calling, it is a great travesty indeed that such venerable Institution has sunk to the levels of a penal colony, until three hundred years ago Nights Watch has consistently numbered ten to twenty thousand men, all nineteen castles were manned and volunteers exceeded those who were sentenced to the Wall by a great margin. Now the Black Brothers number less than two thousand five hundred men, of that more than half are those who were sentenced to Wall, men who are criminals, rapists, thieves and murderers. Even those who join voluntarily are bastards and orphans with no martial training, and these men die in droves when sent ranging or when they fight Wildlings, Wildlings who are poorly armed with no armour, no formal training and weapons made out of sticks, stones and bronze, in a rare case a rusted iron swords. Only three castles at the Wall are manned. By my estimate in fifty years this once illustrious institution will die. Already Wildling raids have increased and Nights Watch is failinh to keep Wildlings in check. These raids cause untold damage by slaughtering smallfolk and torching the fields, when the North desperately needs every capable hand and every grain when the Winter Comes. You can see the Wall a days ride away from it, Your Grace, it spans over the horizon from east to west, it starts as a line and as you get closer and closer the mind boggles at the size of it, we read in a book that the Wall is seven hundred feet tall, that it is three hundred miles long and wide enough that a dozen knights can ride a top it and we think ' oh that is big wall' and we move on from the thought as we have more important things to think about. But when I saw it with my own eyes, a shiver travels down the spine and a thought occured to me ' what were our ancestors so afraid of, that they built a seven hundred feet high, three hundred miles long and fifty feet wide at the top, humongous coast to coast wall to keep it out' , you yourselves have blood of First Men in your veins, Your Graces, by marriage of Princess Dyanna Dayne and Queen Betha Blackwood in to your lineage, the shiver that went down my spine turned to dread in my stomach as long as I was at the Wall. I am not saying that some snark or grumpkin or Other is coming to kill us all, I am just saying that if our ancestors built a seven hundred feet wall sacrificing who knows how many lives in the process and established a military order independent of the Realm whose sole duty is to man the said Wall and Guard the Realms of Men, then surely we as the worthy descendants can help make sure said Wall is manned properly, when I voiced my concerns to my Lord Father he promised to set aside ten percent of Winterfells treasury at the time to aid the Wall, in last two years my Lord Father has funded repair costs for two of the castles along the Wall and encouraged five hundred more Northmen to take the Black by offering incentives of land and sometimes even silver. House Stark will continue to aid the Wall as long as we exist. But it has been decades since Wall recieved any aid from the South, a small tax that was supposed to be paid by Great Houses of Westeros to the Nights Watch as decreed By King Aegon the First Targaryen hasn't been paid by any expect for House Stark in decades. Every criminal or political prisoner is supposed to be given a choice of the Wall, but most condemned men are executed because it costs money to keep prisoners in the lock up until Wandering Black Brothers come to pick them up and it costs money to send prisoners who will take the Black to the Wall. I know, Your Grace, that the Crown has a thousand and one issues to deal with at any given moment, I know that the North is far from Kingslanding and the Wall farther still, but we are your subjects too, Your Grace, after Torrhen Stark bent knee to King Aegon the First Targaryen, House Stark never broke faith with the Crown, we kept peace in the North, we answered when called, we paid taxes promptly and we served loyally, when the Pact of Ice and Fire was never fulfilled we kept our protests to ourselves and continued to serve, after all this time House Stark begs your aid, Your Grace, not for ourselves but for the Nights Watch, please send aid to the Wall", Ned finished out of breath. Ned didn't know what has come over himself, that was not what he rehearsed on saying. The room was dead silent, the King and the Prince stopped eating while Ned was ranting and everyone the Kingsguard, the servants, the Prince and even the King were staring at Ned. Ned face started to flush red in embarrassment. Clearing his throat, Ned said in tiny voice, " Apologies, Your Graces, I don't know what has come over me, apologies for ranting, that was unseemly of me. Apologies."
The silence continued for a while after that and Ned continued to stare that the floor, then the King said in amused tone, " There is no need for apologies, Lord Eddard, I can see that you are very passionate about this subject. Your plea is heard and I will study your report. The Crown Prince will work with House Stark on the issue of the Wall and what aid can be sent, won't you Rhaegar?"
" I will, my King", the Prince replied with a bow.
" Thank you, Your Grace", Ned showed his gratitude with a deep bow.
" Come, let us finish breaking our fast, the day has only began and there is a tourney to get to. Are you participating in any of the events Lord Eddard ?", the King asked kindly, obviously to distract Ned from his embarrassment.
" No, Your Grace, I am not particularly confident in participating in any of the events just yet, maybe in a year or two" ,Ned replied with relief evident in his voice.
And so they made small talk while finishing the meal. Once done Ned begged his leave and made a quick exit. He would ride out of the city and hunt with Ironeyes, Ned needs to clear his head and think on his loss of control. If he had ranted anymore on the Wall and The Others, he would have been laughed out of the room and thought a madman, Ned isn't sure he wasn't already labelled as such by the King and the Prince.
What a mess, It wasn't like Ned to lose control and this was the second time he ranted about the Wall outside his head. Ned needs to think and for that he needs a clear head.