A/N: New Chapter, hope you enjoy!
Naruto walked back to the King's procession in rather a different mood than when he left. He nearly had a skip in his step.
Elia and Ashara were two of the nicest ladies he'd ever met. Even some of the noblewomen in the North tended to be slightly on the aloof side.
But those two...
His smile got wider. Elia was relaxed and radiant, Ashara was bubbly and bright. They were two bright stars, shining every night. Their strength had impressed him from the moment he'd brought them North.
"Far cry from how I met those two," he said to himself, and just like that, his good mood turned to ash. Naruto shook his head. "Bah. No use dwelling in the past."
He resolved to think of happier things.
...But of course, his luck tended to be fickle.
His sensitive ears twitched at the sudden shout from a familiar voice sounding from the nearby building.
"Shit," he muttered. "Ned's pissed."
Half a minute later, after entering the building and sneaking past a bunch of Lannister guards to discreetly see what was going on, he rolled his eye.
Ned was there in front of his daughter, arguing with Robert over something Joffrey had done.
Arya stood in midst of them, looking nervous and angry at the same time.
Robert was sitting in a chair while a maester treated his broken nose. He looked very irritated at the whole thing.
To his interest, Sansa was also there, standing in a corner. It didn't look like she'd been noticed by her father.
The two he was most interested in were Cersei, who looked determined, and Joffrey, who was arguing with Arya.
"But Joffrey isn't telling the truth!"
"Shut up!"
"Enough!" Robert roared, waving the maester off and interrupting the children. "He tells me one thing, she tells me another! Seven hells, what am I to make of this?"
No one answered.
"Where's your other daughter, Ned?"
"In bed, asleep."
"She's not," Cersei said, looking to where Sansa was standing in the background. The Queen had nearly said nothing, as she honestly did not want to drag the sweet girl into this, but Joffrey would have hated her for the rest of her life if she did not. "Sansa, come here, darling."
The young girl came forward to the surprise of her father and sister.
Naruto noted with interest Sansa's determined stance and Cersei's hesitant one.
'Hm. This could get interesting.'
"Now, child," Robert said thickly, still talking through his broken nose. "Tell me what happened. Tell it all, and tell it true. It's a great crime to lie to a King."
Sansa looked from the King to the Prince, then to her sister and father and back again. And before their eyes, she closed her eyes, drew herself up and took a deep breath.
"What Arya says is the truth. All of it."
"Liar!" Joffrey yelled immediately. "Those two attacked me, and that beast nearly killed me!"
"That 'beast' is barely bigger than a puppy!" Sansa snapped back. "And it wouldn't have attacked you if you weren't swinging a sword at my sister!"
Every person in the room raised an eyebrow at the fiery girl. Ned's eyebrows had climbed into his hairline, while a proud smile was on his face.
Even Robert, who was used to simpering ladies of the south, couldn't help a small quirk of his lip. 'Ha. You remind me of your aunt, little lady.'
Joffrey drew back as if he'd been slapped, his shock quickly morphing into rage.
"You— you bitch!" he shrieked. "How dare you lie to your Prince!?"
The Lord of Winterfell barely stopped himself from baring his teeth, while his oldest daughter had to stop his youngest from attacking the boy.
"Careful, boy!" Robert growled. "You might be my son, but that is the daughter of one of the greatest Lords of the Seven Kingdoms you're insulting."
"She's lying!"
"You're the one who's lying!" Sansa retorted, starting to get really angry.
But then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Easy, sweetheart. It's not worth getting upset over this punk."
The red-haired girl looked around to see a familiar blond standing there, an easy smile on his face. "Naruto!"
Everyone guard in the room tensed when they saw the young man appear from out of nowhere, while Robert narrowed his eyes.
"And what are you doing here, boy?" he growled.
Naruto glanced at him and chuckled. "Still upset? I would think 'the greatest warrior in the Seven Kingdoms' would be less surly about a simple broken nose. Or are you just getting soft?"
"Bah!" Robert snarled. "Were children not present I would beat you bloody for saying that."
"I'd like to see you try, old man. And anyway, your ability to take an ass-kicking is not what we're discussing, is it?"
"And what exactly do you have to contribute?" Robert asked, rankled by the fact that Naruto probably could take him down very easily if they fought.
"Well, first," he said, his eye flickering over to Joffrey, who stiffened. "Sansa and Arya have both told you what happened. Two witnesses against one."
"Family can be biased," Cersei said softly, only hesitating a little when Naruto looked over at her with a narrowed eye.
"Certainly they can," he replied. "For example, parents can take their children's side, even when they know they're wrong."
"But we don't know, boy," Robert muttered. "None of us were there."
"Speak for yourself," Naruto growled in reply. "I saw the whole thing."
Both Robert and Cersei opened their mouths to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say. Joffrey, on the other hand, was pale and sweating.
"And? What happened?"
"Joffrey took out his sword and sliced the butcher's boy for no reason, so Arya hit him when he wouldn't stop, so he started swinging his sword like a lunatic. The little direwolf ran up to defend her friend and chomped on his arm, and I got tired of watching, so I stepped in."
Cersei, listening to all of this, sighed in despair. She hoped beyond hope that Joffrey was telling the truth and that Arya was lying. Ever since the conversation she'd had with Naruto many weeks before, she couldn't help but notice the way her son acted with his younger siblings. One time she even had to step in and reprimand him after a particularly cruel comment to Myrcella.
And the way he glared at her after, especially when he thought she wasn't looking... if Cersei was honest with herself, it scared her.
King Robert looked at his oldest son, the one who would eventually inherit his throne, like he didn't even know him.
"You take a swing at Lord Stark's daughter?" he whispered. "You attack the child of one of my closest friends!?" The boy looked as if he were about to wet himself.
"The crime of striking any member of the royal family is usually imprisonment for life," Naruto said, interrupting Robert's train of thought before his rage could get any hotter.
At his words, all three of the Starks present paled, while Robert and Cersei both looked at him like he was mad and Joffrey managed to smirk, thinking things might go his way after all.
That hope was quickly dashed.
"On the other hand, drawing a sword on a noble Lady with the express intent of murdering her usually garners a harsher response. Namely, death," Naruto said, his eye darkening as he glared at Joffrey, who had gotten even sweatier than before. "Since Arya was defending her friend and herself, I'm sure we can have a light punishment. Helping the septa with her tasks for a day, perhaps."
Eddard, Sansa and Arya all sighed, though the youngest seemed a little upset at having to deal with the stuffy old septa.
But everyone in the room flinched when the room suddenly got cold and a weight seemed to appear on their shoulders out of nowhere. Joffrey felt that weight more than anyone, feeling as if it would force him to fall to his knees.
"Your actions are beginning to grate on my nerves, little prince. Were you old enough to shave, I would happily drag you into a cell myself," he growled, the boy he was looking at struggling to stay standing. "Your lofty rank, however, dictates a more... imaginative punishment."
Naruto stepped into the center of the room and commanded the attention of all those present. "For the next seventy two hours, you will remain on continuous watch with the Kingsguard, spar with them, and assist them in their duties."
Everyone raised an eyebrow as Arya looked up at him in disbelief. "...Is that it?"
"Not quite," he replied just as everyone was beginning to wonder what kind of punishment that was. "The guard will constantly rotate to keep them fresh. You, on the other hand, will stay awake for the next three days and nights. And they are allowed to use whatever means they deem fit to keep you that way."
The youngest people there may not have understood the true implications of the punishment, but Robert, Ned and many of the older knights there actually blanched. Each of them had been involved in battles or sieges that had lasted for many long hours, and after even a single day with no sleep, even ordinary tasks became torturous.
And for Joffrey to assist and spar with the Kingsguard, who went through more rigorous training than any knights in the entire Seven Kingdoms?
They shivered. That was just cruel.
"Now, off to bed, little prince," Naruto mocked. "You'd best have a good sleep, because you start tomorrow at dawn."
The boy looked as if he wanted to argue, but a quick glance at everyone there saw more than one of them glaring at him in contempt. His mother reaching for his shoulder and pulling him away was the final straw. He stormed out, trying to maintain some dignity.
Cersei waited for a moment longer, before she glanced at Naruto.
Seeing the way her shoulders slumped and the sadness and regret in her eyes, his own softened slightly and he inclined his head.
He would need to talk with her soon. Something was bothering that woman, something beyond anything to do with her eldest son. Something... deeper.
The blond turned around and smiled at the Stark girls, who both ran forward to hug him.
"Thank you, Naruto," Sansa said into his chest, while Arya mumbled something unintelligible as she clung to his waist, but sounded similar.
"No problem. It's always a pleasure to burst that brat's bubble," he said happily, and heard them giggling. "Anyway, you should go to bed. After all, Arya has a fun day with the septa tomorrow." Her resulting groan had them all laughing. "Besides, I need to to talk to the King and your dad for a little," he said, looking up at the elder Stark, who raised an eyebrow.
"Aw, but I wanna stay up," Arya murmured childishly, to Naruto's amusement.
"You look like you can barely stand as it is, little wolf," he said affectionately, to which she growled half-heartedly, the days events catching up to her. "Come on. Jory'll take you to your rooms."
The man came forward, happy that everything had been resolved, and led the girls away.
The guards began to clear out while Naruto and Ned stood there, the latter wondering what they were to talk about. Robert sat in his chair with his head in his hand, profoundly disappointed with his firstborn son.
Thinking only of going to bed, he slowly stood up dejectedly and began to walk out.
"Robert," came a sing-song voice from behind him. "We still have things to discuss."
"The only thing I want to discuss right now is how much ale the innkeeper stores," he grumbled, so very tired of his little blond friend. 'Blonds everywhere. My entire kingdom infested with damn blonds. Is it something to do with the hair color?'
"Robert," Naruto said, this time much less cheerfully. "We need to talk."
"Ugh," he muttered as the door shut closed of its own accord before he could walk through it. He was so tired he didn't even spare the effort in being wary of Naruto's 'demon voice'. He turned around and sat down in his chair. "What now?" he muttered, just wanting to get the damn conversation over with so he could go to bed.
Naruto's eye twitched at how nonchalant his friend was being, but managed to take a deep breath.
He stared at Robert and Ned seriously, one after another.
"We need to talk about Kings."
A/N: Sorry for lateness.
College, man.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed.