The king was sat, sitting in the pavilion watching the world go by as he and Lord Stark took a rest from the hunt that had been organised in the king's honour. The morning had been tense between them and Robert knew he had to sort out the mess that he had caused, he had not meant for all the aggravation that had happened between him and Ned, which had occurred as a result of his revealing who Jon really was. He still wanted his oldest friend to come to kings landing and be his hand, he was the only one he could trust; there were so few he could trust now since the death of Jon Arryn.
Ned was sitting looking out across the country side, he was still angry with Robert even though a small part of him understood why Robert had done what he had done, he knew it had been pure ego on Roberts part and that his actions put not only Jon but the whole of his family in danger, for the Lannister's he knew would not allow what had happened in the last few days to go by without some sort of revenge, he feared for the safety of all within Winterfell.
"Ned?"
The sound of his name on his friend's lips brought the lord of Winterfell out of his musings and he looked at his friend in concealed fury, he knew that he had to reign in his anger and fury or it might be his old friend the king who ended up doing something to him and his family. Robert's drunken actions of the last few days had put him in such an awkward position.
"'I'm sorry for what has happened here, these last few days. I know you probably don't believe me but I am really sorry. I never meant for all this, I just wanted Jon to know who I was and more importantly who he is."
Ned listened to Roberts's words and although they seemed sincere, he knew in his heart that it took a lot for Robert to admit that he was wrong, not an easy thing as Robert always thought he was in the right, something that infuriated many in the realm, from Lord to commoner. However as King, none dared to voice their views upon his stubbornness to not ever admit that he the king, was wrong about anything, after all they would have ended up losing their heads.
Robert finished his speech and watched his old friend from where he sat, he knew that Ned was angry and that he had every right to be angry with him, he was not a stupid man though many people thought he was. He knew he acted like a buffoon and it was the drink that caused him to act this way, he knew he should not drink so much, but in the last few years it had been the only way that had kept him sane since the Lannister's had got their claws into him.
Especially the harpy he was married to, at first there had been some tenderness between them or at least he hoped to believe there had been but now he felt nothing but resentment towards the woman and harboured feelings that that the children she had presented him with were not his, he knew about the affair between Cersie and her brother Jaime, but turned a blind eye to it. At least for now, as soon as he had the evidence that he needed then he was going to get rid of the lying incestuous whore but first he needed to discover who were allies and who were not and in this he needed Ned.
"What you did Robert has put my family and all in Winterfell at risk, the Lannister will not take kindly to the disgrace and anguish that you have caused in these last few days. I can in some ways understands why you did it but hear this when I tell you, I am angry beyond anything that you have ever known for what you have done and it will take me some time to calm down from this. Your ego and drunkenness may cause the end of us all, and I will tell you this now if any threat comes to my family because of your words and actions then there will be war between us, Winterfell and the North will not stand for anything that the Lannister's will throw at us and you know they will. I will not allow them or you to bring any harm to my family and especially to Jon, for it is he, who you have put in the greatest of danger."
Robert listened as calmly as he could to his oldest friends words, he silently agreed with much of what Ned had said and he made a vow to himself that nothing would happen to Ned and his family nor the people of the North that his friend cared so much about and especially Jon, he would do anything and everything to protect his son, he would not allow the Lannister's to harm or do anything that put his son at risk.
"Ned, I promise you this on my oath as your friend and king that I will do everything in my power to protect you and yours in the future, not just your family but all of the North from the Lannister's if it is in my power as king to do so, and especially Jon, I will stake my life in protecting him, for he is all I have left of Lyanna and is the most precious thing to me, right now and in the future. I know that he wanted to go to the wall and devote his life to it, I heard the mutterings within the great walls of your home of his intentions and I hope that he will look towards the south as a possibility of what his future might be."
"I will not have you force his will to what you want Robert, he wants to go to the North and if he does ask that you allow him the choice to choose where he is to go, the wall or south with you."
Ned leaned forward in his seat as he addressed his friend, he knew that Robert would, if he could force Jon to go to the south with him, to kings landing where he knew could be the death of the boy he had raised as his son, and whom he loved as much as any of his children.
Robert listened to Ned's words and considered what his friend said. If truth be told he wanted nothing more than to grab Jon and ride right now for kings landing, to keep the boy forever at his side but he knew also that if he did then there would be unholy trouble between not only himself and the Lannister's but the Starks also and most likely that Jon would come to resent him and he did not want that. Breathing out slowly and deeply he looked his friend in the eye as he spoke.
"I promise you Ned as your friend and king, that I will allow Jon to make his own decision of where he wishes to to be and what he wishes to do with his life, I will not try and force his mind of where his place in the world is but I sincerely hope that he will at least consider coming south with me, to see what his life could be on that I give you my sacred oath."